Southern California may call to mind rampant development and crowds of people, but in fact it has many areas that are both wild and beautiful. Our short tour focuses on birds that are difficult or impossible to see elsewhere in the United States and it does so at a time when fall migration for many species is at its peak.
We’ll visit the coast and offshore islands northwest of Los Angeles, coastal areas south of Los Angeles and the legendary Salton Sea.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6 p.m. near Los Angeles Intercontinental Airport. Night in Los Angeles.
Day 2: We’ll leave early, heading northwest and out of Los Angeles. Those used to the urban sprawl of Los Angeles will be pleasantly surprised at the unspoiled and scenic north coast of Los Angeles and southern Ventura Counties. Here steep hills drop sharply to the sea, forming a ruggedly scenic coastline. We’ll explore the canyons that hold some of California’s distinctive landbirds, including California Quail, Allen’s and Anna’s Hummingbirds, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Wrentit, California Thrasher and California Towhee as well as a variety of western migrants. Exotic species such as Red-crowned Parrot are now considered established, and small populations of Black-hooded Parakeet are also present. Later we’ll continue to the Oxnard Plain to search for shorebirds, possibly including Pacific Golden-Plover, and other migrants, perhaps including Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Townsend’s Warbler. Night in Camarillo.
Day 3: We’ll spend the morning crossing to Santa Cruz Island, the largest and most wooded of southern California’s Channel Islands. Once on the island we’ll hike gently in search of the surprisingly distinctive Island Scrub-Jay, a California endemic, and, if the weather is favorable, a scattering of western migrants such as Black-throated Gray Warbler. Although transport across the Oxnard Channel is on a high-speed catamaran, we’ll hope to see a few pelagic birds including Pink-footed, Sooty and possibly Black-vented Shearwaters and Pomarine Jaeger. Along the jetties around the marina we often find Black Oystercatcher, Surfbird, Black Turnstone and sometimes Wandering Tattler. Night in Camarillo.
Day 4: After breakfast we’ll drive south through Los Angeles to Huntington Beach Central Park and the San Joaquin Marsh. Along the way we’ll look for Spotted Dove, an exotic species that has been in sharp decline over the last decade. Once reaching Central Park we are likely to encounter a fine variety of migrant landbirds and waterbirds including Elegant and possibly Royal Terns, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit and Common Ground-Dove. Later we’ll continue down the coast in search of the endangered California Gnatcatcher. Night in Irvine.
Day 5: Assuming we’ve seen the gnatcatcher, we’ll drive south to San Diego stopping at the mouth of the San Diego River where one or two Little Blue Herons, a rarity in California, are often present along with numerous other waterbirds. Depending on the migration we may stop at Rosecrans Cemetery at Pt. Loma, a renowned migration place where many exceptional rarities have been found. Late in the morning or in the afternoon we’ll head east, stopping in the low but lovely and unpopulated mountains of central San Diego County. Here among the pines and oaks we should find a variety of species including Oak Titmouse, Mountain Chickadee, the distinctive-sounding coastal race of White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Bluebird and with luck the local and often scarce Lawrence’s Goldfinch. Later we’ll drive down into the Imperial Valley for some local afternoon birding at the south end of the Salton Sea. Night in Calipatria.
Days 6-7: The Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea may test our endurance, for the area can be blazing hot even in late September, but our birding will be confined to the morning and late-afternoon hours. The primary ornithological attraction is Yellow-footed Gull, a post-breeding visitor to the Salton Sea, the only regular location to see this species in North America. Other birds may include Least Bittern, Ruddy Ground (recently established) and Inca Doves, Lesser Nighthawk, Costa’s Hummingbird, Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and with luck the distinctive pale, large-billed “species” of Savannah Sparrow. There should also be a variety of migrant landbirds about, possibly including Vaux’s Swift, Gray Flycatcher, Green-tailed Towhee and Lazuli Bunting. Nights in Calipatria.
Day 8: After a bit more early morning birding at the Salton Sea we’ll depart to the north, possibly stopping at Morongo Valley, a desert oasis that may harbor Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Vermilion Flycatcher or a lingering Summer Tanager. This location can also be excellent for migrants such as Western Wood-Pewee and MacGillivray’s Warbler. After a mid-morning snack we’ll continue north over the San Gabriel Mountains where, at a lunch stop, we may see the striking White-headed Woodpecker along with Clark’s Nutcracker, Pygmy Nuthatch and Cassin’s Finch. Later we’ll continue to the Silver Saddle Ranch at Galileo Hill Park for some late-afternoon birding. Night in Galileo.
Day 9: Galileo Hill Park is a high-desert ranch and club, an artificial oasis that attracts large numbers of landbird migrants including many rarities. We’ll spend the morning here looking for Sage Sparrow and searching for migrants. The strikingly pale Le Conte’s Thrasher can often be found in the desert nearby and we’ll search carefully for it as well. Night in Galileo.
Day 10: After a final morning and early afternoon of searching for migrants at Galileo and at nearby California City, we’ll head south back to Los Angeles. Night near Los Angeles International Airport.
Day 11: The tour concludes this morning near Los Angeles Intercontinental Airport.
Updated: 02 November 2007
Prices
- 2008 price about $2,990
- Single Occupancy Supplement $440
Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader.
The itinerary for days 2-4 may differ slightly, depending on the available boat schedules to Santa Cruz Island. However, the elements of the tour will remain the same.