I write today from a different island off the California coast: Santa Cruz Island once again!
It feels fantastic (like always) to be here. More on that (and the in between time) in a bit.
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| Reverse Sunrise on Picacho Diablo. |
On October 8, I started a week-long fundraiser for Point Blue Conservation Science. Usually it is a Bird-a-thon (trying to see as many species of birds as you can in 24 hours), but since I am on an island with limited diversity, I decided to do it like the
Farallonathon on Southeast Farallon Island. This means I will spend 7 days looking for any animal, fish, or insect life on the island and will give myself a number of points for special species like Channel Island endemics or vagrants. Folks can choose to donate a certain number of cents per point or donate a flat rate. I have raised $100 so far, exactly 1/3 of my goal.
The first day of my "Cruzathon" was also my first day of work on the island, so I was casually birding and keeping an eye out for insects while I toured our new crew members around Portezuela and taught them how to resight Island Scrub-jay colorbands.
I ticked off the island residents: Obviously, the Island Scrub-jay was first on the list. I gave myself 5 points for this bird because it is an endemic species to Santa Cruz Island. I gave myself 2 points per island endemic subspecies, of which I saw: Song Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Orange-crowned Warbler. That is 10 points. I gave myself 1 point per "regular" bird species: Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Anna's Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Acorn Woodpecker, Hutton's Vireo, Bushtit, House Finch, Common Raven, Black-headed Grosbeak, Northern Flicker, Vaux's Swift, American Kestrel, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Mourning Dove, and White-crowned Sparrow. At a trip to Valley Anchorage I added Brown Pelican, Brandt's Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Say's Phoebe, Elegant Tern, Western Gull, Parasitic Jaeger, and (on the drive back) Common Poorwill for a total of 27 points.
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| Vaux's Swifts were around for only two days. |
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| Island Fox napping in our "driveway". |
As for Mammals, Fish, and Insects, I saw a smattering of Island Foxes (endemic species: 5 points), a California Sea Lion (1 point), an Opaleye (fish, 1 point), an unidentified Sculpin (1 point pending on ID), and a California Sister (butterfly, 1 point).
I finished the day with
50 points (with another point pending for the Sculpin).
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| Unidentified Sculpin. Help me! |
Day 2 was rainy on and off. We did fieldwork during light sprinkling and then data back at the cabins, but it wasn't a very active day of searching for Cruzathon points. I added Side-blotch Lizard (1 point), Oregon Junco (1 point), and Peregrine Falcon (1 point). Point total: 53.
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| Side-blotched Lizard, staged on a rock by my herp-savvy coworker Jenn. |
On Day 3 we banded birds in Coches Prietos Canyon with a full crew. Right off the bat, as the sun just began to crest the hills, we saw a Bronzed Cowbird, which was a lifer for all but the Big Boss. That day I also picked up Hermit Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brewer's Blackbird, California Quail, Lesser Goldfinch, Western Wood-pewee, Audubon's Warbler, Red-tailed Hawk, Cedar Waxwing, and Northern Mockingbird. I got great looks at an Acmon Blue butterfly in the dry creekbed down by the field station. That night we had a barbeque with some island folk and we heard a Northern Saw-whet Owl hooting, and saw a couple of California Myotis Bats flitting around at dusk. Point total: 67.
Day 4 consisted of a trip to the Christy Ranch via Sierra Blanca, where we were scouting the pure Bishop Pine stands for Jays. I found a Black-bellied Slender Salamander in the moist pine duff and as we sat around at the top lamenting the lack of Scrub-jays, a Lesser Nighthawk circled us for almost 10 minutes! Earlier in the day I found a cold Alligator Lizard under a board, and a Jerusalem Cricket (Potato Bug) in some oak duff. I also saw Western Meadowlark, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Allen's Hummingbird (2 points for an island endemic subspecies), Eurasian Collared-dove, Canada Goose, Townsend's Warbler, and, once at the beach, Surf Scoter. I saw a Pallid Bat flying around in the evening at Christy Ranch. Point Total: 82
Day 5 turned into a crew exploration of Fraser Point (the far West End of the island). We saw Horned Lark (2 points for an island endemic subspecies), Black-bellied Plover, California Gull, Snowy Plover, Savannah Sparrow, Black Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler, and two Horned Grebes. A Harbor Seal watched us do some tidepooling. We saw Black Abalone, many Purple Sea Urchins, Giant Green Anemone, a Bat Star, and Ochre Sea Stars. Point Total: 97
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| Black-bellied Plover. |
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| Snowy Plover! There were two. |
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| Water Lorax? No, Harbor Seal! |
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| Purple Sea Urchins in the tidepools. |
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| Itty-bitty Bat Star! |
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| Ochre Sea Stars. |
On Day 6, I ventured to the green scummy remnants of Cascada, which on a wet year is an AWESOME swimming hole. This was very fruitful for Odes: I saw a Flame Skimmer, two Blue-eyed Darners, and a handful of Familiar Bluets. Later that day I saw a Clay-colored Sparrow in the brush near the dry creek, and my coworker Sam and I watched two Merlins chasing Kestrels. Point Total: 102
On the last day of my Cruzathon, Day 7, I finished up by finding and capturing (with a herp noose made from a crappie pole) a Channel Islands Fence Lizard (2 points for an island subspecies) and hung out with a migrating Wilson's Warbler in a patch of willows. This brought my total Cruzathon points to
105, which coincidentally is the
exact "score" I got on
last year's Birdathon in Marin.
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| The Channel Islands Fence Lizard. See how her tail is a different color? She dropped it and regrew it! |
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| Fence Lizards are also called "bluebellies" casually. |
Thanks to everyone who donated to my Cruzathon! It was a very fun way to start my third field season on Santa Cruz Island. I really do love it out here; it's an incredible place.
IMPORTANT EDIT: I actually got
107 points! I forgot Chorus Frog, both in tadpole and adult form on Day 3 on the way to (and at) Christy Ranch, and American Robin, seen in the Eucalyptus grove by the UC Reserve Field Station while wandering the plot with Sam on Day 6!
