An Ocean Between Us

Each year, Las Aventuras decides to spend the holidays somewhere strange and mysterious.  I needed to jump start this big 2014 year with lots of new discoveries.  And thus it was decided.....a camping trip to Santa Cruz Island off of the coast of Southern California.  My heart lately has been drawn to the great mysteries of the ocean.  I needed a break from the desert and a change of pace.  It is now time to leave my beloved Arizona and discover more of the US.

We took a trek across the Pacific Ocean to find the Island Scrub-Jay on Santa Cruz Island.  The only place in the world to find the Island Scrub-Jay.  With our gear packed and batteries charged, we crossed over to Channel Islands National park where we would spend two days exploring part of the nearly 22 mile long island.

Western Gull

And so we left the beaches of Ventura, California and headed away from the overpopulated coastal cities of LA towards the isolated and quiet islands of this fantastic national park!  Had it not been for the Island Scrub-Jay, I may have never known about this place!  The lure of an endemic bird is very attractive, but one doesn't need to twist my arm to head towards the great and vast ocean.

As we left port, we prepared for the pelagic part of our trip.....that is......searching for birds only found in the ocean. What an amazing show!  So many life birds were found on that day!  As we approached shore, we prepared our gear for set up.  And so the tent went up.  The food locked up.  Santa Cruz is home to its' own endemic island fox.  It didn't take long before these cat sized animals found their way into our campsite at Scorpion Ranch Campground.

I have to tell you the story of the Island Fox because I think it will make you smile.  It's not often we hear success stories in the wild so I'd like to share something positive for a change.  In the 90's, this fox almost went extinct.  I know I know....it doesn't sound like a happy story, but give me a chance to explain:)

In the 70's, DDT had been wiping out birds to near extinction.  This chemical got into the water supply poisoning fish and other creatures. The birds ate the fish which made bird egg shells very brittle. When the parent birds sat on the nest, the eggs were often destroyed.  Bald Eagles were once a common bird on this island until DDT wiped out the entire population.  When these fish eating eagles disappeared, the Golden Eagle took over the areas that the Bald Eagles used to inhabit. And the Golden Eagles eat small mammals.  The fox became prey and their populations were almost wiped out.

An intervention happened with the fox in the late 90's to save it from extinction.  The remaining few were then captured and captive breed.  DDT by this time was banned in the US and the Golden Eagles relocated. With the threat eliminated, the fox was released back into the wild.  Today their population numbers are healthy and growing. And so are the Bald Eagles:)  However, the fox is not shy around people.  People are not supposed to feed the wildlife, but I saw a person throwing food into another person's campsite to take pictures!!!!  I wonder how he'd like it if someone put food around his tent?!!!

The hiking around the island is epic with sweeping landscapes and wonderful trails.  But we still couldn't find our Jay!!!  When I asked Park Rangers if they had seen the Island Scrub-Jay around Scorpion Ranch, they all just shook their heads.  Even the guides told us that it was unlikely we'd find the Jays around the campground.  I was a little frustrated.  We had gone all that way to find this bird!  But with all the birding experience now, my eyes have gotten better at spotting critters.  I had to believe that we could find this bird even with impossible odds. I'll leave specific tips below this photo essay at the end of my report in case you are interested in visiting this amazing island.

We hiked into a grove of Blue Gum Eucs.  The smell was wonderful.  The trees full of Allen's Hummingbirds and Townsend's Warblers. The white flowers were so calming as they swayed in the ocean breeze.

We walked in the shadow of the great Eucs along a dry wash.  The guides told me the Jay was secretive and liked to hang in the shadows.  So I kept my eyes open for any slight movement.  Of course this could have been all so much easier had we gone to Prisoner's Camp for the day trip 16 miles away.  Apparently they are very easy to spot in this location with their brilliant blue feathers along the picnic tables. But somehow this felt much more exciting......

Townsend's Warbler

From the corner of my eye, high up in the shadows of a Euc, I spotted something watching us from behind a branch.  American Robins, Fox Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere! Even a Sage Thrasher!  But this bird was acting differently.  The moment we spotted the bird, the Island Scrub-Jay revealed itself from the shadows and dazzled us with a brief and brilliant blue sparkle in the sunlight......much brighter in color than the Western Scrub-Jays. I cannot describe in words how brilliant that blue was in the sunlight other than....wow.  The picture does not do justice because as you can see, the Jay went back into the shadows.

Island Scrub-Jay

It was a high five moment for both of us as we achieved what seemed the impossible.  We were not successful locating the bird again during the last part of our stay.  Luckily, we spotted the bird early on during our island trip that we could explore other canyon areas and overlooks.  We climbed a steep hill and watched the whale migration from the cliffs.

While most of the US was/is under a freeze, we were able to enjoy the beautiful California sun.

On our trek back to Ventura, we spotted these amazing Orcas(CA 51 Matriline-the mammal eating kind:) It was incredibly cool to watch these creatures chase after a pod of dolphins.

This group had 5 individuals.  There was a mother with two calves.  Unfortunately I could not ID the other two.  I posted these shots on Facebook and a researcher excitedly contacted me on our sightings.  She gave me the family history and I could feel her emotion in the email.  That was very special and I'm glad I could help out the people protecting these beautiful creatures.

But like all good things........
With vacation almost over and my job starting up, it was time to grow up and settle down again until our next big adventure.  For my AZ birder friends, I will put some info below that hopefully will help with this trip if you are interested.

Information for the Island Scrub-Jay

Island Packers is the company you need in order to visit Santa Cruz Island from Ventura Harbor. The people were great and the boat trip was a one hour ride full of Cormorants, Murres, Shearwaters, Northern Fulmars, Jaegers, Grebes and Auklets!  We stayed overnight the night before our trip around the Ventura Harbor finding lots of great birds like the Black Oystercatchers, Willets, Marbled Godwits, Plovers(Snowy and Black-bellied), Sanderlings, Brown and American White Pelicans, a million Gulls (Western, CA, Ring-billed, Heerman's) and finally Whimbrels to name a few!) The road trip from Phoenix or Tucson is relatively quick.  It was full of active driving.  I liked this trip much better than the one to Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico because there was lots on the road to keep the mind active:)

Finding the Island Scrub-Jay.  This is a great trip to take with your other half.  If you are interested in just a day trip and an almost guaranteed sighting of the Jay, Prisoner's Harbor is where you need to go as they are quite common there.  If you want to camp(highly recommend!), reserve a campsite at Scorpion Ranch Camground.  It's super quiet after the day trippers leave and the campground wasn't full which made it even more special.  A reservation has to be made online for 15 dollars but there is no charge once you are at the campground.  Everything is packed in and out.  Bring a lock to protect your food from the Island Fox. Lock boxes are provided.  The fox got into everything. The camping option is great because there are a lot of amazing birds around the campground.....especially along the dry wash! It is there that we spotted one, possibly two, Jays. They are a little more difficult to find. There are pit toilets stocked with lots of toilet paper and excellent clean running water.  Happy birding!

Strides of Blue

This week's adventure takes us to the beautiful Channel Islands for some in depth study on a part of the Santa Cruz Island I had never been....Prisoner's Harbor. I'll also have some updates for people who have been thinking about visiting these amazing islands. 

I was feeling trapped inside with this terrible Tucson heat over the past several months and I very much needed something new and different to study with friends Celeste and Cheroot.  Originally, I had planned to stay in Antigua, Guatemala during my fall break for a very much needed Spanish retreat at this sanctuary in the hills, but Covid changed that plan.  Instead, within a safe 6 hour drive from Tucson, we headed to Ventura for specific wildlife studies. 

Cheroot brought his squirrels.  We brought our coolers for day lunches out on the beaches and parks. We contacted Island Packers for a mini pelagic out to Santa Cruz Island.  I was hoping for some whale and dolphin action in much needed cooler weather.  It did not disappoint.  In fact, for most of our stay, we were on the water. 

The boat ride is a little under an hour and a half.  Birds were on our itinerary but really it was all about the whales. 

Every time I've gone over to those islands, we've seen something special like a pod of Orcas, dolphins and a variety of whales. This trek would be no exception.  On this day, we observed 3 incredible Blue Whales up close. I cannot describe the excitement that we felt by seeing this incredibly large sea creature.  In fact, it's the largest mammal on the planet. 

Then there's the beauty of birding around the islands. We caught up with birder Eric Heisey below who also had similar plans to bird in the cooler temps.

It is as magical as it looks.  Complete wilderness and now free of human developments.

Once we arrived at Prisoner's Harbor we began to hike uphill onto Nature Conservancy land to study vegetation, birds, lizards and insects.  In some parts it was rather steep, but the views overlooking the island and ocean were incredible. 

 Back in 2014, Micheal and I went to camp at Scorpion's Point which was on the other side of the island. A storm a couple years back destroyed the pier and since then, the campground has been shut down.  BUT I have good news!  It will finally be opened up this November.  I highly recommend this camping trek.  It's a lot of fun and quite different from the experience at Prisoner's Harbor. 

We are birders and for Celeste, she had never seen the Island Scrub-Jay, one of the endemics only found on this island. People say that Prisoner's Harbor is the best place for this jay and it was.  We had many birds right at the entrance of the port. For me it was a better opportunity to study them up close.  Their numbers have grown over this 27 mile stretch of island.  In fact, Channel Islands National Park is a success story in conservation. 

Since our visit back in 2014, the Island Fox, yet another endemic, had a small number of reintroduced fox around Scorpion's Point. Today, this species has succeeded in repopulating Santa Cruz Island. They now number in the thousands. At one point, they almost went extinct due to predation by Golden Eagles, but thanks to great conservation plans and practices, I'm happy to report that this fox is back in business.

Celeste was hoping we'd see one so we backtracked from the tourists when they weren't around.  After our little hike up Pelican's Point, we turned around and headed to the picnic area for lunch.  The secret to finding one of these foxes?  Find stupid tourists who leave their food out.  And find vacated areas were stupid tourists were eating.  Celeste was talking to me when I noticed that one of the foxes came from out of nowhere to check out a recently vacated picnic area. The look on Celeste's face was priceless.  Yes, these foxy foxes are one of the many reasons to explore Channel Islands National Park. 

Not happy with ANY of the leftover food choices, this fox decided to find their own. 

And not too far away, a fresh meal was waiting to be found. A mouse!  Yum!

Another species that doesn't mind human food is the clever Common Raven.  Number 62, more on that in a bit, was watching a couple stupid tourists who were distracted by yellowjackets. True they could have been stung, but 62 had his eye on the turkey sandwich in the flailing male's hand.  As the yellowjackets overcame this unsuspecting tourist man, the raven took the opportunity to snatch the sandwich out of his grasp.  He brought it back to his "friend" and together they shared THEIR turkey sandwich.  And we, the birders, secretly scored the match between raven and man.  Corvid 1 Man 0

Now onto a TAGGED COMMON RAVEN!!!!  This species of bird is plentiful.  So why tag a raven?  Well, they are studying how these Common Ravens interact with the rare nesting Ashy Storm-Petrels on these islands. These Storm-Petrels already have a small population with about 10,000 in the world.  Their nesting grounds, the Channel Islands, are home to at least 50 known breeding pairs.  They are nocturnal and can be difficult to find on a nest as they choose cracks and crevices.  The pic below is not mine but it's an artist's recreation of where this secretive Storm-Petrel hangs out. 

This pic is from a trek I did several years ago during a Storm-Petrel study out along the California Coast.  Within their limited range, they are quite common, but if there ever was an oil spill, etc, it could have a devastating impact on this species. 

Unfortunately, we didn't see any storm-petrels on this trek, but I did learn about how some Common Ravens can raid these storm-petrel's nests. Hence the tagging.  I reported the tag to the banders. You can read that information here. In fact, the Channel Islands are all about restoring balance.  At one point, the Island Foxes almost went extinct due to Golden Eagles hunting them.  There had been Bald Eagles on the island but when they died from DDT poisoning, the mammal hunting Golden Eagles took over.  Today, the fish and duck hunting Bald Eagles are back on the island and the Island Foxes are back:)  It has taken years for the Nature Conservancy and National Park system to restore the balance to these islands.  And to see them today in their full glory is really quite something!

We had a successful trek out and I didn't want the day to end.  I think the California Coast is full of so many amazing wildlife opportunities. 

All good things have to come to an end, but we have one more adventure coming up....the wineries of Los Olivos and a certain magpie. 

Until next time.....

The Greener Past of Tucson

Hello all,

Tucson is a fascinating place.  I've lived here for quite awhile now.  Some years we see a lot of rain and other times we see hardly anything.  And that is the desert.  People living here for years.....and I mean years have recalled upon a time when rain was a constant in the desert.  They remember especially the monsoon rains always arriving everyday around early afternoon.  Today, Tucson still gets those rains but they are irregular in pattern.  What surprised me most came from several audio pieces by older Tucsonans.  Most of them have passed now, but they recall a time when the Santa Cruz river was actually a river and not a wash.  Todays pics are taken from a historic website listed below this pic.  I was not alive during this time period because these were taken in the late 19th century and early 1900's.  I am thankful for records like these to help us remember what our Old Pueblo was like so long ago.

Specific info and pics found at this website

Most Tucsonans who have lived here for around 30 to 40 years recall the regular rains, but as the city of Tucson and Phoenix have grown larger so has the "Urban Island Effect."  Heat is absorbed into the concrete during the day and released back at night into the atmosphere creating a warm bubble around the city deflecting potential rain from falling onto the city.  Nowhere is this more obvious than in the city of Phoenix where temps can stay into the 100's at night during the summer.  Tucson still cools down:) 

So what happened to the Santa Cruz river in Tucson?  Today it no longer flows in the area it used to pass.  This was not always the case, a combination of human errors and natural catastrophes in the late nineteenth century led to the decline of the Santa Cruz river.  Today it acts as a wash. The city of Nogales, Sonora has been releasing treated sewage into the Santa Cruz River. This has resulted in the revival of several miles of riverbank within and north of the city of Nogales, Arizona. 

Today some city leaders would like to see the Santa Cruz river running again as Tucson revives the downtown area in the "Rio Nuevo" project. It would again flow the same route it did over a hundred years ago.

We can't forget the affects of Buffel Grass on the landscape. What?  But surely this would green up a city. Not so fast.  It was introduced years ago to prevent soil erosion but what it did instead was spread across the Sonoran desert.  Today it threatens to destroy our landscape.  This grass has had a huge impact on the landscape during wildfire season.  Before Buffel Grass, vegetation was spread out and if a fire occurred by a lightening strike or campfire, it would soon extinguish itself out because there wasn't dry brush nearby.  Today fire encourages this grass to spread at an amazing speed.  The fires now last longer and burn at a higher intensity affecting our protected Saguaro cactus among other prized flora and fauna only found in this part of the world.  For more info on wildfires in Tucson, click here.

I look at this above pic and see someone on a boat or raft of some kind.  My grandparents came to Tucson over 60 years ago and bought an original Native American blanket.  These were the days of Cowboys vs. Indians.  Those days are all but gone.  Native Americans run casinos and the Cowboys now work in a cubicle and vice versa.

There was a lot of poaching back then, but today with conservation efforts, people are making great strides on bringing back endangered plants and animals to our desert.  The Jaguar and Ocelot are making a return. But I need to stay on topic...and green it is. The Pima Pineapple Cactus is making a very slow comeback. Conservation efforts are being made both on the Mexican and American sides to protect this cactus that mainly lives in Pima County.  Former ranching lands are reverting back to the original grasslands state near the Buenos Aires Bird Refuge.   This cactus is extremely endangered and continued threats include loss of habitat by suburbia, off road vehicle use, livestock grazing, agriculture, and surprise surprise....mining.  I will be covering these issues next week as we take a closer look at some of the issues Southern Arizona is currently facing.

So when people say Tucson was greener in the past, they may have been correct.  However, I'd like to think we are making a difference today in our city.  Tucson has its challenges as our city grows, but we, as a community, are very aware of how important our desert is to us.  Most of us moved here because of the landscape.  These pictures are an incredible trip back in time and view of what was:)  More tomorrow.....

Blue Dreams

I sat thinking for a month what I wanted to do for my fall break.  Originally, I had wanted to do a spiritual retreat at a monk sanctuary in Guatemala, but that will have to wait.  October is a very special month for me.  It's the month of beginnings and reflective work.  If I couldn't lose myself to chants and birds in Antigua; I would have to think about the next spiritual place that makes me feel whole as a person.....and in the US.  Oregon and Washington were too far to drive.  But the coast of Southern California was close enough to spend some quality time with birds that I don't often get to see. 

Celeste and Cheroot joined me for the second time this year to do some very special birding in another part of Southern California.  And it wasn't just birding.  My only expectations were to find the endemic Yellow-billed Magpies and get photos of them.  Each day was meticulously crafted for maximum ocean use. We stayed in Ventura near the beach in a very questionable hotel. However, everything was within a mostly 10 minute driving distance.  

We arrived on Sunday in the early afternoon. Our Sunday and Monday rules were to have fun on the beach.  Tuesday was a trek out to the beautiful Santa Cruz Island.  Wednesday was a short drive to wine country and magpie land.  And then Thursday, we needed to get home.  It was so fast!

Perfection?  Coffee and fresh clam chowder on the beach. Or how about a misty coastal fog that blankets the beaches?  We walked the beach for miles.  Sometimes we sat and observed people.  Other times I got up close and personal with some shorebird favorites. There were so many birds along the Venturan coast.  

During our stay, we met birders who also had similar ideas about escaping the Arizona heat and it really was refreshing to bird all day long. But unlike the other birders, we weren't really chasing any new birds.  If fact, there weren't any lifers on the list.  I just needed the ocean and a magpie shot which really makes the birding stress free. 

Birds are incredible.  While we have Long-billed Curlews in Arizona, this species makes for a better observation here along the coast. 

People walked the beaches, but the birds didn't seem too concerned.  Sometimes they would just come within a foot of us if we stood or sat still.  It was here that we were able to witness a little courtship display between the curlews below.  It was very beautiful.  Their wings half raised and flutter beat at the same time in a tight formation.  

We watched these birds forage around the beach for sand crabs and fleas. There were plenty of insects as well zipping around the seaweed. 

Meanwhile Cheroot was discovering sea weed on the beach.  There were piles of them. Sometimes he'd pick a kelp branch up and run with it.  Never have I seen him so happy running along the waves.  Being that he's also blind, he was shocked when a wave went a little too far and wet his paws. I don't think he minded too much.  

In fact, much of our sightings were quality bird observations.  Often, we'd just sit and watch the birds up close. Our rare bird sighting happened in the gardens of the Channel Islands Tourist center on the beach.  There we spied a Black-and-White Warbler.  I can NEVER find them here in AZ but if I go to Ventura, I magically will find one.  This was my second rare Black-and-White Warbler in Ventura.  And I've only been to Ventura twice.  So I'm a magnet for that warbler there.  Anywhere else?  Forget about it. 

 The ocean called us.  And we listened carefully. There were seals.  There were whales and foxes and deer.  And at times, we stopped at places like a fresh produce stand where we bought a huge bag of sweet oranges for 5 dollars.  I also purchased 3 punnets of strawberries.  I also learned some new English from Celeste.  She is of course from the first age of proper English speakers.  Americans are savages in every way possible and I clearly have a limited vocabulary set. A PUNNET is the little green basket that holds strawberries and other goodies. OH! And I bought a huge bag of avocados for 5 bucks!  Anyhow, I brought my magic cooler that keeps everything nice and cold and was able to get them back home in pristine condition. I wish we had produce stands like this in Tucson!  

These kinds of stands are possible thanks in part to the hard working hispanic population in and around Ventura.  It reminded me of the markets in Mexico and it was wonderful.  

Everything was dog friendly for the most part. Sometimes, you have to return to a place to absorb the things you missed the first time. Over the next couple blogs, we'll rediscover why I love birding Ventura so much.  But we'll be visiting new locations that I had never visited before.  We'll stop at Prisoner's Harbor on Santa Cruz Island.  Several years ago we camped at Scorpion Campground.  Then we'll have some wine with a magpie outside of Ventura.  Until then, stay safe.