Gray Hawk in Summerland

Gray Hawk found about 1.2 miles from our apartment in Summerland.

This is the first Gray Hawk EVER recorded in the state of California.  The magnitude of this bird being seen here is off the charts.  There are birders from all over coming to see it. A woman was crying yesterday after she saw it.

I've missed it twice - and mostly thats because its active in the mornings - I've been at work.  Hoping to take a few minutes off tomorrow morning and get a chance to see it.  I think its the most important bird in the USA right now.  1 mile from my place!!!

Monterey harbor seabirds

The day after Thanksgiving we sped up North for a chance to get on a famous Monterey Bay Whale watch.  Although its not prime whale season, or prime pelagic bird season, it was still a great chance to explore the incredible offshore eco-system there.  Here is what we were able to see, I had a really great time.

Red Phalarope  (407)
Rhinoceros Auklet
Cassin's Auklet (my favorite)
Black-Footed Albatross
Wandering Tattler (on the breakwater, pointed out to me by another friendly birder)
Pigeon Guillemot (412) 
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Red Throated Loon (in the harbor, great looks)
Horned Grebe
Eared Grebe
Northern Fulmar
Black-Vented Shearwater
Brown Pelican
(dave)Brandt's Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Surf Scoter
Heerman's Gull
California Gull
Western Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Common Murre

One of the crew member's saw a Tufted Puffin - I got a nano-second look at it, but nothing more than just a blob of gray.  After thinking about it the last couple days, I don't want to include the Puffin.  It wasn't a confirmed sighting, and I just didn't see it well enough.

The woman who runs the whale watch let us bring Poppy on the boat:   She kept barking at the Pelicans as they sailed smoothly past our clipper.

Big Sur - Thanksgiving

Spent two days exploring around Big Sur for the holiday.  The temperatures were mild, and I had heard of a Gray Whale carcass that had washed up at a notable Condor spot....conditions were excellent.

I scanned the ridge near Julia Pheiffer State Park, and saw one condor day roosting.  Even from the farthest reaches of my Alpen, I could tell that I had a California Condor in view.  I could see the tag, and the tremendous pink/orange head on the creature was unmistakeable.  Plus, the bird was massive.....but it was still abouut 3/4 of a mile away.  After about 20 minutes of watching this bird sit completely still, Beth and I heard a whirring and whoosh come from behind us as 2 adult Condor's zoomed directly above head!  They stayed close circling within 40 feet of us, and one of them even eventually set down on a bald rockface.  The looks were perfect, couldn't have asked for any better viewing of the birds.  This Condor encounter tops a majority of all my other bird experiences this year....and it felt good to have such close encounters with these Condors, the rarest of species.

We also had good luck with an AMERICAN DIPPER (406) on an early morning walk....watched that thing do its water dance for about 15 minutes.  Very excellent bird.


Here I am scanning the beach below for any Condors that might be feeding on dead things washed ashore.

Ben

Go get that Pink-Footed Goose.

Or better yet, tell it to stick around Peace Valley Park until December 28, when I get to PA.

Over 400!

I did a bunch of birding this weekend.  Why not  tell you about all of it?

On Saturday, I headed down to San Diego county with Matt Grube and Pam.  They did a good job picking out our spots.  We started off seawatching at La Jolla Cove around sunrise.  I have never really done this before, and it took me some time (and some missed birds) to get my bearings.

The first new birds there were five Brant (398) in the horizon.  The next new birds were Black-Vented Shearwaters (399), which were very common.  To round out our list, we had several Northern Fulmars (400).  That's bird #400 for us guys: Congrats!

We saw other good birds out there as well:
Surf Scoter (hundreds)
Red-Breasted Merganser (hundreds)
Pacific Loon (hundreds, life bird for me)
Eared Grebe (just one)
Cormorants (hundreds of Brandt's, and some DC and Pelagic)

I can't really complain but I missed some of Matt/Pam's birds as well: Black-Legged Kittiwake, Parasitic Jaeger, and Red-Throated and Common Loons (these last two we have this year, but still good birds).  Overall, it was a good learning experience and I am happy we got those birds.

Our second spot yielded only a Townsend's Warbler.  So we headed further south to a cemetery, where we were able to locate (and relocate, and relocate, and...) a Grace's Warbler.  I am very happy to have this bird in California now -- which Matt C. also just got in Santa Barbara County.  We also picked up a Sharpie at this spot.

After dipping on some Orioles, we checked out a park outside Tijuana Estuary.  There we had several Yellow-Crowned Night Herons (401).  Our next few stops brought up some Blue-Grey Gnatcatchers, Hermit Thrush, Dark-Eyed Junco, Cinnamon Teal, and Green-Winged Teal.  Then we were able to chase down a Thick-Billed Kingbird (402). We missed this bird earlier in the year in Tucson, although it is even nicer to get it in CA.  Finally, we headed out to Point Loma to chase down a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (another lifer for me).

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When we got back, I decided to do the irresponsible thing and spend the night in Riverside so I could chase a bird in the desert.  I stepped out the door at 4:45am for the second straight day, and headed West.  I would prefer not to discuss how far I was driving for a single bird.

I arrived at Chiriaco Summit at 6:30 (you can do the Math).  Walked around to the spot, and the Rufous-Backed Robin (403) was the first bird I saw!  I also saw a Yellow Warbler (good bird for the date), and a couple of Pine Siskins at Chiriaco. [The number next to the Robin has been corrected -- thanks Matt].

I only stayed there about 20 minutes because I wanted to get back--and check out a new sewage treatment pond.  At that pond there was a Canvasback (good for the location), six Redheads (FOS bird for me, and a pretty high number), American Wigeons and some Ring-Necked Ducks.  Also at this spot were three Verdins and a Phainopepla.

Then I went to my favorite raptor spot (a two-mile stretch of road outside SJWA).  Only raptors were Red-Tailed Hawks, although I spent a good deal of time trying to turn one of them into something different.  Hundreds of American Pipits.

I went to my old church in Riverside after that, and then headed back to Pasadena.  I couldn't help but make one stop on the way in Los Angeles County.  At Peck Road Park, I saw a continuing Eastern Phoebe (good for West Coast), a Downy Woodpecker, and a lone Bufflehead.

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Guys, this has been a good way to keep in touch, and it has been a lot of fun.  I am not sure what to do now that we hit our goal.  Maybe set our sights on 450 next year?

Kevin

Range Maps Below:

Bulbul and Hoodies

Red-Whiskered Bulbul (397).

The only exotic, naturalized birds that I have been counting are the species on our ABA bird list.  There are lots of them out here.

Also exciting: Hooded Mergansers at UCR this week.  They have been here in years past, but they are always a beautiful bird to come across, and not as common here as they are back East.

Varied Thrush! No Evening Grosbeaks

Micah, Beth and I spent some time up at La Cumbre peak yesterday hoping to get a look at the flock of Evening Grosbeaks that have been reported up there recently.

We had no luck with the grosbeaks, but were able to stir up a brilliant VARIED THRUSH (396)