California - Vancouver, BC Trip ~ April 30, 2015

By the time it got light, we were already heading into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so pelagic birding was pretty much over. We passed by Cape Flattery and its lighthouse on Tatoosh Island.

Soon after, we passed Neah Bay, Washington, a place where many rarites have been found because of its geographic location.

Pairs of Rhinoceros Auklets were present in the strait.

We docked in Victoria, British Columbia and had the afternoon to go ashore. I decided to walk the few miles along the shore to Clover Point Park. Along the way, a Black Turnstone rested on a rock.

My hope was to get photos of Harlequin Ducks. Several cooperated at Clover Point.

Black Oystercatchers were also there on the same rock formations.

Several Savannah Sparrows worked the grassy areas by the rocks.

The real surprise came when a breeding-plumaged Lapland Longspur popped up on one of those rocks.

A Glaucous-winged Gull and a 'Black' Brant also allowed me to get a photo of them.

I then hoofed it over to nearby Beacon Hill Park. There, I spotted Chestnut-backed Chickadees.

On the way back to the ship, the clouds lifted just enough to expose the Olympic Mountains across the strait in Washington.

A Glaucous-winged x Western Gull hybrid, also known as a "Puget Sound" Gull, was along the seawall.

A few Pigeon Guillemots swam around a restricted area of the dock. One came out into open view just long enough to get a photo.

We all had a very formal dinner before returning to our rooms and packing for our early morning departure in Vancouver.

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California - Vancouver, BC Trip ~ May 1, 2015

We disembarked the ship before 7:00 AM, walked over to the train station, and boarded a train to the Vancouver Airport. I took Air Canada back to Philadelphia by way of Toronto. The only issue was getting through customs in Toronto. Rumors were that there was some kind of labor dispute going on, which caused a huge backlog. They were pulling travelers out of line according to flights and, luckily, holding their planes until they got there. I got to my plane with two minutes to spare.

Despite this minor blip, it was a great trip. I got four life birds among the 140 species. Thanks goes to Paul Lehman for his amazing ablilty to find and quickly identify most of the birds we saw on the cruise. All photos from the trip can be found in my California - Vancouver, BC Photo Album.

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California - Vancouver ~ April 25 - May 1, 2015
1) 'Black' Brant (CA)(BC)
2) Canada Goose (BC)
3) Mallard (BC)
4) American Wigeon (BC)
5) Greater Scaup (OR)
6) Harlequin Duck (BC)
7) Surf Scoter (CA)
8) Bufflehead (BC)
9) Red-breasted Merganser (WA)
10) Gambel's Quail (CA)
11) California Quail (CA)
12) Mountain Quail (CA) (heard only)
13) Red-throated Loon (WA)
14) Pacific Loon (CA)(WA)
15) Common Loon (CA)(WA)
16) Laysan Albatross (OR)
17) Black-footed Albatross (CA)(OR)
18) Northern Fulmar (CA)(OR)
19) Murphy's Petrel*** (CA)(OR)
20) Hawaiian Petrel*** (OR)
21) Cook's Petrel*** (CA)
22) Sooty Shearwater (CA)(OR)(WA)
23) Pink-footed Shearwater (CA)(OR)(WA)
24) Leach's Storm-Petrel*** (CA)(OR)
25) Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (OR)(WA)
26) Black Storm-Petrel (CA)
27) Ashy Storm-Petrel (CA)
28) Brown Booby (CA)
29) Double-crested Cormorant (CA)
30) Brandt's Cormorant (CA)
31) Pelagic Cormorant (WA)
32) Brown Pelican (CA)
33) Great Blue Heron (CA)(BC)
34) Snowy Egret (CA)
35) Great Egret (CA)
36) Turkey Vulture (CA)
37) Bald Eagle (BC)
38) Cooper's Hawk (CA)
39) Red-tailed Hawk (CA)
40) American Kestrel (BC)
41) Black Oystercatcher (CA)(BC)
42) Spotted Sandpiper (CA)
43) Marbled Godwit (CA)
44) Black Turnstone (BC)
45) Red-necked Phalarope (CA)(OR)
46) Red Phalarope (OR)
47) Black-legged Kittiwake (WA)
48) Sabine's Gull (CA)(OR)(WA)
49) California Gull (CA)(WA)
50) Glaucous-winged Gull (WA)(BC)
50a) Glaucous-winged x Western (Puget Sound) Gull (BC)
51) Western Gull (CA)(OR)(WA)
52) Arctic Tern (CA)(OR)
53) Royal Tern (CA)
54) Elegant Tern (CA)
55) Pomarine Jaeger (CA)(OR)
56) Parasitic Jaeger (CA)
57) Long-tailed Jaeger (CA)(OR)
58) Common Murre (CA)(OR)(WA)
59) Pigeon Guillemot (BC)
60) Cassin's Auklet (WA)
61) Rhinoceros Auklet (CA)(OR)(WA)
62) Tufted Puffin (OR)
63) Rock Pigeon (CA)(BC)
64) Eurasian Collared-Dove (CA)
65) Mourning Dove (CA)
66) White-winged Dove (CA)
67) Greater Roadrunner (CA)
68) White-throated Swift (CA)
69) Black-chinned Hummingbird (CA)
70) Costa's Hummingbird (CA)
71) Anna's Hummingbird (CA)(BC)
72) Acorn Woodpecker (CA)
73) Nutall's Woodpecker (CA)
74) Downy Woodpecker (BC)
75) Northern "Red-shafted" Flicker (CA)
76) Western Wood-Pewee (CA)
77) Black Phoebe (CA)
78) Say's Phoebe (CA)
79) Ash-throated Flycatcher (CA)
80) Western Kingbird (CA)
81) Loggerhead Shrike (CA)
82) Bell's Vireo (CA)
83) Warbling Vireo (CA)
84) Steller's Jay (CA)
85) Western Scrub-Jay (CA)
86) Northwestern Crow (BC)
87) American Crow (CA)
88) Common Raven (CA)(BC)
89) Barn Swallow (BC)
90) Cliff Swallow (CA)
91) Oak Titmouse (CA)
92) Mountain Chickadee (CA)
93) Chestnut-backed Chickadee (BC)
94) Verdin (CA)
95) Bushtit (CA)(BC)
96) Red-breasted Nuthatch (BC)
97) White-breasted Nuthatch (CA)
98) Brown Creeper (BC)
99) Canyon Wren (CA)
100) Cactus Wren (CA)
101) House Wren (CA)
102) Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (CA)
103) Western Bluebird (CA)
104) American Robin (CA)(BC)
105) California Thrasher (CA)
106) European Starling (CA)(BC)
107) Phainopepla (CA)
108) Orange-crowned Warbler (CA)(BC)
109) Nashville Warbler (CA)
110) Yellow Warbler (CA)
111) Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler (CA)(BC)
112) Black-throated Gray Warbler (CA)
113) Hermit Warbler (CA)
114) Townsend's Warbler (CA)
115) MacGillivray's Warbler (CA)
116) Wilson's Warbler (CA)
117) Yellow-breasted Chat (CA)
118) Spotted Towhee (CA)(BC)
119) California Towhee (CA)
120) Black-chinned Sparrow (CA)
121) Lark Sparrow (CA)
122) Savannah Sparrow (BC)
123) Song Sparrow (CA)(BC)
124) White-crowned Sparrow (CA)
125) Lapland Longspur (BC)
126) Western Tanager (CA)
127) Black-headed Grosbeak (CA)
128) Blue Grosbeak (CA)
129) Lazuli Bunting (CA)
130) Tricolored Blackbird (CA)
131) Brewer's Blackbird (CA)
132) Great-tailed Grackle (CA)
133) Hooded Oriole (CA)
134) Bullock's Oriole (CA)
135) Scott's Oriole (CA)
136) House Finch (CA)
137) Lesser Goldfinch (CA)
138) Lawrence's Goldfinch (CA)
139) Evening Grosbeak (CA)
140) House Sparrow (CA)(BC)


(CA) = California
(OR) = Oregon
(WA) = Washington
(BC) = British Columbia
*** = denotes life bird.

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Merlin from the yard and Harris's Sparrow at the Koch farm! ~ April 24, 2015

I did a double-take today when I notice a small raptor perched on the neighbor's snag and saw that it was a Merlin! Luckily, it stayed there until I retrieved my camera and let me get these photos.

Later in the day, I drove over to Arlene Koch's house and got some photos of her Harris's Sparrow that was now starting to molt into its breeding plumage.

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Arizona - California Trip ~ October 2, 2014

My plan was to try for a few 'life' birds in Arizona and take a pelagic trip out of San Diego, California. I flew from Philadelphia to Phoenix, arriving mid-morning, and drove the short distance to Encanto Park in Phoenix. There, I found several Rosy-faced Lovebirds, my first target species, near the top of a palm tree.

A Northern 'Red-shafted' Flicker worked another palm tree nearby.

I was planning on driving to Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge to try once again for the Nutting's Flycatcher, but the bird had not been recently seen in the accessible area for months and the road to the spot was reportedly in bad shape from the record-setting heavy rains that had fallen a week before. So, I decided to drive directly over to San Diego, getting there just before dusk. I would spend the next three nights at the Dolphin Motel in Point Loma.

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Arizona - California Trip ~ October 3, 2014

I headed over to Mission Valley and birded the area along the San Diego River located behind the Town & Country Hotel. The area around the footbridge produced Anna's Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, White-crowned Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, the "Audubon's" form of Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Townsend's and Orange-crowned Warbler.

Soon after, I found several Scaly-breasted Munias, also known as Nutmeg Mannikins, along the edge of the parking lot behind the hotel.

From there, I drove up to Point La Jolla. Heermann's Gulls and Western Gulls were present at Ellen B. Scripps Park.

Brown Pelicans and Brandt's Cormorants were on the rocks along the shore with California Sea Lions.

Several Double-crested Cormorants were perched in the nearby trees.

Other birds noted there included Snowy Egret, Wandering Tattler, Black Turnstone, and Caspian Tern.

The next stop was at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge near Imperial Beach. Many Marbled Godwits, Willets, and Black-necked Stilts were present. A Long-billed Curlew stood amongst them.

One of two Western Meadowlarks perched atop the scrub along the highway.

In addition to them were Great Egret, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Black Turnstone, Western and Least Sandpiper, Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitcher, Red-necked Phalarope, Elegant Tern, and the "Belding's" race of Savannah Sparrow.

Later, Eurasian Collared-Dove and Cassin's Kingbird were spotted along Monument Road near the U.S. border.

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Arizona - California Trip ~ October 4, 2014

Today's agenda was a pelagic trip out of Point Loma on the 'Grande'. A Black-crowned Night-Heron and a Western Grebe were seen from the dock. On the way out to the Pacific, we saw a small group of birds on shore that contained Black Oystercatchers, an unusual American X Black Oystercatcher hybrid, and a few Whimbrel. Some Elegant Terns and an Eared Grebe were spotted near the point. Along the Mexican border, my first of many Black-vented Shearwaters zipped past.

Good numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes and smaller numbers of Cassin's Auklets were found along several stretches of the trip. At and around the '30-Mile Bank', I got to see my 'life' Black Storm-Petrels and, soon after, some Least Storm-Petrels. Back at the '9-Mile Bank', a few Pink-footed Shearwaters flew in, one of them nice and close.

I was lucky enough to see the two Craveri's Murrelets sitting on the water as we approached, my fourth 'lifer' of the day! Their grayish underwings were noted as they flew off.
A Striped Marlin put on a show, making several lunges out of the ocean.

A Humpback Whale surfaced just long enough for me to get a photo of the tail as it dove.

Other notables that I saw included an Ashy Storm-Petrel, several Pomarine Jaegers, and a Sabine's Gull. I also saw one of the Leach's Storm-Petrels, but it was so far out that I couldn't even consider counting it as my life bird.

As we headed back towards Point Loma, I had the good fortune to be able to talk with Guy McCaskie, "the godfather of California birding." I mentioned to him that I was planning on looking for the Red-throated Pipits at the Dairy Mart sod farm the next morning. I had seen them in Alaska but never in the 'lower 48'. He said he was going there, too, and let me know what kind of vehicle to look for.

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Arizona - California Trip ~ October 5, 2014

As I pulled into the Dairy Mart sod farm, a Long-billed Curlew was standing right beside the dirt road.

I drove around to the other side of the sod farm where Mr. McCaskie was. He told me that he had just seen two of the Red-throated Pipits, but they had flown off to another section of the farm. It wasn't too long until most of the birds returned to the same field and he refound one. I got a look at it through his scope. Both of us searched the same general area and we eventually found four of them among about 30 American Pipits. The streaking on the back, the bolder streaking underneath, and the pinkish legs were diagnostic. I took a long-distance, documentation photo of one of them standing on one of the irrigation pipes.

Guy asked if I wanted to follow him over to the 'Bird & Butterfly Garden' and I easily agreed since it isn't every day that you get the chance to spend the morning with such a knowledgeable birder. Once there, we found a "Western" Flycatcher (likely a Pacific-slope), Black and Say's Phoebe, Bushtit, California Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, and Orange-crowned and "Audubon's" Warbler. At the nearby 'community gardens', additional finds included Lincoln's Sparrow, Common Ground-Dove, and Eurasian Collared-Dove.

At that point, I thanked Guy for his time and hit the road for Arizona. I was hoping that there might be another chance for a 'lifer' in California or Arizona, but that wasn't the case, so I decided to head for Madera Canyon. I took I-8 east over the Laguna Mountains and down through Mountain Spring Pass into California's Imperial Valley.

Just before reaching Arizona, the interstate passes through the Agodones Dunes.

After passing Gila Bend, I-8 enters the Sonoran Desert National Monument with its impressive stands of Saguaro cacti.

I reached Madera Canyon in the late afternoon and stopped at the Santa Rita Lodge to check out the feeders. There was still a nice selection of seven hummingbird species zipping in and out. Gambel's Quail, Canyon Wren, and Lesser Goldfinch were also present. A striking sunset appeared as I coasted down Madera Canyon Road.

I spent the night at a Tucson 'Motel 6'.

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