The Race to See 175 Birds in the ABA Area in 2013

I have finally set my resolution for this year: to try to see at least 175 birds in the ABA Area.

    Believe me, this is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you have done most of the birding this year in your home county, and started birding seriously in May.

    As of right now, November 17, 2013, I have seen 163 birds in the ABA Area in 2013 that I am 95% sure or higher that I saw.

    Trips I have planned around the SF Bay Area for December include: a Half Moon Bay to Pescadero to Santa Cruz drive, stopping for birding along the way, either Palo Alto Baylands or Don Edwards, and the Christmas Bird Count.  

    However, it would be almost impossible for me to get 12 new birds in my home county and the surrounding area in a month and a half, but I have a secret weapon: in a week, I am leaving for a six-day trip to the Lake Tahoe area, in Northeastern California, in the Sierra Nevada. This is a family vacation for my school Thanksgiving break, and I'm hoping to squeeze in some birding there. Late November is not the prime time for birding there, but I'll take what I get.

    Here is a list of birds, in descending likeliness, that I hope to see (yearbirds in regular and lifers in bold and italics, "lifers" seen before 2012 in bold):

Mountain Chickadee - almost certain to see this one
Red-breasted Nuthatch - pretty certain, too
Clark's Nutcracker
Pine Siskin 
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cassin's Finch
Evening Grosbeak
White-headed Woodpecker
Red Crossbill
Bald Eagle 
Black-billed Magpie
Wood Duck 
Merlin
Pine Grosbeak
Lark Sparrow
Horned Lark 
American Dipper
Mountain Bluebird 
Rock Wren
Common Loon 
Vesper Sparrow
Pileated Woodpecker 

   That's 22 birds right there... Alright, I was a "bit" optimistic about what I could see, but I expect to see at least five yearbirds. Add all the birds I will get in December, and I may be able to reach 175. I'll post a Los Capitancillos Ponds trip report in a bit, with bad photos of good birds.

World #200 was a ... Herring Gull! :D

Updates:

ABA Lifelist: 172
ABA Yearlist: 163
World Lifelist: 204
World Yearlist: 197


Good birding,

Sergey

 

 

Big Day Record Shattered on 5th of October and Updates

    Haven't updated in a long time. On October 5th, 2013, I went on a birdathon/big day with the Fledglings Team of young birders, led by Pati Rouzer, and broke my big day record by 29 species. The young birders identified the birds, while the parents helped find them. My current record is now 71 species. I had a great time, and here are some highlights:


  Finding an Osprey on the way out to a banding station
  Watching a bird-banding demonstration, including a rare MacGillivray's Warbler!
  Releasing an (at that time) banded (but not countable) lifer, Fox Sparrow
  Lifer #1 of the day Red-breasted Sapsucker at Ed Levin County Park
  Yellow-billed Magpies aplenty on Marsh Rd.
  At least two semi-close Golden Eagle flyovers, also at Marsh Rd.
  Spotting scope view of a faraway Tricolored Blackbird lifer
  Huge flock of possible (not counted) Snow Geese
  Confirmatory look at Greater Yellowlegs at Shoreline
  Lifers Western Sandpiper, Common Gallinule/Moorhen (whichever), Green-winged and Cinnamon Teals, Gadwall, and (finally!) Golden-crowned Sparrow
  The scenery and being out in the wild for about five hours
  Getting to meet all the young birders, their parents, and Pati

Thank you for the warm welcome, everyone!

  
 Recently, I've gotten quite a bit of lifers

Lifers since the birdathon:

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, 10/19:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush

Lake Cunningham Regional Park, 10/27
Eared Grebe

Eared Grebe

Great-tailed Grackle

Great-tailed Grackle

American Pipit

John Nicholas Trail, Sanborn County Park, 11/2

John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn County Park

Varied Thrush

Lake Ranch Reservoir, Sanborn County Park, 11/2

Lake Ranch Reservoir in Sanborn County Park

Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Fox Sparrow
Pacific Wren

Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, 11/3
Lincoln's Sparrow

  
After much tearful crossing-outs, painstaking adding-ons, and lifers-that-weren't-really-lifers, I have finally synchronized my eBird and my actual lifelists! Also, I've crossed out some birds I wasn't sure of on both my lists. From now on, I will mainly use eBird to keep track of all my lists.

Updates:

ABA Lifelist: 166
ABA Yearlist: 157
World Lifelist: 198
World Yearlist: 191

Can't wait to see what World #200 will be!

Good birding,
Sergey


 

Mountain View Shoreline and Bayfront Parks Trip Report, 9/15/2013

    I promised a trip report to the two bayside locations in the last post, so here it is. From now on, lifers will be in bold, as well as capitalized. On Sunday, I went to Charleston Slough, in Shoreline at Mountain View Park for twenty minutes, then to theater class, then to Bayfront Park for ten minutes in Millbrae, and then to pick up our dad form the San Francisco International Airport.

    My main inspiration for going to Shoreline was a Pectoral Sandpiper that had been reported there, and seen by many birders during the past week. It had been hanging around in Coast Casey Forebay. I also wanted to pick up several possible lifers that were easy to find there at this time of year. The problem was: could I do it in twenty minutes?

    I had to act fast, and I did. I shot out of the car with my binoculars, field guide, and camera, and began racing down the trail toward Coast Casey Forebay. As I ran, a small bird flitted from a Sycamore to my left into the brush on my right. As it flew back into the Sycamore, I identified it as a YELLOW WARBLER. No time to get a photo, I thought, as I rushed towards the forebay.

    In Coast Casey Forebay, there were plenty of waterbirds, including BLACK-NECKED STILTS, NORTHERN SHOVELERS not yet out of breeding plumage,  and lifers LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS (ID'ed for me by the people on Whatbird), and LEAST SANDPIPERS. I also saw a flyby GREATER YELLOWLEGS, my life bird #150!

Black-necked Stilt

Long-billed Dowitchers

Least Sandpipers

    As I stood there, I saw many birders also birding the surrounding area, and should have asked them if they had seen the Pectoral Sandpiper, but decided not to. Well, this probably cost me the bird... because I read on my local listserv that someone had seen the sandpiper in the exact same location, fifteen minutes before!

    I moved on to check out the action in Charleston Slough for a few minutes, and saw more Least Sandpipers, AMERICAN AVOCETS, MARBLED GODWITS, LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, and several AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS in Adobe Creek.

    This ends my trip report for Shoreline. I went to my theater class, and then on the way to the San Francisco Airport to pick up my dad, we decided to stop at Bayfront Park in Millbrae for ten minutes, for my mom and brother to watch the planes, and for me, the birds.

    Thinking I would be there for only ten minutes, I didn't take my camera. As I got out of the car, I spotted several WILLETS on the marsh. As I crossed the bridge, I noticed a medium-sized shorebird on the marsh. As I took a closer look, it turned out to be a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, my lifer number 151. Another bird on the marsh was a WHIMBREL, and FORSTER'S TERNS were fishing offshore. Unfortunately, I had to leave after only ten minutes at Bayfron Park. In all, a great day, with no Pectoral Sandpiper, but four lifers!

# Birds Seen: 20 altogether
Lifers: 4
FOYs: 0
Bird of the Day: Greater Yellowlegs for #150!

Updates:*

ABA Yearlist: 138
 ABA Lifelist: 152
World Yearlist: 163
World Lifelist:  185

*It will take me some time to sync my eBird and actual life/year/etc. lists, but, the two life list numbers are currently correct.

Good birding,
Sergey


P.S. -- My ABA lifelist number is currently at 152 because of a NASHVILLE WARBLER I saw in La Rinconada Park in Los Gatos on September 28. I will not be including a trip report there, but here's the eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15275345 
 Pretty good, with 23 species and an uncommon lifer!

Edenvale Garden Park Fallout Trip Report, 9/21/2013

    Here's a bare bones trip report of a fallout check-out I did last Saturday, the 21st. As I said last time, there will be no photos in this report.
    In birding, a fallout is when after a storm or rain, migrant birds seek shelter near the ground instead of continuing their migration. Edenvale Garden Park is a park near the historic Hayes Mansion in South San Jose, near my house. That day, a small amount of rain had peppered San Jose in the afternoon. This isn't enough for a major fallout occurrence, but I was hoping for some warblers in this oak woodland park.
    After going swimming, we drove to the park and I started birding. The first several minutes were quiet, with nothing but a BEWICK'S WREN, but my first one observed for this park. I walked to the playground, seeing ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES in a row of pines. Near the playground, picnic area, and tennis courts, I watched an OAK TITMOUSE in a tree with a smaller bird. Focusing my binoculars on it, I found it to be one of the most beautiful birds for me, and a lifer... TOWNEND'S WARBLER! Now that's one bird that I was not expecting to find here! Scanning the oaks above the picnic area, I found several more Townsend's Warblers. As I worked my way around the back of the tennis courts, I found many DARK-EYED JUNCOS, two WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, and BUSHTITS. No new birds were found on the way back to the picnic area, but more TOWAs were seen. As of now, the Townsend's is still my favorite warbler. I also found EUROPEAN STARLINGS sheltering in the giant park Eucalyptus tree. As I walked through the midst of the trees, crossing the park to get back to the car, I found my second warbler of the day: a solitary YELLOW WARBLER high up in a tree. Almost at the car, I found some more Chestnut-backed Chickadees. As I was walking away, a slightly different bird alighted in the top of a nearby tree. This merited a closer look in binoculars. I first thought it was just another Townsend's Warbler, but I noticed the striped pattern was different and there was no yellow on the breast. I also noticed a tiny, yellowish spot close to the beak, making this bird a... BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER! This was a lifer and my third warbler species for the day (setting a new record of three warbler species in a single day), but most importantly, a really cool bird and an amazing find for a suburban park. The BTGW is now the best bird I have seen in the park, beating TOWA and Western Tanager (seen previously here this June). With this great find to seal off my fallout day, I returned to the car, exultant with the day's finds.

Trip Stats:

# Birds Seen: 17
Lifers: 2
FOYs: 0
Bird of the Day: Not necessarily the best/rarest bird seen, so I'll go with my favorite warbler, the Townsend's.

Updates:*

ABA Yearlist: 129
ABA Lifelist: 147
World Yearlist: 163
World Lifelist:  180

*It will take me some time to sync my eBird and actual life/year/etc. lists, but, the two life list numbers are currently correct.

Good birding,
Sergey

P.S. - Stay tuned for a Shoreline at Mountain View/Bayfront Park Trip Report, with lousy pictures of lifers!

Sunnyvale Baylands Trip Report 9/15/2013

    Here's my third trip report - to Sunnyvale Baylands Park in - you guessed it - Sunnyvale! I went on 9/15 looking for Western migrants in the park. Here is a view of the park entrance:

Sunnyvale Baylands Entrance

    I had very high expectations for the park - mostly because of the rare warblers reported here every once in a while. I had hoped to be at the preserve by around 7:30 (still a late start). However, I started my walk along an alley similar to the one in the above photo, but narrower. In fact, here it is, on the right.

Double Cottonwood Alley

    As I walked along this double row of Cottonwoods and also scanned the Eucalyptus trees to the left. The tops of the trees were abuzz with YELLOW WARBLERS, but they were much too high for a photo. As I continued past the picnic areas, I saw a female WILSON'S WARBLER. Unfortunately, it was low tide on the marsh, so no birds were present. As I approached an observation deck over the marsh, I noticed a robin-like bird sitting on one of the railings. Upon training my binoculars on it, I identified it as a SAY'S PHOEBE! I'd seen one before at Santa Teresa County Park in May of this year, but finding a not-so-common bird out of season is pretty cool! I remembered the YRWA I found out of season at Vasona last month. What am I, Mr. Out-of-season-winter-birds? In fact, there were two phoebes over the marsh and adjoining fence. 

Say's Phoebe

Say's Phoebe

Say's Phoebe

Sunnyvale Baylands Scenery

   

I moved on to the test garden, near another parking lot. As I approached the garden, I noticed a medium-sized bird in one of the berry trees, that turned out to be a SWAINSON'S THRUSH. In fact, there were several of them scattered in and around the garden, along with BEWICK'S WRENS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, a WESTERN TANAGER, WARBLING VIREOS (new photo nemesis - I swear, as soon as I focus the camera for a good shot, it flies off), and PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS. Unfortunately, no Willow Flycatchers were found - only a drab Pac-slope. I'll finish off this bare bones (sorry) trip report with photos from around the test garden. 

Black Phoebe

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush - caught in the act!

Swainson's Thrush

Drab Pacific-slope Flycatcher (unfortunately not a Willow)

Bright Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Large flock of American White Pelicans overhead

A nice day exploring a new place. No lifers, but one FOY and some cool birds!

Trip stats:

# Birds Seen: 25

Lifers: 0

FOYs: 1

Bird of the Day: Tossup between Say's Phoebe and Swainson's Thrush...

PICK ME!!!

... I'll go with Swainson's Thrush! ;-)

Updates:

ABA Yearlist: 126

ABA Lifelist: 145

World Yearlist: 161

World Lifelist: 178

Good birding,

Sergey

P.S. Stay tuned for a minor fallout trip report without photos...

Coyote Lake County Park Trip Report, 9/7/2013

    Here goes my second trip report, to Coyote Reservoir County Park. This time, I'll include some photos.
    Coyote Reservoir is a dammed lake on the Coyote Creek, which also flows through Anderson Reservoir. My mom and I would walk the Lakeside Trail through mixed (but mostly oak) woodland, and then walk the Coyote Reservoir Road along the lake itself, also surrounded by forest. We would also pass by mudflats at the south end of the lake.
    As soon as we got to the trail, I spotted some small bird flitting around in the bushes. I pished for a bit, and a BEWICK'S WREN popped out for several seconds. Bewick's Wrens were numerous on our hike; here are some photos of others seen later:

Bewick's Wren

     As we moved down the trail, I saw several WESTERN-SCRUB JAYS in the scrub adjacent to the trail. We also had some narrow misses with Poison Oak. I heard several unknown bird calls come out of the foliage, and I pished several times, but the best (and only) birds that came out were SPOTTED TOWHEES,  a SONG SPARROW, and several more Bewick's Wrens. Further down the trail, I noticed several small bird in a tree that was very close to the trail. Focusing my binoculars on them, I found that they were HUTTON'S VIREOS. It was the third time I had ever seen them, and all were in the last two months. Usually when I have seen a bird three times, it loses its "new bird" appeal. However, some birds I will always like, for example: Orioles, Warblers, Tanagers, Kingbirds, the Ash-throated Flycatcher, and some raptors. Even though the vireos were close, sadly this is the best shot I got, with a branch covering the head:

Hutton's Vireo

   

    I also got a great (for me) shot of a CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE:

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

    

    I tried to get a shot of an OAK TITMOUSE, but to no avail. Oak Titmice would be some of the most numerous birds on our trip. I also heard and saw through binoculars several NUTTALL'S WOODPECKERS, but they were usually obscured by dense foliage, so I couldn't get a shot. Deer were plentiful:

White-tailed Deer

 
    We moved on to the road and tried to find the Lakeview Picnic Area, described in Birding at the Bottom of the Bay to have trails leading toward riparian habitat, but we didn't find the picnic area. We did enter the campground, though, and found several birds, including CALIFORNIA TOWHEES, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS, ACORN WOODPECKERS, BLACK PHOEBES, and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS. 

California Towhee

Western Scrub-Jay

Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Black Phoebe

Violet-green Swallow

    Now I see why Birding at the Bottom of the Bay describes Coyote Reservoir as one of the best places in Santa Clara County to see Western and California specialties. All the birds I have described above are Western specialties! We moved out of the campground and toward the mudflats, which were supposed to hold extraordinary numbers of shorebirds during fall migration. I was disappointed - the mudflats held only several KILLDEERS that I first thought were Semipalmated Plovers. Swallows were swooping over the mudflats, one of them a BARN SWALLOW. We moved back onto the road, from which I saw a STELLER'S JAY.

  
     As we walked down the road, I kept my attention to the woods on the non-lake side of the road. I saw a flock of BUSHTITS, and Oak Titmice and Chestnut-backed Chickadees were also present. When I turned my attention onto one of these mixed Chickadee and Titmouse flocks, I noticed a bird alight onto a trunk of a nearby tree. I knew what it was before I even focused my binoculars on it - my FOY, lifer, nemesis, most-wanted, etc. bird - the BROWN CREEPER! My stomach seemed to plunge down into my feet - that's what I love about birding - the excitement of finding a new bird. The Brown Creeper also provided me with a great photo opportunity. Click! Where's the bird? Apparently, I hadn't caught it in the first photo. Aim, focus, click! Dang it! I missed the that little creeper the second time too! On the third time, I finally managed to get a decent shot of it hanging upside down. Thank you Brown Creeper for cooperating!

Brown Creeper

    Elated with my find of the Brown Creeper, I set off down the road again. Soon I came to a tree in which several - guess who? - Oak Titmice were in. I also noticed another, slightly smaller bird in the tree. Once I focused my binoculars on it, the ID wasn't very difficult - a WARBLING VIREO. The ID was the easy part, and the photo was the hard one. The vireo was flying from branch to branch and flycatching. These are the best photos I got:

Warbling Vireo

Warbling Vireo

 Also in the same tree were another Hutton's Vireo and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. Continuing down the road, here are some views of the lake:

Coyote Reservoir

Coyote Reservoir

    I turned off to the right near a picnic area and found an AMERICAN CROW in a pine tree, while TURKEY VULTURES glided overhead.

American Crow

Turkey Vulture

    In another small turnoff into the woods, I found a Dark-eyed Junco, and California and Spotted Towhees.

Dark-eyed Junco

California Towhee

Terrible shot of a Spotted Towhee

    Soon, we got to the place where our car was parked, and our dad and brother were fishing for carp. We were greeted by more Acorn Woodpeckers.

Our Honda Odyssey

Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

The view from the fishing spot...

... and the catch of the day! Two nice-sized carp.

 

 

 

 

Overall, a great day. From now on, I'll be doing a "Bird of the Day" section in my trip reports.

Trip Stats:

# Birds Seen: 28
Lifers: 1
FOYs: 0
Bird of the Day: Brown Creeper, of course!

Updates:

ABA Yearlist: 125
ABA Lifelist: 145

World Yearlist: 160
World Lifelist: 178

Good Birding,
Sergey

Big Day Record

    In my last post ,the P.S., I said that my Big Day record was 32. Please disregard that. On August 10, 2013 I attended an Audubon trip to Ano Nuevo State Park, and there we saw 41 birds (15 of which were lifers, and another 2 FOYS). On that day, I also remember seeing an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD in the morning, making my current Big Day record 42: the answer to life, the universe and everything (and also to the question as to what my Big Day record is.)

Updates:

ABA Lifelist: 144  
ABA Yearlist: 125

World Lifelist: 177
World Yearlist: 160

     In a few days, I will post a Hawaii trip report, where I saw 17 lifers and 1 FOY. The trip report will include not only birding, but also our adventures on the island with photos. This way, I can remember the entire trip when I'm older.

Good birding,

Sergey