My first trip of my Big Year was to Vasona Lake, a medium-sized lake surrounded by woods and fields. I hoped to get California woodland birds to start off my Big Year, as well as some other passerines, ducks, gulls, herons and egrets, and maybe raptors. Originally, I was planning to walk the Los Gatos Creek Trail up to Oka Ponds as well to look for more waterfowl, but I ended up with not enough time to do so.
That morning, the 1st of January, I woke up and ran to the window to look at my feeder for my first bird of the year. It proved to be a CALIFORNIA TOWHEE -- two were looking for dropped seeds underneath the feeder. The second bird of 2014 was a HOUSE FINCH - the most common visitors to my feeder. Third was a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, which I saw right outside our window in a palm tree. As I went outside to get in the car, I saw five more new birds for the year: BLACK PHOEBE, MOURNING DOVE, LESSER GOLDFINCH, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.
As soon as I arrived at Vasona Lake County Park, I jumped out of the car, and began looking for birds. The first new bird I saw was an AMERICAN ROBIN foraging on a lawn. Several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS flew overhead, and I was able to find an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD that I had heard, and then tracked down. I proceeded to walk on the Los Gatos Creek Trail for a while, and the first bird that I saw was a good one. At first, I though it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but then I noticed that it was chunkier, had a heavier bill, and didn't have a black bar under the two white wing bars, making the bird a HUTTON'S VIREO. It gave me great looks for about a minute, so I could compare it to the more often-seen Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I was also hearing many kinglets from around the forest. The next bird for me was a NORTHERN FLICKER, which sat on a snag high above my head, but took off as soon as I tried to take a photo of it. STELLER'S JAYS were plentiful in the woods, as well as KILLDEERS on the big lawn, bringing my count up to 15. As I walked the creek trail, I picked up more woodland birds, including RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BUSHTIT, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, and DARK-EYED JUNCO. I also saw several EUROPEAN STARLINGS sitting in a big sycamore, making their whistling sounds.
As I walked farther, I heard a woodpecker pecking somewhere near. The most common woodpecker here is the Nuttall's, but this was not one -- it had a large, white area on its back, as opposed to the uniform black-and-white barring of a Nuttall's. I knew it was a Downy or a Hairy Woodpecker, but which one was it? This was the second ID challenge of my Big Year. Size-wise, it definitely looked much better for a Hairy to me, but upon looking through binoculars, I saw its tiny bill, meaning it was almost certainly a Downy. Just to be on the safe side, I took these shots with my camera (with malfunctioning zoom), for confirmation on Whatbird. They confirm DOWNY WOODPECKER.
I then came to an area with eucalyptus trees on the left, and the creek on the right, with a lawn in the middle. I knew this area was good for Townsend's Warbler in the eucalyptus trees, and Fox Sparrow near the creek. However, the eucalyptus trees also teemed with Yellow-rumped Warblers, and I had to pick out a Townsend's. At this point, I got very lucky -- the first bird I picked, low in the undergrowth, was a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, my favorite warbler. I moved to the right side of the clearing, near the creek, to look for the Fox Sparrow. However, the first sparrow I saw was not a fox, but a SONG SPARROW, working the lawn near the creek, looking for food. I could not get a decent photo of the sparrow, even though it was out in the open, because of the bad zoom of my camera.
As I moved along slowly, still trying to see the Fox Sparrow, which I had seen in this area twice the year before, I saw a bird fly from the edge of the trail into bushes. Thinking it might be a Fox Sparrow, I began pishing to try to get the bird to come out into the open, but the bird did not want to cooperate. Now, I stopped pishing and tried being quiet instead, and the bird came out of the undergrowth after only several seconds, and proved, indeed, to be a FOX SPARROW!
I then came to the lake, and from a bridge overlooking it, found more new birds: AMERICAN COOT, ROCK PIGEON, a surprise GADWALL, GREAT EGRET, CANADA GOOSE, and PIED-BILLED GREBE. I also saw the two most common gull species in our county -- RING-BILLED and CALIFORNIA GULLS. Even though gull ID is hard, it will make up a big part of my Big Year, by adding potentially around 5 species, if they are IDed correctly. I continued on the trail on the side of the lake, and found two BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS and a MALLARD resting together, as well as more Killdeer on the lake's banks.
Moving on, I saw a pair of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. Yellow-rumped Warblers, a BEWICK'S WREN, and an OAK TITMOUSE were working another lawn. On the lake, there were several COMMON MERGANSERS, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS in the bushes near the shore. The next bird was a BELTED KINGFISHER, sitting quietly in a tree overhanging the water. There were many Steller's Jays here, and I managed to get a poor shot.
Upon arriving at the dam, I spied a lone CANVASBACK diving on the lake, and on the way back, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS in the reeds, as well as a NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER. As I looked out at the island in the middle of the lake, I noticed a single GREAT BLUE HERON standing on it. My last bird of the trip was a TURKEY VULTURE flying overhead: my only raptor of the day.
On the way back, we stopped at a library, and while I was there, a COMMON RAVEN flew by, identified it mainly by its voice, but also by its size.
This concludes my first trip report. Overall, Vasona Lake was a very good choice for my first trip of the year, even if I missed out on some common woodland birds (Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Cedar Waxwing, etc.). This will probably be the last trip I will use my old camera on -- now I will be using the Canon Powershot SX50 HS, with the ability to get some much better shots!
Summary:
Birds seen: 43
New birds: 38
Big Year count: 47
That morning, the 1st of January, I woke up and ran to the window to look at my feeder for my first bird of the year. It proved to be a CALIFORNIA TOWHEE -- two were looking for dropped seeds underneath the feeder. The second bird of 2014 was a HOUSE FINCH - the most common visitors to my feeder. Third was a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, which I saw right outside our window in a palm tree. As I went outside to get in the car, I saw five more new birds for the year: BLACK PHOEBE, MOURNING DOVE, LESSER GOLDFINCH, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.
As soon as I arrived at Vasona Lake County Park, I jumped out of the car, and began looking for birds. The first new bird I saw was an AMERICAN ROBIN foraging on a lawn. Several DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS flew overhead, and I was able to find an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD that I had heard, and then tracked down. I proceeded to walk on the Los Gatos Creek Trail for a while, and the first bird that I saw was a good one. At first, I though it was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but then I noticed that it was chunkier, had a heavier bill, and didn't have a black bar under the two white wing bars, making the bird a HUTTON'S VIREO. It gave me great looks for about a minute, so I could compare it to the more often-seen Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I was also hearing many kinglets from around the forest. The next bird for me was a NORTHERN FLICKER, which sat on a snag high above my head, but took off as soon as I tried to take a photo of it. STELLER'S JAYS were plentiful in the woods, as well as KILLDEERS on the big lawn, bringing my count up to 15. As I walked the creek trail, I picked up more woodland birds, including RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BUSHTIT, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, and DARK-EYED JUNCO. I also saw several EUROPEAN STARLINGS sitting in a big sycamore, making their whistling sounds.
As I walked farther, I heard a woodpecker pecking somewhere near. The most common woodpecker here is the Nuttall's, but this was not one -- it had a large, white area on its back, as opposed to the uniform black-and-white barring of a Nuttall's. I knew it was a Downy or a Hairy Woodpecker, but which one was it? This was the second ID challenge of my Big Year. Size-wise, it definitely looked much better for a Hairy to me, but upon looking through binoculars, I saw its tiny bill, meaning it was almost certainly a Downy. Just to be on the safe side, I took these shots with my camera (with malfunctioning zoom), for confirmation on Whatbird. They confirm DOWNY WOODPECKER.
I then came to an area with eucalyptus trees on the left, and the creek on the right, with a lawn in the middle. I knew this area was good for Townsend's Warbler in the eucalyptus trees, and Fox Sparrow near the creek. However, the eucalyptus trees also teemed with Yellow-rumped Warblers, and I had to pick out a Townsend's. At this point, I got very lucky -- the first bird I picked, low in the undergrowth, was a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, my favorite warbler. I moved to the right side of the clearing, near the creek, to look for the Fox Sparrow. However, the first sparrow I saw was not a fox, but a SONG SPARROW, working the lawn near the creek, looking for food. I could not get a decent photo of the sparrow, even though it was out in the open, because of the bad zoom of my camera.
As I moved along slowly, still trying to see the Fox Sparrow, which I had seen in this area twice the year before, I saw a bird fly from the edge of the trail into bushes. Thinking it might be a Fox Sparrow, I began pishing to try to get the bird to come out into the open, but the bird did not want to cooperate. Now, I stopped pishing and tried being quiet instead, and the bird came out of the undergrowth after only several seconds, and proved, indeed, to be a FOX SPARROW!
I then came to the lake, and from a bridge overlooking it, found more new birds: AMERICAN COOT, ROCK PIGEON, a surprise GADWALL, GREAT EGRET, CANADA GOOSE, and PIED-BILLED GREBE. I also saw the two most common gull species in our county -- RING-BILLED and CALIFORNIA GULLS. Even though gull ID is hard, it will make up a big part of my Big Year, by adding potentially around 5 species, if they are IDed correctly. I continued on the trail on the side of the lake, and found two BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS and a MALLARD resting together, as well as more Killdeer on the lake's banks.
Moving on, I saw a pair of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. Yellow-rumped Warblers, a BEWICK'S WREN, and an OAK TITMOUSE were working another lawn. On the lake, there were several COMMON MERGANSERS, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS in the bushes near the shore. The next bird was a BELTED KINGFISHER, sitting quietly in a tree overhanging the water. There were many Steller's Jays here, and I managed to get a poor shot.
Upon arriving at the dam, I spied a lone CANVASBACK diving on the lake, and on the way back, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS in the reeds, as well as a NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER. As I looked out at the island in the middle of the lake, I noticed a single GREAT BLUE HERON standing on it. My last bird of the trip was a TURKEY VULTURE flying overhead: my only raptor of the day.
On the way back, we stopped at a library, and while I was there, a COMMON RAVEN flew by, identified it mainly by its voice, but also by its size.
This concludes my first trip report. Overall, Vasona Lake was a very good choice for my first trip of the year, even if I missed out on some common woodland birds (Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Cedar Waxwing, etc.). This will probably be the last trip I will use my old camera on -- now I will be using the Canon Powershot SX50 HS, with the ability to get some much better shots!
Summary:
Birds seen: 43
New birds: 38
Big Year count: 47
Awesome!
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