Jan 13
 |
| Large-billed Savannah Sparrow |
After posting my last update I stepped outside before going
to bed and a Barn Owl flew over the backyard and called repeatedly. It has been a few weeks since I have seen one
at the house. Over the past few years up
to three would fly over the yard at any given time, and I would hear both types
of calls. It’s nice to know at least one
is still in the neighborhood.
Barn Owl
Species to Date – 162
Jan 15
 |
| Short-eared Owl |
I had a little bit of time before attending the monthly SDFO
meeting so I stopped at Famosa Slough and added one bird to my year list. Not a species I feared missing on the year
but still nice to get that tick. Most
importantly, I was out birding, not at the office behind a desk.
American Avocet
Species to Date – 163
Jan 19
 |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler |
Missing out on a reported Red-necked Grebe was not a
promising start but fortunately it wasn’t an omen for the remainder of the day,
taken up mostly by a walk I led for San Diego Audubon at the Salt Works on
south San Diego Bay. What a day! Thirty-nine people joined me on the 5-mile
walk around the outer dikes. We had
multiple Short-eared Owls and a surprise Burrowing Owl. Spotting multiple Short-eared Owls on all
three walks I’ve led thus far this winter didn’t diminish the enjoyment of watching
them again today. What a delight to see
the looks of glee on the younger birders as they saw these owls for the first
time. We also found 3 subspecies of Savannah Sparrow including the sought after Large-billed.
 |
| Harris's Hawk |
After the walk I went over to the backyard of a private
residence where a Black-throated Blue Warbler is wintering. Tt took another an hour and a half of patient waiting before the female appeared
on her usual branch and started eating from an orange.
I finished off the day with an Eastern Phoebe that had been reported
previously.
Pantoja Park, Salt Works, Mission San Diego De Alcala
Eastern Phoebe, Costa's Hummingbird, Black-throated Blue
Warbler, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Clark's
Grebe, Short-billed Dowitcher, Burrowing Owl, Short-eared Owl, Reddish Egret,
White-throated Sparrow
Species to Date – 175
Jan 20
 |
| Burrowing Owl |
Barbara C and I spent the day chasing after some wintering
birds in the higher parts of the county.
As birding often goes, we missed some of our targets but were able to
find many others. Just after sunrise in
Jacumba, we had clear skies at 24 degrees.
Yes, 24 degrees and it felt every bit that cold to this SoCal-blooded
birder. When it’s that cold I think the
“F” stands for something besides Fahrenheit.
Luckily this target was reported to be very shy but would come reliably to
a feeder at the end of a driveway so we sat and waited in the car. An hour and half later, lots of everyday birds
had emptied the feeder, we were freezing and the Evening Grosbeak had yet to
arrive. Time to move on.
As we hoped, one of the Harris’s Hawks that have made their
home in southeast San Diego County for the past few years was very near the
tree it nested in last summer. Now I was
starting to warm up a little bit.
 |
| Belted Kingfisher |
Through the Cuyamaca Mountains we added some everyday birds that
were very nice to encounter since they were our firsts of the year. We did miss the hoped-for Williamson’s
Sapsucker but had good luck with most of our targets.
Along Rangeland Road in Ramona we spotted all the usual
suspects. Best in my book was the nice
view of a male Mountain Bluebird, though some may argue that the nesting Bald
Eagle should take top prize.
Jacumba, Rancho Cuyamaca SP, Santa Ysabel Mission, Rangeland Rd, Mesa Grande Rd
Vesper Sparrow, Mountain Bluebird, Lewis's Woodpecker, Hairy
Woodpecker, Steller's Jay, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Canvasback,
Harris's Hawk, White-winged Dove, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin,
Brown-headed Cowbird, Pine Siskin, VIrginia Rail
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