Jo's Morning Walk: Elusive Yellow-breasted Chat

Getting an early start and driving to the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center on Manchester Drive on Mother's Day hoping to see a few of my birding/photographer friends to catch up on what's new at the lagoon. They told me a long list of birds they have seen but the elusive Yellow-breasted Chat was only "heard" and not seen by any of my friends yet!

The Arroyo willows were live with singing birds. Walking into the San Elijo Nature Reserve I instantly recognized the call of the Song Sparrow. They are plentiful and the Common Yellow-throat were also very vocal. Here is a shot of a Common Yellow-throat singing on the far south east side of the trails.

Quite a few wrens were heard, too. Here is a Bewick's Wren that I spotted thanks to his very loud singing.

Bewick's Wren, Thryomanes bewickii measures 5.25 inches long with a wingspan of 7 inches. Males and females look alike.

There were several male Black-headed Grosbeaks singing throughout the nature trails. They like to perch near the top of a tall willow so that's when you can spot them. Al got a great shot of him for his "Shot of the Day" post.

This is a little warbler type bird I saw by the duck pond area just before I reached the boardwalk. I believe this cutie to be a female Yellow Warbler but it's just a guess.

A quick pose and my mystery bird flies off into the thick willows.

I turned onto the boardwalk heading north, found a cute little female Lesser Goldfinch eating the seeds of a milkweed plant.

Plucking the seeds.

Harvesting the meat from the seeds.

A male Lesser Goldfinch watches nearby.

I couldn't believe I spent so much time at San Andres trail looking for the Yellow Warbler when they are several here at the nature trail at San Elijo Lagoon. There were several calling in the willows at the boardwalk. Hard to spot in the greenery but when you listen for their calls, you can zero in and may find one in the open as I found this beauty singing on a large branch.

Such a beautiful bird. But as I focus on the Yellow Warbler there is a call that "pierces" through the willows. It is loud and almost mocking. Sounds almost like someone is laughing/chuckling at times. It's the Yellow-breasted Chat calling and calling. Quite a few birders have heard his call but have not caught sight of this elusive ventriloquist! One moment you think he is calling from the east of the large sycamore, the next he sounds as though he is 30 ft to the south! One birder called him a "darn ventriloquist" in frustration of not being able to spot him.

Frustrated at not being able to spot the Yellow-breasted Chat, I direct my attention back to the Yellow Warbler singing in the willows. When the sunlight hits the warbler's feathers, the Yellow is the brightest yellow you can imagine, a color that brightens your mood and lets you forget that you have been searching for that loud calling Yellow-breasted Chat unsuccessfully for a few hours now.

What a beauty! Such a cheerful color and beautiful voice.

He moves to a leafier spot but that yellow color gives away his hiding spot.

He moves to the east side of the boardwalk where he is out in the open for a few seconds to my delight.

Wow! Love looking at this beautiful warbler.

One last shot before he flies off into the thick willows.

The boardwalk is such a wonderful place to spend some quiet time. As I stand looking and listening, I spot this cute little Anna's Hummingbird gathering nest material.

I forgot to mention that there are Wilson's Warblers everywhere on the trails, too. Here is one near the boardwalk peeking out of the willow leaves.

One of the birders was calling and trying to coax the Yellow-breasted Chat out in the open. He stops and points to a beautiful butterfly that landed next to the orange flowers nearby. I spotted him too and took a few shots.

One more shot of the butterfly. The birder soon gave up and left but two more birders came to take his place searching for the Chat.

The male Lesser Goldfinch looked confused with so many birders making sounds like a Yellow-breasted Chat.

The Anna's Hummingbird sitting on her nest next to the boardwalk was not fazed by all the birders looking and calling for the Yellow-breasted Chat.

Getting frustrated that I could not spot the Yellow-breasted Chat as he called and called from which sounded like three different directions, I decided to take a walk on the south side of the trails. There I found three Kingbirds sitting near the lagoon. They may be Tropical Kingbirds.

A Cormorant swims by and gets himself a nice halibut. The Lagoon opening to the ocean is closed because it is blocked off by the sand after the last storm. Lots of birds are on the hunt for all the fish trapped in the lagoon.

Something yellow flutters in the willows next to the trail and it's the Wilson's Warbler again. Boy, there are everywhere!

Taking another look and walking back to the boardwalk from the north side I find a male Black-headed Grosbeak perched in his favorite spot ready to start singing. But a few clicks from my camera changed his mind and he flew to a more secluded spot in the thick willows.

One more shot , a close-up of this handsome guy.

When you walk on the boardwalk you will notice that the ground is covered with these beautiful orange flowering vines. It is an invasive non-native plant so they will probably be pulled out by the volunteers of the Lagoon Platoon. But today the orange flowers are a source of nectar for this tiny hummer beauty.

Getting some nectar.

A magical sight of this wonderful hummingbird hovering in front of the flower. The floor of the willow forest covered with the Nasturtium vines and clusters of orange flowers that protrude from the green lily pad type of leaves gives you a feeling of being in a fairy tale sitting. A lovely spot that offers shade with lots of chirping birds.

There is almost a childlike giddiness that comes over you when a tiny little hummer buzzes near almost at arm's length and stays to get a drink of nectar nearby.

One last shot of this tiny subject.

I look to see if the female is still on her nest and there she is trying to blend in with her surroundings. There is not one green leaf on that bush she has built her nest on. Wish she had found more of a camouflaged place to put her nest but it sure gives everyone that is aware of the nest a good view when the eggs hatch and we get to see all the activity of the nestlings as they grow.

This female Black-headed Grosbeak is being escorted out of the tree by a female hummer. She may have a nest nearby. Hummers get very aggressive about anything encroaching too close to their nest area.

Female Black-headed Grosbeaks look very dull compared to the males.

Oh... she hears the male calling and calling, seconds after this shot she is seen flying towards the call of the male Grosbeak.

The Bewick's Wren is also in this area and is constantly calling. What a beautiful area for birding.

The Yellow Warbler is also singing but that very loud mocking call from the Yellow-breasted Chat is constant and no matter how many branches and trees I scan, I can not see that elusive bird! Frustration sets in and I see that all the other birders have given up and have left. Well, it's time for me to go home and try again tomorrow.

It's early Monday morning and I decide to check out the tide channel of the lagoon to see if there are any shore birds of interest to photograph. I'm not going to get frustrated today by just looking for the Chat. LOL... I am going to look for other bird subjects to divert my attention from that elusive Chat! Here comes one flying towards me now. It's a Foster's Tern with his beautiful long tail.

Foster's Tern, Sterna forsteri measures 13 inches long with a wingspan of 31 inches.

It's a joy to watch them dive for fish.

This one just dove for a fish and has propelled out of the water still covered with droplets.

Pumps his wings a few times to get some lift.

Then, shakes himself spraying water as he twists and turns in mid-air. Wow, it's fun to see this in stop motion.

Within seconds, he is flying off to find another fish.

Wow, a good look at a Caspian Tern flying by.

OK, so after an hour or more of watching the Terns and their incredible flying tactics, I decide to check the boardwalk again to see if the Yellow-breasted Chat is still calling. Sure enough I hear him loud and clear but the only bird that I find in the area of his call is the female Black-headed Grosbeak.

LOL, Plenty of Wilson's Warblers around and here is one looking at me to see why I'm constantly facing the direction of the call from the Chat and straining my eyes to see any movement that would show his location . I run into a few more birders still looking for the Chat and I admit that this is my second day of looking and still not able to spot him. They wish me luck and tell me to let them know if I spot a Wilson's Warbler. What? I laughed and tell them I can't get away from them. They are everywhere!

I give up on my search in the boardwalk area and head east on the nature trail towards the back entrance. As I walked past the large cottonwood tree on the south east end of the trail, I swear, I heard that mocking laughing, clucking sound of the Yellow-breasted Chat! The sound was coming from a willow in the area just cleared and mulched by the volunteers so I walked carefully not to step on any vegetation to get out to a clearing and listen for that familiar call. There it is! Now I finally see movement. I focus my camera lens on a yellow spot in the willows. It's HIM!!!

Oh Yes! His lips are moving as I hear that loud, familiar singing that has been driving me to frustration for two days. The Chat hides behind some branches but I get the positive ID to say "Gotcha".

He is singing and doesn't see me yet. Yellow-breasted Chat, Icteria virens measures 7 inches long with a wingspan of 9.75 inches.

Now he sees me clicking away. Second after this shot he flies a hundred feet to the east. I am thrilled that I finally got to spot the Chat that has been teasing all of us with his loud insistent calling.

As I search in the area where he just flew, I ran into a couple that also had heard the Chat. I told them that I finally got to see him but he flew to the east of us. Well, he started to sing again and as we looked to see if we could spot him, he flew back to the original willow were I first spotted him by the new clearing. Sure enough, he was there and showed himself again, perching just for a few seconds but enough for a few more shots.

What a great feeling it is to finally get the visual of a bird that has eluded so many birders. The couple that was there when I got this shot was also delighted to be able to see this beauty. Finally getting a shot of the elusive Yellow-breasted Chat, I was ready to head for home and couldn't wait to see the photos from this fun-filled morning.

One last back shot of the Yellow-breasted Chat as he flies off again .

Feeling a burst of energy, like I had just found a hidden treasure, I decided to go the long way back to my truck and walk by the tide channel again. About 30 ft. before the boardwalk, I found this little guy. I think it's the Warbling Vireo.