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

This afternoon I walked part of the north slope of Santa Ynez Mountains, along Refugio Rd. While my attention was on bugs, I did get to enjoy the usual breeding birds there (because of its geography this is not a good spot for migrants): Wild Turkey, Warbling Vireo, Hutton's Vireo, Steller's Jay, Yellow Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, Black-chinned Hummingbird. Because of the flowers, water in Quiota Creek, and devastation of the past raining season I can highly recommend this stretch for a weekday exercise.
Wim
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Wim van Dam (Solvang, CA)
SBCO #398: Plumbeous Vireo

In muy report last night, I noted only the number of Lazulis and BH Grosbeaks for the upper part of the lopp. My total count for the hike was 18 Lazuli Buntings and 13 Black-headed Grosbeaks. Amazing.
Warblers included Yellow, Wilson's, 1 Townsend, and what I believe was a singing MacGillivray's Warbler--not seen, heard only.
Florence Sanchez

I hiked some of the Baron Ranch trails this morning--they are definitely open and in reasonably good condition. This is the first time I have hiked the rerouted Arroyo Quemada Trail, which now goes along the west side of the creek at the edge of the chaparral. I give it mixed reviews. I then hiked a portion of the loop trail, which follows the older trail along the creek and provided more shade and better birding. I didn't have time to do the whole loop today.
Highlights were finding at least 9 singing male Lazuli Buntings along the entire reach of the trial, including one singing from the field next to the parking area. Also several Warbling Vireos along the creek for the first mile of the trail--one appearing to be establishing territory. Several singing Black-headed Grosbeaks on the lower part of the trail and also a singing SWAINSON'S THRUSH. I found Wilson's and Yellow Warblers along the entire length of my hike, but they really became more numerous on the Loop trail. Both species were singing. I had two Townsend's Warblers along the creek on the Arroyo Quemada Trail and another well up the Loop trail with a male Black-throated Gray Warbler. Other species of note include a flock of 30 Cedar Waxwings, both Hooded and Bullock's Orioles, singing Purple Finches, and a lot of House Wrens. The only Empidonax Flycatchers I found were Pacific Slope. In past years, I have found Willow Flycatchers here in May but none today. I had 2-3 Ash-throated Flycatchers in the chaparral.
The big surprise on the very last part of my return hike was hearing a Yellow-breasted Chat sound off from the creek, followed a few minutes later by another one going through its full repertoire up on the hillside to the west.
The canyon is still recovering from the fire but things are coming back. In terms of flowers, the stars of the day were the Canyon Sunflowers blooming everywhere along both sides of the badly burned creek along the Loop Trail.
Florence Sanchez

I birded the Goleta Tech Park first this morning. While it was not terribly birdy, I did pull out a few migrants of interest. I saw one each of Black-throated Gray and Wilson's Warbler. There were also at least four Warbling Vireo and at least six Western Tanager in the west parking area. There were also two Kingbird there that I assume were Cassin's but may have been Western. I just didn't get a good enough look.

NCOS had several Gadwall, and one Brandt in the channels of the reserve. Cliff Swallows were building nests in the condos at the east end of the reserve. From the large bridge I saw a Killdeer escorting four very young chicks. Their plumage was rather downy and markings similar to but still distinctly different from the adult. The 'cute' factor was achieved by having bodies only a quarter the size of the adult but legs three quarters as long.

At the Devereaux pull-outs I was unable to relocate the recently present Reddish Egret. There were abundant Canada Geese and several more Gadwall here. Also, Great Blue Heron have been nesting in trees across the water from the road for several years. Today I noticed a pair that appeared to be nest building in a cypress across the street from the Bridge to Nowhere. That's the first such activity I've seen on that side of the water.

At area K I added Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallow to that group. This spot also contained additional Gadwall, quite a few breeding plumage Ruddy Duck, and a single Cinnamon Teal.

The tide was fairly low at Goleta Beach but other than some gulls I did not see a single shorebird there (nor on the east campus beach as far as I could tell from distance). All the gulls were Western or California (many of each) with only a single, young Heerman's Gull to break the monotony. I was unable to locate any Yellow-crowned Night Heron in their usual haunt.

As I write this I have seen half a dozen Black-headed Grosbeak at my feeders just outside my office window. Poor pickings compared to the bonanza of birds reported recently in the yards of Guy Tingos and Joan Lentz but I'll revel in them none the less.

That's all,
Rob Lindsay

Hi All: Wanted to share two items: first, this was the closest I can get towards a migrant day, when there are more Black-headed Grosbeaks in my yard than House Finches! This morning and in fact all day, Ive had at least a dozen EACH, WESTERN TANAGER and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK in my yard. They are in the water feature (tanagers) or at the seed feeders, and flying to the blooming Bottlebrush tree as well. They dont have the urgency to move on that Ive noticed in prior years.
 2) Second item I never realized: EBird has calculated that 65 million landbirds migrate through Californias Central Valley every spring, and a bit fewer in fall. The implications of this are huge. We have to realize how important our state is to so many species of birds.
But at least I got my adrenaline going with tanagers and grosbeaks. Two lists are floating around somewhere,

        Good birding!
        Joan

I hiked this trail for the first time this morning after the showers stopped in SB. Surprised I never got there before. Birding was good, though there was a lot of equipment working along the creekside road today. Highlights included 4, possibly 5 Lazuli Buntings; 5 Black-headed Grosbeaks, Olive-sided Flycatcher calling well up the creek beyond the cabins; An abundance of beautiful Violet-Green Swallows, but warblers were few. I had only1 Yellow Warbler, a few Orange-crowns singing in the oaks, and about 5 different singing Common Yellowthroats doing the same in the tall mustard. I hiked up the Bill Wallace Trail away from the creek for a bit and came across some interesting flowers among the mustard on the hillside, including some blooming Dudleyas.
Yesterday I checked the local wetlands and I also went out to Coal Oil Point Reserve with Adrian and Pam (few birds there, very high tide). Significantly missing was the Reddish Egret, and checking others' checklists, I see that it hasn't been seen for several days. There was no sign of the Cattle Egret at Area L but the pair of American Avocets remains, with one bird still appearing to be sitting on a nest.

Florence Sanchez

I hiked up the trial alongside San Antonio Creek this morning, from Kiwanis Meadows to the trailhead at San Marco Pass Road. High overcast but good visibility the whole way. Activity was slow pretty much throughout. In terms of migrants, I had zilch; in terms of summer residents, I had 3 Yellow Warblers, 2 Black-headed Grosbeaks, 1 pair of Hooded Orioles, and several Pacific-Slope Flycatchers. Resident birds like Orange-crowned Warblers and Bewick's Wrens were singing and active, and I saw Oak Titmice feeding fledglings.
The creek is still flowing strongly and I used sandals to navigate the two upper creek crossings. A portion of the creek and nearby trail above the dam were significantly affected by this winter's rains. I found no swallows nesting under the overpass at San Marcos Road, which seems odd. Overhead at that point, I had a Barn Swallow and a smaller bird with it that appeared to be a Vaux's Swift. This is not a trail for flowers, but the Fiesta Flower an dCanyon Sunflower stands are particularly nice.
Afterwards, I decided to check out Farren Road as this is the type of weather in which one can find a good swallow/swift flock above the slopes. When I arrived at the start of the road, I found Sue Cook, who was watching a swallow flock there. She told me that Merlin has just identified the calls of both Vaux's Swift and Grasshopper Sparrow at that spot. I decided to check the slopes above and drove on.
Just as I rounded the first bend of the road, a Roadrunner streaked across it in front of me. Then as soon as I reached the top of the hill opposite 500 Farren Road, I had a singing Lazuli Bunting in the mustard, an Ash-throated Flycatcher in the field, a pair of Lark Sparrows on the wire overhead, a Blue Grosbeak a little way further on the utility line that crosses the road, and a small Swallow flock. In that flock I got Violet-green, N. Rough-winged, and Cliff Swallows. I heard the chattering call of a Swift and after a little searching, found a Vaux's Swift high above the flock. Back down where I saw Sue, I checked the larger Swallow Flock and found Tree, Rough-winged, and Cliff Swallows along with 3 more Vaux's Swifts. Eventually the flock was joined by a soaring Peregrine Falcon. Never heard or saw a Grasshopper Sparrow, but all-in-all, this was a pretty cool half-hour's birding!
Florence Sanchez

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

Went for a morning walk on an overcast morning in the SY riverbed at Buellton and was quite surprised when a Common Poorwill flushed from about 10 feet away. It flew in plain view for 75 yards or so but I was never able to relocate it. Other than that it was the usual spring chorus of Black-headed Grosbeaks, Yellow Warblers, Bewick's Wrens and Song Sparrows. 45 species in all, complete list here:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S135588408

Peter Schneekloth
Buellton

Thanks for the report, Mark! I birded Atascadero Creek (west of Patterson) and San Pedro Creek in Goleta this morning and had a similar experience. Lots of Yellow and Orange-crowned Warblers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and other riparian birds present and singing, but very few obvious migrants.
Atascadero was interesting to see. There were pretty huge flows through here this winter and a lot of the channel has been rearranged or scoured, but in many places willows have been knocked over but are still rooted and look pretty happy. I think this section of creek is one of the best on the South Coast for breeding riparian birds and it seems to me like it should continue to be good this year despite the floods. I didn't see or hear Wilson's Warblers here this trip but I got there a little late.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S135425540

https://ebird.org/checklist/S135443414
   
    
     
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I hiked the St. Sal trail at the end of Brown Road in Santa Maria Yesterday, figuring that the dense fog layer was shallow enough to burn off pretty quickly. I found that area was getting sunny when I arrived and hiking conditions were great. But both birding a flowers were not as great as they can be. No Horned Larks: several Lark Sparrows singing but not as many as in some years; and I had only two distant possible Grasshopper Sparrows in the grasses. Flowers also were not as abundant as in previous years, with the possible exception of Blue-eyed Grass. The grasses have really taken over, especially the wild oats.
At the trailhead creek, there was some modest activity with singing Black-headed Grosbeak and a pair of Warbling Vireos. Just after I started up the trial, I had a Yellow Warbler in a willow and I heard one Lazuli Bunting singing from a canyon below the road.
Today several of us ended up at Area K trying to find a Bank Swallow in the swirling mass. Steve Cowell and I had a possible candidate but it got away from us before Steve could get a photo. Others present may or may not have been successful. Meanwhile, I turned my attention to what else might be hanging around. Lingering winter ducks included a pair of Shovelers, at least one female Bufflehead, 2 male cinnamon Teal, and a nice male Blue-winged Teal back in Area L. On the distant bank of Area L, we turned up the continuing Cattle Egret along with a nice assortment of shorebirds: Breeding Red-necked Phalaropes, Kildeer and Semi-palmated Plovers, Least and Western Sandpipers, Dowitchers in Breeding Plumage, and of special interest, 2 breeding-plumaged American Avocets, one of which gave the appearance of a female sitting on a nest. It will be important to keep an eye on these Avocets to see if indeed they do nest.
Florence Sanchez

I hiked this road this morning, glad that the road closure at the base of ranger peak is no longer in effect. That section of Fig Mtn. Road is in great shape right now.
Overall, it was very quiet on East Pinery. It was fairly windy, which probably kept the few birds there down. The only "Mountain" birds I had this morning were 3 Steller's Jays and several calling Mountain Quail down in the canyons. However, in the conifer forest on the first part of the trail, I had a mixed warbler flock of at least 4 each Townsend's and Hermit Warblers, along with a Warbling Vireo. Below the trail in the canyon, I could hear a very vociferous Olive Sided Flycatcher and a singing Black-headed Grosbeak, but neither came up far enough for views. Further down the trail, I picked up an Ash-throated Flycatcher and an unexpected male Bullock's Oriole in a dead pine on the south side of the trail.
After that, it was pretty dull. I found a pair of Purple Finches nesting in a Coulter Pine and another Ash-throated Flycatcher. On my way back, just before reaching the conifer forest near the top I had a singing Cassin's Vireo; then in the top of a Big Cone Spruce, I turned up the Olive-sided Flycatcher again, going through his entire repertoire of calls over and over again. The territorial behavior of this bird makes me think it might try to nest.
I turned my attention to flowers on the way down. The peak bloom has definitely passed except for the section from Pino Alto Road* to the open meadows nearing the base of Ranger Peak. That section, especially in the road cuts, is very beautiful, with bush lupines in full bloom and fragrance right now. Though there are fewer flowers on the lower slopes than there were 10 days ago, I picked up some new things: White Mariposa Lillies, the sky-blue Figueroa Mountain version of Blue-eyed Grass, and red-flowered onion.
Traffic is bad after 11 a.m.
Florence Sanchez *Pino Alto and Catway Roads are now open.

I birded a mile and a half stretch of Drum Canyon Road starting about 2.5 miles N of Hwy 246. There is a densely vegetated stretch of riparian habitat on one side of the road and an oak covered hillside on the other. The entire 1.5 mile walk N was full of bird activity. Black-headed Grosbeaks were singing and flying back and forth across the road the entire route. Warblers included multiples of Townsends, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, Wilson's and Yellow-rumped. Pacific-slope and Ash-throated Flycatchers were heard at a number of spots and Warbling Vireo's as well as Bewick's wrens were singing constantly. Full list here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S134484766

Peter Schneekloth
Buellton

I planned to spend a few minutes here after shopping this morning. This little spot of riparian habitat in the middle of a well-developed suburban area never fails to amaze. I ended up spending an hour. The park was very birdy.
I was hoping the Black-and-white Warbler reported a few days ago might still be present, but I didn't find it. However, I had singing Yellow Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and a pair of nesting Orange-crowned Warblers to make things interesting; also a Warbling Vireo, a flock of about 12 Cedar Waxwings, a pair of American Goldfinches, a very noisy Bullock's Oriole, a singing Black-headed Grosbeak, and a singing Tanager that I could not get a visual on, but it sounded a little more like a Summer Tanager, rather than a Western.
Florence Sanchez
(PS--I spent yesterday on a wildflower foray, and I think Alex C. for mentioning the flowers on Aliso Canyon Road in Cuyama in his bird post. It was the BEST of all the spots I went to.)