Date: 8/21/26 10:47 am From: Barbara Wise via groups.io <barbaraswise...> Subject: Re: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Sweetwater and Lower Otay Lakes
3 Black Terns found by Paul this morning continue with Forster's in a feeding frenzy over the grebe flock.
Barbara WiseSan Diego
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS
On Friday, August 21, 2026, 8:41 AM, <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> wrote:
Friday morning at Sweetwater Reservoir there's a group of three juvenile Black Terns flying around the main part of the lake, often attracted to Western Grebe feeding frenzies. Also a continuing Bank Swallow around the fisherman's parking lot, and continuing three Neotropic Cormorants at the top end at dawn.
At the east end of Lower Otay Lake, there is a continuing Marbled godwit, two juvenile Short billed Dowitchers, and six Semipalmated Plovers-- all uncommon Inland.
Back on Tuesday, I had a Ridgway's Rail on the north side of the main Dairy Mart Pond, which is perhaps the first report from there in about 25 years.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17893): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17893 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120863548/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/21/26 8:41 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Sweetwater and Lower Otay Lakes
Friday morning at Sweetwater Reservoir there's a group of three juvenile Black Terns flying around the main part of the lake, often attracted to Western Grebe feeding frenzies. Also a continuing Bank Swallow around the fisherman's parking lot, and continuing three Neotropic Cormorants at the top end at dawn.
At the east end of Lower Otay Lake, there is a continuing Marbled godwit, two juvenile Short billed Dowitchers, and six Semipalmated Plovers-- all uncommon Inland.
Back on Tuesday, I had a Ridgway's Rail on the north side of the main Dairy Mart Pond, which is perhaps the first report from there in about 25 years.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17892): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17892 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120863548/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/20/26 7:47 am From: Sally Veach via groups.io <bsktveach...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Rose-breasted Grosbeak Whelan Lake
Just refound the rose- breasted grosbeak near parking area.
Sally Oceanside
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17891): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17891 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120846738/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/16/26 7:32 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Swallow show at Sweetwater Reservoir
The near-annual early-fall swallow show at Sweetwater Reservoir is setting up shop. One needs to be at the fisherman's parking lot when it opens, usually by around 6:45 a.m. or slightly earlier, on the days it is open to the public which is Friday through Monday. The first half hour or hour in the morning when it's "cool" and often overcast is by far the best, as after that the birds spread out as the day warms and you don't see many at all. A scope is needed to scan the sitting flocks .This morning, Sunday, there are about 150 swallows at this site with an additional 50 in a couple groups elsewhere on the reservoir, and after a lot of patient scanning of the sitting birds on various fence lines and weed tops in various directions from the parking lot, I've come up with one female/immature Purple Martin, two Bank Swallows, and a high count of 60 Northern Rough-winged Swallows. The dominant species are Cliff and Rough-winged, with small numbers of Tree and Barn.
At the upper end of the reservoir at dawn, the roost of cormorants in the dead trees a good ways away Include the off-and-on continuing SIX Neotropics. Views are distant, even with a scope.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17890): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17890 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120776261/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/14/26 11:28 pm From: Ruslan Balagansky via groups.io <ruslan...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Hotspots for eBird bar charts August 15 - 21
Greetings,
As of the past week, two more hotspots now have complete bar charts!
Next week we have the opportunity to complete three more. Unfortunately, these are all inland.
As the heat warnings continue into next week, I will continue to omit desert hotspots from the list. Please note that the inland hotspots retained on the list will also be extremely hot!
Special note on Agua Caliente - it also only needs this coming week for bar chart completion, but I am omitting it from the list as the park is closed Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the temperatures will be extremely high. I have never been there and do not know whether it is birdable while the park itself is closed - I am guessing it is NOT. But leaving a note here in case someone reading this can safely and legally access it.
Hotspots nearing bar chart completion (number = weeks missing):
*Dinwiddie Preserve, Fallbrook - 1Palomar Mtn.--Thunder Spring/Upper Doane Valley Loop - 1Pamo Valley - 1* Fleet Street Area (Carlsbad) - 2 La Bajada Field (restricted access) - 2 Lopez Ridge Park - 3 San Diego Bay--Ballast Point - 3 San Dieguito Dr. south end - 3 San Luis Rey River--Foussat to Douglas - 3 Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve--Carson's Crossing area - 4 Swamis Seaside Park - 4 Sweetwater Park - 4 Warwick Ave riparian - 4 Beacon's Beach - 5 Carmel Valley Community Park - 5 San Vicente Reservoir - 5 Valley Middle School Trail - 5 San Diego NWR--Proctor Valley - 7 San Luis Rey Mission - 7 San Marcos Creek - 7 Hosp Grove Park--west of Monroe St - 8 Laguna Mtns.--Morris Ranch Rd. - 9 Mt. Hope Cemetery - 10 Sunset Park (San Marcos) - 10
Hotspots with 3+ week bar chart gaps:
Vallecito County Park Lawrence Welk Village Crest Drive (Encinitas) Wright's Field Preserve Cleveland NF--Park & Ride Lot 29 and pond Poggi Creek greenbelt & residential Twin Trails Neighborhood Park Ramona Airport Road
Cheers,
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#17889): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17889 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120760638/858290 -=-=- --- The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/11/26 10:13 am From: Bill Tweet via groups.io <billtweet229...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Parula

The Northern Parula reported by Kerry Ross on 8/09 is still present in Tecolote canyon. I relocated it here, 32.4649.9 N 117.1059.9 W. High in Sycamore trees.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17888): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17888 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120704911/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/11/26 7:11 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Stilt Sandpipers gone
Of course not long after I posted that the Stilt Sandpipers were still here, they picked up and joined a small flock of Short billed dowitchers and went higher and higher and were last seeing flying way to the south as specs, which is what shorebirds do here fairly regularly in the morning and are presumably heading south permanently.....
Numbers of juvenile Western Sandpipers have increased significantly, and finally the first juvenile Short billed Dowitchers have arrived.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17887): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17887 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120701803/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/11/26 6:51 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Two Stilt Sandpipers continue, plus a Semi Sandpiper iper
The two Stilt Sandpipers found yesterday by Matt Sadowski on Pond 22 in the saltworks continue early Tuesday morning. They started out along the very east edge of the pond at dawn but now have moved to the middle of the pond. This is the pond one sees at the end of 13th Street, but walking east on the bike trail for hundreds of yards one is then directly south of the middle section of the pond, which gets you closer. Unfortunately at that point you're looking through a fence and have to be able to see over the berm. A good scope and good lighting is required. As the day goes on and the sun comes out, it'll get pretty miserable. While first looking at the two birds along that east edge near the second bridge, I looked south into the rehabilitation area and noted a flock of about 30 Westerns, mostly juveniles, and with them was a juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper, but all those birds have since flushed and gone to who knows where. There are lots of peep, of course, scattered everywhere, mostly too far away to ID.Â
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17886): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17886 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120701427/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/10/26 4:13 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] San Diego pelagic Sunday August 9: Laysan and 22 Black-footeds, South Polar Skua, 3 Masked/Nazca, Craveri's and Scripps's, Townsend's
The second of two back-to-back pelagic trips off San Diego this weekend took place Sunday, August 9, aboard "Legacy" out of Seaforth Landing and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society. Ocean conditions were light to barely moderate. Highlights of the trip included a close Laysan Albatross (30-Mile Bank) and as many as ca. 22 Black-footed Albatrosses (a new record count). A cooperative South Polar Skua was also at the 30-Mile Bank. Single pairs of Craveri's and Scripps's Murrelets were both inside the 9-Mile Bank in the early morning when the sea surface was the smoothest. Three or four immature Masked/Nazca Boobies were at the same locations as yesterday: one flew past the boat off of Ocean Beach in both the early morning and late afternoon and two were on buoys 8.5 miles SW of the tip of Point Loma--but those two birds were perhaps partly not the same as the two the day before! We shall see if the many photos obtained might elevate one or more of these birds to full species rank. A total of 5 Cocos Boobies included one pale-headed adult male. At the 30-Mile Bank and San Diego Trough were at least 7 Townsend's and 16 Leach's Storm-Petrels.
Lots of photos from both trips will be posted with the shared eBird lists out probably tomorrow and Tuesday.
Totals for the trip once we were over a mile offshore were as follows:
For information on future trips this year between late August and mid-October, see sandiegopelagics.com
--Paul Lehman, Dan Jehl, Alex Abela, Paul Mulholland, Bridget Spencer, Matt Sadowski, Nancy Christensen, San Diego
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17885): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17885 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120682820/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/9/26 5:06 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] San Diego pelagic, Aug 8th: 3 Masked/Nazca & 19 Cocos, 17+ Black-footeds, 5 Townsend's, Black Tern
The first of two back-to-back pelagic trips off San Diego this weekend took place Saturday, August 8, aboard "Legacy" out of Seaforth Landing and sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon Society. Ocean conditions were light to moderate. Highlights of the trip included three immature Masked/Nazca Boobies: one circled the boat 5.4 miles W of Ocean Beach and two were on buoys 8.5 miles SW of the tip of Point Loma. We shall see if the many photos obtained might elevate one or more of these birds to full species rank. A total of 19 Cocos Boobies for the day was quite high. At least 17 Black-footed Albatrosses--possibly as many as 20--which included 12 at a single chum slick on the 30-Mile Bank, ties the all-time high count for San Diego waters set just last month. Also at the 30-Mile Bank were at least 5 Townsend's and 8 Leach's Storm-Petrels. A breeding-plumaged Black Tern was several miles off Ocean Beach. A choppy sea surface made alcid searching difficult, and we ended up with only a good number of Cassin's Auklets. Totals for the trip once we were over a mile offshore were as follows:
For information on future trips this year between late August and mid-October, see sandiegopelagics.com
--Paul Lehman, Bruce Rideout, Dan Jehl, Ted Keyel, Dan King, Matt Sadowski, San DiegoÂ
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17884): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17884 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120668559/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/7/26 10:45 pm From: Ruslan Balagansky via groups.io <ruslan...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Hotspots for eBird bar charts August 18 - 14
Greetings,
Despite the extreme heat, all but 3 of the 27 spots on the main list this week were covered! A personal highlight for me was a surprise Zone-tailed Hawk flyby in Santa Ysabel - a nice reward for braving 100 degree heat out there.
Next week we have the opportunity to complete two more hotspots - both coastal (listed first on the list below).
Extreme/excessive heat continues through the weekend and early next week, and Borrego will have highs above 100 even past that, so I'm still omitting desert hotspots from next week's list (none of them can be completed this year anyway).
That still leaves us with 23 on the main list plus 10 on the "gap" list, with the majority again being coastal.
Hotspots nearing bar chart completion (number = weeks missing):
Agua Hedionda Lagoon--east end - 1 Encinitas Viewpoint Park - 1 Julian--Santa Ysabel Preserve - 2 Pamo Valley - 2 Rancho La Costa Preserve--Denk Mountain and Copper Canyon - 2 Sun Gold Point - 2 Fleet Street Area (Carlsbad) - 3 La Bajada Field (restricted access) - 3 La Costa Canyon Park - 3 Santa Ysabel OSP--west - 3 Sycamore Canyon County Preserve--Hwy 67 entrance - 3 Lopez Ridge Park - 4 San Diego Bay--bait barges - 4 San Dieguito Dr. south end - 4 Wilderness Gardens Preserve - 4 Collier Park (Ramona) - 5 Beacon's Beach - 6 Carmel Valley Community Park - 6 Henshaw Scenic Vista - 8 San Luis Rey Mission - 8 Appleton Preserve, Fallbrook, CA - 10 Laguna Mtns.--Morris Ranch Rd. - 10 Pine Valley Creek (SD Co.) - 10
Hotspots with 3+ week bar chart gaps:
Mt. Hope Cemetery Cleveland NF--Park & Ride Lot 29 and pond Inaja Memorial Park Poggi Creek greenbelt & residential Lamar County Park Rambla De Las Flores--Richardson Field to RSF Field (restricted access) San Pasqual Valley UCSD--Medical Center area Aston & Rutherford business area San Diego Archaeological Center
Cheers,
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#17883): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17883 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120653927/858290 -=-=- --- The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/5/26 10:34 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] boobies, boobies, and more boobies (and other warm-water species)
Likely related to the warm water currently wafting off the coast (mid-70s!) from Mexico/Central America to Southern California, there has been a clear influx of Masked/Nazca Boobies, with most birds being either Nazca or unidentified. Scheduled pelagic trips and whale-watch trips have now reported a fair number over the past two months, a young Masked/Nazca has been roosting on the tip of Zuniga Jetty for over the past two weeks, and for the past several days there have been two young Masked/Nazca's off La Jolla around 7:00-7:30 AM. Nazcas and sp.'s have been reported the past several months north all the way to Northern California.
Cocos Boobies are in reasonable numbers on a daily basis in the AM off Imperial Beach (especially) and off La Jolla.
So far there have been "just" several Red-footed Boobies in San Diego County waters the past few months, and about half of those have been dead birds found on the beach.
A Blue-footed Booby was photographed just off the coast in s. Orange County a few days ago.
In contrast, there have only been several young Magnificent Frigatebirds seen this summer in Southern California waters, so nothing special there.
A Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel was photographed off northern Baja (between Tijuana and Ensenada) a few days ago.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17882): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17882 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120614227/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/5/26 9:11 am From: Justyn Stahl via groups.io <justyn.stahl...> Subject: Re: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] [CALBIRDS] artificial intelligence and photos of birds
On Sun, Jul 26, 2026 at 10:23 AM Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Dear Birders,
>
> Over the past year, several birders in California and further abroad have
> used artificial intelligence (“AIâ€) to edit photographs of birds and have
> uploaded those altered photos to eBird and iNaturalist. Even though most of
> these instances have probably been innocuous attempts to make a poor photo
> look a bit better, this practice is highly damaging regardless of a user's
> intended purpose. Unfortunately, most birders still do not understand how
> many of these programs work and why they are so negative. Below I have
> attempted to explain this issue.
>
> There are several types of artificial intelligence, but the variety used
> by the most popular platforms (Google Gemini, Claude, etc.) is called
> generative AI. These programs have immense databases which they use to
> generate responses to user prompts. To put it simply, if you have a photo
> of a California Scrub-Jay, and you use a generative artificial intelligence
> program to edit the photo, the program is going outside of the data
> contained in the photo, searching its database for what it knows California
> Scrub-Jays look like, and then uses that external knowledge to “touch upâ€
> the photo to meet its expectations. This is not much different than
> printing a photo out onto paper and asking an artist to touch up the photo
> by painting onto it. The human artist will use their knowledge of what
> scrub-jays are supposed to look like to improve the image. So does AI.
>
> To further clarify, I asked Google Gemini to explain how it edits photos.
> Here is what it told me: “Gemini is a Generator: It doesn’t actually “editâ€
> your photo. Instead, it looks at your image, reads your instructions, and
> draws a brand-new picture from scratch based on patterns it knows. Because
> it rebuilds the entire image every time, it struggles to keep the original
> details—like the exact shape of a face, text, or background
> textures—identical.â€
>
> So, if you upload that Scrub-Jay, the generative AI can use its knowledge
> of scrub-jays to fill in missing details, and make that blurry photo sharp,
> or that dark spot visible, etc. But what if you upload a subpar photo of an
> Empidonax flycatcher? Or a seagull (yeah, I said it)? The AI still goes
> into its database and uses that external knowledge to touch up the photo…
> can the blurry Western Flycatcher be mistakenly touched up into a Willow? A
> Yellow-footed Gull into a Western Gull? Even if you upload a good photo,
> can the Sooty Fox Sparrow be made to look a bit more like a Slate-colored?
> Might a hatch-year state of molt return looking a bit more adult like? (If
> the number of remiges can change on a bird when run through AI, as I've
> seen a few times, it seems anything is possible.) How about a perfectly
> decent photo of an Epaulet Oriole, which when “touched up†with AI came out
> looking like the first-for-Brazil record of Red-winged Blackbird? More on
> that last scenario, and a further explanation of AI’s problems as they
> pertain to citizen science databases, here:
> https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-03141-y >
> In short, generative AI should absolutely not be used when editing
> photos. These programs rely on pre-existing knowledge to edit photos, and
> in doing so, inevitably hallucinate details that were not actually there.
> At best, uploading these photos pollutes scientific databases with photos
> not representative of reality. (It is crazy that that is the "at best."])
> And, I hate to say it, but with companies shoving AI down our collective
> throats, the onus is now on the user to verify that new photo editing apps
> and tools do not use generative artificial intelligence.
>
> One final sobering note: Most of these instances where eBird reviewers or
> other careful eyed observers have sniffed out AI-altered media have done so
> because, to the trained eye, most AI edited photos often have the wrong
> number of feathers, a mishmash of features from different (sub)species, or
> otherwise appear "strange" or "off." But AI is improving rapidly. Just last
> year, I was unable to generate a photo of a bird in Google Gemini that did
> not seemingly combine features of multiple species and that was not
> positioned at an unnatural angle. Last week, I generated a photo of a
> Mourning Warbler with AI--completely from scratch, no pre-existing photo to
> serve as a "canvas" to work off of--that was scarily convincing. (I sent
> the photo to a few friends to ask what they thought-- the first to reply
> wrote, “Ok f*** this.â€) Soon, we will not be able to tell what is and is
> not altered.
>
> Please, build good habits now, and encourage the same from those around
> you by strongly advocating against the use of generative artificial
> intelligence to edit photos and by educating other birders of its perils.
>
> Thank you
> Ethan Monk
>
>
>
>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17881): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17881 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120455856/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/3/26 9:02 am From: Joni Ciarletta via groups.io <jcjc9999...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Tricolored Heron at San Dieguito Lagoon Southwest
Hi All,
Yesterday on the San Dieguito River Park monthly count, we had a Tricolored Heron in the lagoon opposite Crest Canyon. I saw a heron with a lot of white from the boardwalk, looking toward the Grand Ave Bridge pier, but I didn’t record it in eBird as it was a distant view and I wasn’t certain. Then Jorge Valdivieso and Ed Mirsky got it while surveying their area. No photo but they described it as having a white belly and faint white stripe on the neck, with a dark back. They did not record it in eBird as it did not come up on the list since it is unusual for this area. I just tried looking for it again this morning but no luck.
Joni Ciarletta
Carlsbad
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#17880): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17880 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120579369/858290 -=-=- --- The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/1/26 7:59 am From: John Bruin via groups.io <johnrbruin...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] White-winged Dove - Robb Field
Flying back and forth from tennis court fence to palm trees along bike path
John Bruin
Bay Park
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17879): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17879 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120551032/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 8/1/26 6:30 am From: steve brad via groups.io <stevanbrad...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] bairds sandpiper san elijo lagoon west
an asian photographer by the name of Paul took a flight photo of a bairds sandpiper,  sean B and paul lehman confirmed it as a bairds with paul adding its an even more unusual adult
there were 2  the flight shot was taken over the trail that goes north from nearish the rios ave trail head and were flying east
tides are good in the early morning
The photographer will likely be making up an ebird report with his photos
see some of you out there looking for the birds
steve brad
leucadia
mammoth lakes
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17878): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17878 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120549783/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/31/26 9:58 pm From: Ruslan Balagansky via groups.io <ruslan...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Hotspots for eBird bar charts August 1 - 7
Greetings,
The shorter list last week was quite well covered, missing only a few harder to reach places. Thank you!
Next week we have our longest list so far this year, perhaps the longest of the whole year!
However, due to the very dangerous, possibly even record-setting expected heat in the coming week, I am omitting the 10 hotspots located in the desert out of caution. Please be very careful with the heat! The hotspots I left in that are located inland will also be extremely hot!
Hotspots nearing bar chart completion (number = weeks missing):
San Pasqual Battlefield - 2 Julian--Santa Ysabel Preserve - 3 Cuyamaca Rancho SP--Azalea Glen Trail - 4 La Costa Canyon Park - 4 Otay Lakes County Park - 4 San Luis Rey River--Foussat to Douglas - 4 Santa Ysabel OSP--west - 4 Carmel Mission Park - 5 San Diego Bay--bait barges - 5 Warwick Ave riparian - 5 Collier Park (Ramona) - 6 San Vicente Reservoir - 6 Sweetwater County Park--Quarry Trail - 6 Valley Middle School Trail - 6 Beacon's Beach - 7 Carmel Valley Community Park - 7 Delta Beach--north overlook - 7 San Bernardo Valley--east of I-15 - 7 Agua Hedionda Lagoon--Harbor Dr. - 8 Cortez Place--coastal access - 8 Tide Beach Park - 8 Hosp Grove Park--west of Monroe St - 9 Woodglen Vista Park - 9 Horse Ranch Creek Open Space - 10 Lake View Park - 10 Pine Valley Creek (SD Co.) - 10 San Luis Rey Picnic Area - 10
Hotspots with 3+ week bar chart gaps:
Crest Drive (Encinitas) Cleveland NF--Park & Ride Lot 29 and pond Poggi Creek greenbelt & residential Lamar County Park UCSD--Medical Center area Louis Stelzer County Park Leon Avenue & Berry Park
Cheers,
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#17877): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17877 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120545720/858290 -=-=- --- The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/31/26 10:02 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] 4 Black Terns at Sweetwater Reservoir
At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, there's a flock of four breeding plumaged Black Terns flying around in the middle of the main part of Sweetwater Reservoir, as viewed with a scope looking North -Northeast from the fisherman's parking lot. Obviously these birds could go anywhere on the reservoir, including the way upper end where there is perhaps better roosting habitat if they so choose. Currently, they're being attracted by a diving feeding frenzy of grebes. Be aware that the birds will very likely be a long ways off.
The tiny speck immature Masked/ Nazca Booby continues this morning at the very end of the Zuniga Jetty as viewed with a a good scope either from Cabrillo Monument or as I did today even from the beach in Coronado near the Hotel Del Coronado. But in the latter case it's only because I knew which rock it sits on and could see a bird of approximately the right color pattern and shape and size!
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17876): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17876 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120538005/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
A July 30 visit to Jacumba produced a totally unexpected JUVENILE Yellow-rumped Warbler. Unexpected both on this VERY early date and for a young bird in juvenile plumage to be away from the breeding grounds. The previous earliest records of fall migrants in the county are from the very end of August. Such migrants have typically completed their post-juvenile molt. Photos by Barbara Wise will appear in our eBird reports late today. (I do hear rumor of another, recent migrant early juvenile Yellow-rumped from coastal Baja on perhaps August 10.)Â
Also at Jacumba today was a family group of Harris's Hawks with three fully fledged juveniles. Proof of successful nesting there this year, the second time they have done so. (The Shelter Valley birds also nested this year, quite a bit earlier in the season.)
Otherwise, not too many migrants there today, with mostly Black-headed Grosbeaks, a few Western Tanagers, and a N. Yellow Warbler.
In other news, numbers of Cocos Boobies continue off Imperial Beach, and one or two are being seen almost daily from La Jolla.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17875): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17875 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120524869/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/26/26 11:58 am From: Lisa Ruby via groups.io <lbruby1...> Subject: Re: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Kite at Harry Griffith this morning - Mississippi?
Sorry Harry Griffen Park.
Lisa Ruby
Sabre Springs
On 7/26/2026 11:51 AM, Lisa Ruby via groups.io wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just the messenger. I was going through the eBird Alerts for today and
> there was an as of yet unconfirmed report of a Mississippi Kite at Harry
> Griffith park earlier this morning. There are five photos and they are
> all underexposed to some degree, so I can't really tell for sure if it
> was a Mississippi or a White-tailed Kite. It doesn't look like a
> juvenile White-tailed. The underside of the tail looks dark. Here is the
> checklist:
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S376712794 >
> Maybe someone more expert than I am can take a look.
>
> Lisa Ruby
> Sabre Springs
>
>
>
> --
> Lisa Ruby
> Sabre Springs
>
>
>
>
>
--
Lisa Ruby
Sabre Springs
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17874): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17874 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120456635/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/26/26 11:51 am From: Lisa Ruby via groups.io <lbruby1...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Kite at Harry Griffith this morning - Mississippi?
Hi,
Just the messenger. I was going through the eBird Alerts for today and
there was an as of yet unconfirmed report of a Mississippi Kite at Harry
Griffith park earlier this morning. There are five photos and they are
all underexposed to some degree, so I can't really tell for sure if it
was a Mississippi or a White-tailed Kite. It doesn't look like a
juvenile White-tailed. The underside of the tail looks dark. Here is the
checklist:
Maybe someone more expert than I am can take a look.
Lisa Ruby
Sabre Springs
--
Lisa Ruby
Sabre Springs
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17873): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17873 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120456635/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/26/26 10:50 am From: Justyn Stahl via groups.io <justyn.stahl...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] [CALBIRDS] artificial intelligence and photos of birds
See below for a word of caution when using photo editing software.
In general, correcting the exposure and cropping is really about all that
is necessary in my opinion. Photos submitted to eBird, ideally, represent
how the bird was seen in the field.
Justyn Stahl
North Park
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...>
Date: Sun, Jul 26, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Subject: [CALBIRDS] artificial intelligence and photos of birds
To: <CALBIRDS...>
Dear Birders,
Over the past year, several birders in California and further abroad have
used artificial intelligence (“AIâ€) to edit photographs of birds and have
uploaded those altered photos to eBird and iNaturalist. Even though most of
these instances have probably been innocuous attempts to make a poor photo
look a bit better, this practice is highly damaging regardless of a user's
intended purpose. Unfortunately, most birders still do not understand how
many of these programs work and why they are so negative. Below I have
attempted to explain this issue.
There are several types of artificial intelligence, but the variety used by
the most popular platforms (Google Gemini, Claude, etc.) is called
generative AI. These programs have immense databases which they use to
generate responses to user prompts. To put it simply, if you have a photo
of a California Scrub-Jay, and you use a generative artificial intelligence
program to edit the photo, the program is going outside of the data
contained in the photo, searching its database for what it knows California
Scrub-Jays look like, and then uses that external knowledge to “touch upâ€
the photo to meet its expectations. This is not much different than
printing a photo out onto paper and asking an artist to touch up the photo
by painting onto it. The human artist will use their knowledge of what
scrub-jays are supposed to look like to improve the image. So does AI.
To further clarify, I asked Google Gemini to explain how it edits photos.
Here is what it told me: “Gemini is a Generator: It doesn’t actually “editâ€
your photo. Instead, it looks at your image, reads your instructions, and
draws a brand-new picture from scratch based on patterns it knows. Because
it rebuilds the entire image every time, it struggles to keep the original
details—like the exact shape of a face, text, or background
textures—identical.â€
So, if you upload that Scrub-Jay, the generative AI can use its knowledge
of scrub-jays to fill in missing details, and make that blurry photo sharp,
or that dark spot visible, etc. But what if you upload a subpar photo of an
Empidonax flycatcher? Or a seagull (yeah, I said it)? The AI still goes
into its database and uses that external knowledge to touch up the photo…
can the blurry Western Flycatcher be mistakenly touched up into a Willow? A
Yellow-footed Gull into a Western Gull? Even if you upload a good photo,
can the Sooty Fox Sparrow be made to look a bit more like a Slate-colored?
Might a hatch-year state of molt return looking a bit more adult like? (If
the number of remiges can change on a bird when run through AI, as I've
seen a few times, it seems anything is possible.) How about a perfectly
decent photo of an Epaulet Oriole, which when “touched up†with AI came out
looking like the first-for-Brazil record of Red-winged Blackbird? More on
that last scenario, and a further explanation of AI’s problems as they
pertain to citizen science databases, here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-03141-y
In short, generative AI should absolutely not be used when editing photos.
These programs rely on pre-existing knowledge to edit photos, and in doing
so, inevitably hallucinate details that were not actually there. At best,
uploading these photos pollutes scientific databases with photos not
representative of reality. (It is crazy that that is the "at best."]) And,
I hate to say it, but with companies shoving AI down our collective
throats, the onus is now on the user to verify that new photo editing apps
and tools do not use generative artificial intelligence.
One final sobering note: Most of these instances where eBird reviewers or
other careful eyed observers have sniffed out AI-altered media have done so
because, to the trained eye, most AI edited photos often have the wrong
number of feathers, a mishmash of features from different (sub)species, or
otherwise appear "strange" or "off." But AI is improving rapidly. Just last
year, I was unable to generate a photo of a bird in Google Gemini that did
not seemingly combine features of multiple species and that was not
positioned at an unnatural angle. Last week, I generated a photo of a
Mourning Warbler with AI--completely from scratch, no pre-existing photo to
serve as a "canvas" to work off of--that was scarily convincing. (I sent
the photo to a few friends to ask what they thought-- the first to reply
wrote, “Ok f*** this.â€) Soon, we will not be able to tell what is and is
not altered.
Please, build good habits now, and encourage the same from those around you
by strongly advocating against the use of generative artificial
intelligence to edit photos and by educating other birders of its perils.
Thank you
Ethan Monk
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17872): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17872 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120455856/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/25/26 7:51 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Boobies and Pacific Golden
Yesterday's seawatch at La Jolla produced an almost-adult Masked Booby heading northbound around 7:30 a.m., which was then seen again a little while later passing off the mouth of San Elijo Lagoon. There's been a clear influx of Nazca Boobies into California during the past month, all the way to Northern California, but there's only been a couple Masked so far. Two Cocos Boobies flew by La Jolla yesterday, heading south, and I'm currently on Saturday morning standing on Seacoast Drive a little south of Imperial Beach Pier and have fairly quickly noted six Cocos feeding offshore. Earlier this morning I had a Pacific Golden-Plover departing the Salt Works near pond 20 and heading south to points unknown. This may be the earliest arrival date for San Diego County by perhaps a week, although there are certainly records from latter July from most counties to our north.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17871): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17871 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120440862/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/24/26 2:22 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] passing of Guy McCaskie
Guy McCaskie passed away from natural causes on July 22, just 11 days short of his 90th birthday. Truly the end of an era. Guy was the leader in moving birding into the modern era. He made countless advances in field identification and in our knowledge of West Coast vagrancy patterns and he discovered a plethora of migrant and vagrant traps. First moving from Scotland to Lake Tahoe, he soon settled in San Diego in the early 1960s, where he would remain to the present. He quickly turned California birding on its ear. He was extremely active statewide, with a particular passion for the San Diego area and for the desert from the Salton Sea north to the Death Valley region. He found more California state firsts than anyone. He has the highest California bird list. But far more important were his myriad of contributions to Western birding and field ornithology through his many publications, teaching fellow birders in the field, and in setting high standards for careful observation and documentation. His influence especially during the latter 1900s extended far beyond California to all of North America. There are not enough superlatives that can be said.
Many more tributes, including those with more details of Guy's life and contributions, will undoubtedly follow in the days and weeks ahead.
Plans will be made to spread Guy's ashes at the Salton Sea on a date later in fall when temperatures have cooled, followed by an informal get-together that same day, probably at Cattle Call Park in Brawley. Further details will be posted in the future when plans are firm. Per Guy's wishes, there will not be a formal funeral or celebration of life.
The family welcomes cards and letters, but please no phone calls.
All birders in California and the West should go outside today and tip your binoculars to Guy. He showed us the way.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17870): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17870 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120423102/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/22/26 6:25 pm From: John Martin via groups.io <xenozoon7...> Subject: Re: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Lesser Frigatebird at sunset
Swung and missed this morning from about 09:30-10:30 at Carmel Valley Road
X Torrey Pines Road, and 11:00-12:00 at La Jolla Cove.
John Martin
On Tue, Jul 21, 2026 at 9:20 PM <lehman.paul...> via groups.io
<lehman.paul...> wrote:
> Just after official sunset--so around 8:05--the frigatebird was circling
> over downtown La Jolla or somewhere near there--the inexactness due to my
> scoping at the time south from Scripps Pier area and it is not easy to get
> an accurate idea of actual distance to where the bird actually is, whereas
> direction is easy. If, in fact, the bird was on the other side of downtown
> then it would be along the coast approximately near the end of Pearl. Or it
> was closer, actually over buildings. If the former, then it is remarkably
> close to where it was seen just after 8PM back on 12 July--the initial
> sighting in this latest series. So perhaps it is roosting on at least a
> somewhat regular basis in that more southern-central coastal part of La
> Jolla--if in fact it is landing in a tree or whatever for the night and not
> simply just circling around all night long. But I did look briefly for the
> bird the following morning (13th) right after dawn where it had been seen
> late on the 12th, with no luck, and I've spent hours seawatching at La
> Jolla Cove on two different mornings since then, with no luck. Maybe the
> bird goes north some days to the Del Mar area, and maybe some days it goes
> south to the Point Loma area, where it was seen and photographed on the
> 19th. Or maybe it goes both directions some days....
>
>
> Clearly it would help if folks spread out at least from Solana Beach south
> to Point Loma.
>
>
> I would assume this bird is the same individual that was in southern
> Orange County and at the San Diego County line back in late May. And that
> there is a reasonable chance that it's the same bird that was here in San
> Diego County in February 2025. All involve an adult female with a more
> grayish rather than the more standard (??) pinkish-hued bill.
>
>
> --Paul Lehman, San Diego
>
>
>
>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17869): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17869 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120389419/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/22/26 8:45 am From: Justyn Stahl via groups.io <justyn.stahl...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] California Bird Atlas Newsletter + Town Hall (23 July)
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Van Pierszalowski via groups.io <van...>
>
Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Subject: [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Newsletter + Town Hall + Top 20
Species
To: <CALBIRDS...>
Hi birders,
Thank you all for continuing to build an incredible first year of the first
statewide California Bird Atlas. As of this writing, 160,228 Atlas
checklists have been submitted from 5,141 atlasers. The number of blocks
with data is approaching the 50% mark, with 8,202 blocks receiving some
coverage (49.63% of total blocks).
For more detailed updates, please see the following resources:
*ATLAS FIRSTS*
In June, atlasers confirmed breeding observations for 26 additional
species, bringing our total (as of May 30) to 298 species. Visit *Atlas
Dispatch <https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/news/atlas-dispatch-june-2026>* to see the full list of newly confirmed breeding observation species.
*TOP 20 SPECIES*
Here are the 20 species with confirmed breeding observations in the most
blocks as of July 15, 2026 (number of blocks in parentheses). Click on each
species to see the current Atlas Species Map, which updates regularly as
new data comes in. Six species have already been confirmed breeding in over
1,000 Atlas blocks.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17868): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17868 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120396199/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
Date: 7/22/26 6:40 am From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] Frigatebird Wednesday morning
A group from the Bay Area reported the frigatebird at 6:15 a.m. this morning (Weds) over the ocean just off Calumet Park near Bird Rock in southern La Jolla and they believe heading south at that point.
Paul Lehman, San DiegoÂ
Sent from AOL on Android
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#17867): https://groups.io/g/SanDiegoRegionBirding/message/17867 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120393557/858290 -=-=-
---
The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
