I haven’t been to the coast since the start of the year, so I decided to risk the weather and headed out to Pigeon Point, arriving at 10:30, along with a rain squall. Fortunately it ended in about 5 minutes, after which the sun more or less came out. It was — blustery — with a strong sustained wind coming out of the north and heavy chop and a lot of white caps in the ocean out to the horizon. Visibility to the horizon was good.

Because of the wind, it wasn’t very birdy. I was there for about 45 minutes (aka “until I couldn’t feel my fingers any more”), and there were only four significant flocks of birds that moved north; three were flocks of Brants (25, 35 and 40, give or take a couple) and one was a flock of about 40 surf scoters. Everything else I saw were individuals or groups of 2-3. birds that stayed local included the guilllemots and a couple of pelagic cormorants that fished out near the surf line. Everything else was fighting the winds heading north except for the occasional daredevil gull heading south on the wind. I left around 11:15 just as another squall moved in. One western grebe was seen briefly beyond the surf line in the water. Most of the northward birds were inside the surf line and very low to the water to avoid the winds. Out to the horizon was clear viewing of — water. Effectively no activity that I could see out there. I did potentially see one whale breach, but I couldn’t get a scope on it and didn’t see it a second time.

At pescadero, I stopped for a few minutes, the rocks had a few unhappy gulls and fewer unhappy cormorants. It was windy enough I had trouble getting a good enough look to see what kind. Along the sandy beach, though, were some black turnstones and sanderlings as well as one snowy plover, that got flushed by a wave as soon as I saw it and flew off and wasn’t seen again.

My final stop was Fitzgerald marine, where (if possible) it was even windier. The bushes were empty — whatever small birds were in the area, they weren’t just hunkered down, they were hanging on for dear life. Out on the rocks and in the water was, well, pretty much nothing. The rock to the north that normally has cormorants had a few, and one double-crested flew north past me cursing under its breath. Out on the reef from the viewpoint at the bench I saw two harbor seals pulled out on the rocks. Next to one were a pair of black oystercatchers, next to the other was a duck-like bird facing with its butt to me and refusing to cooperate. It finally did raise its head — and it was a red-breasted merganser. It then proceeded to tuck and go back to sleep and refused to stand for pictures.

All in all, not the best day to be doing a seawatch, but still better than not birding, right?

Location:     Pigeon Point
Observation date:     3/22/09
Number of species:     16

Brant (Black)     125
Mallard     2
Surf Scoter     40
Red-throated Loon     5
Western Grebe     1
Brandt’s Cormorant     4
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Pelagic Cormorant     3
Northern Harrier     1
Black Oystercatcher     1
gull sp.     X
Common Murre     2
Pigeon Guillemot     5
European Starling     X
Song Sparrow     1
Red-winged Blackbird     X

Location:     pescadero rock
Observation date:     3/22/09
Number of species:     7

Brandt’s Cormorant     X
Double-crested Cormorant     X
Snowy Plover     1
Black Oystercatcher     2
Black Turnstone     4
Sanderling     8
gull sp.     X

Location:     Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Observation date:     3/22/09
Number of species:     7

Red-breasted Merganser     1
Double-crested Cormorant     X
Black Oystercatcher     2
Black Turnstone     2
gull sp.     X
Common Raven     2
Song Sparrow     1

Looking at my year list, I’m now at 134 species for the year, about a week ahead of where I was last year. Last year was the first year I seriously kept a list (my life list stands at 221, with three new species so far this year, red-breasted merganser, ring-necked duck, and white-throated swift).

I’ve only kept a life list seriously for two years now; for me, a life list is more a way to keep track of my progress learning how to find and ID birds, not a reason in and of itself. I rarely “twitch” which is jargo for birders who go chasing every rare bird report they can find, just to add them to the list.

I find myself more interested in watching habitat over time and understanding how it changes. Spring and fall migration are fascinating, not (just) because of the birds that fly through, but because you can see how things change with the season in ways that aren’t obvious if you don’t watch closely — the winter ducks head north, the winter sparrows leave and the summer sparrows fly in, the warblers stop along the way. Birds like goldfinches moult into their “sunday go to church” clothes, and some of the neighborhood regulars pair off and go raise kids. Then in the fall, suddenly the orioles are gone, and you know fall migration is starting the cycle again.

Last year I set goals of 200 (laster, 220) for the life list, and 200 species for the year. Despite everything that happened I met both of them (sort of; I finished it Jan 5, but mostly because I decided not to push in the holidays just to finish it on time). this year, when I was trying to think of goals for the year, I decided to just not worry about it and continue to work on birding as much as I can and working on studying and learning and improving my photography and not set arbitrary goals. I am going to spend time this spring and summer studying swallows, since I struggle with IDs on all but tree and barn, but I just didn’t see the need for goals. It’s okay to have things in your life that aren’t races to the finish, but merely enjoying the trip.

I’ve had a chance to talk to a lot of birders over the last few years, from raw beginners to some of the top experts in the area, and lists tend to come up a lot. I was intimidated by them early on, and it seems many newer birders (and maybe-birders) are as well, because it seems there’s an implied competition to them. For some, there is — and that’s cool. Me? I started a list for a simple reason: I finally hit a point where I couldn’t keep the list in my head well, so I was second-guessing myself on what birds were new to me and what weren’t. that meant it made sense to start keeping track more formally. So I do.

It really comes down to whether you are in control, or the list. If you like the competition of chasing that next new bird, great. If you don’t, nobody will mind. The list is there to help you appreciate what you’re doing, not some monster that needs to be fed the latest random rarity 300 miles away. It’s up to you.

One thing I’m starting to do is build a list of birds I’ve photographed and create an online portfolio of the images. I’m doing it both to show off my images and help me target species I need to add to the library. Does the world really need another image of a snowy egret? Does my portfolio? (answer: yes, if it’s a really good one. But am I going to go stalking egrets just to take photos? Probably not)

Ultimately, the way to enjoy birdwatching (like so many things in life) is to do it. Keeping lists is a good thing only if it makes doing the thing more fun, not less, not a chore. So what I’ve suggested to people asking me if they should keep a list is simple: only if you want to, and only if the list does something for you. For new birders, just relax and look at birds. As you grow into the hobby and learn how to enjoy birdwatching, at some point, you’ll probabl yfind yourself keeping a list, because it was a natural thing to do based on your interests. Until that happens, don’t bother.

Just enjoy

I took a quick run out to Don Edwards EEC in Alviso today at lunch and wandered the hummingbird garden and the area around the slough, as much as anything to get a walk in and get outside.

The place was pretty hopping, with lots of bird activity going on. the barn owl was in the box, looking sleepy. The swallows are in, including a barn, some violet-green, and some tree swallows. black and white stilts are there and look to be pairing off. canada geese are in the marshes on nests. the peregrine was on the power tower. I heard (but did not see) song sparrow, ravens and mockingbirds.

a few surprises to me:

In the salt pond on the long island were three white pelicans and a brown pelican.

I saw small numbers of both white-crowned and gold-crowned sparrows. they all looked like younger birds moulting into their adult head feathering.

While I was watching, we had a big cloud of birds fly in from the west. I first thought it was sandpipers, but a closer looked showed it to be shovelers. Lots of shovelers, my count of 500 is probably significantly low.

In the willow along the slough where the tall trees end was a nice female common yellowthroat that actually stood up and allowed itself to be photographed — while chewing me out for standing to close to its space.. There was a female yellow there a few weeks back for a while but I haven’t seen it reported recently.

A nice surprise — while walking back to the car, I had a sora pop out of the reeds on the far side of the slough, roughly across from the tree the barn owl box is in. It walked out in the open for about two feet, then ran for cover again.

Along disk drive there was a flock of red-winged blackbirds on the fence impersonating burrowing owls. All of the burrowing owls I saw today had long bushy tails.

Location: Don Edwards NWR (Santa Clara Co.)
Observation date: 3/20/09
Number of species: 31

Canada Goose X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 500
American White Pelican 3
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Sora 1
American Coot X
Black-necked Stilt X
gull sp. X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Barn Owl 1
Anna’s Hummingbird X
Black Phoebe X
American Crow X
Common Raven 2
Violet-green Swallow X
Barn Swallow 1
Bushtit X
Marsh Wren X
Northern Mockingbird X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Song Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow X
Golden-crowned Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Over the weekend, Laurie and I went out on an extended drive, heading out 130 from Alum Rock past Lick Observatory and then down Anderson Valley, to see what we could see. Wildflower activity was pretty muted (other people report much stronger wildflower blooms south in Panoche valley, and there were areas where you could see the poppies getting ready, but not quite there yet). We took 130 towards Patterson to the Deer Creek park, which was in full off-road mode (noisy and full of people trying to kill tehmselves, were were told to park anywhere but the helipad — seriously).

We then doubled back to Mines road, and drove it out to Livermore. nice drive, cool and mostly a bit overcast, not terribly birdy, but we saw a number of nice birds including two packs of Wild Turkeys, one in Santa Clara County near Joseph Grant park (a tom and about ten hens), and the other near the end of Mines near Tesla, which had 23 bachelor toms. Those were pretty mellow, so we stopped and I got a few decent photos. The pasture ponds had some interesting ducks, including a few buffleheads and a number of American Wigeons, but no shorebirds — we’ve seen lesser yellowlegs out here in the past.

The other nice things to see were a few Say’s Phoebes and 4-6 Western Bluebirds, both of which were near the stream at the one-lane bridge as you come down into Anderson Valley. We also saw ravens there, juncos, yellow-rumped warblers, and a number of pissed off ground squirrels who really wished we’d leave and let them go back to whatever they were doing.

Mines road was surprisingly non-birdy. We stopped a few places, but all we saw were woodpeckers and jays… This area is an area I try to bird twice a year, roughly, once during spring migration and once in the fall. Winter can be a fun time as well, weather permitting, and sometimes you can get some interesting birds out here (but in retrospect, I should have gone iwth my first thought and birded out in Panoche…)

Location:     Mines Rd. (Santa Clara Co.)
Observation date:     3/15/09
Notes:     130 from Alum rock to Deer Creek park, backtrack back to mines, up mines to Livermore
Number of species:     33

Canada Goose     X
Gadwall     1
American Wigeon     X
Mallard     X
Bufflehead     X
Wild Turkey     30
Great Egret     2
Turkey Vulture     X
White-tailed Kite     1
Red-tailed Hawk     X
Rock Pigeon     X
Mourning Dove     X
Anna's Hummingbird     X
Acorn Woodpecker     3
Downy Woodpecker     1
Northern Flicker     2
Black Phoebe     X
Say's Phoebe     2
Steller's Jay     X
Western Scrub-Jay     X
Yellow-billed Magpie     X
American Crow     X
Common Raven     2
Tree Swallow     2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee     X
Oak Titmouse     X
Western Bluebird     4
Northern Mockingbird     X
Yellow-rumped Warbler     X
California Towhee     X
Red-winged Blackbird     X
House Finch     X
Lesser Goldfinch     X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

I spent a few hours this afternoon our behind Ed Levin and checking the Eagle pair.

First stop was Spring Valley pond, which was fairly quiet, but while I was checking the trees for woodpeckers, I had a single white-throated swift (lifer 221!) fly over me headed north towards Sandy Wool.
I then headed out Calaveras to the eagles (Photo is from last year). When I got there, a couple was just leaving, having not seen anything. Initially, I didn’t, either, but after pulling out the scope,  I could occasionally see her head bob into view from the gate area. I shifted up the hill to get  better angle, and if you go back up the hill almost to the curve, you’ll have a better look at the bird (from what I can tell, this year’s nest is a few inches deeper than last year’s, so she’s not as visible when she’s sitting down).

After about 20 minutes, the male came out of some trees and made a pass across the reservoir and then back out of sight. He re-appeared about 10 minutes later and landed on the nest (by now, about 3PM) with something in his claws.

Bald Eagles are normally fish eaters, but there has been some discussion of a pair in San Benito county that’s shifted over to hunting ground squirrels, and earlier this week there was a little discussion on the SBB list about whether this pair might be doing the same. My photo of the male coming in clearly shows it with a clump of dirt and grasses in the claw, not a fish, and after he landed, the two of them spent some time eating, so it looks like he brought back either a squirrel or a vole of some some sort. The photo (not posted yet) isn’t great, but it does seem to prove they are, at least some of the time, ground hunting. I’ve seen White-Tailed Kites do this as well, carrying off prey and the area around the prey, as in the photo here.

They hung out together for about 40 minutes, then he flew off again and down into the trees near the water where I lost view of him.

Other birds seen in that area — 25ish yellow-billed magpies (and more heard but not seen), a northern flicker, a couple of acorn woodpeckers, a say’s phoebe, and a bunch of blackbirds.

On the way out I drove out to the end of Marsh and back. Highlights included good sized flock of blackbirds brought a couple of Brewer’s but no tri-colored, a couple of robins, and a gorgeous male western bluebird near the stream, which is running at high volume right now.

Interesting raptors included a Cooper’s hawk on the wire near the entrance to Spring Valley park, and a female kestrel on the wire near the Fester/Marsh junction.

I was originally going to head out to Sandy Wool and look for the nesting owls, but ran out of time. Oh well. Next time! With Spring springing, Ed Levin is going to be a hot spot for a while, with both Allen’s and Rufous hummers reported, a good supply of woodpeckers, and the return of the great horned owls. We’re not far from the return of the orioles as well….

Location:     Marsh Road, Calaveras
Observation date:     3/7/09
Number of species:     13

Red-tailed Hawk     X
American Kestrel     1
Steller’s Jay     3
Yellow-billed Magpie     X
American Crow     X
Western Bluebird     1
American Robin     2
European Starling     X
White-crowned Sparrow     X
Golden-crowned Sparrow     X
Red-winged Blackbird     X
Brewer’s Blackbird     3
Lesser Goldfinch     6

Location:     calaveras road
Observation date:     3/7/09
Number of species:     8

Turkey Vulture     X
Bald Eagle     2
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Acorn Woodpecker     2
Northern Flicker     1
Say’s Phoebe     1
Steller’s Jay     2
Yellow-billed Magpie     25

Location:     Spring Valley Pond, Ed Levin Park
Observation date:     3/7/09
Number of species:     15

Mallard     X
Great Egret     1
Turkey Vulture     X
Cooper’s Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     2
American Coot     X
gull sp.     X
White-throated Swift     1
Anna’s Hummingbird     1
Western Scrub-Jay     2
American Crow     X
Yellow-rumped Warbler     X
Spotted Towhee     X
White-crowned Sparrow     X
Red-winged Blackbird     X