Bird Talk

Bird Talk

BIRD TALK: CINNAMON TEAL AT SANTEE LAKES

By Greg Dunne                                           

March 14, 2021 (Santee) - The ducks are out at Santee Lakes. Santee Lakes is a great place to do some bird watching, get a walk in, or of course do some fishing. And, if you are birding, maybe get a chance to see a Cinnamon Teal.

Of all the lakes out in the East County, I think the one with the largest population of ducks is Santee Lakes--from the Mallards, Northern Shoveler and Wood Ducks, to the American Wigeon. Plus you are guaranteed to always find the American Coots hanging out with the ducks. Santee Lakes is one of my favorite places to bird watch because of the wide diversity of species ranging from Osprey and Peregrine Falcons to Snowy Egrets and Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfishers as well as Western Kingbirds. An estimate of over 200 species can be seen in a calendar year at Santee Lakes.


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BIRD TALK: AMERICAN COOT

By Greg Dunne 
                                                 
March 14, 2021 (East County Lakes) - The crazy old Coots are out. No, no, no, I’m talking about the American Coot (Fulica americana), also known as the Mud Hen. And yes, that’s where the origin of the affectionate term “old coot” came from. By the 1700s, the term “old coot” was often used for “a harmless, simple person.” 

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BIRD TALK: GREATER ROADRUNNER

 
 
By Greg Dunne                                           
 
April 22, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – The roadrunner is one tough bird.  Each spring all the songbirds get talked about and noticed--maybe deservedly so, calling attention to themselves with their singing and their beautiful colors. But the roadrunner is out and about this spring as well and certainly deserves to be talked about.  

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BIRD TALK: CEDAR WAXWING

 
 
By Greg Dunne 
                                                 
March 12, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – It’s seems that it has been hard to find a sunny day for a walk or hike lately here in San Diego County. However, I did get out for a walk at Santee Lakes a few days ago without getting rained on. I had a very rare bird sighting here in our East County, the Cedar Waxwing.

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BIRD TALK: PIGEONS AND DOVES

 

By Greg Dunne                

April 4, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- Pigeons are the ultimate urban birds. At our parks, on top of our downtown skyscrapers, even at the beach we see them.

Pigeons and Doves seem to be everywhere in the County—but even though it’s ordinary to see them on a daily basis, there are some extraordinary facts about these birds that may surprise you.


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BIRD TALK: THE EAGLE HAS LANDED! BALD EAGLES AT LAKE JENNINGS

 

By Greg Dunne                       

November 26, 2017 (Lakeside) -- The eagle has landed! Bald eagles in the East County? Yes, and if you want to see one of nature’s grand majesties, get out to Lake Jennings in December or January and you might get a glimpse of our National Emblem, the American bald eagle!


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BIRD TALK: THE KINGBIRD

 

By Greg Dunne

May 22, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- The other day, my friend Glenn Kessell asked me what bird he often hears making very piercing calls in the morning before any of the other birds have started singing. I told him it was most likely the Western Kingbird. The Kingbird has a very loud, high pitched call – best described as Chi-BEER!


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BIRD TALK: THE GOLDFINCH

 

By Greg Dunne

January 23, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) - The most loyal aviating visitor to my yard is the Goldfinch. These little guys are a blast to watch, feeding on their thistle all day long in my front yard. I get as many as 12 to 20 birds or more on my two-sack feeder most of the day – everyday. However, this might drive you to the poor house in bird seed as they are voracious eaters.


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BIRD TALK: MOCKINGBIRDS

By Greg Dunne

“Hush, little baby don’t say a word, Mama’s going to buy you a mockingbird.”—traditional lullaby

September 13, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- The Northern Mockingbird is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather.  While most other North American birds become silent or migrate in the fall, mockingbirds keep on singing in hopes of landing a mate for next spring.  Males with a good repertoire of song can be a good catch.


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BIRD TALK: BIRD BRAINS

 

By Greg Dunne 

May 9, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Birdbrain? No, I’m not talking about my life-long friend Bud Morris and definitely not the Western Scrub Jay.  Make a mistake or do something considered stupid and you might be call a birdbrain by fellow humans. This phase could not be further from the truth. We have really missed the mark on judging and understanding the cognition of the bird kingdom. Memory, tool using, ability to learn, and communication are all skills used by most birds and are far above the rest of the animal kingdom with the exception of dolphins, whales, elephants and great apes.


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BIRD TALK: BIRD BEAKS, TOOLS OF THE TRADE

 

By Greg Dunne                                             

November 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)-- One of a bird’s most necessary tools is their beak.  A bird’s beak, or bill, is what hands are to us humans. Birds use their beaks for many different reasons. The most logical and useful need for their bill is for gathering or eating food. However, there are so many different uses between the different species of birds. Some uses we may be familiar with are nest building, feeding their young and grooming. Another use that is so important in the bird world but of which we may just take for granted is communicating.  Just as we use our mouths, birds use their beaks to communicate. While some species of parrots can mimic human voices, most birds communicate using different noises and gestures such as chirping, clicking, and singing. Beaks are also used for climbing as well as being used as a weapon.


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BIRD TALK: GEESE GONE WILD

 

By Greg Dunne                                          

September 14, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --I don’t claim to be an expert on birds descending from the dinosaurs, but if Geese did descend from millions of years ago, it’s not surprising that they are fearless creatures. I’ve been “honked” at, faced down on the path, and even charged by Geese at our local lakes in the East County. The Geese in particular at tiny Lindo Lake in Lakeside seem to rule the area with bravado and pride and can be extremely aggressive.  In addition, one of the most diverse amounts of species of Geese I’ve witnessed is at Lindo Lake.


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BIRD TALK: TURKEY VULTURES

 

By Greg Dunne

Photos by Greg Dunne and Norman Banks                                         

February 28, 2015 (Lake Murray)--The Turkey Vulture is one of the largest birds in San Diego’s East County. With their bald red head and a wingspan of up to six feet, these birds stand out in many ways. You can usually see them soaring at low levels looking for food, using the thermals for gliding effortlessly.  You can also see their slivery-colored wings contrasting with the dark colors of the bird’s feathers.


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FREE AS A BIRD: BIRD IDIOMS AND CULTURE

 

By Greg Dunne                                           

December 19, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--“Free as a bird.” I might be a bit biased on this subject, being an avid birder, but I believe in the world of nature that birds are the biggest part of our human culture. We eat them, we use them in clothing, they are used for our national symbol, and we use them in our daily language.


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BIRD TALK: SPOTTED TOWHEE (MISSION TRAILS)

 

By Greg Dunne                                       

December 9, 2014 (Mission Trails) --So striking are the looks of the Spotted Towhee that you can’t take your eyes off him until he ducks out of sight again in the undergrowth. Even if you’ve seen these birds many times before, you can’t wait to see another one. The Spotted Towhee’s jet-black head with contrasting white and brown and red eyes will immediately catch your attention.


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BIRD TALK: THE COMMON RAVEN

 

By Greg Dunne                                             

August 10, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--The Raven has such an undeserved reputation--always associated with darkness, despair, death. Right away one thinks of Ravens and Alfred Hitchcock, the Addams family, or Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” and the movies inspired by Poe’s poetry, the 1935 classic “The Raven” starting Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The list of Raven influence and culture is endless.


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BIRD TALK: THE GREAT BLUE HERON

 

By Greg Dunne                                          

August 8, 2014 (Lake Murray) --Always dazzling when you see them with their long S-shaped necks, usually standing motionless, they look as if they are in stealth mode. The Great Blue Heron is one of our largest, most majestic birds in the East County.


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BIRD TALK: THE COMMON HOUSE FINCH & NOT SO COMMON RELATIVES

 

April 21, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) --There is a staggering estimated population of up to 1.4 billion House Finches across North America. If the birding scientific estimates are accurate, that would be about the same as the number of people in China today!  When you consider that the House Finch was originally only in the western United States and Mexico until 1940, its success in population growth is even more impressive.


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BIRD TALK: THE ELUSIVE BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER

 

By Greg Dunne

March 15, 2014 (Cowles Mountain)--The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher is a small songbird living here in our East County that reminds me of the Wrentit.  It mainly reminds me of the Wrentit because it is not easily seen.  It is always a thrill when you can get a glimpse of this beautiful, but tiny bird. It will be a great time to observe small songbirds now that the rains have cleared and the sun reappears.


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BIRD TALK: MT. FORTUNA’S WRENTIT

By Greg Dunne

January 24, 2014 (Mission Trails) -- Instead of being  glued to the sofa and TV watching championship football games to see who will be going to the Super Bowl, I got a big pay-off with a photo of a cute little bird on Sunday.  I passed a few hikers along the way to the top of Mt. Fortuna out at Mission Trails Regional Park on Sunday afternoon.  How can you beat the great weather we have for hiking here in the East County, especially considering the hard winter the East Coast is getting right now?

The big pay-off for me was my first photo of this warm and fuzzy Wrentit. 


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BIRD TALK: MIGRATORY BIRDS

 

By Greg Dunne

December 17, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Our County has many migratory birds.  This week, I’m highlighting two of them: the Northern Shoveler Duck (although a few will stay year round) and a small song bird, the Townsend’s Warbler, a winter visitor.

The Northern Shoveler is primarily a winter visitor to the County, abundant this time of year at Santee Lakes, Lindo Lake and I’ve even spotted a few this year at Lake Murray. The Northern Shoveler is a medium sized duck with a very long bill that is wider at the tip than the base. It has a glossy dark green head similar to the Mallard Duck but the bill of the shoveler stands out from any other duck.  Shovelers use this bill to filter out food from the water.


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BIRD TALK: NESTS - HOMES FOR BIRDS

 

By Greg Dunne

July 24, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Bird nests can be hard to observe. We usually just stumble across them out in nature. One place you can always see a large variety of Egret and Heron nests is in the Eucalyptus trees at Lindo Lake.

“Large” fledgling Egrets and Herons are leaving the nest at this time of the year. I say large because the Snowy and Great Egret babies getting ready to leave the nest are as big as their parents. It always looks a little odd to see Mother Egret feeding a bird nearly her own size in a very crowded nest.


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BIRD TALK: THE WESTERN BLUEBIRD

 

 

By Greg Dunne

June 22, 2013 (Alpine)--“I'm a bluebird, I'm a bluebird I'm a bluebird, yeah, yeah, yeah,” to quote Paul McCartney. Just last week our “children” left the nest here in Alpine, our Western Bluebird children, that is. We enjoyed their company for about three weeks.

We have a birdhouse sitting on the railing going down steps leading to the front door of our house. It was put there some time ago just for yard décor; we thought it was too close to everyday foot traffic to be a choice place to set up raising baby birds.


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BIRD TALK: BULLOCK’S ORIOLE

 

By Greg Dunne

March 16, 2013 (Lake Murray) -- Spring has sprung, warm weather is here and the wild Ramona Lilac is in bloom all over the hills in the East County. It is the time of year to keep a keen eye open for the Oriole. These birds winter in Mexico and then start to come north as the days get longer. In my experience, March and April have always been the best time to observe these beautiful, bright yellow-orange birds with sharp contrasting black on the back, throat and top of the head.


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BIRD TALK: THE CACTUS WREN

 

By Greg Dunne

February 21, 2013 (Lake Jennings) --   Many birds call both California and Arizona their home.  Although our state bird, the California Quail, crosses over into other states, it does not cross over to our neighbor to the east in Arizona.  However, the Arizona state bird, the Cactus Wren also calls our East County its home.

The Cactus Wren can be found here occasionally in Southern California. This particular Cactus Wren I photographed at Lake Jennings. It was having a good time making itself known; its loud alarm call “tek-tek-tek-tek” as it gets louder and louder towards the end.  It seems to me that wrens can throw their voices. This would make sense because wrens will try to distract you from their nest by making themselves heard as they move farther and farther from the nest.


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BIRD TALK: RARE BIRDS IN EAST COUNTY

By Greg Dunne

November 15, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--We have our share of rare bird sightings now and then in our East County. The three I am going to talk about are the Greater White-Fronted Goose, the Nutmeg Mannikin, and the Vermilion Flycatcher. The Vermilion Flycatcher and the Nutmeg Mannikin are going to be the hardest to spot by the novice birder, but with any experience watching birds you should be able to see these uncommon visitors.  The Greater White-Footed Goose on the other hand can easily be seen any time of day at Lindo Lake.


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BIRD TALK: THE CALIFORNIA VALLEY QUAIL

By Greg Dunne

September 24, 2012 (Alpine)--The California State Bird is the California Valley Quail. Over the past two seasons, I have had the pleasure of having a covey of California Quail living in my back yard!

My last count, as of yesterday, is nine quail living in my back yard. I remember seeing the new little chicks around the end of April. The chicks are now as big as the adults are, however, you can still tell the juveniles from the adults by the size of the plumes on the top of their heads as well as the markings and feathers that are not as deep and striking as the adults’ markings.


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BIRD TALK: THE ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD

By Greg Dunne
                                                
August 8, 2012 (Lake Jennings)--I am going to make an assumption here, but I believe that the Hummingbird is everyone’s favorite backyard bird.


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BIRD TALK: THE BLACK CROWNED HERON

 

 
 
By Greg Dunne
                                                
June 26, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Although the Black-Crowned Night Heron is mostly nocturnal and not commonly seen by the casual observer, it can also be seen during the day.  

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BIRD TALK: THE DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT

 

By Greg Dunne
                                                
April 27, 2012 (Lake Jennings) –The Cormorant is a silly bird. That’s what I named my favorite photograph of the Cormorant, which I  entered in the Lake Jennings photo contest.  My photo received an honorable mention and will receive a ribbon, which I will proudly display on my desk. Before I provide more information on Cormorants—including why they are silly birds-- I would like to mention a few words about the rangers and staff at Lake Jennings. 

 


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