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CAMP REPORTS 2004

2004 Young Birders' Conference Report

26-30 June 2004

By Kai Reed

On June 22, I flew from Hartford to California. While taxiing down the runway in Hartford, I saw my first Life Bird of my trip; an Upland Sandpiper was standing in the median strip. I was off to a good start!!

I spent the first four days with my aunt in San Bernardino. While there, we went to the Salton Sea and saw Yellow Footed Gull, Least Bittern and large numbers of American Avocets and Black-Necked Stilts.

On June 26, I arrived at the Young Birder's Conference.

The American Birding Association's goals for the Young Birder Conference are: to join together young birders from across the country; to provide an opportunity for young people to learn more about birds from experienced birders; and to organize a fun, educational atmosphere where young birders can get together to enjoy birding with others of their own age and skills.

On the first day of the Conference in Kernville, we arrived at the Hi-Ho Lodge and met the Trip leaders, Louise Zematis, Michael O'Brien, Steve Howell and Jon Dunn and the 21 other Conference participants. The youngest was 12 and the oldest was 18. I was one of four from the East Coast, one of two from New England, and the only one from Massachusetts. Then we were to get ready for the first workshop, which was Hummingbird Identification by Steve Howell. He showed us how to identify Anna's, Costa's, Calliope and Black-chinned Hummingbirds which we would see in the next four days and become familiar with. After the workshop we were split up into two groups and set out to look for Barn and Western Screech owls. When we arrived at the Barn Owl site, we were told to listen for the screech of the barn owl. As if the Barn Owl had heard us, it flew over our heads and landed on a dead snag and called. We also heard the young Barn Owls calling for food. As we left, we saw a Great Horned Owl on a phone pole and another Barn Owl on a fence post. Then we headed back for we were getting up at 5 am the next day.

The next morning, we went to the Kern River Preserve. We walked along a fencerow and saw Black Phoebe, California Quail, California Towhee, Lesser Goldfinch and a Brown-crested Flycatcher, which the local guide said had not been seen for some time. As well as Lazuli Buntings, there was a Lazuli/Indigo hybrid that was singing and we saw. Next we went to look for California Thrasher. We did not see this bird but we got a brief look at a Black-throated Sparrow and a Cactus Wren. Later we saw a red dot which turned out to be a Vermillion Flycatcher and there was a Nuttall's Woodpecker that some people saw. We had lunch at the Preserve Headquarters where we saw Anna's, Costa's and Black-chinned Hummingbirds. We also saw the endangered subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher and a Summer Tanager. On the way back for the workshop we stopped at a park and saw a flock of Tricolor Blackbirds feeding in the grass. When we got back, Louise Zematis gave a field sketching workshop. We had to draw three birds and take notes on them. Then Steve Howell and Jon Dunn came into the room and had to guess the birds. They could tell them all.

For the second field trip we went to the Giant Sequoia National Forest. On the drive, a Mountain Quail ran across the road and stood in the open right next to our van. Then we stopped to look for Black Swifts which we saw and also Vaux's Swift. We saw Acorn and White-headed Woodpeckers and a flock of Lawrence's Goldfinches. In the evening, Jon Dunn talked about the Sierra Nevadas and about all the species that may be split. There may be four kinds of Scrub Jays instead of three. The Thick-Billed sub-species of the Fox Sparrow could become its own species.

On the last day of the Conference, we went to the east side of the Sierra Nevada Desert. We went to a backyard feeder where we saw Le Conte's Thrasher, Costa's Hummingbird and a Prairie Falcon. In the mountains we saw Scott's Oriole and Chuckar. We hiked Bald Mountain to see a Blue Grouse which we found in the top of a pine tree. There were also Clark's Nutcracker and Oak Titmouse around. Our last stop of the day was to see a Williamson's Sapsucker nest on a mountain at 9500 feet. We saw the male Williamson's as well as a Red-Breasted Sapsucker.

Michael O'Brien gave the last workshop on Shorebird ID, even though we did not see one shore bird the whole time.

On the last morning, we went to a park and saw 10 Phainopeplas, Clark's and Western Grebes. I got a ride with a fellow conference attendee to meet up with my Uncle who lives near San Francisco.

While staying with him, we went on a pelagic trip to the Farallon Islands and saw Cassin's and Rhinoceros Auklets, Tufted Puffins, and Heermann's Gulls. In San Francisco Bay we saw Elegant Terns and a Golden Eagle on the nest. The trip was awesome, but everyone got seasick except a few. I had to stay on the bow because the stern was full of the all the sick people.

We also took a trip to Point Reyes National Seashore and saw a Black-Shouldered Kite. There were hundreds of Yellow-Billed Magpies flocking on our way home from Yosemite National Park.

On July 6th, I returned home, having seen 187 species, of which 42 were life birds for me. On my trip, my world life list passed the 500 mark. My North American list is now at 446, including the Red-Footed Falcon on Martha's Vineyard.

I would like to thank all the people who made this trip possible, the Hoffmann Bird Club for their donation, the ABA for their generous scholarship, and those who hired me to do gardening work. It was an excellent trip; I had a lot of fun, met new friends, saw great birds and learned more about western birds.

September 2004

These young birders attended the camps/events they report on with the help of ABA scholarships.