All,
I hiked up to Cachuma Mountain today. Highlights were a seen Mountain Quail and a Black-chinned Sparrow. Lots of Lazuli Buntings along the trail.

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Nick Lethaby Goleta, CA
nlethaby@... Mobile: 805 284 6200
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Nick Lethaby
Goleta, CA

I headed up there this morning to complete a two-part survey I try to do each year. This time the plan was to hike from the end of the paved road to Broadcast peak and back, with side trips up both Santa Ynez and Broadcast Peak roads. As it turned out, I did not go farther than Santa Ynez peak. It was very warm up there even at 8:30 and I discovered my second water battle hadn't made it into my pack, so I opted for prudence and safety. It wasn't very birdy, but I had 3 male Lazuli Buntings at various places, and I heard a singing Black-chinned Sparrow from down below the road about a half-mile before the pavement ended.
Flowers that I missed last time (like pitcher sage) are now blooming and some of the patches of Golden Yarrow along the roadcuts were breath-taking. Yuccas are also starting to bloom along the road. Big surprise was the number of Fairy Lanterns (Calochortus albus) I saw at many places all along the road, even in full sun. There also were a few beautiful Larkspur plants near the back entrance of Rancho La Sherpa.
They are working Refugio Road at the really bad spot above the first switchbacks. I had no problem going up and had absolutely no traffic on upper Refugio and West Camino Cielo Roads. However, coming down I ran into lane closure where they were working, which I did expect, but I didn't expect that lane closures would average an hour! So I sat in a very dull spot under the foggy ceiling for almost that length of time before I could continue down, following one of the worker's flatbed trucks. We ran into more delays as heavy equipment was coming up and vehicles had to jockey for position on the narrow portions of the road. For the next couple of weeks, I'd suggest avoiding this area.
Addendum to my report from Refugio Road/Quiota Creek: I forgot to mention I heard a Cassin's Vireo song there yesterday. I could not get a visual on the bird.
And in regard to a post about Cedar Waxwings: I had a flock of about 30 on my first visit to Baron Ranch on May 9, and about a dozen Waxwings at both Barka Slough and the Santa Ynez River earlier this week.
Florence Sanchez

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

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

So as I reported earlier, I hiked Baron Ranch this morning, covering the Arroyo Quemada Trail and a good portion of the loop trail. Due to a somewhat confusing sign on the loop trail, I eventually turned back and retraced my steps down rather than completing the full circle, but I figure I hiked closed to 8 miles round trip. I good birding along the entire route, though things did quiet down on the last part of my way out in the afternoon.
The big highlight was the Bell's Vireo reported earlier. At that same point where I was trying to chase down the Vireo for a photo, There was a Costa's Hummingbird, Swainson's Thrush, and a Chat calling from below in the creek. It was that kind of a day. There were fewer Wilson's Warbler on the upper portion of the creek than I found on Tuesday, but otherwise, bird activity was just as high or higher. Especially interesting was the high number of Black Headed Grosbeaks and Lazuli Buntings I found on a half-mile stretch at the top of the loop, which was mainly grassland and burned oaks: six of each on this part alone.
Here are some selected birds and totals: Costa's HB-2, both male Black-chinned HB-1 male Ash-throated Flycatcher-4 Olive-sided Flycatcher-2 Western Wood Pewee-1 (in the upper burned section) Bell's Vireo -1 Warbling Vireo-9 Swainson's Thrush-2 Yellow-breasted Chat-3 (including 1 in the burn area) Yellow Warbler-5 Wilson's Warbler-6 Bullock's Oriiole -2 Hooded Oriole -3 Blue Grosbeak-2
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

This morning I made the long drive to valley to see if I could pick up some of the sparrows that had been seen recently and perhaps find a few new flowers.
I birded Ballinger Canyon Road from the intersection of Highway 33 to the Campground. Best birding was in or near the campground: singing Black-chinned and Brewer's Sparrow, Phainopepla, Lawrence's Goldfinches, and (probably) nesting Western Kingbirds, judging from their extremely aggressive behavior (even for them!) towards a pair of Ravens that wandered in. Also present near the campground and elsewhere along the route were several Lazuli Buntings, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Lark Sparrows.
My next stop was at the intersection of Qatal Canyon with Highway 33, where I birded the tall trees by the apparently abandoned home. Most of the activity there was from Eurasian Collared-Doves and House Sparrows, but there also were Western Kingbirds, Lawrences Goldfinches, Western Tanagers (3), and a pair of Bullock's Orioles. The water impoundment next to this property has had Tr-colored Blackbirds in the past, but today I found nary a one. I then up drove Qatal Canyon for several miles but did not turn up anything else birdwise that I had not seen before.
I finished at Santa Barbara Pistachio where I had lunch and watched bird feeing around the small pond and the trees above. No warblers, but I had Lark Sparrows, American Robins, and Lawrence's Goldfinch all com edown to the water, and in the trees were more Western Kingbirds and at least one Bullock's Oriole.
Though the main show of Goldfields is done, I still had some nice flowers in Ballinger Canyon, including some beautiful Hillside Daisy and at least two different kinds of Phacelia. Also blooming profusely along both roads was the yellow and cream Malacothrix featured on the cover of Clif Smith's "A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region, California." I was hoping to find two of my inland favorites, Scarlet Bugler and Blazing Star, but was not successful. It may yet be too early for them.
Closer to home, I found that White lupine is finally blooming along US 101 in the shady north-facing roadcut between Los Alamos and its intersection with Highway 154.
Florence Sanchez

All,
While observing a good flight of migrants this morning in Refugio Canyon, I had a male Black-throated Green Warbler pop up at close range for about 30 seconds. It immediately moved on up the canyon so not worth chasing.
There was a big push of BH Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings, Warbling Vireos, Wilson's and Yellow Warblers. Only a single Nashville and no BT Grays. One Olive-sided Flycatcher. I had over 200 migrants and probably missed 60-70% of the birds as they were moving over a broad front.
Regards,

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Nick Lethaby Goleta, CA
nlethaby@... Mobile: 805 284 6200
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Nick Lethaby
Goleta, CA

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

I decided to bird the stretch of Road from 3051 WCC by walking east to where the pavement ends just before the Las Cumbres Observatory. The forecast was for wind but it looked like the accompanying fog wasn't along that section of road. Not quite the case when I got to the starting point! Light wind, fog, and temp of 42 degrees, not the best birding weather for sure! But I did it anyway and though bird activity was very light, I found some things to enjoy.
Like the group that went up last week, I found no Black-chinned sparrows and only 1 singing Lazuli Bunting along this stretch of road. I heard several Mountain Quail below the road and flushed at least 4 small flocks of California Quail. I also found two Ash-throated Flycatchers and a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers that might have been trying to nest. Spotted towhees were abundant.
This can be a great road for flowers, but I found many of the things I look for were not out yet: pitcher Sage, Santa Ynez False-Lupine, Snapdragon, and others. However the Bush Poppies along this stretch of road were lush and spectacular, as were several stands of Ceanothus in varying shades of blue. The highlight was a truly spectacular large Madrone in full bloom. I also found some very large white Fairy Lanterns in a grassy stretch of the road about .5 miles from the intersection with Refugio Road.
In addition, the first part of the road beyond the houses and the hairpin turn has a great display of fire-recovering plants, such as lavender phacelia, bush sunflower and other composites, and white morning glory. I regret not being able to take a photo on this narrow section of road.
I suspect the upper road will be more profitable birdwise and flower-wise in a couple more weeks.
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

I took a bike ride on West Camino Cielo from the locked gate near the Winchester Gun Club to 2.2 road miles west of that gate. While many residents and migratory summer breeders were present and singing, there was almost no evidence of northbound migration. Not even Cliff Swallows. I saw one Hermit Warbler and another individual that slipped past me, but nothing else. Lazuli Bunting have settled into our area this year. Ample numbers of those. Mountain Quail were heard at nearly every stop I made; none were seen. No checklist. Mark Holmgren San Marcos Pass

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 again visited the west slope of Figueroa Mountain in search of migrant activity and was not disappointed. As soon as I stepped out of the car I heard Black-throated Gray and detected Lazuli Bunting going by. I've detected pretty good movement here in the past as birds seem to move up Lisque Canyon on Sedgwick Reserve then spill over the saddle towards Foxen Canyon. Most birds were seen within the first half mile of my mile walk up the road and included Hermit, Townsends, Nashville, Orange-crowned, additional Black-throated Gray and Yellow-rumped Warblers. A bit further up the road I had an Olive-sided Flycatcher. A Greater Roadrunner was heard cooing persistently (there may have been two) on Sedgwick property near the head of Lisque Canyon.

Complete list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S134387755

Peter Schneekloth
Buellton