E.C. does it

I refrained from birding after my frustrating experience with the Lewis' Woodpecker at Chesebro Canyon last Thursday. Any other time I would have been happy garnering two lifers in half a day's birding. But coming from a thirty-plus list from our Texas trip and getting pictures of most of them despite really gloomy, overcast weather conditions, Thursday's sightings were a bit of a letdown. The weather was gorgeously perfect, yet the darn woodpecker wouldn't stay still for at least one good photo op.

And now, here I am, a week into February without having gone to even a single birding sortie. I needed a fix, fast. Thankfully, there's always Eaton Canyon in Pasadena. It is close enough for a "quickie" birding. You know, that kind needed to alleviate the "itch". Let me go on record here that there is absolutely no double-entendre intended in my last sentence.

The day augured well when after dropping off Cynthia at her office, the trees next to the parking lot at Carl's Jr., which is just a block away, was peppered by a flock of Red-crowned Parrots raucously calling at each other. I quickly parked the jeep and took several shots of the parrots' antics.

Elated, I drove on to Eaton Canyon. Immediately, I moseyed over to the back of the Visitor's Center where the feeders were. The first thing that caught my attention was the unusual stripings on the back of a brown bird. Binoculars confirmed what I suspected all along: A White-throated Sparrow - an uncommon species.

For the next two hours I got reacquainted with the usual denizens of the park; Lesser Goldfinches were hanging like fruits from a sycamore tree, White-crowned Sparrows, spotted Towhees and California Thrashers were scratching the ground in search of food.

A tapping above me revealed a female Nuttall's Woodpecker looking for her kind of breakast. A White-breasted Nuthatch flew from tree trunk to tree trunk.

After a couple of hours my need for birding had been fulfilled. On my way to the parking lot, I saw a big, reddish bunch of feathers up a sycamore tree. A Hawk! At first I thought it was the commoner Cooper's but when I peered through my binoculars, I realized it was a Red-shouldered - the first time I've seen this species here at Eaton Canyon. That was the icing on my birding cake!

Once again, Eaton Canyon did it. The place very seldom disappoints. Even when there are dogs and noisy children running around. You may not see rarities all the time, but there will always be something to satisfy your avian cravings.
Or at least be serenaded by a Hermit Thrush.

Chilao and Goodbye

We thought about making it the third straight week of pursuing after a particular uncommon bird - a Red Phalarope was reported to be very obliging photography-wise at the Malibu Lagoon. But then weekend at the Lagoon on a summer day brought back unpleasant memories of full parking space and tons of people. That's why we decided to "crash" the picnic held by the Los Angeles Audubon Society at the Chilao campground high up in the San Gabriel mountains.

We arrived at the campground, which was not really a campground but a picnic area, around 9:30 am. The Auduboners were already out birding so we went on our own. Except for a proliferation of Acorn Woodpeckers and an elusive flycatcher which we suspected to be a Western Wood Pewee, there weren't much to see. We went back to the parking area and noticed an old man sitting on a picnic table all by himself. Cynthia's gregarious nature came forth and she moseyed over and introduced herself and me. "My name's Herb Clarke," the old man beamed at us. He explained his solitary stance in that his body was not strong enough to keep up with the birders because he has cancer. As we were talking about birds and photography, he said, "I have a book!" Eagerly, he led us to his SUV and pulled out An Introduction to Southern California Birds. My jaw dropped as this is one of the better birding books for the area and the photographs - taken by Herb himself - are outstanding and pioneering in this field. I could have hugged him on the spot but I was afraid I'd break his bones. Suffice it to say that I was in awe to be in the presence of such a venerated figure in California birding. When he asked how we are doing in our bird photography there at Chilao, we replied honestly that it wasn't going that well. Try the feeders at the Visitor Center he suggested. We thanked him profusely and went straight to where he directed us.

True enough, there were a lot of bird activity at the feeders: The garrulous Scrub Jays were there in numbers and their shyer cousins, the Steller's Jays would occasionally venture in; Brown-headed Cowbirds and a lone Brewer's Blackbirds were on the ground feasting on the nuts and seeds that fell from the feeder; Once in a while a White-breasted Nuthatch would swoop in, grab a nut and then fly off; Band-tailed Pigeons would come whoosing and scattered the other birds that were there. But the Acorn Woodpeckers were the lords of the feeders and were never intimidated by the larger, bulkier pigeons.

Soon it was noon and we went back to the parking area. The LA Audubon group were preparing for their picnic. We were invited to join them but we politely declined and settled for our egg sandwiches on a table several yards further down.

After lunch and realizing that our prospect of seeing more birds looking quite dim, we decided to give Charlton Flats, 2 miles up the road, a try. Charlton Flats wasn't that different, except for fewer people. We managed to get a glimpse of a Western Tanager as it flew by but that was probably the most exciting bird of the day. I was so frustrated trying to get a good shot of a Mountain Chickadee foraging among the pine needles about 5 feet from where I was. It was constantly on the move and never out in the open. Luckily a White-breasted Nuthatch was more cooperative if a little distant.

It wasn't one of our better birding sorties. We should have gone for the Red Phalarope. Even Herb Clarke said so.

Up in the Mountains

White-headed Woodpecker

July 4th - Independence Day - a holiday. While most people celebrate this day by having some outdoor barbecues and generally pigging out which would then segue into watching fireworks in the evening, we decided to go to the mountains. At first we thought about going to Santa Fe Dam Recreational Park to look for Blue Grosbeaks and Yellow-breasted Chats (am I obsessed with this two species or what. Pragmatism prevailed over obsession, however, as we figured (and correctly so) that it would be quieter (quiet = more birds can be seen) up in the mountains than in a park.

And so at around 8 am we did a Beatle's song (The long and winding road - mmmm, corny ). Well, the road was really long and winding. But first, at the onset of this journey, we had to stop by the Ranger's office to buy a Forest pass ($5 for the day). While Cynthia was buying the pass, I spotted a bird perched on a telephone wire above me. I quickly grabbed my camera and positioned to a place where the lighting was better and fired off several shots. I was grinning ear to ear when Cynthia came back and I explained to her that I just took a picture of a Brown-headed Cowbird. (Another unfortunate name but then again what right have I to question the ornithological powers-that-be?). What made me grin was that this bird is quite uncommon at this altitude.

Continuing our trip, we arrived at Charlton Flats, which is anything but flat - we are a little over 5,000 feet above sea level - at around 9 am. The place was peppered by coniferous trees and teeming with birds - most of which were too quick or too high. I still managed to get some pictures although they are not as good as I had hoped they would be. All in all, it was quite a rewarding day - I had three lifers! At around noon time, the birds and our endurance dwindled. Besides, the heat is becoming unbearable -can you believe that? 5,000 feet in a mountain forest and it was hot! Why, there was even snow here just last month! Anyway, we glided down the long and winding road again and ended up in a restaurant whose name best expressed our feelings about our day - Wahoo!

White-breasted Nuthatch