All, With the return of the north winds, I have checked Refugio Canyon early the last two mornings before work. Yesterday, had just a few dozen migrants through the watchpoint area, but today was prob

The bird was resting on the mud at Goleta Beach at 5 pm. Also present: Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Osprey. Hugh Ranson Santa Barbara

I decided to bird the area of the Santa Ynez River near Buellton where a Northern Parula was found on Sunday. Obviously, if that was my sole goal for the day, I should have gone to Devereux to look fo

This AM (Wed) Pam Viale and I had good views of a Grasshopper Sparrow on Farren Rd. at the location where Libby Patton reported hearing one on Mon. It was on the west side of the road along the flat s

Saw a Pied-bill Grebe mom and 5 chicks today at Bird Refuge pond. Chicks have patterned and colorful heads. Observed them from the bike path. Never saw that before! Ria Marsh East Beach

Found in the Atascadero Creek channel at 3 p.m., well upstream from the eastern viewing platform and the gas company pipes. I walked up the bike path past the gas pipes almost to the bridge over the i

I am behind on posting so please pardon the lack of timeliness on these reports. Last Friday, I birded East Camino Cielo, Starting at La Cumbre Peak a little before 7 a.m. There was a fair amount of a

A few notes from Devereux this morning: -A Northern Parula was singing in a eucalyptus grove at the bridge to nowhere (the last pullout on Slough Road before the gate). -The Neotropic Cormorant was ro

Sorry about the late post. On Saturday, I birded Triangle Pond at the west end of San Antonio Road. The Pied Billed Grebes were really vocalizing. I recorded it and it is included in this EBird checkl

On a pontoon boat with Cachuma Naturalist Kristin Loft, we covered 18 miles of eastern and central Cachuma Lake and its bays. The headlines were the species we did not see. Only one pair of Canada Gee

From 4:30-5 with Nick Lethaby we saw 7 WF Ibis and 2 RN Phalaropes and a Cattle Egret along with some ducks and egrets and riparian birds. I photo'd a Cassin's Kingbird eating a hummingbird (Alive at

I birded Alisal Road and Barka Slough yesterday (Sunday). Alisal Road was pretty much [glorious] expected birds, but it was fun to see lots of breeding activity (including Violet-green Swallow, Ash-th

I gather it's not unusual to have big groups of sooty shearwaters around here but I really enjoyed the show they put on outside Coal Oil Point yesterday afternoon. I counted about 60 in a short time s

MId-day walk along Catway from Figueroa Mountain Road, Sunday May 10. At the junction of the two roads by the gate there were about 8-10 Violet-green Swallows flying. About a mile up the Catway in a l

Checked a few coastal water bird spots this morning and saw stuff of very minor interest: Greater Scaup male in the channel north of the eastern viewing platform at Goleta Beach, at the confluence of

Thanks, Linus, for the photos. I believe the photos put the mystery to rest, that this is indeed one and the same bird that has been seen for a while now. The photos from Devereux show the mottled plu

I went for a late evening walk at Lake Los Carneros. At 7:25 I came across a resting cormorant at the east end of the lake. It soon flew to the west end and began actively fishing. It was the only cor

Of minor interest today was a singing Hermit Thrush at Kinevan Rd, upslope on the south side of the road, near the new bridge at the switchback. Not a lot of what I'd call migrants around: single sing

I had a fun time walking along the north side of the Santa Ynez River south of Buellton this morning, a location I'd never birded before. The highlight was a singing Northern Parula near (34.6083071,

Beaches around Devereaux still have a few common shorebirds: Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Willet, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Killdeer. Two Western Sandpiper were a bit of a surprise. At least nine