Date: 10/16/26 7:26 am From: Florence Sanchez via groups.io <sanchezucsb11...> Subject: Re: [sbcobirding] Scorpion Ranch, Santa Crux Island, October 14
Dear Joel,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think I was guilty of sloppy birding. I am copying the listserve because I think it's important.
I don't remember the specific location, but I remember hearing what I thought was the familiar "chink" call of a California Towhee while I was looking at something else (maybe the group of Fox Sparrows in the campground). And my brain registered "California Towhee," but because I did't know their status on the Island, I didn't try to check it out. I didn't hear or see another one so I could very well have been wrong. Other birds could possibly have made this sound. My birding objective for the day was on rarities, especially Spizella Sparrows, of which I found only Chipping Sparrows, and I should have been less-focussed on a single genus.
I didn't submit an eBird checklist, so no Island records need to updated on the basis of my report.
Florence Sanchez
On Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 07:55:26 PM PDT, Joel Barrett <joelbsalty...> wrote:
Hi Florence,Did you for sure see a California Towhee out there? That would be an island first I think. Joel
On Oct 15, 2026, at 3:51 PM, Florence Sanchez via groups.io <sanchezucsb11...> wrote:
I stayed over in Ventura after the Booby trip Oct. 13 and made a day trip to Scorpion yesterday. We had a smooth crossing with excellent looks at a Cocos Booby just before we got to Scorpion.
Reports from Scorpion this fall have been spotty so my expectations for rarities was low; however, I did turn up 10 different species of the family Emberizidae:White-crowned Sparrow (abundant!)Golden-crowned SparrowSong SparrowFOX Sparrow (all three of the red-winged, slaty-backed subspecies)Rufous-crowned SparrowChipping SparrowDark-eyed JuncoCalifornia TowheeSpotted TowheeGreen-tailed Towhee
The Green-tailed Towhee has been reported as a "dull individual," but that is an understatement. If it weren't for its call and a little green on the underside of the tail, I wouldn't have identified it as that species at all. Something has affected the feathers and it looked like more than a pigmentation issue.
Warblers were limited to a very few Yellow-rumps.
On the return trip, we spotted the Cocos Booby again and sailed through a HUGE pod of Common Dolphins following a large school of fish. Captain Joel thought the pod extended as far as a mile across the sea, one of the largest he has ever seen.
Note that recent eBird reports from the Island have been from the TNC Property and Prisoner's Harbor area to the West of Scorpion.
Florence Sanchez
