Two Code 5's in One Day!

        Oh, great. I'm really, really behind on posts now. Sorry, but I'll have to post the months of October and November quite briefly despite all the good birds I got to see. Now, I still have to finish up several days in September...

       On Sunday, September 28th, I tried again for the Sabine's Gull at the Sunnyvale WPCP (water pollution control plant) after my theater class. At 1:15, we parked under one of the pepper trees there. My mom decided to stay in the car and sleep, so I set out all on my own, promising to be back in about 45 minutes.

       I followed the same trail as yesterday. When I was at the first right turn, I met a birder who told me some of the best news I would undoubtedly hear this year - a jaeger had been found on Pond A4, which was very close by! I thanked him, but decided to go for the Sabine's first, and then try my luck with the jaeger, which he said was probably a Parasitic.

        It turned out to be a beautiful day as I walked toward the radar station - not too hot, not too cold, and wispy clouds filled the azure sky. I met three birders who, as I neared the channel between the two ponds, told me that they had successfully found the Sabine's Gull... some fifty feet past the start of the channel! I enthusiastically thanked them and set off to find my first yearbird since September 1st.

       I wasn't disappointed. Right near the first fountain in the channel, I spotted a tiny gull (much smaller than I had thought) paddling around. Sure enough, with those scalloped, gray upperparts and small, black beak, it was an immature Sabine's - a code five! It was very cooperative, and posed nicely for photos:

       It even did something I hadn't noticed until I looked back over the photos in the car:

       Having never been on a pelagic, I've never seen this pelagic gull, which apparently isn't all that rare inland, but rare enough to merit a code five. My only regret is that I didn't get to see the famous M-pattern on its wings...

       Heading back to the car, I caught up with the three birder's I'd met earlier. We chatted a bit, and it turned out that two of the ladies were visiting from Ohio, and one lived here. I also found out that they were going to try for the Parasitic Jaeger on A4, so I went to the car to ask my mom for some more time.

       As I walked to A4, I kept a sharp eye out for Tricolored or the rarer Yellow-headed Blackbirds among the Red-wings, and Virginia or Ridgeway's Rails, in the the reeds to my left. I did hear a Sora for the first time ever, though. However, I had no luck with the other rails or blackbirds. Upon arriving at A4, I thought the jaeger would be waiting for us on the island (on the left in the photo). How wrong I was... The clouds created some breathtaking scenery, and I also saw American White Pelicans, an Eared Grebe (FOS), Forster's Terns, and a Greater Yellowlegs on or near the pond.

      Luckily, my birder-companions had a scope with them. Even with that, it took us about thirty seconds to locate the jaeger sitting far out on the water. Even with 200x zoom on our optics, we couldn't make out sufficient details to ID it 100% - we could only say it was a juvenile. We observed it and took some photos. Parasitic is the most common inland, so we suspected it was probably one.

       Suddenly, we realized that the jaeger wasn't there anymore. We then hear something calling from over the water, and saw the jaeger mobbing a Forster's Tern. We watched in awe through our binoculars as it made the poor tern drop its fish, and then snatched it up when it almost hit the water! I got some shots of the jaeger as it was landing back near its preferred place on the pond.

       The bird didn't look very bulky to me, and seemed pretty good for a Parasitic with the well-defined edge to the primaries. When I got back home, expert opinions by county birders using Steve Tracey's great photos confirmed the jaeger as being a juvenile light-morph Parasitic, giving me my second code five of the day!

        As I was walking back to the car, I found a Sora in the reeds, but it escaped deep into them as soon as it detected me. Overall, it was a very successful day, being the first (and probably only) time I got two code fives the entire year in one day, with both of them being lifers!

Summary:
Birds seen: 37
New birds: 2
Big year count: 183

P.S: On September 29th, I visited Edenvale Garden Park, where I was greeted by a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, two Townsend's Warblers, and a Black-throated Gray Warbler! Definitely an underrated birding spot...

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

Sunnyvale Baylands!

       Sunnyvale Baylands is a great park for birding in the fall. Each year, many warblers, flycatchers, and vireos come through, and there is always a chance of finding a rarity that will cause birders from all over the county to flock to the park, staring either high up in the eucalyptus trees or cottonwoods, or into the depths of the the test garden. I've never had the experience of seeing a true rarity here, and that's not really what I came for on September 21st (though that certainly would have been a nice bonus).

         I came to get two birds I'd missed in spring migration: Western Wood-Pewee (shameful, I know) and Swainson's Thrush (not as shameful). Also, I really wanted to see the Willow Flycatcher, another migrant which is often found in Sunnyvale Baylands in September.

       We arrived at 10:35, and began birding the test garden, which is the best place to see the Willow Flycatcher. My dad, brother, and I slowly walked around the perimeter of the garden, and then walked the path through the middle of the garden. The best birds here were a Townsend's Warbler (my first of fall) in a flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees and about five White-crowned Sparrows singing near the picnic area (also my first of fall). There was no trace of a Swainson's Thrush, even when I looked in the same Pistache trees in which I had found them in last September.

       Slightly disappointed, we moved on to Baylands Grove. Here, we found many more good birds. For the first fifteen minutes we were there, it seemed to be as uneventful as last time. Then, I noticed a small, green-gray bird flicking its tail on one of the branches. I lifted my binoculars up to check for an eyering - no meant Willow or Western-Wood Pewee (they don't usually flick their tails, though, but I didn't know that then), and yes meant Pacific-slope. Turns out that there was an eyering, and short primary projections and a noticeable yellowish tinge to clinch the ID of Pacific-slope Flycatcher. In a space of about ten minutes, I found three more of these flycatchers in the grove (all with eyerings), but no Willows.

         I then noticed movement in one of the trees, and it turned out to be an Orange-crowned Warbler. A nice, year-round bird, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Suddenly, I noticed a medium-size bird fly into one of the trees in the grove. Immediately putting my binoculars on it, I saw the spotting on its light breast, and its darker back. A thrush! Closer inspection showed that there was a reddish tinge on the sides of its tail, a good eyering, the spots on its breast were dark, and no buffy spectacles - a textbook Hermit Thrush. This was my first Hermit Thrush of the latter half of the year for me, and a rather early one at that. I wasn't entirely surprised because one had been reported here earlier during the week. The thrush decided to annoy me by taking flight as soon as I focused my camera, so I didn't get a single photo.

        The remaining highlights of the day were a very Loggerhead Shrike sitting on a pole in the marsh (awesome surprise), Downy Woodpeckers in the eucalyptus trees near the test garden, and a Warbling Vireo in the test garden on the way back to our car. No luck with Western Wood-Pewee, Swainson's Thrush, or Willow Flycatcher... As we were walking out of the park, I thought to myself: Let's be honest - I'm trying again.

Summary:
Birds seen: 29
New birds: 0
Big year count: 181

* * *

       I did try again - next Saturday, September 27th. This time, I got there much earlier - at 7:40. Once more, there was no shortage of good birds. We started out in the test garden again. One of the first birds I saw was a thrush, and I got very excited, because Swainson's Thrushes had been recently reported from the park. I followed that thrush around for the next five minutes, and found that there were actually two. They were moving around between the pine trees and the test garden, and I managed to take a couple of photos of one with a berry in its beak. In the field, I was almost sure it was a Swainson's, but on the photographs it looks like a Hermit with the red on its tail and the eyering. Foiled again!

       Next, we headed to Baylands Grove. Here, I heard a familiar winter sound - the "chek" call of a Yellow-rumped Warbler. It took me a while to realize what it was, having not heard any at all over the summer. The first sign of the day that winter is coming. Also in the grove were House Finches, Western Bluebirds, and several Pacific-slope Flycatchers.

        By the cottonwoods near the entrance booth, there was a flock of about 10 Golden-crowned Sparrows - another sign of the imminent winter. At about 8:30, we got to the cottonwood row. There were already three birders there. One of them told me that a Western Wood-Pewee had been seen in one of the trees in the row earlier this morning! I couldn't believe my luck! My dad and I spent about thirty minutes staring at the treetop. We found some good birds: several Pacific-slope Flycatchers, three or so Yellow Warblers, and two Warbling Vireos. Both birds moved around so much that we couldn't take a photo. No Western Wood-Pewee was to be found.

       I decided to spread out my search a bit, and walked over the the playground surrounded by eucalyptus trees. There, I found my FOS Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Lincoln Sparrow, a Downy Woodpecker, and a Townsend's Warbler, which was photogenic, as was the morning view across the lawn.

       No matter how hard we searched for that Western Wood Pewee, we just couldn't find any trace of it. We had to be at my brother's soccer match at 10:00, so we ended our search, and visited the Sunnyvale WPCP for about 20 minutes, where a Sabine's Gull (super rare!) and a Bank Swallow had been reported this week. My first visit there went unsuccessfully, though I met a woman who had seen the Sabine's Gull fly off and land in a channel, but hadn't been able to relocate it. I also familiarized myself with the place, in case I had the chance to go there again tomorrow. The scenery here was also beautiful in the morning:

Summary:
Birds seen: 28
New birds: 0
Big year count: 181

Good birding,
Sergey Pavlov

Fledglings Fall Bird-a-Thon

       September 13th, 2014 - time for the second annual Fledglings bird-a-thon! Here, a group of young birders, led by Pati Rouzer, explores some of the county's best hotspots, learning about birds,  trying to count as many as we can, to get money through pledges for the SCVAS (in the spring), and the SFBBO (in the fall). In the spring we did a survey of Ed Levin County Park. This time, we would be traveling to different locations around the bay: first to the Coyote Creek Field Banding Station, then to Ulistac Natural Area, and finally to Shoreline at Mountain View.

       Unfortunately, I had to attend a Russian theater rehearsal from 9:45 to 12:30, so I'd miss out on about half of the day. I got to sandwich the rehearsal between the field station and Shoreline. We started early - at 7:30 in the McCarthy Ranch Plaza in Milpitas. We left the parking lot at around 7:45, with a day list of around 15 with birds just from the plaza, the most interesting being Eurasian Collared-Dove (they're spreading!), and California Gull. Last year on the fall bird-a-thon, we'd spotted an Osprey sitting in one of the trees right outside the plaza, but we had no such luck this year.

       As we drove down the restricted access (don't worry - we had permission) road to the banding station, we heard a Belted Kingfisher loudly rattling its way down the creek, what I thought was a Downy Woodpecker call (I'm not good at sound ID between Downy and Hairy), Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and saw lots of late-migrating Violet-green, and several Barn, Swallows on the wires above us. By the banding station, we saw a male Downy Woodpecker, giving us the 100% bird, that wasn't heard only.

        Josh Scullen, one of the many experienced banders working at the station, first showed us a juvenile Pacific-slope Flycatcher brought in from the mist nets at the moment. I'd never seen one so close! He pointed out all the field marks, including the eyering, the wide bill, short primary projections, and buffy wingbars to make it a juvenile. Josh also told us another, sometimes more reliable way to age the bird: seeing how much its skull has ossified, or how much the two layers of bone in the skull are together - you can look at the skull right through the bird's skin! Then, he made several measurements (length, weight, fat, band number, etc.), and let it free.

        On the walk through the woods and the field, we checked the mist nets, but found nothing. Ozzie, a young birder also in 9th grade, found a calling Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the treetops. I didn't even recognize its call at first (after all, I've heard it only twice), but it clicked immediately as soon as Ozzie called out the ID. In the field on the way back, we found several Common Yellowthroats, including a young male stuck in the mist net. Josh untangled it, put it in a bird bag, showed it to us up close at the banding station, took the needed measurements, and let it go. He then did the same with a juvenile Black Phoebe - one of my favorite birds! I definitely learned a lot that day!

       We left the Coyote Creek Field Station at around 9:00, with 30 or so bird for the day. Not that many, but our next stop was Ulistac - a good place for passerines. On the way there, I talked with Ozzie about birding this year - turns out a lot of birds are mutual nemeses for us! Unfortunately, I only got to spend five minutes at Ulistac before I had to leave for my theater class.

        At exactly 12:50, I got to rejoin my bird-a-thon team, which had just finished their walk at Shoreline, and was planning to terminate their day at 1:00. In total, they had found 66 bird species. None would have been new for me for the year, but I was disappointed to not have been able to bird for an extra three hours. On the plus side, I got to bird for an extra hour with Ozzie around Charleston Slough and Coast Casey Forebay.

       We found several new birds for the day (that already didn't count because our bird-a-thon was officially over), and some other goodies: a female Green-winged Teal and a Greater Yellowlegs in the forebay, three Surf Scoters on the lake, lots of Elegant Terns (25 or so), a Whimbrel and a Semipalmated Plover in Charleston Slough, lots of dowitchers I didn't want to call for sure, and a Common Gallinule in Adobe Creek. I ended the day with only a few less species than the birdathon team, despite not going to Ulistac for long. Well, that's it for the bird-a-thons this year! I'll probably do the Christmas Bird Count in December, though, where I'll get to meet some more birders and find some nice birds!

Summary:
Birds seen: 62
New birds: 0
Big year count: 181

Good birding,

Sergey Pavlov

A September Day by the Bay

       I finished off August by heading to Almaden Quicksilver County Park two days in a row, on the evening of Saturday the 30th, and the day of Sunday the 31st. I didn't see any yearbirds, but I really enjoyed this park and its scenery and hiking trails. Photos can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96975200@N08/sets/72157648204263376/ Be sure to check out the chipmunk!

        I had a three-day weekend that week (because Labor Day), so I used my Monday that I had off to do a yearbird-search by the bay with my dad. A Pectoral Sandpiper and a Pacifc Golden-Plover had been reported recently at the State and Spreckles pond in Alviso, so that was where I headed off to first.

        At around 1:00, we were there, gazing at a huge flock of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts, maybe 400 of them, but with no rarities in sight. It was an interesting spectacle, though:

 

        Soon, though, a flock of phalaropes flew in, of which about 50 were the larger Wilson's, and around 15 or so Red-necked, all in nonbreeding plumage. At the north end of the pond, I found a Marbled Godwit on one of the islands, and my first-of-fall Northern Shovelers (still in nonbreeding plumage, too), but nothing else of note.

       We moved on to the Environmental Education Center, and I walked on the boardwalk through New Chicago Marsh. There, I found many more Black-necked Stilts, three Greater Yellowlegs, and many of the ubiquitous Least Sandpipers. I got some nice shots of one that happened to pose for me right on the boardwalk: 

       There were also about 150 unidentified dowitchers on the islands in New Chicago Marsh. I still don't have either one of the dowitchers on my yearlist (shameful!), but I know that I'll have to get them eventually - maybe go to Charleston Slough/Coast Casey Forebay and spend an hour solely on the seemingly almost impossible identification of winter dowitchers...

       On the island in Pond A16, I found about 100 American White Pelicans together with Western and California Gulls. There was a Belted Kingfisher hovering over Mallard Slough that we watched before to our car. Our next stop was Sunnyvale Baylands Park.

        There were lots of potential good birds to be found here: Willow Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, rare warblers, and other migrants. In fact, a Tennessee Warbler was reported in the cottonwood row that morning!

        However, when we got there (at around 2:15), it was rather hot, and I could barely hear birds calling. Pretty much the only birds in the test garden were California Towhees - what looks like a family of about five or six. I had better luck at the Baylands Grove, though, where I found a Pacific-slope Flycatcher. It had a greenish-yellow tinge to it, no eyering, and short primary projections, sealing my ID for sure and eliminating Willow Flycatcher. In the cottonwoods by the entrance booth, I found two Downy Woodpeckers - only my second of the year (the first being in Vasona on the very first day of my big year). The woodpeckers were elusive, and gave us rather good looks, but never good photos.

  

      I met several other birders near the double cottonwood row and the eucalyptuses, and we searched in vain for the Tennessee Warbler. All we found was another Pac-slope Flycatcher way high up in the eucalyptus trees. I lost hope for the day, but I also knew that I would try again in September to see some migrants here.

        Next, we headed to Pond A2E, where I hoped to catch some possible (but very unlikely) lingering Least Terns, and some rare migrating Common Terns. Once we had parked at the end of Crittenden Lane, we found that we had to come home soon. We didn't have bikes, and walking there and back would take about forty-five minutes on its one if I stopped to bird. We resorted to desperate measures - borrowing Google bikes from the parking lot of the one of the office buildings. They didn't have hand brakes or gears, but they would do for a short ride.

       At A2E, it was very windy, and very terny. There were a lot more Forster's Terns fishing over the pond and sitting on the wooden posts than there were in July. Again, no luck finding any rarer terns among them. Carefully scanning the posts produced no results, either because of my ineptitude, or my lack of attention, or simply because there really was nothing there - I guess I'll never know. 

       However, my day didn't go without seeing a single yearbird: looking a bit down the trail, I saw a Brown Pelican repeatedly rising, kiting on the wind, and then sitting back down on the water. This was not only a county yearbird, but also a county lifer - I'd never seen them before, despite birding by the bay in the fall and winter numerous times - today was the first time.

       Crittenden "Marsh" (where I had seen the Snowy Plovers, with which I had no luck today) was completely dry, and so was the unnamed triangle pond. As we were leaving, I noticed about five other species of tern over the pond - Elegants. I had seen these at Shoreline about a week ago, but this was only my second time seeing them in the county.

       So ends my big day - riding back tro our car on borrowed Google bike on the Stevens Creek Trail, the wind blowing in our faces. The day certainly didn't live up to its full potential, but I definitely enjoyed my day off of school birding and being in nature.

Summary:

Birds seen: 38

New birds: 1

Big year count: 181

Good birding,

Sergey Pavlov