MAGNOLIA WARBLER on Palomar Mountain

Hello birders! 

Yesterday/Friday morning at the Doane Valley Nature Valley trailhead on Palomar Mountain I had what is believed (by greater minds than mine!) to be a MAGNOLIA WARBLER.  Paul Lehman and Sue Smith suggested the ID and Paul ferried my pics around a bit and Guy, Phil and Barb are thinking the same thing.

It is worn, disheveled, molting and tail-less ~ the idea being that it may stick around awhile until it completes its molt. Paul says that a mid-late summer Magnolia Warbler in California is quite exceptional! Apparently there have been a few mid-July reports from San Francisco and Mono Lake.

We spotted it from the SW corner of the Doane Pond parking lot here: 33.341455, -116.901545  It was foraging quite actively in the middle canopies of the willows and the other taller deciduous trees captured in my pics. Rob and I watched it never stray far from there from about 7:30 – 8am while I frantically took 82 terrible photos. 

Here's my eBird report with field notes and pics:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S71780927

And here's a link to the same pics, just bigger and save-able:

https://kellevemerry.smugmug.com/Bird-Ramblings-Folder/Birds/Magnolia-Warbler-Doane-Pond-July-2020/

~Eve 
~~~~~~~~~~~
Eve Martin
Del Mar, California
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports