How To Properly Use a First Period Prep

   As I started this new school year with a first period prep, I wondered what I should do with it. Should I sleep in, do homework, grade papers, the questions were endless. However, recently I have discovered the answer, the definitive best way to use this time. And here it is.

    Sunday evening on 9/21 I was in a car on the way home. I checked my email and an ebird rare bird alert popped up. What was in it: a Sabine's gull. "Oh great" I thought to myself, thinking that the bird would leave soon. However, it defied my negative predictions and on both Monday and Tuesday people were reporting it, some even with mouthwateringly beautiful pictures of the mouthwateringly beautiful bird. I had to go see it. So, I planned a secret operation and hoped for the best. I apologize beforehand for the severe lack of photos as I was time-rushed and didn't have much time to take many.

Palo Alto, CA

0540 hours

    After a really sleepless night of waking up every several hours and being unable to get back to sleep, I woke up and hurriedly but quietly packed up my supplies. I was out of the house in 2 minutes and went to get my bike, facing my first challenge. The garage door in my house slides opens from the side, with one half being opened by the convenient pressing of a button and the other being opened manually. However, the convenient button pressing leads to a very noisy opening while the manual method is much quieter. Because of that, I manually slid open that half and walked in to get my bike. As my garage is filled with tons and tons and TONS of junk, I had to lift my bike over my head to get it out through the thin corridor through said junk to reach the opening I made on the other side. However, everything ended well and I managed to escape the house without waking anyone.

Mountain View, CA

0600 hours

    I biked through the darkness and reached Shoreline. My meager bikelight did just enough to brighten up the trail in front of me. The area was not pitch black as cities from across the Bay waters created a shimmering nightlight on the horizon and Shoreline Amphitheater had these blinding stadium lights which lit up certain areas. 

The pump house from beside Coast Casey Forebay.

If only blogger could have a more elegant way of putting in "extra-large" sized photos...

    My first seen birds of the day were several flyover black-crowned night herons and my first seen mammals of the day were some humans which were also out and actively exercising on the trails.

Mountain View, CA

0620 hours

    I had gotten to Salt Pond A2E and the sky was this gorgeous dark purple color that was actually surprisingly well-captured by my little point-and-shoot. I didn't bring the DSLR as the absence of that camera would likely be too suspicious.

A lone American White Pelican

Mountain View, CA

0640 hours

    The sun finally rose and it was quite lovely seeing the foggy mountains to the West being illuminated by the rays from the East. 

Sunnyvale, CA

0650 hours

    As I biked by the marsh adjacent to the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant, I saw a large organism swimming towards me. As it got closer, it turned out to be a muskrat! I had no idea that these guys lived so close to the Bay! Unfortunately, as soon as I stopped to take a picture, it swiftly dove below the surface and was never seen again. It probably resurfaced in its nest, which I was also unable to find. Despite its brevity, this sighting was one of the highlights of the day.

Sunnyvale, CA

0700 hours

    I was finally at where the Sabine's gull was reported: a few hundred feet north of the radar station at the WPCP. Although I did not see the bird, I noticed that the ducks were already filling up the place. In winter, there are usually thousands of ducks here with over over 10 species.

Sunnyvale, CA

0710 hours

    By this point, it was panic attack time. Did the Sabine's gull just happen to leave this morning before the sun came up? Was I just a terrible birder who couldn't notice the obviously different Sabine's amidst only a dozen other ring-billed gulls? 

Sunnyvale, CA

0730 hours

    I decided to turn back now. However, a few minutes later I thought to myself "You know what? Maybe the bird is just messing with me. Maybe it thinks I'll have left and it's now in that location laughing at my failure." So, I then decided to turn back from turning back. Amazingly, I think I was right.... The bird literally flew into its exact position where it was previously reported from God knows where as soon as I arrived there for the second time............... I think several previous conundrums in my life have been solved...

    In flight, the Sabine's gull is practically unmistakable. In both juvenile and adult plumages, the birds have black outer primaries which enclose white M-shaped patches on both wings. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the bird flying as it looked stunning. It then spent the rest of the time sitting on the water and picking out unknown food items from around 40 feet away. 

It's interesting to see how small this gull is, being dwarfed by the Northern Shovelers.

Although the bird was quite close and I got stunning binocular views, my camera did not have enough zoom for killer shots.

I was still very satisfied as the Sabine's gull is one of my favorite gull species. In both juvenile (here) and adult plumage (see previous blog post), it is a lovely bird.

Sunnyvale, CA

0745 hours

    It was now time to actually head back. As I left the WPCP, several other birders were just coming in to see the Sabine's. I tried searching for a bank swallow that was recently reported but had no luck, seeing only violet-greens (over 150 staging in this area before their migration) and a few barns. There were also around 10 Vaux's swifts flying around, a fairly large number for this late in the season.

Mountain View, CA

0820 hours

    As I exited Salt Pond A2E and headed towards Shoreline, I saw a golden eagle flying above. It was headed north which I thought was a bit strange as I didn't expect large raptors to be crossing the Bay. 

Palo Alto, CA

0940 hours

    I finally got to school and had 20 minutes to go and buy snacks for third period! Life is great.

Mission accomplished. End of report.

    Sorry for the recent complete lack of posts. I've been really busy but hopefully I will get more time soon. Until next time, enjoy life and love nature!