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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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Redhead (Aythya americana) (1)
- Reported May 04, 2026 08:04 by Ann Stockert
- Oso Flaco Lake (not for beach/ocean), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6207848&<ll...>,-120.6207848 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S332674749 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Rare and irregular spring migrant/dispersal here. Ann and I were able to spot a male of this species distantly on the opposite side of the lake mid morning. This bird spent its time preening and swimming for the duration of our observation. This was a medium-sized Aythya duck that had a round, rusty red-colored head, dark black upper breast, lower neck, and dorsal feathers, pale gray mantle and sides that contrasted with the dark breast and dorsal feathers, as well as a pale bill with a dark tip. Due to the distance of the bird I was unable to see the pale band on the middle of the bill just before the dark tip. Due to the distance I was also not able to see the eye color, nor was I able to see the pale underside of the species and the dark color of the legs and feet. Our views were distant but sufficient enough to identify this individual, however we did not spend much time observing this bird after first locating it. I assume this is not the same male that was present here early last month. I believe Ann was able to obtain a few distant photos."
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) (2) CONFIRMED
- Reported Apr 30, 2026 09:00 by Roger Hammer
- Santa Rita Road--east of summit, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.7807373&<ll...>,-120.7807373 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S330065849 - Comments: "As a stopped my bike to check for fish and salamanders I saw female COME scurrying in the brushiest part of the creek and heard another one splashing to escape that didn’t emerge into the open. The location was about 5 miles up creek from bridge between the two creek crossovers instead of the slightly downstream pool where I've seen them before along with mallards. mom was making croak/grunt call in warning/alarm as it frantically realized it had been discovered and moved away."
Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) (1)
- Reported May 04, 2026 08:04 by Ann Stockert
- Oso Flaco Lake (not for beach/ocean), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6207848&<ll...>,-120.6207848 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S332674749 - Comments: "Annual spring transient at this location. As we were beginning to walk back on the boardwalk through the “island” I briefly caught sight of a small pale brown swallow flying away behind us that I suspected to be this species. My suspicions were quickly proven correct as this bird turned and flew back towards and eventually directly above us before turning away and flying over the willows north and out of sight. We waited for another 15 minutes hoping for it to reappear but we did not see it again. As mentioned previously this was a small pale swallow that exhibited a dark brown back, upper and underwings, crown, rump, and upper and underside of the tail that was a darker, colder brown than Northern Rough-winged. The sides were brown and extended up into a thick brown breast band that dribbled down onto the upper belly/lower breast from the center and horizontally bisected the pale throat and underparts and undertail coverts, which themselves contrasted strongly with the dark brown upperparts. The pale throat contrasted strongly and with the brown crown, lores, and cheek and extended around the auriculars unlike Rough-winged (similar to Manx and Black-vented Shearwater in this regard). This swallow with rather compact and broad-winged with little neck and a relatively short, only slightly forked tail. The bill was dark, broad, and triangular, though this was seen mostly from below. The eye was dark. I was not able to see this bird’s legs or feet. My views of this bird were brief, but good, and I was able to see this bird closely as it swooped ~10 feet above my head before moving on. I believe that due to the brevity of the observation, unfortunately, no photos were taken of this bird."
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