A Summer Dispatch from Rancho de Bastardos and the Five Mile Radius

I lied. The newest BB&B post will not be about Texas...how about we change it up? What about the local birding? What is the good word? How are things going at Rancho de Bastardos? What of the Five Mile Radius (5MR)? As everyone knows, you can't be a birding darling without birding locally!

Well we renewed our lease of Rancho de Bastardos, so will be holding it down at least until next spring. The current Rancho list stands at 122, with 6 new species so far this year: Lesser Scaup (expected), Phainopepla (very unexpected), Purple Finch (expected), Red-breasted Merganser (quite unexpected), Rufous Hummingbird (not necessarily expected), and Orange-crowned Warbler (long expected). A hoped-for-but-unsurprising Snow Goose showed up right at the end of 2017, found by my dad who was visiting from out of town (above).

Getting new yard birds this year has been a major pain, and I suspect I won't be getting another until August or September...the potential for new birds before then is really low, especially if the ponds behind the house remain too full to be attractive to shorebirds...but if shorebird habitat was actually allowed to develop, there are a whole bunch of new birds that could potentially drop in. Same old story...the impossibilities are truly endless. A crippling drake Wood Duck hung out right behind our back fence for a morning earlier in the month, which was a life-affirming (if not life-changing) summer surprise and a new one for the 2018 Rancho list. Speaking of which, the 2018 Rancho list is at a solid 104, and with a little luck I think 120 can be reached by the end of the year.

This seemed like a good spring for migrant hummingbirds in the county (namely Rufous and Calliope), and multiple Selasphorus made visits to the feeders at Rancho de Bastardos in the spring. All the males seen well enough to ID were Rufous (above), though several females and an immature male or two could not be identified to species. I'll be on the lookout for Allen's Hummingbird next spring, a prime candidate for the yard list.

The putative White-throated x White-crowned Sparrow hybrid ended up hanging out for several weeks in April. Here is a head-on shot that shows the crown pattern pretty well, which is a closer match to White-throated but doesn't perfectly match either species.

Compare it to this White-crowned (presumably pugetensis). All of the Rancho's Zonotrichia migrated north while I was in Texas in late April, not a single bird remained by the time I got home. I guess they had an exit plan.

In other bastard news, Annabelle can now identify Mallards ("duck"), Canada geese ("gee"), Mourning Doves ("duhv") and California ground-squirrels ("wheeo"). She even made a rudimentary song about the squirrels...it goes "Whee-oh, Whee-oh, Whee-oh, Whee-oh." Fully legit. She also peed on my binocular strap and on my camera case the other day, which is not a problem I've dealt with previously.

My 5MR list has matured nicely this year as well, and has climbed to a modest 156, surpassing my previous 5MR based in Albany. Many (most?) of you have higher 5MR lists, but I am pleased with how mine is progressing, nay burgeoning...I've already added 19 species to it in 2018. Let's hear it for local birding! This is about 65% of my entire Santa Clara County list, which I think is a nice ratio and reflective of what the 5MR has to offer relative of the general area.

If only eBird could whip up a quick target list for my 5MR...

They are an abundant bird in the bay area and they are in my yard every day, but since I grew up in a chickadee-depauperate part of the state they still hold some novelty for me. This Chestnut-backed Chickadee was photographed on the Los Alamitos Creek trail in San Jose, in the 5MR of course.

On the same trail on another day, I came across a Turkey Vulture feeding on a deer carcass (note the ribcage in the upper right). This generally isn't blogworthy, especially considering the rubbish quality of the photo, but this section of trail wasn't next to a road (it's actually separated from area roads by a tall fence) and the trail was saturated with warnings of mountain lion sightings. I think this deer wasn't taken down by a Jaguar, but by a mountain lion, know what I'm saying? Eh? Eh?

The southern half of my 5MR is absolutely brimming with Acorn Woodpeckers. It is the cradle of Acorn Woodpecker civilization as far as I know. This is the sort of bird that you want around in great abundance, especially when they aren't wary of people. Photographed at Guadalupe Oaks County Park.

While we are on the hot topic of 5MRs and the perpetually hot eBird, I have a proposal to make. Those of you who have an ear open for you at eBird Central Command (or are a part of Central Command) should tell them to embrace the 5MR. I know almost half of you who read this are eBird reviewers, so we have a nice, potentially powerful little lobby here. The 5MR encourages local birding, it encourages birding lightly-covered (or uncovered) areas (a major goal for eBird), and it encourages eBird use (an even greater goal for eBird). If a 5MR tool is added to patch lists, 5MRs will become the shining jewel of that feature. So eBird, go ahead and do a quick interview with everyone's favorite famous post-Oregon birder Flycatcher Jen, add a 5MR feature, and let it rip! Many birders will chill back on their excessive checking of Top 100 state and county lists, and be all about comparing the Top 100 5MRs in their states and counties instead. This will really level the playing field for those who are interested in comparing patch lists, considering that many users (including reviewers...wtf) have bullshit patches that are hundreds of square miles.  Anyhow, do us all a favor and let eBird know...if they actually had some interest in this idea, things may never be the same.

I'll close this post out with series of Great Egret vs. gopher shots from the Los Alamitos Creek Trail, part of my 5MR I've been birding on the reg. It's a nice zone and has some Vague (not vague) potential, unfortunately it starts getting real crowded by mid-morning...but when you live in a city with over a million people, what do you expect? Gross...

Surprisingly, the gopher ate the egret in the end.

Jk the egret won, gopher-egret matches are always fixed. I'm glad I don't have to worry about being impaled by giant birds, just stuff like cholesterol. More from Texas in the next post, for reals.

Word is bond.

The Smith Oaks Rookery: Spectacle of Life, Specter of Death

Moving on to the other side of High Island...the other big sanctuary here is Smith Oaks. As a migrant trap, it is better than Boy Scout Woods for many species, but this post is about the awesome, enormous rookery on the east side of the sanctuary. Before visiting the rookery, I lacked a decent photo of a Roseate Spoonbill (how embarrassing)...I no longer have that problem.

The Smith Oaks rookery is sprawling, loud and stinky; a spectacle. I was really impressed with it. The spoonbill show is something else...just look at these things. Why are they the way that they are? We are fortunate to have the world's best spoonbill species here, all of the others are vanilla in comparison.

I think we were too early to see spoonbill chicks, which is too bad. Surely they must look absurd.

It could be sharper, but this crop pleases me to no end for some reason. Makes me think of dinosaurs.

Roseate Spoonbill-Common Gallinule combo. The UTC is a region rich in combos.

Spoonbills are the main attraction, but Great Egrets seemed to be the most abundant species and they are difficult to ignore.

I don't think I've had the chance to sit and watch Great Egret nests close up before....it all felt very National Geographic. Speaking of which...

There are hella alligators at the rookery. This fairly large one slipped into the water and started hunting as we watched.

After some time it reemerged, taking a very direct path towards something...

...which turned out to be a Great Egret chick that had fallen from its nest.

I believe this was the chick's final moment before it went to that great big nest in the sky.

The last crunch.

The gator dispatched the egret chick very quickly and was back in the water in short order. Damn! Was not expecting to watch something like that unfold, let alone capture it all on the crusher. For the egret chick, you might be thinking "life is pain", but if not the for merciful reptile it would have died the slow and brutal death of exposure and starvation. Next time you run across an alligator, thank it for its service.

A couple days later we saw probably the same gator come striding out of the colony with another egret chick, though this time we did not bear witness to the chick's demise. I bet the local alligators hardly eat for much of the year compared to when the rookery is active.

Neotropic Cormorants also breed in large numbers here. In trip bird news, we managed to see all of one Double-crested Cormorant for the whole trip, an immature at this rookery.

These Almost-Geri demanded that Dan stop taking spoonbill photos and take their picture instead. In time, they will expect even more from us Non-Geri. That is the way of things...the way of The Geri.

Though the rookery is incredibly distracting (rightly so), don't forget to keep looking for migrants next to the viewing platforms (tired migrants aren't necessarily put off by throngs of loud Geri and photogs) and along the main rookery path. This glowing Blackburnian Warbler was right next to the observation deck pictured above.

More migrants in the next post!

Las Gallinas - Zono Zone, Let The Kinglet In, The One You Least Suspect (LISP)

Sorry for the lack of output lately buddies. Unsurprisingly, it becomes harder to blog when you are hanging out with a baby all the time. I've gotten plenty of good birding in this winter/spring though, so I have no shortage of material to work with...shit, I even have flowers.  But before I could even blog it, the Quasi-Perpetual Weekend (QPW) has come grinding to a halt...it's back to work for me. I've been off since my daughter was born in January, so this is going to be weird.

One of the things I've been able to take advantage of during the QPW was my proximity to Marin. Among northern California birders, few counties hold the appeal that Marin does. While I've lived in a number of places in the bay over the last ten years, I've never managed to live in Marin, which is widely considered the best birding county. That said, my current home in Albany is just a quick 15 minute drive over the Richmond Bridge to the Promised Land. I've spent a great deal of time birding in Marin since last fall, which has paid no end of dividends in terms of rarities and quality outings.

The Las Gallinas Ponds is a default birding location on the Marin bayside...you can rack up over 60 species pretty easily for much of the year, it has rarity potential, and a lot of the birds are highly crushable. Indeed, if you enjoy running into photogs who can't identify the birds they are shooting (who doesn't?!), then spend some time here!

Marsh Wrens are extremely common here (not unusual), but there are so many of them that you are bound to get good looks at a couple (unusual).

Common Gallinules are a highly local species in the bay area, and there is no better place to see them than at Las Gallinas. They are totally fearless here, even more so than the coots. Close observations of gallinules will lead you to conclude they are more interesting than coots in almost every possible way, except their feet are not as cool. Coot feet are hard to top. I'm not sure why gallinule feet are so simple in comparison, considering their niches and behavior overlap so much.

Did someone say "common"? Oh good, now I have a reason to post a White-crowned Sparrow. We have them year-round here, but they still are very much a scourge of winter.

Your friend and mine, the Great Egret.

This photo begs a question...without googling, does anyone know what bird species has the longest neck? Either in proportion to its body, or actual length? This seems like important trivia to know.

Don't worry locals, I managed to slip in one rarity in this post. After a substantial time spent dipping on this bird, eventually I connected with the Harris's Sparrow at Las Gallinas. Though not a MEGUH by any means, this is a solid rarity in California, and since I didn't see any last year it made for a fine yankee bravo, as well as a Marin County bird. Unfortunately it disappeared after about 30 seconds, and I was left wallowing around in more common birds...

Golden-crowned Sparrows are abundant and often very confiding...too bad most of them don't look very impressive until April or so. But what they lack in aesthetic appeal, they make up for in humble plumpness.

Wow, did I just throw up pics of three Zonotrichia? Perhaps it is time to brush up on these horsemen of the apocalypse.

Unlike Zono sparrows, Cooper's Hawk is not a bird I encounter up close very often. Practically everything at Las Gallinas is begging for merciless crushing.

I am not above posting the occasional House Finch photo...and by occasional, I mean this is the third one BB&B has ever posted since 2008. It was time. Come on, I know you are programmed to not even look at it, but it's a pretty bird, admit it. It looks good with that lichen...this is something you and I have to accept. Hey, if you are ever going to find that vagrant rosefinch, you're going to have to look closely at some House Finches.

Now that we got that out of the way, we can let this Ruby-crowned Kinglet into the empty cavities of our hearts. Don't be afraid...just let it in.

This is, without doubt, the best Ruby-crowned Kinglet photo I have ever taken. This is not a boast (that would be embarrassing), just simple fact. I dig how yellow the tail looks on this individual, that's not something I notice in the field very often.

Lincoln's Sparrows often fit the descriptions of murderers that you hear about on local news stations...they are quiet, nice, keep to themselves. Wouldn't harm a fly...or so you would think. No one would ever suspect them of breaking the law at all, let alone capable of killing nine people.

This is definitely a species pulling stakes right now; I've probably seen my last of the spring already. I've mentioned here before how they never sing at wintering/stopover sites in California. Do they just fail horribly the first few times they sing each year? They are probably spot-on, but I like the idea of them having to sing out the rust.

A few minutes away from Las Gallinas is the Marin Civic Center. There's a big, weird artificial pond there which attracts some gulls and ducks and has pulled in a couple interesting birds in the past. I recently discovered that it has tame Common Mergansers, which is heck of novel to me.

I've never seen them so close before. That is probably an odd notion to some of you, but now you know you can become #7 without ever getting close to Common Mergansers. As you definitely can tell, they were looking for delicious bread handouts (that's why they evolved serrated bills, obvi), but they are pretty striking birds regardless of the lowly intentions of these individuals.

Ok, I think I used up all my blog stamina. I've got to save energy for the next post, as that will deal with something I've been needing to tell you about for a long time....a long time.

A July Shorebird Cake With Stint Frosting

July. Birders have four options in July...if they are fortunate enough to have the right habitats nearby, they go to the mountains, or go to the mudflats. If these habitats are unavailable, they either don't bird at all, or optimistically (some do so abysmally) bird through it, noting newly fledged young and what species the local cowbird population has successfully parasitized. In much of California, after a quick two week break in late June, we don't have to suffer through a hot, boring, and brutal July...we can get back to the business of searching for interesting my grunts...that's right, the fall vague runt window is suddenly thrown open after a brief reprieve, and all of a sudden a birder may sort through peeps like a kid in a candy store. Southbound shorebirds begin returning in late June, and by the second week of July a birder can go out to a favored shorebird spot and see thousands of birds.

After managing to avoid the site (not purposefully) for years, I finally visited Frank's Dump, a great shorebird site along the bay in Alameda County. The impoundment was absolutely packed with shorebirds, including over 100 Red Knots, which you can see above mixed in with similarly-colored dowitchers. This is the most knots I've ever seen in California, quite an impressive showing for this normally uncommon species.

Western Sandpipers were back in force, there were thousands. My attempts at picking out a Semipalmated proved futile again; I have yet to see one anywhere in the bay area, for some reason. In typical fashion, someone saw one shortly before I arrived. I still have many weeks left of prime Semipalmated Sandpiper time, so maybe this will finally be the year. Semipalmateds have always been of unusual interest to me, probably because that was one of the first "rare" birds I got adept at finding and identifying when I was a sniveling little bastard teenager.

This crisply marked Least Sandpiper endured only minimal wear and tear on its way south from Alaska or wherever the fuck its from. Who knows? It could be bound for Peru, the Galapagos...the world is your oyster when you are a Least Sandpiper.

As much fun as it is to muse about where Least Sandpipers may or may not be going, that is not why I found myself at Frank's Dump. No one goes to Frank's Dump just to look at Least Sandpipers, as far as I know, and if anyone does please tell me all about it.

Right. July is not just to be celebrated for the return of shorebirds, it is to be celebrated because it is the best month of the year to find stints in California. This Red-necked Stint was kind enough to follow the flightpath of misoriented stints of the past, and gave some good looks although it never came close enough for a reasonable photo. But unlike the photogs lying in the mud (literally), I was able to enjoy the bird through a scope.

This was just the third Red-necked Stint I've ever seen, the first being a juvenile on Buldir Island (AK) and my deucer being another adult on the Los Angeles River. This was a brilliant, glowing bird, a true gasper if that is possible for a peep. It was very easy to pick out from the nearby Western Sandpipers; aside the reddish-orange face, the contrasting bright white belly made it easy to locate as well. At one point a bright alternate Sanderling landed next to it, looking surprisingly similar in plumage, but not in size and structure.

What a year its been in northern California for shorebirds...Marsh Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Little (the one in Santa Clara and one just reported in Del Norte) and Red-necked Stints! As August has just arrived, I am hoping out incredible run of vague runt shorebirds will continue. What's next? Lesser Sand-Plover? Common Ringed Plover? Spotted Redhank? Gray-tailed Tattler? The potential for Sibe shorebirds to show up in California has almost no ceiling. Maybe that Black-tailed Godwit I've been waiting for will finally come our way.

Of course, most of the birds here are not Sibes, and have no idea that Siberia even exists. This worn American Avocet is one of those birds.

Unlike other shorebirds, young avocets like this one molt into something that closely resembles an adult in alternate plumage when they lose their down. Why that is, I could not tell you, but then again stilts and avocets are not in the same family as sandpipers, which all attain a unique (if sometimes indistinct) juvenile plumage that they retain through the fall.

The Elsie Roemer sanctuary is one of a handful of Alameda (city) sites that gets much attention from birders, who go for the shorebirds. Terns use the site as well. This time of year there are lots of Forster's (above) and Caspian Terns flying around with fish, trailed by not only their offspring but sometimes the offspring of other terns as well.

Young terns may beg for fish for an extended period after fledging; we often hear the plaintive begging of young Elegant Terns (which also just returned, not pictured here) well into fall.

Black-bellied Plovers are back in large numbers. Most are already shedding their slick black underparts in favor of doomy gray duds. It was fun while it lasted.

This bird was missing a foot, which look like it came off a while ago. I wonder how many north to south migrations this bird has completed while handicapped. If you think that is impressive, I once saw a Snowy Plover with NO FEET, true story. I think these birds can often overcome major injuries, as long as their wings stay intact.

Back at the beginning of the month, Felonious Jive went up to Humboldt County to attend the wedding of ASOC and Nice Lady, both very important figures in his life. Felonious reported getting quite drunk and having a good time. He also took a few shitty photos at the Arcata Marsh, which I will include here because why not?

This Great Egret caught a nice scuplin, and did the typical wader thing of shaking and bludgeoning it and flipping it around in its bill until it worked up the courage to swallow it.

The egret eventually gulped the sculpin down once it was good and slathered in mud, and continued on its merry way.

A male Norther Harrier hunting over the marsh flew by with some hapless young bird. I may be #7, but not even I can ID the prey item. Felonious told me he knows what it is, but won't tell me. Asshole.

Vaux's Swifts were abundant that day, and as usual were almost impossible to photograph due to being fast. This tattered bird is the first Vaux's Swift to make it onto BB&B, where we welcome it with open arms.

A Northern Red-legged Frog made an appearance in its usual spot at the side of the log pond. It is a handsome frog.

Well, hopefully that was enough of a shorebird onslaught to hold you over for a while. Next up, I started a new state list a couple weeks ago, and there was a lot of good birding put into that list. For the first time, I took BB&B and several of our interns to...Colorado!