Life bird

I really like oystercatchers.  They are so unique appearing with their long, orange bill and dramatic red eye.  On a previous trip to coastal California many years ago, I did find a Black Oystercatcher (Haemotopus bachmani) along a rocky part of the La Jolla coastline. On this trip, whenever I was near a rocky coastline (only twice), I was on a search for Black Oystercatcher - ultimately unsuccessful.  

On my final day in California, in the late afternoon I arrived at the beach in Coronado.  The first thing I saw was a gigantic surf break of large, black rocks and headed straight for it.  I started at one end and walked slowly along the rocks seeing nothing except the Brown Pelicans feeding in the surf beyond the rocks.  Then three little birds pecking around a large, flat-top boulder appeared.  Ah, that's what I want to see.  I wasn't wearing the correct shoes for climbing but I managed.  I didn't know what I was seeing.  At first I thought the bird in the photos below was a resting seabird - I don't know - like some little petrel or shearwater or something.  Then the bird got up and moved.  I saw the large amount of white and thought, no, this is a Surfbird (Calidris virgata).  Surfbird was a life bird for me.  Surfbird remained my identification until I got home, downloaded my photos and pulled out Sibley.  No, this is a Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) - also a life bird for me!  I'm nearly certain that I had never paid attention to the fact that there even was such a bird as Black Turnstone.         

As you can see, my Black Turnstone was very cooperative.  There were three altogether.  For photos I focused on this one bird.  

 Some other birds seen on this final afternoon.

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Preparing to dive.

A threesome.  Western Gull, Brown Pelican and no idea what the dark bird flying forward is.  Maybe a sea bird of some sort - like a shearwater or a petrel?  Something else?  It's difficult to get an idea of the size of the bird, but it seems big.  Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) perhaps? But Brown Noddy does not occur in coastal California.  A juvenile gull would make sense, but juvenile Western Gull has a black bill and this bird has a yellow bill and, anyway, it doesn't look like a gull to me.   The spread v-shaped, white tipped tail should be a clue, but I can't find a match.  I have precious little seabird experience to help me with this.  (See addendum below).   

Flying Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Above and below:  Willets (See narrative below photos).

Diving Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Another Willet

Diving Brown Pelican

Juvenile Western Gull (Larus occidentalis).  They stood on the beach making their plaintive little begging notes. 

On the Coronado beach the only shorebirds I saw were Willets.  They were paired up every hundred feet or so.  I kept walking hoping to come upon other shorebirds.  I saw a darkened area in the sand, the tide was going out, that seemed to have little birds moving around in it and I made a beeline for the spot.  Around the same time I heard a whistle blow.  I thought, hmmm that's odd, I don't see any lifeguards or swimmers that appear to be in trouble.  I kept walking toward my goal.  I heard the whistle again.  I kept walking.  Suddenly, on my left a young woman, a little breathless and dressed in military gear, ran up alongside of me.  She smiled and greeted me, "do you have ID?"  "Yes, of course."  I reached for my bag to remove my wallet.  "Military ID?"  "No, I don't have military ID, just regular ID."  "I'm sorry, you can't be here."  I had crossed an invisible line on the beach that took me across to an area reserved exclusively  for military personnel.  I looked longingly at the specks moving in the area up ahead and feebly said, "I'm only taking pictures of birds."  She slowly shook her head back and forth and I turned back to walk the way I had come. 

Addendum 09/23/2024:  The unidentified bird flying forward in the 10th photo (A threesome ... ) may potentially be a 2nd winter Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni).  I recently had the opportunity to look at this photo on a larger screen than that of my laptop and noted the hint of a white head being present.  The overall dark bird with white tipped tail and yellow bill are also good matches.  Additionally, there were plenty of Heermann's gulls present on the beach.  The spread v-shaped tail bothers me a little, but this may just be an artifact of the flight angle in the photo and is possibly insignificant.     

Western Grebe

The Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) were charming as they floated placidly on Skinner reservoir.  I saw approximately 12-15 in various parts of the reservoir.  Even though Clark's grebes and Western grebes are occasionally found together, I did not see any Clark's grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii).  

On the left bird, the Western grebe's bill is a real sword.  I would not like to be a fish.

Other California creatures

A smattering of other fun things were also seen in Southern California.

Could not find out which kind of crab this was on the beach at Coronado Island.  It was the kind that scuttled sideways.  Fiddler's crab?

Western Giant Swallowtail (Papilio rumiko) will not be found in Kenn Kaufman's 2003 Field Guild to Butterflies of North America.  That guide includes only Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).  It's easy to forget that books can go out-of-date.  P. rumiko is a new Heraclides swallowtail (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) from North America recognized by the pattern on its neck.  Very similar to P. cresphontes, but genetically distinct (Shiraiwa & Grishin, 2014).  North America's largest butterfly.

    

Above and below:  Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii).  Note black at tips of ears.

Above and below:  Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis).  There are five or six subspecies of Western Fence Lizard.  The one in the red dustpan below was a baby found in the house.  Tiny and very cute.

Don't know what kind of frog this is.

Gray Squirrel resting in the shade on the cool of the road.

Marbled Godwit!

On the beach beneath Torrey Pines State Park, a huge, long beach with tide going out, I came across my only shorebird.

Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) is a striking shorebird.  I didn't need to post all of these photos on my blog but, truthfully, I'll probably never see this bird again in this way.  All alone, seemingly completely unperturbed by people, although I didn't test it, I couldn't stop clicking the camera.  I don't use a photo editing tool, only Apple's photo editing options.  As already mentioned, the sun was high and harsh and so the bird seems dark in the photos.  Seeing this bird and walking along side of it was a marvelous experience.  

Don't forget to click on the image for enlarged viewing.