2007 Tour Narrative
Our fall tour of southern California began in the pre-dawn with a drive south from Los Angeles into Orange County. After breakfast we visited Huntington Beach Central Park, one of the best spots in coastal southern California for western migrants, where we also had resident species such as Nuttall’s Woodpecker and a nearly established exotic, the Nutmeg Mannikin. Continuing south to Crystal Cove State Park we soon found and had excellent views of the endangered California Gnatcatcher. Also noteworthy was an Orange-throated Whiptail, a very localized and overall scarce coastal-slope lizard that is here at the northern end of its range. After lunch and a stop at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, where we had good comparisons of Royal and Elegant Terns as well as many other water birds, we headed north. Our stop at Malibu Lagoon eventually produced an adult male Allen’s Hummingbird in the gardens of the Adamson House. A little farther north in Zuma Canyon we had excellent views of several Red-crowned Parrots, an established exotic in southern California.
We started the next morning at Big Sycamore Canyon in southern coastal Ventura County. Here we had a fine variety of chaparral species, including superb views of California Quail, Wrentit and California Thrasher. There were also migrants present and a briefly seen Least Flycatcher was an unusual stray from eastern North America. At nearby Point Mugu there was a good passage of seabirds that included many hundreds of Black-vented Shearwaters along with a few Sooty and Pink-foots and a few Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers. On the sod farms on the Oxnard Plain, we located a Pacific Golden-Plover amongst the many Black-bellied Plovers, a scarce but annual fall and winter visitant to primarily coastal California. At this location at dusk we managed to see the two Buff-breasted Sandpipers that had been discovered. These are very rare in California, but this was an exceptional fall for the species. Checking a line of tamarisk trees farther inland on the Oxnard Plain we had a few migrants including a Townsend’s Warbler, and later in the afternoon we saw a scarce Blackpoll Warbler and another rarer eastern stray, an immature male Blackburnian Warbler.
The big news of the day was the discovery of an Eastern Yellow Wagtail (which only has about 15 California records) back at Malibu Lagoon, so after lunch we returned and arrived to find the bird under observation. On the beach we had excellent looks at it along with a nice variety of shorebirds, including a locally scarce Red Knot and an albino Sanderling. The Snowy Plovers were particularly cooperative.
Our passage to and from Santa Cruz Island was most notable for the presence of several Blue Whales of which we had excellent views. In the harbor on the way out we saw a Black Oystercatcher as well as a Wandering Tattler. At Prisoner’s Cove on Santa Cruz Island we saw at least two of the endemic Island Scrub-Jays and were able to compare them to the coastal Western Scrub-Jays we had seen earlier. The large size and particularly the big bill were apparent. Numbers here in recent years have declined, I believe as a result of the West Nile Virus, which has affected most species of jays and crows adversely.
The next day was mainly a driving day. We stopped in eastern Los Angeles where we easily located several Spotted Doves. This exotic species has been declining over the last decade and this is the last stronghold for them. Continuing on to San Diego we stopped along the San Diego River, where we had good studies of a single Reddish Egret and a Little Blue Heron. Nearby in residential Point Loma we had fine studies of a beautiful Painted Redstart that was singing and calling. Farther east in Lakeside we had nice studies of several adult male Tricolored Blackbirds. We arrived at the Salton Sea at dusk and enjoyed a fine meal at the Town Pump in Westmorland.
The Imperial Valley, including the Salton Sea, is one of the finest locations to bird in California. The numbers of water birds are always impressive and there are many desert species here too. Certainly one of the top attractions is the Yellow-footed Gull, one of the scarcest and most localized of the gulls. We had excellent views of several, as well as many other species including hundreds of Laughing Gulls and a single Franklin’s. Two late Gull-billed Terns were also notable. At Finney Lake we had nice studies of two Least Bitterns and heard others. Land birds were numerous, too, and included a wintering Gray Flycatcher, Gila Woodpeckers, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and Abert’s Towhees. One of the few remaining pairs of Crissal Thrashers in the Imperial Valley near Brawley proved most elusive, with only a few group members glimpsing them. Ken Kurland’s yard near El Centro gave us the opportunity to compare the many hummingbirds visiting his feeders. Particularly notable were the many Costa’s Hummingbirds present, including several full adult males.
After a final morning of birding near Brawley we headed north and west, stopping at Morongo Valley for Vermilion Flycatcher and Summer Tanager. Here several migrant species of sparrows were present, including a rare and unusually cooperative Grasshopper Sparrow. After lunch we stopped briefly at Table Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains. Notable here were a single White-headed Woodpecker and a Pygmy Nuthatch. We arrived at the Silver Saddle Club at Galileo Hill near dusk.
We spent parts of the next two days at Galileo Hill enjoying the migrants. Flycatchers were particularly numerous and we had good comparisons of various species of Empidonax flycatchers that included Willow, Dusky, Hammond’s and another rare Least. A much studied Empidonax, thought possibly — or even probably — to be a Yellow-bellied, is best treated upon sober reflection as unidentified, given its silence. Warblers were numerous and included Nashville, Townsend’s, Hermit, Black-throated Gray and MacGillivray’s, as well as more-unusual eastern North American species such as Blackpoll, Chestnut-sided, Northern Parula and Ovenbird. On the way to California City we were treated to nice views of a Prairie Falcon and at the sewage ponds in the Antelope Valley to the south we had an immature Peregrine for comparison along with some Baird’s Sandpipers. At nearby Apollo Park we had fine studies of canescens Sage Sparrows, and a most unusual (for the desert) Hutton’s Vireo. On our return to Galileo Hill we stopped at the sewage ponds in California City where two cooperative Le Conte’s Thrashers gave us superb and prolonged scope studies. While studying the thrashers, two adult Golden Eagles circled high overhead.
After a final morning birding Galileo Hill, we headed back to Los Angeles, where we enjoyed a seafood dinner at a restaurant in Marina del Rey. The large bay windows allowed excellent viewing of an approaching storm, complete with much lightning. We arrived back at the hotel in torrential rain. Pity, given the recent fires, it didn’t continue on through the fall!
Jon L. Dunn
Updated: November 2007