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San Diego Birdwatching Festival, Day 2: Our First Rare Bird
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On Thursday (Feb 8), we went to the "rocky shores" of San Diego. The locals call this area of San Diego La Jolla Shores. The life bird of this day was the American Oyster Catcher. It has been seen only a few times in San Diego. On the east coast it is not considered a rare bird. Sometimes, rare birds are just birds that should not normally to be found in an area. We don't know how or why it is here. Stan, our docent, had only seen this bird here once or twice in 25 years of birding in this area. This type of discovery is always exciting for him. Transporting the bird to the area as was done with the Mandarin Duck does not count.
As we explored the shores we got to see a great place where cormorants nest. As we continued along the shore, we saw a Whimbrel probing some moss. It was interesting to me, because I wondered what it could want in the moss. I saw right next to it a Surfbird that everyone loved, but it wasn't their life bird. So we moved on.
We moved down the shore some more and everyone gasped. Not too far from our group we saw the American Oyster Catcher again. What made it so great this time was that it had a Black Oyster Catcher (a western bird) right next to it. It was pretty far away even for our big lens to photograph. A family chasing birds along the shore scared them in such a way that we could get closer. While everyone was searching for other birds, my dad and I went down to the closest spot to photograph them.
I scored great pictures while everyone else was looking for sandpipers.
The Brandt's Cormorant Resting Along the Cliff.
The Whimbrel Walking Along the Shoreline
So we returned to the bus with some great pictures as souvenirs. The next place we went was a lake filled with ducks and sandpipers. Then someone shouted Clapper Rail. Stan, the docent, said that this bird is ordinarily very shy and not likely to come close to us. It was mostly hidden in the grass about 10 feet away. We found a pattern in its appearances, so we set up our camera gear ahead of it. Some moments later it burst in to sight. I quickly took some shots then it was gone and the trip was over. I found most of the pictures satisfying, but the Clapper Rail's head was always out of focus. Oh well. Maybe next time.
American Oyster Catcher on the Left with the Black Oyster Catcher to his Right.
