California weekend - Dream Yr Update
GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Wed, 25 Nov 1998 07:37:42 -0500
Howdy All!
Sorry for lateness of this report, but I've been slammed at
work. I'm excited about going to Florida this weekend. I just
wish it wasn't Thanksgiving. Well, I can sacrifice ONE
Thanksgiving to go birding. Ok. Go ahead. Twist my arm. <grin>
Although I added nothing new this weekend, the warm weather,
good birding, and friendly birders made for a relaxing and
pleasant combination.
Thursday, Nov 19
------
I got up at 4:00am to pack and make the nearly 2 hr drive to
Baltimore to catch the 7:30am flight to Oakland. I had only one
stop in Kansas City, but it's always a long flight across the
country. I spent time reading a seabirds book and planning the
last few weeks of the year. Sporadic reports of a Rufous-capped
Warbler in Arizona had sparked my interest. I optimistically
imagined being able to whiz down to Arizona in a day and look for
the warbler...maybe.
I drove my minivan (that's all that was available) up to
Bodega Bay, CA, arriving mid afternoon in the Pacific Time Zone.
Without a meal in the past 12 hours of travel, I was feeling
pretty weak and tired. I got a room for the night and ate a late
lunch. With only an hour of daylight remaining, I decided to
bird the area. This Marylander was happy to see Western,
Clark's, and Eared Grebes, flocks of Marbled Godwits, Black
Turnstones, Glaucous-winged, Western, and Mew Gulls, White and
Brown Pelicans, Bushtits, and California Towhee.
With waning light I watched one flock of godwits take off.
Wait! One of the birds had broad white wing stripes and a black
and white tail! I felt my heart race and a quick rush of
adrenaline surge. Was this a BLACK-TAILED GODWIT? It's amazing
what a lack of light and sleep can do for one's imagination--it
was just a Willet. <grin--insert some humble pie here>
Friday, Nov 20
------
I was at the dock by 6:30am. It's not hard to get up early
when your body still feels like it's still in the Eastern Time
Zone. Finally at 7:30am we all assembled and boarded the boat
for the Shearwater Journeys pelagic trip out to Cordell Banks. I
counted myself privileged to be on a boat full of Debra
Shearwater's leaders who were celebrating a good year with a
relaxing pelagic trip. Fortunately for all of us, the weather
was very cooperative, inspite of the big frontal system to our
North.
The birding was great, too. Not far out, one of the leaders
picked out a Short-tailed Shearwater. The bird came in close and
we all got liesurely views of this bird right in the wake of the
boat in the company of Sooty Shearwaters. It was a great
comparison as we watched the effects of lighting on the two
hard-to-separate species.
A basic-plumaged Tufted Puffin was a real treat for me. It
was sitting on the water and did not dive or fly away as we
motored in close for some spectacular views. A small flock of
about 30 Buller's Shearwaters is always a great sight as was a
passing Pomarine Jaeger.
By this time, many shearwaters were passing the boat--Sooty
and Pink-footed being quite numerous. Several Common Murres and
Rhinocerus Auklets were also present. A group of leaders were at
the front of the boat conversing. Someone looked and commented
without emotion, "Albatross" and then pointed rather
unenthusiastically at a Black-footed Albatross. Another leader
seeing the bird picked up on the humor of the moment and in a
boring, monotonous, and ho-hum manner said, "Oh. Just an
albatross". Everybody broke into laughter. Normally, there are
enough people new to West Coast pelagics that the sighting of an
albatross--ANY albatross--elicits an excited, enthusiastic cry of
"ALBATROSS!!!". When this happens, one must exercise great
caution so as not to get trampled in the ensuing clamor to that
end of the boat!
A little time later, though, "ALBATROSS--LAYSAN
ALBATROSS!!", was emitted with appropriate energy. For some, it
had been quite a while since they'd seen a Laysan Albatross.
Incredibly, we saw a total of 4-6 individuals on the day. What a
treat!
The waters were very calm and the sky was partly sunny. The
warm wind blew in our faces, even though the water was cool.
Ahhh. Peaceful. And the smooth waters were covered with
Cassin's Auklets. As our boat cruised through the flocks of
these little chubby alcids, they would flap their wings wildly,
barely getting off the water. Some of the more well fed birds
actually "skipped" several times along the water surface--like
skipping a stone--only this was "cute". This, along with the
bird's tiny size and rounded belly, webbed feet dangling behind
them at awkwardly wide angles, immediately earned Cassin's
Auklets official cute bird status (the founders of the official
cute bird list were on the boat). <grin>
We gawked at another Tufted Puffin on the return trip to the
harbor. We stopped a couple miles from shore to do some crabbing
as some had purchased licenses. The rest of us chummed for gulls
and watched the mix intently. Of special interest to me was the
presence of a third year Thayer's Gull which came in for close
views. Too cool. Ten species of gull were reported on the day,
but I missed seeing the Bonaparte's. Gull species included
Western, California, Glaucous-winged, Thayer's, Herring, Mew,
Ring-billed, Heerman's, and Black-legged Kittiwake. Near the end
of our trip, we also found two Marbled Murrelets (yes, these were
also "cute" birds). Pulling into harbor with waning light, we
spotted an Oldsquaw (a California state bird for me) and a
Peregrine Falcan flew over the boat. What a way to end a great
trip!
On shore, I called the Tucson RBA and also Stuart Healy to
check on the status of the Rufous-capped Warbler. Unfortunately,
it had not been reported since Tuesday, November 17, so I decided
to stay in California for a relaxing day of birding. Some of us
met for dinner at Breaker's Cafe and yakked about birds and
birding. After dinner, I headed down to Hollister for the
evening.
Saturday, Nov 21
------
I met Debra Shearwater, Al DeMartini, and Bert McKee to go
birding in San Benito County and surrounding areas. It was warm
and sunny as we headed out into open country. Our first target
was a reported Chestnut-collared Longspur. Yellow-billed Magpies
flew across the road in front of us. We stopped for two
Ferruginous Hawks along the way. What stately birds! We finally
found a flock of Horned Larks, but they were quite distant and we
didn't take the time to wait for them to get closer. There was a
splendidly blue Mountain Bluebird at close range which we all
relished through a scope. A Golden Eagle soared above us
effortlessly on the warm thermals. The bird du jour for me
though was a dark phase Ferruginous Hawk (a life morph for me)
sitting at close range, sunning itself on a fence post. What a
regal bird! The slate gray head and shoulders faded into a deep
chestnut breast and belly. The back was an even richer color of
dark rust. Truly, an incredibly handsome bird! This bird gave
me all the thrill of a lifer!
We all enjoyed our day out, birding until after dark. We
even had a couple Great Horned Owls on telephone poles on the way
back to Hollister. Bert and I discussed "cute" birds. Was
Rhinocerus Auklet cute? I cast my vote not to include it. "Too
big and it has a goofy look--the bill doesn't cut it", I said.
Bert agreed. We'll wait for the cute bird committee ruling...
<grin>
Sunday, Nov 22
------
Debra, Al, and Bert departed for a Monterey pelagic. I
headed north toward Oakland. I made a 1 1/2 hr pitstop at Ed
Levin County Park on the way. Up in the group area, I found
Yellow-billed Magpies, a Red-breasted Sapsucker, Steller's Jay,
Western Scrub-Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Western Bluebird,
and Golden-crowned Sparrows among the many White-crowned Sparrows
(both Gambelli and Nuttalli). When I got out of my minivan at
Sandy Wool Lake, I heard the distinctive, sharply descending
whistle "wheeeyoo" of a Eurasian Widgeon. I walked around the
perimeter of the lake, but was unable to turn up the bird. Was I
dreaming? Maybe. <grin> Also of note was the song of a
White-throated Sparrow at the west end of the lake. Again, I was
unable to find the bird among the many "Oregon" Juncos and
White-crowned Sparrows. There *was* a Mockingbird in the area,
but I did not stay long enough to find out if it was the culprit.
I headed back to the airport and flew back to Baltimore. I
arrived home around 1:00am and had to check my email. You
know--I was afraid I missed something while I was gone. Silly
me. The Rufous-capped Warbler was seen again in Arizona. <sigh>
Maybe I'll get lucky and see my target birds in Florida quickly
and be able to zip over to Arizona on my way back to work.
<daydreaming>
-Greg Miller
Lusby, MD
home) gregorym@erols.com
work) gregory.b.miller@bge.com