Songbird migration, McCain Valley Road

Sunday morning May 5, 2019, I drove up McCain Valley Road to Cottonwood Campground.  As I approached the campground at about 6:30 AM, I started noticing songbirds flying low over the road from east to west, flying into the steady breeze from the west.  I birded along a drainage about 1/8-mile south of Cottonwood Campground entrance and was able to identify the birds that lingered in the trees.  The drainage had a grove of large oaks and a little running water on the west side of McCain Valley Road. 

In a little over an hour I was able to identify: Western Wood-pewee; Pacific-slope and Ash-Throated Flycatchers; Warbling Vireo; Yellow, Townsend's, Hermit, and Wilson's Warblers; Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Bullock's Oriole; along with other species that are likely resident in the area.  I guesstimate that the total number of birds moving through while I was there was about 200, although I only ID'ed a percentage of them.   

Jeremiah Stock
Santee, CA
jscls@…
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports