Nutmeg Mannikin – Lifebird – and 6 other California Statebirds, December 2013

A couple months ago I was scanning through ABA’s website and found an article describing that the ABA had just voted to add Nutmeg Mannikin as a countable bird in the ABA area.  Actually, more specifically, the population in southern CA is countable, even though there are populations in a number of other locations in the Lower 48.  A couple years ago I had found a small flock of Mannikins in the Los Angeles area at the edge of a riparian area, and last year I saw one in Houston in a manicured lawn in a park.  But those were not countable per ABA’s rules.  So I had to find them again in southern CA in order to add them to my list.  With regular trips to Los Angeles that shouldn’t be too hard.  So as my next CA trip neared, I contacted some local birding friends for advice.  It turns out that although they are all over southern CA, they are generally seen in small numbers and not necessarily very reliable in any one spot.  But a couple key locations were suggested, and I was ready to give it a try.  Plus southern CA can be a great spot for wintering rarities, many of which stick around for quite a while.  Then again, the last time I looked for wintering rarities in southern CA (3/13) I only found 2 of my 8 targets.  Hopefully my luck would be better this time.

The first birding I did was to go after a Dusky-Capped Flycatcher as a CA statebird.  One had reappeared for the 6^th consecutive winter in La Mirada Creek Park very close to where my meetings were.  I had tried for this species twice last winter in another LA-area park without success, so maybe I’d have better luck this time.  It was a very cold morning by LA standards that day (only 40 degrees), and I doubted that the flycatcher, nor its insect food, would be very active early in the morning.  But I was only available in the early morning, so I arrived at 6:30 (20 minutes before sunrise), and began my vigil.  I found a few birds here and there, most notably a blooming tree that was being visited by dozens of Allen’s Hummingbirds, and a Sooty Fox Sparrow, but no sign of the target bird.  By 8:00 it was warming a bit, and some of the bird’s favorite trees were now in the sun, so I hoped that it might become more active.  And sure enough, I heard one call – an unmistakable loud “wheeeer”.  I quickly went to the area where I heard the call, but never saw or heard the bird again.  But one call was good enough.  CA is my second state for Dusky-capped (see my statebird map below).

 A White-throated Sparrow had been seen in the park recently as well, but I never got a good location for this one and didn’t find it.  Mannikins had actually been reported at the park as well, but I wasn’t too worried about missing this one since I had better spots for them. 

My key opportunity to try for Mannikins was late in the day at two different parks suggested by local birders – Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park as the best location and Madrona Marsh as a secondary spot.  Their preferred habitat at these locations was the reed beds, and I was told they are often heard before being seen.  Harbor Park had a good-sized lake nearly surrounded by reeds, so lots of potential Mannikin habitat.  As a bonus, Harbor Park had a couple other rarities to try for as well – Rusty Blackbird and American Redstart.  Microdirections had been posted for both, so I had a realistic shot at 3 targets at this spot.  And since both the Blackbird and Redstart were being seen along the southwestern edge of the lake, I could focus on this part of the park for all 3. 

I began to walk around the edge of the lake listening for Mannikins at each area with reeds, but with no luck.  Eventually I got to the area where the Redstart was being seen, and although I had some Audubon’s Warblers there, there was no Redstart.  Then I got to the dam, one area where the Blackbird had been seen, but no luck on this one too.  I began to wonder if this was going to be yet another CA trip with limited success.  Next I walked below the dam where the Blackbird had also been seen and there it was – feeding out in the open in a small wet area.  I’ve seen Rusty Blackbird throughout much of its normal range in the east, and now in CA as my second western state (after NM) where it is a rarity.

There were many more reed beds to check for the Mannikins, so I headed back up the western side of the lake to bird these other areas.  En route I passed by the Redstart spot again so of course I tried for this one too.  There was a fair amount of activity in the area, again mostly Audubon’s Warblers.  And then I got a glimpse of a bird flitting very actively in the willows – just like Redstarts do at home.  It took a while to get a good view, but it turned out to be the target bird.  CA is my first western state for this otherwise eastern warbler.

My luck was definitely looking up, but I still needed my key target.  I continued to bird the reeds with no luck, only finding an occasional Yellowthroat and some Song Sparrows.  But then I got to another bed and quickly heard some faint high-pitched chirping.  Just a couple seconds later an immature Chestnut Mannikin came up out of the reeds and perched near the top of one just a few feet away.  And within a couple seconds 3 other immatures came up as well.  The group of 4 birds only stayed there for 5-10 seconds before taking off and flying away high overhead, disappearing in the distance.  Although it was a brief observation, I got to hear and see them in their preferred habitat – pretty satisfying all things considered.  That was lifebird #739 and #717 for me in the Lower 48.  And 3 for 3 targets in the park in just an hour of birding.

I needed to get on the road to drive to central CA for my next meeting, but had targeted another stakeout rarity that was right on my way – a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Veterans Memorial Park in Sylmar.  Again excellent microdirections had been posted (near hole #7 on a frisbee golf course).  So if traffic wasn’t too bad I could make it there just a little before sunset and give it a try. 

Despite some backups I successfully got to the park about 30 minutes before sunset.  And just after I arrived I ran into some frisbee players and they gave me directions to hole #7.  The area was heavily wooded, and most every tree had fresh sapsucker holes - so I was optimistic.  Just a minute later I heard some tapping, and it was a sapsucker, but the wrong species – the resident Red-breasted.  Over the next 20 minutes I heard and saw a nice mix of woodpeckers– 2 Flickers, 2 Nuttall’s, and an Acorn – but not the target.  Then I heard some tapping nearby, and chased it down, but unfortunately it turned out to be yet another Nuttall’s.  But just after it flew out of the tree, I heard a little more tapping, and there was the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker just a few feet from where the Nuttall’s had been.  My statebird map for Yellow-bellied is quite similar to my maps for the Rusty Blackbird and the Redstart - another common eastern species that is a regular wintering rarity in southern CA.

Later in the week I needed to drive to the San Francisco area for more meetings.  My route took me very close to Pixley National Wildlife Refuge, where Sandhill Cranes are a regular wintering species.  Sandhills are probably the most common species I still needed for my CA list, so I planned a short detour to try for them.  A recent e-bird report listed only 50 Cranes there, and it’s a pretty large refuge, so I wasn’t sure what my chances might be.  Plus the refuge is in a vast area of open farming fields, so lots of potential Crane habitat.  As I got to within a couple miles of the refuge I saw 4 large birds flying low over a field nearby.  I caught up to them, jumped out of the car, and they were indeed Sandhill Cranes.  And then I started to hear others, and noticed a large flock in the field a short distance away.  I estimated 550 birds - that was easy.  My statebird map for Sandhill Crane is quite spotty for this species although it is regular nationwide.

Having seen my target, I was tempted to leave right away.  But there were birds all around me, especially Savannah Sparrows, so I decided to stay for a few minutes.  I counted 50 Savannahs in view at once with an estimated 110 in the immediate area along the road.  Then 2 Long-billed Curlews flew overhead.  I started to scan the field where the Curlews flew from to see if there were others and noticed some Plovers in the distance walking in the field.  Although my first thought was Pacific Golden, I realized the location was all wrong for them.  And even though I just had binocs and they were quite distant, I was able to identify them as Mountain Plovers.  I counted 25 birds as I watched them feed in the field.  A few minutes later they flew directly overhead calling and giving great views of the white wing linings, eventually disappearing into a neighboring field.  I haven’t seen Mountain Plovers too many times (CA is only my 6^th state), and each time I see this declining species it’s a pretty special event.

This turned out to be a very successful trip despite very limited birding time.  I found 6 of my 7 targets (including the Mannikin as a Lifer), plus the Plover as a bonus bird.  And now I have 364 total in CA, including 13 new CA species this year.