Have been out in the field but by the end of the day have ended up with no time to post reports.
Monday May 15th I birded Barka Slough. It was pretty overcast and misty but fortunately, there was a ceiling. i've birded here with fog on the ground and it's totally frustrating. At least I could see the birds I was hearing on Monday, even if color contrast wasn't the best. Anyway, it was the usual abundance of Lazuli Buntings (8 male, 1 female), Black-headed Grosbeak (too many to count), Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Yellow-breasted Chats (6, with one out in the open singing). Also present were Yellow Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, singing Swainson's Thrushes, both House and Bewick's Wrens, both House and Purple Finches, and both Lesser and America Goldfinches, the latter singing and displaying. I also found 3 male Blue Grosbeaks and 1 female. This was a pair interacting just outside the base boundary--I suspect a nest might be in the works there.
I was surprised at the amount of water down in the pond. It's a bit hard to see well from the road and I didn't have my scope, but I picked up Pied-billed Grebe, Ruddy Ducks, Coots, Great Egret, and Green Heron in the vicinity. Conspicuously absent from the morning's birding were any Warbling Vireos or Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Swallows were few (and hard to identify against the gray skies.)
May 16, I birded a short section of the Santa Ynez River near Buellton. Peter had warned me that the winter rains made a real mess of the paths and he wasn't kidding! The path from the bridge down stream isn't bad to start, but it gradually gets more washed out and then you have to start negotiating piles of brush and driftwood. Old trail markers are gone and I felt like I was feeling me way downstream at the end. But there was plenty of Bird activity here, the stars being Warbling Vireos and Black-headed Grosbeaks. I also had a Chat pop up right in front of me and I heard at least 4 Yellow Warblers and also 1 Lazuli Bunting. I counted at least 12 active Cliff Swallow nests under the Santa Rosa Road bridge.
Today I hiked along Quiota Creek on Refugio Road (Santa Ynez Valley). The fog was burning off and conditions were good for both walking and birding. The road is marked closed at 300 Refugio Road, but there is no problem with driving past the sign and parking at the usual pullout past the last visible ranch property on the hill. From there, I walked to the base of the REALLY closed road up the mountains and encountered almost no cars and just a few other walkers. Highlights here were 3 Bullock's Orioles, 5 Yellow Warblers, several Warbling Vireos, Ash-throated Flycatchers, lots of Violet-Green Swallows, at least 4 Lazuli Buntings, and surprisingly, only 1 Black-headed Grosbeak.
It has certainly been a good spring for the Buntings! As for flowers, I noted that pink Clarkia ("Farewell to spring") has burst into bloom at several places along San Marcos Pass Road and the north-facing roadcut of US 1010 between Los Alamos and Highway 154. Plenty of white Lupine along with the Clarkia and the Orange Bush Monkeyflower is in full bloom all along the Pass.
Florence Sanchez