A Feathered Friends West Coast Adventure

A Road Trip That Turned Into a Birding Side Quest

I mentioned in my last post that I spent two weeks driving the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to San Diego. We packed the itinerary so tight that I wondered if birds would fit into the schedule. After all, I had a surprise Redwoods proposal planned, and my now fiancée had no clue. Birding needed to slide into the cracks of the trip, not take over the whole thing. Birds filling in during downtime worked perfectly.

At first, I worried I missed a few chances. If I were doing a true big year, we would have turned the car around when we passed a random peacock on the side of the road. I also spotted my first hummingbird of the year at Clark Lake State Park in Kent, Washington. I did not get a photo, which annoyed me more than I want to admit. Thankfully, Anna’s Hummingbirds showed up several more times along the coast. I finally captured one at Mission Bay State Park at our last stop in San Diego.

My fiancée and I both agreed that I need a real camera. My phone tries its best, but these birds deserve better than pixelated blobs.

Lighthouses, Jays, and One Very Misleading Bird

I officially captured two new species at the Umpqua River Lighthouse in Winchester Bay, Oregon. I spotted a Steller’s Jay and a Eurasian Collared Dove. Later, I found another Steller’s Jay in Ragged Point, Oregon. This one was brown and blue instead of black and blue. I convinced myself it was a new species. It was not. I was disappointed, but the photo became my favorite picture of the trip.

Our next lighthouse stop was the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse. I did not read ahead, so I assumed the lighthouse still sat on top of the bluff. It does not. It was moved in 2018 due to erosion. Our daughter and I hiked the half mile to the top anyway. We reached the top out of breath, cold, and with our hearts racing. I proudly announced that I captured a wrentit and a common raven. This did not improve the situation.

However, the hike gave us time to rehearse my surprise proposal for her mom the next morning in the Redwoods. She had been practicing her photography skills for months, and we both wanted the moment to be perfect.

And, the common raven taught me a lesson. I dismissed several black birds previously on the trip as crows. When I submitted the photo to Merlin, it informed me that the tail shape proved it was a raven. Now, even if a bird looks like a bird I’ve previously captured, I take a picture. I’m trying to learn the differences instead of making assumptions.

San Diego Surprises and My Favorite Rare Find

I captured 19 new bird species on the trip. For this post, however, I am focusing on the land birds. I will write a separate post for the water birds because I learned interesting differences between the various “seagulls.” Once you know what to look for, the differences stand out.

San Diego is considered the birdiest county, with over 550 species in a typical year. I only added four land birds and two water birds while here. It seems embarrassing, but I need to remember that these were birds I found during downtime on the trip.

The coolest bird to observe was the Swinhoe’s White-eye. It is a cute but angry looking bird. It was a rare find in San Diego that day. Six or seven of them flew back and forth between trees. I also captured the Anna’s Hummingbird, Dark-eyed Junco, and Cassin’s Kingbird. Additional land birds included the Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, California Scrub Jay, and Brewer’s Blackbird.

A Sparrow, A Lighthouse, and One Very Misleading Deer

Before I wrap up the land birds, I need to share a quick story from our stop at Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. This pit stop started with promise because the Merlin App Sound ID lit up with several new species. I was ready for a jackpot moment. I quickly captured a White‑crowned Sparrow and thought I would add several more birds at this stop.

However, the universe had other plans. As we walked toward the lighthouse, we came upon a sign warning visitors to beware of cougars. Cougars! I almost turned around and sprinted back to the car. I did not want to finish the walk to the lighthouse. But I was also in need of a bathroom that remained only a short distance ahead.

We carried on, although I questioned every rustle in the grass. Then I spotted what I thought was a cougar hiding in tall grass. My heart jumped and feet stopped. I zoomed in on my camera and discovered it was a deer. A regular deer. I was terrified of a deer!

The moment turned into a great story because we did not encounter a cougar. And I still managed to capture a photo of the White‑crowned Sparrow and the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. It was not the birding jackpot I expected, but it was memorable in its own way.

Driving the Pacific Coast Highway was beautiful and fun. I can only imagine how exciting it would be to do it again with the main goal of capturing birds.