Broad-billed Hummingbird, San Francisco, CA, March 2018

My March business trip to the San Francisco Bay Area was around the corner, and I was looking forward to trying to do some early morning or late evening birding while in the area.  But as the trip neared my schedule got busier and busier, and most of my free time, even before or after the 9-to-5 hours, turned out to be limited.  I checked out eBird Needs Alerts anyway, and luckily there was 1 that I might be able to squeeze in.  And it was a really nice rarity at that - a Broad-billed Hummingbird in San Francisco.  This was a first county record, coming to a backyard feeder in downtown San Francisco.  The bird had been there for a while, and was seen daily.  But one recent post mentioned that Broad-bills in CA normally leave their wintering locations by mid-March, so that birder suggested anyone who hadn’t seen it yet shouldn’t wait too much longer.  So I planned to give it a try the first morning I was in the area, though time would be really tight so I could only wait maybe an hour for the Hummingbird to visit the feeder. 

The next morning it was a bit of a daunting task to maneuver around the San Francisco streets in the pre-dawn darkness, but I was able to find the correct neighborhood, and even find a place to park near the location of the feeder.  Directions on a few posts said to stand on 36th Street, and look to the 3rd fenced-in backyard to the east on Geary Boulevard.  I arrived at the viewing spot on 36th Street about 20 minutes before dawn, and in the dim light I looked to the east and could see the small back yards of the Geary Blvd. houses.  Several birders included photos in their eBird reports that showed the feeder attached to a tall tree in that 3rd yard, but others mentioned it was tough to even see the feeder.  So although it was still too dark to hope to see the Hummingbird, I figured I would use this time to locate the feeder and settle in to hopefully wait for the bird to appear.   

With a little searching in the dim light I found the right yard, then the tree that looked like the one shown in the photos.  And then just a couple seconds later I located the feeder.  And then to my surprise I thought I could see a Hummingbird on the feeder.  I looked closer and sure enough it was a Hummingbird, but which species was it?  Earlier lists had included Anna’s, Allen’s, and Rufous at the feeder, so I needed to try to make an ID in the limited light.  With a little concentration I could see that the bird was bluish-green below, and had a reddish base to its bill.  It was indeed the Broad-billed Hummingbird.  I continued to watch it as it fed, and then a minute later it flew off.  Boy was I lucky! 

Here is a photo of the small back yards and the location of the feeder.  Needless to say the Hummingbird is not visible.

I thought about staying to wait for the bird to return and get better views in brighter light after sunrise, but work was calling, and I decided to call it quits and head into the office.  My success made my commute through San Francisco rush hour traffic bearable – well almost.  If only all my searches were as successful as this one.  Earlier in the week my travels took me to Seattle where a brief early morning search for a flock of Common Redpolls was unsuccessful – my visit happened to be on the first day these birds were not seen after 2 weeks of daily observations. 

Broad-billed Hummingbird was statebird #391 for me in CA.  And I was surprised to see that CA was my 7th state for this species – of course in AZ where it is regular, and now 6 other states as a rarity (see my statebird map below).

Three Statebirds on Galveston Island, TX – March 2018

On my regular March business trip to Houston I ended up with an early morning free, so of course I researched potential statebird possibilities nearby the eBird Needs Alerts.  There weren’t any targets in the greater Houston area, but there were several in and around Galveston Island.  That’s only an hour ride from Houston, so with a pre-dawn departure from my hotel, I could spend a few hours on the coast for some strategic chases.  Recent reports included sightings of a Glaucous Gull, Gannets, an Iceland Gull, and a Black Scoter, though I’d be happy with just 1 or 2. 

The first target was a first year Glaucous Gull with 2 reports of likely the same bird - once from 7 ½ Mile Beach and once from nearby 8 Mile Beach.  I arrived at the area just after dawn, and decided to try 7 ½ Mile Beach first.  As I drove off the pavement and onto the hard packed sand, I could see a group of just 4 gulls on the beach up ahead.  Certainly not enough critical mass for my target bird, right?  But before I had even put the car into park, I realized that one of the gulls was large and very pale.  And with a quick binoc view I realized it was my first year Glaucous Gull.  That was easy!  I got this passable phonescoped photo of the bird as it fed on a fish carcass.

TX is my 21st state for this species (see my statebird map below) – and this is by far the farthest south of all of my sightings.

I looked up and down 7 ½ Mile Beach and didn’t see much activity in the immediate area.  But off to the southwest in the general vicinity of 8 Mile Beach I could see a good sized flock of roosting gulls, so I decided to head in that direction to see if I could find another rare gull.  After a short drive I was there to check out the gulls – just the normal Laughers, Ring-bills, and a couple Herrings.  So with nothing of interest on the beach, I starting scanning out over ocean, hoping I might find a Gannet.  There was one recent report of a nice number of Gannets from “Galveston Island” (no specific location was given), so this location was as good as any to give it a try.  A quick initial scan just yielded the regular species.  But then I spotted a pair of birds flying far out to sea that could be Sulids – but at that distance I couldn’t be sure.  I kept watching them and they were now flying toward me.  Finally, after a minute or so they were close enough to ID as Gannets.  Within the next few minutes I spotted 3 others not too far out, plus 2 others much farther in the distance plunge diving.  That was much easier than I expected – after all I’ve looked for Gannet off the TX gulf coast many times in the past.  Now that I can shade in TX on my statebird map, LA and MS are the last 2 states on the Atlantic or Gulf in which I still need this species.

I was just about to leave 8 Mile Beach when I noticed a large pale gull fly by – it was the first year Glaucous Gull.  Amazing to see it at both locations!  (or at least I assume it was the same bird) 

Since I had such rapid success on my first two targets, I had a bit of extra time on my hands.  So I decided to head into nearby Galveston Island State Park for a bit of light birding, and I chose the Clapper Rail loop for a quick stroll around the marshes.  After a short walk I stopped at the observation tower to listen to what might be calling.  Within a couple minutes I started to hear some clicking noises coming from the marsh.  I listened intently as the bird continued to call – it was a Yellow Rail.  And then while I was celebrating my find, a Black Rail called from the same general area.  I had Black Rail in this same area in April 2017, but Yellow Rail was new for my statelist.  TX was only my 4th state for this elusive species - in MN as a breeder, LA and AR in fall migration, and now TX as a late winterer.

It was a bit interesting that I had Yellow and Black Rail but no Clapper Rail on my walk around Clapper Rail loop. 

Next I was off to the Bolivar Peninsula to chase after a couple statebird possibilities - an Iceland Gull near the Bolivar Flats, and a Black Scoter offshore with Scaup flocks.  I headed right to the beach and soon spotted several flocks of Scaup offshore.  But the rough seas, and distance to the flocks, made viewing difficult, and I once again couldn’t pick out a Scoter (I had tried looking for Scoters in these Scaup flocks last April).  As I continued driving down the beach I checked out the gulls along the way but there were no Icelands.  I was striking out on my targets…  I soon reached the Bolivar Flats and decided to head out on the mudflats to see what I might find.  The Flats were full of shorebirds, and I counted 16 species in total.  There were no rarities, though it was nice to find 6 species of Plovers – Black-bellied, Piping, Snowy, Wilson’s, Semipalmated, and Killdeer.  That included one Piping that was banded, and after some research I found out that the bird was banded on the Missouri River in North Dakota.  Nice!  And then there was this Reddish Egret that had some white feathers in the wingtips – could it be an intergrade between the dark and white forms?

That made for a nice ending to an early morning of birding, finding 2 of my 4 possible stakeout statebirds, plus finding a 3rd statebird on my own.  That gives me 445 on my TX statelist, which is by far my largest single state list.  Though as a percentage of the total birds ever recorded in the state, it is only my 8th best.  My TX list is 71% of the total recorded in the state, whereas my 364 in NH is 91% of the total state list.  If I had 91% of the total TX list my statelist would be a whopping 576.