EL OCHO!!!!

I was just informed last night that I have ascended to the coveted Number 8 spot. That's right. Number 8 birder in the nation. What an honor! I feel like a true celebrity. Details are forthcoming.

Leaning Up Against That El Dorado

Well I promised something rare, so here you go. This is a female Common Rosefinch, one of two or three that visited us on Buldir Island last summer. It's a rare migrant in the Western Aleutians (and virtually unrecorded on mainland North America), and we were lucky to have them.

As you can see.....they are incredibly plain. I can't think of many birds that are plainer. Pretty much homely. They are the Bean Goose of passerines. But make no mistake...the bird addicts of The Lower 48 would give an arm and a leg (at least) to see one of these on their home turf.

But despite her bland appearance, she was a welcome visitor, spending much of her time right outside our cabin, often with the only Common Redpoll that made it onto the island. One time I looked out the window and she was sitting on some Snowy Owl talons that were drying on the railing.....unfortunately there is no epic picture to accompany this anecdote.

In terms of vagrants, Buldir enjoyed relatively few migrant songbirds in 2010. Aside from the rosefinches, there were a few Rustic Buntings (which are face-melting), some Eastern Yellow Wagtails, some Bramblings, a Cliff Swallow and the aforementioned Common Redpoll. I think that's about it. We did pretty good on other fronts though, so I can't complain.

Well I know this blog was quick and dirty, not the sprawling urbane wordscape that you've come to expect...but I'm a busy man, what can I say? Here's your educational link of the day (via Rob Fowler), for bird and cat fanciers alike: Feral Cat Predation on Birds Costs Billions of Dollars a Year.

The Opulent Look Down With Madisonian Disdain

Green-winged Teal. Radio Road, Redwood Shores, CA.

New camera! New camera! New camera! This will totally level my photographer warrior, and make the old Nikkor 300mm and the Sigma (or as I call it, the Smegma) 400mm look a bit better. I'm pretty stoked. I can already see the difference...it's a big step up from the old D70s. Anyways, I manged to try it out over the last couple days and am pretty pleased so far. Here's some of what I got. None of these birds are particularly rare in California (I'll make up for that next time), but I don't really care about that and I have this strong desire to share.

Marbled Godwits and American Avocets roost at high tide. @Radio Road.

A drake Gadwall. Economy of style. @Radio Road.

In other news, whats up with weekly features on blogs? Everyone floating around in that vast blogosphere seems to be doing it. Team BB&B has been assigned the task of developing a weekly feature. So far the most promising ideas have been "Pictures of birds you would kill loved ones to see", "Pictures of birds you would still see if it meant your first-born child came out severely physically and mentally handicapped" and "Birding gossip: The scandalous guide of who-has-slept-with-who in the world of birding." For this last bit, every week we will reveal a certain bit of selacious information until after a couple years the web of birder love is nearly complete. At that point, The Great Ornithologist (and world-renowned lover) Felonious Jive and I will construct a powerpoint presentation (complete with devastating pictures) and make it available for download here to finish it off. No one will be safe! Yes? No?

Right. Picture me birding.

The wise and notorious Spirit Gull illuminates. This is the closest thing to an Ivory Gull I will see this year....sigh. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

A spry female Hooded Merganser sips from The Fountain Of Merganser Youth. @Golden Gate Park.

I really dig this picture. Mew Gull. @Golden Gate Park.

Please Don't Pray For Me, I Get By

An existential Ring-necked Duck ponders its reflection. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Wow. The whole year list thing has really stalled. I've gone a whole month without adding a single bird. Of course, thats easy to do when you refuse to chase anything simply for the sake of putting it on your year list. This is borne out of three (3) factors: laziness, gas-wasting guilt, and my ceasing to update my county lists in California. If I did not suffer from these ailments, I would be motivated to drive and bird a lot more. But as things stand....no regrets! 

Western Bluebird. Little more needs to be said. Morro Bay, CA.

Right now, I'm at 387 or so, which is really modest. This includes birding in coastal California, southeast Arizona, the northern end of the Gulf of California (yes, thats Mexico), and coastal/offshore Alaska. Basically, I'll be happy just getting to 400. I'm not really competing with anyone (all my other nerd-friends keeping track have much higher totals), and no one will fault me with taking quality over quantity this year. We've already discussed this, but I really like talking about it, so we will do so again. For example, last year the only new shorebird I saw was Upland Sandpiper (PENNSYLVANIAFTW!!!). This year, its Common Sandpiper, Long-toed Stint, Red-necked Stint, Wood Sandpiper....not bad, eh? Gotta love them Eurasian pipers.

A probable Glaucous X Herring Gull. They are best identified by their love of fried chicken. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Here in San Francisco, there's not much to add. There's an Indigo Bunting at Golden Gate Park, a Northern Parula at Ferry Park, a Clapper Rail at Heron Head Park....I don't know. I can't seem to get excited about them, though I have a deep and powerful love for all these species. My chasing instinct appears to be waning. But fear not BB&B fans, December will hold a flurry of birding....its up to Arcata this week for the Brown Shrike and other avian goodness, and I think I'll get some birding done in southern California later this month. I'm looking forward to it.

A Savannah Sparrow lurks. Morro Bay, CA.

So all in all, the Y2K10 list is going to be heavy on region-specific specialties (particularly southeastern Arizona birds and Aleutian Island seabirds and migrants) and totally lacking in birds that are relatively widespread and easy to see in a lot of places (i.e. American Redstart, Clark's Nutcracker, things like that). I think I'll end up about where I did last year actually (although I don't have a number for that), It's fine. Everything's fine. I'm not one to jump the shark. That said, this is all boring, dorky power-birder stuff, so I'll quit while I'm ahead. Toodles!

PS For more on guilt-free Big Years, check out Keith Hansen's blog here and Jim Royer's blog here! They've got some beefy totals for 2010, and are definitely on to something.

This pair of Horned Grebes have made the journey to the end of East Bay. Berkeley, CA.

I Know Your Kind: A Short Story

Do birders ever get in fights? I mean, have you heard of a physical altercation between two fellow birders? I certainly haven't. Let's picture how it could happen. 

Meet Dave and Rick. They have never met, but have been brought together in order to see Humboldt County's own Brown Shrike, an ultra-rare bird which few have managed to lay eyes on. I would imagine it would go down something like this:

Sunset is coming to Clam Beach. The shadows are long, and the dunes and hollows are coated in a soft, golden light. After hours of tedious and agonizing searching, Rick spots the Brown Shrike in a small willow patch. Ecstatic, he calls over to Dave, a stranger, but a fellow birder nonetheless. Dave trundles over with spotting scope, camera, and various accessories. He is very excited. He doesn't even say anything to Rick, but Rick doesn't notice. His girlfriend, Jennifer, also a hardcore birder, should arrive at the site in a few minutes (she had to dash off to a restroom down the beach). Aside from his own unabashed joy at seeing this bird, it would be Jennifer's 700th ABA bird, a true milestone, and he knew that if she got lucky.....well, he would too. Our story starts as Dave, camera with massive lens in hand, scurries toward the shrike.....

"Whoa there buddy, don't get too close to that Brown Shrike, it's flighty", said a concerned Rick.

Dave pretends to not have heard Rick, and continues to lurk closer with a camera.

"Come on man, my girlfriend said she would be here in 5 minutes. We drove all the way from Baker to see it. Can you just wait a second?"

Dave looks over his shoulder and gives Rick a withering hate look. Unfazed, he continues on.

Rick is beginning to panic. "Hey, c'mon, you're being an asshole. You know how flighty this thing is. Will you just lay off for a minute?"

Dave continues creeping closer to the visibly restless shrike. He has tunnel vision now....nothing else in the world exists. Right now, there is only The Shrike. Then a twig breaks beneath Dave's foot.  The Bird launches itself high and away down the beach. By the time it was out of sight, it was still picking up altitude. It did not look like it would be back soon.

"Goddammit you son-of-a-bitch!", Rick explodes. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me. That would have been my girlfriend's 700th ABA Area bird! We have to go back to Baker tonight. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Dave, being a longtime birder, had very poorly developed social skills. He was scared, yet very angry at the same time, which is a recipe for disaster for people with this condition. He boldly walked right up to within a few inches of Rick's face.  In a mocking, childish tone, he twisted his face and said "Oooh that would have been my girlfriend's 700th bird! Well poor poor me! Listen you, you, you.....(his face now becoming deeply flushed and blotchy) JERK! It's a free country! This bird needs to be photographed....it needs to be...to be....properly documented!"

Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Properly documented??? You asshole, you just want a picture! Wait a minute....Iv'e heard about you...you're that guy who spooked the Black-tailed Gull aren't you? Right as all those poor birders were just parking their cars. Yeah, I know your kind. I'm going to write this up on every birding email list from NWCalbirds to Inlandcountybirds to.....CALBIRDS!!!!! You won't have a friend left in the state when I'm done with you, you little shit!" 

With that, Dave knew something had to be done. He hadn't been in a physical confrontation since he was 15 years old, when he was badly beat by a large group of kids....most of which were considerably younger. It had been very embarrassing. But his fight or flight instinct kicked in, and for the first time in his long, uneventful life.....he took a swing. A right hook that glanced off Rick's chin. It did little but hurt Dave's hand. However, it had the intended effect. Rick staggered backward and almost tripped in the sand, then found his footing. Rick, of average build but with a large beer belly, charged Dave, head down. They collapsed in a heap on the ground. Rick quickly rolled over to pin Dave, a small man of slight build, and began punching him in the face. He was also trying to bury Dave's head in the sand at the same time.

His hands still free, Dave clawed viciously at Rick. He thought he was fighting for his life now. He opened wounds on Dave's arms and protruding belly.

After a minute or so of this Jennifer rounded the side of the dune and was shocked at the scene that was playing out in front of her. This was the last thing she expected to see. The shock turned into stunned bewilderment when she recognized her beloved Rick pummeling the obviously smaller and weaker man. She ran over screaming and flailing, and managed to convince Rick to get off of Dave before it could get much worse.

Dave laid on the sand, dazed, looking up at the sky. "How did this happen?", he wondered. He felt no need to get up and leave....he simply didn't know what to do.

Jennifer dialed 9-1-1 on her cell phone and a Humboldt County Sheriff's Department cruiser arrived within a few minutes. An enraged and slightly-bloodied Rick, and a bitter, vengeful Jennifer (she had not seen the shrike, after all) decided to press charges, and Dave was off to jail. He got out quickly....but it would be a year before he got the courage to pick up his binoculars again.

For the duration of this madness, a Red-tailed Hawk had been high overhead, watching it all unfold. Turning in tight circles, it had a great view of the whole scene. Although it was high above the ground, the hawk had excellent eyesight...the distance made little difference.  It saw the shrike lift off. It saw Dave's face change colors. It saw Rick's head jolt backwards when it met Dave's fist. It saw the terrified, inhuman look on Dave's face as Rick stuffed fistfulls of sand into his mouth. It saw the wind blowing through Jennifer's hair as she ran toward the fray. The hawk did not fully understand what had happened, but it firmly decided that it thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

Satisfied, it flew south.

Once again, if you know about anything about this peculiar realm, we would love to hear about it. More data for The Human Birdwatcher Project, you know what I'm saying? Have a birdy weekend ya'll!

I'm Getting Used To Getting Old, But Where's My Ambition?

A broad-chested, short-winged Thick-billed Murre takes evasive maneuvers. 

Goodbye fall. You were a good one this year. Not one for birding necessarily (although spending August in the western Aleutians was fantastic), but for quality of life in general. So thanks to everyone who made that possible. It's been an explosive jubilee of reveling and raising glasses with old friends. And yes, much bourbon was had.

With the passing of Birder's Fall (August-November) and the onset of Birder's Winter (December-February), Californian birders are now beginning to switch gears to adjust their birding habits to better suit the winter months. So many crippling vagrants have arrived in the state in the last month (The Fab Four: Bean Goose, Ivory Gull, Brown Shrike, Black-tailed Gull) that people really have their hopes up. Many a birder has tasted the sweet taste of victory (most people who have looked for the Bean Goose) or bashed their heads into a wall of defeat (most people who looked for the Brown Shrike) after looking for said birds, and there will be more to follow. The rivers may yet run red with angry birder blood this winter. The possibilities of what may arrive here this winter are almost endless.

Here's a couple of new ones for you. They're not great shots, but for most Americans, they're great birds. Wood Sandpipers turned out to be one of the most abundant (well, relatively speaking) shorebirds on Buldir Island this year, much to my....um....delight.

This juvenile Red-necked Stint was the one and only to visit us.

Besides that, what winter means for me personally is I switch out of "WOOOHOOO NO MORE FIELD WORK!!!" phase into "Hrmm, I should probably start lining up my spring field work" phase, which isn't nearly as fun....but does add a light taste of drama to everything. Its quite strange, really. Few other people (outside my line of work) comfortably vacillate from slaving away for months to having absolutely nothing to do to lackadaisically looking for jobs knowing that somehow you'll get one if you apply to enough...I am nothing if not a consumate professional, after all. But its pretty weird. I recognize and appreciate how shitty it is for people to lose their jobs and their homes (the house I'm living in is being foreclosed on, thanks Bank of America), but since I consensually lose my job a couple of times a year....well, it just doesnt have much of an impact for me. Besides, I really enjoy my freedom...if you don't have that...what do you have?

Oh yeah, summers are usually a mix of "LIFE IS PAIN" and "I have the best job in the world!". Haven't found a way to combine those two concepts yet.

All pictures today are from July-August at Buldir Island, Alaska. As usual they have very little to do with what I'm talking about...maybe I'll work on that.

Another shot of one of the scarce Aleutian sunsets we got to see.

It's Where Everyone Has Been, It's Where Everybody Goes

Golden-crowned Sparrow at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

BLOGKRIEG! Well I finally did it....with The Spirit Gull post, Ive managed to post more blogs this month than ever before in the long, turbulent, fecund and fertile history of Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds. I would first like to thank my friend and colleague Felonious Jive for his invaluable assistance (he has saved my life time after time, not to mention pointing many a fine lady in my direction). But after Felonious has taken his bow, there is, of course, YOU.

Thanks, various friends (whom I love deeply, passionately, and at just the right pace) and strangers (whom I don't, but maybe I could) for reading BB&B, linking to it, or even openly enjoying it. If you're not already, I encourage you to become one of my loyal followers at the window conveniently located on the right side of your screen, and to spread the BB&B gospel as far and wide as you possibly can.

Another shot of the partial-albino Heermann's Gull (Heermann's Willet-Gull) at Ocean Beach. Looks like some white crept into the tail as well.

It's been a hectic week here in San Francisco. Living The Perpetual Weekend is not for the faint of heart, and Ive been lucky enough to lure some people from out of town into the Thanksfornothing-flavored Thanksgiving festivities. The real Thanksfornothing this year was held in Lee Vining on the east side of the Sierras, and it is rumored that no one survived.

With some free time to myself, today I shall set out in search of the Yellow-billed Loon that has been lurking just off the Berkeley Marina, and in the not-too-distant future I must set forth on a quest northward that may yield Brown Shrike, among other things....

At first I thought this shot was a throwaway, but I think I actually like it. First-year Thayer's Gull at San Francisco's Lake Merced.

Again, thanks for all your help during BLOGKRIEGY2K10. It's been grand. With so much output, I'm doing my best to not sink to the level of "This morning I went to Marsh X. I saw this is and this. After the wind picked up I went to Beach Y. I saw that and that. Then I got hungry and went home where I had delicious Food Z yadda yadda yadda". It's not difficult to come up with better content though, since Ive only gone birding for about 4 days in the last month. Ha!

In order to avoid another heartbreaking rare bird fail today, I will tell you right now that I won't see the Yellow-billed Loon. I've seen one before (off Point Mugu, CA, in the late nineties), missed two others in northern California (including the absurdly tame Bodega Bay individual), and I plan on missing this one. I mean, I'm going to look for it, but for sure it won't be there and therefore I won't be posting any pictures of this marvelous bird. Not gonna happen. To think otherwise would only result in a withering self-hatred. This is the best coping mechanism in the world for situations such as these, and I highly recommend it.

Who's a sleepy Pied-billed Grebe? You are! @Golden Gate Park.