New Walking Year Birds

The rate of new birds for the year that I can see within walking distance of my home has really slowed down. There are some species I know I can see this summer that are a minimum 10 mile walk from home - "maybe next weekend!" I have had a few surprises on my morning walks with Nike, my trusty canine companion and the only one in the house who will go out every morning with me while I bird. My usual route is through the neighborhood (a variety of middle class homes) and out along the sandy edge of the bay and then by or through the local patch of trees - Pecho Willows. Occasionally, I lengthen the walk to include a local grove of eucalyptus trees or to include the nearby golf course or the local elementary school grounds.

On June 10, 2011, I heard a buzz and a short sharp call from a small passerine as it flew by me, near Pecho Willows. I assumed it was a late Lazuli Bunting, which is a very striking but common migrant (and breeder about 4 miles from home). I looked with my binocs and it was a bunting, but it was entirely dark blue - without the white and rusty underparts of a Lazuli. The Indigo Bunting is a breeder and regular migrant in the eastern part of North America, so when one strays into my neighborhood I get a little excited. I took the far away photo of this bird to document its presence (click to enlarge the blue blob top center). It shot through the neighborhood and I did not get a decent photo.  Another birder came by about a half hour later and could not re-find the bird.

On July 2, I had just gotten out of the front door with my dog, when I heard an unfamiliar bird song. It was a warbler that was not a regular singer in this part of California, so I grabbed my camera, my iPod with speakers, my binocs and my dog and ran after it. As it flew from the elderberry tree in my front yard to a hedge in my neighbor's yard, I saw a flash of orange on either side of the tail - a likely American Redstart (an "eastern" warbler). This bird was another guy in a hurry. I chased it down to the end of my block and played my iPod recording of its song.  It responded and gave me some good but brief looks. Jay, who lives at the end of the street, also saw the bird before it headed west toward the ocean. Again, I could only get distant photos as the bird would not stay in one place long enough to get close to it.

My last new walking green year bird was  Elegant Tern. This species had returned to the bay for its summer through fall annual stay and I finally found one on July 8. I heard several of these terns calling "kareek" and the younger ones calling a quieter less raucous call as they zig-zagged over the bay, diving at times for small sivery fish. This particular individual posed long enough for a decent picture. This species nests and breeds south of Central California, but wanders up here after breeding. All, or almost all, leave here before the cold of winter.

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.

Another Montana de Oro Sate Park Walk

On March 31, it was a holiday (Cesar Chavez Day) and unseasonably warm, so it seemed like the perfect day to skip work and walk from home into the nearby state park. I first took an extended 50 minute walk around Cuesta Inlet (Morro Bay) and my neighborhood, with my dog.  I tallied 61 species, including two BIGBY addition: a fly over male Great-tailed Grackle and a family of Wild Turkeys across the back bay at the Morro Bay Golf Course (through my scope).  I then dropped off Nike at home, packed my lunch and my scope on my back and headed to Montana de Oro State Park, via Sea Pines Golf Course.  I wanted to try and find over 100 species and see what recent spring migrants could be added to my year's list.  The nearby golf course sometimes has various geese and ducks, but the extra walk there this day only yielded coots and mallards.

  From the golf course came a hot one mile uphill walk to the top of the state park entrance road and the descent through coastal scrub habitat and exotic eucalyptus forest toward lower Hazard Canyon.  The definite highlight of the day's walk occurred just before reaching Hazard Canyon, when a bobcat ambled across the pave road in front of me.  It walked casually uphill of the road, to a horse trail that parallels the main road and I went after it (after I pulled out my camera).  I followed the cat at a comfortable distance on the trail and it stopped at a gopher hole to look for a meal. (Gophers seem to be one of the cat's staple meals here.)  I took this shot as it dug for gophers, without luck.  It then went up the trail and disappeared off the trail, and I headed back toward Hazard Canyon. I also heard numerous Pacific-slope Flycatchers in the trees and Wilson's Warblers along the creek (new green year birds) at this location.

 I followed the horse trail which curved away from the main road and down to the creek at the wooded canyon bottom.  After crossing the creek, I went up a side canyon and found several slow flying Margined White Butterflies (pictured below), which seemed to be attracted to the Milk Maids pictured here (mustard family).  This early White butterfly most likely feeds on the Milk Maids given the frequent visits by the bugs to this plant, and the fact that no other mustard family member seemed to be in the vicinity.



I then returned to the main road and walked along the road to the ranch house at Spooner's cove.  I was hoping to find Pigeon Guillemots that I figured had returned because one had been reported from Morro Bay Harbor Mouth.  As I took the scope off my back, to scan the ocean beyond Spooner's Cove, I realized that the eye piece was gone - it had fallen off somewhere on the 4 1/2 mile walk here (expletives deleted)!  I decided to eat my packed lunch here, before checking the campground for birds and then retracing my steps home to look for the eyepiece.  I did locate several new BIGBY species here, including Cliff and Rough-winged Swallows.

I took one side trip on the way home, out to the rocky coast where I saw the usual rocky shore birds such as this Black Oystercatcher and I took photos of the rock formations here (e.g., the photo below).  I never did find any Surfbirds, Ruddy Turnstones or Wandering Tattlers that I needed for my year's walking list.  I did notice that flocks of  up to 15 Whimbrels and 30 or more Semipalmated Plovers had formed, signaling the spring migration for these two species.  Spotted Sandpipers also seemed more numerous than they had a few weeks earlier.


The walk back home was frustrating as I never did find the missing eye piece.  My final tally for the day was 104 species and about 12 miles of walking.  My legs were tired from the long hilly walk.  (The soreness in my calves lasted for a couple of days after this walk!)  I also passed 150 species for my walking big year, with a my running total for the year up to 154 species.

Birthdays, Bad Weather and Busy at Work

Why can't it always be beautiful weather when I am off work and don't have family or other obligations.  And work is really an inconvenience. I know in this economy I should be glad to have a job, but after over 25 years of working I'm ready to retire!  Well, back to reality and birding on my off time.  I have also recently gone on two trips to L.A. and Santa Barbara for birthday celebrations for relatives and friends.  Most of my birding has been my morning walks in my neighborhood.  At least I live in a beautiful place with many birds!  The Spotted Towhee below is a common bird here, but I was just now able to get a decent photo of one.

The weather here has recently varied between warm spring like weather and cold stormy weather that has dusted the nearby hills with snow twice recently (see the photo in the column to the right). Spring migrants have been arriving such as many of the swallow species.  A young male Bullock's Oriole was in the neighborhood last week, but it is unclear if this was a wintering bird, an early migrant, or? A pair of Allen's Hummingbirds are likely nesting at the end of the street and I will post a photo if I can find their nest.  The waterfowl and shorebirds are still around, but they are starting to go down in number and the White Pelicans are all or mostly gone.  I can still find between 40 and 50 species on a 30 minute walk in the morning, so I can't complain.

I saw a banded Brant on the edge of the bay March 19, with a greenish (apparently faded blue) band on its left leg which read "2TV".  I checked with John Roser, who has monitored Brants in the past, and he found out that this bird was banded in the summer of 1995 near Liverpool Bay on the Beaufort Sea, Northwest Territories.  So, it is over 15 years old.  As it was starting to rain, I took the banding code as an omen and went home to watch "March Madness" (college basketball playoffs) on the television!  College basketball helps to keep my mind off birding when it is raining. The rain also provided an opportunity to update this blog.


Despite the rainy weather, birds continue to migrate through this area.  The Western Kingbird (left) came through my neighborhood on March 20 and stayed a couple of day before moving on.  They nest a few miles inland from where I live on the coast.

On March 25, orioles pushed through the area.  Three bright adult male Bullock's Orioles stopped at the end of my street before moving on.  One of our local breeding Hooded Orioles (adult male) returned to his nesting palm tree down the street from my house on the same date.  I could suddenly hear and see a large influx of Selasaphorus hummingbirds in the neighborhood starting on the 22nd, but I didn't see a male well enough to ID it till the 27th and it was clearly a Rufous with a solid rusty back.  Allen's Hummers had been around for over a month, so I had figured that this recent push was Rufous Hummers.

On April 5,  the weather had been mostly warm for a few days, and the migration continued, albeit slowly.  While walking along the bay, in the morning, a grosbeak called out from a nearby oak.  Sounding like a Black-headed, it finally showed itself flying from the tree - an adult male Black-headed (#255).  Near a friend's house, a tanager was singing repeatedly near the top of a tall cypress tree.  I finally located it when it flew across the street to another tall cypress and landed in the open.  I took the photos here of the molting male Summer Tanager - an early rare migrant to this area (#256).

Walking Montana De Oro State Park

On February 26, it was my birthday and I could not think of anything more fun to do than to take a long walk from home into the local state park to see what I could find on a beautiful day. I started off walking up the park entrance road (Pecho Valley Road) and turned into the park on Army Road, so named because the army shelled this part of the park during WW2. (It was later used as an entrance for off road vehicles!)  With these past abuses of such incredible property a thing of the past, I now was able to walk through a mostly recovered habitat on a soft sand trail.  I played my iPod (with external speakers), trying for Bell's Sage Sparrow (left), but had no responses.  The usual scrub species such as Bushtits, Wrentits, White-crowned Sparrows and California Thrashers were conspicuous.  Just as I was getting to the parking lot for the Sand Spit Road, I heard a Sage Sparrow singing from the slope above; another tick for my walking year list.

From here I hiked up the paved road and back to the paved entrance road.  As I walked farther south into the park I came into the large grove of eucalyptus trees (photo left), which are beautiful but belong in Australia!  The birding is slow amongst such stands of trees here.  I descended the road as it parallels the creek and I heard the double chip of a Pacific Wren (formerly Winter Wren).  I couldn't get this bird to come into view despite some active "pishing", but counted it as another new species for my walking year (see my list of species to the right and below this post).  At lower Hazard Canyon, I took the trail down along the creek and out to the rocky shore.  I hoped to find some of the rocky shore birds that I had not seen for my year yet because of the length of the walk from home (about 3 miles one way).
The habitat along the creek here can be birdy when the sun is shining down into this canyon, but on this day it was slow!  As I came out to the shore, I saw the uplifted layers of marine sediment that form the rocky shore here.  They provide the habitat for birds such as American Oystercatcher, turnstones, Surfbirds, Whimbrel, Spotted Sandpiper and our three species of cormorants.



It was a beautiful blustery day, but where were the rocky shorebirds?  Except for some Pelagic Cormorants, I didn't see many birds as I scrambled over the sometimes slippery rocks (left).  I took many pictures of the rock foundations (below and on my facebook page), but had to go about a mile south before I finally found a Whimbrel, some Black Turnstones and a pair of Black Oystercatchers (all three new for the year).  As for the Surfbirds I expected here, I got skunked.  I almost didn't see Spotted Sandpiper, but did flush one as I returned toward Hazard Canyon.  I always get a kick out of its odd looking stiff shallow wing beats whenever I see this species fly.  I found an adult Glaucous-winged Gull (below) as I walked north and several Harbor Seals (below) which slid off the rocks and into the water when I walked up to take their pictures.  I also saw a Gray Whale spouting offshore, but no pelagic species when I trained my scope onto the ocean on several occasions.

When I got to the end of the rocky shore I kept going north on the sandy beach, toward the trail back to Army Road and the way home. The total walk was about 10 miles.

Walking the Morro Bay Sand Spit

I sometimes run the paved neighborhood road, and then the sandy trail out to the dunes and over to the Morro Bay Sand Spit, but I seldom walk the same route.  On a beautiful Saturday morning, February 5,  my wife joined me for a walk along this route. I strapped my scope and tripod onto my back, and took my binocs and camera for the  6 - 8 mile walk from my house.  I wanted to enjoy a walk with my spouse, and also find some of the sandy beach birds I had not yet seen on my 2011 walking green year, such as Snowy Plover and scoters. From my house it's less than a mile to the sandy trails that wind through the coastal scrub of Montana de Oro State Park. A mixture of lupine, coyote bush, manzanita and other vegetation supports California Thrashers and Quail, White-crowned Sparrows, Wrentits, Bushtits and other permanent residents as well as winter visiting Golden-crowned Sparrows, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (photo above) and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I listened and looked for Sage Sparrows that used to  live in this habitat, but discovered none.

After about 30 minute's walk we came to the dunes that separate the coastal scrub flats from the beach. This line of dunes extends the length of the Morro Bay Sandspit that separates the Ocean from the Morro Bay estuary (photo below).  Morro Rock was visible just past the tip of the spit - about four miles away. South of the spit, the dunes run along the beach before gradually diasappearing into the bluff tops that overlook the rocky and sandy shore in most of the park. The way over these dunes is take-your-breath-away and fill-your-shoes-with-sand steep in many places, but we took the now required path that is a less steep route across the dunes and over to the usually cold and windy beach. The vegetation changes and becomes much more sparse on the beach;  low growing ice plant, verbena, sea rocket and other plants prevail in patches above the high tide line. Some were (already? still?) blooming and it was surprisingly warm!

Once we got to the beach shore we did not see many birds. It seemed deserted by the birds. In the winter this usually means dogs, ranger vehicles or a Peregrine Falcon. We saw none of these as we walked north.  Line after line of large breakers flattened out as they neared our footprints in the packed sand. After a mile or so we began to see flocks of Sanderlings feeding along the shore with gulls, and much larger groups of many shorebird species standing in the dry sand. This included a handful of Snowy  Plovers (new year bird) hunkered down into depressions in the sand  and running off, like little furry white tennis balls, if we approached too close. One had colored bands on it's legs (photo below) which indicated that it had been banded at Salinas Sate Beach where it had nested the summer before - over 100 miles to the north of where we were.  The large flocks included Dunlin, Western and Least Sandpipers, Sanderlings and the plovers (photo below).

As we walked farther north we started to see large rafts of scoters on the ocean, in and beyond the waves. Scping fromn the low dunes on the beach, I could identify the common Surf Scoter but wasn't sure about any other scoters.  Then a jet ski came from the north and flushed the scoters.  The White-winged Scoters were now obvious as they flashed there white wing patch, and I counted 14 as they flew by in the flocks of several hundred scoters. Both of the scoters were new for my walking green year.  The White-winged can be difficult to find here, so I was happy with this addition.

On the way back we stopped at a couple of native Chumash (pre-European indiginous people) shell middens (garbage dumps) (photo below) which have discarded shells from long ago meals, cooking stones, bird bones, stone flakes and other pieces. If you are lucky you can find a spear point or other stone utensil.  We didn't see any such points this visit. I stopped to take photos on the walk back, but no additional birds species showed up.

Walking Big Day

The very rainy weather of December gave way to a much drier January. January 22 seemed like a good day to do my first walking big day since the days were too short for a serious cycling big day. After walking Nike along the edge of the bay first thing in the morning (52 species, including the California fanning its tail at the bottom of this post), I figured I would put my scope and tripod in a carrier on my back and walk east and north around the edge of the bay. Hopefully, I would get to the Elfin Forest Overlook at the correct tide for shorebirds, and then go on as time allowed. The Snowy Egret below was feeding along the edge of the bay. They have been quite active lately, and showing the breeding plumes for their upcoming courtship.

After checking Pecho Willows at the end of my street for a second time,  I stopped at several spots along the edge of the bay. The tide was coming in, with a scheduled high tide of 4.47 at 11:53 AM. (closer to 12:30 by the time the high tide got to the bay below the Elfin Forest).  There was still a muddy edge along the bay for shorebirds and herons.  I walked through the first of two local Audubon preserves,  Sweet Springs, where I added some common ducks, shorebirds and a few passerines.  I played my recordings of the two common rails (Virginia and Sora) as well as the possibly extirpated Black Rail. Virginia Rail answered with the "dirty old man laugh."

I took advantage of being on foot and cut across the new addition to Sweet Springs and on the paved road along the bay toward Baywood.  Just before the Baywood Pier,  I stopped to check the gulls where fresh water seeps into the bay.  In with the usual Ring-billed, Western and California Gulls, there was a surprise adult Glaucous-winged Gull (they are less common back in the bay then on the beach and adults are much less common than immatures in this part of California).  Since the tide was well up by now, I decided to head straight for the Elfin Forest.  I tried to pick a route that went by as many stands of pine trees as possible, but the heavy December rains had likely helped to push out unusual land birds including the many Red-breasted Nuthatches that had been here in the fall.

Unfortunately, by the time I got to the Elfin Forest overlook of the bay the tide was too high for shorebirds. I did spot Royal Terns out in the bay, which were intermediate in size between the Caspian and Forster's Terns that were present (closer in size to the Caspians, but with a thinner and less reddish bill and a different crest, as well as missing the large black under the primaries on the Caspians).  I heard a Marsh Wren's scratchy call along the edge of the estuary.  I tried for every imaginable rail here with my recordings, but only Virginia answered. I quickly walked over to the more easterly (inland) overlook, but was still to late for the shorebird masses.  I, therefore, hiked through the pygmy coastal oaks to the east end of the preserve and down to South Bay Boulevard. 

I birded the eastern end of the bay to see the shorebirds that should have been pushed up near the road by the high tide, but very little was present.  I saw the reason for this, as a Peregrine Falcon grinned down at me from his pole-top perch. He gave a characteristic second grin and then flew out to the bay.  I kept walking north along the edge of the bay to get away from the falcon no-fly zone.  After a couple of hundred yards of walking, I approached large flocks of ducks in the ponds and waterways formed by the high tide, and shorebirds on the few dry patches of pickleweed. Two male rusty headed Eurasian Wigeons stood out in the crowds of American Wigeons, Northern Shovelers (new), Green-winged Teal (new for the year) and other ducks (2 Gadwall were new for my year). The flocks of shorebirds  consisted mainly of godwits and willets.

                       I saw the resident flock of Canada Geese out in the bay and one white guy - by size I thought it was likely a Snow Goose. Then all hell broke loose - all the birds flushed, even the geese. I could not imagine that the Peregrine would flush the geese.  I looked up in time to see a third year bald eagle (pictured here) fly by. This was a green year bird for me, as was the goose (which I could positively ID by the black grin patch as it flew by).

After I worked the flocks in the bay with my scope, I walked back south along the bay and then east up Turri Road to check the wetlands, overgrown pasture, and willow riparian habitat which extends east from the bay.  I figured that a quick check might yield Western Bluebird, Western Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Sora, Virginia Rail, White-tailed Kite and Prairie Falcon. The bluebirds (new BIGBY bird) were numerous on the barb wire fence lines, Virginia Rails were many in the proper tule-lined wetlands (along with a couple of year-bird Soras) and the meadowlarks were surprisingly few (new for my BIGBY).  The lark, kite and falcon were absent.  I did enjoy watching a Cooper's Hawk chasing its smaller cousin,  a Sharp-shinned Hawk, for quite a distance before it lost interest (or stamina).  A single Tree Swallow (new for my year) called as it flew overhead, finally landing on a wire ands showing off its deep green back and clean white underparts.

I hurried back to the Elfin Forest preserve to see if I could find new shorebirds for my green year and the tide was at a perfect level. I could not, however, find the wintering Pectoral Sandpiper or the resident Red Knots in amongst the hundreds of shorebirds.  Before too long I had to head home, as I still had about 2 1/2 miles to walk home before it got too dark to bird.  I walked back along the edge of the bay and added Common and Red-throated Loons to my year list.  This California Towhee was spreading out its tail feathers near my house.  I and got back home at around 4:30 with 109 species including 15 new ones for my walking green year from this 10 mile walk.

Snowy Egrets Feeding with Ducks, Grebes and Cormorants in Morro Bay

More than just ticking species off,  I like to see bird behavior that is new to me on my daily birding. For example, I have observed Snowy Egrets feeding with two species of ducks as well as cormorants and grebes in Morro Bay.  On 3/1/10, I watched a Snowy Egret feeding with an adult male Red-breasted Merganser (pictured). The merganser fed by swimming below or mostly below the surface of the shallow water and the egret followed it, apparently looking for animals stirred up by the duck. In turn, when the egret stirred up sediment by moving it's foot around, the merganser came over and appeared to be watching for anything brought up by the egret. Both were clearly following the other and feeding off the efforts of the other species (mutualism). I watched this for about ten to fifteen minutes in Cuesta Inlet before walking on.

Cattle Egrets feeding on insects stirred up by cattle is well known, but this was the first I had seen or heard of a Snowy feeding cooperatively with ducks. I did find an article on Little Blue Herons commensaly feeding with White Ibis (The AUK 95: 667-681, October, 1978). Eric Johnson, a friend and former Cal Poly ornithology professor, referred me to an article published in a late '60's ornithological journal (The Auk, Condor, or Wilson's Bulletin) on dozens of egrets and herons feeding with Red-breasted Mergansers in Florida.

On 2/21/10, and again on 3/3/10, I observed a Snowy Egret (the same one?) standing next to a group of Blue-winged Teal (pictured below) at Cuesta Inlet. It was clearly watching for anything it could eat as the teal moved their bills through the sediment both below and slightly above the water level.  It was a low tide both times. The teal appeared to ignore the egret both times I observed the egret feeding next to the teal. It appeared to be a very one way relationship (commensalism) as the egret ate things stirred up by the teal, but it contributed nothing and the teal appeared to be oblivious to the egret's presence as they were concentrating on their feeding in the muck.


On May 23, 2010,  I observed a Snowy Egret feeding with two Double-crested Cormorants. I was at the Audubon Overlook in Los Osos at low tide and numerous birds were feeding in or around the channels of water that snaked through the exposed mudflats at low tide. The Snowy Egret appeared to be following the cormorants as the cormorants swam in the channels. The Snowy would follow on the dry land next to the channel (walking and flying to keep up with the cormorants) and occasionally go into the water after something near the cormorants. There were Great Egrets nearby that were not behaving in this manner. I watched this for about twenty minutes and then I left.  It appeared that the egret benefitted from the cormorants, but I did not see the cormorants follow the egret at all.

On February 11, 2011,  I watched a Western Grebe follow a Snowy Egret around as it stirred up sediment with its feet.  The grebe would watch and occasionally go under water in the direction of the egret, when it was actively moving a foot under water. The grebe was totally submerged or partially so when it was under water in the vicinity of the grebe. This was at Cuesta Inlet in Morro Bay and at a higher than average tide. It went on for about ten minutes and then the Western Grebe stopped following the egret.

On March 14, 2011, I again observed a Double-crested Cormorant and a Snowy Egret interacting. I was on my morning walk along Cuesta Inlet (Morro Bay) when I saw an adult Snowy Egret and an adult Double-crested Cormorant following each other around at low tide in a tidal channel at about 7:45 AM.  The cormorant would swim under water and the Egret would follow.  The egret would stir up sediment with its foot and the cormorant would come over and feed.  They both fed several times during this behavior.  This lasted about ten minutes and then they went their separate ways.

On March 26, 2011, at about 9:30 AM, an adult Snowy Egret was feeding with two female Red-breasted Mergansers in the water near the edge of the main channel from Cuesta-by-the-Sea into the bay. The mergansers and the egret seemed to be following each other around, all three feeding.  After about five minutes the egret flew over to another egret and left the ducks.  After a minute or two of crest raising and flapping of wings by the egrets, the same egret went back to one of the mergansers and they resumed feeding together.  The merganser and the egret started going up a shallower side channel.  It was shallow enough that when the merganser swam under water you could always tell where she was by turbulence on the surface above her.  As the merganser worked further up the channel, the second egret joined them - one egret would feed on either side of the merganser, sometimes snagging fish within inches of the side of the duck.  It looked like the egrets were harassing the duck, but several times when he got away from the egrets the merganser would return to them. The egrets were walking around in the water, but I saw none of the foot shaking feeding technique often used by Snowies.

They all seemed to be doing well at catching fish and two more Snowy Egrets flew in.  Now the merganser was really surrounded as she worked further back in the shallow channel.  The egrets mostly stayed within two feet of the merganser.  The duck seemed to be doing most of the work of stirring up fish from the bottom and then the egrets and the duck would feed.  This went on for about ten minutes, with one of the egrets leaving and the remaining three following the merganser about 50 yards back to the main channel, where the merganser went into deeper water and the joint feeding ended.  All of this observed behavior occurred in a twenty minute period. Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were in the vicinity, but they were not feeding with the mergansers or any other birds.

On April 5, 2011, Snowy and Great Egrets were out in number near and in Cuesta Inlet of Morro Bay.  Tide was low and egrets and Double-crested Cormorants were feeding in the channels.  Starting at about 7:30 AM I watched three Snowies feeding as they followed three cormorants as they dove and fed while swimming under water in the channel.  This went on for about ten minutes, during which time one cormorant flew off and two egrets continued their pursuit (pictured).  About two hundred yards away, five different Snowies followed a single cormorant as it fed in another channel.  Five nearby Great Egrets did not join the pursuit, although one flew over the cormorants and another Great Egret landed nearby.  So, at least eight Snowies in Morro Bay engage in this type of behavior and Great Blue herons and Great Egrets are in the vicinity during such joint feeding, but they do not appear to join.  I watched for about ten minutes before I had to go.

2010 GREEN BIG YEAR SUMMARY

I was representing clients in Superior Court when my phone vibrated in my slacks' pocket. I dashed off to the vacant jury room when I saw it was Maggie (local birder) calling. I wondered what bird had been found, where I would have to ride my bike to see it, and how I would get out of work soon enough to see the bird if it was a good one. Such thoughts crossed my mind whenever I got a bird call in 2010. In fact, the hardest part of my green big year was not the 3634 miles I cycled, or the 348 miles I hiked, or the kayaking, or the running with my binoculars. The hardest part was juggling my work and family commitments with my quest for bird species.

I originally got interested in green birding in 2007, when I saw an item on BIRDCHAT (internet bird listserv) about doing a BIGBY. This stands for "Big Green Big Year" and was coined by Richard Gregson from Quebec. He has promoted green birding on the internet, and encouraged BIGBYs all over the globe. This type of green birding was a response to the many "big years" and "big days" done by birders who traveled all over the world to see how many birds they could see in a year or a day. To some birders, driving and flying all over after big year or big day bird species seemed inconsistent with the pro-environmental ideals espoused by most birders.

I first tried a BIGBY in 2008 and found 262 species in San Luis Obispo County, biking and walking from my home in Los Osos and my work in San Luis Obsipo. In that same year, Andy Kleinhesselink and Josiah Clark, of San Francisco, found 295 species in Northern California, including a cycle to Mono Lake and back! This appeared to be the record for North America and was something to shoot for (with a camera, not a gun!).

It took me a year to think about it, and get up the gumption to make a serious attempt to break 300 species. I spent the last 6 months of 2009 planning my year (some species were findable only at particular locations and for limited times) and setting up a blog to chronicle my efforts. I had never biked more than a two day trip and I had never had my own website or blog, so I was challenging my 58 year old mind and body. It turned out that setting up a Google blog was not hard, but I suspected that my planned nine day spring bicycle trip out to eastern Kern County to boost my total species count would not be so easy.

I started my 2010 green big year on January first, when I pedaled from my house in Los Osos to Cayucos and back (25 miles), tallying 122 species despite some bad luck that shortened my trip (see my blog). My green birding trips for the year varied greatly in time and distance. I rode my bike over 100 miles in a day on two occasions in 2010. Both days involved some significant hill climbs and both days netted me new birds for my green year. My longest pedal was a ten day (one rest day), almost 600 mile trip from Los Osos inland to the Mojave Desert, top of the Greenhorn Mountains (south end of the Sierras) and along the South Fork of the Kern River. This trip added my only out-of-county green birds, including Northern Goshawk, Brown-crested Flycatcher, a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, and other birds of the desert and Sierras. It also included some hair-raising rides on Kern County highways with no bike lanes (it would have been worse but for the very considerate professional truck drivers). This trip contributed 16 species to my green year total. In contrast, my shortest trips were my walks to the edge of the bay and the patch of trees at the end of my street, Pecho Willows. This daily ritual, with my dog, not only provided many locally rare birds, but gave me a real feel for the changing seasons as bird species came and went, the weather changed, and the tides varied

I really liked the actual green birding, but not my big green year concern over possibly missing a rare bird that had been found by another birder. Chasing a bird on my bike was not only harder physically, but it took up to 3 times longer than driving. Green birding made it more difficult to fit chasing into my schedule and decreased my chances of seeing a recently found bird. For example, I missed the county's third Red-necked Stint (on the Morro Bay Estuary mudflats) by 5 minutes. As I feverishly arrived on my bike, local birders were walking away from the location (never a good sign) talking about how the bird looked just before it flew off into the distance. I never did re-find the Eastern Phoebe found in riparian habitat along Los Osos Creek, despite 5 tries on my bike (numerous people had seen it before and after my visits!). I missed a fall Northern Parula seen in Oceano, despite two attempts, including one where it was initially found by a birder standing right next to me! I searched long and hard, but the bird was part of a flock that totally dispersed in a downpour.

Nevertheless, I did successfully chase some good birds, like the 24 mile (one way) pedal to see California's second (!) Ivory Gull - a beautiful and aptly named gull from the Arctic circle that was completely unexpected in sunny Pismo Beach. Instead of ice flows and Polar Bears, it was contending with beachcombers wearing shorts and sandals. I cycled another 45 miles (one way) to see a different white northern visitor - a first winter Glaucous Gull at the Elephant Seal haul-out near Piedras Blancas.

While chasing was harder, finding birds did not seem to be hampered by my green forms of transportation. It helped that my neighborhood, including Pecho Willows, had 20 warbler species, Tundra Swan, Semipalmated Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, White-winged Dove, Black Swift, Clay-colored Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, and other unusual species in 2010. My favorite green birding find was the county's first Bar-tailed Godwit that I flushed while on a run along the shore of the Morro Bay Sand Spit. Other birds I discovered on my green birding in 2010 included Tundra Swan, Stilt Sandpiper, Red-naped Sapsucker, Tropical Kingbird (below), Magnolia Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and Swamp Sparrow.

I did have some low points in my green year. During my first ride out to the Carrizo Plain on February 15, I practically collapsed along the road from exhaustion, having ridden too fast into a head wind, with a bike that was packed too heavy, on a route that was unnecessarily long and difficult, and without the proper conditioning. I barely limped into the California Valley Motel before dark at the end of this 70+ mile ride. Another bad experience occurred on March 26 while searching for Greater Roadrunner on San Luis Mountain with my mountain bike. My front tire caught up on something and I did my impression of a briefly airborne roadrunner as I flew over my handlebars on the descent of the mountain. Unfortunately, my landing was more like a sack of potatoes and I broke several ribs. Fortunately, it did not prevent me from cycling for more than one week (I just had to sleep sitting up for a few weeks).

Overall, the green big year was a very enjoyable experience and I have no regrets. I liked the challenge - finding as many species as I could in one year without using any gas. I developed a larger appreciation of the landscape and the birds of Central California because I experienced this area in a very different way than driving from spot to spot. Memorable rides included pedaling along Kelso Valley Road into the Mojave Desert from Lake Isabella, hearing and seeing a large variety of resident and migrant birds (like the plain Gray Flycatcher, the elegantly marked Mountain Quail and the contrastingly colored black and yellow Scott's Oriole) in the willow cottonwood riparian corridors, on the rocky slopes, and in the scrub and Joshua tree desert (respectively). Cycling on Soda Lake Road on the Carrizo Plain with the fields of early yellow, blue and white wildflowers in the late winter along with flocks of bright blue Mountain Bluebirds and the yellow meadowlarks, glowing in the morning sun, was unforgettable. The ride along the road on both sides of Alta Sierra summit in the warm and bright high-elevation sun of the Greenhorn Mountains, with dark blue skies, large patches of snow on the ground between towering firs and pines, the beautiful songs of Green-tailed Towhees and Townsend's Solitaires, and the loud cries of the Pileated Woodpecker, was breath-taking (or was that the altitude?).

The non-bird wildlife sometimes stole the show from the birds on my green year. Examples included the lone Prong-horn Antelope standing near me in a sparse brown weedy field in eastern Kern County, the striking blue gray Ring-necked Snake with the bright orange collar and underparts found along the bluffs trail at Montana de Oro (elsewhere on the trail was a group of 6-8 Pacific Rattlesnakes), the prehistoric looking Horned Lizard I couldn't quite catch at Cerro Alto, a playful fox and a cautious bobcat at the Montana de Oro Campground, the endangered Red-legged Frogs and Western Pond Turtles close up at the Harmony Headlands trial, and (most of all) the impossibly big Blue Whale I saw while scoping for pelagics off Montana de Oro (photo below).

The scenery was incredible at times, and on a bike I really saw beauty I would have missed from a car. The photo below of a seasonal wetland in Kelso Valley (near the South Fork of the Kern River) was only one of the hundreds of scenes that I came across in my travels that made me stop and be amazed.

My 2010 green big year total of 318 species was more than I had expected when the year began. While I could have likely gotten 8 - 10 more species for the year, I am satisfied with the total as well as with the process of reaching it. Someday soon, I suspect that someone will ride across the country and find twice this many species in a green big year. Fifteen year old Malkolm Boothroyd (with his parents) rode over 10,000 miles from mid 2007 to mid 2008 (Alaska to Florida to Texas), tallying 548 species, but some might argue that it was not a totally a green year since he used buses and ferries to get home from Texas and it was not in one calendar year. Either way, I am humbled by his efforts and he is in his own amazing category so far for green birding!

While I may not ever do a serious green big year again, I will continue to as much green birding as I can. I encourage others to do it as well; it is good for the environment and an enjoyably different birding experience. I will also continue to post blogs on my green birding. I plan on seeing how many species I can see while walking from my home in 2011 (see my ongoing tally in the right margin of my blog). I will try to do a green big day at least once a month, either walking or on my bike. Enjoy green birding in 2011!

Bicycle Birding Equipment Checklist

___ Comfortable well maintained bicycle, touring bike is good for
multi-day trips with panniers.
___ water - 1-3 bottles, depending on trip
___ well fitted helmet
___ tools - tire tools, compact Allen wrench/screwdriver set, spokes?,
cable(s)?
___ 2 tire tubes, liner?
___ patch kit
___ emergency tire boot
___ small high pressure pump with pressure gauge
___ sun glasses or clip ons
___ electrolite drink and powder to make more on longer trips
___ 2-3 times the amount of food you normally eat
___ Wider tires (and wheels?) for use on dirt (I don't take them with
me but change before ride)
___ pannier(s)
___ handlebar bag
___ binoculars
___ checklist, field notebook, field guide?, pen
___ first aid kit including vaseline intensive care for chaping
___ sunblock and chapstick with sunblock
___ bike shorts
___ bike socks and shoes
___ bike jersey
___ bright bike jacket
___ leg warmers (have these or tights for cold rides)
___ Greenish long sleeved shirt (goes over bike clothes for birding)
___ thermal shirt or wicking sweater? (better to bring extra layers than to be cold)
___ handkerchief(s)
___ wipes (for poison oak/ivy, grease, dirt, road rash)
___ money, credit card, driver's license
___ cell phone
___ U Lock
___ key(s)
___ iPod and speakers? (spare batteries)
___ camera? (extra battery and memory card?)
___ scope?
___ tripod?
___ shoes for hiking?
___ hat for hiking?
___ pack to hold pannier for hiking?
___ light weight breathable rain jacket?
___ insect repellant?
___ handlebar light? leg light?
___ leg light or tail light?
___ toilet paper
___ map(s)?
MULTI-DAY TRIPS:
___ camping equipment?
___ light tent
___ sleeping pad and bag
___ toiletries
___ cook gear?
___ spare clothes
___ light food for camping meals
___ mail food to destinations without any available food?
___ reservations for camping or motels
___ hand washing powder for clothes
___ plastic bag for clothes that don't dry
___ zip-lock baggies
___ charger for camera battery and iPod

Bicycle Birding Basics

In the last three years I have done a fair amount of bicycle-birding and have learned the following lessons (many the hard way):

1) Watch for cars, watch for cars, watch for cars (especially the ones with little cyclists painted on the side). Drivers do the most stupid, dangerous, inconsiderate, and asinine things. Watch for it and be prepared to react - it may save your life! Modify your behavior, especially if you are a male with elevated testosterone when you cycle. Its kind of like dealing with cops - try not to curse drivers or have an attitude (especially when they are completely wrong) because they have all the power. Avoid dangerous roads (e.g. Highway 41 from Cerro Alto to Morro Bay where there is no shoulder, falling rocks, and poor visibility due to curves), especially when the traffic is heavy. Pull well off the road when looking at birds - it is easy to focus on the birds and forget the cars whizzing by.

2) Wear a helmet!!! (Even for short trips.) I know several cyclist who have cracked helmets in cycling accidents, and so avoided cracking their heads.

3) Observe the rules of the road, especially stay on the right side, come close to stopping at stop signs, don't run lights, and signal your turns. Not only might this save you a ticket, but it gives drivers one less reason to hit you. When necessary in town, ride in a way where you are visible even if it means you are not all the way to the right. Do not weave around cars, be predictable and visible. When outside of town, stay as far right as possible in or out of bike lanes as some cars ride on the edge of bike lanes or off to the right more than is necessary. Pull into pullouts on narrow highways or whenever else it would allow fast cars behind to pass.

4) Don't wear cameras, binoculars, etc. around your neck when riding - it gets in the way and is uncomfortable on long rides. It may seem nerdy, but a handlebar bag that locks onto the handlebar is the best place to keep such items and cell phone where they are safe and handy. Especially avoid wearing binoculars in areas where rednecks or others are hostile to birders or nature lovers. It identifies you as a target!

5) Keep the weight of your load as light as possible (it makes a big difference on hills) and try to balance it so not too much weight is in the back or to one side. I f you use only one pannier, hang it on the ride side as wind will tend to push you to the right and not into traffic. If you don't need a scope on a particular trip, leave it at home.

6) Bring plenty of food and fluids for the road, and use them. Don't underestimate how much you should eat and drink on a long ride - take 2-3 times what you would normally eat in the same time period and drink more fluid then you think is necessary (don't wait till you are thirsty). Bike shops and Internet sites sell specialty endurance drinks and food. "Bonking" is no fun! Also make sure your water bottles are full before you leave a town with a long subsequent stretch that may have no water.

7) Progress slowly when increasing mileage or hills. It's like running or lifting or any other exercise - ease into it. Especially if you are an old fart like me! Even take it easy on a brand new bike; don't take a really long trip on a new bike till you are used to it.

8) Make sure your bike fits your body. Buy a bike that is the right height and length for your body. Have an expert at a bike shop help you select a bike and set the seat height, cleat placement on your clip-in shoes, and handlebar height.

9) Keep your bike well lubricated and adjusted (brakes and derailleurs). Have at least an annual tuneup by a local bike store. Learn to do basic maintenance such as adjusting cables, adjusting the derailleur, changing a flat, patching a tube, changing a spoke, etc., so you can do it yourself on a ride. On long rides especially, make sure you carry all the needed parts and tools for basic repairs. Flats are a drag. I have been using Bontrager tires with Kevlar belting with success. You can also try tire liners or tire sealant which you inject into the tire.

10) When purchasing a bike or panniers, or other cycling equipment and clothing, consult experts at bike stores and online. Many employees at bike stores know little about bike touring, so find one who does. ( see thetouringstore.com )

11) Wear appropriate clothing for cycling so that you are comfortable cycling and birding. Cycling shoes, shorts, jerseys, leg warmers, tights, gloves, jackets. etc. protect your body, make you more aerodynamic, wick away sweat, keep you from getting too hot or cold, make you more visible, and generally feel comfortable when cycling. Wear full gloves for cold weather (not cutoff finger tips). I wear a bicycle jacket with zip-up pockets and a color called "screaming yellow" which makes me highly visible for drivers. I take along a dull green shirt to put over it or change into (depending on the weather) so I am not birding in screaming yellow. An extra sweater or thermals are useful when birding along the coast, especially with a cool onshore breeze. In redneck areas, bike jerseys with an American flag may reduce abuse from drivers (not kidding). I have an equipment list for bike birding in another post.

12) Carefully check out bike routes before a trip for the shortest, safest route. "Google Maps" and other sources make it easy to check distance and terrain. Google maps are not always accurate about bike routes so check with local cyclists or bike shops when biking an unfamiliar route. Also, check weather reports carefully before rides, especially multi-day ones, and don't forget to check on wind direction and velocity as this can greatly effect cycling. Wind and rain suck big time.

13) When not cycling, it helps to lift weights for leg and overall body strength, cross train by running and rowing, stretch (also after rides), and keep your weight down (long rides help with this!).

14) Pace yourself on long rides. Take breaks, stop and smell the roses or look at or listen for birds, or take photos. Enjoy the rides!

15) Lock your bike to a pole or tree when it is out of your sight. Use a U lock that cannot be cut. Lock the pannier and helmet as well as a wheel and frame with the lock. Lock both wheels if you are going to be gone for a while. If hiking, bring a light backpack that fits a pannier so you don't have to leave it and the stuff in it. Have a handlebar bag that locks to the handle bar and don't forget to take valuables out of it when you leave.

16) Check your bike and other equipment right before each day's trip and after significant breaks. Make sure that the wheels are on tightly, that the tires are fully inflated, the brake pads don't rub the rims, derailleurs are adjusted, and rack bolts are tight. Make sure that your tool bag, panniers and pockets on your clothes are all zipped up and securely closed to prevent leaving tools, money, keys, etc. along the side of the road.  A few quick tweaks before a trip can make a trip much more pleasant.

More Local Surprises to Finish the Year

Nike and I love our early morning walk (before work or a weekend cycle) from our house and along the edge of the back bay and through Pecho Willows. Although there are often interesting birds (a typical 40 minute walk yields 40-65 species of birds), it is a really beautiful place to be (photos left and the masthead). The light is always different depending on the time of day, the amount of fog or clouds and the angle of the sun. The path through Pecho Willows (below) often has bird surprises, errant golf balls from the adjacent golf course that I collect for my golfer son, and occasional deer or coyotes (which I have to restrain Nike from chasing). My neighborhood has some color as shown in the picture of our commercial fisherman neighbor's house, below.



When I want to get out on my bike, but don't have a lot of time, I can pedal to the campground next to Islay Creek in Montana de Oro State Park, or the Audubon Overlook on the edge of Morro Bay, or Sweet Springs Nature Preserve with its fresh water pond and platform on the edge of the bay, or the coastal scrub habitat and hill top lookout of the bay at the Elfin Forest, or the pastureland and ag. fields of Turri Road or the old oak forest at Los Osos Oaks - all within four miles of where I live!

I did find a couple of new BIGBY species in my neighborhood toward the end of the year. The Tundra Swan shown below was first seen flying by in the company of an unsavory Mute Swan and after calling Kaaren Perry about this local rarity, she photographed it on the bay, as shown here on November 23.

I also found a Swamp Sparrow on the day after I got back from my 160 mile trip to the Carrizo Plain - right at the end of my street! (BIGBY # 317)

My last BIGBY bird of the year, on December 31, occurred at Laguna Lake in San Luis Obispo. I rode my bike the 12 miles there, got on my rubber boots and walked through the flooded vegetation along the shore (photo), playing the bittern recording on my iPod. An American Bittern answered and was seen briefly as it flushed. This was my 318th BIGBY bird and my last species for the year.  I thought of the birds I had missed for the year and was satisfied, as they were few.  The surprise species for the year were many!

Fowl Day for a Christmas Count

I know that a stormy day is typically a "foul" day. But when you are on a Christmas bird count, and it rains three inches, it is a great day for waterfowl (and not much else). I started early with my faithful canine companion, Nike, on our local count day (Saturday, December 18), and it rained on us for most of our walk. (photo) We did see some good fowl (not an oxymoron) - 2 Cackling Geese (photo) on the golf course. They had undoubtedly not been popular on the course due to the little surprises they scattered around the greens and the fairways, but I was certainly glad to see them even if the golfers were not. The geese stood out among a large flock of coots, and none of them seem concerned about the rain.

I waited for awhile at home after our walk and drank hot chocolate, but gave up waiting when the rain would not stop. "To hell with it - I have some bird counting to do," I announced to no one in particular since Nike wasn't listening and my family was out of town. I was suppose to count birds in my neighborhood and adjoining parts of Los Osos and Baywood Park and, by God, I was going to do it.

Being a mixture of quiet single family residences on the edge of the Morro Bay Estuary and having several groves of trees, a golf course, three ponds, and lookouts of the bay, my home town produced many unusual birds in the fall of 2010. Several noteworthy birds had been seen in the area in the week prior to the count, such as Swamp Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak and Wilson's Warbler. (These species are not common wintering birds in this area). These were also birds that might be dificult to see in the rain.

The first thing I did aftert my break was check the grove of trees at the end of my street where the above three rarities had been seen, but very few birds were out in the pouring rain - they had more sense than that!
I decided to take a four mile walk around the neighborhoods, and to the various bird lookouts and preserves in Los Osos and Baywood Park. Even if the dicky birds were not out, maybe I'd see a different shorebird, or duck, or something that didn't mind the rain. I wore my rain pants, a breathable rain jacket, wool socks and waterproof boots. I carried my scope and tripod on a backpack carrier and took a couple of dry handkerchiefs to dry my lenses.

I checked all the local spots that were good for wintering birds, but had nothing of note. I couldn't even find a Eurasian Wigeon or any unusual shorebird or waterfowl. After a while, things got very wet and my handkerchiefs were no longer dry! (I should have brought a bath towel!) Wet eyeglasses, binoculars and scope do not make birding any easier. There could have been rare birds on the bay at that point and I wouldn't have even seen them. "Time to go home!" I again announced to no one in particular (I probably should be more careful about walking around in the rain, talking to myself!) Not only did I not see any other counters out birding, but I saw very few people out of their homes at all on such a blowing wet day.
When I got home, the rain water had soaked into my clothing, from around my collar, and my feet were cold. (Christmas bird counts should have an alternate day when the usual day is rained out.)

I ended up with barely 60 species, when the same walk on a dry day would have yielded closer to 100 species! The entire Morro Bay Christmas Bird Count was only about 175 species - the lowest total for our count in over 25 years! It wasn't disappointed because I found no new green year birds, but because I knew that there were birds around that would have been unique for the count. I missed them on count day due to the "fowl" weather. Really crappy days like this one made me appreciate the usual nice weather in this area (that I often take for granted). (How's that for a great rationalization for having spent several miserable hours outside, vainly looking for birds in the driving cold rain?!)