The Exotics Conundrum
Every year, we make a California trek out to study their birds, native and non-native alike. The rule is to keep within a 30-something mile radius to limit the time in CA's crazy traffic. You'll waste hours of precious birding time by not carefully planning out your schedule. This year our focus was around Dana Point. And specifically we were there to enjoy the ocean while studying the non-native populations of birds that "shouldn't"(according to the purists of birders) be there.....and yet are! The same goes for all the people who shouldn't live in CA and yet are doing so, but that's for another discussion. Our focus was specifically on Swinhoe's White-eye, Pin-tailed Whydah, Spotted Dove, and a parrot roost in Santa Ana.
Pin-tailed Whydahs at a local park in Dana Point
While all states have some sort of non-native bird species, there are several key states in the US that hold MORE species of birds that are not native to the country. States like Hawaii, California, Texas, Florida, Nevada, and even Arizona have species of birds that have found refuge in our communities. Their populations grew and rooted themselves among humans. This is not a new story at all. After all, European Starlings, Rock Pigeons, Eurasian Collared Doves and House Sparrows are proof that non-native birds can successfully exist on foreign lands. If humans can do it, why can't birds? Even more ancient of travelers is the worldwide spread of Cattle Egrets!
We chose Dana Point for several reasons. One, the access to the beach is easy. Two. The exotic birds are widespread and found almost everywhere. When I first visited Orange as a birder back in 2014, these birds were only specifically found in several parks. Today, they are practically found all over southern California and even into Mexico!
The Pin-tailed Whydah took some time to find. Not because they are rare however! They blend in with their surroundings so well! It's surprising since they are rather flashy birds. While it's not on the ABA countable list right now, I'm pretty sure it will be in the next few years. This bird is found in most of Africa and south of the Sahara Desert. This species is a brood parasite and drops their eggs off in other bird's nests. HOWEVER, they do not destroy the host's nest eggs like our cowbirds do. So it's a win win for everyone. Although, the parents have to work harder to find food to feed a few more babies. This species in Southern California has really spread and continues to grow. They were first discovered in the 1990's around this area. Whydahs have also established themselves to Puerto Rico and Singapore. Where to find them? Since we were in Dana Point, we went to a local park around Dana Point or Capistrano. Make sure there is grass as they like to feed from the ground. They need a quick escape so there has to be a tree or two nearby where they are feeding from the grasses. Generally, you'll find them in flocks!
Our next exotic is ABA countable and native to tropical Asia. However, it is widespread around the world and it really has taken off in southern California. We encountered this bird everywhere. They will fly in massive flocks! Scaly-breasted Munias are sold in the pet trade as the Nutmeg Mannikan. Several escaped and found one another and the rest as they say is history. How to find them? Bird feeders, the grasses at or around local parks. We did not have to do any research as they were as common as the House Finches in the area. It wasn't always like that 10 years ago. Little effort is required to see these beauties.
Scaly-breasted Munia
But how do these foreign visitors interact with our own native populations? The above mentioned birds don't seem to have a negligible affect like European Starlings do with nesting efforts by Purple Martins, etc. However, more studies have to be done. There is some concern that these introduced birds could have an affect on the native birds. They have shown great adaptability.
Song Sparrow
And in between our studies, we ate at a lot of great places. Old Capistrano is fun! This is where we stayed because right now, it seems to be the cheapest place TO stay. Even Californians were talking about how expensive it was to rent a hotel room or air bnb. We had originally wanted to stay the entire time on Catalina Island but prices were off the charts and personal budgets must be maintained.
For most birders, you'll have plenty of options around Dana Point, Capistrano and San Clemente to stay. We had Cheroot, our "service" dog, so we had a few more restrictions. There was hardly anyone on this beach and he could play blind dog fetch....which was sometimes gross. Seaweed fetch was a messy business while trying to record bird numbers. So I sent him to his mother to play:) Yuck.
Heermann's Gull
We had Western, Herring, Ring-billed, California and Heermann's Gulls. And there were a few terns as well! 2 pairs of Royal Terns were flying back and forth over the shoreline.
Even a Whimbrel hung out with us!
At one point, we sat in our beach chairs and watched the waves roll onto the beach and crash upon the rocks.
There were plenty of warblers to see at every park we went. These ranged from Black-throated Gray, Townsend's, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped and Wilson's Warblers. You gotta really look this time of year at the warblers because some hot hot rarities can show up in this group of birds. While we were there, a Wood and Willow Warbler from the other side of the pond showed up! So we checked out every warbler we could.
Black-throated Gray Warbler
And while we looked at the warblers, it was the Swinhoe's white-eye that we wanted to study. Back in 2014, this species of bird was just known as the Japanese white-eye, but several years ago it was split into several new species! I had seen the Japanese white-eye on Maui but after the split, it turns out, I actually saw a Warbling white-eye there.
Wilson's Warbler
I've studied the white-eye splits and had a bit of difficulty understanding their differences. Around coastal California, their common white-eye is the Swinhoe's. This would be a lifer. Not only has this population exploded across all of southern California but it has now entered Tijuana, Mexico!
Townsend's Warbler
They were an easy find and we had many of them at several locations at the various parks feeding from flowering plants. My first encounter was with a Warbling white-eye in Maui, but what made Swinhoe's white-eye different in southern California?
Above is the Warbling white-eye. Note that both species have a strong eye ring. But TWO things stood out. They forage the same. They have different songs that both sound like twitterings...nothing really too distinct. Warbling has a harder choppier sound while the Swinhoe's has a sweeter and thinner more melodic twitter. But they are still twittering (if you aren't good with your bird sounds). Physically, the plumage coloring is different. The Warbling is more dull olive green all over while the Swinhoe's has a brighter olive/yellow mix. And the Swinhoe's has the cutest punky spike to its forehead. At first I just thought it was the plumage of this bird alone below. Then we saw all kind of Swinhoe's with funky hairdos. Or rather a punky plumage:)
Swinhoe's white-eye
The head is more yellow overall. When they were first introduced, I didn't count them because their numbers were few. But today, they are everywhere and have definitely established themselves in urban southern California on the coastal side. Swinhoe's was once considered a subspecies of the Warbling white-eye. Swinhoe's white-eye was formally described in 1861 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe. Genetic testing was done and this species was split into several new species. While I'm not crazy about human names being attached to bird species, etc, there is a a bit of historical recognition there. He was a naturalist and diplomat who catalogued many southeastern Asian birds. He even has a pheasant named after him!
After a pleasant study of this new species for us, we went off to Catalina Island from Dana Point using the ferry service by the company Catalina Express. It was a lovely ocean trek out to Avalon. There we studied ocean birds and eventually, the island birds.
We saw plenty of Allen's hummingbirds.
We found and tracked several rare geese to the island that included Greater White-fronted Geese and Cackling Geese on the greens of Catalina island's golf course! That was a treat to see. These birds were resting for the morning and on the same day flew over to the beach on Santa Cruz Island! How do I know? I tracked these "rare" birds via ebird reports. Another birder was on that island and we both took pictures. Same number of geese and same looking geese. That was cool!
My goal here was to study the exotic Spotted Dove populations. This is a species that was introduced to southern California decades ago. They were everywhere once and then their populations crashed. Even that small population that hung out in that bad neighborhood of LA seems to be gone now. BUT on Catalina Island, this bird appears safe and stable. We had quite a few there. It is still ABA countable. Bird along the eucalyptus tree lines and greens of the golf course. They are safe and protected on this island. Smaller human numbers might have something to do with their continued success here. They forage around the grasses and can be standoffish. Just be patient.
Of course, all 3 species of uncommon birds were together so I had to pick and choose who I was looking at. From the geese below, I watched as the aleutian Cackling Geese were picked on by the Greater White-fronted Geese. Cackling Geese are cool because they're not quite a Canada Goose and they are smaller than everyone else.
Around the greens, the Spotted Doves fed along the dry grasses. This bird was introduced from Asia. Today, it continues to be a fairly well established dove on Catalina Island. I have not noticed any changes in their populations from my first studies several years ago.
The following day, we chose to do a crazy thing. And it doesn't get more urban than what we did on our last night. The roosting Santa Ana Parrots!
From our Best Western near the interstate of Capistrano, we grabbed the 5 north up to Santa Ana. The traffic was terrible like it always is. There were way too many people but we saved up our energy for this annoying trek up. We wanted to see parrots! 26 miles took us about an hour and half on the interstate. I will never ever live in California again. It's a great place to visit but there's no way I could live there. Living in the Bay Area for 2 years was enough for me.
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After some research, we drove to the parking structure at the very top, 5th floor, next to the female penitentiary and high school. What a combo! Don't people get killed in parking structures? Apparently not. On the top of the parking structure, there was a tailgate party! There was no escaping the crowds of people. And noise. But that didn't stop the parrots on that overcast evening. Hundreds of parrots began flying over our heads to that great big tree in the park. There we saw Lilac-crowned, Red-crowned, Red-lored, and Yellow-headed Parrots! All these parrots have established themselves in LA, Orange and San Diego Counties.
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Endangered in their native ranges, they've expanded their "new" ranges in the urban tropical to semi-tropical safe havens of California, Hawaii, Florida and Texas. In fact, it's happening worldwide! Will this be the new norm for exotics facing extinction in their native homelands? Will this "second home" be the answer to saving a species from extinction? And even when they breed successfully on foreign soil with a healthy population, are they "real" in the sense of being countable? Ebird today makes that clear distinction between introduced and native birds alike. Ultimately, it's up to the personal choice of the birder whether or not they count them on their life list. But let me ask this question. Humans have done it for thousands of years. Are we any less human for living in far away places? Am I less of a Wisconsinite for choosing to live in Arizona? True, I didn't have any children but I know many who have. Are they any less human? They sure breed a lot. I have the proof in my large classes that successful human breeding has happened in Arizona. Although I'm not sure Freshmen are humans:) Anyhow, my point is that birds have wings and have a found a way to do the same thing that we've also done successfully. It's a different kind of birding and it's not for everyone but it's one worthy of study. And if you love birds, you love them all. Until next time......
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