I spent Saturday birding Carrizo Plains, almost entirely along Elkhorn Road. My primary objective was looking for Le Conte’s Thrashers, which had been curiously MIA on virtually all of my January–mid-

More news of first arrivals (for our property) this spring in Atascadero. Yesterday (3/29) produced a singing Warbling Vireo and the first female Bullock’s Oriole (a couple of different males have bee

A check of the traditional site at the intersection of Hwy 41 and San Gabriel Road (Atascadero) this afternoon turned up a single male Purple Martin and 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow, each represent

This afternoon (3/24), around 2:00 p.m., I was astonished to see a male Calliope Hummingbird at one of our feeders. Almost as soon as I saw the bird, it was driven off by one of the resident male Anna

As of this morning, we now have our FOS male Hooded Oriole visiting our feeders, and already skirmishing with our male Bullock’s Oriole, which arrived on Friday. Saw a Violet-green Swallow flying over

Late this afternoon (Friday, March 19) a male Bullock’s Oriole (FOS) visited our feeders multiple times — a welcome dash of color on an otherwise gloomy day. A Lincoln’s Sparrow has been visiting our

I spent today (Thursday, 2/25) birding Carrizo Plains (mostly along Soda Lake Road) and nearby Elkhorn Road. Most noteworthy were some early migrants: 1 Cassin’s Kingbird photographed along Soda Lake

My best guess is that it is a hybrid. The dorsal pattern (back, scapulars & wings) look good for Red-naped, and there are certainly more Red-naped genes being expressed in the head/facial pattern as w

At around 12:15 to 12:40 p.m. today (12/8) we had a female Varied Thrush (photographed) show briefly (2 appearances 15 minutes apart) in our backyard. This is my first record of the species on our pro

This morning (11/29), I checked out the Atascadero Sewage Ponds. Nothing super rare, although I did find 6 Phainopeplas, 1 somewhat late Cassin’s Kingbird (which could end up overwintering), and an ex

While everyone else was enjoying Jim Royer’s Field Sparrow, I was working my way through Shandon, Bitterwater Valley and out to Carrizo Plains (including Soda Lake and Elkhorn Road). The city park in

In my post from earlier today, I forgot to mention the unusual junco that Herb Elliott pointed out to Brad Schram and I at Islay Creek Campground. At the time, I told Herb that I thought the bird was

I spent the morning at Islay Creek Campground, waiting out the Streak-backed Oriole with lots of other birders. The oriole toyed with us from about 0930 on, burying itself in coffee berry and other th

This morning (Wednesday, November 4), I was stunned to see and photograph a juvenile/immature Scaly-breasted Munia at our feeders in north Atascadero. The Munia was in with a group of Lesser Goldfinch

Susan and I went to West Cuesta Ridge this morning (Thursday, 10/29) hoping to find any signs of irruptive montane species in the cypress groves up near the antennas. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us,

Today (Friday, Oct 16), Susan and I hiked the coastal side of the Morro Bay Sandspit, from the Sandspit Road parking lot north to several hundred meters north of rescue marker #6. Despite carefully pi

In the last hour (4:00 p.m., Tuesday, 10/13), we just recorded our first-of-the-fall White-throated Sparrow in our yard. Amazingly, we had 3 White-throated Sparrows arrive simultaneously – 1 very brig

I checked out Oceano Campground and Oso Flaco Lake today (Oct 9). The most unusual thing that I saw was a Red-naped/Yellow-bellied Sapsucker glimpsed head-on in the willows on the north side of Coolid

The juvenile Sabine’s Gull, first reported by "The Pair of Wing Nuts" at 0730 this morning, was still present and seemingly content at the 2nd basin from the south end of the Atascadero Wastewater Pla

In my haste to get the word out about the Common Ringed Plover, I see that I forgot one additional important field mark that distinguishes an alternate (breeding) plumage male Common Ringed from the c