SOUTHERN and CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA
3-10 October 2006
Tour Report
Leader: Michael Retter
For birders working on an
ABA list, a trip to California is a must. This private tour targeted regional
specialties like California Thrasher and Wrentit while also concentrating on
pelagic trips. We passed through a variety of different habitats, including two
very different deserts. In the cooler, high-elevation Mojave Desert, we found
highly-prized and hard-to-find species like LeConte’s Thrasher and Sage
Sparrow. The hot Colorado Desert hosted birds like Gila Woodpecker and Ruddy
Ground-Dove. Between birding the deserts, we crossed mountains covered in tall
pine forests and low oak and manzanita scrub. A special trip to Santa Cruz
Island produced the endemic Island Scrub-Jay.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the tour was the time spent on the
ocean: we found a wide variety of
pelagic species, like Black-vented Shearwater, Black-footed Albatross, South
Polar Skua, and Flesh-footed Shearwater.
3 Oct: We arrived
midday at John Wayne airport in Santa Anna (Orange County), and it was straight
off to the first birding location!
We hoped to find California Gnatcatcher nearby without too much
difficulty. We weren’t at the location
for 10 minutes before we had a very inquisitive female come within a few meters
to check us out. She was later joined
by a male, which in the fall and winter doesn’t look much different from a
female. We got great looks at a California Thrasher close by, singing
away from the top of a tree. California
Towhees were quite literally everywhere, constantly feeding on the road. We
also noted Song Sparrow, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, and (heard only)
Wrentit here. We watched a pair of
White-tailed Kites forage over the hillside a bit inland, providing us with our
first views of what would prove to be an almost constant companion on this
trip.
Next, we stopped at Upper
Newport Bay. Belding’s [Savannah]
Sparrow was quite common: at one point
we had 15 birds in view. “Light-footed”
Clapper Rail was also present. We went
to a location that is often frequented by terns, hoping to find Elegant Tern,
but the mudflats seemed to be nonexistent.
We did however find a large concentration of shorebirds coming in to
roost on an island just off the side of the road. It was mostly made up of Marbled Godwits, Long-billed Curlews,
“Western” Willets, and Long-billed Dowitchers, but there were some yellowlegs
and a Dunlin mixed in. A fellow birder
told us that a Ruff had been seen there earlier in the day, but we didn’t find
it. Unfortunately we found only a few
distant Common/Forster’s Terns, so it was on to the next spot.
Huntington Beach Central
Park is a famous migrant trap, so always worth a look. It was getting late, but we did find a pair
of Cinnamon Teal. Townsend’s, Hermit,
Wilson’s, and Orange-crowned Warblers played in the treetops.
At dusk we stopped by Bolsa
Chica. We got distant looks at an
Elegant Tern, and found a large flock of Western and California Gulls. There were lots of “Western” Willets and
some Black-bellied Plovers as well.
4 Oct: Today was a
non-birding sightseeing day in the Hollywood area, but we did manage to find
some Western Scrub-Jays and a Vaux’s Swift.
5 Oct: We drove
north towards Mount Pinos today, hoping to find White-headed Woodpecker. Before we left the neighborhood of our
hotel, we found a small flock of
Yellow-chevroned Parakeets, which proved to not be too uncommon.
We made it to the base of
the Mt. Pinos road, only to find out that a very recent fire had recently
forced a ban on all traffic off the main highway. Talk about a bummer. We
messed around for a bit, trying to find other roads to higher elevations, but
they were all closed. We ended up
birding the grounds of a forest service station, and got great looks at Oak
Titmouse, Western Bluebird, and “Oregon” Junco. We were walking up the drive to inquire about other roads when a
young man in a forest service truck stopped to see if we needed help. We asked him if he knew where to find
White-headed Woodpeckers, and he shot back a rather confused look. At just that moment a male White-headed
Woodpecker flew across the road behind the truck and landed in a small dead
tree only 10 meters away. We had
amazing looks at the bird for about 10 minutes before it continued on. We couldn’t believe our luck!
Since these particular
mountains were closed, we decided to drive east, into the Piute Mountains. We’d not planned to stop along the way, but
driving through the upper reaches of Jawbone Canyon, a LeConte’s Thrasher ran
across the road in front of us. How can
you not stop for that?! Though
diversity there was poor, quality was superb.
We had AMAZING looks at both LeConte’s Thrasher (at least 4 birds) and canescens Sage Sparrow. We
also saw Cactus Wren there and heard some Chukars on the hillside.
A stop an a famous oasis,
Butterbredt Spring, proved a total bust, but a bit further up we entered a
high-elevation grassland that was teeming
with Ferruginous Hawks. We saw 6-7 over
a 1.5 mile stretch, including prolonged looks at a beautiful dark morph.
From here we started getting
into coniferous woods. One of our main
targets was “Thick-billed” Fox-Sparrow, and I figured this was our best
shot. It was getting late though, and we had to turn around. As we rounded a corner I saw two very large
chicken-like birds jump out of the road up onto the bank. “WOW,” I thought, “those looked like
grouse!” We’d just been talking about the
newly-split Sooty Grouse, so I had grouse on the mind. We pulled up to the spot, and were
enthralled by what we found. We were
looking at a group of 6 GORGEOUS Mountain Quail. I’m told that my voice went “eerily low and sounded like the
cello section in the opening of Act IV of Verdi‘s Otello.” In other words, I was ecstatic! We watched the birds for a few minutes and
ended up splitting up; I tried to go up and around them and push them back
towards the others, but it didn’t work too well! And of course, while I was messing around, the others saw
Thick-billed Fox-Sparrow. Just my luck,
but great for everyone else.
By this time it was getting
fairly dark, and we had a long drive ahead of us, south and west. Driving down
out of the mountains we were fortunate enough to have numerous Common Poorwills
on the road. We got within a few feet
of a couple of them! We spent the night in Santa Barbara.
6 Oct: This was
the first of three pelagic trips we took, and by far the most successful and
pleasant. Temperatures were relatively
warm, the sky was overcast the entire day, and the birds were great. Living in landlocked Illinois, I was looking
forward to the pelagics quite a bit. Jaegers stole the show today. Totals were ~300 Pomarines, ~35
Long-taileds, ~5 Parasitics, and ~12 South Polar Skuas! It seemed like there was always a Pom in
view, and more often than not, a few at a time. Black-vented Shearwater was the first tubenose of the day. We watched a couple Black Storm-Petrels, and
then sometime in the afternoon, we got great looks at an Ashy
Storm-Petrel. The captain chased it for
a few minutes and got very close to the bird.
It was challenging to see through the bumps, but the looks were still
great. We also had great looks at
Arctic Tern, Sooty and Pink-footed Shearwaters, Northern Fulmar, and Red and
Red-necked Phalaropes. On the way back
into the harbor, we had superb views of an Elegant Tern perched atop a
buoy. A Long-billed Curlew on a sandbar
as we pulled into the harbor was a crowd favorite. Nearby the dock, we discovered a Tropical Kingbird, a rare but
curiously regular visitor to the West Coast in fall. After dinner we drove north across the beautifully moonlit
mountains to Maricopa, where we spent the night.
7 Oct: A quick
trip outside of town in the morning yielded more LeConte’s Thrashers and Sage
Sparrows. We then drove east into the
San Joaquin Valley, and thus, saw our first Yellow-billed Magpie of the
trip. We birded the Santa Maria area
for a while, hoping to find a Pacific Golden-Plover, but no dice. A quick stop at a small state park did
however yield nice looks at a “Pacific-slope” Flycatcher and a Chestnut-backed
Chickadee, the latter at the far southern edge of its range. We then drove north through San Luis Obispo
and Paso Robles before turning east. We
stopped at a couple spots for Bell’s Sparrow and Lawrence’s Goldfinch, but
dipped. A pair of California Thrashers
flew back and forth across the road, making very odd sounds all the while. We did get very nice, yet distant looks at a
Wrentit, enough to see the white eye.
We also noted Hutton’s Vireo and Oak Titmouse there. A
large (~125) flock of ridiculous-looking California Quail alongside the road
kept us entertained for a few minutes.
Our next stop was at a park in Shannon, just west of Cholame. We’d been told about Larry’s Goldfinches there,
but we only found a couple Lessers.
There was a big flock of migrant passerines present—mostly Ruby-crowned
Kinglets and Audubon’s and Orange-crowned Warblers. But there was also a gorgeous male Black-throated Gray Warbler,
and we easterners loved every moment of it.
Then it was north to Monterey for an early turn-in, in anticipation of
the next day’s pelagic.
8 Oct: Before we got out of the harbor, we watched a
lingering female Harlequin Duck and a Clark’s Grebe. Early on the trip, some of us were was lucky enough to get a look
at a Manx Shearwater before it flew directly away from the boat into the
sun. We had incredible looks at
Black-footed Albatross and Buller’s Shearwater, but then my first experience
with mal de mer kicked in. The seas were 13-15 feet, we were headed
into the wind and not on a catamaran, so I suppose if I had to get seasick
sometime, this would be it. Somehow,
between rounds 2 and 3 of draped-over-the-stern heaving, I actually managed to
spot the bird of the day, a gorgeous Flesh-footed Shearwater. Ashy Storm-Petrel, Sooty Shearwater,
Sabine’s Gull, and South Polar Skua (easily a half a dozen) were the other
highlights.
Immediately after we got
back to shore, we made a big decision.
We drove southeast, to spend the night in Bakersfield. Along the way, we had brief views of a few
Lawrence’s Goldfinches as they flew over a gas station parking lot. One in Bakersfield we ate at Benji’s, a Basque
restaurant, where the food was excellent.
I had tongue and sweetbreads for the first time, and they were both very
tasty! Why did we drive to Bakersfield
you ask? Well, just see where we ended
up the next day . . .
9 Oct: I knew of some Spotted Doves in Bakersfield, and
after some work we finally found one near Beale Park. The noisy Rose-ringed Parakeets were much easier to find.
Then we headed south—to the
Salton Sea. Crazy? Perhaps. But it ended up being worth
it. We stopped in Indio and bought some
delicious dates--at the gas station!
The Indio area is the US’s main date-producing region, so we just had to
try a few.
The reason we drove all this
way was for a shot at Blue-footed Booby.
The hurricanes of a month or two prior had pushed up to 5 of them onto
the Sea, and there was at least one still hanging around. We spent a couple hours trying to find a
point to access the Sea and view the rock (Mullet Island) the booby supposedly roosted on.
In the process stumbled across a small flock of Lesser Flamingos and at
least one Roseate Spoonbill. The heat waves were just too bad to view
the island, so we dicided to come back later in the day. We did however get great looks at a few
Yellow-footed Gulls, including one that flew right over the car. We also found a Willow Flycatcher, a species
facing possible extirpation from the Southwest.
We decided to go look for
Ruddy Ground-Dove at an old hog farm.
On the way we found a Prairie Falcon and had nice views of its
diagnostic dark wingpits. It took quite
a while, but we eventually got a look at one.
We found a couple more Larry’s Goldfinches here as well, providing
better looks at these beautiful little Californian endemics than we had
yesterday.
Back at the booby spot, we eventually prevailed. The booby was very distant, but it was a
Blue-footed Booby, either a lifer or an ABA bird for everyone!
We then spent an hour or
more fruitlessly searching “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrow. Water levels were
down, so there was no vegetation close to the waters edge and therefore, no
adequate habitat anywhere. We left feeling
somewhat defeated but also pretty pleased with what we’d accomplished for the
day: We did saw thousands of other water- and shorebirds and a Burrowing Owl,
after all. Thus began our 3.5 hour drive to Ventura.
10 Oct: This morning we headed out to Santa Cruz Island.
On the way, we had amazing looks at a juvie Sabine’s Gull, surely one of
the most beautiful gulls in the world.
We also came across a flock of a few thousand Black-vented Shearwaters,
which made for good studies of plumage variation in this variable species that
seems to be especially prone to leucism.
Right off the dock, some of
us glimpsed what was almost certainly the sedentarius
subspecies of Allen’s Hummingbird.
The jays were a bit skittish, undoubtedly due to the people roaming
about the island, but we eventually got very good looks at Island
Scrub-Jay—found nowhere else in the world but this island! On the rocks around the
island we had really nice looks at Black Oystercatcher and Black Turnstone.
We birded the same waters as
the trip four days prior, and the difference in birdlife was amazing. We saw perhaps 50x as many Black-vented
Shearwaters, but no storm-petrels and only about 5 jaegers total!
Back ashore, we got a tip
about a Pacific Golden-Plover found earlier in the day at a sod farm. After a bit of work, we had some prolonged
(30-40 minute) views of the bird feeding in a flock of Black-bellieds. This allowed us to discuss the finer points
of the ID of this somewhat tricky species.
Our last bit of birding was
at Big Sycamore Canyon, part of Pt. Mugu State Park. Though we only birded here perhaps an hour, it proved to be one
of my favorite stops of the entire trip.
We got incredible views of Nuttall’s Woodpecker (drumming and calling,
too), Wrentit, Anna’s Hummingbird, and Golden-crowned Sparrow mere feet
away. A special moment for me was
watching a Wrentit only 4 feet away as it would fly up and grab a little white
berry that perfectly matched its ivory-colored eye! We ended the evening with a surprise: a pair of Black-hooded Parakeets that came screeching down the
canyon. After enjoying some delicious
German food at Old Vienna Restaurant in Ventura, we spent the night in Oxnard.
SELECTED SPECIES LIST
Underlined – Landbirds endemic to the Pacific Coast area, from British Columbia to
Baja California. Seabirds endemic to
Pacific waters between Washington and the Gulf of California.
(C) –
endemic to Californian chaparral and/or adjacent habitats, some as far north as
Oregon, some as far south as Baja California.
Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera
A pair found at Huntington
Beach Central Park along with Blue- and Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Ducks.
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus
A female inside Monterey Bay at the beginning of our
pelagic.
Mountain
Quail Oreortyx pictus
Six stunningly beautiful
birds along the road in the Piute Mountains.
California Quail Callipepla californica
Common. A flock of ~125 animated birds was
particularly memorable.
Gambel’s Quail Callipepla gambelii
A small covey near the
Salton Sea.
Western
Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis
A few from nearshores waters
on pelagics.
Clark’s
Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii
One inside Santa Barbara
harbor.
Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes
Incredible looks at about two dozen on the Monterey
pelagic, including one very pale individual.
Northern
Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis
Small numbers on all three pelagics.
Pink-footed
Shearwater Puffinus creatopus
Common on the Santa Barbara
and Monterey pelagics.
Flesh-footed
Shearwater Puffinus carneipes
One spectacular individual
that passed close by on the Monterey pelagic.
Buller’s Shearwater Puffinus bulleri
Abundant on the Monterey
Pelagic.
Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
Uncommon on the Santa
Barbara and Monterey pelagics.
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus
One bird glimpsed briefly
inside Monterey Bay at the beginning of the pelagic.
Black-vented Shearwater Puffinus
opisthomela
Common on the Santa Barbara
pelagic and abundant on the Ventura pelagic.
Ashy
Storm-Petrel (C) Oceanodroma homochroa
Small numbers on the Santa Barbara and Monterey
pelagics.
Black
Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma melania
Small numbers on the Santa Barbara and Monterey
pelagics.
Brandt’s
Cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus
Common on all three
pelagics.
Pelagic
Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus
Uncommon on all three
pelagics.
Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
At least one at the Salton Sea, where it’s very rare.
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor
About a dozen escaped birds
at the Salton Sea.
White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus
Common in all lowland
habitats.
Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis
6 or 7 birds near the Piute
Mts., including a memorable dark morph.
Prairie Falcon Falco mexicanus
Nice views of a single bird
at the Salton Sea.
“Light-footed” Clapper Railn (C) Rallus
longirostris levipes
One bird heard at Upper
Newport Bay.
Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis
fulva
One juvenile with about 30
Black-bellies near Ventura.
Black Oystercatcher Haematopus
bachmani
A couple dozen seen on rocks
around Santa Cruz island.
Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
Common at the Salton Sea.
Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
A dozen seen in Upper
Newport Bay. Another seen on a sandbar
at the end of the Santa Barbara pelagic.
Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
30 or 40 seen in Upper
Newport Bay.
Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus
lobatus
Common on all pelagics.
Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius
A few seen on the Santa Barbara pelagic.
Heermann’s
Gull Larus heermanni
This gorgeous West Coast endemic was commonly found on
the coast and on the pelagics.
California
Gull Larus californicus
Commonly seen at most wetland/ocean habitats.
Yellow-footed
Gull Larus livens
We saw about 20 of this Gulf of California endemic at
the Salton Sea.
Western
Gull Larus occidentalis
Common on the coast and on the pelagics.
Gull-billed
Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
A few seen at Salton Sea.
Arctic
Tern Sterna paradisaea
Small numbers seen on the Santa Barbara pelagic.
Elegant
Tern Thalasseus elegans
A dozen or so noted on the Santa Barbara pelagic, and a
single bird seen at Bolsa Chica.
South
Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki
At least a dozen on the Santa Barbara pelagic,
including incredible looks at birds on the water and in flight directly over
the boat. A half a dozen more on the
Monterey pelagic.
Pomarine
Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
~300 on the Santa Barbara pelagic, lesser numbers on
the other two.
Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
5 or so on the Santa Barbara pelagic, 3 or 4 on the
Monterey pelagic.
Long-tailed
Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus
Remarkably, ~35 on the late date of 6 Oct on the Santa
Barbara pelagic. 2 on the Monterey
pelagic.
Common
Murre Uria aalge
Fair numbers on the Monterrey and Ventura pelagics.
Pigeon
Guillemot Cepphus columba
Small number found on inshore waters on all pelagic
trips.
Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata
Common on all pelagics.
Spotted
Dove Streptopelia chinensis
Two adults and a juvenile in Bakersfield.
Common
Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
Common near Salton Sea.
Ruddy
Ground-Dove Columbina talpacoti
A single bird near the Salton Sea.
Rose-ringed
Parakeet Psittacula krameri
~40 in Bakersfield.
Yellow-chevroned
Parakeet Brotogeris chiriri
Locally common in the Hollywood area.
Greater
Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus
Small numbers seen in desert areas between Bakersfield
and Salton Sea. Also noted near Mojave.
Common
Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
Remarkably common in the Piute Mtn. foothills, with up
to 10 birds seen in the road, including one that allowed approach within mere
feet!
Vaux’s
Swift Chaetura vauxi
Close-up views of one migrant bird near Hollywood.
Anna’s
Hummingbird Calypte anna
Amazingly close views of a 3 birds feeding on flowers
at Big Sycamore Canyon. A few others
seen briefly throughout tour.
Allen’s
Hummingbird Selasphorus sasin
One bird, probably of the sedentarius subspecies,
on Santa Cruz Island.
Acorn
Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus
This comical-looking bird is common in wooded habitats,
especially in oak.
Gila
Woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis
A couple birds near Salton Sea.
Ladder-backed
Woodpecker Picoides scalaris
Small numbers in desert habitat.
Nuttall’s
Woodpecker (C) Picoides nuttallii
Very nice views of a few at Big Sycamore Canyon.
White-headed
Woodpecker Picoides albolarvatus
Stunning views of a gorgeous male near Mt. Pinos.
“Pacific-slope”
Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis
One cooperative bird near Santa Maria.
Black
Phoebe Sayornis nigricans
Very common in habitated areas.
Willow
Flycatcher Empidonax traillii
One bird in willows at the Salton Sea.
Tropical
Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus
One bird in a marsh near Santa Barbara.
Loggerhead
Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
Small numbers in all open habitats.
Hutton’s
Vireo Vireo huttoni
Common in oak woodland.
Steller’s
Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
Uncommon in high-elevation pine forest neat Mt. Pinos
and in the Piute Mts.
Island
Scrub-Jay (C) Aphelocoma insularis
Leisurely looks at a family group on Santa Cruz Island,
where it is endemic.
“California”
Western Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica
californica
Common in oak woodland and in habitated areas.
Yellow-billed
Magpie (C) Pica nuttalli
Small numbers in the Central Valley. Many allowed close-up views from the
roadside. Found only in California.
Violet-green
Swallow Tachycineta thalassina
Small numbers in wooded areas.
Mountain
Chickadee Poecile gambeli
Small numbers in highland coniferous forest.
“Southern”
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (C) Poecile rufescens barlowi
One bird of the southern race (lacking rufous flanks)
near Santa Maria.
Oak
Titmouse (C) Baeolophus inornatus
Common in oak woodland.
Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus
Abundant in scrubby habitats.
Pygmy
Nuthatch Sitta pygmaea
A few seen in high elevation pine forest.
Bewick’s
Wren Thryomanes bewickii
Ubiquitous in most low- to mid-elevation habitats.
Cactus
Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicappilus
A single bird seen in Jawbone Canyon.
California
Gnatcatcher (C) Polioptila californica
A close, cooperative bird in Orange County.
Black-tailed
Gnatcatcher Polioptila melanura
A few seen near Salton Sea.
Western
Bluebird Sialia mexicana
Abundant in high-elevation conifer forest.
Wrentit (C)
Chamaea fasciata
Small numbers seen routinely in chaparral habitat. The only member of the babbler family in the
New World.
California
Thrasher (C) Toxostoma redivivum
Widespread but in small numbers in chaparral. Particularly nice looks were had in Orange
County.
LeConte’s
Thrasher Toxostoma lecontei
3-4 birds in Jawbone Canyon. Another couple near Maricopa.
Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens
Flyovers at a couple locations.
Black-throated
Gray Warbler Dendroica nigriscens
One individual near Cholame.
Townsend’s
Warbler Dendroica townsendi
Small numbers seen in many locations.
Hermit
Warbler Dendroica occidentalis
One bird at Huntington Beach Central Park.
Western
Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
A few birds seen in various locations.
California Towhee (C) Piplio crissalis
Remarkably abundant in chaparral.
Sage
Sparrow Amphispiza belli canescens
A pair each in Jawbone Canyon and near Maricopa.
“Belding’s”
Savannah Sparrow (C) Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi
Abundant at Upper Newport Bay.
“Thick-billed”
Fox-Sparrow (C) Passerella iliaca megarhyncha group
One bird in the Piute Mts.
Golden-crowned
Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla
A handful at Big Sycamore Canyon.
“Oregon”
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis oreganus
Small numbers in wet, scrubby habitats.
“Bicolored”
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
gubernator
A few dozen south of Cholame.
Tricolored
Blackbird (C) Agelaius tricolor
3 birds mixed in with the above Bicoloreds.
Lawrence’s
Goldfinch (C) Carduelis lawrencei
A small flock flew over near Monterey. Two more were seen near Salton Sea.