San Diego Christmas Bird Count, preliminary results (210)

The preliminary count for the 70^th San Diego
Christmas Bird Count, held yesterday, 17 December 2022, is 210,
about average for the last 10 years. Approximately 150 participants
helped scour our circle, centered on the mouth of the Sweetwater River,
stretching north to Balboa Park, south to the Mexican border, west to Cabrillo
National Monument, and east to Sweetwater Reservoir. Weather started off cool,
with a low of 46, gradually warming to a high of 68, with skies alternating
between sunny and a thin layer of clouds. Winds occasionally ~10mph out of the
SE with no precipitation. Thanks again to all of you, and especially the San Diego
Audubon Society for logistical support and a lovely lunch!

The highlights of the count were as follows, with apologies
in advance for errors/omissions:

Snow Goose – Sweetwater Reservoir

Greater White-fronted Goose – new high count of ~175?,
total TBD (Sweetwater Reservoir, Naval Air Station North Island, Chollas
Reservoir, ?)

Cackling Goose – 12 at Sweetwater Reservoir

Eurasian Wigeon – Naval Air Station North Island

Canvasback – 45? (Sweetwater Reservoir and Tijuana Slough
NWR)

White-winged Scoter – ~3 off Silver Strand State Beach

Black Scoter – ~5 off Silver Strand State Beach

Long-tailed Duck – off Silver Strand State Beach

Costa’s Hummingbird – Chollas Creek

Rufous Hummingbird – Rohr Park (~5^th
record for the SD CBC)

Black/American Oystercatcher – An intermediate (?) bird at
Ballast Point

Pacific Golden-Plover – 2 (Naval Outlying Landing Field IB)

Stilt Sandpiper – Salt Works (2^nd record, only
previous record from 1996)

Little Stint – Salt Works (4^th record,
returning bird)

Wilson’s Phalarope – Salt Works

Wandering Tattler – Cabrillo National Monument

Lesser Yellowlegs – 2 (Salt Works)

Lesser Black-backed Gull – J St. (6^th
record)

Brown Booby – offshore

Red-footed Booby – bait barge in NW San Diego Bay (2^nd
record)

Reddish Egret – 2-3 (south San Diego Bay)

Bald Eagle – 3 (Sweetwater Reservoir)

Greater Pewee – Balboa Park

Pacific-slope Flycatcher – Harbor Island

Tropical Kingbird – Nestor Park

Plumbeous Vireo – 2 (Heritage Park, Gompers Park)

Mountain Bluebird – 57 (50 on Spooner Mesa, 7 at Sweetwater
Reservoir)

Townsend’s Solitaire – Nestor (3^rd record)

Lapland Longspur – Naval Outlying Landing Field IB (3^rd
record)

White-throated Sparrow – 2 (Pantoja Park, private yard near
Balboa Park)

Green-tailed Towhee – 2 (South McCoy Trail of Tijuana
Estuary NWR)

Baltimore Oriole – Rohr Park

Northern Waterthrush – Dairy Mart

Black-and-white Warbler – 2 (San Diego Country Club, Las
Palmas Park)

Tennessee Warbler – Dairy Mart

Nashville Warbler – 2 (Nestor Park, ?)

MacGillivray’s Warbler – San Diego Country Club

American Redstart – 2 (Coronado, Seacoast Village)

And multiple Bullock’s Orioles, Yellow, Wilson’s and Black-throated Gray warblers, and Summer Tanagers.

Exotics recorded but not included in total species count:

Burrowing Parakeet – 38 (20 near San Diego Country Club, 18 at
usual site in National City)

Swinhoe’s White-eye – 2 (Nestor Park)

American Flamingo – 2 (South San Diego Bay)

Black-throated Magpie-Jay – 3 (Tijuana River Valley)

Northern Cardinal – Tijuana River Valley

Count week birds (14-16 and 18-20 December, incomplete):

Hammond’s Flycatcher

Cassin’s Vireo

Sage Thrasher

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Hermit Warbler

Another summary to follow once all data is submitted.

Happy Holidays!

Justyn Stahl (compiler)
North Park