Thanks, Wim and Dave.
The little park certainly has potential to turn up some more birds, and if you bird just this area, the new hotspot is obviously the way to go. But I hope people won't take theoccurrence of a single rarity here, and the availability of the new hotspot,as a reason notto bird elsewhere along the creek. Here's a sampling of what's been found here along the creek between Hollister and the railroad tracks over the past 25 years or so:
Scarlet Tanager Black throated Green Warbler (same day as the tanager) Kentucky Warbler Philadelphia Vireo Zone-tailed Hawk (the famous wintering one) Painted Bunting Lucy's Warbler Tennessee Warbler Swamp Sparrow Chestnut-sided Warbler (one of just a couple that have wintered) Northern Parula (wintering) Black-and-White Warbler (present for three or four straight winters)
Many of these were in the business park on the other side of Los Carneros, where there are a couple of tipu trees and some ironbark (pink blooming) eucalyptus on the west side. But some were between Los Carneros and the railroad tracks. Also, the trees in the business park on the other side of the creek from the new housing development have grown up nicely and usually have a fair number of birds. So, there's a lot of birding to be done in this area. Although it's been out of vogue as a birding spot for the past few years, it's had some great moments. I cut my teeth as a birder here in the mid-90s, when I worked in the business park where the City of Goleta is now located, and got some early life birds like Northern Waterthrush and MacGillivray's Warbler on my breaks. It's changed a lot since then, with the open field on the east side being replaced by the houses, but it's still worth awalk along either side of the creek, either side of Los Carneros.
Dave Compton Santa Barbara .