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Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> San Luis Obispo County Rare Bird Alert. The report below shows observations of rare birds in San Luis Obispo County. View or unsubscribe to this alert at https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN36231 NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.
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Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) (1)
- Reported Nov 05, 2025 16:01 by Alexander Yan
- Laguna Lake, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6903817&<ll...>,-120.6903817 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S283065221 - Comments: "Continuing, thanks to excellent directions from Terri O! High in the tree, double wing bars, kind of round looking, mostly tannish yellow colored, somewhat greenish tan head. Moving slower than kinglets that it mixed with."
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Nov 05, 2025 07:48 by Reef Comer
- Laguna Lake, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6903817&<ll...>,-120.6903817 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S283033396 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing bright HY foraging fairly low in euc’s at these coords: (35.2662613, -120.6850713). Photos to come. Very active, but afforded good views. Never vocalized."
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) (1) CONFIRMED
- Reported Nov 05, 2025 07:44 by Nick & Jane
- Laguna Lake, San Luis Obispo, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6903817&<ll...>,-120.6903817 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S283059258 - Media: 20 Photos
- Comments: "Continuing glowingly beautiful warbler, perhaps nonbreeding. Approximate location: 35.266286, -120.684963 — I was on my way back to search for a second time—had arrived early and searched to no avail. But Reef/Lou re-found the elusive warbler and pointed westward, where I found the bird with the help of Jack and Petra, who had joined me only moments prior. The warbler was in a mixed flock in the western-most trees along the barbed wire fenceline that runs northward from the entrance to the paved loop, and also appeared in adjacent trees on either side of those (east/south).
The bird quickly foraged above us, upwards of twelve feet and more, and several minutes later, down to one to two feet off the ground. It moved between multiple species of trees: eucs, toyon, and some dried up cypress/pine, etc. The bird itself, a chunk-o-rama of a warbler with a short tail, was a glimmering multi-faceted jewel of plumage, the head a bright neon greenish-yellow, with some black streaks on its greenish-crown—including a dark streak-splotch on its forecrown. Dark eyelines cut through the green in a fine demarcation from the cheeks, which its auriculars seemed a slightly darker green tone. Its back was also the same neon greenish-yellow, and had black streaking as well, which both the green and black streaks bled onto the bird's upper secondary flight feathers—down to its first white wingbar. The lower white wingbar, like the top, contrasted with blackish wings and upper black tail. Flight feathers had white to greenish-yellow tones on some edges, as did the tail. The flanks were rufous, leaning into a cinnamon coloring, though definitely appearing burnt orange to simply orangey at times. Depending on the position of the bird and the light, the entire underside—belly to undertail coverts would at times appear buffy, and other times more whitish. Head-on looks made the bird’s throat appear white to pale yellowish—bits of its belly too. Definitely more white toward its chin. Its chest was yellowish while its short tail’s underpattern consisted of two small white ovals, the retrices finely edged black and not tapering, while its outer-facing tail tips were black curved patches, and on the under-retrices towards the undertail—small black triangular patterns.
No vocalizations, though the mixed flock the warbler associates with was with was chipping up a storm, including yellow-rumps, townsies, and a black-throated gray. This is my third sighting of this species and second at Laguna Lake where I found one on Oct. 1, 2020 just east of the lakeside restrooms. Photos"
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