21 birders ground out 61 species of birds on a slow day at Lake Hodges. Most of us were surprised at the final tally!

Here is the list:

horned grebe
eared grebe
western grebe
Clark’s grebe
American white pelican
double crested cormorant
great blue heron
great egret
snowy egret
black crowned night heron
mallard
ruddy duck
turkey vulture
Cooper’s hawk
red-shouldered hawk
red-tailed hawk
American kestrel
peregrine falcon
American coot
dowitcher sp.
western sandpiper
spotted sandpiper
ring-billed gull
Forster’s tern
mourning dove
Anna’s hummingbird
rufous/Allen’s hummingbird
belted kingfisher
acorn woodpecker
Nuttal’s woodpecker
northern flicker
black phoebe
Say’s phoebe
Cassin’s kingbird
ruby-crowned kinglet
Bewick’s wren
house wren
northern mockingbird
California thrasher
wrentit
bushtit
oak titmouse
western scrub jay
American crow
common raven
European starling
orange-crowned warbler
black-throated gray warbler
yellow-rumped warbler
common yellowthroat
Wilson’s warbler
spotted towhee
California towhee
song sparrow
white-crowned sparrow
red-winged blackbird
great-tailed grackle
house finch
lesser goldfinch
dark-eyed junco

Hal Benham