After visiting the Humboldt State University campus (which was fantastic!), we drove out to the North Spit to do a seawatch. North Spit in located where Humboldt Bay ends, and the Pacific Ocean begins. This means that any seabirds that want to enter the bay will most likely pass through this opening, which was good for me. When we first arrived, we parked at the very beginning of the trail that led to North Spit Jetty. However, we didn't realize how long of a walk on the beach it was to reach the jetty. To make this lengthy amble productive, I walked along the concrete slabs that lined the bay, to be able to see the water and the birds that were visible. Sure enough, there were several Surf Scoters that were swimming close to the concrete that I was walking along, but they quickly swam away as soon as they saw me. Oddly though, there were only females and not a single male amongst them. I pondered as to why the males were missing, but couldn't find an answer. Double-crested Cormorants flew inches over the rough waters, while Brown Pelicans soared several meters high, ignoring the fact that the waters were choppy.
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| Brown Pelican (notice the obnoxiously large bill, the yellow on the head, and the large wings.) |
Suddenly, as I noticed some more female Surf Scoters, I saw a smaller looking bird, that was mostly white. I put my binoculars up, only to find my lifer Long-tailed Duck! This arctic bird gave me spectacular views as I took myriad photographs. This species nests in the high arctic, but migrates south to California to winter. There was a female that had spent the entire summer at a local birding hotspot in the Bay Area, that I visit all the time, but for some reason I could never seem to find it. So I was glad to finally find this individual!
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| Long-tailed Duck (notice the white head, the black cheek, the white back, and the gray flanks.) |
Once the bird swam off in the opposite direction, I continued to the jetty. I finally arrived and set up my scope. Many gulls flew over as I did so, mostly Mew Gulls, but there were also a couple Western Gulls that passed overhead. I scoped the horizon and found scores of scoter rafts. There were so many of these ducks at sea. Although, for a big part of them, I couldn't make a positive identification because of the distance, but I assumed that they were mostly Surf Scoters. Western Grebes were also present in large numbers. They really stood out thanks to their white necks and breast, and yellow bills. Every few minutes, several loons would fly past in the distance. Though I didn't get great looks at them, I managed to identify a lot of them by their flight style. There would be some darker loons that flew by, but that had wobbly flights. These were Pacific Loons. Then, more loons of a dark plumage passed by (a little closer to shore), but that had straightforward and direct flights. These were Common Loons. Finally, very light colored loons flew by, and also had rather wobbly flights like the Pacific Loons. These were Red-throated Loons. I learned these helpful field marks while seawatching with my good friend Logan Kahle in San Francisco.
Some closer Common Loons would pop out of the water and dive back down almost immediately. At the very end of the jetty, I could see a large murmuration of shorebirds, flying around aimlessly, almost as if they had choreographed the entire movement. Suddenly, a large part of the flock flew to the beach, and I instinctively turned my spotting scope in their direction. The flock was almost entirely composed of Sanderlings, with the exception of a single Dunlin that attempted to pass unnoticed, but to no avail.
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| Sanderlings and the sole Dunlin |
This concluded my brief stint at North Spit Jetty. The conditions were ideal for a seawatch, which is why I was a little disappointed with my results, but I had a good time nonetheless. The Long-tailed Duck was definitely the highlight of that visit, but the Surf Scoters were also fun to watch. Although I missed a couple of my target birds, I know I will return to that very same spot in the near future, and acheive my goals of finding the species I was after.
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