January 14, 2011We 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 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.
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 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, staying near the airport at the worst Motel 6 I'd ever been in.
January 15, 2011We 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 three 'lifers' and several subspecies that might be split in the future among the 139 species.
More photos of the trip can be found at
my PicasaWeb site.
The trip list follows.
California Trip ~ January 11-15, 2011 1) Greater White-fronted Goose
2)
'Taiga' Bean Goose* 3) Snow Goose
4) Ross's Goose
5) Canada Goose
6) Tundra Swan (including "Bewick's" Swan)
7) Wood Duck
8) Mallard
9) Green-winged Teal
10) American Wigeon
11) Eurasian Wigeon
12) Northern Pintail
13) Northern Shoveler
14) Ring-necked Duck
15) Surf Scoter
16) Common Goldeneye
17) Bufflehead
18) Ruddy Duck
19) Wild Turkey
20) Gambel's Quail
21) California Quail
22) Eared Grebe
23) Western Grebe
24)
Laysan Albatross* 25) American White Pelican
26) Brown Pelican
27) Pelagic Cormorant
28) Double-crested Cormorant
29) American Bittern
30) Black-crowned Night-Heron
31) Green Heron
32) Cattle Egret
33) Snowy Egret
34) Great Egret
35) Great Blue Heron
36) Lesser Flamingo (origin unknown)
37) White-faced Ibis
38) Turkey Vulture
39) Osprey
40) White-tailed Kite
41) Northern Harrier
42) Golden Eagle
43) Bald Eagle
44) Sharp-shinned Hawk
45) Red-shouldered Hawk
46) Red-tailed Hawk
47) Ferruginous Hawk
48) American Kestrel
49) Merlin
50) Peregrine Falcon
51) 'Yuma' Clapper Rail {yumanensis}
52) Virginia Rail
53) Sora
54) American Coot
55) Sandhill Crane
56) Black-bellied Plover
57) Snowy Plover
58) Semipalmated Plover
59) Killdeer
60) Mountain Plover
61) Black Oystercatcher
62) American Avocet
63) Black-necked Stilt
64) Willet
65) Greater Yellowlegs
66) Long-billed Curlew
67) Marbled Godwit
68) Dunlin
69) Western Sandpiper
70) Least Sandpiper
71) Long-billed Dowitcher
72) Stilt Sandpiper
73) Laughing Gull
74) Ring-billed Gull
75) Mew Gull
76) California Gull
77) Herring Gull
78) Western Gull
79) Glaucous-winged Gull
80) Caspian Tern
81) Band-tailed Pigeon
82) Rock Pigeon
83) Mourning Dove
84) Eurasian Collared-Dove
85) Common Ground-Dove
86) Barn Owl
87) Northern Pygmy Owl (Pacific coast)
88) Burrowing Owl
89) White-throated Swift
90) Anna's Hummingbird
91) Belted Kingfisher
92) Acorn Woodpecker
93) Lewis's Woodpecker
94) Gila Woodpecker
95) Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
96) Hairy Woodpecker
97) Black Phoebe
98) Say's Phoebe
99)
Brown Shrike*100) Loggerhead Shrike
101) Steller's Jay
102) Western Scrub-Jay
103) American Crow
104) Common Raven
105) Horned Lark
106) Tree Swallow
107) Wrentit
108) Oak Titmouse
109) Verdin
110) Bushtit {minimus}
111) White-breasted Nuthatch
112) Marsh Wren
113) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
114) Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
115) Western Bluebird
116) Hermit Thrush
117) Varied Thrush
118) American Robin
119) Northern Mockingbird
120) European Starling
121) American Pipit
122) Cedar Waxwing
123) Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler
124) Townsend's Warbler
125) Black-throated Green Warbler
126) Abert's Towhee
127) Lark Sparrow
128) Fox Sparrow {fuliginosa}
129) Savannah Sparrow (including "Large-billed" Sparrow {rostratus})
130) Song Sparrow {morphna}
131) White-crowned Sparrow
132) Golden-crowned Sparrow
133) Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco
134) Western Meadowlark
135) Red-winged Blackbird
136) Great-tailed Grackle
137) Brewer's Blackbird
138) House Finch
139) House Sparrow
* Denotes "Life Bird".
