Road Trip LA! Highs and Lows

As the loyal reader will remember from our prior episode, your Intrepid Birders were about to descend into the depths of the Concrete Hell that is Los Angeles.

Turns out, early Saturday morning traffic in LA isn't that bad, unless your lane happens to contain an overturned car and a separate 3-car pileup, both of which happened on the northbound 405 and created miles-long backups. Lucky us, we were going south!

Pro Tip #1: To find a relatively obscure species, consult eBird for places where several recent sightings have been reported recently. 

For instance, there were scattered sightings of the endangered California Gnatcatcher all up and down the LA coast, but an area west of Long Beach, the Alta Vincente Preserve had three recent reports. Going with the odds, we started there.

Remembering our prior lessons about habitat, we chose the brushiest trail and walked quietly, listening for their calls. Fifteen minutes in... Bingo! Three adorable little gnatcatchers bouncing around a bush like ping-pong balls in a lottery machine.

Our next target was an Asian species, Scaly-breasted Munia, aka Nutmeg Mannikin. These little guys are commonly found in pet stores, and were introduced to North America as escapees from cages. In a few cities, they have established stable populations in the wild, and can be "officially" counted by birders. Using the same Pro Tip, we hopped over to a nearby park, and found a couple of birds in short order.

After a visit to a nearby taqueria, and feeling a bit cocky at knocking off two targets in one morning, our next bird was declared to be another escaped exotic, Spotted Dove.

Pro Tip #2: Always consult a detailed map before driving into a new area

Following Pro Tip #1, we checked eBird for recent nearby sightings of Spotted Dove. Only two, but they were relatively close...just 45 minutes away, even with traffic volumes building, so off we went.

As we approached our destination, I started to notice a few things. For instance, the sign for "Watts Towers" (hmm...Watts... there's a neighborhood called that, but probably just named after the same guy), a general dilapidated feeling to the area, and then the sign, "Compton, Next Exit". Thanks to my encyclopedic knowledge of The Hip-Hop Music, I'm aware of 1988's seminal album, "Straight Outta Compton", which to the best of my knowledge was a reference to a poor, mostly black neighborhood in East LA. But we're not...[consults map more carefully]...oh, yes we are.

"Honey, do you think it's a good idea for two very white people to walk around a city park in gang-ridden black neighborhood, while carrying binoculars and a camera with a long lens?"

And, that's how we decided to look for the Spotted Dove another day.

Pro Tip #3: Birds don't like noise and activity

So, a quick U-turn later, we're back on the freeway. New target: Black-chinned Sparrow! They have started to migrate south for the winter, and there aren't many left in California. But one was reported just 30 minutes away!

As we approached the sparrow's location in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, near San Dimas, a klaxon began blaring in my head. In the parking lot ahead were several cars, which was a bit odd considering we hadn't seen anybody on the road, and a giant passenger van labeled something like "LA Christian Center". Ten huge tents were set up, and maybe 40 young people were running about, shrieking, as several of them shot AirSoft Guns at each other. Pure, unadulterated chaos.

"Honey, do you think the sparrow might still be around?"

And, that's how we ended up driving another 40 miles to find the sparrow.

Pro Tip #4: Use technology to make trip planning easier
The next closest sighting of the sparrow was high in the mountains outside San Bernadino, about 40 miles east of us. A hassle, but several hours of daylight remained, we had already come this far, and frankly the last two episodes had left a sour taste that only a new bird would wash away. So, away we went.

We climbed to over 6,000', as the GPS directed us to a gated fire road. After a short walk down the road, and several minutes of jumping at "sparrows" that turned out to be Goldfinches, a browner shape landed on a nearby bush. Could it be? Put it on the board... yes! Three Black-chinned Sparrows, presumably just waiting around until we came by. Thanks, boys!

And, that's how we found birds at sea level and more than one mile high on the same day.

Now, about that Spotted Dove... fortunately, we had a modest cell signal, so we pulled out laptops and our Verizon MiFi hotspot and started researching. Where else could we find this damn Dove?

There was another cluster of sightings that I hadn't noticed during planning, because they came in only yesterday. These were on one of the Channel Islands, Santa Catalina, which we didn't know anything about. We found a company that offered daily sailings out there, unfortunately located 90 miles away in Long Beach. They had two seats available, so we booked those, and used an app on our phone to reserve a hotel room.

By 8:30pm, we were in our hotel, with 3 new birds added to the list, and an unexpected trip planned for the next day. Yay, another boat!

Do they find the Dove? Does the boat get washed away to an uncharted desert isle? Tune in next time to find out!

Checking my phone for rare bird alerts,
Me