San Onofre State Beach bluffs/campground, north of San Diego. It’s an odd area, an elongate, narrow strip of land sandwiched between Interstate 5 on the east, the Pacific Ocean on the west, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (“SONGS,” decommissioned) on the north, and USMC Camp Pendleton on the south.

From the park road (parallel to the train tracks and I5), several bluff-top trails branch off to descend to the beach. On this rainy day in early March, out of 4+ such beach access trails, two were unusable due to erosion. Kahuna (trail #3?) and Atomic Sands (trail #1?) trails were open. Fascinating biome of blufftop, coastal chaparral, and both rocky and sandy beach.

Bird activity: lots of Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, & White-crowned Sparrow, + a few Anna’s Hummingbird, Turkey Vulture, California Towhee, etc.

“Bird of the day,” so great to see an amazing California Thrasher in the open. Singing on a branch, perhaps out to enjoy the rain:

Lots of severe erosion along this stretch of coast, like this huge section of collapsed bluff along one of the blufftop trails:

View of Atomic Sands Trail (#1) descending to beach, w/ SONGS in the background/horizon center:

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Cold temps and snow overnight in Erie County, Pennsylvania – around 5 cm (2 inches) of snow on non-paved surfaces. (Winter’s not over yet!) Escaping the cold, for today’s post it’s part 1 of a recent Saturday morning visit to the great El Rio Preserve in Marana, Arizona, one of the top birding hotspots in the greater Tucson area. First up, a nice shot of Violet-green Swallow in flight. Tough to shoot swallows in flight; this was captured using patience + the “pre-focus” method:

Nice shots of beautiful Gadwall ducks:

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Don’t quite know how a staff member ended up in Yuma, Arizona for BirdingPI.com’s “late winter go somewhere other than Erie County” week. Maybe it’s for the ‘salt free’ water? In any event, about a 3-hour, 10-minute drive from Tucson/Phoenix to Yuma, at the border of both California and Mexico, along the Colorado River.

Main birding ‘hot spot’ (hot area?) in Yuma seems to be centered around the Colorado River, @ Yuma West and Yuma East Wetlands. Lots of fun desert/riparian bird activity esp. Yellow-rumped Warbler and Black Phoebe.

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From last Sunday afternoon, this is along the rocky beach by Leo’s Landing @ Presque Isle State Park, featuring male Common Grackle & a female Mallard:

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It’s more Oceanside Harbor Beach in Oceanside, California:

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Erie update: weather yesterday (Saturday) very cold, cloudy, and unsettled, w/ periods of rain and even snow. Hard freeze overnight. Cold but sunny this Sunday morning. Notable bird activity at Presque Isle State Park yesterday included both Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-blacked Gull @ Beach 11. Pictures forthcoming. #happy_birding

Generally bad/wintery weather this Saturday morning here in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, spring is here, as with these cute shots of male (red) and female (streaked/brown) House Finch, taken on a cold but sunny Friday afternoon in Millcreek Twp (“Gateway to Presque Isle”):

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Back to the beach at Oceanside Harbor on the morning of 4 March 2025.

Finally, more shots of terns (mostly Royal Tern) on and off the beach:

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Celebrating the 2025 vernal equinox with flowers and wild birds at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California. See this special report for lots and lots more flowers.

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Bonus “bird wars” on the same date + location, it’s Red-tailed Hawk vs. American Crow:

Happy spring!

Continuing on with the “3-hour tour” of Buddy Todd Park on 6 March 2025 in Oceanside, California. Challenging lighting on some of these shots, but still great to see Cassin’s Kingbird w/ an acorn or berry:

Even better, a great sighting (and BirdingPI.com “first ever”) of Nuttall’s Woodpecker, both male and female, generally limited in range to the greater California area. Of course, where better to spot woodpeckers than neighborhood adjacent power poles?

Males have characteristic red patch, which females lack.

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Following medley alternates Cassin’s Kingbird, male Nuttall’s Woodpecker, & female Nuttall’s Woodpecker:

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[Editor’s note to staff: going forward, changing “Nuttall’s Woodpecker” (which is an awful name) to ‘Western Wood Annihilator.’]

Dateline: 4 March 2025

Today, reporting from Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve on the Pacific coast between Del Mar and La Jolla, outside San Diego, California. Access is on the south end of the beach (which is north of the bluffs/upper portion of the reserve):

Fun to see a beautiful Say’s Phoebe on the riprap:

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From the beach parking lot, it’s either a robust hike to the top, or a short drive w/ limited parking. (If planning to drive up, get an early start – park staff closes the road once the upper parking is full.)

“Upper” Torrey Pines features a great visitors’ center, a small network of generally flat trails, spectacular views, botanic gardens, etc., and several longer/steeper trails that drop back down to the beach. With thick coastal chaparral, the birding is “more heard than seen.” However, it’s a great spot for local species like the amazing, infrequently-seen Wrentit. Managed to get one and only one usable photo:

Also a lucky, “out in the open” sighting of a couple beautiful California Towhee:

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