Date: 4/8/26 10:53 am From: Nick Lethaby via groups.io <nlethaby...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Painted Cave migrant spot
All,
Today I drove up close to Painted Cave to check out a spot Brad Hacker showed me a few years ago for observing the morning flight. This location is much more convenient for folks based in Santa Barbara than Refugio Canyon and has similar easy access. The location is here:
Obviously you move up and down the road a couple of hundred yards each way as migrants come up on a broad front.
The winds were very marginal today but since Refugio had poor winds as well, I decided to give Painted Cave a shot. The number of up-slope migrants was very low but in just over an hour, I had a couple of Nashvilles, 5 Lazuli Buntings and heard only Hammond's Flycatcher and Cassin's Vireo, along with lots of Yellow-rumpeds. I have heard Hammond's Flycatchers on both my visits here so it seems like a better area than Refugio Canyon for that species.
Nick Lethaby Goleta, CA <nlethaby...> +1 805 284 6200
