I birded a few spots around Goleta/Isla Vista today. The best birds were a Tropical Kingbird in a location where not previously reported this year, on the berm between Basin K and Basin L/M of Goleta

This must be the week for mistaken IDs On the Sandpoint trip last week the ID of the Prairie Falcon was in error. Visible dark axillaries & under wing coverts had been reported in the brief encounter

There may be three birds involved here. There is a bird with classic Thayer's plumage. There is a bird that I feel is definitely a hybrid based on good photos and seeing it well in the field. Joan's

Would love to hear what reasoning is behind the hybrid theory. I think the gull looks like a pretty classic Thayer's gull, though hard to be certain without seeing the primary tips better. In my

Hi Folks: Guess what? There are at least 3 individual gulls near the dam area at Lake Los Carneros that might be candidates for Thayer’s Gull, & my list posted yesterday said that I had a

I hiked Farren Road this morning. While it was a crisp, lovely morning for a hike, bird activity was not remarkable. Neither Common Ground Doves not Roadrunners deigned to be seen or heard today.

At Devereux Slough, at the southwest corner, 2 nest sites from last year were occupied this afternoon Tuesday. At one of them an adult was arranging sticks. I saw no stick carrying. To the north of

Joan, Any other pictures of the bird that show the wing-tips better and size in relation to other gulls? Of course, maybe I should go and look myself! Nick

Hi All: Today I got out birding with Libby Patten and Adrian O’Loghlen. We walked the circumference of the lake, and when we got to the area by the dam, I saw a gull that might be good for

I birded both locations this morning. I failed to turn up the Common Goldeneye again at Laguna Blanca, even though I walked to several vantage points to view as much of the lake as possible.

This morning, I birded at Lauro Reservoir in the Santa Barbara foothills and at Laguna Blanca in Hope Ranch. The male Tufted Duck continued at Lauro, and the female Common Goldeneye was present at

Mildly surprised to have a likely Allen's Hummingbird at my Buellton yard this time of year. First spotted a few days ago but inadequate views until today. Part of a continuing trend I suppose. Looks

I led an Audubon field trip to Hollister Ranch this morning. It was cold and windy all morning. It was also quite disappointing in terms of bird numbers and variety. A few birds of note were seen: 1

Yesterday was the once yearly SBAS outing to Sandpoint road, a private gated community. It was raptor day there... 3 Osprey, 2 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Northern Harrier, One White-tailed Kite, and Big

All, I had a Ross's Goose with the Canada Goose flock today. The ponds by the road are flooded and have plenty of dabbling ducks. Virtually no grebes or diving ducks. -- Nick Lethaby Goleta,

I looked for the continuing Common Goldeneye today but did not find it. However, I was looking through a scope way across to the far side of the lake where the ducks were, so could have missed it. Is

I walked around the entire perimeter of the reserve this morning. It was a lovely morning but land bird activity was quite low. In addition, the ducks numbers and variety were also down--Mostly

This morning in Santa Maria's Waller Park I located one each Hermit Warbler and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Both birds were high in the pines surrounding the Area 3 BBQ area in the center of the park.

GW Teal especially prefer very shallow water (1- 3 inches) over mud

My last visit to Jocelyn on January 5th found only seven green-winged teal compared with the thirty to forty+ I saw there regularly back in December. I can see that water levels have increased since