November 25th, 2013: Bayside to Coast Side

          During Thanksgiving Break, I came back down to the Bay Area to spend my week with the family. But of course, I took advantage of this week off to go birding as much as I could. On this Monday, I decided to visit two of my favorite birding locations in San Mateo County: Radio Road Ponds and Pillar Point Harbor. Radio Road Ponds is in Redwood City, on the bayside of the county, whereas Pillar Point Harbor is located in the town of El Granada, two minutes north of Half Moon Bay, on the coast. I used to visit these two locations very frequently back when I lived in Pacifica, so I was excited to go back and reminisce about all the good times I had spent and all the good birds I had seen there in the past.

American White Pelicans

          Accompanied by my dad, we headed off to Radio Road Ponds in the morning, hoping to find some good birds. It's very hard to go to these ponds and not have a good time, in my experience anyways. The second we arrived, we heard the honking and whistling of myriad ducks, the higher pitched calls of avocets, stilts and dowitchers, and the chipping of a nearby "butterbutts". Upon scoping the water, I didn't notice any duck species that wouldn't normally be seen there. That wasn't going to be until my visit to Pillar Point Harbor (spoiler alert!). I directed my scope towards the islands where I immediately spotted the massive flock of even more massive American White Pelicans, a species regularly seen on these islands during the winter months. This species is one of two regularly occurring pelican species in North America, the other being the Brown Pelican. Not only do these two species look extremely different, but they behave very differently and they are found in different areas. The Brown Pelican can be commonly found on the coast, plunging into the water from impressive heights. The American White Pelicans contrarily is found more inland (the bayside for example) and feeds in groups by circling around a school of fish and dipping the bills in the water, trapping the fish in their pouches. 

            Nearby these white behemoths were 13 smaller, but more elongated, Black Skimmers, a curious-looking species of tern. When I first observed them through my scope, all their heads were tucked in their wings, but a flyover Red-tailed Hawk caught their attention, and their heads popped out, perfect for me to capture a quick shot.

Black Skimmer

          These grotesque-looking birds earn their name "skimmer" because of the way they feed. That goofy lower mandible, that gives this bird the appearance of having an underbite, is actually the tool it uses to capture fish. It flies right above the water's surface, bill open, with its lower mandible below the surface. Once the hypersensitive bill feels a fish, it snaps shut ridiculously quickly, trapping its quarry without any chance of escape. 

        The only other notable bird at this location was a heard-only, flyover American Pipit, that made its distinctive three-noted flight call, like a higher pitched American Goldfinch's "po-ta-to CHIP" call. Surprisingly this bird was a county lifer for me!

            This concluded our stint at Radio Road Ponds. My dad and I then drove along Highway-92, which connects the bayside and the coast, all the way to Half Moon Bay to go to Pillar Point Harbor. 

Brant

When we arrived, the first birds we noticed were a raft of various coastal duck species, such as Buffleheads, Surf Scoters and Common Goldeneyes. As we walked onto the beach, I was surprised by how few shorebirds there were. A Sanderling and a few Black-bellied Plovers were the only shorebirds present.  I then noticed two Brants, a handsome species of goose, adorned with a smart "necktie". These two obliging individuals were just asking to have their photo taken, so I ceded and granted them their wish.

          After photographing the geese and some nearby gulls, I decided to scope through the rafts of ducks in the harbor. The most abundant species was by far the colorful, but obnoxious looking Surf Scoter, the most common species of scoter in San Mateo County. 

Surf Scoter

          Suddenly, as I panned through the large flock, I noticed a lighter colored duck that looked different from the others. I knew exactly what it was. I had just found a Long-tailed Duck! Previously known as the "Oldsquaw", this species breeds high up in the arctic circle, and comes as far down as California to winter. Seeing one of these birds off the coast of San Mateo county isn't an irregular sight. It certainly is worth reporting, but it does occur regularly. However, finding this species inside of the harbor is a different story. Local experts informed me that in the past decade, this species has become increasingly difficult to find inside the harbor. They were once easier to find, but now it is extremely difficult. This bird was a county lifer for me, and just a great sight to see! I had only seen this species once before, up in Humboldt County off the North Spit.

Long-tailed Duck

         This concluded my morning of birding, where I began at Radio Road Ponds of the bayside of San Mateo County and finishing on the coast at Pillar Point Harbor. The Long-tailed Duck certainly was a splendid way to end the morning, but the up-close Brant, the stunning Black Skimmers and the astonishingly large American White Pelicans were just as wonderful to see.