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

Road Trip LA!

A mis amigos emplumados finos,

Among the phrases that I never want to hear, "We're out of wine!" and "Let's drive to LA!" are two of the worst. While the wine problem can be fixed with a quick trip to the store, the road trip to LA is sure to be hours of miserable traffic, horrendous drivers, smog, sprawl, urban decay, concrete rivers...did I mention that I'm not a fan of LA?

And yet, when you are in the middle of a Big Year and running out of birds to find, you've got to take them where you can, and LA has a few species that we needed. So, late last week, we threw our gear in the car, stocked up with Diet Coke (his) and Vitamin Water (hers), and dove into the river of cars headed south.

Our first day ended in Ventura, CA, about 70 miles west of LA, the mainland headquarters of Channel Islands National Park. The Channel Islands are a chain of eight islands, located 10-30 miles offshore. Yay, another boat!

The Islands have been separated from the mainland for ages, long enough for the flora and fauna to diverge from their mainland counterparts to form new species. So, our target was the Island Scrub-Jay, a relative of our Western Scrub-Jay that lives only in the Channel Islands.

Day Two began with a boat departure from Ventura Harbor at the civilized hour of 9AM. Despite flat seas and calm winds, I began singing the Gilligan's Island song, which it turns out that I do every time I board a boat. Is this just a fun little game, or a secret fear?

After a 90-minute cruise severely lacking in storms and shipwrecks, we arrived at our desert isle and were greeted by this:

Somehow, this feels ominous. I believe it was carved by one of the prisoners in his cell with a dinner spoon, just before he was made to walk the plank to Davy Jones' Locker.

With a tip from the on-board naturalist, we immediately began scouring for our Jay. The bird looks and sounds almost identical to our Western Scrub-Jay, but The Scientists tell us that they are actually distinct species whose ranges don't overlap. So, all we needed to do was a find a Jay, any Jay, and we were good.

Fortunately, after only 30 minutes of searching, we found this fellow building his acorn stash for the harsh SoCal "winter":

Off to plant another oak tree, as if he is like the Jays on our yard, he is very likely to forget where he hid the acorn. 

So, Mission Accomplished! But we still had four hours to kill until the return.

Fortunately, just after lunch, this little guy showed up:

Channel Islands Fox! #socute

The reason for his visit, just after noon? He's learned that people + picnic tables = food

Checking to see if these folks left him a token of their appreciation for his cuteness.

"Please, sir, may I have another?"

The trip home was mostly uneventful, except for when the boat found a huge pod of dolphins attacking what was probably a humongous school of anchovy, while birds dive-bombed from above and sea lions rocketed through the middle of the fracas.

Bad day to be an anchovy.

Next up? They actually drive into LA! Will they survive!?! Or will they succumb to "LA Fever" and the hordes of Zombies that undoubtedly roam the smouldering remains of the city!??! Tune in next time to find out!

Here's to another punch in my Frequent Sailor card,
Me

Travel-inspired Revelation

Random aside...

All of my life has been lived on the West coast of the US, from Washington to California. Seeing huge mountains like Hood or Rainier, and giant fir or redwood trees, has been a regular, if not daily, part of my experience.

As part of this Crazy Birding Experience, I've visited places like Minnesota, Michigan, and North Carolina for the first time, and just started to really understand how physically different those places are from the West.

Recently, I found this very cool collection of pictures taken in the 1860's, that were apparently critical to convincing President Lincoln and Congress to create Yosemite National Park: link

I have a much better appreciation now for how amazing those pictures must have been. Not only was photography a relatively new technology, but the dramatic scenery of Yosemite Valley must have been completely mind-blowing to people who had spent all their lives in relative flatness.

As much as the commercial infrastructure of this country is depressingly consistent, at least the scenery and living experience remains highly diverse.