Happy New Year!

Wow, it got really cold, too!  And, on at least two freezing cold (or below freezing cold) days, I had to get up early to go count birds! Today was one of those two days. You can see a little bit about today's count on Killdeers, Phoebes and Finches, my bird blog.

I haven't done anything for New Years since I was half my age, so I didn't do anything last night. We had snow relatively close to town a couple of days ago. Today, so many people went to Julian, a small historic mining town in the mountains, that Julian closed the town down, pretty much.  Well, not really, but they were asking people not to bother coming up there. Apparently, traffic was backed up all the way to El Cajon the way people were talking.

Not much happened in town on Christmas. It was a nice day and I went down to Lake Murray to see the ducks and loons. Arthritis duck is was still there, but last Tuesday, he was shivering in the cold, so I am worried about him. I haven't checked on him in the last few days, so I don't know what is going on with him.

Even though it was cold, it was a nice day to do stuff. I'm glad I didn't go to Julian. I've experienced enough snow as a kid when I lived in Detroit, so I don't care if I see any. I might go up to Julian later as I like the tea shop up there.

My Eskimo Curlew Obsession

I wrote this about my Eskimo Curlew obsession.  Since I've written this article, the Squidoo site was merged with HubPages.  The link still works, but you will be directed to HubPages instead of Squidoo.

Eskimo Curlew Painting in the last 1880s
by Archibald Thorburn (1860 - 1935).

A lot of people know that my favorite bird is the killdeer, but, I'm also obsessed with Eskimo curlews. It all started when I saw (or saw again), the ABC Afterschool Special and read the book by Fred Bodsworth called "Last of the Curlews". It was a sad story about a lone male curlew in search of a mate, and then finds one, only to lose her at the very end of what was a promising travel back to the nesting area. The whole story of the Eskimo curlew was a very sad one that may have ended in extinction. But, I deeply hope that is not the case.

The Eskimo curlew was the smallest curlew in the Americas and was once the most numerous shorebirds in the region. It looked a lot like the whimbrel which is still pretty plentiful in most areas today. It had a remarkable migration going from the top of the Earth in the high arctic, almost all the way down to the tip of South America, though not quite as far as the red knot or arctic tern does. Like many birds in the mid to late 1800s in the United States, it was hunted mercilessly and went from multiple millions of birds to practically none in about twenty years. The bird had an endearing characteristic of returning to comfort its hurt mates and colleagues when they were shot or injured. Hunters took this as stupidity and this trait of the curlews made it easier to mow down huge flocks of these birds for the market.

Even when this bird became extremely rare, it continued to be shot by collectors wanting to be the ones to have one of the last Eskimo curlews in its existence. With the passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1918, most of the shooting stopped, but it was too late. The bird was considered extinct in the 1940s, but was re-found in the 1950s. A pair of birds was frequently seen in Texas each year from the late 1950s to early 1960s when the two were photographed. One bird was shot in Barbados in 1963. This ends the last official records of the species. But, other sightings were confirmed up to the 1980s. There have even been fairly credible sightings up until the early to mid-2000s.

I maintain a page on Squidoo about Eskimo curlew sightings. One of the problems that people seem to be having is distinguishing the curlew from the whimbrel. Most people alive now have never seen an Eskimo curlew even in a museum. Skins of the bird are not common and only a handful museums display mounted specimens and mostly in the states where the specimen was obtained. Most skins are kept locked up and one has to get special permission to view and study them up close. Juvenile whimbrels can look very much like Eskimo curlews, especially far out on a mud flat. Many people also confuse Eskimo curlews with long-billed curlews. Even back in the 1960s, with photographs and a specimen, even sighting was highly scrutinized. Without physical proof, no sighting of this bird will ever be accepted now. Since the bird was, more or less, officially declared extinct this year after 50 years of lack of physical proof, I haven't heard of a single sighting where I usually hear of at least two or three a year.

Beach Birds of Mission Bay

In May of 2013, I wrote this article about the birds I see around Mission Bay, an easy place for people to visit here in San Diego.  Now that it's fall, it's a great time to go see these birds.

Assorted shorebirds

Godwits and Willets

I don't know how many people go to the beach or bay not to hang out, but to check out the local wildlife. In San Diego, there is a recreational area called Mission Bay where people don't usually sunbathe or swim (though a few can be seen doing so). This bay was dredged out so people can use jet skis, boats, fly kites, row or kayak, run their dogs loose (on Fiesta Island only), or play a game call "Over the Line" among other activities and events. But, Mission Bay is also a place for the birds-literally. 

Brant

Thousands of birds call the bay their home as they have done for thousands of years.

Before the bay was dredged for human use, it was more marsh-like and many birds populated and bred in it. There are still pockets of these marshes preserved throughout the bay and one of them, the Kendall-Frost Marsh, is fenced off from people. However, a good variety of birds can be found on the beach just outside the marsh. Other areas that are fenced off include several least tern nesting sites which are managed by the city of San Diego and the San Diego Audubon Society. Each year, the nesting sites have to be weeded because the disturbance of the soil from dredging allowed many invasive plants to take root. The California subspecies of least tern is endangered mostly due to loss of breeding habitat.  

Willet

Even in more disturbed areas, birds are abundant. Despite the fact that loose dogs run all over Fiesta Island, many birds don't seem too bothered by them. In the water, brant geese, ducks, and grebes continue to feed among the speeding watercraft. Willets and marbled godwits seem to be the most common type of shorebird along the beaches. Killdeer often nest in the least tern nesting habitats, usually well before the terns arrive.

Horned larks

When visiting the bay, be mindful of the birds around and don't intentionally harass them. Winter is the best time to see the most variety of birds with just about every type of shorebird that usually visits the San Diego area can be seen. In the summer, most of the birds seen are terns, gulls, raptors, sparrows, horned larks, and other small birds.

While I based this article on my own experiences, here's a few links that might be of interest to readers:

Natural Reserve System: Kendall-Frost Marsh 
San Diego History: Mission Bay Aquatic Park 
Mission Bay (Wikipedia)

Remembering my first birding trip to the Tijuana River Mouth in 2013

Back in April 2013, I did my first birding trip to the Tijuana River Mouth where I saw snowy plovers and other birds getting ready for migration.  I have been back since then, most recently when they huge shoals of anchovies arrived and thousands of birds took advantage of them.

In early April, 2013, I made my first trip to the mouth of the Tijuana River to do some birding. Though I have been birding for over three years in San Diego and Imperial Counties, I haven't been to this "hot spot" of local birding, yet, though I've heard a lot about it. Recently, a Wilson's plover was seen in the area. Wilson's plovers are rare in this area and most of the time; they stay south of the U.S. border, except for summer visits along the Gulf of Mexico, east coast, and the very south part of Florida.

The closest place to park was at the end of Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach. From there, you can see the Tijuana River flowing down towards the mouth. In this area, you can often see waterfowl and herons and, perhaps, a rare light-footed clapper rail. There is an observation deck situated over the marshy area. Where I had to be was about a 20-30 minute walk south which can be awkward if you're carrying tripods, scopes, cameras and the like. I walked along the edge of an area roped off for the least tern and snowy plovers to nest until I reached where it ended and set up my equipment.

In front of me was a flock of black-bellied plovers turning into their breeding plumage. 

There were several tiny western sandpipers; some of them were half-buried in the sand. sandpipers were running all about.They seemed to be the most bold of all the birds there, coming very close to me. 

A couple dozen snowy plovers were running around in the more sandy areas nearby.

Not far from me was a large flock of terns and gulls, screeching and flying all around. Pelicans, both brown and white, sat on a mud patch. One thing I enjoyed was the plentiful long-billed curlews flying and calling all around. They seem to like to fight with each other. A whimbrel tried to fly into their area and was chased off.

I tried to take pictures through my scope, but I just haven't gotten the hang of it, yet. I did manage to take several pictures with my normal camera lens. Just after I started to leave, a family came by and started flying a kite, causing all the birds to fly off and scatter all around. They were reacting to it like it was a falcon. Just a few minutes ago, they seemed calm, but were now agitated. Needless to say, the family got a good talking to by Fish and Game officials about that.

I didn't see the Wilson's plover.

Sources:
Though I used most of my own personal experience in this article, here are some helpful links:

Wilson Plover ID
Snow Plover ID
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve website.

George the killdeer and the killdeer blog

In late 2010, I wrote about one of my other blogs here on Blogger:  Killdeers, Phoebes and Finches.  I also talked about George the Killdeer as well.  George was a real killdeer, but he may have passed away recently as I haven't seen him for at least a year.  He left Lake Murray in 2011 or 2012, but returned each year with his family.  You will find this blog in my lists of blogs on this site.

You can also find out more about George and his family at:   http://shorebirdie.hubpages.com/hub/georgethekilldeer

Killdeers, phoebes and finches (and ducks!) is a blog that I am currently keeping on a family of killdeer at Lake Murray in San Diego, California. 

One might wonder what, exactly, a killdeer is? A killdeer is a plover, a shorebird, but they have adapted themselves to living close to people and away from the shore. Most killdeer need some kind of permanent fresh water nearby for their daily requirements. However, a small drainage ditch or creek is more than enough for a killdeer to live a good life provided that there is always drinkable water. Killdeers like to live in open areas like golf courses, airfields, farms, fields, and, of course, on a beach.

Killdeers are mostly brown and white and are distinguished from other plovers by their double banded breast-marks and necks. They are about the size of a mourning dove with long, stilt-like legs. They often nest in the open and divert predators with a broken-wing act. Both parents usually care for the eggs and chicks. Their eggs look a lot like rocks and can be easily missed if they're laid in a rocky area. Their chicks hatch after about 24-28 days and the babies can run within hours of hatching.

Killdeers, phoebes and finches (and ducks!) talks about killdeers, chicks, ducks, and other birds that live around the lake. There are stories about chicks, ducklings, and other babies that hatched or were born in the summer. Raptors are also mentioned as are other shore and water birds.

So, if one is interested in birds, especially in the San Diego area, check out Killdeers, phoebes and finches (and ducks!). The main killdeer family in the blog, headed by a male killdeer named "George" (also called M2 in the blog) can also be chronicled on Twitter as @killdeergeorge or by clicking on the link in his name above.