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