oystercatcher situation at La Jolla

For a very long time (just over a full year) there has been an off-and-on adult hybrid/American Oystercatcher at La Jolla, which “scores” (Jehl Scale) close to the division between hybrid and countable American but falls just a short ways onto the hybrid side of the ledger. In just the past few days, an additional bird has appeared on the scene, first when multiple such birds were reported to eBird on 5 August, and then when clearly an immature bird was photo’d on 12 August. This imm. has clear pale (dull buffy) edging to the wing coverts and, most obviously, a dark tip to the bill. So…..what is now needed is for folks to obtain a series of photos of the new bird(s) in flight, clearly showing the rump area and both the spread upperwing and underwing. Then, we can try to “score” it.

–Paul Lehman, San Diego