Tuolumne Meadows - Yosemite 10th August 2022

On our third, and final, day, Jayne and I travelled to Tuolumne Meadows, at a height of approximately 10,00ft. The landscape was very different here, with a much more open feel and fewer trees.

We started at the Visitors’ Centre, before taking a short 2-mile  across the meadow to the River Tuolumne and Soda Springs. We had great views of several Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warblers, Mountain Chickadees, White-crowned Sparrows, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Robins, Brewer’s Blackbirds and a Red-tailed Hawk. The birding highlight of this trip, however, was a pair of breeding Killdeer, with 2 well grown young on Soda Springs.

Killdeer (juvenile)

Mammals seen here were: Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Belding Ground Squirrels, Lodgepole Chipmunk and Yellow-bellied Marmot.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Belding Ground Squirrel

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Insects seen were: Mormon Fritillary, Orange Sulphar, Clodius Panassian and a Meadowhawk (dragonfly) sp (possibly Cardinal).

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite - August 2022

On our second day in Yosemite, we travelled a little bit further south to visit Mariposa Grove and the Giant Sequoias. To say the trees were unbelievable is an understatement! Their size and volume is indescribable and truly mind-blowing. The tree pictured below is called Grizzly Giant and stands at 63.7m (209ft) with a circumference of 29m (96 ft) at the base. A recent investigation estimated its age to be around 2900 years old!!!

Grizzly Giant (and me!)

Whilst there, we walked around a small area of the forest, seeing a single White-headed Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, a warbler sp that was most likely Yellow-rumped (Myrtle), Western Wood Pewee, Steller’s Jay and Northern Goshawk. Mammal species seen were: Mule (Black-tailed) Deer, Chickaree (Douglas Squirrel) and Lodgepole Chipmunk. 

Chickaree

A single Acmon Blue butterfly was also seen.

Acmon Blue

Yosemite Valley - August 2022

Whilst staying in California, Jayne and I got a 3-day pass to visit Yosemite National Park. 

The first day was spent in and around the Yosemite Valley area. Whilst there, we took a 2-hour guided tour, to take in the main sites, including El Capitan, Half Done, Yosemite Falls and Tunnel View.

Half Dome and Cook Meadow

Bird species seen included: Raven, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Steller’s Jay, Acorn Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, Black Phoebe, Common Merganser (adult and juveniles), and my best ever views of Hairy Woodpecker. In addition, we had very brief views of a Swift sp, flying around Yosemite Falls, that was most likely Black Swift.

Hairy Woodpecker

One evening, at around 7pm, we saw an American Black Bear feeding in Cook Meadow.

American Black Bear

Groveland, California 6th - 13th August 2022

The third week of our California trip was spent in Groveland. We stayed in an AirBnB on Pine Mountain Lake. Our accommodation was a lodge, set in the woodlands, and we managed to record a good variety of wildlife whilst sitting on the porch area!

Most numerous were the California Scrub Jays that woke us up every day, but we also spotted Steller’s Jays, Acorn Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture (very common, with up to 15 seen together, and 1 seen feeding on a dead Western Grey Squirrel, by the road), California Quail, White-breasted Nuthatch, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Barn Swallow, Anna’s Hummingbird, Oak Titmouse, Brewer’s Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Canada Goose, Mallard, Cliff Swallow, Red-tailed Hawk, Pied-billed Grebe, American Robin, Wild Turkey, Raven, California Thrasher, Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Bushtit, House Finch, House Sparrow and Eurasian Starling.  

California Quail

Turkey Vulture (and Grey Squirrel)

Red-breasted Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Carmel and 17-Mile Drive

Just a few miles from Monterey lies the small seaside town of Carmel. We had a couple of visits here and the nearby 17 Mile Drive. Birdwise, we didn’t add much to the trip list, but I did have my one and only sighting of Berwick’s Wren here.  

Berwick's Wren (honestly!!)

Other birds seen in Carmel itself were: Mourning Dove, Heerman’s Gull and Pygmy Nuthatch. On the beach, we had great views of California Ground Squirrel.

California Ground Squirrel

During a drive around nearby 17 Mile Drive we visited Bird Rock where we saw our first Mule/Black-tailed Deer, along with Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Heerman’s Gulls, Brandt’s Cormorants, California Sealions (hundreds!) and Californian Ground Squirrels. 

Black Oystercatcher

Big Sur and Andrew Molera State Park - 31st July 2022

On July 31^st Jayne and I drove from Monterey down to the area called Big Sur and visited the Andrew Molera State Park. Our main reason to visit this area, was to see the fantastic scenery (including the famous Bixby Bridge) and to try and catch up with one of the world’s rarest birds, the California Condor. We did manage a very distant view of this species (very high up above the park), but also saw several other species, namely Acorn Woodpecker, California Thrasher, Turkey Vulture (15+), Band-tailed Pigeon (heard, but not seen), Dark-eyed Junco, California Scrub Jay, and Song Sparrow. 

Acorn Woodpecker

California Thrasher

We also saw our first California Ground Squirrels and Western Fence Lizards.

Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing Wildlife Refuge- 3rd and 4th August 2022

About 10 miles north of Seaside is a small marina called Moss Landing. Jayne and I visited this area and went on an electric boat tour up a river/lagoon called Elkhorn Slough (pronounced sloo, like who). The first birds seen were Western Gulls, followed closely by a juvenile and adult Pied-billed Grebe and a Western Grebe.  As we set off up the slough, we passed a large colony of breeding Brandt’s Cormorant. Over the course of the next two hours we recorded: Willet (6+), Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Semipalmated Plover, American White Pelican (4), Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, American Kestrel, Caspian Tern, Elegant Tern and a beautiful Northern Harrier. Southern Sea Otters, Harbour Seal and Californian Sealions were also present throughout the trip.

Brandt's Cormorant

Whilst on the trip, we heard about a nearby reserve, Moss Landing Wildlife Area, so we popped across there for an hour. I also had another visit early next morning. Birds ween there were:  Black-necked Stilt (adults and juveniles), Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, American Avocet (adults and juveniles), Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Black-bellied Plover, Elegant Tern (c500), Caspian Tern, Black Skimmer (2), Brown Pelican, Western Gull, California Gull, and Red-necked Phalarope (70+!!)

American Avocet

Black Skimmer

Monterey Bay Whale Watching

One of the main reasons for our trip to Monterey Bay was to get out on the sea and see whales and dolphins.

We'd found a really good company, Monterey Bay Whale Watching, so Jayne and I booked on to a 3 ½ hour trip. The first species we saw were Western Gulls, hundreds of Brandt’s Cormorants that were nesting on the breakwater and the Californian Sealions and Southern Sea Otters that were resting in and around the harbour itself. 

Californian Sealion

Sea Otter (adult and baby)

Once out into the Bay we soon started seeing Common Murres and then the whales! During the trip we saw a total of 17 different Humpback Whales, 2 Blue Whales  and a nursery pod of approximately 75 Risso’s Dolphins!!

Humpback Whales

Risso's Dolphins

Other species seen during the trip were: Red-necked Phalarope (1 flew past), a single Black-footed Albatross (no photo unfortunately) and 100s of Sooty Shearwater. Fantastic!!!

Sooty Shearwater

Seaside and Monterey Bay Birds - 2022

 After our first week in America, we hired a car and drove down the coast to stay in an Airbandb in Seaside, just a 10 minute drive from Monterey. On the trip down, we saw our first Turkey Vultures of the trip.

The place we were staying had a garden, and, whilst there, we spotted 1 Hooded Oriole (male), Anna’s Hummingbird (seen daily), Northern Mockingbird (1 across the road), Acorn Woodpecker (1 in the garden), Bushtit (a flock of c15 birds visiting the garden’s water feature for a drink and a bath), Oak Titmouse (2 in the garden), American Crow (regular around the garden, and flocks of c100 flying over to roost somewhere every evening), California Scrub Jay (daily in the garden), Turkey Vulture (daily over the house and beach).

Bushtit (on water feature)

Great-tailed Grackles (male and female birds) were seen around Robert’s Lake, whilst Seaside State Beach had a fantastic flock of  Heerman’s Gull (200+), Western Gull, California Gull, Whimbrel ( a flock of 29 on the beach), Long-billed Curlew, Caspian Tern (1 adult and 1 juvenile, roosting with the gulls on the beach), Marbled Godwit (1 on the beach), Sanderling (c.10 on the beach) and Western Snowy Plover (adults and 2 chicks).

Heerman's Gull

Caspian Tern

Whilst looking around Monterey’s Cannery Row  we saw Pigeon Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Egret, Brown Pelican and Brandt’s Cormorant.

Brown Pelican

Black Turnstone and Grey Phalarope were added in MontereyHarbour, along with 20+ Californian Sealions, Southern Sea Otters, Brandt’s Cormorants, Great Egret, Surf Scoter (2), Barn Swallow, Western Gulls and Heerman’s Gulls. 

Black Turnstone

San Fransisco 2022

 At the start of the summer holidays, Jayne and I went on a long-awaited 3-week trip to California. We spent the first week in San Francisco, before moving down the coast to Seaside and Monterey Bay for the second week, and finished off in Groveland, near Yosemite National Park, for the final week. During our time there, we spotted , and managed to identify, 100 species of bird (including 62 lifers), 20 species of butterfly, 4 species of dragon/damselfly, 16 species of mammal and 4 different reptiles/amphibians!

During our stay in San Francisco, we were based on the west side of the city, in the Stanyan Park Hotel, right next to the Golden Gate Park. We chose to stay here, so that we could visit the park, and the two museums that stand in its grounds, the De Young Museum and The California Academy ofScience (both worth a visit).

Our first visit to the park, on the evening of 23^rd July, gave us excellent views of our first “lifers”, namely, Black Phoebe and Anna’s Hummingbird, along with Brewer’s Blackbird, American Crow, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco and Raven. As it turned out, all of these species were common throughout the park, and were seen regularly. We also spent most of Sunday 24^th and Friday 29^th in and around the park, and added the following species: California Scrub Jay (common), California Towhee (2/3 seen), Nutall’s Woodpecker (1), Downy Woodpecker (1), Hairy Woodpecker (seen regularly), Allen’s Hummingbird ( a few seen, much less common than Anna’s), Steller’s Jay (heard more often than seen, but relatively common),  Song Sparrow (not easy to see), House Finch (regular), Barn Swallow (regular), Tree Swallow (1 bird seen at a nest with 1 well grown chick), Red-winged Blackbird (just a few seen around the Stow Lake), Brown-headed Cowbird (adults seen by Stow Lake), White-crowned Sparrow (regular), Pygmy Nuthatch (seen with a Brown Creeper in trees near the Japanese Tea Gardens), Red-tailed Hawk (regular/common), Chestnut-sided Chickadee (heard regularly, but tricky to see), Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair seen feeding on dandelion seeds), Western Gull (common), California Gull (common around Spreckles Lake), Mallard (common), Canada Goose (common, including in the Botanical Gardens), Cackling Goose (1 on Stow Lake, possibly feral) and White-fronted Goose ( 1 on Spreckles Lake, probably feral), Great Blue Heron ( 1juvenile on Stow Lake), Hutton’s Vireo (1 seen) and an Osprey (flying over the Botanical Gardens, with a fish in its talons).

Anna's Hummingbird

Whilst in San Francisco, we also visited several other areas, where we spotted other species. A trip to Fort Mason added Pigeon Guillemot to the trip list, along with Snowy Egret, and our first confirmed Brandt’s Cormorant.

Pigeon Guillemot

Whilst visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw a lovely flock of 6 moulting Surf Scoters, 5 Western Grebes, hundreds of Brandt’s Cormorants, dozens of Brown Pelicans, 2 Caspian Terns, along with a small flock of Pygmy Nuthatches, a single American Goldfinch, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, Cliff Swallows, Brown-headed Cowbirds (adults and juveniles) and Cliff Swallows (attending a nest).

Surf Scoter and Western Grebe

Red-masked Parakeets (a feral/introduced species) were seen in the Alamo Park by the Painted Ladies, along with House Sparrows, Raven and American Crows.

Red-masked Parakeet

A walk around the Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 area added  Heerman’s Gull, Western Gull, House Sparrow, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Great Egret and Eurasian Starling.

Heerman's Gull

On our last day in San Fransisco, we headed out to the coastal area of Sutro Baths/Land’s End/Point Lobos. Here we recorded Western Blue Bird (juveniles), Black Oystercatcher (2), House Finch (c.10), Brandt’s Cormorants, Brown Pelican, Dark-eyed Junco, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Downy Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron, Caspian Tern, Raven (a flock of 23 on Ocean Beach!!) and our first Whimbrel of the trip, on Ocean Beach.

Raven on Ocean Beach