Date: 2/11/25 9:30 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] wintering Solitaries, westerly Ladder-backeds
After posting yesterday about the TWO wintering Solitary Sandpipers near Whelan Lake and musing about whether there have ever been previous multiple Solitaries at the same site in WINTER in California, I quickly heard from a couple folks that only just the day before--on the 9th--two Solitaries were discovered together in w. Riverside County. (I also heard from Sally Veach that her photos from the 9th at Whelan show both birds as well, moving this duo up one day earlier.) I have also heard from Jim Pike that the first bird, with the more even wing spotting and blacker primaries, should be a recently molted adult, whereas the bird with more worn coverts and fewer spots, along with browner primaries, should be a non-molted first-cycle bird. This does jibe with where the birds were hanging out, as the adult-like bird was mostly in the exact stretch that the individual has especially frequented now for two winters (= now an adult).
Very interesting reports the past week of two different Ladder-backed Woodpecker-looking birds WELL to the west of that species' normal range. The first bird was a male found 4 Feb at "West Sycamore" near Poway by Millie & Peter Thomas. The second was a female reported on 8 Feb via iNaturalist near Silverwood Lake, only a few miles away to the east.
Photos of these birds can be seen at:West Sycamore: https://ebird.org/checklist/S211991977Silverwood Lake: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/261100540
The main question here is whether these birds are pure Ladder-backeds or possible hybrid Ladder-backed X Nuttall's, which are fairly frequently encountered where the ranges of the two species abut (e.g., Palm Springs area, probably in eastern San Diego Co.). Several knowledgeable folks who have looked at the photos generally concur with the pure Ladder-backed ID but some are still slightly concerned about the possibility of a hybrid (more the male bird from West Sycamore).
Anyway, westerly Ladder-backeds have also been recorded from extreme northern San Diego County near Aguanga (in Riverside Co.) and near Warner Springs. These latest two sightings are even slightly farther west. There are also coastal slope records of Ladder-backeds from the San Bernardino Valley and from the vic. San Gabriel Valley.
Perhaps someone might be interested in doing further exploration in the general area where these recent two birds were found in San Diego County??
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
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