San Diego River, San Diego, California, Jan 2014

This was my first visit to San Diego and eBird’s Hotspot Explorer had been earning its seed, though a slight limitation was shown up. It had highlighted a couple of sites that would be easily accessible, but failed to mention the fog. I was slicked up for a sunny day by the San Diego River and wishing that I had brought a warmer top. The fog persisted right through the morning and left me uncomfortably cold.

I joined the river at Morena Blvd (Google Earth ref; 32 45 38.37N 117 11 39.49W) and walked the cycle path that runs along its southern bank. The river here is barely 5m across and surrounded by trees and bushes. This area looked quite birdy, but was strangely quiet with very little seen or heard. A small flock of Bushtits fed as they progressed through the weeds and a loose group of Yellow-rumped Warblers fed in a stand of alien eucalypts.

The river soon opens out into a wide (250m) floodplain. There were obviously plenty of birds out in the mist, but it was difficult to tell what they might be. The richer brown of the Marbled Godwits contrasted with the grey of the Willets. The Black-necked Stilts stood out and the Northern Shovelers were obvious, but there was much lost to distance and fog.

The mist thinned a little to allow me to see the river which snaked down among reeds and weeds. Ducks swept past as they rode the outgoing tidal current. Anna’s Hummingbirds scratched from bushes along the bank. One sat very prominently as a patch of clear sky passed overhead.

Once visibility was restored, a good selection of ducks could be identified, with American Wigeon being the most numerous by far. Northern Pintail, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal and Green-winged Teal were also seen.

A Clapper Rail flushed from the near bank and allowed me a good look as it swam across the channel to the safety of the reeds on the far side. A second flushed, but had a greater sense of urgency and flew straight across the water before plunging into the bank side vegetation after its mate.

A Belted Kingfisher perched on a snag in the middle of the river and surprised me by flying up to hover before plunging down to catch a fish.

Downstream from W. Mission Bay Drive, the river opens out and the reeds and grass give way to open water with a substantial mud bank further on. A large Peregrine Falcon perched on a street lamp on the bridge. It was a huge, brute of a bird, almost the size of a red-tail.

Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead and Eared Grebe preferred the open water. The mudflats were busy with gulls, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and Little Blue Heron.

Plenty of waders were feeding as the tide ebbed and exposed fresh mud. Long-billed Curlews, Whimbrels, and Marbled Godwits were common with a few Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpiper and a single Dunlin also seen.

Robb Field is a complex of sports fields on the southern side of the river as it approaches the ocean. A pair of Osprey has a nest on one of the lighting poles here and was pair bonding today, bringing each other little gifts, sitting at the nest and flying together across the water.

A channel close to the path allows for some nice close views of the wading birds. A Long-billed Curlew and a Whimbrel fed in the channel and a Marbled Godwit was shot on the near bank.

Sand has blocked all but a small channel as the river reaches the ocean. This has been designated as a dog beach and it was very popular on this Sunday morning. Western Gulls, Heerman’s Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls were seen along the beach.

 It was pointed out to me that California Gulls should have made up the bulk of the gull biomass on my list today, but I didn’t actually see one. I made a cursory attempt to catalogue the gull species on the river, but each light-backed gull that I took a proper look at was a small ring-bill with light eyes. A large flock out on the mudflats were probably California Gulls, but they were too distant, I was too cold and after all, they were gulls.

As I climbed back up from the beach, a movement on the fence of a house backing onto the path caught my eye. A small warbler flicked in response to a pish. At first I thought that it must be  an Oporornis (as once was) type warbler, but there were a few anomalies that I wasn’t happy with. I took some photos and checked my field guide which suggested that a Nashville Warbler would be a much better fit. ( As it turns out, this is the Gray-headed version of the Orange-crowned Warbler. Thanks to Seagull Steve and Matt Sadowsky. See comment below).

The walk back to the trolley line was marked by one of the Ospreys fishing. It made three plunges just in front of me and on the third occasion came away with a decent-sized fish. On the first two occasions, I lost the bird from the viewfinder or lost focus.

On the third attempt, the focus held and I managed to keep the diving bird in frame. On the bank at this point there is no vegetation for 100m in each direction, except for a small bush right in front of me which decided to photo-bomb my picture of an Osprey hitting its target.

The walk westwards from Morena Blvd should have given a good angle for photographs in the morning. The return walk still has the sun from behind and well placed if walking east in the afternoon. 

Bird list for San Diego River; 66

Brant 1, Gadwall 36, American Wigeon 450, Mallard 12, Blue-winged Teal 50, Cinnamon Teal 7, Northern Shoveler 20, Northern Pintail 180, Green-winged Teal 85, Redhead 20, Lesser Scaup 15, Bufflehead 25, Red-breasted Merganser 9, Ruddy Duck 155, Pied-billed Grebe 17, Eared Grebe 6, Western Grebe 11, Double-crested Cormorant 19, Brown Pelican 8, Great Blue Heron 10, Great Egret 12, Snowy Egret 17, Little Blue Heron 8, Osprey 3, Northern Harrier 3, Red-tailed Hawk 2, American Kestrel 1, Peregrine Falcon 1. Clapper Rail 2, American Coot 55, Black-bellied Plover 80, Semi-palmated Plover 10, Killdeer 1, Black-necked Stilt 35, American Avocet 320, Spotted Sandpiper 9, Greater Yellowlegs 10, Willet 160, Whimbrel 18, Long-billed Curlew 16, Marbled Godwit 140, Western Sandpiper 3, Least Sandpiper 8, Dunlin 1, Short-billed Dowitcher 60, Heerman’s Gull 20, Ring-billed Gull 30, Western Gull 100, Royal Tern 3, Mourning Dove 3, Anna’s Hummingbird 5, Belted Kingfisher 3, Black Phoebe 4, Say’s Phoebe 2, American Crow 7, Common Raven 1, Bushtit 10, European Starling 2, Nashville Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler 18, California Towhee 1, Savannah Sparrow 8, White-crowned Sparrow 15, Western Meadowlark 5, Housefinch 14.

The Green Line Trolley runs from San Diego city and crosses the river. It stops at Morena/Linda Vista Station on the northern bank of the river. The bridge here for Morena Blvd has a sidewalk and a ramp that will give access to the cycle path on the south side of the river. A day pass for San Diego bus/trolley/train transport system costs $5. Trolleys run every 20 minutes or so on the Green Line.

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada Page for more sites in San Diego.

Long Beach, California.

Now, correct me if I am wrong (after my previous posts, I know with some confidence that you will), but does the sun not rise in the east and set in the west? Isn’t this one of the constants in the bedrock of assumed wisdom?

So why then, when I am standing on the coast of California, did I see the sun coming up out of the Pacific Ocean?

I had assumed that by being on the west coast of North America, I would be looking out across the water in a westerly direction, with the sun rising behind me in the east. This would have provided me with perfect conditions to sea-watch from Long Beach’s harbour wall, but instead I found myself looking straight into the sun and being blinded to any potential birds on the calm waters in front of me.

Of course the old rising sun adage only holds true for 2 days each year, at the equinoxes. For the other 360+ days, the sun’s rising point strays a little to the south during the northern winter and back to the north for the summer. Its furthest wanderings (to the tropic lines at 23.5° either side of the equator) are marked by the solstices in June and December, but the degree will vary slightly depending on the observer’s latitude. If you ever wondered what druids do at Stonehenge, they are celebrating Wiltshire’s most northerly sunrise point on June 21st (research suggesting that the site was originally built to observe the winter solstice (summer sunrise being diametrically opposite winter sunset means that the stones can be used for either purpose) is conveniently ignored by those who don’t want to get frost-bitten in a frock on a cold morning in late December).

And another thing; I had forgotten that the coastline at Long Beach was not strictly north to south. In fact, it is east to west and the marine path veers round to point almost north-east. So the water is to the south and I had arrived during the season when the sun was rising south of east and therefore appearing to come up out of the Pacific Ocean. Well, I am glad that’s settled.

I solved my dilemma by walking as far out along the harbour wall as I could, then began birdwatching on the return journey. On the rocks of the harbour wall a Black Turnstone stood quietly while Willets were taking advantage of the mussels revealed as the tide flowed out. Across the mouth of the LA River, Pelicans were plunge-feeding in front of the Queen Mary. Forster’s terns were feeding too, a little closer.

A noisy group of Western Gulls chased an Osprey which had a fish grasped tightly and arranged aerodynamically, facing the line of flight.

A Whimbrel, flushed by one of the many feral cats that live in the rocks, alighted just in front of me. These pictures are taken with my Nikon P100 today after the DSLR failed again yesterday.

It took rather a fetching picture of a Great Blue Heron without much input from me. The background should have been dirty water, but I rather like the way that the camera decided to up the contrast and go for black.

I followed the path around noting Western Grebes, Surf Scoters and BufflEheads on the river mouth. In the harbour amongst the boats were some Heerman’s Gulls, American Coots, and a Belted Kingfisher which sat watchfully at the prow of a boat.

Bird species; 32

Eared Grebe 4, Western Grebe 20, Brown Pelican 25, Double-crested Cormorant 50, Great Blue Heron 3, Snowy Egret 2, Black-crowned Night Heron 3, Mallard 1, Surf Scoter 25, Bufflehead 15, Osprey 2, Peregrine Falcon 1, American Coot 7, Black Oystercatcher 5, Marbled Godwit 12, Whimbrel 1, Spotted Sandpiper 4, Willet 40, Black Turnstone 1, Heerman’s Gull 8, Ring-billed Gull 4, California Gull 2, Western Gull 30, Caspian Tern 1, Forster’s Tern 15, Anna’s Hummingbird 2, Belted Kingfisher 1, American Crow 10, Common Starling 6, House Sparrow 4, Yellow-rumped Warbler 5, White-crowned Sparrow 6.


Long Beach, Los Angeles, LAX, California, USA

Upper Newport Bay

A tide was rising in Newport Back Bay. It would continue to do so until after midday when the heavenly effects would pass and the waters would flow back to the ocean.

Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve commands a view up and down the estuary from a raised position on the west side. At this time of day, the sun’s position and the reserve’s distance did not favour viewing of the incoming tide, however we stopped long enough to note someWestern Meadowlarks, Common Ravens and a hovering White-winged Kite.

Jerry, my generous companion for the day used to be a competitive glider pilot and we took a while to enjoy the Turkey Vultures which, most of all the soaring birds, make flight look effortless.

Back Bay Drive is a one way road, running from south to north with a 15mph speed limit. There is nothing much there except for the estuarine marsh, so most of the other road users had similar intent to us.

Proximity and sun position in the morning and early afternoon make for much better viewing than at the reserve. Since the road’s main purpose seems to be recreational marsh watching, there are plenty of pull offs along the route. From our first stop, at a raised position at the north end, we noted a few Redhead and Bufflehead amongst the more numerous Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon. On a distant sandbank, hundreds of waders were roosting in anticipation of high tide. American Avocets stood out as a pied patch, some bulky warm brown birds were probably Marbled Godwit, but distance denied us getting to know the other birds by name.

The northern end of Back Bay Road runs into East Bluff Road, which allowed us this little bit of back-to-fronty, but then we had to abide by the rules of the road and circle round to the southern end and start from there.

Once into the one-way section we noted Northern Pintail, Common Yellowthroat and a good number of Great and Snowy Egrets gathered in what must have been a productive spot.

At Big Canyon there is a car park and a short boardwalk. Sadly someone put up the birds that habitually roost close in and we watched hundreds of Willet and Marbled Godwit take to the air and disappear up the estuary. From across the road, a freshwater marsh and pond drain into the brackish water of the bay. Coots were gathered here to get a salt-free drink.

This was the most productive area along Back Bay Road and would warrant a little more time on a subsequent visit. A few of the waders had returned to a small beach and counted a Long-billed Curlew amongst their number.

While I was trying to get a picture of some American Wigeon, Jerry noticed a tightly packed flock of Snowy Egrets. The photographs here were enhanced when a latecomer arrived and tried to make a position for itself in the group.

I am beginning to think that it might be me. I have had to send off my Canon 50D for repairs twice already and it failed on me again today as we reached the top end of Back Bay Road. Currently, it refuses to take any pictures and it has been sent for repair for the third time in 14 months. This is in addition to my lens having been to the menders twice as well as my previous DSLR! Hopefully all will be better soon or the blog might go a bit quiet.

The Google Earth ref for the south end of Back Bay road is; 33* 36’ 55”N 117*  53’ 20”W . Arrival shortly before high tide would be most productive I would guess. Check tide times and heights at http://www.easytide.com/  Today’s tide was only 1.5m. A higher tide might force a few rails (potentially Sora, Virginia, Black and Light-footed Clapper) up and into view.

A last quick look over the fence at Shipley Nature Center accounted for the Townsend’s Warbler and Peregrine Falcon noted in the list below. Here, I had to say goodbye to Jerry who had been a great birdy buddy for the day and I would like to thank him very much for his company and his generosity.

Bird species; 34

Double-crested Cormorant 20, American Great Egret 4, Snowy Egret 15, American Wigeon 120, Green-winged Teal 80, Mallard 30, Northern Pintail 8, Blue-winged Teal 10, Cinnamon Teal 15, Northern Shoveler 150, Redhead 12, Bufflehead 12, Ruddy Duck 12, Turkey Vulture 12, White-tailed Kite 1, Red-tailed Hawk 3, American Kestrel 2, Peregrine Falcon 1, American Coot 40, American Avocet, 150, Marbled Godwit 40, Long-billed Curlew 5, Willet 40, Western Gull 1, Caspian Tern 1, Black Phoebe 4, Common Raven 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler 6, Townsend’s Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 2, Lesser Goldfinch 6, American Goldfinch 1, White-crowned Sparrow 4, Western Meadowlark 15.

Upper Newport Bay, Los Angeles, LAX, Orange County, California, USA

San Juaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Los Angeles, California.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the mist lay heavily on the ponds, subduing the early morning light as we arrived.

Jerry Millet had generously given up precious time with his family and his in-laws who were staying for the holidays, to take me birding in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. Note that I do not write this with keyboard in cheek as he genuinely is lucky enough to enjoy spending time with his extended family. He is not a birder and my competence has been called into question as often as I have served hot dinners, but between us we managed to wrestle nearly 60 marks onto a checklist that we had gleaned from Sea and Sage Audubon House, the visitors’ centre for San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. While gleaning, I wish that we had picked up a map as we later found that we had barely covered a third of the sanctuary and had missed out on a boardwalk, open areas and an urban forest.

The section that we did cover, in the south-east corner of the reserve, included the square ponds, known evocatively as Ponds A, B, C, D and E and the larger, non-uniform lakes charmingly named Ponds 1 and 2. The catchy titles are possibly a throwback to their association with the on-site water treatment facility. Once beyond the bodies of water, track names such as Willow Path, Shady Lane and Lost Trail leave a sweeter taste in the mouth.

The Fledgling Trail starts at Pond E. Coincidentally, so did we as it was right beside the car park. Cedar Waxwings were up early and feeding in berry trees by the path. On the square, shallow pond, the mist had cleared quickly and waders and ducks awaited our inspection. Black-necked Stilts were numerous with a single American Avocet towards the edge of the flock. 2 Spotted Sandpipers bobbed along the edge. The dowitchers and a number of peeps on the far shore were put aside for a while until we had scanned the water. This photo of a Kildeer was taken at the end of our walk when the sun had cleared the dyke that casts an early morning shadow.

A good selection of duck was headed up by Northern Shoveler and Green-winged Teal with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Mallard, and Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal.

In a moment of excitement a hawk dashed across the pond. It came in low and fast, intent on a kill. A couple of stilts were slow to react and froze in the water, but the hawk mistimed its change of direction and lost speed in the bank, allowing the stilts to escape.

The predator was very small, certainly small enough to make me think that it might be a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but such a suggestion drew sharp intakes of breath from local birders, so we reserved our judgement until photographs could be properly examined and reveal the tell-tale tail, rounded at the end in the manner of a Cooper’s Hawk. Close inspection at high magnification also revealed a slightly pale nape which is again suggestive of Cooper’s.

Pond C must have been deeper. Eared Grebes and a female Bufflehead were diving amongst a flotilla of shovelers that had crammed themselves into a tightly packed wheel, rotating around a central axis. In between the planes taking off from nearby John Wayne Airport, it was quiet enough to hear the shmacky, shplatty noises of dozens of shovelers feeding together.

The margins of Ponds A, B, 1 and 2 are lined with tule rushes. Common Yellowthroats and Marsh Wrens called these home, while Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, Bushtits and Yellow-rumped Warblers enjoyed the scrubby bushes along the banks.

The 6 numbered ponds are much larger than the lettered ones and give the heavier birds such as American White Pelicans enough room for a run-up to get airborne. A flock of about 50 took off directly over our heads as we passed Pond 1.

Forster’s Terns plunged into the water behind us as we checked up on a small flock of Tree Swallows.

A triangular junction between Ponds 1, 2 and 3, might be dubbed ‘Flycatcher Corner’. Cassin’s Kingbird, and Black and Say’s Phoebes were taking it in turns to hawk from a well positioned snag here.

We found the pelicans again in Pond 2, crowded onto an island that they were sharing with Double-crested Cormorants, Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Heron and some mixed ducks and waders.

We rounded this lake and began the last leg of our distorted circle approaching the visitors’ centre along the South Loop Trail, parallel to San Diego Creek. A Northern Mockingbird was keen to have its photograph taken, posing nicely as we both enjoyed its approachability. A small flock of exotic Nutmeg Manikin were less accommodating and stayed out of reach of our cameras.

As we closed the circle, Jerry spotted an Osprey flying over Pond 1. We watched as it was escorted past a distant building by a Peregrine Falcon.

Audobon House (Google Earth ref; 33⁰ 39’ 39”N 117⁰ 50’ 28”W ) is a charming visitors’ centre with as many US-centric bird books as I have ever seen outside of the Open Air Books and Maps shop in Toronto. There are rest rooms in the adjacent car park which is accessed from Riparian Way which runs beside San Diego Creek. Entry to the sanctuary is free and it is open from dawn ‘til dusk. Maps and checklists are available from dispensers for early arrivals. The checklist recognises 263 species, but is in the process of updating.

Bobcats are sometimes seen on the reserve and kittens have been recorded over the last few years. Reports of Mountain Lions are likely to have been a combination of Bobcats and a distorted sense of distance.

I wish that we had found the map dispenser earlier and used it to do justice to this delightful reserve. I would like to thank Jerry for his company and generosity and for seeking the suggestions of Steve Shinn who recommended San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Bird species; 59

Pied-billed Grebe 1, Eared Grebe 12, American White Pelican 50, Double-crested Cormorant 120, Great Blue Heron 4, American Great Egret 4, Snowy Egret 15, Green Heron 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 6, Canada Goose 35, American Wigeon 4, Gadwall 12, Green-winged Teal 200, Mallard 25, Blue-winged Teal 15, Cinnamon Teal 10, Northern Shoveler 300, Lesser Scaup 4, Bufflehead 3, Ruddy Duck 8, Turkey Vulture 6, Osprey 1, Northern Harrier 1, Cooper’s Hawk 3, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Peregrine Falcon 1, American Coot 4, Black-necked Stilt 35, American Avocet 1, Kildeer 2, Spotted Sandpiper 2, Least Sandpiper 1, Ring-billed Gull 4, Boneparte’s Gull 20, Forster’s Tern 25, Anna’s Hummingbird 6, Downy Woodpecker 1, Black Phoebe 15, Say’s Phoebe 6, Cassin’s Kingbird 1, Tree Swallow 15, Cedar Waxwing 25, Marsh Wren 2, Northern Mockingnird 2, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3, Bushtit 15, American Crow 6, Nutmeg Mannikin 3, House Finch 4, American Goldfinch 2, Orange-crowned Warbler 3, Yellow-rumped Warbler 35, Common Yellowthroat 10, Spotted Towhee 3, Song Sparrow 10, White-crowned Sparrow 4, Red-winged Blackbird 4, Great-tailed Grackle 20.

San Juaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, California, Los Angeles, Orange County, USA

LA River, Long Beach, California, USA, LAX

Regular readers will recognise a post from the LA River and a few might even ask about Callie the naked lady ( http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/08/come-on-in-waters-great.html ). She is still there, where Del Amo Blvd crosses the drain and she is still naked.

Perhaps she had been skipping through the shallows this morning as there were no birds in this part of the drain, but plenty either side.

As usual, Black-necked Stilts made up the bulk of the biomass as I walked downstream. Small flocks of Least Sandpiper held a few Western Sandpiper.

After long consideration I have decided upon Long-billed Dowitcher among the “peeps”. Most of the short-bills would have passed through by the end of September, with the long-bills over-wintering in greater numbers. A few juvenile birds showed relatively un-patterned tertials with narrow edges. Some of the winter plumaged adults showed broad edges and appeared to have a shorter bill, but there is too much overlap to distinguish between non-breeding adults. So despite having seen 200-plus dowitchers, I was only able to be sure about very few of them.

It is quite possible that the Short-billed Dowitchers inhabit the upper reaches of the drain in the open areas while the Long-billed Dowitchers prefer the extra cover provided by the little islands in the lower stretches. If I had known that I was coming to LA, I could have brought an appropriate field guide to help, but I was called at very short notice from standby, so I couldn’t predict which book to pack. Since carrying my full collection of guides would produce a few tonnes of emissions through fuel burn, I prefer to leave them behind and put myself to the test.

Dragonflies were already up and flying when I arrived this morning. The weather is still very warm and was forecast to top the 90’s today. Not bad for the second week of October. I followed Dominguez Gap for a while and noted five types of heron, Pied-billed Grebe and a Belted Kingfisher.

Double-crested Cormorants were sunning themselves on low snags. I was hoping that there might be a snake warming itself on the sunny bank, but there was no sign of any this morning.

Back on the drain, the highlight of the day was an Osprey that made a couple of low passes before landing in the shallow water.

It was great to be on an elevated bank and able to look down on an Osprey as it flew by.

Beyond Wardlow Rd, is a spot that the gulls seem to like as a roost. You can often see a few different species here and today there were 3 types. Conveniently, they all got together for a group picture with the Ring-billed Gull at the left, a California Gull, with the dark spot on its bill, in the middle and the larger, darker-backed Western Gull on the right.

Just up from Willow St., sediment has settled enough to form little islands. The greater concentration of birds here seems to indicate that they like this feature.

Ducks here included Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal and Mallard. A few American Avocets were joined by one or other of the dowitchers.

Downstream from Willow, the drain becomes a proper river with deeper water and probably a tidal influence this close to the ocean. Beyond this point one might find a few Kildeer, but most of the waders will remain upstream in the shallow water of the overspill from the main channel.

On reflection, I think that I would be best to start from this point in the future. Walking upstream from here in the morning would keep the sun over my right shoulder and behind me as the day progresses and I work my way upstream. Google coordinates for the section are are;

From Del Amo Blvd, 33*50’ 47”N, 118*12’16”W to Willow St., 33*47’18”N, 118*12’16”W

The Metro tram station at Del Amo is 750m to the west of the river on Del Amo Blvd.

Bus 181 runs north and south on Magnolia which is 600m east of the river on Willow.

Both tram and bus can be caught from the  Transit Mall at 1st St., Long Beach.

Today, I returned to Del Amo to take the Metro tram back to Long Beach. On the way back, I passed through Dominguez Gap, hoping to find a few dragonflies to photograph, but my lens had suffered a prolapse. The focussing element came loose from its guides and was clunking around inside. It was possible to achieve a limited range of focus by pointing the camera downwards and shaking the element to the end, but I would have to adjust my own position rather than rely on zooming or refocusing on a moving subject.

I only stopped once for a picture of a Bushtit as it had become fearfully hot and even Carrie had headed for the shade.

For other posts about Redgannet in California, follow these links;

Los Angeles, Ca.

LA River
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/06/la-river-los-angeles.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/08/come-on-in-waters-great.html
El Dorado Nature Center
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/06/la-river-los-angeles.html
Orange County and Santa Anna Mountains
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/03/los-angeles-california.html
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve,
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/01/bolsa-chica-ecological-reserve-los.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/bolsa-chica-los-angeles-california.html
Long Beach
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/03/los-angeles-california.html

San Francisco, Ca.
Palo Alto Baylands
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/02/palo-alto-baylands-san-fancisco.html

For more posts from other sites in America try the USA and Canada page tab at the top of each post.

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/p/posts-from-usa-and-canada.html

Birds Seen; 42
Pied-billed Grebe 3, Double-crested Cormorant 20, Great Blue Heron 6, American Great Egret 18, Snowy Egret 1, Green Heron 4, Black-crowned Night Heron 5, Mallard 30, Blue-winged Teal 8, Cinnamon Teal 15, Turkey Vulture 2, Osprey 3, American Coot 80, Black-necked Stilt 400, American Avocet 12, Grey Plover 1, Killdeer 30, Long-billed Dowitcher 6, Greater Yellowlegs 4, Western Sandpiper 60, Least Sandpiper 300, Dunlin 2, Ring-billed Gull 4, California Gull 25, Western Gull 12, Mourning Dove 8, Belted Kingfisher 1,Black Phoebe 7, Say’s Phoebe 1, American Barn Swallow 8, Northern Mockingbird 6, Bushtit 25, Western Scrub-jay 4, American Crow 60, Lesser Goldfinch 1, Common Yellowthroat 2, Song Sparrow 4, White-crowned Sparrow 4, Red-winged Blackbird 1, Brewer’s Blackbird 35, Great-tailed Grackle 1, Scaly Munia 1.

Bolsa Chica, Los Angeles, California. Terns

A flash caught the attention of a Forster’s Tern as it hunted over the northern lagoon at Bolsa Chica. The tern banked and dived. It hit the water with barely a splash and came up with a little fish.

So started my day and so it continued. I have never shown a particular leaning towards terns before, in fact I sometimes find them rather tricky, but today I developed an unexplainable fascination for the family.

It was early morning, the sun was just up and I was on a raised bank about 5meters above the level of the incoming tide.

Forster’s Terns were searching for food, occasionally hovering at about 8 meters before plunging towards the water, putting me in a good position for photographs. I set my camera to maximum FPS and AI Servo Focus to keep up with the action.

Smaller birds were the Least Terns, They seemed to prefer hovering higher than the Forster’s and would make step descents before taking the final plunge.

Big gull-like terns were Caspian, but I had to check them carefully as there was the possibility of the similar Royal Terns in the area.

A flock of Black Skimmers swooped up and over the road bridge on Warner, back down to the water’s surface and they were gone. They were too quick for me. Now I know that if I venture to suggest that skimmers are terns, some of my more vigilant readers may scoff. They are related in the Charadriiformes order, but then so are curlews, stints, gulls and guillemots. While the Terns are members of the Sternidae family, the skimmers are related within the Rhychopidae. Taxanomically, they are next door neighbours as well as first cousins. Morphologically, they share more similarities than differences. So for today, they will be terns.

The fifth species was Elegant Tern, but again close inspection was required.  Many of the birds heading to roost were flying singly, while later in the day, the birds heading out to feed seemed to be doing so as couples.

There is an area close to the boardwalk where the gulls and terns like to roost, so I would head there later to examine them on the ground, but for now, I was enjoying the Forster’s Terns. As well as fishing, they were pair-bonding. They flew high, the male (I’m assuming) above with his wings held at an acute dihedral angle; the female (by process of assumptive elimination) banked gently from side to side beneath him. On the ground, they offered one another small gifts of fish and kept up a constant chattering.

As the water level rises in the northern lagoon, it is forced through a pipe, under the dividing road and into the next lagoon. More Forster’s Terns were fishing the tide here as it channelled through the pipe.

As they rose up out of the water after diving for a fish, they would shake themselves, much as a dog might, to get the excess water off.

On a hill over looking the lagoons, a small wooded area holds a few Great Blue Heron nests. Earlier in the morning, the herons had been hunting in the wildflower meadows close by until the Red-shouldered Blackbirds chased them off. Now, in the freshwater lake, they were looking to feed their chicks by the more accepted method associated with herons.

Low bank-side weeds provided a stage for the local speciality of Savannah Sparrow. This is Belding’s Sparrow.

After a brief sidetrack, I was back to the terns. An area by the boardwalk has been fenced off and allows the terns to nest in peace and quiet (if such a thing is ever likely at a tern colony). While the Forster’s Terns were still the prevalent species, Least Terns were increasing in number here. A small flock of Elegant Terns were roosting on an island in the back lagoon.

Despite seeing many flying over, the larger terns were not well represented on the roosts. Only when I looked South from the boardwalk did I see an island with a large flock of Black Skimmers and the bigger sternidae.

I would really love to get a picture of a skimmer skimming and an idea struck me. When they came out on to the water to feed, they would probably fly straight up this stretch of water towards me, offering the perfect opportunity to photograph them. So I settled in to wait.

Just in case you are unfamiliar with skimmers, they are famed and named for their manner of feeding.

They fly along just above the surface of the water with their bill open and the bottom mandible lowered into the water.

If the skimming bird crosses the path of a fish, the head flexes down as the bill snaps shut. It seems a bit hit and miss, but it seems to work. If you look closely, you might just see the little morsel the bird in the picture below has caught.

Many times the flock took flight as if spooked by a Peregrine Falcon, but they soon settled again, too far away for a photograph. Then a wonderful thing happened. Another photographer arrived and struck up a conversation about my lens. We discussed stuff for a while before he unexpectedly asked if I would like a go of his lens. It was a Canon 500mm F4, why did he feel the need to ask, I wonder? He set it up on a sturdy tripod with a gymbal head mount and left me to it.

I felt like a Cypriot with a scattergun, shooting everything I could see and soon filled up an 8GB card.

The 4 Black Skimmers above as well as the Snowy Egret, Short-billed Dowitcher and the Marbled Godwit in flight were all taken with the big lens.

 It was certainly a hit with the ladies too, drawing admiring glances and saucy remarks from passers-by. If you have not seen a Canon 500mm F4, picture a bucket on the front of a camera and you won't be far off. 

Other photographers started to arrive as afternoon turned to evening. They told me that skimmers are nocturnal feeders and do not usually make their move until the evening is well advanced. I hadn’t known this, but it fitted in with what I had seen today. At around 18.00, they began to come out onto the water, just one or two to start with, but as the evening drew on, small parties began to feed. I was surprised by their size, speed and manoevreability. It was hard to keep the camera on them.

The boardwalk interrupts their skim path so they suddenly have to pull up and gain altitude to carry them over the rails. When a large bird such as this with such an impressive beak is hurtling towards you at great speed, it is hard not to duck.

As predicted it was only once the light was leaving the sky that they came out in force. Close to the water while feeding, they move in a perfect synchronous formation. In the sky, they are awkward and haphazard.

I had the opportunity to compare the results of both lenses and I must say that the 500mm F4 is a great lens, but….. it does not come with the vital accessory to compliment it, a porter. The size and weight of the lens itself plus the sturdier tripod and gymbal mount would make it impractical as a travelling lens. The 100-400 is much more convenient, light and can be hand held. Therefore, despite Carl having to wrestle it from me, I will not be getting a 500mm F4. I shall stick to the smaller, more useful lens and resign myself to the ladies admiring Carl’s equipment instead of mine.

But just in case I start pining for the power and clarity of the 500mm F4 and begin to resent the limitations of my 100-400 F4.5-5.6, I have included a couple of comparison pictures to commend the smaller lens.

In fact, this may be my favourite one of the skimmers!

Of course terns were not the only birds at Bolsa Chica today.

A few waders were still hanging around after the rest had headed north. Willet, Short-billed Dowitchers and Marbled Godwits were the most numerous. These pictures were also taken with the 100-400.

Species seen; 58

Pied-billed Grebe 1, Brown Pelican 40, Double-crested Cormorant 12, Snowy Egret 15, Great Blue Heron 4, Great Egret 2, Black-crowned Night-heron 6, White-faced Ibis 5, Mallard 10 Gadwall 5, Ruddy Duck 8, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Coopers Hawk 3, American Kestrel 1, Black-necked Stilt 12, American Avocet 15, Grey Plover 4, Semipalmated Plover 5, Kildeer 2, Snowy Plover 2, Short-billed Dowitcher 35, Marbled Godwit 50, Whimbrel 6, Long-billed Curlew 4, Lesser Yellowlegs 2, Spotted Sandpiper 1, Willet 50, Ruddy Turnstone 2, Red Knot 6, Sanderling 2, Western Sandpiper 15, Ring-billed Gull 4, California Gull 25, Western Gull 40, Caspian Tern 30, Elegant Tern 100, Forster’s Tern 200, Least Tern 60, Black Skimmer 200, Mourning Dove 8, Anna’s Hummingbird 5, Allen’s Hummingbird 3, Say’s Phoebe 1, Violet-green Swallow 6, Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2, American Barn Swallow 20, Northern Mockingbird 1, American Crow 6, Common Raven 1, Common Starling 30, House Finch 30, Wilson’s Warbler 6, California Towhee 3, Belding’s Sparrow 8, Song Sparrow 2, Red-winged Blackbird 8