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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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Costa's Hummingbird (Calypte costae) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 16:15 by Hunter Burggraf
- Home, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.673731&<ll...>,-120.673731 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394786982 - Comments: "Noticeably different vocalization and shorter tailed than Anna’s Hummingbird. Picked up on Merlin Sound ID for a few days in a row. Finally saw a few glints of purple in the throat. Either female or immature male."
Ridgway's Rail (Rallus obsoletus) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 09:00 by Tom Slater
- Prefumo creek mouth, Laguna Lake, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6927912&<ll...>,-120.6927912 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394713510 - Comments: "Large, longish looking rail. Cinnamon brown cheek, neck and breast. Orange and black long bill. Dark legs. Flanks were barred but not super contrasty like on a virginias rail. Body had a more uniformly brownish feel. No obvious gray cheek like on a Virginias.
Emerged from reeds on left, walked across the mud bar, paused at water’s edge, then hustled across water into reeds on the left. Encounter lasted 30 seconds. Great look."
Least Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates microsoma) (1)
- Reported Sep 19, 2026 09:15 by Bird Idiot
- Least Storm P, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-121.8600942&<ll...>,-121.8600942 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394695634 - Comments: "Seen with one other observer along side a black storm petrel. Tiny by comparison. All dark with what looked like a closed tail. Very weaving flight ..flickering... rdpecially vompared to the black that seemed smoother and more powerful."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (3)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 11:06 by Barry Langdon-Lassagne
- Clark’s Nutcracker Stakeout, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.601993&<ll...>,-120.601993 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394714094 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Large pale gray corvid with black with sand white wingpatches. Unmistakeable— so close we were able to take iPhone Photos!! Very un-shy. Mostly silent."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (3)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 11:01 by Virginia Langdon-Lassagne
- Clark’s Nutcracker Stakeout, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.601993&<ll...>,-120.601993 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394714093 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Large pale gray corvid with black and white wing patches. Unmistakeable— so close we were able to take iPhone Photos!! Very un-shy. Mostly silent."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (3)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 09:11 by James Hinshaw-Zingo
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6290937&<ll...>,-120.6290937 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394744276 - Media: 2 Videos, 3 Photos
- Comments: "Unmistakable. One was on the ground picking nuts out of pinecones. About 4 miles straight up the trail. Very very tame. You can be feet away from it and it does not care, as long as you don’t walk directly towards it."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (1)
- Reported Sep 19, 2026 10:15 by Luke Jensen
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6290937&<ll...>,-120.6290937 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394425899 - Comments: "*Very rare, seen in same location KH and crew saw it flyover this mourning at 2.8 miles up the trail in dense pine habitat, We put a line of pine cones across the road as a marker for the location. Overall somewhat large gray bird with a thick bill and white and black underwings. Seen extremely close pounding on log pounding on something. Thank you Dave for calling us so we could see it. Pics to TBA in the future."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (2)
- Reported Sep 19, 2026 06:44 by Kilian Hampl
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6290937&<ll...>,-120.6290937 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394379048 - Comments: "**Very rare. We first heard a bird call once at 8:08 am from up the hill here: (35.333952, -120.609594). Call a very distinct loud grating “kraak”. A little while later and farther up the road/trail (2.81 mi, 35.329991, -120.608785) at 8:36 we had another bird fly directly over us going up over the hill to the northeast. It reappeared not long after and flew by us again to the southeast where it flew back into the pines and landed somewhere out of sight and did not reappear again. This individual did not vocalize. This was an obvious corvid similar in size to a Scrub-Jay, and it exhibited a long, dark, dagger-shaped bill, dark eye, pale whitish gray head, neck, back, breast, and belly. The wings were almost completely black and contrasted with the pale grayish head and back. In flight we were able to see that the tail was relatively short and that the central rectricies were glossy black and contrasted starkly with the bright white outer tail feathers. Similarly, the secondaries had a distinct white trailing edge. The legs and feet were not seen well, but they appeared to be dark. The flight was direct and crow-like with floppy wingbeats. Overall our views of this bird were good, albeit brief, and we were able to see most of this bird well. Unfortunately due to the brevity of the observation we were unable to get photos."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (2)
- Reported Sep 19, 2026 06:44 by The Spotting Twohees
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6290937&<ll...>,-120.6290937 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394379265 - Comments: "**Very rare. We first heard a bird call once at 8:08 am from up the hill here: (35.333952, -120.609594). Call a very distinct loud grating “kraak”. A little while later and farther up the road/trail (2.81 mi, 35.329991, -120.608785) at 8:36 we had another bird fly directly over us going up over the hill to the northeast. It reappeared not long after and flew by us again to the southeast where it flew back into the pines and landed somewhere out of sight and did not reappear again. This individual did not vocalize. This was an obvious corvid similar in size to a Scrub-Jay, and it exhibited a long, dark, dagger-shaped bill, dark eye, pale whitish gray head, neck, back, breast, and belly. The wings were almost completely black and contrasted with the pale grayish head and back. In flight we were able to see that the tail was relatively short and that the central rectricies were glossy black and contrasted starkly with the bright white outer tail feathers. Similarly, the secondaries had a distinct white trailing edge. The legs and feet were not seen well, but they appeared to be dark. The flight was direct and crow-like with floppy wingbeats. Overall our views of this bird were good, albeit brief, and we were able to see most of this bird well. Unfortunately due to the brevity of the observation we were unable to get photos."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (2)
- Reported Sep 19, 2026 06:44 by Herb Elliott
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6290937&<ll...>,-120.6290937 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394380294 - Comments: "**Very rare. We first heard a bird call once at 8:08 am from up the hill here: (35.333952, -120.609594). Call a very distinct loud grating “kraak”. A little while later and farther up the road/trail (2.81 mi, 35.329991, -120.608785) at 8:36 we had another bird fly directly over us going up over the hill to the northeast. It reappeared not long after and flew by us again to the southeast where it flew back into the pines and landed somewhere out of sight and did not reappear again. This individual did not vocalize. This was an obvious corvid similar in size to a Scrub-Jay, and it exhibited a long, dark, dagger-shaped bill, dark eye, pale whitish gray head, neck, back, breast, and belly. The wings were almost completely black and contrasted with the pale grayish head and back. In flight we were able to see that the tail was relatively short and that the central rectricies were glossy black and contrasted starkly with the bright white outer tail feathers. Similarly, the secondaries had a distinct white trailing edge. The legs and feet were not seen well, but they appeared to be dark. The flight was direct and crow-like with floppy wingbeats. Overall our views of this bird were good, albeit brief, and we were able to see most of this bird well. Unfortunately due to the brevity of the observation we were unable to get photos."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 18, 2026 07:50 by Kevin Zimmer
- East Cuesta Ridge, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.63186&<ll...>,-120.63186 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394376978 - Media: 6 Photos
- Comments: "A chunky, relatively short-tailed, mostly pale gray corvid with contrasting black wings, black-and-white tail (black central rectrices, white outer rectrices), conspicuous white crissum and white patches in the secondaries (visible in flight), and stout, pointed, mostly straight, black bill. First seen when it flew in and landed on the ground on the side of the road, where it remained for only a second, before flying up and landing in the top of a small pine, right above our heads. It remained on this perch, looking around, for perhaps 10 minutes, then flew to another pine a few trees over, sat there for another minute or two, and then flew off out of sight without uttering a sound. I did not lug my camera gear up the mountain, so had to settle for crummy, cell phone photos and videos, even though the photographic opportunities were superb. Poor ID photos to be attached."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (1)
- Reported Sep 18, 2026 14:43 by Tom Schilling
- Mount Lowe Rd, San Luis Obispo US-CA (35.3300,-120.6088), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.608766&<ll...>,-120.608766 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394777361 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Scrub-jay sized light gray bird with black wings, white undertail coverts, large lightly curved black bill and black eyes. Face lacked the usual white hue. Seen foraging on the ground upon fallen pinecones. Very friendly, popped out of the trees onto the trail right in front of us multiple times. Not likely to be the same individuals as reported by others this morning, as it was a mile or so back on the road. Photos tba."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 13:03 by Barry Langdon-Lassagne
- Mt. Lowe Rd -Lopez Mt NW, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.623493&<ll...>,-120.623493 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394777551 - Comments: "As we hoped, when looking in the area where we had our "Mystery Bird" earlier, we were able to re-find the same top-view of the direct-flighted, pale-bodied, dark-winged bird. Much better look than on our hike uphill— it landed and we got photos."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 13:03 by Virginia Langdon-Lassagne
- Mt. Lowe Rd -Lopez Mt NW, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.623493&<ll...>,-120.623493 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394733092 - Comments: "As we hoped, when looking in the area where we had our "Mystery Bird" earlier, we were able to re-find the same top-view of the direct-flighted, pale-bodied, dark-winged bird. Much better look than on our hike uphill— it landed and we got photos."
Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 10:33 by Michael Moss
- Hardie Park/Cayucos Creek (Ocean Ave Bridge to Hwy 1 Bridge), Cayucos, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9062489&<ll...>,-120.9062489 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394731548 - Comments: "Came from down Creek landed in front of me went into the bushes then up into the Willows where it was feeding pretty sure based off the characteristic that this is the same bird that Reef Comer observed on September 17 probably a first year bright yellow throat and breast, white belly, dark you lores, white spectacles, olive on back, heavy beak was a silent skulky bird for the most part didn’t really come out in the open, except when I first observed it"
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 11:07 by Tom Edell
- Hardie Park/Cayucos Creek (Ocean Ave Bridge to Hwy 1 Bridge), Cayucos, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9062489&<ll...>,-120.9062489 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394750027 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Calling bird found here yesterday. Heavily streaked below though not on chin. Long, cream colored supercilium. Foraging along creek edge."
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 10:33 by Michael Moss
- Hardie Park/Cayucos Creek (Ocean Ave Bridge to Hwy 1 Bridge), Cayucos, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9062489&<ll...>,-120.9062489 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394731548 - Media: 5 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing found by Petra yesterday, observed along banks of stream just west of Highway one bridge forging along the shoreline bobbing its tail, brown crown nape and wings, and tail, cream colored breast belly and undertail interrupted by dark stripes, running the length from chin to flanks, and of course a cream colored supercilium pics tba"
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 09:15 by Kevin Garcia
- Hardie Park/Cayucos Creek (Ocean Ave Bridge to Hwy 1 Bridge), Cayucos, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.9062489&<ll...>,-120.9062489 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394681787 - Media: 1 Video
- Comments: "Seen foraging and dipping at the edge of the creek where it was last detected by Petra Clayton on 9-18. Easier to spot from the dry end of the creek under Highway 1. Big thank you to the savvy group of birders for showing me the less oaky trail to get clearer look at this cool bird. Short clip to be added."
Orange-crowned Warbler (sordida) (Leiothlypis celata sordida) (5)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 07:06 by Kilian Hampl
- 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/S394749392 - Media: 1 Audio
- Comments: "*Expected subspecies/phenotype. Two birds near the parking lot here: (35.108062, -120.627752) and singles at the Native Garden, Peninsula, and Norswing Drive trail just south of the main entrance. All very dull olive OCWAs with large bills, greener upper and paler lower eye arcs, large-headed, faint hooded, and slight vested appearance, streaked breast, and extensive dusky olive-streaked undertail. Several birds heard giving thick metallic chip calls. Photos (eventually) and audio tba."
Orange-crowned Warbler (sordida) (Leiothlypis celata sordida) (5)
- Reported Sep 17, 2026 07:04 by Ann Stockert
- 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/S394421434 - Comments: "*Expected. Three in the native garden, one on the peninsula, and one on the Norswing Drive trail north of the main entrance. All very dull olive OCWAs with large bills, greener upper and paler lower eye arcs, large-headed and slight hooded appearance, streaked breast, faint vested appearance, and extensive dusky olive-streaked undertail coverts. Several heard giving the distinctly thick metallic chip call of this subspecies/type. Photos of a few tba at some point."
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 07:06 by Kilian Hampl
- 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/S394749392 - Comments: "*Rare but regular. One bird by itself on the west side of the maintenance road. Large warbler with small thin bill, dark eye, slightly paler eye arcs, mostly dull olive-yellow head, back, and breast, the latter two of which were diffusely streaked and streaking on breast continued down onto flanks, bright white double wingbars, largely dark wing coverts and tail with olive and pale edges, dull whitish belly and undertail, largely dark legs, and dull orange feet. Silent to the best of my knowledge. Poor but identifiable photos tba at some point."
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