Date: 5/31/26 4:20 pm From: eBird alert via groups.io <alert.ebird...> Subject: [slocobirding] [eBird Alert] San Luis Obispo County Rare Bird Alert
*** Species Summary:
- Long-tailed Duck (1 report)
- Common Goldeneye (1 report)
- Vaux's Swift (1 report)
- American Oystercatcher (8 reports)
- Lewis's Woodpecker (4 reports)
- American Redstart (2 reports)
- Northern Parula (3 reports)
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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 May 30, 2026 07:49 by Pair of Wing-Nuts
- Anchor Memorial Park, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8540039&<ll...>,-120.8540039 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349831477 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Continuing bird observed with scoped from deck adjacent to Anchor Memorial Park here - (35°22'02.0"N 120°51'14.8"W). Small white and brown diving duck was loafing on beach on the the sand spit on the west side of the harbor with 21 Surf Scoters and 1 Scaup south of Bay Sand Point here - (35°22'02.0"N 120°51'14.8"W). Long-tailed Duck in center of grainy photo just back and right of Scaup."
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 30, 2026 14:00 by Russ Namitz
- Hazard Canyon Reef (35.2896,-120.8837), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.883725&<ll...>,-120.883725 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349866556 - Media: 5 Videos, 19 Photos
- Comments: "I had some reservations about this bird, especially the extent of messy black speckling on the chest and the dark uppertail coverts. The bill lacks a dark tip and the bird appears to be in prebasic molt with the first few primaries already replaced which supports an adult bird. According to Guzzetti et al (2008), Black Oystercatchers can be sexed by the presence or absence of flecking in the eye. Extrapolating that research to AMOY, I would conclude that this is an adult female with flecking in the eye.
Using the Jehl Scale (1985) is problematic as it was based on phenotypic characteristics without genetic analysis, but it is the most conventional scoring system that we have at the moment. I tried to be conservative in my scoring and it came out at 30, right at the "cut off" for mostly AMOY.
Jehl Scale - Score Total as Follows - 42 points possible
0 - 9: Characteristic of Black Oystercatchers
10 - 29: Characteristic of Hybrids
30 - 38: Characteristic of American Oystercatchers Scale
Upper Tail Coverts
1 Black, a few white mottling
Tail
2 Basal quarter of rectrices white
Chest
3 Black chest band bordered by ragged edge on upper breast
Belly
6 Entirely white, as in palliatus
Undertail coverts
3 Mainly white
Thighs
4 Entirely white, as in palliatus
Greater Secondary Coverts (width of white edging in folded wing)
3 6-15 mm
Extent of white wing stripe
2 White markings extend to outer secondaries but not to primaries
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 31, 2026 10:35 by John Sayers
- Hazard Reef Trail, California, US (35.291, -120.881), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.881247&<ll...>,-120.881247 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S350336523 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing bird. Was just north of the reef all by itself. Waves flushed it south to rocks.Dark grey brown upper body with black neck and head. White underneath, pink legs, red bill. Orange ring around eye. See pics"
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 30, 2026 11:10 by Norman Pillsbury
- West Hazard Canyon--Montana de Oro SP, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8812916&<ll...>,-120.8812916 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349960511 - Media: 11 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing bird (Allison Webenbauer - 5.25.2026) observed resting on beach 200 yards north of Hazard Canyon Reef - about here: (35°17'29.2"N 120°52'51.3"W), Bird was loafing with large gull flock and a dozen Black Oystercatchers before the entire flock was repeatedly flushed further north by a beach walker. More details to be added."
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 30, 2026 11:10 by Pair of Wing-Nuts
- West Hazard Canyon--Montana de Oro SP, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8812916&<ll...>,-120.8812916 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349818988 - Media: 11 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing bird (Allison Webenbauer - 5.25.2026) observed resting on beach 200 yards north of Hazard Canyon Reef - about here: (35°17'29.2"N 120°52'51.3"W), Bird was loafing with large gull flock and a dozen Black Oystercatchers before the entire flock was repeatedly flushed further north by a beach walker. More details to be added."
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 27, 2026 09:10 by Petra Clayton
- West Hazard Canyon--Montana de Oro SP, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8812916&<ll...>,-120.8812916 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S348000552 - Media: 1 Video, 20 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing since 5/25/26 (Allison Webenbauer).
Black head and neck; dark spotting on white upper chest extending into the shoulder area; white belly; dark brownish back and tail; white undertail coverts; red bill with a dusky coloring on the tip of the upper mandible; dark fleck extending from the pupil into the yellow iris; pink legs.
The bird was first observed resting among Black Oystercatchers on the rocky shoreline right at the end of the trail. Then it started preening for an extended period of time and moving around in the group of Black Oystercatchers.
As noted on this eBird checklist: <a href="https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S347467638">ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S347467638</a> "It seems likely that this bird is the same individual that wintered around Jalama Beach (January 2026) in Santa Barbara County, and if so, it was apparently “accepted as American” and would thus constitute a second county record (the first being a bird that wintered in Avila Beach 10/25/1964 - 3/15/1965)."
The individual at Jalama Beach was reported between 1/2/26 and 1/30/26. It showed a dusky tip to the bill.
It was noted on this eBird checklist <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S347383713">ebird.org/checklist/S347383713</a> that the Synopsis of Color Characters in Oystercatchers (Jehl 1985, table1) resulted in a "score of 26 which would put it in the hybrid zone."
<a href="https://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jehl.txt">fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/jehl.txt</a> Click on the image below for a Flickr video, showing the American Oystercatcher preening in the company of Black Oystercatchers:
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jack-petra-clayton/55304235148/in/dateposted-public/" title="American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), Montaña de Oro, Los Osos, CA"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/31337/55304235148_4b9369ab78.jpg" alt="American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), Montaña de Oro, Los Osos, CA" /></a>"
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) (1)
- Reported May 26, 2026 14:36 by Pair of Wing-Nuts
- West Hazard Canyon--Montana de Oro SP, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8812916&<ll...>,-120.8812916 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S347482581 - Media: 11 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing bird (Allison Webenbauer - 5.25.2026) was observed about 200 yards south of trail entrance to ocean here - (35°17'15.9"N 120°52'59.6"W). Kevin Zimmer was on the bird when we arrived (thanks Kevin!). We watched the bird for 10 minutes or so foraging on reef tops washed by an incoming tide. More details to follow."
Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) (1)
- Reported May 31, 2026 13:13 by Alexander Yan
- Shell Creek Rd Lewis’ Woodpecker spot, Shandon US-CA 35.48041, -120.32895, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.328954&<ll...>,-120.328954 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S350458346 - Comments: "Continuing (Tom and Roger, 5/30). Seen very concerned with a raven standing on its hollow oak tree with suitable cavities. Repeated attempts to evict the raven was not particularly successful."
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) (1)
- Reported May 31, 2026 08:20 by Kelley Boland
- Pismo SB--Oceano Campground, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6265268&<ll...>,-120.6265268 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S350355315 - Comments: "Continuing near black plastic culvert, east side of trail, just north of Norswing entrance. Singing repeatedly, probably about 40ft off trail towards road in dense willow veg. Spent about 45 mins here (~9:45-10:30) but despite best efforts, never got a good look :("
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported May 29, 2026 09:10 by Petra Clayton
- Pismo SB--Oceano Campground, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6265268&<ll...>,-120.6265268 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349141641 - Media: 1 Audio
- Comments: "It is very hard to hear the American Redstart sing over the traffic noise and the Swainson's Thrush. --- It is singing at the following second marks: 3, 9, 16, 22, 30, 43, 52, which is corroborated by the spectrogram. ---
Recorded on east side of loop trail, going north about 200 yards from the Norswing entrance. by the black plastic culvert."
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported May 30, 2026 11:22 by Jay Carroll
- Los Osos Oaks State Reserve, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8132172&<ll...>,-120.8132172 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349712144 - Media: 2 Audio
- Comments: "Continuing, found earlier by the Tillman’s. Viewed from 35.30548° N, 120.81221° W. Small warbler, dark blue on top and yellow underneath and wing bars. Recordings of songs attached."
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported May 30, 2026 11:22 by Michael Moss
- Los Osos Oaks State Reserve, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8132172&<ll...>,-120.8132172 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349776181 - Media: 2 Audio
- Comments: "Continuing, found earlier by the Tillman’s. Viewed from 35.30548° N, 120.81221° W. Small warbler, dark blue on top and yellow underneath and wing bars. Recordings of songs attached."
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported May 30, 2026 10:24 by Pair of Wing-Nuts
- Los Osos Oaks State Reserve, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.8132172&<ll...>,-120.8132172 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S349828215 - Media: 1 Audio
- Comments: "Heard this bird singing from the east side of the creek opposite the trail where it curves to the south along the creek about here - ( 35°18'20.6"N 120°48'44.1"W). The bird stayed high in the canopy and was barely visible during my visit. Audio attached."
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