Category Archives: Spotting Scopes

Spotting scopes are terrestrial telescopes that pick up where binoculars leave off. They have much larger magnifications and are usually mounted on a tripod or other support device. In these configurations, potting scopes make it easier to share a view with others without having to give complicated directions about where to look.

Cooper’s Hawk

A Cooper's Hawk checks out the Pancake Breakfast

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

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!

Season of Shorebirds – Summer 2011

The summer of 2011 is shaping up to be a fabulous season of shorebirds in California. The season kicked off with the appearance of the Lesser Sand-Plover in Orange County, CA, a cooperative bird that stayed a total of 8 days in late June, delighting many observers.

Shorebirds to the North

Little Sting season of shorebirds

Little Stint

July has been even better with the appearance of two Little Stints, both in northern California. On the 23rd, Kimball Garrett discovered another one at Piute Ponds on the grounds of Edwards Air Force Base in northern LA County. On the same day, a Wilson’s Plover was found at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve in Carpinteria. Unfortunately it was in a restricted area where only a limited few could get access.

The Little Stint was too good to pass up, so a group of us got up before dawn the next day and made the trek north, arriving on the site by 7:15. The bird was re-found within minutes of our arrival and we began watching this rather reddish adult shortly after. After about an hour of digiscoping pictures and video, one of the observers got a phone call saying that Guy McCaskie had found an adult Curlew Sandpiper on the salt basin at Imperial Beach, south of San Diego. You could look at the birders around you and just see the wheels turning as they all began calculating time and distance, or perhaps gauging spousal approval.

YouTube video

Shorebirds to the South

Curlew Sandpiper season of shorebirds

Curlew Sandpiper

For us, it was a no-brainer: we were going! Even with a stop or two along the way, we made it to the site just a bit before noon. We pulled together the cameras, scopes, tripods and binoculars and made the ¼-mile trek out to the site. As we arrived, we could tell something was off from the assembled crowd of birders. Strange and angry mutterings like “!*^$&% Peregrine Falcon!!” and worried bits of encouragement like “It’s got to be here somewhere!” suggested the nature of the problem. With over 20 birders searching, no one found the bird for at least an hour.

At that point, we decided to break for lunch and come back later, so we drove off in search of fast food. As it turned out, the food wasn’t fast enough: it had just been delivered to the table when the phone rang. The bird was back! Unlike the stint, this wasn’t a life bird for either of us, so we opted to hurriedly finish our sandwiches before charging back out there. Apparently everyone had heard. The crowd of birders had more than doubled, and the mood was ebullient. The bird itself was calmly feeding on the near edge of the water, evidently oblivious to the mob of admirers mere yards away. It put on quite a show, feeding and preening and occasionally lifting its wings.

YouTube video

Season of Shorebirds Continues

Since then, two more great shorebirds have shown up, although both are way further north again. On the 26th, a Red-necked Stint appeared in Coos County Oregon. On August 5th, Ryan Merrill found a Wood Sandpiper at Samish Flats, WA. For those of you on the left coast, you might want to hit any marsh, lake, bay or beach with any kind of suitable habitat. And for those of you from more distant locales, you might want to check your opportunities for standby flights. Who knows what could show up in a year like this!

Digiscoping with Zeiss

Digiscoping with Stephen Ingraham of Zeiss

Digiscoping with Stephen Ingraham of Zeiss

Great Blue Heron swallowing a small eel

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

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.

Black-crowned-night-heron-lgA 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

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 11th 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

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

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

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!

Unusual Vagrants in Southern California

Unusual vagrants made the first half of November, 2012 extraordinary for mega-rarity bird sightings in southern California. From the 4th-7th of November, an Ivory Gull visited Pismo Beach. Then on the 8th, a Black-tailed Gull appeared in Long Beach. On the 9th, someone found a Taiga Bean Goose at the south end of the Salton Sea. The Ivory Gull was only the second one seen in California. The Black-tailed Gull was a third state record and the Bean Goose is a first. Of these unusual vagrants, the latter two are normally found in east Asia. Are these just random occurrences or are they part of a larger pattern, perhaps resulting from climate change?

Ivory Gull

YouTube video

Ivory Gulls are native to the far arctic where they live on pack ice and feed mostly on the carcasses of dead mammals such as seals. As the name implies, the adults are almost pure white. The only coloration is their black legs, feet and eyes, and their bill, which is greenish with a bright yellow tip.

In the 20th Century, Ivory Gulls reached the US in the Lower 48 and southern Canada in only 20 of 100 years. Few of these years had more than one bird, and most were first winter birds. Since then, Ivory Gulls have “vagrated” to the Lower 48 and southern Canada in 8 consecutive winters, and most were adults. In fact, the Pismo Beach bird was the 8th for 2010 alone, and ALL of them were adults. The vast majority of North American records are from the northeast, but recent records from Tennessee (1997), the Alabama/Georgia border (2009) and Pismo Beach are unusually far south. The Pismo Beach record is the earliest fall/winter sighting ever – typically, sightings occur between December and March with the bulk of those in January and February. See “Patterns from E-Bird” at eBird.org for more complete sighting details.

Ivory Gull

Ivory Gull

Ivory Gulls normally stay close to the Arctic Circle and are quite comfortable in that harsh environment. They have long claws, adapted for traction on the ice, but the claws are of little use on a beach where people wade barefoot in the ocean. The availability of multiple seal carcasses along the beach certainly helped keep this Ivory Gull fed. While we were there, it spent most of its time feeding.

Vagrancy among juveniles can be attributed to a successful breeding season, but among adults, it is more difficult to explain. Perhaps because Ivory Gulls rarely see humans, they are often relatively tame. At Pismo Beach, birders frequently surrounded the gull. Joggers and dog walkers passed by, but the gull seldom flew in response to close approach. The dramatic changes in vagrancy patterns may be cause for concern about this already endangered population of Ivory Gull. Seeing one this far from the pack ice was incongruous, but delightful.

Black-tailed Gull

"<yoastmarkBlack-tailed Gulls are native to eastern Asia but are casual visitors to coastal Alaska and northeastern North America. They are accidental in California. Neither of the two previous records were chase-able. The first bird visited San Diego Bay in 1954. It was collected. A visiting birder photographed the second one at a public beach in Half Moon Bay (12/29/2008). Many birders searched, but never refound the gull.

Black-tailed Gulls are larger than Ring-billed Gulls and smaller than California Gulls. Adults have a bright yellow bill with a red spot followed by an uneven black ring and a bright red tip. The face shows bright white eye crescents above and below the yellow eyes with their red orbital ring. They also have yellow legs and feet. Despite the name, the tail is not completely black, featuring a broad black sub-terminal band between a white rump and narrow white terminal band. The mantle is slate gray, and their wing tips have much smaller white mirrors than other medium to large white-headed gulls.

YouTube video

The Long Beach Black-tailed Gull remained through at least the afternoon of the 10th. It stayed in its general location all day, moving only between the beach, the water, and some buoys. The bird was absent when we arrived pre-dawn on the 9th and only a few gulls were on the beach, but it flew in at 6:15 AM to the delight of about 30 birders, some of whom came from as far away as the Sacramento area. While on the beach, the it spent much of its time preening in the midst of a flock of Ring-billed, California and a few Western Gulls.

Taiga Bean Goose

In 2007, the AOU split Bean Goose into Taiga Bean Goose and Tundra Bean Goose, based on breeding habitat: forest bogs in the subarctic taiga or on the arctic tundra. The Taiga Bean Goose has a black bill with a yellow-orange tip. It lacks the white at the base of the bill of the Greater White-fronted Goose (which has an orange bill).  A longer bill, and narrower at the base, distinguishes it from Tundra Bean Goose. Bean Geese have a habit of grazing in winter bean field stubble, hence the name. Bean Geese are native to Eurasia, and the Taiga is the largest species.

This individual showed up at the south end of the Salton Sea at Unit 1 of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge on Vendel Rd. This Taiga Bean Goose is of the Middendorf race from eastern Siberia, which may merit separate species status itself. There are only about 5000 Middendorf’s Taiga Bean Geese. This goose associates with a huge flock of mostly Snow and Ross’s Geese that also includes three Greater White-fronted Geese. Other North American Bean Goose records were mostly from coastal Alaska, along the Aleutians or in the northeast (US and southeast Canada). There are also two 2003 records from the state of Washington.

Why the Vagrancy?

The question many California birders ask is: why are we seeing these mega-rarities all in southern California in early November? Could these occurrences be due to climate change? Some evidence may support that conclusion in the case of the Ivory Gull. However, there is as yet no causal connection between climate change and the vagrancy of the other two birds. Regardless of the reasons, it sure is an exciting time to be birding in southern California!

San Diego Longspurs

Horned Lark, Fiesta Island

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Nix Nature Center: Winter Birding

The James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 2007. Oddly, it remains to this day, one of the better-kept secrets of Orange County open space. Conveniently located, this unit of the Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park is always well worth a visit. I have been stopping by periodically ever since it opened, often going for an hour or so before work during the week.

Although its official hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, I often find it open earlier than that, which is really nice! I go mainly for the birds, of course, but anyone interested in hiking or relatively easy mountain bike trails will find something to their liking here. And in wet years, the wild flowers can be spectacular too. Just a piece of advice: if you plan to visit Nix Nature Center on a weekend, get there early. To keep the place from getting loved to death, parking is deliberately limited to four small lots.

Digiscoping at Nix Nature Center

Digiscoping at Nix Nature Center – White-crowned Sparrow

Digiscoping Birds

I was working on a review of the Leica D-LUX 4 digiscoping system. Happily, the Nix Nature Center is a great place for pictures. It was a gray overcast March morning when I stopped by. Phainopeplas were busy spreading mistletoe to every available sycamore branch. Small flocks of Zonotrichia sparrows (just Golden-crowned and White-crowned this year) sang and fed nervously in the open spaces around the parking lot.

This sub-adult White-crowned Sparrow teed up for me in a luxuriant laurel sumac. First I took a picture with just the camera. The sparrow is that white dot at the top of the bush. But with the Leica Apo-Televid 82 scope in line, the charms of this young bird become much more apparent. These photos were not cropped in any way, to make the magnification of the unit more apparent. Always check the sparrow flocks carefully in winter. I’ve seen Lincoln’s, Savannah, Chipping, and Brewer’s Sparrows mixed in with the White-crowns, and a Black-chinned Sparrow in early spring. Generally, they’re feeding right out in the open on the ground.

California Towhee at Nix Nature Center

California Towhee at Nix Nature Center

Local Residents

Generally, California Towhees feed near the parking lot, kicking the mulch and leaves with both feet as they root around. You can see the characteristic ‘pumpkin butt’ and hints of buff around the base of the heavy seed-eating bill. The canyons often echo with the loud “chink” calls of this common resident. A close cousin to the California Towhee and Spotted Towhees live here year-round. But I’m still searching for my first wintering Green-tailed Towhee there.

Western Bluebird, Nix Nature Center

Western Bluebird, Nix Nature Center

Willing to take advantage of a nest box hanging anywhere, Western Bluebirds usually feed from low perches. They even frequent the parking lots unless crowds of people have chased them into hiding. I found this female hunting from on a bare sycamore limb. As usual, she was too shy to permit close approach. But the extra “reach” of the digiscoping outfit easily brought her in close without the need to disturb her further.

Nix Nature Center Habitat

Nix Nature Center sits on typical scrub land, with patches of oak-sycamore community in the wetter areas. However, a short walk from Nix brings you to other habitats. The network of trails links up with the other 6600 acres of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. These include Dilley Preserve, Willow, Sycamore and Laurel Canyons, and farther away, Crystal Cove State Park. Walking under Laguna Canyon Road takes you to Barbara’s Lake, the only naturally occurring lake in Orange County. There you always find Pied-billed Grebes and herons. Occasionally, Least Bitterns nested there in past years. So when you get a chance, check out this wonderful little park, and see what you can find.