Day 344, Santa Ynez Valley, Day 2

Since I found all of my target birds of yesterday, there was only one bird known to me to find today.  That was a Sage Thrasher that has been hanging around at the Sedgwick Reserve.  The Sedgwick Reserve is part of the UC Santa Barbara natural reserve system.  Birders are generally welcome here and I had made arrangements for today's visit.

I left the hotel early to time my arrival at the reserve for 8AM.  The morning was chilly but not too cold.  At this hour I had the entire reserve to myself.  It took me about 30 minutes to locate the Thrasher - I kept getting distracted by the numerous Sapsuckers in the nearby Pepper Trees.  The bird cooperated nicely for photos before disappearing.  Sage Thrasher for #285!

I took a walk up to the pond, hoping to get a photo of the male Wood Duck that has been seen there recently.  I did see the duck briefly but it was camera-shy.

As I was returning to my bike I saw that there was another visitor arriving at the reserve.  It turned out to be Tom Turner, who had also come up from Goleta to see the Sage Thrasher.  Presently Tom is on top of the Santa Barbara County ebird list for 2015 with over 310 species. We have run into each other in the field a number of times this year, but never so far from home.  We wandered around for a little bit until the Thrasher made another appearance, then I hit the road.

I had a screaming tailwind and made the 60 or so miles home in about 4 hours.  I was soooo thankful the wind was not blowing the other way!

Some Photos:

Sage Thrasher

Sage Thrasher

After the addition of this 1 species, the year's total stands at 285

The Score: Vermont 277, Green Big Year 285

Today I rode a total of 70.2 miles

More later,

Glenn

Day 343 - Santa Ynez Valley, Day 1

I got an early start and covered the 50 miles to Santa Ynez, arriving there about 11AM.  I had a bit of lunch then began my little tour of the Santa Ynez Valley.  I had a loop of about 20 miles planned, with 3 stops.  I had some good intel on where the desirable birds were to be found.

My first stop was along Armour Ranch Road to catch up with some Mountain Bluebirds that have arrived for the winter. Within a few minutes of arriving I saw at least 3 of them in the area hunting for insects.  I hung around until one came close enough for a decent photo.  Mountain Bluebird for #282!

I then continued towards the San Lorenzo Seminary hoping to find a Burrowing Owl that had been seen there recently.  I arrived at the spot and sure enough it was still there.  This is the first Burrowing Owl I have seen in Santa Barbara County.  It was pretty far away so the resulting photo falls into Loch Ness territory.  Burrowing Owl for #283!

My last stop was at the Bridlewood Winery.  During a fossil-fuel powered visit here last week to do some scouting for the upcoming Christmas Bird Count I found (of all things) an Eastern Phoebe.  This bird is seriously lost!  Within a few minutes of arriving I had the bird in my sight.  I also saw a Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, which is quite rare for this region as well.  I had to chase the Phoebe around awhile to get some passable photos.  Eastern Phoebe for #284!

By now it was only 2PM.  I had been very efficient in my search.  I could ride around the valley some more hoping to find a Prairie Falcon or perhaps see a Bald Eagle flyby.  I decided that I had ridden enough for one day and headed to the hotel hot tub.

Some photos from today:

Mountain Bluebird

Burrowing Owl (Really!)

Wilson's Snipe

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe

After the addition of these 3 species, the year's total stands at 284

The Score: Vermont 277, Green Big Year 284

Today I rode a total of 67.1 miles

More later,

Glenn

Day 342 - Hitting The Road, Again

Today I am getting ready for what is quite possibly my last road trip of the year.  I plan on spending a couple of days in the Santa Ynez Valley.  There have been a few birds hanging around up there that I would like to track down.  I also have a chance of seeing something very rare in Santa Barbara County - rain!

As the month is zipping by and I will be away for a week or so at Christmas the end of this adventure is rapidly approaching.  I feel this may be my last good chance to add a few birds to the year's list.

In other news, there are reports of a Tufted Duck being seen in Vermont, which puts their total up to 277 species.  This race remains close!

The Score: Vermont 277, Green Big Year 281

More later,

Glenn

Day 340 - (Un)Common Merganser

Last evening I got a report that Nick Lethaby had seen a female Common Merganser in the UCSB Lagoon.  I need that bird.  Like many birds with the name "Common", the Common Merganser is not very common around here - at least along the coast.  The only ones I have ever seen in Santa Barbara County have been in the Santa Ynez river valley.

So this morning I headed out to the UCSB Lagoon, and I must say it was downright COLD on the way there.  I arrived at the lagoon and began scanning through the many waterbirds there.  It was not until I got around to the west arm of the lagoon did I find any mergansers.  There were about 2 dozen Red-breasted Mergansers.  I tried to find the one that looked different, but they all looked pretty similar.  The photos of these species in the Bird ID app on my phone were not particularly helpful.

I found one that seemed to stay away from the others and looked a little different to me.  I sent a photo off for Nick to review.  I didn't really think it was a Common, but it was all I had to go on.  Nick sent me a reply confirming my doubts that the bird in the photo was in fact a Red-breasted Merganser.  But the good news was that he had seen the Common Merganser earlier in the morning at Devereux Slough!

So I pedaled over there ASAP, and sure enough there was the female Common Merganser!  And yes, the difference in appearance between it and the nearby Red-breasted Mergansers was totally obvious.  They were even polite enough to pose for photos right next to each other.  Common Merganser is added to the list at #281!

Thanks Nick!

Some photos from today:

Common Merganser (Female)

Common Merganser (Top), Red-breasted Merganser (Bottom)

Bonaparte's Gull

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Redhead

Great Egret

After the addition of this 1 species, the year's total stands at 281

The Score: Vermont 276, Green Big Year 281

Today I rode a total of 30.4 miles

More later,

Glenn

Day 339 - Still No Grace

This morning I headed once again back to the old Ocean Meadows Golf Course, hoping to see the now nearly-mythical Grace's Warbler.  I have lost track of how many times I have visited here looking for this bird, but I would guess something like 12.

Just about the first bird I saw when I arrived near the warbler's allegedly favored spot was the Gray Flycatcher.  This rarity was found last week, this was my second encounter with this bird.  It was very cooperative for photos.  I looked around for that damn warbler for awhile without luck - no surprise there.

I noticed some local birders arriving, no doubt to see the Gray Flycatcher, so I went over and met them.  The flycatcher seemed to be following along for we turned around and there it was.  We also saw the wintering Vermillion Flycatcher.

But no Grace's Warbler.  I spent about 3 hours searching, and there were a number of others in the area looking during this time but the bird was not seen.  Consolation prize was a nice look at a roosting Barn Owl.  I have not given up on this bird yet, but ....

On my way home I got an email report of an American Golden Plover down by the beach in Santa Barbara.  This was highly unlikely, I did not recognize the person reporting this bird, and the description was lacking in adequate detail.  Nevertheless I decided to swing by there and check it out.  It was not far out of the way, and you never know!

I arrived at the described spot and found a Plover in the field.  As expected, the one I was looking at was undeniably the very common Black-bellied Plover, and not the very rare American Golden Plover.  I looked around on the beach and could not see any other plovers.

Some photos from today:

American Kestrel

Barn Owl

Gray Flycatcher

Ordinary Black-bellied Plover

In other news, Vermont has added a report of a Yellow-throated Warbler from back in September, bringing their total to 276.  Things are close and the end of the year is drawing near!

After today the year's total still stands at 280

The Score: Vermont 276, Green Big Year 280

Today I rode a total of 35.3 miles

More later,

Glenn

Day 338 - Santa Barbara Harbor

This morning I had a brief window of opportunity so I headed down to the Santa Barbara Harbor.  There was a report yesterday morning of a Long-tailed Duck in the area.  This would be a nice bird to catch up with.  I have only seen one before, a few winters ago at Goleta Beach.

Things were fairly quiet at the harbor.  A few Surf Scoters, but none of the more unusual Scoters to be found.  There were a few loons, and the most interesting bird I could muster up was a Horned Grebe.

Needless to say there were no Long-tailed Ducks to be found.  All in all a pleasant, somewhat chilly, and brief outing.

In other news, there has been a Townsend's Solitaire seen in Vermont, bringing their total to 275 for the year.

My schedule is a bit busy for the next few days.  I am hoping to get up to the Santa Ynez Valley next week, there are some birds up there I need to catch up with, and the calendar is ticking down ...

After today the year's total still stands at 280

The Score: Vermont 275, Green Big Year 280

Today I rode a total of 9.7 miles

More later,

Glenn

Day 335 - The Hits Keep Coming

Yesterday afternoon a very reliable report came in that there was a Gray Flycatcher at the old Ocean Meadows Golf Course.  This bird is a very uncommon visitor to our area, definitely less than 1 per year.  I have not yet seen one in Santa Barbara County.  You may recall I had been at this very spot in the morning, leaving for home about 11AM.  Hmmm....

As I had already been out that way once, and it was getting late, I decided not to race back there and hope that the bird stayed until today.

I got an early start, it was a chilly morning, barely above 40 degrees.  For those of us in Southern California, this is cold - trust me.  I arrived around 7:30 and began searching the area where the bird was seen the previous afternoon.  There was a good deal of activity in the area, but I did not see the flycatcher.  The activity died off when a Kestrel came swooping in, chasing a Yellow-rumped Warbler right by my head.

As the birds had scattered I headed off in the direction of where the Grace's Warbler can theoretically be found.  About halfway to this spot I noticed a small bird repeatedly flying off a downed and dead tree to the ground.  I got my binocs on it, and lo and behold there was the Gray Flycatcher.  These little flycatchers can be notoriously difficult to identify.  Luckily this species has a habit of bobbing its tail, slowly down and quickly up.  I spent awhile watching the bird hunt - it caught and devoured a rather large cricket.  It was quite cooperative with the camera.  Gray Flycatcher joins the list at #280!

I went off in search of the mythical Grace's Warbler (seen yesterday afternoon - really!).  Not surprisingly it was not in its "usual" spot so I wandered farther afield, checking all the pine trees.

Other birders began arriving to see the Gray Flycatcher.  I joined them, we refound the bird and everyone got good looks at it.  Then together we went looking for the Grace's Warbler.  Even assisted by 6 excellent birders the Grace's Warbler could not be found.  I am beginning to wonder if I will actually see this bird this year.

Some photos from today:

Gray Flycatcher - just swallowed a cricket.

Gray Flycatcher

Gray Flycatcher

Gray Flycatcher

American Kestrel

Western Bluebird

European Starling

After the addition of this 1 species, the year's total stands at 280

The Score: Vermont 274, Green Big Year 280

Today I rode a total of 27.5 miles

More later,

Glenn