Arizona - California Trip ~ October 3, 2014

I headed over to Mission Valley and birded the area along the San Diego River located behind the Town & Country Hotel. The area around the footbridge produced Anna's Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Black Phoebe, White-crowned Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, the "Audubon's" form of Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Townsend's and Orange-crowned Warbler.

Soon after, I found several Scaly-breasted Munias, also known as Nutmeg Mannikins, along the edge of the parking lot behind the hotel.

From there, I drove up to Point La Jolla. Heermann's Gulls and Western Gulls were present at Ellen B. Scripps Park.

Brown Pelicans and Brandt's Cormorants were on the rocks along the shore with California Sea Lions.

Several Double-crested Cormorants were perched in the nearby trees.

Other birds noted there included Snowy Egret, Wandering Tattler, Black Turnstone, and Caspian Tern.

The next stop was at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge near Imperial Beach. Many Marbled Godwits, Willets, and Black-necked Stilts were present. A Long-billed Curlew stood amongst them.

One of two Western Meadowlarks perched atop the scrub along the highway.

In addition to them were Great Egret, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Black Turnstone, Western and Least Sandpiper, Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitcher, Red-necked Phalarope, Elegant Tern, and the "Belding's" race of Savannah Sparrow.

Later, Eurasian Collared-Dove and Cassin's Kingbird were spotted along Monument Road near the U.S. border.

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