We are in California for a few days seeing our son Robb and his family. What a nice change from the barren “stick season” of Vermont; we awoke early the first morning due to the time change to birdsong and rose bushes in bloom. I have taken some morning walks and while I think it is unusual to have a guy walking around the neighborhood with binoculars and a camera, only one person stopped to ask what I was looking at.

Del Mar is a bedroom community north of San Diego with tropical plantings and lots of birds.

There are hundreds of hummingbirds flitting around — I think most are Anna’s but I did see an Allen’s bronzed back the other morning.

This young Anna’s (I think) flew in a perched in the shade of a picture. I was only ten feet away.

Two days ago, I came across a kingbird doing its flycatcher routine, returning to a nearby wire. I took a few shots with little success but thought I had a Western Kingbird. In reviewing eBird reports and my photos, I realized that it was a Cassin’s Kingbird — fairly common here but a life bird for me.

The lighting on this photo is poor but the field marks are clear in some others.

I had a bit of trouble identifying one of the common birds here this time of year: Black Phoebe. I’ve seen a few before but they were always on low branches, doing their bug-catching routine. Here, they perch at the top of conifers, come down to the swimming pool for lunch, and work from rooftops and chimneys.

Western Scrub-Jays are noisy and I suspect, pests at time. Here’s one I saw yesterday morning working up in a palm tree, oblivious to my presence (or just ignoring it.)

Some of the other birds I’ve seen in this built-up area are: American Kestrel, all sorts of warblers including a Townsend’s Warbler (Life Bird), and dozens of House Finches. This White-crowned Sparrow posed nicely for me on yesterday’s walk.

I’m not doing a lot of serious birding here, spending more time with the grandkids and just enjoying summer-like temperatures. I have seen some nice ducks and waterfowl and will put together another post in the next day or two. Then back to New England and the reality of November.