SoCal trip gets me to 956

     The plan was to get whatever I could get in SoCal in the four days of the long weekend by covering multiple areas. Mountains for Mountain Quail, Lawrence's Goldfinch and woodpeckers, Desert for Bell's Sparrow and a couple of Trashers, coast for Ridgway Rail, Elegant Tern and Nazca Booby, Santa Cruz Islands for the endemic Island Scrub-jay. Wrentit, California Gnatcatcher and Allen's Hummingbird were seen commonly at multiple places, and I hoped to get them easily. For the Scrub-jay, I had to book a ferry from Ventura to Santa Cruz Islands of Channel Island National Park. I got the ferry tickets in advance, and chose to plan for the next day based on what I needed.

Photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57507254@N04/albums/72157693460514991

Day 1:

Elegant Terns

     I took an early morning flight out of ATX, and was at LA at 8:30 am. I got a Mustang and headed to Appu's Cafe at Long Beach for breakfast, which I would highly recommend. First stop was at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve for Elegant Terns and Ridgway Rail. The former should be easy, and with Rails, I hoped to be lucky. The late morning was foggy and windy, with sun occasionally making an appearance. I regretted keeping my sweatshirt in the car after five minutes of walking! I continued thinking temperature will only go up from now. I walked close to a mile watching all the birds along the way until I hit a spot with a lot of noisy terns. These were the Elegant Terns (bird 943) which breed in SoCal during the summer. It is a nearly threatened species. I saw hundreds of them, with the highlight being their courtship flights. The pair fly close to each other once they have sealed the deal (have a couple of pics in the album). When I started the walk back it warmed up. The terns now came closer to my start point, but were a distance away from the trail. So I still felt good to have done the hike. I badly wanted Ridgway Rail and waited at the area they were seen mostly at. Fortunately I met a birder familiar with the area, and he mentioned another spot he sees them at. This was right at the start of the boardwalk. I followed him to the location, and he got me onto the Rail. More rufous than the Clapper Rail, Ridgway's Rail was bird 944. We stayed a bit and relocated the bird for another birder who joined us, and I got better looks. This was a good first session since getting Rails are not easy. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44095638

     Next stop was Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve for California Gnatcatcher. It was hot and I was not hopeful, but I did the hike anyway to try my luck. I saw a few Allen's Hummingbirds for bird 945. I stopped at a birdy spot and watched multiple species before continuing. Further down I heard a song which I could not recognize. On going closer I could see the male California Gnatcatcher singing for bird 946. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44098779

     I chose San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary to check for Nuttal's Woodpecker and Wrentit, but dipped on both. There were other good birds though - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44100398. Next target was Mountain Quail at Silverado Canyon at Cleveland National Forest. I drove up the mountain and took a break at a small mountain town for an ice-cream. Temperature was better now. I stopped at a random pullout point and saw a Band-tailed Pigeon high up. I kept scanning the slopes along the road for Mountain Quails and the tar road became mud and rocks. It was progressively getting worse and bumpy but I continued up hoping to come down and head to Temecula on the other side of the mountain. I saw a Quail run across the road, and for Quail standards this is the common case. Mountain Quail became bird 947. I hope to get better views one day! I continued up when the road became so bad that I decided to turn back. I was glad to be back on the paved road and started the descent. I heard a woodpecker while driving slowly, and spotted one drumming. Nuttall's Woodpecker became bird 948. I headed down and went to my Uncle's place at Temecula for the night. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44219576

     Six lifers was not what I expected. I was tired after a long day - getting up early in CST and finishing after sunset at PST.

Day 2:

     I got up leisurely and headed to San Diego to the Nazca Booby spot. The first spot was a little away from the Booby spot - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44120442. As I was walking on the trail, I got an email telling me that the next day's trip to Santa Cruz Islands was cancelled as a precautionary measure due to a fire. That means I need to come back some other time for the endemic Scrub-jay! This was good in a way, as I can cut down on driving time up north and won't have time pressure to start from the south. The day was foggy and I chose to try for a Wandering Tattler at a couple of places. My hopes were low since there had been no recent reports from the area. First was Point La Jolla - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44125590. I had good looks at California Sea Lions, nesting Brandt's Cormorants with chicks, Double-crested Cormorants in breeding plumage, Pelagic Cormorants, Black Turnstones in breeding plumage, and Harbor seals. This was a touristy spot with a lot of people. I tried my luck at Cabrillo National Monument next, and went to the tidal pool access - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44203514. There was a queue of cars due to the $15 entry fee collection station. I walked a bit in the sun, but it became clear that due to too many people walking on the tidal pools, the bird wouldn't be here for a while. It became warmer and the fog cleared. I headed back to the Nazca Booby spot. There was a report at noon, when typically the fog just clears. When I went, jet-skies and motor boats were zooming past the buoys! I did however wait a while before giving up - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44134626. I had a choice to come here the next day to get the Booby, but on looking at information on ebird, even scope views were poor. I decided against it and chose to go east of Temecula to explore those areas. There was still day light left, and I wanted to try for California Thrasher and Wrentit. I made a breif stop at Balboa Park-Florida Canyon Scrub, but there were too much people to my liking. I then went to Tecolote Canyon Natural Park which appeared quiet. It was a loop climbing up a hill and coming down. I heard Wrentits, but it was unbirdy. On top of the hill it was silent, and I played a call of California Thrasher to bring it out for bird 949. I continued to hear Wrentits, and I had to call it out for poor looks. They are the biggest skulkers of North American birds that I have seen so far. Even viewing one was hard as it kept moving constantly and quickly, hiding behind tree leaves and shrubs. I managed a poor picture to note yellow-eyes, and Wrentit was bird 950! Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44138415

Day 3:

     Tri-colored Blackbirds were reported at a cow shed east of Temecula. Before that I wanted to check the Blue Jay Campground at Cleveland National Forest. I went up the mountain to try for better looks at Mountain Quails and some mountain birds. It was ok birding wise - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44221341. Next was Bridge St. dairy, Riverside County for the Tri-colored Blackbirds, and I got them quickly for bird 951 - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44158525.

     I saw that a town north of LA was reliable for Sage Thrasher and Bell's Sparrow. It was a good drive away. Since I had driven all the way east just for the Blackbird, I decided to explore a few areas on the way to Angeles National Forest. First one was San Jacinto Wildlife area - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44163526. Next one was not a hotspot, but had reports of a Bell's Sparrow- https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44203563. I checked a couple of more places, both in San Bernardino - one was around the regional airport which was closed by a level-crossing, and another was a park with a lot of people which I did not bother to go in! Nice flop! For the final part of the evening I headed to a part of Cleveland National Forest on the north east side of it. The views were good but it wasn't birdy. I hiked a small loop near Jackson Lake - https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44221442.

Day 4:

     I got up early and was determined to get three desert species - Sage Thrasher, Bell's Sparrow and LeConte's Thrasher. As soon as I arrived at Antellope Valley--60th St W and W Ave B8, Los Angeles County, I got Sage Thrashers for bird 952. I got out of the car and walked the desert scrub. Bell's Sparrows were bird 953. I slowly drove along the road and turned back. On the way back I played LeConte's Thrasher song, and after a while one landed on a bush about 50 feet away, exposed for a few seconds before diving to the ground. LeConte's Thrasher was bird 954. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44186308. Getting some Sparrows and Thrashers are hard without playbacks.  

     I drove up the mountains of Cleveland National forest to Charlton Flat, Chilao-Campground, Chilao-Visitor Center and slowly drove around a few sections of the roads and an un-maintained road. I hiked a little at a few places. It was nice birding at this elevation. I saw a Lewis's Woodpecker at a Pine tree for bird 955. It was joined by Acorn Woodpecker and a White-headed Woodpecker after it flew up another pine tree. A Nuttall's Woodpecker was drumming behind me. At once there were four woodpeckers! I slowly drove from Chilao campground towards Chilao visitor center, and found Cassin's Finch female feeding on the ground for bird 956. Soon, I saw a male a little away. After hiking the short nature trail at Chilao visitor center I decided to head to the airport earlier to avoid any traffic delays that are typical of big cities. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44221654

   I did better than I expected. I have just a handful of birds left in SoCal. One more visit, and I'll be done hopefully!