Actually we left last Thursday. Drove down the coast to Newport Beach and set up at Newport Dunes RV Resort. A five star destination resort right on the bay. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I’ll send pictures. We’ve explored a little. Irvine. Tustin. Costa Mesa. Brother David’s old stomping grounds. The back bay wildlife refuge behind Laguna. Balboa Island. Saturday we drove Pacific Coast Highway down the coast to Oceanside. Hot pastrami sandwiches at Angelo’s for lunch. It might be a good idea to spend the rest of my life as a vegetarian now. Drove a bit farther south to Encinitas then Solana Beach for some birding. Took the interstate back to our coach. This will be our fourth night here. Tomorrow…. leaving California.
Birding
We finished off the lifers. We got all three. Three new birds to add to our life list. Got up at six and went back to Crystal Cove State Park this morning. Coastal sage scrub. The thrasher sang for us. The gnatcatchers danced. The wrentit…. elusive. We got fleeting looks. Then, after an hour of teasing, one popped out of the brush three feet from my knee. Too close, too quick to see with binoculars, but I didn’t need them. A quick but clear view. Wrentit. Count it.
SoCal
Two and a half life birds. California specialties. California gnatcatcher. California thrasher, and wrentit. We got the gnatcatcher and thrasher within fifty feet of the car. The wrentit has been more difficult. We’ve heard it several times. We’ve been within thirty feet of it. But it’s a rotten little bird. It’s not like the spotted towhee who climbs to the top of the biggest bush around to sing. No. The wrentit sings from cover. It’s such a distinctive song though, it’s unmistakable. We’re counting that one as a “heard only”. Two and a half lifers.
Long beach
There are several different ways to get to Catalina. This might be the coolest.
Palos verdes
Last weekend we drove up the coast to Palos Verdes. It’s just a few miles. Went looking for a California Gnatcatcher. Didn’t find one, but we got some good coastal California views.