Date: 9/20/26 2:50 pm From: Thomas Turner via groups.io <habarimbu...> Subject: Re: [sbcobirding] Grace's Warbler at La Cumbre Peak
I was exploring up around La Cumbre today also, and it was very nice up there. I ran into a Grace’s Warbler, presumably the same one seen earlier at the peak. This was something like 90 minutes later, in some pine trees about 1 mile to the west of the peak. I was walking up a gated dirt road (location at the link below), and heard a soft, sweet chip (only one). I got on the bird and it was a male Grace’s.
While I was there, a group of 10 Pinyon Jays landed in a pine, chattered a bit, and took off flying East (towards the peak). Later, I saw a single Clark’s Nutcracker flying past La Cumbre peak, also flying East. So at least a few of our new visitors are looking around up there, and not just flying by (that was probably known already, but when I was up there a week ago, everything was going west). No sign of Evening Grosbeaks while I was there.
There was also a very birdy cluster of pines between that location and the peak, at the location below. I think there was a termite emergence or something there, because there were Pewees, an olive-sided flycatcher, bluebirds, and more all feeding on something around a living but brownish pine.
I made it down to Eling’s Park in time to get on the Sprague’s Pipit with some other birders later, so it was an excellent day.
Thomas Turner
P.S. I told some people I saw a Willow Flycatcher up at the peak, but when reviewing photos, it looks like it was just a Wood-Pewee.
> On Sep 20, 2026, at 12:29 PM, Florence Sanchez via groups.io <sanchezucsb11...> wrote:
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> Thank you Jamie. I found this warbler with Jim and Mark Bright in the pines next to the lookout. There was another warbler in the same pines that we just could not get a bead on.
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> We had modest groups of nutcrackers flying by and a few flocks of Pinyon jays were reported flying low and west as viewed from the peak and a grove of pines below and east of the peak. A large flock of Evening Grosbeaks was reported from birders down in that grove. I had a flock of about a dozen Cassin’s Finches in a tall pine west of the parking area.
> Florence Sanchez
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>> On Sep 20, 2026, at 12:14 PM, Jamie Chavez via groups.io <almiyi...> wrote:
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>> Passing along Slack RBA info to the group...
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>> --------------------
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>> From Jim Hodgson:
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>> "Grace's Warbler at the top of La Cumbre peak."
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>> From Thomas Turner:
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>> "Pinyon Jays and Grace’s Warbler just seen in pines well to the west of the peak" Google map link <https://www.google.com/maps?<q...>,-119.7234725&entry=gps&shh=CAE&lucs=,94297699,94231188,94280568,100821559,47071704,94218641,94282134,94286869,100820247,100822504&g_st=ic> >>
>> -------------------
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>> Jamie M. Chavez
>> Santa Maria, CA
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>> --
>> Jamie Chavez
>> Santa Maria, CA
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