The highlight of this autumn was an exceptional four Painted Buntings Passerina ciris on the Big Sur coast , three of them banded at the Big Sur Ornithology Lab. I knew it was the bird banded six days before because of the bright shiny metal band on the right leg. Western birds migrate two months before eastern birds to the deserts of s. Arizona and nw. Mexico and begin flight feather molt there before continuing on to wintering locales from s. Texas to Central America.
Eastern populations complete flight-feather molt before migrating to s. Florida and the Caribbean.
California vagrants, including the MTY birds, are all likely from the western population and some are likely in supplemental plumage when they stray this far west. In the first week of July, John and Ricky Warriner determined that the nest had 3 eggs . We see small numbers of skimmers here in Monterey County each spring and fall migration. Nearly all trips are captained by Richard Ternullo, Monterey Bay's most experienced bird-skipper. Although these are first and foremost cetacean trips for the general public, the regular daily access gives birders impressive new opportunities for pelagic birdwatching.