A group of 31 birders gathered for our semi-annual count at Guajome. The day start off with limited visibility but soon cleared to become the usual hot July day we have been experiencing. We were blessed with a family of excellent birders who had very recently moved to the Fallbrook area from New Jersey. They were calling out birds by ear or sight from everywhere while the rest of us conversed as if it were a family reunion. Anyway, in the end “we” had a total count of 53 species. Diane again had prepared a light snack for us all at the far picnic area, but birding right there was so good many did not imbibe. Both the Roadrunner and the California Thrasher were discovered there.

30 Mallard
4 Pied-billed Grebe
10 Eurasian Collared-Dove
12 Mourning Dove
1 Greater Roadrunner
6 Anna’s Hummingbird
1 Allen’s Hummingbird
12 American Coot
8 Double-crested Cormorant
3 Least Bittern
2 Green Heron
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Acorn Woodpecker
3 Downy Woodpecker
4 Nuttall’s Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
2 American Kestrel
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
1 Black Phoebe
6 Say’s Phoebe
6 Cassin’s Kingbird
5 Western Kingbird
3 Bell’s Vireo
1 California Scrub-Jay
8 American Crow
1 Common Raven
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
1 Barn Swallow
1 Cliff Swallow
5 Bushtit
2 Marsh Wren
1 Bewick’s Wren
5 California Gnatcatcher
1 Wrentit
6 Western Bluebird
1 California Thrasher
6 Northern Mockingbird
12 European Starling
19 House Finch
4 Lesser Goldfinch
8 Song Sparrow
10 California Towhee
2 Spotted Towhee
1 Yellow-breasted Chat
8 Hooded Oriole
1 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
8 Great-tailed Grackle
4 Common Yellowthroat
1 Yellow Warbler
2 Black-headed Grosbeak
3 Scaly-breasted Munia

Until next time, flying high,
Doug Walkley

Doug, four of us went on ahead of the family reunion. We saw Cinnamon Teal, Black-crowned Night Heron, and Common Gallinule at the lake.

Jack Friery

Photos by Cathie Canepa

Greater Roadrunner