Clay-colored Sparrow at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

An annually rare Clay-colored Sparrow was at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery this fall where it was seen by many people in a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos, Chipping Sparrows, and a Vesper Sparrow. The San Diego County Bird Atlas reports that 4-5 per fall is the average number detected, between mid-September and mid-November as the typical time period.

Clay-colored Sparrows are similar to Chipping Sparrows. The non-breeding birds that show up in fall and winter are easier to separate than would breeding birds, which are exceedingly rare. The buff and cream face of the non-breeding Clay-colored Sparrows is softer than the more contrasting brown and white faces of Chipping Sparrow.

Two definite marks are important to note for identification purposes. Clay-colored Sparrows have a pale loral region--the immediate feathers between the bill and eye. Chipping Sparrows have dark lores, creating a thin black line of feathers that appears to extend through the eye.

A second separating mark is the wide buff line on the side of the throat. It is thin and not as obvious on Chipping Sparrow. The Sibley Guide to Birds calls this buff line a "mustache" (most wrong) in his textual description of the sparrow, but both "malar" (technically wrong) and "lateral throat stripe" (least wrong) in his Bird Topography section. No wonder birders have trouble describing this part of the face! Sibley discusses the ongoing confusion in "What is the submoustachial?"

[See also my post "Advanced birding means learning the basics."]

Clay-colored Sparrow. San Diego, California. September 30, 2018.

Can you tell the difference between rare Clay-colored Sparrows and the more expected Chipping Sparrows?

Chipping Sparrow. San Diego, California. September 30, 2018.

Birding Site Guide: Agua Dulce Creek, Laguna Mountains

The Laguna Mountains are the southernmost pine forests in San Diego County in the Descanso Ranger District of Cleveland National Forest. This location is easily accessed from San Diego on I-8, the interstate rising to over 5000 feet of elevation, less than 50 miles east from downtown.

To the north in San Diego County are the Cuyamaca Mountains, the thousands of acres of conifers of which were nearly completely incinerated in the 2003 Cedar Fire, except for a few remaining on Cuyamaca Peak (site guide here) and at Stonewall Mine and Lake Cuyamaca (site guide here). Farther north yet is Palomar Mountain (site guide here).

The "town" here is Mount Laguna, population 57 in the 2010 census. The general store opens at 9:00 am.

There are many places to watch birds in this forest. The most well-known starting place is the roadside parking along Sunrise Highway (S1) at the meadow at mile post 19 (A on Map 2). This is the starting point for snow play following rather rare winter storms. And there is forest hiking year-round.

In this site guide I describe Agua Dulce Creek. I visited in October 2018 intending on exploring for writing up this site guide, but not having specific information. Fortunately, I met Tuck Russell and after birding together to find rare Clark's Nutcrackers and Pinyon Jays, he showed me around Agua Dulce Creek.

There is rarely water flowing in the creek, except immediately after recent snows or rains. But there are a few "permanent" puddles, and willows and other streamside vegetation follow the ravine. There are fewer recreational hikers and riders (horse and bicycles) here than on other nearby trails.

The Laguna Mountain Volunteer Association has an excellent trail map/brochure, available at the Visitor's Information Center. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a pdf online. One downloadable tif version appears in the Hiking Lady blog.

Getting there: From the I-15/I-8 interchange in San Diego, take I-8 38 miles east to Exit 47 to the Sunrise Hwy (S1). Continue about 8.5 miles to Wooded Hill Road (about mile post 21.7; B on Map 2 below). Drive in about one-half of mile. Pass by the Wooded Hill Group Camp and park in the Agua Dulce Equestrian Trailhead lot. Parking: Adventure Pass required. Hours: Dawn to dusk. Maps Navigation: Agua Dulce Trailhead, Wooded Hill Road, Mount Laguna, CA 91948.

Note: You must have an Adventure Pass to park in most areas here. A day pass on my visit in October 2018 was available for $5 at Mount Laguna store (Friday-Sunday, but doesn't open until 9:00 am). Adventure Passes are sold at outdoor stores, specifically, in the San Diego area: Big 5 Sporting Goods (Adventure Pass Vendor list).

Map 1

Map 2. A is mile post 19 and immediate trails. B is Wooded Hill Rd.

Where to bird: Hike the narrow, but well-defined, dirt trail (rut) east from the Equestrian Trailhead parking lot (P on Map 3). This leads down to a meadow. The trail turns north (photo below). Follow the trail down the narrow valley until the creek forms. The hiking is moderately difficult (not strenuous) with a definite elevation change.

At a small pumphouse (X on Map 3), take the trail across the creek. Turn back south for a hundred feet or so on the other side of the now-formed creek. This is where you are most likely to find some pools of water with birds coming in to drink. Then turn around and follow the trail along the east side of the creek, down to the north. Soon the trail joins a dirt road alongside the creek. After a half mile the road splits (Y on Map 3). The left hand fork follows the creek, but you may choose to turn around any time. Tuck and I went another 1/4 mile or so on our visit, just before the trail reaches the edge of Laguna Meadow.

To return, follow your steps, now up to the south!

Map 3.

A little meadow just east of the parking area looking north. Follow the trail down the valley to the creek.

The trail crosses Agua Dulce Creek at the little pumphouse; X on Map 3.

Agua Dulce Creek. Typical Jeffery Pine and "creek side" habitat.

Agua Dulce Creek. Lower trail opening up into Black Oaks.

What kind of birds should you expect here?

Resident birds include Mountain Quail (most often detected in spring when calling), Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-tailed Hawk, Acorn Woodpecker, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Steller's Jay, California Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brown Creeper (secretive), House Wren, Western Bluebird, Purple Finch, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, Spotted Towhee.

Summer birds include Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird, Turkey Vulture, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo, Violet-green Swallow, Bushtit, American Robin, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Lawrence's Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, California Towhee, Orange-crowned Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak.

Winter visitors include Williamson's Sapsucker (rare), Red-naped Sapsucker (rare), Golden-crowned Kinglet (rare), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Cassin's Finch (rare), Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco (rare), White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow (rare).

Spring (late April and May) and especially fall migration (late August through October) are the key times to visit. You will see resident birds and perhaps some of the longer-staying summering or wintering birds. Regular migrants include: Rufous Hummingbird, Sharp-shinned Hawk (fall), Cooper's Hawk (fall), Red-shouldered Hawk (fall), Western Kingbird (spring), Hammond's Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Lincoln's Sparrow, Fox Sparrow (fall, Slaty-backed and Sooty), Nashville Warbler (fall), MacGillivray's Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Lazuli Bunting (rare).

Rare birds (mostly birds near the edge of their normal range) will be attracted to the water during migration--especially in fall, when other sources of water are hard to find. Conifer cones ripen in fall and early winter and may attract other rarities. Some rare birds may winter. Some rare birds have been found in summer. Rarities here have included: Northern Saw-whet Owl (resident calling in spring and summer), Dusky Flycatcher (spring), Willow Flycatcher (spring/fall), Plumbeous Vireo (fall), Clark's Nutcracker (fall), Red-breasted Nuthatch (year-round), Pacific Wren (spring), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (summer), Townsend's Solitaire (fall), Varied Thrush (fall), Red Crossbill (fall), Pine Siskin (spring), Green-tailed Towhee (fall), Painted Redstart (summer), Hepatic Tanager (summer), Indigo Bunting (summer).

Here is an eBird weekly frequency bar chart of birds at this location.

And a selection of bird photos from my recent trip on October 7, 2018:

Mountain Chickadee

Acorn Woodpecker

Steller's Jay

Hairy Woodpecker

Wilson's Warbler

Hermit Thrush

Green-tailed Towhee

Brown Creeper

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Black-headed Grosbeak

Vesper Sparrow at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

I think this sparrow is perhaps the most difficult to identify in the West. It is most like a Savannah Sparrow, not all of which show the typical yellow on the forward part of the eyebrow line. The thin white eye ring is the first clue that you are looking at a Vesper Sparrow.

Vesper Sparrows winter sparsely in the scrubby grasslands in San Diego county. Best locations are Warner Valley and the San Felipe Valley where they have extensive habitat. Otherwise they are rare, including in migration, September to April, in smaller grassy areas. Such a migrant was in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery recently. It was in a flock of sparrows that included a rare Clay-colored Sparrow. Nevertheless, among those who came to search for the Clay-colored Sparrow (not an easy ID, either), I heard: "Oh, that's what that other sparrow was," when I mentioned the Vesper Sparrow.

Vesper Sparrow. San Diego, California. September 30, 2018.

Birding Site Guide: Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside: Neotropical Migrants

Buddy Todd is a 19-acre hilltop park about 3 miles inland from the beach in Oceanside. It has paved trails throughout the lush lawns, picnic areas, basketball court, children's play equipment, restrooms. The numerous trees, both deciduous and conifers attract many birds in migration.

For those in the North County, Buddy Todd is a poor-man's substitute for the fantastic migrant sites like Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, the Tijuana River Valley's Bird and Butterfly Garden, and Balboa Park south nearer San Diego. These areas are about a 45-70 minute drive south of Oceanside.

April-May and September-October are best for a chance for rare Neotropical migrants: warblers, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, flycatchers.

In winter you might look for Red-breasted or Red-naped Sapsuckers, Brown Creepers, American Robins.

Mountain Chickadees are rare residents. Western Bluebirds are very common residents.

Here is an eBird bar chart of bird frequency.

Getting there: Buddy Todd Park in Oceanside is 37 miles north from the I-5/I-8 interchange in San Diego. From I-5 in Oceanside take the Mission Avenue E exit 53. East 0.9 miles to Mesa Dr. Right on Mesa Dr. 1.0 miles to Buddy Todd Park on left. Parking: Free. Hours: 6 AM to 9 PM. Map Navigation: 2800 Mesa Drive, Oceanside, California 92054.

Where to bird: The park area near the basketball courts (red B on map below) often provides the best birding and fewest people, though rare birds can show up anywhere. This is flat easy paved (yellow trail on map below) birding.

The photos below give a feel to the park. Search each tree for birds. You'll want to start early and finish when the sun becomes warm and birding activity stops. As you can see by the photos below, though, a marine layer of overcast that lasts into late morning is typical much of the year. These conditions can extend bird activity as long as it persists. If it is a clear cool morning, the trees east of the basketball court will receive the first warm rays of light and birding may be most intense at dawn there as the bugs warm up and become active.

White-breasted Nuthatches are uncommon this close to the ocean.

Western Bluebirds are common residents of Buddy Todd Park.

Lowland Mountain Chickadees may be found here, rare away from pine mountains.

Black Phoebes are common residents.

Keep an eye out for Nuttall's Woodpeckers.

Dark-eyed (Oregon) Juncos are uncommon residents of parks with low bushes like Buddy Todd.

Common Tern at Imperial Beach

While walking the beach I came upon a group of gulls resting on the wrack line. With them, off to the side, was this Common Tern.

There are at least 6 tern species one might expect on the beach in southern California. So making sure of the identification was the first order of business that occupied me while also fiddling with camera settings to get the correct exposure and trying to line up a decent composition. The short red legs, red bill with black tip, and the dark carpal bar on the wing, all clinched the ID as Common Tern.

Common Terns were formerly common spring and fall migrants in San Diego, but have been much less common since the 1970's. They are more frequently found offshore than along the beach. April, May, August, and September are excellent times to record this species on pelagic birding trips at sea.

Surprise! As Marlene and I walked out the Imperial Beach Pier this bird (I assume the same individual) decided it was fishing time and circled the pier numerous times. I was able to get a couple of decent photos.

Common Tern. Imperial Beach, California. September 30, 2018.

Marbled Godwit at Imperial Beach

Both Marbled Godwits and Willets are common birds of open beaches in southern California for most of the year. Only during mid-summer (mid-June to mid-July) are they rare. That's the peak of breeding season in the Great Basin where the local population breeds. Even then, a few non-breeding birds (probably those only a year old) remain in summer. Of course, by September, most birds have left their breeding areas and migrate south. Some will continue south, but many thousands will remain along the southern California coast for the winter.

These birds are also found in estuaries and lagoons, but have learned to accept people on the beaches, too. So they ignore people for the most part, running away or flying off if they get chased by children, off-leash dogs, or beach walkers getting too close. Of course, I'm not too happy when I'm sitting on the beach photographing these birds and people come up and deliberately chase the birds away. People can be... people (and that's not a compliment).

Marbled Godwit. Imperial Beach, California. September 30, 2018.

Willet at Imperial Beach

Willets are common birds of the open beach in southern California. Sometimes I "forget" to photograph them, while looking for something less common. But they were being especially photogenic a couple of weeks back. So here is a series of photos of them (many are likely the same individual) on the beach and in the surf.

Willet. Imperial Beach, California. September 30, 2018.