On the 12th Month....

One step at a time. One month at a time.  One bird at a time.  It's time to take a look back on this years very often slow trek to the top, finding birds. 

We began in January.  It was a good start to the year finding 4 new lifers in one month.  That's almost unheard of these days. The birding was fun and the temps were wonderfully COLD!  I love birding in the cold weather.  On a rare snowy day in Sierra Vista, I found my exciting lifer, the American Bittern.  Then it was off to Lake Havasu where we found another cool bird, the Yellow-billed Loon.  These two bird species are favorites of mine and I had been really looking forward to observing them in the wild. Then, on a windy day, I chased the McCown's Longspurs.  I like grassland birds, but I had a nasty headache from the blustery conditions in Green Valley while helping birders target these two longspurs. If I were ever a paid guide, I think my strength would be finding grassland birds.  Another bird, which was less exciting, was the Barrow's Goldeneye.  All birds are awesome BUT some birds are more exciting to find than others.

Let's begin. January, 2016 I began the year with 706 observed bird species in my life.  And then it began as I added American Bittern, Yellow-billed Loon, Barrow's Goldeneye and McCown's Longspur

In February, the Rusty Blackbird continued.  It took 3 attempts to find this bird and eventually it happened.  I love blackbirds a lot and adding this lifer was a thrill for me.  Thanks to Brian for the encouragement to keep chasing it. 

Rusty Blackbird

Then March arrived.  I was SO looking forward to our trek out to California.  And all of it was a complete joy.  I love the ocean.  And I love all these birds.  The landscape was gorgeous and so was the ride out to Catalina Island. 
So in March, I added Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Black Turnstone and Spotted Dove.

In April, I began lacking the energy needed for chasing birds.  It was starting to get hot outside and the idea of standing in the desert sun was not my idea of fun.  I almost didn't go but thanks to Magill's encouragement, I went.  And I got myself a random lifer, AND RARE!, warbler for the state.  April-Prothonotary Warbler

If April was hot, May was even hotter.  I wasn't thrilled about hearing a Black Rail.  I would have liked to see the bird but it's a difficult one to see in the wild.  We chased the ABA first, Pine Flycatcher.  Thanks Jeremy for driving!  They were hot days and the only way I survived was by drinking ice cold water in my camelpack. Not my idea of fun birding.  While the excitement level was high, I was looking forward to birding in Wisconsin during the month of June in cooler temps. May-Black Rail, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pine Flycatcher

Then June came.  I didn't go anywhere exotic, but I did find myself enjoying the cooler temps of Lake Michigan with my people.  I missed being around the Wisconsin birding crowd. It was a tight study in a window of 3 weeks.  During this trek with Gordon, we landed the most lifers including rare gems like the Kentucky, Cerulean and Kirtland's Warblers.  Many were a lot of fun to look for.....except maybe the Mourning Warbler due to the intense cloud of mosquitoes. 
June-Yellow-throated Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Sedge Wren, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, Kirtland's Warbler, American Woodcock, Little Gull, Mourning Warbler, Winter Wren and Alder Flycatcher.

In July, it was back to the heat.  I didn't want to return to Arizona but I had to save money.  I didn't think anything was going to come my way.  That is, until a Hudsonian Godwit flew into Arizona.  This is where I began to change as a birder.  

California Scrub-Jay

I could see that my days for chasing year birds in Arizona were coming to an end. I saw the massive crowd of birders and realized that it was time to move forward in my life as a birder.  I chased the Godwit because it was a lifer.  The weather was miserable and so was my attitude. At this point, I began taking my name off of the top 100 ebirders in Arizona and the US.  This was not a game for me, nor is birding a competition. ABA added the California Scrub-Jay and Townsend's Storm-Petrel as separate species ....and I added two more birds to my lifelist in July making it three lifers. July-Hudsonian Godwit, Townsend's Storm-Petrel and California Scrub-Jay

Hudsonian Godwit

Then August came.  And for a brief moment, I remembered the fall like temps of the North.  And I remembered how much I loved birding.  After many attempts of searching for this bird, it finally happened.   August-American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

I was truly expecting ZERO lifers in September until Hurricane Newton came our way.  The sky turned dark and gray.  It was rainy and cool.  And I felt alive.  I also felt like something magical was going to happen.  And it did!  The eye of Newton broke up close to home, introducing me to a new species from the Galapagos Islands!  RARE!  Storm-Petrels are another favorite of mine and so my blood was pumping after finding three different species here in the desert!  THIS was the BEST birding day of the year for me. And it will go down as a historic day in birding for the state of Arizona.  September-Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel

My life at this point was overrun with overtime and work.  But the saving grace was a trek out to Monterey, CA where I'd be out on the ocean for several days.  This month would land me several important lifers and bring me closer to completing my birding chapter in California.  This was another fun California trek with Debi Love Shearwater. October-Pigeon Guillemot, South Polar Skua, Black-footed Albatross, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Lesser Sand Plover, Buller's and Flesh-footed Shearwater




In November, I did not find any lifers.  However, I have been adding old files into iNaturalist and I wanted to verify an ID on this hummingbird below.  I had labeled it a White-necked Jacobin, but the ID had never sat quite right with me.  When a birder is unfamiliar with new birds, it can be difficult.  To make it worse, I wasn't truly a birder in 2011. I was more like a bird photographer. I had only started getting interested with the birding challenge after this trip to Panama.  So technically, I added a tick on my list by adding this beautiful Snowy-bellied Hummingbird.  So November wasn't really a bust:)  When a birder can ID a bird with certainty, it then makes the bird a lifer even though I saw this bird back in Boquete in June of 2011. 

Snowy-bellied Hummingbird

And finally December.  It has been a long month and I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to add any new birds to my list.  However, several days ago I was able to add on Thayer's Gull and Eastern Screech-Owl during my visit to Wisconsin.  

Eastern Screech-Owl

This has been a hard fought year for some tough birds.  The rarity highlights include the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, Pine Flycatcher and Lesser Sand Plover.  We'll see you back next year, but for now I'm wishing everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden

On a much needed escape, I headed out to California to find several birds to add to my life list.  Anytime you bird in California, you need to give yourself time to get to and from your destinations.  One of our treks would take us to Arcadia, home to the beautiful Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.  

Indian Peacock

We arrived early so that we would avoid the nasty traffic and also find ourselves a decent parking space before the masses arrived.  However, we didn't expect to find the Pasadena Audubon group getting ready for their Saturday morning bird walk! BONUS! So we joined our guide, the very funny Julia Ray and had a great morning out. 

As expected, the gardens were worth the visit. It's also a reliable area to find several birds that can't be found anywhere else!  In fact, we found both target species within the first 10 minutes of parking our car!  So our running joke was, "Found our target birds, time to go."  But it was just a joke. When you find your target birds right away, you can enjoy all the other birds at a relaxed pace.  The way it should be. 

Downy Woodpecker working on a his nesting hole

Another part of our trek to California was really to pay attention to the subspecies.  Rumor has it that some will be broken into their own species. Take for example this brightly colored "Coastal" Western Scrub-Jay.  The bird looks slightly different from Arizona's very own "Woodhouse's" subspecies.  It even acts differently and isn't as shy!

Western Scrub Jay(the Coastal Subspecies)

The garden is home to several watering holes full of varied vegetation which attracts a lot of incredible birds. 

A common winter bird for California is the Allen's Hummingbird.  Here, he sips the nectar from one of the many flowering plants at the park. 

Allen's Hummingbird

And the plants were just beginning to bloom. 

Our first targeted bird, the Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, is a native to South America.  However, here in Los Angeles, the birds seem to be doing quite well. 

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet on a Silk Floss Tree

We had a high count around the garden.  These birds are not considered ABA countable and yet they have established themselves in the Los Angeles area. 

They were seen in great numbers around the Silk Floss trees.  We had a count of 26 birds in this location. Their numbers seem to be increasing just like our own Rosy-faced Lovebirds(in Phoenix) in these human created urban spaces.  Will it be ABA countable for those ABA listers in CA?  Only time will tell. 

So we continued further into the urban jungle searching for the Red-whiskered Bulbuls.  Our other exotic target species. 

And to be honest, it was all rather too easy:)  We found a healthy population on the garden grounds. 

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Again, we found evidence of nesting happening in the area. The birds were out calling in many different areas. They are native to southern Asia, Pakistan and Southern China. 

It's a lovely bird and one that I had never seen before.  For all of these new birds, all I had to do was listen for a different call.  With it being spring, we had no problem locating our birds. 

During courtship, the male will lower his head in a bow to the female.  The nest is built in the fork of a tree.  The adult pair may have 2-3 broods a year. Again this bird is not ABA countable in CA....yet. I think they are countable in Florida. I put the ABA part on now because I have several readers who are actually ABA listers.  My purpose in birding is to seek out new bird species(on the official list or not) and learn about them. 

And finally, we discovered an adorable nest of Bushtits.  They are cute little gray birds that often forage together in groups of 8-12 individuals. 

Bushtit

What beautiful views they have from their hanging nest!  

And for you trinket lovers out there, they have a shop with all kinds of knickknacks. They also have a coffee shop and small restaurant for a snack after your walk is done. 

Overall, we had a fabulous morning out.  I'd like to thank Julia Ray for showing us around this beautiful botanical garden. For more about the birds, click on our ebird checklist here. Until next time....