California 2011

Well, I made a trip out to California for a work conference and headed to the Bay area 6 days early to do a little birding.  I had huge intentions of blogging my way around, especially since I was flying solo for this trip.  Some how I still didn't have enough time or energy to blog enroute and instead here I am weeks later at least posting a few pictures.

I flew out on a Tuesday and didn't spend much time birding as the weather wasn't great.  By mid afternoon the next day the skies had cleared and took a walk along the beach behind my hotel in Half Moon Bay.  This was a great little area and I wish I had planned some more time.  Best bird (and life bird) for my time here was a MacGillvray's Warbler that made a quick showing but didn't have time for a photo. 

Here is a few of the western species that did make a decent appearance.

California Towhee- behavior reminds me of our eastern Cardinal

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Route 1 somewhere between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay

Red-winged Blackbird- some California birds only have red on the wing

White-crowned Sparrow- in coastal areas as common as Song Sparrows

Spotted Towhee

Whimbrel- one of the few shorebirds from the trip

I had actually headed down to Santa Cruz to visit the natural history museum (not worth the drive).  The first few photos were from the lawn and the drive back to Half Moon Bay.  If I ever head back to CA I will definitely spend more time in this area.