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1 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Participants: Richard Bonser, Lee Gregory and Josh Jones
Introduction
It was with great excitement that we booked flights to California back in November 2012 – the tripwas to be my first to the States. The primary aim of the trip was to study the confusing populations
of gulls that winter in the state (notably Thayer’s Gulls and hybrids) although each of us had our own
individual targets and, having not visited previously, I was simply happy to see a multitude of new
bird species as well as a few mammals along the way.
In contrast, both Rich and Lee had visited North America on a number of previous occasions. This
experience was particularly useful to me and allowed me to familiarize myself with new species
much more quickly. Our general plan was to stick relatively near to San Francisco, heading both
north of the city, inland, and south to Monterey during the week. Though a few images from the trip
are displayed below, plenty more can be found on Josh’s Blog or Rotherhithe & Beyond.
Logistics
We flew from London Heathrow to San Francisco with British Airways for a little over £600. Our
outbound flight left Heathrow late morning on 16th arriving mid-afternoon, while the return journey
left SFO on the evening of 23rd, arriving back to LHR mid-afternoon on Sunday 24th. In contrast to
the usual Ryanair carve-up, flying with British Airway proved a delight, and Rich and I even landed a
free upgrade to ‘World Traveller Plus’ on the outbound flight – this essentially meant bigger, comfier
reclining seats with a three-course dinner and ample amounts of alcohol!
Northern California, 16th-24th February 2013
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2 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Knowing well the ludicrous size of most American vehicles, Rich had booked a medium-sized car that
proved to be some sort of Chrysler saloon, providing the three of us with more than enough room
for our bags, optics and photo gear. Petrol was very cheap in by UK standards, and we were able to
fill up our car for really very little. Once one gets used to the freeway system, driving in America is
really simple and, weekends aside, we found that even the coastal routes were reasonably quiet –
no doubt testament to it being ‘low season’.
As our trip incorporated a flexible schedule, we sought accommodation each evening as and when it
was required. We generally opted for cheap and cheerful motels, with prices ranging from $60-110
per night for the three of us – some included breakfast, some did not. The only place we stayed
more than one night was Monterey, where we stayed in America’s Best Value Inn on Munras Avenue
and were made to feel most welcome by the ex-London resident proprietor.
Resources & Acknowledgements
Though it is a little old now, Falcon Guides’ Birds of Northern California by John Kemper was integral
to our visit, providing us with directions and also giving us a general idea of what species to expect at
each site. Prior to our trip, our genning had included regular scrutiny of both CALBIRDS
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CALBIRDS/ ) and the particularly useful North Bay Birders
(http://birding.aba.org/maillist/CA09) mailing lists, while the excellent Birder’s Dashboard
(http://birdingwashington.info/dashboard/) also gave us up-to-date sightings from many of the sites
visited on our trip. Rich brought along his roadmap of California which proved ample for our trip in
conjunction with gen, although we did use GPS to locate some of the less well-known specific sites
we needed (e.g. Mountain Plover fields).
Itinerary
A brief day-by-day account of our week-long trip can be found below.
Saturday 16th February morning flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco, arriving mid-
afternoon local time. Late afternoon birding at Venice Beach before driving north. Overnight in
Cloverdale.
Sunday 17th February pre-dawn drive north to Point Arena, where first few hours of day spent. Mid-
morning onwards spent driving south along Route 1, birding at Gualala, Jenner and Salmon Creek
along the way. Late afternoon and evening spent at Bodega Bay/Head. Overnight in Santa Rosa.
Monday 18th February morning spent birding in the Bodega Bay/Head area and at Salmon Creek
before driving southwest to Petaluma for an afternoon of gulling at Lucchiesi Park before finishing
the day at Shollenberger Park. Evening drive east to Dixon, where the night was spent.
Tuesday 19th February early morning birding along Robinson Road before driving south to Merced.
Birding in the Merced NWR area throughout the afternoon. Evening drive to north to Livermore.
Overnight in Livermore.
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3 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Wednesday 20th February early start at Lake Del Valle before birding along Mines Road throughout
the morning. Drive over mountains west to San Jose, where the early afternoon was spent gulling at
Hidden Lake Park. Afternoon drive south to Big Sur for California Condors, before returning north to
Monterey for the evening. Overnight in Monterey.
Thursday 21st February early morning birding around Monterey harbour before taking a whalewatching trip out in to the bay. Afternoon and evening birding at sites around Monterey. Overnight
in Monterey.
Friday 22nd February morning spent birding at Laguna Grande Park and Moss Landing before driving
north to Hidden Park Lake, Milpitas for early afternoon. Late afternoon and evening spent at Venice
Beach and Pillar Point. Overnight just south of San Francisco.
Saturday 23rd February relaxing day spent around San Francisco, with morning birding Golden Gate
Park then at Fort Mason. Returned to the airport late afternoon for evening flight back to London.
DAILY DIARY
16th February
Following a very pleasant 10.5-hour flight on which Rich and I had enjoyed a free upgrade that
included a three-course dinner and what seemed like acres of personal space, we arrived at San
Francisco airport mid-afternoon local time. After battling through customs, our first birds were seen
en-route to the car rental depot: the ubiquitous Brewer’s Blackbirds and a handful of overflying
Western Gulls.
Despite some slow-moving traffic on the approach to Half Moon Bay, we reached Venice Beach
within 45 minutes or so of leaving the airport. Roadside birds had included Brown-headed Cowbirds,
Starlings, House Finches and a couple of Anna’s Hummingbirds while White-crowned Sparrow,
Northern Mockingbird and Oregon Junco were all seen around Venice Beach car park. But, despite
the passerine activity, the three of us had our minds focussed on one thing only – the gulls loafing
near the river mouth along the beach. In an instant, confusion reigned as a bewildering array of
Glaucous-winged, Western, California and American Herring Gulls resided alongside plenty of
hybrids of varying flavour. Among the mess we located a handful of Thayer’s Gulls and, making the
most of the golden evening light, we happily began snapping away until the majority of birds had
cruised off north, presumably to roost.
Most content with our introduction to Californian gulling, the decision was made to head as far
north as we could in order to be relatively near to tomorrow’s target destination of Point Arena.
After scoring the first of many Mcdonald’s near San Jose, we eventually found a reasonable motel in
Cloverdale and crashed out for a well-earned rest.
17th February
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4 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
A pre-dawn start saw us on the (extremely bendy!) road northwest to Point Arena, with the Grey
Fox seen in the headlights being a new mammal for each of us. Arriving at Point Arena as the day
dawned, we quickly set out to the end of the pier to look for ‘Al’, the semi -resident Laysan Albatross
that can be found here with regularity in winter. Unfortunately, Al has been rather more
unpredictable this winter than those previous and, despite spending a couple of hours in the bay, we
could not locate him. Some consolation was provided by a handful of Surf Scoters, Buffleheads,
Black-necked, Slavonian and Western Grebes, a few fly-by Pacific Divers, a party of Black
Oystercatchers on the rocks and three species of cormorant offshore: Brandt’s, Pelagic and Double-
crested.
We found the valley just inland of the pier to be excellent for passerines, with the highlight
undoubtedly a pair of Varied Thrushes (including a stunning male) – these proved to be our only
individuals of the trip! Yellow-rumped/Audubon’s Warblers were absolutely everywhere, while
other common species included Black Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Song and White-crowned Sparrows, American Robin, and Turkey
Vulture. Rich picked up a Sooty Fox Sparrow and Lee had a flock of Red Crossbills fly over while a
few delightful Townsend’s Warblers busied themselves in the thickets and an American Kestrel
patrolled the ridge.
After a quick bagel and coffee in the harbour café, we decided to head southwards. A chance stop by
a stream and some likely-looking fields just inland of Point Arena provided us with my only Cedar
Waxwing of the trip, several crazy-looking California Quails charging around, a couple of Pygmy
Nuthatches, my first Northern Flicker, Townsend’s Warblers and dozens more American Robins in
addition to Golden-crowned Sparrows among the White-crowneds.
Continuing south along Route 1, a stop to admire the Pacific coastline to the north of Gualala
provided us with our first Savannah Sparrows of the trip – a species that appeared common on open
ground along the coast north of San Francisco – and several further American Kestrels, which we
soon realised was a common roadside bird. Gualala itself proved disappointingly devoid of gulls,
although the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner was quite the opposite, with several hundred
birds loafing along the beach at point blank range in the warm afternoon sunshine – this is how gull
watching should be! Among the predominately Glaucous-winged, Western and California Gulls, we
located at least 25 Thayer’s Gulls of all ages as well as an apparent second-winter Kumlien’s Gull
and an adult Kittiwake. While photographing various gulls, other birds included a couple of Brown
Pelicans, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Goosanders and an Osprey through. A couple of particularly fat
bull California Sea Lions lumbered around in the surf among the commoner Harbour Seals, while the
passerine highlight was provided by a couple of Wrentits in scrub by the road on the north side.
Leaving Jenner, we continued south towards Bodega Bay, stopping at Salmon Creek en route. Being
a glorious sunny Sunday, Californians were out in force on the beach and thus gull numbers were
relatively low at the creek outflow. Nevertheless, a further ten Thayer’s Gulls were to be found
while a male Northern Harrier floated about just inland of the road.
We reached Bodega Bay late afternoon, and were soon confronted by excellent numbers of birds:
hundreds of waders included Marbled Godwits, Willets and Long-billed Dowitchers in addition to
plenty of Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, scaup of both flavours, Surf Scoters, American Coots and Black
Brants. Though the birding is great here, I must admit I was just as impressed with surroundings –
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5 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Bodega Bay is beautiful part of the world, particularly when headed by cloudless skies and sunshine
– something that seems to have deserted the British Isles this winter. That said, we didn’t linger for
long for Rich was on a mission to locate one of his few target birds of the trip – a wintering Rock
Sandpiper at the nearby headland. Arriving there with the sun sinking towards the Pacific, light
conditions were not ideal and, with huge quantities of people swarming all over the clifftop, it was
perhaps not too surprising that we couldn’t locate the sandpiper. Nevertheless, three distant
Surfbirds were a first for me as was a hunting White-tailed Kite, while Savannah Sparrows were
common.
The Bodega Bay area may be beautiful, but there is a real dearth of cheap and nasty accommodation
that we were after, and thus we headed inland to San Jose to bed down in a motel ready for another
early start. Our quest for an evening meal saw us visit a Sizzler, where all of us were confronted by
disgracefully large portions of distinctively average (poor) food – never again!
18th February
Stomachs still full from our meal the previous evening, early morning saw us back at Bodega Head
via a brief stop to appreciate a ravenous bunch of Turkey Vultures eating the backside of a Black-
tailed Deer that had evidently suffered an unfortunate collision with a car along the bay road
overnight. Conditions up at the headland were much more suitable for birding than the previous
evening and it didn’t take long for Rich to pick up the Rock Sandpiper with a group of Black
Turnstones and Surfbirds. After scrambling down the cliff face, we were able to obtain views of the
bird to just a few metres as it fed on rocks at the cliff base. A Hudsonian Whimbrel was also noted
on the rocks while an impressive raft of at least 450+ Black-necked Grebes was seen offshore.
Rock Sandpiper, Bodega Head
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6 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Back down at the back, we had a bit of a paparazzi session with targets including showy Buffleheads
and Western Scrub-Jays as well as seconds of the half-eaten deer and its rancid attendees. Heading
round to Diekmann’s Store, it didn’t take long for us to pick up the wintering Nashville Warbler and
male Wilson’s Warbler among a handful of Orange-crowned and Townsend’s Warblers below the
terrace as we tucked in to a late breakfast.
While enjoying the warblers at Diekmann’s, I spoke to a friendly local couple who kindly shared a
Swamp Sparrow site with us at Salmon Creek. As we had planned to revisit the outflow for further
gull action, we stopped by the bridge and viewed the marsh immediately inland – it didn’t take long
to locate two vocal Swamp Sparrows, while a couple of Marsh Wrens also showed well. Over at the
beach, gull numbers were again fairly low although around five Thayer’s Gulls provided us with
further photographic opportunities.
You can never have too many gulls in your life, and our next destination provided us with plenty to
search through. After a brief stop by a farm pond on the way to Petaluma (which yielded 30 or so
American Wigeon and a White-tailed Kite), we arrived at Lucchiesi Park mid-afternoon. Although
not California’s most scenic destination, the park lake – essentially a small concrete bowl – is
fantastic for loafing gulls. At least 30 Thayer’s Gulls were present and giving incredible views as they
came to bread, with most being first and second-winter birds. A similar number of Ring-billed Gulls
were the first seen on the trip, while there were plenty of showy hybrids including a first-winter
Glaucous x Glaucous-winged Gull and several presumed Glaucous-winged x American Herring Gulls
that looked terrifyingly similar to Thayer’s! It was here that I ‘enjoyed’ my first California Towhee
while a friendly Ross’s Goose was as almost as distasteful as the park’s famous hybrid Mallard x
Wood Duck that Rich very much savoured pointing out to me. Other birds included an adult Night
Heron, and small numbers of Ruddy Ducks and American Coots.
After a few hours, we’d had enough of lying down in gull faeces and being stared at by the numerous
tramps that frequent Lucchiesi and decided to head out of town to Shollenberger Park for the last
hour of daylight. Around the car park, a crescendo of displaying Red-winged Blackbirds sounded out
of place in the cold breeze and there were Golden-crowned Sparrows almost walking through our
legs. On the lagoons, new birds for me were Canvasback (c.40), American Avocet (200+) and a
handful of Cinnamon Teal, with a juvenile Thayer’s Gull, a couple of Killdeers and various wildfowl
species including Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup and many Shoveler also present. As darkness
began to fall, we headed east inland towards Sacremento and found a roadside motel at Dixon
where, after another unhealthy meal at a nearby Denny’s, we settled down for some sleep.
19th February
We were back on the road again as the day dawned, with grey skies and a significant breeze
ensuring that it felt considerably cooler than it had done over the previous days. Indeed, a storm had
been forecast and thus we had been expecting a less pleasant day weather-wise. Nevertheless, the
birds soon started to flow as it became light and we arrived at Robinson Road, some 20 miles south
of Dixon. Western Meadowlarks and Savannah Sparrows seemed to be everywhere, while our first
real stop produced a smashing Ferruginous Hawk and the odd Loggerhead Shrike was to be foundalong the side of the track. A particular set of fields bordered on one side by a mature hedgerow
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7 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
approximately midway along the track produced a particularly large flock of blackbirds – most were
Red-winged and Brewer’s although we did find our first Tricoloured Blackbirds of the trip here. A
real bonus was an impressive flock of at least 50 Lark Sparrows in the hedgerow, their behaviour
reminding me of Corn Bunting flocks back home on the Lincolnshire fens. A little further along we
encountered our only Burrowing Owl of the trip, first perching on fence posts before assuming an
unobtrusive position in an adjacent cow field. Continuing south back towards Route 12, a drive along
Flannery Road didn’t produce any hoped-for Mountain Plovers although a fly-by Prairie Falcon was a
real bonus and a couple more Ferruginous Hawks showed well. American Kestrels and Northern
Harriers were seen regularly.
Re-joining Route 12, we head east through Rio Vista and, a few miles out of town, spotted a large
flock of geese descending in to fields in the distance. Driving closer, it soon became apparent that
the majority (3,000+) were Snow Geese, although 400+ White-fronted Geese and 200+ Ross’s
Geese added some variety. A couple of Aleutian Cackling Geese were found among the White-fronts
(as was a presumed hybrid Cackling x White-front), at least 35 Sandhill Cranes were scattered
around and a small flock of Tree Swallows flew through.
The late morning saw us driving south towards Merced, with roadside birds including a few Red-
shouldered Hawks and Sandhill Cranes as well as American Kestrels seemingly everywhere. Our first
stop was along the delightfully-named Sandy Mush Road, where our primary target – Mountain
Plover – was soon found in fields viewed from the road at N37.18578°, W120.5275°. We located 16
birds here in total, though more have been seen at this regular site throughout the winter. A smart-
looking wader, we enjoyed reasonably distant views while other birds in the vicinity included a
couple of Greater Yellowlegs, several Killdeers, plenty of blackbirds (including Tricoloured) and the
ubiquitous Western Meadowlarks.
Moving west to the famous Merced National Wildlife Refuge, the weather deteriorated further and,
along with a stiff breeze, it began to rain. These, as well as a significant fall in temperature, made
proceedings feel much wintrier than it had on the coast the morning previous. A huge white mass in
fields opposite the refuge entrance transpired to be many thousands of Ross’s Geese although, with
the birds distant, we decided to head on to the reserve and complete the loop trail – all done by car
of course; this is the states after all!
Burrowing Owl, Robinson Road
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8 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
We were really quite impressed with both the numbers of birds across the reserve’s wetlands as well
as the photographic opportunities these provided. Though the weather did its best to dampen our
spirits, the birding proved excellent: passerines included our first flock of Bushtits of the trip, several
showy American Buff-bellied Pipits and a few Cliff Swallows among the hundreds of Tree Swallows
over the lagoons. On the lagoons, Black-necked Stilts were everywhere with other waders including
Long-billed Dowitcher, American Avocet, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Wilson’s Snipe and both
yellowlegs. White-faced Ibis was also seen well, while four Tundra Swans, several Canvasbacks and
Ring-necked Ducks and tens of Cinnamon Teal were seen among the commoner wildfowl species.
Adding regular flocks of overflying geese, Sandhill Cranes and a couple of American White Pelicans
to the mix, it created a real spectacle – only spoilt by hunters putting goose decoys out in the fields
adjacent to the reserve!
With no imminent signs of improvement in the weather, we decided to head round to the main San
Luis NWR reserve. Although we scored a group of Cat C Tule Elk looking relatively authentic at
distance and in the rain (despite the fences round them!), we found the reserve a slight
disappointment when compared to Merced – bird numbers were generally much lower. A Say’s
Phoebe was flitting around the edge of the elk enclosure, while at least 25 Horned Larks and several
American White Pelicans were seen by the reserve approach road. A similar selection of wildfowl
(though with rather more Ring-necked Ducks) was present on the pools, as were a few White-faced
Ibis and a female Belted Kingfisher. Best of the bunch, though, were a pair of Great Horned Owls
that showed very well on the loop. Northern Harriers were also particularly common, with double-
figure numbers noted on the drive around.
As we left San Luis, the weather had begun to clear and thus we hoped the sun might even come out
for the Ross’s Goose roost back at Merced. Alas it didn’t in time for the big flight of birds, though it
was nevertheless spectacular with at least 30,000 (probably more) filling the skies over the reserve.
A second loop of the reserve as the light began to fade revealed a similar range of species as earlier
in the day but with the welcome additions of three Great Horned Owls and excellent view of at least
two American Bitterns in flight.
Leaving Merced at dusk, we headed back north to the town of Livermore, where we soon found a
very reasonably-priced motel for the evening. In contrast, the food situation had considerably
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9 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
worsened as we consumed a pretty miserable Taco Bell before resorting to McDonald’s for a bag of
chicken nuggets to fill ourselves up.
20th February
Awaking to a hard frost in Livermore, it was soon clear that it was to be a morning on which to wrap
up warm. Scoring an early coffee and muffin for breakfast, we headed south to Lake Del Valle. Not
the most inspiring of species, our first Yellow-billed Magpies of the trip were nevertheless welcome
although a somewhat ill-looking Barn Owl sat by the side of the road (presumably the casualty of a
vehicle collision overnight) was a sobering find.
On arrival at Del Valle, we made the initial mistake of taking a walk along the shaded eastern side of
the lake – relatively few birds here included Oak Titmouse,
Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Bewick’s Wren, a bunch of
California Quail and a male Anna’s Hummingbird performing
it’s ridiculous display flight routine. Realising the error of our
ways, Rich suggested we head for the more densely-vegetated
western side of the lake and, shortly after parking up, the
variety of birds here soon qualified that decision. At least three
Red-breasted Sapsuckers showed well, as did a couple of
Acorn Woodpeckers and a female Nuttall’s Woodpecker.
Several magnificent Steller’s Jays hopped about under the
trees and a White-breasted Nuthatch showed well while an
utterly horrendous gobbling sound coming from thicket in thevalley below betrayed the presence of a group of Wild
Turkeys. Our only Bald Eagle of the trip – an adult – flew over
while on the lake itself there were half-a-dozen American
White Pelicans, a Clark’s Grebe among the more numerous
Western and Black-necked Grebes, a Great Blue Heron and
several Double-crested Cormorants.
Continuing south along Mines Road, a chance stop 3.9 miles south of the Del Valle turning produced
a fine Phainopepla as well as a few Western Bluebirds, a couple more White-breasted Nuthatches
and magnificent views of a Golden Eagle flying past. A further stop 9.1 miles south of the Del Valleturning revealed a similar range of species with the addition of group of Acorn Woodpeckers. In the
middle of the day, further passerine was action was relatively limited and as the road gained altitude
it became clear that there had been a dusting of snow on the peaks overnight. This was at its worst
around Mount Hamilton on the road back to San Jose, where the icy road led to precarious driving
conditions and a snail-paced descent westwards. Nevertheless, our only Purple Finches of the trip
were seen here alongside Pine Siskins and further Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, Golden Eagles
and Western Bluebirds.
Reaching San Jose in the early afternoon, a quick stop for lunch preceded a visit to Hidden Valley
Park in Milpitas. An altogether more pleasant location than Petaluma’s Lucchiesi Park, our quarryhere was nevertheless the same – gulls. At least seven Thayer’s Gulls were seen among the
Yellow-billed Magpie
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10 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
predominately California and Ring-billed Gulls, although there were a few pesky hybrids that did
catch us unaware. Also on the lake was a familiar assortment of American Coots, Ruddy Ducks, Pied-
billed Grebes and Double-crested Cormorants.
Realising we had a good chunk of the afternoon left to play with, we decided to head south to the
Big Sur region to try and scrub California Condor off the targets list that day. The drive was largelyuneventful save the odd Red-shouldered Hawk and White-tailed Kite, and we had soon passed
Monterey. Here the road became a little more meandering and, coupled with a fair number of
mindless tourists driving at ludicrously slow speeds, it took a fair while to reach our target area of
the coast at Julia Pfeiffer State Park. Fortunately, locating California Condors proved a less tedious
task – first up was an immature that drifted high over the valley just inland of Route 1 at N36°10'38",
W121°41'38" before a stop in the roadside car park at N36°10'10.47", W121°41'5.10" to admire the
marvellous Pacific scenery produced at least ten birds (a mix of adults and immatures) soaring high
over the ridges to the south. I must admit I was reasonably impressed with them, despite not really
being enthused at the prospect of a bunch of Cat C raptors prior to the trip. Here we had a Band-
tailed Pigeon fly over and also made the most of a flock of showy Golden-crowned Sparrows,
obtaining plenty of photographs in the warm evening light and later we watched the sun set from a
nearby vantage point to round off what had been a very productive day. Retiring back north to
Monterey, we soon found a Best Value Inn with friendly and welcoming staff and headed to
Fisherman’s Wharf for an excellent fish supper in one of the restaurants there – a fine relief from
three consecutive nights of miserable fast food.
21st February
The day started with breakfast at the motel and a subsequent wander round the adjacent land,
producing two new birds for me: Brown Creeper and Downy Woodpecker. Also seen were a few
Pygmy Nuthatches and Acorn Woodpeckers and a
Townsend’s Warbler among the commoner species. With a
couple of hours to kill before our pelagic in to Monterey Bay,
we spent some time ambling around the harbour where
there were a few immature Heermann’s Gulls, a female-type
Hooded Merganser, several showy Surf Scoters and plenty of
Brown Pelicans, while a few Sea Otters floated around and
the jetties were stuffed with California Sea Lions.
We boarded our boat a short while before 10am and were
soon steaming out of the harbour. It did not take long for the
first Rhinoceros Auklets and Guillemots to appear around
the boat – these species seemed abundant right across the
bay. A smattering of Fulmars included one or two particularly
dark individuals attracted to the man-made chum being
produced at the rear of the boat; the considerable swell (and
its victims) testament to the storm two days previous. There
were also numerous Pacific and Great Northern Divers
closer to shore but our attention was quickly drawn to a spout directly in front of the boat – our first
Gray Whale
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11 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
sighting of Gray Whale! Over the next couple of hours we enjoyed great views of up to three whales,
while Lee managed to grip Rich and I off early on with a brief sighting of a triumvirate of Ancient
Murrelets. Thankfully we connected with what were presumably the same murrelets as the boat
returned to the harbour early afternoon, with other pelagic sightings including at least ten
Kittiwakes.
Back on land, we tucked in to a delicious cup of clam chowder and spent another half-hour
photographing Heermann’s Gulls before deciding to make the short journey around the bay to
Lagune Grande Park for the afternoon. Though our primary target here was something else, a
friendly local divulged the location of a wintering Palm Warbler by the lake. Soon enough we had
connected with the bird and were struck by its distinctively waterthrush-like behaviour. An Allen’s
Hummingbird zipping around was our only individual of the trip while we also connected with our
first American Goldfinches here. The park seemed very ‘birdy’ and, as always, Yellow-rumped
Warblers seemed to be in every bush with a few Townsend’s Warblers thrown in for good measure.
On the lake, a juvenile Thayer’s Gull was seen among the California Gulls while there was also a
Western and several Pied-billed Grebes. Lee had wandered off up the small feeder stream inland of
the lake and had located our quarry showing particularly well – though the light was low, we were
thrilled with views to within a few metres of the wintering American Dipper.
As the evening drew closer we headed to Point Pinos, to the west of Monterey. Here our target was
another wintering vagrant – a first-winter Vermilion Flycatcher – on the golf driving range. Sure
enough, the bird was easily located flycatching from
posts adjacent to the pond, although was about as
awful-looking as they come – a really grotty individual
with a bunch of feathers missing from its underside. A
few Heermann’s Gulls flew by offshore, five Black
Turnstones were on the rocks and a drake Cinnamon
Teal performed very well on the pond. Back at
Monterey Harbour as dusk approached, there was
time to locate one final vagrant – the long-staying
Black-throated Diver off the east wall. The night was
spent in Monterey and, once again, we visited
Fisherman’s Wharf to indulge in another excellent fish
supper.
22nd February
After a relaxed breakfast, our first stop of the day was back at Laguna Grande Park after being
impressed by the birding here yesterday. The park didn’t let us down as we scored two further new
birds for the trip list: a Hutton’s Vireo (admittedly causing us a real identification headache with
Ruby-crowned Kinglets everywhere!) and at least ten Lesser Goldfinches among the more numerous
American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins and House Finches. The Palm Warbler was also still showing
well and, although we couldn’t locate the dipper, four Orange-crowned Warblers were seen in the
adjacent scrub as was a Hermit Thrush, with several Townsend’s Warblers also seen among the
commoner species.
Vermilion Flycatcher
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12 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
By mid-morning we were heading north to Moss Landing, where a stop on the south side of the
harbour channel revealed a flock of fabulously showy Surf Scoters alongside the usual array of
coastal species. A female Belted Kingfisher was fishing along the channel and we were also able to
obtain close views of Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, a couple of Heermann’s
Gulls and amusingly large congregation (30+) of rather relaxed-looking Sea Otters floating around in
the bay on the north side. Our only Western Sandpipers of the trip were also seen here among a
small group of Semipalmated Plovers, with Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, American
Avocets and Willet also noted among the waders as a Northern Harrier flapped over. In general
however, we found numbers of birds disappointingly low at the site and thus it was not long before
we were back on the road north towards San Jose.
It would have been rude to pass up the opportunity of a second visit to Hidden Valley Park as we
passed Milpitas, and the couple of hours spent here during the early afternoon revealed around six
Thayer’s Gulls, a female Goosander and a handful of Lesser Goldfinches while Lee scored a flock of
overflying Cedar Waxwings. Feeling quite content in the warm afternoon sunshine, it was hard to
motivate ourselves in to moving. But move on we did, with the aim of reaching Venice Beach – the
site of our introduction to California gulling the previous Saturday – for the final few hours of the
day.
Arriving at Venice Beach mid-afternoon, it soon became clear that there were more gulls than on our
first visit. We located at least nine Thayer’s Gulls among the several hundred (predominately
Glaucous-winged, Western and hybrid) gulls present near the outflow, and the warm light provided
us with yet more excellent photographic opportunities. As the light started to fade, the gulls began
to head north towards Pillar Point to roost, and so we headed round there for the final hour or so
before dark. The harbour contained plenty of diving duck including Scaup and Bufflehead plus at
least 50 Surf Scoters. A female Belted Kingfisher was on the pier and a few Willet were the highlight
among the waders – sadly there was no hoped-for Wandering Tattler. Many hundreds of gulls were
roosting far out on the breakwaters but, with time against us, we decided not to venture out to
search through them and instead we headed off north to Pacifica, where we found accommodation.
An adjacent bar provided us with a couple of pints of excellent local beer and an absolutely massive
homemade burger that each of us struggled to consume.
23rd February
After an obligatory Starbucks stop in San Francisco for breakfast, we headed in to Golden Gate Park
early morning. Pleasantly, we found reasonably few people around and as a result many of the
passerines – common species such as Song Sparrows, American Robins and Townsend’s Warblers in
addition to more unexpected birds such as Steller’s Jays – were showing well. This soon changed as
the park became busier, and our attention switched to the gulls and wildfowl around the park. We
found that Lloyd Lake (N37°46'13.62", W122°28'55.27") was by far and away the best lake for
wildfowl, with American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Scaup affording superb photo
opportunities – three Hooded Mergansers were a little more wary yet still showed well. Other bits
here included a Sooty Fox Sparrow, a Raccoon (seen by Lee only) and plenty of photogenic Mew
Gulls.
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13 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
Moving back round to the main Stow Lake, we
found at least four Thayer’s Gulls showing to
touching distance among the gull flock (mainly
Westerns), while the tamest Pied-billed Grebes
observed on the trip offered further photo
opportunities. Managing to spend a very chilled
out morning in the park, afternoon was soon
upon us and it was time to twitch Golden Gate
Bridge, which duly showed well in the early
spring sunshine. With a few hours left to kill
before we were due back at the airport, we
headed east to Fort Mason to give Wandering
Tattler another go. Alas no tattlers, but a couple
of Heermann’s and an adult Thayer’s Gull, Black
Turnstones, Surfbirds, Western Grebes,Buffleheads, Brown Pelicans and an adult
Double-crested Cormorant scrapping with a
large fish gave us a fine send-off to Pacific-coast
birding. And, after directing Rich back through
San Francisco based primarily on my knowledge of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas maps, we
enjoyed a farewell KFC prior to another smooth British Airways flight back to London overnight.
TRIP LIST
1. Red-throated Diver
2. Pacific Diver
3. Black-throated Diver
4. Great Northern Diver
5. Slavonian Grebe
6. Black-necked Grebe
7. Pied-billed Grebe
8. Western Grebe
9. Clark’s Grebe
10. Fulmar11. American White Pelican
12. Brown Pelican
13. Double-crested Cormorant
14. Pelagic Cormorant
15. Brandt’s Cormorant
16. American Bittern
17. Great Blue Heron
18. Great White Egret
19. Snowy Egret
20. Black-crowned Night Heron
21. White-faced Ibis22. Mute Swan
Double-crested Cormorant
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14 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
23. Tundra Swan
24. Canada Goose
25. Cackling Goose
26. Black Brant
27. White-fronted Goose
28. Ross’s Goose 29. Snow Goose
30. Mallard
31. Gadwall
32. Pintail
33. American Wigeon
34. Shoveler
35. Cinnamon Teal
36. Green-winged Teal
37. Canvasback
38. Ring-necked Duck
39. Scaup40. Lesser Scaup
41. Surf Scoter
42. Goldeneye
43. Bufflehead
44. Hooded Merganser
45. Goosander
46. Red-breasted Merganser
47. Ruddy Duck
48. California Condor
49. Turkey Vulture
50. Northern Harrier51. White-tailed Kite
52. Cooper’s Hawk
53. Red-shouldered Hawk
54. Red-tailed Hawk
55. Ferruginous Hawk
56. Golden Eagle
57. Bald Eagle
58. American Kestrel
59. Prairie Falcon
60. Peregrine
61. California Quail62. Wild Turkey
63. Moorhen
64. American Coot
65. Sandhill Crane
66. Grey Plover
67. Semipalmated Plover
68. Mountain Plover
69. Killdeer
70. Black Oystercatcher
71. American Avocet
72. Black-necked Stilt
73. Greater Yellowlegs
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15 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
74. Lesser Yellowlegs
75. Willet
76. Hudsonian Whimbrel
77. Long-billed Curlew
78. Marbled Godwit
79. Black Turnstone80. Surfbird
81. Rock Sandpiper
82. Knot
83. Sanderling
84. Dunlin
85. Western Sandpiper
86. Least Sandpiper
87. Long-billed Dowitcher
88. Wilson’s Snipe
89. Grey Phalarope
90. Mew Gull91. Ring-billed Gull
92. California Gull
93. American Herring Gull
94. Thayer’s Gull
95. Iceland Gull
96. Glaucous-winged Gull
97. Western Gull
98. Heermann’s Gull
99. Kittiwake
100. Guillemot
101.
Ancient Murrelet102. Rhinoceros Auklet
103. Mourning Dove
104. Collared Dove
105. Feral Pigeon
106. Band-tailed Pigeon
107. Barn Owl
108. Great Horned Owl
109. Burrowing Owl
110. Anna’s Hummingbird
111. Allen’s Hummingbird
112.
Belted Kingfisher113. Acorn Woodpecker
114. Red-breasted Sapsucker
115. Downy Woodpecker
116. Nuttall’s Woodpecker
117. Northern Flicker
118. Black Phoebe
119. Say’s Phoebe
120. Vermilion Flycatcher
121. Loggerhead Shrike
122. Hutton’s Vireo
123. Steller’s Jay
124. Western Scrub-Jay
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16 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
125. Black-billed Magpie
126. Yellow-billed Magpie
127. Raven
128. American Crow
129. Horned Lark
130. Tree Swallow131. Cliff Swallow
132. Oak Titmouse
133. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
134. Bushtit
135. White-breasted Nuthatch
136. Pygmy Nuthatch
137. Brown Creeper
138. Bewick’s Wren
139. Marsh Wren
140. Pacific Wren
141.
American Dipper142. Wrentit
143. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
144. Western Bluebird
145. Varied Thrush
146. American Robin
147. Hermit Thrush
148. Northern Mockingbird
149. European Starling
150. American Buff-bellied Pipit
151. Phainopepla
152.
Cedar Waxwing153. Orange-crowned Warbler
154. Nashville Warbler
155. Yellow-rumped Warbler
156. Townsend’s Warbler
157. Palm Warbler
158. Wilson’s Warbler
159. Spotted Towhee
160. California Towhee
161. Savannah Sparrow
162. Lark Sparrow
163.
Golden-crowned Sparrow164. White-crowned Sparrow
165. Fox Sparrow
166. Song Sparrow
167. Swamp Sparrow
168. Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco
169. Western Meadowlark
170. Brown-headed Cowbird
171. Tricoloured Blackbird
172. Red-winged Blackbird
173. Brewer’s Blackbird
174. Purple Finch
175. House Finch
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17 California February 2013 by Josh Jones
176. Red Crossbill
177. Pine Siskin
178. Lesser Goldfinch
179. American Goldfinch
180. House Sparrow