Laguna birding

A group of us visited the Desert View Rd area (Thing Valley Rd is marked on Sunrise Hwy) this morning, Wednesday May 30, the same spot I visited on Monday. In comparison, the level of bird song was less (I arrived mid-morning on Monday), but a definite increase in Dusky Flycatcher activity. Several were perched and singing/calling today, moving around in fairly restricted areas. As we walked, we attempted to measure the distance between the singers. I believe we had at least 3 Dusky FC territories along the road, though we actually saw 4 individual birds. The spacing between singing individuals was about a quarter mile between 1 and 2, and a tenth of a mile between 2 and 3.  Cassin’s Vireos were also singing, but ranged much more erratically. We were not certain if there were two pairs or only one. We also had the Black-throated Gray Warbler singing. We only saw male(s) – possibly 2, about ¼ mile apart. The Olive-sided FC made an early appearance, but was never heard or seen after the first five minutes. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46162626

We also stopped at the Fire Info Pullout at milepost 28.5 of the Sunrise Highway. We were treated to several Purple Martins flying about. A pair of Loggerhead Shrikes and a juvenile were seen there, as well as singing Black-chinned Sparrows. Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46160062

Nancy Christensen

Ramona