After sharing some thoughts and images of birds from a trip to Orange County, California the other day I thought I'd continue with a California theme today and share images of some birds I enjoyed during a business trip to San Jose back in August. I was able to fit in a couple trips from San Jose to the Santa Cruz area between work meetings during the five days I was there. I managed some brief visits to Terrace Point/Long Marina Lab, Natural Bridges State Beach, and West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. I spent a half day at Pajaro (Spanish for 'bird') Dunes with a former work colleague and a local birder the day before my work meetings began. When I checked my lists at the end of my trip I realized I was able to see 12 life birds during my outings.
The first outing to Pajaro Dunes resulted in the following images.
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| California Towhee (a life bird) at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| California Poppy, the California State Flower, at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| Heerman's Gull at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| Heerman's Gull at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
Below are images of three separate Red-necked Phalaropes in three different plumages. I believe I captured one each of an adult male breeding (some red remaining in neck), a juvenile (gold tones/stripes on back), and an adult non-breeding (essentially black and white) plumage. I may be missing the mark on those identifications so I welcome additional thoughts/insights on the plumage details.
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| Juvenile Red-necked Phalarope at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| Adult Non-breeding Red-necked Phalarope at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| Male Adult Red-necked Phalarope at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| White-crowned Sparrow at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
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| Chestnut-backed Chickadee (a life bird) at Pajaro Dunes Santa Cruz County, CA |
The remainder of the images are from various locations closer to Santa Cruz. I wish I would have had a scope to see the birds out on the ocean. I'm sure I missed some good ones, but it's hard to take a scope on a business trip.
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| Brewer's Blalckbird on West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Bewick's Wren at Long Marine Lab Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Bewick's Wren at Long Marine Lab Santa Cruz, CA |
The following images of Black Turnstone's (a life bird from the trip) were taken under a foggy sky so I had to play with my exposure settings.
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| Black Turnstone at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Black Turnstone at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Black Turnstone at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
The sun finally broke through the fog just before I spotted my lifer for California Thrasher.
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| California Thrasher at Long Marine Lab Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Heerman's Gull Flying Along West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Heerman's Gull at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Snowy Egret Hunting Under Gloomy Skies at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Western Gull Santa Cruz, CA |
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| 1st Year Western Gull? West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Whimbrel on Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Black Oystercatcher at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
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| Black Oystercatcher at Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz, CA |
