Black Oystercatcher

   
CONTENTS     TOURS & RATES      WHO WE ARE      BIRDING      PHOTOGRAPHY      LINKS      HOME        
           
      

Orange & Riverside Counties
Feb 1-2, 2002 
by Vic Leipzig

A two-day extravaganza with Jorge Khuly netting some nice rarities.
85 species (see list at side)

Click on thumbnail pictures for full-sized shots.

Made-to-order field trip in southern CA, Feb. 1-2, 2002

When Jorge Khuly sent me his life list and a request to find some new birds to add to it, I knew it would be a challenge. His list was extensive and he already had most of our local birds. 

I wanted to give him the best shot at getting as many new species as possible. I studied his list and identified gaps I thought I could fill for him. After mapping out locations and calculating travel times, I planned a birding trip that would take us to many sites in Orange and Riverside Counties. Some spots, like Bolsa Chica and Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, were well known to birders. Some were not. 

Prior to the trip, I printed out an itinerary for him. I included destinations, the amount of time to spend at each one, and a list of hoped-for key birds at each site. I even included travel times between places. That gave him an opportunity to modify the trip if he so desired. It also enabled him to go back on his own later if we failed to find a target bird.

Between my schedule and his, we had only the afternoons of February 1 and 2. We really made that time count. In two half-days of birding, we found several new life species for him, including Surfbird and Plumbeous Vireo. One of the highlights was a Golden-winged Warbler, a rarity for California and another much-wanted addition to his life list. Some of the other rarities we spotted were Red-necked Grebe and Black Oystercatcher. 

The advance planning and attention to Jorge's specific needs really paid off in customer satisfaction. I had a great time too, knowing that this made-to-order field trip helped him achieve his birding goals.