BIRDING TO THE EDG

This time of year becomes the favorite of many! Spring is on the horizon and excitement races through the birding community like a stock car at Daytona. Nevertheless, I always find myself in a forgotten part of the United States. That is northern California! Godwit Days birding festival takes place in Arcata, California each April and can offer some of the best birding many of us have ever experienced. I certainly fit in that category! Nikon Sport Optics sends me up here to work the show where I spend time at the exhibitor area and leading field trips.

Coming to a place like this warrants some more added attention and time. I chose to spend some time in a little visited place called Mendocino County. Mendocino is the capital of this fine county but to get to it you need to have a purpose. Most people driving through northern California pass on highway 101 and blow by Mendocino. You need to head west to get to this historic community. My first glimpse at this town was inspiring. The beauty here is unparalleled! Rocky coastline, towering Redwoods, relaxed culture, private bungalows, warm hospitality, and solitude are just a few of the many positive attributes this place offers. Oh yes, but of course good birding exists. The people of Mendocino have made sure that much of their land is protected for the better of our children's future.

One of the more common species in winter going into early spring are Glaucous-winged Gulls. This first-winter Glaucous-wing I photographed earlier today was flying around Mendocino Headlands State Park amidst all of the outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the glistening sun. This bird being bulky (4-year gull) with a large bill can be found commonly in most parking lots here. Western Gull can be most tough to deal with when identifying this bird, but the field marks are straight forward. Glaucous-winged is much lighter overall in color and the biggest key are the extremely pale wingtips compared to the blackish wingtips of the Western Gull. Western Gull would also have a much darker body with larger chevrons on the dorsal side. Hybrids exists between these two species very commonly, but are easy to differentiate. Look for a meeting of the two birds concerning their morphology. Hybrids are darker bodied than the bird above with dark gray wingtips as opposed to black.


One of the most mysterious birds in out country is the Wrentit. This bird is in a monotypic genus, Chamaea. These beauties are endemic to the west coast United States coastal Chaparral habitat which is characterized by dozens of dense and flammable (oils in the plant leaves cause the shrubs to be flammable) shrubs. Most often heard, these birds can be very difficult to see. The northern populations exhibit a strong reddish overall tone compared to the principally gray appearance of the southern races. Armed with my 82 mm Nikon Fieldscope and my Nikon EDG binoculars I was set to experience something I never have before. I was privileged enough to have my most exciting experience with these birds yet. I actually saw the whole body of two birds in full view at one time. Singing their heads off they were! Notice the curved maxilla and pale eyes. Nothing else looks like a Wrentit! You could make a case for Bushtits, but Wrentits are about three times larger and much more secretive.

I never thought I would get a good photo of a Wrentit, so I wanted to share my success with you all. Thanks for reading and come back for more!