California with Birdfinders - September 2006.
| This year’s Birdfinders California tour was the most successful since 2001. We saw 280 species, just four shy of the Birdfinders all time best for this particular tour loop.
Our small group consisted of Patrick & Jennifer Grosvenor, Grace Hansford, David & Janet Kingman, David Rich and Brian & Chris Shaw, all of whom greatly contributed to the good natured success of the trip.
Meeting in Los Angeles in late afternoon on September 5th, we began an excellent avian odyssey through the Golden State, enjoying the good weather throughout for which California is known. The avian highlights were many, too many to list here, but we saw almost all of the California specialties and many other good western species over the tour period from September 5th - 20th including; Pacific Loon, Clark's Grebe, Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Buller’s Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Ashy Storm-Petrel, Black Storm-Petrel, California Quail, Gambel’s Quail, Sooty Grouse, Pacific Golden Plover, Wandering Tattler, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Ruff, Heerman's Gull, California Gull, Yellow-footed Gull, Elegant Tern, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, South Polar Skua, Allen's Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, White-headed Woodpecker, Gila Woodpecker, Burrowing Owl, Vaux's Swift, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, California Thrasher, Le Conte’s Thrasher, Sage Thrasher, Cactus Wren, American Dipper, California Gnatcatcher, Island Scrub-Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Oak Titmouse, Yellow-billed Magpie, Pinyon Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, McGillivray's Warbler, Fox Sparrow, 'Large-billed' Savannah Sparrow, 'Belding's' Savannah Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, California Towhee, Abert's Towhee, Spotted Towhee and Tricoloured Blackbird.
Our tour itinerary was as follows;
Sep 5th: We met at LAX and drove north towards Ventura. Night in Ventura.
Sep 6th: Most of the day was spent birding on Santa Cruz Island and around Ventura Harbor with a late afternoon drive north to Buellton. Night in Buellton.
Sep 7th: Morning birding in Alisal Canyon & Nojoqui Falls Park. After lunch we headed north to Morro Bay and spent the remainder of the day in Montana De Oro State Park. Night in Morro Bay.
Sep 8th: Further birding in Morro Bay until lunch then a spectacular drive north along coastal Route 1 towards Monterey. Night Salinas.
Sep 9th: All day pelagic birding out of Monterey Harbor with Shearwater journeys, followed by early evening birding in Monterey Marina. Night Salinas.
Sep 10th: Morning birding in the Moss Landing and Moonglow Dairy area followed by the long drive inland to Mariposa, birding at San Luis Reservoir en route. Night Mariposa.
Sep 11th: All day birding in Yosemite National Park. Night in Mariposa.
Sep 12th: Most of day birding in Yosemite National Park to Tioga Pass, but also including Inyo National Forest and Mono Lake (South Tufa). Night in Mammoth Lakes.
Sep 13th: Morning birding around the Owens River. Late morning and afternoon birding our way to Mojave, including sites such as Cedar Flat and Tinemaha Reservoir. Night Mojave.
Sep 14th: Early morning birding in the Jawbone Canyon area and at Butterbredt Spring. Afternoon birding in the parks at California City and Galileo Hill. Night Mojave.
Sep 15th: Long morning drive to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Then continuing south to the Salton Sea birding our way to Brawley. Night Brawley.
Sep 16th: Birding all day at the south end of the Salton Sea and surrounding areas.
Sep 17th: Further birding in the Salton Sea area before heading west to Julian and ultimately to San Diego near the Tijuana River.
Sep 18th: Birding all day in the San Diego area, including Otay Lakes and Tijuana River mouth.
Sep 19th: Long drive north to the Santa Ana Mountains, followed by birding in Los Angeles at Bolsa Chica and Upper Newport Bay.
Sep 20th: Casual morning in LA followed by a drive to LAX airport where the tour concluded.
All of the following images were taken on this year’s California tour, September 5th - 20th, 2006. Next year's California tour with Birdfinders will take place during September 4th - 20th, 2007.
Enjoy,
James P. Smith
Amherst, MA.
| | Images taken with Canon Powershot A540 through Swarovski HD telescope. |
|
 Clark's Grebe, Ventura County, Ventura Harbor, 09/06/06.
 Black-footed Albatross, off Monterey, 09/09/06.
  (Pacific) Northern Fulmar, off Monterey, 09/09/06.
 Buller's Shearwater, off Monterey, 09/09/06.
 Buller's Shearwater flock, off Monterey, 09/09/06. |