BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Xenospiza" data-source="post: 1384273" data-attributes="member: 23772">Dec 22: After a rainy night the weather looked much better than predicted. I headed to Moss Landing, where I parked on the large parking area on the east side of the inlet. There were many Sea Otters present, some of them even running onland! An unexpected Pigeon Guillemot swam in the channel. Then I was approached by a birder who asked if I had come for the (adult female) Barrow’s Goldeneye (an occasional visitor this far south) he had found the day before. That was an even more unexpected lifer! I asked about Thayer’s Gull (should be present in the gull roost that I had glanced at already) and Harlequin Duck (Monterey Harbor). Eventually I managed to find two Thayer’s Gulls (an adult and a third winter) in the roost – I never found a first winter bird (although these should be more common!) From the other side of Moss Landing (Jetty Road) I checked the sea: the only two Red-necked Grebes of the trip floated close to shore.After a visit to Elkhorn Slough appeared impossible because it was apparently closed on Monday and Tuesday, Locke-Padden Park in Marina was the next place where a target bird might be present. Unfortunately, the flock of Bicolored Blackbirds did not contain any obvious Tricolored Blackbirds. A good view of a Sooty Fox-Sparrow confirmed that I had seen one yesterday at Big Sur. I also saw a very dark, smallish Song Sparrow which gave me some identification troubles.During a short walk on the large Fort Ord Public Lands I found some chapparal birds and a Common Buckeye, a pretty butterfly.After a stop at Laguna Seca again failed to deliver any Tricolored Blackbirds, I bought some lunch and drove up to Jack’s Peak Country Park ($ 3) to look for some species among the Monterey Pines. Townsend’s Warblers were very common here, and a too-short-glimpse of  a warbler with a mostly yellow head was tantalising (Hermit Warblers winter here in low numbers), although from what I saw it could also have been a hybrid. I finally found Hermit Thrush which I had expected to be more common. I would never have been able to find a match for a bird that appeared to show pale tail tips that flew into a bush. A closer look revealed a Varied Thrush!For obvious reasons I decided to spend the last two hours of daylight in Monterey Harbor. Wharf 2 had some very intimidating Brown Pelicans and great views of Rhinoceros Auklets and Pacific Loons; Fisherman’s Wharf was less productive. The third (northernmost) pier was inaccessible, so I turned back and noticed some strong currents close to the shore. And of course this was where the pair of Harlequin Ducks was swimming! I somehow paid more attention to the male than to the female (which then hid behind a rock to sulk). The weather at night was again not perfect, and Monterey Birds was not optimistic about owling anyway...</blockquote>

Verification