www.thefilemyrs.com > Birding > California 2006 > Trip Report

Trip Report
by Connie Goldman

A group of six friends planned a birding trip to Southern California. Our goal was to include both pelagic and land birding across a variety of habitats. We would target certain species of interest to members of our group, and we would also bird popular hotspots to explore these areas and appreciate first-hand the Southern California birding experience.

Day 1, Tuesday September 5, 2006:
Karl Lukens had spent the night at Bert Filemyr's home, Deborah Danila had stayed at Connie Goldman’s. The four met at Bert Filemyr’s by 3:00am, and the group picked up Rob Hynson in center city Philadelphia at 3:30am. Then we were off to the airport where we were joined by Art McMorris as we waited for electronic check-in carrels to open. All went smoothly with our flights, first to Chicago, where we connected with our flight to Los Angeles. We arrived in LA by mid-morning and readjusted our watches to California time. We obtained, packed and set up the GPS in our vehicle and set out on our 8-day birding trip in Southern California.

Our first stop was the Wilmington Drain area in south Los Angeles, where we checked for possible Spotted Dove. We were unsuccessful, finding only Mourning Doves and common city species on rooftops, dry ground and wires; but we had started birding and were ready for the challenges ahead.

Next we visited the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, a saltmarsh restoration area near Huntington Beach. It immediately began producing trip birds for us, as a Glaucous-winged Gull flew over the beach hotels on our approach to the area. Across the road from Bolsa Chica State Beach we could see hundreds of distant shorebirds lining the water’s edge as we searched for access. We walked the interpretive trail, experiencing the reality of this western coastal habitat by the species present. Western and California Gulls flew overhead. Elegant Terns and Black Skimmers could be viewed inside the fenced off nesting area and in flight around the marsh. Snowy Plovers, Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, Western Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers were common here. As we walked along an area of short marsh grass, a “Belding’s” Savannah Sparrow flitted in and out, giving us looks at this local subspecies.

Next we birded Crystal Cove State Park, an area of California Sagebrush habitat along the Pacific coast. We were to meet Kaaren Perry, a local birder who would escort us through hotspots in the area. We entered one of the numerous recreational access areas and immediately spotted California Towhees in the parking lot. An adjacent sagebrush hillside attracted our attention as we waited for Kaaren. Within minutes we were hearing birdsong from within the brush. It was the California Gnatcatcher! Our first sightings were quick glances through sagebrush as a bird flitted up and down through the vegetation. Eventually we saw additional individuals, out in the open on top of the brush, and all got good looks at this target species. A quick phone call revealed that Kaaren was waiting at another park entrance further south at, and we went to meet her there. We enjoyed our introduction to the coastal area there under Karen’s friendly escort. We walked a short Crystal Cove loop trail and then headed to Reef Point, a scenic coastal lookout. Kaaren informed us of interesting bird sightings here throughout the year as we scanned the rock formations below. We found Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Surfbird, Brandt’s Cormorant and Brown Pelicans. Next we drove the town of Laguna Beach, with Kaaren giving us an account of the changes in the area over the years as more and more houses dotted the hills, and the artistic focus of the town was becoming more and more commercial. Our next birding spot was the Treasure Island Resort. Here a multi-use public access trail runs between the shore on one side, and a lavish hillside resort rising up the other side. Brewer’s Blackbirds congregated on the resort lawn. We watched shorebirds out on the water’s edge, finding a Wandering Tattler among them. An interesting counterpoint to the wild scene before us was the sloped resort terrace behind us, being prepared for an evening event, with fine linen, china and crystal! Another visitor to the path added to the interest here as he was accompanied on his walk by a not-so-wild hybrid macaw that we stopped briefly to meet.

With lodging and dinner a bit further south, we said our goodbyes to Kaaren. She had been a friendly and accommodating hostess for our first afternoon in California. We headed to Dana Point for lodging and happy hour. We compiled our day list and congratulated ourselves on a first successful afternoon of birding. We had dinner at a local restaurant and rested up to adjust ourselves to the western time zone.

Day 2, Wednesday, September 6th, 2006:
The next morning we were up, with the vehicle packed and having had breakfast by 7:00am, on the road south toward La Jolla. Some slow workday traffic threatened to obstruct our efforts, but we birded the roadsides as we drove along and were fortunate to see a White-tailed Kite flying overhead.

Our first stop that day was La Jolla Boulevard area near San Diego, from where we scoped out onto the Pacific, hoping for pelagic species that might be seen from shore. We were successful in finding a number of Black-vented Shearwaters. Terns, including our first trip Royal Terns were numerous also. Shorebirds, pelicans and cormorants lined beaches and sunned themselves on rocks. The scenery and shoreline geology captured our attention. But the phalaropes here formed a spectacle surpassing all expectations. Small groups of Red-necked Phalaropes flying past were soon discovered to have company. We scoped rafts of the birds totaling thousands!

More than satisfied with this experience, we went next to Mission Bay Park. In the flat dry fields adjacent to the parking lot, we found a flock of Horned Lark, and walked a short distance to the bayside. Peeps, Red Knots, Little Blue Heron and other shorebirds fed in the mudflats here. An interesting situation here was a man out in the shallows, working the mud. Long-legged wading birds including Long-billed Curlew, fed without apparent fear in the stirred up water and mud right beside him. As we returned to our car, some Anna’s Hummingbirds flitted past us and rested briefly in small trees beside the parking lot. One Allen’s Hummingbird also made an appearance.

Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery was our next destination point. Here we walked among grave markers, quietly birding the surrounding vegetation. In a scrubby area behind the cemetery, we looked through a chain link fence at California Thrasher, a target species here. Multiple sightings of the birds enabled our entire group to get good looks. Passerines here also included Wrentit, Bushtit, Orange-crowned Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Townsend’s Warbler. We spent a somber moment before reentering our vehicle, as we noted one of the grave markers dated December 7, 1941; the sailor interned there had lost his life on that historic day at Pearl Harbor.

Now we would head inland toward different sorts of habitat and hopefully some new trip birds. Near the town of Brawley, we visited Cattle Call Park. Horses and cattle huddled in the shady areas in their pens here, moving very little in the hot afternoon sun. But we started sighting birds from the car and opted to get out for a short walk. Braving oppressive heat, we saw Cactus Wren, Yellow Warbler, Great-tailed Grackle and Common Ground Dove. Gambel’s Quail ran out from under one shaded bush and scurried to another.

We moved on to the town of Calipatria, to an intersection known to have Ruddy Ground Dove. A sign on the edge of the shabby farm property read “No Trespassing We Do Not Call 911,” warning us to keep our distance. We walked the public road and berm along an irrigation ditch there, looking into farm yards and animal pens. House Sparrows inhabited the area, and we did find Inca Dove, but no ground doves. Cattle Egrets were spotted in roadside fields. Finally the 104 degree heat convinced us to move on. A Roadrunner was seen, running the road, of course!

More heat and some added stench met us at Red Hill Marina at the Salton Sea. We had devoted the late afternoon and entire next day to looking for two species here, and were immediately successful in finding the first. A Yellow-footed Gull stood not far off, on the beach in front of us. We scoped distant perches on bird blinds and small exposed mounds in the lake, now looking for the Blue-footed Booby. While we scanned, we enjoyed sightings of other birds, including Cinnamon Teal, Black-necked Stilt, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Black Skimmer, Loggerhead Shrike and Lesser Nighthawk. As we turned around to return to our vehicle, a few birds were seen on the communication wires above rickety camp trailers here. They were Burrowing Owls! We enjoyed watching the birds perched uncharacteristically, and pondered the sometimes unpredictable behaviors of birds. At a second viewing spot we sighted the Piping Plover recently located on the beach here by local birders. But still we could not locate the booby. Knowing we would have the next day to look more, we decided to call it a day and get to our lodging for the night. As we drove the long road back toward Brawley, we passed by extensive fields flanked by an irrigation ditch running the entire length of the road. A few more Burrowing Owls were seen standing above holes in the banks of the ditch. Soon we realized that hundreds of the birds must inhabit the area as more and more were seen out in the open like this as we drove along. Single birds, pairs and family groups of Burrowing Owls stood above their holes in the early evening sun. We stopped periodically to get close looks and photographs of the birds, and to enjoy their definite cuteness factor too! This was a fun end to a quite successful day of birding.

We arrived at our lodging place, compiled our day birds during happy hour in our motel room, and had dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 3 Thursday, September 7th, 2006:
We headed back to the Salton Sea the next morning after breakfast. We would approach the sea from a different access point, but drove the entrance road again, sighting some Burrowing Owls out in the morning sun. The adjacent wet fields also held American Kestrel, Western Kingbird, Green Heron, Red-winged Blackbird flocks, Western Meadowlark, Horned Lark and various shorebirds. A pheasant next to the car caught our attention at one point, and we realized it was an introduced species, the White-winged Ring-necked Pheasant – not countable by ABA rules, but nevertheless fun to see.

At our vantage point for the morning, the Pound Road access, we parked on parched ground that was obviously an area from where lake water had receded. Thin dried fish bodies crunched under our footsteps and a somewhat rank odor filled the air. Thick clumps of lake soil became embedded in our shoes as we walked toward the water’s edge. We set up our scopes and looked toward Mullet Island a seemingly impossible distance away. Soon we did begin to identify birds perched on that distant island, finding cormorants and pelicans in numbers. We scanned and scanned for the Blue-footed Booby but could not locate one. In nearer waters were Red-necked Phalarope, Wilson’s Phalarope, Long-billed Dowitchers, Western Sandpipers, Cinnamon Teal, Horned Grebe, Yellowlegs and American Coot. We continued to scan for the booby. Along the water’s edge over at Mullet Island, large pink birds could be seen feeding. These were Greater Flamingoes, the Chilean birds, not ABA countable, but interesting to see in the wild. As we continued to bird, another pink bird was seen flying away over our heads, a Roseate Spoonbill! After giving the booby search a couple hours we decided to head out to other localities.

We drove through the town of Niland, looking for possible Spotted Dove. While we did not find any of that species, a garden shrub here did have a Verdin for us to see.

We checked the same intersection in Calipatria once more, looking on to the farm property. This time a Ruddy Ground Dove pair made an appearance for us. They perched in a fence together, giving us all satisfying looks.

At Ramer Lake we saw Common Moorhen and Spotted Sandpiper, and got nice close looks at Clark’s and Western Grebe. White-faced Ibis flew over. Barn and Tree Swallows hawked insects above the lake.

Finney Lake gave us some repeat looks at species, and we added Green-winged Teal here.

We grabbed lunch in Brawley and headed back to Cattle Call Park for another look, hoping for blackbird species. We sighted Gila Woodpecker this time, for a new trip species.

We made a brief visit to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Headquarters and headed toward more northerly access points of the sea, still hopeful for a booby sighting. This time we looked out over the lake from 76th avenue near a row of high communication poles. Gulls and pelicans, and a Peregrine Falcon, perched on these. Out on the lake we saw thousands of American White Pelicans in a flock. A single Bonaparte’s Gull flew over the lake in the distance. But no Blue-footed Booby was to be found. We watched as groups of the pelicans flew into a protected cove for night roosting, but a booby did not fly in with them. We tried the Johnson’s Avenue access, and came back to 76th Avenue again. Finally we admitted defeat in finding this target bird, vowed to return another time, and moved on toward our lodging for the night.

Along the way we made one stop on Whitewater Canyon Road, west of Palm Springs. We searched here for possible Chukar. Dry hills predominated, but we located the area of green from where former sightings had been reported. With the California wind farms along the road in the distance we searched hillside area for the bird, but none appeared. We saw Bewick’s Wren, Verdin and more Gambel’s Quail in the area, and ended our birding day with those.

We headed for San Bernardino for our night’s lodging, a fun happy hour and dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 4 - Friday, September 8th, 2006:
The next morning we had an early breakfast at our hotel and headed up toward the San Bernardino Mountains for some high elevation birding. On the way we stopped at Mountain View Cemetery, again seeking possible Spotted Dove, again failing to find one. Among the European Starlings that predominated, we saw Acorn Woodpecker, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and a Band-tailed Pigeon perched atop an evergreen tree.

Driving up into the mountains, we stopped at various spots along Old Waterman Canyon Road. An early stop here gave us close looks at Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Oak Titmouse, Stellar’s Jay and more Acorn Woodpeckers appeared as we drove higher and higher. A scenic overlook gained us numbers of Common Raven and Red-shouldered Hawk.

At Lake Gregory, we found Brewer’s Blackbirds, with Ruddy Duck and American Coot on the water and Caspian Tern flying overhead.

A new trip species at Baylis Picnic Area was Mountain Chickadee.

We reached Tulip Lane near Big Bear Lake and birded south on this mountain road. Violet-green Swallows flew over a meadow here and Lesser Goldfinch worked the bushes. Various stops along the road gave us more sightings, including Orange-crowned Warbler, “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pygmy Nuthatch, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Western Tanager. Lunch had been purchased at a supermarket that morning, and we had a picnic at one of our habitat stops. An especially happy sighting in this area was the White-Headed Woodpecker. This was a major trip target bird, a lifer for many of us! We were all able to get good looks at the bird as it fed along tree branches near the dirt road.

Though there was much more habitat in the mountain area to see, we realized we would have to head back in order to get to our night’s lodging in Santa Barbara at a reasonable hour. We headed out reluctantly, but with some good birds having been added to our trip list.

Day 5 Saturday, September 9th, 2006:
We had breakfast at our hotel and headed to the dock to board the Condor Express catamaran, for an LA Audubon Pelagic trip. From the dock we heard Belted Kingfisher calling, and saw Black-crowned Night-heron. Some shorebirds stood along the shore and among the rocks as the boat left the harbor. Among these was Black-bellied Plover, Marbled Godwit, Willet and Sanderling. Soon we got farther out into the ocean and pelagic species began making appearances. While this long-distance day trip did not yield a Red-billed Tropicbird, hoped for by many birders on board, the variety and quality of sightings was satisfying. Our list of species for the day includes Red-necked and Red Phalarope, South Polar Skua, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaeger. Pomarine Jaeger was seen, and a late day individual of this species flew very low over the boat demonstrating its long twisted tail and other field marks at close range. A Sabine’s Gull flew close over the boat and sat down on the water, giving various good views for us. Elegant, Common and Arctic Terns were all seen. Pigeon Guillemot and Cassin’s Auklet made appearances. A surprising Craveri’s Murrelet was seen down on the water to one side of the boat, then flew across the bow and came down on the other side. A Black-footed Albatross spent time close to the boat giving awesome views to us all. Black-vented Shearwaters were seen close in to shore, joined by Pink-footed, Buller’s, and Sooty further out. Ashy, Black, and Leach’s Storm-petrels made multiple appearances as we tried to study the differences in their field marks and flight characteristics. Pelagic, Brandt’s and Double-crested Cormorants were all seen. Calm seas and a very stable boat made this an easy ride, and the pleasant bird sightings outdoors made it difficult to spend time inside the cabin. We did take quick breaks for food from the boat’s galley for lunch and dinner, and headed back out to the rail for more sightings. Only when the sun set did we head into the cabin for the last stretch of the homeward trip. The boat reentered the harbor on time at 8pm and we headed back to our Santa Barbara hotel for a second night.

Day 6 Sunday, September 10th, 2006:
After complimentary breakfast in our hotel, we headed this day toward Mount Pinos. We stopped first at the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center, where we were treated to an unexpected hummingbird show. The visitor center porch was lined with feeders, all busily attended by birds. We got close looks at dozens of hummingbirds, both Black-chinned and Anna’s. The wooded area around the center also held Steller’s and Western Scrub Jays, Band-tailed Pigeons, Acorn Woodpecker and Oak Titmouse.

We drove a mountain road (route #33) upward, getting out at various points to bird habitat. Motorcyclists buzzed up highway and then back down at speed, demonstrating their different sort of attraction for this “habitat.” Making numerous stops, we picked up sightings of Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hutton’s Vireo, Phainopepla, Bushtits, and a heard-only Rock Wren. Along a flatter area of Lockwood Valley Road, we got out to bird some fields. Horned Lark worked the field, but the skies were even busier. We sighted a Prairie Falcon, Swainson’s Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, and Golden Eagle all from the same spot!

We looked down from a rise onto a pond far below, seeing Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, American Coot and Violet-green Swallows.

Reaching McGill Campground around lunchtime, we scoped out a picnic area where we ate lunches purchased at a supermarket earlier. We walked the campground and surrounding woods to add species. We saw Cassin’s Finch, Mountain Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow, jays, and a surprising single Red Crossbill.

Next we drove Mount Pinos road to its termination at the Nordic Center, also know as the Iris Meadows area. We walked the trail, seeing “Oregon” Dark-eyed Juncos, Western Bluebirds, White-breasted Nuthatch, heard Red-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warblers. Up another trail toward the peak, we birded the woods and were rewarded with more White-headed Woodpeckers, multiple birds this time, and both sexes present. We watched the birds for awhile as they fed among branches and on a downed tree trunk. We saw a Cooper’s Hawk fly quickly into the thicker part of the woods, disappearing as fast as it appeared. At the highest point of our walk, Clark’s Nutcracker flew in to trailside evergreens, enabling close looks.

Open rolling hills were the nature of the habitat along Mil Potrero Highway. We looked out over the expanse here, historic habitat for the California Condor and could easily imagine those large birds soaring here. We stopped to bird brushy areas and fencerows, finding California Thrashers, jays, Lark Sparrow and Brewer’s Sparrow. One stop was made short of two large birds perched on posts ahead of our vehicle. Scope views revealed that they were two Golden Eagles. We enjoyed studying them perched for awhile, then watched as they lifted off their perches and virtually glided across over the rolling hills below us, rarely flapping over an extensive distance.

Our last destination point for the day was the scrappy oil town of Maricopa. Along Petroleum Club Road was the area of dry sagebrush we had learned was the habitat for another target species, LeConte’s Thrasher. We passed expansive areas of oil wells and pumps along the way and arrived at what looked like a desolate, dry area of small sagebrush bushes with no vegetation between them. Primitive dirt access roads for oil work vehicles cut through the fields. Occasionally we came across trash, old tires and junk. We began our search for the thrasher, splitting up and walking slowly among the brush. We knew the bird to be a skulker and did not expect finding one to be easy. Our first sighting here was Sage Sparrow, which came willingly up to the top of brush plants and made soft calls as we got wonderful looks at the attractive sparrow. A number of individuals appeared and brightened up the drab environment. We enjoyed looking at them, but continued our search for the thrasher. Before too long a bird was sighted perched atop the sagebrush. Though it was some distance up a slight incline, scope views confirmed it was the LeConte’s Thrasher! Another major trip target species had been successfully located.

We headed to our Maricopa hotel, celebrated another successful day during happy hour in our room and headed to a restaurant in a neighboring town for dinner.

Day 7 Monday September 11th, 2006:
After breakfast, purchased at a local quick-mart, we headed back to Petroleum Club Road, trying for another sighting of the thrasher before leaving the area. Mourning Doves and Western Meadowlarks flew over. Jackrabbits hopped around in the low brush. Soon Sage Sparrows began appearing, perching up for us again. We spread out and started walking the road and fields. Soon we began hearing thrasher song. We pursued the song in various directions, and tried to confirm species ID on birds that quickly dashed out of sight. Finally a thrasher was sighted out in the open, near a mound of dirt. Then another bird appeared and another. Finally there were 5 LeConte’s Thrashers in the area, and we watched as they walked around, tails cocked at each other at times, alternately perching together and scurrying off singly by foot. We had certainly made the most of our thrasher experience, and decided to head out for new vistas.

Next we visited Tapia County Park. Picnic tables dotted a wooded area here and a hillside trail led up to higher elevation near a water tank. In the picnic area we found Wrentit and Nuttall’s Woodpecker. Climbing the trail we found Bewick’s Wren, and Western Tanager. Three Red-shouldered Hawks few over, close enough to give definitive looks at their field marks. Quail scurried around the water tank. At a lower elevation access point in the same park we sighted Black Phoebe, Dark-eyed Junco, Wilson’s, Townsend’s and Black-throated Grey Warbler.

We purchased take-out lunches and ate them at Malibu Lagoon picnic area before birding the picturesque saltmarsh here. A variety of species in the marsh included close Red-necked Phalaropes, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer and a “Black” Brant Goose. Numbers of plovers gathered along the marsh and we sorted through hoping for golden-plover, but could not locate one. The beach area held gulls, Least and Western Sandpiper, Snowy Plover and a variety of other shorebirds. Elegant and Forster’s Tern flew overhead.

Big Sycamore Canyon was our next birding location. We took an afternoon walk here, birding down the canyon trail and looking up the hills on either side. Parrots were a surprise find in trees in the parking area. These Nanday Parrots were interesting to watch as they rose up in a unified flock and landed again on the branches. We realized they were be uncountable by ABA rules, but they were fun to observe in the wild. As we birded the trail, a bicyclist coming in the opposite direction warned us of Bobcat up ahead; undeterred, we continued along the trail, and were met by another bicyclist who warned he had seen a poisonous snake up ahead. We continued our walk, but it became increasingly difficult to make any progress; we were all jostling for the back-of-the-group position and were distracted by a discussion on who could run the fastest! The area was quiet, bird-wise, and, though ever fearless, we decided to head back. We birded the campground on the way out, but came up with no new species.

We stopped at Point Mugu to check the huge rock formations there for Rock Wren. Amazingly, over the sounds of the surf and traffic on this busy Oceanside highway, we heard a wren calling from high on the rocks on the other side of the road! We scanned above, trying to pinpoint the area the song came from, and were able to find it! We sat on rocks at Mugu Rock looking up happily at the singing Rock Wren for awhile, before moving on from this “rocky” experience.

Our first stops in Oxnard Plain were the sod farms there. Working around the difficult access, with little space to pull off the road, we were able to search the sod fields and find Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, Savannah Sparrow, American Pipit. We then walked along a Tamarisk row reported as a possible migrant trap, but found only a close flock of Horned Lark in an adjacent field.

We headed to Ventura, scoped out the harbor from which we would leave on our boat trip the next day, and headed to our hotel. Another fun happy hour ensued, followed by dinner at a local restaurant. We were joined for this fun dinner by Stephanie Braitsch, a friend of Rob’s who lives in California, and her boyfriend, Tom visiting from England.

Day 8 Tuesday, September 12th, 2006:
This day was our Island Packers trip to Channel Islands National Park, a trip to seek the Island Scrub Jay, whose habitat is restricted to Santa Cruz Island, largest of the Channel Islands. Following breakfast at our hotel, we headed for Ventura Harbor and birded from dockside while waiting for the boat to board, getting repeat looks at great Blue Heron, Brewer’s Blackbird, Belted Kingfisher and Barn Swallows. A Glaucous-winged Gull flew across the harbor. The ride out to Santa Cruz served as a mini-pelagic trip, and our group positioned itself across the rail at the bow for optimal viewing. We saw Pigeon Guillemot, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, Black-vented Shearwaters, Ashy Storm-Petrel, and a Pomarine Jaeger. Among rocks around the island we sighted all three species of cormorant and Brown Pelicans. Off the boat at Prisoner's Cove, we immediately began birding the flat open area adjacent to the dock. It did not take long for the Island Scrub Jay to appear, and a pair were seen in trees near the fenced corral of an old ranch site. We appreciated the difference in size and other field marks of this jay, compared to the Western Scrub Jay. We walked the Nature Conservancy Trail with an island guide who informed us about other endemic species on Santa Cruz, as well as the island’s history, botany and aspects of evolution occurring here. We began to appreciate some of the unique qualities this island held. Birding along the rising trail, we saw Spotted Towhee, Hutton’s Vireo, Allen’s Hummingbird, and Bewick’s Wren. We looked down on the ocean from high above, enjoying the spectacular scenery. Red-tailed Hawks and Common Ravens flew over. Back down the trail to the bottom, we birded along a small creek bed finding Lesser Goldfinch, Bushtits, Western Tanager, Wilson’s Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Black-headed Grosbeak. Killdeer visited the cobble beach. Back at the dockside area, Lark Sparrow was seen on the corral fence. A Peregrine Falcon was seen in flight over this area. After four hours on the island, it was time to head back onto the boat for the trip back. We enjoyed last looks at Santa Cruz sea caves and rock formations as we rode away. We birded the waters again on the way back to Ventura, and went ashore happy with our Santa Cruz adventure.

We drove into LA for our last night’s lodging near the airport. A final happy hour in our room and dinner at a local restaurant gave us the chance to recap our great experiences and the fun we had in each other’s company.

Day 9 Tuesday, September 12th, 2006:
We headed out at 4:00am to the LA Airport, made it through security with only one small penknife-related glitch, and waited for our flight to leave. We connected as expected in San Francisco, had a smooth flight and arrived as expected in Philadelphia around 5:00pm EST. We began going our separate ways there as Art took a cab and the rest of us went on to airport parking to retrieve Bert’s van. We dropped Rob in center City and headed to Bert’s. From there Karl left for Cape May, and Deborah took Connie home and headed to Schwenksville from there. We all agreed it had been a wonderful, productive, fun trip and we look forward to traveling and birding together again in the future.