Crested Caracara lazing around in the Tijuana River Valley

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs, movies copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – I was making a quick circuit of the Sod Farm, down on Dairy Mart Road, when I noticed the Tijuana River was actually flowing with water! Evidently the entire river bed had recently been closely mowed of all tall herbaceous vegetation and now the river itself could be easily seen. In fact, it looked as if the recent rain storm had flooded the river bed which was now a patchwork of muddy pools. The smell was not great but there were shorebirds and raptors all over the place. While scanning for shorebirds I was quite shocked to find this fantastic looking adult Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway sitting like a big chicken in a pile of dried brush! It actually looked pretty comfortable! Caracaras are just weird whatever way you look at it!

This is the third occasion I have found a Crested Caracara frequenting this area over the last couple of years. One was last seen here just over a year ago in early September 2012. When the bird is around it seems hit-and-miss to locate it, but it can be seen anywhere from the Dairy Mart Ponds all the way east, along the river bed, as far as the back lot of the Las Americas Premium Outlets Mall at the west end of San Ysidro.

Exotic brood parasite alert – Pin-tailed Whydah

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – I checked out several locations in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park today including a long look around the Community Gardens at Hollister St and Sunset Ave. There seemed an endless number of Song Sparrow and House Finch but in among the cacophony of calls I heard something distinctly different. After some stalking around the allotments, distracted by some good looking vegetables, I finally located the calling bird. I was surprised to find a female Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura, the first time I have seen this introduced cage-bird exotic in San Diego County. I recall this species being reported in Orange County, to our north, and searching the SDBIRDS archive reveals one or two other reports in recent years here in San Diego County. This well marked individual, showing off a bright pink bill and striped head pattern, seemed to behave wild enough and did not appear to have any feather damage or aviculture leg bands.

Pin-tailed Whydah female, Tijuana River Valley Community Gardens, San Diego 06 July 2013

The real mystery is where did this bird come from? It would be easy to explain it as a recent escape, but reports of this African species are definitely on the increase in Southern California. Surely they cannot all be escaped cage birds? Since the Pin-tailed Whydah is an obligate brood parasite, laying 2-4 eggs at a time in other species nests, if they are breeding around here what host species are they parasitising? In a recent Birding magazine interview, Kimball Garrett suggested the introduced exotic Nutmeg Mannikin Lonchura punctulata could be the host species here in Southern California. Numbers of the Nutmeg Mannikin are increasing quite dramatically at various localities around San Diego and this species is from the same family as the Whydah’s natural estrildine finch hosts back home in Africa.

On the move – Broad-winged Hawks in the TRV

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – I visited the Dairy Mart Ponds at lunch time today and ran into visiting birder Jennifer Larson from Sierra Vista, Arizona. Together we checked out the two viewpoints over the main pond although not finding many birds. While we were walking back to the parking area I spotted two medium sized hawks, beating along against the wind, coming straight towards us and at low height. My first impression, looking at the leading bird, was they might be Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus. As they came by I managed to come to my senses and hoist the camera for some flight shots, just catching the second bird! I have been meaning to program a custom function button on my camera body to a setting where images are shot one-stop over-exposed – how I wish I had done that earlier now! The slightly under-exposed images show a well marked light colored first-cycle Broad-winged Hawk. The bird still retains all its very worn, tattered in places, juvenile flight feathers although perhaps molt has begun with one inner primary missing on the left wing. The first and second images below are identical but the second has brightness and contrast adjusted. The two birds appeared pretty much identical to me although I focused in on the second one as it lagged behind the leader.

Broad-winged Hawk first-cycle – Dairy Mart Ponds, Tijuana River Valley, San Diego 30 Apr 2013

Spring records of Broad-winged Hawk in San Diego County seem to be much rarer than fall records, although even the latter have fallen off in number in recent years based on the San Diego County Bird Atlas (Unitt, 2004). Only three spring records are documented in the bird atlas, all in April and with two late in the month, so this record would seem to fit quite well in this pattern of occurrence. San Diego Field Ornithologists considers this species to be a Category B rarity in the county.

Tijuana River Valley expanding exotic – White-collared Seedeater

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2013] – Finding the introduced exotic West Mexico “Cinnamon-rumped” form of White-collared Seedeater Sporophila t. torqueloa is now quite easy to do at the Dairy Mart Ponds, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park in San Diego County. This location, right on the Mexico border with the hillside slopes of Tijuana looking down in the distance, has harbored small numbers of this species for a number of years. The birds are assumed to have originated from escaped cagebirds brought to Tijuana since the nearest location they occur is Sinaloa, Mexico. This species is not on the California bird list. On a recent visit I found at least six males singing on territories around the ponds, as well as east across Dairy Mart Road following the riparian corridor towards San Ysidro. No doubt more birds exist further afield in the expanding willow scrub edging the drier areas. In this area the species can be found most often singing from quite well hidden perches between 15-25 feet up in willow trees. Look 5-10 feet below the top of the tree for the preferred hidden perch. They can be remarkably hard to see even when closely approached. Early spring, when the trees have not leafed out too much, is a good time to locate the singing males like the one below.

“Cinnamon-rumped” form of White-collared Seedeater – Dairy Mart Ponds, TRV, San Diego County 22 March 2013

The song of the “Cinnamon-rumped” form of White-collared Seedeater is fairly easy to pick out among the usual Southern California riparian bird species. Listen particularly for the beginning “sweee-sweee-sweee” phrase, which then goes into a fast tumble of varied notes, and ends with a couple more, less hearty, “tuweee-tuweee” calls. Parts of the song, particularly the middle portion, sound quite similar to Lesser Goldfinch, which is also commonly present around the Tijuana River Valley. A nice recording by Mexican birder Manual Grosselet, well matched to the Tijuana River Valley birds, can be listened to below.

Crested Caracara just inside California

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – I spotted this Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway at the A&G Sod Farm on 02 Sep 2012, it was literally flying just fifty yards north of the Mexico border fence. I was investigating passerines in the moist river bottom herbage when I looked up and it had just flown right by me heading west! I managed to scramble for a couple of distant documentation photographs as it veered around north and headed directly to the main Dairy Mart Pond. I last saw it disappearing behind the willows with a small explosion of corvids exiting the area.

This individual is most likely the same one I observed here almost one year ago on 25 Sep 2011. As it turned out only one of two records for the state of California in 2011, the other record coming from Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Ventura County, first seen on 19 Dec 2011. This raptor is quite a rarity to connect with in California, at least in the last couple of years.

The very dark coloration, black really, shows this is an adult Crested Caracara since the juvenile plumage is more pale barred and grey-brown overall. The white primary patches, “windows”, can be clearly seen in flight of this long winged powerfully flying raptor. The black capped head with pale cheeks and pink facial skin set off the pale horn, or bluish, colored bill. Noticeable also are the prominent yellow legs and long black tail accented with the white narrow band on the upper tail coverts.

Later in the day it was seen again by additional observers at the Dairy Mart Pond perched on a dead snag. This bird may be the same individual seen on-and-off over several years by many observers between 2006-2009 favoring the same area of the Tijuana River Valley.

Coastal migrant Swainson’s Hawk

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Gary Nunn 2012] – While searching for migrant buntings at the Tijuana River Valley Community Garden, just off Hollister St. and Sunset Ave., a shout came from Paul Lehman a few allotments behind me and he pointed out a juvenile Swainson’s Hawk Buteo swainsoni headed my way. Nicely done! It was about 8:45 AM, the morning had really begun warming up, and the hawk was quartering around buoyantly, in typical dihedral manner, and was headed south towards me at low elevation.

The Swainson’s Hawk came flying over the weed field west of the community garden where it was set upon by a horde of American Crow, some more daring than others! Lucky for me the harassment party steered it away from the riparian areas, right on cue, and back directly over my head toward more open country to the east.

Swainson’s Hawk is a rare fall migrant with perhaps only one or two recorded each year here in San Diego County along the coastal belt. There are however growing numbers that now stage in the east county Borrego Valley on spring migration, lifting off there in the mornings to continue migration to northern grasslands. By all accounts a notable sighting here in the Tijuana River Valley.

Mississippi Kite in the TRV

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Gary Nunn

[All photographs copyright, Vic Murayama 2012] – The extensive weed and brush lands of the Tijuana River Valley (TRV) attract an impressive array of raptors both on migration and as breeding residents. This year the numbers of White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus seem to have skyrocketed with many juveniles around “getting their wings”. News came however, late on 01 August 2012, that Paul Marvin, birder and part time San Diego resident, had discovered and photographed the much rarer Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississipiensis, perched on a snag no less, at the Dairy Mart Ponds. Now that is a real find!

The Dairy Mart Ponds, a last chance exit off of Highway 5 before the Mexico border, support an abundance of dragonflies and have lots of dead tree snags, so this insect-snatching aerial predator was in the right place for a secure meal! In fact this area, a wide swath of mixed riparian land included in the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, has a history of attracting this rare eastern raptor with several earlier records here of Mississippi Kite.

San Diego resident, and bird photographer, Vic Murayama, took these detailed photographs on 02 August 2012, the morning after it was first discovered. A smart move since this was the last day it was seen and with an early departure! Photographs taken in flight reveal this is a first year bird retaining juvenile flight feathers, for example the barred tail feathers, which can be seen with many tattered or missing pieces. It has molted some fresh new inner primaries which appear darker than the remaining juvenile outer primaries and secondaries. The body appears completely molted to fresh adult type plumage.

The California Bird Records Committee has accepted 19 previous records of Mississippi Kite from the state including three from San Diego County. Mississippi Kite is considered a Category A rarity in San Diego County by the San Diego Field Ornithologists. The species was last reported in the county in September 2008 at Point Loma.

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