"Tails" of a New Birder's Journey

FUNNY BORB STORY INCOMING.

After a week of staying home and going through bird withdrawal, I decided to visit the best place in OC to go birding when one wants to see the highest amount of species with the least amount of effort: San Joaquin Marsh in Irvine (where I volunteer). 

Okay, it’s time for a funny birding story!! I was sitting on a bench overlooking the first pond when I struck up a conversation with a fellow birder named Dan. He was wearing an “Easily distracted by birds” t-shirt which I really need (I’m a size men’s L hint hint for my b-day). He and his wife had been there since 7:00 AM in search of a Purple Martin (a rare bird for the area) that had been reported. It was 10:30 and he was worn out but his wife was intent on seeing this bird.

We talked for about half an hour and one of the things he said was, “Have you ever seen that one-legged Towhee that hangs out here?” And I said, “Nope pretty sure I’d remember a one-legged Towhee.” He proceeds to tell me about this bird that he’s seen off and on at the Marsh for over a year. Well, 10 minutes later, guess who shows up? THE ONE-LEGGED TOWHEE!!! We decided he needs a name. We both thought of Stumpy, but he doesn’t have a stump–his leg is completely missing. 

So, please come up with a name for this lil’ California Towhee, and the next time I see Dan at the Marsh, I’ll run it by him and see what he thinks.

This is one of the things I love most about birding: All birders are nice! There’s no such thing as a mean birder. It’s such a fun community of what I think are some of the best, kindest, most interesting people on the planet.

Turns out I had more energy than I thought and I ended up spending several hours here and added a whoppin’ 18 more species to the list! And no, I did not see the Purple Martin, and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have known it, because the area is literally swarming with Tree and Barn Swallows that look very much like the Purple Martin swallow (and it’s already on my life list because Maine).

31. Common Yellowthroat
32. Spotted Towhee
33. California Towhee
34. White-crowned Sparrow
35. Bushtit
36. Tree Swallow
37. Nuttall’s Woodpecker
38. Green Heron
39. Western Grebe
40. Caspian Tern
41. American Avocet
42. Black-necked Stilt
43. Allen’s Hummingbird
44. Green-winged Teal
45. Gadwall
46. Northern Shoveler
47. Cinnamon Teal
48. Blue-winged Teal