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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xenospiza" data-source="post: 1381713" data-attributes="member: 23772">Dec 20: I left Ventura at 6:30, and at 7:00 (when I was just at the "no services for 30 miles" sign beyond Santa Barbara) a warning light showed up on my dashboard. It took me about an hour to find out what this meant, not helped by the fact that I couldn’t think of the word "spanner" (let alone "wrench"): oil change within 1000 miles, so nothing too alarming... Why don't they leave the manual in the car? At least the phone call provided a good look at Brewer’s Blackbirds.At 8:20 I reached my first destination: Nojoqui Falls Country Park. There were only two other people present, which unfortunately were carrying leaf blowers. They did not stop for the next one-and-a-half hours. I still managed quite a few birds around the ranger’s office and Alisal Road (which runs along the park). These included my first Californian oak specialists: obviously Acorn Woodpecker and Oak Titmouse, but also Nuttall’s Woodpecker and Hutton’s Vireo (which is easily overlooked or stringed because of all the lookalike Ruby-crowned Kinglets). I birded away the blues with Western Scrub-Jay,  Steller’s Jay and Western Bluebird (common here, but not seen again). The best bird was a Red-breasted Sapsucker in a pine in the large field west of the ranger's office. I had been worried about seeing this bird (and rightfully: this was the only one) – but the fact that this was the best bird meant I missed my target species... The short walk to the fall was shadowy, cold and birdless, but it was interesting to see how it ran along a stalagmite. After I put my telescope back in the car, I heard some distress calls behind me. At first I thought these were related to the Cooper’s Hawk that flew off, but then I looked a (small) Bobcat in the face! It had just caught a scrub jay and quickly decided it would rather eat it in peace.I decided to leave the leaf blowers in peace and try Los Alamos Country Park, which was recommended on the Birder’s World website. When I passed Buellton, the home of split-pea soup (apparently the Danes like this as well as the Dutch), great relief when two Yellow-billed Magpies landed in a tree. A bit further north another one flew across the road.I still went to Los Alamos Country Park to try and get some better looks (I hadn’t seen the bill yet!), and three magpies on the parking delivered these. They flew around quite a bit through the valley. During a short walk I found my first Golden-crowned Sparrow.I drove through seemingly birdless agricultural land to the impressive Rancho Guadalupe Dunes County Park (suggested donation). Just north of the beach car park, many Snowy Plovers took shelter from the wind. Most birds on the lake at the end of the Santa Maria River (it did not reach the ocean) were distant, just as the birds on the sea, and I struggled to convince myself there were Pacific Loons among the Red-throated and Common (I'd use different names in the UK).A stop at the willow thickets close to the entry was good for Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Bewick’s Wren.I continued north via Shell Beach, which has more high cliffs and rocks than beach. Most of the birds were as expected (more Black Oystercatchers), but I also found some Sea Otters. A large group of people on the cliff edge turned out to be a wedding party (I thought they might be whale watchers at first).Turkey Vultures became more common as I drove north, with a huge flock coming to roost in Guardia. I spent the night camping at San Simeon State Park, where a Great Horned Owl called throughout the cold night.</blockquote>

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