Date: 10/5/24 6:36 pm From: Conor McMahon via groups.io <conormcmahon22...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Santa Barbara Birding - Palm Warbler, Broad-winged Hawks, etc.
Hi everyone,
This morning I birded a few spots around town.
I started off checking tipu trees at David Love Place, Pesetas Ln, and Via Diego. None of these were particularly active and I didn't find anything unusual, although I felt like activity might have been depressed by the very low and heavy fog.
Then I went up to Franceschi Park. I only recently found this small park and have only been three times so far, but it's been really nice and I think it's worth more visitation, especially in migration. There's a nice mix of several species of Eucalyptus, including some lerpy red gums near the parking area, plus lots of other exotic plants. I found a Palm Warbler in one of the red gums, and lots of other regular migrant activity.
The park is also up at ~ 800 ft elevation and has great panoramic views of the city. Twice I had groups of Broad-winged Hawks fly over - first a group of 5 around 10:40 AM, then a group of 4 at 11:40 AM. They wheeled over the park at times very close, giving nice views. I think this could be another good hawkwatch spot, especially because there's actually some decent passerine activity to watch while waiting for hawks to go over.
After that, I thought about eating lunch at Alice Keck Park, but it seemed like there was a wedding happening there. So instead I ate at Mission Creek Outflow and looked through the gull flock, which is really large right now with several hundred gulls and pelicans. I counted 73 Royal Terns, 1 Elegant Tern, and 29 Black Skimmers, plus a handful of large shorebirds.
