Very different – “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo in Point Loma

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – I definitely jumped when a short-tailed green bird with a prominent white wing bar hopped out in front of me late this afternoon in a tiny planted cedar tree at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I ditched the binoculars immediately in favor of the camera, who knows where this thing might go next! As it turned out this was a smart move. After showing itself in the tiny cedar for a minute it took off through the cemetery fence. Resurfacing beyond the fence for a few seconds it then just vanished. I did not see it again in spite of considerable searching.

This bird appears to be an “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo most likely of the nominate V.b. bellii form. It is certainly much brighter colored than the arizonae form and, so far as I can tell, also the intermediate colored medius form. Features of plumage coloration matches the detailed description of the nominate bellii form of Bell’s Vireo in Pyle (1997), Identification Guide to Passerines, and the photographs also match very closely the color illustration of a bright “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo shown in The Sibley Guide to Birds (the illustration is presumably of the nominate bellii form, although it is not labeled with a scientific name).

Elements that jumped out at me about this bird included; the much shorter tail compared to our local breeding pusillus form of the species (“Least” Bells’s Vireo), the olive-green coloration of the upperparts, the strong bright yellow wash on the underparts, the bright yellowish uppertail coverts (seen in flight), and the striking white wing bar on the greater coverts. In addition behavioral characteristics support the identification as “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo. This bird flicked its wings and pumped its tail continuously like the eastern birds. Examination of many of the photographs below show the wings in semi-raised (“flicked”) poses, including one shot with one wing flicked up, as well as various shots of the tail pumped upwards.

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

“Eastern” Bell’s Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 28 Oct 2013

The “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo is a very rare vagrant to San Diego and California as a whole in fact. There are two previous reports from San Diego County including one found at Point Loma 10 Oct 1988 by Richard Webster and another found more recently in the Nestor neighborhood of Imperial Beach on 02 Nov 2012 by Paul Lehman. I believe this is the first “Eastern” Bell’s Vireo to be photographed in San Diego County and certainly a very nice looking vireo to encounter.

First storm moves in – Great Crested Flycatcher and more!

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – I have been anxiously monitoring the first “winter” storm to move in down here in Southern California with the hope it might steer some wayward vagrants our way. But after getting to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at dawn this morning for a quick walk around it seemed like the high winds and rain might, literally, put a damper on everything. Add to that the virtual darkness under the thick, damp cloud cover and I was not hopeful!

Then one of those “uh-oh” moments! Here sat a perfect candidate – on the ground at the base of the fence in front of me was a very exhausted looking Myiarchus flycatcher! A bird that is tired looking, semi-moribund, tells me one thing – it probably came a long way! This needed checking out very carefully! I approached a bit closer but the flycatcher came to life and flew off low through the fence. I played cat-and-mouse getting looks at a bright yellow blob moving ahead of me with a shocking dark red-rufous tail. The bill did appear pinkish at the base and bright white markings stood out edging the tertials. Then it just flew out and flopped down on the grass in front of me about twenty yards away! I managed to get a nice series of photographs at this point, phew. I really thought the bird would just continue to hop around on the ground in front of me, but no, it flew up a small height and was whipped away by the strong winds! Aaarghh! I ran over to the pine tree, where it was blown to, but there was no sign of it in the noisy rustling canopy. That was it – the last view I got!

Great Crested Flycatcher – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

My gut feeling, looking at the bill size and color, yellow underparts up to the lower chest, dark gray throat and face, and dark (olive) brown back and crown, was that this was probably a Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus. On my way home I called Paul Lehman for some advice on the flycatcher. In addition to the olive-brown upperparts, he also reminded me that this species shows off a large crisp white outer edge to the innermost tertial on the wing. At home, scrutinizing the photographs, this bird does indeed show off all the credentials of a Great Crested Flycatcher.

Great Crested Flycatcher – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

Great Crested Flycatcher – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

Looking to refind the flycatcher on the east side of the cemetery I then also found a Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis actively moving along just behind the fence line in the southeast section. In fact from a distance I saw a yellowish-green bird perched on the fence top and thought it might be a small oriole! But a quick look through binoculars and I was soon running towards the vireo! It was hard to see in the gnarly Myoporum bush tops but I finally managed to obtain some reasonably good photographs of my second Yellow-green Vireo of Fall 2013!

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego, California 09 Oct 2013

Point Loma bird haul – Yellow-green Vireo and more

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – It is always nice when you set off birding and quickly run into a bird species you’ve always hankered after finding yourself. I’m the first to run after other people’s good birds but I think self-found birds are so much more satisfying! I was only talking about this exact species the other day, and there it is, a Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery! I first located it around 7:30 am and it was seen on-and-off until at least 12:30 pm allowing many people, including a large birding tour group from England, to obtain looks as it fed in the Ficus tree. This bird is almost a year to the day since Sue Smith discovered one here at the cemetery on 26 Sep 2012. I could hardly believe my good luck!

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

In spite of the muted early morning light, thanks to coastal marine layer clouds, you can still see nice bright yellow-green coloration on the undertail coverts and breast sides. It also shows off the paler grey crown coloration and darker penciled eyebrow above the indistinct supercilium. The bill is classic pinkish for this species with a few small greyish dark marks near the cutting edges. It seemed to like gulping down some of the berries on the Ficus tree and then retiring into the canopy for a while!

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Yellow-green Vireo – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

I have been following this Tennessee Warbler around at the cemetery for a while now so was very happy to finally get some photographs. This is a nice brightly colored first fall individual with bright yellow suffused on the breast. It was traveling with a couple Orange-crowned Warblers and a Warbling Vireo. Viewed from below it shows a very short tail and long white undertail coverts giving the bird a compact appearance overhead. Should you be lucky enough to see the back it is a lovely rich green color!

Tennessee Warbler – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Tennessee Warbler – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

The haul of eastern warblers continued when Jim Roberts reported a very spic-and-span looking Chestnut-sided Warbler also at the cemetery. Luckily I ran into it picking over low open boughs of a big Ficus tree where I got some nice photographs. The yellow patches on the rear flank behind and above the leg can be clearly seen in this photograph.

Chestnut-sided Warbler – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Finally after watching over flocks of endless Chipping Sparrows out jumped this bright buffy colored Clay-colored Sparrow. I think in this plumage they are quite easily told from Chipping Sparrows showing off its buffy-suffused breast sides and dark malar stripes which create a well defined white throat.

Clay-colored Sparrow – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Clay-colored Sparrow – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Clay-colored Sparrow – Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego 21 Sep 2013

Plumbeous Vireo encounters – desert and coast

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – So far in 2013 I seem to be encountering more individuals of Plumbeous Vireo than Cassin’s Vireo. Perhaps the expanding range of Plumbeous is finally turning the tables on its dwindling congener? I am not sure, but I know that I really I enjoy finding either of these two characterful vireo species. Their loud vocalizations, whinnying and growling sounds, always amuse me. In addition they are often a flock leader, so if you find one you can often be on to a real bird crowd before you know it! This was the case out in the desert on 16 March 2013 when I heard this Plumbeous Vireo Vireo plumbeus let out a growling whinny call right over my head at The Roadunner Club in Borrego Springs. The bird was easily attracted by some pishing and had about twenty other birds in tow just behind it! In these photographs you can see the long stout bill characteristic of this species and stronger looking than Cassin’s Vireo. It appeared to be cleaning something off of it’s feet!

Plumbeous Vireo – The Roadrunner Club, Borrego Springs, 16 March 2013

Plumbeous Vireo – The Roadrunner Club, Borrego Springs, 16 March 2013

Plumbeous Vireo – The Roadrunner Club, Borrego Springs, 16 March 2013

Plumbeous Vireo – The Roadrunner Club, Borrego Springs, 16 March 2013

Just a week later, on 24 March 2013, while birding with visiting Australian birder Dirk Tomsa, I discovered another Plumbeous Vireo here on the San Diego coast. This bird was in the dense willow stands in the river bottom at the Bird & Butterfly Garden, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park. It also revealed itself by making a whinnying call which we quickly went over to investigate. Vireos usually make one pass by you at least, and sure enough it came over investigate its human observers. We watched it for just a few minutes as it inquisitively circled by us in the trees. Although obscured by twigs, I did manage some photographs of it clambering around tantalizingly close. The strong bill and fleshy dark bluish-grey legs are particularly noticeable.

Plumbeous Vireo – Bird & Butterfly Garden, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, 24 March 2013

Plumbeous Vireo – Bird & Butterfly Garden, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, 24 March 2013

Plumbeous Vireo – Bird & Butterfly Garden, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, 24 March 2013

Bright Cassin’s Vireo

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – I found and photographed this brightly colored Cassin’s Vireo Vireo cassinii in the Silver Gate neighborhood of Point Loma, San Diego. The vireo was feeding close around me in garden trees, along with Orange-crowned and Townsend’s Warblers, as a light rainy drizzle began to fall. You can actually see the tiny rain drops in the first photograph. It’s brightly colored plumage, evidently freshly molted, made me look carefully through the photographs.

Although it has a light grey head and greenish back, it does not have the striking contrasted look that might be expected from the more solidly colored Blue-headed Vireo. I also noticed another field character, first suggested by Don Roberson, that the dark grey loral line, interrupting the eye ring at the front, is actually quite darker than the crown and auricular coloration. This seems to be a characteristic which can be used to confidently separate bright individuals of Cassin’s Vireo from Blue-headed Vireo.

Cassin’s Vireo can be found in San Diego County at all seasons but is generally uncommon. Individuals are regularly encountered during the winter months at favored wooded locations along the coastal belt. The species is also believed to breed scarcely at higher elevations in mountain ranges of the county, above 4000 feet, where it can sometimes be detected in summer.

Nature Blog Network

Neon light bird – Yellow-green Vireo

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – Some days you connect with the bird and some days you don’t. I was pretty disappointed yesterday after not catching up with the Yellow-green Vireo Vireo flavoviridis found by Sue Smith at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego. So today I headed out there early with one goal in mind! As you will see from the photographs below I did not come away dissatisfied this time around!

Every part of this bird can be seen in these photographs down to the dark blackish thin eyebrow, dark brownish-red eyes, blue legs, pale graphite gray cap, glowing yellow crissum, yellow inner fringes of rectrices, the grayish pink bill, and even the small hooked tip of the upper mandible. The yellowish-olive upperparts and pale gray crown indicates this is the vagrant western form of Yellow-green Vireo V.f. hypoleucus expected here in California.

This Yellow-green Vireo is in very fresh plumage. Delicate light colored fringes edge the wing feathers and the standout yellow coloration on the underparts is bright and eye-popping. It is really just a neon light of a bird when you catch sight of it, particularly against a dark background. Even when viewing it against a bright backlighting when viewed overhead it really stands out.

Many thanks to Sue Smith for finding this amazing looking vireo. Easily my favorite bird of 2012 so far here in the county. Records of this species are scarce in the county with less than one record per year on average. They can be real skulkers, in denser habitats such as willow beds, so catching an opportunity to photograph one out in the open was a special experience. Yellow-green Vireo is a California Bird Records Committee review species with on average about three or four accepted records per year in the state.