mvecht`s Big Year

[mvecht]

@Tdgraves   I have tried with some of the photos and I still get too many options. Further searches on the internet has not allowed me to do positive ID.

[mvecht]

Last birds from San Francisco

 

#152 Red-tailed Hawk

 

I will not number this as I am not 100% sure about ID.

However Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is a strong candidate suggested by @Tdgraves and @offshorebirder

 

 

[mvecht]

Campus at UCLA had some nice birds. I did see American Kestrel and several Hummingbirds but my camera (and I) were too slow.

UCLA Campus LA, 21 July 2019

#153 Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)

 

#154 Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

 

[offshorebirder]

Band-tailed Pigeon is a "Quality Bird"  @mvecht.

 

 

[mvecht]

@offshorebirder  The pigeons appeared to be quite common on campus

[mvecht]

Next stop Newport Beach 22 July

#155 Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)

 

Also a Shearwater. Probably Sooty Shearwater but no positive ID.

 

 

[mvecht]

22 July Laguna Beach

 

#156 some distant Brandt`s Cormorant (phalacrocorax penicillatus)

 

# 157  Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

 

[mvecht]

I did a morning walk at Newport Upper Bay Nature Preserve.

An excellent place for birding and probably much better in the winter time. Unfortunately some of the birds were very far away.

A Roadrunner was too fast for me but I got plenty of other sightings and lifers.

#158 Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)

 

#159 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)

# 160 Baird`s Sandpiper (EBC) (Calidris bairdii)

 

#161 Longbilled Curlew (EBC) (Numenius americanus)

[mvecht]

Newport Upper Bay continued

 

#162 Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus  cinerascens)

#163 California Towhee (Melozone crissalis)

 

#164 Cassin`s Finch (Haemorhous cassinii)

 

#165 Cassin`s Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans)

 

[mvecht]

Upper Newport Bay continued

 

#166 Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)

 

 

 

#167 House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

 

 

 

 

#168 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

 

[TonyQ]

@mvecht  some lovely new additions here

[mvecht]

Upper Newport Bay continued

 

#169 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

 

#170 Nuttall`s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)

 

#171 Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)

Came from behind when I was photographing a different bird so only got this distant shot.

[mvecht]

Last batch from Upper Newport Beach

Once again thank you to @offshorebirder and @Tdgraves for the help with bird ID

 

#172  Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis). Multiple birds seen

#173 Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

I saw surprisingly few on this trip. One in South SF, one in Laguna Canyon and this one. Normally they are all over the place.

 

#174 Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

 

[mvecht]

The last pictures from the trip are from Dana Point Harbor, CA

#175 Heermann`s Gull (Larus Heermanni)

 

#176 Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

 

A few Sea lion`s were also seen (also seen in San Francisco and Newport Beach)

 

All in all a very productive trip. 36 ticks in a very short time of actual birding.

[Dave Williams]

It can't be bad mixing business and pleasure!

[offshorebirder]

Nothing like a birding junket!

[mvecht]

@offshorebirder  certainly adds to the possibilities of seeing nice birds around the world

[mvecht]

My wife and I just returned from a weeks vacation at an Island in the Wadden Sea National Park in Denmark.

This is one of the best places to see wading birds in Europe. August is a bit early but some birds arrive early to bulk up before the migrate further south for the winter.

We had rented a small townhouse overlooking the local golfcourse. Curlews, Oystercatchers, Godwits, Dunlins could be seen almost constantly and Montagu Harriers were seen hunting on a daily basis. The sea is very shallow so the tidal change of app 1,5m or 5 feet makes a huge difference meaning that birds are very difficult to photograph due to distance. This is definitely a better place for birding than for bird photography!

A few birds seen from the house

Rømø, Denmark 4 -10 August

# 177 Curlew (Numenius arquata) I am sure there were Whimbrels in between but the birds were not very vocal

 

#178 Bar-tailed Godwit ( Limosa lapponica).

 

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by mvecht

[mvecht]

Terns were abundant, but tended to be far away from the coast.

There are small colonies of Arctic and Little Tern on the Island but these birds were only seen, not photographed

 

179 Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvichensis)

180 Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

 

 

 

[mvecht]

Some more distant waders

 

#181  Greenshank (Tringa Nebularia)

 

#182  Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

 

#183  Golden Plover   (Pluvialis apricaria)

[mvecht]

#184 Pied Avocet (Recurvivostra avosetta)  single and plural (2000+ unfortunately really an EBC)

 

[mvecht]

An unusual species for me was

#185 Carrion Crow (Corvus corone).

Whereas this is a very common species in the the UK, the ratio of Hooded Crow to Carrion Crow in Denmark is app 50:1 with the main population living close to the German border. It has been at least 5 years since I last saw a Carrion Crow in Denmark.

They seem to be more shy than their cousins so again a long distance shot.

 

#186 Montagu`s Harrier (Circus pygargus). A rare breeder in Denmark but the south western corner of Denmark is a stronghold. Seen 8 days out of 8.

@Tdgraves I have started using Merlin Bird ID a lot more thanks to your recommendation and I do have the Scandinavian birdlist updated however using it on the

Montagu `s Harrier below it came up with the following suggestions: American Golden Plover (extremely rare in Denmark), Golden Plover and Pacific Golden Plover!

Not much help here.

It is however in general a great tool

 

 

#187  extreme EBC Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) A rare migrant in Denmark and a little early for the autumn migration. However other people had seen it for a few days before and after my sighting.

 

[Galana]

6 hours ago, mvecht said:

#182  Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

Can we wind the tape back a bit? The EBC to beat them all. I see no Dunlin.

I see Golden Plover centre stage and three Godwits.

On the other hand I see what could be Dunlin with your Avocets. 184.

[mvecht]

@Galana  well spotted. You are right that it is Golden Plovers. I got confused by what appeared to be very small size and the black on the belly.

You are also correct that the smaller birds in #184 are Dunlin. Dunlin was seen in large numbers up to 5000+ albeit at great distance.

Edited August 13, 2019 by mvecht

[mvecht]

A couple of unexpected visitors to the house

Rømø Island Denmark, 5-11 August

 

#188 Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)

 

 

# 189 Black Redstart (Phoenicurus  ochruros)