SPECIES SEEN
From 2/8/2010 to 2/14/2010 ~ in Anza Trail ~ 55 seen
It was another less than ideal week on the Anza Trail, with some rain, and muddy conditions in too many places. The tally for the week is 55 species, compared to 40 in 2009, 65 in 2008, and 48 in 2007. I did not get to Santa Gertrudis Lane this week, but there were no reports about unusual birds filed elsewhere. The highlight was the continued presence of bluebirds in numbers, including Mountain and Western A few Plumbeous Vireos are around, but other than Yellow-rumps, warblers are no-shows.
In this lull, it might be a good time to anticipate the coming weeks. Over the prior three years, the first Common Black-hawks were spotted between March 5th and 11th, the first Zone-tailed hawks between March 17th and 23rd, the first Bell's Vireos between March 16th and 17th, the first Yellow Warblers between March 17th and 26th, and the first Cassin's Kingbirds betwwn March 17th and 19th. Many other early season firsts are hard to judge because a few of their number linger through the winter.
Jim Karp