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Monthly Archives: January 2025

La Jolla Cove Jan 30 & 31: alcids!

1:32 pm

I’ve led a couple of groups around La Jolla these past 2 days.
Highlight was meeting photographer Arthur Morris, whom I hadn’t seen in several years.

There was almost no wind, but the light was fantastic both days.
Surprisingly, considering the lack of wind, many birds heading south, including about 80 loons [a lot for a day this year], and a smattering of surf scoters.
Best birds were 130 Cassin’s auklets and 36 rhinoceros auklets seen yesterday.
40 Cassin’s auklets and 17 rhinoceros auklets seen today.
First alcids I’ve seen here since October.

Heermann’s gull migration has gone into full swing within just the past few days, with steady numbers of alternate-plumaged adults streaming south.
145 yesterday, 260 today.

Also yesterday, a flock of 400 Bonaparte’s gulls, which have been missing in action here all winter.

The wandering tattlers that frequented Children’s Pool in October seem to have left. I have not seen a tattler in La Jolla the first week in December.

Stan Walens, San Diego
Jan. 31, 2025; 12:55 pm

Hot Spot list for eBirds first week of February – Saturday Feb 1 – Friday Feb 7

11:57 am

Finishing up another great will all but 2 hot spots visited. This week has a longer list with 2 (red type and with a 1 after the name) that only needs a report this week and they will have at least one report for each week of the year.

Bandy Cyn. Rd. at Ysabel Creek Rd.–Trailhead
Batiquitos Lagoon–Cholla Point
Cardiff SB – lagoon mouth
Carroll Creek -west (Sorrento Valley Rd. Business parks)
Cleveland NF–Park & Ride Lot 29 and pond
Colina del Sol Park
Encinitas Community Park
Escondido Creek at El Camino del Norte
Forester Creek Trail
Hilltop Park
Keithley Preserve (Los Cielos Preserve)
Kitchen Creek Rd.–creek crossing – 1
Kitchen Creek Rd.–near I-8
Kitchen Creek Rd.–south gate
La Jolla Natural Park (not LJ Cove)
Laguna Mtns.–Pine Creek Rd. near S1
Laguna Mtns.–Upper Kitchen Creek Rd.
Legoland California
Los Penasquitos Ranch House
Manzanita Canyon
Mesa Grande Rd.
Mt. Helix Park
NASNI – O St. path, golf course (restricted access)
North El Portal Seawatch
Palomar Mtn.–Thunder Spring-Upper Doane Valley Loop
Palomar Mtn.–Weir Trail
Pepper Park & Sweetwater River mouth
Rancho La Costa Preserve–Denk Mountian and Copper Canyon
Rueda Canyon East (Tierrasanta)
San Dieguito Reservoir
San Elijo  SB & Campground
Scott Valley Park and Encinitas Creek area, Encinitas – 1
South Lake Park, San Marcos
Stevens Creek Area
Sycamore Canyon County Preserve–Hwy 67 entrance
Tijuana River Valley–west of Hollister
Let me know if you have any questions.

John Bruin
Bay Park

Record high totals, Volume II

11:31 am

Left out a few entries from yesterday’s listing of record-high or near record-high winter totals in the county to date this winter. Here they are:
Vermilion Flycatcher:  83+  The big, by-far-a-record surge was mostly between mid-Nov – Dec, with things quieting down this month
“Slate-colored” Junco (incl. cismontanus):  26  Certainly by far a record, though previous high uncertain
Summer Tanager:  45  One might think this is a new record, but it is “only” the third highest winter total, with previous, recent season totals of 65 and 71 birds!
And, in contrast, some other like-minded species are actually in decidedly low numbers this winter. For example:
White-throated Sparrow:  6   In contrast, several recent years have totals in the teens, and folks should remember the winter of 2022-2023 when we had a by-far-record 60 birds
–Paul Lehman, San Diego

all-time record highs for winter rarities; miscellanea

11:29 am

First some minor miscellanea for the past two days include continuing adult male Orchard Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole, and a new female Summer Tanager along Leon Ave. in Nestor, and a new immature male Summer Tanager and Western Tanager in Tierrasanta. Continuing Little Stint and Pacific Golden-Plover at the Salt Works.
This is a good segue into the topic of there being quite a few all-time record high counts for the winter season being set here in San Diego County for a number of very rare, rare, or scarce-but-regular species at this time of year.
Some of the rarer species totals are:
Sage Thrasher:  14  (!!) on the coastal slope, only one of these birds clearly present all winter, the rest all since Jan 10th, suggesting they are, in fact, probably mostly early northbound migrants shifting north out of Baja
Lesser Black-backed Gull:  9  a minimum, though difficult to count due to some likely duplication from different sites, but 9 during the period at Lower Otay Lake alone
Orchard Oriole:  9  including five adult males
Hepatic Tanager:  7  two pairs and three singles
And some crazy high totals for more regular-occurring scarce wintering species, December-January, almost all certainly due to better and better observer coverage, NOT due to real population increases or habitat improvement (given the opposite is true):
Bullocks Oriole:  56  (old record 47)
Nashville Warbler:  24  (ties 2nd highest; the highest is 26)
Yellow Warbler:  50  (old record 45)
Black-throated Gray Warbler:  54  (ties record)
Wilson’s Warbler:  29  (better than average but not near the record = 37)
Western Tanager:  97  (ties record)
Given that we have at least 5 weeks of the winter season still to go, there is plenty of time to get some of these totals a bit higher still!
–Paul Lehman, San Diego

La Jolla Cove, Jan 16, 2025

11:35 am

Spent about an hour at the Cove this morning in the very cold SW winds, from 7:10-8:15.
The first real winds after 3 months of doldrums here.

There was a constant flood of black-vented shearwaters, stretching from over the kelp bed all the way to the horizon.
I counted 4-5/second for almost the entire time I was there.
At 4/second, that’s about 250/minute or 15000/hour. At 5/second, that’s 300/minute or 18000/hour.
That’s in line with the maximum number I’ve seen at one time this winter, only once, a number that is substantially below the yearly mean.
All the shearwaters were heading south except for 6 that briefly headed north, so no double-counting of circling birds.

At 8:05 the wind shifted, the shearwaters headed further offshore, and the number per minute dropped to 3.

In the flock was 1 obvious Manx shearwater, 1 white-vented black-vented [white undertail coverts but no saddlebags, no ear crescent, and brownish-black plumage], and 2 of the 5 different leucistic birds I’ve seen this winter.
One of those leucistic birds so closely mimics the plumage of mottled petrel that my heart stops every time I see it.

Also heading south were 22 Pacific loons, 4 red-throated loons and 2 common loons.
This is the worst year here for loons in the 42 years I’ve been counting, and today’s count is for me a high number for an hour this season.
I’d say loon numbers are down to less than 1% of a normal year.
I have no idea if this is all due to population crash or if the birds are wintering further north, but my guess is population crash.

3 surf scoters, a pomarine jaeger and 2 parasitic jaegers. No alcids, no other tubenoses. No unusual gulls.

Stan Walens, San Diego
January 16, 2025; 11:25 a.m.

Louisiana Waterthrust

12:45 pm

First I want to apologize about the late alert.  My iPhone isn’t talking with the SanDiegoRegionalBirding group.  So that is why the alert was delayed.  I went early to Stevens Creek this morning and observed the Louisiana Waterthrush at the railed observation area.  It was at the small pool of water that has the palm fronds extending to the water’s edge.  Good but very brief looks.  It immediately returned to the safety of the palm fronds.  I saw it flitter Southward towards the block wall viewing area.  I did not see it again.  
 
Mike Wittmer
Escondido, Ca

Field trip: Mountain, Salton Sea, and Desert

7:19 pm

There are still a few spaces left in the Anza-Borrego Foundation’s “Mountain, Sea, and Desert” tour, which will be starting at the end of the month. 
It is a three-day trip, one day each at the Salton Sea, Borrego Valley, and Cuyamaca Mountains. 

*Participants will need to make their own overnight accommodations.* 
We start each day in Borrego Springs and use personal vehicles (carpooling when possible). 
It is for beginning to intermediate birders. While birds are the focus, we take time to consider other natural history aspects, including some of the events and actions that shaped and are shaping bird
habitats in these regions. 
There is a fee, which is handled through the ABF. Please see the link below for details. 

I hope to see you there. 
-Gjon

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– – –
Gjon Hazard 
Encinitas 

Two Sage Thrashers and a Vesper Sparrow – La Media Rd in Otay Mesa 1/24/2025

1:16 pm

Today around 12:40 I was surprised to see two Sage Thrashers and a Vesper Sparrow near the power box outside the driveway into the SANDAG building at the north end of La Media Road in Otay Mesa. The irrigation seems to be stuck on and there is standing water around the landscaping. There is lots of good habitat inside the airport fence so the birds may be moving around. Sage Thrashers last seen together on the ground between the two fences on the north side of the SANDAG driveway entrance.

Dan Jehl
San Diego

more on the Zoo oriole madness, and miscellanea

10:59 am

As many folks know, the incredible oriole show continues at the coral trees at the San Diego Zoo entrance/parking lot edge, as of this morning, Friday. There are five or six heavily blooming trees, so this spectacle is unlikely to end anytime soon. This morning, all birds were in two blooming trees between the meerkat and hornbill parking signs, but I gather that some folks have had some of the birds well down to the right, near the giraffe sign, which all is impossible to cover simultaneously without multiple observers. Anyway, to repeat something I posted way back at the beginning of this event: by far the best time to see the most birds is starting immediately after the first rays of morning sun strike the trees directly and then for the next up to half hour or so. If you arrive later than that, you will likely see fewer birds and miss some of the species. (One also should go on a clear morning, not when overcast.) Today, the “hot” period was 7:00-7:30 AM. As time goes on, you can watch as orioles peel out of the trees slowly but surely and head back inside the Zoo. Today’s haul were the 2 adult male Orchards, the (presumed young male) Scott’s, the young male Baltimore, two Hoodeds (one with a weak, partial black throat patch rather than the previous full black throat or no patch), five Bullock’s (3 imm males, 2 females), and four Western Tanagers. All present together in the two side-by-side trees for many minutes. Also throw in 10 Orange-crowned Warblers–a species I’ve noted to be MUCH more numerous than usual this winter, or maybe its just because I spend a lot of time checking corals, pink-flowered eucs, cape honeysuckle, and tipus!! Lastly, a surprise this morning were the total of 52 American Robins coming out of an overnight roost inside the Zoo, as they did in the four digits two years ago but unexpected currently given the decidedly poor showing of them this winter.
Also in Balboa Park this morning was another W. Tanager at Zoro Garden, yet another W. Tanager and yet another “Slate-colored” Junco (record season for them) at the International Cottages, and yet another W. Tanager and two Bullock’s Orioles along the west edge of the park.
In other recent miscellanea, there has been a recent mini-surge in the numbers of Nashville and Black-thr Gray Warblers, largely thanks to the discovery of yet more new tipu hotspots. A Red-naped Sapsucker at Sweetwater Summit Campground, a Red-breasted Sapsucker and continuing Hammond’s Flycatcher in UTC, another continuing “Slate-colored” Junco at La Jolla Colony Park, Green-tailed Towhee at Doyle Park (west edge), B-t Gray and 2 Western Tanagers in Heritage Park in Chula Vista, and private property Serra Mesa Plumbeous Vireo, Nashville, and 2 B-t Grays.
–Paul Lehman, San Diego
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