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We are currently staying in my son's apartment in Glendale, California. Wednesday afternoon, we decided to bird around the neighborhood. Expecting to see the usual suspects, we were quite surprised to encounter some species we never expected to be in this sort of urban environment.
But first allow me to show the "regulars". A Black Phoebe has made this place its home. We've seen this bird for the past several years here.
It seemed that the Mourning Doves had multiplied a lot. They're practically everywhere - lots of them!
Another common species here were the House Finches, although this time they stayed at the higher places.
As expected, California Towhees were foraging on the ground, unmindful of the people passing by.
The Northern Mockingbirds were, as always, displaying their audacious attitudes.
A pair of Acorn Woodpeckers were up a palm tree looking for food. I got a photo of one.
Then there were the unexpected. After taking some shots at the mockingbird, I noticed something strange. Softly, I told my wife, "Turn around slowly, there's a Junco behind you". We've seen Dark-eyed Juncos the day before in Bonelli Park. Lots of them. And that's where they can be easily found, not on a sidewalk, along an apartment complex.
Perched alongside a Mourning Dove, was a Band-tailed Pigeon! Again, this species prefer the trees in parks, not electric wires.
While trying to aim at another Mockingbird singing from a tree top, Cynthia saw something green. I looked at where she was pointing and surprise of all surprises - a Yellow-chevroned Parakeet! It didn't stay long though and I was lucky enough to get a couple of shots. We've seen this tropical species before (a feral population thrives in the greater Los Angeles area) in Arcadia and El Monte. Never in Glendale. Until now.
A big bird on a tree top, about a block away, was another unexpected encounter. A Red-tailed Hawk was surveying its surroundings, perhaps looking for an unwary prey. Sometime later it even flew and landed on the top of a pine tree right next to us. Unfortunately, it was so high up that pine needles prevented us from getting a full view.
What was also strange, sort of in a negative way, was the scarcity of House Sparrows. This species was the "trash bird" of urban areas. However, we only saw two, both immature.
It was a productive birding experience for us, considering the type of environment we're in. Thanks to the "strange" appearance of some uncommon birds.
We are still getting adjusted to California weather and time having just arrived from the Philippines a couple of days ago. To shake off the remaining bits of jet lag, Cynthia and I decided to visit nearby Palmer Park and check out the local avian denizens.
Palmer Park is a small patch of greenery in the city of Glendale. It being a work day, there weren't that many people that morning. A few individuals were enjoying the sun to counteract the early morning chill. The birds we saw were typical of any city park in Southern California. The most common, of course, were the House Sparrows.
and the American Crow
Mourning Doves were quite plentiful
There are two species of hummingbirds one would most likely encounter here (interestingly both with "human" names:
Anna's
and Allens
Now here is a challenge I set forth to my bird photographer friends: I dare you to try and get a photo of the American Bushtit. I say that because taking a picture of this species is a test of patience and skills. Why is that? Here are a few reasons: 1) Bushtits are small. As in teeny weeny small. They are only 11 cm long and that includes the tail. 2) Very drab in color. Plain (no streaks or spots) gray-brown that blends perfectly to their habitat and 3) They are hyperactive! They are continuously foraging for insects and almost never stops to take a breather. To top it all the female is oh so slightly different from the male. How? the color of the eyes: male-dark brown, female-yellow!
 |
| male |
The female I was able to photograph the day before at Eaton Canyon (please see my previous blog post)
Local parks here in California, even small ones like Palmer Park, hosts a variety of birds. We were glad that we took a walk and enjoyed photographing them.
Our first full day in California is a day of errands. Or should I say, of shopping. My wife, Cynthia, wanted to get that over and done with as soon as possible so that we can enjoy the rest of our stay here relatively free of obligations.
First, we visited my daughter's home in Arcadia to get some documents we needed to determine if we needed to pay taxes. Inasmuch as her place was very near one of my favorite birding haunts, I insisted that we make a quick birding foray there.
Peck Road Water Conservation Area (aka Peck Pit to local birders) still harbored some nice birds that lovely spring morning. There weren't that many in terms of species but those that were there were surprisingly friendly. The very first bird we saw was a totally unexpected Mountain Chickadee. As its name implies these are birds found in higher elevations. Peck's Pit by any stretch of the imagination can never be considered a mountain or even a hill for that matter.
The chickadees turned out to be only the first among other surprises that morning. A Great Egret seemed out of place hunting among the tall grass hundreds of feet away from the nearest body of water.
Another oddity was a pair of Killdeers, which is a type of plover, doing their quaint stop-and-go antics on a grassy patch.
Cassin's Kingbirds, although a regular winter visitor were so unmindful of human beings that one of them flew from a nearby perch to the ground just a few feet in front of me!
Even the usually skittish Mourning Doves were quite accommodating too.
Despite just having a quick peek at Peck's Pit, I was happy to once again see my favorite birds here in Southern California.
Birding is not spectacular nor much fun in summer in southern California. Luckily, the Philippine Bird Photography Group instituted a bi-weekly "Show-off" Contest. This is a friendly competition, the winner being awarded "bragging rights" for a couple of weeks. Occasionally, somebody would donate a prize. But overall, it was just for fun. What's even better is that we, who are here on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, can join, too! I had the honor of being the first judge when the "show-off" started two weeks ago. Now that my judging role is over, I am excited to be a participant. The next contest's subject was: doves and pigeons.
With that in mind, my wife and I set out to the promised land of Mourning Doves - San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (SJWS) in Irvine. We also decided to do our photography in the afternoon, when the warm rays of the soon to be setting sun will give that certain kind of glow to the somewhat drab brown plumage of our target species.We left the house at 3 pm and I suggested that we pass by Bolsa Chica first for a couple of "red" birds; the Reddish Egret and Red Knot. Big mistake! Never go near the beach on a hot Saturday afternoon. Pacific Coast Highway was jampacked with all sorts of vehicles each one intent at dislodging their human passengers to the inviting beach and cool breezes across from our intended destination. Needless to say, we had to abandon all hopes of seeing the Egret and the Knot (they probably weren't there anyway, we rationalized).
An hour already woefully wasted, we proceeded to SJWS. The usual suspects were there - stilts, mallards, peeps and some phalaropes. We were relieved to find our Mama Killdeer still tending her eggs. We were shooting some Avocets when two brown birds whizzed by. "Mourning Doves!" I shouted. Quickly, we approached the bank of the pond to where the birds landed. We got our shots but still were not quite happy with the results.
We were patrolling the the trails between the ponds when we saw this guy, who is shorter than my 5' 7" frame and probably the same weight as mine, but he was holding a Canon 1D MkII with a 500mm lens attached to it! Let me tell you that this combination is quite heavy. When he told us that he is there to shoot Ospreys in flight, I was definitely impressed! While we were talking shop, he pointed to a fluttering white bird in the distance. "White-tailed Kite", he said nonchalantly. Wanting to get a picture of this bird in flight, Cynthia persuaded me to go after the beautiful raptor.
Of course, the kite was nowhere to be found when we got to the place where Thang (the guy with the big lens) saw it. But as luck would have it, when we were going back, we saw a Mourning Dove perched on a bare branch cooing sweetly to his ladylove. We started clicking away. After a while he flew off but we glimpsed some movement among the leaves below where he used to be. Silently moving closer we saw the object of his affections. Once again cameras were raised to capture the image of this lovely creature. Cynthia, who always has a passion for perfection, wanted a clearer view of the bird. To do this, she had to stand on top of a narrow concrete fence, about three feet high. There she went merrily shooting while her faithful and loving husband steadied her lest she topple over and ruin precious and expensive equipment. From her higher, if precarious, vantage point, she naturally got the better photos. And I can proudly say that she had my support on that.
Content with the pictures we got and sunset about to happen soon, we started the trek back to the parking lot. Then we met a lady (if you could call her that) with a young boy in tow and a small dog on a leash. I informed her that dogs are not allowed in the sanctuary and there are signs at the entrance that say so. "Oh, I didn't know that.", she replied coolly, and ignoring completely the information just given her, proceeded towards the ponds. Thanks to my wife's even-temperedness for restraining me from giving the interloper a piece of my mind and probably a even a piece of San Joaquin mud.
Oh well, our day has just gone to the dogs.
