Date: 8/19/26 2:16 pm From: Florence Sanchez via groups.io <sanchezucsb11...> Subject: [sbcobirding] UCSB. Beaches and Lagoon, Aug 19
I walked the UCSB beaches for the first time this season and found a large number of shorebirds on the portion of the beach north of the wooden steps at Lot 6. This is the same area where we found a Curlew Sandpiper a few years ago; until today, birding has been pretty bleak there in subsequent years. And this was in spite of some idiot on an eBike who raced up and down the full length of the beach with two barking large dogs chasing along in the surf beside him!
Anyway, I found a good variety at this spot and got an answer to question I've been asking myself: Where are the Godwits? At Coal Oil Point Reserve, I have found only individual birds with a day's total there ending in low single digits. Apparently, this portion of the beach has what they like because they were the most numerous large shorebird I found there, outnumbering Curlews, Willets, and Whimbrels.
One reason why this beach was perhaps more popular with shorebirds than it usually may be that the "low tide" this morning was not very low and the portion of the beach exposed south of the steps was pretty narrow.
On the rocks at Campus Point, I found a Black Turnstone along with expected Semi-palmated Plovers and a Willet.
The campus lagoon had nothing unexpected for this time of year except a flyover adult Ring-billed Gull, the first one I've seen this season. I also had an adult male Surf Scoter there when I first arrived. Speaking of Gulls, I had juvenile Western Gulls on the UCSB beach this morning and have been seeing individuals at COPR regularly for the past couple of weeks.
Florence Sanchez
