I started the weekend chasing after an EASTERN PHOEBE that had been reported in Oceanside, the far northwest corner of San Diego County. It turned out to be amazingly easy to find due to the great details posted by Steve who originally found the bird. From there I headed over to Guajome Regional Park where I found a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the trees around one of the pond.
Around eastern Point Loma on Sunday morning I had a wonderful morning of birding while finding previously reported rarities. It started before I could even get the car into park as I saw the BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER at a Red Hot Poker plant. It flew up into the yard where there are more of the same plants but in 30 minutes of hoping it never did return down to the street.
One block over I ran into Steve and Bruce who helped me finish off the "Black-throated Slam" by seeing one BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER and one BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER each. Also seen were both of the TENNESSEE WARBLERS that have been in the area, easily distinguished by one being much dirtier than the other. Things really quieted down quite a bit when the raptor parade started. First two RED-TAILED HAWKS circled overhead and then a PEREGRINE FALCON slowly flew through the area. Two SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS flew overhead, one much higher than the other. Not to be outdone, a MERLIN came ripping through at a much higher rate of speed than any of the other birds. I heard what I believe was the BLUE-HEADED VIREO calling but was never able to see it clearly. YELLOW-RUMPED, ORANGE-CROWNED and a WILSON'S WARBLER rounded out the warblers in the area.
In the afternoon I helped lead the San Diego Audubon tour of NWR Salt Works located in the southern end of San Diego Bay. As a group we tallied over 65 species over the 5 mile walk with my personal highlights being: a HERRING GULL, three BONAPARTE'S GULLS seen at close range, a very much in need of a molt BRANT, and a MERLIN that we spooked that was perched on the outer dyke and unseen until it took flight. Luckily we managed to stay away from the incoming storm and mostly dry except for a few sprinkles.
The place in not only great for birding but is simply fantastic history filled place. Turning sea water into salt has been going on for hundreds of years in this same place. If you have never taken one of the walks through Salt Works I highly recommend doing so. Check the San Diego Audubon web site for information on upcoming tours.
A few photos can be seen at the following link:
http://finatic.smugmug.com/BlogPostings/Jan-29-30-2011-Weekend/15703759_4rpVt#1177005605_jAXTB
