First SoCal Rain of the Season!

Chase Palm Park with the Wharf hiding in the mist

Fall has come to the Central Coast. Today was the first 'rain' I'd seen since the end of April. And that's normal! Growing up in the Tampa Bay area of Florida - one of the Planet's Thunderstorm Capitals where there can be up to 100 thunderstorms in a year - the idea of rain was a regular one. Here in Southern California, the Mediterranean climate results in virtually NO rain for six months, and then when it does rain, thunder and lightning are a rarity.

Ice Plant covering the misty dunes at East Beach - the Wharf is there - somewhere!

So when the first rain does come, it can be a big deal. Rain = Storm in California. Officially, this 'rain' was little more than a daylong off-again, on-again mist with light rain. No wind. No lightning. No thunder. But enough moisture to use the wipers! However, I NEVER got higher than 'three clicks' (of five) on the intermittent wiper setting, and that was on 'the 101' at 55mph. Yet in a short drive to a favored beachfront restaurant for breakfast, I observed THREE bizarre driving occurences. One car passed me on the right along the waterfront, almost clocking a parking car, another purposely broke loose the rear axle around a turn, then spun tires at the next light and the last one simply spun their tires in the rain. Locals say "Stay home!" during rainstorms.

Colors are super-saturated on a sunless and moist day, as seen in the 'cool colors' in the garden of friends where we are house-sitting in Santa Barbara.

While some good birdin' may be found when the weather changes, the light is not so great for long-distance photos, and the contrast is nearly nonexistent. Yet the colors are fantastic!

With similarly cool colors, enhanced by the weather, the Society Garlic makes a nice focus in the garden.

Remember, this 'rain' was officially a trace, although I bet a least one local/weekly paper will call it a storm. Heck, the 'rain' didn't even bring the little kids off the street in my neighborhood!

Kids in the street in the rain.

And upon closer look, the 'rain' didn't even penetrate a rather sparse Coast Live Oak along our driveway. You can see the dry pavers and soil in the center of the photo. So you see? Our first rain was more of a 'mist event'.

Dry pavers and soil under half-leafed out Coast Live Oak

One of the unfortunate happenstances of the rainy season's onset is the subsequent polluting of nearshore waters. All the oil drippings, transmission fluid drops, coolant overflows, and gas station topping off-overfillings lay around on the asphalt all summer waiting for rain to move them downhill - and into the ocean. So today when I parked at the 'honor-pay' parking lot enjoying the views at East Beach, I took a look around.

East Beach with the Pavilion in the mist - I promise!

The following view of the wet parking lot (with a support team for a local 'walk-a-thon' that was not deterred by the mist storm) shows how the water begins to collect on the pavement. The continuing photos show the water as a carrier for road-borne oil and dirt.

East Beach parking lot with accumulating water

The water collects and begins to show telltale signs of the summer's oil accumulation.

The water runs downhill, towards the ocean, through the curb-cut and collects in the sand - still bearing oil.

As you can see above, this collecting polluted water doesn't have far to go to reach the ocean. And that's not too bad unless you prefer to have life in your oceans and on your beaches - oh, and use them for recreation as well.

Oil - so far we can't live (well) with it, and we can't live (well) without it. Yet another reason to find a balance of energy sources to sustain our standard of living and power our transportation so that we can live with a lighter footprint on our Planet, the WATER Planet.

With the mist storm about most all the day, and having enjoyed the beach views in the morning mist/light rain/haze, the only thing left was to get to your little house and have your best buddy nearby.

Carbon allowing her dog, Cody to bunk down in her Little House.

When is Vermillion NOT Red???

Well, I can tell you that when it comes to the Vermillion Flycatchers that I have seen - there ain't nothin' red!

The Vermillion Flycatcher is one of those birds that I have really looked forward to seeing. Growing up in Florida, I was certainly exposed to some great birds - like the Roseate Spoonbill - that looks sorta like a small flamingo with a lot of beak that got flattened by a steamroller. Pretty crazy to be able to see such a bird where I worked - along Sarasota Bay at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

However, NO Vermillion Flycatchers were to be seen. I read books. I've seen pictures. And the Vermillion Flycatcher (VF in birder-write) is a spectacular bird. Apparently as red as one of my very favorite birds, the Northern Cardinal, (why it's 'Northern' Cardinal when seen in the Heart of the Ol' South..??) the VF adult male has a brilliant red cap, throat and 'underparts', contrasted with very black eyeline/mask, nape, back, wings and tail. Sheesh! What a bird to see! And now I live in the southwest USA where the VF live. Cool.

So when I read on the local Santa Barbara, CA 'bird alert' group that a Vermillion Flycatcher had been seen only 30 miles up the coast at Gaviota State Beach, my wife and I headed out. After a dry run and literally no birds at Refugio State Beach, we zoomed ten more miles up the coast to Gaviota State Beach. Jeanne quickly spotted a 'new bird'. She's quite good at this. Not only does she see birds very well, she is also able to quickly discern if we have seen the bird before. Handy to have around!

Sure enough, in a struggling Western Sycamore, planted at Campsite #29, we had found our bird! Sound the drums! Here is the bird I had been waiting for!

Nooooo???!!! How can this be? Where's the freakin' Vermillion? With the mask?

So I have officially seen a Vermillion Flycatcher. Simply turns out this one is a juvenile bird (likely a female), with typical coloration(for a VF juvenile female). There will be more. This one can't be the only one in a vermillion. Guess I'll have to go back and keep lookin' for a MATURE MALE VF that will actually be RED!

Vermillion Flycatcher (juvenile female) on introduced/escaped Nicotiana.

Blog or Blob? Gotta Get Goin'!

You must read to the end for info on this one!

Birds I Have Seen Lately

Finding myself in a sudden and early retirement 18 months ago, I find I enjoy having much more time to look at birds. Now eating is still a good idea, so I'm not so sure just how long this 'retirement' might last - so I'm grinnin' with each birdin' opportunity. To get myself back on a bloggin' track, I have decided to post photos of birds that have made a reasonable image in my digital camera lately. While I'm 'proud' of the quality of some of the photos, others are simply for 'documentation' that both the bird and I existed at the same moment in time, occupying a nearly identical space.

On Friday 5Sept08, I took a look at Devereux Slough on the UCSB Campus, and while the dabblers were a long ways away, they seemed different than the Mallards that have inhabited the Slough all summer. My binoculars are fairly decent and 8x, yet really weren't sufficient to bring in the birds from the distance at the far western edge of the Slough. I took this photo at 500mm with my DX digital camera, equalling 750mm of reach. With the average human eye working at approximately 50mm, this totaled 15x. Then when I got home, I enlarged the image. If you don't have a scope, or the $$ to get one, then you have to do a LOT of steps to get any sort of an identification of distant birds - and then only if the birds are the size and coloration of these Cinnamon Teals. Peeps? Forget it! WAAY too small at that distance.

These Greater Yellowlegs were much closer.

Red-necked Phalaropes do nothing at less than warp speed. While my long lens has good 'reach' it is slow to focus, so I was fortunate to catch these zippy little birds at all.

These Wilson's Phalaropes were at Devereux Slough on 12Aug08. Twenty percent larger than the Red-necked Phalaropes, Wilson's Phalaropes seemingly do not partake of the caffeinated crustaceans as much as their relatives.

Occasionally I remember to LOOK UP! And am often rewarded. You'd think I would do it more often. In this case I was fortunate to have this raptor circling quite low, as I didn't have my long lens, and was limited to 200mm. If you're having difficulty recognizing this very large eagle, it was also new to me - a White-bellied Fish Eagle! And no, this is actually not just a post about Devereux Slough - remember? These are birds I have seen lately! I visited Singapore in late July and saw this bird circling overhead. It is a widespread bird from India through Malaysia to Australia. While mostly feeding on water-based animals, they also eat carrion, and have been know to take birds as large as swans. Look out, Fifi.

While watching the White-bellied Fish Eagle, I noticed another raptor-looking bird circling overhead as well. Turns out this is a Brahminy Kite, another common raptor with widespread distribution in Southeast Asia. Not as large as the WB Fish Eagle, this individual looks like it came out second in a fight.

Now THIS bird may look familar, as it is related to our own Brown Pelican. This is an Australian Pelican, seen in the Singapore Zoo. Somehow, just not as 'dignified' as our Brown Pelican, do you think?

Well, dignified may be not quite the right word here.... Brown Pelican at Devereux 12Aug08.

Last fall, when I was first 'into' looking around Santa Barbara, CA at birds, the Black-crowned Night Herons covered the tamarisk trees at the south end of the Slough (near the renowned Bridge-to-Nowhere - this is an old wooden bridge with the distal portion removed - not to be confused with the as yet unbuilt bridge noted all-to-frequently by Sarah Palin.) On 12Aug08 there were three back in the same tamarisks.

No, this Southern Cassowary did not pop out from behind a jacaranda tree on Foothill Road. A native of New Guinea and New Zealand it is a rainforest bird second (at 150lb+!) only to the Ostrich in size among living birds.

WHOA! Now THIS bird just looks like it has been hitting the double espressos! Again at the Singapore Zoo, the Saddle-billed Stork is native to much of Africa from Sub-Saharan regions to South Africa. Just waaay too colorful and amazing to leave out of this eclectic post.

Oh, and the very FIRST bird in the post? It's a Victorian-crowned Pigeon, also from the Singapore Zoo, and just too fancy for belief!

Three Blue Birds but only One Bluebird??

Who knew?

Bluebirds are not equal to blue birds!

On a recent late April bird outing along Farren Road on the mountain side of 'the 101' in Goleta, CA I was not only able to find three different blue birds, but also catch them on digital files. [Wasn't it easier when you could say "catch them on film"?] The tall and invasive yellow-flowered Black Mustard, Brassica nigra so favored by birds (above), was in full bloom, coating the foothills with a dash of lemon.

This long-distance photo of a Blue Grosbeak shows just how bright their value of blue can be when contrasted to the surrounding landscape.


This view from a utility wire shows the chestnut-colored wings and demonstrates again just how bright their blue can be. In this photo, there is no contrasting color - simply the remarkable blue of Blue Grosbeak against a California spring sky.

While the above photo is far from 'calendar quality', it's the only suitable photo I have (so far) of the Lazuli Bunting. Another new spring bird for me (along with the Blue Grosbeak) the Lazuli Bunting takes the color blue in a different direction- turquoise.

The last two photos of the Western Bluebird were taken the on the same day as the Blue Grosbeak and Lazuli Bunting photos & sightings, making it a true 'triple-header' of blue birds. As the photos indicate, the Western Bluebirds were much more approachable, allowing for more detailed photos.

Why not add the blue-colored Western Blue Jay? Or Barn Swallow? I was simply so smitten with these three very blue birds, all seen within ten minutes of each other, I want to share just them.

Good Birding!

Bullock's & Bonaparte's by Bush as Biodiversity Samples at El Cap State Beach, CA

Moving from the East Coast two and a half years ago, I am continually amazed at how compressed my new world in the Central CA Coast appears to be. I've seen snow on the tops of the Santa Ynez Mountains while standing under palms along Cabrillo Blvd in Santa Barbara. I've driven forty miles in one hour in July and seen the temperature drop forty degrees from 102 degrees in the valley to 62 degrees at Pismo Beach.

So perhaps I should not be surprised to find a dose of Bullock's & Bonaparte's all in a day's casual birding at El Capitan State Beach. Walking the 'Nature Trail' this morning, I again saw (for the third day in a row) Bullock's Orioles high in the Western Sycamore trees that occupy the low ground and grow along El Capitan Creek.

Besides being so twisted they remind you of a Tolkein passage, the sycamores are also tall - I'd estimate over sixty feet. And they are wide, taking a minimum of two people to reach around any of several grand old specimens.

The Bullock's Orioles have been feeding in the top third of the canopy, hardly staying still more than a few seconds at a time.

This afternoon, a camper-friend called me and relayed, "There's a gull-like bird on the beach with very orange legs and an all-black head."

And sure enough, there was a lone Bonaparte's Gull strolling and feeding on the recently-sandy beach. [March storms have brought much sand to cover the previously very rocky beach.]

Scared away by beachcombers in my first attempt to photograph, patience rewarded me as the gull returned not too much later.

As luck would have it, the beachcomers turned around, and headed back towards me - this time 'herding' the Bonaparte's Gull more closely, allowing for a better look than I anticipated!

And then, like all good beachcombers, totally unaware of thier surroundings, they finally put the Gull to flight one last time.

Drama of place is important to my enjoyment of life - El Cap State Beach is a great example of several habitats being compressed into one small area - a beachbound Bonaparte's Gull was found six hours later and 200 yards away from the woodland Bullock's Orioles!

Good Birding!

Rock Cairns: Art on El Capitan State Beach

Specifically and uninterestingly cairns are: an artificial pile of stones. So much for the romance of the tactile artifacts I find on El Capitan State Beach.

Often these stones appear to be set with care and passion, as balance points are difficult to find in odd-shaped stones.

Working until nearly past dark on this past New Year's Weekend this artist of ephemeral piling of the stones placed more than five dozen cairns.

Some more creative 'cairns' have branched out and include bits of driftwood. This approach leads to a feeling of fragility and a short, but dramatic lifespan.

I entered this favored image of mine into a juried art show of the Carpinteria Valley Art Association, in Carpinteria, CA. The show was themed: Man/Woman. The title of this photo? "She Always Liked the Stong, Silent Type". The juror awarded my photo with an 'Honorable Mention'!! Having a professional evaluate my work and deem it worthy is a gas.

The stony spirits of El Cap State Beach hold court as the last rays of light of 2007 disappear over the Pacific.

Mixed-up Mutant Mallard?

This morning my wife and I were pleased to walk Lake Carneros (Santa Barbara, CA County Park) with Joan Lentz' birding class. Arranged through both Santa Barbara Community College and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the class is an amusing amalgam of folks interested in learning more about birds - at 8am on a Wednesday!

Following class at Lake Carneros we decided to check one of our favorite spots, the Goleta Slough/Atascadero Creek outlet to the Pacific. Jeanne, the ace-bird-spotter of the two of us, saw an odd black & white bird across the slough-mouth.

While the duck appears to have great affinity for mallards - after all it was hanging with a male mallard and another couple - it sure doesn't look like any mallard I've ever seen.

I'm aware that there are also 'domestic mallards', primarily grown for harvest, yielding 'Peking Duck' among other delicacies. However, I've never seen such a domestic duck either.

And while it doesn't appear to possess the 'warty face' of muscovy ducks, it does seem to have the black & white coloration that I recall from 'back in the day'. Perhaps the above photos will allow for some level of identification among those who are more experienced? Post here if you like.

Oh, Happy Birding!