Southern California - update four

Birds of the deserts. I spent a couple of nights in Palm Springs, where amongst the shopping malls and Marilyn Monroe statues, there were a couple of decent little sites that I visited on consecutive mornings late last week.

Black-throated Sparrow, Santa Rosa National Monument 2nd Jan 2014

The first place I visited isn't really on the birding map, and perhaps should still be considered a bit of a subsidiary site. However, for some reason, I really wanted to see Black-throated Sparrow - a real looker of a bird. And with the invaluable resource of Ebird, I was able to sniff out Santa Rosa National Monument which is a small area of desert with a visitor centre immediately south of Palm Desert on route 74. I wasn't to be disappointed, as there were a couple coming to feeders by the car park and they showed exceptionally well. Verdins, Rock Wrens and Black-tailed Gnatcatchers all provided suitable quality backup, while a trip up the (expensive) aerial tramway gave me decent views of higher altitude species, Steller's Jay and Mountain Chickadee. Remarkably these birds seemed unperturbed by stupid, offensive grown men howling in the woods - seems to be a US pastime that as soon as they're in the country, they take the liberty to behave like stupid animals.

Verdin, Santa Rosa National Monument 2nd Jan 2014

After a night of bargain shopping, I was ready to get amongst Big Morongo Canyon Preserve - a really diverse site 20 minutes north of Palm Springs and recommended by Mr H and Vicky, who visited the place a week previously. I managed to get some excellent views of California Thrasher, as well as commoner species like Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Costa's Hummingbird, Phainopepla and Hermit Thrush. The place is well set up with trails, and felt really birdy - the couple of hours I spent here really didn't do the place justice.

California Thrasher, Big Morongo 3rd Jan 2014

Phainopepla, Big Morongo 3rd Jan 2014

 And so that was my desert birding experience for this trip. Off to the coast again...

Southern California - update three

New Year's Day, always a decent day to get things started. I made a conscious effort to record the first 10 species of the year, as I'd seen this idea on Facebook with people from all around the world contributing and quite interesting to see what's common where. So from Brawley in southern California here goes, in this order - 1. House Sparrow 2. Yellow-rumped Warbler 3. White-crowned Sparrow 4. Mourning Dove 5. Great-tailed Grackle 6. Northern Flicker 7. Northern Flicker 8. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 9. Northern Mockingbird 10. Abert's Towhee.

male Gambel's Quail, Sonny Bono NWR 1st Jan 2014

Once these had been seen, Cattle Call Park further delivered with a Gila Woodpecker, Costa's Hummingbirds and Verdins. And then it was up to the Salton Sea, one of the most bizarre places I've been too - a highly saline environment, way below sea level with random mineral smelting plants scattered across the otherwise arable landscape. Not the first time I'd been here as I've got foggy memories of a scorchingly hot, intolerable day there with my Dad back in the early 1990s. Today though, we started at the Sonny Bono NWR and checked out the area by the visitor centre - loads of Snow Geese and a few Ross's Geese in the fields and common birds of the area such as Common Ground Dove and Gambel's Quails by the feeders.

Common Ground Dove, Sonny Bono NWR 1st Jan 2014

Snow Geese, Sonny Bono NWR 1st Jan 2014

Despite the whole area looking like it's been obliterated post nuclear bomb style, one thing you can't take away from the place is the stack full of birds it holds. Hundreds of thousands, seriously, probably millions. Black-necked Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls, Shovelers, American Coots, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks all dominate as well as loads of waders like Dunlins, Least Sands, Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets all filled the shoreline at Obsidian Butte.

Greater Roadrunner, near Salton Sea 1st Jan 2014

Nearby, a drive about the area eventually produced views of a Greater Roadrunner doing what its name suggests, while some obliging Burrowing Owls and flocks of Savannah Sparrows were decent value.

Burrowing Owl, near Salton Sea 1st Jan 2014

As I've mentioned previously, I was at the Salton Sea previously in August. However, given that I was in my early teens and my gull identification probably wasn't what it is these days (though Yellow-footed Gull is ticked off for that trip and I do remember seeing big gulls with yellow legs!), I wanted to try and see Yellow-footed Gull on this visit. No easy task in January, and I was told this in no uncertain terms by some dick of a birder in the car park at Sonny Bono. However, there were literally thousands of gulls spread across the shore and they were coming and going continually; what was handy though was that there aren't loads of large gulls and where they are, they congregate together. And the largest congregations were in the pre-roost at Redhill Marina where, amongst the couple of hundred American Herrings and single Western, I located an adult Yellow-footed Gull. Result... and though rather distant, its dark mantle, large size and long yellow legs were really obvious. This rather nicely rounded off a bird filled day, and I really haven't gone into the detail the area deserves, but to see huge numbers of birds is always a highlight. Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds and Loggerhead Shrikes add some landbird backbone to the massive wader and waterfowl numbers too.

Southern California - update two

I'm still posting this in 2013, though for some it'll now be 2014. The last couple of days have been spent in and around San Diego, right near the Mexican border here in California. Endless sunshine, decent seascapes and plenty of birds too. California's full of easy birding, and wherever you stop there'll be umpteen Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers chipping away as well as White-crowned Sparrows, California Towhees and the like. These aside though, I was keen to mop up on a few specialities that have been hanging about these southern climes. First up, I headed an hour or so northeast and inland where bizarrely a flock of Blue-footed Boobies turned up - now down to two due to fatalities, 2013 has been a bumper year for this southern species with loads of records in California both coastal and inland since September time.

Blue-footed Booby - one of two at Lake Skinner 31st Dec 2013

Returning to San Diego, I stopped in Balboa Park where along Park Avenue a lingering Painted Redstart duly obliged, alongside a few Townsend's and Orange-crowned Warblers.

Painted Redstart - Balboa Park, San Diego 31st December 2013

Then it was onto a residential area in Chula Vista, where after a while after finally finding the right place, I located the annually returning Thick-billed Kingbird - as well as a few Cedar Waxwings that were bombing about. Near here, and right on the border with Mexico, I've spent a fair amount of time around the Imperial Beach and Tijuana Slough areas - birds have included Pomarine Skua, Marsh Wren, Little Blue Heron and the really distinctive Belding's Savannah Sparrow.

Belding's Savannah Sparrow - Tijuana Slough 30th December 2013

Southern California - update one

I arrived in Los Angeles late on 27th December, and after enduring a day around Hollywood and Beverly Hills yesterday (where the birding highlights were limited to a load of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Brewer's Blackbirds, Lesser Goldinches and American Robins), I hit Wilson Canyon Park early morning. The Los Angeles RBA and Andy H combined to give out some good gen on Lewis' Woodpecker, a really tricky species to see and one I'd dipped on previous trips. I managed to find one in trees immediately north of the dam car park early morning, along with a load of other regular stuff like Acorn Woodpecker, Bushtit, Townsend's Warbler, California Quail, White-crowned Sparrow and California Towhee.

Lewis' Woodpecker Wilson Canyon Park 29th December 2013

Heading south through LA, traffic was pretty slow and a couple of uneventful stops at Manhatten and Redondo beaches produced the usual gulls (Ring-billed and Western, with a few Heermann's too) and Brown Pelicans, including a couple of ringed birds. Once through the sprawl, we stopped off at the beautiful Crystal Cove State Park - lovely pristine coastal sage scrub fronted by a typically decent Californian beach. Three California Gnatcatchers were seen, all quite easily, by the Parking Lot 1. California Thrasher, Western Bluebird and Common Yellowthroat were seen here too while the beach held a load of gulls including a Glaucous-winged, California and a couple of Heermann's as well as showy Western Willets and Marbled Godwits. All good stuff, and nice to be back.

California Gnatcatcher Crystal Cove 29th December 2013

Western Bluebirds Crystal Cove 29th December 2013

Marbled Godwit Crystal Cove 29th December 2013

Heermann's Gull Crystal Cove 29th December 2013

More than just snow bells ringing

Here's a little Christmas present. A load of ringed gulls, all photographed this year and from a variety of different schemes with each bird and its individual history. This is likely to be it for me and reading rings in 2013, as I'll next be on the tip in January. Enjoy and have a very merry Christmas.

first-winter Herring Gull VHB - ringed as chick at Havergate Island, Orford, Suffolk on 1st July 2013. After NTGG birds, Mike Marsh's red-ringed Suffolk birds are the most frequently encountered rings.

adult Herring Gull T.841 - ringed as a breeding adult at East Tullos Industrial Estate, Aberdeen on 02/06/13

2nd-winter Caspian Gull XCDD - ringed as a chick in Lausitz, Germany (close to the Polish border) in a mixed colony where Caspian Gulls dominate.

4th-winter Herring Gull PH.AS - seen at the tip three times in 2013 (in both winter periods), it was ringed in Belgium at Zeebrugge (Voorhaven), West-Vlaanderen, on 8th July 2010 and subsequently seen in northern France.

adult Black-headed Gull 2BSR - ringed at Rainham on 2nd March 2013. As well as the red rings on the large gulls, yellow rings are used by the North Thames Gull Group on Black-headed Gulls.

2nd-winter Caspian Gull PLUK - ringed as a chick on 29th May 2012 in this colony at Jankowice, Babice, Poland. By 24th August 2012 it had reached Snogebæk Harbour, Denmark and then a couple of weeks later it was photographed in Sweden at Baskemölla, Skane on 7th September 2012. On 29th March 2013, it was at Koningspleij, Arnhem, The Netherlands before going to Belgium at Les Barrages de l'Eau d'Heure on 5th April 2013, Ueckermünde harbour, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany on 15th August 2013 and at Skillinge, Skane, Sweden on 22nd September 2013

adult Herring Gull 1A - ringed as a chick in The Netherlands at Vlissingen-Oost, Zeeland on 2nd July 2007, I also saw this bird on the tip in January 2012. It has spent much of its time on the European North Sea coast, in Belgium, France and The Netherlands.

Herring Gull 2495 - ringed on Seamer Carr landfill site, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire on 13th May 2011

leucistic 1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull J5493 - ringed at Bergekilen ytre, Mandal, Vest-Agder, Norway on 20th June 2013 as a chick, still there on 30th July 2013. One of three chicks from normally pigmented parents, it and one sibling are leucistic while the third chick is normally pigmented

adult Great Black-backed Gull DK8T - ringed on the tip on 12 October 2012. One of 81 North Thames Gull Group rings I've read during the year (on the tip, Crossness and at Rotherhithe)

Freaks on the tip in foul weather

It doesn't look like we're in for a white Christmas this year. On the tip today, the first of potentially three Atlantic lows ripped through making conditions rather unpleasant - though at least I was dry unlike all the gulls I was watching. Each week, the tipping position and number of dust carts coming in is different. Today, the position wasn't ideal for getting close but with Christmas coming up and time ticking on, there were a lot of dust carts coming in so still plenty of nosh for the gulls.

I rarely leave without something interesting happening, and today was no exception. Modern technology means that if you know the correct channels, in some cases, it's possible to get information on your ringed gulls immediately. That is, if they're Norwegian courtesy of Ringmerking...

first-winter Great Black-backed Gull - black ringed J5493

This freak of a first-winter Great Black-backed Gull was ringed as a chick on the south coast of Norway near Mandar, Vest-Agder on 20th June 2013 (and still in the area on 30th July). One of three chicks from normally pigmented parents, it and one sibling are leucistic while the third chick is normally pigmented - check out the shots from of the brood here and here. Interesting to note how its eye is already pale despite its proven age. Shows you how little relevance iris colour may be when it comes to ageing leucistic birds. Anyway, no tip visit is complete without a bit of Caspian Gull action - and two birds, a second-winter and first-winter, were seen today. Both bizarrely were green-ringed: -

2nd-winter Caspian Gull XCDD - ringed in Lausitz, Germany (close to the Polish border) in a mixed colony where Caspian Gulls dominate.

1st-winter Caspian Gull - green-ringed though too distant for combination to be read easily. Either a German or a Polish bird.

With the poor weather and tipping position, I only managed to read 11 rings today - originating from Germany, Belgium, Norway and eight locally ringed NTGG birds.

Update from the tip last Saturday

It's been crazy days this past week. Saturday seems a distant memory what with a wedding, umpteen Christmas parties, Christmas shopping and the small matter of the last week of school keeping me busy. So I've finally got just a bit of time to do an update. And needless to say it's gull filled. Once again, the tip gave three decent, if not individually very different, Caspian Gulls - two adults and the unringed second-winter from the previous Saturday.

Caspian Gull bird 1. Presumably a near adult with more extensive black in P9 and P10. Otherwise, a nice unbroken band to P5, dark mark on the outer web of P4 and fairly typical looking structurally and bare part wise.

Caspian Gull bird 2. A pale-eyed individual but not the slick proportions with the 'hanging tummy', mid grey mantle, long primaries and tapering back. A nice parallel-sided, tepid looking bill too with slender, pale yellow legs.

 There was also an adult Yellow-legged Gull, at least two adult Med Gulls and a hybrid Herring/Lesser Black-backed hybrid.

hybrid Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull. Compared to Herring Gull was long-winged, tepid yellow-orange legs, heavily streaked nape, darker grey mantle, obvious trailing edge to secondaries and significant black in wingtips.

And 22 rings read was a good haul too - all from the UK this time around apart from a French/Belgian ringed Med Gull. Most interesting were a couple of birds from the Grampian Ringing Group, ringed as breeding adults in Aberdeenshire in previous summers, as well as a bird ringed at Seamer Carr landfill site near Scarborough, from a ringing scheme I'd not recorded previously.

Herring Gull - ringed as an adult at East Tullos Industrial Estate, Aberdeen on 02/06/13. This is the first sighting since it was ringed.