17 February 2022, at the San Diego Bird Festival, field trip Camp Pendleton
There are seven birds on San Diego County’s checklist with “California” in their names. I’ve seen five of them, the ones in italics (listed in alphabetical order).
- California condor
- California gnatcather(*)
- California gull
- California quail
- California scrub-jay
- California thrasher
- California towhee
Today I’m hoping for a California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) that lives in the chaparral, a now rare shrubby habitat found only in California and a small part of Baja California (Mexico). One of the best places for chaparral in San Diego County is at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton where some of the land has been left wild. I’m heading there on the Camp Pendleton field trip.
Nine years ago I saw another state specialty, the California thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum), at top, who has a lot more personality than a gnatcatcher.
I’ll tell you more in this vintage article:
(*) UPDATE 21 Feb 2022: I saw the California gnatcatcher while on this trip. Life Bird!
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)