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Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> Santa Barbara County Rare Bird Alert. The report below shows observations of rare birds in Santa Barbara County. View or unsubscribe to this alert at https://ebird.org/alert/summary?sid=SN35915 NOTE: all sightings are UNCONFIRMED unless indicated.
eBird encourages safe, responsible birding. Some reports may be from private property. Respect access restrictions and follow the rules wherever you bird. For more information, visit the eBird and Merlin Community Guidelines: https://ebird.org/community-guidelines. Stay connected to the global birding community with eBird Updates: https://mailchi.mp/cornell/ebird-updates-sign-up-page.
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) (1)
- Reported Dec 21, 2025 12:03 by Alice Abela
- Ocean Beach County Park and Santa Ynez River Estuary, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.6003785&<ll...>,-120.6003785 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S289929894 - Comments: "This bird twice circled over my head. This was at 6:19 AM. I saw only the outline of the bird from about 25 feet while it circled overhead. Medium-sized owl, much like a Long-eared owl in size and shape. The main identifying features were the vehemence of its response to playback and the setting I and the owl were in: estuarine and estuary upland."
Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) (1)
- Reported Dec 23, 2025 14:15 by Stephanie Little
- Los Alamos Park, Santa Barbara, California
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&<q...>,-120.2791357&<ll...>,-120.2791357 - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S289921977 - Media: 3 Photos
- Comments: "Posting for a friend who accidentally caught this bird at his Los Alamos residence while trapping house sparrows. Not chaseable since I’m not posting the address but he lives in town. Drab green bird but showed “emerald green” highlights in the sunlight. Foraging on ground for seed. The bird was released and continued to stay and feed on millet alongside other ground foraging birds."
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