A Trek to Central California

Debi Shearwater is a legend in the world of birding.  For the last 44 years, she has led pelagic birding trips well out in sea to show eager birders the tubenoses, jaegers, terns, alcids, and more that they have longed to see.  On top of that, Debi also finds assortments of other wildlife such as whales and dolphins on her tours.  At one point, she had her last name legally switched to Shearwater because of her love for those birds.  Kinda cool, huh?  I think so.  Recently, Debi has announced that this will be her last year of leading pelagic tours.  Gordon Karre was the first to point the factoid out to me about Debi's upcoming retirement.  Both of us realized that going on one of Debi's tours would not only give us a solid assortment of potential life birds, but we would also be able to experience a day in the life of these legendary tours.  Gordon and I decided to team up for a trip and book a pelagic trip on September 8th, one that would be an all day excursion to the Albacore Grounds well offshore of Monterrey.  Debi confirmed our reservation, and we also decided to arrange our trip in a way that would give us two full birding days outside of the pelagic trip.  And in central California, there is a lot of birding to do!

My Gila County obsession usually consumes my time off of work these days (stay tuned for more posts on that), and it was about time to switch things up a little.  After planning a Cali trip a few months in advance, September came around fast.  Gordon and I flew out of Phoenix to San Jose on September 5th, and we would have all days of the 6th, the 7th, the pelagic 8th for birding, and a good chunk of the 9th before we would fly back to Phoenix from San Jose.  We started birding on the early morning of September 6th near San Jose, in a county called Santa Clara.  There were birds around for us to chase, including a few Ruffs.  A Ruff, as well as the California-endemic Yellow-billed Magpie, were two potential life birds that I could land right off the bat.

Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, a location that was very close to where we were starting our birding off, was hosting one of the Ruffs that had found way to central Cali.  As we took a boardwalk trail out into a extensive wetland area, we began our search.  Bird numbers were high, especially in the water category.  I was pumped that we were chasing a Ruff, as it is a shorebird I have always wanted to see.  California gets rare but regular numbers of Ruff annually, and in Arizona, Ruff is quite the mega rarity.  I've always hoped to find one while scanning shorebird habitat in Arizona.  But I was in California, scanning through high numbers of shorebirds while anticipating that Ruff to jump out from the bunch at any neighboring second.

Once we got to the end of the boardwalk trail, we scanned another section of the Refuge before going back to the boardwalk.  I looked back at our previously covered ground from more of an elevated point, and there was the Ruff!  It was in juvenile plumage, and it was foraging in and out of open and densely covered vegetation.  Our initial observation of this Ruff gave us excellent scope views, but when a likely raptor caused the shorebirds to flush, we saw the Ruff go along with the crowd and lost sight of it as it ventured out further into the wetlands.

Gordon and I couldn't relocate the Ruff in about twenty minutes of further searching.  We decided to go elsewhere in the Refuge for a bit before returning to the boardwalk trail to try for better looks at my latest life bird.  This time we repeated the same scenario, and luckily, I happened to catch sight of the Ruff flying in and landing much closer to the boardwalk.  It landed in some dense habitat, but after waiting for a few minutes, the bird came and foraged in the open for us.  Thanks to the Ruff, it gave the trip a great start.

The Ruff emerges!

Up next was a 45 minute drive southeast from Don Edwards further into Santa Clara County to target the California bounded Yellow-billed Magpie.  We entered a place that is called the Coyote Valley, and it is composed of oak savanna and farmland as it's habitat makeup.  A kind birder at Don Edwards told us of what were our best chances at Yellow-billed Magpie, and we followed suggestions.  Once getting to Laguna Avenue, we turned and drove to what was said to be the promised land.  We drove a paved road until it turned to dirt and became private property further.  The road came to a point where big agricultural fields where backed up by rolling hills covered in oak trees.  I noticed a wanted shape and silhouette sitting on a fence line and the car had to stop.  Looking through my binoculars I could see it was a Magpie, and when it lifted it's face up, it had a yellow bill.  Also, I knew that there aren't any Black-billed Magpies in the range of the Yellow-billed Magpie.  I was stoked at the sight of the bird, and after Gordon took a look, he noticed more and more of them behind the original.  We got our scopes out and enjoyed them from a distance as they were on private property.

There's a Yellow-billed Magpie!

The thing called serendipity gave us a high five as the landowners of the area happened to be driving by.  We explained what we were doing as they said hi to us, and we asked if we could walk on their property to simply get closer views of the birds.  After a short discussion, they gave us a yes.  And thankfully, we got to get much closer to these neat birds and enjoyed them in settings typical of their environment.  I thought it was cool to observe this bird in midst of knowing about their endemic ties to California, and of course being gifted the chance to get closer to them.

Palm Avenue was our last stop in the Coyote Valley.  It treated us well too.  When we pulled up to a hiking area, there was another Yellow-billed Magpie right by the trail head.  This bird really gave us a show!  It saw the parking lot as a lot not only for cars and people, but a Magpie lot too.

From Coyote Valley, we went further west into Central California to Monterrey County, where we would spend the major majority of our time on the trip.  The last birding stop we made on the opening day was a lengthy scan off of Monterrey at Point Pinos.  Incredible sea watches have been accomplished at this point, right from shore.  While I was hoping to see something incredible, I found the "commoner" California coastal stuff to also hold a lot of fun.  And that's what came along with our visit.

Heerman's Gull

Black-bellied Plovers

Black Oystercatcher

Black-bellied Plovers and Black Turnstones

Wandering Tattler

Heerman's Gull

Gordon has a kind cousin named Carol, and she let us stay at her place in Monterrey on the night of the 6th.  She was cool, and she had some awesome pets at her house.  On the morning of the 7th, we were up early and were ready to go.  Our agenda for the day was another busy one, and involved looking for a variety of birds.  The first stop that we made was a place called Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge.  It has a variety of trails, including one that really caught our attention and led out to the coast.  As we made our way to the ocean, a California Quail was near the beginning of the hike and showed itself well.  Other than a few fleeting glimpses and heard only detections of this species, this was the first one that I really got to see, yet alone photograph.  Several Wrentits also lined the trail, but they weren't very cooperative for clear photographs.

California Quail

Wrentit hide-and-seek

The best part of the Refuge was when we made it out to the coast, where the Salinas River flowed out into the ocean.  I was glad to be scanning the sea, and things got fun when I picked out a lifer, my first ever Common Murres.  As a part of the Alcid family and certainly a bird we would see in numbers out at sea on a pelagic trip as well as from shore, the bird is appropriately named.  Due to Common Murres being too far out of range for photographs, I had to photograph an assortment of other birds along the coastline.  It was particularly fun to watch Parasitic Jaegers flying over the water, as well as see a Long-billed Curlew and Whimbrels directly side-by-side for a neat comparison.

Red-necked Phalaropes

One of five Parasitic Jaegers observed

Parasitic Jaeger over the ocean

Whimbrel

Long-billed Curlew

Sanderlings

Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew side-by-side...

Up next was a place called Moonglow Dairy.  This location was a farm area that was located along a bay, and the folks who own the farm have been generous to open the place up to birders.  Over the time that birders have visited the Dairy, an impressive total of 291 birds has been recorded on the site.  As we made our way over to the spot, we also knew that a Ruff was currently present in the area and would visit the Dairy quite often.  We were hoping to see it, as it would give us two Ruffs on the trip in two different California counties.  An Audubon walk was taking place on the Dairy, and many birders were present in a led group.  Several of them were talking about the Ruff, but the bird was missing in action when Gordon and I looked.  The place did have an incredible assortment of birds and habitats.  Among the birds were White-tailed Kite and a flock of Red-necked Phalaropes.  Red-necked Phalaropes would turn out to be abundant and one of the commonest birds that we would encounter in central California.

White-tailed Kite 

Red-necked Phalarope

From Moonglow Dairy, we went west to scan the Moss Landing Recreation Area section of Monterrey Bay.  Elkhorn Slough flows into the ocean adjacent to this location.  Moss Landing is a great spot to seawatch for birds and whales, is good for a variety of birds in surrounding estuaries, and it is also known for the viewing of Sea Otters.  We would get a neat combination of everything in our visit to Moss Landing.  Birds included White-tailed Kite, Common Murre, Elegant Tern, and more.

White-tailed Kite

Sea Otter

Elegant Tern

Western Gull

After Moss Landing, a great suggestion by Gordon took us north up into Santa Cruz County to go up into dense coniferous forests that held the massive and breathtaking redwood trees.  A picture is worth a thousand words right?  What else can you say when looking at these trees, they are incredible and I usually don't make a loud deal over tree lifers, but these trees..

We walked a one mile loop through the redwood forest at the Redwood Grove Trail in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.  Fun birds of the forest included Wild Turkey, Hairy Woodpecker, Steller's Jay, my second ever looks at Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Oregon Dark-eyed Juncos, and Wilson's and Townsend's Warblers.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees

As we needed to get back sooner to Monterrey in preparation for the Shearwater pelagic trip the next day, we made one last stop and that was at the Natural Bridges State Beach.  The highlight bird for me was a lifer, and that was when I scanned the ocean carefully to pick out two Pigeon Guillemots.  Although the views were distant, one was of a nice male who still retained plenty of it's dominating black coloration alongside with it's striking white wing patches.  It was one of Gordon's main targets, but when I tried to get him on both Guillemots, one would dive and dissapear while the other one flew into direct sunlight and landed there, well enough in the distance to evade my ability to keep my eye on it.  The day ended with us getting snacks and food for the upcoming pelagic and eating a big meal.  For me, I chose my favorite meal of spaghetti and meatballs.  On my prior pelagic trip that was over four years ago, that dinner choice carried over well the next day.

An early morning came fast on September 8th, and drowsy symptoms were in effect because of medication that was taken to prevent dizziness and motion sickness for the pelagic.  Gordon and I were told that the forecast said that conditions would be rough out at sea in the direction that we were going to.  It scared me a little, but I didn't take the forecast too seriously.  With the medication, it didn't matter to me if it was a little rough.  I REALLY wanted to see and study all three Jaegers.  I wanted to see Shearwaters.  There were Alcids I wanted to see.  Albatrosses.  Storm-Petrels.  SOUTH FREAKING POLAR SKUAS.  Whales.  Dolphins.  Flying Fish.  Debi Shearwater in action.  Arctic Terns.  Maybe a Tropicbird.  The destination we were planning to be aboard to would take us to the Albacore Grounds, and it had a lot of potential.  I was more eager than ever to get back out onto the ocean for some hardcore birding, especially since it had been over four years since my last pelagic.

Gordon and I arrived at the spot where our boat would depart.  There were many other enthusiastic birders present, and they were looking forward to the trip just like we were.  A guy walked by everyone and said, "it's gonna be a rough day out there guys".  I didn't take that as the best news, but I took it that there was still gonna be a trip.  Gordon and I talked with some other birders who Gordon knew.

Debi Shearwater herself then came to talk to everyone.  I was glad to see her, and I was glad that things were going to get underway.  She began with, "For those of you who are on the pelagic trip", (I waited for her to say, "go ahead and head down toward the boat that way"), but then she dropped the line of, "the trip is cancelled".  I couldn't help but say the F word out loud.

"I know it's heartbreaking.  It's only the second trip I've ever had to cancel in September in 44 years.  Trust me, you guys wouldn't have fun out there.  The waters are dangerous".  Debi's tone and words expressed a person who was truly sorry to all of the people who had made the trip to go on her pelagic.  On the other hand, the 2 in 44 stat-line really smacked my ass.  For Gordon and I, it meant we would never be able to go on one of her tours, as she is sold out for the remainder of this final year of her career.  We made sure to shake her hand and thank her for all she has done for the birders in her life.  Once the walk back to the car started, I started swearing a lot more.  And I kept swearing for the next hour.  Even though things happen and I understand they happen, I spent a ton of money on the trip.  It was way too much money to not get to go on the sole purpose and reason for the entire trip.  The birds we were seeing were already were nice, but don't add up to the experience of a pelagic trip.  They could be seen any other year in California.

After an hour went by, we decided to still make the best out of the day, take a bit of a drive, and head up north into San Mateo County to bird at the well known and scenic Half Moon Bay.  It took an hour-and-a-half to get to Half Moon Bay.  I was drowsy from medication and it was slowly wearing off.  For Gordon, he slept for a long time in the car.  As we pulled up to Half Moon Bay at a place called Surfer's Beach, we were lucky to have a taste of a pelagic right from shore.  Thousands of Sooty Shearwaters congregated close to shore to feed and provided an unforgettable sight.

Sooty Shearwaters be like...

For a good amount of time, we watched the gigantic Sooty Shearwater flock with amazement.  Since we weren't going to see the Shearwaters out on a boat, we needed a fill of the birds from shore.

Other birds were mixed in with the flock too, and I was happy to see this Common Murre closer to the shore than all of the other Common Murres were on the trip.

Common Murre with Heerman's Gulls

A target we seeked at Half Moon Bay was a Harlequin Duck, who had been reliable in the previous days prior to our visit.  After a good scan at the location it was reported at, we came up empty.  It would have been a lifer for me if it still would've been there.

Devil's Slide Trail and Egg Rock was one of the next locations we visited along the Coast.  More so than ever, the scenery here was top notch.  A trail went alongside a steep cliffside that overlooks the ocean.  Thousands of cormorants and Brown Pelicans were present on the rocks, and we also kept an eye out for a Northern Gannet that has been seen occasionally from the area.

Red-tailed Hawk watching the coast 

As we started to make our way south again, we made more stops in San Mateo County before we would bird Monterrey County more.  Gordon found an eBird hotspot for a place called Tunitas Creek Beach, and we decided to check it out and bird it.  Unlike most other beaches in the area, this beach was one that we had to hike to for about a half mile.  We parked off the highway and walked through a heavily wooded area, which held great habitat for birds.  It was already the early afternoon stage and there weren't many songbirds present, but an early morning stop would likely prove to be great.  The Beach was a fun beach to scan, and I had great views of the ocean and a good assortment of waterbirds to go along with it.  A great highlight for me came when I landed my fifth life bird of the trip in a pair of Marbled Murrelets.  I watched the birds for close to 30 minutes, and it was challenging to get good looks at them for awhile as they would go up and down, in sight and out of sight, here one second and gone the next with the ocean waves.  After many quick looks, I felt confident to know they were Marbled Murrelets.  For me, they were my third Alcid lifer of the trip (Common Murre and Pigeon Guillemot the other two), and a bird I was grateful to see.

My horrible shot of a "Marbled Murrelet"

Caspian Tern with Western and California Gulls

After getting back into Monterrey County later in the afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of our birding time for the day within hotspots at the popular-for-birders Elkhorn Slough.  We had incredible numbers of waterbirds in the places we stopped at.  Shorebirds in particular were very abundant.  However, the best sighting at Elkhorn Slough for me was this Chestnut-backed Chickadee.  And the sun hit the bird in just the right spot as I was getting my snapshots!

Chestnut lit up

Red-necked Phalarope

We made sure to get a seafood dinner once we got back to Monterrey in memory of not getting to go on a pelagic.  On September 9th, we planned to do a few hours of birding in the morning before hitting up the well-known Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and then birding a little before departing for the San Jose Airport.  Having been impressed earlier in the trip by the Moonglow Dairy, we decided to bird there during the morning.  The location in the early morning gave us an impressive variety of birds, but we were hoping to get the Ruff that was being seen there.  After some scanning and waiting, Gordon spied the Ruff feeding with some other shorebirds.  For the most part it stayed at a reasonable viewing distance, but it wasn't nearly as close as the first Ruff was to us earlier in the trip.

Black-bellied Plover, alternate plumage

Marbled Godwit

Long-billed Curlew

Willet

Ruff with it's peeps

Ruff with Western Sandpipers and Semipalmated Polover

Things got fun when the Ruff took flight and decided to pass right by us.  I managed to get this photograph of it.

The Ruff has a unique "u-shaped" tail pattern that can be seen when in it's in flight.

The Monterrey Bay Aquarium was epic and was something that I was glad that we did.  And thanks to Gordon's cousin Carol for a second major time on the trip, she got us into the Aquarium for free (it's a hefty 95 dollar fee otherwise.

The last birding that we did was along the Monterrey Coast near the Aquarium.  We didn't see anything crazy, but we did enjoy more Black Turnstones, Brandt's Cormorants, and Red-necked Phalaropes before we had to head back to the San Jose Airport.  More frustration was born as I realized my camera's focus went bad.  It couldn't auto-focus and it was hard to turn the lever for manual focus.  I was very upset on the trip for a second time.

Black Turnstone

Red-necked Phalarope

Brandt's Cormorant

Thank you Gordon for a fun trip.  Although the trip didn't give us our primary reason that we wen't on the trip in the first place, we still had fun.  We learned more about California's bird life.  We visited new counties we had never been too.  For me, I got five lifers:  Ruff, Yellow-billed Magpie, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, and Marbled Murrelet.  The lifers were ones I would get on future California trips without trouble (Ruff is rare in numbers but annual in the state).  Stay tuned for more blog posts.  I've recently had an awesome story to tell that has since made up for the disappointment of striking out on a pelagic.  Gila County has been fun as of late too!