At the End of All Things

The time had come for the final day of my big year. December 14th, 2014. I had originally planned to bike around the Alviso salt ponds, but, after looking at eBird reports that morning, saw that the birds I had hoped to see (Long-billed Dowitcher, Redhead, Blue-winged Teal, etc.) weren't being seen as reliably as I had thought.

Instead, I decided to visit Shoreline after my Russian theater class. There, my chances would be significantly better for many of the birds I had hoped to see. After that, I would drive all the way to the south part of the county, to Coyote Lake County Park, hoping to see at least one of the rare birds being seen there: Greater Roadrunner, Red-necked Grebe (blown in by the storms), and Canyon Wren.

It was a beautiful day, with the perfect temperature, and a pleasant mix of sun and clouds. My mom, brother, and I headed out to the spot for the Sora and Virginia Rails in Coast Casey Forebay.

 After meticulously scrutinizing the bases of all the reeds, we didn't succeed in finding any rails, whether a Sora or a Virginia Rail, or even a Ridgway's Rail. A close look in Terminal Creek didn't provide us any birds, with the bittern being absent.

On the lake, where I was hoping to find a blown-in rarity, the best birds were two flyover Golden Eagles, an American Crow with and acorn, Horned and Eared Grebes, Surf Scoters, and Common Goldeneyes.

 We then walked on the trail running alongside Pond A1, looking for a Redhead among the flock of Canvasbacks. I scrupulously examined every single bird, but could not find anything except for Canvasbacks! Later, I would see how glad I would be not to have found them. Really then only birds that stood out here were some Lesser Scaups.

In Charleston Slough, the tide was out, and the mudflats were exposed. I could hear the cries of many shorebirds, and knew that if I were to find my Long-billed Dowitcher, it would be here. A quick scan from the observation platform produced many dowitchers (unidentified), Marbled Godwits, a Willet, American Avocets, Least Sandpipers, and two Dunlin!

In my big year, I never counted heard-onlies (birds that are only known to be present on the account of their call or song). However, I didn't have a problem identifying birds I could see using predominantly their calls. With winter dowitchers, that is probably the most reliable way to identify the species pair. Among the huge flock, I distinctly heard many of them chattering the Long-billed's high call. #199! It had taken me nearly a year to get, and was the second-to-last Code 1 I needed to get in the county - the only one I had missed was the Great Horned Owl. Here's a video I took:

And then I realized that I was glad to not have seen a Virginia Rail or a loon or Redhead - if I had, then Long-billed Dowitcher would have been the long-awaited #200 - a rather anticlimactic bird because a) I had probably seen it before this year, but not really identified it, b) I had identified it mainly by voice, and c) It was a Code 1. However, with one left to go now, Coyote Lake opened up any of the three wonderful possibilities for my milestone: Greater Roadrunner, Red-necked Grebe, or Canyon Wren.

Off to Coyote Lake!

Summary:
Birds seen: 38
New birds: 1
Big year count: 199


I still had homework that night, so we couldn't stay long at the lake. We arrived at around 3:45, after almost an hour of driving. It surprised me just how green the surrounding hills were, as well as how much water there was in Coyote Creek, as we descended toward the lake. I couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental as I took my trusty binoculars and camera for the last time in Santa Clara County this year.

We approached the campground. I doubted that I would see any new birds there, but I decided to check quickly from the road for the Varied Thrushes that were being reported there. Eventually, I found two - one in the campground, and one in the forest to the right of the road.

We moved on to the boat launch area. I knew that the roadrunner was being found here, but that it could be elusive. I walked around the parking lot (and down to the lake) for about ten minutes, but didn't find much except for a Say's Phoebe on the telephone wire and some stunning scenery - the green hills overlooking the lake. This wasn't my first time looking for (and missing) the roadrunner this year - in fact, it was my third.

Well, that left only two feasible birds to get, with the roadrunner being a bust. If I missed the grebe, I knew that I would probably see the wren at the dam, so I remained optimistic. We stopped at the Fault Line Picnic Area because I had seen a flock of birds on the water. I jumped out and scanned it, finding Bonaparte's Gulls, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and Eared and Western Grebes.

The next place we came to was Oak Flat Picnic Area. Here, I knew, might come the moment I had long been waiting for - the #200. For the past few days, the flock of aechmophorus grebes, with the Red-necked mixed in, had been reported here. I walked slowly toward the lake, surveying it closely, I saw that there was a flock of grebes right in the middle of the lake. 

And, to my greatest delight, there it was. The moment I had dreamed of for an entire year-and-a-half. Just an innocent bird, blown in from the Pacific Ocean, now swimming on Coyote Lake, not knowing that it had just made a 14-year-old birder one of the happiest people in the county that December evening. I stood there, gazing at the magical bird, savoring the long-awaited bird, speechless, as a smile crept across my face. 

From an identification point of view, it was not as hard an ID as I had feared - the Red-necked Grebe was much smaller than the surrounding Westerns (and one Clark's), and was easy to pick out, even without binoculars. After I had come out of my trance, I snapped a few photos, of both the bird and the beautiful lake.

I called my mom, who was almost as happy as I was that I had reached my goal - no more crazy early birding trips at 6:00 in the morning! In all seriousness, I really appreciate that my parents have had the patience to drive me around to almost all my outings this year. Thank you! She got a few photos of me standing in front of Oak Flat Picnic Area.

Now that I had gotten the #200, it remained to be seen whether I could finish off my big year with a Canyon Wren at the dam, which would really be the icing on the cake. As we arrived and parked, it began getting dark. I knew that I had only about fifteen minutes to find the wren. As I walked out on the dam with the cold evening air beginning to sting my cheeks, I thought of all my adventures this year, and how they would culminate here. The setting was certainly picturesque:

I walked almost to the end of the dam without hearing or seeing anything but Golden-crowned Sparrows. Then, I heard something, and noticed movement on the rocks. A wren! Problem was, it wasn't a Canyon Wren - it was a Rock Wren (still a great bird, but not a Canyon). Knowing that the wrens liked to associate with each other, I perused the rocks on the side of the dam opposite to the lake, but with no luck - I was only annoyed by a definite Bewick's Wren moving around at the bottom of the dam, and lost the Rock Wren.

Now, it was starting to get really cold, and I began to lose hope and was almost ready to head back. Eventually, I decided on one last round (back and forth) on top of the dam. I knew that even if I didn't get the wren, it would still be an amazing year (for me), but I also knew that it would be amazing to get this "finishing touch."And, luckily, the finishing touch came.

I heard chirping calls coming from the lake side of the dam, and quickly looked down. Four birds were moving around the rocks. Two were Rock Wrens. The other two, with contrasting white breasts, were Canyon Wrens!  I couldn't think of a better way to end this year than with these amazing birds coming up to five feet from me, fidgeting and twisting about on the rocks, and then slowly fading away from sight as they moved back down to the lake. It was quite the experience, and a perfect ending! Well, except for the photos:

I don't think I will be as happy as I was on that evening of December 14th, 2014, for a long, long time to come.

Summary:
Birds seen: 36
New birds: 2
Final big year count: 201 

I'll follow this post up with a closing post (when, and if, I find the time) - homework has delayed my blog-writing (and birding) numerous times over the past year. 

It's been a wonderful year, and, if you're reading this, thank you for coming along for the ride!

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

The Final Countdown

I had found out what the last day of my big year would be: Sunday, December 14th. On Friday, the 19th, I would fly out with my mom and brother to Chicago. From there, we would do a road trip down to Orlando, and then to Miami. I was excited about the potential new birds I could see, but slightly annoyed that I couldn't finish my big year properly. Actually, we would be arriving from Miami on the 30th, so I would have one day (31st) to get any remaining birds, if I needed.

Anyways, on the 1st of December, a Monday I had off as part Thanksgiving Break for some odd reason, I went to Vasona Lake County Park - where it all began on January 1st. My main goal was to see a Cackling Goose associating with the numerous Canadas. It had rained the day before, and I could tell that nature was enjoying itself after the long period of drought. Still plenty of fall colors around.

I managed to record an impressive (for me) 49 species in about two hours, but not one of them was a yearbird. I had scrutinized every single Canada Goose I saw, but to no avail. The highlights included: two Townsend's Warblers in the eucalyptus trees near Oak Meadow Park, a Western Grebe and several Common Mergansers, an astounding 200 or so Double-crested Cormorants on the lake (never witnessed anything like it before), a heard only Brown Creeper, a Hutton's Vireo, three Glaucous-wings among the gulls on the lake, a male and female Hooded Merganser at the dam's spillway, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker in some pines near the YSI building.

It was a great day, but one lacking of yearbirds. There were still some easy ones to knock off, but you never know what could happen when it comes to birding, as I would soon see (for the umpteenth time)...

Summary:
Birds seen: 49
New birds: 0
Big year count: 198

On December 13th, the Saturday before my last day, I got news of a Red-throated Loon juvenile being seen on the largest pond in Los Gatos Creek County Park. Apparently, this bird had blown in from the bay inland to our county. Loons have always been some of my favorite birds, and this one was especially close (and easy to see), so I made the trip to Oka Ponds.

Upon arrival, we spotted a Merlin zooming south through the sky. Great bird! Trust me on this one:

We walked once around the first pond, but to our dismay, there was no loon in sight. We met Bob Reiling, who was also searching in vain for the same bird. That loon must have moved on pretty quickly! The next day, though, I would realize how happy I was not to have gotten that yearbird (more on that later). The best birds on the lake were an Osprey, Belted Kingfisher, Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, and Lesser Scaup. The north side of the pond was so dried up that a "land bridge" on which we could walk was exposed.

Summary:
Birds seen: 19
New birds: 0
Big year count: 198

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

The Day That Changed Everything

Like I said before, the rest of my big year would depend almost completely on the birds I got during my Thanksgiving Break. On the 28th, Friday, day after Thanksgiving, I went on an unofficial big day that changed the course of my big year.

I started off with my dad at Hellyer County Park at 9:00 in the morning, looking for the Snow and Ross's Goose pair reported there. Both would be lifers and yearbirds, and they were being reported alongside each other, so going there could easily bring my yearlist up to 195. It was very cold that morning on the lake. Luckily, we met Eric Ongman, with whom we kept up a birding conversation while walking around the lake. It was great to meet someone with whom I could share my interest in birds, and we found a lot of stories to tell, but no geese. The best birds were Canvasbacks on Cottonwood Lake and a Townsend's Warbler in a pine tree.

Eric said he would head off to Ed Levin County Park to attempt to find the Red-naped Sapsucker being reported there. I had to choose between Ed Levin and Coyote Valley, and I picked the former - I really wanted to see that rarity, and I could go to Laguna Ave in Coyote Valley in the evening to try to find a Short-eared Owl.

We arrived there at around 10:45 and parked in the Spring Valley parking lot, near the pond. As we were walking toward the dirt parking lot with the pepper trees (where the sapsucker was being reported), we heard and saw a flock of twittering birds land in a sweetgum tree (one with those spiky balls). I immediately perked up: I knew Pine Siskins called something like that, and were being seen often this winter! A look through the binoculars confirmed my lifer and yearbird #194!

Upon arriving at the dirt parking lot, we met Eric, who told us he hadn't found the sapsucker yet. The first bird we saw was a surprise Loggerhead Shrike sitting on top of one of the trees. I hope that this bird is making a successful recovery in the county.

The three of us fanned out across the parking lot, looking for the elusive sapsucker. There were plenty of American Robins and Hermit Thrushes in the pepper trees. Eventually we did find a sapsucker-like bird flying from tree to tree, making its mewing call. We were sure that it was a rare one when we saw that its head wasn't completely red - only the cap and the throat. The photos we got weren't conclusive - in fact, it looked more like a Yellow-bellied. However, later photos from Eric and closer observation revealed it to be a code 5 Red-naped (because of the red spot on the nape, shown slightly by the last photo) - my yearbird #195! More importantly, it was my county life #200. Photo credits to my dad for the last two.

 

We said goodbye to Eric and, on our short walk back to our car, managed to see a Varied Thrush - I never get tired of seeing them! A check for Cackling Geese on the Spring Valley pond proved fruitless.

About two hours after I got back home, a message appeared on South-bay-birds (the Santa Clara County listserv): someone had seen both the Ross's and Snow Goose at Hellyer! Later, Eric sent me an email about how he went back to Hellyer County Park and also seen them. I didn't have much of a choice - the birds were too good to miss. Before going to Coyote Valley in the evening, we made our way to Hellyer.

This time, instead of an empty lawn, we were greeted by one with a huge goose flock on it. And from that mostly brown flock there stood out two white birds. A grin spread across my face as I walked towards my #196 and #197. I guess Snow Goose was #196 because I identified it first, even if I saw them at the same time.

I was close. So close. Only three left till the magic number. One more bird, and the fate of my big year would be almost surely sealed, in the positive direction. To cap off a nearly perfect day and get that bird - could I see a long sought-after Short-eared Owl at Coyote Valley?

We got to Laguna Ave at 4:15. The owls were being seen at around 5:10, so we still had an hour or so to walk up and down the street. It was really cold that evening, but that didn't deter us. The best birds included a flyover Ferruginous Hawk and a female Merlin. There were also many harriers (and a single White-tailed Kite) coursing the fields. No Tricolored Blackbirds!

When we got back to our car, Gena, Jeff, and Maya Zolotar were also there. Coincidentally, they had also decided to try their luck with the owl that night. Together, the five of us began scanning the field, trying to catch a glimpse of something that wasn't a harrier. A huge flock of American Pipts was foraging in the field. It began to darken quickly, and I put on my jacket from the car.

It was almost completely dark now, at 5:15. Suddenly, we all heard several bark calls echo across the fields. Gena noticed something else moving far away, very low over the grass. It was a lot smaller than a harrier, its wings were shorter, and its flight was different, so there wasn't much it could be but the Short-eared Owl! The owl gave a couple more short barks to confirm its identity.

I could barely believe my luck that day! #198 was checked off, and only two birds were left to what I'd aspired to achieving for more than a year now.

We were unsatisfied with the looks we got, so we walked on down the street, where we managed to catch several more quick glimpses of the owls gliding over the grass. However, my dad never managed to see the owl, though he heard it bark. I knew that we would definitely be out here next year - my dad doesn't rest until he sees what he wants to see!

As we said goodbye to the Zolotars and made our way back to our car, one last thing happened. Two owls, terribly lit, flew across the street in rapid succession. Judging by their short tails and huge heads, we concluded that they had to be Barn Owls - our second owl of the day!

In all, this was probably one of the greatest days of my big year. Five yearbirds, of which all five were lifers, that put me two away from my goal. In one day, the question of if I would get 200 almost became a question of when I would get 200. I knew, and I truly hoped, that the big moment would come soon. And I knew that I would remember the day when that moment came for a long time to come.

Summary:
Birds seen: 62
New birds: 5
Big year count: 198

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov