Good Eaton

Think of it as going back to a restaurant where you've dined before and where you enjoyed the good food and the ambience each time you've been there. That was the same feeling we had as we visited Eaton Canyon Nature Park in Pasadena. Just like good eating at a favorite restaurant, it is always good birding at Eaton.

And so the very next day after we arrived, jet lag notwithstanding, we started our birding USA at good ol' Eaton Canyon. As we got off our vehicle, we met another bird photographer who told us he was looking for the quails. We wished him luck and we proceeded to the area next to the nature center. Guess what was the first bird we saw. California Quails! A pair of them! Here is the more colorful male.

Aside from the quails, we encountered the usual species that call this park their home. The migrant Audubon's Warblers were still here albeit already in their breeding plumages.

House finches were into nesting mode and this brightly colored male was keeping a wary eye on a lizard with a blue throat. Or vice versa.

House Wrens were even more audacious as they sang just a few feet away from us.

A surprise was a Band-tailed Pigeon. This was the first time we've seen this species here. We suspected that they were also building a nest nearby.

Quite common here in Eaton Canyon is the mysterious Wrentit. It is a species that is only found in western North America - from Oregon to the northern Baja Peninsula. It belongs to its own taxonomical family and despite looking like a Wren and a Tit (hence it's name) it is not scientifically related to either one. Although a skulker, it is also a curious bird and would often pop-up close by to look at human passersby.

Another surprise was when we saw a pair of coyotes walking near the edge of the park boundary. Although Eaton Canyon is quite huge, it also abuts several subdivisions. To see coyotes so close to civilization is intriguing.

Walking back to the parking lot, we were rewarded with good looks at a pair of Red-crowned Parrots checking out a possible nesting site on top of an electrical pole. Natives of northeastern Mexico, there are now several feral populations here in southern California, very likely descendants of escaped caged birds.

It was a relatively short sortie at Eaton Canyon but we were happy that our first birding day was good. Very good.

Same Ol' and Surprise Encounters

The last few days of our stay in California were spent birding familiar places. Birding areas that were close to where we used to live such as Veteran's Memorial County Park in Sylmar where we got some nice looks at the Chipping Sparrow and White-breasted Nuthatch.

Eaton Canyon in Pasadena was the place closest to home and despite harboring a great number of visiting Homo sapiens, was still birdy enough to produce California Quail, the always skulking Fox Sparrow, the winter resident Golden-crowned Sparrow and another winter visitor, albeit uncommon, the Pacific Slope Flycatcher.

Finally, Legg Lake in South El Monte, another park where humanity congregates, also had White Pelicans, Great Blue Herons and Ring-billed Gulls inhabiting its three lakes.

The surprise came after we had our lunch at Waba Grill. As we were driving out under a drizzle, I caught a glimpse of a small brown bird hawking for insects by the wire fence. I asked Kurt to stop and for the next half hour or so tried to photograph the skittish Say's Phoebe. As fitting finale, rain started to fall and a Common Raven dropped by and perched on the same fence where the Phoebe was and protested the cold downpour.

The Long and Short of It

Days after our trip to Florida, I was afflicted by a certain amount of lassitude. These bouts with sluggishness have been happening with alarming frequency lately. Thank heavens my wife would, without fail, wake me up from these moments of languor by these loving words: Go out and bird!

Spurred by Cynthia's encouraging "suggestion" I prepared my camera gear, albeit a tad wearily, when a brilliant thought flashed in my stupefied brain. I have not been using my 500mm lens lately - it's weight a factor that more often than not precluded it from being used in the field - so why not take it out and give my flabs a much needed work-out.

Of course, my destination shouldn't be far and should not require extensive use of a pair of legs that had been in action for more than 60 years. I chose Eaton Canyon in Pasadena where there are birds within a hundred yards radius from the parking lot. I wasn't disappointed. By simply plopping my gear near the drips I was able to capture in digital media the private lives of some lovely birds. At home after processing my photos, I was amazed at the quality that my long lens produced. Like these Nashville Warbler and Black-headed Grosbeak photos:



That was a complete contrast to the pictures I took two days later from basically the same spot, but this time using my short (and light) 300mm lens. Although some of the pictures turned out well, the images were, of course, a lot smaller and needed more tweaking during post-processing. The California Quail was the look-out as its mate and progeny fed nearby, and Bewick's Wrens were always oblivious of people around them so I was able to get some close-up shots of this one.

Now it was as if two tiny "Bobs" were sitting on my shoulders: the one on the left, the tiny, aesthetic Bob whispers to me, "use the 500 more often and get better photos"; while the one on the right, the wee yet physical Bob says, "use the shorter lens, walk around a lot and get pictures of more species".

Life is full of dilemmas, isn't it?

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Birding Pasadena (With Lowered Expectations)

We did not go birding until about 3 pm on Saturday. For one thing, the skies were overcast the whole morning. And of course, I was still trying to get over my grumpiness regarding my (perceived) bad birding experiences lately.
When the sun finally broke through, my wife insisted that we go out "just here in Pasadena" so that I won't have to worry about gasoline expenses. "And, remember, don't expect to find any rare birds, OK?" she warned.

We started off at Hahamongna (a weird name for a park, but it had American Indian origins). The oak groves were quite abuzz with Bewick's Wrens all of which stayed well away from any photographic venues. "What bird is that with a white eyebrow?" Cynthia asked. "Bewick's Wren", I replied. "No, the feathers of this one are black and white." I asked her where she saw this mysterious bird and after a few misses, I finally located a Black-throated Gray Warbler flitting directly above us.

We then explored the lower trails where the "pi-PIT-kan" of a California Quail intrigued us. As we rounded a bend, I was surprised to find the calling quail high up in a eucalyptus tree. Normally these are birds that skulk in the underbrush so finding one in a tree and not flying off as we approached was quite unusual.

Other than House Finches we did not find anything else. On the way back, Cynthia saw a flash of yellow and black landing on a sycamore. We hoped that it would be our FOS (First of Season) Hooded Oriole. Patient waiting revealed it to be a Western Tanager instead which was still a thrill.

To our joy, not far from it a female Black-headed Grosbeak was enjoying a snack.

At around 5pm we proceeded to Eaton Canyon where we saw the usual suspects. An Acorn Woodpecker posed beautifully for us.

As we approached the "drip" another birder/photographer was already there taking pictures of Bushtits taking a bath. "I know this guy", I told my wife. Just then he turned and gave us a big smile. Kevin Kao is a regular visitor at Eaton Canyon. We met him last year when there was a proliferation of migrants here. We spent the next half hour or so discussing birds and birding. He bade goodbye soon after and Cynthia and I then tried to look for the Canyon Wren. We dipped on that. On the return trail, I saw a dark bird with white spots on the underwings flutter nearby. "Phainopepla!" I yelled. It turned out to be our last bird of the day, as dusk was soon upon us.

"How do you feel now?" Cynthia asked as we drove home.
"Much better," I replied.
"We got lucky on the quail, didn't we?"
"Yes, we did."
"The Western Tanager and the Grosbeak were nice, too."
"Yes, they were."
"C'mon, admit it. It's a lot better if you don't have high expectations, right?"
"Right", I said smiling.