Below is the tally of the 71 bird species we spotted during our Palomar Audubon walk at Dairy Mart Ponds yesterday.
Perhaps the most interesting bird was one we didn’t see. We came upon a group of young birders who had just seen–and photographed–a Green Jay. From the photo, the bird was unmistakable. However, it had escaped into the bush just before we came. When we played a recording of the bird’s call, it responded. So, it counts.
The Green Jay is only native in south Texas in the continental U.S. Our best guess was that it was an escapee from the exotic caged bird trade in Tijuana. For more information about the Green Jay, see https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Jay/overview.
Dairy Mart Rd., Apr 14, 2018 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
71 species
Cinnamon Teal X
Northern Shoveler X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Ruddy Duck X
Pied-billed Grebe X
Eared Grebe X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Black-crowned Night-Heron X
Turkey Vulture X
White-tailed Kite X
Northern Harrier X
Cooper’s Hawk X
Red-shouldered Hawk X
Red-tailed Hawk X
Common Gallinule X
American Coot X
Western Gull X
California Gull X
Caspian Tern X
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
Eurasian Collared-Dove X
Common Ground-Dove X
Mourning Dove X
Black-chinned Hummingbird X
Anna’s Hummingbird X
Rufous Hummingbird X
Allen’s Hummingbird X
Nuttall’s Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Merlin X
Western Wood-Pewee X
Pacific-slope Flycatcher X
Black Phoebe X
Cassin’s Kingbird X
Western Kingbird X
Bell’s Vireo X
Hutton’s Vireo X
Warbling Vireo X
Green Jay 1 Along the trail past the main ponds, we met a group of young–and evidently experienced–birders who had just seen a Green Jay. They had also photographed it, and it was unmistakable. Although our group did not see the jay, we played a recording of its call, and the bird responded.
American Crow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Tree Swallow X
Cliff Swallow X
Bushtit X
House Wren X
Marsh Wren X
Bewick’s Wren X
Wrentit X
European Starling X
Phainopepla X
Black-and-white Warbler 1 Black face, no yellow in front of the eye. White lines above and below its eye. Distinct black spots on its flanks. Seen creeping up a tree.
Orange-crowned Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat X
Yellow Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Black-throated Gray Warbler X
Hermit Warbler X
Fox Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
California Towhee X
Spotted Towhee X
Yellow-breasted Chat X
Black-headed Grosbeak X
Hooded Oriole X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Finch X
Lesser Goldfinch X
Lawrence’s Goldfinch X
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44603942
Leader: Jack Friery
