This morning I headed out to the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. This is an area of open space that was saved from development by a community group and donated to the Land Trust in 2007. It is one of the few remaining accessible open spaces in the Santa Barbara foothills.
The reason for heading here - recent bird reports, of course! Yesterday local birder, biologist, and open space advocate Mark Holmgren reported 3 desirable species here: Greater Roadrunner, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Townsend's Solitaire. Any one of these would be a good addition to the year's list, as they are difficult to find locally (Roadrunner, Sparrow) or usually stay in the mountains (Solitaire).
As I arrived at the entrance to the reserve there was a group assembling for a guided tour. Mark Holmgren arrived to join the group. I was going to ask him where he was hiding the Solitaire but he was engaged with the group and I did not want to interrupt. Mistake.
I looked in the noted spot for the Solitaire, without luck. I then made a loop of the eastern side of the reserve, which did not turn up the desired Roadrunner or sparrow. On the way out, I stopped agin to look for the Solitaire, but it was not cooperating. 0 for 3 on desired birds today! To rub salt in the wound, Mark's ebird report from his visit did show the Solitaire to be present.
So, I will need to revisit this place. Not a bad thing, as I have seen several interesting birds here during the spring and summer in previous years.
I leave you with a photo I took of a Townsend's Solitaire last year.
After the today the year's total still stands at 177.
The reason for heading here - recent bird reports, of course! Yesterday local birder, biologist, and open space advocate Mark Holmgren reported 3 desirable species here: Greater Roadrunner, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Townsend's Solitaire. Any one of these would be a good addition to the year's list, as they are difficult to find locally (Roadrunner, Sparrow) or usually stay in the mountains (Solitaire).
As I arrived at the entrance to the reserve there was a group assembling for a guided tour. Mark Holmgren arrived to join the group. I was going to ask him where he was hiding the Solitaire but he was engaged with the group and I did not want to interrupt. Mistake.
I looked in the noted spot for the Solitaire, without luck. I then made a loop of the eastern side of the reserve, which did not turn up the desired Roadrunner or sparrow. On the way out, I stopped agin to look for the Solitaire, but it was not cooperating. 0 for 3 on desired birds today! To rub salt in the wound, Mark's ebird report from his visit did show the Solitaire to be present.
So, I will need to revisit this place. Not a bad thing, as I have seen several interesting birds here during the spring and summer in previous years.
I leave you with a photo I took of a Townsend's Solitaire last year.
Townsend's Solitaire, February 2014, Figueroa Mountain
After the today the year's total still stands at 177.
Today I rode 11.8 miles
More later,
Glenn
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