Vanquishing a Nemesis, Cetacean Backs, Sweet Succulent Seabirds

There are some birds I have special feelings about. Some of them I've never come close to seeing (Spoon-billed Sandpiper), some of them I've been painfully close to seeing (Ivory Gull), some of them I've seen but not well enough to count (Red-breasted Chat), some languish on my heard-only list (Black Rail), and some I've seen...just not in a particular place. As many of you know, since I have been bitching about it for years, Northern Gannet falls into the latter category. I've seen them on the east coast, but there has been one in the bay area for years now, successfully eluding my attempts to see it in three (3) different counties. What the fuck? Finally, persistence paid off...on my first pelagic trip of 2016, I saw a glowing white speck way off in the distance on the side of a cliff. It wasn't really identifiable as a bird, but I knew that I had finally met my destiny. We motored closer, and it was indeed The Bird. State birds are good birds, especially when you have been pining for them for years and dipped on them over and over again.

Of course, the only reason I was on a boat looking at a gannet in California was because I was on my first pelagic trip of the year, out of Half Moon Bay. There have been a very large number of whales off of Half Moon Bay this fall. We've had no trouble getting great looks at Humpbacks.

The lumps along the lower back are an easy way to ID a Humpback. This one has a more pronounced dorsal fin than many.

Along with all the Blue and Humpback Whales, there have also been Fin Whales! Fin Whales are relatively rare in the area (I've never seen one here before this year). They are similar to Blue Whales in size and shape, but are solid gray and have a more pronounced dorsal fin. They also move extremely fast.

When there are lots of krill-eating whales offshore, they are typically accompanied by Cassin's Auklets. There were hundreds of these diminutive alcids on this day, more than I'd seen in a few years. In classic embarrassing form, a good number were too full to fly away from the boat.

We had a pair of Craveri's Murrelets next to the boat, but frustratingly I was looking at a jaeger overhead at the time and totally missed them. Even more frustratingly, I saw what was probably another one but got unsatisfactory looks. I've seen them a couple times before, but you know what? That is not enough. Need more murrelets. At least this Scripps's Murrelet was cooperative...they seem to be doing well where they breed down in the Channel Islands, so hopefully this species will be increasingly easy to see on pelagic trips.

While reviewing photos for this blog post, I came across this shearwater that at the time I just passed off as a Sooty. I only took photos of it because it was close to the boat. Funny...it doesn't look like a Sooty now...

The bird has a very small bill, whitish throat, round head, and underwing pattern that does not match Sooty. A couple knowledgeable Bird Policemen and I came to the consensus of Short-tailed Shearwater, which is an excellent bird for August; they typically do not arrive until the beginning of October, and are generally hard to find even then. I'm not the biggest proponent of birders becoming photographers (not that there is anything wrong with that, obviously) - I recommend getting a scope before a camera - but having a decent crusher can pay huge dividends on pelagic trips.

Whales were not the only marine mammals in abundance. It is always a pleasure to meet up with a pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins.

This sea lion looking thing is actually a Northern Right Whale-Dolphin. Most people have never heard of such a thing, so if you were one of those people a few seconds ago, now you are not. NRWDs are uncommon and typically travel with large pods of other dolphins. They are mostly black and have no dorsal fin at all...they are very easy to identify but adept at not allowing themselves to be photographed well, even though they will bowride.

When you hear the phrase "birding is hard", one of the very first things that comes to mind should be jaegers. Take these birds for example. When we saw this pursuit, another leader and I agreed that the bird with a fish was a Parasitic and the other bird was a Long-tailed. What we didn't realize (which I do now, checking photos) was that the bird with the fish had just flown over the boat a minute before, and at that point we called it a Long-tailed. Balls! Looking at my photos, I am not completely satisfied with either ID...the confusing bird does not look particularly large in comparison, but the bill does not look particularly small and the back seems quite dark...but there is still some contrast in the secondaries...maybe it would have a lighter upperwing if it was older...ugh.

This bird, the pursuer in the above photo, was not hard to ID. This immature Long-tailed Jaeger has the completely dark underwings of an adult, which Pomarine and Parasitic would never show. It's a particularly shitty photo, I know, but it gets the field mark across.

The other bird still retained the underwing of a more youthful bird. Here it is being whimsical.

No obvious white flash on the upperwing of this bird. Only three primary shafts were white, which is typically a very helpful mark for Long-tailed Jaeger, though they can occasionally have more. If I have to choose and call this bird something it would be Long-tailed, though I do not do it with great conviction or courage.

You know, when someone in a guide or leader position misidentifies a bird in the field, it often causes raised eyebrows, or if it happens repeatedly, feverish gossip. This is not so with jaegers...if someone misses a call, we all move on. No biggie. They are the great equalizer, and a group of birds that I would really like to know better.

While the experience of watching jaegers at sea lies somewhere in between maddening and great fun, watching Black-footed Albatross is always warm and comforting. Watching folks absolutely light up when they see them for the first time doesn't get old.

Brown Booby was a solid bonus rarity. Unlike last year, when they seemed to be everywhere, they have been few and far between in 2016. This boob must have been stoked to find such an excellent drum to perch on.

Mmmmm...Sabine's Gulls. Almost everyone who has not yet seen an Ivory or Ross's Gull will usually pick this bird as their favorite (also, favourite) gull, and I am not in any position to throw shade on this pick. I feel very fortunate to see them every fall.

Sabine's Gulls are heartening...nay, delightful to see in and of themselves, but generally speaking the more Sabine's you see the more terns, phalaropes and jaegers are around. If you are seeing a lot Sabine's on a particular day, chances are there will be a lot of other good seabirds around.

There is generally not a big audio component to pelagic trips other than leaders screaming about birds we are spotting. The one major exception to this rule is Common Murre; we hear lots of murre dads bellowing to their chicks, and lots of murre chicks pitifully peeping at their dads. This is a typical murre dad letting loose with a loving bellow.

Business, Spring Gulling, and Dreams Really Do Come True

We are in the depths of summer now...there is no doubt about it. You know how I can tell? If I wake up late on a Saturday morning I don't have immediate FOMO, thinking there is some rare bird nearby that I should be looking at. It's a disappointment, and also a relief, but reminds me that I should just be out birding anyways.

I do have some more spring birding to catch up on, so let's get to it. After the Siberians packed up and left, it was out to the Hayward Regional Shoreline marshes to look for some migrant Black Terns and a vague runt Laughing Gull. The crippling Black Terns had packed up and left the night before, but the modest young Laughing Gull was easy enough to find, picking up and periodically flying above a Least Tern breeding colony. This is only the third I've seen in the state away from the Salton Sea, and is an exceedingly good bird in this half of California.

By this time, local breeders were already conducting their reproductive business, while other lingering migrants in the area still had thousands of miles to go before they were in the right business-conducting habitat. Black-necked Stilts had already made their cute fuzzy precious babies.

Black Oystercatchers poke around the rocks at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, in Oakland. They are my favorite resident shorebird. They put a lot more effort into chick-rearing than the other local shorebirds, actually delivering food to their chicks (plover and sandpiper chicks do their own foraging) and continuing to do so for months. Chicks that survive to fledging are thought to migrate with their parents.

That said, I have no idea if the birds present in the bay area through summer are year-round residents or disperse in fall, or both. Our winter climate is pretty tame compared to some of the places they winter, so it seems like there would be a lot of permanent territories here.

This is the view looking west at downtown San Francisco from Middle Harbor...it's not very far away. There are some Red Knots in that shorebird flock between the Canada Geese, which was a nice addition to my patch list.

In late May I went with Billy and several nerds to Point Reyes, with high hopes of eastern vagrants and low expectations to match. Low expectations won out, but it was still a nice day on the point. A couple Rhinoceros Auklets close to shore were a surprise, and hundreds of Pacific Loons migrating past Chimney Rock made for a mellow consolation. The resident Great Horned Owl pair at Mendoza Ranch successfully stopped traffic.

The Common Murre colony below the lighthouse was getting crowded. There is much business to do.

The secret-not-so-secret Western Screech-Owl in Lafayette was still holding it down in May. It's possible this bird did no business at all this year. Here it is dreaming about sitting in a tree cavity all day....luckily for the owl, its dream happens to be its reality.

Earlier in the spring, Billy and I checked out Briones Regional Park after a rain. Other than a Golden Eagle, the birding was pretty weak, so I had to find pleasure in the nonavian. California newts were on the move and provided the pleasure that I was seeking.

One patch along the trail was particularly rife with fungus. I don't know much about fungus, but my friend Christian does...check out his blog! Christian is not just another breed of nerd with a blog though, he just coauthored a pioneering mushroom identification guide that any west coast mycofiend would do well to own. Read all about that here.

I just don't know what to caption a fungal photo with. I know nothing about fungus. This kind likes logs and is pretty.

We better get another bird in here...I don't want ya'll to get intimidated by expertise in mycology. Aside from dipping repeatedly on the gannet at Half Moon Bay this year, I managed to gather up the Kelp Gull to join in my Half Moon Bay Dip Party. The only interesting bird I saw at the mouth of Pilarcitos Creek was this bird on the right. The contrast between the mantle of this bird and the surrounding California Gulls was even starker IRL than it is here. It was so freaking pale...but it was just a California Gull! Gulls continue to amaze and enrage me.

Maynerayge Day 7: Machias Seal Island, Part I ("I Hate This")

The word on the birding street was that if you can get to Machias Seal Island, you should go...who was I to argue with that? While not a large island, nor someplace you are going to rack up many species, it is the only seabird colony in Maine the birding public can access on a regular basis...and being a veteran of seabird colonies, I wanted to be in one again. If you haven't worked in/visited a seabird colony, I assure you that your life is not being lived to its full potential. With that in mind, we booked a boat trip many months in advance, hoping for encounters with friendly puffins and Razorbills...but would the ocean be calm enough?

The day of our boat trip, we were weathered out.  Captain Andy said we could just reschedule for the next day...but that was weathered out too.  As luck would have it, we were still in the area, so on the third day of trying the wind finally switched and seas calmed down. We still were not guaranteed an island landing, but we were certainly going to get there. Geri had us completely surrounded on the boat, but knowing that lifer puffins were waiting in the fog, we were steadfast, although the Geri photography class tormented us constantly. In the end...it was worth it.

Razorbills are one of the most abundant seabirds at and near the island, if not the most abundant. Having seen precisely zero (0) before this Maine trip, suddenly seeing so many was hard to grasp. A few pairs looked like they were doing courtship flights, gliding in formation on wings held in a high dihedral (top photo). I saw Thick-billed Murres doing something similar up in Alaska, when they leapt off high cliffs, but their wings seemed too puny to be able to do this in sustained flight. Razorbills look much more comfortable in the air than murres do, I know this now.

While bobbing around the island, there were no shortage of Razorbills making close passes by the boat. It was hard to stay calm when we first got there. Once we were awash in birds, it was easy to forget about Geri. Terns and Razorbills were flying every which way, not to mention...

This. This bird was no surprise, and was one of the reasons we all decided to #Maynerayge in the first place...between the four of us, a lot of lifers were had during the trip, but this was the one and only life bird for everyone! Welcome to my life list Atlantic Puffin, I have been waiting for you a long time, a long time.

Thank the birding gods there were puffins. Can you imagine going to Maine in late May, without ever having seeing a puffin, and then leaving without seeing one?  I would have just quit birding. I got very well acquainted with Tufted and Horned Puffins while living and working in the Aleutian Islands, so it was great to be back at a breeding colony, of a new species no less. I just wish there were more kinds of puffins...someone please change the name of Rhinoceros Auklet to Rhinoceros Puffin, I think that will help.

The first birds I really noticed when we first broke out of the fog that morning were the terns...there were a lot of them, and they were practically all Arctic Terns. Tyler, one of the leaders, kindly informed us all that it was almost impossible to tell Common and Arctic Terns apart by sight alone, and it took all of my inner strength to not whip out my Global Birder Ranking System USA #7 card and do a citizen's pelagic arrest on the grounds of felony Sterna libel.  The kid has probably seen 10 times the number of Arctic Terns as me, for god's sake.

But I digress. I've seen a few horribly distant Arctics up in Alaska, so this was really the first time I've been somewhere they breed.  It was an honor, and a great way to complement the lifer Roseate Terns I had gotten earlier in the week.

Watching Arctic Terns at a breeding colony is much more satisfying than watching them from a distance on a rocking boat in the middle of the Pacific, I know that now. I will also appreciate them more. This is an ultra-migrant, after all, and it is not often you get to spend time with such well-traveled and worldly birds.

The Machias Seal Island lighthouse has a protective vanguard of auks.

Though not as numerous as the Razorbills, Common Murres were present in numbers as well. Note the two murres wearing spectacles on the left (lifer form!).  I had hoped we would be absolutely choking on Black Guillemots out there, but found out that they don't really nest on Machias.  I flogged myself bloody that night for my profound ignorance on the subject.

A Razorbill masterfully puts the Economy of Style to good use.

Another bucolic shot of the lighthouse and auk vanguard.  I wish my house had a vanguard of auks.

On another rocky islet a couple miles from Machias, Captain Andy motored us out to check out/flush a bunch of hauled out seals.  I got my lifer Gray Seals (I'll spare you my bullshit photos), which was mammal of the trip (short-tailed weasel was runner-up).

A Harbor Seal gives the geri-ridden boat the stink eye.

Dipper Dan and his sad but oddly empathetic companion. Dan is wearing an odd, disgruntled-seal look on his face (see previous photo)...for what reason, I cannot say. As you probably know already, we did actually get to land on Machias and spend some time crushing the living hell out of some seabirds.  My camera was smoking by the end, and even Flycatcher Jen, who hates blazing grits, was chain-smoking after our birdgasmic couple of hours ashore. That's all coming next time, on BB&B.

Sustainable Blogging In The Birdosphere

BB&B was birthed into the Birdosphere in 2008, back when my photography efforts were limited to the occasional digiscoping.  Unlike in 2015, there wasn't much crushing going on back then (or even proto-crushing), but I think this Lucifer Hummingbird is decent. Ash Canyon B&B, AZ.

BB&B will turn 7 years old this year.  Sure there are other active Birdosphere blogs that have been around longer (10,000 Birds, A DC Birding Blog, Nemesis Bird, etc.), but in blog years BB&B is something like 60 years old.  You see, although there is no shortage of bird blogs out there (and thank you for choosing this one today), there is a very high mortality rate among bird blogs...they just don't last.  Bloggers, for whatever reason, simply lose interest in their projects, regardless of the topic. Granted, there are good reasons for this...lack of time due to a job and/or kids, or a major life event that rearranges all your priorities, leaving your blog in the dust.  It happens.  That said, I don't think this is why most blogs fall by the wayside.

I'm an old hand at blogging now.  Sure I still don't know a thing about html or how to do anything to make BB&B look like a well-oiled blogging machine, but aesthetics aside I do have some kind of idea about what I am doing.  I am even getting used to being recognized in the field by people I've never met before, simply for blogging....which, aside from being a monumentally nerdy reason to be recognized, is weird because I hardly ever post photos of myself on here.  I never saw this coming. Felonious Jive, the Great Ornithologist, says he saw this coming from the start...but when he's not talking about birds, that guy is full of shit.

Which is not why we are here today.  Here are some tips on how to keep your blog alive and kicking.

1. Feeling like no one is listening?  Have confidence!  Assume people care about what you have to say, because they will.  Every bird blog will have an audience once it's been around long enough, regardless of your writing and photographic skills.  I know that sounds crazy but I swear its true. There are numerous bird blogs out there that I consider profoundly boring, yet its clear they get a hell of a lot more traffic than me so they are doing something right.  If you write it, they will come.

I'm equally comfortable with making fun of birders, talking about vagrants, and discussing the joys of "shaking hands" with Laysan Albatross (seriously, it's awesome).  For the birdosphere, that makes BB&B a pretty loose place, but that approach doesn't work for everybody. 

2. To niche, or not to niche?  If you ask me, I think a bird blog can go one of two ways...carve out a niche and own it (i.e. Earbirding, Anything Larus) or be very open to a wide range of topics, which is the route BB&B has gone.  Either way will give you plenty to talk about, and if your blog is going to be around for a while, you need plenty to talk about.  If you stick to the worn path that is I-went-here-and-I-saw-this, you will always have readers, but you as the writer might find that format getting stale after a while.  After all, sometimes you go birding and it sucks...I certainly am not motivated to write about those days unless it is truly horrific.  That said, if you really enjoy the writing patterns you fall into, there is nothing to worry about.

3. Take pride in your writing!  I genuinely enjoy writing, even if it is in this weird format.  I am always trying to improve my skills and trying to write in such a way that once someone reads a post for the first time, they will want to keep coming back.  I blogged extensively before BB&B started and was always stoked that my friends were into it, even if it was pretty jokey shit (and no, I am not going to link to it).  Any sort of writing can be a challenge, and a fun one at that.

4. Read!  Whenever I read a damn good book, I am always inspired to get blogging.  If you're experiencing some blogging apathy, just dive into something from your favorite author.  They may not mention a bird for the entire book, but it really doesn't matter.

Do: I like Sooty Shearwaters.  I like Common Murres. Seabirds are amazing.
Don't: After my surgery, I wasn't sure if going on a pelagic trip was such a good idea.  It still hurts me when I turn my body too far to the left and I still have to move slowly sometimes.  Luckily, the seas were calm that day!  I was really worried that bla bla bla bla bla bla....

5. A few tips, if you want to attract some new readers and keep them around:
- DO NOT talk about problems with your physical health.  It sucks to be in pain, I know, but birders do this excessively...on listservs, in Facebook groups, and in blogs.  It's really quite the phenomenon. Please stop.
- DO NOT spend too much time talking about your bird lists.  Most people don't care.  I don't want to bum anyone out, but search your feelings...you know it to be true.
- DO talk about what you know.  Be it the genetic studies done that validate a new split, migration, local rarities, or your hatred of feral cats, use your knowledge and/or special interests to add fuel to the blog fire.

6. Have some kind of goal in mind for your output, just for a little extra motivation to stay active.  I always try for two posts a week, although I don't always manage that anymore.  That said, there is no reason to put up a post that you feel is mediocre or somehow incomplete.

7. Build a community around your blog.  Interact with your readers, it makes everything more fun. Comment on other people's blogs, and don't be shy about giving shout outs and linking to their content.  You know it's always a positive thing when people give props to your blog, so why not do the same for others?  You might even make a few friends out of it.

9. Not posting very often?  Then team up, and watch your bloggish productivity soar.  A lot of blogs have gone the multi-author route, and none have seemed to suffer for it. I know BB&B certainly wouldn't be the same without Felonious Jive to help me out, and it's my pleasure to have a buddy write a guest post once in a while.

Though humorously arranged, this Brown Pelican probably did not die a peaceful death.  By now it has faded into oblivion altogether.  Don't let your blog be like this Brown Pelican.

September Birding: My Grunts and Vague Runts

A Vague Runt Chestnut-sided Warbler abides and confides. Ferry Park/Sue Bierman Park, San Francisco, CA.

The first half of September has come and gone. I've done pretty well for myself...no MEGAS or state birds, but enough to keep me happy. Fall migration seems to be going a lot better than last year in northern California. Humboldt County had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which is a big deal here. Point Reyes and Bodega Bay have been good, and the Farallones have hosted a number of decent passerines, along with the goddamn gannet. I dipped on a one-day-one-observer-wonder Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, which sucked but at least I didn't have to cope with getting gripped off by dozens of other birders.

Not bad at all so far, although of course many of us are waiting with baited breath for something Siberian to show up. How I long to meet a wheatear, how I would coddle a dotterel, how I would warble to a Dusky Warbler...but the season is young! Of course, there are still a number of pelagic trips I plan on leading (starting with Bodega Bay tomorrow), so there will be lots of upcoming opportunities to meet Vague Runts with or without tubes attached to their faces.

This was a nice county bird, which allowed some brutal crushings. Ferry Park is an awful, disgusting place to bird but it gets Vague Runts and is hella close to BART. I'm sure I'll be back again this fall.

Here is a more typical photo of a Vague Runt. I was shocked to find this Laughing Gull loafing with Elegant Terns and California Gulls at Point Reyes earlier this month. Before this bird, I've previously only seen one in northern California. I don't think it was ever refound. Drake's Beach, Point Reyes, CA.

Back to crushier fare. Hutton's Vireos are the bravest of all vireos....there, I said it. I've been holding in this news for years, but it feels good to finally get it out. Like their lookalike relatives the Ruby-crowned Kinglets (and unlike most of humanity), Hutton's Vireos are not afraid to snuggle up with a birder. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Depending on their posture and plumage, Hutton's can passingly resemble Hammond's Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (this one is in kinglet mode). I have distant memories of actually struggling to tell apart Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Hutton's Vireos. Now, I can look back and laugh.

If anyone is aware of a more interesting Hutton's Vireo photo, please notify the authorities. The Global Birder Ranking System has heaped praise upon me for capturing this image. The bellow was aimed directly at me, and I was immediately knocked to the ground by the force of it. I think I am still bleeding internally.

A pair of Peregrine Falcons overlook their migrant-ridden domain. Point Reyes, CA.

I wonder how many bird species this one has consumed. Maybe she keeps a list.

Pomarine Jaegers will frequently come check out the chum line off the stern during pelagic trips. Photographed off Half Moon By, CA.

As you may have read about on other blogs, some nerds from the Birdosphere recently convened on the bay area for a pelagic trip. Flycatcher Jen came from Portland, This Machine Nate from Austin, and Laurence from Phoenix (we need a nickname for you Laurence). We got excellent weather but inexplicably few birds, unfortunately...oh well, pelagic trips are always a gamble, and unlike last year it seems there are very few Buller's Shearwaters offshore this fall. At least Nate didn't miss Black-footed Albatross for the second year in a row, and they all got lifers.

We had only one Sabine's Gull that day, but it came straight in to the stern for great looks.

Few other birds have been so wildly successful in turning the Economy of Style into something truly special.

Common Murres bellow loudly in northern California waters this time of year. 

Who know how many Pygmy Nuthatches I have crossed paths with. 3,256? That is my guess. Anyways, I finally got a decent photo of one. El Polin Spring, San Francisco, CA.

If you happen to live in a region lacking in small, hyperactive nuthatches, I would also suspect that you are living in a region of despair.

I know you easterners scoff when I talk about eastern birds here, so I'll end this post on a very Californian note. Here is a shitty Tricolored Blackbird picture. It's pure rubbish, I know...the light is rubbish, the color is rubbish, and even the bird is rubbish because it's freshly molted so it doesn't have that sharp look birders typically expect. But it's a pretty good bird, and also one that is declining rapidly. Photographed at Point Reyes, which is an excellent place to see them.