If you're a birder, you'll know what a life list is. It's basically a list of all the bird species one has observed and positively ID'd in one's lifetime. This blog is a record of my "critter" life list (mostly of birds), including photos I've taken over the years, some of the actual lifer if I was lucky enough to get the shot. Don't expect National Geographic quality stuff here, just the work of an amateur photog who loves to trudge out into nature.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica)

11/3/02 Crystal Cove State Park (between Newport Coast and Laguna Beach), Orange County, CA 
11/3/02 Crystal Cove SP.

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: California Gnatcatcher

SPECIES: Polioptila californica

LIFE LIST DATE: 11/3/2002

LOCATION: Crystal Cove State Park (between Newport Coast and Laguna Beach), Orange County, CA 

From Kaufman Focus Guide: Birds of North America:

HABITAT: Rare and local on coastal slope of Southern California; an endangered species. Restricted to areas with dense low cover of native plants (especially coastal sage scrub). 

IDENTIFYING MARKS: 4 1/2"; Tail mostly black, with narrow white edges showing from below; male has black cap in summer. Like Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (in deserts east of mountains in CA) but darker gray below. 

VOICE: Varied; includes kittenlike  meeyew, rising and falling. 
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