“The West Coast has the sunshine, and the girls all get so tan….” Many of these places I visit this year, some for the first time in decades, spark dormant memories. Friday, as my plane coasted in to LAX, it occurred to me that it was 50 years ago this month that I first flew in to LAX when we moved to California. For years afterward I was teased about the first thing I said as we walked through the airport parking lot: “Look at all those California license plates!”
There are a handful of birds in North America that have a tiny range that is way off the beaten path requiring extra effort to see them. The best examples are Kirtland’s Warbler in Michigan and Colima Warbler in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Island Scrub-Jay is another. I’ve always wanted to see one but never had the chance. This year was the time to do it.
Day 1 – Friday, 19 October. I leave the apartment at 8:00 am, arrive at the airport at 9:20, leave Tucson on time at 10:50, and arrive at LAX at 12:20. By 1:30 I am on the road. I take the scenic route, Pacific Coast Highway, up to Ventura, passing through Topanga Canyon, Malibu, and all the A-List Southern California coastal towns on a stereotypical Southern California day – cloudless sky, calm air, low 70’s. Two hours later I check in to the Amanzi Hotel, carefully situated between downtown, Highway 101, and a train trestle. Most importantly, I am minutes from Ventura Harbor, where I immediately head so I’ll know where the boat is tomorrow.
After I find the dock, I walk across the street to the beach to look for Dunlin. Instead, I find something better:
Red Knot! (533) I may not see any more of these this year so this was a good find. I’ll get Dunlin later.
Day 2 – 20 October. Up at 7:00 and at the dock by 8:00 or so. The boat doesn’t leave until 9:30 so no need to get an early start. I have a ticket with Island Packers, purveyors of rides to the Channel Islands since 1969. Before we leave the dock I can see I am the only birder on board. The ride out takes much longer than usual due to heavy surf. Many times we have to slow almost to a stop to meet the bigger waves. I try sitting on the bow for a while but it’s like riding a bucking bronco and I’m afraid I’ll get tossed overboard. Within 20 minutes we see a species I expected we would – Black-vented Shearwater (534), about a dozen crossing the bow. Soon we would see groups of dozens on the water.
Two hours and twenty minutes after shoving off, we dock at Prisoner’s Cove, Santa Cruz Island. I scan the hillsides hoping for an early score. My anticipation level is high; I’m here, the only place on planet Earth where you can see this bird. I’ve come all this way, I must see one. The way it works, you land on the border between the national park and the rest of the island owned by the Nature Conservancy. If you want to enter Nature Conservancy land, you must join the ship naturalist. I ask and find that my best bet is to join the walk and then turn back when I’ve had my fill. A group of 8 of us heads up the trail and after half an hour, I see and hear nothing. Is today the one day when Island Scrub-Jay fails to show? Did I come all this way for nothing? I keep going. Then I see one! It lands in a distant snag right out in the open. I inform the guide there is one just up ahead. We reach the tree and out pops another one, right out in the open, Island Scrub-Jay (535)!
I get all the pictures I want and, since I can’t do any better, I break off from the group and head back, head in the clouds. I got the bird I came here to see.
Soon I run into two local birders who have just seen a Varied Thrush. But first, they offer to show me a nest box of Saw-whet Owl, a bird they say is common on the island. But, no luck with the owl so I return to the thrush site and see a bird fly overhead that seems to have the color pattern of Varied Thrush, probably was the bird, but it got away without sufficient identification. I think I have Allen’s Hummingbird high in the tall eucalyptus trees near the dock but I can’t get a good look. Before I know it, it’s time to board the boat for the return trip to the mainland. I eat a good pizza blocks from the hotel and then join Cris and Al for the Sunday night game.
Day 3 – 21 October. I check out of the Amanzi at 8:00 and look for the Route 1 exit off 101 but I can’t find it, the morning sun is directly in my eyes and I can’t see the road signs. Instead of a scenic ride down Rt 1, I end up taking the 101 to the 405 to LAX. Needless to say, 20 mph was the going speed most of the way. Imagine doing that every day? I gas up the car, find the rental car drop off, ride the shuttle to the airport, and chill a few hours until the 1:10 departure, happy to let someone else drive for awhile. We arrive in Tucson by 2:30, where it is many degrees cooler than in LA. I stop at the railroad trestle along the way to look for Barn Owl but no luck. I may have a new lead on that one later this week, let’s see what happens. The trip is over and I’m thrilled with how it went. In two weeks I leave for Texas.
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