Charleston Slough and Coast Casey Forebay

       March has been an incredibly busy month for me at school, so I've had little time for posting on the blog. However, I have been out birding several times, and got lots of new birds for the Big Year.

       On March 9th, I joined another young birder, Jasen Liu, on a walk around the Shoreline area. We both often go birding there, but we've never met. It was a great opportunity to both meet another young birder, and get some yearbirds. We both are on the Whatbird forums, and agreed to meet up at around 8:00 at the San Antonio Road entrance.

       My mom drove me, and I got there first. There were a lot more birds in the forebay than there usually were. Waiting, I contented myself watching a Hermit Thrush and an Orange-crowned Warbler in a tree near the restrooms. Soon, I met up with Jasen, who was on his bicycle, and we set off to the "Sora spot." This is a pond near Coast Casey Forebay, where the elusive Sora is often seen (but never by me). We stayed near the pond for about five minutes, but there were no Soras. Nada - they weren't even calling. There were other good birds there: a county lifer Marsh Wren for me, and a first-seen for Jasen, a FOY Common Gallinule, a Belted Kingfisher flyover, a male Common Yellowthroat, and lots of Black-crowned Night Herons.

       After having no success at the Sora spot, we moved on to Terminal Creek. We had no luck with the bittern being reported on-and-off there, but, as we were walking on a trail along the creek, Jasen pointed out a rather small bird in the open, right in front of the reeds. Sora! In fact, there was another one foraging slightly farther down the creek. I was surprised by how small the Sora was. It kept flicking its tail, showing off its white undertail, but I didn't get a shot of it doing that. Really awesome birds, that I would never have seen if Jasen hadn't pointed them out:

        As we moved along toward the Charleston Slough trail, there were Barn and Tree Swallows flying overhead, both FOYs for me. Good views opened up:

        We next decided to check the island in Charleston Slough for recently reported Black Skimmers. Bingo! There were at least five of them, mixed in together with Marbled Godwits, Willets, and Northern Shovelers. This was a lifer both for Jasen and for me! Unfortunately, the lighting was bad for photos, but still, really cool birds. Too bad they were sitting still - it would have been really interesting to watch them feeding.

       We set out on the Charleston Slough trail, with Adobe Creek on our left, and Charleston Slough on our right. Some Western Meadowlarks posed nicely, singing their beautiful songs:

       The trail was mostly quiet, with only Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks, Green-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, American Wigeons, Gawalls, and scaups. There were also some distant Northern Pintails at the point where we turned back. Somehow, these ducks had evaded me during all my trips this year, making it my seventh FOY of the trip.

       As Jasen and I walked back the way we had come, we talked about school and birds, only interrupted when Jasen randomly cried out, "Greater White-fronted Goose!" Not believing him at first, I missed the lifer, which was swimming not fifty feet away from us in Adobe Creek with some Canada Geese! That's one bird I definitely wouldn't have gotten this year without Jasen. Thanks! This was a county Code 4 - our second of the trip, along with Black Skimmer.

       A Herring Gull was sitting in Adobe Creek, and I improved my photos from Don Edwards the day before.

       The Black Skimmers were still present on the island, and this time allowed for some better photos - these ones really showing how much bigger the lower mandible is. On the poles in the pond adjacent to Charleston Slough (not sure what it's called), we found a Forster's Tern, my last FOY of the day.

       At Shoreline Lake, we found an Eared Grebe molting into breeding plumage, as well as a Ring-billed Gull and a Glaucous-winged Gull flying up with clams from the lake, and then dropping them on the ground to crack them. Interesting behavior I've seen almost every time I've gone to Shoreline Lake.

     
       We then walked past Terminal Creek, looking for the bittern again, but with no luck. I told Jasen where I saw the Golden Eagle earlier this year, and we said goodbye and parted ways. It was great to meet another young birder, and to go birding at one of my favorite places with him. I look forward to birding with Jasen many more times in the future. Jasen also keeps a blog, and here's the link to it: http://insertcreativetitleheregkoprs.blogspot.com/

       Today, Jasen helped me get nine FOYs, so I guess I'm supposed to get him at least nine FOYs sometime, too. Don't know where, though... Maybe Montebello Open Space Preserve? Now, I guess we're having a friendly county yearlist competition. As of 3/31/14, Jasen's just one behind me, at 140. Let's see what the month of April gives us...

Summary:
Birds seen: 54
New birds: 9
Big Year count: 131

Alviso and Don Edwards

        Winter is ending, and it's time for me to finish getting the common shorebirds, ducks, and gulls. For this, I had planned out one weekend at the beginning of March - Saturday 3/8 an Sunday 3/9. On Saturday, I would walk a slough trail by Salt Ponds A12 and A11, and then the Mallard Slough Trail in Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, looking for any birds that I had missed on my trips to Shoreline, as well as some specialty birds of the area (Red-breasted Merganser, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead). As mentioned in Birding at the Bottom of the Bay, Alviso and Don Edwards truly are the "bottom of the bay"!

       My mom, brother, and I set out early (though not as early as I would have liked) for Alviso. We arrived at about 9:15, and set off on the famous boardwalk trail in Alviso Marina County Park. There were several photogenic Song Sparrows, a shy male Common Yellowthroats, and chattering coming from the reeds that I thought to be Marsh Wrens.

Song Sparrow on railing

Song Sparrow

A view of Salt Pond A12 opened up, with lots of waterfowl (awesome!):

Alviso Marina County Park

Salt Pond A12

       On the edge of the pond, there were several flocks of Least Sandpipers and a lone Greater Yellowlegs. Birds on the pond were mostly Northern Shovelers, but also some Eared Grebes, and American Avocets.

Least Sandpiper

       My brother began to want to eat, so he and my mom turned back, leaving me to walk alone. Moving down the slough trail, there were several islands in the pond. They had mostly Ring-billed Gulls, with a few Herring Gulls (FOY) and California Gulls mixed in, together with more shovelers and avocets. If anyone can find a Thayer's Gull in these Herrings, please let me know. ;)

Ring-billed and Herring Gulls

Herring Gulls

       Birds in the reeds were Savannah Sparrows, a Black Phoebe, and a Northern Harrier that cruised by several times, hunting rodents in the grass. On Pond A12, there were at least 20 far-away scaups that I left unidentified. There were also Buffleheads and Common Goldeneyes, and to my surprise, I also found a female Barrow's Goldeneye quite close to the shore of the pond. I'd already seen this one at Shoreline Lake in January, but, so far, its the rarest bird I've found myself without knowing where to look. The all-yellow bill gave this one away in the field as a county Code 4 Barrow's:

Barrow's Goldeneye

       So far, my trip was not going as well as planned, with only one FOY - Herring Gull. Luckily, upon coming to a corner of Salt Pond A12, there was a pipe pumping water into the pond, around which lots of shorebirds clustered. The first ones I identified were the largest: Willets, and Greater Yellowlegs. However, I soon noticed some big peeps with long, downcurved bills - Dunlins - a lifer! Also, near them, were several Western Sandpipers, FOYs, providing for good comparison photos.

The group of birds

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet and two Greater Yellowlegs

Two Dunlins (top), with a Western Sandpiper (bottom), not size and bill length difference

Dunlins (right), with Least Sandpiper (left), note size, leg color, and bill length difference

       With this favorable turn of events, I looked into Salt Pond A11. Luck must have been on my side that day, because the first bird I put my binoculars on was a Red-breasted Merganser! In fact, there were at least two males swimming in Pond A11. This was a lifer, and my California #200! In fact, I said (rather loudly) "Yes! California number two hundred!", only to turn around a minute later and see a young couple staring at me as if I were crazy! I really hope they were too far away to hear what I said... ;) Photos of California number 200:

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

        I then fast-walked my way back to the parking lot, and met up with my mom and brother. Part One, Alviso, had been a success even though I'd missed some target birds like the Redhead. We then drove to the Environmental Education Center - the headquarters of Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. In Mallard Slough, I found the two common teal species: Green-winged and Cinnamon, but no sign of the more elusive, county Code 4 Blue-winged Teal.

Green-winged and Cinnamon Teals

      Beyond Mallard Slough, and in one of the salt ponds, there were many Herring Gulls, as well as some juvenile Glaucous-winged Gulls and a few Western Gulls, both of which were FOYs.

Gulls (juvenile GW on the right)

Western (right) and Herring Gulls

Juvenile Glaucous-winged Gull

        Other than that, birds in Mallard Slough included Northern Shovelers, unidentified dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, Gadwalls, an American Wigeon, and a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. A Great Egret was hunting in one of the salt ponds.

Northern Shoveler and dowitchers

Northern Shoveler pair feeding in tandem

Great Egret

I'll finish off my trip report with a photo of California's State Flower, the California Poppy:

California Poppy

       Next up: on Sunday, I joined another young birder, Jasen Liu, on a walk around Shoreline. It was great! On Sunday, 3/23, I'll try to make a trip to Sanborn County Park (John Nicholas Trail and Lake Ranch Reservoir) to look for birds like Varied Thrush, Brown Creeper, and Pileated Woodpecker. I'll post trip reports on these trips as soon as I can.

Summary:
Birds seen: 48
New birds: 6
Big Year count: 122

Good birding,

Sergey




      

Santa Teresa County Park

        On the second of March, I decided to do a 4 mile hike in Santa Teresa County Park, one of my favorite places to bird in the county. It's not the most birdy, but I love its variety, and its scenery. The only problem was that the morning of the hike, it was drizzling. I decided to ignore the rain, so my mom and I packed up my trusted Western Sibley, my binoculars, and a camera and headed up into the hills.

        Here are some previously taken photos of the park, on the afternoon of February 23rd. I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk, and Western Bluebirds. I also took my favorite shot of a bluebird:

       Below is Coyote Peak, with hills, overlooking the Pueblo Picnic Area, also taken February 23rd. Coyote Peak, at 1,155 ft, is the highest point in the park. My mom and I would climb to the top, and then come back to the Pueblo Picnic Area via the Rocky Ridge Trail.

       Upon entering the park, I decided to check out a pond that I had never been to. However, I didn't get there - the rain began to fall harder, and it was farther than I expected to the pond. I did see a Mallard in one of the canals, which was a new park bird for me. At the Pueblo Day Use Area, my mom and I set off up the Hidden Springs Trail, despite the continuing drizzle. I saw several Western Scrub-Jays and Western Bluebirds, and heard a White-breasted Nuthatch near the trailhead.  The best bird, though, was a group of Band-tailed Pigeons flying over the picnic area - a yearbird! I would see several more of these flocks.

       The Hidden Springs Trail turned into the Coyote Peak Trail, and we couldn't see further than about 30 feet up the trail, while the wind and rain worsened as we neared the top of the peak. I caught sight of several Golden-crowned Sparrows in the bushes, and at least 20 California Quail. I also thought I heard some California Thrasher song coming from somewhere in the fog.

        The rain and wind reached a pinnacle at the top of Coyote Peak, so I couldn't take out my camera, and kept my binoculars under my jacket. There is usually a splendid view of both the Diablo Range and the Santa Cruz Mountains, as well as Silicon Valley, from the top, but now all we saw was white, blanketing everything around us. So much for the awesome views I had wanted!

       As we reached the Rocky Ridge Trail, and the rain and clouds slowly began to dissipate, we heard snatches of meadowlark song, and found several Western Meadowlarks singing from tops of rocks on either side of the trail. Again, photos were impossible. Because we were descending, the rain had lessened to a barely noticeable drizzle once more, but the trail had become very muddy. Eventually, a small bird flew across the trail in front of me, and landed in the grass some 30 feet from the trail. Rufous-crowned Sparrow! I thought, because that was the most likely small bird up here. Stalking the bird, I got to within about ten feet of the landing spot before I finally saw some small movements in the grass. I focused my binoculars on it, and the bird revealed itself to be a Grasshopper Sparrow - a great bird for this time of year! Summer residents in our county, these sparrows prefer grassland parks like Montebello, Ed Levin, and this one. Out of the six codes in out county, the Grasshopper Sparrow is a Code 4. I was uncertain at the beginning of my year if I would get this one, but, there you go! I even snapped several shots of the Grasshopper Sparrow, but my camera's card just decided to randomly delete every single photo from that trip, so I was, to put it lightly, pretty mad at that card... At least I got good looks through my binoculars! Grasshopper Sparrow wasn't a lifer (seen in Montebello in May of 2013 with SCVAS), but it was a yearbird, and a confirmatory look after a tentative ID at Montebello.

       At the lower part of the Rocky Ridge Trail, I did see a Rufous-crowned Sparrow (yearbird!), and got some photos, but, again, my camera deleted them. As the Rocky Ridge Trail began to abut a creek, it got even muddier, but also birdier. I spotted the trio of Bushit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Oak Titmouse all in one place, along with two Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Also seen were two Lincoln's Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, flyover American Robins, and Spotted and California Towhees. At the Pueblo Day Use Area, I found a male American Kestrel sitting on a snag, looking wet and miserable. Also seen was a Northern Flicker on the ground.

       This concludes my wordy trip report to Santa Teresa County Park. I'm probably going to change my camera's card, so that doesn't happen again, because I got some nice shots, especially of the flicker. I got very muddy, and dirtied my shoes, but it was worth it for three good yearbirds! My plan is to go birding at Alviso Marina/Don Edwards on Saturday, and then meet up with another young birder on a trip to Shoreline on Sunday.

Summary:
Birds seen: 29
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 116

Good birding,
Sergey