Author Archives: Bruce Aird

San Jacinto Wildlife Area, Winter 2012

Burrowing Owl in San Jacinto Wildlife Area

We went out to San Jacinto Wildlife Area looking for the Gyrfalcon… again. We went prepared with hot drinks, hats and gloves to keep from freezing. In that, we were mostly successful, but in finding the jeer-falcon, not so much. The greater San Jacinto Wildlife Area has had a fabulous winter for raptors. In addition to the ‘mythical’ Gyrfalcon, the four basic falcons, American Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie and Peregrine were all present. Everywhere we looked,we found either a Northern Harrier or a White-tailed Kite. Red-tails seemingly outnumbered even American Crows.

Along Gilman Springs Road was an overwintering dark-phase Swainson’s Hawk that was rather shy. The fields around Alessandro and Davis Roads harbored many Ferruginous Hawks, including several dark-phase birds. We saw quite a few along with both Bald and Golden Eagles. At least two Rough-legged Hawks wintered there that year. Even a Harlan’s Hawk (not a common morph in California) regularly hung out there. Both Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks were also present, and if you hung around until evening, it wasn’t hard to find 3-4 Short-eared Owls flying over the marshes along Bridge Street. Other birders alerted us this Burrowing Owl hunkered down right next to the levy road. Evidently, it did not want to see us!

Mountain Bluebird at San Jacinto Wildlife Area

San Jacinto Wildlife Area Regulars

After two or three hours of watching, we packed it in to go look for other birds. Down by San Jacinto Creek, we found a small flock of Mountain Bluebirds. Not a rare bird here, but certainly a pretty one. Further up Davis Road in an area of dry grasslands and sage chaparral, we found hundreds of sparrows. These included many White-crowned Sparrow, a few bright Savannah Sparrows and the occasional Vesper Sparrow mixed in. Canyon and Rock Wrens were both singing from the tops of boulders along Davis Road and a distant Greater Roadrunner was moaning out his love song from further away.

Sage Thrasher at San Jacinto Wildlife Area

Dozens of Sage Thrashers

The real star of the show up there was the Sage Thrashers. When we first heard reports of upwards of 30 thrashers in that location, it didn’t sound real. But there they were! Everywhere! For a while, we had half a dozen sitting on fence posts like meadowlarks. Others ran around like robins in the grass behind them. We watched more than a dozen right in front of us. Meanwhile others sang from perches in the sage behind us. It was really spectacular!

We took these photos with a Nikon CoolPix P300 digital camera attached to a Kowa TSN-883 spotting scope, using a Vortex PS-100 adapter attached to a Kowa TSN-DA10

Unusual Birds for San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

Lesser Yellowlegs at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

We visited San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine to participate in the Southern California Audubon Coordinating Council meeting. Sea and Sage Audubon graciously hosted this event. At a location like that, arriving early allows you to go birding before the meeting starts. Naturally, we did! With winter giving way to spring, and many birds molting into their nuptial plumage, a lot of the species look really beautiful. The American Avocets all sported their peach-colored heads.

There were many Tree Swallows hawking insects overhead, with the occasional Northern Rough-winged to keep us honest. Incidentally, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary hosts the southernmost breeding colony of Tree Swallows in the western U.S. Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats were yelling at us from the sedge beds. And as it turned out, several unusual birds provided happy surprises. A dainty little Lesser Yellowlegs gave us great looks here. It fed with characteristic rapidity in the shallows of Pond D. Consequently, we ran into problems photographing it: it kept sprinting out of the frame! Notice the delicate beak, whose length is less than 1.5x that of the head.

Common Teal at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

Common Teal

On Pond C, we found the one unusual visitor to the marsh that we knew from previous visits: Common Teal. Formerly recognized as a distinct and unique species, this Eurasian sub-species of Green-winged Teal visits us occasionally. Readily recognizable males lack the vertical white bar on the anterior portion of its flanks. Instead they sport a horizontal white bar on the scapulars that ours lacks. Another more subtle identifying feature of the drake Common Teal is the more prominent white striping in the face. Conversely, male Green-winged Teal lack this altogether, or show only a little bit. Thus, birders should watch this space for future developments. The International Ornithological Union already re-split Common Teal out from the Green-winged Teal. Hence, when the American Ornithological Union may follow suit. Either way, it’s a snazzy looking bird!

All pictures were taken with a Nikon CoolPix P300 digital camera attached to a Kowa TE-11WZ 25-60x Zoom Eyepiece and Kowa TSN-883 spotting scope, using a Sayegh Digidapter for Kowa TE-10Z and TE-11WZ.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

It’s fall in southern California, so birders keep busy looking for the odd vagrants that show up in pocket parks. Some might stay long enough to become Christmas (count) presents. Fall is the time to look for sapsuckers here. In Orange County, CA, it’s possible to see all four species of sapsucker. Red-breasted Sapsuckers predominate here; locating a Williamson’s presents a challenge. We found an unreported juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Canyon Park on Saturday, 20-NOV-11.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker versus Red-naped: the Difficult Species Pair

Yellow-bellied and Red-naped Sapsuckers resemble each other in appearance for much of the year. Typically in fall, a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker stand out, due to a major difference in molt patterns between the two species. Juvenile Red-naped Sapsuckers molt into their first basic plumage prior to migrating while young Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers retain their juvenile feathering all winter, not beginning to look like adults until late March or even April. Thus, any primarily brown sapsucker in winter is likely a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Still, you might want to take a close look at it just in case. If it has a paler brown head, or no prominent white wing coverts, it might be a female Williamson’s Sapsucker.

Juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Veteran’s Park

We drove up to Veteran’s Park in Sylmar to look for a male Williamson’s reported there. After a long search, we found many trees bearing obvious evidence of sapsucker workings, but only two birds. A shy Red-breasted kept company with another unreported juvenile Yellow-bellied. This bird shows the characteristic stiff tail feathers that help the bird perch more stably on the trunk. The pale red fringe on the crown is not a photographic artifact. This bird hid red buried in the crown feathers, hints of color it will show more boldly later. We took this photo with a Canon S95 digital camera on a Kowa TSN-883 spotting scope using a DA-10 adaptor.

Cooper’s Hawk

A Cooper’s Hawk checks out the Pancake Breakfast

At a recent Sea and Sage Audubon Pancake Breakfast, we found this Cooper’s Hawk right on top of us! This year?s event on got off to an inauspicious start with the rain pouring down at 6:15 am. Fortunately, the rain mostly stopped by 6:45 and a little later, dramatic clouds gave accent to beautiful blue skies. Evidently enjoying the warmth, this Cooper’s Hawk chose a sunny perch for itself. Since we already had the Leica Apo-Televid 82 spotting scope set up, it was a matter of 10 seconds or less to drop the Leica D-Lux4 digital camera into position and begin snapping away. As it turned out, haste was unnecessary as the bird sat quite obligingly for some time.

Cooper’s Hawks are relatively common resident raptors here in southern California. Though at this time of year, there is potential for confusion as Sharp-shinned Hawks migrate through the area.

A Tricky Identification

Cooper’s Hawk, dorsal view

Unfortunately, a picture like this conveys little idea of scale, but there are a few clues. First, this bird has a relatively large head; Sharp-shinned Hawks have proportionately smaller heads. Second, this bird exhibits a mostly-rounded tail. While not an infallible field mark, generally “Sharpies” show more squared tails. This is because their tail feathers have more uniform length. This bird is clearly an adult, as attested by the rust-red barring on the chest. Note the bluish-gray color of the back and upper tail and the bright red eye. Juveniles are warm brown in their upperparts, with brownish streaking against a pale chest, and a yellow or yellow-orange eye.

When the hawk flew to the top of the sycamore before leaving, it presented exposure problems for photography. He sat only briefly, peering this way and that. After compensating for the bright background, I squeezed off a few more shots. This Cooper’s Hawk provided a lovely demonstration subject for the speed and versatility of this Leica digiscoping outfit, and when I showed off the photos, more than one person said “Wow!” That’s what we like to hear!

Digiscoping with Zeiss

Digiscoping with Stephen Ingraham of Zeiss

Great Blue Heron swallowing a small eel

In preparation for the upcoming Zeiss digiscoping classes to be offered through Sea & Sage Audubon in October 2011, we were lucky to be visited by Zeiss’ own digiscoping expert, Stephen Ingraham. Stephen taught us how to use the adaptor and optimize the camera and scope for photography. We took Stephen to the mouth of the Santa Ana River on a gray and overcast Sunday morning in June. Stephen reviewed with us how to best align the camera and scope and then we were off.

Visiting Talbert Marsh

At Talbert Marsh at relatively low tide, we found strangely little to look at initially. A few Western Gulls lounged on the beach and some Killdeers screamed warnings to no one in particular. A somewhat ratty Double-crested Cormorant looked neither crested nor double… Then a Great Blue Heron showed up and started fishing in a mat of eel grass within 30 feet of us. Rather appropriately, the heron captured a green eel. Even in that grayish light, the Zeiss Diascope 85 spotting scope equipped with a Diascope Digital Camera Adaptor II and a Canon PowerShot S95 camera, picked up frame-filling detail as the heron subdued and swallowed its meal.

Juvenile Least Tern at Santa Ana River mouth

Least Terns

Our next stop was at the river mouth, near the California Least Tern and Snowy Plover breeding enclosure. Most of the adult Least Terns were way out on the beach, or out to sea fishing. However, we found this juvenile bird well on its way way to independence. Mom and Dad still fed him though. He luckily evaded the coyotes and Peregrine Falcons thus far. They would happily make lunch of him! You can see how the camera picked up subtle details in the shading of his feathers.

A Black-crowned Night-Heron

Returning to the car, we found this adult Black-crowned Night-Heron fishing right next to the path. With one of the broadest distributions of all birds, Black-crowned Night-Heron is hardly rare. But what a handsome one! This one still had one pale filoplume dangling from its crown and looked quite snazzy. Stephen says that when the gods of bird photography throw a suitable subject your way, never turn it down. So we worked at filling our memory cards a bit more. Two different users tried out this digiscoping rig for the first time. And both got decent quality shots even under less-than-ideal conditions.

A Lesser Sand-Plover in Orange County

Lesser Sand-Plover

Discovery of the Lesser Sand-Plover

Local cell towers began vibrating early last Saturday morning with the news that a local birder discovered a Lesser Sand-Plover at the extreme south end of Bolsa Chica Preserve in Huntington Beach, Orange County, California. The 11^th state record, this Lesser Sand-Plover was a first for the county, and a life bird for many potential viewers. What followed was the usual scramble as people who could, dropped everything and barreled towards the spot. Those of us who couldn’t (and we sympathize as we numbered among them) watched the email boards in agony.

When news of a Peregrine Falcon incident broke (the moan was almost audible county-wide) and the search for it in Bolsa’s inner bay began. At 10 AM, the Lesser Sand-Plover reappeared briefly, then flew off again and disappeared. Then late that afternoon, confirmation arrived that it returned where initially appeared, pushed south by the rising tide.

Lesser Sand-Plover stretching its wings

Getting to Harriet Weider Park

At that point, we were finally able to do something useful about it. So we each packed a different digiscoping rig and headed for Harriett Wieder Regional Park. This spot overlooks the vast mudflats the bird frequented by the Lesser Sand-Plover. The location presented a challenge as there is no close approach to the birds. Worse, the flocks roosted almost 150 yards away, and the light came from behind the birds there in the evening. It wasn’t a question of taking publication-worthy photos; in this case, that was never a rational possibility. What we hoped for was documentation quality shots, and to that end, we were all gratified with some success.

Lesser Sand-Plover

Why Digiscope?

People ask why you would bother with digiscoping; the Lesser Sand-Plover was a perfect example of why you would. Only distant views were available. The distance was well beyond the ‘reach’ of a superzoom camera or a DSLR with a conventional long lens. No closer access was available to anyone without a special permit to enter that section of the park. Only the 1000-4000 mm equivalence of digiscoping allowed us to obtain even passable images under these circumstances. The bird spent long periods of time unmoving, allowing us to take many exposures. We could even adjust to compensate for the challenging lighting in between without hurrying. When it emerged from its resting spot among the pickleweed, the camera shutters went off like machine guns! And everyone there was digiscoping. When we finished shooting, we went back to just enjoying this spectacular bird.

Judge the results for yourselves. Using three different cameras and spotting scopes from two different manufacturers, we took a great many shots. A little digital editing, and this is what we got: shots that more than suffice for documentation. No, these won’t grace the cover of any glossy birding magazines. Still they are plenty good enough to confirm the bird as a Lesser Sand-Plover. And what a bird!

Of Geese and Men – Winter Geese at the Salton Sea

Recently a Taiga Bean Goose joined the winter geese at Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. Naturally, this sparked discussion about speciation and vagrancy of geese. Along with virtually all other southern California birders, we went out to see the bird. As rarity chases go, this one was somewhat underwhelming. A 180-mile drive brought us to Vendel Road at about 6:20 a.m. where a group of birders already huddled. Surprisinglly, the bird was in view as it quietly fed with the three Greater White-fronted Geese that form its posse. It was roosting over 200 yards away in a field full of deep furrows. Hence, we seldom saw more than its head and neck. Occasionally, it walked up on top of a furrow, and showed off the bright white feather edging in its back and wings. But that was about it.

Blue Ross’s Goose among winter geese at the Salton Sea

Winter Geese at the Salton Sea

Where we viewed the Bean Goose, a mixed flock of Snow and Ross’s Geese sat in the pond behind us. The flock included one obvious blue-form Ross’s Goose. Bob Miller, a local bird expert, noted that, globally speaking, a blue-morph Ross’s Goose is rarer than a Bean Goose. Sure. Okay. Wait a minute… What?!

Factually, the world population of Taiga Bean Geese is roughly 5000 birds. According to The Auk, blue-morph Ross’s Geese constitute about 0.02 % of the total population, which at about 1,000,000 birds means there are maybe 2000 of them. Apparently, a blue-morph Ross’s Goose is actually rarer than a Taiga Bean Goose. Then again, in recent years, blue-morph Ross’s Geese were annual at the Salton Sea in winter. Whereas Taiga Bean Goose is usually a bit less reliable there, a reminder that in listing (and not just for real estate agents) it’s location, location, location! Lastly, there is a hunting season out there and it’s on now, so if you’ve a mind to, you might want to go see this goose sooner rather than later since it could end up cooked!

San Diego Longspurs

Horned Lark, Fiesta Island

Recently, we drove to San Diego in search of the three longspur species reported at Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. You wouldn’t think an off-leash dog run area would be a great place to bird, but this is not your average bark park. The area is huge, with very few trees over gently rolling terrain of grasses interspersed with bare areas. Hundreds of people were there with their dogs, but all were very well-behaved. In fact, neither of us can remember a single instance of barking the whole morning – there may have been some, but it was so unobtrusive it simply didn’t register. A bumper sticker on a car there offered this good advice for life: “Wag more. Bark less.” Continue reading →

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Ash-throated Flycatcher carrying food

During a recent Cactus Wren survey at the Starr Ranch National Audubon Sanctuary, I found a pair of Ash-throated Flycatchers. The Ash-throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens, is a common breeding species here in Orange County. Ash-throats typically inhabit the open woodlands at the edge of scrub-land and the partially-wooded suburban areas. Ash-throats reach up to 8.5 inches in length, making them fairly large flycatchers. Flycatchers of this genus are particularly handsome, with reddish webbing in the outer wing and tail feathers. A yellowish wash to the belly and gray throats contrast with the brown back, cheek and crown. Like many flycatchers, they have a crest that they can raise or lower at will. This gives them sort of a punk look, as in this shot.

Ash-throated Flycatcher at nest cavity

At the Nest

Ash-throated Flycatchers are cavity nesters. They require a nest hole, either natural, like a woodpecker hole or artificial, like a nest box. This pair used a hole in a massive old sycamore, which formed where a large branch broke off. This cavity was so deep that when the parent birds fed their young, they disappeared entirely in the hole. Typically, the birds were quite conspicuous, hunting and perching on exposed branches and vocalizing frequently with their loud “chi-beeer!” calls. They were often surprisingly unsubtle about the location of their nest. They flew in without hesitation and disappeared deep in the tree, only to reappear seconds later.

These parents were quite attentive to their young. They foraged rather successfully, as attested by the spider and unknown insect in their beaks. They were quite rude, frequently talking with their mouths full! But they were also cooperative, frequently posing on nearby perches and enabling photography.

Ash-throated Flycatcher emerging from the nest hole

Range

Ash-throated Flycatchers breed in Orange County, the only members of this genus that do so. Here, any other flycatcher in this genus is only visiting. That said, at least four other Myiarchus flycatchers show up in the county, including Dusky-capped, Brown-crested, Great-crested, and in winter of 2000, a Nutting’s Flycatcher. Of these, only the Great-crested Flycatcher doesn’t breed relatively nearby. Ash-throated Flycatchers are migratory, appearing between mid-March and the end of May and departing, from mid-August through September. Ash-throats over-winter in Orange County fairly regularly but are never common. Wintering birds average about one per year, according to “The Birds of Orange County California – Status and Distribution”.

Ash-throated Flycatcher with prey

Digiscoping

These pictures were taken with the Leica digiscoping rig comprised of the D-Lux4 digital camera attached to the Apo-Televid 82 scope with the D-Lux4 digiscoping-adaptor. One issue with digiscoping is that it takes longer to deploy than a regular camera set-up. Still, the high magnification of the Televid scope and great resolution of the D-Lux4 camera make for some good pictures. I snapped off perhaps 20 shots of these birds in the space of a few minutes. While not all were of publication quality, only one wasn’t in sharp focus. With the camera set on aperture priority, the exposures were pretty much spot-on every time. I’m not a great photographer, but this rig allows me to fake it pretty well! And with spectacular and willing subjects like these gorgeous Ash-throated Flycatchers, it’s pretty hard to go wrong.

Big Morongo Field Trip

I recently led a field trip for the Sea & Sage Audubon chapter to Big Morongo Preserve in San Bernardino County, CA. Big Morongo Preserve sits upon the outflow of subterranean water that supports a marsh and cottonwood forest. Water anywhere in the Mojave desert always brings in migrant birds. Big Morongo is a place where desert inhabitants mingle with marsh and forest birds.

Yellow-breasted Chat singing at Big Morongo Preserve

We arrived at Covington Park at 6:00 for some early birding before the official field trip began at 7:00. The park was awash in song as Yellow Warblers shouted from the cottonwoods. A Summer Tanager proclaimed his turf and Eurasian Collared-Doves (yes, they’re here too!) called from the tamarisks along the road. In the dryer areas, Gambel’s Quail sang their odd songs. Meanwhile, a California Thrasher added sweetness and endless variety to the morning chorus.

Lesser and Lawrence’s Goldfinches were flying back and forth between town and the park. Big Morongo and Covington are one of the most reliable places in southern California to see Lawrence’s Goldfinch in spring. They are a beautiful bird with their greenish wingbars, gray and black faces and yellow chests. At 7:00, we tore ourselves away from the birds and went to collect the larger group.

Brown-crested Flycatcher hunting at Big Morongo

Big Morongo Preserve

I was fortunate to have with me Vic Leipzig, an experienced birder and field trip leader. We split the group of 20 birders in half so folks would have a better chance to see the birds. The often narrow and intimate trails of the preserve make this difficult for large groups. This worked perfectly. I took a group out on the Marsh and the Desert Loop Trails. Vic led his group on the Marsh, Mesquite and Canyon Trails.

The two groups found nearly identical lists of birds, with the exceptions being a calling Virginia Rail found by Vic’s group. My group caught fleeting glimpses of a gorgeous Cassin’s Vireo. Not everyone saw this bird, but all got to hear its halting, burry “elevator” song – “going up? going down?” Other highlights of the walk included great looks at the singing Yellow-breasted Chats, the Brown-crested Flycatchers and threatened Least Bell’s Vireos. We also got up close and personal with several Verdins in the mesquite trees.

Long-eared Owl roosting at Big Morongo

Covington Park

Next, we led the participants over to Covington Park for great looks at Bullock’s and Hooded Orioles. Summer and Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and several pairs of Vermilion Flycatchers also lurked there. A Lark Sparrow was a pleasant surprise for the group. But the absolute glory of this stop was the pair of Long-eared Owls that. For the second year in a row, they raised a brood of chicks in the greater Morongo area. Our visit produced both adults and the youngest two of the five chicks they had this year.

We stopped to watch the bird traffic at the feeders across the street from the park. With a waterfall going, many of the birds from the park would fly across to this yard to bathe and drink before returning to the park. We had a group lunch there under the canopies in Covington Park. Some of the group left after that, but many continued with us to the Black Rock Canyon Campground unit of Joshua Tree National Park, roughly 20 miles further east near the town of Yucca Valley.

Red Diamondback Rattlesnake

Black Rock Canyon

We visited Black Rock for a chance at some of the desert specialties and it paid off handsomely. The Black-throated Sparrows practically stepped on our feet while singing to us. A pair of Scott’s Orioles was a bit more shy. But the male did give us extended views from a not-too-distant yucca plume. Additionally, there were singing Cactus Wrens, displaying Gambel’s Quail and calling Ash-throated Flycatchers. As a crowning touch, some Great Horned Owls were nesting in a large Joshua tree. Everyone got excellent looks at one very pale adult and three rather fuzzy chicks.

The snakes were also fabulous that day. We found this Red Diamondback Rattlesnake crossing the road, and it allowed close approach while scarcely even rattling at us. Near the Great Horned Owl nest, I caught a placid 5-foot Gopher Snake, giving people great views of it.

White-headed Woodpecker at Humber Park

San Jacinto Peak

By this point, we were down to just 9 people, but they were game for more. So we drove up to Idyllwild for a bit of mountain birding. We made a series of short stops, starting at Lake Fulmor, with a Hairy Woodpecker and several raucous Stellar’s Jays. Joining them were bunches of Mountain Chickadees and a host of Violet-green Swallows. Humber Park netted us Band-tailed Pigeons, Brown Creeper, singing Purple Finches. Finally, after a long search, a White-headed Woodpecker flew right over the cars! At Idyllwild County Park we finally found the Pygmy Nuthatches that had teased us all day. We also added Oak Titmouse and American Robin there. The day ended with a total of 78 species and a large group of happy customers.

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