I headed up to Kinevan this morning hoping it would be above the marine layer, but it was right in the ceiling. Therefore most birding was by ear. Best find was a singing Cassin's Vireo on the north-facing slope. At first it was pretty high up but on my return walk, it had moved down closer to the road, but still I couldn't get a visual. This was the area between and above road markers 11 and 12.
Other birds heard included at least 5 Warbling Vireos, 4 Yellow Warblers, STeller's Jays in 2 locations, and a nice assortment of Woodpeckers (Acorn, Nuttall's and Hairy).
In mid afternoon, I made a short stop at the Goleta slough checking out areas K&L. No Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but in Area L (as viewed through the fence along the road that runs past Goleta West Sanitary District), I picked up a nice WHITE-FACED IBIS foraging with Black-necked Stilts. Also present were 2 Dowitchers (NOT in alternate plumage), and a Greater Yellowlegs. Overhead swallows included Barn, Rough-winged, and Cliff.
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

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

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

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,

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

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

Hi everyone,

Friday afternoon, Sophie Cameron, Alex Castelein, and I drove up to Cuyama for an overnight birding trip.

Our first stop was at the Caliente Ranch wetlands, where we found 2 solitary sandpipers together in the shallow pond on the north side of Hwy 166, approx (34.990260, -119.800037). The pair allowed nice views as they foraged on the mudflats for several minutes, then eventually flew off.
We then made a stop at the Cuyama WTP, where there were western and least sandpipers, spotted sandpipers, 2 greater yellowlegs, and cinnamon teal, among other things. Alex spotted a yellow-headed blackbird flying by that Sophie and I unfortunately didn't get eyes on.
As darkness cloaked the valley, we drove to Ballinger Canyon to camp for the night. We could hear the trills of lesser nighthawks from our campsite, so decided to cruise Ballinger Canyon rd. in hopes of finding more. After not too long, we spotted a nighthawk sitting on the road. It soon flushed and was met with a second individual. We watched the pair of nighthawks fly around above our heads while we could hear another singing in the distance, so there had to be at least 3 in the area.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of our birding along Ballinger Canyon road in the morning was a gorgeous and confiding black-throated sparrow that sang for us near (34.8823388, -119.4509115), on the north side of the road about half a kilometer (by road) southwest of the campground. There may have been a second individual spotted, but we were unable to see both simultaneously to confirm. It would be really interesting to see if they breed here this year; per eBird data it appears they haven't been seen in Ballinger for 8 years. In addition to the black-throated sparrow, there were several Brewer's, black-chinned, and Bell's sparrows singing in the general area.

A brief stop at Santa Barbara Pistachio after Ballinger yielded some yellow warblers and a warbling vireo amongst the horde of house sparrows.

Hoping to turn up a Scott's oriole and more north county goodies we made stops at Deer Park and Quatal canyons, but didn't have any luck at turning up anything new. By this point, it was quite hot outside and activity was reduced.

Surprisingly, Cuyama dairy was devoid of blackbirds, and our hopes of finding another yellow-headed (bananahead) were squashed.
Throughout our extensive meandering along the valley's roads we kept wary eyes out for Swainson's hawks, but turned up nothing notable in the raptor department other than a single golden eagle soaring above Kirschenmann rd.

As is often the case with spring birding, the incidental reptile encounters were quite good. Without intentional effort we stumbled across a San Joaquin coachwhip, leopard lizard sp., Blainville's horned lizard, and a gopher snake. As expected, the wildflower show was astonishing.

We had places to be in the evening, so left Cuyama around 2 pm on Saturday, wrapping up a very fun birding trip.

Happy Birding!
Max Laubstein
Isla Vista

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 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.)

I tried to send a short report about my visit from my iPhone last night, but for some reason, Apple Mail did not accept the domaine for sbcobirding as valid. So I forwarded it to Steve Cowell, who shared it on Slack. Therefore some of you may know a little about my birding experience Wednesday morning.
Anyway, based on info from Nick Lethaby, I started at a spot near the Owl Rock and worked the oaks there. Foliage is pretty dense, so it took a little while, but I eventually teased out 2 Wilson's Warblers, a Warbling Vireo, a HERMIT WARBLER, and a Cassin's Vireo in those trees, as well as a Pacific Slope Flycatcher, Phainopepla, and some other more common residents. I then decided to go up and park near the beehives and walk the road up to the hairpin turn at the end of the stretch with houses as I had done a few days prior, and it proved to be a good move. The sparse and burned-out trees were full of migrants, especially warblers, and I had an excellent morning.
My total species count for 3 hours of birding was 46. Highlights/totals included 2 Ash-throated Flycatchers, 10 Warbling Vireos, 2 Cassin's Vireos, 1 Canyon Wren, 2 Hooded Orioles, 2 Bullock's Orioles, 1 Western Tanager, 1 WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (singing behind 1875 Refugio Road), 3 Orange-crowned Warblers, 5 Wilson's Warblers, 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 7 Townsend's Warblers, 4 Black-throated Gray Warblers, 3 Nashville Warblers, 6 HERMIT WARBLERS!, 7 Yellow Warblers, and 1 Black-headed Grosbeak.
The much-discussed Hummingbird was still on its perch in a field near the hairpin turn. After it finally turned around, I got a good look at it and saw the following characteristics: Gray chest, Rosy-red gorget with rather longer than typical Anna's "wings," No pronounced V in the gorget; Approximate size of an Anna's, shorter bill than most Anna's. When the gorget flashed, it also reflected bronzy-orange tones. It was silent the whole time I observed. Based on what I saw, I'd call it an Anna's, but I'll bow to experts who can provide solid rationiale for another interpretation.
Florence Sanchez

This morning at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden above the old Mission Dam and along the Redwood Grove and creek were one male Black-headed Grosbeak, one Nashville Warbler, one male Yellow Warbler and at least two Pacific-slope Flycatchers.

Mark Bright
Santa Barbara