I came. I saw. I birded. I photographed. I eBirded. I cried because I have no friends.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher was one of the first rarities I laid eyes on earlier this year, in San Francisco. This bird in Gary Bloomfield's yard last week in Arcata was sweet, Mexican icing on the proverbial bird cake. Zehndner Ave., Arcata, CA.

How is that for a title eh? Talk about the birding Zeitgeist. Luckily, I have a plethora of nonbirding friends whom keep me from falling into that dreaded social cesspool that contains birders who only know other birders. Are you a nonbirder? Do you know a birder who has no "normal" friends? Adopt a birder today, or they will be doomed to a life of weird sexual encounters (urgent message for bird nerds: ladies don't have cloacas, men don't have weird corkscrew duck penises) and correcting other people's spelling errors on Facebook. How embarrassing!

Right, just a thought. Last week I was up in Humboldt County, where I got two (2) county birds, Dusky-capped Flycatcher and Franklin's Gull, and my 2012 White-throated Sparrow, Ferruginous Hawk, the aforementioned gull, and a Lewis' Woodpecker in Mendocino County. Great successes, all.

Aside from that trip, birding has been pretty mellow lately. I have not chased any of the hot California birds (Falcated Duck, White Wagtail, Gray Hawk), and I become more and more agitated by the day that I don't have a goddamn Swamp Sparrow for the year. I spent over an hour looking for one the other day and failed...the embarrassment caused by that episode was only forgotten when I got my first San Francisco Ross' Goose at the end of the day. Did I mention I'm not a county lister? Ahem. Right...well at this point, I am really fiending for a few more year birds...Bostick is just a few birds behind me, and I can feel the Fear and Loathing growing in my spine.

I'm not sure if this bird is still being seen or not, although people were finding it on the regular for a couple of weeks or so. It gets bloody cold at night in Arcata, not the sort of place a Dusky-capped Flycatcher should be wintering.

This talented bird even did a Nutting's Flycatcher imitation. And yes, only high-ranking birders will understand this joke.

Aside from Swamp Sparrow, I have a number of other embarrassing misses for the year. No Solitary Vireo of any kind. No Hammond's Flycatcher. No Red Crossbill. No White-headed Woodpecker. No Townsend's Solitaire. This is what happens when you year list without doing a Big Year. But there have been so many other quality birds that I met in 2012 that I cant even think of complaining.

Of course the big news is that I will soon be birding with Corey Finger, one of the bird barons that runs birding uberblog 10,000 Birds. With our birdosphere powers combined, there is no telling what we can find. Hopefully I can convince him to do all of the day's eBirding...

A Great Egret shows off its Victorian almost-crest. Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA.

One of my rare flash shots that I actually like. The white is so intense...

Ah, the pink and green woodpecker, a sight for sore eyes. This is one of the best birds the American West has to offer. This distant Lewis' Woodpecker was at Potter Valley, CA.

Maybe the geese that winter in weird urban parks have it all figured out...there's no hunters! This is the Greater White-fronted Goose of Lake Merced, San Francisco, CA.

Common Goldeneye is one of the many diving ducks that shed their wariness when they winter at  Oakland's Lake Merritt. I wish their Barrow's brethren would do the same... 

This female Common Goldeneye has the typical gray and yellow bill pattern for her species and gender: Barrow's females usually have an all yellow or orangish bill. Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA.

While birding in the Ferndale bottoms, Rob Fowler spotted a Franklin's Gull foraging right next to the road. You gotta love the bottoms in winter, they are brimming with rarities. I only got a poor picture of it though, so here is a better picture of a similar one. Des Lacs National Wildlie Refuge, ND.

A Western Nashville Warbler. Have you started identifying these birds to subspecies yet? The bird powers at be tell me they might be split into different species down the road. Photographed along the Salt River in the Ferndale Bottoms, CA.

What kind of gore has this Great Blue Heron been getting in to? Pillar Point Harbor, CA.

Rash And Awesome Behavior

Rufous-crowned Sparrow. One of the less-celebrated (WHY???) southwestern specialties. Mission Trails Regional Park, CA.

There is not much more out there that is more self-indulgent and narcissistic than talking about your year list. A year list is ultimately just yours, and unless you actually have a good shot at breaking some kind of record, no one is really going to care. I am keeping a year list, but am by no means doing a big year...my only goal, of course, is to see more species than I did last year, and I don't let silly things like international boundaries affect that.

That said, I'm always a bit interested when someone is keeping track of their year birds, although I'm not sure why....what good does that do me, and why should I be interested in the amount of petroleum they burn in their pursuit with no tangible benefits?

At this point in my life I don't have the time or resources to do a "big year" anywhere, not even on a county level, since I'm constantly moving. Maybe if some sort of kind philanthropist wanted to sponsor me (HINT HINT NUDGE NUDGE), things would be different. I would love nothing more than getting X number of dollars per species recorded and putting that into something like purchasing land for habitat conservation...but as far as I know, there is no precedent for such rash and awesome behavior.

Today's photos are all various year birds that I've seen since arriving in San Diego, for good or ill.

Lark Sparrow. Look at that face. Sorry Jen, you will see them soon. Kitchen Creek Road, CA.

This Rock Wren was sitting in the worst light imaginable, but at least it was abiding....not "confiding" (it told me no secrets), just abiding. Kitchen Creek Road.

Here is a Ash-throated Flycatcher for Laurence. He is a singer of their praises, and I don't blame him. Kitchen Creek Road, CA.

The ideal Costa's Hummingbird portrait features it's giant-but-tiny head lit up in a mix of ultrapurple colors that you didn't even think existed. Unfortunately the sun and the bird need to be in the right places for that, so I got this. Mission Trails Regional Park, CA.

Nashville Warblers are striking birds, and are one of the northbound migrants many Californians prowl the woods for. They won't be coming through for very long though. Kitchen Creek Road.

Black Skimmers are much sought-after birds, no matter how many you have seen. Here is a mirage of some. Mission Bay, San Diego, CA.

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are busy nesting, at least a couple of pairs are. Got to see one calling and displaying a couple days ago, it was...dazzling, and that's not even taking into account those blazing orange legs. Imperial Beach Sports Park, Imperial Beach, CA.

A Reddish Egret stalks wildly. They are the only bird capable of stalking wildly. J Street Mudflats, Chula Vista, CA.

This Little Blue Heron was the most approachable individual I've come across...it was one of those birds that don't acknowledge your presence. I don't think I could even get it to look at me. But at this young age, it had already mastered the art of staying out of good light. Next time heron, next time. Famosa Slough, San Diego, CA.

In lagoons and estuaries all over the coast, terns of all sorts are flying around in courtship displays, showing fish to each other. These Royal Terns were at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, CA.

I'm Not The Same As When I Began: Subspecies 2

Brown Booby. Sula leucogaster. This is Sula leucogaster plotus I believe, which is the subspecies that breeds in the Hawaiian Islands. Here in California we get the occasional brewsteri, which can be identified by the male's frosted white head. Photographed on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll. If you look carefully below her bill you can see the head of a newborn chick sticking up.

Nashville Warbler. Vermivora ruficapilla. This is the eastern subspecies Vermivora ruficapilla ruficapilla. V.r. ridgwayi is the western subspecies. Interestingly, genetic testing suggests that each of these subspecies are more closely related to Virginia's Warbler than they are to each other. A future split maybe?  Photographed at Powdermill Nature Preserve, PA.

White-eared Hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) have 3 recognized subspecies. This is Basilinna leucotis borealis, the northernmost subspecies. The southern subspcies, B. l. pygmaea, makes it all the way south to Nicaragua. Photographed at Miller Canyon, AZ, which is the only reliable place in the country to find them.

Dunlin (with a few Western Sandpipers mixed in). Calidris alpina. I am guessing these are Calidris alpina pacifica, based on where the photo was taken, but obviously you can't determine anything from this picture. There are (up to) 9 subspecies of Dunlin worldwide, earning them the title of World's Most Diverse Shorebird. *NERD ALERT* To see an absolutely insane website on Dunlin subspecies identification, go here. Photographed in Petaluma, CA.

Black-capped Chickadee. Poecile atricapillus. This familiar and friendly bird also sports 9 subspecies, 8 of which occur in the United States. I would be lying if I knew what subspecies this belonged to...lets hope someone doesn't try to split them anytime soon. Photographed a Presque Isle State Park, PA.

Benchmarks Ensure Salvation

As I write this, I can hear an Elegant Trogon croaking at me......from a very close distance.  He sounds like the timing is right to track down a female and find a nice cavity (preferably in a Sycamore) to do the dirty dirty in.  Ah, the sweet sounds of spring!  For the past hour I have been serenaded by Cassin's Sparrows, Flammulated Owls, Nashville Warblers (an eastern Nashville is on the left), etc.

Right.  But when we get down to it, I'm sitting in Arcata, California, in early February.  I have just returned from checking out Rock Sandpipers on the North Jetty of Humboldt Bay, and to both them and me, its not looking like spring around here.  All those birds I'm listening to (Gilded Flicker at the moment) have been sent to me over the internets as homework.....I'm reacquainting myself with the birds of southeast Arizona, which I will be dealing with in person in about three short weeks from now.

What is coming up a bit sooner is the bittersweet anniversary of Hunter S. Thompson's demise, on February 20.  He took his own life at his typewriter, after talking about it for months.  The father of Gonzo Journalism, he is by default the grandfather of Gonzo Birding, which is only dabbled in, rarely, by a brave few birders from time to time.  I need to think of an appropriate way to celebrate......maybe Gonzo Birding Day should be held on February 20 as well. The staff here at the Human Birdwatcher Project ("Birdwatchers are people too!") are mobilizing.

A first-year Lesser Black-backed Gull holds it down in Virginia.

I think we may need symbol.  Nothing too derivative of the the classic six-fingered, double-thumbed hand clutching a dagger and peyote button.....but something with style.  Any ideas?  I'm friends with a lot of artists....

But we'll cover that more as the time gets close.  Right now I'm enjoying being back in my old raging grounds, with easy access to quality birding.  One of the few things I can't enjoy about San Francisco is the lack of good birding areas.....there's a lot of pavement down there.  I mean, sure, there are few good spots, but they're not really comparable to some of the places here that haul in crippling vagrants.  

Ok, that's it for now.  The pictures today were selected completely at random.  Do what you think is best.

A beefy first-year Greater Black-backed Gull, for comparison.

The Bodie Island Lighthouse in North Carolina's Outer Banks.