American Pipit at Lake Hodges

Where do the local pipits breed? Every winter there are pipits on local muddy lake shores and estuaries. They may be found in short-grass areas such as parks or school yard ball fields, cemeteries, golf courses and sod farms.

But they breed in Arctic tundra and tundra-like vegetation above tree line in the highest mountains. From Greenland and Newfoundland to Alaska they breed southward in the Rocky Mountains to a few tall peaks in New Mexico, Arizona, California, and just across the border into Baja Mexico (Sierra San Pedro Martir). None of the peaks in San Diego are tall enough for breeding pipits, at only 5000 feet elevation.

Every fall they move out of the tundra and head south to get out of the snow. Some to the southern United States (and coast-to-coast, from British Columbia to New Jersey) and south all the way to El Salvador.

American Pipit. Lake Hodges, California. January 25, 2019.

So, are the pipits here from the Arctic, or only nearby mountains?

Well, hello, Google! I guess I'm not the first to wonder about this. Let me read the article I just found and report back in a few minutes...

… So Jon H. Miller and Michael T. Green wrote an article in The Condor in 1987 titled, appropriately: "Distribution, Status, and Origin of Water Pipits Breeding in California." Ah, yes, for a while in the 1980's a whole bunch of lumping went on. I think this was when we briefly had Green-backed Herons and Black-shouldered Kites (and still have Northern Harriers). Remember? American Pipits (Anthus rubescens) were combined with pipits in Europe and Asia and called Water Pipits (Anthus spinoletta). The American form was considered as a subspecies of Water Pipit. They have been split back out and recognized as a unique species now. So when reading that article, keep the change in scientific nomenclature in mind.

So, this is interesting. From Alaska to Oregon the breeding race of American Pipit is A. r. pacificus. They winter commonly throughout California.

However, the breeding race in the Sierra-Nevada and San Gorgonio Mountain in southern California? Not A. r. pacificus. Instead, they are the Rocky Mountain form A. r. alticola. Even though American Pipits are fairly common breeders in high mountains in California, this has only been true since the 1970's--they were previously absent. So, not what was expected at all. That's often true in nature, and part of what makes bird watching so interesting.

More photos of American Pipit in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Ferruginous Hawk in Ramona

Ferruginous Hawks are rather scarce in San Diego County. But several winter on or near the Ramona Grasslands Preserve. I usually encounter them as this bird, up above on a power pole against harsh skies. It is rather easy to get this view using the car as a blind and drive up below them. One of these days, though, I'm going to get a much better photo of a bird at eye-level perched on a fencepost with a darker background.

Ferruginous Hawk. Ramona, California. January 21, 2019.

More photos of Ferruginous Hawks in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Is it all right that I like coyotes?

Coyotes seem to be universally despised. Despite two centuries of persecution they survive, even thrive, alongside humans. Pretty impressive that. In fact, the more you kill, the larger their litters become. At the same time, persecution breaks up their packs into small family units, helping them evade their enemies.

They are opportunistic. They primarily eat rodents, insects, rabbits, fruit, berries. But they will eat cats, small dogs, and livestock on occasion. That doesn't win them any friends. More and more they are moving into cities where no one shoots, traps, or poisons them. Here they eat rats and human garbage, which they find in plenty.

Coyote. Ramona, California. January 21, 2019.

It is extremely rare for a coyote to attack a human, though it happens more frequently as the "urban coyote" population increases. Dogs on the other hand? They bite 4.7 million people each year in the United States (Dog Bite Statistics). And dogs kill other dogs, cats, and livestock too. Yet one we love, the other we despise.

I see coyotes fairly frequently. I've seen luxuriously-furred animals hunting voles in the snow in Oregon. I've seen mangy-looking skinny animals hunting lizards in the desert. I hear them howling out the window when I wake up at night, even in residential areas. I see them sitting on the hillside like a small German Shepherd, soaking up the warming rays of morning sun.

But mostly, I see them hunting mice in fields, as this one pictured above. They keep a respectful distance, but aren't overly wary. They get no animosity from me.

Greater Yellowlegs in Ramona

It's not often there are roadside puddles out on Rangeland Road alongside the Ramona Grasslands Preserve. At least, not so long-lasting that four (4!) migrant Greater Yellowlegs stop in. It's been a wet winter in southern California.

Greater Yellowlegs. Ramona, California. January 21, 2019.

More photos of Greater Yellowlegs in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Bushtit in Ramona

Bushtits on the coastal slope of San Diego County are darker and browner than elsewhere in their western US and SW Canada range. They are typical of those described for northwestern Baja California, Psaltriparus minimus melanurus (San Diego County Bird Atlas, 2004, Philip Unitt).

Bushtit. Ramona, California. January 21, 2019.

These birds are common throughout the county, except desert. They are found in oak woodlands, chaparral, and residential areas.

More photos of Bushtit in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).