Hello All,

After reviewing the Glaucous Gull photos I posted today, the bird is a 1st year bird instead of a 2nd year gull. 2nd year gulls have a pale eye.

Roger Zachary
Atascadero

Hello,

I stopped by Morro Creek Mouth this afternoon around 2 p.m. and found a 2nd winter GLAUCOUS GULL. I've posted several photos of the gull.

Roger Zachary
Atascadero
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sloroger

Hi,

I teach at Cal Poly and saw an odd bird today on the grounds of my office building (47, "The Maze"). It was the size of a med.-large sparrow, and spent time on the ground as well as in trees. I didn't get good looks at it; I don't even remember whether it walked or hopped. I thought I caught sight of white outer tail feathers on a longish tail. Didn't catch tail-tip shape. The body was darkish, I'm thinking streaked brown. Most notable was its *almost entirely white head*, including the throat. The only color on the head was a black streak that reached back from the eye not quite to the back of the head. The streak wasn't regular, with even edges, like a stripe. It started small, got bigger, and then sort of fizzled out in little streaks. I didn't get a good look at its beak, unfortunately.

It was far too small for a shrike and did not have the head marking patterns of a shrike. I don't see any kind of sparrow, bunting, or longspur in my field guide that looks anything like this head. I saw the head from all angles: white, white, white. Anybody?

Johanna Rubbba
jer727@earthlink.net

I had my first Black-headed Grosbeak and first Pacific-slope Flycatcher of the year in my yard in Atascadero today. The grosbeak is lagging behind last year's exceptionally early arrival date of 3/14.

Also, a male Hooded Oriole at my feeders yesterday was (by plumage characters) probably the same male that showed up on 3/10-11, but had not been seen since the cold, rainy weather started.

All 4 wintering White-throated Sparrows are still in the yard.

Kevin J. Zimmer

Had our first Bullock's oriole in yard this morning. A gorgeous male came
in to the half oranges I had place out near some seed feeders.

What we are seeing regularly right now:

Band tailed pigeons
mourningdoves
dark eyed juncos
house finches
Calif towhees
Spotted towhees
Cal quail
Golden-crowned sparrows of all ages
White crowned sparrows of all ages
western bluebirds - getting very interested in nest boxes
Anna's hummer - one female is on nest with 2 babies in our cypress
Rufous hummer
Hermit thrush
Amer robins
kestrels
red-tailed hawks
turkey vultures
starlings - just fly-bys
crows - fly-bys
ravens
house wrens
black phoebe
say's phoebe
violet-green swallows - a few days ago
yellow-rumped warblers were here but are now missing
lesser goldfinches

In the oak grove across from us but not really in our yard:
scrub jays
steller's jays
great horned owls
red-shouldered hawks
oak titmice
chestnut backed chickadees

I think that's it for now.
Claudia Freitas in the hills of west Atascadero from which we can see the
ocean!

Mid morning I thought I heard a CASSIN'S VIREO singing high in the large oaks at campsite 18  which is in the main campground.  It took a while but I got good looks at the white spectacles and the yellow edged flanks.
 
Maggie Smith
Arroyo Grande
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slomaggie


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I thought I would pass the following along since many of us have birded out
there and some have led trips in past years.

Jim Royer
Los Osos
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi All,****

** **

We are planning events for the 18th Annual Kern River Valley Spring Nature
& Earth Day Festival (http://kern.audubon.org/KRVSNF.htm). This is
Saturday April 21st.****

** **

Would you or members of your chapter/group be interested in leading a
birding or natural history hike, demonstrations at KRP and or having a
table on the Preserve on the festival day? ****

** **

Just describe in a short e-mail to me what you would be willing to do and
we will see about putting it on the schedule and you to work making it
happen. ****

** **

With the unfortunate funding reduction for outreach and Alison’s departure
we will be having a modest festival. ****

** **

I’m sure I will be organizationally challenged so we will keep it simple.***
*

** **

We really appreciate your support for Kern River Preserve and our
continuing conservation mission.****

** **

Sandra can use help with set up and closing down and information booth,
parking.****

** **

We can use help with hikes and walks on KRP ie – migrant corner, Redtailed
hawk Overlook Trail, Nature trail. Birds, History, plants – whatever toots
your whistle.****

** **

** **

Reed Tollefson, Manager****

Audubon California-Kern River Preserve****

P.O.Box 1662****

18747 Hwy 178****

Weldon, CA 93283****

p/f 760.378.2531****

http://kern.audubon.org****

****

** **

** **


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A group of 5 Cassin's Kingbirds visited my yard this morning. While 2 have been seen here off and on all winter, this group of 5 was a high number for the year. As noted in several recent posts Spring migration is definitely underway.

It is nice to see the shorebirds beginning to show their colorful breeding plumage. Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dowitcher sp., Greater Yellowlegs, Willet and Surfbird are among the species I have noticed making these changes recently.

Link for Western Sandpiper: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaarenp/7024249477/in/photostream



Kaaren Perry
Morro Bay

Jim and I are available on the morning of Apr 2 or 3. OK to give out this email.

Chris Van Beveren
Beck Travel
565 Baywood WayLos Osos CA 93402Phone:  805 439-2023
Fax:  805 439-2042
becktravel@yahoo.com

A couple of out-of-the-area birders will be in our area Monday through
Wednesday of next week - April 2, 3 and 4, and I am not free. Is anyone
interested in taking them out to see birds for one or two half days? They
contacted me through birdingpal and I do not know them, so I cannot
say much about them except that they sound like beginning to intermediate
birders. Let me know if you are interested and I'll give them your email so
they can contact you directly.

Jim Royer
Los Osos

Kaaren Perry and I were pleased to see and hear both an adult male and female PURPLE MARTIN on the wire at the corner of Hwy 41 and San Gabriel in Atascadero. 

We also checked Whale Rock Reservoir.  Birds of note seen from Cottontail Creek Road were:   2 BALD EAGLES (1 adult and 1 sub-adult third year); 4 male and 2 female GREATER SCAUP; 2 female plumaged CANVASBACK.  Further out on Cottontail Creek Road,  we saw 3 WESTERN KINGBIRDS and heard the call of a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE.

Maggie Smith
Arroyo Grande
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slomaggie


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This morning 3/26, a female type Long-tailed Duck was seen during a brief sea watch from Old Creek Mouth and shortly after from the 24th St. parking lot. The distance and choppy seas made it impossible to determine sex or age other than it was not a winter adult male. It was with a group of Surf Scoters and one White-winged Scoter. The flock was last seen swimming north around 10 am.


Kaaren Perry
Morro Bay

The immature male HARLEQUIN DUCK continued this morning in the rocks
northwest of the Cayucos Pier. This is where is typically found when the
tide is low enough to expose rocks.



There were a few species worth mentioning at Whale Rock Reservoir this
afternoon. An adult BALD EAGLE was soaring over the hills north of the
reservoir. There is likely a nest somewhere in the area, but no first hand
reports of the location. A male and female GREATER SCAUP and two female
plumaged CANVASBACKS were on the Cottontail Creek arm. The rest of the
species recorded can be seen at:
http://ebird.org/ebird/ca/view/checklist/email?subID=S10262741 .



Tom Edell

Cayucos, CA

The YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was seen again this afternoon about 4:15 PM near the intersection of Grove and Pecho. However, it was not associated with the flowering eucalyptus, but was about 60 paces on the trail in from the road, at the edge of a thicket of coyote brush and blackberry bushes. Not long after I saw it, a group of birders lead by Eric and Ann Brooks from LA Audubon arrived "on scene" to take up the chase. They did mention seeing a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER over at the MB campground.

Jay Carroll
Los Osos

While checking on bird activity at Painted Rock on Thursday, Mar. 22, there was a flock of about 50 Lawrence's goldfinch - nothing else of note and I did not hear any grasshopper sparrows along the trail. (Painted Rock is closed now to visitors except by guided tours). Also on the 22nd. a merlin was at the MU Ranch. During a raptor survey on Friday, I saw my first Western kingbird for the season near KCL campground. A small flock of mountain bluebirds was still present further south and I had one Le Conte's thrasher singing. Raptor numbers weren't high but included one ferruginous, one prairie falcon, two Northern harrier and a number of red-tailed hawks.

Kathy Sharum
Carrizo Plain National Monument

A walk up Poly Canyon with Ken Hillers produced our first of spring WARBLING VIREO and my FOS PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS (we had at least 2 and possibly a third). Ken had heard a Pac-slope last week in the canyon. Last week Ken also had a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, a very uncommon bird anywhere on campus.

We had great looks at RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS and we saw the pair of YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIES far up-canyon, past the yellow ranch house, in two large Cypress trees west of the road.

Mike Stiles
Los Osos

Early this morning I heard a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK singing along the Santa Rosa creek bed trail in Cambria.
http://www.morrocoastaudubon.org/ncguide.htm#sarocr  


Saw my first WESTERN KINGBIRD on the coast at San Simeon Creek. 41 Brant flew by heading north.

For any birders who want to explore our great county on their own, here is the entire SLO Birding Guide:
http://www.morrocoastaudubon.org/ncguide.htm 

 
Maggie Smith
Arroyo Grande
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slomaggie


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My wife Jeanne Miller and I spotted the continuing YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT in the large eucalyptus at the end of Grove St. at Pecho Rd., Los Osos.

We looked for 30 minutes before spotting the actively feeding bird at 8:40 this morning (Friday).

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bushblog/

Bird before the rain!

Mike Bush
Los Osos

Our first of the season Bullock's Oriole (male) arrived this afternoon. Judging from the amount of time he spent at the feeder, he must have been tired and VERY hungry! Welcome back, beautiful bird!
Kathleen Kent
Paso Robles