Seeing crazy NEW species at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

In this video we travel to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Southern California. We see 50 species total at the reserve with 11 new species to add to our list!
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[@brighteyedbirding]

Shoutout to @jacobsworld7573 for pointing out that the Lesser Scaup at the beginning may very well be a Greater Scaup. After sending the bird to the ABA FB group for ID and getting a few other opinions, I am happy to say that it does indeed look good for Greater Scaup! ANOTHER lifer on the day!

[@jacobsworld7573]

I appreciate the shoutout! Thanks!

[@pauraque]

NO WAIT, it's definitely a lesser. Greater scaup are rare there!!! Small build, small bill nail, back peaked head. Perfect lesser scaup!!!

[@jacobsworld7573]

@@pauraquejust because it’s rare doesn’t mean it’s not found there ever.

[@jacobsworld7573]

@@pauraquebut I’m guessing you’re a more skilled birder than me, so I’ll take your word for it :) thanks

[@pauraque]

@@jacobsworld7573 For sure, and I have seen GRSC there, it's just LESC are more common as a fact, and in addition, the bird in the video was pretty clear cut LESC.

[@shaynacossette]

What a great day full of lifers! I was getting so excited with each new one! Never apologize for your passion

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was one of my best days of birding hands down! Thanks for watching!

[@HawkinSaeger]

Holy crap so many lifers! Looks like a great day

[@brighteyedbirding]

Yeah, it got to the point where I was beginning to get overwhelmed by all of the new birds I was seeing. Thanks for watching the video!

[@oregonberry]

Holy moly, what a place!

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was amazing!

[@JaniceinUtah]

We loved it there, visited on vacation a few years ago.

[@brighteyedbirding]

It's such an awesome place! Glad you were able to go!

[@jessehendricks2899]

What a lifer day. Those kind of days when birding are magical. Keep up the great content.

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was a magical day. I had to try really hard not to dance around throughout the day! Thanks for your kind words and support!

[@aurora571000]

It was fun to share your excitement at the lifers (and the neon green Lifer!) I look forward to seeing my first reddish egret, I have most all of the other Florida wading birds.

[@birdocs]

Great sightings!

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you!!

[@elainemartin7141]

Yes, there is a Eurasion widgeon there that hangs out with the American widgeons pretty regularly. You came to Bolsa Chica at an optimal birding time. Just up the road is Huntington Beach Central Park off Golden West. You might see a belted kingfisher and kestrel at the eastern edge of the BC park. Common yellow throats like the more bushy area north of the channel. You will find all manner of terns there in summer. Very cool are the black skimmers, larger terns that scoop up water and little fish while flying in formation. Also look for the little blue heron, a regular but hard to see little guy who prefers the swampy mud flat area near the channel.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks for all the amazing info! I looked for the Little Blue Heron but it didn’t make an appearance for me 🥲 maybe next time! Thanks for watching!

[@ezramurray3455]

Looked like a great day, Bolsa Chica is one of my favorite places to bird I've been their two different time.

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was the best day! I was jumping all over the place haha. That's awesome. I can't wait to go back again!

[@wikusburger5226]

Black-bellied Plover and Whimbrel are very common here in South Africa.Congrats on the lifers.We call Black-bellied Plover,Grey Plover here.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you! Very cool! They are both such beautiful birds!

[@Revelationscreation]

Haven't had that many lifers in a single day in years,

[@brighteyedbirding]

It was a good day!

[@pauraque]

5:22 By the way, that female is also a Eurasian Wigeon

[@birdman5223]

Dig that location. I have seen HornedOwls there also🙂 I saw a eurasian widgeon at HB Central park

[@brighteyedbirding]

That’s awesome! Those are some amazing birds!

[@Nick-eh3fo]

Congrats on all the lifers 🔥

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[@philcollins2338]

Enjoying the birding from across the pond. Non bird question what’s the music called that you use? Thanks.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you! The music is by Chris Haugen and it’s free music from KZbin Studio, but he really does a fantastic job!

[@CoolestCreatures]

great captures! thanks for sharing

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you!!

[@tsee123]

I think your Savannah Sparrows were the 'Beldings' subspecies - shorter beak and darker streaking. These are regulars at Bolsa Chica but a truly rare bird to see.

[@brighteyedbirding]

Oh wow I didn't know that! Thanks for the heads up!

[@aurora571000]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the bird name labels! You’ve even got the Latin! If you would consider adding the eBird species abbreviation directly after the common name, that would be top-notch!

[@brighteyedbirding]

That's a cool idea! I'll see what I can do in the future! Thanks for watching!

[@aurora571000]

@@brighteyedbirding thank you for considering this

[@aurora571000]

I’m working at learning more birds. I just reviewed the 255 birds my Sibley app says are located in Florida during December. I am going on my first Christmas Bird Count soon. (It was delayed due to a storm)

[@brighteyedbirding]

@@aurora571000 yep it's good to learn them bit by bit. Good luck with your Christmas bird count!

[@jacobsworld7573]

0:49 this is actually a greater scaup, you can tell because greater scaup have a more rounded head while lesser scaup have a more peaked head like ring necked ducks. Greater scaup also generally have a bigger bill

[@brighteyedbirding]

Oooo this would be awesome! That would be a lifer for me! I’ll check it out!

[@pauraque]

Nope, it's a lesser fs

[@jacobsworld7573]

@@pauraque oh, a;right then. How could you tell

[@user-qw5pm6lr9d]

Those were great lifers. The rarest bird I've seen was the ivory-billed woodpecker. I heard its call before I saw it. It was in the year of 2018.

[@brighteyedbirding]

If only you could’ve gotten a good photo and ended the debate of its extinction once and for all 😄

[@pengiunsquad5672]

Any new gull species? Also looks like there is a female Eurasian wigeon in the same clip as the male. They can be tough to ID so definitely double check other shots u have of that bird

[@brighteyedbirding]

Ohh! Good eye! I’ll check it out! I’m sure there were gull species that I missed. Majority were ring-billed and western gulls. But with the overwhelming amount of birds there the gulls were overlooked a bit on my part 😅

[@frednorman1]

Great review of coastal birds. I had never heard of a Reddish Egret, I don’t think we have them up in California. Just wondering what you use for bird ID?

[@brighteyedbirding]

Thank you! For identification I primarily use the Merlin ID app. It's just quick and easy out in the field to pull out your phone. For more difficult IDs I use the Sibley Field Guide for Southwestern birds!