After a wonderful but very long day (Jan 29th) in the San Jacinto Mountains and the desert areas nearby, some readers may think I’d have been satisfied and gone home the following night after spending the rest of my time off relaxing at the hotel. Some readers may think that, but those who know me even fractionally well will understand that a sunny morning in Los Angeles is far too much for me to resist. So at dawn (another dawn - this is becoming a habit!) I made my way down the coast to one of my favourite US birding sites: Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

I do seem to end up at Bolsa fairly regularly. It’s easily explained: the draw is easy access, clear unfiltered light that photographers of all standards relish, and - most importantly - truly superb birding. In fact I’d enjoyed that superb birding as recently as last month (see Bolsa in December), but that was in 2007 and that particular visit doesn’t count towards 2008’s Big Year list (obviously). With a whole pile of North American wetland “year birds” to see, and a good idea where most of them would be found as I know the place quite well (and - did I mention this? - was there a few weeks ago), a return trip to Bolsa seemed to be a “no-brainer”.

I’m going to keep this report fairly short and post a whole bunch of photographs instead of paragraphs, but it’s worth pointing out for anyone thinking of going to Bolsa that the now resident (?) Reddish Egret was still present, and that I stumbled onto a fairly obliging American Bittern - a rarity here, and a bird I rarely see doing anything other than flying away.

I spent about three hours wandering around the Reserve, getting great views of flocks of shorebirds (especially Least and Western Sandpipers, but also one Whimbrel and one Red Knot) and some beautiful ducks (the male Surf Scoters in particular looked absolutely pristine in the flat winter light), before I went on to Newport Bay to add Black Skimmer and have a late-morning punt at Clapper Rail (which unfortunately I missed). The full list, which combines both sites, is below: by the time I made it back to the hotel for a few hours sleep before the flight back to London I’d seen well over 100 species in two days, and added 78 to the year’s sightings. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: with such a huge range of habitats on their doorsteps Californian birders are some of the most fortunate in the northern hemisphere!

Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa

Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca

Non-breeding American Avocet Recurvirostra americana

Displaying Killdeer Charadrius vociferus (composite of same individual)

Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens with flatfish (any ID suggestions?)

American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus

Non-breeding Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps

Breeding-plumaged male Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata

Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis

Faded Ist winter Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus

Jan 30th Day List: Bolsa Chica and Newport Bay (new for the Year underlined):
Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps 3; Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus 2; Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis 1; Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis 4-5; Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus 30+; Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 4-5; Great Egret Egretta alba 3-4; Snowy Egret Egretta thula 3-4; Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens 1; American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus 1; American Wigeon Anas americana 50+; Gadwall Anas strepera c)10; Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis 100+; Northern Pintail Anas acuta c)10; Blue-winged Teal Anas discors 10+; Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera 10+; Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 10+; Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis 100+; Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata 10+; Bufflehead Bucephala albeola 20+; Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus 2; Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator 2; Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis 20+; Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura c)10; Osprey Pandion haliaetus 2; Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus 2; Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus 1; Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 2-3; American Kestrel Falco sparverius 1; American Coot Fulica americana 100+; Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus c)10; American Avocet Recurvirostra americana c)10; Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 4-5; Killdeer Charadrius vociferus 3; Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata ; Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus 50+?; Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa 10+; Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 1; Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus 4-5; Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca 3; Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus 20+; Red Knot Calidris canutus 1; Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri 100+; Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla 100+; Dunlin Calidris alpina c)10; Heermann’s Gull Larus heermanni 1; Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis 100+; California Gull Larus californicus 100+; Western Gull Larus occidentalis 20+; Caspian Tern Sterna caspia 2; Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri 3-4; Black Skimmer Rynchops niger c)20; Allen’s Hummingbird Selasphorus sasin 2; Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon 1; Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula 1; Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 4; Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia 4-5