A Brit abroad

Mendocino Harlequins and Laysan at last!

On Friday I set out on my final (for now) birding trip with Marcel and Joan, where we headed for the Mendocino coast. The weather was incredibly nice for this time of year, with excellent visibility all along the coastline.

Our first target was Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, in search of Harlequins. We were rewarded by a flock of at least a dozen birds, mostly exquisite drakes.

The lighting wasn't exactly ideal, so most of my photos were on the grainy side - here are the best I managed through the scope.

Also just offshore were 5 Northern Fur Seals. Prior to this I had only encountered singletons far offshore on pelagics.

After a brief stop at Van Damme State Park where I dipped Gray Jay again, we headed to Point Arena Cove in search of the Laysan Albatross which has been wintering at this site for the previous decade. Happily, the bird was present and we had great views of it sitting on the water.

The bird was not particularly active, and we never got to see it fly, although it did engage in a few bouts of wing-stretching.

The angular shape and pattern of the face give the bird a very distinctive profile. This was my 569th life bird for the US, and unfortunately probably the last before my imminent departure.

Sunday marked the Putah Creek Christmas Bird Count, and the weather couldn't have been any worse, with persistent wind and heavy rain throughout!

A 3am start for 2.5 hours of owling failed to produce a single hoot, and many species counts during the day were at an all-time low. Still, I enjoyed getting to see some new parts of Yolo with Brent, Carlos, Ona and Mary.

We headed back to Davis soaked to the skin, but a break in the weather rallied our spirits and we decided to look for the Ovenbird. Luck was on our side, and within minutes we were enjoying crippling views of the bird (a lifer for all my birding companions), along with the added bonus of a very confiding Golden-crowned Kinglet. That evening at the compilation potluck, I was presented with a book signed by many of the birders who I have been privileged to bird with over the last two years - I'm going to miss you guys!

Posted by rjhall at December 20, 2005 3:50 AM