My number one target for this trip was Yellow-billed Magpie. I don't know why, it is just one of my favorite birds. Maybe it is some unconscious subliminal thing having to do with my childhood and how I loved Heckle and Jeckle. So a little research of the surrounding area near Gilroy on eBird and I found a Hotspot called Lone Tree Rd near Hollister, CA. The most prolific poster of Yellow-billed Magpies from the spot happened to be Debi Shearwater, Queen of the Pacific pelagics. More on Debi later. So when I arrived a in San Fran a little before noon I quickly got my rental car and headed straight to Lone Tree, only about an hour and a half drive.
Western Scrub Jay - I will take these over our Blue Jays any day. Maybe that is familiarity breeding contempt.
I took some pics of the scenery with my iPhone and I will download them later, but if you have been to San Fran you will be able to see the rolling hills with grassland and huge California Oaks in your mind's eye. Simply idyllic.
Golden Eagle - apparently here Bald Eagles are a big deal and Goldens are trash birds.
California Red Tail - this one was not a dark morph but still looked different than our East Coast birds. Namely the head is really dark.
Cassin's Vireo! Oddly enough a lifer for me. Odd considering I have birded out west many times.
This bird would have been impossible to photograph with my old camera.
Lark Sparrow - these were everywhere.
California Ground Squirrel - so cute. Probably a good source of food for the raptors.
Lark Sparrow doing a swan dive.
Nuttal's Woodpecker
Lesser Goldfinch I think.
Western Bluebird
California Quail - female
California Quail - male
Acorn Woodpecker - the clowns of the woodpecker family in appearance and in personality.
All that and still no magpie!! Later when I asked Debi Shearwater she looked at me like I was some novice birder when I said I did not find a magpie at Lone Tree. That being said, it was afternoon which is not peak birding time.
I still had plenty of time before dark so I decided I would look for my other target species the Tricolored Blackbird. Some research on eBird lead me to Moonglow Dairy in Moss Landing on the coast. What a cool place. The folks that own the dairy open it up to birders and many a rarity has been found over the years. It did not take very long to find my target. They were all over the cattle pens.
Tricolored Blackbirds - note the white wing patch. Red-winged Blackbirds show a yellowish color with the red.
But the real show at Moonglow is the Elkhorn Slough which attracts tons of shorebirds.
Phalaropes!!!
Something kept scaring the phalaropes around which was nice because they seemed to move closer each time.
Red-necked Phalarope up top and two Wilson's Phalaropes down below. I believe the whole flock was about 75% Red-necked and 25% Wilson's. I could not pick out a Red Phalarope, but don't worry dear reader there was some before the end of the trip.
This spot has hosted a couple Sharp-tailed Sandpipers over the years but this time only Pectoral Sandpipers and lots of Least Sandpipers.
Wilson's Phalarope to the left and two Red-necked Phalaropes to the right.
The cows at this dairy seemed happy with plenty of room to roam although the grass was dried up due to the drought so they had to eat hay. I met the owners and they were super nice.
I think these were Red-winged but maybe a couple Tricolored were mixed in.
Here are some Tricolored, not the most pretty bird this time of year but a lifer none the less.
I love a Bushtit although this flock was in a shady spot and were not very accommodating.
Elegant Terns were everywhere. For the uninitiated, the elegant tern is easy to tell from a Royal because of it's very slender and dainty bill compared to the honker on a Royal. That being said I don't think they have many Royal Terns this far north this time of year.
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
How do I know you may ask? Well I don't but it was fresh water (if you can consider a cow waste pit fresh water) and look at the tail. The black barring was wider than the white. Not a definitive field mark but as good as any other.
Western Gull I think. I am horrible at West Coast juvenile or 1st year birds.
Surf Scoters
Harbor Seal I think, but could be very wrong.
Pelagic Cormorant!!
A cropped photo shows the sleek thin head and no light color path on the throat like a Brandt's.
Here you can see the straight neck and head of the Pelagic Cormorant. The Brandt's have a bulkier head and the neck has more kinks when flying.
What luck! A Western Grebe and a Clark's Grebe right next to each other. A breeding pair? Does this species interbreed? Zoom in and you will see the bird on the right has white all the way around the eye and the bill is a brighter yellow which is good for a Clark's.
Harbor Seal - apparently the V shaped nostrils is a give away.
When I saw this Common Murre I thought what luck. Well in turns out they were everywhere and showing up in weird places due to a die off. On the pelagic we saw many dead murres floating on the ocean.
This one was probably sick. Breaks my heart.
By that time the grebes gained more trust in me and came in for a closer look. You can really see the difference here.
This Marbled Godwit was so subdued in coloration that I thought I could have run into some vagrant. However, in the end I determined it was a Marbled and one with a bad foot. Poor guy. Its a dog eat dog world out there.
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope on left and Wilson's on right. Wilson's is the only one in non-breeding plumage that lacks an "ear patch".
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
A proper adult Western Gull
As the sun was setting I headed out to Moss Landing and checked a few spots.
A huge cloud of Elegant Terns
Common Murre
Juvenile Elegant Tern
Long-billed Curlew
I couldn't believe it, but he was getting all 8-9 inches of bill down into that mud.
Altogether not a bad half day of birding. I could easily live in this are of Cali. Less people and lots of cool places.
Part Dos coming soon....
Cheers.
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