Roseate Terns in NJ

 Jersey Birding, Uncategorized  Comments Off on Roseate Terns in NJ
Jul 282019
 
 Posted by at 10:19 PM
May 072019
 

I used to think that most, if not all, birds migrated essentially in a straight north-to-south direction, with potential sidetracks due to geographical anomalies such as large bodies of waters, mountain ranges, deserts, etc. That idea was proven to be wrong for me after following up on the sightings of a banded Tundra Swan, which migrates cross-country from Alaska to New Jersey. I’ve also heard of the four great North American flyways (the Atlantic, Central, Mississippi, and Pacific Flyways), which are typically drawn as relatively north-south arrows. As with most things in life, things are not nearly quite so simple.

This spring I grew curious about whether the spring migrants that arrive here in NJ travel via the same broad route, so I investigated eBird sightings for several species. The results were interesting. I saw at least three patterns. The first pattern was exemplified by species such as Nashville, Canada, and Mourning Warbler, that travel through Central America, up through Mexico, and enter the US almost exclusively via Texas and then spread out thereafter.

Nashville Warbler in early May appears extensively in Texas, with very few sightings in Florida or the other gulf coast states.

 

Canada Warbler appears to avoid a trans-gulf migration, coming northward through Central America, through Mexico, and Texas.

 

Mourning Warbler is another species that seems to prefer traveling over land, using the Central America-Mexico-Texas route, and then fanning out eastward as it continues its migration.

 

It’s not just Warblers. Here is the pattern of Olive-sided Flycatcher sightings in early May, again coming up through the central US, although with a separate population then splitting and traveling up the Pacific coast. This bird sure prefers to avoid flying over large bodies of water.

A second pattern was shared by Tennessee, Hooded, Blue-winged, and Kentucky Warbler, which each enter the US through the entire southeastern coast, from Florida through the gulf states and Texas.

Tennessee Warbler enters the US through the entire Gulf Coast.

 

Kentucky Warbler sightings in early May, showing an entry through the entire gulf Coast.

 

Early May sightings of Blue-winged Warbler, another classic trans-Gulf migrant.

 

Here is the pattern of Hooded Warbler, entering through the entire Gulf Coast.

A final pattern was best exemplified by Cape May Warbler and American Redstart, which seem to enter the US primarily from the Caribbean islands and then up through Florida into eastern US.

Cape May Warbler comes up primarily through the Caribbean islands through Florida and up the east coast.

So what does this all mean? Well, we should appreciate the variability in how birds arrive or move through our area. Second, it helps to explain why some species are just hard to find, depending on our location and their respective migration route.

 Posted by at 8:54 PM
May 052019
 

As I did last year, I will be keeping track of when I first see new spring arrivals, to see how consistent they are from year to year. It should be interesting to compare with last year’s spring arrival dates.

  • March 17 Pine Warbler
  • March 19 Wood Duck
  • March 21 Osprey
  • March 21 American Oystercatcher
  • March 21 Eastern Phoebe
  • March 24 Tree Swallow
  • March 24 Chipping Sparrow
  • March 25 Blue-winged Teal
  • March 27 Laughing Gull
  • March 27 Forster’s Tern
  • March 27 Wilson’s Snipe
  • April 4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  • April 4 Yellow-throated Warbler
  • April 4 Palm Warbler
  • April 6 Glossy Ibis
  • April 6 American Bittern
  • April 10 Lesser Yellowlegs
  • April 10 Forster’s Tern
  • April 11 Barred Owl
  • April 11 Swamp Sparrow
  • April 13 Clapper Rail
  • April 13 Eastern Towhee
  • April 14 Barn Swallow
  • April 15 Common Yellowthroat
  • April 15 Black-and-white Warbler
  • April 15 White-eyed Vireo
  • April 15 Eastern Kingbird
  • April 18 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  • April 18 Prothonotary Warbler
  • April 18 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • April 18 Worm-eating Warbler
  • April 18 Northern Parula
  • April 19 Broad-winged Hawk
  • April 19 Green Heron
  • April 20 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  • April 20 House Wren
  • April 25 Red-eyed Vireo
  • April 25 Hooded Warbler
  • April 25 Louisiana Waterthrush
  • April 25 Pileated Woodpecker
  • April 25 Great Crested Flycatcher
  • April 25 Black-throated Green Warbler
  • April 25 Black-crowned Night-heron
  • April 25 Yellow-crowned Night-heron
  • April 27 Hooded Warbler
  • April 27 Prairie Warbler

    • April 28 Nashville Warbler
    • April 28 Wood Thrush
    • April 28 Scarlet Tanager
    • April 28 Yellow-throated Vireo
    • April 28 Blue-headed Vireo
    • April 28 Baltimore Oriole
    • April 30 Brown Thrasher
    • April 30 Yellow Warbler
    • April 30 Warbling Vireo
    • May 2 American Redstart
    • May 2 Blue-winged Warbler
    • May 2 Tricolored Heron
    • May 2 Willet
    • May 2 Orchard Oriole
    • May 2 Black-throated Blue Warbler
    • May 4 Northern Waterthrush
    • May 4 Cerulean Warbler
    • May 4 Solitary Sandpiper
    • May 4 Chimney Swift
    • May 4 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
    • May 4 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
    • May 4 Blue Grosbeak
    • May 4 Swamp Sparrow
    • May 5 Least Sandpiper
    • May 6 Little Blue Heron
    • May 6 Yellow-throated Vireo
    • May 6 Black-bellied Plover
    • May 6 Least Flycatcher
    • May 6 Veery
    • May 6 Swainson’s Thrush
    • May 6 White-crowned Sparrow
    • May 6 Indigo Bunting
    • May 8 Whimbrel
    • May 8 Black-bellied Plover
    • May 8 Semi-palmated Plover
    • May 8 White-rumped Sandpiper
    • May 8 Short-billed Dowitcher
    • May 8 Spotted Sandpiper
    • May 8 Gull-billed Tern
    • May 8 Caspian Tern
    • May 8 Black Skimmer
    • May 8 Blackpoll Warbler
    • May 8 Field Sparrow
    • May 8 Marsh Wren
    • May 8 Yellow-breasted Chat
    • May 11 Red-headed Woodpecker
    • May 16 Bay-breasted Warbler
    • May 16 Blackburnian Warbler
    • May 16 Cape May Warbler
    • May 16 Chestnut-sided Warbler
    • May 16 Magnolia Warbler
    • May 16 Wilson’s Warbler
    • May 16 Piping Plover
    • May 18 Eastern Wood-pewee
    • May 25 Willow Flycatcher
    • May 25 White-faced Ibis
    • May 26 Common Nighthawk
    • May 26 Least Tern
    • May 30 Canada Warbler
    • May 30 Mourning Warbler
    • May 30 Alder Flycatcher
    • May 30 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
    • June 15 Summer Tanagerd
    • June 15 Acadian Flycatcher
    • June 19 Least Bittern
    • July 3 Roseate Tern

 Posted by at 6:11 PM
Apr 022019
 

Would you like to test your knowledge of the birds of southern California? If so, try our newest slideshow BirdQuiz highlighting some species that can be seen along the coast, and in the deserts, mountains, and foothills of this diverse area. Click here to start.

 Posted by at 9:47 PM
Apr 022019
 

Warblers are starting to arrive here in the northeast, with Pine Warblers singing on territories and Yellow-throated Warblers appearing. Prothonotaries and Louisiana Waterthrushes and Palms and Black-and-white Warblers will be arriving next. Are you ready for them??  If not, brush up using our Warbler BirdQuiz by clicking here.

 Posted by at 7:56 PM
Mar 132019
 

The final portion of our trip moved north of LA into the Santa Barbara area. Our goal here shifted somewhat, from just finding good overall birding areas, towards looking for rarities with other species as bonuses. Our first stop was Lake Piru Recreation Area, where we were hoping to spot California Condors. We had been watching reports from this location for the past week or two before starting our trip, as it seemed to be the most reliable southern location for condors. Apparently there was a dead cow in the area that the birds were feeding on (Was it was placed there intentionally? We don’t know.). But during our trip a report came out saying that the carcass was nearly gone, so we were desperately hoping that the condors would remain for us.

As background, it is perhaps worthwhile to realize how rare California Condors are. In 1982 there were only 23 California Condors left in the wild, so they were all captured and put into captive breeding programs. As of 2017, the total population was up to 463 birds, with 173 in captivity and 290 in the wild, in California (170), Arizona/Utah (82), and Baja MX (38).

We arrived at Lake Piru in early morning, assuming that they would take off on the thermals when the air started warming up. It wasn’t clear to us where they were being seen, so we just started birding, keeping a watchful eye on the clear blue sky. There was quite a bit of activity, but mostly due to the species that we now had grown accustomed to: Say’s and Black Phoebes, Cassin’s Kingbird, Audubon’s Warblers, Spotted Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch, Bewick’s Wren, Western Bluebird, California Scrub-jay, and Common Ravens. The first new bird for the trip was a flock of ~26 Lark Sparrows. We get Lark Sparrows in New Jersey in fall as vagrants, so seeing even one is normally a treat. Seeing 26 of them on the ground at once seemed like a dream. I assume that to California birders it is absolutely normal, but we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Part of our flock of 26 Lark Sparrows at Lake Piru. This would be astounding to see in New Jersey.

Our second new bird was a condor. After about 30 minutes or so of birding, Jeanine suggested that we just scan the trees near the rolling pasture at one end of the lake to see if we can spot any perched condors. I thought it was a longshot, but went along with the suggestion. Thankfully I was wrong again. Within five minutes we spotted two condors in adjacent trees. Like most condors, they are wing-tagged for identification purposes, and these were condors ‘blue 16’ and ‘blue 26’. They eventually flew into another tree maybe 300 yards away where they were joined by an immature bird that lacks the orange head of the adults. After watching the distant birds through the scope and attempting distant photos, the birds flew off and rode the thermals up the ridge and out of view. We soon decided to move on too, but on our way out of the park, I noticed what I thought were condors flying above us. Pete pulled off to the side of the road, and indeed, we had at least six condors flying directly above our car, rapidly gaining altitude. What a treat. There on that California hillside we were viewing ~2% of all the wild California Condors in the world.

Our first view of two perched California Condors, with a Common Raven perched between them. The wing marker ‘blue 26’ can be seen on the rightmost bird.

An adult California Condor soaring over the California countryside. If it weren’t for the effort of the past few decades to revive this species, this sight would have been gone forever.

Three California Condors circling the ridge above our car at Lake Piru. The one with the black head is an immature bird. These birds have a 9 ft wingspan (compared to ‘just’ 5 1/2 ft. for a Turkey Vulture) Wow. Just wow.

Our next stop was north of Santa Barbara to the rolling hillsides in search of Yellow-billed Magpies. This is the southern-most end of the range for this species, which is one of the 18 or so birds that are endemic to the United States. In fact, it is found only in California. Moreover, this is a ‘good’ endemic, in the sense that it is morphologically distinct from any other species and not one of those ‘split’ species that are not possible to distinguish unless they are in your hand and measured. They had been seen the general area near the intersection of two nearly deserted roads: Alisos Rd. and Happy Canyon Rd. (Happy Canyon…a portent of good things to come?). Well, we drove those roads nearly a mile in each direction from that intersection with no luck. We couldn’t have missed them, could we? After all, the habitat is wide open and they are a large and showy and social species…pretty much a ‘can’t miss’ bird. Or so we thought. So should we move on to a different location, or try again? Being stubborn (or should I say ‘persistent’?) birders, we drove back again, and this time Jeanine spotted a pair flying across a pasture only to disappear into thick trees surrounding a roadside ranch house. I always feel odd pointing my binoculars anywhere near a house, so we drove on, and this time hit the motherload, with Jeanine again spotting more, but this time a group of seven or so feeding mostly on the ground just ahead of our car. We waited patiently, and the birds kept strolling past the car and into good light for a few photos. When they flew up into the roadside oak they seemingly disappeared even though there were no leaves on the tree. That made for a great day, with the rarest species in North America and an endemic within a few hours of each other.

Here’s an example of the lovely Yellow-billed Magpie country. We drove along these kinds of roads scanning the fields and the bare oaks for magpies.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

A Yellow-billed Magpie. One of the few US endemic bird species.

Yellow-billed Magpie in an oak tree, showing its elongated tail. It was surprising how tough it was for us to spot them in this tree despite the lack of leaves.

The following day we went in search of our next US endemic, taking the boat trip to Channel Islands National Park in search of Island Scrub-jays. Good fortune was on our side on this trip, as it was supposed to be raining through most of the day, but it didn’t rain until our boat docked at the end of the day. Seriously. Amazing timing! On the trip out to Santa Cruz Island we tried pelagic birding, spotting some Pacific Loons (another species that we see in small numbers in NJ), Cassin’s Auklets (which were tough for us to identify), and near the island the more obvious Pigeon Guillemots with their large white wing patch. Since this island is the only place in the world to see Island Scrub-jays, the pressure was on, but within five minutes or so of beginning our hike, Pete spotted a distant one in a bare tree. Whew. With the pressure off, now we could enjoy the walk. We ended up seeing at least four more, with much better views, along with a super displaying Spotted Towhee while enjoying lunch.

Island Scrub-jay with a mouthful of acorn.

Here’s a classic cooperative Island Scrub-jay. They are distinguished from the similar California Scrub-jay by having a blacker facial mask and a cap that is darker blue.

A Spotted Towhee displaying in the wind, with another one in the bush in the background.

The gorgeous Island Fox. Another endemic species for Santa Cruz Island.

A Pacific White-sided Dolphin viewed on the boat trip out to Channel Islands National Park.

Thus ended our birding tour of southern California. Can I make any recommendations to others going there for the first time? First of all, although we explored only a small section of California, for the trip that I described in these blog entries, it is still quite a large area to cover in ten days. If we were doing it again, I’d spend 12-to-14 days to cover the same area and feel less rushed. Some birders consider the Salton Sea a ‘must ‘ stop for any southern California tour.  We could have opted for going to the Salton Sea instead of trying for the rarities (condor, magpie, and scrub-jay), but those are three five-star species, so I feel it was worth it in the end, but that is a matter of personal choice. With regard to the timing, we arrived before the peak of migration, so we could have found more western species (tanagers, vireos, orioles, terns, etc.) if we traveled in April or May, but part of our goal was simply to escape the cold and relatively birdless March in New Jersey, so for us it was good timing. (And yes, it did snow in NJ while we were away.) For the entire trip we ended with 156 species seen, with 36 new lifers for Jeanine and 12 for me. Although those numbers would pale in comparison to more exotic locations in South America, that is pretty darn good for a US destination. So give it a shot and enjoy. Contact me (greg@birdquiz.net) if you have any question or comments.

 Posted by at 9:30 PM
Mar 132019
 

We spent three days in the desert on this trip: one day at Anza-Borrego State Park, and two in the Joshua Tree / Big Morongo area. Our main targets were the difficult thrashers (LeConte’s and Crissal) along with the more typical desert birds. Needless to say that we don’t have much desert habitat in New Jersey, so seeing even the common desert species was fun for us.

A view of the Anza-Borrego desert where we were searching for thrashers. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

We had planned to walk the popular Palm Canyon Trail of Anza-Borrego, but it was closed due to recent flooding, so we spent the first part of our morning near the Borrego Springs landfill (which doesn’t sound great, but it was actually quite nice), and the second half near the Wastewater Treatment Plant ponds (which sounds even less pleasant, but it’s a nice mesquite bosque). Both of these walks consisted of wandering through the desert between sagebrush and mesquite and the first blooms of the season, listening for any singing birds and looking for movement. At the landfill we often heard mimid vocalizations, but they were always due to mockingbirds, not the desired thrashers. The highlights here were numerous Phainopeplas, a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes, and a group of more than 20 Swainson’s Hawks lifting off from their overnight roost north of us. We then moved on to the WTP ponds where the mesquite was thicker, and there we had a little more success. We spotted a couple pairs of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, a pair of Verdins including one making a nest, and shortly after speaking with a trio of local birders who assured us we were at ‘Ground Zero’ for thrashers, I was able to get a quick view of a Crissal Thrasher singing atop the mesquite.

A male Black-tailed Gnatcatcher in the mesquite of Anza-Borrego State Park.

Cinnamon Teal was the only waterfowl that we saw on this trip that we don’t find regularly in New Jersey. These are good-looking ducks. We saw them in the WTP ponds and elsewhere. Photo by Pete Mooney.

Flower season was beginning in parts of the desert. A super bloom is predicted for this year.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

We moved onward to Yucca Valley, where we skipped the motel routine and instead rented a spacious home for the next two nights, but on the way we stopped at the Coachella Valley Preserve, where some interesting birds were being seen. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, we were tired and it was windy and mid-afternoon, so activity was low. When we neared the McCallum Trail pond and oasis though, we started hearing bird chatter that turned out to be a mixed flock of Lesser Goldfinch and Lawrence’s Goldfinch. Lesser Goldfinch are relatively common, but this was the only location where we would see a Lawrence’s, which was a lovely bird and a lifer for me.

McCallum Pond. It is so amazing to see oasis ponds like this, surrounded by huge fan palms, in a desert environment.

Lawrence’s Goldfinch, which was a major target for me on this trip. They are interesting partly because unlike most birds, they don’t return reliably to the same place each year, but instead have a tendency to wander.

The following morning we began at the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Covington Park; Big Morongo has extensive property with numerous cottonwoods and willows and fan palms abutting the desert that serves as a natural magnet for migrating birds, while the adjacent Covington Park is a small town park with cottonwoods and eucalyptus that is worth a quick visit. It was too early in the season to get the full effect, but it’s clear why this is a favorite location during migration time. We began at Covington Park because Big Morongo was not yet open, and the cottonwoods were filled with Mountain Chickadees, Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Lesser Goldfinch, with a few new species mixed in. We found three male Vermillion Flycatchers sparring over a single female in the group, had super views of a pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers, and Pete spotted a Great Horned Owl in the still-bare cottonwoods. In Big Morongo we added a Barn Owl hiding in the fan palms and we spotted Bushtits paired up and making their nest near the trails. We barely touched the extensive canyon trails of Big Morongo, but this is clearly a place that deserves more attention if we ever return.

One of the male Vermilion Flycatchers at Covington Park. That is one sharp-looking bird.

Red-breasted Sapsucker in a eucalyptus tree in Covington Park.

A tough-to-find Barn Owl hiding in Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.

A Bushtit gathering nesting material.

And here’s what the Bushtit nest looks like. We heard it described as ‘an old sock’, which is very apropros.

In the afternoon we planned to look for birds in Joshua Tree National Park, but the conditions were tough, with constant 30 mph winds creating havoc and keeping the birds hidden. We did view several handsome Black-throated Sparrows, but little more. It was a good day for simply enjoying the scenery and the rock climbers and the massive blooms that were just starting to appear on the Joshua Trees.

A fairly typical scene in Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

The Joshua Trees were just starting to bloom. They are not true trees, but are in the yucca family.

Black-throated Sparrows were found readily in Joshua Tree NP. Photo by Pete Mooney.

The rock climbers love the Hidden Valley area of the park, which mostly looked like this. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

We returned to Joshua Tree for our final morning in the desert, to the Black Rock Campground. I was looking at a trail map at a kiosk before beginning the walk, when I noticed some quails moving between the brush. I quickly called Jeanine and Pete over for what I assumed would be tough views of these Gambel’s Quails scurrying away from us. We all had good views eventually, but then it got even better, as one bird started singing and then flew into a low cactus in the morning light and continued singing for a few minutes. Wow! What a privilege to see that performance. He then moved onward, and this time decided that he’d like to display and sing from atop a Joshua Tree, where he repeated his performance again.  I never thought that I’d see something like that from so close and under such perfect conditions. This bird probably wondered why these humans kept repeating their “wow” call.

“Our’ Gambel’s Quail who put on quite the show for us under perfect conditions.

He then moved atop a Joshua Tree where he continued the performance.

We continued our stroll through the desert hillside, finding several Cactus Wrens and Bewick’s Wrens, but missing the Rock Wrens and Canyon Wrens that we hoped to find. Like the Gambel’s Quail, one of the Cactus Wrens also decided to appear atop a nearby Joshua Tree for a priceless photo op. Other birds seen on this walk included a pair of Pinyon Jays and another desert specialty, Ladder-backed Woodpecker. It was a great morning, but by this point it was time for the long ~ 3 1/2 hour drive out towards the Santa Barbara area to chase some rare species in our final portion of the trip, as will be recounted in the final blog of this series.

Cactus Wren on a Joshua Tree. They are the largest wrens in North America.

Another desert specialty, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, showing the…ladder…on it’s back…that extends up to its neck.

 Posted by at 7:15 PM
Mar 122019
 

A remarkable thing about birding in southern California is how quickly you can be in completely different habitats. After 2 1/2 days in San Diego, we literally left the beach and just one hour later found ourselves in the Laguna Mountains, hoping to find some higher altitude species. We stayed overnight in a town called Pine Mountain (3,700 ft elevation) and woke up the following morning to a light fog that unfortunately became more dense as we drove up to higher altitudes, forcing a change in plans. The fog was likely due to the unseasonable snowstorm that they received the previous week, coating the ground outside of town in 6 inches of snow and resulting in some road closures in one of our destinations, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.

Wildflowers were blooming in colorful clusters in the foothills outside of San Diego. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

Just an hour drive eastward after we were strolling barefoot on the beach we were in mountain habitat with 4-6 inches of snow.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

We made the best of the situation, and ultimately found most of our expected targets. In the town park we found our first Acorn Woodpeckers of the trip, and being a sociable species, a single oak hosted nearly a dozen of these distinctive birds. Dark-eyed Juncos were feeding on the ground, but for a nice change they were of the Oregon race, unlike the Slate-colored sub-species that we left behind in New Jersey. Groups of Band-tailed Pigeons flew above the pines, and a Bewick’s Wren and Steller’s Jay joined the group.

Acorn Woodpeckers were found in several types of habitats, and when you found one, you were sure to find more. They are very sociable.

The Oregon sub-species of junco was a slightly more colorful change from our eastern Slate-colored Juncos.

Bewick’s Wren was the most common wren species seen on this trip. This one is singing up a storm.

In Cuyamaca Rancho Park the trails were difficult to walk due to the snowcover, so we focused on the cleared roads in Paso Picacho Campground (5,000 ft). The Ponderosa Pines here were FILLED with Acorn Woodpeckers and their acorn stashes, but we had other birds in mind. We started with a brilliant Red-breasted Sapsucker, and then started finding species that replace our familiar eastern mixed-flock birds. In southern NJ we have Yellow-shafted Flicker, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, and White-breasted Nuthatch, but up here they were replaced with Red-shafted Flicker, Mountain Chickadees, Oak Titmouse, and Pygmy Nuthatch. (to be more accurate, both White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches were present, so it wasn’t a true nuthatch ‘replacement’).

The Acorn Woodpeckers stash acorns in the Ponderosa Pine bark, as can be seen here. Some of the Ponderosas were just filled with acorns.

It was not uncommon to see trees that look like this due to the Acorn Woodpeckers.

Mountain Chickadee, with its white supercilium that gives it a masked appearance.

Oak Titmouse was seen in the mountains, desert, and foothills, but our first one was found in the higher altitude of Rancho Cuyamaca.

We struggled to find Pygmy Nuthatch, but when we did find them, they were in a group of about six birds working a single pine.

Driving downhill from Cuyamaca Rancho towards the desert we spied our first Phainopepla of the trip. Upon arrival in Borrego Springs we took a break in the desert warmth with a short walk around the Anza-Borrego State Park Visitor’s Center followed by a dip in the motel pool. A lone Verdin was our first introduction to the desert species that we would see over the next three days. For part three of the Southern California tour, click here.

 Posted by at 9:33 PM
Mar 112019
 

March is a tough time of year for me to be in New Jersey. By this time of the year I’ve seen most of the winter birds, it has been cold for far too many months, and spring seems to take its sweet old time arriving. For these reasons I like taking birding vacations during this time of year, especially to a warmer climate to escape the lingering NJ winter. This year my friends Pete and Jeanine joined me for a 10-day trip to southern California, birding from San Diego up to Santa Barbara. This part of California has the advantage that different habitats, ranging from seaside to foothill scrub to mountains and deserts, occur within a relatively short distance. So we drew up a list of target species and set out to take advantage of those diverse habitats.

Pete and Jeanine scanning the coastal scrub habitat alongside Lake Hodges. You won’t get ‘warbler neck’ when birding here.

A coyote was also birdwatching in the scrub at Lake Hodges. Probably looking for that pesky Roadrunner.

We enjoyed two full days exploring the coastal scrub habitat in the San Diego area, especially Lake Hodges, located just 21 miles north of downtown San Diego (but still within the San Diego city limits). Before we even left the parking lot we were already enjoying species that we don’t see back home, with Western Bluebird, Black Phoebe, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and Townsend Warbler. The scrub was filled with other species that soon would become familiar to us: Cassin’s Kingbird, Say’s Phoebe, Greater Roadrunner, California Towhee, and Bushtit. The lake hosted several ducks that we were familiar with from birding in the east, but also held dozens of Western Grebes and at least one Clark’s Grebe. Amazingly, some of the grebes were performing their mating dance ritual, which was A-MAZING to behold in person. Click here to see an example of the grebe display from the BBC.

Our first ‘good’ bird of the trip: Townsend’s Warbler.

Western Bluebirds were common on this trip. I’m trying to remember….where was this one photographed?

A Clark’s Grebe in non-breeding plumage at Lake Hodges. Note the partial black area by the eye.  They were outnumbered by Western Grebes in a ~50-to-1 ratio.

Here’s a Clark’s Grebe in breeding plumage, where it’s eye is completely surrounded by white.

Here’s one of the more common Western Grebes for comparison. Note the eye completely surrounded by black, the olive-toned bill and the darker body plumage. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

California Towhees were seen nearly everywhere in good numbers on this trip.

Say’s Phoebes would become a familiar sight on this trip, often in the same habitat as Black Phoebes. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

Yes, we did see a couple Greater Roadrunners, including this one near Lake Hodges that eluded the coyote.  Meep-meep.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

Two of our new lifer target species were also found at Lake Hodges: California Gnatcatcher and California Thrasher. The thrasher is even larger than our eastern Brown Thrasher. Luckily, they were singing loudly, and as expected they were doing so from the top of the trees, giving excellent views. My final landbird lifer from the SD scrub was a secretive Wrentit that Jeanine found deep in the brush at Tecolote Canyon the following morning.

A California Thrasher taking a break from singing up a storm. That is quite a remarkable bill, isn’t it?

The SD waterfront provides ample opportunities for viewing gulls, terns, and shorebirds that we don’t see on the east coast. La Jolla Cove is a photographer’s dream, where we enjoyed impeccable views of Western, California, and the delightful Heermann’s Gulls among the nesting Brandt’s Cormorants. Both Brown Pelicans and American White Pelicans frequently patrolled the coastal waters. Western shorebirds such as Black Turnstone, Long-billed Curlew, Wandering Tattler, and Snowy Plover were all seen, although Black Oystercatcher and Surfbird eluded us.

A cooperative Black Turnstone on the beach near the massive and luxurious El Coronado Hotel.

A Brandt’s Cormorant stretching on the nest. Their blue throats are electric in the bright sun.

Some Brandt’s Cormorant chicks had already hatched out.

I hereby nominate Heermann’s Gull as the handsomest gull in North America. This is exhibit A.   I rest my case.

A pair of Snowy Plovers hiding in footprints on the beach near Tijuana.

Wandering Tattler was seen on the rocks alongside La Jolla Cove.

Long-billed Curlew on the San Diego River mudflats.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

San Diego is not far from Tijuana Mexico. Here is part of ‘the wall’ that we hear so much about, visible from Tijuana River Valley Regional Park.

This is the bullring in Tijuana, just across the river mouth from where we were unsuccessfully searching for Pacific Golden-plover and Elegant Tern.

It helps when you know the locals who are tuned into the best places to eat. My good buddy Bri showed us the best Mexican restaurant in Ramona.

After 2 1/2 days of enjoying the birds and pleasant weather and Mexican food (best fish tacos ever!) of San Diego, it was time to move inland to the nearby mountains and deserts. Click here to continue on to that section.

 Posted by at 1:08 PM
Jan 192019
 

In one of my recent posts I mentioned that it has been a wild winter for spotting Razorbills here in NJ. At the Avalon Seawatch near Cape May where they saw only three Razorbills the entire 2017 season and eleven the previous winter, thousands have been seen migrating by on individual days this year. Jeanine and I were fortunate to find one at Manasquan Inlet on January 1 (a very happy New Year’s present from the birding gods), and yesterday we returned back to Manasquan to see if we could spot any more, hopefully accompanied by some of its relative alcids (Dovekies, Murres, or Guillemots).

The end of Manasquan Jetty, south side. Unlike the longer (0.7 mi.), rougher, more risky boulder-strewn jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse, Manasquan Jetty (400 ft) is paved. And unfortunately, littered with graffiti now. The ease of access makes it very convenient.

It’s great when the Razorbills are so close that you can see the white vertical lines on their bill.

It was a perfect day for viewing. The seas were calm, with light westerly winds of 7 mph. It was completely overcast, but with a predicted high of 42 degrees. Perfect. We took our position at the end of the jetty and within the first hour or so spotted a single fairly close Razorbill and a group of two or three more distant ones too. (Question: is two birds officially a group? I digress with that petty technicality.) Then we spotted more further south, including a distant alcid that looked different enough that we decided to take the long walk on the sand to investigate further. When we arrived at that location, 0.5 mile to the south, we were ‘disappointed’ to find out that it was only another Razorbill. Accompanied by another.

It’s tough to see their eyes, because they are dark and superimposed on that dark black plumage, but we can see a well-lit eye here.

Instead of being satisfied with those results, being the ever-greedy birders we returned back to the jetty with renewed hope of finding different alcids, and were we ever glad that we did. Before we even reached the end of the jetty, Jeanine spotted two Razoriblls to our right, with nice bin views. Then we found one at the end of the north jetty. A photographer who was there with us, Chuck, called out more that were even closer. Before we knew it, we were seeing groups of two and three and four at a time, leaving us positively giddy with delight. It became hard to estimate exactly how many were present, because Razorbills have a habit of diving for long periods and then re-surfacing a long distance away or even mysteriously disappearing. But suffice it to say that today they were as close as I have ever seen them, feeding actively (but on what??) for perhaps an hour or so, during which time we nearly always had a Razorbill in sight. During one swing of the periphery we counted at least nine on the surface, more than were seen in an entire season at Avalon in 2017!  Chuck was in photographer heaven, having been pursuing Razorbills unsuccessfully for six years, and now he was surrounded by them.

Eventually it became too commonplace to find individual Razorbills, so I started focusing on groups. Here’s an adult on the left, and an immature Razorbill with a less-pronounced bill on the right. I tried to turn it into a Thick-billed Murre, but was unsuccessful.

And here’s a group of three adult Razorbills on the surface together. I missed the photo of four Razorbills lined up perfectly.

Here’s another group of three Razorbills, with a Common Loon in the background providing a nice size comparison.

So if you haven’t seen your lifer Razorbill yet, or your 2019 Razorbill, give Manasquan Inlet a try. It is unclear why the Razorbills don’t appear all up and down the coast (we spent five hours at Holgate Beach this week without a single alcid), but for whatever reason, they like Manasquan. Which means I like it there too.

Here we see the hooked tip of the Razorbill’s bill.

 Posted by at 10:15 PM