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Home , Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes, West Marin

THE KINGPISHERS pisher BAT. It’s hard, impossible really, to know the weather in advance 2020 BIRDATHON, MARIN COUNTY, CA (weather forecast being one of those oxymorons like popular culture 25/26 SEPTEMBER = Total 156 species and politically correct) and work commitments for one of us limited the options, but hey, from midday 25 September to midday 26 September One minute to our noon kick-off! seemed like a good bet for a BAT, perhaps a little on the early side (vs. even 20 years ago) given changing bird migration schedules thanks to global warming, but it was what we had to work with. The good news is it wasn’t foggy either day. We started Day 1 at noon on the shore of Abbotts Lagoon in the National Seashore, where we found a number of species that can be missed easily on BAT, such as White-faced Ibis, Red-necked Phalarope, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Palm Warbler, and thankfully also came across the iconic and threatened Snowy Plover (below = not really time on BAT for photos, so

Started many years ago by enthusiastic folks at Point Reyes Bird Observa- tory (PRBO, now Point Blue Conservation Science), the idea of a “bird- athon” (often abbreviated to BAT = finding as many bird species as you can in a 24-hour period) has become a tradition that has morphed into Point Blue’s annual Rich Stallcup Birdathon. This year, 2020, with limited opportunities for any travel and birding thanks to a global pandemic, we (Catherine Hickey, Steve Howell; above) decided to try a serious BAT in Marin County, California. We’d taken part in numerous birdathons in years past, but not done a really focused one for 10 years or so, and never here’s a bird at Abbotts Lagoon from a previous visit). We were away from just the two of us. While our team/pod of only two people would mean Abbotts in 2 hours and checked some nearby ranches (successfully) for fewer eyes it would also mean fewer mouths (less ambient noise to dis- Brown-headed Cowbirds (hey, every species counts and it’s not the cow- tract from listening), and fewer butts to corral into vehicles = in theory a bird’s fault if we humans have irreparably messed up the landscape) and quicker and more efficient effort. For those who may be less familiar with the imperiled Tricolored Blackbird, a victim of other landscape changes birding jargon, the team name “Kingpishers” is a play on pishing, the art and the subject of intensive and much-needed conservation action. of making various noises to invoke curiosity in birds and make them reveal The outer reaches of Point Reyes, such as the lighthouse and fish themselves. docks, which are some of the better spots to check on BAT, were closed With daily birding for the preceding month, including some site-spe- to the public thanks to road construction, so a chunk of potential species cific scouting, we picked a date and took the plunge for the 2020 King- were off limits to us. Nonetheless, we elected to risk hold-ups at roadworks and head out to Drakes Beach. The new road looked good for a while, but Third time lucky for a food place that was open (it’s Friday night, then a paving crew brought us to a halt. One great thing about birding is really) and then owling on our drive back over . As Mark you can do it anywhere, so we leapt out and looked for birds! Two Vio- Twain might have said “Owling is a good sleep spoiled,” and 2.5 hours of let-green (easy to miss on BAT in , but more on that slog and one Northern Saw-whet heard but not seen supported this later) were nice, plus a Northern Flicker, but the only Golden of aphorism. But still, it was one more bird for the day, which closed out at the day was even better, and then we were waved on through after adding 124 species—but with a lot of common landbirds still to find. Asleep by three species we could have missed. midnight... Drakes Beach was sunny and WINDY, although a Tropical Kingbird in the lee of some trees was a bonus (below, the actual bird, a documentary snap), and a couple of roosting Great Horned (one of them below)

Day 2 started with a pre-dawn Swainson’s Thrush calling and contin- ued with a beautiful pre-dawn of shorebird sounds and silhouettes along —magical, but sadly no time to linger and appreciate it! are always nice to see. The ocean, however, was almost devoid of birds— The coastal scrub slopes and rocky coast south of Stinson Beach produced not a single , for example—and a howling northwest wind made it Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Black Oystercatcher, followed by a selection hard to see what hadn’t been blown away. Luckily we got back through of migrants in the early morning Stinson Beach parking lot (including a the roadworks quickly and made a few short stops on our way over to East lucky Lark Sparrow, above center), before the swarming hordes of beach- Marin. Stafford Lake was a great stop, with good lighting and less wind, goers arrived. If you think East Marin and traffic on a Friday afternoon is and we added about 15 species there in fairly short order, including Com- bad, it was much nicer than Saturday morning in sunny West Marin! Back mon Merganser, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Pipit (remarkably absent at north along the lagoon we headed to Five Brooks, where a calm morning Abbotts Lagoon), and a couple of quintessentially “eastern” (for Marin seemed ideal for birds, but not even a Wood (at the one nearly sure- County) species—Oak Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatch. Our last fire local spot for this species). And then the wind picked up, and up, and stop for the day was the Las Gallinas sewage treatment plant, where we our last 1.5 hours were spent in dazzling sun and a howling gale, trying to were greeted by a veritable blizzard (well over 1000 birds!) of swallows (4 eek out any new landbirds. Our local knowledge added Western Tanager species, mainly Violet-green, so the roadworks birds were less significant) (above right), but three local House Sparrow hotspots all failed us (what and hundreds of Vaux’s Swifts (one opposite). Our late afternoon arrival a species to miss!) and our last new BAT species was a migrating Sharp- was timed to end at the tidal marsh in hopes of hearing Ridgway’s Rail shinned a few minutes before noon. Twenty-four hours and a lot of and Black Rail after sunset, and we succeeded on the former. work had produced 156 species, followed by much needed SLEEP! We thank the following for their logistical support, not only in scouting 156 species, the “Stringfishers” list would easily have been in excess of 160 where to find species but in finding where species were NOT hanging out, species—but we opted for credibility, even if it meant less money raised! equally important when the clock is ticking: Patricia Briceño P., Renée Other somewhat annoying misses were White-fronted Goose (flocks Cormier, Mark Dettling, Megan Elrod, Keith Hansen, Diana Humple, totaling 90 birds flew over us in Bolinas the very next morning!), Hermit Kristine Johnson, Ron Mallory, Ethan Okamura, Alex Merritt, Dan Thrush (two in Steve’s yard the next morning!), Horned Lark, Cooper’s Singer, Steve Trivelpiece, Jim White, and especially Ryan DiGaudio for his Hawk, Pacific Loon, ... the list goes on. But of course it’s the unpredict- help on the first afternoon of what was most definitely a fun-filled birding ability of birding that makes it fun; there’s always a challenge and you adventure, a great antidote to the mass media blitz that seems to fill our never know what you might see around the next corner—perhaps even a lives these days. House Sparrow! Depending on where you live, 156 species in 24 hours may seem like a lot (or if you live in eastern Peru it may sound pitiful!); however, given our location and route it wasn’t the best possible showing and averaged 10 fewer species than numerous comparable birdathons we did in the Happy birding and keep caring! 1990s and even early 2000s (OK, so we’re older and our eyes and ears aren’t as sharp, but hopefully that is balanced by some experience). Sure, the weather (sunny and windy is the worst possible birding combination), the weekend, and Point Reyes being closed off didn’t help, but the bottom line is that there are simply far fewer birds on Earth than there used to be. Still, it’s sad to see first hand, and it should be a sobering wake-up call that the work Point Blue does is even more vital than ever. Thanks to all for your support and we wish you the best of birding and life for this year and Got those Snowy Plovers! Catherine with Point Blue biologist Ryan many more to come. DiGaudio at Abbotts Lagoon

PS. People often ask: What were the “worst” misses? Well, missing House Sparrow was certainly a lesson (usually we see it at the outer ranches on Point Reyes, closed off this year). Western Meadowlark was seen 15 min- utes before we started, and none during BAT hours—that hurt! One of the Peregrine at Abbotts was chasing a high-flying songbird that really looked like a longspur (presumably Lapland Longspur); a fleeting sparrow that got away at Stafford Lake was almost certainly a Vesper Sparrow; and a dashing seen from the car where there was no place to stop safely and confirm the identification also eluded our list. OK, we should be stringy (it’s for a good cause, after all). (Stringing in the bird world, for those unfamiliar with the term, is being loose or even simply creative with your birding = reporting species not really seen or heard well enough to be certain of their identity). So, while the Kingpishers list was THE KINGPISHERS : OUR SPECIES LIST (156) Greater Yellowlegs 2020 BIRDATHON, MARIN COUNTY, CA Lesser Yellowlegs—Stafford Lake, alongside several Greater Yellowlegs Willet—Bolinas Lagoon (locations noted when species found at only a single site) Whimbrel—Bolinas Lagoon Long-billed Curlew—Bolinas Lagoon WATERBIRDS Marbled Godwit Swimming Waterbirds (21 species) Sanderling—Abbotts Lagoon Canada Goose Dunlin—Abbotts Lagoon Mute —Las Gallinas Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper—Abbotts Lagoon American Wigeon Western Sandpiper Blue-winged Teal Long-billed Dowitcher Cinnamon Teal Red-necked Phalarope—Abbotts Lagoon, more than usual staying late this year Northern Shoveler Great Egret Green-winged Teal Snowy Egret Surf Scoter—Drakes Beach Black-crowned Night-Heron—Las Gallinas Common Merganser—Stafford Lake White-faced Ibis—1 immature at Abbotts Lagoon, a good bird for West Marin Pied-billed Ridgway’s Rail—Las Gallinas, calling at dusk from the tidal marsh, but no Black Rail! Eared Grebe—a few at Abbotts Lagoon Virginia Rail Sora—Drakes Beach Clark’s Grebe—at least 1 off Stinson Beach among many Westerns Common Gallinule—Las Gallinas Red-throated Loon —Abbotts Lagoon Brandt’s Cormorant—Stinson Beach area LANDBIRDS Pelagic Cormorant—1 roosting on cliffs south of Stinson Beach Gamebirds (2 species) Double-crested Cormorant California Quail Common Murre—Stinson Beach area Wild Turkey—missed in Point Reyes Station, but a group near Stafford Lake saved the day!

Flying Waterbirds (9 species) Raptors and Owls (13 species) American White Heermann’s White-tailed Kite—10+ hunting the fields and marshes at Las Gallinas along with several harriers Ring-billed Gull was quite the show! Sharp-shinned Hawk—Bolinas, the last new bird of the BAT! Glaucous-winged Gull—one 2nd-cycle flying south along the beach at Abbotts Lagoon Red-shouldered Hawk Caspian —2 lingering birds at Red-tailed Hawk Elegant Tern —a juvenile circling over fields at Point Reyes, thanks to the roadworks!! American Kestrel Walking Waterbirds(31 species) Peregrine —Abbotts Lagoon Black Oystercatcher—Stinson Beach area —Drakes Beach Black-necked Stilt—Las Gallinas Great Horned Owl—Drakes Beach American Avocet—Bolinas Lagoon Northern Saw-whet Owl—Bolinas area, our only bird in 2.5 hours of owling! Black-bellied Plover—Bolinas Lagoon Snowy Plover—Abbotts Lagoon, a small group roosting on the beach Larger Landbirds (12 species) Semipalmated Plover—Abbotts Lagoon Feral Pigeon—Point Reyes Station in passing, and glad we did as none seen later! Killdeer Band-tailed Pigeon Spotted Sandpiper—Stafford Lake Eurasian Collared Dove Mourning Dove—Las Gallinas Northern Mockingbird—Las Gallinas Belted Kingfisher European Starling Acorn Woodpecker—Five Brooks American Pipit Red-breasted Sapsucker—Bolinas Cedar Waxwing—Stinson Beach area Nuttall’s Woodpecker Orange-crowned Warbler—Stinson Beach area Downy Woodpecker Common Yellowthroat Hairy Woodpecker—Stinson Beach area Yellow Warbler Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) Palm Warbler—singles at Abbotts Lagoon and Las Gallinas were nice Pileated Woodpecker—Five Brooks Audubon’s (Yellow-rumped) Warbler—not many, and couldn’t find a Myrtle Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler—Stinson Beach area, just the one, a nice male Aerial Landbirds (6 species) Townsend’s Warbler Anna’s Wilson’s Warbler—Stinson Beach area Vaux’s Swift—Las Gallinas, 100s, great views and lots calling Spotted Towhee Tree —at least 1 at Las Gallinas Rufous-crowned Sparrow—Stinson Beach area Violet-green Swallow—2 at Point Reyes, then 1000+ at Las Gallinas! California Towhee —1 at Nicasio Reservoir, at least 1 at Las Gallinas Lark Sparrow—Stinson Beach area Northern Rough-winged Swallow—1 at Point Reyes, several Las Gallinas Savannah Sparrow Fox Sparrow (Sooty)—just arrived back in West Marin last week Songbirds (62 species) Western Wood-Pewee—Five Brooks Lincoln’s Sparrow Willow Flycatcher—Las Gallinas White-crowned Sparrow “Western” Flycatcher (presumed Pacific-slope) Golden-crowned Sparrow—just arrived back in West Marin last week Black Phoebe Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)—Five Brooks Say’s Phoebe Western Tanager—Bolinas, the penultimate bird species of the BAT Tropical Kingbird—Drakes Beach. Heard when we were “inside” the trees, but up on the wires Red-winged Blackbird (Bicolored) when we emerged, nice! A northward-dispersing vagrant from West Mexico. Tricolored Blackbird—Point Reyes Hutton’s Vireo Brewer’s Blackbird Warbling Vireo Brown-headed Cowbird—Point Reyes, with the cows, where else... Steller’s Jay House Finch California (née Western) Scrub Jay Purple Finch American Crow Pine Siskin Northern (Common) Raven Lesser Goldfinch—lots of places, a BIG year for them in West Marin Chestnut-backed Chickadee American Goldfinch Oak (née Plain) Titmouse—Stafford Lake Bushtit White-breasted Nuthatch—Stafford Lake, by the skin of our teeth as we were leaving! Red-breasted Nuthatch—Bolinas Pygmy Nuthatch—Five Brooks Brown Creeper—Five Brooks House Wren (Northern) Pacific (née Winter) Wren Marsh Wren Bewick’s Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher—Stinson Beach area Ruby-crowned Kinglet—Five Brooks, first of the season Wrentit Swainson’s Thrush American Robin—Stinson Beach area