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Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> San Luis Obispo County Rare Bird Alert. The report below shows observations of rare birds in San Luis Obispo County. View or unsubscribe to this alert at https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN36231 NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.
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Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jun 22, 2025 06:30 by Kathleen Kent
- Atascadero Lake, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6667256&<ll...>,-120.6667256 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S253172606 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "I hadn’t realized that among the photos I took of swallows at the lake, I had taken a few of what may be Vaux’s Swifts. The birds were fairly dark with a lighter gray throat and belly. The field mark that clinches this bird's ID as a VASW (pointed out by Steve Tillman, and I quote:) "is the shorter length of the secondary wing feathers on Vaux Swifts which creates a noticeable "wing-armpit-gap" between the base of the wing and where the primaries start"."
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) (1)
- Reported Jun 26, 2025 09:41 by Tom Edell
- Little Cayucos Creek Mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9039301&<ll...>,-120.9039301 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S254311162 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "I spotted this bird off the southern side of the pier while scoping the nearshore waters under an overcast sky. I noticed a smallish distant grebe with pointed crown. It appeared to be in full alternate plumage (possible adult if not a second year bird) with a dark body and yellowish splayed patch at the "ear" and reddish flanks. Long thin neck, small short bill, and high profile at rear. Distant photo."
Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jun 25, 2025 15:40 by Kaaren Perry
- Morro Creek mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8624411&<ll...>,-120.8624411 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S254123067 - Comments: "Seen briefly flying down stream low over the water. The bird had been seen perched in the sycamore on "it's" snag by another birder just prior to my arrival. Within 5 minutes I was able to seen it briefly flying downstream low over the water. Slender pale bill with yellow/orange restricted to the bill base and gular, brown underparts and long, ragged tail were seen. No photos"
Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jun 25, 2025 14:06 by Tom Edell
- Morro Creek mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8624411&<ll...>,-120.8624411 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S254109091 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing second year bird perched in usual up creek sycamore though not on the usual branch. two new emerging tail feathers getting longer, the rest of the tail feathers worn and frayed. Yellow gular patch and bill with a white outline along the bottom edge of the patch and a sharp angled gape. Present since 9 June 2025."
Neotropic Cormorant (Nannopterum brasilianum) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jun 25, 2025 09:55 by Petra Clayton
- Morro Creek mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8624411&<ll...>,-120.8624411 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S254113578 - Media: 18 Photos
- Comments: "Second year bird continuing since 6/9/25 (Tom Edell)
The bird flew in from the below the creek mouth and landed on the sycamore tree, about 100 yards up-creek from the pedestrian bridge. It preened for a while and then starting feeding in the creek below. It made its way to the pedestrian bridge by both swimming under water and flying. It continued to forage in the creek west of the bridge and then flew off, heading north up-coast.
Dark head, neck and back; a lighter mottled breast and belly; tattered tail feathers; orange gular patch with a pale border forming a V at the gape; dark supraloral area (no yellow supraloral patch as with a Double-crested Cormorant); blue eyes; yellow hooked bill with darkish culmen on the upper mandible. Although it looked like the upper mandible was flexed upwards once, cormorants do not exhibit distal rhynchokinesis. When in the water, the neck seemed bulging at times, possibly due to having swallowed prey. In flight the neck appeared to have a kink, similar to a Double-crested Cormorant.
**Birds of the World**
Microhabitat for Foraging
"Prefers shallow inshore water when feeding in coastal areas, but also reported to forage in strong surf. In fresh water, reported fishing in swift, shallow rapids of mountain streams, marshes, ponds, and power-plant cooling ponds; also fishes in shallow littoral to open waters of reservoirs.""
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