Week Nine started with a trip into the mountains northwest of Las Vegas in search of several potential Lifers. This trip to the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area started with some brief birding around the Visitor Gateway, where Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Steller’s Jay, and Spotted Towhee were all bouncing around in good numbers. After about fifteen minutes I began to head up into Kyle Canyon.
The first stop in the canyon was at the Picnic Area and Campground, where I added several mountain-dwelling species to my Nevada list including Mountain Chickadee and Pygmy Nuthatch. From there I headed up to the canyon proper, where along the main road I got phenomenal looks at Red-naped Sapsucker as well as the first of four Lifers on the day: Cassin’s Finch. A bit farther up the canyon I headed into the Rainbow Canyon Subdivision of Mt Charleston, where after about ten minutes of searching I spotted the second of the day’s Lifers, a Band-tailed Pigeon.
As I continued up the mountain I saw several more of the Pigeons and another group of Cassins’ Finch near the base of the Stanley B Canyon, and then finally I headed into the town of Mt. Charleston, where the third Lifer of the day would come in the form of a Clark’s Nutcracker. Also in Mt Charleston I would pick up a small flock first-of-year Red Crossbill, which came in as part of a mixed flock alongside yet more Cassin’s Finch and some Pine Siskin. I then began the descent down the mountain, spotting some Western Meadowlark near the Visitor’s Center before heading back through Las Vegas towards my next stop: the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
The scenic drive at Red Rock Canyon was not especially birdy, but the scenery made it plenty worth the stop and there were still some birds around. Around the Visitor Center area I heard a singing Cactus Wren and both spotted and heard several Anna’s Hummingbird, the latter of which would be a common bird throughout the drive. Anna’s weren’t the only hummingbird at Red Rock, however, as in the Sandstone Quarry Area I saw a displaying Costa’s Hummingbird, as well as a flyover Golden Eagle and a Rock Wren. A short distance past the Quarry Area came my fourth-and-final Lifer of the day, a small group of Chukar.
I made several more stops along the scenic drive, hiking brief portions of the trails at White Rock Spring, Willow Springs, and Oak Creek Canyon before finally exiting the scenic drive and stopping to make myself some lunch at the incredibly scenic Red Rock Overlook, where, while looking at a soaring Ferruginous Hawk, I spotted a large group of White-throated Swift flying high in the sky above.
I then closed out the day – and my time in the Las Vegas area – with a visit to the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area, an awesome stretch of habitat that is typically good for sparrows such as the Brewer’s Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow that I had there, and where I added my last bird for Nevada until my return journey home next week: a Great Horned Owl. With this final stop concluding my three days in the Vegas area, I began the fairly long drive from Wee Thump to the eastern LA area, from which I would head farther south in the morning to get started on my California birding in San Diego.
On the 25th I jumpstarted my California birding in the San Diego area, starting the day at the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, where the Lifers immediately started piling up. First came Western Gull, then California Scrub-Jay, then Heerman’s Gull, Wrentit, California Towhee, Brandt’s Cormorant, California Gnatcatcher, California Thrasher, and Allen’s Hummingbird. Along with these nine lifers came 24 other species, including highlights of Brant, Western Grebe, and Clark’s Grebe.
Once I wrapped up at Sunset Cliffs I hit the road to head to the Cabrillo National Monument, fortuitously happening across some Blue-crowned Parakeet on the way there at the entrance to a university where they tend to be seen. At Cabrillo I first headed down to the coastal tidepools, where a thick fog significantly reduced visibility. After spotting a few Western Meadowlark and more of some of the same species I had picked up at Sunset Cliffs, I bumped into a couple local birders and spent some time chatting with them. They informed me that in the past Cabrillo has been a reliable spot for Wandering Tattler, but that recently there haven’t been any reports of one in the spot. After talking with them for a bit I headed back up to the visitor’s center area and spent some time birding around there, getting fantastic looks at Anna’s Hummingbird and spotting my Lifer Golden-crowned Sparrow with some White-crowned Sparrow. Eventually the fog cleared and I headed back down to the tidepools, where I quickly spotted my Lifer Pelagic Cormorant and Black Turnstone, and Black Oystercatcher. As I walked along the cliffs I spotted a Whimbrel perched out nicely on the edge of one of the rock faces, and so I stopped to photograph him, only to be photobombed by the Wandering Tattler that those locals had told me about earlier. I was able to get a couple manageable photos of it as it worked its way along the cliff face – nothing that’ll get featured in National Geographic but still some ID-able pics of this incredible Lifer.
After Cabrillo I headed north a bit to the San Diego River mudflats, and extensive stretch of mud along the river that hosts boatloads of gulls, shorebirds, waders, and ducks. I quickly spotted Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, and Snowy Egret, and would add Reddish Egret and Tricolored Heron to that heron list by the time I left the park. While there I spent an extensive amount of time scanning through the gulls hoping to spot a continuing Short-billed Gull, but my efforts were in vain. The park still proved to be an incredible stop, however, bringing me my Lifer Red-crowned Amazon, Swinhoe’s White-eye, and Ridgway’s Rail in addition to a bunch of other great birds like Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, and a boatload of other birds.
After leaving the mudflats I headed to Famosa Slough, a small pond and wetlands park where I spotted a bunch of awesome birds including Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Northern Pintail, and Belted Kingfisher. I then began heading north to spend some time at a seawatch, stopping at the east side of Crown Point on the way, where I saw boatloads more Marbled Godwit along with good numbers of Semipalmated Plover, Willet, and Long-billed Dowitcher. Eventually I arrived at the Point La Jolla seawatch, and while there weren’t that many birds there I did get to see a ton of Sea Lions on the rocks along the shore. Unfortunately at Point La Jolla some misfortune struck when, after barely bumping my binoculars on the railing, something got screwed up inside one of my binoc’s lenses, resulting in being impossible to get the two lenses on the same focal plane, making them entirely unusable. Fortunately I have my old Nikon Monarchs as backups, and even more fortunately Donald at Vortex Optics is one of the most incredible people in the world and has worked with me to get a replacement sent to my brother’s house in Albuquerque while I wait on mine to be repaired. This situation aside, I cannot speak highly enough about Vortex – both in terms of the quality of their products and the way they conduct business, fully backing every single one of their products with an unlimited, no-questions asked warranty. If it’s their product – no matter how it got damaged and without needing any proof of purchase or anything else – they will fix or replace it free of charge. If that’s not an incredible business practice than I don’t know what is.
The next morning I started my day at the Dana Point Headlands Preserve, where I enjoyed a nice scenic walk that was filled with birds, though not much new for me for California. At my next stop, however, the new California birds and Lifers piled up quickly! Nearly immediately after entering Laguna Niguel Regional Park I spotted my Lifer Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and soon followed that bird up with Oak Titmouse, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Violet-green Swallow, and Townsend’s Warbler – all Lifers. This stop rocketed me past the 100-mark for California on just my second of seven days birding the state.
My next stop was a brief one at Woodfield and Springdale Parks, where I spotted a Pin-tailed Whydah before heading to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Bolsa Chica was, well, incredible beyond description. Soon after entering the park I spotted Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, and Eurasian Wigeon – the first of many new California birds I would add at the spot. While there I met a couple of other birders: Doug Weatherhead, Monica Lewis, and Tricia Bridenstein. I spent nearly two hours birding with the trio, getting a number of birds in my scope that would be Lifers for one of them, including birds like Sanderling and Dunlin.
Finally I ended the day at the Temple City parrot roosts, where I first spotted a number of Red-whiskered Bulbul before the parrots eventually started coming in to roost – not actually roosting at the site but passing through in considerable numbers to wherever their roost for the night actually was. Amongst the masses of birds I spotted Mitred Parakeet, Lilac-crowned Amazon, and Yellow-headed Amazon – the latter two of which were Lifers.
On the 27th I headed into the mountains north of LA, stopping briefly at the Red Box Gap and Chalton Flat on my way to my first full stop of the day: the Chilao Visitor Center. There I spotted a bunch of new California birds including Lewis’s Woodpecker and Band-tailed Pigeon, as well as my Lifer White-headed Woodpecker. As I worked my way away from the Visitor Center through the Campground, I was blessed with my second Lifer of the day, a group of Mountain Quail.
As I worked my way down the mountain through Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road I completed my quail collection when a group of California Quail ran across the road in front of me. Eventually I made my way down the mountains and into the Antelope Valley, where at Apollo Park I spotted a pair of Bell’s Sparrow, my fourth Lifer on the day.
From there I made my way back up into the mountains to the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge sign overlook area, where I was blessed with probably my highlight sighting of the year so far: Twelve California Condor. I was hoping for just one or maybe even a few of these glorious birds, but to be granted the opportunity to see nearly 4% of the world’s free-flying population was an incredible thing.
Next I headed back down the mountains to the New Cuyama area, where along Wasioja Road I added my sixth Lifer of the day in a Yellow-billed Magpie, as well as all four expected falcons with sightings of American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and Prairie Falcon along the road. After Wasioja I headed back east through town and to the Cuyama Dairy along Foothills road, where in addition to Brown-headed Cowbird my seventh (and final) Lifer of the day would come in the form of Tricolored Blackbird, the last of the regular ABA blackbirds that I needed for my Life list. I ended the day with a stop at Ojai Meadows in Ventura, where I added a few more new California birds including Cedar Waxwing, Pine Siskin, Cooper’s Hawk, and Great Horned Owl.
The morning of the 28th I started the day at the Ventura Harbor Marina Park, where I quickly spotted my Lifer Glaucous-winged Gull and Surfbird, as well as a first-of-year Pacific Loon and a first-for-California Ruddy Turnstone. As 9 o’clock neared I headed across the harbor to get ready for the day’s trip: a boat ride to Santa Cruz Island! Shortly after 9:00 the boat set out, and I stood near the front of the boat hoping to pick up some alcids as we worked our way to the island. This attempt was not in vain, as during the ~70-minute ride I spotted several Cassin’s Auklet and a couple each of Scripp’s Murrelet and Common Murre – all Lifers.
Withing minutes of arriving on the island I spotted the bird that was the reason for the trip: Island Scrub-Jay. After picking up my primary target for the day I spent the next four and half hours just enjoying the scenic island and, near the end of my time on the island spending a while watching the absolutely adorable Island Fox, who seemed totally unbothered by and disinterested in us people, only acknowledging us with a scampering away if we got closer than a couple feet away.
On the boat ride back I got more looks at some of the same alcids, and once I was back on the mainland I darted over to Arroyo Verde Park in search of a continuing Grace’s Warbler, but I wasn’t able to track it down. This brought my February birding to a close, and what a February it was! While my species total fell 40 shy of January, 329 species including 48 Lifers is nothing to scoff at!
The next morning I kicked off my March birding in Bakersville with a visit to Beale Park, where I spotted some of the resident Rose-ringed Parakeet before continuing on farther north and west towards Monterey. My first stop in the Monterey area was at Toro Park, where in addition to my Lifer Chestnut-backed Chickadee I added White-tailed Kite, Hutton’s Vireo, Hermit Thrush, and Varied Thrush to my California list.
From there I headed to the Point Pinos seawatch, a legendary seawatching spot where I plan to return in early November, and if the hundreds of Common Murre I saw there were any indication of things to come then I am definitely looking forward to that return. Finally I ended the day with a visit to Moss Landing, where I spotted the last of the 42 Lifers that California brought me – a Short-billed Gull. Also at Moss Landing were several Snowy Plover, the sighting of which pushed California (199 species) ahead of Florida (198) as my state with the most species this year.
As dusk set in I drove a ways inland towards Sacramento, where on the morning of the 2nd I had plans to meet the Sacramento Audubon for their morning bird walk at Lake Solano County Park.
On the morning of the 2nd, before meeting up with the Audubon folks, I spotted a large group of Snow Goose with some Ross’s Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose amongst them. This sighting pushed California past the 200-species mark, making it the first state to have crossed this threshold, and I imagine it will be the only state to do so until at least November or December when I revisit Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Once I had spent a few minutes scanning through the flock I headed to the Park and Ride where we were meeting to carpool to the park, and soon was met by the members of Sacramento Audubo, including the walk’s leader, Sonja Sorbo. Once we arrived at the park Jane Van Kessler kept the eBird list, and we immediately started racking up species. Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Green Heron, Wood Duck, Phainopepla, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, and Golden-crowned Kinglet were all new California birds for me, and by the end of the walk at this spot we were nearing 60 species on the day!
After about three and a half hours at the county park we hopped back in the cars and drove a short distance to Lake Solano, where Rock Wren, Common Gallinule, and a few other new birds for the day would push us past the 60 species mark! After a bit of time spent there we began to head back to the parking lot, and as I rode with Sonja we spotted a few more new birds for the day, including a large group of Horned Lark and a quartet of Yellow-billed Magpie.
After getting back to the Park and Ride and parting ways with the group, I made a stop at the mostly-inaccessible Yolo Bypass, which seems like it would be an incredible place if it wasn’t largely flooded. I was able to walk the Levee at the Yolo Basin, and while I didn’t add any new California birds in the three hours I spent there I still had a great time.
That concluded my birding for Week Nine, and nearly concluded my birding for California as I only had the morning of March 3rd left in the state – but that’s a story for next week! Sorry for the delay on this week’s post, but as I mentioned in my post yesterday, I have had a bit of a run of misfortune in the past few days, including escalating dental pain and being rear-ended while driving in Salt Lake City on the 6th. I don’t yet know what the implications of that accident will be, as it will likely sideline me for a hopefully-limited but currently-indeterminate amount of time as I get the vehicle repaired. Worst case scenario is probably that I have to cut out a day or two from a handful of states, but we shall see once I know more. In the meantime, Happy Birding!
eBird Trip Summary:
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Follow me on my journey to see 100 species in every Lower-48 State during 2025, experience some of the incredible places and events in American birding, and meet and bird with as many local birders as possible along the way.
Posts will be made every Wednesday (I will try to have them out by 5pm, but situationally they might be a bit later) and will cover the previous Monday through Sunday. Additional posts will be made periodically with no set schedule.
