West Coast Swing

A flock of several thousand Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) 

Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, CA

Sep. 1, 2018

The familiar opening tune prompted a pantomime of Ray Manzarek playing the keyboard as I listened to 'L.A. Woman' for the umpteenth time. I was skirting the eponymous city on Interstate 210 headed westward, the southern skies glowed with incandescence, indicative of the crushing humanity and urban sprawl surrounding me. As someone who has spent most of their life in the wide open desert southwest the idea of navigating the cityscapes of the east and west coasts produces significant anxiety. At 11 pm on a Thursday the highway was pretty much wide open, even if it was the Thursday before Labor Day weekend. After seeing the reports from several pelagic trips in the more southerly part of California I had decided to scrap my plans of poking around Val Verde County Texas Labor Day weekend (I'll get to it at some point) and make a swing out to California to do a pelagic and pick off a few of the remaining west coast specialty species I still hadn't managed to track down.

The next dawn found me at the Mt Pinos Campground in the Los Padres National Forest. The breaking sun blazed in the eastern sky and I was reminded of the immense swaths of forest that had been incinerated in the western United States and Canada this summer. As if the fiery sky wasn't enough, as the light strengthened the dense brown haze across the horizon became increasingly evident. Despite the smoky air I was excited to start searching for my first target of the trip, White-headed Woodpecker (Dryobates albolarvatus). Walking up the road from the campground I was momentarily tripped up by the peculiar sounding White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolensis). I had been following the proposed split of this complex over the past few years, but hadn't realized the degree to which West Coast nuthatches differed from the eastern population vocally.

Mt Pinos- Chula Vista (Los Padres NF), Kern County, California

Aug. 31, 2018

Looking up I noticed a large dead snag a few hundred yards up the road and thought to myself "well, that certainly looks like a good woodpecker tree." Famous last words. The next time I looked up towards the tree there was a female White-headed Woodpecker calling from one of the upper boughs. After about a minute the bird decided to move on. I continued up the road to the Chula Vista Campground and parked at the large parking area before wandering around on some of the trails for the better part of an hour, hoping to hear the quirky call of a Mountain Quail (Oreortyx picta). Unsurprisingly I had no luck with the quail, but I did encounter another White-headed Woodpecker feeding low in a pine that I was able to watch this bird for several minutes as it worked about on the tree trunk. The light was dim and my settings weren't great, but I was able to get a few photos.

My sharpest photo, unfortunately not looking at the camera

Los Padres NF- Chula Vista CG, Kern County, CA

Aug. 31, 2018

Working westward I kept an eye out for soaring California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) as I passed through Bitter Creek NWR on Hudson Ranch Rd. I didn't see any Condors, but I did enjoy having the road to myself, a far cry from the bustling of Interstate 5. After several hours I made it to Hwy 1 near Moro Bay. I was hoping to run into a California Condor as I made my way north through Big Sur. I hadn't anticipated the number of people also on Hwy 1 so I created a game where every time I ran into a string of slow cars, I'd pull over at the near rest overlook and bird for a few minutes. If nothing else it kept me from having to tailgate and it saved my sanity. Coincidentally after pulling over for the third time I looked up to see an immature Condor circling overhead. I'd searched unsuccessfully for this species over a year earlier at Grand Canyon NP over spring break. It was nice to take a moment and appreciate the fact that had it not been for captive breeding programs I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to see this fascinating species.

However, I couldn't shake the fact that the bird I was seeing now probably wasn't quite the same bird that went extinct in the wild in 1987. The intervening three decades of captive breeding have undoubtedly had an impact on the overall genetics of the species. While the genetic bottlenecking is probably not as severe as that faced by other species brought into captive breeding programs (for example the Hawaiian Crow (Corvus hawaiiensis)), like the crow there has also undoubtedly been an impact on the species in ways not measurable in deoxyribonucleic acid base pairs. Using the crow as an example again, the reintroduction has shown that in pulling the last few crows from the wild, the culture of the species (the myriad of vocalizations and the pugnacious attitude towards Hawaiian Hawks (Buteo solitarius) have disappeared in the reintroduced population. Without wild Hawaiian Crows to instill the repertoire or attitude in the next generation, the new Hawaiian Crow isn't quite like the former species. It may be genetically more-or-less identical, but some of what made a Hawaiian Crow a Hawaiian Crow seems to have been sacrificed. Being a highly intelligent species of corvid perhaps makes the disparity between the newly introduced individuals more noticeable, but the concept is the same for all species humans decide to "rescue." This reductive theme of conservation has only grown increasingly desperate with the development of cryogenic technology. Ultimately a decision will need to be made as to what actually constitutes a species. Is it simply a genetic code, or is it a functioning set of organisms within an ecosystem. Currently we seem to be straddling an uncomfortable medium, desperately attempting to stop the hemorrhaging of our wild places, not quite past the point of no return for most species. In a world where the term "pristine" is essentially a fallacy without a temporal context, we are going to be forced to choose which species to try and resurrect. I appreciate the monumental effort of those who have helped to return the California Condor to the wild so someone like me can enjoy the sight of one circling over the Pacific Ocean. But what exactly is a California Condor now?

For anyone interested in this sort of thing, I would highly recommend Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things by M.R. O'Connor. It is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read (right up there with David Quammen's Song of the Dodo).  For that matter I would also recommend Paradise Found: Nature in America at the Time of Discovery by Steve Nicholls.

But I digress, after seeing the Condor I continued northward to Monterey where I spent some time sea watching at Point Pinos. I didn't see anything unusual but I enjoyed sea watching for the first time since leaving Alaska at the start of August. Living so far from the ocean has gotten harder and harder and I'm honestly glad to be graduating in May so I can transplant nearer the coast (though hopefully I can avoid throngs of people).

Point Pinos, Monterey County, CA

Aug. 31, 2018

I continued working my way northward checking a few spots here and there for a few west coast specialties I hadn't seen yet in 2018.

The next morning saw me up before dawn and driving to Point Pillar Harbor. I was pretty excited for what would be my second offshore pelagic and third time on the ocean. While the pelagic trip I had taken out of San Diego in September of 2017 had encountered relatively calm seas, this trip came with a significant swell. In fact we were told to stay off the bow while fighting choppy seas on the way out. The pitch was pretty significant. I was fortunate enough not to get sick, though the conditions were certainly good for it. The choppy seas and wind made the prospects of finding Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) or Scripp's Murrelet (Synthliboramphus scrippsi) pretty much nil, so I settled in looking for Buller's Shearwater (Ardenna bulleri) and Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) enjoying the rocking boat and briny mist.
While I was a little disappointed at the lack of alcids, the main reason I had come on this trip was to see an Albatross. It might sound silly, but as someone who really wants to study seabirds, it was embarrassing to admit I hadn't seen any members of this magnificent and charismatic group. But mostly Albatrosses are awesome and I really wanted to witness these intensely adapted mariners in action. In this respect the day's conditions did not disappoint. We had several Black-footed Albatrosses follow the boat over the course of the day and I can't say I was quite prepared for how graceful these birds were. Gliding over a swelling Pacific Ocean, cutting in-to and out-of the wind in soaring arcs, hardly flapping at all. It was in the moment that I had an Albatross fly over my head for the first time that I knew I really did want to study seabirds.

Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) cutting close off the starboard side of the boat

Pacific Ocean off Half Moon Bay, San Francisco/San Mateo County, CA

Sep. 1, 2018

 Other exciting finds were several Ashy Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma homochroa), two Black Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma melania), and a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma furcata). While I'll never forget seeing this species back in June in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska from shore, seeing one at see felt a little more natural. We did eventually encounter a Buller's Shearwater, but it was a quickly cruising by the starboard side and most didn't see the bird. I managed a quick enough look to identify it, but hope to see more in the future, it certainly is a handsome species.

Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa)

Pacific Ocean off Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, CA

Sep. 1, 2018

I was happy to have remembered the nuances of Storm-Petrel identification from my last California pelagic a year earlier. Seeing more Ashy Storm-Petrels was certainly helpful, with their frenetic, snappy flight. Particularly apparent when juxtaposed with the fluttery nighthawk-esque flight of the Black Storm-Petrel. For me though the show stealer will always be the Fork-tailed (even if the encounter was brief).

After about 10 hours we made it back to the harbor and I reluctantly departed the boat. The trip was organized by Alvaro Jaramillo and I certainly have no complaints. I imagine this is only the first of many more trips in the future with Alvaro. The price was good and I had a lot of fun talking seabirds.

As the sun set behind a blanket of clouds I made my way southward and east up Tassajara Road. After scrutinizing eBird for some time before leaving on this adventure I noticed a fair number of Mountain Quail reports along this road. I made it about two thirds of the way to China Campground before deciding to pull over and sleep. Dawn burned brightly to the east as I got my bearings and walked up the road a short ways.

Dawn at Tassajara Road, Monterey County, CA

Sep. 2, 2018

I was surprised that it didn't take long before I heard several "work" calls of Mountain Quail coming from down slope. They struck me as sounding somewhat like Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata) but perhaps with a head cold. I managed to see several other west coast specialty species that were new for the year and got my first good looks at a Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) which until then I had only ever heard. After an hour and a half I began moving eastward towards Gloria Road in San Benito county where I hoped to add the last two of my expected target life species for the trip. Upon reaching the Monterey/San Benito County line and dropping into San Benito County I had a Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli) fly across the road which was an unexpected year bird. Getting out to look for the Magpie I heard a slightly off-sounding goldfinch flying overhead. Several minutes later a second group of Lawrence's Goldfinches (Spinus lawrencei) flew over, giving me better views. I was relieved to have found this species as it was becoming something of a nemesis for me. Continuing down the road I made it to the water tank just before 11 am. I settled in to wait for the other target species to arrive, but upon scanning the edge of the tank I found it almost immediately. Eventually about a half dozen Bell's Sparrows (Artemisiospiza belli). While the range of the canescens ssp of Bell's Sparrow is closer to NM (with some even wintering as close as western AZ), I was happy to see these coastal Bell's Sparrows for my first introduction to the species. They looked quite striking compared to the more subdued Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis) I was used to and the differences were pretty obvious. Most surprising was a Bobcat (Lynx rufus) that came in to drink at the tank less than 20 feet from me.

Bobcat (Lynx rufus) drinking from a cattle tank

Gloria Rd, San Benito County, CA

Sep. 2, 2018

After my adventure in the hills of central California it was time to make tracks south and eastward. After debating for several hours on my way back to Los Angeles I decided not to try for the Ruff (Calidris pugnax) that had been hanging around for some time. I probably should have, but that's a bird I'll undoubtedly run into sooner or later and I didn't feel like getting off the I-210 bypass and try battling the traffic. I managed to escape the gravitational pull of the greater L.A. area with minimal stop-and-go traffic and continued east. After doing some reconnaissance on eBird I found a few spots around Blythe, I wanted to check out. Situated on the west side of the Colorado River, I figured it would be fun to look for some Southwest specialties in this corner of California. The next morning I poked around the Palo Verde Reserve and a few other spots amid the agricultural fields of Blythe and found about 80+ species in 3 hours including Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii), Dusky Flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri), and Abert's Towhee (Melozone aberti) the latter being a year bird.

Abert's Towhee (Melozone aberti)

Palo Verde Reserve, Riverside County, CA

Sep. 3, 2018

I ended the trip with 7 life birds (648 US/675 Life) and over 160 species for the trip. I covered 2671 miles over a little over 4.5 days. My 2018 list now sits at 544 which is one species shy of the personal record I set last year (which included a trip to Sonora, MX so only 503 species were observed in the US in 2017). Looking forward to getting back to the West Coast soon.

Black-footed Albatross

Pacific Ocean off Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, CA

Sep. 1, 2018