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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 Jan 28, 2026 10:00 by Jake Hager
- Morro Bay Estuary (use more specific location(s) when possible), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8501072&<ll...>,-120.8501072 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S296794511 - Comments: "I work on the oyster farm that the well-documented female eider has been spending time on over the past few weeks. I haven’t been out on the farm during a favorable time to see the bird until this morning; as we began a harvest around 10 am (tide +5 ft) in our southernmost farm area I noticed a solitary swimming duck of a size and shape that struck me as quite different from species I usually see out there. She was among our lines maybe 60-70 feet from us, swimming in just a couple feet of water and appeared to be eating barnacles off our upright PVC posts that anchor the lines (thanks, eider friend!) I grabbed my bins I had brought and though backlit, got a decent look at the bird as she foraged among the farm for a bit; I noticed the distinctive large black bill and sloping forehead, overall brown color. I continued to monitor her periodically while working from our barge, but the tide moved out fast (~+1 ft by 1 pm) and she must have moved to deeper waters. The staff of the oyster company are stoked about the celebrity presence on the farm!"
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jan 28, 2026 10:12 by Nick & Jane
- Meadow Park--San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6606531&<ll...>,-120.6606531 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S296777518 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing wintering female in oak grove between paths—near where they converge in eastern park (but west of playground). Crawling on trunks. Black-and-white plumage patterns, sleek and small, black spots on white undertail. This is my third sighting this year. Two times it has been in this area. Photo"
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Jan 28, 2026 10:12 by Nick & Jane
- Meadow Park--San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6606531&<ll...>,-120.6606531 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S296777518 - Media: 5 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing male rediscovered by another birder though it has been around since at least spring 2025, maybe longer. I’m familiar with this bird, having seen it many times, might have been the original discoverer (and now I’m curious), and came to the park today at a slightly later hour hoping to find it amid pine needles. The bird was foraging in a park pine near a fenceline where a back yard has a citrus and bottlebrush tree—south side of park east of mid-park bridge. I’ve seen this bird in many park pines so I just have to always check when passing one—the bird doesn’t always vocalize and didn’t today. Theoretically, it doesn’t have to be in a pine but I don’t think this specific bird has been seen in anything else. It does have its own foraging pattern within pines, and can be very high, and was today, and doesn’t flycatch like a yellow-rumper, but is more methodical, working along branches and outer needles, sometimes perching for brief moments, even preening. It flew to three different pines while I was watching, including one about fifteen or twenty yards to the east, which lies close to the man-made creek/waterway. This male has a black throat, white underside and undertail coverts, thick-lined black flank streaking, grey back and nape, and otherwise has black-and-white plumage, except for its small yellow lore patches. The bird is larger and plumper than the park’s wintering black-and-white warbler, is less sleek and slender, and has a higher-contrasting, richer/cleaner overall appearance. On a quick distant glance one might think it’s an adult male Townsend’s. This has been one of my favorite regular park birds and happy to see he’s still around in the pines, where sometimes he’s the only bird. Photos"
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