The Final Countdown: California’s Grand Finale
We agreed that for our final trip of the year, Southern California was the place to be. We flew into LAX on Christmas morning, a festive start to our last birding adventure. Our mission was to find the final birds to put an exclamation point on our incredible Big Year.
Christmas on the Coast
Our first stop was White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro. The coastline offered stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and bustling tide pools. We found a Marbled Godwit along with Heermann’s and Western Gulls. A walk through the gardens gave us views of White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, an Anna’s Hummingbird, and a California Towhee.
Next, we headed to Cabrillo Coastal Park in Long Beach. Walking the pier and beach, we saw Clark’s and Western Grebes, a Pacific Loon, and many Mew Gulls. The park offers great views of the Angel’s Gate Lighthouse, which has marked the entrance to the port since 1913.
We checked into the Hyatt Regency and walked to the ShoreLine Aquatic Park, where we had great views of the Queen Mary and spotted a Surf Scoter and Spotted Sandpiper. Even on Christmas Day, the downtown area was vibrant, and we enjoyed a delicious sushi dinner at Wokcano amidst the beautiful holiday decorations.
Urban Oases and Mountain Lions
The next morning, we drove to a tiny park in Garden Grove. City birding can be surprisingly good, and this was proof. Our target Ross’s Goose was there, along with over 80 American Widgeons and a dozen Black-crowned Night Herons. We were amazed at the variety of birds in such a small urban watering hole.
It was a short drive to Mile Square Regional Park, where we found 24 species, including an Egyptian Goose, Ruddy Duck, and a Bushtit. Then, it was off to Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve for a relaxing walk. The boardwalk was alive with birds, including Blue-winged, Green-winged, and Cinnamon Teal, as well as a Cassin’s Kingbird and our lifer, California Gnatcatcher.
After lunch, we drove to O’Neill Regional Park in beautiful Trabuco Canyon. The park’s rolling hillsides of scrub oak and chaparral are well known for mountain lion sightings, but we didn’t come across any of the big cats. We did, however, find plenty of birds, including Acorn and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, a Dark-eyed Junco, and a Bewick’s Wren.
The Mountaintop Finale
On our final morning, we took one last walk along the Shoreline Aquatic Park to enjoy the bay birds before heading to Pasadena. We made a quick photo stop at the famous Rose Bowl and then headed to Oak Grove Park Watershed, where a hike on the trail yielded California Quail, a Say’s Phoebe, and a Wrentit.
Another quick stop at Descanso Gardens yielded 15 Band-tailed Pigeons (life bird) and 10 Cedar Waxwings while birding the parking lot.
Our final birding destination was the Mount Wilson Observatory, high above the LA valley. The winding road up was scenic but demanded our full attention. Our last target bird was a Williamson’s Sapsucker, and we found it exactly where it was reported, along the boardwalk. The sapsucker ended up being our final species of the year and a lifer! We were thrilled. We also took the tour of the 60-inch Hale telescope and marveled at the effort it took to build it in the early 1900s.
Hollywood Ending
With our goal achieved and time to kill, we drove to Hollywood. We looked for the stars of the “Big Year” movie actors on the Walk of Fame, but were surprised that Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin don’t have one. We had fun taking pictures with celebrity look-alikes before enjoying dinner at Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina. Our last stop was for a drink at the pool bar of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where Marilyn Monroe once lived and is rumored to still roam the hotel.
Our 2015 “little big year” was an incredible adventure. We visited so many amazing places and met so many wonderful people. Thank you to everyone who followed our journey. Our final tally is 519 year birds, including 85 life birds!
Trip Summary:
- Total Species: 92
- Year Birds: 10
- Life Birds: 2
2015 Summary:
- Year Birds: 519
- Life Birds: 85
- 2015 Bird List
Next up: Big Year Reflection
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