Bigdaddy44 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Sparrows aren't my strong point. This was taken on 04/24/16 in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The eye ring keeps bringing me back to Vesper, but still not 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Vesper confirmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Vesper is a new one for me. What makes you say that definitely? Appreciate any input. There used to be a sparrow expert on this that would explain everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 1 hour ago, Bigdaddy44 said: Vesper is a new one for me. What makes you say that definitely? Appreciate any input. There used to be a sparrow expert on this that would explain everything. Yes, the eyering really pops on these birds. Almost like it was borrowed from a Solitary Sandpiper. Beyond that, the fairly drab streaky appearance, face pattern, bill shape and color all look good for Vesper. Another mark not always seen, but visible in your photo is the rusty shoulder patch. For a lifer, definitely wait for a second opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Vesper confirmed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Congrats on the lifer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeker Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 On 11/10/2018 at 9:31 PM, Bigdaddy44 said: Vesper is a new one for me. What makes you say that definitely? Appreciate any input. There used to be a sparrow expert on this that would explain everything. Ah, Poormatty. I got to bird with him when he came to San Diego. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 12, 2018 Author Share Posted November 12, 2018 6 hours ago, Creeker said: Ah, Poormatty. I got to bird with him when he came to San Diego. Yeah, that was him. There was someone that was the go to gull person as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamRHead Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Bigdaddy44 said: Yeah, that was him. There was someone that was the go to gull person as well. That might have been psweet. He hasn't been on in a month or so. But he is amazing at gulls and an all-around bird genius. There are other really sharp birders on here as well. If I start naming names I will inevitably leave somebody out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeker Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 6 hours ago, Bigdaddy44 said: Yeah, that was him. There was someone that was the go to gull person as well. The gull guy was aberrant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 12 hours ago, HamRHead said: That might have been psweet. He hasn't been on in a month or so. But he is amazing at gulls and an all-around bird genius. There are other really sharp birders on here as well. If I start naming names I will inevitably leave somebody out. I'm sure there are some fine birders on the forum. I wasn't trying to insinuate otherwise. Folks come and go, but these (02) were really good at not only IDing the birds, but explaining why. It makes it easier for the ones asking for an ID to later ID them on their own later. I'm Creeker understands what I am talking about. And yes, Psweet has helpful as well. I wish I had more time to spend on this forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 8 hours ago, Creeker said: The gull guy was aberrant. Yeah, that's it. Was really good with the gulls. Thanks Creeker for a walk down memory lane. Hopefully they are all doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 8 hours ago, Creeker said: The gull guy was aberrant. My wife and I are going to be in the SD area for a few days with another couple, so I will be limited on my birding time, but are there any must see places for birding in SD? I have to tread lightly when I have several others vacationing as well. We are also going out to Santa Cruz Island to hopefully see an Island Scrub Jay. My wife and I are trying to see all the National Parks as a life bucket list item and I was able to package this in the deal. I'm sure you have been out there and seen them. Are they pretty easily seen when you get out there? Just trying to figure out how much searching will be needed. Also, are both landing spots relatively OK for the opportunity to see one? Sorry to ask so many questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooFly Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 What time of year are you coming to SD? What are your target birds? That will help decide on the best place. as for the island scrubs...I believe you can see them from both docks, but the second dock is suppose to be the best, problem is the 1st dock is best for other endemic species...got to pick your poison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeker Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Bigdaddy44 said: Hopefully they are all doing well. Poormatty ( Matt Morrow ) is a singer/songwriter. He lives in Alabama. I'm friends with him on Facebook, and he seems to be doing well. I last swapped emails with Aberrant like four years ago, and lost track of him since. I don't even remember his real name. Like Toofly said, where you go depends on what you need, when you come, and where you'll be staying. There are a lot of good places close together here, so you should have no problem breaking away for a couple hours say 0600-0800, and bagging a bunch of lifers. PM me or Toofly (he's my birding buddy) your life list or hit list of what you're looking for. If you don't have a hit list, we can work your life list to make one. Have you been to California before? Where do you live? These questions also help with the hit list. Obviously you want to target birds you can't get at home, even if you haven't seen them at home yet. Oh, and I haven't been to see the Island Scrub Jays, even though Toofly has tried to get me to go. Lack of free time is my problem. And when you grow up in California, with California Scrub Jays squawking in your ear your whole life, the thought of taking a boat trip to see scrub jays loses it's luster. Edited November 13, 2018 by Creeker additional text Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 18 hours ago, Creeker said: Poormatty ( Matt Morrow ) is a singer/songwriter. He lives in Alabama. I'm friends with him on Facebook, and he seems to be doing well. I last swapped emails with Aberrant like four years ago, and lost track of him since. I don't even remember his real name. Like Toofly said, where you go depends on what you need, when you come, and where you'll be staying. There are a lot of good places close together here, so you should have no problem breaking away for a couple hours say 0600-0800, and bagging a bunch of lifers. PM me or Toofly (he's my birding buddy) your life list or hit list of what you're looking for. If you don't have a hit list, we can work your life list to make one. Have you been to California before? Where do you live? These questions also help with the hit list. Obviously you want to target birds you can't get at home, even if you haven't seen them at home yet. Oh, and I haven't been to see the Island Scrub Jays, even though Toofly has tried to get me to go. Lack of free time is my problem. And when you grow up in California, with California Scrub Jays squawking in your ear your whole life, the thought of taking a boat trip to see scrub jays loses it's luster. We have been out to CA once on vacation for a couple of weeks and I was able to see a lot of new birds, though I had to keep my wife interested in the trip as well. I have been in and out a couple of times for work, but no time to do any birding. We have been to UT a few times now and have had an opportunity to see some western birds on those trips. We live just north of Tampa. Because we are coming out with another couple, I will definitely have to sneak out early to get in a little birding. I already have a wish list made out. I already have some of these, but would love to get a better picture if possible. Some of these are not in the SD area. It is below. Bird Wish List Wood Duck Common Poorwill Cinnamon Teal White-throated Swift Surf Scotor Anna's Hummingbird Mountain Quail Allen's Hummingbird Pacific Loon Lewis's Woodpecker Red-throated Loon Red-breasted Sapsucker Western Grebe Nuttall's Woodpecker Clark's Grebe White-headed Woodpecker Northern Fulmer Peregrine Falcon Pink-footed Shearwater Prairie Falcon Sooty Shearwater Cassin's Kingbird Black-vented Shearwater Island Scrub-Jay White-tailed Kite Horned Lark Ferruginous Hawk Oak Titmouse Golden Eagle Bushtit Pacific Golden-plover Bewick's Wren Snowy Plover Pacific Wren Long-billed Curlew (SD River Mudflats) Marsh Wren Black Turnstone (Point La Jolla) Canyon Wren Wanderling Tattler (Point La Jolla) Rock Wren Surfbird California Gnatcatcher Red Knot Wrentit Red Phalarope Golden-crowned Kinglet Black-legged Kittiwake Ruby-crowned Kinglet Mew Gull Townsend's Solitaire Thayer's Gull Hermit Thrush Glaucous-winged Gull Varied Thrush Heermann's Gull California Thrasher Parasitic Jaeger Phainopepla Pomarine Jaeger Orange-crowned Warbler Cassin's Auklet Townsend's Warbler Rhinoceros Auklet Spotted Towhee Band-tailed Pigeon Bell's Sparrow Long-eared Owl Lincoln's Sparrow Short-eared Owl Tricolored Blackbird Spotted Owl Scott's Oriole Northern Saw-whet Owl Lawrence's Goldfinch Western Screech-Owl Lesser Goldfinch Northern Pygmy-Owl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Just now, Bigdaddy44 said: We have been out to CA once on vacation for a couple of weeks and I was able to see a lot of new birds, though I had to keep my wife interested in the trip as well. I have been in and out a couple of times for work, but no time to do any birding. We have been to UT a few times now and have had an opportunity to see some western birds on those trips. We live just north of Tampa. Because we are coming out with another couple, I will definitely have to sneak out early to get in a little birding. I already have a wish list made out. I already have some of these, but would love to get a better picture if possible. Some of these are not in the SD area. It is below. Bird Wish List Wood Duck Common Poorwill Cinnamon Teal White-throated Swift Surf Scotor Anna's Hummingbird Mountain Quail Allen's Hummingbird Pacific Loon Lewis's Woodpecker Red-throated Loon Red-breasted Sapsucker Western Grebe Nuttall's Woodpecker Clark's Grebe White-headed Woodpecker Northern Fulmer Peregrine Falcon Pink-footed Shearwater Prairie Falcon Sooty Shearwater Cassin's Kingbird Black-vented Shearwater Island Scrub-Jay White-tailed Kite Horned Lark Ferruginous Hawk Oak Titmouse Golden Eagle Bushtit Pacific Golden-plover Bewick's Wren Snowy Plover Pacific Wren Long-billed Curlew (SD River Mudflats) Marsh Wren Black Turnstone (Point La Jolla) Canyon Wren Wanderling Tattler (Point La Jolla) Rock Wren Surfbird California Gnatcatcher Red Knot Wrentit Red Phalarope Golden-crowned Kinglet Black-legged Kittiwake Ruby-crowned Kinglet Mew Gull Townsend's Solitaire Thayer's Gull Hermit Thrush Glaucous-winged Gull Varied Thrush Heermann's Gull California Thrasher Parasitic Jaeger Phainopepla Pomarine Jaeger Orange-crowned Warbler Cassin's Auklet Townsend's Warbler Rhinoceros Auklet Spotted Towhee Band-tailed Pigeon Bell's Sparrow Long-eared Owl Lincoln's Sparrow Short-eared Owl Tricolored Blackbird Spotted Owl Scott's Oriole Northern Saw-whet Owl Lawrence's Goldfinch Western Screech-Owl Lesser Goldfinch Northern Pygmy-Owl Have you done any birding in AZ as far as the hummingbirds? We are wanting to make a trip out to AZ in the summer. That is the one bird my wife loves and she will not not pull me away when they are around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooFly Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 1 minute ago, Bigdaddy44 said: We have been out to CA once on vacation for a couple of weeks and I was able to see a lot of new birds, though I had to keep my wife interested in the trip as well. I have been in and out a couple of times for work, but no time to do any birding. We have been to UT a few times now and have had an opportunity to see some western birds on those trips. We live just north of Tampa. Because we are coming out with another couple, I will definitely have to sneak out early to get in a little birding. I already have a wish list made out. I already have some of these, but would love to get a better picture if possible. Some of these are not in the SD area. It is below. Bird Wish List Wood Duck Common Poorwill Cinnamon Teal White-throated Swift Surf Scotor Anna's Hummingbird Mountain Quail Allen's Hummingbird Pacific Loon Lewis's Woodpecker Red-throated Loon Red-breasted Sapsucker Western Grebe Nuttall's Woodpecker Clark's Grebe White-headed Woodpecker Northern Fulmer Peregrine Falcon Pink-footed Shearwater Prairie Falcon Sooty Shearwater Cassin's Kingbird Black-vented Shearwater Island Scrub-Jay White-tailed Kite Horned Lark Ferruginous Hawk Oak Titmouse Golden Eagle Bushtit Pacific Golden-plover Bewick's Wren Snowy Plover Pacific Wren Long-billed Curlew (SD River Mudflats) Marsh Wren Black Turnstone (Point La Jolla) Canyon Wren Wanderling Tattler (Point La Jolla) Rock Wren Surfbird California Gnatcatcher Red Knot Wrentit Red Phalarope Golden-crowned Kinglet Black-legged Kittiwake Ruby-crowned Kinglet Mew Gull Townsend's Solitaire Thayer's Gull Hermit Thrush Glaucous-winged Gull Varied Thrush Heermann's Gull California Thrasher Parasitic Jaeger Phainopepla Pomarine Jaeger Orange-crowned Warbler Cassin's Auklet Townsend's Warbler Rhinoceros Auklet Spotted Towhee Band-tailed Pigeon Bell's Sparrow Long-eared Owl Lincoln's Sparrow Short-eared Owl Tricolored Blackbird Spotted Owl Scott's Oriole Northern Saw-whet Owl Lawrence's Goldfinch Western Screech-Owl Lesser Goldfinch Northern Pygmy-Owl What time of year are you visiting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Early January 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooFly Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Looks like you need to make time for a Palegic Trip! Or you will need to find someone with a scope! The waters might be rough in January though 🤔 Jaeger’s, Shearwaters, Loons, Scotors, Auklet’s, Turnstones and tattlers need scope or boat...From Land you can check out La Jolla Cove, https://ebird.org/hotspot/L233548?m=1&yr=all&changeDate=Set or you could try imperial beach for some of those and also the snowy plover and pacific golden plover. It’s a long walk on a sandy beach though, time consuming. At La Jolla you just park (if you can find a spot), and walk a 100 ft to the viewing point. Imperial Beach https://ebird.org/hotspot/L716959?m=1&yr=all&changeDate=Set For the eagles, Jays, Kinglets, Sapsuckers, wrens, thrashers, Phainopepla, warblers, towhees, Solitare, owls, Thrush, woodpeckers, sparrows, finches and such I would check Lake Cuyamaca. It’s a drive (about 40 minutes from down town), and you want to get there early for the owls. It will be cold in January. https://ebird.org/hotspot/L241746/all/1 No guarantees any of the birds will be there, and some of your birds are rare for us. Now obviously the best way to find these is with a guide...and to keep an eye on the list server. https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding Im sure @Creeker will have some better ideas, if he contradicts anything I say, go with his word. He’s been birding this area for 100 years!!! 😂🤣 But if you went to La Jolla and Lake Cuyamaca you would probably get a lot of your birds. Good Luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creeker Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 I like the Ssn Diego River, from I-5 west. There is a paved path and you could easily get six or more of your list from there alone. It's right across from SeaWorld. If you're staying anywhere near downtown or mission valley it's within minutes. On the other side of SeaWorld is Fiesta island. You can get White -tailed Kite and probably Short-eared Owl there. J street pier in Chula Vista is also good for shorebirds and gulls, and is close . Talk the others into going to the zoo. Lots of visiting ducks and things there. Same with SeaWorld and the safari park. Stay close to the coast and your hotel to maximize birding time. As for Seaz and hummers, my first trip there in two different areas, I saw too many types to put in on my phone. I'll add them later. Madera Canyon inn has an awesome viewing area. Ramsey canyon's viewing area is smaller but also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdaddy44 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 Creeker and TooFly, thanks for the input. Very much appreciated!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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