Santa Barbara

My trip out west has really barely begun and with very little effort I has added a bunch of birds I have never 'seen' before.  Of course the quotes are there to clarify that while I may have glanced at these birds in trip gone by I haven't actually been birding and tried to identify them.  The plane touched down in LA in a hazy Saturday afternoon, and we quickly headed to the water to get our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.  Grabbing a bite to eat on the shore  I added two life birds while munching on my first California hamburger, both Western Gull and California Gull were sitting on the beach.  But our first few days weren't for birding they were for having fun with a mouse so off to Disneyland we went.



The next day meanderingly dropped us into Santa Barbara, where I pulled up a chair in the fading afternoon sun to see what types of birds were frequenting the yard.  Amazingly, a good group of birds pushed through the yard adding to my lists (* are lifers).  Mourning Dove, House Finch, Eurasian Collared Dove, Banded-tail Pigeon*, Anna's Hummingbird*, Western Scrub Jay*, Oak Titmouse*, American Crow, European Starling, Black Phoebe*, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Bushtit*, Townsend's Warbler*. 



Bushtit





Acorn Woodpecker



The now infamous marine layer was proving an impenetrable sight along the coast and the next day encouraged us to head to the hills.  We took a quick 3 mile ride up a mountain and bumped our way to Oak Flat for a quick stop and an impressive view.  Although, the birds didn't end up panning out like I had hoped the trip was still worth it and luckily some Acorn Woodpeckers were willing to pose for the camera.



Clear skies pushed through the next morning as I met up with a local birder who was nice enough to show me some of the hotspots in the area.  Not only was the company great but the birds were pretty amazing tallying up a nice amount of life birds.  The first stop of the morning was Lake Los Carneros in Goleta.  We had a great group of birds, most likely because I left the camera in the car!  A quick loop around the park resulted in this list (*lifers): California Towhee*, California Thrasher*, Hutton's Vireo (only heard doesn't count), Bewick's Wren*, Bushtit, Orange-crowned Warbler*, Townsend's Warbler, White-tailed Kite, Red-tailed Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Wrentit*, Oak Titmouse, American Crow, Red-winged Balckbird, Turkey Vulture, Black-crowned Night Heron, Nutmeg Mannakin*, Acorn Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker*, Black Phoebe, Western Wood-Peewee*, Western Tanager*, Western Scrub Jay, Clapper Rail and Sora Rail (amazing views of both!), American Coot, Mallard Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Anna's Hummingbird, Ruddy Duck, White-faced Ibis* (flyover), and Pacific-slope Flycatcher*.  I'm sure I forgot something but I'll let the list stands for now.

Black-necked Stilt

Anna's Hummingbird

We made another couple of stops closer to the water and added a few more species.  One stop was at a salt marsh which looked NOTHING like those back home.  This area isn't tidally influenced but instead is a low area that becomes damned by sand and has a backup of brackish water.  Then when the water becomes too high the damn breaks and only the river is left.  This specific salt marsh had broken through a couple of years before and was mostly dry.  The wet areas however did hold some gems.  Black-necked Stilt*, Western Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Canada Goose, White-fronted Goose, Brant, Belted Kingfisher, Say's Phoebe*, Cassin's Kingbird*, Semi-palmated Plover, and Forster's Tern*.



Forster's Tern



Red-tailed Hawk

Other miscellaneous species I've seen while travelling to the beach or going out for a drive include; Heermann's Gull*, Northern Mockingbird, Willet, Brown Pelican, Whimbrel, Black Skimmer, Ring-billed Gull, Mute Swan (imm.), Turkey Vulture, Blue-winged Teal, and Brewer's Blackbird*.

Heermann's Gull



Ground Squirrel hanging at the beach