Hey Readers!
Last time on Adam's Command:
Joshua birds the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and finds 6 lifers including a rare Gull-billed Tern and a Ridgway's Rail! He then spends time birding at Huntington Central Park with his Mom and brother, Noah. He finds his lifers Orange-cheeked Waxbill and Vaux's Swift. After HCP, a couple hours are spent scanning the Pacific Ocean from Newport Pier without luck...
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| The domain of a true California endemic...can you guess what it might be? |
First thing in the morning, we set out to pick up my Aunt Sue in Rancho Cucamonga. Our plan today was to make the long drive to Monterey County to enjoy the scenic coast and find some hard-to-get birds. After picking up my aunt (whom we all dearly missed), we embarked on our 6 hour drive north along the Pacific Coast Highway. We passed through the counties of San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo to reach our destination of Monterey County. Somewhere in Santa Barbara Co., I saw my lifer Pelagic Cormorant perched high in a eucalyptus that jutted out over the ocean - a fine lookout if you ask me.
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| Some of Central California's beautiful oak savanna |
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| I wasn't expecting to see such a familiar word so far from home! |
My birding plan in Monterey County was to spend some time in the afternoon at the legendary Point Pinos, stomping grounds of the great birder Don Roberson. Point Pinos is a relatively small area. Merely half a square mile in size; more than 300 species of bird have been recorded within its borders! There is an area within Pt. Pinos that is an excellent location for seawatching. In the afternoon it is not uncommon to see Sooty Shearwater, Black-footed Albatross, and other pelagic species from shore! The wind is typically more intense in the late afternoon and this blows seabirds past the kelp line and into the range of a birder's scope on shore. I spent 2 hours there seawatching and birding the general area. The winds were quite harsh and it was nearly impossible to get good looks at anything through my scope. I instead relied upon my binoculars to scan the waters. I picked up birds such as Brandt's Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Western Gull, and California Gull which were out on the rocks near to shore. There were also several Harbor Seals and my unexpected lifer Sea Otter!!! I was overjoyed to watch this aquatic mustelid as it floated on its back out in the surf.
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| A prime example of an adult Western Gull |
Right as I began scanning the horizon, I noticed many Sooty Shearwaters gliding over the water. They were incredibly far away, but I could tell what they were...barely! Sooty Shearwater was a lifer as I have never been on a pelagic before. Strangely, the harder to find Pink-footed Shearwater that I picked out among the Sooties was not a lifer! I saw several on a boat ride out to Santa Catalina Island three years ago. It was also on Catalina Island that I found my lifers Black Turnstone and Wandering Tattler. Nevertheless, the Pink-footed Shearwater was an excellent bird. I did not find a single albatross. Perhaps they were too far out for my little binoculars to detect? Even though I missed most of the birds I was hoping for, it was still a great birding stop and I would surely advise any visiting birder to give it a shot.
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| There are two Sooties in this shot. |
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| Here's one that's a little closer |
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| Here's a a nice silhouette of a Sooty as it arced up from the water. |
Another location within Point Pinos is Crespi Pond. Crespi Pond has had some outstanding rarities throughout its history such as a Yellow Rail and LeConte's Sparrow. Rarities aside, my best bird was a lone female Surf Scoter that spent most of it time sleeping on the pond. I was very happy to get some fairly decent shots of this species. My warning to anyone unfamiliar with Surf Scoter is this: females can look very similar to a Ruddy Duck when asleep. Make sure to look through any suspicious sleeping waterfowl...
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| A juvenile Heermann's Gull which was also on Crespi Pond |
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| A Black Oystercatcher which was foraging among the rocks of The Point |
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| A Pelagic Cormorant showing off its white flank patch |
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| The Black Turnstone |
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| An ocean wave as it crashed against the rocks of The Point |
After 2 hours, the winds became far worse and I was unable to continue birding. I was concerned that my optics and camera were getting salt encrusted! We decided to make a quick stop at El Carmelo Cemetery for Chestnut-backed Chickadee - a highly desired bird of mine. Honestly, it felt strange to bird a cemetery, but I was nervous that the chickadee might not show tomorrow. In all reverence, the birding at El Carmelo was truly dead. There was nothing apart from a single crow.
After failing to locate CBCH, we all decided to call it a night. We stayed in the city of Marina. After a nice continental breakfast at our hotel, we returned to Point Pinos in an attempt to find more target birds. Point Pinos was very quiet that morning and I found no birds of interest apart from a single Red-breasted Merganser.
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| This dainty Coastal Black-tailed Deer was one of my favorite mammals of the trip. |
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| At left: A Brandt's Cormorant in high breeding condition. Check out that blue throat! |
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| The foliage of the Monterey Cypress. This tree is a symbol of the region. |
After a while, I decided to hike around the peninsula to Asilomar State Beach. I was glad to see 3 Pacific Loons in full breeding plumage in the ocean moderately far from the shore. I had seen a Pacific Loon only once before and it was a non-breeding bird on a pond in Arizona!!! I met two birders from Oregon and talked a while about what they were seeing and how their trip had been so far. As we were talking, I noticed two whales not far from shore! The birders were happy to see these ocean-dwelling mammals. The whales spouted just about every 20 seconds. They were definitely larger than a dolphin, but not nearly the size of a Gray, Blue, or Humpback Whale. My best guess is Minke or Fin, but I really can't be sure.
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| An adult California Gull |
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| A singing Song Sparrow |
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| My best shot of a Whimbrel yet! |
While I was scanning the rocky shoreline, I found a bird that I've seen only once before; the Wandering Tattler.
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| My far out phonescoped shot |
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| A zoomed in phonescoped shot |
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| One of the lookout points at Asilomar SB. |
Because I hadn't seen any target species yet that morning and it was getting later in the day, we decided to try for Chestnut-backed Chickadees at a willow patch near Asilomar Beach that is an eBird hotspot. The sky was overcast and the slight drizzle of rain made me a little worried for my optics, but this was my only chance for CBCH and I was going for it! Within half a minute I heard them calling... I pished a little and, lo and behold, the chickadee flew to the top of a spruce!
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| I eventually found that there was a small group of chickadees here! |
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| Another good bird was this Lincoln's Sparrow in the wet undergrowth. |
After this brief, but exciting stop, my Mom, Aunt, Brother, and I all decided to check out the famous 17-mile Drive that starts in the city of Pacific Grove and ends in Carmel. We had to pay a toll, but it was well worth it. The scenery was amazing.
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| This misty forest comprised the interior portion of the area |
As we happily drove along the road, we encountered various signs that denoted the stops a visitor could make on the drive. We decided to check this one out:
Wow. No place we visited captured the spirit of the California coast like The Lone Cypress did! Apparently, this tree is copyrighted, so painters or photographers are not allowed to sell any work that features it. In the ocean nearby, I also found my lifer Rhinoceros Auklet! It was very far out, so no photos were taken. Soon after visiting with The Lone Cypress, we exited the 17-mile Drive. It was getting late in the day and we still needed to drive all the way back to LA County! But my Mom wanted me to see my top target of the trip: the Yellow-billed Magpie.
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| Some of the thick vegetation that runs for miles along Carmel Valley Rd. |
We drove east on Carmel Valley Road for 18 miles and then the habitat began to change. There was now open grassland studded with live oaks. We entered California's Central Valley. We stopped a few times so I could scan the area for magpies, but I couldn't find any. I did find a Bullock's Oriole and some Violet-green Swallows however. Proper habitat was soon going to be behind us if we kept traveling any further. We decided to make a last-ditch attempt for magpies at the intersection of Carmel Valley Rd. and Tassajara Rd. This place was like its own magical little land cut off the rest of California. The oaks stood tall above the grass and wildflowers blanketed the landscape. Fog had rolled in and darkened the bright sun's light ever so slightly. I walked along the road a ways and paused at the entrance of Oak Ridge Ranch.
There was not much more than a couple Western Bluebirds and a lone Brewer's Blackbird out here. Other corvids were present though. American Crow. Western Scrub-Jay. Then I saw a flash of black and white that quickly disappeared down the road past the gate to the ranch. It was my magpie! I couldn't chase it on private property, but oh, how I wanted to! I knew that Yellow-billed Magpies typically stick together, so I kept looking around for another...
...And another flew past like a bullet! I launched into a full-on sprint to find out where it went. Down the road a ways, I noticed something on a telephone wire. Aha, there was my magpie once again!
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| Its puffy bill reminded me of a Summer Tanager's |
Right after this "insurance shot", the bird flew away; its contrastingly-patterned wings and long tail flapping about. And that was the end of my experience with one of California's true endemics, the Yellow-billed Magpie.
Amazingly, my Mom, Aunt, and Brother had gotten better looks than I did! While they were driving around looking for the bird without me, a magpie flew to the center of the road and paused long enough for my Mom and Aunt to take decent cell phone shots!!! Ah, I kind of wish I was there.
Because we needed to get back to Rancho Cucamonga, we left the magical intersection of Carmel Valley and Tassajara Rd. Not 5 minutes after leaving, we spotted a group of Wild Turkeys at the edge of the forest! Naturally, my Mom and Aunt started to imitate a turkey gobble to get the birds to stick around long enough for a photo! It was pretty funny.
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| Thanks go to my Mom for driving over 1,000 miles throughout the entire trip! |
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| I'm not sure what kind of mining was going on, but it sure looked creepy! |
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| We missed AZ just a little by the end of our trip,,, |
My goal was to tally 150 species of bird in California over the course of the trip, but I fell short at 136 species. I was still pleased. Missing most of my targets at Point Pinos is probably what did me in. On the brighter side, after 14 lifers, I now had a life list of 305! Birds aside, it was great to visit with family and friends and to spend time with my Mom and Brother. That's what truly made my California Coastal Tour special. I am currently quite behind in blogging as life has been relentless (in a good way!)
Godspeed and good birding to you all,
- Joshua
