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I left the dock just after sunrise on the Buena Vista Audubon’s pelagic trip to near-shore spots off San Diego and the Coronado Islands that lie just across the border into Mexico. Though a storm was approaching from the north the water was fairly calm and we even had about of hour of sunshine through the clouds and marine layer.

From San Diego Bay the Grande headed off shore to the Nine Mile Bank and over the Coronado Canyon. The combination of the deep water canyon and the raised bank bring the food chain to life in this area. Many pelagic birds, dolphin and whale species frequently inhabit these areas. I photographed many birds, three species of dolphin, and even the fin of a Mola Mola. Unfortunately, the Blue Whale we saw was too far away for photos.

Next we headed south across the international border to circle around and through the Coronado Islands. A growing colony of Brown Booby have made one of the islands home over the past few years. Luckily for us, our hopes to see a Blue-footed Booby were rewarded as one decided to roost among the Brown Boobies today.

Nine hours onboard was tiring but well worth it given the variety of wildlife we saw. Trip leader Terry Hunefeld put together a virtual Who’s Who in California Birding. These talented birders acted as spotters and teachers for the trip. No question was too stupid and these guides were more than willing to share their knowledge of pelagic birding with anyone who asked. Terry and the Buena Vista Audubon run multiple trips each year out of San Diego and I highly recommend them. You can see an upcoming schedule here.

The photography was challenging: hand-holding a telephoto lens while the boat rocked plus low-light conditions. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the water.

Here is a link to some of the photos from the trip.

Species list for the day:

Birds
Rhinoceros Auklet
Xantus’s Murrelet
Double-crested Comorant
Brandt’s Comorant
Pelagic Comorant
Brown Pelican
Brown Booby
Blue-footed Booby
Western Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Sabine’s Gull
Heermann’s Gull
Common Tern
Royal Tern
Sooty Shearwater
Pink-footed Shearwater
Black-vented Shearwater
Snowy Egret
American Oystercatcher
Black Oystercatcher
Hybrid Oystercatcher
Wandering Tattler
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope

Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphin
Common Dolphin
Risso’s Dolphin

Pennipeds
California Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
Northern Elephant Seal

Fish
Mola Mola (Ocean Sunfish)

Next I stopped at some well-known birding spots at the south end of the Salton Sea. White and Brown Pelicans rested next to each other, alongside gulls and terns. Multiple species of shorebirds worked the exposed mudflats between the rocks and discarded tires. Although the area seems to be a magnet for people’s trash, the wildlife continues to thrive.

Next, a quick stop by the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. Still plenty of bird activity, even though it was now past 10 a.m. and closing in on 100 degrees. Two Greater Roadrunners chased each other; Gambel’s Quail, Common Ground Dove and Mourning Doves scattered everywhere while Desert Cottontail bounded from shrub to shrub, and an Abert’s Towhee made an appearance.

At Ramer Lake, thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds zoomed back and forth from the bushes bordering the lake to the cow farm next door. A Lesser Nighthawk roosted at Finney Lake plus there were a few Western Grebes.

Sunbeam Lake was fairly devoid of everything except dragonflies and damselflies, not too surprising as it was past noon and over 100 degrees. The smart critters hunkered down in a shady area.

Overall, a fantastic day. Of course, there are plenty of animals that I didn’t see this time around but that just gives me a reason to start planning my next trip to the Salton Sea.

Click here to see photos.

Birds
Cinnamon Teal
Western Grebe
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White-faced Ibis
Osprey
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
Clapper Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Burrowing Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
Verdin
Abert’s Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
33 Total Species

Dragonflies
Roseate Skimmer
Blue Dasher
Mexican Amberwing
5 Total Species

Mammals
Coyote
Desert Cottontail

Reptiles
Great Basin Whiptail

Early in the morning the birdlife was visibly active, but as the day went on the birds stayed out of view even though I could hear the constant calling of Acorn Woodpeckers and Stellar’s Jays.

As the day grew warmer, the dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies became more active. Doane Pond contains an amazing amount of American Bullfrogs and watching these frogs erupt from the water after prey was great. A couple of hours in the 90-plus degree heat chasing after as many species as I could find tired me out.

On the way down the mountain but within the Palomar Mountain State Park boundaries was a group of five Mule Deer feeding on the grasses. As much as I tried to find the buck, I saw only one adult female and four young but what an enjoyable way to close out the day.

Many images from the day can be found here.

Birds
Western Bluebird
American Robin
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Dark-eyed Junko

Dragonflies
Black Saddlebags
Neon Skimmer
Common Green Darner
Red Saddlebags

Damselflies
Tule Bluet
Northern Bluet
Pacific Forktail

Butterflies
Funereal Duskywing
Painted Lady
Woodland Skipper
California Sister
Cabbage White
Checkered White
Northern White-Skipper
2 other Butterfly species not yet identified

Mammals
Mule Deer

Amphibians
American Bullfrog

I watched as both a male and female Northern Harrier hunted across the open scrubland in Border Field State Park, an awe-inspiring sight. But the most fascinating event of the day was watching two Thread-waisted Wasps taking turns going down into a small hole and bringing out what appeared to be dirt.

On the way home I made a quick stop at Kumeyaay Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park and was treated to a few lovely dragonflies.

Surprisingly, no reptiles came out, but plenty of other animals made appearances. Here’s a list of wildlife I captured on camera today. Click here to see photos.

Birds
Northern Harrier
White-tailed Kite
Cooper’s Hawk
American Kestrel
Common Ground-Dove
Selasphorus Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
California Towhee

Butterflies
Western Tiger Swallowtail
West Coast Lady
Monarch
Lorquin’s Admiral
Marine Blue

Dragonflies
Red Saddlebags
Flame Skimmer
Blue Dasher
Black Saddlebags

Interesting Insect of Note
Thread-waisted Wasp

On the way to the Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival my wife and I took a side trip to Patagonia. The Butterfly Garden in the middle of town was nice but the highlight was a visit to the Paton’s House. As promised, the Violet-crowned Hummingbirds made regular stops at the house’s multiple feeders. Even though the monsoon rains started soon after our arrival, the wet weather didn’t keep the birds away. We saw a few Gray Hawks in the trees along the roads in and out of Patagonia but either the lighting was horrible or there wasn’t a safe place to stop the car, so I had to settle for a few poor-quality photos.

Considering that we started our drive from San Diego in the early morning, we had a decent day of Arizona birding to start our trip.

Birds
Gambel’s Quail
Turkey Vulture
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Vermilion Flycatcher
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Phainopepla
House Finch
House Sparrow
Number of species: 18

Butterflies
Pipevine Swallowtail
Number of species: 3

Reptiles
Sonoran Spotted Whiptail
Number of species: 1

8/7/08 – Huachuca Mountains

I took the Huachuca Specialties field trip guided by Mark Pretti on the first day of the Southwest Wings Birding & Nature Festival. The group traveled on to Fort Huachuca and into Garden Canyon and we had surprises all along the way. Mark was an absolutely awesome guide, and I highly recommend to anyone traveling to southeastern Arizona to hire him to find your target birds. Mark’s knowledge of the songs and calls for each bird species was pure mastery. He continually put us into the right place to find bird after bird after bird. Mark was also familiar with many of the butterflies, insects, and mammals in the area.

The group ended the day with short stops at Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon, the Nature Conservancy in Ramsey Canyon, and Ash Canyon B&B looking for butterflies and hummingbirds. We weren’t disappointed as all species we were hoping to see made appearances. The Magnificent Hummingbird was absolutely incredible. Its size makes it look like a hovering sparrow; when it sits next to the small Black-chinned Hummingbird, it was like putting Shaq next to Gary Coleman.

What a fantastic day and beginning of the festival.

Birds
Gray Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk (Fuertes’s)
Golden Eagle
Rock Pigeon
Greater Roadrunner
Spotted Owl
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Elegant Trogon
Acorn Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Mexican Jay
Brown Creeper
Canyon Wren
Grace’s Warbler
Painted Redstart
Yellow-eyed Junco
Number of species: 27

Butterflies
Number of species: 4

Mammals
Coues Whitetail Deer
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 2

Reptiles
Sonoran Spotted Whiptail
Yarrow’s Spiny Lizard
Number of species: 2

8/8/08 – Carr, Ash and Ramsey Canyons

I took a day off from the festival activities and did some solo exploring into Carr Canyon in the morning. I was unable to capture the highlight of the day on film – a Bobcat running across the road about ten feet in front of my car. I drove all the way to the end of Carr Canyon Road and never tired of the beautiful scenery as it changed with my ascent of the mountain.

After lunch my wife joined me and we did a return trip to Ash Canyon B&B and the Nature Conservancy in Ramsey Canyon. Once again the hummingbirds came out to feed and pose for the camera. At the Nature Conservancy I took a short hike up the trail and was rewarded with a doe and fawn Coues Whitetail Deer grazing with each other. The monsoon rains make for plenty of fresh greenery and food. This species of deer has adapted to giving birth in the summer when the monsoon season arrives instead of in the spring as do most (if not all) other deer species.

When the afternoon rains started we headed away from the mountains and down to the San Pedro House to stay dry and look for new species. I was able to find a few animals that didn’t mind the mid-afternoon heat and sun.

It was a third straight great day.

Birds
Cooper’s Hawk
Golden Eagle
Band-tailed Pigeon
Greater Roadrunner
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee
Vermilion Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Chihuahuan Raven
Barn Swallow
Curve-billed Thrasher
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Yellow-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lesser Goldfinch
Number of species: 23

Butterflies
Number of species: 4

Dragonfly
Number of species: 1

Moths
White-lined Sphinx Moth
Number of species: 3

Mammals
Coues Whitetail Deer
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 2

Reptiles
Arizona Striped Whiptail
Number of species: 1

8/9/08 – Ramsey and Ash Canyons

The festival’s Easy Does It field trip was on this day’s agenda. Though it wasn’t filled with hiking like the previous days I still had plenty to photograph, beginning with a small group of Wild Turkey in the field next to Ash Canyon B&B. Mary Jo (owner of the Ash Canyon B&B) has a fantastic place. She has been planting native plants on the property and the wildlife has responded by turning out in big numbers. She did have the cages around the nectar feeders (tough for photography but didn’t stop the birds from coming) to keep the nectar-eating bats away. Appearently these bats can drain a feeder in no time flat. Both the male and female Lucifer Hummingbirds made multiple appearances along with a few other species. Besides the hummingbirds there were plenty of other birds willing to pose for my camera. A few additional species in Ramsey Canyon capped off the day.

The rains started early so it was time to rest and prepare for the next couple of days.

Birds
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Lucifer Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Painted Redstart
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bronzed Cowbird
Number of species: 21

Butterfly
Number of species: 1

8/10/08 – CSR Nature Photography, Carr and Miller Canyons

I spent the first half of the day with Chuck Rau photographing rattlesnakes, kingsnakes, and few other animals. Wow! Being able to get this close to these dangerous snakes was awesome.

After a break for lunch my wife and I headed back to Carr Canyon in search of the Blue-throated Hummingbird and we had some nice looks at a few females. Thunder started to sound in the not-too-far distance so we decided to head over to Beatty’s Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon where we hoped to ride out a shower. Good choice. The rain never really came, just a few sprinkles, and we were treated to multiple Blue-throated Hummingbirds along with the White-eared Hummingbird. This area had the highest total species count during our visit. I didn’t find other species of birds, but the sheer volume of hummingbirds made up for that. My wife and I bought a small jar of honey made right there on the property and it was as tasty as hoped. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a photo of the most intriguing bird of the day: it looked like a hybrid, possibly between Rufous and Berryline Hummingbirds, so I have a target for next time.

Birds
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
White-winged Dove
Broad-billed Hummingbird
White-eared Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Magnificent Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Say’s Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Curve-billed Thrasher
Canyon Towhee
Abert’s Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow
Number of species: 24

Butterflies
Number of species: 3

Mammals
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Desert Cottontail
Arizona Fox Squirrel
Number of species: 3

Reptiles
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Mohave Rattlesnake
Speckled Rattlesnake
Tiger Rattlesnake
California Mountain Kingsnake
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
Desert Rosy Boa
Regal Horned Lizard
Number of species: 9

8/11/08 – A few target species before heading home

I took a short morning drive before packing up the car and heading home. Using tips from local guide extraordinaire Mark Pretti, I went in search of a few missing target birds. Along Hereford Road I was finally able to find a Swainson’s Hawk, and in the overgrown arroyo in a neighborhood near Carr Canyon I was able to get some really nice photographs of both male and female Pyrrhuloxia.

What a fantastic way to wrap up the trip before heading back to San Diego.

Birds
Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Gambel’s Quail
Mexican Jay
Vermilion Flycatcher
Cactus Wren
Western Meadowlark
Pyrrhuloxia
Number of species: 8

See photos arranged by location specific galleries:

Ash Canyon B&B
CSR Nature Photogrphy
Beatty’s Guest Ranch
Carr Canyon
Fort Huachuca
Patagonia
Ramsey Canyon
San Pedro House

After finding a few cooperative birds I was amazed to watch a battle over territory between a migrant Allen’s Hummingbird and a native Anna’s Hummingbird. The Allen’s would sit on a branch while the Anna’s would repeatedly dive at it while screaming. No matter how hard the Anna’s tried, it couldn’t convince the interloping migrant to leave.

I have often watched hummingbirds chase each other away, but the ferocity of the Anna’s was something that I hadn’t seen before. I’m not sure if it was because they were different species or not, but it was great to watch.

See some photos here.

It all started innocently enough. My wife and I were taking a stroll on Torrey Pines State Beach and we heard a raptor calling from the cliffs. I snapped a few photos and figured it was a hawk, but I didn’t know what kind and wanted to find out.

To this point I had spent my photographic excursions on, in, and under the waves. I had never really taken the time to look at the different species of birds that were around me. After all, a gull was a gull, right?

After spending a little bit of time online, I was able to identify my mystery bird as a Peregrine Falcon. I was stunned to read that they could reach speeds over 200 miles per hour. Wow, not only had I snapped some photos of a cool-looking bird, but it was an amazing one at that. I was happy with my photos, but still not a birder.

I started devoting some of my time on my beach walks to photographing the shore birds. I started to notice that all the little birds were different, and that there seemed to be differences in the gulls, too. As I had always tried to identify what ocean animal I was photographing (good idea when in the ocean), I naturally extended this to my new bird photographs. Though I was taking shots of the “beach” birds, I still wasn’t a birder.

I stumbled across the Yahoo group “SD Birds” and joined up. Thought that if there were birds at locations, there must be other wildlife to be found. I would just piggyback on the birding group in order to learn of wildlife-loaded areas. I didn’t know what a YEWA was and didn’t care, or at least I thought I didn’t. Even though I was now a part of a birding group, I still wasn’t birder.

I took a trip out to the San Diego River estuary to try and get some shots of the mullet jumping out of the water. I noticed an almost-solid-blue Heron-looking bird on the rocks and took some shots. I watched it for a while and saw it grab and eat an crab. Wow, how cool! I spent some time looking around the web and finally identified the bird: Little Blue Heron. I went out and bought a field guide to use to determine what type of bird I was photographing, but that didn’t make me a birder.

Fall migration started up and so did the reports of rarities. So many people on the group were getting really excited that I thought I would chase after a few of the reports – only for a few photos though. Finding warblers and flycatchers, ducks and geese, hawks and falcons started to become a weekend routine. I was reading reports, chasing birds, taking photos, and meeting people in the birding community but still didn’t think that I was birder. Though I now knew that a YEWA was a Yellow Warbler, put a sparrow in front of me in the desert and it was still only a sparrow. I didn’t know enough to be a birder so I couldn’t be a birder.

By now I wanted to be a birder but didn’t think I could be one because I was having a hell of time with many identifications, although more and more came easily. I began talking to people who considered themselves birders and I learned that they simply tried to make the best identification possible. You don’t have to be able to identify every bird that flies by in order to be a birder. You just need to spend some time watching birds. Identifications will come with time. Take the time to look at how the bird acts. Each species has a unique way of walking and flying and hunting. Enjoyment of watching birds is enough to consider oneself a birder.

I fought admitting this for a while, but the truth is that I am a birder and am proud of it. I still misidentify birds. Though my primary goal is still taking quality photographs of wildlife (definitely including birds), I don’t mind sitting back and just watching the birds do their thing when the lighting is wrong or they are too far away for my camera.

So I am a BIRDER.