miscellanea, and Jacumba

Some miscellanea from the past few days:

There's been a singing Western Tanager in the same grove of trees along Monument Road in the Tijuana River Valley now for at least 10 days (still present 29 May), acting as if it is on territory; but of course this species nests nowhere near the TRV!

Continuing Reddish Egret at various sites on south San Diego Bay is the only individual in town I've seen the past 6+ weeks. Still 3 active Yellow-cr. Night-Heron nests (plus 2 Black-cr. nests) next to the bathrooms in the I.B. Sports Park.

Late Spotted Sandpiper along Tijuana River in TRV on 27 May.

Lingering, non-breeding-type waterfowl this year seem to be in exceedingly short supply compared to the usual in late May. The only candidate I've seen the past couple weeks is a single continuing Red-breasted Merganser on south SD Bay. About 15 Eared Grebes continue at the saltworks.

Singing, territorial Swainson's Thrushes at the southern limit of the breeding range are near the Bird & Butterfly Garden in the TRV and at the refuge riparian re-veg site at the west end of Main Street in Chula Vista.

On 28 May, Barbara Carlson and I made a morning visit to Jacumba. Still good numbers of Lawrence's Goldfinches all about town, and we had an active N. Flicker nest and 2 pairs of Cassin's Kingbirds–both species at or just beyond their normal breeding range. The selection of late-May migrants included:

Western Wood-Pewee: 4

Pacific-slope Flycatcher: 1

Swainson's Thrush: 6

Cedar Waxwing: 8

Yellow Warbler: 2

Wilson's Warbler: 1

Western Tanager: 12

Black-headed Grosbeak: 6

–Paul Lehman, San Diego
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports