I started my day at Los Alamos County Park about 30 minutes north of Ventura. My number one target was the yellow-billed magpie. These birds are endemic to California, meaning that is the only place in the world you can see them.
I walked every inch of the park trails and added some birds to my big year list, but could not find a magpie. I opened the trunk to pack up my gear and took one last look around. Eureka! Four magpies were flying around the picnic area a couple hundred yards away.
Although they are named for their bills, the most striking features are their long tails and the brilliant blue feathers on their wings. In most of my pictures, the blue doesn't show up, and the birds look like they are black and white. That is because there is no blue pigment in their feathers. The blue color in most blue feathers comes from the way the structure of the feather scatters light, No light, no blue color.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_59191c125b0d4d319c4da66ee77bd9ed~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_680,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_59191c125b0d4d319c4da66ee77bd9ed~mv2.jpg)
Yellow-billed Magpie with blue color showing in proper light.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_ff0ecf3230e94951bf30f9c527ee23cb~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_ff0ecf3230e94951bf30f9c527ee23cb~mv2.jpg)
Here is the same bird in the shade - no blue!
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_a58ece506ede4e378cb2aae9ec6903df~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_a58ece506ede4e378cb2aae9ec6903df~mv2.jpg)
Los Alamos Park
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_0dc09105555a4040942f3ba6b23f79c2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_0dc09105555a4040942f3ba6b23f79c2~mv2.jpg)
Spotted Towhee
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_be58ef0653464513b5dcefed80aae5bd~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_826,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_be58ef0653464513b5dcefed80aae5bd~mv2.jpg)
California Scrub Jay
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_7dead916ac3f48b6b2278cc55ae5016d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1158,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_7dead916ac3f48b6b2278cc55ae5016d~mv2.jpg)
California thrasher
They love thick brush which makes them difficult to find and even harder to photograph.
Next stop was Jake O'Connell Park where tri-colored blackbirds have been seen recently. They are very similar to red-winged blackbirds, The male's red shoulder patches are a little darker than those of a red-winged blackbird, and the small band of feathers below that is white instead of yellow. The females of both species lack the shoulder patches and are even harder to tell apart. I saw about 250 blackbirds, but they all looked like red-winged blackbirds to me, so I couldn't count this as a new species for my list. I am hoping an expert sees my photos and tells me they are tri-colored, not red-winged.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_319075a7da4444e582cd4e031d67fe69~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_844,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_319075a7da4444e582cd4e031d67fe69~mv2.jpg)
Tri-colored or red-winged blackbirds?
Although I apparently dipped on tri-colored blackbirds, I saw a couple of other nice birds in the park. (Dip = disappointed in pursuit).
The first was a vermillion flycatcher:
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_c353940d20e74f3681f35abf926b3f55~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1090,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_c353940d20e74f3681f35abf926b3f55~mv2.jpg)
After this little stunner flew away, a ferruginous hawk flew in and landed on the top of the goal post.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_f7fd214b429a4961b9dcebbb25ce599d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1030,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_f7fd214b429a4961b9dcebbb25ce599d~mv2.jpg)
Next Stop: Cachuma Lake:
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f9740e_725782684e2a4198a70f42b39432f40c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_735,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/f9740e_725782684e2a4198a70f42b39432f40c~mv2.jpg)
I ended the day with 187 species for the year. I am not going to set any records - I am not even in the top 100 for the year (yet). But I am seeing great places and great birds. And I hope to have a respectable total by the end of the year.
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