Jennifer Jacobs Schauble

Saturday October 12, 2024

Species list:

*heard only

Accipiter species

Acorn Woodpecker

Allen’s Hummingbird

American Coot

American Crow

American Kestrel

Anna’s Hummingbird

American White Pelican

Barn Owl*

Belted Kingfisher

Bewick’s Wren*

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher*

Black Phoebe

Bushtit

California Gnatcatcher*

Cassin’s Kingbird

California Towhee

California Scrub-Jay

California Thrasher

Common Gallinule

Common Yellowthroat

Double-crested Cormorant

Eared Grebe

European Starling

Graylag Goose

Great Egret

Great-tailed Grackle

House Finch

House Sparrow

House Wren

Hutton’s Vireo *

Least Bittern

Lesser Goldfinch *

Mallard

Marsh Wren *

Mountain Chickadee *

Mourning Dove

Northern Mockingbird

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

Orange-crowned Warbler

Pied-billed Grebe

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ruddy Duck

Red-winged Blackbird

Say’s Phoebe

Scaly-breasted Munia

Snowy Egret

Sora *

Song Sparrow

Spotted Towhee *

Swinhoe’s White-eye *

Townsend’s Warbler *

Tree Swallow

Turkey Vulture

White-crowned Sparrow

Western Bluebird

Wrentit *

Yellow-rumped Warbler

*Condition notes: about 59° when started (around 8am) and got up to 79°. Mostly clear skies, low wind. Also I should note there was a high school cross-country meet happening at the same time until about 1pm, which may have impacted the activity level of the birds.

This was an amazing unforgettable experience and I think I can speak for my daughters when I say we can't wait to do it again!! We decided to do a carbon-free bird-a-thon, so we were a bit limited as to where we could go. Luckily, we live walking distance from a beautiful birdy spot called Guajome Lake Park (in NE Oceanside), where we spent most of the day.

We started in the neighborhood and picked up a number of species. One of the highlights of this part for me was sitting on the curb on a random street watching a Red-tailed Hawk perched at the top of a tall pine tree. We sat waiting/hoping it would get mobbed and cheered on the crows as they flew by, but only saw one swoop down. We couldn't believe how many crows flew over it and didn't care.

We made our way to Guajome Park and picked up a bunch of species at the lake. Some of the highlights there were a pair of noisy Belted Kingfishers and a cutie Eared Grebe, which I think was a brand new species for the girls. It was fun watching it dive under water and then guessing where it would reappear. I was disappointed to not see some of the ducks I had seen over the week as I had prepared for this event BUT was stoked to see a totally unexpected American White Pelican!

It really started to warm up as we headed away from the lake and into the scrub and we started feeling tired during a long stretch in the full sun (it was about 78° at that point). But we eventually reached my favorite shaded secret spot which I had never shown the girls at the Upper Pond which was next to a stream which they found fascinating. After a brief rest, we headed home for lunch.

Enter babysitters!! Thankfully my mom and dad came over to watch the girls, so I could go back out. They had reached their goals but I was far short! I headed back out around 2:30pm on bike, picked up a few species in and around my 'hood, then back to Guajome Park, where I essentially repeated the route with some small detours and picked up a handful more species. I was delighted when a bird was where I expected it to be, like the Red-shouldered Hawks that perch on a wire at the southern end of the park. It was like seeing a neighbor at its house.

I could have stayed there all day, but dinner time quickly approached. I really should have thought out and prepped meals ahead of time (doh!) cause once again I had to go home and make another meal! After whipping up a quick dinner (and relieving my lovely babysitters), it was back to the lake with the girls for a 3rd and final time.

This last time was probably the most special of all, as the sun had just set and the lake took on a new hue. We got a couple more species, including the Great Egret we were expecting in the regular egret roost spot, and enjoyed the quiet magic of the early night. Bats started to appear which is always a welcome sight.

We headed home and, though we didn't see our resident Great Horned Owls on the way, we went to bed tired and happy. In the morning it occurred to me that our 24 hours might not be up! I texted my teammate Trish who informed me that we had 15 minutes left on the clock!! Sweet!! We grabbed our bins and headed out for a lap around the block. Yes, finally I heard our resident Mountain Chickadee! Then literally at the very last minute, as we stood near our neighborhood "pine tree forest," we saw a Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by some crows!! I may have cried a tear of joy about that little miracle. It also got me wondering if the crows perhaps direct this behavior at certain individuals (since they left the other hawk alone), so I shared this question with the girls to get them thinking and maybe we will pursue further study 🙂

Overall, though I didn't reach my goal, I was really happy with how the day turned out. Even though I have been going to Guajome Park a couple times a week for the last 8+ years, I have never felt so connected to that place as I do now. It was so rejuvenating for my soul to spend the whole day out in nature and I hope I can find an excuse to do that again soon!

*I'll post my species list in a separate post since this one has gotten out of control.

*Shout out to my teammate Trish Gussler who participated in Orange County and did incredibly well with her birds and also completed 2 or 3 additional challenges including a skunk-osprey-willet trifecta!! You rock!

*The girls will work on their posts after school today. They both did amazing. Elize wanted to continue the following day and even started a new page in her notebook, "Sunday Bird-a-thon." I think they both improved their birding skills quite a bit.

Only 9 days from our big day, the girls are very excited!!