NOTE: I have finished the photo page for this trip and if anyone is interested in viewing these shots they can visit-
http://www.cse.msu.edu/~enbody/Erik/
Three southern
California
counties visited in 6 full days of birding:
San Diego,
Riverside, and
Imperial
Counties. 1,000 miles of driving
put our little rental PT Cruiser through rain, sleet, snow, and sand (and a boulder).
Nearly two hundred birds were seen and I tallied some 16 lifers on this trip. Below
I have capitalized the birds to make it easy for you to skim this quickly and
still get something (more then nothing?) out of this. Lifers are in bold in
this and the trip list.
Some trips start out with the first bird being junk, such as
a starling at the airport. On this trip however we arrived late at night in the
San Diego airport only to have a
BARN OWL fly over the car rental parking lot
not a bad way to start the trip at
all.
Our first day had us visiting a number of locations around San
Diego itself. Most of the morning was spent at Point
Loma, where I had my first introduction to southern Californian bird life with
such lifers as CALIFORNIA TOWHEES
and WRENTITS. Other new birds for me
that morning included several GOLDEN-CROWNED
SPARROWS in various plumages and some very sizable flocks of WESTERN GREBES off the cliffs on the
Pacific coast. 
Other birds of interest included a few gorgeous male TOWNSENDS
WARBLERS, CASSINS KINGBIRDS, BLACK PHEOBES, BUSHTITS, and a few groups of
RED-CROWNED PARROTS. Along the cliffs and beaches of Point Loma we had some
great views of western shorebirds such as 5 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, 2 WANDERING
TATTLERS, a scattering of BLACK TURNSTONES, and WILLETS. Aside from a few of
the warblers, our only passerine migrants of note included 2 WESTERN
FLYCATCHERS (Pac-slope I presume). Also this day we saw our only green-backed
male SELASPHORUS of the trip, which unfortunately only flew by briefly while
being pursued by an ANNAS HUMMINGBIRD. We did have numerous RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS
in this area, but never had any luck in locating the Graces Warbler that has
been present in the cemetery.
We spent the afternoon down south of San
Diego in the Tijuana Slough area, specifically for
Elegant Tern and Pacific Golden-Plover. In the marshes around this area we saw
and heard many of the endangered Light-footed CLAPPER RAILS, while a WHITE-TAILED
KITE haunted the marsh, and AMERICAN AVOCETS, BLACK-NECKED STILTS, LONG-BILLED
DOWITCHERS, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, and WHIMBREL fed in the marsh. At the Tijuana
river mouth there were small numbers of ELEGANT
TERNS far on the opposite shore along with ROYAL, CASPIAN, and FORSTERS
TERNS providing some interesting comparisons. Although I was not able to find
any Pacific Golden-Plover myself, I may have accidentally photographed one
while taking pictures of a distant ELEGANT TERN and not paying attention to the
surroundings
Our second day started out similar to the first, as we again
started at Point Loma, but did not add many new birds to the trip there. The San
Diego River had
large amounts of shorebirds as well as the first CINNAMON TEALS of the trip, 6
or 7 more ELEGANT TERNS, and a few various new duck specie. We again searched
unsuccessfully for Pacific Golden-Plover around Mission
Bay, but came up with a few CLARKS GREBE to make up for it. Large flocks of ELEGANT TERNS (many
hundreds) were very entertaining to watch as they chattered with each other and
called to other fly-by elegants. Also present were quite a few BRANT, BLACK
SKIMMERS, HORNED, EARED, and WESTERN GREBES. Off La Jolla
we had a few SURFBIRDS and somewhat distant PELAGIC CORMORANTS. My first CALIFORNIA THRASHER came as a surprise
as we were leaving the Scribbs (sp?) Aquarium in La Jolla.
One of my favorite birds of this trip came from a small lagoon north of La
Jolla in a place called San Elijo Lagoon. Not only was this place
teeming with other birdlife, but we were able to observe very close up 2-3 CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHERS (including a male
and female). Unfortunately we did not have much time to observe these fabulous birds
as it was getting dark soon and we had to reach our hotel. The one distraction
from this experience was the every present sound of the nearby highway and the ominous
housing creeping up to the lagoon, an unfortunate sign of what may come of this
very selective species habitat. Two hawks were also seen briefly in the
distance before dropping low behind a rise, but they appear to have been
SWAINSONS HAWKS.
Our next morning was planned to be spent searching the San
Bernardinos for a few mountain species, alas the
mountains were full of LA traffic and the wind/snow seemed to be keeping most
of the birds down. Nonetheless we had some excellent views of WESTERN
BLUEBIRDS, ACORN WOODPECKERS, and a number of other interesting higher
elevation species. A stroke of luck and sharp eye of my mom pulled out an OAK TITMOUSE along Old Waterman Canyon
Rd, a first for us. We hoped the San
Jacinto tramway would prove to be a little more productive then
the Bernardinos. Indeed this was true as we arrived at the base we could hear
both ROCK and CANYON WRENS singing from the canyon walls. A PEREGRINE FALCON
soared over as we took the tram up to the top of Mt.
San Jacinto and WHITE-THROATED
SWIFTS dodged about below us. The top of Mt Jacinto was still very covered in
snow and although we did not find our main target (Williamsons Sapsucker) we
had a great selection of high elevation species such as WHITE-HEADED
WOODPECKER, RED CROSSBILLS, CASSINS FINCHS, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, and a few
groups of PYGMY NUTHATCHS. The crossbills were particularly un-afraid and
occasionally lined up on the railing we were leaning against.
We started out our next morning in the rain (in the desert?)
and very chilly temperatures (in the desert??) at the Big Morongo Nature
Preserve. We were fortunate enough to run into a group of local birders who
were able to point out to us a number of interesting things. A female LAWRENCES GOLDFINCH was on its nest
not far off the trail, two COOPERS HAWKS flew about their nest not to far from
an ANNAS HUMMINGBIRD on her nest. This was perhaps our best day of migration
and we had a number of interesting birds moving through. A few handsome CASSINS VIREOS were a nice surprise
and a somewhat awaited lifer this trip as was at least one HAMMONDS FLYCATCHER that moved through rather quickly. A number of
other interesting flycatchers were around including at least one GRAY
FLYCATCHER, a couple PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS, and a single ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHER. In the area of the ballpark we had 2 male and 1 female VERMILLION
FLYCATCHERS and an interesting comparison of a CALIFORNIA THRASHER next to a
CALIFORNIA TOWHEE. The hummingbird feeders were full of goodies including
several RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, a male COSTAS HUMMINGBIRD, and a couple HOODED
ORIOLES.
Our drive through Joshua Tree National Park in the afternoon
could have been in more pleasant weather (rain, snow, and extremely strong
winds), but it was an interesting drive nonetheless. BREWERS SPARROWS were
quite common as were BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS, LOGGEHEAD SHRIKES, and a few
SAYS PHEOBES. 
The Salton Sea was our next
destination and we stayed in the town of Brawley
on Wednesday and Thursday night. We found ourselves the first morning standing
beside a sign labeled, We dont call 911 with a picture of a gun beside it.
However, this was not to distract us from finding 3 RUDDY-GROUND DOVES in the trees around the intersection of Sperry
and Eddins in Calipatria. Their distinct wo-UP call was often overwhelmed by
the calls of four other species of doves in the area, including INCA DOVES,
COMMON-GROUND, and a few EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVES. It took a fair bit of
searching but we were eventually able to get some excellent views of a male and
female Ruddy together right above the road. The Salton Sea
itself was full of birds, far to many to get into detail about here. Flocks of
EARED GREBES were everywhere, huge flocks of shorebirds were gathered in every
piece of flooding, and the woods were hopping with warblers and other
passerines. A small group of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES spun around near Rock
Hill and a WILSONS PHALAROPE fed with some dowitchers
along Garst Road. A fairly bright SNOWY PLOVER was a nice
surprise at the end of Garst and a total of 25+ BURROWING OWLS was the largest
number I have seen in one area before. The trees around the nature center held
numerous BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, ABERTS TOWHEES, and a briefly seen
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD. Much of our time was spent searching for
Yellow-footed Gull, but it was not to be and we never were able to pick out
this somewhat difficult (in spring that is) to find species. A sizable flock of
GULL-BILLED TERNS flying off into the sunset was an appropriate way to end our
brief Salton Sea experience.
Dashing any more chances for the gull we set off Friday
morning for Anza-Borrego State
Park. An early rise brought us to the middle of
nowhere in the desert a little east of Borrego Springs in search of an elusive
thrasher. Luck was with us and there was virtually no wind or background noise
to keep us from hearing a quite distant, but distinct, song of a thrasher. A
bit of hiking brought us to the tallest bush in the area which held a single LECONTES THRASHER perched at its peak belting
its song out to another thrasher some number of miles away. For being such a
secretive bird I was astonished at our luck with finding one that was so
confiding. This was one of those rare occasions where we were the ones to leave
before the bird, but not before taking some number of hundreds of pictures. A
thorough search of the pines in the Tamarisk Grove Campground paid off with 4
LONG-EARED OWLS and a single BARN OWL. Across the way in some sort of flowering
tree BULLOCKS ORIOLES, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, WESTERN TANAGERS, AUDUBONS
WARBLER, and WESTERN KINGBIRDS lit up the place with colors and movement. A
couple of ROCK WRENS flit about the ground while a single ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHER remained elusive in the low brush. We were fortunate to come across
at least one CRISSAL THRASHER in an area that they have apparently been absent
from
recently and two BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHERS rounded out our three species of
gnatsmashers for the trip.
Our last day was spent in search of a few birds we had
missed during other sections of the trip. We drove a number of canyons and
hiked a few trails in Anza-Borrego and the Laguna
Mountains searching for Mountain
Quail, but never lucked upon any. A few highlights of the morning included a
GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE in Culp Valley
along with about 100 CALIFORNIA QUAIL and a number of migrants among the
bushes. We found a few pairs of LAWRENCES
GOLDFINCHS, leading us to believe they were more common then initially thought.
Slightly confused to hear a Yellow Warbler in the desert I was surprised to see
a RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW singing a similar tune in the Culp
Valley. Along Cow
Canyon road I briefly had an
apparent LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER calling as it flew away from me. We ended our
California trip at Mast
Park back in San
Diego, which was teeming with birds in some areas. I
had hopes to find a real Allens Hummingbird here, but we failed here as well
and the only selasphorus we had were fly bys over our heads. A VIRGINIA RAIL
walked around near my feet while we had some great views of more common birds such
as NUTTALLS WOODPECKERS.
It was a fantastic trip filled with countless highlights and
fabulous scenery. Many thanks to all of those who gave so many useful suggestions
for birding areas in southern California,
we couldnt have done it without those tips!
