[obol] A Photo Tour of our recent trip to San Diego and back

From: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
To: OBOL Oregon Birders Online <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 05:49:56 +0000
Greetings All,

Shawneen and I recently attended the annual Western Field Ornithologists 
Conference in San Diego. The conference ran 9-12 October. We left on Friday 3 
October and took five full days to wander south. Along the way we spent two 
nights at Bayside, Humboldt County, a night in the hills between Los Gatos and 
Santa Cruz, a night in Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County, and a night in 
Santa Barbara. The way home was two days of mostly driving, with an overnight 
in Sacramento. 

Along the way south we birded the Loleta and Ferndale bottoms south of Humboldt 
Bay, the Monterey Bay and some of the Monterey Peninsula, and several spots in 
coastal Santa Barbara County. We stayed and broke bread with many long time 
friends (some new ones for me) and birded many places that I had never been and 
some places Shawneen hadn't seen in years. I picked up five lifers and one new 
ABA Area bird. Birding the California coast in Fall is an utterly different 
ball game than doing the same in Oregon. Among the vagrants we saw/found were a 
Yellow-green Vireo, Red-throated Pipit, two Northern Waterthrushses, three 
Chestnut-sided Warblers, two Magnolia Warblers, a Palm Warbler, a Tennessee 
Warbler (Shawneen only), three Clay-colored Sparrows, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 
and two Dickcissels. I saw all three gnatcatchers and we pieced together a 
healthy roster of shorebird species, including both American and Pacific 
Golden-Plovers in Humboldt County. Not to be forgotten were the 30+ Brown 
Boobies seen off Imperial Beach and a Blue-footed Booby that Shawneen saw there 
on Friday while I was off on a field trip to the Anza Borrego Desert. 
Seawatches invariably netted Black-vented Shearwaters and Parasitic Jaegers and 
Elegant Terns were gathered by the hundreds at several spots. 

As always, the conference was fantastic. WFO stitches together a remarkable 
connection between rank and file birders and professional ornithologists.  
Those who present their work at afternoon science sessions always do so in a 
way that is accessible and digestible for the average birder. Even though this 
conference was a long way from home, there were a number of Oregonians in 
attendance. I spent a fun day with Barbara Dolan (Salem) and Shep Thorp (from 
the Puget Sound area) on the trip to Anza Borrego. Doug Robinson must have been 
out birding a lot, because I only saw him briefly at the Friday afternoon 
science session. Jay Withgott, who is a former WFO board member was there, as 
was Tom Shreve. 

An extensive gallery of photos from our trip can be found at the link below. 
I've also included a number of Google Maps satellite images to provide a better 
idea of where we birded in the event that someone might be planning a trip 
south. It's best to view these images in "thumbnail view," which allows you to 
roll your cursor over the large featured image to see pop-up captions. There is 
a helpful series of photos that offers some ID tips for separating Clay-colored 
and Chipping Sparrows, including several images with both species in view. 
There are several photos of the Yellow-green Vireo, a species that has occurred 
as far north as Humboldt County and should be considered a potential vagrant to 
Oregon. I would also agree with Russ Namitz's comment earlier tonight. If you 
hope to see a Black-vented Shearwater in Oregon, this would be the year to 
look. Thousands have been in Monterey Bay this fall. 

http://www.birdfellow.com/photos/gallery/916-wfo-trip-2014-portland-to-san-diego

Enjoy,

Dave Irons
Portland, OR
[obol] A Photo Tour of our recent trip to San Diego and back

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