Crane Mania

Out the door before the sun rise again and headed to looks at cranes. How hard could this be right? I mean it's a little larger, paler and has dark facial markings and a yellow bill. It should stick out like a sore thumb. We headed to the lake first just as the sun was rising. Nine scaled quail ran across the road in front of us as we approached the lake with their little white peaked tufts standing straight up. By this time the sky was full of cranes. Thousands of them. The sun was like a laser beam out if the east making every bird appear dark and silhouetted. Great. Well let's just follow them. But which ones? They were cruisin out in every direction. Shit. 

Well let's just follow the largest group. We did.  For miles. Down dusty red dirt roads. Like a hot air balloon chase vehicle except the birds constantly change course. Finally they started to settle down into an agricultural field and as we arrived the reality of this chase began to set in.  

There were other birds around. Flocks of brewers blackbirds and eurasian-collared doves were feeding in a field as a pair of beautiful light ferruginous Hawks perched on poles and circled the fields. A flock of lark buntings perched in a bush for some quick photos before moving on, new year birds as well. 

But sorting through Thousands and thousands of cranes feeding a quarter mile out in a field with blazing sun and morning heat shimmer was not going to be easy and it was still supposed to get warmer. We spent a few hours scoping and jockeying for different positioning to get a look at the entire flock. The warmer it got, the harder it got. The cranes began to concentrate in a shallow wet area in the field at the end of a dirt road. We set up scoped for a few more hours. No luck. 

At this point we needed food and a break so we drove into New Mexico for gas and beverages. On the way we had a gorgeous prairie falcon on a power pole that took flight and soared around us for a few minutes. Check. 

We headed back and met a couple of birders from Mississippi on their way to California also looking for the common crane. They had arrived at the same

location that we had left and spent the last few hours looking through the flock 

We exchanged numbers and continued to search the area ending the day at the lake again watching the cranes come in to roost. As the sun set we were disappointed but had added three new year birds so all wasn't lost. We decided call it a day and crash. My eyes were strained and all I wanted was to sleep. 

Amistad and beyond

Another early start to bird Amistad National Wildlife Refuge. It's a large area where we stopped at a few different areas of scrub habitat to look for new birds. The sun had just come up and birds were singing all around. Rufous Crowned sparrows weren't shy and neither were the flocks of chipping sparrows and black-throated sparrows. I also found a clay-colored sparrow in with the many chipping. We finally heard and had great looks at black-tailed gnatcatcher to count it as new as well. 

We then started the long drive up to Baileyboro Lake to look for one bird. 

Common Crane. We arrived with about an hour of daylight and watched cranes come in by the hundreds to roost for the night but did not see the celebrity. A pair of great-horned Owls perched up on a telephone pole hooting away before we observed their quickie and the male flew

off. Typical. We would spend the night nearby and try again the next day. 

Along the border

Time kind of flies down here. The days are long and it's hard to muster the strength to get caught up on the blog after getting settled in for the night. I usually just pass out after dinner. Again, not most people's idea of a vacation but I have no problem with it. I'll just have to recap the last few days to get caught up:

Sunday:  We birded quite a few areas. We started at Santa Anna NWR on the off chance the blue bunting was still around. We didn't have any luck with it or many other birds for that matter. Mostly quiet so we moved on to Anzalduas park.   There were lots of birds around and we ran into the young couple again that helped with the tropical parula. This time they were looking a black-throated gray warbler that has been spending the winter at the park. We no sooner had parked the car when I spotted the bird in the tree in front of us. I called them over and all of us were able to observe the bird for some time. This was a life bird

for them so I was happy to have been able to help. 

We decided at this point to start making our way north. We stopped at a few places along the way including Bentson, Salineño and most interestingly Roma Bluffs. This is an interesting area. It's tucked back into a neighborhood with a viewing platform that looks out over the river into Mexico. Hundreds of people we're picnicking, fishing and generally hanging out enjoying the day while a half dozen border patrol cars and sheriffs were keeping a watchful eye on a guy that was in a four wheeler going across the river. We watched birds flying around the river and mostly in Mexico adding to my Mexican life list but a few rough-winged swallows were cruising overhead in the US side for a new year bird. 

Next we stopped at Falcon State Park which also had its fair share of people enjoying the nice day. We walked a trail and heard black-tailed gnatcatchers buy could not get a view of them in the thick scrub. I would wait to count this as a new bird. We ended up driving up to Del Rio, Texas and spent the night. 

Rarity cleanup

The day started at first light at Estero. We headed out to the Spoonbill Trail first to try for the gray-crowned yellowthroat since it seemed more reliable in the morning. Within five minutes I heard the bird call a few times and positioned myself as close to the call as I could. Boom. The bird popped up and called from a small branch for excellent looks. Good looking little guy. Thanks for popping up. 

It was then off to the tropical zone again. By the time we got there there were 40 people gathered. They were all peering through the chain link fence into the trees beyond. With all of the rain in the last months the anacua trees have fruit and the thrushes we're loving it. A half dozen clay-colored thrushes and american robins were feeding with mockingbirds and squirrels making every movement worthy of a look. I finally spotted the bird after about an hour in one of the trees. Darker backed than clay-colored and  a definite eye ring stood out as well as the white throat. Everyone in the group except for another woman were looking at a nearby clay-colored at the time and I think we were the only two to see it at that time before it dove into the tree again. Though I would have loved to have gotten a photo it would have been close to impossible as the bird was about 50 feet back in the top of the tree with leaves and branches all around that I'm sure the camera would have auto focused on just to annoy me.   

Satisfied with the look we moved on to Resaca de la Palma to try for the tropical parulas that seems to love the parkinglot. We spent about an hour wandering around after checking in then we met another couple who were looking for the bird as well. This was their third time trying and they were leaving empty handed again. That's always discouraging to hear. But we kept looking. A little while later we ran into a nice couple we had seen over at the thrush spot and they said they had just seen the bird Minutes before. So we headed over to that area and walked around it multiple times before I saw some slight feeding movement in an ebony tree above our heads.  Finally bright yellow was visable, then the blue back and wing bars then just the head with the dark eye line until finally the bird came into the open for 15 seconds before retreating back into the thick canopy. Tropical Parula. Check. 

Next we went over to SPI (South Padre Island ) just because it was a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon. The gulf was beautiful and many people were out enjoying the day. About a million people were at the convention center for a dance show so we skipped that and just enjoyed the drive and the beach. 

We decided to go back to Estero again to finish off the day there. The thrush had been seen plenty throughout the afternoon but sightings had dropped off by late in the day.  We enjoyed the area and chatted with a few folks before deciding to call it a day. Four new birds in the area was great considering I came down primarily for the gray-crowned yellowthroat. The weather for the next day was predicted to be even better than today so definitely looking forward to more sun and birds. 

That's the "Spirit"

Well we got a slower start than we had hoped. Our cheap Spirit Airlines flight was delayed out of Cleveland which put us down in Texas at around 1 am after yet another interesting group of travelers ( idiots ) prohibiting sleep on the plane. By the time we arranged a rental and figured out where we were going it was almost 2 and we had a decision to make: Just crash and get up early to hit the road or put in some drive time and see how far we could get before stopping. Since we both felt pretty good we decided to drive. And drive some more. At a coffee stop about 3.5 hours in we again faced a choice: stop for the night and sleep a few hours or just push it and get there. Another coffee and 5-hr energy it was. 

We arrived at Estero Llano around 1pm and headed out to the area where the gray-crowned yellowthroat has been seen. A few other people were also looking but had not had much luck. We eventually heard the bird song twice and call for about a minute from the center of the tall grass area near some scrub but we could not get eyes on this bird.  I was prepared to stick it out and then I looked at my phone. White-throated Thrush in the tropical zone. Ok let's go.

We get out there and join the other 10-15 people searching for the bird with little luck. We staked out the same spot where the bird was originally discovered and stayed there for three hours. Clay-colored thrushes started to pop up from the understory and feed in the berry trees. Catbirds, thrashers, robins and doves moved around. Altamira Oriole and green jays flitted about and a northern-beardless tyrannulet put in an appearance. 

At around 4 I could barely keep my eyes open and we decided to go get some sleep.  Of course the thrush would be refound at around 4:30 but at that point it could have been in the parking lot of the hotel and I'm not sure I would have gotten up to see it. We are plannin on going back in the morning and that's enough for me. I passed out around 6:30 and slept until 5 am. 

California recap and back in Ohio for a bit

Everyone always assumes that a vacation  in California means beaches and sunshine, sidewalks of stars and beautiful people; all the while racing down PCH in a convertible with the top down and the Beach Boys blaring on the radio. But yet I don't "vacation" like most people do. 

We spent seven very long days running around California and into Oregon adding new birds for the year... I was passed out before 9 almost every night...The majority of the people we encountered were on a similar mission and not from CA either....Our rental car was littered with coffee cups, take out wrappers, guides and Pringles cans.... Once again I didn't pack the correct clothing and spent almost the entire time in the same sweatshirt and cargos. (keep those comments to yourself-I did remember deodorant). Not a vacation most people would enjoy. 

It was cool, even cold at times, wet with rain and fog and windy as hell. There were only a few occasions where I was bitching about the sun but I was glad I had remembered the new Ray-Bans. No movie stars and no Beach Boys either. Just birds. 

Seeing life birds (birds I'm seeing for the first time for those of you out there who still have no idea what I'm talking about) is always a great way to start off a trip. Tundra Bean-Goose and Rustic Bunting were a perfect kickoff to this one.  Missing out on Falcated Duck and Brambling took a bit of the shine away but plenty of other birds and mammals made up for it. River otters and American badger were very cool to see. 

Even though the weather and luck weren't completely on my side it still was a great expedition. There are groves of redwoods where the road winds through them that momentarily make you realize how very small we are in this world. The trees and forest floor were so thick with moss in some areas that sound barely carries and whether you want to or not, you can't help but to whisper. The endless horizon and clear blue water stretching out for miles while the waves and tides erase our footsteps can almost leave you speechless.  Pelicans, gulls and seabirds rule this coast. I spent a fair amount of time with one eye closed tight while the other peered through the scope to identify everything winging by. 

But the smell of the Pacific is different than the Atlantic to me. Mingled with freshness, evergreen and earthy smells that calm and refresh rather than the more stagnant, salty, humid eastern shores of Florida . It's one of those places that I never want to leave and each time I'm there I wish for more time. This was no exception. 

55 new birds were added on this trip making it well worth it and bringing my year total to 307. 

Upon our return to the frozen landscape of Cleveland I took a few days off to work and generally catch up on things. 

I then decided to run around the northern part of the state just a little bit to pick up some birds that may be tricky to get later on. The Toledo area was hosting a few common redpolls and a Hoary redpoll which took two visits before finding them. The hoary is a good pick up because those birds can be difficult to track down and it saves me some ridiculous chase later on. The obliging northern saw-whet owl at Maumee Bay SP and the northern shrike were also fine additions.  I went to see a snowy owl at Hopkins with my sister and then found another out in Lucas County on a drive-by. That evening the short-eared Owls at Ottawa didn't disappoint.  Four owls put on a nice show over the Stange Road prairie just after sunset. All in all bringing my year up to 315. 

I'll be headed to the southwest shortly to chase a few more rarities via Dallas. How do you pass up a $96.16 round trip flight. It will be my first timing using Spirit Airlines but as long as they get me there and back what the hell, right? I'm in the process of putting together an attack plan that will most likely include 5-6 states. Thank god for unlimited mileage on rental cars. 

I'm going to try to work on putting a running list on the blog so you can see what's been seen....and let me know if something pops up that I should see. Thanks to everyone who has been helpful so far this year with directions and info. I appreciate all the help I can get. 

So long CA....I'll be back

Once again we hit Colusa NWR, this time before sunrise. Great horned owls called in the darkness and the sounds of geese and ducks progressively got louder. Once daylight broke we began scanning and searching all over again. We again met up with more birders and exchanged numbers in case anyone found it.  To get right to the point, three hours later: still no duck. I'd had it and there were still a few birds to track down. 

We headed over to a little park a few miles away where before we got out of the car we could tell there were a lot of birds around. It seemed like there were birds everywhere. Juncos, sparrows and thrushes were everywhere. Nuttall's woodpeckers and red-breasted sapsuckers were abundant. Spotted towhees and California towhees were in every tangle and a mixed flock of chickadees, warblers and oak titmouse were fun to pick through. We spent about an hour wandering around the park checking off 5 new year birds in the process. Not a bad stop.  

Next we headed down to Nimbus Fish Hatchery to look for reported Barrow's goldeneyes. An hour and half later we were standing looking at 5 in the water below us. Peregrine falcon, red-tails, turkey vultures, kestrel and an osprey kept all of the ducks on high alert.

 

I scanned the far hillside and noticed a hole that looked like there may have been something inside. After realigning to get a better look: Barn owl

It's amazing to me how many barn owls are just sitting around in California. 

From the hatchery I decided that since it was our last night to be spent in California I wanted to watch the sunset over the ocean once in this trip. We headed down to Half Moon Bay and had a really nice dinner at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company watching the sun sink into the water as gulls and Pelicans plunged into the water. It was great ending to a nice day. 

The next morning we had a few hours to kill before boarding the plane home. We went to Pillar Point and walked the beach and the trails. Hundreds of sanderlings scurried along while marbled godwits, Willets and black oystercatchers moved up with the rising tide. Heading to the airport is always a little depressing but the California was a success in my book putting my year total at 308. 

Back to the cold of Ohio for a little while. Maybe a few owls will help pass the time before I run off again. 

Next up: Arizona