results of Rancho Sta Fe area CBC 1-4-20

Thanks to all who participated in yesterday’s Rancho Santa Fe area Christmas Bird Count, and special thanks to Paul Chad and Jay Desgrosellier for continuing through the afternoon with seawatches after long mornings covering other areas on foot.

Not all groups have reported in yet, but the preliminary total appears to be 187 species (+ 3 subspecies).  I apologize for any mistakes or omissions and encourage participants to post details of their sightings of notable species.  Notable species reported included 3 greater white-fronted geese continuing at Rancho Bernardo High School by Lea Squires (early morning before sports activities began); juvenile snow goose and adult Ross’ goose continuing in Fairbanks Ranch horse paddocks north of San Dieguito Rd by Phil Unitt and Thomas Stebbins, and male vermilion flycatcher on north paddock fence adjacent to Morgan Run golf course; cackling goose, least bittern, and red-breasted sapsucker at San Dieguito Reservoir by Gjon Hazard; wood ducks in Harmony Grove by Kathy Aldern, Maryanne Bache, Patti Koger, and Jane Mygatt, adjacent to Felicita Park by Nancy Christensen, Russ Christensen, and Alison Davies, and in Poway by Jack Daynes and Kirsten Winter; male Eurasian wigeon continuing NE of Rios Ave at San Elijo Lagoon by Jay Desgrosellier, common goldeneye at Miramar Lake by Bruce Rideout; hooded mergansers at SE Lake Hodges by Jackie Catino, Jim Pea, and Carrie Plarski, and in San Dieguito River Valley by Phil Unitt; 2 yellow-crowned night-heron near Del Mar Public Works and western kingbird in Crest Canyon by Jerry Bischoff, Joni Ciarletta, Carl Ebeling, Matt Fisher, Graham Gerald, Michelle Merrigan, Denise Riddle; 2 cattle egret in Poway by Jack Daynes and Kirsten Winter; zone-tailed hawk over adjacent residential area then NE Lake Hodges then Rancho Bernardo by Tracy Henchbarger, Holly and Karl Garrett, and Tim Burr; parasitic jaeger off Solana Beach by Jay Desgrosellier and off Cardiff by Robert Patton; Costa’s hummingbird in Del Dios by Jeanie Anderson, Aaron Polichar, et al., and SE Lake Hodges by Jim Pea et al.; red-naped sapsucker and mountain chickadee in Harmony Grove by Kathy Aldern, Maryanne Bache, Patti Koger, and Jane Mygatt; Cassin’s vireo during count week by Gjon Hazard in Olivenhain, plumbeous vireo in Rancho Bernardo Community Park by Chris and Supeena Adler, red-breasted nuthatches by multiple groups, canyon wren in Del Dios Highlands Reserve by Lea Squires; black-throated gray warbler along Crest Dr by Steve Cameron, Jeff Clingan, Gretchen Nell, Manolo Turner; Grace’s warbler, black-and-white warbler, and Swinhoe’s white-eye at San Diego Botanic Garden by Rita Campbell, Rob Farber, Eve Martin, Sue Smith; male American redstart and green-tailed towhee along NNE Bernardo Bay trail Lake Hodges by Terry Hurst, Charlie Jackson, Lisa Ruby; hermit warbler continuing at Torrey Hills Park and hepatic tanager on private property in Del Mar by Elizabeth Copper, Wilson’s warblers at Camino del Norte by Gjon Hazard and in Solana Beach by Jay Desgrosellier; western tanagers at San Diego Botanic Garden by Sue Smith et al., along Crest Dr. by Gretchen Nell et al., and along North Lane in the Sun Valley area of Solana Beach by Barbara Carlson, Mel Senac, and Trent Stanley; Bell’s sparrows at Elfin Forest Reserve by Steve Brad and Annie Stockley, and at Del Dios Highlands Reserve by Lea Squires; large-billed savannah sparrow in closed area NW of Rios Ave at San Elijo Lagoon by Jay Desgrosellier; northern oriole sp. in Cardiff by Jimmy McMorran and Bullock’s Oriole at Rancho Santa Fe Executive Golf Course by Mel Senac et al.

(Species apparently missed include horned grebe, brown booby, Caspian tern, glaucous-winged gull, western screech-owl, pine siskin, previously reported rarities in the area eastern phoebe, yellow warbler, Nashville warbler, Baltimore oriole).

Species included:  Greater white-fronted goose, snow goose, Ross’ goose, cackling goose, Canada goose, wood duck, gadwall, Eurasian wigeon, American wigeon, mallard, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, northern pintail, green-winged teal, canvasback, redhead, ring-necked duck, lesser scaup, surf scoter, common goldeneye, bufflehead, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, ruddy duck, California quail, red-throated, Pacific loon, common loon, pied-billed grebe, eared grebe, western grebe, Clark’s grebe, black-vented shearwater, American white pelican, brown pelican, Brandt’s cormorant, double-crested cormorant, pelagic cormorant, least bittern, great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, green heron, black-crowned night-heron, yellow-crowned night-heron, white-faced ibis, turkey vulture, osprey, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, red-shouldered hawk, zone-tailed hawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, merlin, peregrine falcon, Ridgway’s rail, Virginia rail, sora, common gallinule, American coot, black-bellied plover, snowy plover, semipalmated plover, killdeer, black-necked stilt, American avocet, spotted sandpiper, greater yellowlegs, willet, whimbrel, long-billed curlew, marbled godwit, black turnstone, sanderling, western sandpiper, least sandpiper, dunlin, long-billed dowitcher, Wilson’s snipe, Bonaparte’s gull, Heermann’s gull, ring-billed gull, California gull, herring gull, western gull, gull sp., royal tern, Forster’s tern, parasitic jaeger, rock pigeon, Eurasian collared-dove, mourning dove, greater roadrunner, barn owl, great-horned owl, white-throated swift, Anna’s hummingbird, Allen’s hummingbird, rufous/Allen’s hummingbird sp., belted kingfisher, acorn woodpecker, red-naped sapsucker, red-breasted sapsucker, Nuttall’s woodpecker, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, black phoebe, Say’s phoebe, vermilion flycatcher, Cassin’s kingbird, western kingbird, loggerhead shrike, Cassin’s vireo (count week), plumbeous vireo, Hutton’s vireo, western scrub jay, American crow, common raven, horned lark, tree swallow, northern rough-winged swallow, swallow sp., mountain chickadee, oak titmouse, bushtit, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, cactus wren, rock wren, canyon wren, Bewick’s wren, house wren, marsh wren, Swinhoe’s white-eye (introduced), ruby-crowned kinglet, blue-gray gnatcatcher, California gnatcatcher, western bluebird, hermit thrush, American robin, wrentit, northern mockingbird, California thrasher, European starling, American pipit, cedar waxwing, phainopepla, orange-crowned warbler, yellow-rumped (myrtle) warbler, yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler, black-throated gray warbler, Townsend’s warbler, hermit warbler, Grace’s warbler, black-and-white warbler, American redstart, common yellowthroat, Wilson’s warbler, hepatic tanager, western tanager, green-tailed towhee, spotted towhee, California towhee, rufous-crowned sparrow, chipping sparrow, lark sparrow, Bell’s sparrow, savannah sparrow (western migrant subsp.), Belding’s savannah sparrow, large-billed savannah sparrow, fox sparrow, song sparrow, Lincoln’s sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, dark-eyed (Oregon) junco, red-winged blackbird, western meadowlark, Brewer’s blackbird, great-tailed grackle, brown-headed cowbird, Bullock’s oriole, house finch, lesser goldfinch, American goldfinch, house sparrow, scaly-breasted munia.
Thanks again to all who participated and to all who scouted prior to the count.  Happy birding in the new year!
Robert Patton

Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports