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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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Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) (5) CONFIRMED
- Reported Apr 16, 2024 15:05 by Curtis Marantz
- Pismo Creek mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6392555&<ll...>,-120.6392555 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S168991666 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "I saw five continuing skimmers moving about the beach both north and south of the mouth of Pismo Creek, standing together on the beach in various places, but also flushed multiple times by beachgoers. I heard at least one bird giving distinctive, "eernh" calls, but these birds were generally quiet. All five birds appeared similar, so the description below represents a composite.
These were relatively large, tern-like birds that were a bit smaller than nearby gulls, yet larger than Elegant Terns that were not too far away. These birds had unusually large bills on which the peg-like upper mandible was conspicuously shorter than a long, wedge-shaped lower mandible, but I did not compare the length of the bill relative to the width of the head. I thought the forehead was steep, but the crown was gently rounded to somewhat flattened, all on a head that was large for the size of the birds. I also thought these birds had stockier necks than those of the terns and their bodies were larger, full-chested, and with a posture that was barely more upright than horizontal. The wings were notably long and tapering to finely pointed tips that obscured the tail, but I was unable to discern the primary projection. The legs were short and relatively slim, but I failed to note the structure of the feet.
The plumage patterns were quite simple and with the feather coloring limited to black and white. Ghe forehead and the front part of the face were white, as were the lower part of the face and the underparts from thd throat down across the breast, belly, sides, flanks, and undertail coverts. Contrasting sharply with the white regions of the plumage, the crown, nape, back and sides of the neck, and the back and upperwings appeared to be entirely black. The sides of the head were also black through the eye and across the auriculars. The closed wings appeared to be almost entirely black, but I did once see a narrow, white stripe that appeared to represent the white band along the trailing edge of the open wing. I saw the rump and tail only on the flying birds, when I noted a black stripe down the rump and a mostly black tail, both contrasting with white at the sides of the rump and tail.
The bill was sharply bicolored, with the basal half of both mandibles a bright, scarlet-red and contrasting with black distally. The eyes were sufficiently dark as to appear black in the field and lacking contrast with the black plusage. The.legs were reddish in color, but duller than the base of the bill."
Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) (3) CONFIRMED
- Reported Apr 16, 2024 15:05 by Curtis Marantz
- Pismo Creek mouth, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6392555&<ll...>,-120.6392555 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S168991666 - Comments: "Early in my visit I saw three terns standing on the lower beach, but the flew off shortly later. These were medium-sized terns with elongate bodies, long wings, somewhat ragged crests, and long, slim bills that tapered to pointed tips. I thought all were slimmer and more elongate than Royal Terns, and they had longer wings and shorter legs. All three birds had fully black caps that contrasted white on the lower part of the face, neck, and underparts. The back and the wings, at least in large part were light gray, but I cannot remember noting if the wingtips were darker, and I never saw the tail.
Each bird had a slimmer bill than that of a Royal Tern and one that tapered to a more finely pointed tip, but the color was about the same shade as orange juice. I thought the eyes were dark, but their precise color eluded me. I have no recollection of noting the color of the legs."
Palm Warbler (Western) (Setophaga palmarum palmarum) (2)
- Reported Apr 17, 2024 07:42 by Ann Stockert
- Oso Flaco Lake (not for beach/ocean), San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6207848&<ll...>,-120.6207848 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S169049366 - Comments: "Continuing bird joined today by another male. Both in purty alternate! Both singing and chasing bushtits and each other around. Brownish warbler with ruddy crown, yellow throat and face, and yellow undertail. Constantly pumping tail. Husky chip call and YRWA-like song. Pics and audio tba."
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