A Brit abroad

More mud-walking

In between birding trips, I have been known to do the occasional bit of work! I'm working as a postdoc at UC Davis, developing mathematical models for the invasion of hybrid cordgrass (Spartina foliosa x alterniflora) in San Francisco Bay. One of the things that attracted me to this job was the opportunity to interact with ecologists and molecular biologists, and I'm even allowed to help out with the fieldwork occasionally!

Yesterday I joined Christina, Debra and two Heathers in the ambitious task of attempting to locate every hybrid seedling at Roberts Landing. I had the 'honour' of carrying the oldest GPS unit, which consists of a hand-held unit connected to a backpack holding the battery and antenna - I ended up looking like one of the Ghostbusters!

So, why do we care about the presence of hybrid cordgrass? Firstly, hybrid seedlings are much more likely to become established in the open mud than the native foliosa:

Once established, the hybrids grow rapidly into dense circular clones:

As well as covering areas of open mud vital to feeding migratory shorebirds, large clones accumulate sediment, changing the tidal height:

Add to this increased pollen viability and self-compatibility, higher tolerance to disturbance and salinity, and a lack of natural grazers compared to the native, and we have a problem on our hands!

Shorebirds seemed scarcer than on my last visit, although I still saw a few Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits and Dowitcher spp (I think Short-billed but they didn't call). Highlight was a fly-by Elegant Tern (in addition to the usual Caspian and Forster's), another lifer! As we prepared to leave, this territorial male Anna's Hummingbird was singing from his favourite bush.

Owls, Pewees and Bittern

My birding weekend started with an evening stroll along Putah Creek with Roger and Grete Adamson and Joan Humphrey, searching for Western Screech Owl. We were fortunate enough to hear two birds west of the picnic ground, as well as Western Kingbird, California Towhee and a probable Yellow Warbler.

On Saturday morning I set off to Willowbank Ditch in an effort to locate flycatchers. Things definitely seem quieter here - no sign of the Red-breasted Nuthatch, nor any migrant warblers, although Western Tanager, Warbling Vireo and several Swainson's Thrush were still around. Just as I was about to give up I spotted my life Western Wood-Pewee, obligingly returning to the same perch after each flycatching sally.

Cycling through the arboretum I noticed that the Green Heron was still incubating, while the heron rookery was a much louder and smellier place since the birth of several chicks.

Amazingly, another Western Wood-Pewee was in the vicinity of the Putah Creek picnic ground, along with a few Western Tanagers and some lingering Cedar Waxwings. I finally managed to get some reasonable shots of California Quail here.

The male Black-chinned Hummingbird was still defending his tobacco tree, and the Fence Lizards were soaking up the sun in their usual spot.

Most surprising sighting of the trip has to be the family party of Turkeys that I startled from the roadside - the mother ran off into long grass, while her 4 chicks flew a good 10 feet into a nearby oak tree!

On Sunday morning I decided to return to the Nuttall's Woodpecker nest at Fuzio's. The single chick seemed almost fully fledged and eager to climb out of the nest hole!

Later in the day I joined Steve Hampton in a search for one of the county's most elusive birds - Least Bittern. We scanned the edges of the lake for a good 30 minutes without success (but recording a few American Bitterns, Pied-billed Grebes and single Ruddy Duck and Moorhen). Finally, we spotted a small shape sitting out in the open on a patch of dead reeds - a pristine male Least Bittern! This bird looked appreciably smaller and much brighter than our European Little Bitterns. Unfortunately he darted into the reeds before I was able to get a photo, and was only seen once more in flight. This stunning bird was my 207th county tick!

Happy birthday Janie and Don!

Last Thursday marked the birthday of Janie Civille, who has devoted a large portion of her adult life to the study of the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in her beloved homeland of Washington. Proceedings kicked off with a fine lunch at Fuzio's, where I spotted the nest of a Nuttall's Woodpecker (see next posting for pics). The celebrations continued in the evening with a feast of shrimp, cheeses and wonderful Willapa Bay oysters. Several glasses of wine and a whisky later, and I was most grateful to John and Diana for a lift home! And thanks so much to Janie for spoiling us rotten!

Saturday evening saw me put aside my bins and put on my apron to bake cookies. This attempt was somewhat more successful than my previous effort (when I discovered my oven didn't work and instead tried to pan-fry the cookie dough - not clever!). The cookies were my contribution to a potluck/bbq marking the 60th birthday of ecologist extraordinaire Don Strong. He is pictured below looking resplendent in his University of Oregon PhD robes (a collective present from his research group).

The evening was great fun - wonderful food, good wine, and conversation on such diverse subjects as Pokemon and Essex girls - thanks to Debra for hosting and to the Strong lab for excellent company!

Quizbirds

Nick Moran, my globe-trotting birding pal, sent me these holiday snaps from his visit to the US last year, hoping that my 4 months' US birding experience would enable me to identify them - sadly he was wrong! Here are the mystery birds (click on thumbnails for larger image), along with the approximate date and place of each sighting and my thoughts on each photo. I'd be most interested to hear your opinions, especially if you disagree with mine!

Photo 1: Rail sp., Shark Valley NP, Florida Everglades, c22nd June 2003

Comments: On a combination of shape and range, this must be either King or Clapper Rail. It looks to me like it's not quite an adult (dark, fairly stubby bill) which complicates matters. The mantle streaking is quite bold though, which possibly favours King.

Photo 2: Flycatcher sp., Lake Okanagan, nr Kelowna, BC, Canada mid-July 2003

Comments: This photo had me mystified - the posture and head shape seem reminiscent of a Myiarchus flycatcher, but (a) the plumage features are wrong (should have a darker throat and more rufous in wings) and (b) there aren't any in that part of Canada! Hence it must be a funny-looking Empid. I think the indistinct eye-ring, plain brown back, contrasting white throat and geographical location all combine to make it Willow Flycatcher, but having seen neither Western race Willow nor Alder, I can't be sure...

Photos 3 and 4: Teal sp., Reiffel Refuge, Richmond (?) nr Vancouver, BC, Canada, late July 2003

Comments: This bird is a female-type Blue-winged or Cinnamon Teal. One thing that strikes me about this bird is its red eye - this is an obvious feature on Cinnamon Teal, but does Blue-winged have this too?

Also of interest, here's another of Nick's photos showing what at first sight looks like a Piping Plover, but in fact turns out to be a leucistic Semipalmated (note bill size and coloration)!

Birdspeak

Inspired by Vicky, a bemused non-birder who occasionally visits my blog, I've compiled a short glossary of birding slang. If you can think of any more, feel free to post comments!

Armchair tick - when a taxonomic committee decides to split a species into two or more new species, your list automatically increases without having to leave the comfort of your own home!

Big Day/Birdathon/Birdrace - Attempting to see as many birds as possible in a given region within 24 hours. Exhausting but fun!

Blocker - a mythically rare bird that only the fortunate few are lucky enough to have seen, but may well not show up again in your lifetime. Examples of this would be Black Lark in the UK (Nick!), or Eskimo Curlew anywhere. When a mega-rarity shows up after an absence of several years, it is said to unblock.

Crippling views - a bird that shows fantastically well. Birds I've recently had crippling views of include California Condor and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Digiscoping/digibinning - holding a digital camera up to the lens of a telescope or binoculars to create a makeshift zoom lens. The raison d'etre of this blog. I've even heard of phone-scoping (using a camera phone in conjunction with a scope)!

Dip - the act of chasing a rare bird and missing it, often by a matter of seconds (e.g. Red-rumped Swallow at the Ouse Washes - Nick!). I think the US equivalent is to get skunked. We've all been there and it's not nice!

Dude - a derogatory term for the sort of person who, in spite of having state of the art optical equipment, is a pretty hopeless birder.

Gripper - if one of your friends gets crippling views of a bird that you'd love to see (and haven't), you have been gripped off. The offending bird, especially if photographed well, is a gripper. Nick, a British birder based in Shanghai, is continually gripping me off - the photo below shows his footprint next to that of a Steller's Sea Eagle!

Listing - the all-consuming task of trying to see as many birds as possible within a given time frame (day, year, life) or geographical region (garden, county, country). Amusing lists kept by friends include a toilet list and a nuts list!

Mega - a bird so rare you drop everything to go and see it.

Purple patch - any patch of land which is blessed with repeated sightings of rare or vagrant birds.

String - the act of misidentifying a common bird as something rarer. Something that we all do from time to time. A stringer is a birder who strings with great frequency. A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless - you know who you are!) once managed to turn a Corn Bunting into a Red-footed Falcon!

Suppress - to withhold news of a rare bird from the public domain. Often this is done to protect sensitive breeding species, or because the bird cannot be viewed from public land. Sometimes, however, news of a good bird is tactically suppressed by competitive listers to deliberately prevent other birders from seeing it: hence the title of suppressor is perhaps the most damning curse to be labelled with.

Tart's tick - a bird that's so easy to see/identify that even a woman could see it. A relic from the male-dominated UK birding scene, use this phrase at your peril!

Twitcher - a birder who drops everything to drive (or even fly) thousands of miles to chase rare birds reported to their phone/pager/email. Something most of us are guilty of from time to time! A bird is considered twitchable if it stays at a reasonably accessible site for at least a few hours.

Warbler neck - I discovered the meaning of this US phrase this spring. It describes the horrible neck cramps you get after staring for hours into the treetops trying to identify American Warblers.

Weekend in Seattle

Last weekend saw me jetting off to Seattle to meet up with Andrew (another Brit abroad - he lives and works in Toronto). On Saturday, we visited the sights, shopped, ate lots and drank expensive wine . On Sunday we spent most of the day on a boat trip to the San Juan islands, seeing some great wildlife. I'll focus on the wildlife in this entry, but for the occasional non-birder who stumbles across this site, I've posted some pretty scenery pictures in the extension to this entry (click on the 'read more' link below).

The Victoria Clipper company runs daily ferries between Seattle and Friday Harbor, San Juan. The price of the round trip includes a 2.5 hour cruise around the islands in search of Orcas and other marine life. Boarding began at the unearthly hour of 6:45am - the pain of this was lessened by the appearance of this adult Bald Eagle at the docks.

The bird was repeatedly mobbed by what I believe to be Northwestern Crows (they certainly had deeper calls than my local American Crows). After about 15 minutes of repeated dive-bombing, the eagle decided enough was enough and scarpered.

Within 10 minutes of departure, the first birds started to appear - a winter plumaged Pacific Loon, and small flock of Western Grebes and my life Rhinoceros Auklets! Rhinos turned out to be one of the commonest birds of the trip, though I only managed this blurry flight shot (in true birders' tradition, I'll give an excuse for the poor quality of this shot - I was on a moving boat, holding my camera up to my bins in a stiff wind!).

We were pleasantly surprised to encounter these Gray Whales, which spouted repeatedly and even raised their tails out of the water (second photo courtesy of Andrew).

Closer to the San Juans, Pigeon Guillemots began to outnumber the Rhinos, while other birds encountered included Common Murre, Surf and Black Scoter, Caspian Tern and two breeding-plumaged Pacific Loons. I'm pretty sure I saw Thayer's Gulls too, though many (most?) of the gulls I encountered were hybrid Western x Glaucous-winged.

The tour around the San Juans unfortunately failed to find any Orcas, but we did find a small group of Dall's Porpoises, a single Steller's Sealion, a pair of Black Oystercatchers, a small jellyfish sp. and several Harbor Seals (the picture below was Andrew's first attempt at 'digibinning'). Bald Eagles were all over the place up here.

A brief stop at Friday Harbor provided a good excuse to chow down some Mexican food, where this Western Forktail was photographed.

We also came across a single Rufous Hummingbird and some more Northwestern Crows. The trip home was less eventful, save for more great views of Rhinos and a few Sealions. This cruise is well worth doing if you're in Seattle, and quite entertaining for non-birders too!

Here's a selection of scenic photos taken around Seattle. The weather on Saturday was pretty dismal (though typical for Seattle I hear), so I didn't take many photos during the day. Here's one of me at the top of the Space Needle.

In the evening we headed back up the Space Needle to obtain panoramic views of the skyscrapers:

This neon carwash sign caught my eye:

The weather didn't start out great on Sunday either, but had greatly improved by the time we returned to Seattle - compare these shots of the skyline taken on the outward and return ferry journeys.

The view from Friday Harbor:

Back in Seattle, the evening light illuminates the skyscrapers:

On the plane ride home, I managed a photo of this impressive snow-cone:

Down time

Here in Davis, migration is slowly trickling to a halt. This comes as something of a relief, as getting up to do 2-3 hours' birding every day before work was starting to take its toll! Ironically, on my two birding trips this week, I've encountered several species which we missed on the Big Day! Tuesday, Joan and I birded the east side of the county for migrants: the best we could muster was an Olive-sided Flycatcher and a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. The pond adjacent to the Port of Sacramento (I forget its name) had a couple of lingering Goldeneye, while this White Pelican was showing well:

We finished up at Woodland Wastewater Ponds, where we saw a handful of Black Terns without having to resort to standing on the car roof!

Wednesday evening, Marcel and I drove back towards the Capay Valley. On Road 78A we connected with a fine male Lawrence's Goldfinch drinking at a stream, and had yet another flyover Phainopepla. The drive up Rayhouse Road produced another Olive-sided Flycatcher, untickable views of a Mountain Quail and my first county Rufous Hummingbird. The highlight of the visit was two Common Poorwills illuminated in the car headlights as they sat in the road. County listing is set to become much trickier now - in my remaining 18 months here I'll be lucky to add another 30 species!

Today I left the confines of the office to help map the distribution of hybrid cordgrass seedlings at Roberts Landing, San Francisco Bay. This exhausting task involved wading through thick mud for the best part of 7 hours, which at least allowed closer than usual views of Semipalmated Plovers and Long-billed Curlews. Just as we were due to leave, I was fortunate enough to spot my life Clapper Rail at the edge of a channel.

This weekend sees me jetting up to Seattle, where I'll no doubt be attempting to string Northwestern Crow...

The Big Day

For those of you not in the know, the aim of a Big Day (or birdathon), is to see as many species of bird in a given geographical region (usually a county, but some UK nutters attempt the whole country!) as possible in a 24-hour period. Yesterday, Marcel Holyoak, Pete Armstrong, Joan Humphrey and I set out at 4am to see what we could rustle up in Yolo County. For those not interested in the gory details, we managed a respectable 143 (one species short of Kevin and Mary's effort in the previous week). Scroll down to the bottom of this entry and click on the 'read more' link for the full species list.

Early May seems to offer the best species diversity in Yolo County: most of the local breeding birds are on territory, spring migration should be in full swing, and you hope to pick up a few late lingering winter birds. We followed the well-known recipe of listening for night birds before dawn, working down from high chaparral in the extreme northwest of the county, through wooded valleys and along a creek, hitting the valley floor for breeders, migrants and waterbirds in the afternoon.

Our first sighting of the day was, appropriately, a Burrowing Owl on the outskirts of Davis (this bird is the enblem of the Yolo Audubon Society). In the pitch dark we successfully listened for Sora and Virginia Rail in the marsh at the end of Road 30, before driving halfway across the county to hear Lesser Nighthawk, Great Horned and Barn Owls near Esparto. By 5am we found ourselves racing against the ever brightening sky to get to the top of Rayhouse Road for Common Poorwill, which we just about got but at the cost of missing Western Screech Owl.

As the sun crept over the ridge, the special birds of the high chaparral came to life: Mountain Quail, California Thrasher, Lazuli Bunting, Rufous-crowned and my life Sage Sparrow were all added to the list. Davis Creek Reservoir made up for a total lack of ducks with a couple of surprise birds: an impressive adult Bald Eagle, and a flyover Phainopepla. A small selection of the expected migrants boosted the day list here. Our attempts at impersonating a Pygmy Owl failed to elicit a reply, but did draw in a selection of angry Oak Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatch, as well as the only Lark Sparrow of the day. Keen-eared Joan managed to hear a calling Pileated Woodpecker from a moving car, and we were treated to excellent flight views of this notoriously tricky-to-find species in Yolo.

Dawn over Rayhouse

At the base of Rayhouse, the territorial Canyon Wren gave us a quick burst of song. Working our way along Cache Creek, we struck gold at the Road 41 bridge with a smart summer-plumaged Spotted Sandpiper and a singing Yellow-breasted Chat (another highly irregular county bird). By 10am I had worked my way through 3 rounds of sandwiches and most of a big packet of vegetable chips - intense birding sure burns up those calories!

Road 78A didn't deliver the hoped-for Lawrence's Goldfinch, but compensated with sightings of Cooper's and Red-shouldered Hawk. Checking sewer ponds and flooded alfalfa fields yielded some more surprises: Great-tailed Grackle and an impressive kettle of 63 Swainson's Hawks! The noisy Tricolored Blackbird colony of Road 27 included an odd-looking male with a crossed bill. 3 late Bufflehead on Winters Sewage Ponds was our 100th species, quickly followed by Swainson's Thrush and Downy Woodpecker under a disused bridge over Putah Creek.

Having talked ourselves into driving up to Monticello Dam, we were rewarded with White-throated Swift, as well as 2 Western Grebes on the water below (presumably escaping the boating activity on Lake Berryessa just over the county line). Non-avian highlight was a River Otter playing in the waters below. The altitude and bright sunlight here did wonders for my 'birder's tan' (scarlet neck with white binocular strap mark)!

After refuelling the car (and myself with a much-needed ice cream), we set off towards Davis, taking in one of my regular haunts (Putah Creek picnic ground). Yesterday's territorial male Black-chinned Hummingbird was, thankfully, still around the tobacco tree, while we also ticked off Moorhen on the nearby ponds. We then had a minor panic attack over when the Vic Fazio wetlands were due to close, and raced over there for singing Savannah Sparrow and Horned Lark, White Pelican, White-faced Ibis and a couple of Lesser Scaup. As we were leaving the reserve a flyover American Bittern appeared in the nick of time. Back in Davis, Slide Hill Park held a single Wilson's Warbler, and Willowbank was disappointingly quiet, save for the ever-vocal Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Having been adding one or two new species at each site visited for the last few hours, things changed gear when we reached the City of Davis Wetlands. The place was teeming with interesting water birds, including Eared, Western and Clark's Grebe, Red-necked and Wilson's Phalarope (the latter was a lifer), and amazingly, 12 species of duck (lots of Redhead, a single Canvasback, Blue-winged Teal and Greater and Lesser Scaup being the most noteworthy). As the shadows grew longer, we devoted the rest of the day to searching fruitlessly for more waders in flooded fields. Silliest moment was the four of us standing on the roof of Marcel's car trying to peer into the locked Woodland Wastewater Pond looking for Black Tern - and we didn't even see one!

As the day drew to a close, we spotted our 143rd bird - a Vaux's Swift - and the same Burrowing Owl seen as we set out at 4am was there to greet us on our return to Davis. Our day list total of 143 is a good, but not exceptional, total for Yolo County. While the general lack of migrants and almost complete lack of shorebirds prevented us from reaching the 150's, we saw a large number of unexpected and excellent county birds. I also achieved my target of pushing my county list over 200. Many thanks to Marcel, Joan and Pete for sharing their excellent company and birding knowledge with me - looking forward to Big Day 2005!

My birding partners in crime: Pete, Joan and Marcel at the end of a long day!

Yolo County Big Day, 9th May 2004

Participants: Marcel Holyoak, Joan Humphrey, Pete Armstrong, Richard Hall
Hours birding: 4am-8:30 pm (16.5 hours)
Major sites/habitats visited: Rayhouse Road (chaparral, oak woodland, riparian, reservoir), Cache Creek, Putah Creek (riparian), assorted farmland and flooded fields, Davis (parkland, riparian), Vic Fazio Wildlife Area, City of Davis Wetlands (wetlands, lakes).
Total species recorded: 143

Species List
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
White-faced Ibis
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Shoveler
Gadwall
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Wild Turkey
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Mountain Quail
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
California Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Poorwill
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
N Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Wrentit
Northern Mockingbird
California Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Phainopepla
Loggerhead Shrike
European Starling
Cassin's Vireo
Hutton's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Sage Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Tricolored Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Big Day preparations

Much of today has been spent scouting birding areas around Davis in search of reliable birdy spots for tomorrow's Big Day. I started out around the UCD Arboretum, where I was pleasantly surprised to see 5 Green Herons, including 1 bird on a nest which had been abandoned earlier in the year due to strong winds.

I then biked out to Putah Creek to bird in the vicinity of the picnic area. Many of the birds I'd seen a couple of weeks ago are now paired and holding territories, including House Wren, Wilson's Warbler, Ash-throated Flycatcher and Western Bluebird (I parked my bike in the middle of their territory and the male decided that my handlebars made an excellent perch!). Migration was also evident, with many Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks and smaller numbers of Pac-slope Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, Warbling Vireo and Bullock's Oriole. A single male Black-chinned Hummingbird was in attendance at a tobacco bush in the picnic ground (note tongue in second picture).

Walking as far west as the road bridge revealed nesting Rough-winged and Cliff Swallows and White-throated Swifts (but no Purple Martins unfortunately).

Other fauna seen along the creek included this smart, blue-flecked Fence Lizard sp.:

I added Widow Skimmer and Emma's Dancer to my dragonfly list:

I also saw this clubtail sp. My field guide unfortunately doesn't give much coverage of clubtails (apparently there are 98 spp in North America), so any advice on the ID of this individual would be much appreciated. I like the way he appears to be smiling in the second photo!

After a brief stop for lunch, I birded my usual haunts of Willowbank Ditch and Slide Hill Park to see how birdy these places were in the afternoon. I completely struck out at Slide Hill (not even a Tanager!), but Willowbank was, as usual, excellent. Highlight was a showy singing male Hermit Warbler (v poor photo below), with a supporting cast of Western Tanager, Swainson's Thrush, Warbling Vireo, Black-headed Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole and the long-staying Red-breasted Nuthatch. If migration continues at this pace we should be in good shape for tomorrow!

Migration hotting up....

With just two days to go until my first 'big day', I was relieved to find that migration appears to be in full swing this morning. I recorded greater species diversity and larger numbers of birds at Willowbank than on any previous morning. This morning's totals are:
Acorn Woopecker - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Bullock's Oriole - 4 (first sighting of this species here)

Black-headed Grosbeak - 3 (ditto)

Pac-slope Flycatcher - 3 (numbers slightly down)
Townsend's Warbler - 3
Warbling Vireo - 6+
Yellow Warbler - 5
Wilson's Warbler -5
Swainson's Thrush - 6
Western Tanager - 10+
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Black-chinned Hummingbird - 1

I also saw this damselfly, which I believe is a Vivid Dancer judging by the black triangles on the abdomen. Having a digital camera makes ID-ing these things a whole lot easier!

Slide Hill was a bit quieter, with the usual Tanagers, 2 Wilson's Warblers and another 2 Black-headed Grosbeaks, including this nice adult male:

I also managed a couple more shots of the resident White-tailed Kites:

Today's selection

I've planned out a nice pre-work birding bike route around town, starting with the 'Sudwerks' bridge (where I unsuccessfully looked for breeding Purple Martin), on to Willowbank Ditch, then back over the freeway to Slide Hill Park. By the time I got to Willowbank, Roger Adamson had rediscovered the Red-breasted Nuthatch - perhaps this bird will summer! We also had lots of Pacific-slope Flycatchers, heard Cassin's Vireo and Western Tanager. There were at least 4 Swainson's Thrush in the area today.

Slide Hill continues to surprise. After an unpromising lap on my bike (seeing nothing but a Western Tanager), I locked onto a warbler which turned out to be a Townsend's. Shortly afterwards this bird was joined by a Wilson's and a Yellow Warbler, and this Warbling Vireo.

My parents head back to Britain today. Was rather amused when Dad showed up last night claiming to have photographed an owl on a university building, which turned out to be a plastic pigeon-scarer!

More migrants

After yesterday's success, I decided to re-visit Willowbank Ditch and Slide Hill Park. It always amazes me how migration brings a new set of birds each day. At Willowbank, I saw no warblers or vireos, but Pacific-slope Flycatchers seemed to be everywhere (I conservatively estimated 5 birds along the stretch behind Putah Creek Park).

Today's unusual flyovers were a Yellowlegs sp and a rather late Acorn Woodpecker. 3 Swainson's Thrushes were present, though I only saw one of these. Birding highlight was two Black-chinned Hummers - a county first for me. I wonder if these birds breed in the vicinity, as the male was acting pretty territorial (he certainly seemed to object to my presence).

I actually managed to see a dragonfly well enough to tentatively identify it. I suspect this is a teneral male Common Whitetail, as it has the body coloration of a female but lacks black in the wingtips - any comments welcomed!

Slide Hill Park was quiet save for a few Western Tanagers and a singing Wilson's Warbler. White-tailed Kites look set to nest in the vicinity. I managed to take some ok shots of this bird, although had the usual problem of white bird against bright sky resulting in overexposure!

Hermit Warbler!

I decided to take my lunch break in Slide Hill Park to see if the birding was any better later in the day. I was quickly rewarded with excellent looks at male Western Tanagers. I birded the roadside trees and the dog exercise area without finding any other migrants. I decided to check the pine trees immediately south of the tennis courts, and locked on to my life Hermit Warbler! Perseverence does pay off occasionally...

Cadillac birding!

This morning I birded around Davis with Joan Humphrey. Last Friday, while driving up to the local hotspot of Rayhouse Road, she was unfortunate enough to collide with a deer. Showing true birder's spirit, having limped back to Davis in the damaged car, she and Roger got into his car and drove back to Rayhouse! She's in temporary possession of her father's Cadillac, so this morning we birded in luxury!

First stop was North Davis Farms, where together with Steve Hampton we saw a bunch of Western Tanagers, heard a Pac-slope, and saw my first Yolo Yellow Warblers. We then headed across to Slide Hill Park, where we again saw nothing (having failed to see anything yesterday morning, I was slightly miffed to hear that Hammond's and Olive-sided Flycatchers were both present that afternoon!). We also drew a blank at Grasslands Park, but we did well at Willowbank Ditch, with single Cassin's and Warbling Vireos, two Lazuli Buntings, Pac-slope Flycatcher, my life Swainson's Thrush and, strangely, a Red-breasted Nuthatch (usually just sporadic wintering birds here).

Point Reyes 2nd May

The last long-haul sightseeing trip with my parents was to the legendary Point Reyes National Seashore. Our first stop was the lighthouse. The wind was very strong out here, and it was quite a struggle to make it up the headland! Our efforts were rewarded with close views of a mother and calf Gray Whale. Dad was pretty excited by this - I guess there's nothing quite like seeing your first whale! On the birding front, there were zillions of Common Murres and Surf Scoters on the sea. Passerines were in short supply (no migrants here), save for a few singing White-crowned and Song Sparrows.

It was just as windy over at Chimney Rocks, where we walked out to see the Elephant Seal pups from the recently-established colony. A testament to the power of digiscoping, note that the seals are just about visible on the near beach in the first picture below. A few more birds were out on the water, including a moulting Common Loon, many Surf Scoters, Western and Eared Grebes (in summer plumage).

We then took the long and winding drive up to the Tule Elk Preserve on the north of the peninsula, where we found a small herd feeding in fields carpeted with wildflowers.

Our last stop before heading home was the picnic area adjacent to the information centre at the reserve entrance. A few resident and migrant birds were visible here, including many Acorn Woodpeckers, Red-shouldered Hawk, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Allen's Hummingbird, Band-tailed Pigeon, Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers and Warbling Vireo. We also spotted a snake along the earthquake trail, which unfortunately slunk off into long grass before I could photograph it.

Monterey area, 1st May

After an overnight stop in Merced, we headed out to the Monterey Peninsula. Our first stop was the Aquarium - well worth a visit, but get there early! I was pleasantly surprised to find that Pigeon Guillemots and Pelagic Cormorants nest under the aquarium building, affording excellent views.

My first Brown Pelicans of the year also drifted past here, while wild Harbour Seals, Sealions and Sea Otters are also visible in the bay.

Having enjoyed the mesmerising jellyfish exhibit, we went to investigate the shorebird aviary. The highlight of this was a full summer-plumaged Red Phalarope (a plumage tick for me).

At lunchtime we opted for sun, sea and sand in the pretty town of Carmel. This cheeky ground squirrel took a shine to my mother and proceeded to share her lunch!

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at Point Lobos State Park, enjoying the views south to Big Sur. Several Sea Otters were visible here. The Brandt's Cormorants were panting in the heat, revealing a patch of glittering blue skin on the throat (something I've never seen before).
A lone Wandering Tattler in Whalers' Cove was a nice end to the day.

Yosemite, 30th April

Today the folks and I headed out to Yosemite - in a word, this place is STUNNING! Due to time constraints we visited only Tuolumne Grove (there's a handful of Giant Sequoias here) and Yosemite Valley. Tuolumne Grove was, mercifully, sheltered from the sun, and there was a fair amount of bird activity: I noted White-headed Woodpecker (lifer), Purple Finch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Dusky/Hammond's Flycatcher amongst the more abundant Oregon Juncos, Steller's Jay, Audubon's Warblers and Robins.

Apart from avoiding the worst of the crowds, another delight of visiting Yosemite Valley in April is to see the waterfalls, which are at their most spectacular as the snow melts. We stopped to lunch at Bridalveil Fall, where I had brief but close views of two American Dippers. Many White-throated (but sadly no Black) Swifts were in evidence here.

We walked the short trail to Mirror Lake to obtain panoramic views of the surrounding granite peaks. For the middle of the day this area was surprisingly birdy, with many singing Cassin's Vireos and Black-headed Grosbeaks, another Dusky/Hammond's Flycatcher (must get round to learning the call) and my first Yellow Warbler of the year.

On the drive out of the valley, we almost collided with this Coyote. I was surprised how big they are up close - in fact we convinced ourselves it was a wolf until we realised that wolves don't occur (and probably never have occurred) here!

North Davis birds, 3rd May

Have just returned from a long weekend's sightseeing with my parents - Yosemite, Monterey and Point Reyes over 3 days! Will be posting some pretty pics from these trips in the near future...

This morning I decided to bird Slide Hill Park, having heard that stupid numbers of warblers were being seen there over the weekend. I didn't see or hear a single warbler here! Since I was in the area, I popped over to Wildhorse Golf Course to look for nesting Burrowing Owls along the perimeter. Fortunately, the area has been mowed and I quickly found this photogenic pair:

Whilst looking unsuccessfully for Great-tailed Grackles, I spotted this intermediate morph Swainson's Hawk.

I ended up birding along the North Drain and bumped into Roger Adamson, who informed me that a pair of Lazuli Buntings were in the area. I managed to see only the female, surely a candidate for most boring bird on earth!

A pair of Blue Grosbeaks was also around, though the male yet again eluded my camera. I concentrated instead on the displaying Red-winged Blackbirds. These birds are common enough that most birders soon don't bother looking at them, although I think their display ranks up there with some of the Birds of Paradise!

On the migrant front I managed a Warbling Vireo, Wilson's Warbler and a flyover Western Tanager. A brief stop at North Pond on the way home revealed nothing remarkable, but this Green Heron was showing well: