Date: 4/21/25 9:38 pm From: Linus Blomqvist via groups.io <linus.blomqvist...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Cuyama Bird Surveys: report from winter, save the date for spring
Hi all,
At long last, here is the report from the 2025 Cuyama Winter Bird Survey, which took place on January 25-26. This was the third Cuyama Bird Survey, and participation was at an all-time high: a total of 20 people across 13 teams. Together, we fanned out across Cuyama Valley and its environs to document the status and distribution of birds in this poorly covered corner of Santa Barbara County. Many thanks to all the participants for their contributions. Most of the participants had a long drive to get to Cuyama, and several groups stayed one or two nights in the area. On the second day, some endured windy and rainy conditions to eke out a few additional species. All in all, an awesome team effort and a very meaningful contribution to our understanding of this area's avifauna.
Before I proceed to report from the winter survey, I want to announce that *the Cuyama Spring Bird Survey will be held on May 17-18*. Mark your calendars, and let me know if you're interested in participating!
Highlights from the winter survey include: 1 Gray Flycatcher; 1 Eastern Phoebe; over 9000 Horned Larks; 17 Sage Thrashers; 353 Mountain Bluebirds; 9 Chipping Sparrows; 1 Brewer's Sparrow; 2 Black-throated Sparrows; and 1 Sagebrush Sparrow.
Our total this year was 111 species, compared to 102 species in 2024. It's hard to know if this was because of our somewhat more thorough coverage, or because there was more bird diversity this winter compared to the last one. Perhaps a mix of the two. Finding 111 species might not sound like much to someone used to birding the South Coast, but in my mind it's a very impressive total for this area, and a testament to the fantastic effort by all the participants.
Our coverage was somewhat more extensive than last year, but not in a way that would greatly affect the comparison. No location that was covered in 2024 lacked coverage this year, but we added a few sites. The most significant ones were the BLM land north of Ballinger Canyon, the Cuyama River riverbed, and Pato Canyon. The riverbed was the only one that substantially changed the results compared to the previous year for certain species. This year, we had a total of 82 checklists, compared to 41 in 2024. This reflects repeat visits rather than the addition of many new sites. Total checklist duration for this year was about 82 hours; in 2024 it was 56 hours. This reinforces the picture of more thorough coverage of mostly the same sites as last year. Subtracting the hours dedicated to the three new sites mentioned above, we get about 71 hours, still 15 hours more than last year.
Note that this survey covers not just Cuyama Valley proper (Lehman's District V), but also the foothills of Sierra Madre. Bates Canyon, Aliso Park, and the upper reaches of Santa Barbara Canyon were included in the survey but belong to the Mountain District. A very small number of locations were in Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, but the bulk of our coverage was in Santa Barbara County.
One theme that emerged was that this was not a good year for many northern/montane migrants. This year we missed Lewis's Woodpecker (3 last year), Golden-crowned Kinglet (4), Red-breasted Nuthatch (1), Cedar Waxwing (30), and Pine Siskin (37). We also only had 1 Varied Thrush, compared to 4 last year. On the other hand, this was an exceptionally good year for Sage Thrasher (see below), and the number of Horned Larks was off the charts.
Another insight from this year is that the riverbed of the Cuyama River can be very productive. The high counts for Sage Thrasher and Bell's Sparrow were from here, as well as the only record of Sagebrush Sparrow. I have barely seen any previous reports from this site on eBird, but it clearly deserves more attention.
There were 10 species we had in 2024 that we missed this year. Five of these were the montane birds listed above. Another notable miss was California Condor, which we had on both the winter and spring survey last year.
We had 19 species this year that we didn't have last year, including birds associated with water, such as Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Long-billed Curlew, Greater Yellowlegs, Snowy Egret, and Great Egret. All of these are hit or miss in Cuyama Valley and depend on the availability of water and random movements. Extensive coverage at Caliente Ranch wetland generated some of these birds, plus Virginia Rail and Marsh Wren. Spotted Owl, Sage Thrasher, and Sagebrush Sparrow were all in locations that were not covered last year.
Below are accounts of select species. I use Paul Lehman's Birds of Santa Barbara County (BOSBC) as my reference here. You can access this work here <https://linusblomqvist.shinyapps.io/bosbc/>. When I mention a status like "very rare," this is a direct quote from BOSBC. I did not cross-check everything with eBird, so there may in some cases be more historical records of individual species than what is mentioned here.
Ring-necked Duck. 12 at New Cuyama WTP. Very rare in District V. As a side note, this is a testament to the rapid turnover of birds on the ponds and wetlands in Cuyama Valley--the WTP was visited 7 times over two days and the Ring-necked Ducks were only recorded in a single checklist.
Virginia Rail. One at Caliente Ranch wetland. Casual migrant in District V. Only three other records are mentioned in BOSBC for this district, all of them in spring.
Long-billed Curlew. 3 at the WTP. Very rare in District V. The only other winter record for this district was in 2005.
Greater Yellowlegs. 1 at the WTP. Casual in winter in District V: BOSBC mentions three previous records in this season.
Snowy Egret. 1 at the WTP. Very rare migrant in District V, and no previous winter records.
Great Egret. Possibly the same individual flying over Aliso Canyon Road and then later observed at Caliente Ranch wetland. Very rare winter visitor in District V.
Turkey Vulture. 1 at Caliente Ranch wetland and 1 along Wasioja Road. Very unusual wintering bird in District V, but these could be very early spring migrants. The 2024 Cuyama Winter Bird Survey did not record any Turkey Vultures.
Golden Eagle. A total of 6 reported. Based on times and locations, this could involve 3-4 birds, but hard to know for sure given how widely this species ranges.
Red-shouldered Hawk. 1 at Caliente Ranch wetland. Uncommon winter visitor in District V. Not recorded on the 2024 winter survey.
Ferruginous Hawk. A total of 11 reported, but the number of individuals might be about half of that. This strikes me as low compared to my experience over the years. I reported 21 individuals from the 2024 survey, but this is subject to the usual caveats about double counting.
Owls: 2 Barn Owls, 7 Western Screech-Owls, 12 Great Horned Owls, and 1 Spotted Owl.
Merlin. A total of 11 reports, but given the likelihood of double counting, this could involve just a small handful of individuals.
Peregrine Falcon. Presumably the same individual seen along Perkins Road and at the WTP. Very rare but annual in District V.
Prairie Falcon. A total of 11 reports, perhaps involving 3-5 individuals.
Gray Flycatcher. 1 along Wasioja Road. Casual in winter anywhere in the county, with only 8 previous records in this season, only one of which is from District V.
Eastern Phoebe. 1 at Caliente Ranch wetland. First record for District V.
Cassin's Kingbird. 1 in New Cuyama. BOSBC mentions only one winter record in District V, but there seems to be at least one resident individual in New Cuyama town in the last few years.
American Crow. 1 at Aliso Park, where regular, and a flock of 16 (with photo documentation) from Wasioja Road. The status of American Crows in District V is contested, but no one would disagree that 16 is a very high number.
Horned Lark. Roughly 9100 across the valley floor, and this is probably an undercount given that some areas are not accessible by public road. BOSBC mentions high counts from District V of 2350 and 2000 from 2006 and 2007 respectively, so this past winter was exceptional, and ours might be the all-time high count for the species in the county. Last year's total was just over 900.
Tree Swallow. 4 at Caliente Ranch wetland. Very rare in winter in District V.
Rock Wren. 14 across our survey sites in District V, a fairly high number for the area.
Marsh Wren. 2 at Caliente Ranch wetland. Rare in District V.
Sage Thrasher. Total of 17 in District V. This was an exceptional year for the species across Southern California, and Cuyama Valley was no exception. BOSBC mentions a total of 38 Sage Thrashers in District V between 1979 and 2023, so ours is surely the high count. Notably, the majority of our birds were on the riverbed of Cuyama River, a site that is very seldom birded, and that was not covered in last year's survey.
Mountain Bluebird. Total of 353, a good number for Cuyama Valley, but somewhat lower than last year.
Varied Thrush. 1 along the Santa Barbara Canyon hiking trail. None in Bates Canyon, where we had 4 last year.
Lawrence's Goldfinch. 1 in Deer Park Canyon and 1 at the BLM parcel north of Ballinger Canyon. Compare with a total of 10 last year.
Chipping Sparrow. 3 at Santa Barbara Pistachio and 6 on the way in to Deer Park Canyon. Fairly normal numbers for Cuyama Valley in winter.
Brewer's Sparrow. 1 in Ballinger Canyon. Fewer of them than last year, when we had 7 across four different sites.
Black-throated Sparrow. 2 in Deer Park Canyon, where they are regular in winter in small numbers.
Sagebrush Sparrow. 1 at the riverbed of the Cuyama River. Up to 3 had been recorded at the BLM parcel north of Ballinger Canyon earlier in the winter, but this was the first one outside this patch and indeed one of very few records in Santa Barbara County as a whole. Reports from elsewhere in Southern California suggest that this was a good year for them.
Bell's Sparrow. 41 across several sites. The highest count was from the Cuyama River riverbed (18). This site seems to compare favorably to other more established sites for this and other species in Cuyama Valley. Numbers were lower in all other areas compared to last year.
Vesper Sparrow. 24 across multiple sites. More than last year, when we had 14.
