Date: 5/13/25 8:36 pm From: Philip Unitt via groups.io <unitt...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Upland Sandpiper in Warner Valley near Lake Henshaw, 13 May 2025
Dear friends,
These past two days Kim Ferree and I have been surveying forthe Tricolored Blackbird in Warner Valley near Lake Henshaw and at Mesa Grande.This morning we saw an Upland Sandpiper in the grassland about ¾ mile east ofthe current shoreline of Lake Henshaw, on the restricted lands of the VistaIrrigation District—no public access. The bird flew close over us making abrief gurgling call, then landed in the grass, quickly sinking out of sight. Weflushed it 3 times, each time seeing it briefly in flight before it landedagain and disappeared in the grass again. Then we lost track of it.The good news on the Tricolored Blackbird from Warner Valleyis that the colony at Puerta La Cruz has ~650 birds, which are spreading outover a radius of at least 1.5 miles to forage. And there are about 150 to 200in the swale just west of Hwy. 79 and north of the junction of Hwy. S2 (withmany Red-winged Blackbirds surrounding them). But at Swan Lake, which had ~3000Tricolored Blackbirds last year, we counted only 25 on Monday. At Puerta La Cruz some Tricolorswere nest-building, and their distribution among colony sites can shift evenwithin the season. Some of last year’s Swan Lake population may have relocatedto Mesa Grande, where on the order of 1000 are now in blackberry thickets and in nearby pastures onprivate ranches. At none of the colonies is there public access—probably goodfor the blackbirds. Other birds of the trip included a Vermilion Flycatcher nearthe north end of Lake Henshaw, a migrating Purple Martin near the UplandSandpiper, and Red-necked Phalaropes on three ponds.
Good birding,
Philip UnittSan Diego
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