{"id":1001080,"date":"2008-04-07T09:10:29","date_gmt":"2008-04-07T14:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elharo.com\/blog\/birding\/2008\/04\/07\/404-bullocks-oriole\/"},"modified":"2008-05-25T23:36:06","modified_gmt":"2008-05-26T04:36:06","slug":"404-bullocks-oriole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elharo.com\/blog\/birding\/2008\/04\/07\/404-bullocks-oriole\/","title":{"rendered":"#404 Bullock’s Oriole"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know what it is about me and orioles: I just can’t keep track of which ones I have and haven’t seen. Last May I thought I’d seen Hooded Oriole<\/a> before, but I hadn’t. What I’d seen at Starr Ranch<\/a> a couple of years ago was a Scott’s. Then this January I forgot all about that Scott’s , and double counted Scotty in Union Square Park<\/a> as my life Scott’s.<\/p>\n

I eventually cleared that up, but last Sunday I did it again. I was birding with Alberto Marcone, visiting from Italy; and local birder Toni Bryant was showing us around Upper Newport Bay. She found a beautiful Bullock’s Oriole in full breeding plumage which I initially misidentified as a Hooded Oriole. Toni politely corrected me, but I still didn’t realize that this beautiful orange bird with a very distinct face pattern was a new bird for me. <\/p>\n

In fact, I didn’t figure that out until I was checking my eBird<\/a> list a few days later and noticed it showed up there as a life bird. I quickly checked back with my complete list (which includes some species from outside the eBird area, as well as a few I only saw prior to eBird’s launch) and sure enough: Bullock’s Oriole was life bird #404. <\/p>\n

A little later in the afternoon Alberto and I found a Golden Plover at Bolsa Chica. This was almost certainly a Pacific Golden Plover from the location and time of year. However in non-breeding plumage it’s virtually indistinguishable from an American Golden Plover. (Both birds are possible but unlikely at this location at this time. However the Pacific Golden Plover is merely unlikely while the American Golden Plover is extremely unlikely.) I don’t think I’ll count this one just yet. More should be coming through in the Fall when the plumage is more distinguishable.
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We made one final stop at Huntington State Beach across from Bolsa Chica, and added Surf Scoter to the list. Unfortunately we didn’t succeed in finding any of Alberto’s target birds, though he did find the California Gnatcatcher the next day by himself. <\/p>\n

Total species count was 66:<\/p>\n