California - Vancouver, BC Trip ~ April 27, 2015

The morning was spent birding the Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains. I started at Wooded Hill Road where I heard but didn't see Mountain Quail. At the end of the road by the bathrooms, I was happy to find a Hermit Warbler that was working the sunny side of the pines.

Mountain Chickadees were also in the area.

Just past Mount Laguna, I stopped to take a couple photos of Storm Canyon.

Across the road was evidence of a major fire that occurred back in 2003.

These photos were taken on the way back down the Sunrise Highway.

I drove back to San Diego and picked up Paul Lehman, a fantastic birder who would be leading the WINGS tour on the cruise ship. After dropping off Paul and the rental car, I walked back to the pier where the ship was docked.

After settling into the tiny stateroom, I went up on deck to bird as we headed past Point Loma and out into the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, we saw Ospreys (the aircraft, not the bird) landing on the deck of a Navy ship.

Birds seen along the way out of the harbor included 'Black' Brant, Surf Scoter, Common and Pacific Loons, Brown Pelican, Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, Great and Snowy Egrets, Black Oystercatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Western and California Gulls, and Royal and Elegant Terns. Additional birds noted in ocean waters included Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwater, Black Storm-Petrel, and Red-necked Phalarope.

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