A couple months ago I was searching for Thanksgiving destinations online and specifically looking for cheap direct flights. Direct flights to LAX from RDU were coming in pretty reasonable considering it is one of the most traveled weeks all year long. When you have two young kids, you are at the mercy of the school holidays. Nowadays the schools are militant about the kids not missing too much which is crap considering my kids learn more on one week's adventure vacation than they could ever learn in school. Note I say adventure vacation because some families just go to Disney or some resort and that is not conducive to learning anything. I digress...
So once I settled on LAX, I started thinking about destinations in Southern Cali and quickly landed on several. Catalina Island is where I took Melissa after proposing to her over 17 years ago and I have been meaning to show the kids where the magic all began. Melissa is big time into hiking and I wanted Island Scrub Jays so I tacked on a trip to Santa Cruz Island with a night in Ventura as a jumping off point. Lastly we landed on Joshua Tree NP since we had never been and always regretted not going when we used to live in San Diego.
We landed in LAX on the 23rd and immediately headed to a taco place near Playa Del Rey. YUM! I miss Cali food. After filling our bellies we headed to the Catalina Express ferry terminal in San Pedro. Unfortunately a Nazca Booby which had been hanging out in San Pedro Harbor left a week before.
Black Phoebe at the ferry terminal.
The ride over to Catalina was beautiful and we stopped at Two Harbors first so by the time we made it to Avalon it was dark. The pelagic birding was not great but I did see some Black-vented Shearwaters in the distance. Upon debarking in Avalon we walked to our hotel (La Paloma Las Flores) which was a little too rustic for Melissa's taste but the kids and I liked it well enough and it was located in a good spot close to the town but also close to the hiking and a Vons for supplies. Dinner was a yummy but expensive Poke Bowl place in town.
Next morning my #1 target was Spotted Dove which is an established exotic that seems to have disappeared from southern California but continues to thrive on Catalina Island. The kids and Melissa slept in while I explored the environs. It did not take long to find my quarry.
Spotted Dove - for those of you looking for this bird, you need not worry they were easy to find just walking around town in Avalon.
Bewick's Wren
Ravens are plentiful on Catalina and I caught this one chasing an American Crow for a nice comparison.
Las Palomas had a ton of Allen's and Anna's Hummingbirds buzzing around offering nice photo ops.
Allen's HB
Orange-crowned Warblers were also omnipresent.
Allen's HB
I couldn't find an adult male Anna's but I bet they were around.
I never tired of the Allen's
After breakfast we started on a LOOOoonnnnggg hike up to the peaks surrounding Avalon. I think the trail was called the Hermit's Trail.
The town way in the back is Avalon. I think we did about 10 miles altogether and as is usual I lugged my crusher all the way and saw hardly any birds... The scenery up top was amazing with views of both sides of the island. Melissa took some really good pics, I stink at iPhone pics and my phone sucks.
Island Foxes were pretty much tame and walked right up to us.
Acorn Woodpeckers were everywhere. It seems the island has such good habitat but since it is a good ways offshore the diversity is low and the few species that are out there do really well.
Red-tailed Hawk - that doesn't mean they don't have any predators...
Blue-gray Gnatty
Since 10 miles was not enough, we took a walk down to the waterfront.
Western Gull
Heermann's Gull is a favorite for most sane birders. This one was an adult.
First winter birds are all chocolatey and can throw you off when you first see them.
Brandt's Cormorants have the coolest blue eyes.
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Western Gull
We were so knackered we didn't do much for dinner, just some pizza slices.
Our last morning I took a nice long hike in the hills surrounding Avalon while Melissa and the boys woke late and walked around the town.
Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler
These look like Gambel's Quail based on the dark patch on belly but according to eBird, they are all California on Catalina Island. Strange.. San Clemente Island which is close has a population of Gambel's, but not Catalina.
Male California Quail
Allen's HB
Common Raven
Never more..
Orange-crowned
Allen's
As we waited for our ferry back to San Pedro, we took in some of the sights on the waterfront...
A huge cruise ship was anchored offshore and transport ships were ferrying back and forth. There is something about cruise ships which repulses me. Perhaps the huge amount of pollution? Or maybe the fact that they are totally insulating and not promoting any of the culture of the local area. It's true that people get off the boat but most of them just hang around the vendors on shore which were only set up to cater to the boat people and are mostly hawking plastic trinkets and junk.
Some of the cruisers then paid to take rides around on a parasail. I think this was Kim Kardashian and a friend.
The good news is I found a great bird around the docks as we waited....
Wandering Tattler!
Western Gull
Avalon was great and I will not hesitate to come back in another 15 or so years.
We motored out and stopped at Two Harbors again before setting out across the channel. This time I got a couple shots of pelagic species.
There were plenty of Black-vented Shearwaters but I only came away with one half decent photo. Shooting from a fast moving boat is tough..
I initially thought this jaeger was a Pomarine as it was quite large.
And barrel-chested.
But I changed to Parasitic based on the two pointy tines on the tail.
Back on the mainland we stopped for lunch at a Japanese restaurant that served Katsu which was a first for me. I have not had much Japanese other than sushi because I love sushi and always get it when at a Japanese restaurant. However, this particular restaurant had Katsu as a specialty so I had to try it. Katsu is basically panko-fried pork, or chicken or fish with a yummy sauce and usually served with noodles on the side. I had the chicken and Melissa had the Halibut. Both were excellent and even the kids partook.
The last stop of the day was at Ken Malloy Regional Park just north of San Pedro for another ABA countable exotic that I still did not have for my list.
The park was super birdy but I was hyper focused on my target and only snapped a few incidental photos like these American White Pelicans.
I love a Bushtit.
It started to get late and the wife and kids started to get antsy and wanted to leave. Just at the last minute....
Finally! Scaly-breasted Munia!
We headed out and hit some minor traffic up through Santa Monica and Venice Beach so I decided why not divert and watch the sunset...
We strolled down the strip and checked out muscle beach and all the crazies on the boardwalk. The drive up to Ventura to our Hotel at Ventura Harbor was leisurely and traffic wasn't too bad. In fact we got pretty lucky with traffic the whole trip. I miss Cali...
So once I settled on LAX, I started thinking about destinations in Southern Cali and quickly landed on several. Catalina Island is where I took Melissa after proposing to her over 17 years ago and I have been meaning to show the kids where the magic all began. Melissa is big time into hiking and I wanted Island Scrub Jays so I tacked on a trip to Santa Cruz Island with a night in Ventura as a jumping off point. Lastly we landed on Joshua Tree NP since we had never been and always regretted not going when we used to live in San Diego.
We landed in LAX on the 23rd and immediately headed to a taco place near Playa Del Rey. YUM! I miss Cali food. After filling our bellies we headed to the Catalina Express ferry terminal in San Pedro. Unfortunately a Nazca Booby which had been hanging out in San Pedro Harbor left a week before.
Black Phoebe at the ferry terminal.
The ride over to Catalina was beautiful and we stopped at Two Harbors first so by the time we made it to Avalon it was dark. The pelagic birding was not great but I did see some Black-vented Shearwaters in the distance. Upon debarking in Avalon we walked to our hotel (La Paloma Las Flores) which was a little too rustic for Melissa's taste but the kids and I liked it well enough and it was located in a good spot close to the town but also close to the hiking and a Vons for supplies. Dinner was a yummy but expensive Poke Bowl place in town.
Next morning my #1 target was Spotted Dove which is an established exotic that seems to have disappeared from southern California but continues to thrive on Catalina Island. The kids and Melissa slept in while I explored the environs. It did not take long to find my quarry.
Spotted Dove - for those of you looking for this bird, you need not worry they were easy to find just walking around town in Avalon.
White-crowned Sparrow
Bewick's Wren
Ravens are plentiful on Catalina and I caught this one chasing an American Crow for a nice comparison.
Las Palomas had a ton of Allen's and Anna's Hummingbirds buzzing around offering nice photo ops.
Allen's HB
Orange-crowned Warblers were also omnipresent.
Allen's HB
I couldn't find an adult male Anna's but I bet they were around.
I never tired of the Allen's
After breakfast we started on a LOOOoonnnnggg hike up to the peaks surrounding Avalon. I think the trail was called the Hermit's Trail.
The town way in the back is Avalon. I think we did about 10 miles altogether and as is usual I lugged my crusher all the way and saw hardly any birds... The scenery up top was amazing with views of both sides of the island. Melissa took some really good pics, I stink at iPhone pics and my phone sucks.
Island Foxes were pretty much tame and walked right up to us.
Hutton's Vireo
If you take the Hermit's Trail up you can traverse to the south and come down a trail that takes you through the back of the Botanical Garden which means you don't have pay! I actually don't mind paying for a nice cause but I couldn't resist the trick.
Acorn Woodpeckers were everywhere. It seems the island has such good habitat but since it is a good ways offshore the diversity is low and the few species that are out there do really well.
Red-tailed Hawk - that doesn't mean they don't have any predators...
Blue-gray Gnatty
Since 10 miles was not enough, we took a walk down to the waterfront.
Western Gull
Heermann's Gull is a favorite for most sane birders. This one was an adult.
First winter birds are all chocolatey and can throw you off when you first see them.
Brandt's Cormorants have the coolest blue eyes.
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Western Gull
We were so knackered we didn't do much for dinner, just some pizza slices.
Our last morning I took a nice long hike in the hills surrounding Avalon while Melissa and the boys woke late and walked around the town.
Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler
These look like Gambel's Quail based on the dark patch on belly but according to eBird, they are all California on Catalina Island. Strange.. San Clemente Island which is close has a population of Gambel's, but not Catalina.
Female California Quail
Male California Quail
Allen's HB
Common Raven
Never more..
Orange-crowned
Allen's
As we waited for our ferry back to San Pedro, we took in some of the sights on the waterfront...
A huge cruise ship was anchored offshore and transport ships were ferrying back and forth. There is something about cruise ships which repulses me. Perhaps the huge amount of pollution? Or maybe the fact that they are totally insulating and not promoting any of the culture of the local area. It's true that people get off the boat but most of them just hang around the vendors on shore which were only set up to cater to the boat people and are mostly hawking plastic trinkets and junk.
Some of the cruisers then paid to take rides around on a parasail. I think this was Kim Kardashian and a friend.
The good news is I found a great bird around the docks as we waited....
Wandering Tattler!
Western Gull
Avalon was great and I will not hesitate to come back in another 15 or so years.
We motored out and stopped at Two Harbors again before setting out across the channel. This time I got a couple shots of pelagic species.
There were plenty of Black-vented Shearwaters but I only came away with one half decent photo. Shooting from a fast moving boat is tough..
I initially thought this jaeger was a Pomarine as it was quite large.
And barrel-chested.
But I changed to Parasitic based on the two pointy tines on the tail.
The last stop of the day was at Ken Malloy Regional Park just north of San Pedro for another ABA countable exotic that I still did not have for my list.
The park was super birdy but I was hyper focused on my target and only snapped a few incidental photos like these American White Pelicans.
I love a Bushtit.
It started to get late and the wife and kids started to get antsy and wanted to leave. Just at the last minute....
Finally! Scaly-breasted Munia!
We headed out and hit some minor traffic up through Santa Monica and Venice Beach so I decided why not divert and watch the sunset...
We strolled down the strip and checked out muscle beach and all the crazies on the boardwalk. The drive up to Ventura to our Hotel at Ventura Harbor was leisurely and traffic wasn't too bad. In fact we got pretty lucky with traffic the whole trip. I miss Cali...
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