Transcript of Episode 67 San Diego Bird Walk - The Casual Birder Podcast
Special Episode for International Podcast Month
Suzy Buttress: This is a special episode created for International Podcast Month, September 2019, which I'm proud to be supporting.
International Podcast Month has been created to celebrate podcasts and introduce audiences to a variety of shows and blog posts. You can find out more about this wonderful collaboration at InternationalPodcastMonth dot com. Please use the hashtag IPM 2019 to comment on this and any other special IPM features this September and check out international podcast month twitter feed @podmonth.
[Introduction music plays]
Suzy Buttress: Welcome to The Casual Birder Podcast. I'm Suzy Buttress.
As a casual birder, I try to find time to watch birds as I go about my daily tasks. Join me each week to hear about the wild birds I've seen, interviews with others, and stories from listeners around the world.
Although I live in the UK, and love seeing the birds that visit or live here, there's something very exciting about visiting other countries and seeing their local birds. I'm intrigued by the birds that I would see as a casual birder if I lived there.
I was recently in San Diego, California, at the start of a vacation that would take me on a voyage down the western edge of Baja California to see a variety of whale species.
On the second day of our vacation in San Diego, while my husband went kayaking, I recorded a bird walk on the streets of La Jolla to find out for myself what birds the local residents would see.
The side street where we had parked was fairly free from traffic and I could hear birds singing and calling as soon as I got out of the vehicle. From there, I could look up to the hills and walk to the ocean. I was excited to be in a location so different from where I live in southern England, and I knew that while I might see some familiar birds, there was a good possibility of seeing something totally new.
With that anticipation, and under blue, California skies I set off for my walk.
[Outside recorded segment]
Suzy Buttress: I'm in a residential street in La Jolla. And I'm just going to have a wander around to see what kind of birds you'd see. It's really beautiful here, it's quite quiet. There are roads surrounding. I can look up to the hills from here and I'll take a walk down to the ocean.
So I've just parked, I'm just leaving the car now. And the first birds that I can see are surprisingly a pair of Collared Doves. Now I thought at first they would be Mourning Doves. But they are absolutely Collared Doves. Ones I'm very familiar with from back home. So that's a surprise. I didn't know that you could get Collared Doves here. But I guess if they're introduced in the UK that can be introduced here too.
There's also a European Starling sitting on a palm tree, on a palm frond. [Um] I actually saw quite a few of them earlier; there was a flock of about 10 or 12. It's looking very glossy in the blue sky.
Pair of American Crows just flying over, being silent for a change. Must know I'm recording. I was trying to not look too obvious with my recording equipment, but it's hot and I haven't got an over-top on so everything is on view, recording equipment wise.
There's a small orange tree just close to where I'm walking now. And there's a hummingbird sitting on the top of it. Beautiful green, emeraldy-coloured plumage. The throat was looking dark to me so I couldn't see what type of bird it was. Unfortunately the hummingbird is facing the wrong way so I can see its back but I can't see its - oh, it's just turned round. But the angle again is ... think it might be an Anna's Hummingbird. I'm expecting the throat feathers to be pink but I can't see for sure. We've got a large palm tree ahead of us and I saw the starlings go into the areas where the cut fronds were.
I think there's a Mockingbird. I think I remember that song being a Mockingbird. I'll see if I can find it.
[Mockingbird singing]
Oh, it was in the tree right next to me! I don't think that's a Mockingbird. It's too small. Oh, no it could be though!
It is a Mockingbird, it's right next to me. So you can hear the European Starling and there's some House Sparrows as well. So feeling right at home here. The Mockingbird is just on a hedge next to me. It's a beautiful, slender, blackbird-sized bird, Blackbird as in the European Blackbird. It's just flown off.
The House Sparrows are eating what looks like, er, Sage or some succulent herb-y type thing. Okay, let's wander down here and see what else we can find. Wonder if these House Sparrows have a Californian accent.
[Bird calls in background]
I think I might have just heard a Song Sparrow there but I could be wrong. Really is very pretty to see so many palm trees. Okay, so I'm going to take a walk down towards the ocean. Can hear the European Starlings calling out. Can you hear the Coloured Doves calling out there? The three notes, the ‘Whoo hoo hoo’.
Suzy Buttress: So just started walking down this street and there's a small sparrow-sized bird. Oh, it's got a beautiful yellow... Ah, right, so I think this is a Yellow-rumped Warbler. So it's got a little tiny yellow crest, yellow throat, yellow at the side patches, sort of a buff brown above and a beige-y chest with mottled spots, dark legs, two white wing bars or pale wing bars, and I suspect if I can see it's got yellow vent and I think if I'm lucky I'll see it has a yellow rump as well. Just flown up into the tree. So I saw these yesterday in San Diego Zoo, that's first time I've seen them.
Oh this is glorious! Looking down a line of palm trees and I can see hummingbirds, it's just heavenly!
[House Sparrows calling]
Can you hear the House Sparrows calling? And I think I can see a Song Sparrow in the tree or in the top of a bush? Yeah, so there's a Song Sparrow currently preening.
[Mockingbird singing]
So the Song Sparrow has a very Sparrow, House Sparrow-style ... oh that's it calling, I'm just going to go a little bit closer. I think it flew. Just saw some purple-fronted birds or red-fronted birds fly over. I think they might be House Finch?
There's a hummingbird just flying up into the sky. It's landing on the side of a ... oh my goodness, it's landed on the side of a palm tree and an absolute flash of cherry red or bright pink, neon pink almost, is showing. That is stunning! Let me see if I can ... my camera wasn't out but it might do it again and display. That was a real surprise! It just landed on the side of a palm tree and the sunlight caught the neck feathers. So I think that's an Anna's Hummingbird.
That is stunning!
Can hear it calling with sort of a zizz noise. It's just clinging to the side of the palm tree. And I guess it knows it's in the sunlight. It's just like a little pearl of bright pink shining out.
So it's really interesting to see the behaviours of the hummingbird like that. Clearly knows it's in the full sunlight. And it's just awesome that a surfer is just walking up the street in his wetsuit. Amazing! This is so different from Basingstoke!
Yeah, I'm convinced the hummingbird knows exactly what it's doing.
It's beautiful seeing bougainvillea outside the buildings.
[House Sparrow chirping]
So you can hear that House Sparrow just behind me. So I think I'm heading down towards the ocean. I didn't actually check my map. But it was only a couple of blocks away. Now walking on the main road, where there are kayak rentals, surf schools, everything beach-related. It's very pretty little area this bit.
I can see the sea so I'm just going to cross over and get onto the pavement. Although, just walking down alongside a park. If I'd realised I probably could have walked through the park. I can see the real blue ocean ahead of me. It is quite exciting. Little bit of a breeze coming off the ocean now.
[Surf sound]
So now is the challenge to be able to identify the gulls. I'll have little walk along this promenade and see if we see any. Beautiful! A couple of white gulls just flew over and of course with the blue sky behind they look amazing. You can hear the sound of the surf beside me. It's just fantastic!
[Surf sound]
So just heard a tern then and I've looked around and there's a really large tern. So, white body, grey wings black tips, black head, orange beak. And I can also see a pelican flying over. Okay, camera back out.
Suzy Buttress: The tern I saw was a Caspian Tern. They are the largest tern in the world, a similar size to a Herring Gull or American Crow. Their call, which drew my attention, is distinctive like a harsh ‘chack’, and quite different to gull calls. And the Pelican flying over was a Brown Pelican, a bird I was to become more familiar with during my vacation.
While it was wonderful walking along the promenade beside the ocean, it was quite noisy, and there were lots of people that made hearing any birds, and recording them, challenging.
I did see several gulls which reminded me of Herring Gulls, with pink feet and legs, yellow beaks with red spots near the end and white bodies and heads. But their wings were a much darker grey. Checking my ID app I found that they were Western Gulls which are found along the Pacific coast. Looking back at the photos that I took that day, I also saw some Herring Gulls. And they clearly have yellow eyes, mid grey wings and pale pink legs and feet. The fact that Herring Gulls have yellow eyes is something I hadn't fully noticed before and will be one of those details that stay with me for when I next visit California and want to tell the difference between Herring Gulls and Western Gulls. I decided to move back inland and walk the surprisingly hilly streets.
[House Sparrows chirping noisily]
Suzy Buttress: Bit of a House Sparrow fight going on next to me! Okay, so I'm going to head away from the ocean again now and go back through the residential streets and see what we can see there.
So I'm going to get back on to one of the quieter side streets and then have a look up the hills to see whether I can see anything like a hawk or some other raptor. And I think I'm going to give in and put my sunglasses on. It's just a bit of a nuisance because I have to keep moving them every time I want to use the binoculars.
Okay, so I'm looking up the hill and I could see large Hawk, uh, with a red tail. Let's guess what that might be. I think we'll say it's a Red-tailed Hawk. That's very similar to our Buzzard, our Common Buzzard. The Common Buzzard doesn't have a red tail, but in size and I think in behaviour the Red-tailed Hawk is similar to Buteo buteo which is our Common Buzzard. Yeah, it's a great day today for any raptors that might need the thermals, especially after yesterday which was a really stormy day, very windy, rainy, bit miserable. Certainly not what we expected from San Diego.
There's a beautiful garden here with lots of birds-of-paradise plants. Let's just go and have a look and see if there's anything here. American Crow just flew over. I can hear something making a little 'tic' noise.
Okay, there's a bush here with bees all around it. Oh, there's an actual hive in there. OK, so I'll take a quick photograph and then move right on. 'Cause I don't want to be anywhere near a beehive.
And of course as we get away from the ocean and the wind, it gets calmer. There's a beautiful House Finch next to me but I can't …
[Song Sparrow calls]
And that was a Song Sparrow... but I couldn't take a photograph because it's right next to someone's window and I probably look weird enough as it is.
I've just come across someone's feeders, scared couple of Mourning Doves away.
[Mourning Dove calls]
You might be able to hear one of those Mourning Doves up in the tree.
[House Finches twittering]
Yeah, little flock of finches with red heads and raspberry-coloured breasts. I think these are House Finch. I think there's some House Sparrows up there as well.
Right. I guess I'd better head back down.
When it goes quiet from traffic and you just hear the birds, it's wonderful. Just saw another Hummingbird.
So a bird has just flown into an orange tree next to the road, as you do, that looks like a California Towhee. So an all-brown bird. Slightly russet around the face. And I think if it turns sideways on, yep, there's a red russet-y vent. So I'm very pleased to have been able to see those last year in Los Angeles. So it's a bird I wouldn't have known what it was. And I can hear some more hummingbirds.
Okay, so I'm almost back at the car. Oh my goodness and there's a little Hummingbird right next to me. Hello! [laughs] He just landed on the sign. If only I'd had my camera out.
So now I'm back where I started. And there's the hummingbird in the orange tree. Still with its back to me, so I still can't see the colour of his neck but, oh it's turned around slightly. I think it's an Anna's Hummingbird.
[Mockingbird calling]
Meanwhile I've got a Mockingbird calling out and I think that ... [Song Sparrow calls] possibly is a Song Sparrow. See if I can get a bit closer.
Ah, yeah, I can just see it.
[Song Sparrow calls]
And there's the Mockingbird calling out.
[Mockingbird calling]
There's hummingbirds just everywhere. It's just wonderful. If I lived here I would so have a feeder. Don't know if you can hear it, it's up in the tree.
[Hummingbird calls]
And it's right above me! Just like Tinkerbell they just come across and fly and just stop in midair. Now think that one is the one that I saw yesterday. It's got a white vent and I think if the sunlight caught it would be more rufus and coppery. So that's the either Allen's or Rufus Hummingbird.
Right! Better go and find my husband. Find out if he enjoyed the kayaking.
Suzy Buttress: Here's some additional information about Northern Mockingbirds, Song Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers featured on the walk.
Northern Mockingbirds are similar size to an American Robin, or an aubergine or eggplant. The plumage is mid-grey above and paler grey below, with noticeable white bars in the wings. They have yellow eyes, and when flying a large white patch can be seen on each wing. The tail is long with regards to body length, grey with white outer feathers, which show when flying. When perched, the tail is cocked and held at an angle. Their flight is quite buoyant and I've seen them fly up from a perch to catch a fly and then return to the perch to sing again. They are found in Mexico, and over much of the southern and eastern United States.
The Song of the Northern Mockingbird is varied and can be incessant, often singing throughout the night. The song consists of repeated phrases of notes. They're good mimics and will include elements of other bird calls in their song. The call note can be quite scratchy and harsh, and their diet consists of insects, fruit and earthworms.
The Song Sparrow is one of the most widely found native sparrows in North America. Similar in size to the ubiquitous House Sparrow, or maybe the size of a kiwi fruit, the Song Sparrow has streaked plumage, rich brown and grey on its upper parts, streaked brown breast merging into a buff or grey coloured underside and the brown streaks on its breast become a central spot.
It has a striped head with buff eyebrow and crown stripes and strong malar stripe (a stripe that runs from the base of the beak down the neck towards the shoulder). The colouring and amount of streaking of the Song Sparrow can vary across its range. Of particular note is the relatively long and rounded tail compared with a House Sparrow. Their song is a mix of phrases which end on a trill or buzz and male Song Sparrows sing from exposed perches. So if you hear the song, it's worth scanning around to see if you can spot the bird. Alarm calls are a sharp note. They eat seeds and will come to garden feeders.
Suzy Buttress: I understand that there are two subspecies of the widely found Yellow-rumped Warbler: the Myrtle form which has a white throat, found in the eastern United States, and the Audubon's form which has a yellow throat, found in the West. And the one that I saw in San Diego was the Audubon's form.
A grey bird, slightly smaller than House Sparrow, perhaps the size of a large plum, with darker grey streaks in its flank and a pale underside. The most striking feature is the splashes of bright yellow on its crown, rump, sides and throat. As with many birds, their plumage is duller during the winter, but during the breeding season, it’s vibrant and strong.
Their song is a mix of warbles and trills, and they make a sharp 'check' communication call when flying or forging.
Yellow-rumped Warblers eat seeds and suet at backyard feeders, but can also digest the waxes found in Bayberries and Wax Myrtles, which allows them to stay further north during the winter than other warblers.
You can find photos of the birds I saw on my San Diego bird walk on my Instagram or my Facebook page. Links are in the show notes.
[short musical interlude]
Suzy Buttress: Back at home my garden has felt quiet after the flurry of fledglings that were visiting my garden a month or so ago. However, this weekend has been sunny and dry. And the early morning has brought Bullfinches, Goldfinches, House Sparrows, Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves to the garden.
Along with my ever-present water dishes, I currently only have sunflower hearts out in the feeders, and I've stopped feeding suet during the hot weather. This has meant that the Rooks and Jackdaws have stopped visiting me for now, but hopefully they'll be back during the winter. The only Corvid species to come to the garden at the moment is the Magpie. We had three youngsters hanging out in the garden regularly a couple of weeks ago, getting into all sorts of mischief as they learned about their environment. For the past week or so, I've only seen one Magpie at a time.
I'd love to know what birds you've seen, so do tell me about them.
Jo from Essex told me that there have been three young Robins in her garden recently. Jo is a keen gardener and always out in the garden. So the Robins have become accustomed to seeing her there. One of them has even become brave enough to approach her for food tidbits. European Robins are well known for following gardeners around and taking advantage of the disturbed earth to find easy pickings of the insects and earthworms turned up.
Dave from Indiana told me he’s started noticing the birds visiting his garden more. Recently, he's seen Mourning Doves, a Bald Eagle, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Canada Geese, American Robins, and a Mallard Duck.
He also saw a Scarlet Tanager and said it was stunning the way the sunlight made its head look metallic orange. That's a bird I'd love to see and I'm very envious.
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Each Wednesday, I post a fun bird ID quiz on my social media channels. So do look out for that.
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Thank you to Randy Braun for designing the artwork for the show. The theme music is Short Sleeved Shirt by The Drones. Thanks to them for letting me use it. Check out their website at www dot Dronesmusic dot net.
Thank you all for listening. And I hope you will join me again for another episode of The Casual Birder Podcast.
[Closing music]
Transcribed by https://otter.ai and Suzy Buttress