Birding on Leap Day

I decided to make a day of it - a whirlwind tour of (some) of the more interesting local birds, to give a boost to my year list.

At the end of the day my year total stood at 157. Over half way to the goal of 300.

I visited the Poggi Creek greenbelt in Chula Vista (for the first time ever) in the morning to try for decent lighting on what I hoped would be cooperative rarities (the Thick-billed Kingbird and the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher). The morning was sunny, mild and essentially perfect. On initially searching the wide grassy area between housing developments, I found Cedar Waxwings in the tall sycamores. The Cassin's Kingbirds were noisy and active. After wandering a bit further south, I heard an odd, kingbird-like call and quickly spotted the hefty Thick-billed Kingbird in a smaller tree. It proceeded to move about in a small area, seeming to favor the tall sycamores for hunting from. A few moderately decent images were captured. A nice lifer!

Finally lower down in the sycamore.

That is one thick bill!

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was more elusive and I would not have seen it at all if not for a fellow birder who spotted it after I had wandered quite a bit further south, then turned back north (thank you Roger U.). It was perched far up in a tall tree, easy to recognize, but then flew off before I could get an image of it.

Then I headed to the baseball fields just S. of Nestor to see Vermilion Flycatchers if possible. I only found a female, but she was very calm and allowed easy photos as she hunted.

Her orange hues are visible here.

Next came Imperial Beach and in the end I only visited the pier to see possible loons that had been described as being there by a fellow birder. I did find two Red-throated Loons and a Common Loon that appeared to be molting into breeding plumage. Pelagic Cormorants were loafing on the S. side of the pier, near the restaurant at the end.

The speckly back and dark bill suggest Common Loon.

Pelagic Cormorant. The bill is very thin indeed.

Then I visited the San Diego River mouth at Robb Field and saw a Little Blue Heron, a Reddish Egret and Blue-winged Teals, all year birds.

I check a couple other locations, but found not other birds for the 2020 list (including NO Black Skimmers on the NE corner of Vacation Isle).

A Diversion to the San Diego Coast for Bird Photography

I received a wonderful gift this season - a Canon 400 mm f5.6 telephoto lens. It is allowing for photo opportunities with birds and other far-away subjects that I've only dreamed of in the past few years, especially since switching away from my film camera and its nice 60-300 mm zoom lens.

I knew that Mission Bay often has nice migratory and other water bird species in the wintertime, and the San Diego River mouth is very reliable for nice views of water birds of all kinds in the winter, especially on a sunny day. So I timed my visit to end at the San Diego River when the late afternoon light would be bathing the avian subjects (the first thirteen images below are of them). The sturdy Bogen tripod was a must for sharp shots, and even then, I took many shots of most subjects in order to get a few tack-sharp ones.

Long-billed Curlew, strutting about, looking for snacks. This bird put on quite a show in the late-afternoon light as the tide was going out.

Found something yummy! This appears to be a razor clam - probably Tagelus sp.

Cropped version of the image above - resolution still hanging in there. I did not appreciate the little drop-like shape to the ends of the bill until looking at these photos.

Swallowing a morsel.

Found another one...

A male Northern Pintail, likely displaying for a female who was floating near him.

I assumed this was a female pintail.

A little Eared Grebe swam and dived, feeding near me. It seemed fearless.

The Eared Grebe, looking away from the camera.

Marbled Godwits are a very regularly-seen bird here.

A dapper Blue-winged Teal male.

A female American Wigeon.

Over at Ski Beach in Mission Bay, the Black Skimmers were on the northern end, as is pretty typical for them.

It is hard to get an image of an individual skimmer.

A Willet exploring the shallows at Ski Beach.

A Western Gull - on one leg. Ski Beach.

This immature Ring-billed Gull was too close to get a full body shot!