About Me

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Mission, Texas, United States
I'm Tiffany Kersten, a professional bird guide based in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I spent 2021 traveling, birding, and gifting personal safety alarms to women birders I met on the trails along the way during my Lower 48 States Big Year. In 2022, I founded Nature Ninja Birding Tours, offering customized private tours in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Cape May, Fishing, and Four False Alarms

I prepared to travel to Cape May, New Jersey, for the first time in three years. I spent a long weekend working for Swarovski Optik at the Cape May Fall Festival. I  spent a few years living in Cape May before moving to Texas, so it was really great to see old friends who live there, as well as many friends, old and new, who traveled there for the festival. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=12dZXfJ3Pg1l4SCSAZz5y7RqG_uT3w900

I’m used to being the only woman field tech with any of the optics companies, so it was awesome to see four of us this year, representing Swarovski, Leica, and Zeiss! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1bc4l1W5nel7r0JK_8yEB5kHhLtgPRrF9

While I was finishing up in Cape May, a Brambling showed up at a a feeder in Montana. Keeping an eye on the reports, I looked into flying to Montana instead of returning home to Texas. I studied flight options, and since I was flying through work with Swarovski, the travel agency was able to hold a seat on a plane to Missoula for me, while still keeping my original flight home. The next day, I made my way to the airport in the late morning, still unsure of where I was going. Checking in with the homeowner, the bird hadn't been seen by noon. Then hadn't been seen by 2 pm. Finally, I checked in one more time, while at the airport, before checking in online for my flight home. Bummer. I flew home. 

After flying home, I looked into tickets to Sacramento to go for the Tundra Bean-Goose and considered booking a ticket for the following day, hesitated at the price tag, and it wasn't seen the next day, so that ended up being a good decision. 

Next was a Red-throated Pipit north of Los Angeles - I bought a ticket for a day and a half in the future...and this was yet another bird that was not seen the next day. I cancelled my flights, and went saltwater fishing instead. I caught my first redfish, my first time ever casting into salt, which I'm told is a bit of a feat! I grew up freshwater fishing, and it was a blast to be on the water again, reeling in fish after a ten year absence of fishing in my life. 
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13Ihjy7DEtCLmwQUrZEy2T2Sy0iR-o2O3

A few days ago, a Yellow Grosbeak was seen north of Phoenix, Arizona. I was awaiting another report in order to book a ticket, but it was never seen after the original 8 am sighting. 

For the last three days, there's been a Gray-tailed Tattler in the Florida Keys. It was originally reported as a Wandering Tattler, and wasn't correctly identified until day 2. A cold front was coming in the night after day two, so I waited, anticipating flying this evening if it was seen again today. It was seen, but by the time it was reported, there were no flights that would get me there before sunset today, and tonight's forecast is rain and strong winds are in the forecast for tomorrow. 

I have a client I'm bird guiding Saturday and Sunday, so I'm stuck here until Sunday evening. I bought a ticket to the Tundra Bean-Goose in Northern California for Monday - it was refound after disappearing for about a week and a half, so as long as it is seen through the weekend, that's my Monday plan! In the event that the Gray-tailed Tattler sticks around through the weekend, I'll go for the tattler first, and then fly to California. I've also been considering swinging up to Seattle for Ancient Murrelet and Slaty-backed Gull while I'm up there. 

Year List: Still 702


Saturday, October 9, 2021

Cali Calls Me Back

October 4th 

Well, I was about ten minutes from home, after driving back from California, my friend Dorian alerted me to a Dusky Warbler that had just showed up about an hour north of San Francisco, in Marin County. I'd left a few days too soon! 

I picked up my dog from boarding and arrived home. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1aGHdWd9B1pVr-iAktHxqeO2Fmb08f3_w

My home air conditioning was out. It was 92 degrees in my house. My car AC had not been working since I left California, and it had been a hot couple of days. It would be yet another hot night. 

Twenty minutes after that, John, based in Sacramento, messaged me that he was twenty minutes away from an Emperor Goose. 

Um, what? 

I had so much to do as a single homeowner after being gone three weeks. My yard was a mess. My dog had missed me. I had three weeks of laundry to do before I could even think of going anywhere. I looked at plane tickets anyway. $750 round trip. Well, $375 each way...I'd learned this summer not to ever book round trip tickets. If you book one way and cancel, it can be refunded for credit. If you book round trip, and cancel half...well...I now have a standing one-way ticket from Seattle to somewhere I'll need to use at some point. If you cancel half of a round trip ticket, little had I known, you have to fly from that same airport. 

I decided to wait and see if the birds would stick another day. 

October 5th 

Both birds reported. I got my home AC fixed...one thing out of the way. Now to address the slow leak in my tire that started on my way back from California, so I wouldn't end up with a flat tire at the McAllen Airport if I end up flying to California. Discount Tire found a nail in my tire and fixed it for free. I was very thankful that I'd only had to put air in once from California to home, and that the trip home went smoothly! I looked into tickets, cringed at the price, and decided not to purchase. 

October 6th

Both birds reported again, before noon central. At 700 birds, I really need to be deciding now whether to make a run for the record. If I'd decided at a later date that I wanted to take a shot at the record, I'd regret chasing these birds. 

I bought the ticket, flying out this evening. It's the first same-day ticket I've ever purchased, and it felt a little sudden and shocking. I packed a day pack, and was ready. I flew McAllen to Dallas, Dallas to Sacramento. John picked me up at the airport just after midnight. 

October 7th 

Day four for the birds hopefully staying put! We left before sunrise to head the two hours to the goose. When we arrived to the water treatment plant they'd been at, upon initial scan there were no birds in sight. Then, we noticed it feeding on the grass along with four Greater White-fronted Geese. Emperor Goose chase successful!

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1B_478eKCk0pgtO7SQZnzLab3GEEHD1i3 

Yay! We watched the bird for about fifteen minutes, and then it was time to press on to try for the Dusky Warbler. Big Years sure don't leave much room for birding the way you'd prefer - which for me, would have been to spend a good amount of time studying this life bird. 

It was just under three hours to the Dusky Warbler location, which flew by quickly. John and I had been Facebook friends for a while, but never met in person. We talked birds, and guiding, and vegetarianism, and shared stores from our years of birding. 

Parked at the Dusky Warbler location, we walked out, expecting to find the birders whose cars were clearly parked by ours. So many Subarus! We found nobody. I called up fellow big year birder Jason, who had texted me twenty minutes previously that the bird was "stupid cooperative". Fifteen minutes later, another text followed "it's moving like crazy!" Yikes! When we arrived, the bird had just flown out of view, over a fence. We found the birders. Nobody had seen the bird. Anxiety ensued. I worried about this being the bird that I missed by four minutes...that kind of thing happens on occasion when you're consistently chasing birds. 

After about an hour of mulling around the area with about half a dozen other birders, and a few jumps of energy at chipping Lincoln's Sparrows - it sounds almost exactly like a Lincoln's - a young birder refound the Dusky Warbler in an alleyway of sorts. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=17qUOB-B143qR80auLtnrjiGoNI4xTyhC

Yes! We enjoyed good looks at the bird for about twenty minutes, then headed on to look for a first county record of Magnolia Warbler for John. While he was there looking, I managed to squeeze in a Zoom presentation on my big year to Mecklenberg Audubon Society in North Carolina. It was well attended, with forty people watching! Unfortunately, the Magnolia Warbler hadn't been seen in several hours, and was never seen again. We headed to a delicious Mexican restaurant and celebrated the mostly successful day with margaritas. Salmon on a bed of greens tasted amazing after all the non-perishable food I'd been eating for the last several weeks! 

Year List: 702 

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

700 Celebration

I had packed up from my second night of camping outside of Ventura, and made my way to the harbor. It was reassuring to know exactly where to go, as it was the same place as the morning before. I had all kinds of fears of missing the boat OUT this time! The boat was set to leave at 7, and I arrived at 6. The waters were peaceful. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1vJJkrfwuoQAbQyPIcIr-24R_zMhciGSr

Not long into the trip, a few distant murrelets flushed, but nobody got a good enough look or photos to secure an ID. I remained hopeful. Not much later, we came upon pairs and pairs of Craveri's Murrelets - not great looks and none sat on the water long, but enough to identify. Later, on the return trip in, we would finally find a few pairs that stuck around. In the end, we had about 30 of them total. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1f0LbVqoSw4d_sNcNKMLGs2jQ2vvLiCkd

I was talking with one of the female staff from the boat, who mentioned she'd heard what happened to me the previous day. She started asking me for the details, and I recounted to her basically what I had written in my last blog post. She interrupted me -- "hold on, let me check. I don't think there WAS a 5 pm boat to Prisoner's Harbor on the schedule yesterday." She checked, and she was right. There was no boat set to go to Prisoner's - only Scorpion. If I had gone with the info they'd provided, I really would have been stuck overnight, on an island with no amenities except for two pit toilets! It gets even BETTER....whoever had answered the phone at the office that day, didn't even relay the message to the boat crew that they'd left someone behind. They all went to sleep that night having no idea what had happened. What if I'd broken an ankle on the trails, or had a heart attack or some weird incident? I'd have been left to die, and nobody would have noticed I was missing. The boat left 15 minutes early, they didn't check people off the roster as they were supposed to, they didn't provide correct boat schedule times, and they didn't communicate that there was any issue. YIKES as a whole, to this company! What a scary set of mistakes for a business to make. Troy, and the Youth With a Mission group - I'm forever thankful for the ride you gave me, even when we all thought I didn't really need it! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1cLx2fqohMjHJIHlhABNYaC3X1sshRlGS

We were headed to Sutil, a rock cliff adjacent to Santa Barbara Island, the only place in the United States where Brown Booby, as well as often a few Blue-footed Boobies, nest. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1b5GfqH4-YD9drd_5viWEJLXJh97IXTAV

A few people had gone out a few weeks prior, and had three of them. I was hopeful for 700! As we approached Sutil, one of the spotters pointed it out! Blue-footed Booby! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=16Wuw3lKVZT7pNExLyadGcpSXrZVYtEja

I'm officially the youngest woman to ever see 700 species in the Lower 48. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1HNyNyl3-K--RUbN8i-GJvv77OVgI5bs_

The boat captain did a great job of constant work maneuvering the boat in order to hold it essentially in place, in weird swells which were being made by a combination of Sutil, and the main Santa Barbara Island. The boat was situated between. After a bit of watching and enjoying the birds for a bit, including watching one of them do the stereotypical Blue-footed Booby foot dance, I turned around to a small, opened bottle of champagne being handed to me. Aww! Dave was one of the organizers, and this gesture was the icing on the top of the cake, for an incredible way to get to 700 - surrounded by other bird lovers, celebrating with Dave and Todd with champagne, and also with the rest of the boat. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1-l75qrEA1DLrQT_aPxnSakUhuBe7vBU8

After we got off the boat, Corey and I celebrated the Blue-footed Booby, a lifer for both of us, with blue shots! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zQ5lIO7tndgBHBINuErW6OMgafjAp81b

From there, I  drove a few hours east, getting a hotel in Riverside as my own little celebration - the sixth hotel room I've paid for this year (I've traveled with Swarovski and guiding clients as well). I  took a shower, went to bed and was on the road early again the next day. I spent the next two days driving home, stopping between Las Cruces, NM and El Paso, TX to camp for a night at a winery that is a HipCamp site. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1rsFvAFDZnz7UNU2XbS5kpipDRgQcx4iq

My pup sure was happy to see me after I was gone for almost three weeks! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1xta1o87YNfzqDQZDncdqpN0A0__ggZDj

Year List: 700

Stuck on an Island!

September 25 

From Washington State, I meandered my way southward, on the path to an October 1st trip to Santa Cruz Island for Island Scrub-Jay, and then an October 2nd pelagic also out of Ventura in hopes of Craveri's Murrelet and Blue-footed Booby. 

My first stop was to visit Hannah & Erik at the beautiful hotel they manage in Cannon Beach! Hannah & Erik treated me to a birthday dinner - my birthday was the next day. 

September 26

I awoke on my birthday to a surprise view of Haystack Rock, the exact place where I'd come to get Tufted Puffin for the year back in August. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=17aCg6fPJs3LfQRTqNcMdN109NVdy8PmS

I hung out the following morning, blogged, walked over to the beach and treated myself to a birthday breakfast. By early afternoon, I  was on my way to Portland, Oregon, to meet up with my friends Dave & Shawneen. Dave and I share the same birthday! I was looking forward to celebrating with them. I arrived to Portland and we spent a few hours enjoying the beautiful weather in their backyard, catching up on the last few years. We ordered Thai for dinner, and they'd been so thoughtful as to order us all cheesecake slices from the Cheesecake Factory earlier in the day. I'd requested the coconut cream. Delicious! 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1DnqQ1c4FQFRPwSy6o70bmZZHVaQrBIix

After dinner, we Zoomed with Ann and Jim, whom I also originally met at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. It was Ann's birthday too! We are birthday triplets. 

September 27

After a night's rest, I continued southward to Eugene, Oregon, meeting with Katie for lunch, who I’d met on the World Girl Birders Facebook page. From there, I continued south through Ashland, Oregon, meeting big year birder Nicole for twenty minutes, in the rain, at a gas station. I was headed north, and she was headed south. Yes, we are certainly both crazy. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1NLejlR5y6RwILVvVF-6hyVQ9amFuUQtc

I left to head to Yreka, California, visiting my friend Mason and his partner, Becca, where we had dinner, caught up for a few hours, and then off to sleep. 

September 28 

By 8 am I was back on the road, en route to see "real" redwoods for the first time in my life! I'd been to areas that have a few of them, but never to a proper grove. The route from Yreka to Humboldt Redwoods State Park was about a four hour drive, with more than three hours being an incredibly remote road with only one gas station about 100 miles in. At some point before reaching the gas station, I looked down at my phone to notice that it wasn't charging, despite being plugged in. I wiggled the cable on both ends, which did nothing, nor did unplugging and replugging. Yikes! I had about 50% battery, several hours to drive, redwoods to photograph, and needed to navigate back to San Francisco the next day. I hoped that there might be one available at the gas station, but upon arrival, I realized there was indeed nothing but gas - not even a basic convenience store - at that location. I continued driving, a beautiful but stressful drive, on a road with a 55 mph speed limit, with random steep 25 mph curves mixed in. The road required so much attention that there was no room left to enjoy the scenery. I  came upon several areas of construction, where there was only one lane, with a flagger. At one of the construction areas, I was first in line to wait. While I was looking down at my phone, zooming in to the one tiny town I would pass on my way to the state park, the woman directing traffic walked up and asked me if I had cell reception. No, I  said, and told her my situation with my phone charger. I  showed her the map and asked her if she thought I might be able to purchase one in the upcoming town. She said she didn't know what town that was, but that she might have one in her truck. She walked to her truck, and back to my car, procuring a short lime green charger. I thanked her and handed her a $20 bill. She refused to take it, and said she only wanted for me to be safe. Hang on, I said, I have something for you. I asked for her favorite color, and then handed her a lavender alarm, along with the instruction manual, and my big year card. We shared a moment of a few seconds where we just looked at one another, silently acknowledging the beauty of what had just transpired. Women looking out for women. It was my turn to go, and she waved me along. The entire thing happened over the course of about three minutes, but it's something I'll remember forever. 

I drove the remaining few hours, and spent the afternoon and evening immersed in the redwoods. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1XBLunkqen7YikfxwrVOGJwojQRLSkhx-

Later in the day, I found a remote road that was closed to vehicle traffic. Entirely unplanned, I stripped down naked, leaving my clothes off to the side of the road, and just started walking.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1t93oVV7jLwzeLaObMbybKKiIgNUzqicj

It was the single most liberating thing I've done in my entire life. Not a soul saw me - nor did I see a soul. If I had, the trees were so giant, it would have been very simple to hide behind one as people walked by. 

September 29 

I slept in until around 8, spent a few hours enjoying camp, wandered around the restrooms in search of cool moths, and eventually packed up and made my way to Dorian's once again, in San Francisco. After yet another amazing meal cooked by Dorian's wife, Sonia, we went to get amazing ice cream from a town nearby. There were standard and eclectic options to choose from. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1SJhi052XTbknPCaBA0N4fkVBSaYnqS-S

I chose pumpkin pie flavor, and was not disappointed!

September 30 

I was gone early, to meet my friend Teresa, who I'd met in the Rio Grande Valley, when she was visiting, during my heavy border wall activism days in 2017. I hadn't seen her since, and we met for coffee and bagels for an hour or so. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1yjRwLtT9KsrlIsj3o18axUEjaJHUj9R3

Next, I ventured down to Santa Cruz, where I finally caught up with Laura and Steve, who are typically volunteers at Estero State Park in winters, but covid has scrambled their plans the last few years. I'd missed them in Portal, Arizona, when I was there in May. I got to meet their brand new puppy, and they treated me to kombucha and a vegan pasta dish for lunch. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1z-ko_06Z5N7I1Qc4UUDiVxUFr2W5rjmA

I'm not sure I've mentioned this in my blog, but I'm pescatarian - and mostly vegetarian. It's been a real challenge to eat vegetarian while traveling so much! 

I got to my HipCamp site in Ventura just as the sun was setting. I heated up some canned Minestrone soup, brushed my teeth, took my seasick meds, and crawled into my tent. 

October 1 

The boat trip from Ventura to Santa Cruz Island leaves at 9 am, and I needed to check in by 8:15. Arriving by 8, I was one of the first, and relaxed at a picnic table a bit before taking my place in line to board. I didn't notice any obvious birders around me. 

After the boat was boarded and orientation accomplished, we had a slightly late departure, leaving the dock around 9:20. Despite constant scanning, I didn't notice any murrelets at all. I was slightly relieved, in a way, because I imagined it fairly unlikely for me to concretely ID them without a camera. The first stop was to Scorpion Harbor, where roughly half of the boat got off. The rest of us went on to Prisoner's Harbor , where there are more Island Scrub-Jay reports. A giant group of partiers - a family reunion, I'd later learn - stayed on the boat momentarily while the rest of us - only myself and three other birders - got off and had our own separate orientation. 

We all made a stop at the restrooms before hitting to the trail. Outside of the restrooms, I pointed out the first Island Scrub-Jay. This species is larger and darker than California Scrub-Jay, and the only place it is found is Santa Cruz Island. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1gKxsnDx2_khpcqPJr6sWYX6Wat_BrZx0

It was fairly tame, and we'd come across more than two dozen more throughout the course of the day. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sFaXfOobfIxOzRMA0YQXHG9ffmGMC1Ot

Eventually, I wandered back to the dock / campsite area, where two collard and one uncollared Island Foxes were hanging out, and harassing day visitors from time to time. Island Foxes - their own species - only exist on the Channel Islands, with distinct subspecies on each island. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1YnQ93LOtW7p4hNkRn0YroZ7UnsBetP5K

I showed a non-birding visitor a rare for the area Green-tailed Towhee that was hanging around the white picket fence area, near the dock. He was interested, we chatted for a bit, and then he said he had to go. I looked down at my phone for the time. 3:15. I'd need to head to the boat - we were set to depart at 3:30. Only, I looked up, to see that the boat was already motoring away from the dock! 

In genuine movie fashion, I ran to the end of the dock, hopelessly waving a bit at the end. My heart absolutely sank. Now what? I checked my phone. No service from the dock, and very little battery left. I'd surely be spending the night on the island. And I'd miss the pelagic the following day! I power walked back to the area where some overnight campers were hanging out, and yelled to ask if any of them had cell reception. By the time I walked up to them, one of the men was already on the phone with the boat company, telling them they'd left a passenger. It's okay, the guy repeated back to me, there's another boat coming at 5 pm. I'd already connected with some day users who were there in a private boat, and they had agreed to take me back to Oxnard Harbor, the next harbor up, and drive me to my car. I told them if it's not a problem with them, I'd take a ride anyway, and felt nervous about waiting for another boat to come. 

I rode back with them - two group leaders with four young ladies in the Youth With a Mission program. I  played "What Do You Meme" with the young women on the two hour trip back, and gifted them personal safety alarms as well. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1HHVsLjlkjR3Z6X-fAB8O6M6T-TlW4izz

Once we got back to Oxnard Harbor, I piled into the van with them, and they took me back to my car in Ventura Harbor. I thanked them, from the very bottom of my heart. 

There's more to this story of the missed boat, which I'd learn on my pelagic trip the following day. Watch for the update in my next blog post! 

Year List: 698