The Lost Vagrant: Summing up November

As December starts (and the leaves finally fall in this mild Bay Area weather), I decided to summarize my birding during November. This was a great month for me, probably the best since I started keeping track of birds this July, although I certainly did not add as many species as in the first month. 26 new birds were added to my list and most importantly, several rare ones. During this month, I got 1 notable ABA 4: a WHITE-FACED IBIS on the 11th at Alviso Marina County Park (although I had seen these previously, the bird that flew over me that morning was a very pleasant surprise) and 3 5s: a SWAMP SPARROW at the Palo Alto Baylands on the 3rd, the persistent COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD on the 30th that has been in the sages near the bridge at Vasona Lake County Park for several months now, and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER also on the 30th at Ed Levin County Park, where it seems to have settled in nicely after for whatever reason crossing the Rockies, and has covered the surrounding pepper trees and coast live oaks with sap holes, some glistening like snail slime.

The single 6 I got for the month was a very pretty TROPICAL KINGBIRD near the Sunnyvale WPCP and Lockheed buildings that was reported from late October, a bit out of place from its usual dwelling place in Latin America.

My parents were very nice to drive me around on the last day of November and I got 9 new species on that day! On that day, they agreed to take me to the more landlocked areas of the Santa Clara County, which I do not usually visit as I cannot take the time to bike that far. Apart from the birds I mentioned above, I got a PURPLE FINCH at the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, a pair of HOODED MERGANSERs in Los Gatos Creek, a flock of RING-NECKED DUCKs in the Oka Ponds, a flock of WILD TURKEYs and a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in Ed Levin, a TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD in the fields around Gold Drive, and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Alviso Marina County Park. I also saw the stunning partially leucistic eared grebe at Salt Pond A12. Blurry pictures of the non-conformist:

Additionally on that day, I got to see one of my favorite oaks, the blue oak (Quercus douglasii)! There was a nice stand of them growing at the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve.

Of course I photographed the deadest-looking branch...

The total number of bird species I got over the whole month was 135, a personal record (well I haven't been recording my birds for long anyways...) and my county "life" list finishes the month at 159 species. Anyways, now I have to put birding on hold for a bit as finals draw near and I try not to fail at school as much as I do already.

On an off topic note, a strange thing is occurring with my Abyssinian gladioli. For some reason they have gone dormant over the summer, sprouted early fall, and are now blooming!