I Heart Mirounga

Elephant Seals, E-seals, Mirounga: What's not to love about these guys.  They loaf all day in gulches and are the most appetizing prey to great white sharks.  They might be the best of the Pinnipeds on the Farallones.

Sure they appear slow and indolent, but they have a certain charm about them, perhaps due to their eccentricity.

They groan and grunt all day nipping at each other over a few extra inches of beach space.   Their fart-like vocalizations never fail to cause uncontrollable laughter.

They're always watching, helpless and confused from their place in the gulch.

All about "Crane Crane" the Sandhill Crane

The date was September 26, 2013.  It was a windy day.  Bad weather had pretty much dominated the forecast for several days.  I was outside when I heard Jim's thunderous voice come through the radio, "Sandhill Crane, there's a Sandhill Crane over East Landing."  I ran out the door and there was a crane flying in closer and closer.  This was the second record of Sandhill Crane so everyone was ecstatic.  

Eventually the bird landed, and we crept up to get some photos.  Little did we know, this bird would stay with us for a while.

Craney Crane

We all felt sorry for this poor juvenile crane who must have gotten separated from her flock, and blown off course to end up on this place – surely a wasteland for any crane.  But on the first day, Don Mastwell took a dead mouse from the mouse trap, chirped a sweet trill the bird's direction, and dangled the tiny rodent by its tail out for the bird to see.  The crane, soon to be named Craney Crane, followed by Crane Crane, approached skeptically and plucked the mouse from Donald's hand.  It was love at first sight.  Crane Crane loved Dan, and Dan loved Crane Crane.

Before long all of us were feeding this lucky bird straight from our hands.  But we knew that wasn't right.  This was a wild animal after all and it had to learn how to forage by herself.  I began giving her foraging lessons.  I would sit down and start digging under rocks, turning up beetles and brown funnel-web spiders plump and ripe to a Crane's tastes.  But still, she was getting too close.  She took too much of a liking too us.  

Dan and his bag of crane food and water

One day we had a huge wave of migrants and all of us were up on the hill looking through flocks of sparrows and Hermit Thrush (and one Williamson's Sapsucker) only to look out at Crane Crane circling up higher and higher then circling around us.  She tried to land at the lighthouse a few times, chirping at us all along.  She was jealous of the other birds.

We all decided that the crane, Crane Crane, had overstayed her welcome.  We stopped feeding her and foraging with her hoping that she would begin fending for herself.  We loved the Crane, sure, and that's why we needed her to forage alone.  She needed to build up enough energy to get away, but not have a reason to stay.

We saw her foraging often, then, even catching her own mice and her own spiders.  We chased her away from our nets so that she wouldn't try to eat our captured birds, and she grew afraid of us.  She started paying close attention to the Brown Pelicans as they flew over, often tilting her head up towards them and calling to them.  Eventually she began flying out over the ocean with them.  Each time she got further and further away before heading back.  She was ready to go. One day Don woke up and looked outside at Crane Crane foraging as usual.  Later that morning she was nowhere to be found.  Two days later a juvenile Sandhill Crane was seen in Napa.  I like to think that that was our Crane Crane.

News-ish from California on our SEFI Records

Not really sure how late I am to the scene here but my friend Jim Tietz just informed me that our Little Bunting sight record from last fall on Southeast Farallon Island, a bird we got no photos of, but was definitely a Little Bunting passed the California Bird Records Committee in the first round!  This was very unexpected because many if not most bird records committees are wary to accept a record of a review species without some sort of photo of audio documentation.  Here are some excerpts from Jim's "Update to Rare Birds of California" of the birds we had that were reviewed (by the way I saw all of them!)

Goodbye Farallones

As you may have gathered, I have departed from the Farallones.  Although it is weird being back in civilization, it's good to be home.  Overall I had a great first season on the Farallones, with 193 species on my Farallist.  I was hoping to break 200, but I missed a few good birds early in the season, that I just couldn't make up for during my 10-week tenure on the island.  My list includes 12 species of waterfowl, 8 tubenoses, 2 Sulids, 5 Hawks, 17 shorebirds, 9 gulls, 7 alcids, 5 owls, 9 flycatchers, 6 thrushes, 24 warblers, 19 Emberizid sparrows, 6 Cardinalids, 8 Icterids, and 7 finches!  I got 38 year birds on the Farallones (marked with stars), putting my total at 430 for 2012 (now 432 with 2 species I've gotten since leaving the Farallones, Barnacle Goose and White-winged Crossbill, both in Long Island, NY).  Here is my complete 2012 Farallist of species, including some photo highlights.

Greater White-fronted Goose (3 October)
Brant (2 November)
Cackling Goose (9 October)
BLUE-WINGED TEAL (17 September)
CINNAMON TEAL(17 September)
Northern Shoveler (29 September)
Northern Pintail (8 September)

Green-winged Teal (7 November)
Surf Scoter (30 October)
COMMON GOLDENEYE (30 October)
Red-breasted Merganser (7 November)
RUDDY DUCK (27 September)

Pacific Loon (15 September)
Common Loon (4 October)
Horned Grebe (7 November)
Eared Grebe (15 September)
Western Grebe (27 September)
*Northern Fulmar (21 October)
*Pink-footed Shearwater (11 September)
*Flesh-footed Shearwater (16 October)
*Buller's Shearwater (21 October)
*Sooty Shearwater (8 September)
*Short-tailed Shearwater (7 November)
*Black-vented Shearwater (16 October)
*Ashy Storm-Petrel (13 September)
*Brown Booby (13 October)
NORTHERN GANNET (8 September)

Brandt's Cormorant (8 September)
Double-crested Cormorant (8 September)
Pelagic Cormorant (8 September)
Brown Pelican (8 September)
Great Blue Heron (5 October)
Great Egret (12 September)
White-tailed Kite (13 October)
Northern Harrier (18 September)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (12 October)
COOPER'S HAWK (25 October)
*Rough-legged Hawk (25 October)

Black-bellied Plover (8 September)
Semipalmated Plover (8 September)
Killdeer (12 September)
Black Oystercatcher (8 September)
Spotted Sandpiper (15 September)
Wandering Tattler (8 September)
Willet (8 September)
Whimbrel (8 September)
Black Turnstone (8 September)
Sanderling (15 September)
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER (8 October)
Pectoral Sandpiper (8 October)
Short-billed Dowitcher (9 October)
Long-billed Dowitcher (28 September)
Wilson's Snipe (18 October)
Red-necked Phalarope (8 September)
*Red Phalarope (10 September)
Black-legged Kittiwake (2 November)
Bonaparte's Gull (7 November)
Heermann's Gull (9 September)
Mew Gull (7 October)
Western Gull (8 September)
California Gull (8 September)
Herring Gull (27 September)
Thayer's Gull (30 October)
Glaucous-winged Gull (22 October)
*Elegant Tern (27 September)
*Pomarine Jaeger (15 September)
Parasitic Jaeger (11 September)
Common Murre (8 September)
*Pigeon Guillemot (8 September)
Ancient Murrelet (23 October)
*Cassin's Auklet (8 September)
Rhinoceros Auklet (8 September)
*HORNED PUFFIN(3 November)
*Tufted Puffin (11 September)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (8 September)
Mourning Dove (12 September)
Barn Owl (8 September)

Burrowing Owl (23 September)
*Long-eared Owl (8 November)
Short-eared Owl (12 October)
*Northern Saw-whet Owl (8 November)
*Vaux's Swift (28 September)
Anna's Hummingbird (8 September)
Rufous Hummingbird (8 September)
Belted Kingfisher (19 October)

Northern Flicker (7 October)
American Kestrel (12 September)
Merlin (8 September)
Peregrine Falcon (8 September)
*Olive-sided Flycatcher (12 September)
Western Wood-Pewee (8 September)
Willow Flycatcher (14 September)
*Least Flycatcher (8 September)
*HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (18 September)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (18 September)
Black Phoebe (15 September)
Say's Phoebe (23 September)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (12 October)

Hutton's Vireo (3 November)
Warbling Vireo (12 September)
Common Raven (18 September)
Horned Lark (18 October)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (12 September)
Violet-green Swallow (11 Ocotober)
Cliff Swallow (10 September)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (9 September)
Brown Creeper (7 October)
*Rock Wren (8 September)
House Wren (3 October)
Pacific Wren (14 September)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (17 September)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (9 October)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (25 September)
*ARCTIC WARBLER (28 September)

*TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE (11 October)
*GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH (4 October)

*Swainson's Thrush (18 September)
Hermit Thrush (18 September)
American Robin (4 November)
Varied Thrush (25 September)
Northern Mockingbird (8 September)
European Starling (2 October)
American Pipit (12 September)
Cedar Waxwing (12 September)
*Lapland Longspur (19 October)
Ovenbird (25 September)

Black-and-white Warbler (16 September)
*Tennessee Warbler (11 September)
Orange-crowned Warbler (8 September)
Nashville Warbler (25 September)
*MacGillivray's Warbler (17 September)
Common Yellowthroat (13 September)
American Redstart (12 September)
*Cape May Warbler (8 September)
Magnolia Warbler (12 September)
*Bay-breasted Warbler (12 September)
Blackburnian Warbler (12 September)
Yellow Warbler (8 September)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (12 September)
Blackpoll Warbler (10 September)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (29 September)
Palm Warbler (26 September)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (15 September)
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER (14 September)

Prairie Warbler (21 September)
Black-throated Gray Warbler (16 September)
Townsend's Warbler (12 September)
Hermit Warbler (13 September)
Black-throated Green Warbler (4 October)
Wilson's Warbler (12 September)
Spotted Towhee (1 October)
Chipping Sparrow (8 September)
Clay-colored Sparrow (8 September)
Brewer's Sparrow (8 September)
*Vesper Sparrow (17 September)

Lark Sparrow (8 September)
*Lark Bunting (8 September)
Savannah Sparrow (8 September)
Grasshopper Sparrow (18 October)
Fox Sparrow (21 September)
Song Sparrow (11 November)
Lincoln's Sparrow (11 September)
Swamp Sparrow (12 October)
White-throated Sparrow (3 October)
*Harris's Sparrow (18 October)
White-crowned Sparrow (22 September)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (25 September)
Dark-eyed Junco (24 September)

*LITTLE BUNTING (14 November; Pending acceptance by CBRC)
Summer Tanager (14 November)
*Western Tanager (16 September)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (12 September)
Black-headed Grosbeak (10 September)
Lazuli Bunting (9 September)
Indigo Bunting (17 September)
*PAINTED BUNTING (18 September)
DICKCISSEL (17 September)
Bobolink (8 September)
Red-winged Blackbird (7 October)
Western Meadowlark (23 September)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (9 September)
*RUSTY BLACKBIRD (14 November)

Brewer's Blackbird (7 October)
Brown-headed Cowbird (11 September)
Baltimore Oriole (11 September)
Purple Finch (11 October)
House Finch (18 October)
RED CROSSBILL (13 September)
Pine Siskin (28 September)
Lesser Goldfinch (8 September)
American Goldfinch (7 October)
*EVENING GROSBEAK (11 October)

The One that Got Away (Little Bunting)

By Luke Musher

Today was an unexpectedly good day for us on Southeast Farallon Island.  We had a Rusty Blackbird, which is a CBRC species and a Summer Tanager, which is also a rather good bird for the island.

Rusty Blackbird, Southeast Farallon Island, CA.

However, it was also an unexpectedly horrible day.  We saw a Little Bunting.  I know what you are thinking.  "That doesn't sound so bad.  Little Bunting has only occurred in North America outside of Alaska two other times, once of which was on the very island you are on now.  You guys found an extremely rare bird."  No; it was horrible because nobody photographed it.  The bird will almost certainly not be accepted by the CBRC without a photograph, and there is little we can do about it.

At least we can prove that this bird exists.

Jim Tietz initially found the bird and radioed to us to bring our cameras immediately.  When we got there the bird had just flown.  Jim described the bird to us, small emperezid sparrow with a lot of chestnut on the face, light streaking on the underparts, white outer tail feathers, eye ring, and call a faint tsip.  Then we searched a little more, but were unable to relocate the bird.  I kept looking and found a Pine Siskin with another bird.  I couldn't see the bird well, but I distinctly heard a call just like Jim had described so I kept on it.  The bird then flew straight at me.  I could clearly see the chestnut face, eye ring and white outer tail feathers, and the call matched Jims description.  I ran after the bird while radioing the rest of the crew.  The bird then flew back over my head towards where it came from and was never seen again. I just listened to several recordings of the their calls from asia, and was pleased to see that most of the recordings matched what I heard.

I am hopeful that the bird is still on the island and that we will see it tomorrow (unlikely).


Here's a link to our ebird checklist today including Jim's description of the bunting:

Ebird Checklist

Wave Days are the Best

Today is my first real break since a four day wave starting on October 10 with only a few arriving birds and peaking on the 11th and 12th with hundreds of arriving landbirds, including likely over 100 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and perhaps more than 150 (>200?) Zonotrichia sparrows (mostly Golden-crowned with one third as many White-crowned and a few White-throated), many first of fall birds, and a few rarities.

"Western" Palm Warbler, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Rock Wren, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Aleutian Cackling Goose, one of seven total seen, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

HY Peregrine Falcon

White-throated Sparrow, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

"Bicolored" Red-winged Blackbird, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

One of the few dozen Pine Siskins during the wave

We continue to band Burrowing Owls every night, and continue to find unbanded owls each day.  This is apparently the best year ever for Burrowing Owls on the island in terms of numbers.  Our daily high count is 17, shattering the previous record of 11.

This rather late Olive-sided Flycatcher was one of the first birds I saw on wave day (October 11th).

As I said, the wave pretty much started on the 10th with a few new birds such as Cackling Goose, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and several other new arriving songbirds.  However, the 11th was the big day.  I rolled out of bed expecting nothing new, or at least very little in terms of arriving birds, since the the winds were very strong.  However, the cloud ceiling was low enough that the mainland wasn't visible, and when I walked out the door to start my AM area search, there were dozens of sparrows and kinglets flitting about and calling in the tree and shrubbery by the house.  As I continued my search, I turned up more and more new arrivals such as Olive-sided Flycatcher and Townsend's Solitaire (less than 50 records on the island; anything under 100 records is a pretty good bird), among the hundreds of other birds.

Common Raven on wave day, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Townsend's Solitaire, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Townsend's Solitaire, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

My favorite bird of the day, though, was found at the lighthouse just 30 minutes or so after I got down from doing my shark watch from there.  Sophie Webb radioed down that she was looking at a "lovely male Evening Grosbeak sitting on the lighthouse."  We spent some time attempting to scope it from below, but could never find it, and the bird eventually flew somewhere that Sophie could not tell.  I spent the next hour or so hiking around the island looking for the bird.  It began raining, so the rocks on all the hills were slippery, and I had to keep my camera under my shirt to keep it from getting too wet.  Just when I was ready to give up, I heard it call from the lighthouse, and I saw it flying in my direction.  The bird landed about 20ft from me, and I was able to get some okay photographs given the rain and lack of light.  There are only 5 previous records for Evening Grosbeak on Southeast Farallon Island.  Of course after all that effort, the bird flew into one of our nets, and I got to band it.

Adult male Evening Grosbeak, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Adult male Evening Grosbeak, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

It was hard to beat the wave on the 11th, but the 12th still brought in a number of new birds, including a few island birds for me.  Ash-throated Flycatcher and Swamp Sparrow were among them.  On the 13th we were treated to a few new birds, and a Brown Booby that loafed around all day with the cormorants on Sugarloaf (small island/large rock just off of the island).

The best bird of the day was a probable Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (would be 3rd record for the island)/possible Red-naped Sapsucker (would be 6th record for island).  I saw the bird flying around the lighthouse (but to me only identifyable as a woodpecker), but Jim Tietz was at the lighthouse and was able to photograph (photos here) the bird during it's brief stay at the lighthouse before it flew off never to be seen again.  Of course there is always the possibility of hybridization, and the experts don't seem to agree on the identity of this individual, some going so far as to say they won't put a name on it from the photos.  Several people think it is Yellow-bellied, though.  The back pattern, to me looks great for Yellow-bellied, but I haven't seen enough Red-naped, and don't know enough about hybridization in these taxa to make a call myself.  Comment with your opinion.

Ash-throated Flycatcher, Southeast Farallon Island, CA

Swamp Sparrow [Photo by Dan Maxwell]

Brown Booby [Photo by Dan Maxweel]

One of the most interesting occurrences on the 12th was seen only by Dan Maxwell, as this adult Peregrine Falcon snatched a Sabine's Gull (I need that bird for the year!) off the water.  This cropped, distant shot is still identifiable. [Photo by Dan Maxwell]

Until next time –

Luke