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October 2-5, 2009
by Rich Schooler
 Wrentit Photo by Joy Dolhanczyk |
This was a great trip! Ten SAS members including: Rich (Leader) and Carol Schooler,
George Wall, Donna Smith, Dan Bohlman, Vera Markham, Gerry Horton, Rosemary Zanter, Joy Dolhanczyk, and Joyce Eggert, traveled to San Diego in caravan on Friday, October 2. We arrived in San Diego mid-afternoon and birded the San Diego River area at the Quivera Basin and the Ocean Beach Pier. Including birds seen enroute from Phoenix, a total of 41 species were logged for the day. Highlights included: several Little Blue Herons, an American Golden Plover, and several Black Turnstones.
On Saturday morning we were joined by Loretta and Chuck Richard for the all-day pelagic birding trip on the Pacific Ocean off of San Diego. We went out on a boat called the Grande. The trip was sponsored by SoCal Birding which runs monthly pelagic trips out of the San Diego Sport Fishing Harbor. Approximately 70 birders were on the trip, somewhat crowed but still manageable. SoCal Birding provided about eight experienced pelagic guides for the trip so observing and identifying the birds for those of us with little pelagic experience was made somewhat easier. Twenty five species were identified on the boat trip including: Red-throated Loon, Sooty Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Least Storm-petrel, Black Storm-petrel, American Oystercatcher, Black Oystercatcher, Red Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, South Polar Skua, Pomerine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Sabine’s Gull, Elegant Tern, Common Tern, Rhinocerous Auklet, and Craveri’s Auklet.
On Sunday the 12th we birded Point Loma including the Rosecrans Military Cemetery and
the Cabrillo National Monument at the tip of Point Loma as well as the northern portion
of the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Imperial Beach. Conditions were very
windy on Point Loma so bird numbers and species were somewhat less than hoped for,
but we did get good looks at some of the Southern California specialties including: Wrentit, California Thrasher, and California Towhee. At Tijuana Slough part of the group walked the mile plus long trail to the mouth of the Tijuana River and were rewarded by a long distance but still excellent view of a Reddish Egret among other shorebirds and waders. Those that stayed closer to the visitor’s center got good looks at two Clapper Rails.
The group attempted to find and bird Famosa Slough on Monday morning prior to departing for Arizona. We found the Slough OK, but parking was so limited that we were
not able to bird the area. This is a site to visit if you only have one vehicle. The most unusual bird seen while traveling back from San Diego was a Ring-necked Pheasant seen in an agricultural field near El Centro, California.
The 89 species of birds sighted on the trip included: Red-throated Loon, Western Grebe,
Pink-footed Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Black Storm-petrel, Least Storm-petrel, Brown Pelican, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Reddish Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Gambel’s Quail, Ring-necked Pheasant, Clapper Rail, American Coot, Semi-palmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover, Black Oystercatcher, American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Black Turnstone, Western Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitcher, Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, South Polar Skua, Sabine’s Gull, Heerman’s Gull, California Gull, Western Gull, Caspian Tern, Elegant Tern, Common Tern, Cassin’s Auklet, Rhinocerous Auklet, Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-dove, Red-masked Parakeet, Anna’s Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Common Raven, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Bewick’s Wren, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Wrentit, Northern Mockingbird, California Thrasher, European Starling, American Pipit, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Savannah Sparrow (Belding’s), Vesper Sparrow, Whitecrowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch and House Sparrow.
George Wall, Donna Smith, Dan Bohlman, Vera Markham, Gerry Horton, Rosemary Zanter, Joy Dolhanczyk, and Joyce Eggert, traveled to San Diego in caravan on Friday, October 2. We arrived in San Diego mid-afternoon and birded the San Diego River area at the Quivera Basin and the Ocean Beach Pier. Including birds seen enroute from Phoenix, a total of 41 species were logged for the day. Highlights included: several Little Blue Herons, an American Golden Plover, and several Black Turnstones.
On Saturday morning we were joined by Loretta and Chuck Richard for the all-day pelagic birding trip on the Pacific Ocean off of San Diego. We went out on a boat called the Grande. The trip was sponsored by SoCal Birding which runs monthly pelagic trips out of the San Diego Sport Fishing Harbor. Approximately 70 birders were on the trip, somewhat crowed but still manageable. SoCal Birding provided about eight experienced pelagic guides for the trip so observing and identifying the birds for those of us with little pelagic experience was made somewhat easier. Twenty five species were identified on the boat trip including: Red-throated Loon, Sooty Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Least Storm-petrel, Black Storm-petrel, American Oystercatcher, Black Oystercatcher, Red Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, South Polar Skua, Pomerine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Sabine’s Gull, Elegant Tern, Common Tern, Rhinocerous Auklet, and Craveri’s Auklet.
On Sunday the 12th we birded Point Loma including the Rosecrans Military Cemetery and
the Cabrillo National Monument at the tip of Point Loma as well as the northern portion
of the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Imperial Beach. Conditions were very
windy on Point Loma so bird numbers and species were somewhat less than hoped for,
but we did get good looks at some of the Southern California specialties including: Wrentit, California Thrasher, and California Towhee. At Tijuana Slough part of the group walked the mile plus long trail to the mouth of the Tijuana River and were rewarded by a long distance but still excellent view of a Reddish Egret among other shorebirds and waders. Those that stayed closer to the visitor’s center got good looks at two Clapper Rails.
The group attempted to find and bird Famosa Slough on Monday morning prior to departing for Arizona. We found the Slough OK, but parking was so limited that we were
not able to bird the area. This is a site to visit if you only have one vehicle. The most unusual bird seen while traveling back from San Diego was a Ring-necked Pheasant seen in an agricultural field near El Centro, California.
The 89 species of birds sighted on the trip included: Red-throated Loon, Western Grebe,
Pink-footed Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Black Storm-petrel, Least Storm-petrel, Brown Pelican, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Reddish Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Gambel’s Quail, Ring-necked Pheasant, Clapper Rail, American Coot, Semi-palmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover, Black Oystercatcher, American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Black Turnstone, Western Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitcher, Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, South Polar Skua, Sabine’s Gull, Heerman’s Gull, California Gull, Western Gull, Caspian Tern, Elegant Tern, Common Tern, Cassin’s Auklet, Rhinocerous Auklet, Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-dove, Red-masked Parakeet, Anna’s Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, Common Raven, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Bewick’s Wren, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Wrentit, Northern Mockingbird, California Thrasher, European Starling, American Pipit, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Savannah Sparrow (Belding’s), Vesper Sparrow, Whitecrowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch and House Sparrow.
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