Date: 5/16/26 2:40 pm From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] misc. rarities the past week; and my annual Ring-billed Gull plea
Some miscellaneous rarities or late species I've seen over the past week, none quite at the high excitement level worthy of a post to the listserv, include:
A late Least Sandpiper at Jacumba on 10 May is the second-latest record of a spring migrant in the county, with one later record from late May at the Salt Works years ago.
A late-lingering, presumed wintering Tropical Kingbird was along the north side of the main Dairy Mart Pond on 13 May. There are a small number of even later records in May and even into the beginning of June of wintering birds in California.
A singing Black-and-white Warbler at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery on 12 May, first found by Nick Thorpe.
In addition to the returning territorial male Indigo Bunting at Lake Hodges for its second year, there have been two migrant males out on Point Loma: 12 May in residential Point Loma and 14 May at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
A late "Gambel's" White-crowned Sparrow was at Coronado Cays on 13 May.
A late Green-tailed Towhee was at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery on 16 May.
There are still 7+ Bonaparte's Gulls hanging out north of Pond 23 at the Salt Works, and we'll see if any of them try to summer. The last lingering immature American Herring Gull I saw was on the 7th. And here is a good place to mention one of my annual pet peeves: the over-reporting of late-spring and summer Ring-billed Gulls! Reports keep trickling in every year from May-July from places where they would be very rare but where young California Gulls are routine. The last Ring-billed I've seen this spring was at the very beginning of the month (but not since) at EastLake, where one occasionally summers. I have now seen zero at J Street in Chula Vista this entire month, where there are hundreds of Californias, nor at the San Diego River mouth. Probably the best place to look for summering Ring-billeds is at inland lakes and at parks with ponds and lawns where people feed the ducks (but where there are also Californias)....
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
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