CAL-GAL #1

Here is the first gallery of California photos (hence Cal-Gal) from birder Barbara Bens, one of the folks on my recent California Coastal birding trip for Partnership for Interantional Birding.
Female California Gnatcatcher near Pt. Vicente, LA County:
Ruyfous-crowned Sparrow, also at Pt. Vincente:

Hiding Cal Towhee:

Curlew in the fog, Morro Bay.

Diving Brown Pelican, Morro Bay State Park.

Santa Cruz Island:
Above: the endemic Island Scrub-Jay.

Banded Song Sparrow on Santa Cruz Island off Ventura:

Willet and friend at Moss Landing:


Yeloow-billed Magpie up Pine Canyon near King City in southern Monterey County.

Two of three Great Horned Owls in Monterey cypress trees, Pt. Reyes.
On this trip we got both North American endemics: Island Scrub-Jay and Yellow-billed Magpie, the latter requiring us to drive far from the coast in search of dog in an outdoor location. When we inquired about the species locally one woman told us she can only feed her dog at night because the magpies onto the food instantly in the daytime. These are farm dogs not fed in the house. Neither, presumably are the magpies fed indoors, though if you left the door open…

THE CULINARY CONCEPTS OF GULLS

This incident of gull vs. tourists took place at Limantour Beach, Pt. Reyes, a few days ago.

Today I was leading a group of birders and we stopped for dinner at an outdoor seafood cafe in Ventura. Some other diners left their table and a first-year Western Gull quickly swooped down to empty the small container of tartar sauce left on the table. That very same gull also proved adept at catching French fries with his beak.

Why Ventura? Tomorrow we take the Island Packers boat out to Santa Cruz Island for the endemic Island Scrub-Jay, an example of evolutionary giantism, like the Komodo monitor lizards, but not as dangerous.

If you;re interested in seeing some California specialties, PIB will work with you on a custom trip or you can join one of our standard ones. Just on this first day we’ve gotten California Gnatcatcher, Common Murre, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Royal and Elegant Tern, Black Oystercatcher and Turnstone, Marbled Godwit, Red-necked Phalarope, Heermann’s Gull, Black-bellied Plover and California Towhee.

FOR THE BIRDS

Not even the staid New York Times can always resist the attraction of birds and birding. First they run an interview with actress Jane Alexander. What she wants to talk about is birding.

Then the travel section also has a feature piece on travel in Newfoundland. Of course, they can’t write about Newfoundland without putting Puffins into even the headline. Read that one by clicking here.

IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT WE HERE AT PIB OFFER GREAT BIRD TRIPS TO THAT VERY SAME NEWFOUNDLAND. DID I MENTION THE ATLANTIC PUFFINS? CLICK HERE FOR DEETS.

We’ll know the NYT has finally grown up and gotten serious about the planet when they devout at least half as much space to birds and wildlife as they do millionaires competing in professional sports.

Go Go Galapagos

I spoke by Skype with ace birding guide, Lelis Navarette, at his home in Quito, Ecuador.  To get to the Galapagos most Yankee birders will pass through Quito.  Ecuador owns the Galapagos Islands and their environmental agencies are now about to tighten restrictions on visits to some of the smaller and more sensitive islands.  That means some bird species there will soon be off limits to most visitors.  Human impact on the island habitat is threatening some of the unique species that amazed the young Charles Darwin over 170 years ago.  Of course the different finch species on different islands of the Galapagos helped spur Darwin’s thinking about evolution and natural selection.  Current science views the variety of finches in Galapagos as classic example of adaptive radiation.  The evidence is that one single group of House Finches arrived int he Galapagos and over eons evolved into various habitat niches and new species to fit various islands and their survival requirements.

So any keen birder with a curiosity about how ornithology and biology themselves evolved can enjoy a trip to the Galapagos.

This is Lelis’s photo of a Mangrove Finch, found at Playa Negra on Isebela Island in the Galapagos.  Not a dramatic eye-catcher, but a bird of immense scientific importance.  One of Darwin’s Finches.  Lelis tells me this is one of the birds you will likely never see if you don’t don’t get to the Galapagos before the end of THIS year.  That’s when restrictions on travel in the islands become stricter.  Tour boats will no longer get “special permits” to islands among the Galapagos where endemic species are endangered.

Another bird that will become unseeable is the Charles Mockingbird, already extirpated from Floreana Island and now resident only on two islets nearby: Champion and Gardner.

Here is link to the description of PIB and Neblina’s trips to the Galapagos later this year.

Besides the finches, you can expect to see  three species of Boobies (Red, Blue-footed and Masked), the beautiful and nocturnal Swallow-tailed Gull, Magnificent and Great Frigatebirds, Waved Albatross and Red-billed Tropicbirds.

Land birds are also plentiful and include Dark-billed Cuckoos, Large-billed Flycatchers, and the richly-patterned Galapagos Doves. Sorting out many of the thirteen species of Darwin’s Finches provides a challenge, and among familiar birds such as Yellow Warblers and Vermilion Flycatchers you’ll notice slight variations. Several species of mockingbirds are very bold when seeking fresh water. We also search for Galapagos Flamingoes, Galapagos Hawks and the Galapagos form of the Short-eared Owl.

Masked Boobies on Galapagos. Photo by Lelis Navarette.

Olympic Birding, My Last Pics

Ferryboat approaches Port Townsend ferry dock.  The water really is that blue.

This lone Sanderling was acting like a “rockpiper” on the boulders at Point Wilson Lighthouse.   From this location we found dozens of Pigeon Guillemot, a dense float of about three dozen Rhino Auklets, saw pairs of Marbled Murrelets and one tiny Cassin’s Auklet.

Dozens of Pintails were grazing in the tall grasses near the Keystone Ferry Terminal on Whidbey Island.  There were also Marsh Wren, Harrier, Bald Eagles and another handful of duck species there.

Left: Kingfisher on pole at Keystone Ferry Terminal.  The right hand Kingfisher was along the beach at Fort Ebey State Park on Whidbey Island.

House Finch at Audubon Center, Sequim, WA.

Black-capped Chickadee at Audubon Center feeder, Sequim.  The center is located in Railroad Bridge Park on the Dungeness River.  Good riparian habitat for birding.  The bird in the logo of the local Audubon Society?  Male Harlequin’s head.

Here’s website for the Dungeness River Audubon Center.

Here’s website for the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, complete with their Harlequin head logo.

Further photos from the Northwestern adventure

Every day seemed to start with an eagle perched overlooking the nearest water.  This one was near the Nisqually River.

A Blue Heron sporting his feathery finery of spring breeding season.  Near one flooded field at Nisqually.

Below: Flock of American Wigeon at Nisqually.

To the right: pair of Common Mergansers on Nisqually River.

Pileated up a tree.

At Tolmie State Park on lower Puget Sound.

Winter Wren exercises his territorial urges and his curiosity at Tolmie.  He was moving so fast I was shooting without trying to stop the camera.  Very hard to follow.

Song Sparrow at Nisqually NWR Visitors’ Center.

Shovelers at Nisqually.  And at Tolmie State Park the land and water are distinct nor separate.