Terns Of Endearment

Western Tiger Swallowtail

I wish we could have slowed down our time in California.  It was such a nice stay full of great birds and memories.  We stayed close to the beach and had fun looking at the birds along the shoreline. 

Arctic Tern-blood red/orange thickish shorter bill

Besides the many Brown Pelicans, we also saw many terns.  The previous week in Arizona, we had a super rare Arctic Tern show up at a local watering hole. It had been my only tern for the year which was rather surprising!  Usually a Forster's or Least Tern shows up in April first.  Instead it was the super rare Arctic Tern.  Okay!  I'll take it. 

We did well staying away from people, but people gravitated towards each other and we had to be conscience of this.  Thankfully Cheroot, the wonder dog, helped maintain social distance with his grouchy demeanor. He's really not grouchy.  He loves hanging with his friends, but he doesn't like strangers! Or dogs off their leash!  I don't have a dog because I'm a cat person but dog owners are sometimes so irresponsible. Sure, you're dog is friendly and so am I.  However, some dogs are not friendly and are put on a leash for a reason(besides it being the law! to protect wildlife) "Free dogs" who are social put themselves in danger by running up to defensive pooches.  It was a new element to our birding that I hadn't much thought about.  A lady in Balboa Park laughed and said her unleashed dog was friendly and that it was "okay".  Yes, we love your dog, but Cheroot will rip the dog apart because of your negligence!  If I were a cat, I'd hiss. 

Forster's Tern

Let's talk about birds. While at the beach, we were noticing a lot of terns flying over our heads.  And with a closer look, we noticed quite a few species of tern.  My friend Celeste mentioned there was black at the tip of the bill.  That narrowed the bird down to a Caspian or Forster's Tern.  I saw her bird and then noticed it had a thin orange bill with a beautiful tail pattern.  Forster's. But what were the other terns?!

The next tern we saw breeds in the same area as the Snowy Plovers.  And sure enough, a Least Tern flew over our heads.  They weren't as numerous as the other species and an easy one to ID.  Small tern with a yellow bill. 

Least Tern

Wildlife and visitors continued along the beach of Southern California.  In one area, we had both Harbor Seals (or Common Seal) in one colony while several rocks over, we saw a huge group of California Sea Lions.  

Harbor Seals

It's tricky for birders.  Terns are magnificent creatures, but they aren't always easy in their varied plumage.  Often I go with the bill as a field mark.  We were lucky as we had clear marks.  I start getting into trouble when both Arctic and Common terns are in the same area.  Then there's the Elegant Tern vs the Royal Tern.  We did see a few Royal Terns while we were there. Let's take a look.

Royal Tern

Here's a shot of both species.  Royal Terns will also have the black cap.  This one does not.  The bills are slightly thicker with the Royal Tern.  The tern also has a paler orange/yellow coloring. 

Elegant Tern

When you look at the Elegant Tern, you'll see a longer skinnier orange bill.  It's also a large and elegant tern. REALLY:)  These terns are more common along the coast of Southern California right now and were the predominant tern species over the waters. 

Another tern that I know well is the Caspian Tern. It breeds along the shores of Lake Michigan in my home state of Wisconsin.  This tern is widespread and a bulky tern with a heavy orange bill with a dark end. This was the second most common tern species along the coastal waters.  

Caspian Tern

During the in between time, we'd all sit and enjoy the shade.  The ocean is great but the sun can still be very strong.  We found shade and charged our batteries under a tree full of Allen's Hummingbirds. 

A tern that I had been wanting to observe in the wild finally happened on this trek.  All of my friends have seen this species except me:)  That was such a wonderful discovery.  I thought I had seen one fly over my head.  My heart skipped a beat and my pace quickened on the beach towards the salt marsh.  These birds were outside the clouds of terns over the estuary.  They were fishing from the calmer waters of the salt marsh.  Easy to ID with that nice black bill. 

Gull-billed Tern

Where did we see all these terns?  Well, we found them at Imperial Beach along the Tijuana Slough that borders the ocean front.   Here is the list that we generated from our walk. Directions to get there are in the report.  One bird we did not see was the Ridgway's Rail which is often found there in good numbers.  But we didn't time our visits to the tide.  When the tide rises, you have a better chance of spotting this very cool and endangered rail. 

The end of the pier behind Celeste is where you can find the Pelagic Cormorants, when it opens again.  Great eats along that road as well

I want to also share with you that it's possible to observe all three cormorants in this area.  The most common cormorants seen are the Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants.  The more difficult one can be the Pelagic.  But for some reason, the purplish hues of the beautiful Pelagic Cormorant love the end of the big Imperial Beach pier.  Even though the pier was closed, I did spy one bird fly towards the end of it. 

Brandt's Cormorant

It was a lovely walk.  The past two posts covered 5 principal areas of what I think are San Diego's premier birding spots.  There's a few more but we avoided those areas due to high human traffic.  We stayed near Balboa Park which is a really nice walk and full of great birds including the exotics.  We spied Red-crowned and Yellow-headed Parrots with Red-headed Parakeets.  Also feeding from the grasses were the Scaly-breasted Munia. 

Other stops included the beautiful Imperial Beach and Tijuana Slough, La Jolla coastal area, Torrey-Pines State Park, the Bird and Butterfly Garden near the Tijuana border, and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park where we saw this beautiful California Thrasher below. 

California Thrasher

If anything, this trek inspired me to get on the road soon.  But something was holding me back.  I'm glad I waited.  The bird gods have been kind to the birding community in Arizona. 

Maybe not exciting, but I think beautiful, the Western Gulls were nesting along the coastal cliffs. 

Western Gull

On our way home, we spied this very young Green Heron at a park in Yuma, AZ.  At one point I had to take this poor little heron out of the pond because a girl ran up to it and forced it into the water. It barely could swim. It needed a few days to get more strength. She knew what she was doing and it pissed me off. Back in the day, you could yell at kids freely(or talk to them nicely). I was hungry and grouchy and not in the mood to deal with kids. So instead, I had a talk with her mother while giving her the death stare. Then I rescued the little bird who couldn't get out of the pond due to the concrete pond wall being too high.  Hope this little one is okay.  Just needs a few days to strengthen up.  

juvenile Green Heron

So if you are chasing terns along the coast of Southern California, here are the terns we saw most to least being the Least:)

1. Elegant Tern-the most common
2. Caspian Tern
3. Forster's Tern
4. Gull-billed Tern
5. Royal Tern
6. Least Tern

We're back in Southern Arizona enduring the heat and wildfires.  Please think good thoughts for our Mt. Lemmon.  The Bighorn Fire was caused by a lightning strike for about a week now. As we were arriving back into Tucson, we hit the huge lightning storm. It has done some major damage to the mountain. I hope we can get it under control. Fire is good but it's not cool when you have your friend's home in danger of getting burned down.  It's painful to watch the wildlife flee their homes off the mountain.  June is already a stressful time for all the critters with water and heat being major factors. And the smoke! Is it covid or smoke that's causing the headaches? It's one thing after another these days. Next week, we take a longer and deeper look into the magic of Southeastern Arizona birding. 

Not my image, from ABC 15 news

With A Watchful Eye

A parent Barn Swallows feeding young at Woodland Dunes in Two Rivers

Moments are all we ever will have.  I tried memorizing the Wisconsin landscape one last time. 

As the young were getting ready to leave their parents, so was I.  Once again the summer flew by much too quickly.

My brother's beautiful oasis.

Wisconsin was the end of my 2018-19 birding season. It will be some time before I go back again. 

I realized that everything is different now.  I cannot help but see the past everywhere I go.  Faces that were once a fixture of a place are now gone.  It's like the town grew old without me. 

For the first time in my life, I actually felt like my family had dodged a bullet.  My Dad was going to be okay this time, but I got a glimpse of the future and I didn't like what I saw. 

Green Heron in Manitowoc

I don't feel any different here in Arizona.  When I observe birds in Wisconsin though, I feel some strange past connection.  The birding has a weight to it.  In Arizona, it's a fun daily game.  But when I see a bird in my hometown, it's like hearing an old 80's song from high school. It floods my brain with memories and people.

Common Yellowthroat

Sometimes I'd walk down causeways.  I like lighthouses.  And I like gulls and cold lake air.  I memorize the smells and feelings that belong to that moment. I am in command of that moment. There will never be another moment like it.  I see my future and I am at peace with it. But living in the moment can be difficult for me because I know the "now" can never last forever.  In that moment, everything is as it should be, safe. It won't be that way again. 

A lighthouse in Kewaunee

The mascot of this blog is the Bonaparte's Gull.  It is a gull that I love most. It's also why it's the header to Las Aventuras. I wish I could trap this moment and return to it again and again and again. It brings me joy. 

A Bonaparte's Gull

Whether it was a birding thing or family outing, I tried to absorb every detail. Normally, I "disappear" from my family when I'm not home visiting. I'm in Arizona and if it weren't for texts, I'd be missing in action for months.  I hate talking on the phone and am not one for writing letters anymore.  We all live our busy lives.  When I'm home, I catch up on all the daily happenings between the family members.  

In the Upper Pennisula of Michigan with my Dad and Jax

I see patterns and cycles. Change does not happen easily there. Perhaps we are all stubborn and set in our ways.  I wonder if we all truly appreciate that we are together.  One event flows into the other without really giving everyone a chance to think about the experience.  Or appreciating that moment. It's always planning for the next. Maybe it's because my siblings have children and that's what children do, talk about the "next thing" that they're going to do instead of taking in the moment.  I tried working with 4 of the nephews and nieces on that one.  We were at a movie and my niece asked me what we were going to do the next day.  I told them to just watch the movie:)

Henslow's Sparrow at High Cliff State Park

One morning I won't forget anytime soon will be the one where I went with Travis to find the Henslow's Sparrow in a prairie 40 minutes away from home. It would complete my sparrow chase for the state and the list of new sparrows I had hoped to observe in the field for this summer. What a wonderful morning out as we watched this amazing lifer sing on top of the bushes surrounded by a sea of grass.

My Dad and I usually do a trek out to Washington Island from Door County.  We took J-man with us.  I'll say he was pretty good for most of the time, but not having had children myself, he certainly knew how to get me to snap.  There was one night I blew a gasket with him.  He wanted up and down and up and down and up and down a chair while I was trying to get a project done.  I don't know where that darkness came from but it emerged quickly and took only a moment to put this 3, turning 4 year old, in his place.  I can't believe I actually yelled at him. I love that kid. I actually went to bed upset that I snapped at him. 

In Door County

There are so many voices in a family.  Quiet time is a must.  If I don't have that space, I unravel into a nightmare of a human.  I know myself well enough to make that an important thing.  My father tries to do the same, but he often can't escape the noise.  We both have that in common.  Peace and quiet are sacred things and I wish we all respected those a little more with each other because it is important.

One day, I watched Trumpeter Swans at Horicon alone. I only had a few hours to play.  If this had been in Arizona, I'd have spent the whole day there counting birds. 

My brother created his peaceful retreat.  He put his pontoon into the river by his home.  This land used to be my Grandmother's before she passed. I'm glad he has it now.  It's so beautiful there. While home, we took the pontoon up and down the river. I'm proud of my brother for taking something precious and making it better. That river is incredible.  

My little sister pulls the pontoon to the dock in her fancy shoes

But at the end, I was ready to go home.  It had been a great summer, but I had work waiting for me back in Tucson. It will be another several years before I head back to Wisconsin.  My birding year for next year is already planned.  I'll be in Oregon and Washington this October and Hawaii in December.  Then there are potential treks to New Zealand, Florida, Thailand and Central America.  One of them will have to be cut from the schedule, but for now I'm leaving it all open. 

This little guy will be bigger the next time I see him. I hope he stays curious and continues his love for the outdoors. Over the next several weeks, we head back to Arizona for a scouting mission, a birding festival and trek to Greer in the White Mountains.  

Until next time friends......

Playa Tamarindo

While visiting Liberia, we had set a day aside for a trek to the nearby Playa Tamarindo.  We were hoping to find some sea birds along the beach and estuary. 

One of the biggest discussions for this trip was whether or not we'd rent a car.  It's easy and many tourists do it. We spoke with several of them about their experiences and for the most part, they were glad they had their car. However, it is also costly and can be stressful during severe weather situations.  Sometimes the conditions of the roads were terrible.  Sometimes we observed that parking was an issue. And other times, we discovered that having a car would have added hours onto our route because we couldn't short cut via boat or train. Local transportation in Costa Rica is sound.  And it's also cheap. So we began our early trek at the Liberian bus station.  Here's a tip for people thinking about using the buses here. ALWAYS find out when the last bus leaves an area and you'll be ok. Schedules change often so speak with the person at the counter selling the tickets. My greatest fear was missing that last bus back to Liberia. 

The local bus stopped at every little town on the way to pick up people wanting a little beach time.  Some people worked in Tamarindo.  Little did we know, but it was also a huge tourist magnet. And there seemed to be plenty of surfers. 

Green Heron

But that didn't stop us from birding.  We were asked by several people if we wanted a nature tour.  The price was around 20 dollars per person.  Knowing that we'd do treks like this in other places, we opted out. Plus, I've found that we're our own best guides. 

Orange-chinned Parakeet

One of our target bird groups was the hummingbird.  Where in the world were they?

We certainly saw signs for them.  And where were the sea birds?  Where were the gulls and terns??!! None of them would have been a lifer but I was looking forward to observing a few of these birds along the beach. From my Central American experiences, I actually think the Caribbean side of Central America is better for sea birds along the coast during the summer.  I was, however, surprised by 2 Brown Pelicans and 4 White Ibis!  Definitely not on my radar. 

It came time for lunch.  Picking a spot was difficult because there were a lot of great places to eat.  I wanted something Costa Rican while the other two wanted something different.  So we found a nice mix of restaurants with general outdoor seating. It was popular with the young surfer crowd.  I listened to the conversations that I once had myself not so many years ago.  "Where are you from again?" "I'm from California. I'm sorry, where did you say you're from?" "I'm from Switzerland." And then on and on.  When will they mention the party? There's always a party involved.  And as if on cue, "Did you go to last night's party? I drank 9 cups of______" The conversations were deep and full of the standard self-absorption that you'd expect to find with young adults. That still didn't stop me from eavesdropping🙂 "Yeah, I've been here and there." And blah blah blah. At one point, one of the dude's asked the Cali girl if she remembered him from the night before.  And she replied straight out, "No." and walked away.  Ouch.  I guess they won't be "hooking up" anytime soon. 

Green Iguana

Sex, alcohol and our crazy youth.  They used to be part of the every day adventure. Not anymore.  Now, instead of the thrill of the party; it's all about finding wildlife.  It's weird how our life priorities change as we get older. We left the surfers behind and no one noticed the "old" people leaving.  Ouch!

Great Kiskadee

Back on the beach, we slowly moved away from the crowds of people and headed towards the estuary hoping to find a Boat-billed Heron or pirate.  We didn't find either, but we did see this....

A parent Mantled Howler Monkey watched as its offspring fed from the lower branches of a tree. 

I kept my distance because I know how powerful these monkeys can be!  Over the years, I've had one try and bite me in Peru.  Another threw poop at me in southern Costa Rica.  And yet another monkey nearly hit me with a mango in Panama.  Thankfully, the longer lens allows us closer viewing. 

At one point, this little one stared into the eyes of Gordon.  He probably thought that Gordon looked like Charlton Heston from Planet of the Apes.  "Look, it's a man!"

The skies became darker and we could hear a storm in the distance. 

Streak-backed Oriole

As we headed back to our bus stop, we paused to look at some birds we have observed in the past.  

White-fronted Parrots above and below. 

And while we saw quite a few birds, I'm not sure we picked up anything new. I know Gordon added his lifer Blue-gray Tanagers to the list.  Still, it was a fun trek to the beach.  

Hoffman's Woodpecker

The most interesting observation for me on this day came from the Brown-crested Flycatcher. It's important to note that this bird is of the Ometepe subspecies. I've noticed that ebird has started listing subspecies for this flycatcher. As we'll find out in several posts, I'll explain why it's often important to add the subspecies listing when possible. 

Brown-crested Flycatcher(Ometepe subspecies)

The nerdy bird discussion must have gotten the best of Micheal.  While he said he was still birding, I caught him using his binoculars for other interesting beach sightings:) 

Then a crocodile nabbed him!😉  Seriously though, we did see two of these large reptiles near the estuary.  Some of you may have heard of a surfer a couple years back attacked by one of these ocean crocs in Tamarindo.  It was a rare incident. From what I saw, the public beach was busy and full of swimmers and surfers.  Crocs prefer the shallower calm waters near mangroves.  As we neared the estuary, where they like to hang out, we kept on the lookout.  There are signs but as we know, not everyone reads them.  Overall, it's really a beautiful place to surf and enjoy the beach.  

For our Tamarindo report, click here.  Until next time.....surf's up!