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Monthly Archives: August 2025

Hot Spots for eBird’s first week of Sept: Monday Sept 1 – Sunday Sept 7

11:41 am

Greetings

So far 32 of the 39 listed hot spots have been visited this week. Most of the non-visited hot spots are located in the desert area. Next week starting tomorrow 4 Hot spots (highlighted in red) only need a checklist and they will have at least one checklist for each week of the year. 
Hot Spots
Anza-Borrego Desert SP–Culp Valley CC & Pena Springs
Anza-Borrego Desert SP–Yaqui Well
Birch Aquarium
Borrego Springs–Mesquite Bosque
Camino Ruiz Park
Chollas Creek–Euclid Ave to 54th St
Colina del Sol Park
Collier Park (Ramona)
Crestridge Ecological Reserve–Horsemill Rd. access – 1
El Capitan Reservoir – 1
Encinitas Community Park – 1
Encinitas Viewpoint Park
Future Veteran’s Memorial Park
Grand Caribe Shoreline Park
Henshaw Scenic Vista
Hilleary Park
Hillside Community Park
Kimball Park
Laguna Mtns.–Pine Creek Rd. near S1
Legoland California
Little La Jolla Canyon
Manzanita Canyon
Mira Sorrento Stream
North El Portal Seawatch
Oak Riparian Park
Palomar Mtn.–Silvercrest Picnic Area and Trail
Pamo Valley
Paradise Canyon Open Space
Raptor Ridge Trail
Rueda Canyon East (Tierrasanta)
San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area–North
San Luis Rey River–I-5 to Benet
San Pasqual Battlefield
Santa Ysabel Mission
Santa Ysabel OSP–west
Siempre Viva Rd. pond
Sweetwater County Park–Quarry Trail
Sycamore Canyon County Preserve–Hwy 67 entrance
UCSD–Salk Institute Area
West Shepherd Canyon – 1
John Bruin
Bay Park

Juvie Scott’s Oriole at BBG

9:51 am

Brief encounter but it had a pretty obvious dusky head, it was hanging out with a couple juvie Hooded Orioles. I’ll see if I can pick it back up in the time I’m here.
 
Andrew Newmark
Chula Vista, CA 

Baird’s sandpiper Border Field State Park 8-28-25

3:03 pm

This morning around 8:20, I had a juv Baird’s sandpiper among a roosting flock of snowy plovers, sanderlings, and semipalmated plovers a few hundred yards NW of the beach parking lot at Border Field (south of the horse trail and SW of the biggest dune).  Most birds were flushed by a raptor, then again by Border Patrol vehicles, with the Baird’s last seen/heard giving its distinctive trill call and flying low along the beach crest to the south, possibly settling with other peeps SW of the parking lot and north of the border.
Robert Patton
San Diego, CA

pelagic trip yesterday: Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, interesting dark-morph jaeger

3:50 pm

To add to the earlier report of what was seen on the August 23rd San Diego pelagic trip, photos of the white-rumped storm-petrel that did one straight fly-by from right to left only 11.7 miles offshore on the Nine-Mile Bank has been endorsed by multiple outside experts as a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel. At the time we thought the bird showed many characters of a Wilson’s but it did NOT show feet sticking out beyond the tail tip when it was photo’d over just a several-second interval. As it turns out, sometimes Wilson’s will tuck the feet in so that they are not visible, although if indeed the feet are showing then that is a good character. The bird DID show the correct wing shape, flight style, pale ulnar (upperwing) bar, white rump band shape, and tail shape for a Wilson’s.
Not long thereafter, at a feeding frenzy being attended by all three species of jaegers, there was a smallish dark-morph jaeger that was quite interesting. Some characters pointed to it being a potential immature (one-year-old ?) dark-morph Long-tailed, which are rare and a bit controversial as to their existence. These same outside authorities split on it being indeed a Long-tailed or best left as a Long-tailed/Parasitic. BUT in any case, any attendees on the boat taking jaeger photos at that time of the mid-afternoon (probably around 3:30-4:00+PM) feeding frenzy on the lower Nine-Mile Bank should look for any images of this dark-morph bird and make sure to attach them to their eBird list when the lists are shared sometime within the next 24 hours.
–Paul Lehman, San Diego

San Diego pelagic Aug 23: Flesh-footed Shearwater, B-f Albatrosses, Townsend’s, Cocos, Arctics, Long-taileds

5:07 am

The
San Diego pelagic trip on Saturday, August 23rd, on board “Legacy” and
sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society, took place under good sea and
weather conditions (other than a 20-minute moderate shower!). We went out past the 9-Mile Bank to the 30-Mile Bank
and The Corner. A good variety of the expected and uncommon seasonal species were found. The most unexpected find was a very rare Flesh-footed Shearwater (good looks and photos) in a flock of Pink-footeds and Sooties in the San Diego Trough, 17.3 mi WSW of tip Point
Loma. Other
highlights included three Black-footed Albatrosses on the 30-Mile Bank, Cocos Booby, plenty of white-rumped storm-petrels including at least a small number of Townsend’s, great looks at Long-tailed Jaeger and a good jaeger show overall, Arctic Terns, Red Phalaropes, and two seasonally surprising Pacific Loons. Alas, we only had a single pair of Craveri’s Murrelets seen rather poorly in flight (photo’d). We also had a single pass by an odd white-rumped storm-petrel closer inshore than normal for white-rumped birds on the Nine-Mile Bank that showed a fairly narrow, even, white tail-band and square-cut tail, but no foot projection beyond the tail, was fairly small and with a somewhat fluttery, direct flight. Photos will be sent out for comment.
Photos
of many of these highlights will appear in upcoming eBird lists, probably out on Monday. Totals for the day once we were over a mile offshore were:
Marbled Godwit  1
Whimbrel  2
Western Sandpiper  8
Red-necked Phalarope  65
Red Phalarope  7
Pomarine Jaeger  20+
Parasitic Jaeger  4
Long-tailed Jaeger  4  (3 ads. 1 juv.)
jaeger sp. 5
Craveri’s Murrelet  2
Cassin’s Auklet  1
Sabine’s Gull  24
Heermann’s Gull  12
Western Gull  500
California Gull  1
Least Tern  2
Common Tern  11
Arctic Tern  3
Elegant Tern  250
Pacific Loon  2  (basic plumage)
Black-footed Albatross  3
Leach’s (Chapman’s) Storm-Petrel  15
Leach’s (white-rumped) Storm-Petrel  3
Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  6
Leach’s/Townsend’s Storm-Petrel  25
Black Storm-Petrel  200
Sooty Shearwater  350
Pink-footed Shearwater  700
Flesh-footed Shearwater  1  (32.60, -117.54)
Black-vented Shearwater  35
Cocos Booby  2
Brandt’s Cormorant  20
Brown Pelican  200
Also: Reddish Egret, Fin & Minke Whales, N. Elephant Seal, California Flying-Fish, Mola-mola
Trips later this season still with space are on 27 Sep and 11 Oct. See sandiegopelagics.com for further information.
–Paul Lehman, Bruce Rideout, Alex Abela, Nancy Christensen, Dan King, Matt Sadowski, Patti & Sally, Paul Mulholland, San Diego

Yellow-headed Blackbird at Crown Point Mission Bay

9:45 am

Saturday August 23 at about 7:35 AM, there was an adult male Yellow-headed Blackbird in an ornamental tree in the middle of the southern parking lot on the east side of Crown Point. Approximately here: 32.78415 -117.23318. Large blackbird with all yellow head and breast, some white in folded wing and obvious white patches in wing in flight. Flew to the north and did not see it land.
 
Jeremiah Stock
Santee, CA
 

eBird Hot Spots for eBird’s 4th week of August – Friday August 22 – Sunday August 31

11:09 am

Greetings

Finishing off another pretty good week. 50 of the 59 list hot spots were visited. This week a slightly smaller list and since it is the 4th week of a month there are 10 days in the week. 5 Hot spots only need a checklist this week and they will have at least one checklist for each week of the year.
Hot Spots
Agua Hedionda Lagoon–east end
Anza-Borrego Desert SP–Culp Valley CC & Pena Springs
Barnett Ranch Preserve
Birch Aquarium
Borrego Springs–Club Circle
Borrego Springs–De Anza Country Club (private)
Borrego Springs–Old Springs Road OSP
Cardiff SB – lagoon mouth – 1
Carlsbad Premium Outlets – 1
Collier Park (Ramona)
East Penasquitos Canyon
Encinas Creek–Paseo del Lago
Encinitas Community Park
Encinitas Ranch GC–parking lot and vicinity
Encinitas Ranch GC–Paseo de las Flores and pond
Escondido Creek at El Camino del Norte
Future Veteran’s Memorial Park
Julian–Santa Ysabel Preserve
Kimball Park
La Jolla Natural Park (not LJ Cove)
Lake San Marcos
Las Verdes Park
Leo Mullen Sports Park and Trail
Manzanita Canyon
Mira Sorrento Stream
Navajo Canyon Open Space
Nestor Park & Tesoro Grove Wy. – 1
North El Portal Seawatch
Northmont Park – 1
Ocean St. Overlook
Pepper Park & Sweetwater River mouth – 1
Rancho La Costa Preserve–Denk Mountain and Copper Canyon
Raptor Ridge Trail
San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area–North
San Pasqual Battlefield
Scripps Coastal Reserve–Interpretive Trail (only open 1st Sat, 9-11)
West Shepherd Canyon
Wilderness Gardens Preserve

John Bruin
Bay Park

this Saturday’s pelagic trip ; miscellaneous shorebirds

10:49 am

On Thursday the 21st, a juvenile Surfbird on “Stint Island” (Pond 23) at the Salt Works at high tide was a fall arrival for that age-class, which are only rarely noted. The continuing adult Pacific Golden-Plover was there as well, as is typical in the large flock of Black-bellied Plovers at high tide. This is undoubtedly a returning bird from last winter, as it has already set up shop the past several days at the same favored sites it used last winter (low tide on beach on s. Silver Strand, high tide at Salt Works most often on Stint Island).
It is typically difficult to determine early arrival dates for migrant coastal Phainopeplas in fall, but a juvenile today (Aug 21) in Coronado was just that.
There is a pelagic trip on Saturday the 23rd on the “Legacy” whalewatch
boat out of Seaforth Sportfishing. The trip is full. Please arrive at the
dock to first check in at the office between 6:00-6:15AM. We will have an introductory
logistical talk at 6:30. Be aware that this is near peak of fishing
season, so there may be little to no available parking in the lot directly in
front of Seaforth, in which case you will need to park (free) on the street.
Do not park in the lots to either side that belong to other
establishments. Please factor in a tiny bit of extra time to find
parking. The boat leaves PROMPTLY at 7AM. For
further information, and to see the schedule of other available upcoming trips in late September and mid-October, see sandiegopelagics.com. The two trips in early September are sold out.
–Paul Lehman, San Diego

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