Monthly Archives: September 2012

In hot water – Red-billed Tropicbird

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – We had not gone far out of San Diego on the ocean today when a bright white object caught my attention on the water ahead. Just the quickest binocular view and I spotted the red immediately – not the usual piece of floating white bucket fooling me this time! Here was an adult Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus sitting on the water just six nautical miles southwest of Point Loma! Digital cameras were quickly hoisted as the tropicbird took off flying and made a close circuit around the boat.

In my opinion this tropicbird appears to be in “staffelmauser” molt of the remiges. Wing feathers look to be of different lengths – quite strange looking in fact. The secondaries are longest in the middle of the feather tract, at least on the right wing, while the primaries seem to be molting outwards. Clearly this bird could fly well, in spite of funny looking skinny wings, and it did not stick around for long just gracing us with the single circuit of the boat before determinedly heading off elsewhere.

Red-billed Tropicbird is quite rare in San Diego County waters with perhaps only a few found each year. The last report came on 27 June 2012, also of an adult, although this individual was reported somewhat further offshore at 23 NM from Point Loma.

Water temperatures are high at the moment off of San Diego.  We encountered 68 degree Fahrenheit water very quickly and later found water temperatures of 71 degrees Fahrenheit and even a little higher. This might account for the close inshore Red-billed Tropicbird. We did not see many other seabirds on this trip, which seems to be a character of warmer waters.

Many thanks to boat Captain Dave Povey and fellow crew members Steve Brad and Peter Ginsberg for a great day on the ocean.

Neon light bird – Yellow-green Vireo

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – Some days you connect with the bird and some days you don’t. I was pretty disappointed yesterday after not catching up with the Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis found by Sue Smith at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego. So today I headed out there early with one goal in mind! As you will see from the photographs below I did not come away dissatisfied this time around!

Every part of this bird can be seen in these photographs down to the dark blackish thin eyebrow, dark brownish-red eyes, blue legs, pale graphite gray cap, glowing yellow crissum, yellow inner fringes of rectrices, the grayish pink bill, and even the small hooked tip of the upper mandible. The yellowish-olive upperparts and pale gray crown indicates this is the vagrant western form of Yellow-green Vireo V.f. hypoleucus expected here in California.

This Yellow-green Vireo is in very fresh plumage. Delicate light colored fringes edge the wing feathers and the standout yellow coloration on the underparts is bright and eye-popping. It is really just a neon light of a bird when you catch sight of it, particularly against a dark background. Even when viewing it against a bright backlighting when viewed overhead it really stands out.

Many thanks to Sue Smith for finding this amazing looking vireo. Easily my favorite bird of 2012 so far here in the county. Records of this species are scarce in the county with less than one record per year on average. They can be real skulkers, in denser habitats such as willow beds, so catching an opportunity to photograph one out in the open was a special experience. Yellow-green Vireo is a California Bird Records Committee review species with on average about three or four accepted records per year in the state.

Enormous Lark Bunting – Point Loma

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I knew something was up this morning here in San Diego when I found a migrant Common Yellowthroat in my backyard in Pacific Beach. Now that is unusual and probably a sign to look further afield! So off I went for a quick tour of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I was following a small flock of mixed birds in the northwest section, darting up and down from pines to the ground, when an enormous grosbeak like bicolored bird jumped up on a grave marker! Not a grosbeak though, showing off its big white shoulder epaulets this was a much rarer Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys. I followed it around for just a few minutes obtaining some photographs before it hopped the north fence line and was gone!

The enormous size of this “sparrow-like” bird can be appreciated when seen perched next to a diminutive Chipping Sparrow! Standing together on top of the grave marker, the Lark Bunting looks as if it could almost tuck the smaller sparrow under its wing!

Lark Bunting is a rare visitor to San Diego County and I had encountered another individual here almost one year ago on 18 Oct 2011. Last year seems to have been a bumper crop with another individual found by Paul Lehman on 6 Nov 2011 further east in the county in the agricultural field edges at Jacumba. In recent years large flocks of this species have been observed in Arizona, sometimes numbering in the multiple hundreds of individuals per flock. Perhaps a wintering range expansion or increase in numbers could be driving the increasing frequency this species is encountered here on the California coast.

Luckily the Lark Bunting reappeared later in the day and many other people observed it at the cemetery.

Not so familiar – melanistic Brewer’s Blackbird

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Sometimes a familiar bird flies by and it just does not look right. That initial uncomfortable gut feeling is a real trigger to chase after it! So when I saw this blackbird fly by me the other day at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, well, I almost dismissed it. But something wasn’t right. When it landed and started walking around I realized what about it was bugging me. From a distance it was all deep blackish-chestnut colored! As these photographs reveal, this Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus is actually not a plumage coloration you would normally encounter for this species! Even the eye color had a deep chestnut tone to it.

Who better to ask about this unusual looking blackbird than Alvaro Jaramillo, coauthor, with Peter Burke, of the Helm Guide to New World Blackbirds. After examining one of my photographs Alvaro agreed that this was “an extra dark individual, beyond what is normal” and “weirdly dark” for Brewer’s Blackbird, most probably an adult with some degree of melanism. It appears to be an adult since it has a reddish tone to the eye color rather than brownish like a juvenile would have. If it is an adult with unusual melanistic plumage coloration then most likely it is a female.

I searched high and low on the internet for a similar looking Brewer’s Blackbird and did in fact find just a single example photographed which appeared quite similar to this bird. It would seem to be a rare plumage variant but worth keeping in mind when checking blackbird flocks locally here in San Diego.

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Interesting but silent Empidonax

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – I discovered this interesting but silent Empidonax flycatcher late Friday afternoon at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery as the sun was going down. It was close to the southwest corner of the cemetery where it ventured out and caught insects on the ground by pouncing from atop grave markers. My first impression was a small and spritely Empidonax with a skinny tail. What also struck me as standout from a distance were the very dark blackish wings with large and contrasting white wing bars and tertial edges. It has a whitish throat accentuated by a light brownish chest belt. I would call this a “bright” bird. The first backlighted photographs below show the blackish wings best, while other photographs were in full sunlight and reflection contributed to brightening the color.

I had been watching several Pacific-slope Flycatchers before I encountered what I think is this very different looking individual. It seems to differ from this species in head shape, eye ring width around the eye, the pattern of wing coloration, and dusky tip to lower mandible. The head shape is flattened at the top but extended in size at the back behind the eye. Quite unlike the “cone head” appearance of Pacific-slope Flycatcher. I think the wing feathers look freshly molted, they look dark blackish with thick white tips.

Viewed from behind this bird can be seen to have a fairly short primary extension. In my estimation the back is dark olive-brown colored contrasting with the wings. I should state that I personally have difficulties telling grays and greens apart so could make a mistake in the color. The dark olive-brown back would seem to eliminate both Dusky and Gray, those species in addition might not show such contrasting blackish wings with white markings. The extent of the eye-ring, really lacking a large extension at the rear of the eye, its head shape, and the dark tip to lower mandible seem to eliminate the “Western” type. So this could possibly be a Least Flycatcher!

I waited around for some time at close quarters hoping it might vocalize and help end the mystery of its identity. It made no calls the entire time and after several sorties out in the open disappeared into the surrounding shrubbery. I also noticed that it did not “shiver” its tail like a “Western” type but instead just made a small movement up and down quite quickly.

After returning home I looked online at many photographs of Empidonax and it does seem to fit very well with those I found of Least Flycatcher.

Ovenbird refound!

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – The day after my original sighting of Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla on 15 Sep 2012 a second report came in from the other side of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery by Rich Norgaard on 16 Sep 2012. It seems most likely it is the same individual and it was nice that many people got to see this quirky ground-dwelling warbler after it was refound. I ventured over to the location late in the afternoon, at “The Dip” on the west side fence line. I found the Ovenbird walking around feeding busily on the open grass and it allowed very close approach. I obtained these photographs as it walked in the long shadows from the setting sun. As I soon realized, this species has a built in light meter and hates open full sunlight!

“Western Grasshopper Sparrow”

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – This delightful looking Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum was out on the open short turf at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and allowed some detailed photography of its amazing plumage coloration. This is the western perpallidus form of Grasshopper Sparrow, first described by army surgeon and field ornithologist Elliot Coues from the western US in 1872. This form of Grasshopper Sparrow breeds from western Canada south to San Diego and across east to Texas. It has sometimes been called the “Western Grasshopper Sparrow” to separate it from other forms of this North American species. It has never been elevated to separate species level but always considered a form of the widespread Grasshopper Sparrow.

The richly colored dark buffy-orange supraloral spot, just ahead of the eye and above the pale straw colored loral region, is a distinctive character of this form of Grasshopper Sparrow. In addition the rich buff colored wide margin of the underparts, with blurred chestnut brown short streaks included (only found on this form of Grasshopper Sparrow), is another good field character when encountering this small Ammodramus. The pale buffy-white belly patch, surrounding the legs and on the fore-belly, is also distinctive, particularly when the bird stands up high on its legs looking straight at you or when seen taking a short flight.

Everywhere you look on this sparrow there are dark chestnut, gray, blackish, and buff colors changing abruptly across the feathers on the upperparts. The pale feather fringes add to the complexity of the overall pattern, almost too many details to absorb at first sight.

The underparts appear richly buff colored, almost glowing gold colored from a distance. It can be told from its congeners by the gray supercilium, or eyebrow, to the rear of the eye, the buffy auriculars and the complete and bold eye ring. Personally I think the head looks large and rounded with a large eye although it can flatten the crown feathers to appear flat headed as in the photograph below. I also think the spiky raised gray and chestnut peppered feathers of the crown are a neat field character, with the paler straw colored median crown stripe contrasting prominently.

The neatly colored tertials are pretty amazing on this sparrow – dark chestnut and black with a pale whitish margin to the complete feather. They form a unique looking twin set of ladder markings up the back of this colorful sparrow. One of my absolute favorites and always a pleasure to study up close!

Ovenbird in cooking hot San Diego

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – I was out at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery again before dawn in search of nighthawks but with no luck. It was just getting faintly light when the warm Santa Ana winds picked up again from the east around 5:45 AM. I could tell this was going to be another scorching hot day here in San Diego and in fact temperatures did exceed 100°F later on. After searching favored spots in the south and east sides of the cemetery I started walking over to the northeast section.  As I got near to the small road loop a small warbler flew up onto a low branch of the first large Torrey Pine, letting out a loud strong “chip” call. As I got it lined up in my binoculars I could see that it did not hop, but walked slowly along the branch! Sure enough it was boldly streaked underneath and had a large pale eye-ring – Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla!

The Ovenbird paced carefully along the branch looking down at me allowing a few more photographs. In some respects it almost looked like an Olive-backed Pipit from Asia walking along the branch, and for a split second the thought crossed my mind it might be that species, until I saw the very bold black streaks – a bit too strong! After just a few seconds of presenting itself the Ovenbird flew off over the east perimeter wall and away.

Ovenbird is a rare visitor to San Diego County with about one record per year. Some individuals have stayed for long periods at favored localities. The species is considered a Category B rarity by San Diego Field Ornithologists which denotes about one record annually.

The call of this species is quite distinctive, a loud sharp “chip”. Looking through online resource Xeno-Canto there are several good recordings of the call. The recording below is of two birds calling together. The louder voiced individual in this recording is a good match to the bird I saw today.

Early fall vagrant Dickcissel

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – Cool cloudy conditions with a good southerly breeze felt promising this morning, 11 September 2012, at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I arrived before dawn hoping to connect with a migrant nighthawk but the only crepuscular activity was a Great Horned Owl barking loudly from a nearby cypress. I had looked around for a couple hours finding plenty of migrants and then had the good fortune to find a Dickcissel Spiza americana in the northeast loop section of the cemetery. The heavily streaked chest indicates this early migrant is a juvenile.

It was quietly tucked in with a handful of House Finch feeding on the short turf grass when I first found it. However this situation did not last very long. The resident Western Bluebirds seemed to recognize the Dickcissel as something different and dive-bombed and harassed it off the ground and off it flew!

I waited around for a while and was just about to leave when I heard the distinctive sputtering buzz flight call of the Dickcissel returning. I watched it fly in and repeatedly fly back and forth in front of me attempting to settle in to the open lawn. Each time it tried the other birds were on to it and harassed it away, much to my annoyance. In flight it appeared shorter tailed and quite stout bodied – a solid looking strong flyer. Overall it looked a buffy straw color viewed in flight. Finally it landed just a short distance away from me and I managed to obtain a few more photographs of this very nervous bird.

A few minutes later the bluebirds attacked again and up went the Dickcissel. This time it called repeatedly and gained some higher elevation before flying off strongly towards northeast Point Loma. I waited around but there was unfortunately no further sign of it. Here is a good example of the sputtering buzzy flight call which this individual frequently made while flying around (the call can be heard at the start and end of recording).

In a comment on this post, shown below, Paul Lehman points out that early September is a good time for finding vagrant Dickcissel in California. One was heard flying over Mount Soledad, La Jolla by Jay Keller on 12 Sep 2011 and the year before Matt Sadowski had discovered one on 29 Sep 2010 in the Tijuana River Valley. The spread of reports continues into the month of October. I had actually found another Dickcissel here at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery almost one year ago on 14 Oct 2011. The short turf grass of the cemetery would seem to be the best place to try and connect with this species with several other records here from earlier years. Listen out for that characteristic sputtering call and chase down anything being mobbed by bluebirds!

Migrants arriving – Willow Flycatcher “brewsteri” form

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[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – The weekend of 09 September 2012 turned out to be a hot one and my destination at Borrego Springs, San Diego County was cooking. I tracked around a few locations but ended up at the Roadrunner Club where at least there were some shade trees to hide under. I soon found out that the mesquite trees, particularly larger ones, were where all the bird action was happening. Migrants were about including small numbers of Warbling Vireo and Yellow Warbler but I also had success here finding several of the northwestern form of Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii brewsteri.

I found several Willow Flycatchers in the resort, they are usually quite easy to approach, but the silhouettes in late morning sunlight were tough to draw conclusions about how dark or pale individuals looked. Reading the literature it seems evident that most, if not all, Willow Flycatchers you might run in to on fall migration here in southern California are probably the more abundant and darker colored northwestern form brewsteri and not the Federal and California listed Endangered paler colored form extimus known as “Southwestern Willow Flycatcher”. Each individual I saw here appeared to be the darker brown brewsteri. The bright buffy wingbars on the greater and median secondary coverts indicated these were juveniles.

You might be forgiven thinking this bird resembles a Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus at first glance but several visible features are diagnostic for Willow Flycatcher. The primary extension is short. In the first photograph the closed wingtips meet above the upper tail coverts (rump) unlike the much longer wingtips of the pewee. That silhouette view from below gets you a look at the very wide, almost spade-shaped, bill profile unlike the finer tapered profile of the pewee bill. In my GISS (General Impression of Size and Shape) birding mind the Willow Flycatcher often looks as if it has “solid square shoulders” and a tapered body profile to the rear which accentuates the quite large long dark tail. The Willow Flycatcher has a smoother looking rounded head profile and concolorous breast, all features unlike the pewee. Finally behavior is different, although no strict rules apply! Willow Flycatcher is generally quite retiring, for example under mesquite canopies or along shady hedgerows (oleanders here in the desert) like these photographed individuals, while the pewee can be found perched prominently on fence-lines or exposed snags sallying out to catch flying insects. The audible bill snapping of both species is a good clue to search around for their nearby presence.

The temperature topped out at about 105F by 11:30 AM and my resolve to keep looking for birds collapsed so I headed out toward the cooler coastal mountains. Thunderheads were brewing on the horizon, away to the south coming up from Mexico, and the locals told me they were feeling earthquakes!