OK, summer vacation is over and I am back on the chase. It was a great few weeks away from home, but I did miss out on some great birds here in Santa Barbara County. More on that another day.
Based on recent reports, today I had 2 target birds in mind: Red-necked Phalarope and Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
First stop was the Mission Creek Outflow, where I saw nothing unusual.
Next stop was the Andree Clark Bird Refuge. The first thing I noticed here was a group of Black Skimmers doing their thing - hunting for food by skimming the surface of the water with their unusual bill - the bottom portion is considerably longer than the top. No matter how many times I see this, I still think it's perhaps the most fascinating way of birds feeding. There was not much light but I did manage a few OK photos of the Skimmers.
After the addition of these 2 species, the year's total stands at 233.
Based on recent reports, today I had 2 target birds in mind: Red-necked Phalarope and Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
First stop was the Mission Creek Outflow, where I saw nothing unusual.
Next stop was the Andree Clark Bird Refuge. The first thing I noticed here was a group of Black Skimmers doing their thing - hunting for food by skimming the surface of the water with their unusual bill - the bottom portion is considerably longer than the top. No matter how many times I see this, I still think it's perhaps the most fascinating way of birds feeding. There was not much light but I did manage a few OK photos of the Skimmers.
Black Skimmer, skimming.
Black Skimmer, skimming.
Black Skimmers
After pulling my eyes away from the Skimmers, I started searching around and saw a group of 6 small birds feeding in circles far out in the middle of the water - Red-necked Phalaropes! One species added to the year's list. Unfortunately the small birds were too far away for photos. I include a photo of a Red-necked Phalarope I took at the Bird Refuge back in 2012.
Red-necked Phalarope, September 2012
I continued on to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, where the Yellow-crowned Night Herons (3 of them!) had been reported over the last week or so. I believe the first time this species was reported in Santa Barbara County was in 2009. Last fall there was a juvenile found at Refugio State Beach which created a good bit of excitement. This year there have been at least 2 reports of single birds, followed by the 3 individuals at the Salt Marsh. This is a species I did not expect to find this year.
I arrived at the Salt Marsh and within a couple of minutes had one in my binoculars at the very spot they had been previously seen. I passed a woman heading the other way, and asked her if she had seen the bird. Her reply - "Oh, there are 3 of them over there." I went around the corner and indeed there were! The three individuals were busy hunting crabs for breakfast, and were very cooperative for the camera.
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile)
I met a nice couple who were looking at the Night-Herons, and when I caught up to them again they pointed out the resident Red Fox that was hunting for its own breakfast. It was far away, but I think you'll agree the photo does show a Red Fox.
Red Fox.
Today was a great start to the remainder of the year!
After the addition of these 2 species, the year's total stands at 233.
Today I rode a total of 32.3 miles
More later,
Glenn
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