Pheasantry

We labor, we toil, we strive and strain. Shorebirds are tidally locked. We got to Moss Landing State Beach Wednesday, October 3rd, about 5 PM, lots of mudflats, hundreds of shorebirds, cold wind and poor light. The Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper was reported there a few days ago. The next AM there were no mudflats but great light, high tide, duh. We wandered over to the Common Cuckoo shrine in Watsonville, no cuckoo today and no crowds. Where do lost birds go?

Where should we go next? We drove to Rush Ranch near Suisun CA. A Barn Owl in the barn! John had taken a picture of a bird in flight near Idylwild CA that turned out to be a Barn Owl. Much better to get a real time view of a bird and better pictures. On one of the trails, we flushed a Ring-Necked Pheasant female, a fly-away tail view for John. Back on the road we turned inland on a dead end road. There was a male pheasant on the road! 660  Great view for John even though two huge trucks roared by us. Where were they going at top speed? No pictures possible.

Tweezing out possible destinations, we have decided to head for Yosemite tomorrow,  Friday, October 6th, to try for the Sooty Grouse again. Maybe after, we will head for Nevada and the fabled Himalayan Snowcock.

On second thought

Off early from Portal, we stopped at nearby Quail Cottage. They have a nice feeder arrangement. I guess the bears haven't discovered them yet. A Bullock's Oriole stopped by briefly. John remembered that he does not have a picture of it. Then a Hooded Oriole came by followed closely by a young cowbird. Patience........ Paid off. The Bullock's came back and fed out of a jam jar. Good pics.

On the way to Austin, we briefly considered camping for one more try at Virginias's Warbler near Carlsbad Caverns. Naw.

John looked at Birdseye while I was driving the last leg and saw that 20 plus Canada Warblers had been reported at High Island, so he took off the next AM, Labor Day, from Austin and drove over there. Not a bird, not a soul. He got back way tired that night. Tuesday and Wednesday were days of mostly napping for him while  I arranged his trip to Cape May. Thursday, September 6th, John flew to Philadelphia. Maybe a Canada will show up there for him.

Besides napping, John looked over his list for the year. A few birds were iffy. He tossed out one, decided two others were valid. Minus one plus two makes for one additional bird. You can tag it as a Barn Owl. 640