California, here we come. Birds, please cooperate.

(In which are recorded the adventures and misadventures of Christopher, his wife Fran, brother Phil and sister-in-law Susan as they pursue a birding Big Year, working together because it’s the only chance they have of making a decent showing.)

The Peregrine Falcon is known for its mutton chop facial markings – also for taking out other birds at unbelievable flight speeds. Photo by Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA.

January 29, 2014. Fran and I are in the air over what’s probably western Kansas or eastern Colorado on our way to San Francisco, California. We’ll be spending about five days in and around the city, with a trip up to the Napa and Sonoma valleys and a day down the coast around Monterey.

The birds had better cooperate. We’re counting on them to boost our Big Year list, which stands at a paltry 55 species. On the other hand, we have some pretty good birds in the tally.

Last Sunday, January 26, Phil and I returned to Wyandotte County Lake on the Kansas side of the state line. We decided to give the Tundra Swans another chance to show themselves. And they did, finally, after we spent about an hour scoping every one of the 50 or so swans on the water, all but two of which were Trumpeters. Phil now has a persistent squint, but we expect it to go away before our next outing.

It’s not easy to tell Tundra Swans from Trumpeter Swans. Both have black bills and black legs, and they hold their necks pretty much the same way. Their facial markings are slightly different, but not a dead giveaway.

If you’re lucky enough to find a swan with a yellow dot behind the bill, that’s certainly a Tundra. Unfortunately, not all Tundra Swans have the mark and its size can vary a lot.

We were lucky. One of our swans had a tiny yellow speck on its face. We probably wouldn’t have found it, but the two of them were swimming near the Trumpeters, and they were noticeably smaller than their cousins.

But I digress. (Okay, one more digressions: we also saw a Peregrine Falcon harassing the ducks and geese).

We’re hoping to add 30 or 40 species to our Big Year list during our stay in northern California. We also plan to eat a lot of good food and sample that famous wine. There’s nothing like a few hours birding to whet the appetite.

Next time, I’ll tell you about the California birds, the food and the wine. It might take a few posts to get it all covered.