Birding : February 2018

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

My cardinal sin

I can't believe this..

2 days ago I reported that I saw Grace's Warbler. 2 were already there when I arrived and thanks to them could spot it.

And one of them was expert birder and Tropical Parula leader Mr. Marantz! Whom I frequently consult on my findings.

Just found out on SD ebird alert and was flabbergasted. Really I'm getting senile, tripping at the venue and now this.

Sample his 'Marantzian Tome'(brilliant description by another legend Kimball Garrett lol) on ebird;

1	Grace's Warbler This was a well-marked bird despite the fact that the bright yellow coloration was essentially restricted to the face and throat. The crown was medium-gray from the forecrown back to the nape and then down the back and sides of the neck to the back. A blackish band along the lower edge of the crown served to accentuate the supercilium. Demarcating the lower edge of the cap was a supercilium that extended from near the base of the bill through the supraloral region before arching over the eye and then continuing back along the upper edge of the auriculars. The supercilium was bright, lemon-yellow as it extended through the supraloral region, over the eye, and back at least part way across the auriculars, however the rear portion faded to white. A dark wedge that connected the base of the bill with the front edge of the eye served to demarcate the yellow in the supraloral region from the same color on the throat. The dark coloration the lores continued through the moustachial region and along the lower edge of the auriculars that served to demarcate the upper edge of the yellow throat. Complementing the yellow supercilium was a crescent of this same color located under the eye that was demarcated below by the darker moustachial region. The auriculars behind the eye appeared to be at the same shade of gray as the crown and this same color extended back across the sides and back of the neck without any suggestion of a white patch on the neck. The back and scapulars were about the same shade of medium-gray as the crown and I noted at least some suggestion of fine, dark streaking on what I believe was the scapulars and lower back. I never clearly saw the rump, but once when this bird tipped downward I noted that the uppertail coverts were gray with what appeared to be dark shaft-streaks. The upperside of the tail was quite dark, but I have some recollection of paler edges to the rectrices. The wings were relatively well marked with two relatively narrow wingbars that represented white fringes that extended across the tips of both the greater and median coverts. The greaters coverts had blackish bases that contrasted not only with the white tips, but also with narrow edges of gray that produced a row of fine, vertical stripes between the wingbars. The remiges likewise appeared to have dark gray to blackish centers that contrasted with narrow yet well-defined fringes of about the same shade of gray as the back to produce a finely striped pattern to the rear part of the wing. The underparts contrasted strikingly with the upperparts primarily as a result the bright, lemon-yellow color that extended from the chin down across the throat and breast before merging sharply with the white color that extended through the belly, flanks, and undertail coverts. I thought the upper edge of the yellow throat reached the lower edges of the moustachial and auricular regions, and I noted no contrast or markings within the yellow. Whereas the center of the lower breast and belly were unmarked, there were several rows of relatively narrow, blackish streaks that extended along the sides from near the shoulder down along the flanks. I did not think the streaks were his bold, black, or as sharply defined as I have seen on some Grace's Warblers, but these markings were more conspicuous than on the dullest individuals that I have seen. I once thought there may have been some pale yellow on either side of the vent. When seen from below, the tail was mostly white, albeit with a narrow black frame that extended the length of the outer web of the outer feather and which seemed to expand distally to cross the shaft even though it did not curve around the tip. The pattern that resulted was therefore one of striping as opposed to a discrete tail-spot. I thought the bill and eyes were dark even though I could not see their precise coloration. I noted on more than one occasion that the legs were quite dark.

1 Grace's Warbler

This was a well-marked bird despite the fact that the bright yellow coloration was essentially restricted to the face and throat. The crown was medium-gray from the forecrown back to the nape and then down the back and sides of the neck to the back. A blackish band along the lower edge of the crown served to accentuate the supercilium. Demarcating the lower edge of the cap was a supercilium that extended from near the base of the bill through the supraloral region before arching over the eye and then continuing back along the upper edge of the auriculars. The supercilium was bright, lemon-yellow as it extended through the supraloral region, over the eye, and back at least part way across the auriculars, however the rear portion faded to white. A dark wedge that connected the base of the bill with the front edge of the eye served to demarcate the yellow in the supraloral region from the same color on the throat. The dark coloration the lores continued through the moustachial region and along the lower edge of the auriculars that served to demarcate the upper edge of the yellow throat. Complementing the yellow supercilium was a crescent of this same color located under the eye that was demarcated below by the darker moustachial region. The auriculars behind the eye appeared to be at the same shade of gray as the crown and this same color extended back across the sides and back of the neck without any suggestion of a white patch on the neck. The back and scapulars were about the same shade of medium-gray as the crown and I noted at least some suggestion of fine, dark streaking on what I believe was the scapulars and lower back. I never clearly saw the rump, but once when this bird tipped downward I noted that the uppertail coverts were gray with what appeared to be dark shaft-streaks. The upperside of the tail was quite dark, but I have some recollection of paler edges to the rectrices. The wings were relatively well marked with two relatively narrow wingbars that represented white fringes that extended across the tips of both the greater and median coverts. The greaters coverts had blackish bases that contrasted not only with the white tips, but also with narrow edges of gray that produced a row of fine, vertical stripes between the wingbars. The remiges likewise appeared to have dark gray to blackish centers that contrasted with narrow yet well-defined fringes of about the same shade of gray as the back to produce a finely striped pattern to the rear part of the wing.
The underparts contrasted strikingly with the upperparts primarily as a result the bright, lemon-yellow color that extended from the chin down across the throat and breast before merging sharply with the white color that extended through the belly, flanks, and undertail coverts. I thought the upper edge of the yellow throat reached the lower edges of the moustachial and auricular regions, and I noted no contrast or markings within the yellow. Whereas the center of the lower breast and belly were unmarked, there were several rows of relatively narrow, blackish streaks that extended along the sides from near the shoulder down along the flanks. I did not think the streaks were his bold, black, or as sharply defined as I have seen on some Grace's Warblers, but these markings were more conspicuous than on the dullest individuals that I have seen. I once thought there may have been some pale yellow on either side of the vent. When seen from below, the tail was mostly white, albeit with a narrow black frame that extended the length of the outer web of the outer feather and which seemed to expand distally to cross the shaft even though it did not curve around the tip. The pattern that resulted was therefore one of striping as opposed to a discrete tail-spot.
I thought the bill and eyes were dark even though I could not see their precise coloration. I noted on more than one occasion that the legs were quite dark.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

I'm back!

At SD. Birded non-stop from 11am;

Shelter Island for Red-necked Grebe
Balboa Park for Greater Pewee
Tijuana Slough NWR for Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
San Diego NWR for American Flamingo(presumed escapee from nearby hotel at Coronado)
San Diego Bay for Nazca Booby
Fiesta Island for Short-eared Owl
Famosa Slough

Phew. Total about 44 species. Focused on target species so didn't aim to spot as many bird species as possible; for example skipped San Diego river mudflat, etc.. Tri-colored Heron is reported to be still there.

SD county; 186 species
Orange County; 195
LA county; 375
Total USA; 446

Started with a dud, failing to spot those first three species(others also reported fail on the Grebe, not good..), but did spot Flamingo, Booby, Owl(all my firsts!)
That Owl put quite a show in front of us birders!
Finally at Famosa spotted its first Townsend's Warbler this year(I'm the first to spot it, at least among who reported on ebird!).
Spotted Parrots(Red-crowned?) flying by while eating at Arby's around 5:43pm.

ITR RSF starts at 9:30, so I'll try for Grebe and Pewee one more time, and possibly could also try to find Painted Redstart at Crown Point(Mission Bay).
And really hoping to spot Grace's Warbler near the venue(Crest Canyon OSP).
Not staying long this time, maybe two, at most 4 days.

Heerman's Gull and Western Gull at Shelter Island

Osprey at Shelter Island

Savannah Sparrow at Tijuana Slough NWR

American Flamingo

Nazca Booby; yeah I know it's a fail pic lol, two on a buoy. Intrepid birders rent boats to get closer pics!

Savannah Sparrow at Fiesta Island

Owl show! 2 at least, possibly 3

Oooh~

Townsend's Warbler at Famosa

Friday, February 9, 2018

Frigatebird as yard bird

From SD Yahoo listserve:

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7738New Yard Bird: Magnificent Frigatebird

Expand Messages

Stan Walens

Feb 7 1:56 PM

I’ve spent many hours since Sunday looking for the black-and-white kingbird [more on that later; several long posts I made about that bird on Feb 1 & 2 have not been uploaded to the listserv even after 6 days].

As I was looking for it at 1:20 this afternoon, a juvenile magnificent frigatebird flew past from east to west along Railroad Canyon [Rose Canyon as it heads east], so heading from Rte. 805 towards I-5 and maybe the ocean, (although I have several times watched frigatebirds move north along the I-5 corridor).

Obviously, this is not a bird to chase, but with this warm weather and s.e. winds, it might be worth looking for others over the ocean/freeways.

Stan Walens, University City
Feb. 7, 2018; 1:50 p.m.

Christ, you just can't beat SD..

Paul Lehman spotted a Grace Warbler there. should I chase it noe, or will it stay through the month(Nazca Booby, Harris's Hawk, Greater Pewee etc., still there. No more mention of Nelson's Sparrow though..).

Monday, February 5, 2018

Birds species per nation

From ebird;

Species leaders

1.	Colombia	1,400
2.	Peru	1,332
3.	Brazil	1,297
4.	Ecuador	1,222
5.	India	973
6.	Mexico	891
7.	Costa Rica	773
8.	Argentina	754
9.	United States	719
10.	Panama	706

Surprisingly China is not in top 10, right behind Panama.

Which means, 'Old World' sucks lol. Only India in top 10(the number is impressive though).