Walking Big Day

Mike Stiles and I had talked for weeks of doing a walking Big Sit in the spring of 2011, but due to delays caused by family plans and bad weather, we decided that we better do it on May 7 (or not at all). I walked my dog next to the back bay before heading over to his house that day. The 2 1/2 mile walk is mostly along the edge of the bay. Although I had to get to Mike's house by 7:30 AM, I still was listening for birds and occasionally looking for them on the walk over.  For example, I flushed some Red-winged Blackbirds from a bayside wetland and in amongst them I heard a "chack" call, which stood out from the Red-wingeds. I put my binos. on it and saw a large dark brown blackbird with much yellow from the chest and throat - it was a female Yellow-headed Blackbird - a new BIGBY year bird for 2011! I also found a noisy flock of Cedar Waxwings, giving their high pitched continuous call from high in a grove of eucalyptus trees.  Hopefully, Mike and I could re-find these birds on the walk back along the edge of the bay, later in the day. 

I met Mike at his house, and we took the short path from near his house out to the overlook at the Elfin Forest (so called because of the stunted oaks and other low vegetation that grow in the mostly sand soil and in the face of the prevailing northwest wind off the nearby ocean.) The tide was out (photo above) and not many birds could be seen out on the bay. (Many of the shorebirds and herons follow the water's edge as the tide ebbs and flows.)  We did hear Marsh Wren and picked up the birds of the coastal scrub such as Spotted Towhee, California Quail and Wrentit.

From the Elfin Forest we took the path over to South Bay Boulevard, the road that roughly follows the bay edge to the north of Los Osos.  We headed straight over to Turri Road to check the salt water ponds that form in the pickleweed flatlands (for shorebirds) and then along Los Osos creek riparian habitat on our right and pastureland on our left.  Greater Yellowlegs was one of the few shorebirds still around in the ponds. The riparian had nice additions for our day like the bright blue, rust and white Lazuli Bunting and the larger and even more blue Blue Grosbeak.  In a flock of swallows we found a couple of Vaux's Swifts, standing out with their stiffer wingbeats and longer winged look. Interestingly, a couple of Cooper's Hawks were flying in with the swallows, but we saw no swallows being taken by the raptors.

Further up the road we found grassland birds such as American Kestrel, Western Meadowlark, Western Bluebird and the Grasshopper Sparrow pictured above. A Lark Sparrow (left) gave its complicated song with buzzy notes and more musical chips and warbles.  I played a recording of rail calls as we passed wetlands along the road, but nothing answered from marshes that had many rails  not much more than a month before. We went back to the Elfin Forest hoping that the returning tide had pushed up some shorebirds and water fowl. A loose flock of Canada Geese were out in the low vegetation along the edge of the mudflats.

When we got back to the overlook at the Elfin Forest, where we ate a slightly late lunch we had packed. The tide was at a good level, but the shorebirds were on the opposite side of the inlet of the bay we were looking down on from our bluff top perch!  We could identify a few of the larger shorebirds, like Long-billed Curlew, from a distance.  It was frustrating because there were likely many species of shorebirds out in the bay, but most were too far away to identify by sight or even sound. It was warm enough for butterflies to be around, including this unidentified Blue.

After the Elfin Forest we made our way along the edge of the bay toward Baywood Park.  We took advantage all day long of being on foot - we took paths along the bay edge that you could not take except on foot, which allowed more birding opportunities within a short distance.  We found this flock of  Band-tailed Pigeons (below), a species which usually tends to hang out in oak forest. In Los Osos, they summer out of their usual habitat, probably because of the number of people who put out bird seed.

Other than the Yellow-headed Blackbird, the biggest surprise of the day was a Black Skimmer (year bird) feeding out over the bay.  This is an unusual species this far north in California (except maybe in San Francisco Bay). They are always a treat to find in Morro Bay, especially when they are feeding by dragging their over sized lower mandible along the surface of the water. We did re-find the waxwings, which are not rare here but are unpredictable. The Yellow-headed Blackbird was gone when we got to the spot he had been earlier in the morning before I met up with Mike. The wind was also coming up at that point.

We finished at the end of my block at around 3 PM because the wind had gotten very strong and the birding was difficult.  We finished with 82 species. This total is very low for a walking big day - mainly because of being too late in the spring, and due to the wind getting too strong in the afternoon.
Next time we will do the walking big day on an earlier date and hopefully have better luck with the weather.

Group Green

What's more green than getting out and birding without using any gas? The answer is to organize a group of people to get out and bird without using any gas. Started by John Himmelman and the New Haven, Connecticut Bird Club 15 years ago, the official "Big Sit" occurs annually on the second Sunday of October. Birders in North America (and a few worldwide) spend the day at their local big sit location - birding from a 17' diameter circle, listing all of the bird species they see and hear while staying in the circle. (Some have joked that it should be called the "Big Stand" since most birders spend the time standing at a scope and very little, if any, sitting.) Years ago, I asked John Himmelman why it was a 17" circle and he replied that the distance was arbitrarily picked so that people would scratch their heads over "Why 17 feet?" Bird Watcher's Digest now compiles the big sit's, and has past years results, rules, etc. This is at: http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/connect/bigsit/index.php?sc=migration  .

Our local big sit has been going on for 13 years at the Elfin Forest in Los Osos, California. We count in shifts from a wooden platform on a sandy hill in the Elfin Forest, overlooking the Morro Bay Estuary below us, the sandspit that separates the bay and the ocean to our west, the basaltic vocanic plug "Morro Rock" to our distant northwest, the fields and scrubland to our east and the edge of the town of Los Osos to our south. It would be a beautiful place just to sit and pass the day - even without any birds. It fortuantely has a wide variety of birds like ducks (e.g. the Blue-winged Teal pictured), terns, gulls, and shorebirds following the tide below us, raptors soaring by at eye level or over the ridges to our east, thrashers and Wrentits calling from the scrub around us, and urban birds sitting on the wires at the edge of Los Osos.


I joined Mike Stiles while it was still dark at Bush Lupine Overlook for the start of this year's count (I rode my bike the 2 1/2 miles in the dark). A warm onshore breeze came down over the hills to our east and it was warm enough for shorts. Birds were vocal in the estuary below at 6AM, with night herons, Semipalmated Plovers and wigeon calling. The two of us had 41 species by 7AM. In the early daylight that followed, more shorebirds and ducks called as they moved with the incoming tide and land birds such as towhees, Hermit Thrush and sparrows woke up around us. The California Towhee pictured below spent much of the day near our platform.


As it got lighter we began to use our scopes to identify farther away terns, shorebirds, ducks, geese, grebes and herons (like the Great Blue pictured below). The tides were extreme for the day, ranging from a 6+ foot tide just after noon to a minus tide at about 7:30 PM. We had 94 species by noon, which was a little lower than usual despite the nice weather. Some grebes, ducks, loons and other species had apparently not returned to the area yet, and other common residents like Belted Kingfisher were just not moving to our part of the bay.

Birders came and went, with most staying well beyond their assigned times and some dashing off to see an unusual bird found elsewhere and then returning to resume looking for big sit birds. We had our usual variety of great food, including fresh fruit, brownies, chips, nuts, cookies and more. It was a social event as much as a birding one and most of the local long time birders showed up. We added two new species to our all time big sit list - Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-fronted Goose. We ended up with a low total - 101 species - because we missed usual "gimmee" species such as Pied-billed and Clark's Grebes, kingfisher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Additionally, we had no swallows or swifts. It seems that our totals in past years were also lower when the tides were extreme.


Over the years of October Big Sits we have had a cumulative total of 174 species from this spot in the Elfin Forest. Our highest ever was 122 species in one day. Only Cape May New Jersey has exceeded that total, although locations in the tropics would undoubtedly be much higher. While it might seem boring to count in one spot for a day, a great location like the Elfin Forest is not boring and 2010 was no exception. It was a beautiful day of birding in an extraordinry location.

Wild Goose Chase

I woke up at the usual time on the morning of March 12 and looked at my watch. "Oh crap!", I said out loud. I thought I had set my alarm for 30 minutes earlier so I could ride the 2 1/2 miles to the Elfin Forest to look for the Snow Goose reported on the listserve "slocobirding" the day before. Snow Geese show up in the county most winters and I would probably see one in December, but what if I didn't and I finished the year at 299?
I very quickly showered and ate, and briefly walked my dog (sorry Nike) so I could create 30-40 open minutes in my morning before I had to leave for work. Loading my bike for birding has become an almost unconscious routine and I was on my bike at just after 7 AM. I had 40 minutes to ride my bike 5 miles, walk to and from Bush Lupine Overlook at the Elfin Forest (the best overlook of the "back bay' where the Snow had been seen with a flock of Canadas) and find the goose. I brought my point and shoot camera for an attempt at digiscoping since the bird would be too far out for my SLR.
I arrived at the overlook thinking "white." The tide was at an intermediate level and the salicornia flats were dotted with white shapes - White Pelican, Snowy and Great Egrets, gulls and Caspian Terns (see the photo). I found 2 Canada Geese in one spot and another elsewhere, but no Snow. With very little time left, my scope scanning of the estuary finally turned up a white goose. Was it a Snow or a Ross's? Compared to the Willets it seemed large enough to be a Snow. I zoomed my Zeiss scope to 60 power and waited impatiently for the goose to turn its head and show its bill. I was about to "pack it in". (If I stayed too long and was late to court, I could imagine telling the judge, "The stupid goose just would not turn its head."). Then it turned its head in good light so I could see that it did not have the stubby bill of a Ross's and it had black "lips'. (Snow Goose - BIGBY # 209).
I tried to get a decent digiscope photo, but I could only get white blobs like the one depicted here (I know, I need an adapter). After several blob shots, I dashed back to my locked bike and rode home (7 minutes, when I push it). Check off one more wintering species tick!

Elfin Forest Big Sit List

All Time Elfin Forest Big Sit List (2009 = x):

_x_ 1) Red-throated Loon, ___ 2) Pacific Loon, ___ 3) Common Loon, _x_ 4) Pied-billed Grebe,_x_ 5) Eared Grebe, _x_ 6) Western Grebe, ___ 7) Clark’s Grebe, _x_ 8) White Pelican, _x_ 9) Brown Pelican, _x_ 10) Double-crested Cormorant, _x_ 11) Brandt’s Cormorant, _x_ 12) Pelagic Cormorant, _x_ 13) Great Blue Heron, _x_ 14) Great Egret, _x_ 15) Snowy Egret, _x_ 16) Black-crowned Night Heron, ___ 17) White-faced Ibis, ___ 18) Snow Goose, ___ 19) Cackling Goose,___ 20) Canada Goose, ___ 21) Brant, ___ 22) Gadwall, ___ 23) Wood Duck, _x_ 24) Green-winged Teal, _x_ 25) Mallard, _x_ 26) Northern Pintail, _x_ 27) Blue-winged Teal, _x_ 28) Cinnamon Teal, ___ 29) Canvasback, _x_ 30) Northern Shoveler, _x_ 31) American Wigeon, ___ 32) Eurasian Wigeon, ___ 33) Ring-necked Duck, ___ 34) Greater Scaup, ___ 35) Lesser Scaup, ___ 36) Surf Scoter, _x_ 37) Ruddy Duck, ___ 38) Red-breasted Merganser, ___ 39) Bufflehead, _x_ 40) Turkey Vulture, _x_ 41) Osprey, _x_ 42) White-tailed Kite, _x_ 43) Northern Harrier, _x_ 44) Golden Eagle, _x_ 45) Sharp-shinned Hawk, _x_ 46) Cooper’s Hawk, _x_ 47) Red-shouldered Hawk, _x_ 48) Red-tailed Hawk, ___ 49) Ferruginous Hawk, _x_ 50) American Kestrel, _x_ 51) Merlin, ___ 52) Prairie Falcon, _x_ 53) Peregrine Falcon, _x_ 54) California Quail, _x_ 55) Virginia Rail, _x_ 56) Sora, ___ 57) Black Rail, _x_ 58) American Coot, _x_ 59) Black-bellied Plover, ___ 60) Pacific Golden Plover, _x_ 61) Semipalmated Plover, _x_ 62) Killdeer, _x_ 63) American Avocet, _x_ 64) Greater Yellowlegs, _x_ 65) Lesser Yellowlegs, _x_ 66) Willet, ___ 67) Whimbrel, _x_ 68) Long-billed Curlew, _x_ 69) Marbled Godwit, ___ 70) Ruddy Turnstone, _x_ 71) Red Knot, ___ 72) Sanderling, _x_ 73) Western Sandpiper, _x_ 74) Least Sandpiper, _x_ 75) Dunlin, _x_ 76) Short-billed Dowitcher, _x_ 77) Long-billed Dowitcher, _x_ 78) Wilson’s Snipe, ___ 79) Red-necked Phalarope, ___ 80) Pectoral Sandpiper, ___ 81) Parasitic Jaeger, ___ 82) Pomerine Jaeger, _x_ 83) Heerman’s Gull, ___ 84) Bonaparte’s Gull, _x_ 85) Ring-billed Gull, _x_ 86) California Gull, _x_ 87) Western Gull, ___ 88) Glaucous-winged Gull, ___ 89) Sabine’s Gull, ___ 90) Herring Gull, _x_ 91) Caspian Tern, _x_ 92) Royal Tern, _x_ 93) Elegant Tern, ___ 94) Common Tern, _x_ 95) Forster’s Tern, ___ 96) Black Skimmer, ___ 97) Band-tailed Pigeon, _x_ 98) Rock Pigeon , _x_ 99) Mourning Dove, ___ 100) White-winged Dove, _x_ 101) Eurasian Collared Dove, ___ 102) Barn Owl, ___ 103) Short-eared Owl, _x_ 104) Great Horned Owl, ___ 105) Burrowing Owl, ___ 106) Vaux’s Swift, _x_ 107) Anna’s Hummingbird, _x_ 108) White-throated Swift, _x_ 109) Belted Kingfisher, ___ 110) Acorn Woodpecker, _x_ 111) Northern Flicker, _x_ 112) Downy Woodpecker, ___ 113) Nuttall’s Woodpecker, ___ 114) Pacific-slope Flycatcher, _x_ 115) Black Phoebe, _x_ 116) Say’s Phoebe, ___ 117) Loggerhead Shrike, _x_ 118) Tree Swallow, ___ 119) Cliff Swallow, ___ 120) Violet-green Swallow, ___ 121) Barn Swallow, ___ 122) Steller’s Jay, _x_ 123) Western Scrub Jay, _x_ 124) American Crow, _x_ 125) Chest.-backed Chickadee, _x_ 126) Wrentit, ___ 127) Oak Titmouse, _x_ 128) Bushtit, _x_ 129) House Wren, _x_ 130) Bewick’s Wren, _x_ 131) Marsh Wren, _x_ 132) Ruby-crowned Kinglet, _x_ 133) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, ___ 134) Western Bluebird, _x_ 135) Hermit Thrush, _x_ 136) Northern Mockingbird, _x_ 137) California Thrasher, _x_ 138) American Pipit, ___ 139) Red-throated Pipit, ___ 140) Cedar Waxwing, _x_ 141) European Starling, ___ 142) Warbling Vireo, _x_ 143) Hutton’s Vireo, _x_ 144) Orange-crowned Warbler, ___ 145) Blackpoll Warbler, _x_ 146) Yellow-rumped Warbler, ___ 147) Palm Warbler, ___ 148) Black-throated Gray Warbler, ___ 149) Townsend’s Warbler, _x_ 150) Common Yellowthroat, ___ 151) Yellow Warbler, _x_ 152) Spotted Towhee, _x_ 153) California Towhee, _x_ 154) Fox Sparrow, ___ 155) Savannah Sparrow, _x_ 156) Lincoln’s Sparrow, _x_ 157) Song Sparrow, ___ 158) Chipping Sparrow, _x_ 159) Golden-crowned Sparrow, _x_ 160) White-crowned Sparrow, _x_ 161) Western Meadowlark, _x_ 162) Red-winged Blackbird, _x_ 163) Brewer’s Blackbird, ___ 164) Great-tailed Grackle, _x_ 165) Brown-headed Cowbird, _x_ 166) House Sparrow, _x_ 167) House Finch, ___ 168) Purple Finch, ___ 169) Pine Siskin, ___ 170) Lawrence’s Goldfinch, _x_ 171) American Goldfinch, _x_ 172) Lesser Goldfinch