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Monthly Archives: May 2026

Re: Northern Parula – Point Loma

9:01 am

The N Parula continues in the tipus
at PLNU this morning (Monday, May 18) ~8AM. Yellow Warbler and
many other birds in the same trees.

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Sara Baase Mayers
Point Loma (San Diego)
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On 5/16/2026 11:11 AM, Alex Abela via
groups.io wrote:

La Jolla: Manx & 18,000 Sooties, 1700 pelicans

10:18 am

A seawatch at La Jolla first thing Sunday morning produced high counts of 18,000 Sooty Shearwaters and 1700 Brown Pelicans. The shearwaters were all streaming south for the first 90 minutes (6:00-7:30AM) but then dried up. The pelicans were mostly standing on the cliffs and the rocks in front of seawatch and were the most I’d ever seen all at once there. And like the shearwaters, their numbers thinned as the morning wore on. A single Manx Shearwater flew by after all the Sooties had cleared out–the only black-and-white shearwater seen today. One Pomarine and two Parasitic Jaegers. Still good numbers of mostly one-year-old Heermann’s Gulls (180) with now several adults present as well, perhaps early-arriving failed breeders from the south?
By the way, 18,000 Sooty Shearwaters would have been nothing back in the 1970s and 1980s, but major declines in this species (and in Short-tailed) since then means that the many counts of yesteryear of six digits and occasional million or more are pretty much a thing of the past in many areas.
–Paul Lehman & Jay Desgrosellier, San Diego

misc. rarities the past week; and my annual Ring-billed Gull plea

2:40 pm

Some miscellaneous rarities or late species I’ve seen over the past week, none quite at the high excitement level worthy of a post to the listserv, include:
A late Least Sandpiper at Jacumba on 10 May is the second-latest record of a spring migrant in the county, with one later record from late May at the Salt Works years ago.
A late-lingering, presumed wintering Tropical Kingbird was along the north side of the main Dairy Mart Pond on 13 May. There are a small number of even later records in May and even into the beginning of June of wintering birds in California.
A singing Black-and-white Warbler at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery on 12 May, first found by Nick Thorpe.
In addition to the returning territorial male Indigo Bunting at Lake Hodges for its second year, there have been two migrant males out on Point Loma: 12 May in residential Point Loma and 14 May at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
A late “Gambel’s” White-crowned Sparrow was at Coronado Cays on 13 May.
A late Green-tailed Towhee was at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery on 16 May.
There are still 7+ Bonaparte’s Gulls hanging out north of Pond 23 at the Salt Works, and we’ll see if any of them try to summer. The last lingering immature American Herring Gull I saw was on the 7th. And here is a good place to mention one of my annual pet peeves: the over-reporting of late-spring and summer Ring-billed Gulls!  Reports keep trickling in every year from May-July from places where they would be very rare but where young California Gulls are routine. The last Ring-billed I’ve seen this spring was at the very beginning of the month (but not since) at EastLake, where one occasionally summers. I have now seen zero at J Street in Chula Vista this entire month, where there are hundreds of Californias, nor at the San Diego River mouth. Probably the best place to look for summering Ring-billeds is at inland lakes and at parks with ponds and lawns where people feed the ducks (but where there are also Californias)….
–Paul Lehman, San Diego

Calliope – PLNU

2:33 pm

There was a rather late male Calliope Hummingbird this morning (5/16/26) about 50 yards east of the the main entrance at Point Loma Nazarene University.
 
Gary Grantham
Scripps Ranch

Northern Parula – Point Loma

11:11 am

This morning there was a singing male NORTHERN PARULA at Point Loma Nazarene University. The bird was in the small cluster of tipu trees near the main singing hall.

Approx:

(32.7177571, -117.2498247)

Alex Abela
Escondido, CA

California Bird Atlas update, Big Weekend, 10,000 hours, and more

6:51 am

Hello Atlasers!

San Diego, we’re crushing it! As of this morning (16 May), we’ve reached a major milestone: 10,000 hours in the field atlasing! That effort has produced data for 71% of blocks (305 of 429) and 150 Confirmed species! 
If you haven’t checked out the Atlas Dispatch, it’s available here and features lots of great documentation and media from our active San Diego community. Quick reminder: notes and photos matter. You never know what may be a first for the state, county, or block, or an unusually early or later breeding event. Not sure what to say? This Breeding Code Commenting Guide highlights the key things to mention for each code.
One quick aside, if you’re reading this and haven’t joined the California Bird Atlas, what’s stopping you? If you’re already eBirding, you’re most of the way there. Once you join the project, it’s simply a matter of adding breeding codes to your checklist. And now is a great time to join us as parks and backyard are full of fledglings and active breeders! 
Save the date for the Big Weekend (June 4–7)! 
The Big Weekend will focus on:
1. recruiting more atlasers (bring a friend!)
2. expanding coverage (fill in that map!)
3. spreading the word (share your discoveries!)
Host an event for the Big Weekend! A number of atlas-themed field trips are being planned throughout the state, but even unofficial outings can be included in our calendar. Consider:
Organizing a “birds & beers” meet-up to discuss atlasing
Lead an owl prowl in your neighborhood to build up our nocturnal effort 
Plan an atlas-focused trip to a remote corner of the county (or beyond!) 
Let us know what you’re planning and we can help spread the word.
If you have a birding buddy who is not using the atlas, encourage them to do so, and show them how easy it Is to contribute to the growing wealth of knowledge we’ve built in the last 5 months.
We’ve got some new tools to share soon, but for now, this tool, which combines the effort map with the hotspot map, is an easy way to identify areas in need of coverage. The May mini-challenge is to add effort to new blocks. A quick glance at the map suggests two key areas in need of coverage (multiple consecutive blocks with no Confirmed species):
1. the area bounded by roughly Rainbow, Escondido, Lake Henshaw, and Palomar Mountain.
2. the area between Otay Lakes and Jacumba 
We still have 4.5 years to go, but now is a great time to do some pioneer atlasing in these areas! Find a trail or a city park, or even a short stop between home and your main destination for the day, and atlas your heart out! 
You don’t need to travel far to make an impact. One effective strategy is to look at species maps and target missing Confirmed blocks near home. For example, Black Phoebe is often straightforward to confirm by watching for food carries and readily nests on sheltered spaces in public park buildings. A few examples of blocks in need of Black Phoebe confirmation:
Del Mar CE (Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve)
La Jolla Oe W CE (Calumet Park?)
Point Loma Oe W NE (much of PLNU falls in this block). 
Consider building a target list of yet-to-be-Confirmed species for your home block and spend extra time watching those species on your next outing. 
Thanks for your incredible work so far. Happy atlasing!
Justyn Stahl (North Park)
Review Coordinator, California Bird Atlas (CBA)

Hotspots for eBird bar charts May 15 – 21

10:04 pm

Greetings,
The stats for this past week were a little unusual – 3 times as many “gap” hotspots as hotspots from the main list. I think this is likely due to a combination of coincidence, geographic distribution, and higher than average weeks remaining counts.
Overall a good week, with a majority of the locations being visited.
Hotspots nearing bar chart completion:

Sweetwater Park – 6
La Costa Canyon Park – 7
San Luis Rey River–Foussat to Douglas – 8
San Marcos Creek – 9
San Bernardo Valley–east of I-15 – 10
Pine Valley Creek (SD Co.) – 11
Tide Beach Park – 11
Appleton Preserve, Fallbrook, CA – 12
Lake View Park – 12
Warwick Ave riparian – 12

Hotspots with 3+ week bar chart gaps:

Ross Lake
Leon Avenue & Berry Park
Camp Pendleton–Macs Road Ponds (restricted access)
Zuniga Jetty
Borrego Springs–NW residential
Aztec Park
Gillespie Field (restricted access)
stakeout Eastern Phoebe, City Heights (2020–24)
W 16th St at Cleveland Ave
Anza-Borrego Desert SP–Big Spring
Las Posas Pond and adjacent coastal sage
Anza-Borrego Desert SP–Bill Kenyon Overlook Trail
Otay Valley Regional Park–Heart Pond Trails
San Dieguito Sports Complex
Carmel Mountain Ranch Community Park
stakeout Abert’s Towhees, San Diego Co. (2024–2026)
Montgomery-Waller Park
La Costa Ranch
Ramona Oaks Park
Poway–Sycamore Cyn Rd at Garden Rd

Cheers,

—
Ruslan Balagansky
San Diego (Mira Mesa), CA

Black and white warbler and indigo bunting

8:05 am

Tuesday morning there was a singing male black and white warbler on the east side of fort Rosecrans cemetery, first discovered by Nick Thorpe, though it kept moving around. A so-so number of migrants scattered all around the cemetery, most numerous being warbling vireo, followed by Townsend’s, Hermit, Wilson’s, pewees, and Tanager. Still two Hammond’s flycatchers, one in the northeast corner and one in the extreme Southeast corner. I then came over to the residential area along Silvergate where there is a large heavily blooming silk oak tree behind number 531 which is just north of Rosecroft, but the tree is too far from the road to identify the birds with binoculars. So you need to set up a scope on the edge of the street and stare at the tree. This morning there is a bright adult male indigo bunting feeding in the blossoms, along with a couple female lazulis and a slug of Townsends and a couple hermits and a couple warbling vireos and a couple tanagers.

Paul Lehman, San Diego 

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