The Foggy Flats

11/24/18

Headed out into the fog this morning to bird Sacahuistale Flats and Port Mansfield, and seriously wondered if it was time to hang up the Sacahuistale Flats portion:  I had never seen so much traffic on that road in my life (and when they’re zipping by at 75 mph that’s nothing to take lightly)!  Traffic noise (mostly folks taking their boats to PM) made it hard to hear the birds at the various stops, but there were periods of quiet, plus the occasional cooperative birds that would sit on the wires and let me see them! J  The raptors are always easy, and this time Red-tailed Hawks won the numbers game, followed by Harris’ Hawks, Crested Caracaras, Kestrels, and singletons of White-tailed Hawk and Northern Harrier.  I would have totally missed the Osprey had he not whistled (and the nearby Harris’ scolded him)!

As usual, the ag fields had their share of Horned Larks, Western Meadowlarks, and Long-billed Curlews, and at one stop a single American Pipit flew over.  Kiskadees and Mockingbirds were all along the route, and both Tropical and Couch’s Kingbirds vocalized in order to get logged.  My friends laugh at me because I like to do these road routes “BBS” style (stopping every half mile for a couple of minutes), and one stop just happened to be next to the only visible (and normally dry) wetland along the route, which added both grebes, several ducks, and a Belted Kingfisher to the list!  Once out in the thornscrub the normal Valley specialties sounded off (between lulls in the traffic), so both thrashers, Cactus Wren, Olive Sparrow, Verdin, Green Jay, and even Altamira Oriole were added (the latter did decide to sit on a wire for me J)!  Lark, Savannah, and Lincoln’s Sparrows were numerous, but at one stop a Grasshopper Sparrow joined the lineup!  Several Eastern Meadowlarks sang unseen as we got into the open areas, and some Bobwhites made some odd sounds that stumped me until one of them did something I recognized!  I was pleased as punch to add several Sedge Wrens in appropriate habitat, while House Wrens were so numerous they actually got flagged by eBird!  The fog was thick, but still heard Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese apparently flying above it!

Hidden wetland along SR 186

American Wigeons in the foreground and Gadwalls in the background

Mouthy Tropical Kingbird

Once in Port Mansfield I headed over to the Laguna Rec Area, but stopped first at the little wetland where the road curves (again, usually dry).  This time it had several Laughing Gulls and Great Blue Herons, plus a couple of Gull-billed Terns lounging with them.  A beat up female (or maybe a juvie) Turkey was poking around someone’s driveway, and the only White-winged and Collared Doves of the day were chowing down at one of the deer feeders.  

Great Blue Heron and Laughing Gulls

Scruffy-looking Wild Turkey in someone's driveway

Getting into the rec area was a little adventurous:  before they improved the road (and the whole place, really), getting in could be a death trap, and even today it was a mite slimy, but that last bit just before the very end of the road was like driving through a snow bank!  There were two guys already there (obviously having made it through themselves) and were watching me intently to see if I got stuck, but Heppy performed famously as any Subaru should J, and I greeted the two guys with, “Well, that was an adventure!” J  After I set up my scope on the observation deck the older gentleman came up and asked about the egret that was feeding, which was, of course, a white morph Reddish Egret doing his “dance”!  He was impressed with the new Sibley app that showed both morphs and commented on how beautiful the dark morph was!  Some White Ibis flew by while we were chatting as well.  I spent about 15 minutes there and added Avocets, Caspian and Forster’s Terns, gobs of both flavors of pelicans (along with cormorants), both yellowlegs, several turnstones, and assorted other shorebirds along with the ever-present Laughing Gulls.  Getting out of there was even more of an adventure, but we made it!

Avocets keeping company with a white morph Reddish Egret

Savannah Sparrow on the way out

Fred Stone County Park was next, and on the way there a thrush-like thing flew over the car which thankfully vocalized:  an American Robin!  They had built a huge “boat barn” since I was there last, but it was a productive spot, with Black-bellied Plovers being added to the list along with more gulls, terns, and herons, but the best bird was a Franklin’s Gull in with the Laughers!  A big flock of American Goldfinches bounced by as well, my first of the season!

A late Franklin's Gull (right) hangs with a Laughing

The Franklin's is third from the left

Hit the Nature Trail after that, where two vans full of little kids had just arrived, but thankfully their attention was directed to the deer in the meadow!  In the woodland, something chirped that almost sounded like a redstart, but I just couldn’t get it to come out.  A more recognizable Summer Tanager did his pic-a-choo call, and a Catbird gave his distinctive call.  Things were quieting down, but the sun was trying to come out, and with it several butterflies:  found Common Mestra, Southern Dogface, American Lady, Long-tailed Skipper, and a wasp that the folks at BugGuide immediately ID’d for me as a Hairy Desert Wasp (Campsomeris tolteca)!  At another set of flowers a couple of moths joined the Queens; one I’m guessing as a Yellow Mocis until told otherwise, but was able to nail down another as a Scraped Pilocrocis Moth!  The strangest flying thing was a cross between a para-sailer and an ultralight buzzing overhead!

Common Mestra

Southern Dogface (left) and Hairy Desert Wasp

Here joined by a Long-tailed Skipper

American Lady

Another view of the Long-tailed Skipper

The wasp flees...

Close up of the Southern Dogface

(and you can see the "dog face" in the forewing!)

Yellow Mocis (best guess)

Scraped Pilocrocis Moth

Mechanical bird...

The kids were trailing me, so I looped around and ended up behind them, and they ended up leaving the same time I did; they seemed to be enjoying themselves!  After removing the burrs from my socks I headed home, adding Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to the Sacahuistale Flats list!  In total had 93 species for the morning, which isn’t bad considering the fog and the noise level! L

Bird list:

Snow Goose 

Northern Shoveler 
Gadwall 
American Wigeon 
Ruddy Duck 
Northern Bobwhite 
Wild Turkey 
Least Grebe 
Pied-billed Grebe 
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
Common Ground Dove 
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove 
Sandhill Crane 
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer 
Long-billed Curlew 
Ruddy Turnstone
Least Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Forster’s Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret 
White Ibis 
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey 
Northern Harrier 
Harris's Hawk 
White-tailed Hawk 
Red-shouldered Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Belted Kingfisher 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 
Crested Caracara 
American Kestrel 
Eastern Phoebe 
Great Kiskadee 
Tropical Kingbird 
Couch's Kingbird 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 
Loggerhead Shrike 
White-eyed Vireo 
Green Jay 
Horned Lark 
Black-crested Titmouse 
Verdin 
House Wren 
Sedge Wren 
Cactus Wren 
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Curve-billed Thrasher 
Long-billed Thrasher 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
American Pipit 
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch 
Grasshopper Sparrow 
Olive Sparrow 
Lark Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow 
Lincoln's Sparrow 
Western Meadowlark 
Eastern Meadowlark 
Altamira Oriole 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Brown-headed Cowbird 
Great-tailed Grackle 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal 
House Sparrow 

93 SPECIES

They Brought It With Them!

11/20/18 

Even though visiting birders Daryl and Jeanette were undoubtedly used to cold and gloomy weather living in San Francisco, I'm sure they were hoping for warmer, sunnier days!  Nevertheless, we headed out into said cold and gloom; I had long ago suggested the La Sal del Rey Route for raptors, and considering the weather it was a perfect day for it!  Just before reaching Hargill we found their first lifer: a beautiful Harris’ Hawk on a pole (followed by another, and another…J)!

Getting onto south Brushline, things were seeping right away, so we got out for a minute, and right away had a Pyrrhuloxia pop up!  An Olive Sparrow gave us a quick peek, and Green Jays piled in to pishing, but we had to work hard for most of the little birds:  intermittent feeding flocks included kinglets, gnatcatchers, House Wrens, and Orange-crowned Warblers for the most part.  We had our first Sandhill Cranes fly across the road, and there was actually water in some of the wetlands where we enjoyed four Snow Geese, Mottled Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Greater Yellowlegs, and a single Avocet!  A few Common Ground Doves shot across the road (along with plenty more Mourning Doves), and Lark Sparrows lined the power lines.  Closer to SR 186 a small flock of Savannah Sparrows sat up for us, and lots of Western Meadowlarks crossed the road and landed in the fields next to us.  Daryl and Janette had already seen Caracaras on the way down from Corpus Christi, but they never got tired of seeing these beauties again as they sat with the Harriers on the posts!  

Pyrrhuloxia

Savannah Sparrow

Snow Goose

After crossing over SR 186 we crawled along and heard some Green Jays fussing at something, then heard a Red-shouldered Hawk start to yell, which solved the mystery…  The recent rains had produced many bogs, and in one of these bogs we had several Eastern Phoebes, Lincoln’s Sparrows, and other stubborn dickey birds, including no less than three witting Least Flycatchers!  Everyone opted out of hiking down to the actual Salt Lake due to the cold, but we did find the road-killed Racoon that Colin and Pauline (two of our British guests who are long time photographers) had mentioned to me the day before:  they described several vultures and caracaras descending upon it until a Coyote came up and literally dragged it over to the side of the road!  So you can imagine our incredulity when it looked like the thing had been dragged back into the middle of the road (with said vultures and caracaras)! 

Again we ran into feeding flocks here and there:  one flock had a pretty female Black-throated Green Warbler, and another had several Nashvilles in the mix!  The White-eyed Vireos were stubborn, but at one spot a brown tanager-sized bird bolted into the bush, and what I saw of it had nice chestnut-colored wingbars and a big bill – a Blue Grosbeak!  (Pretty late, but several had been reported lately…)  We also had an Indigo Bunting that was anything but indigo, but that didn’t stop it from being one of Janette’s favorite birds of the day!  We also had a Bewick’s Wren briefly show, but the Cactus Wren was content to just scold at us…

Continuing on a lovely White-tailed Hawk posed, and we soon came upon a small flock of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, which in the overcast light were absolutely stunning (definitely Daryl’s favorite bird)!  Another car full of birders came towards us from the north, and just as we were about to pass each other, two Groove-billed Anis popped up on the fence!  They were definitely late!  

White-tailed Hawk

Showing the wing pattern...

Cold Groove-billed Ani

A couple of shots of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Jeanette and Daryl

Swinging up to the farm pond at the end of the road, Common Gallinules and a Least Grebe vocalized from the bog on the west side, and we had several Cattle Egrets, Black-necked Stilts, a pair of Gadwall, a Pied-billed Grebe, a Ring-necked Duck, and a female Canvasback on the east side (along with some handsome Blackbuck)!  A Black-and-white Warbler popped up in the dickey department, and at the end of the road where we had to turn around, a bright red Cardinal made the girls’ day!  On the way out three Anhingas kettled up in the sky, and a young male Vermilion Flycatcher posed on the wire.  

Loggerhead Shrike

Harris' Hawk

The girls check out the farm pond...

North Brushline on the way out

Heading back down Brushline three Turkeys scrambled behind one of the ranch gates, and after turning on to Ken Baker, we found another pair of Vermilion Flycatchers, one who was trying to gulp down a Snout butterfly that kept getting away from him!  The bog near Rio Beef was back, and had several Sandhill Cranes close to the road, as well as Avocets and more Mottled Ducks.  A very pale Redtail flew over the road that looked good for Krider’s, and a dark morph Swainson’s Hawk also showed well.  The pond out in the barren field had Pintail, and as we wound our way up Jesus Maria to the new NWR tract, we had a tremendous kettle of both Black and Turkey Vultures with a couple of Red-tailed Hawks in with them, one of them a Fuertes’!  

A young male Vermilion Flycatcher with a Snout (note the long nose)!

Sandhill Crane

Long-billed Thrashers had been calling all along the route, but stubbornly refused to come out.  Near a wooded area along the new tract, however, another one called, and this time it actually came out, giving the girls great looks!  Daryl also saw what sounded like a first year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but since I could never get on it (and it was a “flaggable” bird) I left it off the eBird list.  Near the open fields closer to the north end of the road four Sprague’s Pipits bounced overhead giving their distinctive pike! calls,  and near the residential area at the end of the road one of the silent “yellow-bellied kingbirds” finally vocalized for us, confirming a Couch’s for the day!

We had to head back after that, with 79 species for the trip (plus two subspecies)!  Bird list:

Snow Goose 

Blue-winged Teal 
Northern Shoveler  
Gadwall 
Mottled Duck 
Northern Pintail 
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback 
Ring-necked Duck 
Wild Turkey 
Least Grebe 
Pied-billed Grebe 
Common Ground Dove
Mourning Dove 
Groove-billed Ani 
Common Gallinule 
American Coot 
Sandhill Crane 
Black-necked Stilt 
American Avocet 
Killdeer 
Greater Yellowlegs
Anhinga 
Great Blue Heron 
Great Egret
Cattle Egret 
Black Vulture 
Turkey Vulture 
Northern Harrier 
Harris's Hawk 
White-tailed Hawk 
Red-shouldered Hawk 
Swainson's Hawk 
Red-tailed Hawk 
"Fuertes'" Hawk 
“Krider’s” Hawk
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 
Crested Caracara 
American Kestrel 
Least Flycatcher 
Eastern Phoebe 
Vermilion Flycatcher 
Great Kiskadee 
Couch's Kingbird 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 
Loggerhead Shrike 
White-eyed Vireo 
Green Jay 
Horned Lark
Black-crested Titmouse 
Verdin 
House Wren 
Bewick's Wren 
Cactus Wren 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Curve-billed Thrasher 
Long-billed Thrasher 
Northern Mockingbird 
American Pipit
Sprague's Pipit 
Lesser Goldfinch 
Olive Sparrow
Lark Sparrow 
White-crowned Sparrow 
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow 
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle 
Black-and-white Warbler 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Nashville Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Black-throated Green Warbler 
Northern Cardinal 
Pyrrhuloxia 
Blue Grosbeak 
Indigo Bunting 

Rarity Chase!

11/17/18

My friend Pat had some friends visiting from California who sounded like they might want to go after the vagrant Roadside Hawk, so she asked if I’d be willing to go chase that (along with the Plumbeous Vireo at Roselawn Cemetery), so that was the plan for today!  I picked her up at 6:30 with plans to meet Linda and Al near the National Butterfly Center (NBC) where the bird had been seen.  When we arrived Linda and Al were nowhere to be seen, but other birders were trickling in, and as we chatted and admired a very pretty barn cat, I turned around, and suddenly the hawk was in its preferred dead tree!  I got the scope on it, so several visiting birders were able to get their ”life” looks, and eventually Al and Linda did show up and were able to see it!  It stuck around for about ten minutes before flying to the east; Pat didn’t have the heart to tell the additional birders that had just driven up (including our friend Brad) the bad news…

A couple of shots of the vagrant Roadside Hawk

(This is an immature bird, showing streaks on the chest and bars on the belly...)

Pat with her friends Al and Linda from California

Linda and Al were going to try and get a better view, so Pat and I headed to Roselawn Cemetery in search of the vireo.  A House Finch greeted us as we got out of the car (a flaggable bird), and shortly we ran into our friend Mark, and later Mary G. (so we got an update on their El Cielo trip J).  We all wandered around trying to find feeding flocks; there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers around (Mary called them “Swarm Warblers”), including at least one “Audubon’s”, plus the occasional Orange-crowned, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, and even a Pine Warbler!  A Summer Tanager called and eventually showed well, and we heard a Blue-headed Vireo singing and scolding; before long he found a rival and puffed up his yellow sides to try and appear intimidating!  After awhile Pat and I were in the car ready to leave when Mary called, saying they had the bird, so we wheeled over, and while Pat was able to get passable looks, I never did see the thing, but I did hear what sounded like a segment of its burry song (the Blueheads were singing, so I wouldn’t put it past this guy to do the same), so that was good enough for me!  Brad showed up about that time (thankfully the hawk showed up for him), so we left him with the vireo while the rest of us went to chase a vagrant Dark-eyed Junco that had just been reported at Quinta Mazatlan!

House Finch, considered "rare" in the Valley (except for a few places where they're becoming established)

Roselawn Cemetery

We're joined by Mark and Mary who help nail down some feeding flocks...

 The place was basically around the corner, so once there we made a beeline for Ebony Grove and found Mary and Mark already there, along with another friend Bert, Casey (one of our visiting guides for the Festival), and intrepid chaser Dan, who had “flown” in all the way from Brushline Road when the report came through!  The bird was hanging in a couple of brushpiles and being very skulky, so after awhile Dan, Pat, and I started wandering the loop in hopes of kicking it up.  We had almost completely circled around when I heard typical junco tittering in the bushes, and the minute we turned to look the bird darted into the closest brushpile, flashing its tell-tale white outer tail feathers!  We were hoping it would show itself on the other side for the crowd that was over there, but it stayed stubbornly hidden; again, good enough for me, and apparently good enough for Pat, too, although she confessed that had it been a life bird she would have waited for a better look before counting it.  

Curve-billed Thrasher

Inca Dove

Dan wanders Ebony Grove in search of the errant Junco

Another (or maybe the same) Curve-billed Thrasher, who was much more cooperative than the junco...

We were originally considering returning to the Butterfly Center (the butters had been nuts at Santa Ana the day before, so I figured they’d be bonkers at the NBC), but with the overcast skies and the fact that I was bushed, we called it a day (although we did see some butter activity in the bushes on the way out of Quinta Mazatlan). 

Mournful Duskywing

Bird list:

Rock Pigeon

White-winged Dove 
Inca Dove
Mourning Dove 
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
American White Pelican
Killdeer 
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk 
Roadside Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Green Parakeet 
Eastern Phoebe 
Great Kiskadee 
Tropical Kingbird 
Couch's Kingbird 
Green Jay
Blue-headed Vireo 
Plumbeous Vireo 
Black-crested Titmouse 
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Clay-colored Thrush 
Curve-billed Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
House Finch 
Lesser Goldfinch 
Olive Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle 
Black-and-white Warbler 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Pine Warbler 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 
Black-throated Green Warbler 
Summer Tanager 
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow 

44 Species
1 Subspecies