Date: 5/28/25 9:43 am From: Florence Sanchez via groups.io <sanchezucsb11...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Recent late spring birding
I've been doing quite a lot of birding over the past couple of weeks and have nothing remarkable to report; however, there is still a lot of bird activity in our area and some locations are worth checking frequently, for a pleasant morning's birding if nothing else.
Last week, I tried to hike Farren Road but found the avocado orchards were being sprayed from a helicopter. I wanted no part of breathing whatever was contaminating the atmosphere so left before I got to the reservoir. However, I found a pretty obvious pair (male and female) of Blue Grosbeaks foraging together, and also a pair of Lazuli Buntings hanging together under the eucalyptus tree at the top of the first hill. It would be nice if we could confirm nesting at this location. A nice male Phainopepla still continues to forage around the entrance to 500 Farren Road.
As I reported last week, Atascadero Creek between Patterson and Ward Drive has a lot of birds, including singing Robins, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and Yellow Warblers. Though the Cedar Waxwing show I reported on seems to be over, other birds are feeding on the abundant berries in the myoporum bushes on the north side of the path.
On Monday, Steve Cowell, Sue Cook and I birded along the creek at the end of Coronado Drive, heading west until we reached the main path up to Ellwood Mesa, where we walked the western portion and back to the Creek. WE had rally good birding along the creek, with lots of Yellow Warblers singing, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, both Bullocks and Hooded Orioles, evidence of nesting for several species, and a nice selection of Swallows up on the Mesa. Our best find was perhaps a pair of Warbling Vireos at the end of Coronado Drive, which didn't appear until we had returned there at the end of the walk.
Today I walked around the mitigation ponds ("More Mesa Natural Area C-3") east of Patterson Avenue. Here too there was a lot of bird activity, most from birds one would expect at this time of year, including Common Yellowthroats, Orange-crowned Warblers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, etc. I also turned up a Warbling Vireo in addition to the expected Hutton's.
So my point is, as we work our way through the June doldrums along the coast, waiting until the shorebirds start to return, there are good places nearby that are worth re-checking where there's lots of bird activity and lots of nesting records to report to the Breeding Bird Database.
Florence Sanchez
