Hi all,
I birded Baron Ranch trail this morning. I believe it reopened just a few weeks ago after the winter storms. I only walked about 1.8 miles in (a few hundred yards past the first bridge-less creek crossing), so I cannot speak to the trail conditions further up.

Returning breeding birds were present in good numbers with lazuli buntings (calling nearly the entire stretch), ash-throated flycatchers, Bullock's and hooded orioles, yellow warblers, Pacific slope flycatchers, black-headed grosbeaks, and yellow-breasted chat, all making an appearance.
However, I noticed a distinct lack of migrants (2 total warblers, 0 Cassin's vireo, 2 warbling vireos, 0 Western tanagers). It seems like that has been a common thread in posts here and in the SB birding Slack group. I was wondering if anyone has a hypothesis as to why this might be I thought that maybe the wetter winter throughout the state has allowed migrants to stay on a more inland and direct route to their summer breeding grounds rather than having to hug the (naturally and artificially) greener coastline to find adequate rest stops in drought years. Does this jive with past wet years and what is being observed further inland
Baron Ranch Ebird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S135583425
Andy McGrath Goleta