Mountain Chickadees in Oceanside

One of the surprises I had moving from Oregon to San Diego was hearing Mountain Chickadees in the palm trees. Of course, they are quite rare away from the highest mountain conifers... except in the North County from Escondido to Oceanside, where they are merely fairly rare residents, not "quite rare." And they are more often found in ornamental pine trees planted in town rather than palm trees. But here are two photos of birds in palm trees in Oceanside.

Mountain Chickadee in palm tree. Oceanside, California. September 16, 2018.

I've recorded Mountain Chickadees 122 times in San Diego County from November 2013. Of these, 63--just over 50%--have been in the lowland towns away from the typical mountain habitat. Most have been near my residences--heard while outside doing other things. I've detected them in Escondido, San Marcos, Fallbrook, and Oceanside, all in the NW corner of San Diego County. I've found them in every month of the year, more often in March and April when they are singing more frequently, and August and September (Perhaps when some may be moving out of the mountains?).

So, 63 "backyard" birds in 5 years. That is not really all that rare, after all, is it?