‘BIG DAY’ REPORT FOR THE TORGTUGUERO BIRD-A-THON FUND-RAISER

April 17, 2005

Your counters: C.J. and Carol Ralph, Pablo Herrera, Brian O’Donnell, Steve Kelling, Ken Able and more.

With Arcata’s outstanding bird festival “Godwit Days” less than a week away we had set our positive thoughts and collective hopes on a record breaking “BIG DAY”. For the third year in a row we would tie our fund-raising venue for the Tortuguero Integrated Bird Monitoring Program in Costa Rica with Arcata’s spring migration bird extravaganza. Our quest—to see and/or hear 134 or more bird species (last year’s high count was 133 species)! Well, we figured ‘no sweat’ since we had recruited some ringers: Steve Kelling from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ken Able whose has spent a lifetime studying the mysteries of bird migration and would be delivering the keynote speech at Godwit Days. Aside from the ringers, a Big Day tradition is to bring along novices who are anxious to see and learn as much as possible. Since we had a whole busload 18 participants, we figured our luck was covered.

As the weekend approached the weather prognosticators gazed upon their Doppler radar imagery (aka crystals balls) and predicted rain...uh oh! And, although day one of the festival was gorgeous, a grey wetness enveloped Saturday’s participants. Would the precipitation be foul (pun most certainly intended) enough to hamper our competition, the Saturday Big Dayers? Would it rain on our Sunday Big Day bird parade also? Sunday dawned under overcast skies but with the promise of a mostly dry day to come. YES! At 0700 sharp we boarded our vehicle to glory (local transit bus), expertly piloted by Joe Roberts. Much to our benefit, Joe knew more than just buses, Joe knew birds. Now some folks might feel a bit uneasy about a driver who pilots and birds simultaneously, but not a busload of Big Dayers!

With great anticipation we accelerated toward our first stop, the world famous and very “birdy” Arcata Marsh. Even as we pulled in to the interpretive center parking lot the dark forms of graceful swallows could be seen lacing through the morning sky. Steve quickly moved ahead of the group, his eyes scanning intensely into the riparian vegetation. Folks quickly began to get into swing of things, following close behind, listening to birds, listening to the experts as they rapped out one species and then another. Scads of gorgeous male Audubon’s and Myrtles Warblers moved through and sang in the alder canopy. Suddenly a buzzy trill caught our attention...alright, Palm Warbler, and more than one! Check out the characteristic tail pumping as they forage. Soon folks were perched on the center’s deck busy scanning the adjacent wetlands. Holy cow, a macho Swamp Sparrow perched in the open and singing. We even got him in the spotting scope!

When we got back on the bus the crowd looked a bit bewildered. Fast and furious was going to be the name of the game and we got them off to a good start. The sun had hardly hit the ground yet and we had about 20species. So we took the brief drive time to Blue Lake (15 min) to calm the ground and discuss our strategy...everyone needs to look out the windows during transit…once on the ground Brian is going to follow up at the rear to insure stragglers won’t miss a good bird…. if you see something shout it out as a misidentification can be corrected, but a missed species can’t!

Our destination in Blue Lake— the cottonwood stand…a gorgeous remnant, riparian forest along the Mad River with lots of structural complexity and lots of songbirds...just have to ignore the skeletal car remains, deep water-filled ruts of off-road vehicles, and the “mountain of gravel”. With our destination in sight we rolled to a brief stop in the middle of a bridge and the troops immediately scanned up and down river for likely denizens of this aquatic habitat such as Spotted Sandpipers, mergansers, or wading birds. Someone spots a Northern Rough-winged Swallow...we didn’t pick that one up at the marsh! OK, now let’s see who we can track down in the forest. Again Steve lead the way as the group strung out along the labyrinth of well worn trails. The chorus of singing birds was well underway and new species were soon making the list...Bewick’s Wren, Wilson’s Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and the descending ringing of a California Towhee! Tree swallows were seen entering nesting cavities on a white, skeletal snag. Band-tailed Pigeons swung by, a hard bird on many trips. Wow, it’s hard not to be impressed with the arcing, high-speed display of an Allen’s Hummingbird. After one final check of the river we boarded the bus and headed for the rocky coast to the north. Be on the lookout for Western Bluebirds.

As we make our way back toward the coast at 50 mph +, bus driver Joe pulls in a Western Kingbird! There he goes again, driving and bird watching at the same time. Then, just as we began to swing north onto the 101, there it is...a Western Bluebird perched along a fence row! Or was it? The troops are skeptical! But hold on...wasn’t Steve Kelling, of Sapsucker Fame, one of the folks who called the bluebird. Who are WE to question HIM? Such however was this groups’ high standard of confirmation, and the ‘bluebird’ remained a humorously contentious issue throughout the rest of the day! Soon, as we approached Clam Beach another alert sounded...be on the lookout for Wood Ducks in the ponds along 101’s east edge. Yes, there they are! Plus a Ring-necked Duck as well!

Exiting the highway, we wound our way down to Moonstone Beach, a local surfer favorite. Hmmm...where were all of the gulls? Little River meanders its way to the ocean across Moonstone and typically large numbers of gulls can be found bathing and otherwise utilizing this freshwater resource. Shoot, not today though. OK, scan the beach for Sanderlings scurrying along the water line. Buffleheads were spotted up river and we picked up Stellar’s Jay and Common Bushtit as well as several more Orange-crowned Warblers from the upslope vegetation.

We headed north along a scenic route which winds it’s way to the picturesque village of Trinidad. From one of several rocky points overlooking the ocean we hoped to see the elusive, ancient-forest nesting Marbled Murrelet, perhaps a gaudy Tufted Puffin, or one of the usual marine suspects...cormorants, scoters, loons. Through a spotting scope Pablo spots two tiny specks sitting side by side...YES... a murrelet pair! Incredible to think these two may later alternate incubation shifts 200 feet up on the wide, mossy branch of a giant redwood. Heads up...well up the beach on that rock...scurrying movement...Black Turnstones and a Surfbirds. Just below us on the beach sat a White-winged Scoter. That’s a bit odd...is it well? Additional birds are sighted...Pigeon Guillemot, Western Grebe, and Northern Flicker (that’s a lifer for Olya!).

Continuing north we arrived in the parking area nestled below Trinidad Head and just above the beautiful natural harbor the headland creates. Alright...the sun began burning through the haze as our group made its way out onto the pier. Nice view of a Glaucous-winged Gull on small pocket beach below. Hmmm, not much bird-wise that we hadn’t seen already, but the surrounding natural beauty makes it hard to regret we’re here. Two days earlier a Gray Whale with calf were spotted in the harbor as well as a river otter. A family group of river otters routinely claim the harbor and its fleet of moored small boats as their summer playground, filling in for the long-departed sea otter. It was time to jet (ok, bus) south to the Ralph’s home, nestled between the Mad River slough and unique coastal dune forest, for food and lots more birds!

At the Ralph homestead off-loading Big Dayers filed past opened mist nets...the Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory constant effort mist netting site in operation. Whoa...what’s that below net one! A reddish-bodied bird popped up into a willow. Red Crossbill? Nobody could get there binoculars on the bird before it flies...shoot, nobody feels confident they got a definitive look before it flew off, and that skulky behavior at ground level seemed so un-Crossbill like. After comparing notes and considering the possibilities we decided it probably was a Crossbill, but somehow we just couldn’t bring ourselves to count it...ouch, once again the down-side of high standards bites us! We continued out to the dike to check for shorebirds, and the tide was just right...for NO birds!! That wasn’t expected! Oh well, we did see Dowitchers in the distance (hmmm, have to call them Dowitcher species for now) and the usual Great Egrets, Great Blue Heron and Ring-billed Gull. Back on the deck birding continued as we enjoyed a tasty lunch and the incredible view of the slough, Arcata bottoms and coastal mountains, some still fringed with snow. Allen’s hummers and nesting Barn Swallows displaced by the luncheneers bombed downed on the crowd.

With appetites satiated we loaded up to head for Eureka. Still no Savannah Sparrow, so everyone kept an eye on fencing adjacent the road. Got it, a Savannah Sparrow, its yellow lores apparent to all! Lumbering down Jackson Ranch Rd. we wondered where the heck the thousands of Aleutian Canada Geese were that had so recently been grazing the pastures. The recovery of this population in recent years has been a great success, but also a problem, as the growing number of geese can have quite an impact on these pastures. Last Thursday we (CJ and Steve) saw 7,000 apparently depart overhead as we stood out on the dunes. They came overhead from inland, hit the coast and hung a right, quite likely beginning a non-stop journey to Alaska out over the water. Finally we pick up a small flock of Aleutians just as we turn onto Samoa...American Widgeon too!

Skirting the western edge of south Humboldt Bay, extensive mudflats made it clear the tide was way out. Unfortunately, this would make it much more challenging to spot shorebirds as they would be dispersed across the vast and mucky expanse. We next off-loaded near the confluence of Elk River with Humboldt Bay. Where’s the European Widgeon? Throughout the previous week Pablo and Brian had regularly spotted this bird among American Widgeons, so today of course there were no widgeons of any sort to be found...no guarantees in this game.

Continuing our southward trek along the bay we next pulled into King Salmon. A few ‘country’ folks were enjoying sitting in their cars, or on rocks… we come piling out of the bus, telescopes arrayed, binocs at the ready, and started scanning the choppy water of the bay mouth. The murmur is heard, “What are those people doing?” We smile, keep our array of scopes set up at bay’s edge, and thrill at gorgeous male Red-breasted Mergansers. At a quickening pace we picked up Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Red-necked Grebe, and Black Brant among others. Darn, no Harlequin Ducks though! Like the phantom Eurasian Widgeon, a Harlequin Duck was regularly spotted here in previous days. Too bad...a good view of this small sea-duck which favors rocky coastlines would have been a special treat. Well, maybe we’ll get them from the South Jetty. A species tally from Mary brings somewhat dismal news...only 85 species thus far. Boy, things are SLOW; we should have quite a few more by now!

Undaunted, with enthusiasm still high, we move on to Fields Landing and another shot at Bay birds...maybe a Ruddy Turnstone. No go on the turnstone, but we did get excellent views of Horned Grebes. Several of the locals wonder where the Osprey are; a common summer resident and breeder, it’s always fun to watch these striking fishers fly by clutching a wriggling meal, and Humboldt Bay provides excellent foraging grounds.

We then drove down to the headquarters of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge protects wetlands and bay habitats for migratory birds, especially Black Brant. Alright, a pond full of ducks, and given our low species count thus far, do we ever need them...Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, and Cinnamon Teal. Whoaa, check out the Peregrine Falcon perched in the Eucalyptus tree! We gradually work closer and closer and eventually all get about the best look at a wild Peregrine any of us has seen! At this point it’s getting harder and harder to pick up new species, and we DO NEED more to bring us anywhere close to our goal. We get a tally from Mary…97 species...hmmm, well, let’s break 100 at least!

Do we have time to hit the South Jetty? The day is running down and it’s time to be as strategic as possible. Let’s go for it, but how about a quick stop at Hookton Slough. CJ picks up Eurasian Widgeon! OK, let’s hit South Jetty and pick up Sanderlings on the beach side, Harlequin Duck on the bayside, along with much needed shorebirds. We’re heading north along the spit separating the ocean from south bay when CJ shouts “BIG BIRD!” There it is...that Sesame St. character beloved by children all over the world...NOT. It’s really a small raptor sitting at road’s edge on a small hummock. Closer inspection reveals it to be a Merlin...what a great view of this stationary raptor! Has it just finished feeding on a small shorebird or sparrow?

Suddenly good news sweeps the bus. Mary recounts and found she’s 10 off. We actually have 123! Great cheers erupt...so our target isn’t beyond reach after all! The fires of enthusiasm are re-kindled as we once again spilled out of the bus to scan the expansive mudflats. Thank goodness for our scopes, but still most of the shorebirds are off in the hazy distance. At least we’re able to see Least and Western Sandpipers.

At South Jetty some folks head for the beach to check for Sanderlings while the rest scan the waters between the jetties. FINALLY, we get Osprey perched on channel marker. Where are those Harlequin Ducks? There they are! Oooops, those are scoters. Darn! Shut out at the beach...no Sanderlings seen. We had better head back since we MUST be at the Community Center no later that 1700 hrs! Those are the rules.

Mary informs us we’re at 131, just one shy of our world record set last year (but we think we’ve passed Saturday’s rain-drenched bunch)! How should we play this? As the bus wound across Table Bluff on our homeward journey we considered the possibilities. The Arcata Community Forest might add evergreen forest birds like the Brown Creeper, Varied Thrush or Red Crossbill, but would we really have the time for that side trip? In the end we decided to put our faith in the bird-rich Arcata Marsh again. Once there our gang scattered quickly in all directions, intent on sighting just one or two more species... but we’d done such a great job hunting that even one more species would be a challenge. As the tired but happy group of Big Dayers began to reassemble around the bus, Steve and Carol, who had been on the other side of “Mount Trashmore” (the former dump site which preceded the Marsh Project) came racing back...they’d seen BOTH Dowitchers! With literally minutes to spare we had tied last year’s record...132 bird species!

Big Day Bird-A-Thon Species List 17 April 2005

Red-throated Loon	5
Pacific Loon	3
Common Loon	10
Pied-billed Grebe	4
Eared Grebe	3
Western Grebe	16
Red-necked Grebe	2
Clark's Grebe	1
Double-crested Cormorant	30
Brant's Cormorant	15
Pelagic Cormorant	25
Great Blue Heron	5
Great Egret	40
Snowy Egret	30
Black-crowned Night-Heron	3
Turkey Vulture	12
Brant	60
Canada Goose	8
Aleutian Cackling Goose	10
Wood Duck	3
Green-winged Teal	26
Mallard	12
Cinnamon Teal	4
Northern Shoveler	20
Northern Pintail	18
Gadwall	12
Eurasian Wigeon	2
American Wigeon	30
Ring-necked Duck	3
Greater Scaup	20
Black Scoter	1
Surf Scoter	30
White-winged Scoter	6
Bufflehead	12
Common Merganser	4
Red-breasted Merganser	6
Ruddy Duck	2
Osprey	3
White-tailed Kite	2
Northern Harrier	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
Cooper's Hawk	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	2
Red-tailed Hawk	5
American Kestrel	1
Peregrine Falcon	1
Merlin	1
California Quail	6
Virginia Rail	1
American Coot	14
Black-bellied Plover	40
Killdeer	6
Black Oystercatcher	4
American Avocet	8
Greater Yellowlegs	7
Willet	22
Whimbrel	6
Long-billed Curlew	20
Marbled Godwit	80
Black Turnstone	4
Surfbird	3
Sanderling	10
Western Sandpiper	60
Least Sandpiper	80
Dunlin	40
Short-billed Dowitcher	2
Long-billed Dowitcher	6
Ring-billed Gull	4
Western Gull	20
Glaucous-winged Gull	3
Caspian Tern	10
Common Murre	16
Pigeon Guillemot	2
Marbled Murrelet	6
Band-tailed Pigeon	19
Mourning Dove	1
Vaux's Swift	16
Anna's Hummingbird	6
Allen's Hummingbird	2
Belted Kingfisher	4
Downy Woodpecker	2
Hairy Woodpecker	1
Northern Flicker	1
Western Kingbird	1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	3
Black Phoebe	11
Tree Swallow	90
Violet-green Swallow	40
N. Rough-winged Swallow	50
Cliff Swallow	45
Barn Swallow	80
Steller's Jay	16
American Crow	10
Common Raven	18
Black-capped Chickadee	6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	22
Bushtit	4
Bewick's Wren	3
Winter Wren	1
Marsh Wren	14
Golden-crowned Kinglet	3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1
American Robin	20
Wrentit	4
Warbling Vireo	1
Cassin's Vireo	1
Nashville Warbler	1
Orange-crowned Warbler	55
Yellow-rumped Warbler	100
Palm Warbler	2
Common Yellowthroat	1
Wilson's Warbler	3
Spotted Towhee	4
California Towhee	1
Savannah Sparrow	3
Song Sparrow	29
Swamp Sparrow	1
Golden-crowned Sparrow	20
White-crowned Sparrow	30
Dark-eyed Junco	18
Red-winged Blackbird	6
Brewer's Blackbird	32
Brown-headed Cowbird	2
Purple Finch	3
House Finch	6
Red Crossbill	1
Pine Siskin	30
Lesser Goldfinch	8
American Goldfinch	10
Rock Dove	6
European Starling	20
House Sparrow	8