You Can Check Out... but you can never leave

Well, thanks to a blizzard in New York, a week long trip to California has turned into two. Not much time for a thorough account, but sandwiched in between family time I've managed to get out and see some good birds and other wildlife. A few pictoral highlights below:


Coyote at Placerita Canyon, Santa Clarita, CA


Black-necked Stilts in the Los Angeles River, Van Nuys, CA


Royal Tern at Zuma Beach, Malibu, CA

More pictures to come...

Rare Birds that Blend In

Sometimes, the difference between a dime-a-dozen commoner and a rare bird can lie in minuscule details. This was the case for three such birds seen today:


The Fish Crow (right) is noticebly smaller than the American Crow (right) with a remarkably shorter bill and smaller head. The very distinctive "eh eh" vocalization of the Fish Crow helped to tune into its location, but while subtle, the size difference is still quite obvious when you look closely.


Gulls are amongst the most challenging groups of birds to identify, and this Iceland Gull(center) could have easily gone unnoticed. White wingtips were key to picking this bird out from amongst the hundreds of gulls congregating at the Winooski Falls. The relatively thin, all dark beak, pink legs, and mottled, but very light plumage all helped make it recognized.


The bird-of-the-day was this Lesser Black-backed Gull (center frame) sitting on a giant compost heap in Burlington. It's similar in size to the Herring Gull (right) but with a darker back. It is smaller than the Great Black-backed Gull (back, partially hidden) and sports a darker, streaky head. It's yellow legs also distinguish it from these two similar species. While commonplace in Europe, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is rare here. See another picture