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Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> Santa Barbara County Rare Bird Alert. The report below shows observations of rare birds in Santa Barbara County. View or unsubscribe to this alert at https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN35915 NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.
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Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 10:24 by Linda Blue
- Black Road pasture, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.4899069&<ll...>,-120.4899069 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395634965 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing juvenile found yesterday by Peter Gaede. Larger than surrounding Pectoral Sandpipers. Unmarked buffy neck and breast, scaly pattern on uppers, pale around base of bill. Legs looked dull yellowish. Photos."
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 10:24 by David Blue
- Black Road pasture, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.4899069&<ll...>,-120.4899069 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395664440 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing juvenile found yesterday by Peter Gaede. Larger than surrounding Pectoral Sandpipers. Unmarked buffy neck and breast, scaly pattern on uppers, pale around base of bill. Legs looked dull yellowish. Photos."
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 10:24 by Eunice Schroeder
- Black Road pasture, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.4899069&<ll...>,-120.4899069 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395625641 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing juvenile found yesterday by Peter Gaede. Larger than surrounding Pectoral Sandpipers. Unmarked buffy neck and breast, scaly pattern on uppers, pale around base of bill. Legs looked dull yellowish. Photos."
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 09:24 by John Deacon
- Black Road pasture, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.4899069&<ll...>,-120.4899069 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395577111 - Media: 4 Photos
- Comments: "Please note that this bird is on private property but can be easily seen from outside the fence. Found by Peter G. yesterday. Seen by MOB this morning. Hopefully others got better photos. Found it foraging in the mud about 50 yards east of the gate. Taller and more slim appearing than nearby PESAs. Neck and upper breast more of a ruddy color vs the brown streaky breast of the PESAs. Legs were more of a dull yellowish green than the clear yellow legs of the PESAs. All the birds flushed and flew off to the east. In flight, the size difference was noticeable. We lost track of them but it's possible they will return to this spot."
Ruff (Calidris pugnax) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 22, 2026 11:45 by Peter Gaede
- Black Road pasture, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.4899069&<ll...>,-120.4899069 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395650337 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "First seen in flight, flying with a group of pectoral sandpipers. The ruff was visibly larger in size, with all white underwings and thin white wing bar on upperwing. The tail appeared mostly white above. Dark bill observed with a slight droop towards the tip. The group then landed briefly in a muddy area opposite the fence not far from where I was parked before taking flight again. On the ground, the bird showed a buffy, unstreaked breast, scaled appearance to back, wing and covert feathers. A few flight photos were taken, one in direct comparison with a pectoral sandpiper it was flying with (showing size difference)."
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) (2)
- Reported Sep 21, 2026 15:42 by Vladimir H-T
- Coal Oil Point, Devereux Beach, Sands Beach, and bluff trails, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8783064&<ll...>,-119.8783064 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395671607 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Smaller in size than surrounding royal terns. Distinctive black caps and black bills. Multiple sightings of several common terns among royal and elegant terns at Coal Oil Point this week."
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 12:21 by David Compton
- Refugio Rd--first creek crossing, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.0689661&<ll...>,-120.0689661 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395606888 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing. Small vireo with blunt bill, olive above, pale yellow below that was most intense on the lower throat, but washed the entire underparts, dark line through eye (including lores), shorter tail than nearby Western warbling Vireos."
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 06:52 by Linda Blue
- Refugio Rd--first creek crossing, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.0689661&<ll...>,-120.0689661 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395634955 - Comments: "Continuing vireo found yesterday by Nick Lethaby and pointed out to us today by Daniel Farrar. Lemon-yellow throat and undertail. Moving actively in willows and sycamores about 150 yards above the second creek crossing, just before the sharp left turn; (34.4718595, -120.0684133)."
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 06:52 by David Blue
- Refugio Rd--first creek crossing, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.0689661&<ll...>,-120.0689661 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395664877 - Comments: "Continuing vireo found yesterday by Nick Lethaby and pointed out to us today by Daniel Farrar. Bright-yellow throat, yellow underparts. Good views of preening for a few minutes after bathing; later moving actively in willows and sycamores. About 150 yards above the second creek crossing, just before the sharp left turn; (34.4718595, -120.0684133)."
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 06:52 by Eunice Schroeder
- Refugio Rd--first creek crossing, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.0689661&<ll...>,-120.0689661 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395545218 - Comments: "Continuing vireo found yesterday by Nick Lethaby and pointed out to us today by Daniel Farrar. Bright-yellow throat, yellow underparts. Good views of preening for a few minutes after bathing; later moving actively in willows and sycamores. About 150 yards above the second creek crossing, just before the sharp left turn; (34.4718595, -120.0684133)."
Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) (5)
- Reported Sep 22, 2026 16:30 by Luke Jensen
- Oak ridge park community, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.407188&<ll...>,-120.407188 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395400633 - Comments: "What in the world! I thought they weren't even on Lu Cumbrere peak now! Large gray corvids with black and white underwings. Sadly no photos as they quickly flew over and I was trying to balance on a small slope. Flew over at around 5:40 PM going southwest bound."
Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 18:29 by Jeremy Carberry
- Santa Cruz Island--Scorpion Anchorage and Beach Area, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.5555481&<ll...>,-119.5555481 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395666019 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Lighter colored small thrasher with streaky spotty chest foraging along the road near the ranch house and then perched on the ranch house. See photo"
Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) (1)
- Reported Sep 21, 2026 18:22 by Peter Gaede
- Elings Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.7349691&<ll...>,-119.7349691 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395659438 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "Continuing; day 2 of 2, seen at upper Elings in the same general area when found 9/20. Actively foraging on the ground, almost constantly in motion walking slowly through sparsely vegetated areas with some bare dirt areas and dry grasses. Plumage coloration and pattern blended in perfectly with the surrounding habitat it preferred to hang out in. Most of the time only found when it was spotted on the move. Not seen the following day (9/22). Curtis M. and others present this evening were probably the last ones to see it."
Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 17:27 by David Blue
- UCSB North Campus Open Space (formerly Ocean Meadows Golf Course), Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8792197&<ll...>,-119.8792197 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395662790 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Found by Ryan Seppala, who was there when we arrived. Seen foraging on the ground and the low bushes around the area where the trail begins at the south end of the Whittier parking lot."
Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 17:27 by Linda Blue
- UCSB North Campus Open Space (formerly Ocean Meadows Golf Course), Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8792197&<ll...>,-119.8792197 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395662791 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Found by Ryan Seppala, who was there when we arrived. Seen foraging on the ground and the low bushes around the area where the trail begins at the south end of the Whittier parking lot."
Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 23, 2026 15:53 by Ryan Seppala
- UCSB North Campus Open Space (formerly Ocean Meadows Golf Course), Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8792197&<ll...>,-119.8792197 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395653762 - Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "At the parking lot trailhead, loosely associated with a White-crowned Sparrow flock. I heard its "seep" call a couple times upon initial discovery. For a while it was hopping on the ground in dramatic fashion, springing much further than the other nearby sparrows."
Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 06:34 by Tristan Yoo
- Santa Cruz Island--Scorpion Canyon Campgrounds, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.5645389&<ll...>,-119.5645389 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394815180 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "I am writing this two days after seeing this bird in the field. Photos of this oriole showed a relatively short and straight bill. The amount of yellow on the upperparts and the slightly darker cap seem like features of Orchard Oriole. In the field, I recall hearing some unusual chattering, but my memory of this morning is already fading."
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (1)
- Reported Sep 22, 2026 16:30 by Luke Jensen
- Oak ridge park community, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.407188&<ll...>,-120.407188 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395400633 - Media: 1 Video, 17 Photos
- Comments: "White rump, with white supercillium, olive green back and slightly chunkier than orange crowned warblers that were associating. Finally a rare warbler here, pics will be posted soon in a couple of days. Found at around 5:13 PM lost at 5:30 PM and refound in bottle brush in the front yard of someones house. please do not go on their front lawn! Bird mostly liked bottlebrush and non native trees at the EAST pool. The pool has a gate around because it is underconstuction so if you don't see a gate around it then you are at the wrong pool meaning the west pool."
Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 08:12 by Tristan Yoo
- Santa Cruz Island--Scorpion Canyon Campgrounds, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.5645389&<ll...>,-119.5645389 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394816606 - Media: 2 Photos
- Comments: "Whoops! I got so caught up with the other rare warblers that I only caught this one in my photos. Yellowish warbler with a sharp bill, dark line going through the eye, lighter breast and belly, and white undertail coverts. Seen at around 9:30 AM in the trees in the west side of the ranch."
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Sep 22, 2026 12:08 by Kelly Krechmer
- Carpinteria Valley Memorial Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.525857&<ll...>,-119.525857 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395399886 - Media: 1 Video
- Comments: "Came back and got some photos later on same day and I have a video from this visit. I’ll try to upload it. It’s not very good but you can see it."
Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 07:39 by David Blue
- 7402 - 7418 Hollister Ave (Tech Park), Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8908561&<ll...>,-119.8908561 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395666986 - Comments: "Highly active warbler with yellow underparts, pale undertail coverts, and long all-white tail; dark neck spots and side streaking; and distinctive dark semicircle under the eyes."
Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) (1)
- Reported Sep 20, 2026 07:39 by Linda Blue
- 7402 - 7418 Hollister Ave (Tech Park), Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-119.8908561&<ll...>,-119.8908561 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S395667280 - Comments: "Highly active warbler with yellow underparts, pale undertail coverts, and long all-white tail; dark neck spots and side streaking; and distinctive dark semicircle under the eyes."
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