results of san elijo monthly bird count 10 feb 2020

Thanks to 10 participants for conducting the 10 February 2020 San Elijo Lagoon monthly bird count: Steve Brad (beach/offshore, west basin, Nature Center site); Susie Hedrick, Izzy Santarsieri, Kevin Shaw (W central basin pole rd/NW of Rios); John Hardin, Patti Koger (S central basin Rios to I-5); Maryanne Bache, Jayne Lesley (S east basin El Camino to Sta Inez); Kathy Aldern (Stonebridge mesa); Robert Patton (N east basin, Escondido Cr, Cardiff Cove).

 113 species were reported.  Notable species included the continuing male Eurasian wigeon ENE of Rios Ave/SE of Manchester Ave and Ocean Cove, at least 2 continuing greater scaup SSW of Mira Costa College, and 4 violet-green swallows over the eastern mesa.  (A black-and-white warbler reported at the nature center site on 2/7 was not re-found).

 Species included:  Pacific loon, red-throated loon, loon sp., pied-billed grebe, western grebe, American white pelican, brown pelican, double-crested cormorant, Brandt’s cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, black-crowned night-heron, white-faced ibis, green-winged teal, mallard, northern pintail, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, gadwall, Eurasian wigeon, American wigeon, canvasback, ring-necked duck, lesser scaup, greater scaup, bufflehead, red-breasted merganser, ruddy duck, osprey, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, peregrine falcon, California quail, Ridgway’s rail, Virginia rail, sora, American coot, snowy plover, semipalmated plover, killdeer, black-necked stilt, American avocet, greater yellowlegs, willet, spotted sandpiper, whimbrel, long-billed curlew, marbled godwit, sanderling, western sandpiper, least sandpiper, dunlin, Heermann’s gull, ring-billed gull, California gull, herring gull, western gull, rock pigeon, Eurasian collared-dove, mourning dove, Anna’s hummingbird, Allen’s hummingbird, rufous/Allen’s hummingbird sp., belted kingfisher, Nuttall’s woodpecker, downy woodpecker, black phoebe, Say’s phoebe, Cassin’s kingbird, tree swallow, violet-green swallow, California scrub jay, American crow, common raven, bushtit, Bewick’s wren, house wren, marsh wren, ruby-crowned kinglet, blue-gray gnatcatcher, California gnatcatcher, western bluebird, hermit thrush, wrentit, northern mockingbird, California thrasher, cedar waxwing, European starling, Hutton’s vireo, orange-crowned warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, Townsend’s warbler, common yellowthroat, spotted towhee, California towhee, Belding’s savannah sparrow, migrant savannah sparrow, song sparrow, Lincoln’s sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, red-winged blackbird, western meadowlark, great-tailed grackle, house finch, lesser goldfinch, house sparrow, scaly-breasted munia.

The next San Elijo monthly bird count will be Monday 9 March 2020.  Counts are conducted by volunteers on the second Monday of each month, rain or shine.  Please spread the word or join us if you can (no RSVP required).  Meet at 7:30 am at the north end of Rios Ave in Solana Beach (north from Lomas Santa Fe Dr, west of I-5) to divide into groups to cover different subareas.  A compilation generally follows around noon at the nature center on Manchester Ave (bring your own lunch).

R.Patton

San Diego, CA
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports