BackDeparture Date: January 15 - 21, 2025
Compiled By: Brennan Mulrooney
Trip Leaders: Brennan Mulrooney, Kevin Burke
Toll Free: 800.328.8368
Phone: 512.328.5221
Winter Southern California
Winter Southern California
Last year, our Winter Southern California tour took place during one of Southern California’s wettest winters in recent memory. We barely dodged historic storms. This year was similarly lucky to avoid disaster, but in a totally different way. This year we are experiencing a historic drought, and persistent Santa Ana winds have sparked devastating wildfires. Lucky for us, the winds calmed for our tour, and the fires were all far enough away that they had no effect on us. Considering the bone-dry conditions, birding was still quite good, and we tallied quite a list of birds in five days of birding.
Reddish Egret © Brennan Mulrooney
As we always do, we began by visiting the coastal sage scrub of San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in search of the state endemic California Gnatcatcher. This small furtive species is always a challenge to see well, but this year, perhaps due to the dry conditions, we had a hard time just finding one! But persistence eventually paid off, and we had amazing views of a very cooperative individual right next to the trail. In addition to the gnatcatcher, we enjoyed a great variety of West Coast specialties such as dazzling Allen’s and Anna’s hummingbirds, Wrentits, California Scrub-Jays, California Towhees, and California Thrashers. A flock of Bushtits came by close enough to touch, and “Belding’s” Savannah Sparrows were hopping along the trail almost at our feet. This subspecies of Savannah Sparrow is found only in the salt marshes of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. It’s listed as Endangered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
California Gnatcatcher © Brennan Mulrooney
After a hearty lunch we visited Mission Bay, where we were treated to a wide variety of shorebirds and waterbirds. Western and Clark’s grebes were side by side, providing a nice comparison, and a Horned Grebe among them was a bonus. Red Knots foraged with a mixed flock of shorebirds including Western Sandpipers and Marbled Godwits. A real treat was getting repeated flybys from foraging Black Skimmers as they sliced their bills across the bay’s surface, just a few yards away from shore.
We finished our day with a visit to a local urban canyon where we lucked out, quickly finding a gorgeous adult male Hepatic Tanager. This species is a rare visitor to California, but this year there are 5 or 6 wintering in San Diego County. We also found a large flock of Scaly-breasted Munias here. This introduced species has become established throughout Southern California in recent years. And as we were leaving, we encountered a flock of Western Bluebirds foraging along the trail. The vivid blue wings, head, and tail along with the deep chestnut color of their breasts was breathtaking at such close range.
Black Skimmers © Brennan Mulrooney
Our first stop of day two was La Jolla Cove, where we enjoyed stunning views of the Pacific Ocean as we scoured the cliffs and rocks, seeking out rocky shore specialists. As we watched the waves crash into the sea cliffs, huge flocks of Brandt’s Cormorants were streaming by, heading offshore to forage. Next, we had the amazing experience of being able to practically walk into a breeding colony of Brandt’s Cormorants. They nest on the cliffs here, and the nests are so close to the sidewalk that you can almost reach out and touch them. Their electric-blue gular pouches and jewel-like blue eyes were easy to appreciate at such close range. We found Black Turnstones and the locally rare Black Oystercatcher here as well. A single Pelagic Cormorant flew by showing its gleaming white flank patches, and further offshore, flocks of Black-vented Shearwaters skimmed the ocean’s surface. People often groan when you say we are going to look at gulls, but Heermann’s Gulls elicit no such response. At this time of year, the adults have gleaming white heads and glowing red bills that contrast with their gray and black bodies, making them real standouts among the more “normal-looking” California and Western gulls around them. In addition to the birds, we enjoyed close views of California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals, which both make use of this terrific marine sanctuary.
Heermann's Gull © Brennan Mulrooney
Leaving La Jolla, we headed for the south end of San Diego Bay and the Tijuana River Valley. Looking out onto the bay, we spotted rafts of Brant, Surf Scoters, Redheads, and Lesser Scaup. At Dairy Mart Ponds we found Vermilion Flycatcher and Cassin’s Kingbirds. Then moving on to the Bird and Butterfly Garden, we added Common Ground-Doves and Hermit Thrush. A walk along the trail at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge produced an amazing close encounter with a Long-billed Curlew. These birds are much more common in the West than in the eastern US, and while we saw many large flocks later in the Imperial Valley, this first sighting was certainly special due to this individual’s close proximity and confiding nature. We all agreed that this species is quite aptly named.
Long-billed Curlew © Brennan Mulrooney
After a late-day siesta, we headed out to El Cajon to see if we could catch a flock of parrots on their way to their evening roost. When we first arrived, we could hear the distant screeches of the parrot flocks, but none were coming into the roost trees just yet. A pair of Peregrine Falcons seemed to also be patiently waiting for their arrival, as they circled and perched on the nearby buildings. Soon enough the distantly calling flocks were all around us, darkening the sky as they came in by the dozens. Red-crowned and Lilac-crowned parrots (now called Amazons) were both present. We estimated that in total there were about 300 Red-crowned and 100 Lilac-crowned. The noise was deafening, and their antics were a joy to watch as they settled into the trees. Eventually we tore ourselves away to enjoy a delicious seafood dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Long-eared Owl © Brennan Mulrooney
On our third day we started at the beach and ended up 100 miles inland and over 200 feet below sea level. At Mission Beach we found a roosting flock of over 70 Snowy Plovers, and we scoped a small group of Surfbirds foraging on the rocks of the jetty as waves crashed around them. We then worked our way up into the mountains adding birds like Band-tailed Pigeon, Oak Titmouse, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller’s Jay, Acorn Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Phainopepla, “Thick-billed” Fox Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. At Lake Cuyamaca we stopped for lunch and picked up some Tricolored Blackbirds right there at the restaurant. Soon we dropped down into the desert with a stop at Anza Borrego Desert State Park’s Tamarisk Grove Campground. Things were rather quiet, but with a little bit of searching we were rewarded with stunning views of a roosting Long-eared Owl. Several folks mentioned that they never thought they would get to see a Long-eared, and it was voted favorite bird of the trip. At the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, we found huge numbers of waterbirds including a large flock of Snow and Ross’s geese and a sprinkling of Sandhill Cranes. Just outside of the refuge, out in the agricultural fields of the Imperial Valley, we located a small flock of Mountain Plovers. This species winters in the valley every year, but finding a flock among the hundreds of fields can be quite a challenge. It was an amazing bit of fortune to find a flock so quickly.
Vermilion Flycatcher © Brennan Mulrooney
On day four we spent all day birding the Imperial Valley and the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea. We did some birding in the town of Brawley, where we found a roosting Great Horned Owl, Vermilion Flycatchers, Verdin, Abert’s Towhee, Gila and Ladder-backed woodpeckers, Costa’s Hummingbird, White-winged Doves, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. Out in the agricultural fields we located Prairie Falcon, Mountain Bluebird, Loggerhead Shrikes, and several Burrowing Owls. In the refuge marshes near the shore of the Salton Sea we located a variety of secretive marsh birds. We saw and/or heard Marsh Wren, Virginia Rail, Sora, and a Ridgway’s Rail of the “Yuma” race.
"Yuma" Ridgway's Rail © Brennan Mulrooney
Our final day of birding included a stop in Borrego Springs, where we chased a flighty flock of desert sparrows around. We tallied Vesper, Brewer’s, Black-throated, Bell’s, and Sagebrush sparrows. After a picnic lunch we stopped at the Ramon Grasslands and added Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle, and Bald Eagle. Back down in the coastal lowlands we visited Lindo Lakes, where we saw our first Common Gallinules and had amazing views of Black-crowned Night Herons. And finally, we made a stop at the mouth of the San Diego River, where a huge number of birds were foraging and resting. We quickly added three new species to our trip list: Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Reddish Egret. The Reddish Egret was foraging right at the water’s edge and gave us quite a show, jumping and lurching about, throwing its wings in the air and jabbing its bill into the water as it hunted for little fish in the shallows. In all, we tallied 190 species in 5 days of birding in mid-winter—amazing! We saw a great diversity of habitats and enjoyed wonderful weather. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for us.
ITINERARY
January 15 - arrival in San Diego
January 16 – San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, Mission Bay at Crown Point Park, Wing Street
Canyon.
January 17 – Point La Jolla, South San Diego Bay at J Street Marina, Tijuana River Valley at Dairy
Mart Ponds, the Sod Farm, and the Bird and Butterfly Garden, Tijuana Slough NWR-North McCoy Trail, Silver Strand, and parrot roost at El Cajon Courthouse.
January 18 – South Mission Beach, Alpine, Pine Valley, Paso Picacho Campground in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Tamarisk Grove Campground in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Unit 1 of the
Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (SBSSNWR)
January 19 – Keystone Rd Wetlands, Cattle Call Park, Residential Brawley, Calipatria State Prison
Pond and Fields, SBSSNWR Headquarters, Garst Rd and Morton Bay, Southeastern Shoreline
of the Salton Sea from Obsidian Butte.
January 20 – Borrego Springs, Borrego Springs Resort, Montezuma Valley Rd, Pacific Crest Trail at Barrel Springs, Warner Valley Grasslands, Ramon Pond, Ramona Grasslands along Rangeland Road, Lindo Lake and a mad dash to San Diego River Mouth at Robb Field.
January 21 – Departures for home.
Belding's Savannah Sparrow © Brennan Mulrooney
KEY
S = San Diego and surrounding areas
M = Mountains, Anza-Borrego Desert
SS = Salton Sea and surrounding agricultural areas of the Imperial Valley
SBSSNWR = Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
bold-faced species indicate birds of rare, casual, or accidental occurrence.
underlined species indicate birds of very uncommon occurrence or species which occur regularly
but in such low densities as to be easily missed.
Anna's Hummingbird © Brennan Mulrooney
