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.
Long beach
It was a good bicycle ride this evening. We rode down to Cherry Beach, where Judy and I used to go as kids. This is the first time we’ve gone back there together. We both remember where our spot was; nothing to mark it but sand, but we still know right where it is. That was our getaway in the old days. Once we got to that spot, it was just us. There were friends around, but still, it was just us. No parents and no way for them to contact us. They didn’t know where our spot was. It was there we planned our getaway. It worked.