Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival

Bald Eagle progression

Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) Los Osos, CA If you are a birder, you might have a favorite bird, I know I have many. The Oak Titmouse happens to be one of ...mine. I enjoy stepping outside my home and hearing their Tsicka-dee-dee calls. Yesterday afternoon I heard a small family of 4 in my backyard. I am imagining 2-3 fledglings and an adult trying to keep up with their needs. Sitting on my back porch I watched as the little ones swarmed the adult, begging for food. As best it could, the adult would fly around gathering insects, seeds, and what not to feed their hungry mouths. I wondered at what point in time do they begin to feed themselves. It seemed all rather frantic! This morning, I did not hear them. I wonder if perhaps the feeding yesterday was the final meal for the road. Sort of a nice way to send the kids off into the world. I will continue to listen for them and hope to see one or all of them hanging out in my yard.

https://www.theguardian.com//researchers-find-frogmouth-is

A surprise was waiting for Cinda Mickols, a retired teacher, when she returned to her home in the Tehachapi Mountains on Monday after a weekend away. California condors around 15 to 20 of them had commandeered her deck, tearing through plants and a spa cover and pooping everywhere. The enormous New World vultures didn’t seem to want to leave. She drove up and saw them on her deck and roof and was just in shock, said Seana Quintero, Mickols’ daughter. Some flew off when... she went out on the deck, but a few others she had to get close and wave her cane at. Mickols stands about 5 feet 2 inches. The wingspan of a California condor, the largest flying bird in North America, can stretch more than nine feet across. The rare condors seemed to have settled in. The majestic creatures went extinct in the wild in the 1980s. Captive breeding programs have since brought their numbers back to about 160 in California, where they are now regularly spotted over Big Sur, Pinnacles National Park, and a release site in Kern County, near where Mickols lives. As of Wednesday afternoon, the condors were still circling overhead, seemingly waiting for Mickols to depart, said Quintero, who has been posting updates on Twitter. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee chimed in with advice: If they return, try yelling at them or spraying them with a hose. Many other Twitter users cracked jokes. Several dubbed Mickols' home a "condorminium." This entry was written by Ashley Harrell, a journalist and guidebook author based in Humboldt County. The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times. Please tell us how we can make the newsletter better. Email [email protected].

Right on time by Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch 2 May 2021... I was not too far off on my timing of the birds hatching. Yesterday, May 1st, I observed the male falcon or tiercel bring in fresh prey and stash it in a larder, one of a few small holes they store food in. Neither of the falcons came to retrieve it in the two hours before I left the Rock. This morning I saw the female bring into the nest site a plump, juicy morsel. So the chicks must have hatched last night or this morning. In about ten days to two weeks the young will come to the edge of the nest site to defecate over the side. This is something to see. The young fearless standing on the edge inches from a 300 foot fall. The young normally fly in forty four days on a normal year which will be about June 13-14. See you at the Rock. Happy trails, Bob

https://www.instagram.com/p/CODwa7ZnL2a/?igshid=bsy5z7qf475a

Interested in a Condor Update? On Thursday, April 22, The Wildlife Society- Central Coast Chapter is hosting a Virtual Lecture regarding the Big Sur Condors and Recovery from the Dolan Fire. Thursday April 22, 2021 67 PM Topic: Virtual Lecture Series... Time: Apr 22, 2021 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87677972215 Meeting ID: 876 7797 2215 Passcode: 774432

https://baynature.org//pine-siskins-surge-means-dead-bir/

Are you hearing Mocking Birds singing at night? If so, reply below when you hear them and where you are Located. Here is an article, shared by Kaaren Perry, that helps us understand why they may be singing. ... http://www.washingtonpost.com//urban-jun/pages/121023.html