Sunday comes after Friday, right?
Not much story with this update: a fairly productive pack of West Coast grassland species plus a couple odds 'n ends from the mountains, all seen during my first two weeks at work. Highlights included my first Prairie Falcon; my second (and third and fourth and so on) Horned Larks; and near-daily sightings of Coyote running through the tall grass.
Tomorrow I will cover my off-work time: nearly 40 wetland birds and a couple surprise exotics.
Birds
50. California Quail (Callipepla californica)
51. Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
52. Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
53. White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
54. American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
55. Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
56. White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
57. Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
58. Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
59. Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
60. California Towhee (Melozone crissalis)
61. California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
62. Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)
63. Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)
Mammals
6. California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
7. Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
8. Coyote (Canis latrans)
9. Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
A very successful birding weekend! On my first day off work I made a jaunt out to a productive coastal wetland spot. Even before I arrived I saw flocks of
Brown Pelicans flying out over the ocean and a pair of
Black-winged Stilts fly over a freeway bridge a mile out. Birds wait for nobody.
I spent a few hours at the wetland; I had been here once before in 2019 with a group of expert birders, but this time I was identifying shorebirds solo (other than help from a couple local birders I passed, and someone who helped me with photo IDs - I guess I should say "more solo"). I did a fairly decent job, netting 35 species for the year and 2 lifers -
Long-billed Dowitcher (checking my life list, I only saw Short-billed last time) and a juvenile
Little Blue Heron, standing next to a similar-looking
Snowy Egret for an easy side-by-side comparison! Other highlights included a juvenile
Bald Eagle, Brant, Long-billed Curlews, a
Black-bellied Plover, Reddish Egrets, and a
Marsh Wren - a species I hear frequently but have only visually confirmed once or twice before. Hopefully at some point I'll have enough time and a good enough Internet connection for some photo uploads.
The rest of the weekend was more about zoos, camping, and relaxing. A local LA park brought me half a dozen common species I'd neglected to bank so far. My campsite in Orange County had a
Common Poorwill calling, which I wandered around in the dark searching for fruitlessly. The next morning I woke up to the all-familiar chattering of
Red-crowned Parrots, which are thankfully much easier to find. And by sheer coincidence, I saw an
Egyptian Goose grazing outside the entrance to one of the zoos I visited - an exotic bird that I'd planned on picking up in the area at some point. Funny how often things fall into your lap when you aren't actively looking for them, eh?
I finished out the weekend camping up in a mountain valley, waking up to the harsh calls of
Steller's Jays and the leaf rustling of
Western Gray Squirrels. Yeah, I said Gray; that's how we spell that color across the pond. Consider the gauntlet thrown.
Tomorrow's update will catch me up, with more lifers and a very unusual find.
Birds
64. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
65. Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
66. Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
67. Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)
68. American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
69. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
70. Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
71. Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
72. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
73. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
74. Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
75. Brant (Branta bernicla)
76. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
77. Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
78. Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
79. Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
80. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
81. Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)
82. American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
83. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
84. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
85. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
86. Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens)
87. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
88. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
89. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
90. Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
91. Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
92. Marsh Wren (Sistothorus palustris)
93. Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
94. Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
95. Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
96. Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
97. Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
98. Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
99. Least Sandpiper (Callidris minutilla)
100. Western Sandpiper (Callidris mauri)
101. Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
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102. Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
103. Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)
104. Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciatus)
105. American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
106. Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
107. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
108. Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
109. Red-crowned Parrot (Amazona viridigenalis)
110. Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
111. Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Mammals
10. Western
Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus)
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