Date: 9/13/26 4:32 pm From: Paul Lehman via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [sbcobirding] the Clark's Nutcracker invasion, and what we DON'T know
The amazing numbers of Clark's Nutcrackers passing La Cumbre Peak heading westward in the AM over the past number of days is unprecedented. And there's still lots we don't know. Two basic questions: Where are these birds originating from, and are in fact the totals each day comprised of totally different birds every time, or are many of the birds returning east undetected in the PM, to be counted again during subsequent days heading west again? (I would guess that they are all new birds each day, but do we really know?) What we also don't know is where are these birds going!! Nutcrackers are incredibly rare anywhere west of Figueroa Mountain. But if everyone goes and checks only at La Cumbre Peak, then we'll never know. So.....a plea to some inquisitive folks would be to try finding them flying by in the AM farther to the west: along West Camino Cielo a mile or two west of San Marcos Pass. Farther west still near Refugio Pass. Do ANY of them make it all the way to Gaviota Peak?? Also, are ANY birds jumping over the Santa Ynez Valley to the San Rafael Mountains to the northwest and ending up at Figueroa Mountain/Ranger Peak. And then what?
It's possible none of them even make it past San Marcos Pass....although with numbers like these, that would seem very odd. But they have to end up somewhere and not just disappear into a black hole.
