Date: 8/18/25 11:34 am From: eBird alert via groups.io <alert.ebird...> Subject: [slocobirding] [eBird Alert] San Luis Obispo County Rare Bird Alert
*** Species Summary:
- King Eider (4 reports)
- Allen's Hummingbird (1 report)
- American Redstart (1 report)
- Northern Parula (1 report)
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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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King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) (1)
- Reported Aug 17, 2025 15:13 by The Spotting Twohees
- Morro Bay SP--Marina/Boardwalk Trail, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8418006&<ll...>,-120.8418006 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S267976065 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "See photo. Brown diving duck with its distinctive bill shape, unlike the more straight off corners for common eider. Swims quickly and stay low and occasionally does the wing flap thing on the water. First seem around the channel of the marsh area outside the marina broad walk before it quickly swam towards the oyster farms."
King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) (1)
- Reported Aug 17, 2025 15:13 by Alexander Yan
- Morro Bay SP--Marina/Boardwalk Trail, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8418006&<ll...>,-120.8418006 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S267966004 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "See photo. Large brown diving duck with its distinctive bill shape, unlike the more straight off corners for common eider. Swims quickly and stay low and occasionally does the wing flap thing on the water. First seem around the channel of the marsh area outside the marina broad walk before it quickly swam towards the oyster farms, then moved towards Los Osos."
King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) (1)
- Reported Aug 17, 2025 19:28 by Anonymous eBirder
- Pasadena Park Beach, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8440733&<ll...>,-120.8440733 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S267981510 - Media: 5 Photos
- Comments: "*NOTE: I'm starting to doubt this ID as a King Eider. Personally, leaning toward Common Eider. The head shape, bill shape, and general coloration makes me reconsider this ID. I'll just wait, though. My pics aren't conclusive, but others have far more detail...
Continuing lumpy-headed female found by A.Y. By the time we arrived to the Marina Boardwalk the duck had swam southwesterly, so we drove to Pasadena Park, where I said, “If I were an eider I’d go to the platform area.” I started scanning and spotted a buff-brown duck preening atop some kind of floating scaffolding by some poles. Some other birders, from their position between a few homes to the north, also spotted the eider. The duck was about thirty yards east of a main platform out in the bay, which was to our northwest. The bulky bird was buffy-brown with a smallish black bill and thick neck, and had a lumpy lower forehead protrusion. The preening bird faced away from us—so we could also see a thick trailing edge of white along its tucked wings (I think—hard to tell), also revealing some of the white of its underwing patches when it flapped. Couldn’t see details like scallops or chevrons on its sides, or the smile of its bill. We eventually joined the other birders, though their vantage wasn’t much better. Distant photos."
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