August 25th, 2012: Half Moon Bay Pelagic

        Having been working for a large portion of my summer, I realized that I had acquired enough money to pay a pelagic trip for myself. I was extremely excited when I found out that I could go, for this was going to be my first ever pelagic trip. For those of you who aren't familiar with what a "pelagic"trip" is, it is a trip out to sea to find some seafaring birds; birds that are seldom seen from shore. 

            

       I woke up at 5:00 AM, to arrive at Pillar Point Harbor at 6:30 AM. I was dropped off at the rendezvous spot, and waited with several other birders. This trip was led by Alvaro Jaramillo, a renowned birder with many pelagic experiences, with Alvaro Adventures. We embarked on our nautical journey at 7:00 AM, while birding as we left the harbor. We saw some typical coastal birds such as Black Turnstones, Elegant Terns, Heermann's Gulls, Surfbirds, and many Brown Pelicans.

Frightened flock of Elegant Terns

        Western Gulls trailed behind our boat as we tossed little pieces of popcorn to lure them closer. The goal of the popcorn was to attract the gulls, which would indirectly attract other seabirds, that would be attracted by the large flock of those gulls. However, there weren't any truly pelagic birds by the harbor, so we tried to save up on the popcorn. We began seeing Pigeon Guillemots and Common Murres as we went further from the harbor. Some of these alcids didn't fear the boat and didn't dive or take flight as we neared them, producing exceptional photo ops.

Nonbreeding Common Murre
(notice the bridled eye, the white on the face,
and the black back and wings.)

      Suddenly, Alvaro shouted: "Rhino Auklets!". We all turned around and noticed two of these alcids flying a couple hundred feet from the boat. This was my first lifer of the trip, the first of many.

Rhinoceros Auklets
(notice the orange bill, the white marks on the face,
the white belly, and slightly angled flight.)

          We then approached a large flock of Common Murres that had a couple Sooty Shearwaters mixed in. Though this species is frequently seen from shore, it was another lifer for me. My scope's aperture doesn't provide enough luminosity to clearly see birds, or a big enough view, for a broader view of the sea. This is why I haven't ever seabirded from shore. However, the view we got of this species surpassed any view from shore. This bird was about 30 feet from the boat, which was sufficient to get good, clear views.

Sooty Shearwater
(notice the entirely dark body, and the slender hooked bill)

         After about an hour and a half, the coast was no longer visible, and we were surrounded by water. This gave me a feeling of vulnerability, where if something bad happened, there wasn't anybody or anything to help us. Fortunately, the captain was very experienced; and if the unlikely eventuality of the boat sinking were to happen, the boat was equipped with life rafts and life jackets. So I didn't worry.

         Later, little dark birds started flying by the boat. These birds reminded me of swallows by their size and the way they flew. Obviously, they weren't. These were Ashy Storm-Petrels, another lifer and a common bird off the California coast. Suddenly, that small storm-petrel joined an enormous flock of other storm-petrels. This flock was absolutely gargantuan, with at least 500 birds. Ashy Storm-Petrels were the most numerous birds, however they weren't the only birds to compose this flock. There were also Black Storm-Petrels, that were similar to ASSP, but were slightly larger, and had a different flight pattern. There were also Wilson's Storm-Petrels and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. Wilson's are regular birds off the California coast, but are usually in low numbers. There was however a surprisingly large number of these birds in the flock (around 40!). Alvaro said that it might have been the most Wilson's on record in California at once! Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels are also regular birds off of the California coast, and in higher numbers than the Wilson's. There were however only 4 individuals sighted in this flock.

Ashy Storm-Petrel
(notice the light colored carpal-bar, and long wings.)

Mixed flock of Ashy, Black and Wilson's Storm-Petrels

Wilson's Storm-Petrel
(notice the white rump)

         After we passed the massive flock of storm-petrels, we started going into deeper water, where we were expecting to find more truly pelagic birds. We soon began tossing out more of the popcorn, and more gulls appeared. There were however only Western Gulls, and no Heermann's Gulls, because they are more coastal birds that rarely go so far out at sea. However, the gulls attracted more birds such as Sooty Shearwaters, Pink-footed Shearwaters, and lifers Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmars, Buller's Shearwaters, Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaegers, South Polar Skuas, Sabine's Gulls, and even Laysan Albatross! Two of them! These birds came surprisingly close to the boat, which offered once again many photo ops.

Pomarine Jaeger
(notice the yellow nape, the brown band across chest,
the white belly, and the overall bulky appearance.)

Black-footed Albatross
(notice the entirely dark body, the white at the base of the bill
the long wingspan, and the dark underwings.)

Laysan Albatross
(notice the white body, the brow over the eye,
and the white on the underwings.)

South Polar Skua
(notice the entirely dark body, the white on the primaries,
and extremely bulky appearance.)

Pink-footed Shearwater
(notice the pink bill, the brown back,
and the belly and underwings (not visible in this photo) )

Buller's Shearwater
(notice the extensive white on the underside)

Juvenile Sabine's Gull
(notice the brown back, and the lack primaries)

Northern Fulmar (dark morph)
(notice its tubenose bill, and its "dirty-looking" feathers.)

Juvenile Sabine's Gull
(appears identical to an adult, but notice the small white feathers on the dark primaries.
This indicates that it's a juvenile.)

Long-tailed Jaeger
(notice the yellow nape, the white belly,
the thread-like tail, and its somewhat petite frame.)

        As we are all looking at these surprisingly close birds, Matthew Dodder (one of the spotters of the trip) shouted: "Petrel!". Because nobody was expecting to find a petrel on this trip (because they aren't found so close to the coast), everybody jumped up and asked where. I put my binoculars up to my eyes and looked at all the birds trailing behind, when suddenly I noticed a bird with long, pointed wings and a white face. This was the petrel Matthew had spotted. But it wasn't just any petrel, it was Hawaiian Petrel! A rare bird for North America, and as it turned out, a San Mateo County first! This was the most amazing find of the trip by far. Everybody had gotten great looks at the Pterodroma, and I even managed to get a shot of the bird.

Hawaiian Petrel!
(notice its Pterodroma shape (stout bill, long and pointed wings, and long tail),
and the white on its face.)

        This was an incredible find by Matthew Dodder, and everybody applauded him. This was near the end of the trip and it was the perfect way to end the trip. Before we left, Alvaro threw out a couple chum-sicles, which attracted many birds, extremely close to the boat, including a Black-footed Albatross 3 feet away!

Black-footed Albatross
(notice the massive bill, the white on the face,
and the entirely brown body.)

         As we headed back towards the harbor, we crossed several small flocks of Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, more Common Murres, and migrant Arctic and Common Terns.

        Pelagic birding is truly an experience unlike any other. It is completely different than from regular birding on land. The birds we encountered were completely different and new and fascinating. The Hawaiian Petrel certainly was the cherry on top, but the trip would have still have amazing without it. Many thanks to Alvaro Jaramillo with Alvaro Adventures, the boat captain, Matthew Dodder for finding the rarity, and all the other passengers for making the trip that much more special. I hope to participate in more pelagics in the near future, and perhaps find another county first! Or maybe if I'm lucky, an ABA first!

August 20th to 24th, 2012: Birding North Lake Tahoe

    As our end of the summer trip, my family decided that we wanted to go up to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is an alpine lake up in the Sierra Nevadas, and is located right where California and Nevada meet, at the angle.

     I have been to Lake Tahoe many, many times in the past, but what made this trip special was that I was going to bird up there. Oddly enough, I haven't ever birded Lake Tahoe, despite the fact that I've been plenty of times. So on Monday morning, we picked up our grandma at her house (for she was joining us on our trip), and hit the road. We arrived at Kings Beach, on the north side of Lake Tahoe, at around 1:00 PM. I dropped off my bags at the cabin, and I immediately went outside to bird. It felt great to breathe the fresh, mountain air outside. Since I hadn't been out birding for over a week, it felt great to have my binoculars back in my hands. The first birds I noticed were Yellow-rumped Warblers. These little Setophagas (R.I.P. Dendroica) cavorted in the trees, gleaning little insects from the pinecones and from small branches. Other birds among the warblers were Mountain Chickadees. These parids were the equivalent of Chestnut-backed Chickadees in the Bay Area. They adorned all the trees, and hung upside-down from the branches like Christmas tree ornaments. The ubiquitous Steller's Jays called from all over the place. Their screeching was so loud and unpleasant to listen to, that they could have been considered as pests. However, when one of them came into sight, you forgot all these negative thoughts, for they are truly breathtaking birds. Their body is entirely blue, and they have a black head topped with an elegant crest. What made this bird truly unique though were the small, blue stripes over the eyes, somewhat like eyebrows. In the Sierra Nevadas, and all along the Pacific coast, within its range, the Steller's Jay population has these blue eyebrows. However, the interior west population (so in the Rocky Mountains), these eyebrows are white in color.

    As I continued walking down the trail in the forested community, American Robins skittered across the lawn, extracting worms from underground, and savagely began beating them. This made eating their quarry much easier, and much less of a fuss. I finally reached the edge of a forest, where I knew I would find some interesting migrants. I bushwhacked a little bit to enter a little clearing, where I was beset by verdant foliage and harmonious bird calls. More Mountain Chickadees hopped around in the trees. Because this was a private community, no outsiders were permitted to enter, including birders. I assumed that nobody within the community were birders, for when I pished for some birds, the chickadees came two feet away from me. They mustn't have been used to pishing and people taking interest in them, so they perhaps didn't understand that I was a potential threat. Fortunately for them, harming a bird was the last thing on my mind. These curious passerines offered wonderful photos ops, and so I took advantage of this.

Mountain Chickadee
(notice the black stripe across the eye, and the gray cheek)

     After about five minutes, my pishing had finally payed off. A beautiful Nashville Warbler popped out of the dense shrubbery. This is a species that I have only seen once before, when I was in Maine. That bird was a female, so it lacked the red stripe that the males have during the breeding season. What is interesting about this species is that there is a difference between the eastern and the western populations of this species. Though these differences are subtle, there is a possibility that these two populations may one day become two distinct species. Because I have seen both the eastern and western populations, once the two species are recognized, I would have seen the two species!

    That was the most exciting bird of my first day at Lake Tahoe. However, I was to find many more exciting birds during my stay up in the Sierras. 

   The next day, I woke up earlier than everybody else, to do some morning birding. This morning payed off, for I found more species that I could add to my trip list. These species included Hairy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Once everybody had woken up (at ten o'clock), we drove to this spot that I had done research on, where migrants are frequently sighted, and I found many, many different migrants. This was Lake Forest Community, on the northwest corner of the lake. Though this is a private community, outsiders were welcome, and there were many trails that led to the forest. As we arrived, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew into the pine trees in front. Pygmy Nuthatches were calling from all over the place. A Western Wood-Pewee called in the distance. I began walking down the trail, and I found a Red-breasted Sapsucker pecking at a tree trunk. Unfortunately, the lighting was awful, which didn't make for great views. But it was only the third time I've seen this species, so I was happy. Dark-eyed Juncos cheeped from all over the place, and Western Tanagers picked berries from bushes all around.

Nonbreeding male Western Tanager
(notice the two differently colored wing bars, the dark wings,
the yellow body, and the slight red on the face)

     I found this deep willow thicket, and I thought to myself that it must be great habitat for some migrants. Little did I know how right I was. After pishing for about ten minutes, a MacGillivray's Warbler popped out for a spilt second, and then offered quick glimpses as it shuffled across the forest floor in the willow. This bird was previously is the genus Oporornis, along the the Kentucky, Mourning, and Connecticut Warblers, which are notorious for being very secretive and seldom seen. After the recent taxanomical updates, these birds now belong the genus Geothlypis, except for the Connecticut Warbler, which remained an Oporornis. I got very excited when I saw this bird, but suddenly, a chunkier bird hopped onto a branch in the middle of an opening in the willow. It was Cassin's Vireo, a bird I had been after for quite some time.

    These two birds were lifers for me, and my first lifers of the trip. Other migrants that I found in that same willow thicket were two Yellow Warblers, and another Western Tanager. 

     As I continued walking down, I found more birds including White-breasted Nuthatches, a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, a Western Kingbird, a flock of juvenile Chipping Sparrows, and a couple of White-headed Woopeckers. These unique woodpeckers are some of my favorite, and were relatively common in Lake Tahoe, so it was fun to be able to find so many of them.

White-headed Woodpecker
(notice the obvious white head, the black body,
and the white at the bottom of the wing feathers)

    Soon after, a hummingbird zipped by, and landed on a branch out in the open. I got very excited, because up in the mountains, there could be different species of hummers, including Calliope. Unfortunately, the hummer wasn't a Calliope. In fact, I hadn't the slightest clue what species it was. All I knew is that it was a hummingbird that belonged to the genus Selasphorus. Here is a picture of the hummingbird. If anybody has an idea of what it way be, please comment.

Selasphorus species

Selasphorus species

     This basically concludes my visit to the Lake Forest Community. We then went back to the cabin, where we had lunch, and relaxed a little bit. That afternoon, after going to the pool, I begged my parents to bring me to a nearby wildlife area. I would've driven myself, but my parents didn't trust me with the car in an "unknown" area like Lake Tahoe. Finally, my dad agreed to bring me to Martis Creek Wildlife Area. This is the largest area of sagebrush in Placer County. It's also a good spot for Mountain Bluebirds and Brewer's Sparrows. These were the birds I was after. When we arrived, there didn't seem to be much activity, just a couple of Steller's Jays calling. Suddenly, a large flock of black birds flew from the ground. These birds were rather far, so I wasn't able to identify them. We kept on walking, and I noticed some birds perched on top of a couple lone trees. The lighting was awful, so it took me a while to identify them. Finally, I got good lighting and I found out these were juvenile Mountain Bluebirds! One more lifer I could add to my list. But I wanted to find the adult male. The male of this species is truly gorgeous, entirely sky blue. Suddenly, as the small flock of juveniles took off, an all blue bird joins them. It was the adult! When the flock landed, I got great views of this individual.

Male Mountain Bluebird
(notice entirely blue body, and white underbelly)

    Other birds that were present were House Wrens, a couple Lark Sparrows, and a single Vesper Sparrow.  

House Wren
(notice all brown body, and striped tail)

Lark Sparrow
(notice markings on face, white chest, and long tail)

Vesper Sparrow
(notice reddish shoulder patch, the whitish malar area,
and the slight, white eye ring)

      The next morning, I told my parents about a nice hike up in the mountains, where good birds are found, and that isn't too difficult. So they agreed that we could go. This area was called Martis Peak. I really wanted to go birding up in the mountains, to get some of the alpine specialties. Once we arrived, it didn't seem too birdy. Mountain Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches were the only birds I heard. Suddenly, a raspy and rattling call came from a nearby tree. I knew immediately that it came from a Clark's Nutcracker, one of my target birds for the trip. As I tried to slowly and inconspicuously approach it, it called again, but that time from even further away. That bird must have been very wary and careful. It certainly didn't want to be seen. However, I wasn't worried and thought that I had lost my only chance at finding a nutcracker, for I heard several more up the hill. There weren't very many birds on my way up the hill, but there were many more birds all the way on top. As I arrived at the top, there were Dark-eyed Juncos shuffling on the ground, and distant Steller's Jays were heard. Suddenly, a finch-like bird flew to the top of a nearby tree. This bird ended up being a female Cassin's Finch! Another target bird of mine. 

Female Cassin's Finch
(notice the forked tail, the sharp bill,
and the streaks on the undertail coverts)

     My dad followed me on the rocks where I was climbing to get to a better vantage point, but as he did so, he flushed two game birds from a tree. I knew they were game birds by their flight style (very rapid wing beats, and flying straightforward). I wasn't entirely sure what kind of game birds they were, but then a third bird started walking on the branch, 15 feet in front of us. It offered amazing views, and I was able to confirm my identification: a Sooty Grouse!

Sooty Grouse
(notice the overall dark bluish color,
the white on the tips of feathers,
and the red skin over the eye)

    I knew this species was found there, at Lake Tahoe, but I never believed that I'd find one. Grouse in general are very wary birds, proven by the fact that my dad flushed two individuals just before. The fact that one stayed in plain view was miraculous! What was interesting about this situation was that all the  birds were up in the tree. When somebody imagines a grouse, they usually picture them on the ground, walking around. But people forget that grouse will also fly up into trees to forage.

   

    The Sooty Grouse used to be lumped into one species with the Dusky Grouse. That species was called the Blue Grouse. The way to differentiate these two species isn't simple. Their ranges don't exactly overlap, which makes identification easier. But there are also physical ways to discern the two. Sooty Grouse have tails that consist of 18 rounded feathers, whereas the Dusky's tail consists of 20 squared feathers. Obviously, this field mark can only be used when banding the bird, or if you're really up close. Another way to tell them apart is when the males are courting and attracting females. The Sooty will have yellow, warty skin that becomes exposed when performing. Dusky have smooth, magenta skin. 

    This bird was definitely the highlight of my day. Then, I heard another Clark's Nutcracker, that seemed rather nearby. I followed the calling, and suddenly the bird perched on top of a tree. It was the  best view I could've asked from this bird. It was the perfect way to get a lifer (right after the Sooty Grouse). 

Clark's Nutcracker
(notice the black bill, overall gray body, the black wings,
 and the white undertail coverts and outer tail feathers.)

    This was an amazing location, that offered amazing views of both the scenery and of the birds. I highly recommend this area to anybody visiting the area.

View of Lake Tahoe from the top of Martis Peak
  

 That afternoon, we returned to Martis Creek Wildlife Area, but no new birds were seen.

     The next day, we went up to Mount Rose in Nevada. During the winter, this is a ski resort, but during the summer, this mountain offers great hikes. We decided to hike on the Mount Rose Interpretive Meadows Trail. This trail has several boardwalks that allows hikers to walk over these water-filled meadows. Once I arrived, the first bird I noticed was a Red-tailed Hawk soaring very high up. White-crowned Sparrows hopped along the ground, and Clark's Nutcrackers quarreled high up in trees. The trail brought us into a forest where Dark-eyed Juncos were everywhere. Suddenly, a bird flew very quickly onto a tree right in front of me. I froze because I noticed its black-barred back. It was a Williamson's Sapsucker! This bird isn't very easy to find in Lake Tahoe. It was a juvenile for it was overall dark-brown in color, and it had a horizontally barred back. This was very exciting! As I continued hiking down, I reached a deep willow habitat. I pished for one second, and immediately a MacGillivray's Warbler popped out. Very surprising considering how secretive they're known for being. I reached a clearing with open chaparral habitat. I walked off the trail for a second to pish, when suddenly a medium-sized bird with a long, green tail flew in front of me. I froze once again, because I had an idea of what it may have been, but I wasn't entirely sure. I squatted down, to make myself less noticeable, and began pishing. When I did so, a Green-tailed Towhee hopped out of a dense bush to check out the situation. This was yet another bird I was after, which is why I became ecstatic when I found it. 

     When we finished the hike, I was very happy. I got two lifers that I didn't expect to get on this trip. We spent the rest of the day in Nevada, at Sand Harbor Beach. This is a very nice and clean beach that we go to every year. Because I didn't feel like swimming, I birded the nearby forest. This birding was surprisingly productive. That forest was an amazing migrant trap. I found many warbler species including Black-throated Gray, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, and MacGillivray's. Other birds included Hairy Woodpeckers, a Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewees, a Fox Sparrow (Thick-billed subspecies), a Cassin's Vireo, a White-headed Woodpecker, and a flyover Osprey, to name a few. Other great birds that I found were two juvenile Townsend's Solitaires. They were very curious and naïve, so they let me get pretty close, and get good views of them. They were also lifers for me.

     After my little stroll, I relaxed a little bit on the beach. There were many gulls around us, all of them being California Gulls.

California Gull
(notice the black and red mark on bill, the yellowish legs,
and the pattern on the primaries.)

    This concludes my trip to Lake Tahoe. This was an extremely productive trip, where I got 59 species in total, 9 of them being lifers: MacGillivray's Warbler, Cassin's Vireo, Mountain Bluebird, Cassin's Finch, Sooty Grouse, Clarks Nutcracker, Williamson's Sapsucker, Green-tailed Towhee, and Townsend's Soltaire. I can't wait to return to Lake Tahoe, and see what other great birds I'll find!

Lake Forest on Dwellable

August 9th, 2012: Eleventh day of Camp Chiricahua

       This was our final day of birding at Camp Chiricahua. The next day, everybody had to fly back home, some to the west coast, some to the midwest, some to the east coast, and one to Costa Rica. To begin our final day, we all put our bags into the vans and drove towards a certain area, in search of two specific birds. But we got a little side-tracked on our way there. As we were driving, we came across a wildlife park called Las Cienagas National Conservation Area. The name intrigued us, so we drove in and looked to see what we could find. There were Eastern Meadowlarks, Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows, several kingbirds, and even a Lark Bunting. These buntings are only migrants in Arizona, and it was a little early for this bird to be in Arizona that time of year. It unfortunately wasn't in breeding plumage, for it was overall brown, with big, white patches. These birds are all black with white wing patches in breeding plumage, and are striking. The most common birds by far were Grasshopper Sparrows that were singing from all over the place.

Grasshopper Sparrow

    Once we left, we resumed our drive to the Patagonia Rest Stop. This is an extremely well-known spot, and even has a phenomenon named after it. The picnic table effect is when a rare bird is sighted, and throngs of people go to find that bird, but as they are looking for the rare bird, another rarity is discovered. The Patagonia Rest Stop got its fame when a Rose-throated Becard's nest was discovered, and attracted myriads of people. In search for the becard, these people then discovered a Thick-billed Kingbird nest. We went to this rest stop in search for that kingbird, because it breeds there yearly now. The becards on the other hand remain rarities, that infrequently visit Arizona. Once we arrived, it didn't take long for us to find a Thick-billed Kingbird fly and perch on top of a tree. This bird is very similar to a Tropical Kingbird, except that its bill is massive in comparison to its face. Differentiation between the two species is fairly simple thanks to this. However, as we were looking at the kingbird, we heard three PEEs: "PEE, PEE, PEE". This was the call of a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, a southewestern flycatcher and another bird we were after. It didn't take long for this bird to fly out onto a perch in the tree. It was surprisingly cooperative as it perched there for several minutes, letting us get exceptional views of it.

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet

   As we were about to leave, we found a little green bird perched in a clump of branches. It was female Varied Bunting on its nest. The reason why it was a Varied Bunting and not a Lazuli, or a Painted was because it didn't have any wing bars, which eliminated Lazuli, and had a downward-curved bill, which eliminated Painted. These are very important features to remember when identifying female Passerinas.

Patagonia Rest Stop picnic table
"The Picnic Table Effect"

   Our next stop was at the Paton's feeders, some very well-known feeders, where the first two ABA (American Birding Association) records of Cinnamon Hummingbird were sighted. When we arrived, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was calling from the tree above from where we parked. We sat down, and watched all the feeders. The majority of the hummingbirds were Broad-billed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, but the occasional Violet-crowned Hummingbird would pop out and land on a feeder.

Violet-crowned Hummingbird
(notice the violet crown, brown back, white throat and belly, and pink bill)

    Other birds in the area were Gila Woodpeckers, Bridled Titmouses, Common Ground-Doves and Abert's Towhees.

    We then went to Patagonia Lake, in the town of Patagonia, to have lunch. The majority of the birds there were Great-tailed Grackles, but in the lake were Neotropic Cormorants and Double-crested Cormorants. The best way to tell these two species apart is by looking at the tail. Neotropics have smaller bodies and much longer tails. Double-crested are bigger and have shorter tails. This was a very good time to compare the two species, while they were swimming side-by-side. Suddenly, a big, brown bird flew and landed in the water. This bird took us all by surprise and we all started jumping with joy. It was a Brown Pelican! An extremely rare bird for Arizona. Somebody took out their iPhone to eBird this sighting. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to find out that this bird had been there for the past month, and we weren't the discoverers of this rarity. It was still exciting to see this bird nonetheless. Coming from the Bay Area, Brown Pelicans are very common on the coast. But it's interesting to find one swimming in a lake in the middle of the desert. 

    

   This was our last stop before heading to the hotel in Tucson. I thought that we were done with finding any more cool birds, but right when I thought that, a Greater Roadrunner popped out of nowhere and began running in the parking lot. It ran two feet away from some of the guests at the hotel, and even they were interested by this bird. It was surprisingly tame. 

Greater Roadrunner
(notice the the race car striped auriculars, and the long tail)

    This was an amazing week where I met some incredible birders, saw some wonderful birds, and had a great time. I would like to thank Michael O'Brian, Louise Zemaitis, and Jennie Duberstein for showing us the amazing birds, teaching us invaluable information, and being a blast to spend time with. I highly recommend this camp to young birders of any skill level. Whether you're a novice birder, or an expert birder, this camp is unlike any other, and I would do this camp again if ever I had the possibility.

August 8th, 2012: Tenth day of Camp Chiricahua

     On this fine day of Camp Chiricahua, we had an early wakeup to head towards San Pedro House to bird. Jennie Duberstein had hooked us up with several researchers that were banding in this area. So we headed towards them, but we birded on the way. Birds that we saw were Vermilion Flycatchers, Lazuli Buntings, Inca Doves, and a juvenile Great Horned Owl, to name a few. We finally arrived at the banding station where they were banding a female Common Yellowthroat. However, one of the banders brought in one bag, and the bird inside made the yellowthroat look like a House Sparrow. It was an adult male Painted Bunting, an incredibly multicolored bird.

Male Painted Bunting
(notice red throat and belly, purplish head, and yellow-green back)

    After birding at San Pedro House, we headed up to Carr Canyon to picnic. We arrived and began eating. Suddenly, we heard a nearby, light "whip" call. We all froze because we all knew what that call was. We had heard it at Mount Lemmon at the beginning of camp. It was a Buff-breasted Flycatcher, a bird that almost everybody had missed. Fortunately, I had already seen it, so I wouldn't have been crestfallen if I missed it. But as I thought this to myself, the bird flies to an open perch, for everybody to see. This was a great moment for everybody, because this was a bird that everybody had lost hope in seeing. So when the bird flew out to the open, an aura of joy and happiness encircled the camp. After lunch, we birded this area. Yellow-eyed Juncos and Cordilleran Flycatchers were the most common birds, along with Bewick's Wrens and Brown Creepers. We then reached a clearing where some Turkey Vultures soared over. But among these vultures was one bird that looked a little different. It had a striped tail and striped underwings. It was a Zone-tailed Hawk, but a juvenile because it lacked the bold, white stripes that the adults usually have.

Juvenile Zone-tailed Hawk
(notice the stripes on the tail and on the underwings, and the yellow cere at the base of the bill)

    After lunch, we headed back to the San Pedro River Inn, where we birded some more. Nothing of interest was seen. However, once it started getting dark, Lesser Nighthawks began flying all over the place, catching gnats and flies while in flight.

    These goatsuckers are nearly identical to Common Nighthawks, but differentiation between the two species is possible. Lesser Nighthawks are overall smaller than Common Nighthawks, but this isn't the most reliable field mark. The most reliable way to tell them apart is by studying the white wing patches on the wings. On a Lesser Nighthawk, these white wings patches will positioned at a certain distance from the wing tip, that will form a equilateral triangle. On a Common Nighthawk, the distance from the wing patches and the wing tip will form an isosceles triangle. This may be difficult to view from afar, but with a proper view, identification is possible.

     The nighthawks made for a nice way to end the day. As it was our last day at San Pedro River Inn, we packed our bags, and had to clean up our rooms before going to bed.

August 6th, and 7th, 2012: Eighth, and Ninth days of Camp Chiricahua

     On the morning of August 6th, we returned to the same spot we had gone to the previous day, where we found the Juniper Titmouse for the first time. We wanted to try and find a Crissal Thrasher, a bird that we almost all missed. Unfortunately, we had no luck finding that bird. However, we did get great looks at a singing male Indigo Bunting, a personal favorite of mine now.

Male Indigo Bunting
(notice all light blue body, and silvery lower mandible)

   Once we returned to Cave Creek Ranch, we had to pack all of our bags, for it was time for us to leave. It was time for us to leave the spot where we witnessed myriads of hummingbirds feeding three feet away from us, where we found our trogon, where we searched and found a Montezuma Quail, and where we found two species of screech-owls. This location is recognized worldwide, and we had the privilege to spend several days amid this birding oasis. We were truly fortunate to bird this incredible environment. 

   We hit the road, and birded while we drove. We saw the typical birds, such as Cassin's and Western Kingbirds, Black-throated Sparrows, and White-winged Doves. We were on our way to San Pedro River Inn, in Riverside. This place has a completely different environment: more riparian and pond habitats. We finally arrived at the inn, and the leaders had to check us in. So they gave us time bird around. We did so, and found many cool birds, such as Western Wood-Pewees, our first Vermilion Flycatchers (not a lifer, but it is my all-time favorite bird, so I was so happy to see it once again), and my lifer Botteri's Sparrow! This sparrow looks very much like the similar Cassin's Sparrow, except that the Botteri's has a slightly downward-curved bill, and it doesn't have streaks on its flanks, unlike the Cassin's Sparrow. We also found a juvenile Swainson's Hawk perched high up in a tree, that just stared us down. This disparaging raptor was a delight to watch. 

Juvenile Swainson's Hawk
(notice the dark breast band)

     Once we had checked in, the leaders assigned us cabins and roommates. The cabins were surprisingly large, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room. However, this seemingly perfect cabin was infested with different kinds of wildlife. There were moths all over the place, my roommate found a lizard in his bed, and a shrew found a way to enter and exit the cabin whenever it pleased. Despite the many critters, it was a pretty cozy place to stay. We had dinner, and headed to our cabins. But before going to sleep, we decided that we were going owl a little bit, because we were told that there are Barn Owls that nest in the area. We walked down the trail, and after fifteen minutes, a white, ghostly figure flies from a tree. It was a Barn Owl. I had only seen this species once before, so it was great to see it again. As we headed back, we heard many coyotes. So many, that we felt like that we were beset by these canids. However, we were distracted by an amphibian.

 It was a Couch's Spadefoot, and was very cool to see.

Couch's Spadefoot

     The next morning, on August 7th, I woke up a little earlier to bird the area before breakfast. I walked to the pond, where I found a Green Heron, a Great Blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbirds, and several Yellow Warblers. We had breakfast, and we then took a walk around the inn's property, seeing if we could find birds. Obviously we did. When we first started walking, we saw some Vermilion Flycatchers, and some other flycatchers. Suddenly, a white and brown bird flew out of a tree calling: "c-c-c-c-c!". It was my lifer Yellow-billed Cuckoo! This bird is extremely localized in California, and very rarely occurs in the Bay Area, so I got extremely excited. However, this species is relatively common on the east coast, so all the other campers weren't phased by this cuculid. We then continued down the trail. We heard the Botteri's Sparrow once again, and then we heard this bizarre-sounding chattering. Michael pointed out that this was a Yellow-breasted Chat. This is a bird that I have been after for a little while now, so I was adamant that I wanted to find the bird. Suddenly the bird flew up onto a reed in plain view and began singing. It was truly spectacular!

Singing Yellow-breasted Chat
(notice the yellow throat and breast, the white supercilium, and slightly downward-curved bill)

     This wood-warbler (despite it looking and acting nothing like a wood-warbler) was the highlight of the day so far. As we continued along, we saw some Song Sparrows, a Common Yellowthroat, and a Gilded x Northern "Red-shafted" Flicker hybrid (I wouldn't have been able to tell it was a hybrid. Fortunately, Michael has unsurpassable identification skills). We then reached the actual San Pedro River. This river is covered by tall cottonwoods, that are home to many interesting birds, including Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warblers, Western Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings and even a Gray Hawk!

     Once we left the forested area of the river, we resumed walking along the trail. We found a Common Ground-Dove perched out in the open, giving us wonderful views. We also got amazing scope views of a Botteri's Sparrow, and a Loggerhead Shrike. We finally returned to the inn where we had lunch. A couple of us ate our lunch outside, as it was a nice day, and we wanted to take advantage of that. As we were eating, several Black-chinned Hummingbirds drank some sugar water from the feeders fairly close to us. Suddenly a brownish and white hummingbird zipped by, to a cottonwood tree. We all immediately knew what it was, but we had lost view of it. It was a Violet-crowned Hummingbird, a southwestern specialty. Suddenly a camper found it, but was unable to describe where it landed. It had supposedly landed in a nest, meaning that the bird bred there at San Pedro River Inn. Fortunately Michael managed to somehow comprehend his complicated directions and found the nest. He put the scope on the nest, and we all got to see this bird up-close.

Obscured view of the Violet-crowned Hummingbird
(notice the white throat, and violet crown)

    After lunch, we headed up to Beatty's Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. The Huachucas are extremely close to the mexican border, making them an extremely good place to search for any mexican vagrant, such as White-eared Hummingbird. On a listserv of the area, somebody had posted that they found a White-eared Hummingbird at the feeders there. He had also posted that he found a Spotted Owl family there, and that they offered great views. We drove up there, and asked one of the workers there where to find the owls. He gave us directions and we followed them. After twenty minutes of hiking, we arrived at the area he had told us about, where the owls were, and there was one juvenile perched only ten feet away from us! It was making both clockwise and counterclockwise circles with its head to hear and see better, for he probably started getting stressed out by the big crowd watching it from so close.

Juvenile Spotted Owl
(notice the spotting on the breast area, and the light brown feathers around its head. That lets us know it's a juvenile)

     This owl was extremely cooperative, but we had to leave it to search for a certain mexican hummingbird. Once we arrived at the feeders, the only hummingbirds were Black-chinned. A couple Broad-billed started showing up, followed by an Anna's, a Magnificent, and a Rufous. We spent an hour and a half at the feeders with no White-eared Hummingbird, so we concluded that somebody had most likely seen a female Broad-billed and called it a White-eared Hummingbird (as they are rather similar).

     We headed back to the inn, had dinner, and conversed about our great day.