Today's Santa Clarita CBC yielded 135 species by our 1 pm lunch meeting, putting it ahead of all 6 previous counts. We had a great turnout of enthusiastic counters as well, with at least half the group local Santa Clarita-area residents with several new faces.
Kimball mentioned his "Grebe Slam" and misc. others at Castaic Lagoon; more highlights included two Red-breasted Mergansers at "Bridgeport" (development along the Santa Clara River east of McBean), and a Burrowing Owl hanging on amid office parks at Castaic Jct., a species new for the count and more or less extirpated locally. Two Tricolored Blackbirds were picked out of a swarm of Red-wings up Bouquet Cyn., and many species were represented by 1s or 2s snagged by diligent counters slogging through Arundo thickets, shivering in foothill canyons, or dodging golf balls (Cinnamon Teal, Merlin, Wilson's Snipe, Townsend's Warbler...).
Most of the circle is arid coastal sage scrub, much of it recently burned. As Kimball observed, it was bone-dry this year, so birds were pushed to extremes, flocks of Bushtits and Rufous-crowned Sparrows in irrigated pasture being particularly memorable! And, White-tailed Kite apparently went missing (no voles?).
Thanks to all for turning out!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment