Date: 1/25/25 10:58 am From: James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444...> Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] swallows, falcons, and such
Yesterday, an apparent pair of Peregrine Falcons was perched atop adjacent electrical towers to the south of LeBard Park in Huntington Beach. The largest of the two was also the palest blue, which isn't what I expected, although photos of copulating pairs suggest the female isn't always the darkest of the two. Five swallows (Trees and Barns) flew through the area, following the three Barns I observed on 20 Jan at Bolsa Chica. Given that Barns were seen near Seattle on 19 Jan and Vancouver on 10 Jan, I expect the flock of 50 Barns and Trees I saw here on 1 Jan represented migrants rather than wintering birds. Early arriving Barns to the county used to regularly appear in late Feb, and, exceptionally in small numbers, in early Feb (Hamilton and Willick 1996), but that has changed. The juvenile Little Blue Heron continued to the north of the bike bridge, discernible at long distance by its extended-neck style of foraging.
