The Parrots of Southern California

We haven't done any serious birding in over a month now. The reason for this was either rainy, or extremely hot, weather conditions. Sometimes both occurring in a single day. It is true that we have gone birding under similar situations before but now age has been creeping up on us and the allure of an airconditioned room had become quite irresistible.

So while it was during one of those lazy days that I dug into my old files to look for some bird photographs that I wanted to post in the internet. I remembered posting in Facebook a few days ago where I stated that some tropical bird species have made Southern California their home. Among these are several varieties of parrots. I have been lucky enough to document most of them and I thought it would be a good idea to present them here while I am enjoying the comforts of a cool room (in contrast to the sweltering heat outside).

While waiting for the hot, humid days to pass, may I present..

The Parrots of San Gabriel Valley, California:

Blue-crowned Parakeet (Thectocercus acuticaudus)

Although a native of South America, the Blue-crowned Parakeets have become established in Southern California. My wife and I saw a pair in Peck Road Park in South El Monte. That was the only time we saw this species and that was in January, 2007.

Orange-fronted Parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis)

A resident western Mexico to Costa Rica, we were surprised to see a single bird near the parking lot of Hansen Dam in Los Angeles back in August, 2005. In all probability this was a very recent escapee since there were no reports of an established feral population anywhere in California.

Mitred Parakeet (Psittacara mitratus)

It was in October, 2008, while on the way to our home in South Pasadena that we spotted this huge, colorful bird perched on a fruiting just beside the parking lot of the local Rite-Aid store. A native of Peru to eastern Bolivia, there is somewhat large population thriving in the Los Angeles area - from the coasts of Malibu to the Orange County and of course, in the San Gabriel Valley.

Red-crowned Amazon (Amazona viridigenalis)

Arguably, this is the most common species of Parrot in Southern California. We've seen it many times in different places. The photo above was taken in El Monte in January of 2007. Eaton Canyon in Pasadena is another place where the Red-crowned Amazon is often seen. This bird is a native of north-east Mexico.

Red-lored Amazon (Amazona autumnalis)

We almost missed this one because it looked so much alike the more common Red-crowned Amazon. However the yellow cheek gave it away. This bird was photographed along the street in San Gabriel City in December, 2009. It is a native of central America and northwestern South America.

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri)

This tiny bird occurs mainly south of the Amazon Region. We have seen the Yellow-Chevroned several times also, more often at the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia. This one, however, was at the parking lot of Legg Lake Park in South El Monte back in December of 2008.

It's a Good Day to go Birding

We went to Antipolo City basically because Cynthia had some business with our friends, the Webbs, who reside there. Their small subdivision had a lot of trees and greenery which naturally attract a number of birds. We've birded this place many times before and they were always delightful experiences.

Although this time my wife and I were still reeling from our disappointment at missing the Eyebrowed Thrush at La Mesa Ecopark so our expectations on this particular day were purposely set to low. But Palos Verdes lived up to its reputation. Even though most of the birds we saw were the usual suspects, some of the usually more skittish ones somehow were friendlier here. 

Like the Golden-bellied Gerygone

.. the Pied Triller

and even the Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker

What was even more exciting was when we saw some uncommon birds. This was the first time we've seen both these species here. Cynthia who was always quick on the draw was able to photograph this immature Blue Rock Thrush.

I, on the other hand, was more willing to go through vines and tangles to get a good angle on the Philippine Serpent Eagle. 

As we were driving home on that bright sunny morning, it was my wife who summarized our adventure at Antipolo, "We had a good birding day, didn't we?"

I couldn't agree more.

"Mona Lisa" Birding

Simply put, just like Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, there were no eyebrows! 

Two days ago we were at the La Mesa Ecopark to look for the Eyebrowed Thrush (a would be lifer). We dipped. Encouraged by our friend, Sean Melendres' report that he saw that particular species sometime after we left, we came back today with renewed hope. But dipped again.

It was not a total loss though. I got almost full frame shots of the Ashy Thrush - you know, the one without the eyebrow - feeding on the red fruits of the MacArthur palm tree.

Even better, my wife and I and birder friend, Irene Dy, were able to get really good shots of the endemic (and very curious) Guaiabero.

So at the end of the day, even without the eyebrows we still managed to get some smiles - just like Mona Lisa.

Just White's and See

What we wanted to see was the one with the eyebrow but all we saw was white. And we realized that white was actually beautiful! And totally different from almost everyone's perception of it!

When our friend Maia reported seeing an Eyebrowed Thrush in her blog, my wife and I decided to twitch it first thing on Saturday. The sun had barely risen from the horizon and we were already walking towards the MacArthur palm tree where the thrushes feast on the red fruits. As soon as we saw the tree there was a big bird perched on its branch - brownish with a plumage that resembled the scales of a fish.

"White's Thrush!" I whispered to Cynthia as I plunked down my gear and started firing away. My wife did the same. Then "poof" it left without even a whisper. I stationed myself behind the bushes and waited for the bird's return. Minutes went slowly by. My wife's patience ran out and she decided to explore the mini-forest. More minutes slowly went by. The treetops glowed from the brilliant morning sun. Still no thrush - not the scaly, not the ashy and definitely not the one with the eyebrow that I was fervently hoping to see.

I joined my wife in exploring the small patch of forest at La Mesa Ecopark and surprisingly didn't see much. No Ashy Thrushes rushing at my feet nor young Red-bellied Pittas by my tripod. Or anywhere in sight. At all! 

Sounds from the representatives of the Columbidae family filled the air. We even got some distant sightings of a few of them: a Philippine Cuckoo-dove(!), the White-eared Brown Dove, even the skulky Common Emerald Dove and of course,  Zebra Doves.

Then there were those conniving Philippine Coucals who, as soon as we spotted one, would immediately dive into the underbrush and became invisible.

We met fellow birder, Mark Jason Villa, who was leading a group of foreign birders. He told us that they did see the Ashy Thrush and the Red-bellied Pitta right by the entrance into the main trail. This was confirmed by another fellow birder, Sean Melendres, who we met a few minutes later.

My wife and I proceeded to the area mentioned by these two friends. And saw nothing! Perhaps it was because there were several bikers that passed by - grunting as they pedaled up the trail. Sighing, I told Cynthia that we should try the fruiting palm trees again and maybe, you know, an Eyebrowed Thrush might be there.

It was deja vu. As we approached the tree a big bird flew in and perched on its branch - brownish but sadly without an eyebrow. It did have scaly featherings though. Sean, who was already staking out the place started taking the picture of the White's Thrush - as I did. After quite some time, having gorged on the bountiful fruit, the big bird eventually flew away.

It was time to go home. We decided to take the main trail still hoping to encounter the regular denizens of the mini-forest. Cynthia who was walking ahead of me suddenly stopped, pointed at something moving in the dark understory on our left. Finally, we saw the what used to be the immature Red-bellied Pitta now sporting the bright green and red coloring of a mature bird.

It was not that birdy that Saturday morning. We dipped on our target bird. However, we were heavily compensated by the cooperative White's Thrush. The field guides that I consulted both stated that this particular thrush was "somewhat secretive and solitary on the ground or in the understory (Kennedy, et al) and "very shy, often flushed from ground" (Robson). As a matter of fact that's how we saw it last year. So it was a surprise to see it feeding on a palm tree and out in the open even. 

To those who are curious as to how it was called such - this species was recently split from the Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma) and was named after the English naturalist Gilbert White and not because of its color.

Blackish Black

Our mood was stygian as we drove home. It was as if a dark cloud constantly hung over our car as we wended down from Mt. Palay-palay. Very few words were exchanged between us for much of the two-hour travel. Lunch became more of a necessity than a time of relaxation and pleasant enjoyment of food.

The small talk we did were mostly lamentations of our disappointment. The birds were uncharacteristically few. Except early in the morning when we stopped by the bridge somewhere between the road to Caylabne and the newly opened tunnel to Nasugbu. There were bird calls - mostly from the Black-naped Orioles and the Philippine Bulbuls and some other strange trills. A Rough-crested Malkoha peeped briefly from among the hillside trees.

The area immediately before the tunnel again only showed Philippine Bulbuls and a group of Luzon Hornbills way out on the other side of the ravine. We went to the Caylabne Resort gate and on the way only saw Brahminy Kites thermalling above.

It was awfully blustery that morning we reasoned. The winds so strong that the usual Philippine Falconets and Whiskered Treeswifts were nowhere to be found. 

At home that afternoon as I was processing the meager results of what we had photographed (less than 1GB for each of us) there were some shots of a bird that we thought was just oh, one of those Balicassiaos. However, looking closely, I noticed that the tail was not forked and the eyes were not red. I quickly consulted the Kennedy guide and the internet, my heart beating furiously. One of the sites I looked at was our friends Tonji and Sylvia's Smugmug page. Bingo! My suspicions were finally confirmed! They even photographed that bird at Mt. Palay-palay! I eagerly announced to Cynthia that our trip wasn't that fruitless after all.

"We got a lifer!" I told my wife, unable to curb my feeling of ecstasy.

"Really? What?" came the muffled reply (she was under the hands of a competent masseuse at that time).

"Blackish Cuckooshrike!" I said triumphantly.

I didn't know if she smiled or giggled or laughed. I was in a state of euphoria. 

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. What we thought was an extremely bad day of birding turned out to be otherwise. Behind every dark cloud lies a Blackish Cuckooshrike.

Can Do Candaba

I nodded vigorously when my wife asked me if I was really up to it. When we were having breakfast at Jollibee's at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) our friend, Bong, was amused that my voice sounded very enthusiastic when we talked over the phone the other day when I told him that we would go birding at Candaba. I assured them that I can do Candaba without any problem as far as my health was concerned.

For one thing Candaba is an easy place to bird - no long walks involved while carrying my heavy photography gear. Actually, most of the birding could be done while inside the vehicle - even better that way, as a matter of fact, because the birds were less spooked.

As we slowly drove in towards the wetlands, the photographs we took of the birds that early morning were taken while were inside our cars.

female Pied Bush Chat

Common Kingfisher

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

As we turned a bend we saw the ducks, mostly Philippine and a few Wandering Whistlings.

Philippine Duck

Wandering Whistling Duck

About an hour later, we came upon the highlight of the day. To our surprise, an immature Lesser Coucal flew from right in front of our car and perched on a branch not that far from us and gave plenty of opportunities to take its picture.

Past the mayor's house, we met fellow birders Melanie and Nicky who informed us that the ducks were just beyond the tower. We got off our vehicles when we got to the tower and viewed in awe the hundreds of ducks in front of us - albeit a bit too far to photograph even with our long lenses. At one point the flock took flight and Cynthia was able to capture that spectacle. Reviewing the photo later I was able to identify the various species in that group: Philippine Ducks were the most plentiful, then there were Wandering Whistling Ducks, Garganeys, a few Northern Shovelers, a number of Tufted Ducks and a single Northern Pintail. Unfortunately, the hoped for and would-be lifer Common Pochard was not among them.

At ten in the morning,we bade our friend Bong farewell because he needed to be home by noon for some family matters. Cynthia and I lingered for another thirty minutes trying to get a decent shot of the various White-breasted Waterhens foraging by the roadside. I said "trying" because everytime we could focus our camera on one a vehicle would come roaring by thus sending our quarry hiding behind the bushes. Patience prevailed and I finally got my chance.

Various egrets were also feeding on a fallow field near the road so we also grabbed that opportunity.

Intermediate or Great Egret?

Little Egret

After that as the heat became unbearable we called it a day. As we were having a leisurely lunch at KFC, my wife asked how I was feeling. I replied that I felt great and reminded her that I vowed that I can do Candaba - and I did.

Dipping my toe in the waters

It had been close to a month since I was released from the hospital after a minor surgery. I would like to think that I am fully recovered now although I had been taking things via the cautionary route. I thought I would not be able to do any birding until after this year was over - what with the admonition of my doctor not to do some heavy lifting (such as a tripod+camera+long lens) and not to over exert in physical activities (such as walking up and down long narrow trails).

When my wife announced that we would be going to Antipolo because she needed to discuss something with our friends who live there, I thought it might be a good opportunity to see whether I can now return to pursuing my hobby of bird photography. After all, birding at a subdivision would only be merely driving around, stop where a bird was spotted, and take photos oftentimes without even leaving the car. We've birded this place many times before and we discovered that there are quite a number of species in this residential area in the mountains.

We were not disappointed! Long-tailed Shrikes seem to be everywhere!

Scaly-breasted Munias were quite abundant too.

It was early morning and the White-breasted Woodswallows were just beginning to stir from their crowded roost.

There were several surprises that day. Like this Tawny Grassbird.

A Blue-throated Bee-eater was nonchalantly hunting for breakfast right next to the flock of Munias.

The presence of a Grey-streaked Flycatcher was also unexpected.

Interesstingly the Spotted Dove was a bit more skittish and preferred the electric wires instead of its usual foraging on the ground.

We saw other birds too but were just not able to take their photos. One in particular was when we were about to leave. The general shape and size and even coloring indicated that it could be a thrush. Unfortunately it didn't stay long enough for us to get a positive ID. Our birding day ended not unlike one of those movies where the ending left you hanging.

Well, the toe had been dipped. I think it is safe to say that I can now submerge myself in the pool.

Malayan Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron peninsulae)

The Malayan Laughingthrush occurs in southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. In 2006 it was split from the Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush (Trochalpteron erythrocephalum) of Bhutan, Nepal, China and India. They differ from the peninsulae species by having a scaly feather pattern on its neck and breast.

Although more shy than its brazen cousins, the Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush (Garrulax mitratus), Malayan Laughingthrushes are still quite common at Fraser's Hill in Malaysia. They are part of the wave of birds that come to feed in front of the Jelai Hotel from 6:30 to around 8 am. However, they prefer to stay close to the hedges and would hide in the bushes if approached even from a safe distance. Males and females are similarly plumaged.

Java Java Doo

My year list of birds seen had been quite stagnant for some time now - not seeing any new (for the year) species lately.

The other day, our friend Jops posted his blog wherein he mentioned that they saw a pair of Java Sparrows at the Main Library of the University of the Philippines (U.P.)!

Cynthia and I had the chance to pay a quick visit to U.P. this morning. Unsure if the uncommon sparrows would still be there, I only brought my 300mm lens. Big mistake! We easily found the Javas but they were way up high at the roof of the library. As Jops observed, they were indeed building a nest because my wife and I saw one with some agoho leaves in its beak.

Aside from the Java Sparrows there were the usual avian denizens of the university campus such as a very noisy Black-naped Oriole.

Of course I had to have a gratuitous shot of the migrant bully - the Brown Shrike.

I wasn't feeling that well so we cut short our birding for the day. At least one more species was added to my year list. I'm happy with that.

Spotlessness

We waited for almost three hours. It never showed up. 

The slightly drizzly morning was brightened by the cooperative pair of Indigo-banded Kingfishers. For my wife, Cynthia, and myself, together with our friend, Bong, this was a repeat of our experience from last week. This time we were joined by new friend, Crisnick. For Crisnick, this was the first time that he saw (and photographed) the new stars of La Mesa Ecopark.

The other star, of course, was another kingfisher. The Spotted Wood. Elated by our early morning success, we all went to the trail where we hoped for another easy encounter with the Indigo's bigger cousin. Three hours and nada. Were it not for the thrill of getting a picture of the constantly moving juvenile Red-bellied Pitta, it would have been a bitter disappointment for us.

As noon approached and the steady shower not showing any sign of abating, Bong, my wife, and I accepted our being Spot less and agreed to call it a day. Crisnick, on the other hand, since he had not yet seen the Spotted Wood Kingfisher, resolved to stay and wait.

That night I received the good news from our new friend that at 12 o'clock, the bird with a long bill finally showed up. And even hanged around for 30 minutes! Perhaps it favored the patient ones or those who have not yet been given the quaint privilege of beholding his beauty. All I can say is that we were sincerely happy for our friend.

It Was a Ruff Day

Even before we reached the Candaba Wetlands, we already saw the Ruffs. Three individuals, at least. Relatively close too! 

Seeing an uncommon migrant right off the bat, so to speak, seemed to augur well for the rest of our birding day. However, things turned out differently. The road to the sanctuary was still muddy and not passable, and some parts of the fields were still flooded from the recent rains. There were redeeming moments, of course, like when a pair of Pied Bush Chats landed just a few feet from our vehicle.

But for Peter, my wife and myself, our hopes of seeing a lot of winter visitors and perhaps even a lifer somehow got dashed. Our friends, Irene, Rob, Kitty and Mark, who arrived earlier told us that there were Sharp-tailed and Curlew Sandpipers at the fallow fields. We hurriedly went to the place they referred to, traipsing through some mucky trails and found plenty of birds. Except that they were so far that we were not able to distinguish one bird from another. That their colors perfectly blended with the freshly tilled soil made it even worse. The only exceptions were an unusually curious Marsh Sandpiper...

...and an equally bold Long-tailed Shrike.

Aside from these, the birds that we saw at the Wetlands were mostly Egrets - lots of Little, a few Intermediate, and even fewer Great. Wood Sandpipers were everywhere.

Black-winged Stilts were quite plentiful too.

By eleven, the weather was already hot and humid with the sun mercilessly beating on the poor birders below.

On our way out, we once again saw the triumvirate of Ruffs at the same place they were earlier. 

I'd say it was Ruff from beginning to end.