Bird Pictures Mostly from Devereux Slough, Goleta Slough, Coal Oil Point,
and Sands Beach in Santa Barbara County - 2006

Devereux Slough Christmas Bird Count Tally, 2001 - 2006

SANTA BARBARA BREAKS RECORDS WITH HIGH COUNT OF 224 SPECIES ON 2006 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT!

The Santa Barbara Audubon Society had the Christmas bird count this weekend. When there is a focus on birds one can not help but be enamored by the outdoors which they inhabit. With this comes a responsibility that can be deeply felt and shared with others. A call to duty that is not accepted with joy but reluctance and dread at the revealing of ones own weakness when encountering hardship. The hardship of confrontation, and of awakening ones sense of helplessness in a world of many needs. The hardship of experiencing an aborted effort or making things worse by firing up emotions better left sleeping. Yet words of wisdom talk of the glory of rising above our mortal weakness to respond to higher callings. These words speak of a spiritual purity that is above harm and evil. This freedom is easily symbolized by a bird in flight, free, rising above something bigger and more powerful that is grounded to the earth. Such is life, full of words that speak in paradoxes and metaphors. Birds in flight can reflect our delicate fragile balance in this world and the heavenly places that we share with those present, before us and to come in the future.

2006 Santa Barbara Christmas Bird Count - December 30th Slideshow

Tecolotito Creek
January 1, 2007 - Tecolotito Creek responds to the creek opening to the sea with the tide changes

Tecolot

Ducks Flying
Wetland areas near the Goleta shore - Late November and December 2006, restoration projects

Snowy Plover Winter Flock
Snowy Plovers - Winter Flock- December 23, 2006 - Coal Oil Point Reserve
Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California - 220 plovers counted this day

Painted Redstart
Painted Redstart - UCSB November 25, 2006
This bird has been causing some excitement in the Santa Barbara birding community

Fun Birding Day, November 25, 2006 - Devereux and UCSB
Unusual species of Geese, Cackling Goose, that's smaller than Canada Goose, Painted redstart Myioborus pictus in Coral Tree - November 25, 2006

Cackling and Canadian Goose

Part of E-mail Response for Jamie Chavez :

I don't make out a white neck collar on this bird so I am thinking it is a minima race of Cackling Goose, possibly the nominate "Richardson's" Cackling Goose. There may be just a hint of a collar forming though. Hard to tell from the photos, and often a difficult challenge to ID to subspecific race. Sometimes the so-called experts can't agree! There have been several reported on the central coast this fall so there may be a strong movement of Cackling Geese this year. So, If you haven't seen one before you now have a new bird for your life list! Here is a bit of reading on the Canada Goose complex...
http://www.oceanwanderers.com/CAGO.Subspecies.html
http://www.sibleyguides.com/canada_cackling.htm

http://www.idahobirds.net/identification/cackling.htm


Bald Eagle - Devereux Slough (other side of the road) Early morning November 17, 2006

According to Mark Holmgren this bird showed up as an imm. at Cachuma Lake, 8 July 2005 and had been released on Santa Cruz Island in 2003.

Notes Forwarded from Liz Mason - Halli Pedersen's notes:

Per Jessica Dooley, IWS Santa Cruz Island, in an email July 2005:

#13 is Female. She is the offspring of a pair of captive breeding eagles at the San Francisco Zoo's Avian Conservation Center. She was brought to Santa Cruz Island at ~8 weeks of age and was released one month later on 07/01/2003 (so the age estimation is right on). She remained on the islands through 04/20/2004, spending time on Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and Anacapa Islands. In April 2004 she flew to the mainland and spent time in L.A., Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, including a ~2-week stay at Mugu Lagoon. On 05/20/2004 she flew north, passing through central and northern CA, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and finally ending up in Montana. The last GPS data we received for her on 07/30/2004 had her ~75 miles E of Helena, MT near the Bair Reservoir and the North Fork Musselshell River. That was the last we heard from the bird until today!



Number 13 - edited quickly to show number 13


Devereux Slough activity early in the morning - Novermber 17, 2006

November 2006 at COPR Area Slideshow
Bald Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Coots, Double-crested cormorants fishing, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Redhead, Semi-palmated Plover, Terns. Seeing a banded Bald Eagle and watching the cormorants and egrets fish in the fall morning light were note worthy this month. Many of the fall ducks have come in.


Slideshow October 2006, Birds at Devereux Slough (Egrets, Northern Shovelers, American Pintail, American Wigeon, Avocet, Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus

Kingbirds
Kingbirds, Los Carneros Area, Goleta - October 7, 2006
Slideshow October 2006, COPR, Sands , Los Carneros Area (Kingbirds, Kingfisher, Banded Snowy Plovers, Brown Pelicans riding a wave)

Devereux Slough - Fall - October 7, 2006
Devereux Slough - Typical Fall Day - October 7, 2006

Birds January thru September 2006

Devereux Slough and Coal Oil Point Reserve Bird photos and links

Bird Pictures From UCSB area around the Lagoon

Bird Pictures from Ocean Meadows and Storke Ranch Area

Birds 2007

Birds 2005

January through June 2005
Bird Pictures Mostly from Devereux Slough, Goleta Slough, Coal Oil Point, and Sands Beach in Santa Barbara County
(this page is an index for most Birds pictures from January - June 2005)



Bird Pictures from 2004

Bird Pictures from 2003

Snowy Plover Page

Snowy Plover Bands

Other Pages from the Santa Barbara County area of interest to Local Birders

Lynn Watson's Photos , Goleta Slough Management Committee , Santa Barbara County Birding (this site has links to many local bird photographer's pages)

Interests of Callie | Birds | Surfing | Santa Barbara Farmers' Market, Gardening and Farming | Snowy Plovers | Trips and Places

Callie's e-mail: cjbowdish@hotmail.com