Hi Friends,

On Saturday August 11, fifteen determined birders walked around Santee Lakes. The weather was hot.
When we finished the hike, it was 100+degrees. We found 45 bird species. A good number for summer birding.
The best birds for the day were the Yellow-headed Blackbird and the Least Bittern. Surprisingly, both of these
birds were found by our birding mentor, Jack Friery. Here’s our bird list:

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Pied-billed Grebe
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Cassin’s Kingbird
Western Kingbird
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Bushtit
Bewick’s Wren
Western Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Phainopepla
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Western Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Hooded Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Scaly-breasted Munia

Jim Beckman,  trip leader