Shoreline Once More

       The first three days of high school went great - except that they hadn't finished the building we were going to be in yet, so we went on a series of trips called "fun/educational week" - to colleges like Stanford and Berkeley, and to San Francisco. I made several friends, but I can see that there will be a lot of homework at BASIS. I'm not sure how I'm going to find time to bird over the weekends!

       On Sunday, the 24th, after my theater class, I made my customary visit to Shoreline at Mountain View Park. This time, I had a more specific purpose than usual: Elegant Terns had been reported around Shoreline Lake and Pond A1, and it was a convenient place and time to get this county lifer. Any other nice birds would also be a welcome addition.

       As usual, we parked on Terminal/San Antonio Ave, and I took the small dirt trail running parallel to the parking lot, along Coast Casey Forebay, where Jasen Liu and I had (unsuccessfully) looked for Soras in February (we then found two in Terminal Creek). Where there had been water earlier in the year, all there was now was dry, parched land. In fact, the main part of the forebay was almost dried up, too. The drought's effects:

       In the forebay were resting around 30 Mallards, a Gadwall with its white patch, about 15 Killdeers, and several California Gulls and Snowy Egrets. Above me, and perching near the pumphouse, there were Barn Swallows. I got to the viewpoint into Adobe Creek, where I noticed a Common Gallinule, with its bright red "forehead shield" swimming across the creek about a hundred feet away.

       The tide was high in Charleston Slough, and there were many American Avocets (my estimate of the ones I saw was around 200) wading in the water, along with California Gulls. Over the water, I saw a flock of about ten Caspian Terns foraging, or migrating, together. They were closely associated with each other, and were constantly interacting - I'd never seen anything like it before. I kept an eye out for the longer, more orange bill of an Elegant, but saw only Caspians.

       As I surveyed the island (in the above picture) for the occasional Black Skimmer found there, I saw several birds with long, downcurved bills, along with some Willets. I thought they were Long-billed Curlews for a second, until I saw their dark crown stripes. Whimbrels! This was a county yearbird for me, and a code 3. Now I remembered somebody reporting these shorebirds a couple of days before! I really hadn't expected to find these here today (they're usually found at the Palo Alto Baylands), so it was a really nice surprise. There were maybe nine or ten Whimbrels on the island, which is a pretty high count:

       Looking into the part of the forebay near the pumphouse again, I saw many peeps flocking on the mudflats. I definitely identified around five Leasts, but couldn't pinpoint the others for sure - they were probably mostly Leasts, too. I also noticed several dowitchers that I couldn't identify, and a female (Blue-winged or Cinnamon) Teal. I'm actually leaning Blue-winged because of the seemingly dark sides, rather long bill, and facial pattern. Any ideas?

       On Pond A1, I successfully found my main target bird: the Elegant Tern. There were five on the  boardwalk, mixed with California Gulls, nonbreeding-plumage Forster's Terns, and Black-necked Stilts. This was another county lifer for me - I hadn't even thought about seeing it until August, when I learned that they migrated through our inland county, not only on the coast, where I see them in large numbers.  Now, I was getting great looks at them in our county!

        Suddenly, I noticed a bird that looked like a small gull fly over me in the direction of Coast Casey Forebay. Bonaparte's Gull! I thought, but I needed better confirmation. Doubling back to the forebay, I indeed found a Bonaparte's Gull swimming together with California Gulls! This was not only a county yearbird (my third of the day), but also an ABA yearbird - it was the first time since May of 2013 that I had seen one. Unfortunately, the photos I got were pretty bad, but they do show a nice comparison, and the nonbreeding features of the gull.

        On the lake, I found the three oversummering Surf Scoters and two more Elegant Terns. Also, the lake contained a huge flock of Forster's Terns (about 50 birds!). I tried to look for a Common Tern mixed in somewhere, but without luck. All that I saw appeared to be Forster's, but I was not 100% sure of several.

       It had been a very successful day - three yearbirds in 45 minutes, with photos and good looks at each one, putting me only 21 birds away from my target of 200. Now, time to finish up August and start September!

Summary:
New birds: 3
Birds seen: 30
Big year count: 180

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

Sanborn and School

       My last trip before school started on August 20th was to Sanborn County Park. During the afternoon of August the 17th, I visited Sanborn Park for a picnic with my family. Technically, I'd already been to Sanborn this year, on the John Nicholas Trail, but this was my first time going to the main area of the park. I wanted to walk around the parking lots and bird a bit, because there was no knowing what I might find up there - from Western Wood-Pewees to warblers to Swainson's Thrushes.

       We arrived at the grassy slopes near the parking lot at about 4:30 and stationed ourselves under some trees. The only birds so far were some Band-tailed pigeons flying over, some American Crows, and Steller's Jays. There were also lots, both adults and juveniles, of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Robins on the slopes. I tried looking for Swainson's Thrushes that I could have mistaked for robins, but without luck. That day, I took my camera:

        I walked up to the highest parking lot and immediately noticed a Nuttall's Woodpecker on one of the Douglas Firs. In the trees planted in the middle of the parking lot, I heard and saw a flock of around 15 Bushits. I began the normal process of checking the fall Bushtit/chickadee flock for a migrant warbler. This time, I was in luck...

        I noticed a small, yellow bird darting between the branches together with the Bushtits. It took about a minute of stalking and following it to identify it as a Wilson's Warbler by its black cap and short tail, and white undertail (to rule out Yellow Warbler). It was definitely nice to start off my walk by seeing a pretty bird!

       I moved on to the taller trees, where I saw and heard several Chestnut-backed Chickadees. Suddenly, I saw a slightly larger, chunkier bird move through the branches. I caught a bit of it in my binoculars, and my first reaction was Cassin's Vireo! Pishing it closer, I saw that I was mistaken, and that it was just a more common, but worn, Hutton's. The green on the head was slightly faded, making my think it was a Cassin's - a bird I'd missed in the spring, and would have been very lucky, and happy, to see now.

       I then went on the trail by the campsites into the forest. Up high in the Coast Redwoods and Douglas Firs, I heard Steller's Jays, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Common Ravens. I played the Pileated Woodpecker recording several times on the phone from the Merlin app to try to get it to call back, but eventually stopped so as not to disturb it if it had heard it. For me, the Pileated Woodpecker has achieved a mystical and unknown status that its cousin, the Ivory-billed, holds to most birders. I would be absolutely thrilled to see it this year! As I was coming out on the trail, I thought I heard the calls of a Brown Creeper somewhere on a tree trunk, but I wasn't sure. A view of the trail:
      

       And more views of the meadows:

       
Summary: 
Birds seen: 13
New birds: 0
Big year count: 177
 
   As I was walking back towards the picnic place, I thought that birding this way truly makes me happy. Number one: seeing nice birds, number two: learning more about those birds and watching them, and number three: enjoying nature. Even though I didn't get any lifers or yearbirds, I was still content.

       That's pretty much what I said in the beginning of my post "Summer Birding." In that post, I set myself a goal to enjoy the birds and learn more about them during the summer, not just count them. I think I've achieved the goal: I thought less about the yearlist (admittedly, still quite a bit), and more about the birds. I'd like to continue that trend during the final four months of my big year, attempting to cope with the homework and projects from BASIS, as well as my extracurriculars, while I push for 200. I think I can do it, and have a good time on the way.

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

Almaden and Vasona Lake Birding

          When we arrived back home from our family trip to Southern California, (nice birds there included lifers Reddish Egret and Least Tern at Bolsa Chica, yearbird Wandering Tattler, and a Great Horned Owl, in broad daylight in Hungington Central Park!) I was only two weeks and a day away from the first day of high school. I would have to see some good birds during this period of time, before crazy homework and projects would start at BASIS. Luckily my cousins were visiting from Chicago at the time, so I got to spend some time with them and visit some local museums and parks.

       On August 6th, my brother, cousins, and I went to Almaden Lake Park with our grandfather. I didn't take my camera - just my binoculars for "pleasure birding." I would try to find any of the warblers that Janna Pauser had recently reported in the willows near the bridge - Yellow and Wilson's would be yearbirds.

        At around 11:00, we parked near the south side of the lake and began our counterclockwise walk to the Coleman Rd. bridge. The best birds were a Western Grebe, a Spotted Sandpiper on the island in the middle of the lake, a Bewick's Wren (there seems to be less of them this year), and around 300 gulls, of which most, if not all, were California. On the way back, I spotted a Green Heron on one of the lake's gravel beaches. In the eucalyptus trees near the pedestrian bridge over Los Alamitos Creek, I found about ten Hooded Orioles, all calling their "wheet" calls! Ten Hooded Orioles is quite a bit - more than I've ever seen in one place. In the willows past the bridge, all I found were more Hooded Orioles. Upon reaching the lawns, we turned, and headed back towards our car.

        I sped up to have more time to check the willows again. This time, I was lucky: as I peered into the undergrowth, I saw a small shape darting around there! Bringing it into my binocular's view, I caught several flashes of yellow - a warbler! After about thirty seconds, the warbler came out into the open to reveal its short bill, olive back and head, and gray undertail, sealing the ID of Wilson's Warbler (the lack of a black cap made it a female)! I was relieved to have finally gotten this yearbird - I had managed to miss it in Monte Bello OSP in the spring, as well as several other places. At one point, I thought I saw another warbler appear for a few seconds in the greenery, (which looked to be a Yellow Warbler), but I decided not to count it because of the bad look I had and the uncertain ID.

        As a bonus, I noticed a single Vaux's Swift flying high above me as I exited the park. Casual birding for the win - I'd seen some better birds in the realxing hour-and-a-half I was there than during some real birding trips!

Summary:
Birds seen: 32
New birds: 1
Big year count: 176

* * *

       The next day, August 7th, I went to Santa Teresa County Park with my cousins and we walked the Mine Trail, and around Pueblo Picnic Area. It was a slow, hot day, with the best birds being Rufous-crowned Sparrows, a Golden Eagle, Band-tailed Pigeons, Steller's Jays, and two Wrentits.

Summary:

Birds seen: 20

New birds: 0

Big year count: 176

* * *

       Vasona Lake County Park is one of our county's best birding spots which could use more popularity with birders. Sitting near downtown Los Gatos on the Los Gatos Creek Trail, it is an amazing place for migrating birds in the fall. Flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, and vireos can all be found there, but its specialty is the warblers. Last year, in the fall, for around three months, there was even a continuously reported Costa's Hummingbird in the sage near the pedestrian bridge. Of course, I got completely frozen chasing it one day in December (the day it decided to fly south and disappear), so I never saw it.

       I started my big year on January 1st in Vasona, seeing lots of nice birds, and saw a Bald Eagle there in February. If you've never visited it, please do: you won't regret it!

       On August 11th, I went to Vasona at around 12:00 with my cousins and grandpa. It was late and rather hot, so I didn't seriously expect to see any good birds. Deciding to "lazy bird" again, I only brought my binoculars. I started birding at the eucalyptus trees that serve as a Great Blue Heron rookery in the spring, but were empty now. About a minute in, I began hearing Chestnut-backed Chickadees in the oak trees around me. I immediately looked up, knowing that migrating warblers like to associate with birds like chickadees and Bushtits in the fall. The first bird that caught my eye, however, was a Brown Creeper! It, too, was associating with the chickadee flock, gleaning the oak bark for insects!

      Soon, a yellow bird came into view, which I knew was a warbler. The lighting was too bad for me to distinguish between Yellow and Orange-crowned, but I tentatively leaned Orange-crowned because of the dusky vest and pointed bill (it was hard to tell). Walking the trail near the Meadowbrook and Creekside Group Areas, the best birds were White-breasted Nuthatches, Band-tailed Pigeons flying over, and Dark-eyed Juncos and Black Phoebes. In the eucalyptus trees on the right side of the trail there were both Hooded and Bullock's Orioles (more of the former), Anna's Hummingbirds, and American Robins. I also heard several calls I didn't know, that I guessed could have been Swainson's Thrushes. I just couldn't get a look at the unknown bird making that call!

         On the way back from the railroad, I checked the "eucalyptus tree side" of the trail again. To my surprise, the first bird I saw was another small, yellow one - this time, it was much lower, and I identified it as a beautiful male Wilson's Warbler with a black cap! Not twenty feet away from it, I found a definite Orange-crowned Warbler which was almost as beautiful.
  
         The best birds on the lake itself was a Green Heron and a Caspian Tern. That ended my first day at Vasona.

Summary:
Birds seen: 34
New birds: 0
Big year count: 176

* * *

       My next trip to Vasona, two days later, went even better. That day, I started a bit earlier - at 10:15, which was a bit less hot, so more birds were out. My cousins wanted to go canoeing and paddleboarding on the lake, so we parked at the parking lot near the playground, and began walking toward the boat dock. Suddenly, I heard unmistakable warbler "chip" calls coming from the island with eucalyptus trees! 

       I quickly turned my binoculars on the action in the greenery, and saw a small yellow, bird disappear into the undergrowth. I noticed two more birds higher up, chasing each other around the leafless branches - my first-of-fall Yellow-rumped Warblers! It's been more than three months since I saw my last, departing one in the spring. Time to get used to the sound of their calls filling parks in the winter!

       Suddenly, I noticed the yellow bird popping back out of the bushes, right near the creek's water! This time, I identified it as a male Yellow Warbler without any doubts - traces of red streaks on its breast, olive wings, and a short tail with yellow under it. I was sure that I would get this bird, but better sooner than later - not to mention the looks were really good! These birds are better in the spring in their fresh plumage, but I could still detect some of the red streaks on its chest.

       Soon, an Orange-crowned Warbler popped out right by the two Yellow-rumps - I actually think I might have seen that bird instead of the Yellow when I initially saw it disappearing into the shrubs. The Orange-crowned completed a warbler trio - three warblers in a day. I've never done four before, but today seemed like a good chance, with Wilson's still possible.

       While my cousins went on the canoe, I walked to the dam and back. The best birds were a Caspian Tern, a Green Heron, a heard only Belted Kingfisher, and a Brown Creeper (!). I was surprised to have found another one, because I've never even seen one here before my last trip. In fact, I first located the creeper by its sharp, high calls, and then found it on the eucalyptus trees near the dam. After that, I joined my cousins on the canoe for about thirty minutes, before heading off toward the eucalyptus trees near Meadowbrook and Creekside Group Areas, hoping to find more good birds.

          I was not disappointed. Well, in the first stand of tall eucalyptus trees, I was. As soon as I got to the riparian area near the Meadowbrook Group Area, I noticed a bird foraging in the lower branches of a tree standing in the meadow. To my great surprise, I found it was a Black-throated Gray Warbler! I saw this county code 3 last year, as well as this year in Montebello in the spring. However, I'd almost never had looks as good as these at any warbler! It was in plain view half of the time, about ten feet off the ground at the lowest. I could easily make out the little yellow lore spots! This warbler was associated with a Chestnut-backed Chickadee flock, and I soon noticed two more interesting birds flying between the trees in the meadow, spiraling up their trunks: more Brown Creepers! One of these could have been the bird I had seen two days ago.

       I proceeded to check for more good birds on both sides of the trails: both the eucalyptus and the riparian side. Farther down the trail, I found my fifth (!) different warbler species of the day, a male Wilson's in the top of another tree in the meadow. Talk about shattering records! Near the railroad bridge, I heard the mysterious call from two days ago again. I put my binoculars on the bird, but it flew into the eucalyptus trees on the other side of the meadow! Focusing on it much farther away, I saw its black wings, red head, and yellow body. It wasn't a Swainson's Thrush at all - I had been hearing Western Tanagers, and had now finally seen one!

       On the way back, near the Meadowbrook Group Area, I heard a Downy/Hairy Woodpecker call and hastened to identify it. I found the woodpecker working on a dead snag on the eucalyptus side of the trail. It had a huge bill, a shoulder spur, and no black markings on its white outer tail feathers - a textbook Hairy! Interestingly, I'd seen a Downy here on the first day of my big year, near the Creekside Group Area.

        It was an amazing day, and my post will end here. So, definitely visit Vasona Lake County Park in the fall - you never know what you'll find!

Summary:
Birds seen: 40
New birds: 1
Big year count: 177

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

Birding at the Bottom of the Bay

       I knew that I would have to compensate for the shorebirds, gulls, and ducks, that I had missed in the winter during the latter half of this year, and the earlier I started, the better. Also, lots of good birds were being reported at Don Edwards (Ruddy Turnstone (Pond A16), Lesser Yellowlegs (New Chicago Marsh), Snowy Plover (Pond A13), Red Knot (Pond A9), and Red-necked Phalarope), so that was where I decided to go on Saturday, July 26.

       My mom, brother, and I spent the Friday night before fixing and setting up bikes. In the end, my mom took my bike, I - my brother's, and my brother one that he had ridden on about two years ago. I packed my binoculars, a camera, my Sibley, lunch, and water, and we set out. At around 9:00, we arrived at Alviso Marina County Park, about an hour after the peak of low tide. Our plan was to bike counterclockwise around the salt ponds, and then drive to New Chicago Marsh and Pond A16 to do some birding there.

       The water level in A12 looked rather high, as if the low tide had never happened. The only birds here were lots of California Gulls. It took us barely five minutes to ride the entire length of A12, and arrive at A13. Meanwhile, I was continuously seeing flocks of about twenty or thirty phalaropes or peeps flying towards the general direction of New Chicago Marsh. Now, we could look over the levee with the railroad tracks into A16, where there were lots of fishing Forster's Terns, with a few larger Caspians mixed in. On A13 (and the levees around it), I found my only Ring-billed Gull of the day, as well as Double-crested Cormorants and American White Pelicans, but no other birds. Despite scouring the exposed land in A13, no nesting Snowy Plovers were found.

       Ponds A14 and A15 contained no birds other than the ones mentioned already, but in higher numbers. There were both Song and Savannah Sparrows in Triangle Marsh, and several heard only Marsh Wrens. This day, I would end up seeing all the common egrets and herons except for the Green Herons - multiple individuals were standing on either side of the trail - in Triangle Marsh and in the ponds. Eventually, we came to A9, which was the only pond with any significant mudflats exposed. I could see lots of shorebirds teeming on them, but the problem was that they were too far for good looks in binoculars, so I had no chance of finding a Red Knot, even when I tried to photograph the mudflats on high zoom. The only birds I saw for sure were American Avocets, Willets, Marbled Godwits, gulls, and dowitchers. Now I know why Birding at the Bottom of the Bay strongly recommends to bring a scope here! If anyone sees anything interesting here, please let me know:

        The day was going rather slowly and disappointingly so far, but little did I know that soon something would happen that I will not forget for a long time. We had already rounded the corner of A9 and were almost at A10. I looked to my right, and saw lots of shorebirds on A6 (which we wouldn't walk around). Suddenly, I saw a couple of birds take off, which were soon followed by several more, and, in no time, the entire huge flock was rising off the mudflats like a wave, coming right at us with loud, piercing calls! All three of us watched in awe and wonder as the huge flock of about 700 birds glided over us for around thirty seconds before landing on the mudflats on A9. Birds in the group included around 300 Willets, 400 Marbled Godwits, 10 Long-billed Curlews, peeps, and what looked to be Black-bellied Plovers, but were left unidentified. Another awesome experience from this year!

       Biking along A10 proved to be unproductive, with the only good birds being three more Long-billed Curlews in Alviso Slough, and Caspian Terns over the pond. When I arrived at A11, I saw that my mom and brother were lagging behind. When I doubled back to check on them, it turned out that my brother's bicycle had not just popped a tire, but that there was a foot-long gash on it, and that the bike was in no fit condition to be ridden on. I gave my brother my bike, and decided to walk his bike back to the marina.

       Nothing of particular interest was on A11, but some of the first birds I saw on A12, along with California Gulls, were about 25 phalaropes! For the first time this day, I took out my field guide to help me with the ID of phalaropes. My first impression was that the phalaropes were rather small, and that they seemed to have dark eye patches and caps, but they were simply too far away for a certain ID this way - besides, they were molting. I saw several fly past, and noticed how they had a white stripe on each wing, something the Wilson's Phalarope conspicuously lacks when flying next to the Red-necked Phalarope. To clinch the ID of Red-necked Phalarope, I took several photos, and, upon examination, found that about half were molting, and the other half were already in nonbreeding plumage, with the distinct dark eye patch and cap. This was my first yearbird of the day, and the second of the three phalarope species in the world I've seen, and my 174th big year bird.

        After walking the bike in the sun for about forty-five minutes, I finally arrived at the marina, where we loaded everything back in the car and headed for the Environmental Education Center. I took the bike my mom had been riding (it was a much better fit for me), and set out on the wooden boardwalk leading into Chicago Marsh. I had only twenty minutes, so I really had to walk and bird fast. The first thing I heard were the calls of a huge flock of shorebirds in the marsh. Soon, I began seeing my first-of-fall Least Sandpipers on either side of the boardwalk. Most of the marsh was still underwater, and I saw several molting Wilson's Phalaropes on the water, and some Black-necked Stilts on the exposed land.

       Finally, I got to the third highlight of today - after the large shorebird flight on A9 and the Red-necked Phalaropes on A12. Yet another amazing quantity of shorebirds was present in the marsh, near the A16 levee. To me, there looked to be about 600+ Least Sandpipers and about 200 (half molting, half in breeding plumage) Western Sandpipers, much more than I'd ever seen before, all calling! There was probably a rarer sandpiper in there somewhere (Semipalmated or Pectoral, or something even better), but I didn't have the time, or skill, to pick it out from the mass of twittering white, gray, and rufous. Here's just part of that flock:

       I raced down the A16 levee, looking for the Ruddy Turnstone and Lesser Yellowlegs both in New Chicago Marsh and on the islands in A16, but without success. Riding back, I did find two Greater Yellowlegs together with Forster's Terns, Least Sandpipers, Black-necked Stilts, and California Gulls on A16's biggest island, but no rare birds that were reported.

       So ended my day at Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. Even though I saw only one yearbird, and no birds higher than our county code 2, I saw lots of birds I don't see often in very high numbers and had a great time biking and birding. Fall migration is definitely on!

Summary:
Birds seen: 32
New birds: 1
Big year count: 174

* * *

       At the beginning of the year, I set myself three target birds that I really wanted to see: Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, and Least Tern. I'd seen the Bald Eagle twice already (Vasona Lake in February and Coyote Lake in July), I'd tried for the Pileated Woodpecker (unsuccessfully) in March on the John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn County Park, and would try for the Least Terns on July 27th on Salt Pond A2E, near Moffett Field, in Mountain View.

       Each year, the diminutive Least Terns can be found staging in July and August on or around A2E, often on the wooden boardwalk and posts, or foraging around the pond. In September, the terns migrate south. An additional bonus to the possible Least Terns were Snowy Plovers being reported from Triangle and Crittenden Marshes, and early returning Brown Pelicans on the outer ponds.

       The morning of the 27th, we loaded our bikes back into the car (from the trip to Don Edwards the day before) and set out for the Stevens Creek Trail, which would lead us to A2E. We exited Highway 101 at Shoreline Blvd, turned right on Crittenden Lane, and parked on the roundabout at the end of it, with the time being around 10:00. The only birds on the Stevens Creek Trail were Barn Swallows, House Finches, and Savannah Sparrows. Soon, we saw the completely dry (except for a few shallow pools of water) Crittenden Marsh on our right.

       The first thing I noticed when we arrived at A2E were the terns - no, not the Least Terns - Forster's Terns. These larger terns were all over the place, fishing in A2E and sitting on the boardwalk. Try as I might, I couldn't find a smaller Least Tern among them. Other birds on the pond included American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, California and Western Gulls, and a Pied-billed Grebe family. The morning was cloudy and breezy, and the views of Moffett Field were scenic (Crittenden Marsh in the foreground):

       It occurred to me that maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, so I began checking each tern that flew past to be certain that it was a Forster's. They all seemed to be - I just couldn't find a smaller individual with a yellow bill. We had now gotten to the west point of Triangle Marsh, where one of the remaining pools of water in Crittenden Marsh was located.

       I decided to check near the pond for Snowy Plovers, and, as soon as I looked into Crittenden Marsh, a small bird on the shore of the pool caught my eye! Putting it in the view of my binoculars, I realized that, amazingly, it was a Snowy Plover! The endangered Western Snowy Plover is a rare sight in our county (judging by the five rating it has on the county code system - it should probably be a four, though), and I was really pumped after seeing it. It wasn't a lifer, but it was the first time I'd seen it this year, and in the county. Since the plover was pretty close, I got some pretty nice shots:

       Then, came the icing on the cake. The plover began distancing itself from me, making it harder to take more photos, but I was already content with the ones I'd gotten, so I simply began observing it through binoculars. Suddenly, I noticed three absolutely tiny birds right next to the plover! They were too far away and tiny for my binoculars, so I had to use my camera's zoom, which confirmed the birds to be Snowy Plover chicks! It was awesome to find these tiny, adorable balls of fluff, which would grow up to become just like its parent, and help keep the endangered species from becoming extinct! In fact, these were probably some of the smallest birds I'd ever seen! The mom sat down on the ground, and the babies came up to her and snuggled right under her!

         After this unforgettable experience (which more than made up for the missed Least Terns), we rode out to the next pond, AB1, to look for Brown Pelicans, but without luck. The only good birds here were Ruddy Ducks, a Western/Clark's Grebe, two Caspian Terns, a Northern Harrier, a White-tailed Kite, and an American White Pelican. The shorebirds on the mudflats were too far out to identify.

          Well, that's it for July. School's started, it's September, and I still need to finish my August trip reports, where I got lots of good birds!

Summary:
Birds seen: 19
New birds: 1
Big year count: 175

P.S. - On my trip to Southern California, in August, I saw a Least Tern at Bolsa Chica, in Orange County. I can almost definitely say I didn't see any Least Terns on A2E, because I would have noticed it immediately: the Least is a lot smaller, and its flight pattern is different. If I had a Least in my binoculars, I most likely would have identified it correctly, so I believe I didn't see any Leasts without recognizing them.

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov