Mud flat march--Bodega Bay (#273-275)

We headed north out of SF, stopping for a bit in Sausalito, but mostly wanting to get over the coast. The plan was to avoid the 101 at all costs, but we heard from the car ahead of us that a big truck was blocking Highway 1 heading north. Since Hwy 1 is one lane each way with no shoulder, that meant nobody was going anywhere. So I sadly accepted that Point Reyes would not be happening (honestly, we wouldn't have had time to appreciate anyway--ideally you would want a full day there from what I hear). The 101 was slow going to, but we managed to cut over to the coast past the accident. This meant cutting through some farming country.

Red-tailed, I think

There was just a bit of sunlight left by the time we saw water at Bodega Bay...and I'd read somewhere that this was a great spot for birding. We limited ourselves to an hour and set out. It was pretty grey and little foggy--something we got really used later on in Oregon.

This area had a bit of trail before coming to a bridge and then some mud flats beside the trail. The first section was really active with lots of little birds eating seed pods on some plant that I'm not sure what it is. They were quick little things, darting around, making my job as a photographer quite difficult.

#273: Bushtit; Bodega Bay, California; August 2013

While not as numerous as the bushtits, I did see my first black phoebes too.

#274: Black Phoebe; Bodega Bay, California; August 2013

Juvenile black phoebe. Looks similar to American Redstart

In the mud flats we were treated to a few different elegant herons. I immediately though of the Great Egrets we have at home, and these were the same.

However, there were also much smaller white egrets. I was so happy to get a shot of the two of them side by side for comparison! The snowy egret was awesome--it's hard to describe how their feathers move in the air, but they are so graceful and elegant.

Then I got another shot with a Great Blue--the Great Egrets are similar in size.

Great Blues are majestic birds, no matter how many times you see them!

On the way out I spotted another birdie perched in the bush, and so glad I took a closer look. Check out the eyebrows on this guy!

#275: Western Scrub Jay; Bodega Bay, California; August 2013

Hmm. Super dark song sparrow maybe?

Eventually it was getting late and we still had a long way to go that day. Unfortunately it got dark and we missed seeing some of the coast because it was night, but what we saw was so spectacular. Eventually we made it to the Redwood forest where we stayed for the night. The people we stayed with (an amazing couple in their 80s with an awful lot of stories and an off the grid house surrounded by forest and their own garden) had a hummingbird feeder. Matt got up before me (as always) and caught a feeder visitor. Sadly I don't think I saw any of these. Darn it, I need to start getting up earlier! Our host said that only Ana's were around but now that' I'm looking at the book, it really seems to be a Rufous Hummingbird. I don't feel confident contradicting someone who sees them all the time, but I'm pretty certain. Anyone want to confirm?

While the redwoods were wonderful in their own way, they were pretty quiet bird-wise. Or at least we didn't see many. Maybe because the tree tops are soooooooooo high up.

Stay tuned...

If you are birding in San Francisco...(#269-272)

Perhaps this will seem a little off topic, since all of Ontario is a-frenzy with snowy owls. If you are fortunate enough to see one, enjoy! (at distance, of course!)

But today I'm going somewhere a little farther south, a little warmer, a little foggier, a little more coastal, and a lot more west!

I've had a little bit of time to catch my breath and time to catch up with myself. So while this post is not just about San Francisco, it's the only clever title I could come up with today.

From Vegas through Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco, sleepy beach towns and endless coast to Portland, Seattle and onward, I'm going to try really hard to keep the details of this three-week epic adventure to those relevant to the subject at hand.

The journey begins in Yosemite National Park (well, technically it starts at a seedy casino off the strip where we doubled our money at a blackjack table, but that's another story and this blog entry begins at Yosemite). Turns out the only bird picture I had is a bird I've already seen but it still quite a treat for a non-west coaster.

Steller's Jay. Remember the story about Steller?

However, there was so much about Yosemite that I'm sure my readers will appreciate. Like squirrels. Especially squirrels sticking their tongues out!

California ground squirrel

I thought there was something funny about the squirrels! I felt so absurd taking pictures of squirrels, because I see tourists doing it all the time at home and I always laugh at them. Anyways, they have a faint band of white near their neck and are sport of spotted. Plus their tails are not so bushy. And they are cheeky cheeky things!

And slightly more exciting and also slightly larger are bears. Which it turns out, I am a little less afraid of than I thought. Not afraid enough, anyway, not to take a selfie of myself with one.

We arrived at night in the dark, and when I stepped out of the cabin in the morning, I realized, oh my god, there are mountains all around me. I don't know at what point of the journey we sort of got used to everything being so damn breathtaking.

Half dome in the background. That's another hike for another day when we have more time!

I can easily recommend this hike in Yosemite. 4.8 km, not bad right? This was a trail that is pretty much uphill the whole way--1000ft up. There were people stopped on the side of the trail panting, sweating, even crying. I don't know but I didn't think it was that hard...I guess we have done much more intense elevation changes...with way heavier packs...anyways....

Vernal Falls.

The mountains were fabulous but we had an itinerary and it was time to move. Later that day we pushed right across the map to Frisco, which provided a surprising number of life birds when I wasn't really looking for them, right at fisherman's wharf.

Best catches in the bay

Gulls are my least favourite birds to identify  (something tells me it's not just me....). At least I'm starting to get better and recognize when something is just a bit off. Or in the case of this first gull, quite a bit off.

Like, this one is so sooty it looks like it was hanging out in someone's chimney. And that bright orange bill. Can't miss it. Just hanging out on some dude's car. 

#269: Heerman's Gull; San Francisco, August 2013

How have I not counted a Western Gull yet? I swear I've seen these, or at least something that looks an awful lot like one. Anyways, hey there pink toes, strutting across the intersection like you are Paul McCartney or something.

#270: Western Gull; San Francisco, August 2013

Again, another life bird...hanging out in a planter in the middle of the sidewalk. Geez!! Quite certain I also saw these in Yosemite but couldn't get a clear shot.

#271: Brewer's Blackbird; San Francisco, August 2013
This next one looks a bit odd but I suppose it's somewhere between juvenile and adult. It's definitely a familiar one...

European starling.

Oh yeah. Funny story. Remember that time I wanted to go to Alcatraz so bad when we were in San Fran but it was sold out for like an eternity? Remember that time we got up at 4am to stand in line in the fog drips for *a chance* to get a ticket Alcatraz?

Well, it was worth it and not just because we scored a life bird.

#272: Brandt's cormorant;  San Francisco, August 2013

Notice the dude on the left, with the blue on the throat pouch.

These gulls were the biggest babies I have ever seen, totally whining for food when they are clearly just as big as their moms. I could make an analogy...but I won't go there.

The City by the Bay was a blast, but after a while you need to get away from the crowds and hug the curves of that beautiful coast. You need sand in your shoes. You need salty on your skin. You need a little more space. The adventure continues...

Winter reminder

It seems that Old Man Winter came early this year. And while silly girls can stack on multiple layers to venture deep into the forest in a blizzard, our feathered friends are kind of stuck with what they've got. So don't forget to help them out and keep your feeders filled, so they can conserve precious energy to survive those extra cold nights. A variety of fixings is a good idea--sunflower mix, thistle seeds, suet and peanuts will ensure that there is something for everyone. Be sure to enjoy watching all your guests showing up for the buffet.

Oops! Missed one! (#268)

Can't believe this happened, but I somehow managed to miss a Kaua'i bird...and one of the most common ones at that! Thanks to Brian for pointing out my omission! This little one was present in the beach videos.

This is seriously an awesome bird and one that I was so excited about seeing prior to the trip because they look so cool. We did also see a Northern Cardinal, but they are much less common there than this guy!

#268: Red-crested cardinal; Kauai; March 2013

Love this pic and I love that he framed himself perfectly for me!

Kauai Part 5: Loose ends (#262-267)

So here it is, the final Kauai post! These are birds we saw around the island in various places. This was a good six months ago, and things are getting a little fuzzy in my brain, so this one will be short and sweet. 

First off, we spotted this little house sparrow on our first day hanging out with a bunch of doves and "common" birds on the grass in Hanalei, where we held a geocaching event. This is one of the few birds we saw that we also have at home. [Introduced]

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These java sparrows were spotted at someone's feeder on the way to Kilauea Lighthouse. I think it was the only time we saw them, so I'm grateful for that. They are pretty cool I think!

#262: Java Sparrow; Kilauea, Kauai; March 2013 [Introduced]

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The chestnut mannikin was the most common of the mannikins and they were easy to spot, especially out on lawns. We always saw them at the school and church in Hanalei and also near the roundabout at Princeville. 

#263: Chestnut Mannikin; North Shore, Kauai; March 2013 [Introduced]

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These little plovers were quite common as well and were just starting to come into their breeding plumage. I had a hard time identifying them but Anne helped us out.
#264: Pacific Golden Plover; Kapaa, Kauai; March 2013

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The white-rumped shama was a really special bird with the most amazing song. You often heard them before you saw them, but I managed to catch this adult in Hanalei.

#265: White-Rumped Shama; Hanalei/Kalalau Trail, Kauai; March 2013 [Introduced]

The others I only heard along the Kalalau trail. This one seems to be a juvenile.

I managed to get a recording of their song--it's really something. They also making a clicking sound that often caught our attention so we'd try to look for them.

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We also saw these little guys at the first beach on the Kalalau trail and again at Hanakapa'i Falls.

#266: Wandering Tattler; Kalalau Trail, Kauai; March 2013

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I already mentioned the chickens all over Kauai, but if you look closely, this one looks quite different. However, I guess you can safely assume that most of them have got some crossbreeding with chicken in their family tree. I asked Jim Denny how you can tell the difference and if you are looking at a pure Red Junglefowl. His answer was, "have it DNA tested!"

#267: Red Junglefowl; Ke'e Beach; March 2013 [Introduced]

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On our last day we did an aerial tour of the island. At the airport we heard this guy singing away non-stop. I've recorded a Northern Mockingbird before and posted the song. I've re-uploaded it because the site I was storing it on went down, but it's neat to listen to for comparison. They have totally different "learned" sounds. The Mexican bird made short sounds and this birds has longer "songs." Really amazing. I recorded for over 4 minutes and he gave no signs of stopping. His repertoire was unreal! [Introduced]

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This brings me to the end of the trip. Kauai was absolutely magical and I really fell in love with it. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up there again...I do still have to find the I'iwi after all!

Sunset at Hanalei Bay. Time to go home.

Kauai Part 1: Two Chickens in Paradise (#237-241)
Kauai Part 2: All the magic seabirds that live by the sea... (#243-248):
Kauai Part 3: In a land called Hanalei...(marsh birds) (#251-256)
Kauai Part 4: Alaka'i Swamp (Endemic Forest birds (#257-261)

Kauai Part 4: Alaka'i Swamp (Endemic Forest birds) (#257-261)

Well, I just called out on not posting posts #4 and #5 of Kauai, so I guess it's high time. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is out there reading this...turns out they are (hey, how about you leave me some comment love!) so I'll try to be accountable. :) 

Getting down on the mountain with Kauai’s bird guy, Jim Denny

We had decided sometime before Christmas that we were going to go to Kauai for March Break, and I had just enough time to order Jim Denny’s guide to the Birds of Kauai for Matt (ha...I'm the queen of buying gifts "for Matt") for Christmas. Before I had given it to him, Matt told me he had looked up bird guides in Kauai and there was one in particular that he liked, but it was a little on the pricey side for our budget. He showed me the emails—from Jim Denny—and I had to bite my tongue and not mention that I had already bought him his book.

We’re sitting here with no power right now because there’s a big windstorm in Kanata and we seem to lose power here every week with our allegedly modern infrastructure. This reminds me of February when I was sitting in this same spot on my birthday. I was at home working and there was a winter storm brewing in Kanata. It was actually not the nicest day but a wonderful email popped into my inbox:

Happy Birthday Jim Denny [jimdenny@...] Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 11:41 AM To: Jenna Hi Jenna,   This note is to let you know that, as one of your gifts, your friend Matt has arranged a birding tour for you during your visit to Kaua`i. I look forward to meeting you and to helping you find Kaua`i's precious native forest birds. Warmest Aloha, Jim Kaua`i Birding Tours, LLC -- http://www.kauaibirds.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaiibirds/

Matt’s going to help me co-author this post since none of this would have happened without him!

"Soft kitty, warm kitty..." trying to find the alarm clock to turn it off in the pitch black of 4:30 am...Finally. And we're up...we tiptoe through the darkness trying not to wake Mary (Matt's mom) on our quest to make it to the front lobby of the hotel to meet Ann (our new friend that we met at a campfire on the beach). She has graciously offered to drive us to the other side of the island to meet Jim at the Alaka'i Swamp.  

It is quiet at 4:30 am; not even the birds are up yet. From across the darkness I can hear a voice: "sunscreen...check...bug spray...check...camera...check..." Once everything is in the bag, we head to the front lobby with extra excitement in our step. Ann is waiting there to pick us up. As we make our way around the island the sun begins to break over the horizon and we begin to see the flitting of birds from the car window. Inside we are both feeling the urge to stop the car...just so we don't miss a possible "lifer," but unfortunately it is not our car so we just enjoy the beautiful sunrise that is in front of us.  

After a couple of hours we come to a road heading up to Waimea Canyon. Soon after we come upon a bird that looks to be in the partridge family...we get out of the car and chase the bird for a few minutes to try and get a picture, but luck is not on our side this time. However, as we continue up the road we run into many more of these birds--it turns out they are very common at dawn and dusk in this particular area.  

Due to time constraints (having to meet Jim at a specific time) we are forced to keep moving without a great photo. As we pull up to our meeting point we see a truck waiting. We pull up alongside it but it drives away...guess it isn't Jim! After about 15 minutes another car drives up; sure enough it is Jim, we exchange greetings and hit the road. The drive to the swamp is extremely rough (it is a good thing we didn't try to do this in our rental car) so we have to move slowly. And when we say swamp it is a little misleading; it's not really a swamp at all. Once we finally reach the entrance to the trail we are chomping at the bit to get going.  

Matt makes sure to use the westernmost outhouse

We listen to a few of the calls before we head out just so that we are familiar with them. As we wander down the trail both Ann (who is a biologist) and Jim give lessons on the endemic and invasive species of flora and fauna on the island. They frequently point out examples as we move along the trail.  

Jim was also great at telling us about the flora. This is called "moa" which means "chicken" because it looks like chicken feet. 

Finally we come to a fork in the trail that allows us to go three different ways. As we are deciding which way to go we hear the call of one of our target birds and we forge ahead after the sound. It isn't long before we spot the bird and get a photo of it, what a relief! We continue to be serenaded by unusual sounds (well, unusual to us) and it is hard to focus on one specific area.  We would hear a sound, and just couldn't seem to remember which one was which. Jim would give the name immediately, and we'd keep asking "is that the one?" Not only was it hard to remember the calls, I had a hard time remembering which bird was which, because the names sound so exotic and similar to me!

We zigzag through the jungle following the trails and keeping our eyes up at the trees until we have ticked all of our target birds of the list except the elusive 'I'iwi. The forest on the trail is extremely dense and the light has a hard time penetrating the foliage, making the photography of these birds extremely difficult (not to mention the fact that they tend to sit at the tops of trees singing). However, during our hike we manage to spot and photograph 4 new life birds!

#257: 'Apapane; Alaka'i Swamp, Kauai, March 2013

The 'apapane like the red flowers of the `ohia-lehua, so if you see those funny looking flowers, it's probably a good spot to look for these birds. The 'I'iwi (another red bird that I'll talk about later) also takes the nectar from these flowers, although it has only started to rely on them more recently since Hawaiian lobelioids have decreased. 

What makes this habitat so special? The preserve is located on a plateau near Mount Wai'ale'ale, one of the wettest places on Earth (the sign claims it is the wettest spot on Earth). Luckily it was not so wet when we visited :)

#258: Kauai 'Elepaio; Alaka'i Swamp, Kauai; March 2013 *vulnerable*

The 'elepaio was just a little cutie and one of my total faves. He was a real bugger to shoot though because he darts around like a leaping lizard!

#259: 'Anianau, Alakai Swamp, Kauai, March 2013 *vulnerable*

The 'anianiau and the 'amikihi look quite similar at first glance. The easiest differences are the beak (darker on the 'amikihi) and the 'anianiau has no dark lore.

#260: Kauai 'Amikihi, Alakai Swamp, Kauai, March 2013

The 'anianiau and the 'amikihi both have short curved beaks that are adapted to the flowers they feed from, so they can insert their beaks to get the nectar inside the long drooping flowers. (The 'I'iwi also does this). We did witness some birds "cheating" by nipping through the flower and robbing the nectar.

It ended up being a pretty long day, getting up so early and being on our feet all day. Sadly we never found the 'I'iwi. A group we had crossed paths with that day apparently had found one...darn it! The numbers of all the forest birds are dwindling due to higher temperatures at the higher elevations, so mosquitoes are able to live and reproduce higher up and lead to infections. In addition, wild hogs are ripping up the vegetation and creating mud holes where mosquitos can breed. This is why Jim has no problem with people hunting the boars in the forest. See: The Alakai Swamp: An Ecosystem Besieged. It was incredibly sad to see in my guide book several birds that have not been sighted in to the last 20-30 years. The O'o was last heard in 1987 and the Akialoa has also probably become extinct in the last 50 years.

Our group toward the end of the day

Waimea Canyon is like the Grand Canyon of Kauai

After we split with Jim we continued up the road and enjoyed some amazing views, and did a little more birding to try and get more pictures.

#261: Erckel's Francolin, Waimea Canyon State Park, Kauai, March 2013 *introduced*
Of course, after trying to chase Francolin's along the road on the way in and being incredibly frustrated, at the end of the day we stopped at one of the lookouts where there were several rather tame Francolin's! It's always the way. I was glad to finally get a good look at them. 

Matt takes a peek

As I mentioned in a previous post, the birds on Kauai tend to be located in very specific areas. We would not have seen any of the foregoing birds if we had not visited Koke'e State Park/Waimea Canyon/Alakai Swamp. Welcome to the Swamp, Aieeee! Say it hunny, aieeeee!

If you are considering a visit to Kauai for these forest birds, definitely refer to this page, which lists some of the hotspots: http://www.birdinghawaii.co.uk/XAlakaiSwampArticle2.htm

More on Jim

Best way to end a day of birding (with beer, of course)!

Kauai Part 1: Two Chickens in Paradise (#237-241)
Kauai Part 2: All the magic seabirds that live by the sea... (#243-248):
Kauai Part 3: In a land called Hanalei...(marsh birds) (#251-256)
Kauai Part 5: Coming soon!