6 California Statebirds in Los Angeles County, January 2014

I’ve tried to squeeze in at least a little birding time on most of my recent California business trips.  It gives me a little bit to look forward to on an otherwise arduous trip away from home.  In January my trip was to the Los Angeles area, where in winter there are invariably a number of staked out rarities that tend to stick around for a while.  So with some research using an e-bird Rare Bird Alert for Los Angeles County, and the Los Angeles County listserve, I came up with 6 potential statebird targets just in LA County.  But with limited time they would have to be real cooperative if I would end up having a chance to try for each of them.  And I’d have to map out efficient routes to get to the locations without too much LA traffic.

Day 1 -

Work was done late afternoon giving me just a couple hours of daylight for birding.  My key target was a male Orchard Oriole that had been coming to some blooming bushes in one portion of the LA County Arboretum, though it wasn’t necessarily very reliable.  I spent a little while walking around the area with no luck as I especially watched for the Oriole to fly in or for it to perch on the bushes.  But then I started talking with a local birder who said it was actually a skulker, staying deep within or even below the bushes.  And sure enough she spotted the Oriole just a couple minutes later just about a foot off the ground drinking nectar from the flowers.  Great advice!  Orchard Oriole was my fifth oriole species for CA – the only state where I’ve seen more orioles is TX where I have 8.  And CA is my first state western state with Orchard Oriole as a rarity (see my statebird map below).

 

Since that worked out pretty quickly, I still had time to head to Compton and Gonzales Park where a female Hepatic Tanager was being found high in the eucalyptus trees.  The park had only about 6 eucalyptus trees so I was hopeful that this one would be pretty easy.  I arrived at the park, walked to the small grove of trees, and had the Tanager within 15 minutes.  That was easy.  And with only a few minutes of daylight to spare.  CA is my second state to get this species as a rarity, having also seen this bird in a migrant fallout in NV.

Day 2 -

My next target was a stakeout White-throated Sparrow at Bonelli Park very close to the location of my meetings that day.  So I headed there at dawn and met local birder Rod Higbie who had helped me find the Arctic Loon there this past spring.  In a couple minutes we arrived at the sparrow’s preferred location – a brush pile where Rod had been putting out some seed.  And within a minute the adult male White-throat popped into the open to get its breakfast.  Perfect!  With plenty of time to get to work.  Now I've seen this species in WA and CA and a rare winterer.

At the end of work that day I once again had just a couple hours of daylight.  The first target was an Eastern Phoebe that was seemingly quite reliable around a small pond at a park.  And sure enough, it took me less than 5 minutes to find the Phoebe perched on a rock by the pond; CA is now my first western state where I've seen it as a rarity.  I ended up seeing all 3 phoebe species that day.

And since I got the Phoebe so quickly there was likely time to try for the next target – a Virginia’s Warbler that was reasonably reliable at the Veteran’s Administration complex in west Los Angeles.  I wasn’t quite sure of the location within the VA facility, but I actually found the correct spot right away, which was confirmed by a worker who told me exactly which tree the bird was most often seen in, and that he had seen the bird there that morning.  I waited in this area for about 45 minutes and watched many Yellow-rumps and House Finches, but no Virginia’s.  Dusk was fast approaching and I was about to give up when I heard some high pitched chip notes behind me and saw a small bird fly into a nearby hedge – it was the Virginia’s.  It continued to call as it feed very cooperatively just a few feet away.  Five for five – wow!  CA is just my sixth state for this species - I still need it in a few states where it is a regular breeder.

Day 3 -

My last target was likely to be the most difficult – a Palm Warbler that had been seen for some time along the paths surrounding the Ballona Wetlands.  I had been to this spot in Spring 2013 in a successful search for the local “Belding’s” Savannah Sparrow.  But I was unsuccessful finding the stakeout Palm Warbler there.  Wonder if this winter’s bird was the same individual.  The challenge with birding this location is that although there is a lot of good habitat, only the small portion adjacent to a path along the perimeter of the park is accessible.  I arrived pre-dawn and began to slowly walk along the path, finding lots of sparrows and Yellow-rumps but no Palm.  But on my third pass I ran into a small group of birds feeding on the ground, including the Palm Warbler.  By 8:30 I had 50 species and my last target for the trip.  My statebird map shows that I still need Palm in a couple eastern states where it is a regular migrant, and now have it in one state as a rarity.

That gave me all 6 of my target birds.  Really didn’t think I would have had enough time to go after them all, let alone actually find them.  Yet another very successful trip into southern CA finding eastern and desert rarities.  That gives me 370 in CA – my third highest state total.

Thayer’s Gull, East Kingston, NH, January 2014

In December 2013 I chased after a possible second year Thayer’s Gull found on the NH coast.  I was not successful in finding that bird, and it turned out that there was some doubt on its identification anyway.  After all, are we sure what a Thayer’s Gull really is?  So given these ID concerns, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of another report of a Thayer’s seen in East Kingston in January.  That is until I heard it was coming to the “feeder” of Davis Finch.  As an excellent birder, no one would doubt his identifications, so it was most likely a “good” Thayer’s.  Now a couple comments on Davis’ “feeder”.  For some years he has been putting out various meet carcasses in a field across from his house and has attracted some great birds like Black Vulture, Bald Eagles, and numerous gull species.  The Thayer’s was coming in to the meat along with a flock of 200+ gulls.

The gull might have first appeared on a Thursday based on brief observations, but wasn’t seen well enough for a positive ID until Saturday.  After the report hit the intranet, several birders saw it again Sunday morning.  I was finally able to get there mid-day Sunday and spent the rest of the afternoon there with no luck, although there were up to 200 gulls there off and on during the afternoon.  Other birds of note were Harrier, Sharpie, Cooper’s, Raven, and Bald Eagle, but no interesting gulls.  Davis came out at one point and mentioned that he puts meat out at 8 AM each day, and the gulls are usually there waiting for him.  So he suggested I return the next morning for a second try.

I arrived Monday morning at 7:30 and there was already a flock of perhaps 200 gulls circling overhead, along with 2 Bald Eagles and a couple Ravens in nearby trees.  I picked out an Iceland and a Glaucous in the group, but no Thayer’s. 

Gull flock circling over meat pile (right of center in the distance)

Then at 8 Davis came out and uncovered the boxes of meat.  As the gull flock increased in size and continued to circle overhead, I noticed what looked like a small white winged gull in the flock.  But its body wasn’t as white as an Iceland, it had a faint tail band, and a faint bar at the end of the secondaries.  It was the Thayer’s!  I watched it circle off and on for over an hour, and got great views of the underside of the bird.  At times it tipped sufficiently to see the upperside of the primaries which were darker than an Iceland, though not nearly as dark as a first year Herring.  And you could see a faint ghost pattern of dark tips and white windows on the outermost primaries.

At one point if came down to feed on the meat and it looked more like a pale Herring than a white-winged gull.  Shortly thereafter it flew from the feeder and we were able to relocate it as it rested on a nearby frozen pond.  These phonescoped photos provide excellent comparisons with first year Herrings, showing wing tips which were obviously darker than the checkered mantle, though lighter than a Herring.  Plus the small bill, rounded head, and smaller size were key differentiating fieldmarks. 

All in all I studied this bird as it circled overhead for nearly an hour, and sitting on the pond for another 15 minutes.  And it was amazing how it seemed to morph from a white-winged gull from below, to a pale Herring Gull from above.  Although NH is now my 10^th state with Thayer’s as a wintering rarity or vagrant away from the Pacific Coast, I studied this bird more than any other by far.  And Thayer’s was a key milestone on my NH statelist – number 350.

Snowy Owl, Addison, VT, January 2014

The winter of 2013/2014 has turned out to be a near-record season for Snowy Owls in the northeast.  Likely as a result of an excellent breeding success in northern Quebec in 2013, Snowy Owls started showing up early in the winter season (by mid-November), and were being seen in good numbers in all New England states by December.  I was hopeful that this irruption would finally allow me to see a Snowy Owl in VT – my last New England State for this species.  The challenge for VT Snowys is that most appear in the northwest part of the state, at least a 3 ½ hr drive away.  And of course even when they do show up, they aren’t guaranteed - I’ve chased after Snowys twice in the greater Burlington area without success.  A “greener” way for me to see one in VT is for one to appear in southern VT, which is exactly what happened a couple years ago when one showed up but for just one day in Brattleboro, just over an hour’s drive away.  Unfortunately I wasn’t monitoring my e-mails that day and didn’t have a chance to go after it.  So the 2013/2014 season would have to me my time for them in VT even if it meant a very long drive.

Snowys were being seen quite regularly in northwest VT by early December, as were Short-eared Owls – another species I need.  Unfortunately work and home commitments prevented me from getting there until around Christmas.  And by then Short-ears were no longer being seen, likely because of a thick cover of snow and ice dumped by several big December storms.  By the time I could finally get there it was early January, and Short-ears were no longer a likely target.  Though Snowys were becoming quite regular in the Champlain Valley, especially in Addison where as many as 7 were being seen in a rather small area.  So I was cautiously optimistic that I would get Snowy Owl for my VT list once I finally bit the bullet and took the drive up there. 

Denny Abbott and I planned a trip on a day when the weather was forecasted to warm up (relatively speaking) with a high in the low 20s, with 10-15 mph breezes from the south.  When we arrived in the late morning the temperature was a frigid 9 degrees.  And the wind was howling out of the south at 20-30 mph.  So much for forecasts!  This resulted in considerable blowing and drifting snow and near whiteout conditions, even though it was a sunny day.  Visibility was extremely low in places, and of course the windchill was way below 0.  Our first stop was at the Snow Goose viewing area in Addison, where 3 Snowys had been seen in the past week.  But the blowing snow was so bad that visibility was next to nothing.  And with all this wind, would Snowys or any other raptor even be in the open for us to see?  Suddenly I was starting to worry if I would see any Snowys at all.  We ran into local birder Ted Murin who told us of a perch a couple miles to the west on Route 17 where one had been reliable.  And his advice was spot on – as we drove up to the spot we quickly saw a white bump on top of a barn owl nesting box – our first Snowy of the day.  The nest box was nestled among a small group of trees which must have given the bird at least a bit of protection from the strong winds, allowing it to be in the open and giving us excellent views. 

We then went to Ted’s next recommended location – a barn on Town Line Road.  As we slowly pulled up close to the barn on the icy road I noticed a small white bump near the peak of the roof. 

With binocs it was obvious that it was the second Snowy of the day.  The bird was actually just a bit over the peak of the roof on the north side somewhat out of the wind.  Note in my phonescoped photo a small “ear” tuft – something you don’t see often on Snowys.

With our target bird out of the way we began to slowly drive the snowy and icy country roads to look for raptors and grassland birds.  Over the next couple hours we found quite a number of raptors –

• 1 Peregrine Falcon
• 1 Kestrel
• 6 Rough-legged Hawks including 1 dark phase
• 5 Red-tailed Hawks

But no luck with the amazing Prairie Falcon seen in the area the week before.

Plus we found 5 flocks of larks/longspurs/buntings along the roadsides consisting of  - 

• 74 Horned Larks
• 16 Lapland Longspurs
• 15 Snow Buntings

Our last stop was back at the goose viewing area where I noticed a pale perched bird at the top of distant tree.  It was another Snowy Owl, interestingly very exposed to the wind.  A nice way to end a classic winter day in the VT Champlain Valley.

iPhone picture from the warmth of the car

 Snowy Owl was #259 for my VT list, and my 224^th bird in each New England state.  But VT was only my 10^th state for this species.  I guess I don’t do a lot of mid-winter birding in the northern tier of states.

 

2013 Birding Year in Review

2013 was once again an exciting birding year, featuring 7 new ABA lifers (8 for my Lower 48 List), 2 new ABA reportable states plus several others safely over the reporting threshold, and another year closer to my goal of 2,000 in New England. 

The first birding adventure of the year was a short trip to southern AZ in January with birding friend Denny Abbott to pursue two lifebirds - newly countable Rosy-faced Lovebird and a returning Nutting’s Flycatcher.  We were successful on both targets with great views of these lifers.  We also spent some time statebirding principally on Arizona’s “West Coast” (aka the Colorado River), finding 17 statebirds.  That put my AZ state list up to 292, finally putting me safely above the ABA threshold of 270.

My big statebirding trip in 2013 wasn’t a trip out west as in previous years, but instead a Midwest trip to MI, OH, IN, and Ontario.  The primary objective of the trip was to see Kirtland’s Warbler in MI – a bird which was only on my lifelist based on a supposed heard-only bird more than 40 years ago.  And of course I also wanted to do some statebirding in each location.  Although I was already reportable in IN and OH, my lists were only a few over the old ABA thresholds, so I wanted to add enough to get to at least 15 above threshold.  And my ON list was only 147, so lots of potential there.  I ended up with 194 species on the trip, including - nother state where I had considerable success in 2013 was CA.  I travel to CA regularly for business, and with just a couple hours free for birding on 4 different trips, I added 13 new statebirds.  But more importantly, 4 of these were new lifers –

• MI - the Kirtland’s actually turned out to be quite easy – I saw 3 birds and heard nearly a dozen others at 3 locations.  This species is really making a comeback.  Plus I added 8 statebirds raising my MI state list to 240 and 24 over threshold
• OH – although migration at Magee Marsh was slow, I added 12 statebirds giving me 226 total and 15 over threshold
• IN - added 16 giving me a statelist of 232 and 24 over threshold
• ON - despite very slow migration at Point Pelee I added 34 to my province list giving me 181 – still a long way from the 240 threshold

Despite the obvious success on the trip, I still like western birding trips better.

 

Another focus in 2013 was to work on my NM list, with trips to northcentral NM in March and July, and a brief visit to the southeast corner in May.  The March trip was principally for wintering birds including the Rosy Finches at Sandia Crest.  I not only found all 3 Rosy Finches but also local targets like Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, and Three-toed Woodpecker among my 35 new statebirds.  During my May trip I was lucky enough to experience a spectacular migrant fallout at multiple desert hotspots, finding a number of eastern rarities like White-eyed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Northern Waterthrush, Northern Parula, Black-and-white Warbler, and several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  In my roughly 5 hours of birding I saw 88 species, 20 of which were new for my NM statelist.  What a day!  And lastly my July trip was planned for summering birds in northern NM.  But as the trip neared, a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail was spotted in southern NM at Bosque del Apache NWR.  Of course I extended my trip to try for this mega rarity, but alas, I was there the first 2 days it wasn’t seen.  Despite that disappointment, I still added 31 birds to my NM statelist on this trip, which gave me 283 for the state and 19 over the ABA reporting threshold.  NM was my 42^nd reportable state.  I posted all my 2013 NM trips on e-bird totaling 201 species.

NM hummingbird feeder

I also took a 4-day trip to the western tip of the OK panhandle and southwest KS as an add-on to a business trip.  Both locations are well-known as having local populations of a number of western species not likely to be seen elsewhere in those states.  Plus I took the trip in September to coincide with fall migration to hopefully add even more statebird potential.  Heading into the trip I was just 3 short of reportable in OK, and just 1 over reportable in KS, so my goals were to not only reach the threshold in OK, but get at least 15 over threshold in each state.  The trip was amazing – not only was I successful in finding most of the local specialties, but also had a number of migrants including several rarities.  The highlight was a very high number of both eastern and western Empidonax flycatchers – there were more Empids than warblers at most sites.  At one point I had a Cordilleran, a Dusky, and a Hammond’s in one binocular field!  Other rarities included Broad-tailed Hummingbird in OK as one of 5 species of hummers for an area with no breeders.  This was all despite very rainy conditions in what is typically an arid part of the country.  In OK I had 102 total species, 31 of which were statebirds giving me 265 for my OK statelist and 28 over threshold; OK is now my 43^rd reportable state.  In KS I was accompanied by 3 KS birders who had birded the area extensively, and together we found 115 species including 26 new statebirds.  That gives me 263 for my statelist and of course well over the ABA reportable threshold. 

One of the KS stops was a location called Point of Rocks which was a prominent landmark in the 1800’s for the travelers on the Santa Fe Trail (and good for Rock Wrens and Poor-wills).  Looking down today from the top of the point, you can still see the tracks used by those wagon wheels even after all those years.  Pretty awesome.  As are the views of the cottonwoods in the Cimarron River valley as far as you can see.  Although the river is typically dry, some small pools remained after the big late summer rains that occurred in the area that year.

Santa Fe trail still visible from Point of Rocks

Cottonwoods along the Cimarron River to the horizon

Another state where I had considerable success in 2013 was CA.  I travel to CA regularly for business, and with just a couple hours free for birding on 4 different trips, I added 13 new statebirds.  But more importantly, 4 of these were new lifers –

• Bell’s Sparrow – newly split species outside Los Angeles
• Arctic Loon (new for Lower 48) outside Los Angeles
• Blue-footed Booby - north of San Francisco
• Nutmeg Mannikin – newly countable population in Los Angeles

(I also had Belding’s Sparrow in LA – wonder if that one will be split from Savannah  some day)

Not bad for such a short amount of time.

2013 also featured some very brief but most productive side-trips to business or family trips, including -

• TX – with a quick trip to the Rio Grande Valley I was able to add Amazon Kingfisher as a lifebird
• CO – 6 new statebirds in January including a rare Iceland Gull, and 3 migrants in a brief stop after my OK/KS trip
• LA – an impromptu trip to the southwest corner of the state gave me 5 new statebirds, putting me 11 over the threshold – but still too close
• NY – 2 statebirds in my first time birding in Central Park

On all my trips I received tremendous help from local birders.  Many thanks to all you out there you gave me great advice! 

And of course there’s my New England birding, where I continue on my long-term quest to reach 2,000 statebirds.  2013 was a pretty slow year for me with just 23 ticks tying my lowest total since I moved to New England in 1993.  My low 2013 total was partly due to bad timing on my part (I was in OH when the Ringed Plover showed up in MA), more than a typical number of missed stakeout birds, and a lower than normal number of rarities in the region.  Plus of course as my numbers go up there are less new birds to chase.  Nevertheless, I did get a life bird in MA this year – Fieldfare.  My New England total is now 1,954, just 46 short of my goal.  Hopefully I’ll reach the magic 2,000 in 2015. 

Here’s the year by the numbers -

Lifebirds -

• 7 new ABA lifebirds and 1 additional Lower 48 lifebird –
• Nutting’s Flycatcher – Bill Williams River NWR, AZ
• Rosy-faced Lovebird – Phoenix, AZ
• Fieldfare – Carlisle, MA
• Bell’s Sparrow – Angeles National Forest, CA
• Arctic Loon (Lower 48 only) – Bonelli Regional Park, CA
• Blue-footed Booby – Gull Rock, Marin, CA
• Amazon Kingfisher – San Benito, TX
• Nutmeg Mannikin – Harbor Regional Park, CA

Plus I “sanitized” Kirtland’s Warbler on my lifelist

• ABA total now at 739, US at 741, and Lower 48 at 717

Statebirding (my statebird map with totals for each state is inserted below) -

• Newly reportable in NM and OK
• ABA reportable now in 42 states plus DC  
• 255 statebirds added in 20 states, plus 34 more in Ontario
• 23 new statebirds in New England – 1,954 total ticks now in New England
• Total Ticks – now at 12,701, with 12,437 of those in the U.S.
• Over the last 10 years I’ve added statebirds in every state except HI, MT, and SC  

 

Statebirding will continue to be my priority in 2014.  I’ll be pursuing my lifelong goal of reaching what used to be ABA’s reportable thresholds in all the Lower 48 states plus DC – just 6 more to go!  I used to think that I could also be reportable in AK and HI some day, but I don’t think those are very realistic goals any more.  I also need to continue to add statebirds in states where I’m just a bit over the old ABA threshold since those thresholds (defined as half the total of species ever seen in that state) continue to inch up over the years.  I have 7 states where although reportable, my total is less than 10 over the threshold, so not very safe.  Chasing after New England statebirds will continue, though they get harder and require more chasing each year.  My goal is to get to 2,000 – with just 46 to go I’m hoping to be just 2 years away from my reaching my target.  And although adding lifers hasn’t really been a high priority, I have to admit that as I near 750 in the ABA region, chasing lifebirds has become of greater interest.  Perhaps if the trend of more and more splits continues I can get to 750 without seeing anything new.  I just need more Masters and PhD students to publish papers justifying more splits.

As for potential 2014 trips, I’ve been considering a summer statebirding trip to southwest ID, northeast NV, eastern OR, and eastern WA.  If all goes well after the trip I could be reportable in NV and OR, plus see Snowcock in NV, and have a lot of room between my totals and the ABA thresholds for WA and ID.  Or maybe I could take a summer trip to MT and ND which would finally give me respectable lists in those 2 states, though still below reportable.  Then there are my regular business trips to various spots around the country, with hoped-for trips into WV, WY, NE, and CA.  And maybe I’ll finally spend some quality birding time in Canada.