This was my first visit to San Diego and eBird’s Hotspot Explorer had been
earning its seed, though a slight limitation was shown up. It had highlighted a
couple of sites that would be easily accessible, but failed to mention the fog.
I was slicked up for a sunny day by the San
Diego River and wishing that I had brought a warmer top. The fog persisted
right through the morning and left me uncomfortably cold.
I joined the river at Morena Blvd (Google Earth ref; 32 45
38.37N 117 11 39.49W) and walked the cycle path that runs along its southern
bank. The river here is barely 5m across and surrounded by trees and bushes.
This area looked quite birdy, but was strangely quiet with very little seen or
heard. A small flock of
Bushtits fed
as they progressed through the weeds and a loose group of
Yellow-rumped Warblers fed in a stand of alien eucalypts.
The river
soon opens out into a wide (250m) floodplain. There were obviously plenty of
birds out in the mist, but it was difficult to tell what they might be. The
richer brown of the
Marbled Godwits
contrasted with the grey of the
Willets.
The
Black-necked Stilts stood out
and the
Northern Shovelers were
obvious, but there was much lost to distance and fog.
The mist thinned a little to allow me to see the river which
snaked down among reeds and weeds. Ducks swept past as they rode the outgoing
tidal current.
Anna’s Hummingbirds
scratched from bushes along the bank. One sat very prominently as a patch of
clear sky passed overhead.
Once visibility was restored, a good selection of ducks
could be identified, with
American
Wigeon being the most numerous by far.
Northern
Pintail,
Mallard, Blue-winged Teal,
Cinnamon Teal and
Green-winged
Teal were also seen.
A
Clapper Rail
flushed from the near bank and allowed me a good look as it swam across the
channel to the safety of the reeds on the far side. A second flushed, but had a
greater sense of urgency and flew straight across the water before plunging into
the bank side vegetation after its mate.
A Belted Kingfisher
perched on a snag in the middle of the river and surprised me by flying up to
hover before plunging down to catch a fish.
Downstream from W. Mission Bay Drive, the river opens out
and the reeds and grass give way to open water with a substantial mud bank
further on. A large
Peregrine Falcon perched on a street lamp on the bridge. It
was a huge, brute of a bird, almost the size of a red-tail.
Red-breasted Merganser,
Bufflehead and
Eared Grebe preferred the open water. The mudflats were busy with
gulls,
Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and
Little Blue Heron.
Plenty of waders were
feeding as the tide ebbed and exposed fresh mud.
Long-billed Curlews,
Whimbrels,
and
Marbled Godwits were common with
a few
Western Sandpipers,
Least Sandpiper and a single
Dunlin also seen.
Robb Field is a
complex of sports fields on the southern side of the river as it approaches the
ocean. A pair of
Osprey has a nest
on one of the lighting poles here and was pair bonding today, bringing each
other little gifts, sitting at the nest and flying together across the water.
A channel close to the path allows for some nice close views of the wading birds. A Long-billed Curlew and a Whimbrel fed in the channel and a Marbled Godwit was shot on the near bank.
Sand has blocked all but a small channel as the river
reaches the ocean. This has been designated as a dog beach and it was very
popular on this Sunday morning.
Western
Gulls,
Heerman’s Gulls and
Ring-billed Gulls were seen along the
beach.
It was pointed out to me that
California
Gulls should have made up the bulk of the gull biomass on my list today,
but I didn’t actually see one. I made a cursory attempt to catalogue the gull
species on the river, but each light-backed gull that I took a proper look at
was a small ring-bill with light eyes. A large flock out on the mudflats were
probably California Gulls, but they were too distant, I was too cold and after
all, they were gulls.
As I climbed back up from the beach, a movement on the fence
of a house backing onto the path caught my eye. A small warbler flicked in
response to a pish. At first I thought that it must be an Oporornis
(as once was) type warbler, but there were a few anomalies that I wasn’t happy
with. I took some photos and checked my field guide which suggested that a
Nashville Warbler would be a much
better fit. ( As it turns out, this is the Gray-headed version of the
Orange-crowned Warbler. Thanks to Seagull Steve and Matt Sadowsky. See comment below).
The walk back to the trolley line was marked by one of the Ospreys
fishing. It made three plunges just in front of me and on the third occasion
came away with a decent-sized fish. On the first two occasions, I lost the bird
from the viewfinder or lost focus.
On the third attempt, the focus held and I
managed to keep the diving bird in frame. On the bank at this point there is no
vegetation for 100m in each direction, except for a small bush right in front
of me which decided to photo-bomb my picture of an Osprey hitting its target.
The walk westwards from Morena Blvd should have given a good angle for photographs in the morning. The return walk still has the sun from behind and well placed if walking east in the afternoon.
Bird list for San Diego River; 66
Brant 1, Gadwall 36, American Wigeon 450, Mallard 12,
Blue-winged Teal 50, Cinnamon Teal 7, Northern Shoveler 20, Northern Pintail
180, Green-winged Teal 85, Redhead 20, Lesser Scaup 15, Bufflehead 25,
Red-breasted Merganser 9, Ruddy Duck 155, Pied-billed Grebe 17, Eared Grebe 6,
Western Grebe 11, Double-crested Cormorant 19, Brown Pelican 8, Great Blue
Heron 10, Great Egret 12, Snowy Egret 17, Little Blue Heron 8, Osprey 3,
Northern Harrier 3, Red-tailed Hawk 2, American Kestrel 1, Peregrine Falcon 1. Clapper
Rail 2, American Coot 55, Black-bellied Plover 80, Semi-palmated Plover 10, Killdeer
1, Black-necked Stilt 35, American Avocet 320, Spotted Sandpiper 9, Greater
Yellowlegs 10, Willet 160, Whimbrel 18, Long-billed Curlew 16, Marbled Godwit
140, Western Sandpiper 3, Least Sandpiper 8, Dunlin 1, Short-billed Dowitcher
60, Heerman’s Gull 20, Ring-billed Gull 30, Western Gull 100, Royal Tern 3,
Mourning Dove 3, Anna’s Hummingbird 5, Belted Kingfisher 3, Black Phoebe 4, Say’s
Phoebe 2, American Crow 7, Common Raven 1, Bushtit 10, European Starling 2,
Nashville Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 2, Yellow-rumped Warbler 18,
California Towhee 1, Savannah Sparrow 8, White-crowned Sparrow 15, Western
Meadowlark 5, Housefinch 14.
The Green Line Trolley runs from San Diego city and crosses
the river. It stops at Morena/Linda Vista Station on the northern bank of the
river. The bridge here for Morena Blvd has a sidewalk and a ramp that will give
access to the cycle path on the south side of the river. A day pass for San
Diego bus/trolley/train transport system costs $5. Trolleys run every 20
minutes or so on the Green Line.
Visit the dedicated USA and Canada Page for more sites in
San Diego.
