California holiday - spring 2005

Welcome to my blog which I've set up to display photos taken on my recent holiday in California.

I've designed it with a page per day and in order for you to view it in chronological order I've added a link at the bottom of each page which will take you to the next day's page.

Whilst it wasn't technically a birding holiday as I was travelling with my wife who has no interest in birds, I was fortunate to be able to spend a considerable proportion of the time enjoying the birds and other wildlife.

Although most of the photos are of birds, there are quite a few general scenery shots as well as other wildlife. The diary text is concentrated on the birding though, so ignore this if you're not into birds!

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PS: If you can help me identify any of the flowers, lizards or insects, please let me know!

7th May - Flying away

Our last morning of what has been the best holiday ever. Before breakfast I had a couple of hours free which I spent along the valley north of Kernville in the hope of finding Black-chinned Sparrow and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, both species I had missed elsewhere. No new birds here though, but I did see my second Olive-sided Flycatcher, Canyon Wren, Golden-crowned Sparrow and a variety of other species.

We then headed to LA where I had hoped to have time to pop in to Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Unfortunately heavy congestion on the freeways prevented this, but this was the only time we encountered really heavy traffic all holiday.

We had just under an hour to spare by the time we reached the vacinity of the airport. We decided against paying a second visit to Marina del Rey and instead headed down to Palos Verdes peninsula in the hope of finding Spotted Dove, but with little time to look this mission failed.

So from a birding point of view an unsuccessful end to the holiday, but no complaints at all having seen a grand total of nearly 250 species of birds including no less than 175 lifers!

6th May - The last full day

Anna's Hummingbird, Kern Valley Preserve


Ash-throated Flychatcher, Kern Valley Preserve


Black Phoebe, Kern Valley Preserve


Black-chinned Hummingbird, Kern Valley Preserve


Black-chinned Hummingbird, Kern Valley Preserve


House Wren, Kern Valley Preserve


Northern Flicker, Kern Valley Preserve


Pine Siskin, Kern Valley Preserve


Tree Swallow, Kern Valley Preserve


White-breasted Nuthatch, Kern Valley Preserve


Tricolored Blackbird, Kern Valley Preserve


Tricolored Blackbird, Kern Valley Preserve


Turkey Vulture, Kern Valley Preserve


Bewick's Wren, Kelso Creek Road


Golden Eagle, Kelso Creek Road


Western Kingbird, Kelso Creek Road

Vitty was to stay in Kernville today to have a go at white water rafting while I spent the day birding – or at least that was the plan; we didn’t know then that the rafting had been cancelled. I started off at Kern River Preserve, having braved my way through the flooded entrance drive. Some of the trail was under flood water too, but I managed to get round and see a few birds.

One of my targets was Willow Flycatcher but I hadn’t realised it was a bit early for these. One had been reported the day before though, and I’m pretty sure I saw one, but not well enough to clinch it. I was quite pleased with myself for picking up a Brown-crested Flycatcher on call though, the second place I had seen this rather scarce species.

This place seemed to hold an impressive population of House Wren – not that they were particularly uncommon elsewhere but I saw far more here than anywhere else. There was also a good selection of warblers and a flock of 10 Western Tanagers.

Three species of woodpecker were seen: Ladder-backed, Hairy and Northern Flicker. I had found Hairy quite common in upland coniferous areas but hadn’t seen many in this sort of habitat. There seemed to be a bit of a passage of White-throated Swifts, with at least 40 passing through in the space of a few minutes.

By the centre there were feeders crammed full of Hummingbirds, busily coming and going – I reckon I saw 30 at once but there were probably far more than this in all. Most of these were Anna’s but there were also quite a few Black-chinned. The seed feeders held Pine Siskins and Lesser Goldfinches.

At the entrance there was a flock of 75+ Tricolored Blackbirds. Other interesting species included White-breasted Nuthatch and a Swainson’s Thrush.

Next I returned to Kelso Creek Road where I found Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Say’s Phoebe, Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting and a family of Canyon Wrens amongst other things. What may have been yesterday’s Golden Eagle showed again, giving even better views than before and landing on the deck in full view.

I then checked another spot along the Kern River, between the Preserve and Lake Isabella. Here I spent a long time trying to get views of what I thought was going to be my first Hermit Thrush. In the end it turned out to be just another Swainson’s, but the wait was worthwhile because it resulted in me finding my last lifer of the holiday. A couple of call notes sounded the alarm bells – I was pretty certain it was a species which I had spent quite a bit of time looking for at a few places during the previous couple of weeks but had now given up hope of seeing. Even though I could hear it there was little chance that I would see it though, but it was kind to me and on first look there it was, a magnificent Virginia Rail. Not rare, but a very welcome sight on what was looking like it would be the first day in nearly 3 weeks that I hadn’t seen a new bird.


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5th May - A rainy day

Green Heron, Bartlett Park


Western Wood-pewee, Bartlett Park


Western Wood-pewee, Bartlett Park

We headed off south in the rain early this morning arriving at Bartlett Park and Lake Success en route to Kernville. On the lake there were 42 Western Grebes but little else. The fields round the perimeter were a bit more interesting with 14 Tricolored Blackbirds, 3 Loggerhead Shrikes and the main target, 2 Rufous-crowned Sparrows. Bartlett Park was good, crawling with American Robins. Wildfowl included 5 Wood Ducks and another Goosander while the trees contained Nuttall’s Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. A Western Wood-pewee was a lifer, although I was to see 6 more the following day.

We planned to drive on up to Quaking Aspen Campground and then south over the pass to Kernville. A sign at the bottom of the mountain mentioned something about the road being closed in 26 miles but we took no notice and carried on. We arrived at Quaking Aspen after 25 of the slowest windiest miles ever and found the campground covered in snow (that didn’t matter – we weren’t planning on staying) and the road closed (a bit more of a problem).

It was bitterly cold and the rain turned into snow which started settling so we thought we’d best get down while we could. This was a shame as the campground was quite lively with the likes of Thick-billed Fox Sparrow and my first Hammond’s Flycatcher. On the way down we passed a flock of 12 Black-headed Grosbeaks.

Ending up back at Lake Success we paused at the car park overlooking the lake while we considered our next move. While I looked at the map Vitty picked up a small cloud of birds moving quickly over the lake. Through the rain I could see they were a tight flock of some 300 waders with 8-9 Bonaparte’s Gulls. Somewhat distant and in heavy rain, identification might not have been easy were it not for the fact that they all settled on the water momentarily – they were Red-necked Phalaropes! For the next 10-15 minutes they flew constantly and rapidly all around the lake never settling at all – an incredible sight.

We continued on to Kernville, going the long way round. A flock of 21 Mourning Doves was the only large flock of this species seen all trip, although small numbers were found virtually everywhere. At Lake Isabella, still in the rain, I picked up another flock of about 300 Red-necked Phalaropes behaving in exactly the same manner as the Lake Success birds, also initially picked up with 7-8 Bonaparte’s Gulls. I’m tempted to think they were the same birds, but if so I bet they took a more direct route!

A recky up Kelso Creek Road towards Butterbredt Canyon produced 11 Western Tanagers, 4 Cactus Wrens, Swainson’s Thrush, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, 30 California Quails and when the rain finally stopped, a superb Golden Eagle.


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4th May - Yosemite National Park

Chevron Meadow


Mountain Quail, Yosemite


Yosemite


Yosemite


Yosemite


Yosemite


Nashville Warbler, Yosemite


American Robin, Yosemite


Fox Sparrow, Yosemite


Red-breasted Sapsuckers, Yosemite


Yosemite


Vitty, Yosemite


Osprey, Bass Lake


Goosander (Common Merganser), Bass Lake


Bullock's Oriole, Bass Lake

A very early start at the snow-covered Chevron Meadow with a view to finding Great Grey Owls but I never really held out much hope as I couldn’t find them the night before. A Golden-crowned Kinglet was slightly more obliging but only for a split second – just long enough to tick it! Also around this meadow were Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch (5 heard today, not all seen), 5 Audubon’s (Yellow-rumped) Warblers, 5 Chipping Sparrows and some of the 12 American Robins seen today.

A few silhouetted birds seen briefly in flight looked interesting. A bit later one of a pair showed very slightly better and the wing pattern can only have belonged to a female Evening Grosbeak, which is what I had initially suspected. However, views were rubbish, and my conscience won’t allow me to count these. Heading back to the valley I found a couple of Townsend’s Solitaires but unfortunately seeing them involved craning my neck at an impossible angle while parked on a dangerous bend.

So far, all 3 new birds seen today had shown appallingly badly, but the next one was more co-operative. I could here 3 birds calling from different points across the hillside and I knew we were dealing with the same species I had heard near Idyllwild but hadn’t been able to put a name to. One of them was quite close and with a bit of stalking I managed to locate it. By now I had suspected what it was anyway, but when I reached it, it continued to call at close range and in full view, a splendid Mountain Quail.

The scenery in Yosemite must always be amazing but at this time of year the waterfalls are full and there’s loads of snow still laying – really spectacular! A walk up to one of them produced the first of 5 Nashville Warblers but I didn’t have the stamina to get very far so we headed back along the valley floor where we found 4 Tricolored Blackbirds and a dozen Black-headed Grosbeaks.

Neither the Tioga Pass road to the north nor the south rim road were open yet, being blocked by snow. However a random stop along the road heading south from the valley produced a wealth of birds including Nashville and Yellow Warblers, Thick-billed Fox Sparrow, 2 White-headed Woodpeckers and 3 Red-breasted Sapsuckers.

The road closures meant we had time to get to Bass Lake. Here we soon found an Osprey in its nest and where we parked to look at this the bushes were alive with Western Tanagers. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was calling and the lake held Clark’s Grebe and Goosander (Common Merganser). A second Osprey was found and eventually the target bird, a Bald Eagle, flew over the lake.


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3rd May - Crested Caracara!

Red-winged (Bicolored) Blackbird, Point Reyes


Crested Caracara, Point Reyes


Red-tailed Hawk, Point Reyes


Hairy Woodpecker, Yosemite


Yosemite

We were heading off to Yosemite today so the original plan was to set off very early. However getting out of bed was too great a struggle for Vitty so I nipped off down to Point Reyes for a last attempt at finding Grasshopper Sparrow. No luck there but there were now 4 Buffleheads and a group of waders along the way included a Lesser Yellowlegs.

On the way down to the point I stopped beside a large group of Ravens on roadside posts. I counted them, 1, 2,… 6, 7, hang on, that one’s a Crested Caracara! Sure enough this magnificent raptor was sat there right beside the road. Needless to say it flew a bit further off before I could get the camera ready, but at least it meant I got a good flight view. It continued to show despite the attention it was getting from the Ravens.

Now I’d been through all the likely species that I might see in California and this wasn’t one of them. A quick look in the guide (Sibley) confirmed that yes, it was a Crested Caracara and no, you don’t get them in California. An escape? A wild vagrant? They occur in southern Arizona and Mexico and from the map in Sibley it looked like they had turned up out of range to the north but not anywhere near here. There was no reason to think it wasn’t wild and it didn’t show any sign of captivity – I’d had a good look at its legs, no rings, no jesses etc.

Back at the cottage I tried to contact some local birders but to no avail. Problems with my mobile not working properly in America (despite buying one that would specially), payphones not accepting English credit cards and difficulty finding phone cards meant that I couldn’t get the news out until the following afternoon, and that was only leaving a message. Fortunately it hung around and I understand that a number of birders did manage to twitch it a few days later. Many thanks to one of them, Les Lieurance, for updating me with information about its status – apparently the species has only very recently been accepted on to the California list but there have been a few records in the state over the last couple of years.

This had delayed me somewhat so I returned in a hurry to Inverness to pick up Vitty and grab some breakfast. About 100 Double-crested Cormorants were in the channel opposite the cottage. We headed off to Sonoma and Napa Valleys, stopping off at Annadel State Park for a spot of birding.

Here I wasted time looking for an invisible vireo which I thought might just be Cassin’s, a species I never did find. It eventually appeared but was just a Warbling Vireo. I then wasted more time trying to get a look at an Empidonax flycatcher which eventually turned out just to be another Pacific-slope. After wasting even more time unsuccessfully trying to find the source of a singing warbler I finally saw something interesting. A very distinctive call had to be a Red-breasted Nuthatch and sure enough it soon appeared – a superb little bird. I had missed the only British record which wintered in my home county a few months before I moved there, so this was a bird I very much wanted to see.

We abandoned plans to visit some vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Valleys as we hadn’t room in our luggage to buy any wine and as I was driving I couldn’t drink any either. Better to push on to Yosemite before it got dark we thought. On the way an American Bittern flew up from a ditch beside the road at Bauldin Island.

At Yosemite we found another Red-breasted Nuthatch and a Brown Creeper but what were probably Pileated Woodpeckers calling unfortunately never showed.


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2nd May - Point Reyes

Peregrine, Point Reyes


Rock Wren, Point Reyes


Mule Deer, Point Reyes


Raven, Point Reyes


White-crowned Sparrow, Point Reyes


White-crowned Sparrow, Point Reyes


Savannah Sparrow, Point Reyes


Savannah Sparrow, Point Reyes


Great Northern Diver, Point Reyes


Surf Scoters, Point Reyes


Turkey Vulture, Point Reyes


Point Reyes


Point Reyes


flower (Iris?), Point Reyes


flower, Point Reyes


Marsh Wren, Kehoe Beach


flower, Kehoe Beach


thistle, Kehoe Beach


Olive-sided Flycatcher, Muddy Hollow


Allen's Hummingbird, Muddy Hollow


Gadwall, Muddy Hollow


Tree Swallow, Muddy Hollow


White-crowned Sparrow, Limantour Beach


Ruddy Duck, Limantour Beach


American Goldfinch, Limantour Beach


American Goldfinch, Limantour Beach


Common Yellowthroat, Limantour Beach


Gray Fox, Limantour Beach


Limantour Beach


Limantour Beach

I started off at Point Reyes Lighthouse in the hope of getting better views of Rhinoceros Auklet. This was not to be, but there were vast numbers of birds here including 1000 Guillemots (Common Murres), 120 Pacific and 4 Great Northern Divers (Pacific and Common Loons), 5 White-winged Scoters among 300 Surf Scoters, 25 Pigeon Guillemots, Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants and much more. A pair of Peregrines were present: I thought one was showing well until I turned round and noticed the other one sitting up right behind me and staring me in the face! A Rock Wren singing there provided nice views.

A stroll along to Fish Docks and Chimney Rock produced more of the same plus a colony of Elephant Seals. I then wasted a lot of time trying to see a whale off Chimney Rock but with no success. I caught it blowing a couple of times but never got a look at the beast itself. The blow was taller than the Gray Whales seen previously so I suspect it was a Humpback, but will never know for certain.

A Slavonian Grebe (or Horned Grebe if you’re local) at Fish Docks was the only one seen all trip and of 5 Glaucous-winged Gulls seen today an adult was the only mature bird seen all holiday. 100 Western Grebes were offshore from here and an Osprey flew over.

There were vast numbers of sparrows around the peninsula including 50 Savannah and 40 White-crowned (both mostly near the point) and 30 Song Sparrows (more spread about). There were also lots of American Goldfinches, at least 30 seen at several sites. About 40 Red-winged Blackbirds belonged to the local Californian race known as Bicolored Blackbird. The birds seen in the south of the state had been the ordinary form, although I had suspected some of the birds seen from the car on the way up were Bicolored too.

A small pond near the point held 3 Buffleheads and 4 Northern Harriers were in the area. Across the whole peninsula there were little groups of up to 12 Turkey Vultures all over the place – I reckon about 45 in all. There were also groups of California Quail everywhere, 32 birds in all.

Back at the cottage there were now 22 Dunlins feeding at the end of the pier and 20 Greater Scaup in the channel.

White House Pool failed to turn much up – but that could have been because we couldn’t find a pool there! So we went to Kehoe Beach instead where we enjoyed a pleasant walk to the beach. Along the way we were serenaded by Marsh Wrens and a male Allen’s Hummingbird was the first one to allow a more-or-less positive identification. On the beach a Long-billed Curlew was among 30 Hudsonian Whimbrels.

The footpath south to Muddy Hollow, round the other side of the peninsula, was blocked by floods, but the walk was productive. A Hutton’s Vireo and my first Olive-sided Flycatcher were both very vocal and another Allen’s Hummingbird provided excellent views. The hollow itself was reachable from the south at Limantour Beach and held 22 Gadwall and a couple of Ospreys overhead.

Limantour Beach turned up more Marsh Wrens and at dusk a fine Gray Fox came out to have a look – a very smart animal indeed.


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