Hi, Birders,

What was a quiet (bird-wise) and cool day turned exciting with an unexpected sighting of an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron hanging near a couple of Black-crowned Night Herons and some long-legged waders. The tide was in so no mud flats for most of the walk. We eventually found some shorebirds and had a lesson differentiating Whimbrels from Curlews. Everybody’s clear now, right? It wasn’t until the walk back to the starting point that we found a few more birds to add to the list, some warblers and finally a redtail.

You may be interested to hear that a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron found its way to the Morro Bay marina a few days ago—the first ever for the county of San Luis Obispo. A lot of excited birders up there right now. Seeing one this week at Batiquitos and another one in Oceanside doesn’t sound so unusual after all, does it?

Thank you for your help in spotting and hearing the birds that we did find.

Corrections or additions, email me.

Sally Sanderson

Begin forwarded message:

From: ebird-checklist@cornell.edu

Subject: eBird Report – Batiquitos Lagoon, Sep 16, 2017

Date: September 17, 2017 at 2:01:37 PM PDT

To: vcwillow@aol.com

Batiquitos Lagoon, San Diego, California, US
Sep 16, 2017 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Comments:     This was  a Palomar Audubon sponsored walk.
39 species (+3 other taxa)

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  3
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  1
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)  1
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus)  1     Sub-adult
American Coot (Fulica americana)  6
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  3
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)  2
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)  3
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)  2
peep sp. (Calidris sp. (peep sp.))  40     Flying into the lagoon with outgoing tide.
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus/scolopaceus)  10
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  2
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  40
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)  2
tern sp. (Sterninae sp.)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  4
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)  6
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  2
Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)  1
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)  1
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)  7
Cassin’s Kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans)  2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)  20
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  2
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata)  1     Heard.
California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum)  1     Heard.
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  2
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  7
Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  8
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  10
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  8
Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)  8

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39234563