not photographed in California, despite seeing over 30 so far in the State
The NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH is a rare but regular spring & fall vagrant in California, very rare in winter and exceptional in summer. The primary spring movement seems to be inland (they breed as close as NE Oregon) but autumn birds are found mostly along the coast. The State likely averages 50-100/year these days. Despite these numbers, I've never photographed one in California, as they always seem to be in the shade; they remain elusive and easily spooked; and I don't use flash. I need to try to rectify this situation.
All of my California records are listed below. Those preceded by H were found or co-found by me personally; those preceded by K receive some partial credit (e.g., I was involved in sorting out i.d. of a previously discovered bird or refound a vagrant that had been thought to have left). My notes in the 1970s do not always sort out credit issues so it is possible additional birds might have been "self-found." As with many eastern vagrants, many more were seen during active rarity chasing throughout the state in younger days, and a higher percentage of records are from my local county (MTY) in recent years.
These are my personal Northern Waterthrush records:
9/22/74 Furnace Creek INYSee the family page for county abbreviations. All photos & text © 2003 Don Roberson; all rights reserved.
5/17-18/75 Furnace Creek INY
5/18/75 Deep Springs INY
5/25/75 Deep Springs INY
5/22/76 Mesquite Springs INY
5/24/76 Deep Springs INY
5/31/76 Deep Springs INY
6/18/76 Pt. Reyes (Fish Docks) MRN singing male
10/31/76 Emigrant Ranger Sta., Death Valley NM, INY
H 5/21/77 Furnace Creek INY
K 5/22-24/77 Deep Springs INY 3; 1 found by me
12/18/77 Tapia Park, Malibu LA a wintering bird that I recorded on the Malibu CBC
5/25/78 Deep Springs INY
5/25-26/79 Deep Springs INY singing male
10/26/80 Carmel R. mouth MTY
5/29/82 Deep Springs INY
5/25/86 Furnace Creek INY singing male
9/21/86 Carmel R. mouth MTY
5/23/87 nr Oasis MNO
9/14/87 Carmel R. mouth MTY
9/14/91 Carmel R. mouth MTY
10/20/91 Carmel R. mouth MTY
H 10/8/92 Asilomar pond, Pacific Grove MTY
H 8/28/94 Carmel R. mouth MTY
9/7 & 12/96 Carmel R. mouth MTY
10/4/96 Carmel R. mouth MTY
9/6/98 Carmel R. mouth MTY 2 birds
H 9/21/01 Carmel R. mouth MTY