American Pipit-a wonderful and rare find… Five years ago, rain loomed in the forecast for our first Oceanside/Carlsbad/Vista Christmas Bird Count.  My rain gear and waterproof binoculars stood at the ready in the car.  I asked others in our group what fun or interesting birds we might see. All agreed on the huge flock of…

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Metallica—The Allen’s Hummingbird

Living in Colorado, we had a pretty easy time identifying the four common hummingbird species. Sounds like a cricket flying by, showing bright red throat feathers?  Broad-tailed. Slender, dark-headed with no rufous or buffiness anywhere?  Black-chinned. So tiny that it has to stretch to reach the feeder port from the perch?  Definitely Calliope. A shock…

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The Ubiquitous Mallard—A Cautionary Tale, by Tina Mitchell

Mallard Batiquitos  Hardly in need of an introduction, the Mallard is our most familiar, common, and widespread duck, residing almost everywhere in North America at some point during the year.  Tamed since antiquity, Mallards are the progenitors of all races of domestic ducks except the Muscovy.  In fact, while hybridization is common among many waterfowl…

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On Display—The Western Tanager, by Tina Mitchell

An amazing variety of birds in the western hemisphere are called “tanagers”—estimates range from 300 to 400 species in all.  During breeding season, the U.S. routinely hosts only four tanager species, all closely related congenerics:  Western, Summer, Hepatic, and Scarlet. Westerns are by far the most common in this county; the San Diego County Birding…

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This Neighborhood Jukebox Plays for Free — The Northern Mockingbird

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word.  Pappa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.  If that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.”  Northern Mockingbirds pretty much do nothing but sing.  So you can kiss that diamond ring goodbye.  A loud and indefatigable songster and consummate mimic, a Northern Mockingbird structures his song…

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Buena Vista’s Charming Symbol, The Ruddy Duck

Sporting a dapper black cap, a sky-blue bill accentuating a chestnut-brown body, a gleaming white cheek patch, and black perky tail feathers, a male Ruddy Duck in breeding season assumes an entirely different bearing from his nondescript winter alter ego. All in all, with its small size, broad flattened bill, disproportionately large head, and distinct,…

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The Cuckoo in the Coal Mine

Yellow-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus) are fairly common in the eastern U.S. But in the last half-century, they have become rare in the West. Over the past 10 years in San Diego County, eBird shows unique sightings only 15 times—almost always a single bird in June or July, at Lake Henshaw, Lake Hodges, the Anza Borrego…

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Under the Mistletoe—Phainopepla

A member of the silky-flycatcher family, the Phainopepla inhabits the Southwest and Mexico. The male has a thin frame; shiny black plumage; piercing crimson eyes; and a sparse, cow-lick crest. In contrast to the male’s shimmering plumage, the similarly shaped female sports sooty gray feathers with the same crimson eyes and wispy crest. In flight,…

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Our Friend Flicker

Late one winter when we lived in Colorado, a female American Kestrel had roosted for several weeks on a ledge above our neighbors’ garage.  Thinking perhaps she might consider breeding there, my husband built a nestbox for the neighbors to install.  Alas, she moved on.  But a month or so later, a pair of Northern…

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