Birders,
It was a beautiful sunny, breezy and cool day, a welcome change from prior years. For many of us the Lawrence’s Goldfinches were the highlight of the day. My impression was that we didn’t see a lot of birds, they were few and far between. Exceptions were the Violet-green Swallows, Western Bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches, and house wrens who were singing away. The best birding was along the creek which is running down to at least our turn-around point. The big disappointment was not finding the Olive-sided Flycatcher.

We added only one species at the Desert View picnic area, a California Scrub-Jay. The view of the desert floor and distant Salton Sea was outstandingly clear. For your information, the sign marking the picnic area is missing and we all went sailing past the turn-off.

Happy birding,

Sally Sanderson

Laguna Mtns.–Agua Dulce Creek, San Diego, California, US
Jun 10, 2017 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling 3.0 mile(s)
Comments: This was a Palomar Audubon sponsored walk. The weather was breezy, sunny and cool. The species count seemed low and the total birds seen and heard also low.

26 species

Mountain Quail (Oreortyx pictus) 1 Heard only on hillside above creek below the Pump House.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) 2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 3
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 5 Feeding on Scarlet Bugler near Pump House.
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) 20
Nuttall’s Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) 3
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) 4
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) 1
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 6
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 4
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 25
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) 10
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 12
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) 6
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 20
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) 30
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 25
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 10
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) 4
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 4
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 2
Lawrence’s Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei) 6

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37527626