Hello everyone,

We had 32 birders join us for the walk at the San Elijo Lagoon on Saturday December 19th. The weather started off somewhat chilly but within an hour the wind had died down and the sun warmed us up. We had a good walk with a total of 76 species. Below is the list of the morning’s sightings, after making the list we saw 8 additional species on the way back to the cars which some people may have missed but are included in our total count. The birds are listed as they are found on the Palomar Audubon Society checklist.

Dave Cowan

Swans, Geese, & Ducks
Gadwall
American Widgeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck

Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Westerne Grebe

Pelicans
Brown Pelican

Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant

Bitterns & Herons
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret

American Vultures
Turkey Vulture

Kites, Eagles & Hawks
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

Falcons
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon

Rails, Gallinules & Coots
Ridgeway’s Rail
Sora

Plovers
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer

Stilts & Avocets
American Avocet

Sandpipers & Phalaropes
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Black Turnstone
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe

Skuas, Gulls, Terns & Skimmers
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull

Pigeons & Doves
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove

Hummingbirds
Anna’s Hummingbird
Allens’s Hummingbird

Kingfishers
Belted Kingfisher

Woodpeckers
Nuttal’s Woodpecker

Tyrant Flycatchers
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Cassin’s Kingbird

Jays & Crows
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Common Raven

Bushtits
Bushtit

Wrens
House Wren

Kinglets & Gnatcatchers
Ruby-Corned Kinglet
California Gnatcatcher

Bluebirds, Thrushes & Allies
Hermit Thrush
Wrentit

Mockingbirds & Thrashers
Northern Mockingbird
California Thrasher

Wood Warblers
Yellow-Romped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat

Towhees & Sparrows
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-Crowned Sparrow

Finches & Alies
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch

Old World Sparrows
House Sparrow