Search Results for: taylor crisologo

An interview with Debi Shearwater, founder of Shearwater Journeys and recipient of the Ludlow Griscom Award at the 2018 Monterey Birding Festival

By Taylor Crisologo

Debi Shearwater received the Ludlow Griscom Award at the 2018 Monterey Birding Festival held in Monterey, California. The award is given by the American Birding Association to an individual who has made significant contributions to our understanding of a region’s birds.

Debi Shearwater, famous for her incredible knowledge of seabirds, is the founder of Shearwater Journeys, Inc. Shearwater Journeys offers birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts the opportunity to venture out from California’s central coast to see seabirds and other marine life.

Mark Rauzon, Seabird Biologist, noted author, and Professor of Geography, offered this about Debi Shearwater, “Debi is a true visionary- a self made legend of the birding community, famously portrayed by Anjelica Huston in the movie The Big Year.  She was a pioneer of sea birding on the West Coast, developed a business, Shearwater Journeys, and carried it on for 43 years. Since 1976 more than 67,000 birders from every state in the USA and more than 30 countries worldwide have had an opportunity to appreciate seabirds and the phenomena of Monterey Bay oceanography. One of the first women birders to achieve national recognition, she has many firsts, including discovering new North American species like the Jouanin’s Petrel.”

Debi came to California in 1976. “I thought I was only going to be here for about 18 months,” she exclaimed. Within 10 days of arriving in the Golden State, she arranged to go on her first pelagic trip from Monterey. After a great experience, she booked another Monterey trip for that September – just six months later.

“In those days, there were no field guides to whales. They didn’t exist. There were really no good field guides to seabirds at that time either,” Debi explained. She spent the night before reading books about blue whales – an IUCN Red List endangered species whose global population was driven to drastically low numbers by commercial whaling. “I just thought, man, if I see a whale – that’s going to be amazing.”

On her trip in September, Debi encountered a blue whale: the first whale species she’d ever seen. The following year, she spotted a Streaked Shearwater – a rare sight in California, since its native range is the western Pacific Ocean. “That’s how it began – with a blue whale and a Streaked Shearwater,” she said.…

NOTE: Updated post with additional photos.

By Taylor Crisologo

The pelican moved slowly, stretching out its great wings in one fluid motion. It lifted its long bill to the sky and opened it briefly, then quickly snapped it shut. Our boat continued to move parallel to the pelican’s resting place, our movement causing me to crane my neck to keep sight of the individual.

As the pelican drifted away from my binocular’s view, I turned my attention to another individual and scanned its legs for bands. The only sounds that could be heard were the hum of our boat’s engine and the long calls of gulls from the breakwater’s rocks.

“140 total,” called a voice behind a pair of binoculars. The voice belonged to John Luther, who was in charge of keeping the total count of pelicans per section for our count.

“14 brown heads,” followed Emilie Strauss, who was counting the total number of younger birds per section. The younger birds have brown heads – as opposed to the adult birds’ light golden heads – making them discernible in the group.

Breaking my focus on watching the pelicans momentarily, I wrote the numbers on my record sheet and repeated the data back to our team for confirmation. Leaning my head into the ship’s main cabin where Judy Irving stood recording behaviors, I alerted her of the start for the count of the subsequent section. Beside me, Jennifer Walton stood diligently, recording any banded individuals we witnessed. (The next morning by daylight, biologist Debora Jaques re-sighted 15 pelicans wearing bands at the Breakwater!)

It was a breezy September evening. The vessel Sparky, captained by Jim Labbe, slowly moved parallel to the Alameda Wildlife Reserve Breakwater Island, allowing us a clear view of the roosting pelicans without disturbing them. Leora Feeney, along with Deborah Jaques, assessed the pelicans coming and going to the breakwater from shore.

Leora, our team’s organizer, was instrumental in orchestrating our efforts for the task at hand: counting the thousands of pelicans currently roosting at Alameda Wildlife Reserve Breakwater Island. Luckily, our team’s local knowledge of the area is vast. Since 2004, Leora and John have coordinated their own efforts to monitor the breakwater’s pelicans twice a month as part of the All Bird Surveys done at Alameda Wildlife Reserve.…

By Taylor Crisologo

I’ve always been captivated by the bright allure of hummingbirds. Their beautiful, iridescent feathers and busy demeanors have made them some of my favorite birds to watch. I was even more impressed by hummingbirds when I learned that all hummingbird species are only found in North and South America. This discovery made me feel that much luckier to know this bird, as they are a treasure only found in the New World.

As a Bay Area native, the Anna’s Hummingbird in particular holds a soft spot in my birding heart. Anna’s Hummingbirds are permanent residents along the west coast of the United States, meaning that our winters in the Bay Area (although very mild to begin with!) are made that much brighter by the presence of the Anna’s Hummingbird. They are also the most common hummingbird on the west coast, making them a universal part of the Bay Area birding experience.

Anna’s Hummingbirds are a frequent and feisty visitor to my hummingbird feeders, and I’ve often watched territorial individuals perch on a branch nearby the food and chase away any unwelcome visitors. When they’re not feeding on my pre-mixed hummingbird food, I find them visiting the mosaic of native and non-invasive plants in my garden.

The Anna’s Hummingbird’s ability to make use of some exotic plants found in urban and suburban areas, as well as supplemental sources of food from hummingbird feeders, have allowed them to
greatly expand their range. While the species once only nested in certain areas of California and Baja California, you can now see this brilliant bird almost everywhere in California and well into the Southwest and British Columbia.

Rain brings more hummingbird food, namely nectar-producing plants and insects, which is perfect for breeding hummingbirds. Thus, Anna’s Hummingbirds will breed in the winter and
early spring, timing their nesting season with the rainy season in California. This makes them California’s true winter birds, as some individuals have been recorded breeding in the Bay Area during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

The courtship behavior of breeding Anna’s Hummingbirds is a sight to see. Males will sing energetically to females and begin an ascent up to 130 feet in the air. Then, the males will dive down towards the female, generating a loud, non-vocal “squeak” sound as air vibrates through modified outer tail feathers.…

By Taylor Crisologo

Crickets chirped, hidden somewhere in the brown ocean of grass beside the trail. The sun cast a golden glow on the hills, dotted with oak trees. In the distance, a lone American Crow called. It was an hour before sunset, and we were making our way along the trail in search of American Kestrels.

“There’s one!” Dan exclaimed, pointing to a small, dove-sized bird hovering above the trail ahead of us. Laughing at the fact that Dan always seems to find the birds first, I brought my binoculars up to see an energetic male hovering with feet outstretched. This “hover hunt” is a hunting tactic occasionally used by American Kestrels, allowing them to have a bird’s eye view of the habitat below to locate their next meal.

We moved off the trail to watch him, listening passively to the sounds of Anna’s Hummingbirds chirping and Oak Titmice calling around us.

Dan and I have seen American Kestrels before – both resting on telephone wires lining agricultural fields in Ithaca, New York and perched on bleached branches of dead trees above the grassland in the South San Francisco Bay. Their familiarity to us is largely due to their widespread range, which extends across the United States.

American Kestrels are birds of prey, feeding on insects, reptiles, and small birds and mammals. They are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they lay their eggs in cavities excavated by other animals. In addition to their interesting life history, American Kestrels are fun, dynamic birds to watch. Even at rest, their head and tail bobbing give them an impatient demeanor, as if they’re itching to rise up in flight.

Sadly, populations of these personable birds are experiencing a grim reality check across North America. Data on population numbers, from sources including the U.S. Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, indicate that American Kestrel populations have been declining across the United States for decades. Data from the Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership and BBS suggest that kestrel populations in coastal California have suffered declines since the 1960’s.

Scientists are unsure about the “one true cause” of kestrel declines. It seems that multiple causes may be working together to reduce kestrel populations each year. These causes may also vary by region, making one simple answer very difficult to determine.…