Today I headed for Long Beach after morning traffic, getting to the Orange County side of the San Gabriel River at about 9:50.  Targets for the day were three FOY birds and one was apparent immediately.  There were an estimated 300 Elegant Terns calling and flying everywhere as soon as I got out of the car.

From the beach beside the base of the very small jetty I scanned the jetties on both sides of the river for the previously reported Black and American Oystercatchers.  None to be seen, but I did spot a birder hike out to the end of the third jetty over, set up his scope, seem to take some photos and walk back.  Looked promising.  It didn’t look too far to walk, so I headed that way.  Water intervened.  I got across the San Gabriel river on a bridge not far down a bike path where I took the photo above of the large flock of Elegant Terns. From there though a huge marina was in the way with no apparent reasonable walking way across.

I went back to the car and drove about 4 miles around the marina to the right hand jetty in the photo below.  Jettys here are much easier to walk than in WA, generally high, dry and fairly flat topped rocks overall.  Still it was at least a half mile out to the end of the jetty.  I managed to see just one Black oystercather at the tip of the jetty back where I started, on the other side of the marina.  I did see a black oystercatcher across the marina on the other jetty too, and saw lots of bright alternate plumage Surfbirds.

A bit weary but I drove back around and started out the middle jetty where I had seen the one BLOY from a distance.  It is almost equally long as the first one hiked, and about 100 meters from the end I stopped to look at a flock of Surfbirds, and a couple of Ruddy Turnstones.  Im glad I stopped because on looking around the American Oystercatcher was very nearby on the north side of the jetty, maybe 25 meters away.  I got great looks and also found a black oystercatcher nearly opposite the AMOY on the south side of the jetty.  I was able to sneak by them quietly for better light and get some digiscope photos.  Others have done the exercise of scoring this bird on the AMOY-BLOY hybridization scale and it scores well for a “pure” AMOY.  Looked great to me too.

Looking back out the jetties looked long.

A great day, overcast until about noon, sunny afternoon, much like many days here this trip. Home before bad traffic by ab0ut 3:30.  AMOY was a new California bird for me, and I added the 3 target FOY ABA birds, Elegant tern and both oystercatchers.