Wednesday 27th
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| Fog shrouded Santa Cruz Island |
Visit my Trip List on eBird California Lifers - eBird Trip Report to see our birding activates.
California pelagic trip had been on my bucket list for years, but in 2023, my planned trip with Island Packers out of Ventura California was canceled due to weather—disappointing. I rescheduled for October 2024 but had to miss it due to illness.
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| Cocos Boobies have expanded their range northward with hundreds nesting on Sutil Island |
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My Photo of a Minke Whale
this is typical of most of my photography on this trip |
Fortunately, my friends Dave and Tammy McQuade reached out and helped me get on some Pacific coast life birds. They invited me to join them and my new friend, big year birder Geno Ellison, on two pelagic trips out of Ventura: The Blue Booby Trip on August 7th and the Pelagic Trip on August 9th. We also added a third trip to Santa Cruz Island for the Island Scrub Jay, plus a visit to the Burkhart campsite in Angeles National Forest, where I saw several lifers and a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.
We also went to the Mt Clef Ridge in for the California Gnatcatcher but dipped on that one.
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The sage-cactus habitat at Mt Clef Ridge supports many birds
and was our target for the California Gnatcatchers |
The birding trip was a success overall, with great weather, 25 lifers, and several new friends. However, I missed a few life birds seen by others, such as the long-tailed jaeger, south polar skua, least storm-petrel, northern pygmy-owl, and brown creepers. The group also dipped on searches for mountain quail, MacGillivray's warbler, American dipper, and California gnatcatchers.
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On the Burkhart trail looking for lifers.
Dave, Tammy and Geno were working to find me some good birds
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| White-headed Woodpecker |
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| Santa Cruz Island Fox |
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| Black-crowned Nighthawk |
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| Ventura Harbor |
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