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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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Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jan 08, 2026 10:44 by Ann Stockert
- Villa Creek--Estero Bluffs State Park, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9688341&<ll...>,-120.9688341 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S293210169 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Female spotted just off shore in Estero Bay/Via Creek cove. Swimming with 3 Surf Scoters. White face with a dark cheek patch, brown wings and back, along with a smallish dark bill. Photo"
Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jan 06, 2026 12:45 by Roger Hammer
- San Luis Obispo Creek Lagoon, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.7364416&<ll...>,-120.7364416 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S293107899 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "got a good view thru nocs but not when aiming with camera; bird would be at a different angle with backlight and glare preventing good bill color rendering. shape of head, length and shape and angle of bill to forehead characteristic."
Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba) (1)
- Reported Jan 08, 2026 16:11 by Keigan Case
- Morro Rock, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8670566&<ll...>,-120.8670566 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S293204817 - Comments: "Lifer for both of us! Round head with medium length black bill. Head was dark above the bill with a light chin and neck. Eye line extending past the eye and continuing slightly down the neck at a curve. Darker on the back of the neck and dark speckly gray patch on collars. Splashed around for a bit and that's what caught my eye"
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) (1)
- Reported Jan 08, 2026 14:03 by Petra Clayton
- Tidelands Park, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8514118&<ll...>,-120.8514118 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S293217030 - Media: 1 Video, 6 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing juvenile. Today a single one was resting and briefly preening on a small Monterey Cypress by the last boat ramp.
We have been observing this species since early September. We observed one juvenile at this location in the morning of 9/6/25 and again on 9/7/25, 9/8/25, 9/12/25 and 9/18/25. We observed three juveniles on 9/25/25 and 9/26/25. On 10/2/25 we observed two juveniles. On 10/7/25 and 10/8/25 we observed a single juvenile here. On 10/13/25 and 10/14/25 we again observed two individuals. On 10/23/25 we saw just a single one. On 10/24/25 and 10/29/25 we saw two. After that date we only saw a single one: 11/8/25, 11/12/25, 11/14/25, 11/16/25, 11/26/25, 12/11/25, 12/16/25, 12/21/25, 12/26/25 and 1/1/26.
One juvenile was first present here on 9/4/25 and could have been the same individual reported on 9/3/25 at the Morro Bay SP Marina.
Today's juvenile had a dark, stout bill with yellow feathers at the base of the lower mandible; small white triangular spots on the covert feathers.
Click on the image below for a Flickr video, showing the juvenile preening:
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jack-petra-clayton/55031686943/in/dateposted-public/" title="Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea), juvenile, Morro Bay, CA"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/31337/55031686943_07476e6244_z.jpg" alt="Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea), juvenile, Morro Bay, CA" /></a>"
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jan 08, 2026 07:49 by Tom Edell
- 3190 South Higuera Street, Dept Motor Vehicles (35.257, -120.67), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6697514&<ll...>,-120.6697514 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S293176806 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "This bird in mostly juvenile plumage was found yesterday by Petra and Jack. When I found it feeding on the same walnut tree. Initially it was close to the base but soon moved up and to some high back branches where it was in shade. After photographing the bird I studied it with my scope. This was an immature bird with red feathers emerging on the crown but I saw no red feathers on the nape or throat. There were dark feathers across the breast and a mix of brown and black feathers along the sides of the breast and belly and there were dark streaks on the sides of the undertail coverts. The back with heavily mottled with brown, black, and white feathers. I never saw the nice white horizontal stripe on the wing that was shown in yesterdays photos."
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