This Yellow-throated Warbler has been in a tiny park in downtown San Francisco ever since September. As far as I know, it's the only one on the entire west coast right now. You can tell it's rare because of my bad picture.
I've been out looking at birds a lot lately. How embarrassing. I can feel my sex appeal plummeting as we speak. But the rewards have been many. I have compiled a vast collection of awful photos of rare birds that take up a vast amount of space on my hard drive. Going through them is a treacherous, grueling process that fills my heart with hate.
Well, that's being a little dramatic I suppose...and as I type this, I just felt a small earthquake. Ah, California...you are a cruel and wonderful place. Perhaps you will gift me another chance at Ivory Gull this fall?
This massive flock of blackbirds (many of which are Tricolored Blackbirds) was in the process of being attacked by a Peregrine Falcon. Photo from Abbott's Lagoon, Point Reyes.
I don't know if you've noticed, but out in the blogosphere, people are way into making lists...and it just so happens, birders love lists. Today I will, for the first time, publicly disclose a list of many of the California birds that I've never seen, not here or anywhere. The shame weighs heavy. Keep in mind I started birding in California back in 1994, and I am not allowed to have too many holes in my list.
Several of these species are not even rare. I've seen a number of species in California where only one individual has ever been seen (i.e. Belcher's Gull, Couch's Kingbird, Common Greenshank), so there is really no excuse for missing all of these.
White-tailed kite; more abundant than Common Greenshanks. Photo from Mountain View.
So here we go...
1. Pine Grosbeak - They live all over the Sierras, yet I have not seen one there or anywhere. They're not exactly a rare bird. What does it all mean? I'm not exactly a good birder.
2. Black Rail. - These birds can be agonizingly hard to see, but I reckon there are probably quite a few that live within an hour's drive of my house. Their presence haunts me.
3. Gray Vireo - A highly local bird in California, but dependable in a few spots. Some past searching in Arizona was fruitless. My home turf in Ventura County was visited by what is widely known as The Friendliest Gray Vireo In The World this fall, and there are pictures to prove it. Looking at those images make me want to break shit.
Unlike Gray Vireos, I've seen several lifetimes worth of Anna's Hummingbirds. Photo from Lake Merced, San Francisco.
Despite my mental filters, I unfortunately see things that are not birds once in a while. This facemelting California Red-sided Garter Snake was at Drake's Beach, Point Reyes.
4. Least Storm-Petrel - Uncommon to fairly common off central and southern California every fall. I suck.
5. Craveri's Murrelet - Another expected fall bird. I was once on a boat that saw 8 of these things on one trip, and I still haven't seen one. I have brought great dishonor to my family.
6. Northern Saw-Whet Owl - Widespread and not rare. I've heard a few, and seen none. Conclusions? I am a slothful and lazy birder.
7. Flammulated Owl - I have heard a lot of Flams, and seen none. This puts me beyond the realm of sloth and laziness, and into the realm of "utter bullshit".
Mute Swan...with American Coots, Eurasian Wigeon (1), American Wigeon, Gadwall (1), Ring-necked Duck (1), and scaup sp. (1) at Abbott's Lagoon, at Point Reyes. Find them all!
Cackling Geese. Uncommon but regular along much of the central coast. I like the weird brightly colored one on the left....truly, the Unicorn of Cackling Geese. Las Gallinas Wetlands, San Rafael.
8. Bohemian Waxwing - Bohemians are probably semi-regular in far northeastern California in midwinter, but since I've never been there in midwinter.....you get the point. I've enjoyed missing them in Alaska as well.
9. Yellow Rail - This bird has the reputation of being the most difficult species to see in North America. At this juncture, I concur. They have a few breeding sites in California, and probably winter in the bay area.
10. Great Grey Owl - Rare, but findable, in parts of the Sierra Nevada. This giant owl has been known to change the lives of birders...once you see one, things are never quite the same. I'm still waiting for the transformation.
There you are. The Truth about Seagull Steve. My birding mortality is not something I wear as a badge, but is something all of us must admit to, from time to time. That's life at #7. I even misidentified a bird the other day...but I must move on.
A Scott's Oriole is in San Francisco right now. I must go. Good day to you.
