[EBB Sightings] news from the southland

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Dear Birding Friends:

I've been living and birding in Santa Barbara for the last five weeks =
with five more weeks to go before returning to Berkeley.  Though the =
local Audubon chapter here is small by comparison to GGAS (no more =
"S"?), they do offer several field trips a month and a very serious =
Christmas count racking up some impressive totals. Before pesky Texas =
realized the avian riches of their Gulf coast, SB lead the list for =
species in the country.

Every Tuesday morning a small group of us go birding usually in the =
nearby habitats but sometimes further a field like to Oso Flaco, a =
fresh-water lake occupying a hollow in the Guadalupe sand dunes 60 miles =
northwest of SB where reeds support a population of American bitterns =
and rails and more cinnamon teal than I've ever seen in one place.  Most =
impressive to me were the swarms of swerving, dipping tree and =
violet-green swallows.

We often visit the local wetlands in and around UCSB stopping by the =
open beach at Goleta where on the last trip we saw a "convention" of =
royal terns and on the nearby sloughs -- 10 species of ducks including a =
colorful Eurasian wigeon.  But no- where have I seen the great flocks of =
shorebirds and ducks that I'm accustomed to seeing at our local Bay =
wetlands.

What I miss most of all is our ubiquitous robin and its dawn chorus to =
begin the day.  Mockingbirds are a poor substitute and seem to have an =
unclear understanding of the margins between night and day, often =
bursting into unwelcome arias in the middle of the night.  And the =
crows?  Everywhere crows!  I also miss the golden-crowns and their =
sweet-sad songs and so far I've only seen one junco and two =
chestnut-backed chickadees (at Oso Flaco). I guess I'm a hopeless =
provincial preferring the familiar -- but, hey, who's to complain of =
near-perfect winter weather with most days in the 70s?  Me.

Phila Rogers


PS.  The orange-crowned warblers have been singing for a week now.
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weeks with=20
five more weeks to go before returning to Berkeley.  Though the =
local=20
Audubon chapter here is small by comparison to GGAS (no more "S"?), they =
do=20
offer several field trips a month and a very serious Christmas count =
racking up=20
some impressive totals. Before pesky Texas realized the avian riches of =
their=20
Gulf coast, SB lead the list for species in the country.
nearby=20
habitats but sometimes further a field like to Oso Flaco, a fresh-water =
lake=20
occupying a hollow in the Guadalupe sand dunes 60 miles northwest of SB =
where=20
reeds support a population of American bitterns and rails and more =
cinnamon teal=20
than I've ever seen in one place.  Most impressive to me were the =
swarms of=20
swerving, dipping tree and violet-green swallows.
the open=20
beach at Goleta where on the last trip we saw a "convention" of royal =
terns and=20
on the nearby sloughs -- 10 species of ducks including a colorful =
Eurasian=20
wigeon.  But no- where have I seen the great flocks of shorebirds =
and ducks=20
that I'm accustomed to seeing at our local Bay wetlands.
to=20
begin the day.  Mockingbirds are a poor substitute and seem to have =
an=20
unclear understanding of the margins between night and day, often =
bursting into=20
unwelcome arias in the middle of the night.  And the crows? =20
Everywhere crows!  I also miss the golden-crowns and their =
sweet-sad songs=20
and so far I've only seen one junco and two chestnut-backed chickadees =
(at Oso=20
Flaco). I guess I'm a hopeless provincial preferring the familiar =
-- but,=20
hey, who's to complain of near-perfect winter weather with most days in =
the=20
70s?  Me.
now.

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