January 14, 2011
We headed west on Highway 253 towards Boonville. About seven miles from Ukiah, I pointed out a round blob in a tree on Jason's side of the car. He said, "Pygmy-Owl!" We parked and walked back to the bird, which was more interested in looking for breakfast than at us.
Northern Pygmy-Owl along Highway 253 between Ukiah and Boonville, California.
We continued west towards Point Arena. Birds seen along the way included Band-tailed Pigeon, Acorn and Lewis's Woodpecker, Steller's and Western Scrub-Jay, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Bluebird, Townsend's Warbler, Lark Sparrow, and 'Oregon' Junco. At Point Arena Cove, 'Big Al', the
Laysan Albatross that's visited the cove since 1994, was floating and preening off the pier. This was another 'lifer' for me.
Laysan Albatross at Point Arena Cove, California.
Laysan Albatross at Point Arena Cove, California. Here, the bird is scratching its head.
Also found at the cove were Pelagic Cormorant, Surf Scoter, Peregrine Falcon, California Quail, Black Oystercatcher, Western and Glaucous-winged Gull, Belted Kingfisher, 'Sooty' Fox Sparrow, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark.
From there, we headed back to Boonville along Mountain View Road. A quick stop was made at a redwood grove to take some photos.
A redwood grove along Mountain View Road between Point Arena and Boonville, California.
From Boonville, we headed south towards the Stockton area where a Whooper Swan and "Bewick's" Swan had been reported. Along the way, we found Great, Snowy, and Cattle Egret, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned and Red-shouldered Hawk, Golden Eagle, and Marbled Godwit.
We arrived at King Island, northwest of Stockton, to find about 6000 Tundra Swans in a flooded field and many more flying in and out of the area. After about an hour of searching, one "Bewick's" Swan and the
Whooper Swan was picked out among the masses. Other birds seen there included Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Wood Duck, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, a Eurasian Wigeon that Jason spotted, Common Goldeneye, Sandhill Crane, Greater Yellowlegs, and Barn Owl.
When it was too dark to scan anymore, we headed back to San Francisco, and stayed near the airport at the worst Motel 6 I'd ever been in.
January 15, 2011
We drove to the airport, returned the rental car, and got on a plane for Philadelphia. I switched planes, flew to Wilkes-Barre, and drove home, getting there around 11 PM. It was an extremely successful trip. I saw four 'lifers' and several subspecies that might be split in the future among the 140 species.
More photos of the trip can be found at
my California Photo Album.
The trip list follows.
California Trip ~ January 11-15, 2011
1) Greater White-fronted Goose
2)
"Taiga/Tundra" Bean-Goose*
3) Snow Goose
4) Ross's Goose
5) Canada Goose
6) Tundra Swan (including "Bewick's" Swan)
7)
Whooper Swan*
8) Wood Duck
9) Mallard
10) Green-winged Teal
11) American Wigeon
12) Eurasian Wigeon
13) Northern Pintail
14) Northern Shoveler
15) Ring-necked Duck
16) Surf Scoter
17) Common Goldeneye
18) Bufflehead
19) Ruddy Duck
20) Wild Turkey
21) Gambel's Quail
22) California Quail
23) Eared Grebe
24) Western Grebe
25)
Laysan Albatross*
26) American White Pelican
27) Brown Pelican
28) Pelagic Cormorant
29) Double-crested Cormorant
30) American Bittern
31) Black-crowned Night-Heron
32) Green Heron
33) Cattle Egret
34) Snowy Egret
35) Great Egret
36) Great Blue Heron
37) Lesser Flamingo (origin unknown)
38) White-faced Ibis
39) Turkey Vulture
40) Osprey
41) White-tailed Kite
42) Northern Harrier
43) Golden Eagle
44) Bald Eagle
45) Sharp-shinned Hawk
46) Red-shouldered Hawk
47) Red-tailed Hawk
48) Ferruginous Hawk
49) American Kestrel
50) Merlin
51) Peregrine Falcon
52) 'Yuma' Clapper Rail {yumanensis}
53) Virginia Rail
54) Sora
55) American Coot
56) Sandhill Crane
57) Black-bellied Plover
58) Snowy Plover
59) Semipalmated Plover
60) Killdeer
61) Mountain Plover
62) Black Oystercatcher
63) American Avocet
64) Black-necked Stilt
65) Willet
66) Greater Yellowlegs
67) Long-billed Curlew
68) Marbled Godwit
69) Dunlin
70) Western Sandpiper
71) Least Sandpiper
72) Long-billed Dowitcher
73) Stilt Sandpiper
74) Laughing Gull
75) Ring-billed Gull
76) Mew Gull
77) California Gull
78) Herring Gull
79) Western Gull
80) Glaucous-winged Gull
81) Caspian Tern
82) Band-tailed Pigeon
83) Rock Pigeon
84) Mourning Dove
85) Eurasian Collared-Dove
86) Common Ground-Dove
87) Barn Owl
88) Northern Pygmy Owl (Pacific coast)
89) Burrowing Owl
90) White-throated Swift
91) Anna's Hummingbird
92) Belted Kingfisher
93) Acorn Woodpecker
94) Lewis's Woodpecker
95) Gila Woodpecker
96) Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
97) Hairy Woodpecker
98) Black Phoebe
99) Say's Phoebe
100)
Brown Shrike*
101) Loggerhead Shrike
102) Steller's Jay
103) Western Scrub-Jay
104) American Crow
105) Common Raven
106) Horned Lark
107) Tree Swallow
108) Wrentit
109) Oak Titmouse
110) Verdin
111) Bushtit {minimus}
112) White-breasted Nuthatch
113) Marsh Wren
114) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
115) Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
116) Western Bluebird
117) Hermit Thrush
118) Varied Thrush
119) American Robin
120) Northern Mockingbird
121) European Starling
122) American Pipit
123) Cedar Waxwing
124) Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler
125) Townsend's Warbler
126) Black-throated Green Warbler
127) Abert's Towhee
128) Lark Sparrow
129) Fox Sparrow {fuliginosa}
130) Savannah Sparrow (including "Large-billed" Sparrow {rostratus})
131) Song Sparrow {morphna}
132) White-crowned Sparrow
133) Golden-crowned Sparrow
134) Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco
135) Western Meadowlark
136) Red-winged Blackbird
137) Great-tailed Grackle
138) Brewer's Blackbird
139) House Finch
140) House Sparrow
* Denotes "Life Bird".
