I Am Yardbirder

Google. Facebook. Netflix. Apple. Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds. What do all these entities have in common? Well, yes...we are all on the internet, that is true. But what you are supposed to deduce is that we are all giants of Silicon Valley. That's right...BB&B pulled up stakes from Albany and Alameda County and moved right into the dark heart of the future of the world, which is in San Jose, California. I'm not endorsing this future, but it's here and people seem to love it.

One reason we are here in San Jose is because of the house we are renting. The house is a very typical suburban home, ideal for the familial situation I am currently in. But the house is ideal in another way...it has a yard...right next to a couple of ponds and Guadalupe Creek, meaning the yardbirding potential is very good. Despite my total lack of interest regarding living in San Jose I couldn't say no to this house. I work from home now, so what better way to stay sane than to yardbird like a fiend?

Our neighbors have a large pepper tree that attracts quite a few birds. A flock of Cedar Waxwings were in this tree every day earlier in the spring.

I knew this place could be interesting, but the yardbirding has totally exceeded expectations so far. As you can see above, in the month of May, Rancho del Bastardos recorded the highest yard list in all of California. Amazing! I've recorded a number of semi-rarities that were flagged in eBird, and one very popular rarity that was chased by a large number of people...luckily they could get to it from the other side of the ponds, instead of rampaging through my yard. I'm still missing a lot of locally common birds though, so when fall rolls around I think I'll be adding a great number of species. 80 species is the current grand total for Rancho del Bastardos, which I am chuffed with since we've only lived here since late April. The water level for one of the ponds behind the house is currently dropping, so if I'm lucky I can get a shorebird or three in July when the migrants return (so far I only have Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper). Ideally, a violetear or something like that will show up at the hummingbird feeders in the meantime (hey, it happened in Berkeley), but I ain't holding my breath.

Of course, this isn't the first time I've had good yardbirding...field housing can be very rewarding, particularly in places like Veracruz, Mexico, the Aleutian Islands, Midway Atoll, southeast Arizona, etc. Lots of great birds in those yards. However, I was only at those places a few months each...Rancho del Bastardos is my real home, where bastards roam free and I can actually put up 10,000 feeders if I wanted to.

Power lines are unsightly, but they provide great perches! Northern Rough-winged Swallows perch over the yard regularly, since they are often out foraging over the ponds. So far, 5 species of swallows seen from the backyard and 2 species of swift, all of which are here on the reg. I did look for Black Swift last month but it looks like I will have to try again next year.

This Budgerigar was not an expected bird at all. It was here for two or three days and vanished.

Mourning Doves are pleasantly common in the yard. Even more pleasantly, there are not many Eurasian Collared-Doves around here - I have only seen one so far from the Rancho. That's a good dove ratio. Now if only the cowbirds and House Sparrows would stay the fuck away...

Some people, namely Flycatcher Jen, think it's just hilarious that I've apparently gone full Geri and gotten so into yardbirding. I think it is perfectly normal...I just haven't had a suitably birdy yard (not counting field housing) since 2005 or something like that. My last "yard" in Albany was a thin strip of cement, and before that in Oakland it was a cat-ridden hell...attracting birds would have been a bad idea. At any rate, yardbirding is just a natural extension of my birdfiend tendencies, you see?

Any serious yardbirder in this day and age of digital crushing needs to put up more than feeders to optimize their yard...they need to put up some fake perches! This one can support the weight of a couple Band-tailed Pigeons. The Band-taileds are still pretty wary, I had to shoot through the sliding glass door while rolling around on the living room floor all ninja style to get this. Not too bad though eh? That is the power of the fake perch. In fact, I'm considering quitting my day job to become a fake perch consultant.

BB&B has been in the blogosphere since 2008. We are ancient, in blog years. Since then we have told many stories, featured many birds, made fun of many birders. What we have never done in all that time is post a picture of an Oak Titmouse. Let me put your titmouse worries to rest; they are, indeed, still extant. Luckily, titmice are frequent visitors to our feeders and this one decided to use one of my fake crush-perches to work on a sunflower seed.

I've been using a squirrel-proof tube feeder and a hummingbird feeder so far, and just added a nyjer feeder and another hummingbird feeder. Nobody has discovered the nyjer feeder yet, but hopefully the goldfinch hordes will descend upon us soon. A substantial amount of the yard vegetation that was here when we moved in has been removed and replaced...we've planted a grip of salvias and some other stuff too (a coffeeberry is our pride and joy) but none of it has really taken off yet to the point that it is bloggable. We will get there soon...maybe too soon.

How about some of the pond birds? This Mallard family sneaks under the fence to come to our feeder. Black-crowned Night-Herons are always lurking around, but unless I set out a tub of crawfish I don't think I will be feeding any.

This drain is a popular feature among the local pond-lurkers. There are a couple pairs of Green Herons around, presumably nesting in the riparian along the creek on the other side of the ponds. This is a very nice bird to see from your yard on the reg.

Here it is, the star rarity I've found so far...I present to you, in all its irony, a Common Loon. The ponds behind my house are not the sort of place you would expect a loon, and certainly not one arriving in late May. I knew it was a good bird, but I couldn't believe how many people chased it! I would sit here at my desk, look out the window and see birders coming to chase it day after day. Hilarious. Other eBird-flagged birds recorded here so far are Cackling Goose, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Myrtle Warbler, all of which were unseasonally late.

This is the second loon species I've seen in Santa Clara County...the first was Yellow-billed!

Despite daily disturbance from off-leash dogs that go running by about 10 feet away (who go swimming in the pond) and trespassing fishermen, the Pied-billed Grebe nest below the yard managed to hatch chicks! There are six chicks, all of which have survived their first couple weeks of life. I'm not sure if this grebe pair is super smart for nesting where they did or just super lucky, but they are good parents, dutifully covering up the eggs (which were large and bright white) with algae whenever a dog or person was too close and slinking away inconspicuously. Now they can't slink away as well because of the train of stripey baby grebes that follow the adults around.

Moonrises are crushable from the yard too. Good times at Rancho del Bastardos.

What will the next addition to the Rancho list be? Hell, it's June, it could be anything...the only birds still migrating through the area are eastern vague runts, and I'm not expecting a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on the feeder (though obviously I am constantly hoping for one). Let's face it, Brewer's Blackbird is probably next.

I'll keep you posted on the avian events at Rancho del Bastardos as time goes on...after all, this is where I do most of my birding.

The Sparrow of Baird...Waxwings Imitate Art...A Strange Pooping Posture.

Black Terns are very capable of capturing and consuming the hearts and minds of birders. They can be seen migrating over the open ocean, far from land, or as far from the ocean as you can possibly get (such as in North Dakota). These birds can do it all! And look really good the whole time. Photographed near Stanley, ND.

The BB&B interns were getting their daily flogging today (I typically use leather binocular straps; very effective) when one of them weakly suggested that we do a post on North Dakota. As long-time readers may remember, I spent the summer there in 2010, doing Piping Plover monitoring for Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. It was a pretty lonely summer, but I really enjoyed the job and the birding was great!

So to mix things up, here's some old photos from the vault that have not made it onto the blog yet. I didn't miss any of the area specialties I looked for there, but would love the chance to connect with some of those birds again. Shorebirds, prairie goodness, and a heavy flow of spring warblers made for great birding. I lifered over and over again...Sharp-tailed Grouse, White-rumped Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, Connecticut Warbler, Baird's Sparrow...it was glorious. Definitely an underrated state for birding.

The numbers of southbound Lesser Yellowlegs that came through the area bordered on obscene...I've never seen so many. Weirder readers will be pleased to note the defecating individual. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, ND.

As Birder Number 7, I am happy to tell you that as your GBRS rank rises over the years, the tendency to confuse Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs for one another will fade away like a bad dream. In fact, you will have the startling realization that Lesser Yellowlegs look a lot more like Solitary Sandpipers, and wonder how often those two are getting mixed up. This Lesser Yellowlegs was at Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.

There's nothing like getting life birds while on the clock! Baird's Sparrow, probably the most sought-after species in the state, was a great addition to my lifers-at-work list. Baird's are very local in the northwest part of the state where I worked, but not particularly difficult to see if you know where to look. Redmond Lakes, ND.

This Chipping Sparrow nested next to my trailer on the refuge. I always thought it was funny how sparrows are mostly vegetarian for much of the year, then turn into voracious insectivores for a few weeks while they are raising young. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge.

I did not expect repeated opportunities to inflict serious damage on Cedar Waxwings while in North Dakota, but as you can see the damage was done...over and over again. There were a lot of berry-bearing shrubs next to my trailer, and the waxwings could not resist.

Yet again, I am reminded of Charley Harper somehow. Life imitates art.

The plump and wonderful Cedar Waxwing.

Eastern and Western Kingbirds alike breed in western North Dakota...it's nice to have both around all the time, but it's also nice to have 6 kingbird species on my California list. I reckon this dusky-throated creature is a hatch year bird. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge.

Something about this scene speaks to me.

Franklin's Gulls are locally common in the northwest part of the state. This young bird doesn't even look like it's bill is done growing yet. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.

An even younger bird, photographed in early August. It's not every day you see a brown-hooded Franklin's Gull. If you are looking for vagrant Franklin's on the east coast or the west coast, don't be on the lookout for anything that looks like this. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.

American White Pelican is a bird that never gets old, no matter where you are. I've lost track of the number of times I've had to stop what I'm doing and watch in awe as a flock of these massive birds wheeled overhead. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.

A recently-fledged Swainson's Hawk assumes a rather strange pooping posture. Maybe this bird has not yet learned how to fire off its feces for the maximum distance. Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.

Richardson's Ground-Squirrel is the most visible rodent in the area. Their cuteness can not, and will not, be denied...even the Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks who want nothing more than to consume their flesh cry a little every time they kill one. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge.

Question For The Photographers

A berry-laden bush is heaven on earth for a Cedar Waxwing. This species wants nothing more than constant gorging. Hunting for this image brought on the rest of this post, sorry. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, ND.

It is getting to the point where I have, in technospeak, a shitload of photos. My question for ya'll, wildlife photographers, is how do you organize your photos? Aside from backing my photo stockpile up on external hard drives, I have never bothered to individually label or move them...they languish in the folder they were originally uploaded into, which is simply all the photos extracted from the camera on that particular day, with a couple vague notes on what is contained within. This is all well and good for a month or so, but after that I tend to forget what photos are where...so if I want to find a certain photo, it can be a big pain in the ass. Not infrequently, I completely fail at locating the set of photos I'm looking for, while rediscovering some great forgotten ones along the way. Obviously, my method of organization is nonorganization, which I do not want to perpetuate for much longer.

This is one of those forgotten photos...what a facemelting landscape. Artist Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park, WY.

I realize now that I will probably have to begin organizing birds/wildlife by species, at least on some level, which is a daunting task. There is much fear and loathing here at BB&B when the scale of this project is fully realized. I should mention, at this point, it is not a high priority for me to store/organize my pictures online (although that is definitely a great idea), since I find myself without internet access often enough to rather not depend on it for getting to my photos.

Thanks for all your input. If you're a bird blogger and/or photographer, please drop a comment. Apreesh.

Cigarettes And Shame

Eastern Kingbirds vying for a perch. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Well, well, well....there's nothing worse than putting in an hour of brilliant blogging just to see it all deleted for no reason at all. So instead of getting a heavy dose of my acerbic wit and needle-sharp tongue, I will simply tell you that I survived Las Vegas and am back in my native Californian habitat. Next week I'll get back to some regular posting again, but in the mean time there is a lot of unpacking/repacking to do, as well as seeing some legendary bands down at FYF Fest in LA.

Interestingly, it seems my former employer is cracking down on Gibson Guitars for allegedly using endangered trees in their instruments. Pretty bizarre. More power to Fish and Wildlife if Gibson is indeed guilty...I wish I knew more about it.

Right. Here's another barrage of pictures from out Midwest. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Human Birdwatcher Project ("Birders Are People Too") coming soon. Bird onward.

Blackpoll Warbler. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Black Tern. Des Lacs NWR, ND.

American White Pelican. Des Lacs NWR, ND.

Redheads. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Cedar Waxwing. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Coyote. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Richardson's Ground-Squirrel. Lostwood NWR, ND.

American Redstart. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Barn Swallow. Medicine Lake NWR, MT.

This Mundane Tyranny of Mediocrity

Grasshopper Sparrow. Redmond Lakes, ND.

Congratulations, Bourbon, Bastards and Birds community, for making it through another season with me. As with much of the North Dakotan birdlife, my urge to migrate is quite strong. The Willets and godwits (marbled variety) that harassed me so much earlier in the summer have mostly left for the West Coast already, and their migration path appeals to me....so I will be triumphantly rejoining them in California by the end of the month. With less than a week left and plover work completely wrapped up, its time to sit back, try to eat all the food I have left, dip into the the beer cache, sip on some whiskey and contemplate . 

Who am I kidding? With most field jobs, I generally just want to get the hell out by the time I'm done. All of the contemplating I'll be doing consists of devious plotting for the upcoming months.

Lesser Yellowlegs. Des Lacs NWR, ND.



Now that the Grey-hooded Gull has moved along, The Birdosphere has been pretty quiet lately. People have been sticking to the the tried and true ground of going birding, taking some pictures, and writing about it. Everyone seems to be excited that shorebirds are on their way south, and that the infamous "summer doldrums" are quickly giving away to fall migration, which many consider the most crippling time of year in terms of finding vagrants. No bird scandals to speak of really, aside from low level discussions on Common Gallinule vs. Common Moorhen, both regarding how to tell the two apart and the names themselves. Personally, I think we New Worlders lucked out getting the Gallinule...it's just such a birder's name. 

North Dakota, people, North Dakota. And a bunch of ducks that cant fly.

Of course, The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive and I have taken a brave nomenclatic (thats not a word is it? whatevs.) stand against the word "common". What does that mean? We here at BB&B are completely against any bird having the word "common" in their name. Its degrading and misleading, and about as interesting as what you flush down the toilet after your first cup of coffee in the morning. If the American Ornithologists Union had any sort of taste or tact, they would immediately strike down the adjective "common" from every North American bird...it is useless for birders and bad PR for the birds themselves.

For example...take the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. They are one of the most nondescript birds on the continent. Who thinks its a good idea to rename them "Common Flycatcher?" They certainly can be common in some areas. So lets do it!

No. That is a damn poor idea. I would not hesitate to bet that birders want to see this obscure bird that much more, simply because of the strange and ridiculous name.

A wee Northern Harrier. Not yet a finely-tuned killing machine. Still mostly just good at looking innocent and slightly concerned. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Most of the birds pictured today have decent, semi-accurate names. Grasshopper Sparrows do indeed sound like insects, and spend most of their lives in grasslands. Lesser Yellowlegs are the smaller of the two yellowlegs...a boring name, but an accurate description. Piping Plovers do pipe, and the name invokes their innate cuteness as well. Ruddy Ducks are ruddy colored ducks, Northern Harriers do occur in the north and they do harry. Cedar Waxwings.....well the cedar part is bullshit but it is a nice sounding tree (wait...is it because it's cedar colored???? Ahhh!!!!!!!). Anyways. Let's call that a 5/6 on names.


Now imagine all these birds with "Common" in their name. Disgusting, isn't it? "Common Sparrow"? My god, that is obscene.


So that seems to be where we are ending up today. Write your local AOU representative and give them a piece of your mind. Together we can bring an end to this mundane tyranny of mediocrity!!!!

Juvenile Piping Plovers. Redmond Lakes, ND.

Ruddy Duck with...ducklets. Near Redmond Lakes, ND.

Cedar Waxwing. Lostwood NWR, ND.

Another Very Special Edition

A Swainson's Hawk is pursued by a Red-winged Blackbird. Not my idea of a good time.

North Dakota continues on. Through floods, tornadoes, hailstorms, the birds and I persist to bring you another very special edition of Bourbon, Bastards and Birds.

Well....maybe this one isn't particularly special, but I was trying to channel Huell Howser, one of the cheesiest people to walk the earth and Tennessee's best and worst ambassadors at the same time. If you're looking for something to do (probably why you're here), then try digging up a video of California's Gold on the interwebs. Normally I would do the work for you and post a link...but I'm drinking whiskey. It's delicious.

That said, it's getting late and I gotta go see a man about a windshield in the morning (that's not a euphemism, that's what I have to do) so its off to the trailer for me. Have a positive day!

Someone left their intestines on a post. Ouch. Hopefully it wasn't a plover!

And now I give you...the bird that pays the bills! Piping Plover.

Cedar Waxwings are sexy beasts.

North Dakota.

American Avocet. One of the many shorebirds that wish me death whenever I get too close to a nest. Sorry avocet.

Baird's Sparrows once held dominion over the prairie. It was said to be a ruthless and brutal regime. The hills would ring with their melodious song for thousands of miles around. Now their allies the bison are gone, wildfires vital to the health of the prairie are suppressed, and most native grassland has been plowed under for crops. That's what I call "environmental stewardship".