Split, Lump, Whinge, Repeat

I am now king of the scrub-jays, having seen California, Florida, Island (above) and Woodhouse's. With that milestone, I now just need to become the king of...lots of other things. 

When I first started birding, I had seen one species of scrub-jay. This is not because I hadn't yet been to places like Santa Cruz Island, Arizona or Florida, it is because the only scrub-jay that "officially" existed was the Scrub Jay. Now, the Scrub Jay has been left by the wayside, stripped of its capital letters but gaining a hyphen...and most notably was made into four separate taxa. We've come a long way.

The newest American Ornithologists Union (AOU ) supplement just came out, and a lot of birders are happy with it...you gotta love armchair lifers, or at least I do. Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay was my only addition from north of Mexico, but I got several more from Mexico and Costa Rica. I did not delifer at all, which is how I prefer it when these supplements come out. I'm not anti-lump, I just dislike losing birds. You understand. The vast majority of birders in North America bend the knee to the AOU (the king in the north!) regarding what is considered a full species and what is not, though we are rarely totally happy with what they decide.

Lesser Violetear was one of my armchair lifers. While I am pleased that I now have Mexican Violetear and Lesser Violetear instead of plain old Green Violetear, many are left wondering why the name Lesser Violetear was chosen...there is no Greater Violetear, after all. But hey, I'll take yet another poor bird name if that means a legit split got to go through.

What fascinates me is that there are a number of birders out there who are can't stand all this tinkering with species. They are neither splitters nor lumpers, they just dislike the amount of splitting and lumping that goes on. They are essentially against taxonomic revisions altogether. They dislike the new names, the new species. To them, this is just a nuisance, something they have to endure. Why is this so?

A poor grasp of science comes to mind immediately. Believe it or not, a lot of people fail to comprehend that our understanding of science is constantly changing, and overall these changes are improvements. Like many people, many birders don't really understand basic scientific concepts. People like to pigeonhole things, it's in our nature, at least culturally, and the tendency of pigeonholing is at direct odds with the changing ways we perceive and describe the world around us. We don't want to find out that the planet is not round, that the sun does not rotate around Earth, that American Coot and Caribbean Coot are conspecific. So while a lot of folks are really hung up on things staying the way they were originally taught, science marches on.

There is another reason birders advocate for a static taxonomy...they have trouble being up to date. In other words, they are simply unaware that the AOU is responsible for making these decisions and that it happens annually. A surprising number of birders believe that the American Birding Association (whose primary focus is advocating birding, not science) is "in charge" of splitting and lumping, which is indicative of the general ignorance on this topic out there in birderdom.

Finally, there is a distinction between birding and ornithology. Not all ornithologists are birders, at least not in the traditional sense. One does not simply earn the title of ornithologist after a few years of birding. Almost all birders are not ornithologists (no, "field ornithologists" don't count in this case). Science does not have to answer to the whims of birders; that's just how it is, but some birders have great difficult accepting this.

There is no doubt that birders have a lot to contribute when it comes to the field of ornithology, such as documenting the abundance and distribution of seabirds like Long-tailed Jaeger. That does not entitle reluctant birders to a moratorium on updating avian taxonomy. The AOU does not have a list enforcement arm (unlike bird record committees), so if you don't like what they do, you don't have to play by their lists.

Obviously the AOU is not perfect. If you follow the AOU very closely, you are probably aware there is no shortage of criticisms that can be lobbed at them. One could say that they act extremely slowly, they give birds poor names, they split things that should not be split and they lump things that should not be lumped. However, no one who is well-versed in taxonomic relationships, and science in general, advocates for keeping taxonomy static. There is no reason to release a single AOU supplement every 25 years just to make sure all the whinging birders are ready for it. Advocating for a fixed list of species is basically just saying "Fuck off, science. I don't want to be bothered by things changing"...and that, obviously, is a myopic, selfish and bizarre way of viewing the world. If you want to reject the fact that our collective knowledge of birds is constantly growing and changing, then you can go ahead and reject the names of birds and established species altogether. Call the Common Gallinule an American Coot instead...no one can stop you. Lesser Nighthawk? Pffffft...no, that is a Greater Daybat. Island Scrub-Jay? Napes. Mainland Blue-Flapper.

A lot of species that we now take for granted were once considered two or more species, or lumped in with other species. Long-billed Dowitcher was once considered a subspecies of Short-billed Dowitcher (above).

It all comes down to change...the last thing the world needs are more people who cannot accept the fruit of new studies and research, and the accompanying changes in the way which we understand said fruit. Sure we can be skeptical and not accept everything the AOU does as ordained by the gods of ornithology (though much of what the AOU does is ordained by ornithological gods), but change is going to come and that isn't something to be afraid of. You don't have to agree with it. The science in this field is not always perfect (the infamous Kumlien's Gull study comes to mind), as we are imperfect beings...but all the world's authoritative entities on bird taxonomy (the AOU, the IOC, the Clements checklist) can agree on one thing...taxonomy should be updated regularly. In attempting to refine the relationships between the world's birds, trying to figure out the passenger manifest of Noah's Ark is not going to cut it!

Will Red Crossbills ever be split? There was a lot of hype about it for years...but maybe an 8-way split is just too gnarly, and perhaps it is just simply not deserved...these "types" are thought to have diverged less than 100,000 years ago (for comparison, Eastern and Western Willets diverged 700,000 years ago). Whatever new information that can be gleaned about Red Crossbill types and how they are related will be fascinating to learn. Whole new frontiers of bird knowledge are opening up, and I hope those who would rather drag their sluggish feet in the past will eventually want to keep pace with the rest of us, regardless of whether field guides change or not.

A Stout Year

Resplendent Quetzal is one of the top contenders for Most Facemelting Bird of 2013...the mind reels. Photographed above the Savegre Lodge in Costa Rica.

2013 has come and gone...that was quick. There is no doubt other blogs in the Birdosphere have done some recaps of the year (Neil Hayward is the champ...Bell's and Sagebrush Sparrows...Rufous-necked Wood-Rail...Zino's Petrel birder politics and subsequent redemption...yadda yadda). Of course, you know all that stuff, so why rehash it? No, you came here for one reason...# 7.

For years now, I've been almost-enthusiastically year listing, more as a way to get out and birding and exploring new places than anything else...in other words, its fun but neither competitive or intense. It is a very good way to spend a Perpetual Weekend. In 2012 I finished with ~579 (birding in California, Florida, and Costa Rica), and this year it looks like I will be finishing with ~690 (Costa Rica, California, North Carolina). 690 is by far the highest year list I've ever had, and I'm pretty happy about that...of course, I could have gotten to 700 with just a little more luck (not dipping as much, having a better fall for vagrants in the bay area, one more day of landbirding in North Carolina).

700 will have to wait another year though, and I have a feeling it won't be 2014...but you never know. Without further delay, here is this leading birder's breakdown of 2013.

Number of new life birds: I don't know. Probably somewhere over 200? Costa Rica was insane.

Number of new ABA birds: 11 (8 in North Carolina, 3 in California).

Number of new California birds: 14 (including armchair ticks), with 4 in December!

Best lifer: This is hard. I saw so many. Copious lifers in 2013. Fork-tailed Flycatcher was something I'd yearned for for as long as I have been birding. Little Bunting was HUGE (not literally). Trindade Petrels brought the stoke. A rainbow of new hummingbirds were seen in Costa Rica. There's too many to choose from.

Best birder scandal: Although I really enjoy what is happening over here, it is no doubt the implosion of the San Diego birding scene (which resulted in the local listserv being completely abandoned for one operated by a different faction) and subsequent internet combat in San Diego, much of which went on behind the scenes. Remember "Todd Ingress", the fictional blind birder? Lines have since been drawn in the sand. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON????

Bear witness to this vulgar display of endemism. Island Scrub-Jays were my constant companions for the spring and summer of 2013, even though I was not researching them. Santa Cruz Island (where else?), CA.

Best ABA bird: Little Bunting. I squeezed much satisfaction out of looking at this bird.

Best North Carolina bird: Trindade Petrel. Huge bonus bird.

Best California bird: Red-necked Stint on the LA River. Not the rarest, but it was number 500 for my state list. It was also number 500 for Officer Adam Searcy, who chased the bird with me. That makes us bird-married.

Best northern vagrant: Trumpeter Swans at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (above). They are expected here in the winter so aren't vagrants per se, but the first time we saw them was an awesome experience. How to sum it up? State bird, majesty, spectacular sunset, serenaded by pleasant trumpeting, pleasant friends...followed by affordable beer and disgusting Basque food.

Best pelagic vagrant: Great Shearwater (off Half Moon Bay, in San Francisco County).

Best Siberian vagrant: I've already mentioned Little Bunting and Red-necked Stint...how about Arctic Loon? I was stoked to see the one wintering in Monterey (a state bird) after I returned from Costa Rica last January.

Best eastern vagrant: Hudsonian Godwit (Napa).

I have had a hell of a time photographing Gray Hawk over the years, despite living in southeast Arizona and spending a good amount of time in other places where they are easy to find (south Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica). I finally had some good luck last week with the bird in Carpinteria, CA...but I was robbed from the opportunity for even crushier shots (see below).

Best Central American Vagrant: Gray Hawk (first California record, Santa Barbara County.

Worst birder experience: A few days ago I was driving up to Oakland from SoCal and saw the Gray Hawk hanging out in its usual spot on Highway 101. The light was perf. I pulled over to crush it, making sure to give it plenty of space so it wouldn't flush into the side of a semi or something. As I got the bird in the viewfinder and was literally focusing on it, a black car pulled off the freeway and parked right next to the bird. You can guess what happened next, and the bird actually flew uncomfortably close to a moving truck that happened to be passing by. The car immediately left after flushing the bird. I was fucking pissed. To whoever you are, you are a dick, and I hope your year is filled with nothing but House Sparrows and feral pigeons.

I was really looking forward to meeting this bird in 2013...it did not disappoint. Fiery-throated Hummingbird is another candidate for Most Facemelting Bird of 2013. Photographed at Paraiso Del Quetzales in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica.

Most facemelting bird: Fuck. I was in Costa Rica. Was it the quetzal? Was it Bay-headed or Speckled Tanager? Fiery-throated Hummingbird? I can't decide.

Worst dip: Dipping on "guaranteed" Masked Ducks in Costa Rica. Ouch. Dipping on Snowcap at one of the best sites for them in Costa Rica also wrought significant pain.

Worst overall miss: I did not see a longspur of ANY SPECIES in 2013. Sigh.

Worst birding experience: Breaking my birdcrusher for the second time in a year by having it detach from its strap and slam onto a sidewalk. This prevented an aggravating number of crushes in the subsequent weeks (Bald and Golden Eagles, Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Goshawk, Prairie Falcon, Trumpeter Swans, etc.).

Worst day of birding: Going to Outer Point Reyes in early September and seeing exactly one (1) migrant bird, a Western Wood-Pewee. Life was pain.

Best Raptor: The Black-and-white Owl at Cerro Lodge in Costa Rica.

Best birder experience: Watching "Stilt" break down into tears when she did not get to see a Streak-chested Antpitta that the rest of us got to see. It was incredible...and don't worry, she saw it a few minutes later. A very close second was Officer Jon Dunn telling me that I am not fit to serve on the CBRC (because I don't "support the committee", not because I suck). The kicker is that although he was talking to me, about me, he did not recognize me for the person he was talking about...who does that?

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel was one of many lifer pelagic birds off North Carolina last August. I was stoked to get so much boat time this year, off both coasts. Being a leader on Shearwater Journeys trips was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year. Oh, I got seasick and puked for the first time this year, that was cool.

Best hybrid: Not rare by any means, but I looked at hella American X Black Oystercatcher hybrids in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. It's good practice.

Best bourbon: As with every year, I tasted many a bourbon this year...but I think Broken Bell is one of my new favorites.

Best beer: There's a lot of quality beer out there...but right now I miss Yuengling.

Best album: Bad Religion's True North. "I'm just a petrel in the storm; my island can't protect me anymore."

Greatest Coup of Birding: Oscar Johnson's ridiculous Common Swift above a random patch of desert in Riverside County, CA.

Best birder meme: THERE ARE SO MANY!!! Anything involving inner circles and puppetmasters. "It's too far for you to see"..."Black-chins are still migrating"..."Does he really pronounce it Justine?"...

This year I finally found a convenient/reliable spot for crushing Yellow-billed Magpies, one of California's most interesting, desired, and even poignant species. Photographed in Monterey County, CA.

Best California yearbirder: Dipper Dan. He may not have the highest total in the field, but he won.

Best self-found bird: A Slaty-backed Gull in Marin County (CA) was a long-awaited defeat of a state nemesis.

Best dream bird (aka best bird seen in a dream): Runt Harpy Eagle in northern California.

There were too many great bird trips to count this year, with new and old friends alike. I'm stoked to have such a strong network of friendly dorks available in a pasttime that is littered with people that I would rather avoid, and a girlfriend who is sympathetic to me being gone for months at a time and has a high tolerance for raging nerds. I'm looking forward to meeting more great people and great birds in 2014. I do have a quick trip planned in the very near future that should produce some cool shit (and cool tacos), but aside from that I really don't know where 2014 is going to take me for work or birding trips...and so the Perpetual Weekend rolls on.

Island Scrub-Jay

You all saw this coming. How could I spend a field season on Santa Cruz Island without writing about it's famous scrub-jay? Santa Cruz Island is the only place in the world where this bird exists.

Meet yellow-white-blue. Yellow-white-blue was the jay that spent the most time on the grounds of Christy Ranch (my former residence), and thus the jay we saw the most. Yellow-white-blue is the most approachable jay we had. Here Y-W-Bu just caught a skipper, which you can see disintegrating in the wind.

Genetic work has shown that Island Scrub-Jays have likely been genetically isolated from Western Scrub-Jays for several hundred thousands of years. The northern Channel Islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa) at one point formed a giant land mass, Santa Rosae Island, when sea levels were lower. It is thought that the jays colonized and diverged from Western Scrub-Jay while this super-island was extant. As sea levels rose, the populations on the other islands died out. An Island Scrub-Jay bone discovered on Santa Rosa Island was dated to be around 10,240 years old, and is the sole known piece of evidence of their residence on Santa Rosa Island, which is only 9 miles away from Santa Cruz.

Since Island Jays have been around for so long, this means they were likely affected by the presence of pygmy-mammoths, the only large grazing mammal known to inhabit Santa Cruz. Other extinct inhabitants of the northern Channel Islands include a gannet, a puffin, and a flightless goose!

The massive bill is one of the obvious features that sets Island Scrub-Jays apart from their western counterparts. They are also larger, longer-tailed, a darker shade of blue, and have a harsher call. Island Scrub-Jay has never been recorded on any of the other islands in modern times, and neither has Western Scrub-Jay. Their skeletal structure betrays the fact that these birds are poorly built for long-distance flights.

Here is a recently-fledged bird, one of very few that came from a successful clutch this year (directly/indirectly due to drought?). Younger Island Scrub-Jays may not breed for years, possibly because quality breeding territories are already occupied by older birds.

Island Scrub-Jays can be found wherever there are trees or thick chaparral...pretty much anywhere besides beaches and grasslands. Island Packers run trips to two different landing sites on the island, Scorpion Anchorage and Prisoner's Harbor. While there is a group of jays at the campgrounds at Scorpion, the birds are much, much easier to find at Prisoner's. Serious jay seekers should seek at Prisoner's, without a doubt.

One of the lesser-known field marks of Island Scrub-Jay is a blue vent, which you can see here. I find this field mark to be variable though, some birds appear rather gray down there.

Well that's the quick and dirty breakdown of Island Scrub-Jay. A final note...for reasons I cannot explain, many individual birds out there are named after famous (and not so famous) political figures. So instead of pishing for jays, just scream names of politicians into the brush...you cannot fail.

Foxes, Birds, Buckwheat....and The Green Lady

Photo ops these days are getting few and far between....except when the local pair of Island Foxes stops in for a visit, and the situation rapidly deteriorates into a violent crush-fest. I've really grown fond of the foxes; I think they are officially my favorite terrestrial mammal.

The Christy Ranch pair is affectionate. They are true creatures of recreation, I rarely see them doing anything that looks like it requires much concentration. Ah, the care-free life of being on top of the food chain.

Brown Pelicans are far more abundant around Santa Cruz Island now than they were earlier this spring, when they were surprisingly few and far between. Post-breeding dispersal is in effect.

In an effort to show you something other than the same foxes and bird species over and over again, I'll post some different stuff today. This is a view looking south from our 1973 Land Cruiser from the west end of the island; Santa Rosa Island is visible in the distance.

Peregrine Falcons are finishing up this year's nesting; I've seen a couple recently-fledged birds around in the last week. I've gained a new appreciation for these birds here; I've seen hundreds of Peregrines over the years, but nowhere else have I gotten to bear witness to their aerial mastery (often at eye level) on the regular. The speed these birds attain and some of the maneuvers they pull are just jaw-dropping.

I guess this is Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat, although the leaves are completely different than what online references suggest. It's one of the most common flowering plants at our field sites. Botanists....thoughts?

We've only recorded a handful of shorebird species on the job; Wandering Tattler is one of the few expected species. That said, tattler is the rarest expected rockpiper in Ventura County, so it has been nice having them around this spring. I would also like to point out that this is the one and only bird species that I have seen on all the islands I have worked on; Santa Cruz Island, Buldir Island (AK), and Midway Atoll! Wander they do.

Horned Larks are common in the grasslands and bluffs. They love their dust. I frequently find their dust bathing spots while hiking around...I think I still have the eye for these sorts of things after back to back summers of nest-searching for terns and plovers.

Pacific-slope Flycatcher is the only Empidonax that breeds on the Channel Islands. I've run into a couple pairs on Santa Cruz that have been absurdly approachable; their genus is not known for being fond of people.

Yet another species that probably goes undetected as a vagrant east of its normal range, and I think the same can be said of Cordilleran Flycatcher. I wonder when California will get its first Acadian? Seems inevitable...I should probably just go out and find one myself. 

This Island Scrub-Jay chose a photogenic perch, although some would say it's hideous and awkward. The Christy Ranch family group isn't around quite as much as they used to be; I am guessing they are needing to forage further afield.

One of the unbanded Island Scrub-Jays at Christy Ranch. The building in the background is the oldest structure on the island. The only person allowed in the building is the spirit of a woman who died in the 1800's who now goes by The Green Lady...as the story goes, she prefers to sit in that window. The Green Lady is a part of island lore, but other than some strange sounds late at night (which I suspect is the intern doing strange things), I haven't gotten to meet her.

This is the bridge that spans the creek though the middle of Christy Ranch. The foxes likely get more use out of it than people do. There is an old ghost story about a Chumash woman losing her mind on this bridge many years ago and deciding to haunt it after she died...but I reckon any inhuman screaming coming from this area can be chalked up to the foxes.

The view looking west from Christy Ranch. I like the jagged break in the clouds.

Hacking My Way Through The Field Season

I'm over halfway through my field season...time flies! The Global Birder Ranking System awarded me many points when I Haynored this female Lark Bunting through a dirty truck window at Christy Ranch last month. Not only a very rare spring bird anywhere in California, it is the first one ever recorded on Santa Cruz Island! This one is especially white and neatly-marked.

This Yellow-headed Blackbird (immature male?) was around for a few days as well. In fact, I got to put it on my meat list. I realize some of you think that I'm making me dumb Farrallon joke, but the original definition of this phrase (which came into existence years before) is far more perverse...I will enlighten you all soon.

I crushed this Rock Wren back in March, but I visited its territory again recently for another round. I think it likes the attention. I wonder what singing birds think when they attract a large half-asian birder instead of a female.

California Quail are introduced on Santa Cruz Island, but they don't seem out of place. A couple feather piles I've found make me think the foxes don't mind them being there either. My inner biologist tells me to shun them, but I like them anyway.

It seems I've never posted a Pacific-slope Flycatcher before. I practically melted my camera firing off shots of this confiding individual at the Scorpion Ranch visitor center. No one will ever call this bird a facemelter, but it's hard not to like them.

This is a nesting colony of Brandt's Cormorants, one of the things I'm paid to look at. By the time I get back out there practically ever Brandt's Cormorant nest will have hatched eggs, and some will have large chicks. The nests I'm monitoring seem to be doing pretty good, but we'll see how many chicks get fledged.

One of the views at Christy Ranch, one of my temporary homes for the summer. Not bad, eh?

Gratuitous Island Fox cuteness.

They seem to constantly be squinting. Maybe their allergies are as bad as mine.

A young Barn Swallow keels over and dies. The end of days are upon us. When the swallows fall from the skies, we can expect the skies to be falling right behind them. Repent! Repent for all your misidentifications! Repent for the times you nerdily tried to one-up another birder in conversation!

Who said that? This bird is just sunbathing.

The "jay crew" reports that Island Scrub-Jays are having a terrible year. Very few young are fledging, and they are finding some birds far from where they are expected (these birds are not prone to wandering). I haven't seen any juveniles at all yet. This can probably be directly or indirectly attributed to the drought, but its hard to say whats giving them problems for sure.

I'm really hoping the drought breaks next winter. Everything needs the water...of course, this is all just going to get worse as the years go by...life is pain, unless you are looking at an Island Scrub-Jay lifting its skirt.

I have seen this Zombie Spotted Towhee a number of times. I don't know what's going on with it; the other side of its face looks even worse, with a lot more blue-gray skin...as close to an actual Terminator a Spotted Towhee can get. Luckily for us, this bird only terminates seeds and insects.

A Full Tour In The Bag...Self-Inflicted Birdgasm...Thanks Nikon!

Birds on the Channel Islands were pretty screwed during the height of the DDT years. Peregrine Falcons have since made a strong comeback on Santa Cruz Island, and are not an unusual sight if you are walking the clifftops.

Well birders, I am back from the island after a successful first full-length tour of two weeks. The National Park Service boat we were scheduled to return on got cancelled due to high surf, but we made it back on an Island Packers boat instead....the ocean yesterday was essentially bullshit, I haven't been in seas like that since cruising down the Aleutian chain on the Tiglax a few years ago. When you are on a huge catamaran and still are going under swells that rise up over your head, that's when you know it's ok not to be birding....or so I thought until one of the boat crew (a birder) informed me of the Sabine's Gull he saw fly by. Goddammit! Would have been a year bird....

One of the biggest species of interest on Santa Cruz Island is Bald Eagle. Completely wiped out on the island by DDT, it was the loss of the resident Balds that was largely responsible for letting the Golden Eagles move in, which in turn is what practically wiped out the (still endangered) Island Fox population. That is some classic web of life shit right there. With the help of a reintroduction program, Bald Eagles are back and breeding on Santa Cruz, and without Golden Eagles the foxes are flourishing as well.

Western Gulls, unlike most of us, are not so happy about the eagles' return. The dislike is mutual.

The big birding news from my last island tour was a self-found American Oystercatcher that conveniently hangs out at one of our survey sites. While doing a foraging survey of seabirds, I was shocked to look down at the rocks below me and see this STATE BIRD waging war on a mussel bed. I may or may not have violently shat myself at this point. Although not a review species, American and Black Oystercatchers really like getting kinky with each other in this part of the world, so (in my opinion) hybrids considerably outnumber pure/ostensibly pure American Oystercatchers in southern California and its offshore islands. Sure enough, when I went back to resurvey the site last weekend, the American was joined by not one but two definitive hybrids, giving comparative looks that brought a whole new meaning to the word "birdgasm". How embarrassing...with established introduced birds, American Oystercatcher is #498 for California. I am so close to quinientos glory, I can taste it.

I love the panoramas my iPhone gets...and there is no shortage of breathtaking views on the island. This is one of our work sites. 

Rock Wrens are very common on the island, but I am still used to seeing them in mountains, not on vertical cliffs above the ocean.

This is one of the (few) things in life where being the Number 7 birder in the nation does not get you anywhere...butterfly ID. With help from Luke Tiller, I think we got it down to White Checkered-Skipper.

Finally, I recently had a little accident with my primary lens and camera (those of you uninterested in cameras and photography can stop reading now). At first I thought I was psyching myself out, and maybe I was just imagining all these mild imperfections in my photos, but after a few outings I realized my lens  (Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6) was no longer performing like it used to and that something needed to be done...many images were very soft and had lens flare, shitty phenomena that this lens is famous for not having problems with at all. Enter Nikon's service department. Using nothing but their website to coordinate, I sent in my lens for repair, expecting a horrific cost and for it to be out for servicing for weeks. Lo and behold they had my lens back in one week! Impressive, to say the least. They essentially gutted the lens and replaced a plethora of parts, and although I haven't taken it birding yet, a few test shots taken in my folks' backyard show the results of their work...it's like new. And the cost? Let's just say that instead of a repair cost that would be equivalent to buying another used lens, it was a very reasonable price. Not exactly cheap, but for a man of my meager means, totally acceptable.

Song Sparrows on Santa Cruz Island are intermediate between the local mainland subspecies (heermanni) and graminea, of Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands. Many passerines have subspecies endemic to the the Channel Islands; some birds have subspecies endemic to single islands (i.e. Catalina Hutton's Vireo, San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike, etc.). 

The Rhino. This is what we drive around out there. It's pretty great.

And that is the news of the day. I also got a new battery for my laptop, and my computer has thus been awoken from the barren wasteland of the electronically deceased. Although I will have a heavy workload the next few months, shit should now be firing on all cylinders enough to keep up some precious blog output. See you soon, nerds.

PS all photos today taken with a borrowed lens from my dad, and an iPhone. Not too shabby eh?

Island Scrub-Jays making out. Gross.