With
a Red Flag Warning in the mix, we decided to make this day our scheduled “half
day”, and spent the morning at Santa Ana NWR, as that was a place Bill and Sue
really wanted to see. Most everything
was new, and since the sun hadn’t even come up yet by the time we left, we made
a detour to the nearest convenience store and picked up some food and drink
before hitting the refuge (and spotting a Striped Skunk in the process)!
It
was actually quite calm and foggy when we first started out (and the sun coming
up through the haze was beautiful), and while I took a potty break at the
refuge Sue announced later that she got the first of two birds she really wanted to see: the Green Jay! A Kiskadee was hanging with a flock of
Redwings in the parking lot, but I assured Bill that he’d get better looks
later! We headed up over the levee and
into the woods, and we immediately ran into a feeding flock even before getting
to the “roundabout”: Orange-crowned
Warblers, titmice, gnatcatchers, and kinglets were all in the mix, but they
were most excited about the Nashville Warblers that also showed up! A nice Ladder-backed Woodpecker perched
behind us, and the Carolina Wrens had begun to vocalize, which they noticed
sounded quite different from the ones they were used to in Pennsylvania! We initially headed out towards Pintail
Lakes, as that’s what the official bird walk had done the previous day to see
the birds “before the wind picked up”, and came across a very cooperative
Harris’ Hawk sitting off the trail! But once
we got out into the open the lakes were so socked in that we decided to skip it
and head back into the woods (but not before adding a tooking Western Meadowlark)!
Bill and Sue enjoy a hazy Harris' Hawk (below) along the Pintail Lake Trail!
We
came to the Tower area where the becard had been sighted, but once on the
sidewalk Sue stopped me short: there was
a trio of Chachalacas right in front
of us on a log! They seemed unconcerned
as we enjoyed them at close range, but what was even better was a “wren
wannabe” shuffling around nearly at our feet, which turned out to be an Olive
Sparrow! Great looks!
Chachalacas
There
was no sign of the becard, so at the trail intersection we looked at the map
and I gave them the option of continuing on the Willow Lakes Trail which would
get us closer to wetland habitat, and they readily agreed (Bill works in the
area of “cleaning up wastewater”, so he’s very familiar with the practice of
transforming sewer ponds into wetlands)!
At the overlook we had nice views of dowitchers, Greater Yellowlegs,
various ducks, and a White-faced Ibis I was unsuccessfully trying to turn into
a Glossy (although the Whiteface was new for them)! While scrutinizing the ibis a pretty Cinnamon
Teal floated into view! We continued
around, trying vainly to get a Long-billed Thrasher to come out, but ran into
many more feeding flocks with the same players as before (one such flock had a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet actually showing his ruby crown in all his glory!). At one overlook where we were checking the
ducks, a Mottled Duck came barreling in, which was another lifer for them! A Snipe fed along the grasses, another pair
of Harris’ Hawks were across the way, and we heard a Belted Kingfisher rattling
occasionally, but scanned in vain for a Ringed.
Bill on the new boardwalk
We
finally made it to the viewing areas along the Chachalaca Trail, where in
addition to adding Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck, we also had both Least
and Pied-billed Grebes. But hearing the WheeK! of a Beardless Tyrannulet drove
us onward, where we got sidetracked by a pair of “Mexican” Ducks out with the
others, one showing broad white speculum borders, and the other showing what looked
like a little “Northern” Mallard blood in him!
A Green Kingfisher gave its splat!
call, but he was definitely in a position where he wasn’t visible… L The tyrannulet sounded closer, but would then
move down the trail, so we added Yellow-rumped Warblers along the way, and
heard an Altamira Oriole that we chased down at the cutoff to Pintail Lakes,
where it was down on the ground of all places and very upset! We got great looks, but what was interesting
were two Olive Sparrows that were also agitated and seemingly hanging around
with the oriole! We continued on the trail where we ran into another feeding
flock (and also trying to draw out a Verdin in the process), getting great
looks at a Blue-headed Vireo, but what should finally pop into view but the
tyrannulet! He finally dropped down to
where a tree was behind him and we could see his detail (although most of the
time he sat against the sky), but what looks!
He showed off every field mark, which isn’t always the case with these
guys! High fives all around!
"Mexican" Duck (considered a race of the Mallard), best told from the Mottled by the broad white borders on the speculum.
Northern Beardless Tyrannulet having a "bad hair day" above, and showing a more normal look below...
Since
it was really too late to leave and go somewhere else, we decided just to
casually finish the loop and wound up back at the roundabout, and eventually
the visitor’s center, where Sue bought a souvenir T-shirt and Bill discovered
the back feeders! J I
had asked Ranger Christine where this “staked out” Pauraque was, and she showed
us the general area, but said that they don’t like to advertise it because
people go back there and spook it… L Apparently it had already been spooked (or
else it was hiding really well), as we couldn’t find it… So we went to view the feeders from the
outside wall, adding Inca Doves to the list, before heading into the VC again
and going over the eBird list (and adding White-tipped Doves out the window;
somewhere in here Bill had snuck out to the other feeders along the walkway and
photographed a Clay-colored Thrush, to Sue’s chagrin… J).
Clay-colored Thrush, © 2018 Bill Lucas
Headed
home after that, giving them suggestions as to where to go that afternoon to
stay out of the wind (we’re still under a Red Flag Warning as I write), with 56
species for the morning (picking up a couple of Caracaras in a field on the
way)! Bird List:
Gadwall
American Wigeon "Mexican" Duck
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Plain Chachalaca
Least Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Harris's Hawk
American Coot
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Green Kingfisher
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Crested Caracara
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Eastern Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Green Jay
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
Altamira Oriole
56 SPECIES
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