Elysian Park PAINTED REDSTART

Elysian Park

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White-throated Swift, Townsend's Warbler, Painted Redstart

Total: 3

The Painted Redstart is generally considered a scarce vagrant (or migrant) to California. The bird breeds pretty much entirely in Central America, and it's range only just extends into the States; Arizona and New Mexico are probably the only place you could expect to see this bird in North America, and even then I hear they are downright hard to locate.
Occasionally this gorgeous wood-warbler turns up in the Warbler state (AKA California), and as the bird is my most wanted bird of course I am jealous of people who manage to find them here. Recently, starting from around the 28th November, a Paintstart was reported at Elysian Park in downtown LA. And it was a male in its peak plumage. Meh. Wood-warblers don't stay that long anyway. Literally all reports of vagrant warblers have been passing birds, and thus are untwitchable*.

*Twitchable: A rare bird that remains in the same location long enough for other birders to see it themselves. Okay the definition varies, but this is the basic idea.

So I dismissed the case, but I recently found a report of the same bird on the 14th December, and going back I see multiple reports in between. That's almost two weeks that its been still. But it meant little to me because I had no opportunity to get to the location to see the bird.

Though today I found myself with a route to the park planned specifically for this bird; my parents were not happy at my lack of enthusiasm for wanting things for Christmas, so we were to return to Venice Beach as I saw some Native-styled T-shirts I liked the look of. Venice Beach was only a 15-minute drive from Elysian Park. And that's how it started.

It was my first "twitch"* since I started getting into birds when I was around about 12(ish). The only reason I haven't already accumulated a decent twitch/dip list is because of the location. While my family isn't poor, these drives into the wilderness are often a bit pricy with today's petrel (sorry couldn't resist) prices. Did I have hope? I was kind of unbiased. The last time I attempted to set up a drive to twitch a bird (Scissor-tailed Fly) my parents found out we didn't have enough money to get there.

I spent the night before extensively researching the sightings and pinpointing the exact location of the bird, because the last thing I wanted was to miss it because we couldn't find the right road. Luckily it sounded like the bird stayed in a single tree throughout its entire stay.

*Twitch: The act of attempting to locate a rare bird, often a vagrant to the area.

So far, so good. But my parents were very unhappy about the area; there had been some crime spree recently, and even if the actual location was 20 minutes away from here (which it infact was) it was enough to keep them on edge.

On the way I was rewarded with a flock of swifts, easily identified by their shape and flight. However I had yet to see any swifts in North America, so it was a clear lifer. I managed to get a few hazy shots through the car window, but they were enough to identify them as White-throated Swifts. Migratory swifts make regular but erratic appearances where they are found, and in North America it was no exception. They are the kind of bird that as a general rule cannot be looked for, but instead are found "by accident". Regardless I was happy to find this bird.

Believe it or not the park was actually located without any difficulty. I picked out the correct tree as we drived past, and all it took was to find the closest car park and walk towards it. I was kindly (?) given the following instructions:

1. If someone points a gun at you then give them everything.
2. If someone approaches you then return to the car.

and I set off towards the relative oak tree. In the few minutes it took to get there I heard a great deal of birds. It was mostly Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers, Titmice etc. but there were a few high-pitched chip notes I was unfamiliar to and were obviously something new. You may or may not know that each Warbler has a unique call (chip) with very little variation, and there was little doubt that the source was something I had not encountered. It could have either been a Townsend's or a Black-throated Grey, but with the strict time limit I had I was more concerned about finding the Paintstart. After all, from what I hear apparently Townsend's and Black-throats are considered "common". Maybe if you are in the forest more than once every month (which tends to be my status because of restricting factors i.e. money) they are common.

So by ignoring the idea of a life bird within metres of me (though I did check just in case they were in the open) I made my way to the nearly completely bare oak tree. The only decoration was a few scattered brown leaves that had yet to fall. The tree itself was only about 6 or so metres tall, and I shed my concerns about it being in a shady canopy where it could only be seen passing through as a black shadow. After ten seconds of searching the tree I found the first bird; it was a pale brown Audubon's Warbler. Seconds later I found this hopping around a branch:

 And there it was. Words failed me, and they still do.

It was a very bouncy and acrobatic bird, and I did somewhat expect bit, but it was no where near as flamboyant as an American Redstart. But what was I expecting? The Painted and American Redstarts are about as closely related as a Yellow Warbler and a Northern Waterthrush. In fact I should probably be calling it a Painted Whitestart to reference its true relation to the tropical genus Myioborus. I still prefer Paintstart. It certainly had some active-ness, but it was nothing like videos I've seen of the Am. Redstart.

The bird spent most of its time at the top of the tree gleaning the bark but it did come down occasionally, and at one point it swooped to the ground to catch a fly within a metre of me. It also called quite a bit, and it certainly has a very unique call, shunning the chip-like notes of its Parulid brethren.

Sometimes it switched to a nearby tree for a minute or two before resuming its foraging of the derelict looking oak. At that point the strange chipper returned and flew a couple of metres above my head. With a gleaming golden apparel what could it have been other than a Townsend's Warbler?  That only leaves Black-throated Grey to go (and the uncommon and irruptive Hermit, but I doubt this is a bird I will encounter).

The question is, which bird do I tick off first? I heard the Townsend's Warbler well before the Painted Redstart, but I never saw it. Is my 494th bird a Painted Redstart or a Townsend's Warbler? Perhaps a better answer to that question is to find the 495th bird; then the argument of the 494th will be more obsolete.

The Townsend's switched to the maple tree nearby and the Redstart followed. The Painted Redstart appeared to be at least twice the size of the Townsend and from where I stood the latter looked even tinier than a Yellow-rumped. Apparently the Townsend's, despite being a family member was not in the Paintstart's tolerance and it was chased off several times. Around this time an even larger, mostly white bird (at least underneath) perched higher up and I was left with fleeting glimpses. I could have sworn it was a Downy Woodpecker, and fortunately it soon returned in a position where I could nail it. I had seen many Downy Woodpeckers before, but this was the first I had seen in California. Speaking of woodpeckers, there were a few Acorns in the vicinity as well, but I already had good shots of this species so I ignored them for the most part.

The Paintstart switched to the Eucalyptus, but thankfully not in the lightless canopy. Instead it perched in the sunny branches at head height. I think focus was the only thing that stopped me from getting perfect shots.

Believe me if I had the time I'd spend all day here, but my parents were very keen to leave this neighbourhood. Venice Beach was called off in the end because of the belief that there was no parking after lunch time, so I guess the Surfbirds at Marina del Rey would have to wait for now.

And that was my day. How was yours?

Oak Canyon Community Park, 23rd November

Oak Canyon Community Park

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Ring-necked Duck, Hermit Thrush

                                                 Total: 2



Another simple visit to a nearby location today. I certainly had hope that the duck pond would one day hold something more wild, as opposed to the hundreds of domestic (and probably wild) Mallards there.

The first bird I saw, other than the Mallards, was an American Coot. This is the first time I've really seen this bird here. The first time I ever saw this bird was in Alberta, and at that time it was very far off in the distance. This one however, actually came out of the water and waddled over to my feet. I guess they get fed too. In fact they came so close I had problem focusing which is clearly seen on the walking birds below.

The American Coot is one of many different Coot species in the world, and the American has occasionally turned up even in the U.K. Most people would wonder how an earth you tell the two apart, because at first glance they appear identical, but there are two static differences, both around the bill, that do not vary (in adults that is). Compared to some European-American pairs like these two, all you have to do here is check the bill. No need for getting obscure looks at a certain wing feather, or counting how many plumes are in its tail hoping that there's a slim chance it will fan its tail when preening. 

At the right angle the water had managed to conjure up a very interesting effect in the background. I'm not even sure how physics made it look like this.

Getting back to the birds, the Mallards here are a unique bunch. Half of them are obviously domestic, with extravagant shapes, colouring and proportions. The other half look perfectly wild. Problem is there is not really any way to tell. Luckily Mallards are common in the wild, and it isn't hard to find a perfectly wild bird somewhere else.

All this time there was a fairly large sized group of ducks at the back that kept their distance from the mixed-origin Mallards. I payed little attention to them at the start for whatever reason, but once I was on the other side of the lake I didn't hesitate to get a look at them. They were very skittish when compared to the Mallards, and they kept a distance no matter how I tried to get around them. When I first caught onto their appearance and got a good look at them I very quickly searched for a female to base my ID on (the brown females have far more differences when compared to scaups). As expected they had the bridled eye, and a distinct pale brown patch around the base of the bill.

And they were Ring-necked Ducks, about 22 in total. A scaup relative that has become one of the few ducks I had yet to see in North America. Ring-necks are a true wild duck that has California as its migration route. The chance of them coming from captivity? Around 0%.

I was very happy to finally pick up this handsome looking bird. In Alberta they were harder to come by, as they stuck to the lakes of the wilderness, which despite my somewhat lengthy stay there I had yet to see (a lake of that description that is).

Ring-necks' name is a bit of a paradox in a way. Reopen the first image and take a look at the bird on the right. Look closely and you'll see a sort of brownish-maroonish ring around the neck. It's a bit hard to see, but it's there. Now I was constantly referring them accidentally as Ring-billed Ducks, for obvious reasons. The white band on the bill is significantly easier to see, and no other duck has it. And why aren't they called Ring-billed Ducks? The name hasn't been used yet. It's like calling a Blue Tit the Green-backed Tit instead.

I'm sure when I said that someone reading this had gone to find a picture of a Blue Tit to check it. If you didn't, then I expect after reading this sentence you will be.

Since the start a few Yellow-rumped Warblers (all Audubon's) had been flitting about in the maple sp. trees around the park, but only one was really picture friendly, and it deserved some pictures.

All of them were in basic (non-breeding) plumage which is a typical sight in California, where they appear throughout the entire winter. They get a lot prettier than this during the summer.




At the back of the lake is a patch of reeds. While too small to be anything larger than a micro-habitat, migrating wetland birds will flock to these sites like moths to a light. During Canada an even smaller patch of reeds managed somehow to home a Marsh Wren and a Wilson's Snipe during such a time period. As a general rule, most reed-inhabiting are very stubborn, and even if the patch of reeds is no more than a square metre you would literally have to pull out whatever it is to actually get it to move. Obviously I wouldn't do that, but there are other tricks.

Pishing; little skulking birds are very curious. And it doesn't have to be "pishing". Any clicks, or whistles even have the tendency to do the job. It depends on the bird. Pishing is simply making squeaking sounds via pursed lips. And it works. It really does work. Within seconds a silent patch of reeds with only the rustling of nearby trees to be heard, came the alarm call of a Common Yellowthroat, which shortly escaped its cover and into a bush nearby to see where the sound was coming from (which normally happens during its flight when it can see everything). But that is normally all you get. There are three things that can happen:

1-The bird, and the other birds nearby, completely hide and make themselves invisible for the remainder of the trip.

2-The bird pokes it head out and resumes its skulking buisness, or flies to more cover to check whats happening as it did here. 

3-The bird jumps to an exposed perch where it can get a good look and stays there provided you don't move.

Option 3 is always the best, but it doesn't happen that often. Option 2 depends on many factors. If the bird can see you perfectly fine by simply putting its eye against a gap in the leaves, then don't expect it to fly out. The best way to get Option 3 is to try and hide yourself. If you bird can't see you then it is still curious, and it will keep coming out until it does.

I have seen Common Yellowthroats before, but it is not a bird to shun. It's rather attractive if you can get a good look at it (which rarely happens...).

There was little else around here. There were no Marsh Wrens, Nelson's Sparrows or Soras (at least not that I could see/hear) in the reeds this time around, so I decided to run through some other parts of the park I had not really had a detailed look around yet.

A short walk in the forest behind the lake revealed a charming little creek, complete with yellow-leaved trees, partly-leafless trees. It was a genuine autumn sight, and if I didn't only have my telephoto lens I would have taken some pics of it.

It was well-lit, and the trees were perfect. So I decided to do a bit of migrant surveying. I stood around for about two minutes, heard nothing, so started to try a bit of pishing. After a few seconds I was alerted to a rustle in a bush beside me, and sure enough something was perched there.

From where I was I could only see a part of it, as this particular bush was very dense. Luckily I was able to maneuver around and start to get a better idea of what it is. It was completely still the whole time, probably hoping I hadn't seen it yet.

I started to see speckling on the throat and all the way down the chest, which only confirmed my suspicions it was a thrush of some sort. It seemed small, so I was really hoping for a Veery, which is a very unique thrush. I stepped a little closer in hope that it would fly to a more exposed perch, and it did. It was in the shade, but it was very close, the latter more or less winning over (no point having a bird in the sun if its only a speck on the screen). It was all I needed to work out what it was. The Hermit Thrush is an oddity to most (I imagine; it is to me), especially if you have lived in Europe. All the thrushes there, the Blackbird, Song/Mistle, Fieldfare, Redwing and Ring Ouzel tend to dislike cover and do not hesitate to perch in the open. The Hermit Thrush however is a complete skulker, and dwells only in shade, shade and more shade. If I didn't catch onto that single rustle I never would have seen it, and to think it was less than a metre away. The Hermit also flicks its tail a lot, which I've never seen in any other thrush before.
                                                  

This somewhat common bird has eluded me until today, and I must have walked past them all the time, because as soon as it flew from it's dully-lit perch I could not relocate it, despite it landing in a second bush within clear sight of me. As a ground dwelling bird they tend to run instead of fly. A thrush that's harder to see than a warbler...I didn't think such a bird existed. Perhaps some time ago it was the descendant to the modern-day Veery, which has managed to ascend to the Parulid warbler clan.

I decided to call off the search, because I had some good shots as it is, and chances are it had skulked its way to the other side of the forest by now, though I did hear some whistling calls that were very reminiscent of a european Blackbird nearby and can't have come from anything else.

Seconds later a decently-sized Accipter (default around here is Cooper's) had flown right over my head and landed into a patch of trees. If it stayed a second longer I could have got my first ever good look at these elusive forest hawks, but it was not to be. This is the second I have seen so far, and the first I saw was also here. The Cooper's has a much larger cousin known as the Sharp-shinned, which occur here as uncommon winter migrants, but are virtually inseparable save for the shape of their (frequently molting...) tail and overall size. If I had to estimate, I'd say there was a 15% chance it was a Sharp-shinned, which is another bird I have yet to see. It definitely seemed big, but if it was then it would be on my missed birds list, which I do not like to add to!

Back at the duck pond a party of about seven White-crowned Sparrows had appeared in the leafless bushes and were very obliging.

We were about to return home, but instead I was able to look around the "Water Park" area of this location, which has offered some good birds in the past. Apart from the regulars the only interesting bird was a type of woodpecker known as the Northern Flicker (ssp. aureus) that came over the trees. I have seen three in this country so far (2 ssp. aureus, 1 ssp. cafer), all three appearing erratically over my head in random patches of trees, and all three somehow managing to vanish as I turned my camera off (!). They are very attractive birds for the woodpecker family overall, if you can get a good look at them that is. I wasn't too concerned because I have good images from Alberta, but only of the Yellow-shafted race (aureus), so I'll be keeping an eye out for a Red-shafted in the mean time.

Date:	23/11/2011
Region:	United States of America: California
Site:	Oak Canyon Community Park
Location:	34°11'08"N 118°46'19"W
Notes:	30 minutes around Duck pond, and 30 minutes in water park area.
Species:	20
Email Link:	http://www.eremaea.com/Lists.aspx?List=102284
List Status:	Published in Atlas
Key:	Lifer New for site

	Species	Scientific Name	Count	Comment
	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos		Males have attained breeding plumage now.
	Ring-necked Duck	Aythya collaris	22	Males and females. Fairly skittish.
	Cooper's Hawk	Accipiter cooperii	1
	Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis	3
	American Coot	Fulica americana		Many.
	Anna's Hummingbird	Calypte anna	3
	Northern Flicker	Colaptes auratus	1	Appeared to be yellow-shafted or hybrid, but flew off very quickly.
	Black Phoebe	Sayornis nigricans
	Cassin's Kingbird	Tyrannus vociferans	2
	American Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos
	Common Raven	Corvus corax
	Oak Titmouse	Baeolophus inornatus
	Bewick's Wren	Thryomanes bewickii
	Hermit Thrush	Catharus guttatus	1	Found by pishing.
	Cedar Waxwing	Bombycilla cedrorum	6
	Yellow-rumped Warbler	Dendroica coronata	7
		Dendroica coronata auduboni	7
	Common Yellowthroat	Geothlypis trichas	1
	California Towhee	Melozone crissalis
	White-crowned Sparrow	Zonotrichia leucophrys	14
	House Finch	Carpodacus mexicanus	1	Yes, just one....