A Brit abroad

Burrowing Owls and Purple Martin

After deciding that it was too windy in Winters to stand much chance of hearing the Pewee, I headed out along the stretch of 2nd Street which runs parallel to the railroad and I-80, east Davis. A fenced-off bare field in the middle of the industrial estate holds nesting Burrowing Owls, whose young have recently emerged from their hole. Here's a nice family portrait:

The two smaller babies never strayed far from the burrow:

One of the adults was significantly paler and 'washed-out' looking. This probably makes it the male, since they spend so much time on exposed perches during the day that the sun bleaches their feathers.

Here he is again, enjoying a scratch.

The other adult is much brighter, and is seen here vocalising.

On the way back from the owls, I thought I'd check the 'Sudwerks overpass' (where Pole Line Road crosses I-80) in case last year's Purple Martins had returned. To my surprise, I saw an adult female, apparently prospecting a nest hole (she flew up to it twice but never went in). This hole is in a different place from last year's nest, precariously located over a strip of grass between the railroad and westbound I-80. The Martin co-operatively posed on the adjacent telegraph wires as it stretched and preened.

Winters wonderland

On Saturday, top Yolo County lister Andy Engilis struck birding gold along Putah Creek near Winters, when he found a singing Eastern Wood-Pewee, plus an impressive supporting cast of rare breeders in the county (Yellow Warbler and Pacific-slope Flycatcher). On two successive visits with Joan, we've failed to relocate the Pewee, but we'll probably give it one more try before conceding defeat. The best bird we found was Hooded Oriole nesting in nearby fan palms, unfortunately the wrong side of the county boundary, but close enough that the birds presumably cross the creek with some regularity.

Even in the absence of the Pewee, this is a nice spot to watch the breeding birds in action. I caught this Black Phoebe enjoying its morning preen...

... while this Spotted Towhee had yet to clean its bill after its berry breakfast.

Other birds noted in the area included Orange-crowned warbler, Ash-throated Flycatcher feeding young, Belted Kingfisher and Black-headed Grosbeak. Nice patch!

Climbing Half Dome

At 4am, 8 intrepid adventurers set out from Davis to do the 17 mile, 12 hour hike to the top of Yosemite's Half Dome. After a few mishaps (wrong turn, losing two of our party to motion sickness, trying to find a parking spot in Yosemite Valley) we began our ascent at around 9:30. The first part of the trail was a fairly steep ascent past two spectacular waterfalls. The spray from Vernal Falls was very refreshing!

White-throated Swifts are abundant around the falls (no Black Swifts unfortunately), while the California Ground Squirrels and Steller's Jays are highly approachable and eager to steal your lunch!

Having cleared the falls, the next few hours were spent hiking steadily uphill through coniferous woodland. At this hour of the day, much of the wildlife was inactive, though we encountered a few Mule Deer and Chipmunk sp. Several high forest bird species were in song, including Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Nashville, Yellow-rumped and Hermit Warblers. As the trees began to thin out at around 8000ft elevation, I heard several Blue Grouse calling. In spite of hearing one almost directly overhead, I was unable to locate any birds - normally I would have invested more time looking, but today I had a mountain to climb!

We were all starting to feel a little tired by the time Half Dome came into view, and only 4 of us pressed on to attempt the summit. Reaching the summit of Half Dome involves a hair-raising climb along a metal cable - not recommended if you don't like heights!

Fortunately the thunderclouds looming over the nearby mountains didn't get any closer...

Here I am at the top of Half Dome with Liam. I felt the full weight of our eight year age difference as I watched him zoom up the cable ahead of me!

The exertion of climbing the Dome was rewarded with sublime views of the Yosemite Valley...

... and my first ever Yellow-bellied Marmot.

For me, the hardest part of the day was not the climb, but the knee-jarring descent down the steep steps at the base of the cable: two days have elapsed and I still flinch at the thought of stairs! After a well-earned break in which I consumed an obscene amount of food, we retraced our steps down the mountain. Greg headed out in front of us and had a close encounter with a young Black Bear - a species I have yet to come across. We stopped nearby to wash our aching feet in the refreshingly cold river:

We took a longer, but less strenuous route back to Yosemite Valley, and admired the granite bathed in the evening sunlight.

Due to our late start, we didn't make it down until after dark, and none of us were particularly looking forward to the prospect of the 4 hour drive back to Davis! Fortunately we remained in high spirits (with the help of Gatorade and a king-size Snickers bar), and I even saw my first shooting star. Thanks to Matt for organizing, and to Kim, Greg, Liam and Cinthia for great company - looking forward to next time!

The gang: Liam, Greg, me, Matt, Kim, Cinthia

Sunset over Yosemite

More babies!

The best thing about birding is the surprises that turn up on your doorstep. Was just walking back from lunch when I heard an unfamiliar mewing call, suggestive of a begging chick. I noticed a couple of people staring up towards the source of the noise: a newly-fledged Cooper's Hawk! It turns out that these birds have been nesting within spitting distance of where I work (my office even looks out in the right direction). I of course jumped straight on my bike to fetch my scope and camera. Many people approached me while photographing the birds - seems like everyone knew about this nest except me! We reckoned there were 3 chicks in total (2 seen, and 1 bird heard, presumably still in the nest). Although lighting was a bit difficult, I managed some pretty good shots of the birds. Here's chick 1...

... and here's chick 2. In the second photo you can actually see it scratching some of the downy feathers off of its head!

Thanks to the people that pointed out these birds - they made my afternoon!

Baby herons

As you may have noted, the frequency of my postings has been decreasing over the last couple of weeks, partly because bird activity has quietened down for the breeding season, but mostly because I've been snowed under with work (need to get the workload shifted in readiness for fall migration!). However, this morning I rode out to the UC Davis Arboretum to check up on the nesting herons. To my delight, the Green Herons whose nest was blown out by strong winds in March have successfully fledged 4 young. Here are a few photos:

I was particularly fond of this pair, who seemed to be joined at the hip!

A newly-fledged Black-crowned Night Heron was also feeding at the water's edge.

Over at the main rookery, the nestlings (which previously had been concealed in the dense foliage) were all sitting in the treetops, from a distance looking like a bizarre white blossom:

Snowy and Cattle Egret young were abundant...

... along with smaller numbers of Great Egrets.

Burrowing Owl chicks should be emerging from their nests in the next week, so hopefully more baby shots to follow.

Overnight on Rayhouse

On Saturday evening I joined Steve Hampton on a camping trip up Rayhouse Road. Our intention was to walk one of the wooded trails in search of noteworthy breeding species (most birders rarely stray from the road, leaving vast areas of excellent habitat unbirded). As we set up our tent at the start of the Fiske Creek Trail, we spotted a Pacific-slope Flycatcher (no confirmed breeding records in Yolo County in the last 30 years). In the adjacent trees we heard the begging calls of young birds, but frustratingly were unable to confirm that the Pac-slope was the parent. As dusk fell, we headed up to the high chaparral, where surprisingly we failed to find a single Poorwill. The night sky was pretty spectacular though. On the drive down we saw a Western Jumping Mouse, a bizarre long-tailed rodent which hopped kangaroo-like out of the road. I fell asleep to the sounds of a Western Screech-Owl and an unidentified mammal (fortunately not a Mountain Lion).

Next morning we got up bright and early to walk the Fiske Creek Trail. Highlights along this walk included another Pac-slope Flycatcher, many singing Black-headed Grosbeaks, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Hutton's Vireo feeding young, and excellent views of a pair of Lawrence's Goldfinch, apparently collecting nesting material. I only managed these blurry shots of the male, posted for the benefit of John who's never seen one. :-)

Heading back up to the chaparral we saw a family party of California Quail, 5 more Lawrence's Goldfinch (giving their characteristic flight call), had brief glimpses of a Sage Sparrow and a lone singing Rufous-crowned Sparrow - things get very quiet up here in the breeding season!

We stopped off at the Rumsey bridge over Cache Creek to listen (unsuccessfully) for last month's Yellow-breasted Chat, but we did hear Spotted Sandpiper and got a nice view of this showy male California Quail.

Our last foray into some great riparian habitat west of Guinda was fairly quiet (probably due to the time of day), but we had good views of an Orange-crowned Warbler feeding young, and Hutton's Vireos seemed to be everywhere!

Bogey bird banished!

Last Thursday, Marcel, John Williams and I left Davis at 5am to bird Rayhouse Road before work, the prime targets being sagebrush species for John, and the ever-elusive Mountain Quail for myself. The Coast Range often stops coastal fogs from entering the Central Valley, and the top of Rayhouse looked somewhat akin to a jagged coast at the edge of a sea of clouds - very pretty!

Some of the sagebrush birds were very co-operative and we managed good roadside views of California Thrasher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Sage Sparrows (including several young birds) and this singing Rufous-crowned Sparrow.

Unfortunately Lazuli Bunting eluded us (guess they must be on eggs). Things were looking pretty grim for Mountain Quail too, when on the way down one appeared at the roadside and stayed in view long enough for us to appreciate its exclamation mark-like topknot. Success at last! Presumably now the curse is broken I'll be running into these things all over the place...

Later in the day I dropped in to see the procession of this year's Ecology PhD graduands on the UC Davis campus.

The ceremony was presided over by my boss Alan Hastings, seen here looking resplendent in his full academic regalia:

Congrats to all the new PhD students (I've been there, I know what you went through!), with special mention to Heather, Alison, Evan, Chris and Kit - as you people say, way to go!

Return to the Sierras - Part 2

After a cosy night in a rather small tent, I was awoken at 4:30am by a loud American Robin. I spent the next 40 minutes or so trying (and failing) to leave my warm sleeping bag in order to search for Blue Grouse, but the 'quark!' call of a Mountain Quail quickly galvanised me into action. As usual, the quails managed to give me the slip (rapidly becoming my nemesis bird!), but my morning hike did reward me with fine views of a Common Nighthawk and this splendid sunrise over the Sierra Valley.

I returned to the campsite through a carpet of wildflowers (it's not too long since the last of the snow melted here).

My companions had not been lazy either - Alison had noted singing Hermit Warbler and calling Pygmy Owl from the campsite! The roadside area provides some excellent photographic opportunities - I couldn't resist taking a couple more shots of the male Black-backed Woodpecker attending the nest-hole.

Cassin's Finches and Evening Grosbeaks looked great bathed in the early morning light as they came down to grit.

In spite of walking several wooded trails, Blue Grouse eluded us, but we did find a Williamson's Sapsucker nest (seems to be a bumper year for this species, and for Evening Grosbeaks), a flyover Peregrine, singing Dusky and Hammond's Flycatchers and another White-headed Woodpecker. Mosquitoes aside, this has to be one of my favourite birding sites in the US!

On leaving Yuba Pass, we stopped off at Gold Lake (where California Gull was a surprise addition to the trip list), and drove back down 49 taking in the great views of the snow-capped Sierra Buttes. While I didn't manage any life birds on this trip, it was great to get second looks of some special birds in magnificent scenery. Oh, and the company was great too!

Return to the Sierras - Part 1

Having connected with most of my target life birds on last Saturday's trip to the Sierras, I was looking forward to second helpings this weekend on the Yolo Audubon Society trip. Our first two stops of the day were at roadside rests (at Gold Rush and Donner Summit). The former held a nice selection of lower elevation birds, including Black-headed Grosbeak, Lesser Goldfinch and a fly-by Band-tailed Pigeon. We failed to relocate last week's Pine Grosbeaks at the latter site, but caught up with the first of many Cassin's Finches, Mountain Chickadees and a probable Williamson's Sapsucker.

Donner State Park was our next port of call, where we bumped into this bizarre-looking critter - if you know what this is, please post a comment!

Steller's Jays, Warbling Vireos and Yellow-rumped Warblers were much in evidence here, and we also had great views of this male Western Tanager (would also have a great photo if there hadn't been so many pesky kids around!)

We spotted this Western Wood-Pewee at the nest...

... and this smart Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel.

Nearby, the Donner Picnic Area yielded more good looks at Green-tailed Towhees and the Pygmy Nuthatch nest.

New birds for me at this location included Mountain Quail (heard only) and White-headed Woodpecker.

After lunch we birded Perazzo Meadows and found Calliope Hummingbird and Willow Flycatcher in exactly the same spot as last week. A nearby site (whose name escapes me) produced some good trip birds, including Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hammond's Flycatcher and Belted Kingfisher, but pride of place has to go to two American Dippers. This juvenile was most obliging and allowed all of us a good look through the scope.

Skirting the edge of the Sierra Valley we picked up some good trip birds: Wilson's Phalarope, Willet, Sandhill Cranes, and this Savannah Sparrow with its beak crammed full of grubs.

Following a tip-off from Marcel, we birded the dry stream-bed along Mountain Quail Road, a site which has previously held Gray Flycatcher. At exactly the spot where Marcel had a bird two years ago, we spotted a grayish bird with bright wing-bars and a fairly prominent eye-ring. Just as we were beginning to convince ourselves we had found our quarry, the bird uttered a hoarse 'Pe-wee'! For the second time this year I had been bamboozled by a funny-looking Western Wood-Pewee!

Chapman's Saddle Road was a little quieter than last week, but we still managed good views of Nashville, Orange-crowned and Hermit Warblers, and Cassin's and Warbling Vireos.
I also managed to photograph this dragonfly, which I'm pretty sure is a Red-veined Meadowhawk:

At this point we said farewell to Mary, who was heading down to bird the Sierra Valley the following day, while Alison, Allan, Karen and I headed up to Yuba Pass to set up camp for the night. Birding around the campsite we picked up the nesting Black-backed Woodpeckers (chicks now coming to the mouth of the nest-hole), a few Evening Grosbeaks and Hammond's Flycatcher. Just before the light faded I managed to photograph (badly!) this banded male Hairy Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker.

After a tasty dinner of pasta, beer and cookies we left Allan to star-gaze while the rest of us took an early night in preparation for tomorrow...

More mud-walking and owling

Yesterday was a loooooong day. I got up before before 7 in readiness for a final trip out to Hayward's Shore (South Bay area), helping Christina and co. to survey and collect hybrid cordgrass seedlings. The site was surprisingly devoid of seedlings compared with earlier in the year (I only managed to locate 25 in my survey area compared with over 200 last month at nearby Robert's Landing). This may suggest that recruitment is limited not by reproductive output, but by a seedling's ability to endure the local environmental conditions. Since the majority of seeds produced are hybrids, and many hybrid clones have a greater tolerance to environmental extremes, things aren't looking so good for the native...

Within an hour of returning to Davis, I found myself back on the road with Marcel for an evening's owling mission along Mosquito Ridge Road, Placer County. In spite of a couple of obstacles (Marcel forgot his flashlight and I was not appropriately dressed for the temperature, which plunged down to 5 degrees an hour after sunset), we were successful in hearing 3 Saw-whet Owls, and managed a brief flight view of our target bird, Flammulated Owl. 3 Gray Foxes in the road were also nice, while some unidentified hoarse vocalisations may have emanated from a young Spotted Owl. After last night's thunderclouds, I should probably have got up to check for Eastern vagrants this morning, but having arrived home somewhat after 2am, that wasn't going to happen!

Local birding: martins, owls and aquatic mammals

Inspired by the number of eastern US vagrants on the California coast, Joan Humphrey and I headed out to Babel Slough and the Wood Duck ponds in eastern Yolo County, hoping for a Northern Parula. Needless to say we failed (in fact the only migrant we saw was a Western Tanager). However, this was more than compensated by good, prolonged views of a playful pair of River Otters, and this photogenic Green Heron, which was somehow managing to catch fish through a dense layer of algae.

Perhaps these turtles were relying on the algae to camouflage them from the hungry heron!

By 9:30 it was too hot to look for migrants, so we stopped off in West Sacramento for a try at Purple Martins. To our great surprise we were successful in locating several birds, feeding at lower elevations than expected. My county list now stands at 208 (and looks set to stay at this figure until fall migration).

At sunset, Joan, Roger, Grete and I headed back out along Putah Creek looking for Western Screech Owl babies.

While we didn't find any young, we did get great views of an adult. Amazingly, my attempts to digiscope the bird by flashlight were pretty successful!

This morning's outing to Putah Creek revealed a dearth of migrants, but I had good views of a Beaver pushing a log downstream. The small ponds opposite the creek held the usual Common Moorhens

and several noisy Bullfrogs.

Sierras clean-up!

Today I joined Marcel Holyoak and John Williams for a truly superb day's birding in the high Sierras. Our first stop was the Donner Summit rest area on I-80, where we quickly located singing Lincoln's Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler and Western Pewees. Our first piece of amazing luck was a close encounter with a male and two female Pine Grosbeaks (notoriously tricky to run into), shortly followed by my life Evening Grosbeak!

Further up the road, the Donner picnic area also had excellent birding, including my life Clark's Nutcracker,....

... Green-tailed Towhee,...

and Williamson's Sapsucker, along with calling Olive-sided Flycatcher and this Pygmy Nuthatch emerging from its nest in the Donner Tree.

Next stop was Perazzo Meadows, where this territorial male Calliope Hummingbird (another lifer) gave excellent views.

Up by the stream we found our target of Willow Flycatcher, plus a bonus life bird (Hairy Woodpecker), good views of 3 Ospreys and a flyover Spotted Sandpiper. Our route to Chapman's Saddle took us through a portion of the Sierra Valley, where several smart Wilson's Phalaropes were added to the trip list. Chapman's Saddle itself produced the goods, and we all had excellent close views of singing Cassin's Vireo, Nashville, Hermit and my life MacGillivray's Warbler. Other interesting wildlife noted here included this Snow Plant (a non-photosynthetic root parasite),

several Eight-spotted Skimmers

and this Snake Fly.

We took our lunch stop at Yuba Pass. Our amazing luck continued as another of our target birds, a female Black-backed Woodpecker, flew into trees adjacent to the car. In a walk through the woods and picnic area we notched up both Hammond's and Dusky Flycatcher, and had excellent views of a nesting male Williamson's Sapsucker. I also managed to locate (and photograph) the male Black-backed Woodpecker visiting his nest hole:

The roadside grit at this site attracts a wide variety of songbirds, which ingest the grit to grind up food in their gizzards. Visitors here included my life Cassin's Finch and Pine Siskin,...

... but pride of place had to go to this showy Evening Grosbeak. I like the way a Mountain Chickadee managed to sneak into the back of the second photo!

We rounded off our day with a drive around the Sierra Valley. Birds of note in the drier parts included Black-billed Magpie and Sage Thrasher, as well as fine views of singing Vesper Sparrow

and Brewer's Sparrow.

Waterbirds were also plentiful here: we noted several species of duck, hundreds of White-faced Ibis, Yellow-headed Blackbird and breeding-plumaged Willet.

Pride of place has to go to the handful of majestic Sandhill Cranes which breed in the area.

This was one of those rare days when everything went exactly to plan - I had great views of 11 life birds, pushed my US list over 400 and my California list comfortably into the 300s! Thanks to Marcel for his expertise and to John for his ace driving - I'm celebrating our success with red mole tamales and a well-earned beer!

Big Morongo/Salton Sea trip Day 4

Monday morning saw us heading back to Finney Lake in a fruitless search for Crissal Thrasher and Fulvous Whistling-Duck. We did, however, manage better views of Least Bittern and White Pelican.

A surprise find was this smart King Snake:

I also managed a record shot of a Roadrunner - not too bad considering it was digibinned from the back seat through the windshield!

Neither could I resist taking another photo of this roosting Lesser Nighthawk:

Our last birding stop of the trip was the Dos Palmas Oasis.

As well as another Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, a few migrants were in evidence including Willow Flycatcher, Pewee and a Warbling Vireo. A number of Blue Dashers were actively hawking flies around the oasis pools.

The journey back to the airport was broken up by a stop in Mecca for a delicious date shake....

.... while the flight home afforded panoramic views of the high Sierras.

In total, we encountered a minimum of 150 species, including my best ever views of several species. It turns out I only managed 3 life birds, a sure sign that I've been doing too much birding! Thanks to the whole team for making this a fun and memorable trip, but especially to Kevin for organising and being such a good birder (when I grow up I want to be like you!), and to my car-mates Alison (great driving!), Allan (great sketching!) and Mary (terrible puns!) for all the laughs and innuendo! Incidentally, if you like blogging, you'll love Allan and Alison's blog ('Feathers of hope'), a heady combination of birding, baseball, politics and calligraphy!

Team Morongo (L-R): Sid, Mel, Roger, Sami, Glen, Kevin, Alison, Mary, Karen, Sue, Allan.

Big Morongo/Salton Sea trip list

Species and Location first seen
Gadwall Ramer Lake
Mallard I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Cinnamon Teal Ramer Lake
Northern Shoveler End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Northern Pintail End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Redhead End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Ruddy Duck End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Ring-necked Pheasant Jct Eddins/Sperry Roads (Calipatria)
Gambel's Quail Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Pied-billed Grebe Ramer Lake
Eared Grebe End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Western Grebe End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Clark's Grebe End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
American White Pelican Finney Lake
Brown Pelican Garst Road
Double-crested Cormorant End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Anhinga Ramer Lake
American Bittern Verkel Road (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR)
Least Bittern Finney Lake
Great Blue Heron End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Great Egret End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Snowy Egret End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Cattle Egret Highway 86 (South End of Salton Sea)
Green Heron End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Black-crowned Night-Heron End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
White-faced Ibis Brawley
Turkey Vulture Ramer Lake
Osprey End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
White-tailed Kite I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Red-tailed Hawk I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
American Kestrel I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Prairie Falcon Highway 111 (Near Corvina Estates)
Clapper Rail (Yuma subspecies) Verkel Road (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR)
Virginia Rail Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Common Moorhen Ramer Lake
American Coot Ramer Lake
Black-bellied Plover End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
American Golden-Plover End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Snowy Plover End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Killdeer I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Black-necked Stilt End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
American Avocet Garst Road
Greater Yellowlegs End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Willet Garst Road
Spotted Sandpiper Garst Road
Long-billed Curlew Ramer Lake
Least Sandpiper End of Poe Road (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR)
Franklin's Gull Garst Road
Bonaparte's Gull Garst Road
Ring-billed Gull Garst Road
California Gull Garst Road
Herring Gull End of Poe Road (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR)
Yellow-footed Gull End of Poe Road (Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR)
Gull-billed Tern End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Caspian Tern End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Forster's Tern End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Black Tern Ramer Lake
Black Skimmer End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
Rock Pigeon I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Band-tailed Pigeon Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Eurasian Collared-Dove Salton City
White-winged Dove Coachella Valley Preserve/Thousand Palms Oasis
Mourning Dove I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Inca Dove Indio
Common Ground-Dove Indio
Ruddy Ground-Dove Jct Eddins/Sperry Roads (Calipatria)
Greater Roadrunner Ramer Lake
Great Horned Owl Coachella Valley Preserve/Thousand Palms Oasis
Burrowing Owl Highway 86 (South End of Salton Sea)
Lesser Nighthawk End of Johnson Street (Whitewater River Delta)
White-throated Swift I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Black-chinned Hummingbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Anna's Hummingbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Costa's Hummingbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Acorn Woodpecker Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Gila Woodpecker Cattle Call Park (Brawley)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Nuttall's Woodpecker Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Hairy Woodpecker Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Northern Flicker Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Western Wood-Pewee Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Willow Flycatcher Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Black Phoebe Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Say's Phoebe Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Vermilion Flycatcher Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Ash-throated Flycatcher Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Brown-crested Flycatcher Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Cassin's Kingbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Western Kingbird I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Loggerhead Shrike I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Gray Vireo Jct Highway 74/Santa Rosa Mountain Road
Warbling Vireo Dos Palmas Preserve
Steller's Jay Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Western Scrub-Jay I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
American Crow I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Common Raven I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Horned Lark Highway 86 (South End of Salton Sea)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Ramer Lake
Cliff Swallow I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Barn Swallow Ramer Lake
Mountain Chickadee Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Oak Titmouse Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Verdin Indio
Bushtit Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
White-breasted Nuthatch Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Pygmy Nuthatch Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Cactus Wren Indio
Rock Wren Santa Rosa Mountains (Highway 74)
Bewick's Wren Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
House Wren Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Marsh Wren Ramer Lake
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Wister Unit (Imperial State Wildlife Area)
Western Bluebird Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Swainson's Thrush Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
American Robin Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Wrentit Jct Highway 74/Santa Rosa Mountain Road
Northern Mockingbird I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
California Thrasher Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
European Starling I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Cedar Waxwing Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Phainopepla Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Orange-crowned Warbler Jct Highway 74/Santa Rosa Mountain Road
Yellow Warbler Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Common Yellowthroat Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Wilson's Warbler Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Yellow-breasted Chat Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Summer Tanager Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Western Tanager Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Spotted Towhee Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
California Towhee Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Abert's Towhee Brawley Inn (Brawley)
Black-chinned Sparrow Jct Highway 74/Santa Rosa Mountain Road
Black-throated Sparrow Santa Rosa Mountains (Highway 74)
Song Sparrow Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Black-headed Grosbeak Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Blue Grosbeak Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Red-winged Blackbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Tricolored Blackbird Hurkey Creek Campground (Highway 74)
Western Meadowlark Highway 111 (b/w Brawley and Calipatria)
Yellow-headed Blackbird Brawley Inn (Brawley)
Brewer's Blackbird I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Great-tailed Grackle Desert Shores
Bronzed Cowbird Cattle Call Park (Brawley)
Brown-headed Cowbird Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Hooded Oriole Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
Bullock's Oriole Palms to Pines Highway (Highway 74)
Scott's Oriole Santa Rosa Mountains (Highway 74)
House Finch I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)
Lesser Goldfinch Big Morongo Preserve (Morongo Valley)
House Sparrow I-10 (b/w Ontario and Indio)

Big Morongo/Salton Sea trip Day 3

This morning I got up early to bird the date grove close to the Brawley Inn. Unfortunately most of the dates have been ripped out in preparation for construction, but the site still held some interesting species, including Gila Woodpecker, Inca and White-winged Doves:

Sami continued her run of good bird finds with this roosting Great Horned Owl.

Here's a photo of today's mystery bird - the answer can be found by clicking on the 'read more' button at the end of this article (along with a few more pigeon photos).

Next stop was Ramer Lake, where the abundant Great-tailed Grackles were making a lot of noise.

Birds of note here included courting Western and Clark's Grebes, Redhead, Cinnamon Teal, Yellow-headed Blackbird, numerous Yellowthroats and the distinctive saltonis race of Song Sparrow:

Tantalisingly, Alison had a brief view of a snaky-necked, long-billed bird which was probably the summering Anhinga, but the bird disappeared without a trace.

Moving on to adjacent Finney Lake, keen-eyed Roger picked out at least two Least Bitterns in the reeds (we don't know how, most of us struggled to see them through the scope!). This Desert Spiny Lizard was eye-catching:

One of my personal highlights of the trip was getting amazing views of roosting Lesser Nighthawks in the parking lot.

By the time we reached the Wister Unit it was unpleasantly hot, but we did at least see Black-tailed Gnatcatcher in the same spot I saw them a couple of months back. While the bulk of the group braved Chinese food in Calipatria, 3 of us returned to the hotel for a modest lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and a much-needed 'power nap'.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to looking for Yellow-footed Gull at various Salton Sea sites including Red Hill, the Alamo River delta and Sonny Bono NWR. Good birds picked up along the way included Franklin's and Bonaparte's Gull, Brown Pelican, Black, Caspian, Forster's and the "Van Rossem's" race of Gull-billed Tern, Spotted Sandpiper and Willet. Burrowing Owls seemed to be sitting on every signpost, while Karen had a close encounter with two Roadrunners while popping behind a haystack! Alison's star find was a Yuma Clapper Rail crossing the road between two reedbeds in the middle of the afternoon!

After dissatisfying looks at distant dark-backed gulls through strong heat shimmer (or was it a mirage?), we finally hit the gull jackpot and had good views of at least 3 Yellow-footed Gulls. Here's one displaying its enormous yellow feet.

A closer group of gulls included this nice adult...

... and this subadult bird, presumably moulting out of its second-winter plumage (note all dark wingtips and black markings on the bill).

While the rest of the party returned to the hotel for a siesta, Alison, Allan, Mary and I headed over to Cattle Call Park and almost immediately found our target bird - a fine male Bronzed Cowbird:

Unfortunately when the rest of the group returned, we were unable to relocate the cowbird, but this was compensated by fine views of Gila Woodpecker and these fledgling Great-tailed Grackles.

Our last birding stop of the day was to witness thousands of Cattle Egrets and White-faced Ibis coming to roost at Ramer Lake. The sight of the birds bathed in orange light as the sun set behind the mountains was an amazing spectacle.

Mystery bird - it's an Abert's Towhee!

In my quest to photograph all 7 pigeon species seen on the trip, here's a photo of everyone's, erm, favourite, the lowly Feral Pigeon:

Here's a backlit Mourning Dove...

... and last but not least, a couple of Inca Doves (more interesting than this picture suggests).

Big Morongo/Salton Sea trip Day 2

Saturday 29th May 2004

Early morning birding around the motel in Indio produced much the same species as yesterday, but this Common Ground-Dove was particularly obliging:

Much of the day was spent birding the Palms to Pines highway. Our first stop in lower elevation desert afforded pleasing views of Rock Wrens, White-throated Swifts and Black-throated Sparrows, and brief views of singing Scott's Oriole. The rock formations and vistas were pretty impressive too.

As desert gave way to scrub and woodland, the species assembly changed and a number of new trip birds were seen, including Bullock's Oriole, Wrentit, Orange-crowned Warbler and Black-headed Grosbeak. We stopped at a site where Sid had seen Gray Vireo 27 years ago. My scepticism was replaced with astonishment as a pair of vireos gave the whole group prolonged views, singing metres from where we stood - definitely a high point of the trip. The same location had singing Black-chinned Sparrow, but as on my previous trip the birds were too shy to show themselves.

At higher elevations still we ran into Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller's Jay and Acorn Woodpecker. A visit to Jackson's Pines provided some excellent birds, but was not without controversy - a hawk that looked more like Swainson's than Red-tailed (long-winged, bright yellow cere) but in completely the wrong habitat, and this flycatcher sp:

Given its bold streaking, white behind the wings (albeit not very extensive) and its prominent perch on bare branches at the top of a pine, I was happy to call it Olive-sided. However, two birders with much more experience than me have commented that the vest shape and general proportions of the bird were wrong for this species, and that it's most likely to be a well-marked Western Pewee. If anything, this interesting bird highlights the importance of keeping an open mind if the bird in question doesn't look exactly like the plate in Sibley!

Much less controversial, but just as surprising, was the presence of several Tricolored Blackbirds in the campground pines, coming to feeders! These birds were presumably from nearby Hemet Lake.

Other notable birds here included a Western Bluebird family, Mountain Chickadee, heard only Northern Flicker and Hairy Woodpecker (the latter would have been a lifer!), and a rare opportunity to see perched Band-tailed Pigeons.

After a tasty lunch (my dream burger served with avocado, bacon, cheddar, onion, mushrooms, tomato and jalapeno peppers - yum!), we headed down to the west end of the Salton Sea to bird at Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach and Salton City. My first impression of these sites was hot, smelly and virtually birdless! While species diversity was fairly low, we did get some good looks at nesting Stilts and Snowy Plovers, including this smart adult.

Probably of more interest to my American companions was the presence of a few Eurasian Collared Doves (come to England - they're a trash bird!).

After checking in to our more luxurious accommodation in Brawley, we set off to our last stop for the day - a stake-out site for Ruddy Ground-Dove at a pigsty on the outskirts of Calipatria. One bird showed well with a supporting cast of Inca Dove and numerous Great-tailed Grackles. He was a little camera-shy, but this shot shows a nice size comparison with the female grackle.

Big Morongo/Salton Sea trip Day 1

Friday 28th May 2004

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to join 11 intrepid birders on the Yolo Audubon Society trip to southern California, ably led by Kevin Guse. Fuelled by some excellent Mexican food from the night before, the birding kicked off in the parking lot of our motel in Indio - by 6am we had recorded Cactus Wren, a young Verdin, Common Ground-Doves and an Inca Dove!

Our first stop was Big Morongo Preserve, where parking lot birding was again fruitful - the highlight was a fine male Summer Tanager. This male, seen later in the day, was perhaps the same bird. Until I saw this photo, I hadn't noticed that the bird was banded!

Walking the trails soon produced my first life bird of the trip - Brown-crested Flycatcher - in several brief but close views the large bill size was obvious, while the call was noticeably different from Ash-throated (which was also present). Willow Flycatchers were also in abundance. One of the trip highlights was this obliging Yellow-breasted Chat, allowing everyone in the group good views as he sang almost continually from an exposed perch.

The remainder of the walk yielded glimpses of nesting Hooded Orioles, some fine male Blue Grosbeaks, a female Vermilion Flycatcher, calling Virginia Rail and several interesting lizards. This Costa's Hummingbird was particularly obliging:

As the day began to heat up, we took some time out to watch the hummingbird feeders adjacent to the parking lot. In addition to 3 hummingbird spp, the feeders also attracted this Ladder-backed Woodpecker and male Hooded Oriole.

Next stop was nearby Covington Park. As on my last trip, this spot was very birdy, with numerous Phainopeplas, Western Tanager, a single California Thrasher and 7 Flycatcher spp including Brown-Crested, Vermilion and this Cassin's Kingbird.

With temperatures soaring in the desert, we did what any sensible person would and visited the 1000 Palms Oasis.

Two Coyotes, a Gambel's Quail with chicks and White-winged Doves were among the few organisms brave enough to be out in the midday heat. This Raven opted to rest up in the palms...

... while Alison chose a much cooler spot for her siesta...

... and the heat didn't deter these Vivid Dancers from doing what comes naturally!

We all returned to the motel for a much-needed rest, and headed back out in the evening to the Whitewater River delta at the north end of the Salton Sea. Having driven through a sandstorm to reach the site, we were pleased to see find it teeming with birds. Highlights included good in-flight views of Black Skimmers, Lesser Nighthawk, Forster's and Caspian Terns and the only Pintail and Black-bellied Plover of the trip. As the light was failing, I had two US ticks - a Snowy Plover and a smart summer-plumaged American Golden Plover. The day's successes were celebrated with cookies and another fine Mexican dinner.