March 8th, 2014: North Spit Jetty.....By Bike!

             Up here in Humboldt County, I lack something that would greatly aid my birding. It has four wheels and goes "vroom-vroom". For those of you who are onomatopoeically ignorant, I'm lacking a car. Back home in Pacifica, my parents were very lenient with their lending me the car, which I will forever be grateful for, especially now experiencing life without a vehicle, so getting around San Mateo County, or doing the San Francisco Christmas Bird Count in the Presidio, or chasing a Rusty Blackbird in Marin County, wasn't an issue at all! However, now chasing a Black Vulture in Ferndale, or attempting to find a Ruffed Grouse along Maple Creek Rd., or even chasing a Burrowing Owl at Clam Beach, becomes extremely problematic. Luckily, I have my trusty bike that dates back to the 80s! Despite the myriad problems and accidents I've had this past semester (not even counting all the ones from last semester), this bike has taken me all across the Arcata Bottoms, to the Arcata marsh innumerable times, and has gotten me my lifer Little Bunting. Needless to say, I depend on this bike like a child depends on its mother's milk. However, I started getting a little tired of always visiting the same spots in Arcata. I felt like switching it up today. So rather than hitting Shay Park, or biking through the Arcata Community Forest, I decided to bike 13.5 miles to the North Spit Jetty. This jetty boasts the best sea watching in the county, and is also the most reliable spot to get Rock Sandpiper in the state. Having been there before, and having experienced its undeniable awesomeness, I thought I should muster up the courage to bike all the way out there. So, I put my alarm for 6:45 AM, and left my dorm around 7:15 AM.

              It wasn't as cold as I had presumed it would be, which was a pleasant surprise. I biked along Samoa Blvd. for approximately an hour (fortunately there's only one road to get all the way to the jetty, so my chances of getting lost were pretty low. Although given my track record, I was nonetheless careful). At around 8:15 AM, I finally arrived at the jetty. I was sweaty, tired, enthused, and downright ready to bird the hell out of the jetty. After all, that's why I put myself through all this trouble. Sadly, I didn't actually start birding until 9:00 AM, because I made the bad mistake of saying "G'Morning!" to an overly enthusiastic and affable photographer, who had me ID a bird in one of his photos. This led to him explaining to me that he pioneered waves in Mendocino County, whatever that meant. Finally, once I was freed from his zealous clutches, I began birding. As I was walking down the jetty, a noticed a single Brant flyover. Humboldt Bay is one the largest wintering grounds for Brant in the state, notably southern Humboldt Bay, due to its extensive Eel Grass fields, the primary food source for these pelagic geese. I then started noticing some rock pipers working the mussel-adorned rocks right by the jetty. These birds consisted in the usual suspects: Black Turnstones and Surfbirds. However, I was able to pick out 2 individual Rock Sandpipers! One of the species I was after! Although not a lifer, it was year tick for me, and it is always a spectacular bird to see, especially since I don't seem them all that regularly.

Rock Sandpiper

          A wave suddenly surged from behind them and spooked them further down the jetty. I continued on down, birding as I walked. There was a Common Loon on the south side of the jetty, and I could hear the high-pitched calls of Western Grebes coming from the northern side of the jetty. I then noticed something grayish on one of the dolos. Further inspection proved this something to be a Wandering Tattler, another year tick for me! I had ran into another birder on my way down the jetty (the very sweet Alexandra Lamb), and she had told me about this bird. I was happy to have refound it sitting lazily atop the concrete dolo. It then got up and started walking around, offering nice views of its banana-yellow legs.

Wandering Tattler

           By the tattler was another fun bird to see. Not a lifer, nor a county bird, not even a year tick, this bird is just plainly a beautiful species that I will always appreciate seeing: the Pelagic Cormorant. Humboldt County's smallest and most slender species of cormorant, it is also my favorite species of cormorant. From the striking red face, to the shimmering, iridescent sheen to its feathers, to the white ankles puffs they develop during the breeding season, these birds take the gold when it comes to cormorant beauty. I noticed upwards of 15 individuals during my entire time at the jetty, two of which were egregiously obliging, perching side-by-side at the perfect distance for digiscoping.

Pelagic Cormorants
(adult on top, juvenile below)

           As I turned around from admiring the cormorants, I was granted a gorgeous male Red-breasted Merganser flyover. Flashes of white, mixed in with some green and noticeable orange-red on its breast, this species and this sex is always a treat to see. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap a shot of it, due to my lack of a DSLR camera. 

          I finally reached the tip of the jetty, and began scoping the sea. Scores of Surf Scoters paddled nonchalantly along the water's surface, as Red-throated Loons either associated with them or flew over them, totally dismissing their presence. There was a surprising lack of activity out at sea, which was sort of a downer. As a matter of fact, the only real exciting finds out at sea were a pod of 3-4 Harbor Porpoises swimming around and a deceased Cackling Goose floating on the water's surface, presumably shot in the wing by a hunter, rendering it useless and the bird defenseless on the water's surface.

Dead Cackling Goose

           I didn't notice anything new or different on my way back to my bike, aside from a few Herring and California Gulls. All in all, this was a good morning! I got to see some great birds, I got to push myself and bike for a little over an hour nonstop, and got to get away from campus, something I hadn't done for a while due to my busy schedule lately. I'm also glad I was able to make it out because I was able to blog about this excursion, something I'm trying to get back into.