Danette's Best Bird

I'm not the birder that gets excited about gulls. They are usually quite frustrating for me. Over the years I have managed to see most of the gull species that inhabit at least the lower 48 and a few of the arctic species as well.  One that has eluded me until today is the world's second largest gull - the Glaucous Gull. Best described as a large, pale arctic gull, their range in the winter brings them just down into Northern California. They are actually seen with some regularity around the coast of Northern California but in the winter gulls tend to congregate in large numbers and finding the unusual one amongst hundreds, sometimes thousands of other gulls, each capable of showing you a variety of different plumages (cycles) depending on how old they are, is enough to send me a little bit around the bend.

Anyway, my wife Danette had an errand to run today up to the lovely hamlet of Chico and I went along because - well, I'm retired and a trip out of town sounded like fun. Once again, thanks to ebird, I was aware of a Glaucous Gull sighting at the Feather River Parkway and Fish Hatchery in Oroville which just happens to be on the way to Chico. Long story short, Danette said that this was the best rare bird sighting she had ever been a part of (we saw the bird before I even turned the car off). Painless, she didn't even have to get out! To her credit she did get out and we spent a few minutes watching and getting some photos. We also noticed why this was a good spot for gulls to congregate. All through the shallows we could see large salmon in various states of decay, some living, some not. They had completed their last journey and done their duty at the hatchery across the river and were now fulfilling their last duty in the circle of life - food for the scavangers.

A fun day out and a new bird to boot! Species number 573.

A Lapland Longspur at the Dump

There is an interesting relationship between birds and garbage dumps. In some cases it is an active landfill where birds (especially gulls) can be found. For example, the Tamaulipas Crow can only be seen within the North American ABA area at the public landfill in Brownsville, Texas. I know, I've been there. But it is the increasingly more common occurrence of birds being found at what was once a landfill but is now capped over and reclaimed land. Some notable examples of this here in my home state are the following:

• The now world famous Arcata Marsh Project in Arcata, CA.
• The American Canyon Wetlands in American Canyon, CA.
• Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline Park in San Leandro, CA.
• Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, CA.

These are just a few of the many that I visit with some regularity here in Northern California. Some pretty nice places that cover over the massive amount of waste that we generate. We have since learned to hide our landfills farther away from urban centers in places that are not so environmentally sensitive. Sometimes I wonder if this is a bad thing as we seem to be more disconnected from our garbage and we really don't realize how much of it we create as we no longer have to look at it or smell it near our communities.

All that being said, I found myself at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley because of some ebird reports of Lapland Longspurs foraging in the grasslands that now cover what used to be a landfill. Danette and I had been doing some shopping in the area and she agreed to a quick stop to see if they could be located. Lapland Longspurs are sparrow like birds that are regularly seen during the winter months at a few locations around the Bay Area. This is another species that has always eluded my detection so I figured this was a pretty good chance to rectify the situation. As I walked over the grassy area spotting Meadow Larks, Pipits, and Savannah Sparrows, I spotted another birder with a large camera rig and checked in with him. Fortunately, he was camped out right in the middle of an area that they were frequenting and within a matter of minutes there they were. I had good looks at three of them as they foraged and managed to get a few pictures but lighting was not good enough to call them really decent photos. So there we are, Lapland Longspur, bird number 572. Slowly heading for 600.

First New Rarity of the Season

Bar-tailed Godwit

The day was unusually warm as an early October heatwave descended on the Bay Area. Looking across the Bay we could see two of the largest cruise ships I had ever seen docked in San Francisco. Glancing up we could see the Blue Angels practicing for their Fleet Week performance. And just a few hundred yards away we could hear the horn blasts and see the organized chaos that is one of the largest container ports in the world. Hardly the place where you would expect to find a rare bird. 

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in the middle of the Port of Oakland seems a bit of an afterthought and is generally unknown to most people, but it does have a reputation amongst birders as being a good place to view a variety of different shorebirds. Word had gotten out on the listserves that a Bar-tailed Godwit was being seen here so I texted Jeff and he met me there and acted as my guide since he had seen the bird the previous day.

The Bar-tailed Godwit has been a problem bird for me. Two years ago one wintered in Emeryville and I tried numerous times to see it without any luck. Most recently, on our way home from the San Juan Islands, Danette and I made a slight detour along the coast of Washington to Tokeland to see one that had been there for at least six weeks - no luck. I was beginning to think that this was going to be my new nemisis bird. I can now rest easy in the knowledge that they do actually exist. Within one minute of setting up his scope Jeff found the Godwit on a sandbar in the harbor surrounded by a large number of close cousins, Marbled Godwits. For the next half hour we enjoyed leisurely views of the bird and took in the beautiful day around us.

The image above shows the Bar-tailed at the top just left of center. In this image you can see the size difference with the Marbled Godwits around it and see its paler color, heavier barring, and white supercilium. Those are Elegant Terns in the foreground - the "bad hair day birds."

A few more words about the Bar-tailed Godwit. It is widely held that these birds are the champions of non-stop migration. Each fall they leave Alaska and fly non-stop over the Pacific to New Zealand, a journey of over 7,000 miles accomplished over eight days, losing over half their body weight in the process. Astonishing! There is no way of knowing why the bird we saw is not on this traditional route, but we do know from previous records that their appearance on the Pacific Coast is not out of the question. Like many other bird species the Bar-tailed Godwit is in decline particularly due to habitat loss along the coast of the Yellow Sea where it depends on mudflats to feed during the return journey to Alaska.

This is a bird you can't help but to admire. If you'd like to learn more about this distance champion I would point you to this article from Audubon's "The Sketch."

Link to the google photo album of my images.

Glorious Northeastern California

Yellow Creek in Humbug Valley

In these days of divisive politics and regional conflicts California often takes a beating in the national eye. Yes, we are a majority liberal, open-minded and inclusive state and I make no apologies for that. People have their opinions and disagreements about these things and that's fine. But the one thing that you simply can't disagree on as far as California goes is it's incredible natural beauty. The Golden State has it all (except tropical rainforest) and I took a couple of days to visit one of my favorite parts of it this past week.

Growing up we spent a fair amount of time during our summer holidays in the Lake Almanor region with my mom's cousin's family. These fishing, hiking and camping adventures have always held a special place in my heart and it seems that every time I return, the area is even more beautiful. That's actually saying something as today the evidence of climate change is right in front of your face with horrible burn scars from the recent fires.

Butte Creek

The birding portion of my trip began as it has in the past with the turn off of highway 32 onto Humboldt Rd. I followed this road up to Jonesville then over to the Humbug Road. This road on through Butte Meadows and up to Jonesville is really quite beautiful and would make an excellent bike ride, however, after Jonesville you enter the burn scar and it is quite devastating. Many of the typical forest birds of this area were seen with the highlight being an American Dipper doing his thing in Butte Creek.

American Dipper

As I crested the Humbug Summit and began to drop down again I passed through heavily burned forest. Signs of recovery were evident in the understory with broad swathes of light purple color from the many patches of blooming penstemon. I turned off the Humburg Road and headed south towards Soda Creek Canyon for the day's main activity - a hike down to fish Soda Creek. Maps indicate a trail down into the canyon from Deer Point however it has been many years since that trail has seen any maintenance and it was difficult to follow all the way down. None-the-less I made it down to the creek and enjoyed a really nice afternoon of fishing. The creek is full of Rainbows and I think I only caught one less than 10 inches. At one point I had solid strike from one much bigger than that but he shook the hook pretty quickly. It was really good to return to this creek that Vic had introduced me to so many years ago. Back then I had a great day fishing with my dad, Vic and Ralph Andre. This time I was all alone but I felt all three of them with me as I had another fantastic afternoon.

Upper Soda Creek Canyon

Soda Creek

Soda Creek Rainbow

After the nearly 1,000 foot climb out of the canyon and back to the truck I was pretty tired and decided that the rest of the trip would be for the birds and the fishing was done. Continuing on my way through the burn scar I headed for Humbug Valley where I expected to camp at Yellow Creek Campground, one of the most picturesque campgrounds I have ever encountered. As I turned to follow the road towards the campground I added two of my favorite mountain birds to my list, Lazuli Bunting and a family of Mountain Quail. Continuing on I was met with quite a shock. The campground was in ruins, the fire had done a significant amount of damage and it was obviously closed. So it would be plan B for camping, I headed into and through Chester and over to Clear Creek and camped out on my cousin's deck next to the creek. A lovely spot but pretty buggy. I watched the Common Nighthawks above the creek as I drifted off to sleep. 

The burned over Yellow Creek Campground

Next morning it was up early for coffee and pastries and on the road towards Eagle Lake. I took the A1 (Eagle Lake Rd.) off of Hwy. 36 which takes you up over a pass on its way to the lake. A few years back Jeff and I had taken this road and stopped at the pass and it was a good birding spot, it still is. Here I added Cassin's and Warbling Vireos, Orange-crowned Warbler, a curious pair of Northern Harriers, and Red and White-breasted Nuthatches to name a few. Eagle Lake brought me numerous Osprey, Vesper Sparrow, White-faced Ibis and a variety of duck species. Continuing north on CA 139 I made my way to the Ash Creek Wildlife Area just off of CA 299. Here I added Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Swainson's Hawk and a family of Barn Owls in the barn next to the parking area.

Barn Owls

Heading west on 299 I made a stop at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park at the end of Rat Farm Rd. Over the years I have seen a number of interesting e-bird reports from this location so I wanted to check it out. It was of course the middle of the day so birdwise it was quite slow. I did enjoy a flyover of a Bald Eagle. As I drove west on 299 through McArthur, Fall River Mills,  and Burney I was reminded of what a scenic road it is. I picnicked at Hat Creek and followed the unique drainage of the Pit River as it made its way towards Shasta Lake. My last recorded bird for the trip was a singing Yellow-breasted Chat along Little Cow Creek next the Hwy. 299.

All-in-all a good trip that brought back many good memories. While there is no doubt that the fire damage in the area around Lake Almanor is significant, what we do know is that over time it will recover. The big question that climate change brings is how it will recover. Will the once great pine and fir forests of the area return or will we see something different in its place. Time will tell and I will continue to visit and watch as long as I can.

Humbug Valley

Undone by the Devil - Southeast Arizona - May 2023

View this post on the blog.

Our Official trip portrait.

Birders are listers, there's no two ways about it. Some of us keep it pretty simple keeping only a life list, others keep all kinds of lists from county on up to state and country and even continent. Some people do this on a yearly basis. For me, I like it simple. I have two lists, an ABA life list and a yard list. When I first started birding back in college my life list grew rapidly. Lately they just sort of trickle in. The last time I had 10 or more new species in a single trip was back in 1993 which was the last time I went to Southeast Arizona.

The Last Thrasher

Worldwide there are 34 species of the family of birds known as Thrashers. Twelve of these species can be found in North America and if you want to see them you need to visit the southwest. Most have rather long decurved bills and all are notable singers and some are capable of mimicry. Probably the best known member of this family is the Mockingbird. Over the years of my birding career I have seen all but one of this family's North American contingent. In recent years this last thrasher, Le Conte's, has become a nemesis bird for me.

Hanky-Panky in the High Desert

View this post on the Blog

Part of the fun of being a birder is thinking back on previous adventures and remembering the details of a first sighting. I recently had cause to recollect the first time I saw the Greater Sage Grouse.

Jet-set Birding With The Salton Six

The Salton Six

We slowly emerged from the clouds over Southern California as we began our descent into the Palm Springs Regional Airport in Thermal. I looked around at my fellow passengers, all five of them, as we bumped our way down out of the sky and thought to myself, "this is the life!" The circumstances that led me to be aboard this small jet are easily explained.