Date: 11/20/24 5:39 pm From: John Callender via groups.io <callender.john...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Good birding around Carpinteria
I've had several good outings in and around Carpinteria over the last few days. In general areas near the coast have been very birdy; one possibility is that the strong winds last week pushed a lot of good stuff our way.
Alerted by Jenny Slaughter and Craig Murray's report last Saturday, on Sunday morning I checked out the "police station tams" on either side of the Tee Time driving range at the Carpinteria Bluffs. Highlights were single Black-throated Gray, Yellow, Hermit, and Black-and-white Warblers, along with lots of Yellow-rumped and Townsend's Warblers and other small passerines:
On Monday morning I visited a neat spot along the eastern part of Padaro Lane, where roadside vegetation sometimes produces rarities, and a small coastal access path leads to a section of beach that can be good for shorebirds. Highlights at the beach were a Dunlin, 65 Snowy Plovers, and a high-for-the-date count of 28 Western Sandpipers:
This morning (Wednesday) I visited Carpinteria State Beach between the end of Linden Avenue and the mouth of Carpinteria Creek. The most interesting birds were singles of Short-billed Gull, American Herring Gull, and Forster's Tern, as well as 15 Elegant Terns associating with the more-expected Royal Terns.
On my way back from the beach I stopped at the Smart & Final parking lot on Linden Avenue. The tipu trees in that location and along Cactus Lane to the northeast can sometimes be good for small passerines, and that was the case today, with single Yellow and Nashville Warblers and large numbers of Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, and Orange-crowned Warblers. While birding the large tipu tree behind Rincon Brewery I heard an unusual-to-me call, which turned out to be a Swinhoe's White-eye, the first I've seen in Carpinteria:
If you'll forgive a brief plug: The Carpinteria CBC will be happening Saturday, December 14, the first day of the three-week count window. Anyone who's interested should sign up now; there are still good locations available and we could use all the help we can get. :-) See the link below for details, including a link to the signup form:
