SAN MATEO COUNTY BIG DAY

San Mateo County Big Day
September 30-October 1, 2006
Total species: 127
Trip Report by: Jennifer Rycenga
We started at Gazos Creek, and detected some of the specialty birds of
The area east of the "Dip" signs, most crucially GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. We knew we would come back to collect more woodlands birds the next morning after owling, so this was a brief stop.

Pigeon Point - the lovely lighthouse and hostel featured in the
Southwest Airlines "Ding" commercial - was our next stop. The huge blackbird flock yielded TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. The seawatch part of our day was frustrating, because the sea was calm but there were no deep-water pelagic species visible from the coast. We did, however, see some of the best alcids (the Northern hemisphere's closest relatives to penguins): RHINOCEROS AUKLET and the mysterious MARBLED MURRELET (this bird is a sea bird that nests in coast redwoods: the last North American bird to have its nest discovered, because of the counter-intuitive nature of
Looking for a seabird's nest on the tallest trees in the area).

Pescadero Marsh and Beach was meant to be the major stop for garnering
species, and it was for sure. We saw all the rocky shorebirds,
including the just-returning SURFBIRD and the PRBO icon, the BLACK OYSTERCATCHER.
A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL passed by the cliff just as I was relating to some other birders how I had seen one there the day before - a happy
instance of the universe responding to one's wishes. We had not found the Tattler yet, but promised ourselves to come back to their likely spot. We then went to the Marsh, and the species started to come to us: lots of MALLARDS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS. We were unhappy with the fact that all the Sandpipers we were seeing were LEAST SANDPIPERS. Then we spotted a flock of DUNLIN - a new arrival not present the day before. Just as we were getting ready to give up (Saturday traffic along SR1 makes the experience of scoping the marsh less enjoyable than usual), a WESTERN SANDPIPER flew in close to us. Returning to the middle parking lot, we looked again and this time found the WANDERING TATTLER. Much rejoicing, and then our thoughts turned to lunch. After a quick stop along Pescadero Creek
brought a NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER to our surprised attention, we headed
back to our Half Moon Bay headquarters.

Half Moon Bay - Back at the Rycenga/Macres abode, Peggy had prepared a
double treat for us: a fine repast of healthy lunch, and the assurance
thatboth the EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVE and the PINE SISKIN had been at the
feeder. With these target birds seen and our energy restored, we headed to Half
Moon Bay State Beach. Quickly we added the sweet SNOWY PLOVERS, CALIFORNIA GULL, and SANDERLING, and escaped before swallowed by the crowds of beach-goers. Quite amazing how close to humans the Snowy Plovers and Sanderlings will roost.

Skylawn Cemetery - At the peak of SR92 is Skylawn Cemetery. The
Propriety of birding in cemeteries is an odd philosophic dilemma. On the one hand, it feels as if one is endorsing the beauty of life by looking at the dynamic birds. On the other hand, it is possible that the dignity of the place is compromised by our jollity and obsessive behavior. But this was a great stop. I spotted, and Michelle had the patience to refind and identify, Our best migrant of the day, a HERMIT WARBLER. Lots of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES sounded their toy horn call (certainly that behavior could be considered disruptive in a cemetery), and AMERICAN ROBINS scattered widely above our heads. A quick stop at Crystal Springs Reservoir surprised us with a
PIED-BILLED GREBE (our only one of the day) and a GREATER SCAUP.

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve - What a lovely spot this is, along
Portola Road. At Sausal Pond we enjoyed the ravishing WOOD DUCK family, and, just when we thought we would miss the GREEN HERON, we spotted it hunting only a few feet from us. It was in perfect plumage, and got some ooohs and aaahs out of all of us. We also heard OAK TITMOUSE and ACORN WOODPECKER
here, as expected.

Radio Road - Taking the back routes down to Redwood Shores, we drove up
to the shorebird riot that is Radio Road. Shantanu was impressed with
this spot, which he had not visited before. We settled down to add to the species list, and saw the BLACK SKIMMERS, RING-BILLED GULLS, BARN
SWALLOW, and the best of all, RED KNOT (Francis Toldi had called to alert us to their presence, for which we are very grateful). It took a while, but we finally
rediscovered the only remaining RED-NECKED PHALAROPE spinning in the
eastern pond. Great stop for all concerned.

We had two largely wasted stops, at Nob Hill Ponds and Bayview Park.
Both locations had suppressed bird life because of wind. But then came the most enchanting stop of the day, at

Ravenswood County Park - located in East Palo Alto, this park has a
Less than stellar reputation for safety, so I've not birded it alone. But with our team, and with the proximity to Palo Alto Baylands, I hoped we would do well on rails in the gathering evening light. We went to the O'Connor street entrance, where there is a nice pond. All three of us brought our scopes, and started searching. Shantanu skillfully found a sweet SORA working the edge of the pond; we all got great looks. With tapes playing,we got one response from a VIRGINIA RAIL and a chorus of CLAPPER RAILS
(I guessed five). BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS flew in, too. We were then joined by three local elementary-school-aged kids, who were fascinated by our scopes and our activity. One of the kids, Brian, spotted a fast-moving bird overhead: it was a MERLIN! Great way to end the day, as the kids also got us to enjoy looking at the moon as well as the birds through our scopes.
Be forewarned - these three kids (Samantha, Brian and Tony) could
easily be talked into being bird-watchers. They thoroughly enjoyed all the birds we pointed out to them, and kept asking when we were planning on returning.

Our team then went to Taco Bell to have a bite to eat and strategize
the morrow. Funny we didn't think to go into a parking lot during the day at some point - our most inexcusable miss is House Sparrow!!

Sunday morning owling included a series of misses for Saw-whet along
Gazos Creek road in the dark, then a drive along Cloverdale exposed a
perched, then hunting BARN OWL. Into Butano State Park, where we played a Screech-Owl tape and soon had two WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS dueting. As we were pulling away Michelle noted that someone had been sleeping on one of the picnic tables. Oh well, those who camp for free had best expect weird night visitors...A few minutes before seven, the NORTHERN PYGMY OWLS performed.
As we returned to the pullout by the "Dip" sign along Gazos Creek, a
NORTHERN SAW-WHET started tooting (albeit from another time zone, it
was so faint). Never saw or heard a GREAT HORNED OWL, despite trying. I always have an ethical twinge about calling out Great Horned Owls when I am fully aware that there are other smaller owls in the area; I don't need to be helping predators in that hierarchy. Still, I hear Great Horned Owls more times than not along Gazos Creek, so it was just one of those odd misses that occur on any Big Day.

At the Dip we worked hard to distinguish the calls of GOLDEN-CROWNED
KINGLET and BROWN CREEPER, until we felt sure we had at least one of each. We heard two remaining SWAINSON'S THRUSHES give their morning "whit" greetings, and the HOUSE WRENS scolded anyone who would listen. We coaxed a FOX SPARROW into a similar tizzy, but it was furtive about showing itself. After the first of many dead zones for passerines, we were about to leave Gazos Creek when the resident BELTED KINGFISHER let out its rattling call. We drove up Cloverdale hoping to find a reported Shrike, but instead we saw a dead Pig hung over a fence (Peggy surmises that it might have been something caught by pig hunters and left momentarily, but it was an unsettling and frankly sickening sight). Every migrant spot we tried in Pescadero was dead dead dead. So we decided to end our day at the Water Road entrance to Pescadero State Park. We finally all saw a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (yes, that's how bad the migrants were to us!), Michelle heard a YELLOW WARBLER, and we all got some great looks at a WESTERN FLYCATCHER which, despite calling, was
likely a female, and so we couldn't peg it to either Pacific-Slope or
Cordilleran. That was our last new species, and one of only two likely passerine Migrants we had had over the entire 24 hours.

Let it be noted that we did sleep (ah! middle age), and we did eat, and
despite all that relaxation, we saw 127 species as a group. We were
pleased, and ready to do it again sometime. We also discovered quite a
lot about the county, its contours, and how to avoid the worst weekend
traffic (don't entertain any dreams about getting into Half Moon Bay from the Bayside of the county during the October weekend days).

Michelle was the best spotter and the most expert identifier amongst
us: she was really focused on details while remaining persistent in the face of discouragement; it was really thanks to her that we got both alcid species and the few warblers we did. She also obtained some good video of the Wandering Tattler and Snowy Plover. Shantanu contributed with keen attention to details of habitat and size: he picked out both the Sora and the Lesser Yellowlegs. I was the county ringer - I had more knowledge than skills (perhaps the story of my life as an intellectual), but that knowledge eventually yielded such fun birds as the Wandering Tattler, Red-necked Phalaropes, and the owls. Plus I knew where I was driving, a distinct advantage with such a tight schedule.