Rancho San Antonio

On Sunday October 6th we walked trails at Rancho San Antonio. I had six target birds but after walking for quite some time I had only added Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Nuttall's Woodpecker to my list. Heading back to the car I first ran into a covey of California Quail as I got to the farm area and then spotted a California Towhee as we stopped to look at some Acorn Woodpeckers. Finally as we reached the home straight an Oak Titmouse flew onto a wooden post! I ended the morning with 5 of my 6 targets.

We headed back to Flagstaff in the afternoon. The short trip to California added 32 species to my year's list taking me to 679 for the year. Saturday's Manx Shearwater was a new ABA bird for me - and my first sighting of this species since I saw many on the boat to Skomer in 1981- taking my ABA list to 548.

Wild Turkey

California Quail

Monterey Bay Pelagic

On Saturday October 5th we went to the Monterey Fisherman's Wharf at 7am for a Shearwater Journeys trip to Monterey Bay. Nearly 30 birders, including 5 experts boarded the Checkmate along with Debi. We had Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants, Surfbird, Black Oystercatcher and Black Turnstone on the way out and had a Pigeon Guillemot and a fly-by Pacific Loon as we headed out.

The journey itself delivered 9 tubenoses including 7 shearwaters - Sooty, Pink-footed, Black-vented, Buller's, Manx, Great and Flesh-footed - just one short of the world record! The Great Shearwater was a surprise and would be submitted to the California records Committee. It was less exciting for em as I had seen 20 just eleven days earlier! Northern Fulmar and Black-footed Albatross were the other tubenoses. We saw many Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets and Cassin's Auklets on the surface of the very calm sea, and had a Pomerine Jaeger and a South Polar Skua fly by. The latter came straight at us and passed very close to the boat. The day was not quite so interesting as a year ago - we had a long quiet period in the middle - but I felt more in control of the bird IDs than in 2012.

Moss Landing and Carmel

On Friday October 4th my wife and I flew to San Jose, CA for a weekend away. We arrived at the airport around noon and drove to Moss Landing. We spent about 90 minutes first at the Moss Landing State Wildlife Area and then along Jetty Road. Over lunch at the wildlife area we had Willet, Marbled Godwit, Grey (Black-bellied) Plover and a Long-billed Curlew along the shoreline and saw over a hundred Brown Pelican in three groups. Elegant Terns, Heerman and western Gulls flew overhead and Sea Otter and Harbor Seal swam in the waters.Along jetty road we had more of the same species, some of them very close.

After checking in to our hotel we drove to Carmel and walked along the ocean front to Carmel River Beach. The beach itself was covered with, perhaps, 5000 birds of just there species - Western Gull, Heerman's Gull and Brown Pelican - so different to a year ago when the place was very quiet but had 15 Snowy Plover. The walk back along the road found a few birds feeding on the rocks including Surfbird, Willet and a Whimbrel.

Long-billed Curlew

Whimbrel