California Bird'n on a Winter's Day

This is a recreation of the blog post I wrote following my Big Day of Birding in San Francisco, with Noreen and Edgar, my intrepid birding guides. So, it may lack the initial excitement of my initial post, but might make up for it in thoughtful memories of the day I saw 80 Bird species, 56 Birds of which were added to my Big Year, giving me 99 as of January 8. 50 were new for my Life List.


I was up prior to the crack of dawn, as birds prefer to be viewed bright and early, though it was not bright when I awoke. After a quick breakfast I was picked up by Noreen and Edgar and we were off and birding at 7:30am. We made many stops in and around San Francisco, including Fort Mason, at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, a public gardens in another old Fort, Golden Gate Park, twice, a park overlooking the San Francisco Bay, and ended the day at Heron's Head, a wetlands along San Francisco's southern bay waterfront, and the subject of a field guide written by Noreen and Edgar.


Our first stop was an education in birding. I was amazed at the ease with which my guides would find birds. Whether with they're eyes, binocular or scopes, they pointed out one bird after another to me. And with surgical precision they were able to guide me to a spot in a tree or in a shrub or on the ground, when I could point my binoculars or camera and see an endless variety of birds. On our first stop I was able to spot Red Crowned Parrots, Chestnut backed Chickadees, three types of Goldfinches and sparrows, and an Anna's Hummingbird. Flying overhead I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk. And that was just the beginning of what turned out to be a very big day for me. Now, I know, experienced birders would laugh at a 80 bird big day, but for me, including 56 new Year Birds, it was huge. 


Along the way I saw more types of gulls than I thought existed. It was probably not that long ago that I just assumed, as most people do, that there were just seagulls and that was it. What an eye opener. From the Western Gull I saw on my first day, I added Herring and Thayer's and Mew Gull, amongst others.And there were the grebes and cormorants, Pelagic and Brant's.But the three I was most excited about were all found in Golden Gate Park. A Great Horned Owl, only visible through a spotting scope, way up in a tree, a Varied Thrush, a beautiful orange and black bird, and Dusky-capped Flycatcher, a rarity for the area, who had somehow made it's way up from south of the border. It really was exciting to find these birds, both common and rare and Noreen and Edgar were amazing teachers.


They would show me the bird we were looking for in their field guides and then have me see them though their scope or help me find them with my binoculars. And even though they have been doing this for years, I could sense they were as enthralled and excited at seeing the birds as I was, seeing many of them for the first time. It was a Big Day and a day of birding I shall never forget, which is good, since I had to recreate this blog entry from my somewhat swiss-cheese memory. 


I am not sure if I have done the original blog entry justice, but I hope I have. It was a beautiful day to be out. Warm enough temperatures, hardly any wind and a cloudless sky. 

I can't thank Noreen and Edgar enough for their kindness, attention to detail and, mostly, for putting up with an amateur Big Year Birder.And I can't wait to do another big day like that again.

San Francisco Day: 1, Birds: 5

I arrived in SF around 12:30 pacific time and after checking into the swanky, old and, I am sure, prestigious, Whiticomb Hotel in the Union Square district of SF and after a quick unpacking, donned my binoculars, camera and Tilly Hat,(a nice rafia fedora), took a long, very long, walk down to to The Embarcadero, to look for boats. No, just kidding, birds, of course. I took a nice walk in the afternoon sun and warmth along the pier, where toothless men were trolling for crabs and tourists were inviting me to take their pictures.

Before I even stepped out on the pier, I saw my first Western Gull,(thanks Fred),and, honestly, before I started this Big Year wouldn't have given it a second look, let alone a first look and taken the time to get a photo. But I did both and was rewarded with bird 39 of the year.

Along the pier I was lucky to see lots of water fowl and was able to spot a Western Grebe and Pacific Loon, along with a juvenile California Gull.

I took lots of photos and walked a bit more, but had to sit for a while before making the long trek back to the hotel. After all, I started on the east coast, flew across the continent, walked miles with my bad back, after having walked miles in Hamilton yesterday, and I am 51 going on 97. Feel sorry for me? Didn't think so.

While I was sitting I spied a large, hawk/vulture like thing fly overhead, with what seemed like a red beak, but wasn't quick enough to swivel my head, pull up my binoculars and also somehow snap a photo. I am sure a more experienced birders would have nailed it on the glimpse of wing and beak alone. Not me. I am just too new and, well, just a little green. Turned out it was a Turkey Vulture.

Eventually I did have to get up and walk back to the hotel, even though the BART train went right to my hotel door, and was lucky enough to see some Brewer's Blackbirds nibbling seed on the sidewalk in front of the mall on Market Street.

Once again, Sue and iBird helped with the identification. I'd be lost and not even be doing a "Small Year" without them.

But tomorrow is a big day. I am off with my guide at the crack of dawn, to have my biggest birding day ever, I hope!

Long walk on an amazing day in January

I never thought birding would be easy, but i did hope it would be just a little easier than it really is, especially for a beginner like me. Day 6 of 366 was a good day for me. I drove out to Hamilton and walked the Waterfront Trail along the Great Western Railway Line and saw many, many, many waterbirds, many of which I actually remembered, though I still needed a little nudge and reminder as there are a lot of those ducky types and they do have similar looks and I don't have a great memory for names, so it is quite taxing on my mind. Yet I will keep going and keep asking for help. And that's the beautiful thing about birding. It's a non-competitive sport. And everyone loves to help, especially the experienced birders, who enjoyed taking me under their wing, so to speak, and point out the birds I'd have surely missed on my own. As I walked along, I met so many nice birders, with their binoculars and cameras, who were willing to either point out birds or point me in the right direction. And thus, I was able to spy 5 new year birds, four of which were Life Birds for me. Cool!

And so, as each day passes I am loving this more and more. Who knew? Well the birders knew. As one said to me, today, "It's awfully addictive, isn't it?" Especially for me, since almost every bird is a new bird and every day there is a new challenge. It's fun, exciting and, dare I say, cool.

And as far as cool sightings today, there was the Double Crested Cormorant,(I had help for that); Bald Eagle; Hooded Merganser,(Yes, I had help for that too); Belted Kingfisher,(Saw that on my own, thank you); And the Black-Crowned Night Heron that I didn't realize was there until after I snapped the photo of the Hooded Meganser. Speaking of which, I now have the Merganser Trifecta! Yeah me!

So tonight, it's California Dream'n for me.

2 Days, 3 New Birds

Now, I acknowledge I am not in the same league with the experienced birders, but then again, I have only been at it for 5 days now. So, 33 birds and 14 Life birds is, for me, an accomplishment. I am sure I have walked beneath, stepped on or totally missed many more birds that were right before my eyes, that any other birder would have easily seen, but I still have 361 days to to go and a lot to learn.

It was not too cold on Wednesday, but I stuck close to home and was able to see a Mourning Dove in the morning, (well when else? Maybe i will see my first Nighthawk at night. Are there dusk birds?). I had actually not seen one around my yard for several weeks, if not longer. Anyway, I did get a nice photo, as seen below.

Later in the afternoon, I saw my first Northern Mocking Bird. Sure, experienced birders will be mocking me for not ever having seen one of those, but, well, it was exciting for me.

Today was a great day to be out. Temps above freezing, so I went out to Ashbridges Bay, on the east end of Toronto's waterfront, in search of a Brant, a small goose, and an Iceland Gull. I got the gull, but the Brant proved elusive to even the experienced birders today. Perhaps I will swing by tomorrow when it is even warmer.

From Ashbridges Bay I went to the Waterfront Trail in Hamilton and enjoyed a wonderful, quiet and relaxing walk in the woods and down by the water where I found a melodious gaggle of Trumpeter Swans, who sounded very much like my highshool band tuning up their instruments before a concert. I saw no new birds, but did enjoy looking at many of the birds I had recently seen for the first time in the previous 5 days, and I was able to get some good photos, especially of the Trumpeter Swans.

All in all, a good day. And, again, Sue was there to help me with the identifications at the end of the day.

Meanwhile I am excited about my trip to San Francisco and my 3 days on the coast seeing western birds and getting a day of guided birding as well.

Some of the photos from the last two days:

It was so cold...

Not sure why a certain part of a witch's anatomy is used as a comparison for the depths of cold it was this morning, but suffice to say, if it were not for it being a big year and a rare sighting for these parts I would not have been so brave.

What I have discovered, though, is that the sighting of a rare or year bird is exciting enough to warm your blood and make you forget the freezing pain in your extremities. In this morning's case it was a Mountain Bluebird that was way out of its territory and probably feeling the cold as much as us hardy birders. Half a dozen of us stood with our scopes, binoculars and cameras waiting for the little gal to settle. I was able to get a nice shot, as seen below. I also grabbed a shot of Cedar Waxwings on that stop.

But I wasn't done yet. Back in the car and off to the Burlington Skyway to see the Snowy Owl. 20 minutes of scanning with scopes and binoculars in the bitter cold netted a glimpse of him across the Tollgates pond. No good photo, but a fun sighting that made me forget the cold and stay out a little longer. Another nice birder was kind enough to point out the Ruddy Ducks in the pond as well.

I was able to add Starlings to my Year list on the drive from Puslinch, where I saw the Bluebird, to Hamilton, where I caught the Snowy, and get a nice photo of an American Crow, to go along with yesterday's sighting.

I warmed up quickly, blasting the heat in the car, but I am thrilled to be at 30 birds for the year in 3 days. It do love the excitement of the chase!



Here are some photos: Crow, Mountain Bluebird and Cedar Waxwings.

Day 2-How many to go?

Set out in a quest for a Great Blue Heron seen in a neighborhood pond, but ended up with a Common Goldeneye in the Humber River near by. I will see many Herons this year but the Goldeneye was a Life bird for me and number 22 for the year. You just never know what you may end up with any given day. I got my American Crow while driving home. It was eating a squirrel in the middle of the road. Wish I had a photo of that for the album

It was cold, windy and a little snowy down by the lake, but I did spot, what turned out to be Gadwall, yet another duck. That makes about 10 ducky birds, not including swans and gulls

I also arranged a guide for next Sunday in San Francisco. I hope to double my so far meager life list from 52 at the start of the year, to over 100 by the time I return to Canada

The First Day of the Rest of My Big Year!

Well I am off and running and chasing a Smew. Never thought I'd be typing that sentence. It will not be my first bird of the year, as I have already seen a Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker and a House Sparrow in the backyard this morning.

Its an uncommonly warm day for January 1 and I should not freeze while hunting my first rare bird. Freezing is my biggest fear and I am sure I will be running back to the car to warm up, often.

We were out for about an hour at the Whitby Harbor in search of the Smew. No luck in the first location, but it wasn't hard to add new birds to the Year list, starting with a few easier ones: Canada Goose, Mute Swan and Ring-billed Gull. The sun was out and the wind was light so I wasn't that cold, so it was enjoyable as I saw my first of many Lifers, including a Long-tailed Duck, Common and Red-Breasted Merganser and a Greater Scaup. Couldn't have done it without Sue, and my iPhone. As with everything these days, when it comes to birding, there are many Apps for that.

In all, the first day netted me 19 birds, including 7 Life List Birds, the last of which was an American Kestrel.

It was more fun than I had ever thought birding could be. Never thought I'd be one of them! But without the goal of A Big Year, I may never have started.

Of course, the Smew I had been after never showed, but I guess that's the fun and adventure of it all. Perhaps it's just waiting for me on another outing into the cold this Winter.