Escondido: TWO American Redstarts, TWO Pac-slope Flys.

Saturday morning, on the Escondido CBC, Brennan Mulrooney, Matt Farley, and myself are birding in the Kit Carson Park area, largely. The adult male American Redstart continues along the north side of Sand Lake, although it all also wanders a fair ways to the northeast from there. Brandon and Matt also found two different Pacific-slope Flycatchers in the park, the first one being undoubtedly a returning bird for its third or more winters but hadn't been seen yet this year; it is seen around the tennis court area, anywhere from just south of the tennis courts up to near Sand Lake, just as in previous years. The second bird is at the extreme north end of the park at the north end of the skinny extension that goes up to a fence with a no trespassing private property sign, and that's where the second bird was. I had a Western Tanager along Canyon Road nearby, which is a site that hosts this species almost every winter. Then I actually left the count circle for some brief birding on the north side of Escondido along Reidy Creek, accessed along Morning View Drive that runs between El Norte Parkway at the north end and Highway 78 at the South end. And lo and behold in the section of creek opposite the entrance to the Alta Vista apartments, which is about the midpoint of Morning View, I had another adult male American Redstart. The two redstarts are something like 6 miles apart. Up and down Reidy Creek a slug of years ago in December I had things like Black and white warbler and Plumbeous Vireo and Black throated Grays, so it's not a bad spot to check in late fall and early winter.

As of 11:00 a.m. we had not found the Black and white warbler in Kit Carson Park.

Paul Lehman, San Diego

Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports