SBCOBIRDING - Message Board

*** Species Summary:

- Eurasian Wigeon (1 report)
- Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) (1 report)
- Tennessee Warbler (3 reports)
- Summer Tanager (2 reports)

---------------------------------------------
Thank you for subscribing to the 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/summarysid=SN35915
NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.

eBird encourages our users to bird safely, responsibly, and mindfully. Please follow the recommendations of your local health authorities and respect any active travel restrictions in your area. For more information visit: https://ebird.org/news/please-bird-mindfully

Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) (1)
- Reported Mar 23, 2023 06:58 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=34.4198459 ,-119.8792197&ll=34.4198459,-119.8792197
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131618668
- Media: 1 Photo
- Comments: "In the main channel near the confluence. Rufous head, buffy forehead, gray body, and pinkish breast."

Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) (Junco hyemalis caniceps) (1)
- Reported Mar 18, 2023 12:40 by Curtis Marantz
- Nojoqui Falls County Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.5338803 ,-120.1769972&ll=34.5338803,-120.1769972
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131256117
- Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "It was only shortly before I left the park that I found the wintering junco foraging amid the grass around the eastern end of the western parking lot. I then followed this bird around taking photos and making observations, mostly of a bird that was foraging on the ground in the grass, but it did fly up into the oaks on occasion. I did hear this bird give a few soft calls that were like those given by the other juncos. I did study this bird through binoculars, but most of my views were through the viewfinder of my camera.
This was a medium-sized sparrow that was similar in size and shape to the other juncos in the same area. The bill was short and conical, tapering from a base of medium depth to a pointed tip along a relatively straight culmen. I further thought the bill would have extended backward on the face to a point near the eye and maybe along its rear edge, and also that the bill was not much longer than it was deep at the base. The forehead was sloping and the crown was rounded, both on a head that was unremarkable in size for a sparrow in general or a junco in particular. The neck was short and inconspicuous, and the body was plump, full chested, and with a posture that was more horizontal than diagonal with the tail held slightly downward in the plane of the body. The wings were relatively short, with a primary projection that appeared to be only about one-fourth the length of the exposed secondaries, but I had a hard time assessing its relative length with precision, and I failed altogether to see the placement of the wingtips relative to the base of the tail. Allowing me to see the rump and tail much of the time was that the wings were held downward at the sides of the body. The tail was roughly as long as the head, neck, and body combined, and it was relatively slim and parallel-sided, but I was unable to see the shape at the tip. The legs were slim, but of unremarkable length for a medium-sized sparrow.
Despite this bird's similarity to the other juncos in its size and shape, its plumage patterns and coloration were rather different. Overall, this bird was a smooth, medium-gray throughout the head, neck, throat, breast, and flanks. Contrasting with the generally gray hood, the lores were broadly black, but I was less sure if the black encircled the eyes. I thought the gray on the throat continued well down on the breast and along the flanks, but the gray faded to white in the middle to lower belly. I looked for, but saw no suggestion of buff on the flanks, which appeared similar in color to the throat and upper breast. I never clearly saw the undertail coverts or the underside of the tail on a bird that I saw mostly foraging on the ground. Whereas the head and neck were medium-gray, the back contrasted sharply as bright rufous to a colorful brick-red, but I was unsure if the red was restricted to the mantle versus the mantle and scapulars combined. Contrasting sharply with the rufous back along a line cutting straight across the lower back between the insertion point of the wings, the rump and uppertail coverts were again medium-gray. I generally thought the upperside of the tail was dark, but the tail was also misarranged, which allowed me to see one of the white outer-rectrices even when the bird was foraging. The closed wings appeared superficially gray and somewhat darker than the body; however, closer examination revealed a more complex pattern. I cannot recall noting the patterns on the lesser or median coverts, but the greater had medium-gray fringes that were similar in color to the head contrasting with centers that were darker gray, if not blackish. I noted the gray fringes most obviously as edges that produced a striped pattern to the middle of the wing, but I was unsure if they crossed the tips of these feathers. The remiges visible in the closed wings contrasted light to medium-gray fringes with sooty-gray to dull blackish centers to produce a striped pattern that was bolder on the coverts. In further thought the fringes were broader and more conspicuous on the inner secondaries, on which I also thought they curved around the tips of the feathers, but on the remaining feathers the edges were narrow yet still well-defined. I also thought the exposed primary tips had narrow, yet well-defined, fringes of light gray to whitish that allowed me to distinguish the various feathers in the wingtip.
I thought the bill was almost entirely a pale, fleshy-horn in color, but my photos seem to show a little blackish near the tip of the culmen. The eyes were certainly dark, but I was unable to discern their precise color. I generally thought the legs were dark, but I cannot now recall their precise color."

Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (1)
- Reported Mar 22, 2023 16:45 by Laurel S Luby
- LuBeeland, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.395577 ,-119.507798&ll=34.395577,-119.507798
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131573579
- Comments: "Continuing."

Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (1)
- Reported Mar 22, 2023 09:17 by Laurel S Luby
- LuBeeland, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.395577 ,-119.507798&ll=34.395577,-119.507798
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131536482
- Comments: "Continuing."

Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) (1)
- Reported Mar 22, 2023 09:17 by Tom Beland
- LuBeeland, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.395577 ,-119.507798&ll=34.395577,-119.507798
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131547166
- Comments: "Continuing."

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) (1)
- Reported Mar 22, 2023 13:23 by Eve Martin
- Lake Los Carneros Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.44322 ,-119.84975&ll=34.44322,-119.84975
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131566485
- Comments: "We followed the vocalizations for about 10 minutes before it finally popped out for a visual ID. Making a dry two-note crickety call, downward in pitch, and frequenting the trees behind the Stow house. A female-plumaged brownish yellow tanager with no wingbars and a golden horn-colored swollen bill."

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) (1)
- Reported Mar 22, 2023 13:23 by Rob Farber
- Lake Los Carneros Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=34.44322 ,-119.84975&ll=34.44322,-119.84975
- Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131570635
- Comments: "We followed the vocalizations for about 10 minutes before it finally popped out for a visual ID. Making a dry two-note crickety call, downward in pitch, and frequenting the trees behind the Stow house. A female-plumaged brownish yellow tanager with no wingbars and a golden horn-colored swollen bill."

***********

You received this message because you are subscribed to eBird's Santa Barbara County Rare Bird Alert

Manage your eBird alert subscriptions:
https://ebird.org/alerts

eBird Alerts provide recent reports of regionally or seasonally rare species (Rarities Alerts) or species you have not yet observed (Needs Alerts) in your region of interest; both Accepted and Unreviewed observations are included. Some reports may be from private property or inaccessible to the general public. It is the responsibility of every eBirder to be aware of and respectful of access restrictions. For more information, see our Terms of Use: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/terms-of-use/