Date: 1/8/26 3:01 pm From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] La Jolla seawatch interesting results
Thursday morning, after a calm start, the W/NW winds picked up at La Jolla, as forecast, producing some interesting results. I was there for 4-1/4 hours, with Paul Mulholland for 2/3 of that time, and Charley Herzfeld for a short while at the end. The one true rarity was a pure-white-rumped storm-petrel quite close in that was very likely a Leach's. And likely a nominate (northern) Leach's based on seasonality and the pure white rump. It did not have the more extensive white of a classic Townsend's, and who knows about Ainley's.... In winter, our most "likely" storm-petrels (all very rare), in descending order, are probably Ashy then Leach's then Fork-tailed. The other big surprise were the numbers of southbound birds of several species, all clearly migrating. We had 2400 southbound Pacific Loons, a species we have had in similar numbers several times before this late in the season during the first half of January, as well as 640 southbound Surf Scoters. Also 59 southbound Common Murres, which is by far the high count there during the past year, perhaps partly the result of how few days we've had with a good W/NW blow. Lastly, there were at least 440 southbound adult Heermann's Gulls, presumably birds from up and down the West Coast now beginning to return to the breeding grounds in Mexico. A few jaegers and a just a single Red Phalarope. Also still some other waterfowl on the move southbound, including American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, and Bufflehead.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
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