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

A Coastal Stroll

Snowy Egrets tango

I needed time alone.  And time to think.  I wanted to be among strangers.  Or so I thought. 

I rented a bed at the Monterey Hostel where I would casually stroll to the Fisherman's Wharf and watch the Sea Otters while enjoying some clam chowder. Along the way, I watched everyone, humans and wildlife, interact with the ocean.  I've been wanting the ocean life lately.  I used to live near Monterey about 18 years ago.  Being back in this coastal town brought back a flood of good memories. 

Juvenile Western Gull

How could have so much time passed?! Why haven't I come here more often to visit?

Pelagic Cormorant

Instead of accidentally seeing a sea otter like most tourists do, I intentionally found several in the appropriate habitat munching on some tasty shellfish. Monterey's coastal kelp forest helps maintain a healthy population of these endangered mammals. I lost myself within my own thoughts while watching these magnificent creatures. 

Sea Otter

I grabbed a bowl of clam chowder and sat alone enjoying the anonymity.  I hadn't birded alone like this for a long time. California still feels foreign to me but I am comfortable with that feeling now. It's the reason why I don't live there anymore.  But I wasn't there to live.  I was there to "just be". In my humble opinion, California is a great place to visit, but it's not a great place to live. $$$$$  Everything is $$$$$$$$. The coastal towns are crowded BUT there are gems hiding everywhere in these areas. You just have to know where to look. Luckily for me, I'm a birder and most of the places were off the beaten path away from the tourists. 

Black Oystercatcher

 When dear friends suggested they'd like to visit after my pelagic, I was excited.  I hadn't seen my friends Laura and Chris for years!  In fact, Laura was pregnant with her first child when I last saw her.  Now, she has two full grown girls!  Where does the time pass???!!!!  So many thoughts went through my head.  We were babies when we began teaching all those years ago.  Laura picked me up in her then boyfriend's car and we went to school together as new first year teachers. Our parents were around the age we are now.  I sat drinking my coffee enjoying their company.  It was hard to say good-bye to them by the end of the day.  And I realized that I really didn't want them to leave. I had missed my friends. 

I missed laughing with them and doing the random stuff like we always used to do in Northern California. Here we were once again, former roommates, all standing together and not doing much of anything except enjoying each other's company.  

Oak Titmouse

After they left, I took one last walk with my friend Lynda.  Together, we had dinner and watched raccoons feed along the rocky shore.  When we said good-bye, I was alone again.  But this time, I didn't like it.  What an interesting thing to be surrounded by old memories and comforted by the presence of wonderful friends. 

I went to bird several places within walking distance and had fun. The key to traveling in California is to stay close to where you need to be so that you don't have to drive.  Driving is the worst in CA! So I did everything on foot.

Townsend's Warbler

California can be pricey, especially the Monterey/Half Moon Bay area. And then there's San Francisco!  I have found some cheaper alternatives for a trek back there again, but I want to bring Micheal with me. He needs to see this area.  

Mixing birding and friends together is the best kind of bird adventure possible. While I enjoy those quiet moments of concentration and just being, I also look forward to having fun doing....whatever. 

We went to a place called "Lover's Point" and sure enough, we found two of them making out on this bench! It was actually quite beautiful. 

But no matter where we go, I always keep my eyes open for a possible new bird.......

Rhinoceros Auklet

And so it would happen.  My next life bird, the Pigeon Guillemot, hung out around the shoreline of Lover's Point. 

Pigeon Guillemot

Another was bathing nearby!  Either way, it was a cool encounter and a fun photo shoot!

On our last day, we had a group photo taken in the famous Cannery Row district. 

My trek to Monterey is not over. I had one last day to bird and do some studies. Stay tuned for more........

Magic!

Birding is magic. No matter where we go, there is always something incredible to see.

Dream. Organize. Research. And go! When I am completely alone, I can hear all the barely audible sounds. A leaf crunching.  A "peek" note not quite that of the Yellow-rumped Warbler. The soft patter of feet on bark. An odd acorn falling from the oak.  And it's my ears, not my eyes, that lead me to the birds. 

The island subspecies of the California Quail

Take for example this island subspecies of California Quail(above) and Orange-crowned Warbler(below).  It was important that we find these birds.  According to the people on Catalina Island, the California Quail is different from the one on the mainland.  One person even boldly declared it a separate species.  Not yet.  There are 8 subspecies of this quail!  I couldn't tell this one apart from the other subspecies of  California Quails I've seen in the past. Apparently, it's the smaller version that was brought to the island during a time when there were still indigenous people living there.

the island subspecies of the Orange-crowned Warbler

With our next bird, the Orange-crowned Warbler, we didn't have to look far!  Unlike other Orange-crowned Warblers, this subspecies lives all year round on the Channel Islands. It even looks very different from the other OCWA's I've seen. It looked bigger and that bill!!! 

Orange-crowned Warbler found on the mainland-note bill difference

 We did see quite a difference in behavior and appearance. 

Western Gulls fighting over a dead Garibaldi

No matter where we go, we always observe something very special.  It's addicting. It's fun.  And sometimes, it's super exhausting!

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Either way, we're having fun visiting our feathered friends.

A curious Olive Warbler

You see, it's not about finding them anymore.  It's about understanding them in their natural habitat. I used to think it was so hard to find some of these birds, but today, thanks to experience and a lot of work out in the field, it's so much easier!  Some might say magic!

Female Gila Woodpecker on Ocotillo

What a beautiful world!  What an amazing place to explore!  Forget the politics, the family and friend drama, and all the other things that weigh us down.  

"Yes, operator.  Is there any cell service here?"

OH! And don't forget work which seems to take over our personal lives!!!  My job doesn't define who I am.  It isn't my only reason to live.  Work is just work. It pays the bills. And I like my students and subject matter. I mean, it's a job and it makes my day go by fast. When I'm out in nature with my birds or working with others, I'm happy.  Each day holds a magical moment if we allow it into our lives.  Until next time....  

Lazuli Buntings