I started by hiking the Deerfield Crossing Trail, a roughly one-mile loop trail. When I got to the area overlooking the BMX bike course, I saw a Rufous-crowned Sparrow in the brush.
It then popped up on a boulder next to a couple California Towhees that appeared to be catching the early morning sun.
One of the towhees moved to a post where I got this nice photo of it.
Down at the bottom of the steep hill, I saw a California Thrasher moving in and out of view along a fence.
Soon after, a flock of about ten Bushtits worked their way across the path.
Nearby, I noticed a fairly small bird with a long tail working its way through the thick brush. Eventually, it moved into an opening and I realized it was a Wrentit.
Up to the north, there were some showers that created a nice rainbow that I was able to capture with my cell phone.
While I had it out, I took another photo of the landscape to the northeast.
A little farther along the trail, I spotted a gnatcatcher, hoping that it was a California Gnatcatcher, but it turned out to be the much paler Blue-gray Gnatcatcher instead.
About three-quarters of the way around the trail, I came across a territorial battle between some Anna's Hummingbirds. One was a nice male, one was an immature male, and another was a female.
There was constant hovering and dive-bombing going on as is common with hummingbird species.
Another California Thrasher was seen grabbing food along the path.
Just before getting back to the car, a California Quail zipped across the trail and disappeared into the brush before I could get a photo. Other notables seen along the loop were Lesser Goldfinch, and Northern Rough-winged and Cliff Swallow.
I headed up Mission Gorge Road and turned down towards the Old Mission Dam. I parked before the dam and walked the trail back to Kumeyaay Lake. On the way to the lake, I came across a group of Acorn Woodpeckers working over a snag.
A Cassin's Kingbird was also perched nearby.
Birds on the lake included Mallard, Pied-billed Grebe, Snowy Egret, and Great Blue Heron. On the northwestern side of the lake, I found a Bell's Vireo.
A Bewick's Wren was also present in the same area as the vireo.
At the lake's outlet, I saw a Common Gallinule with its young and a Black Phoebe.
Other species around the lake area included Anna's Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Wrentit, California Thrasher, Lesser Goldfinch, California and Spotted Towhee, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Northern Yellow Warbler.
I then headed down to the Old Mission Dam area where I saw this sign warning about a recent Mountain Lion sighting by the parking lot.
After a little while, I finally found two Nuttall's Woodpeckers, a male and a female.
At the dam, I found a Lazuli Bunting and a Song Sparrow, which is darker and much more heavily streaked than the ones we have here in the East.
Around the parking lot, I saw a Western Tanager and an Orange-crowned Warbler.
Additional birds around the dam included Anna's Hummingbird, Common Raven, Bushtit, Wrentit, and Lesser Goldfinch.
I stopped at Harry Griffen Regional Park to look for the Pin-tailed Whydahs, but it was the middle of the day, so the odds weren't too good for success. I spent less than an hour there, but I did manage to see some Scaly-breasted Munias along with Western Bluebird, Lesser Goldfinch, and Dark-eyed Junco.
I decided to visit Sunset Cliffs Natural Park since it was a place where the California Gnatcatcher was often seen. It was the middle of the afternoon, but the temperatures weren't too bad because this park is right on the coast.
I walked several of the trails through the scrub but was unable to find one. Birds that I did find included Anna's Hummingbird, Western Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Bushtit, Northern Mockingbird, California and Spotted Towhee, and Orange-crowned Warbler, which is a lot more common in the West than it is here.
Once again, I returned to Harry Griffen Park and, this time, a male Pin-tailed Whydah flew into the tree above me, showing off its amazingly-long tail.
It eventually worked its way down to a branch next to a feeding area and then down to the seed on the ground.
Later, it went to a tree where it displayed for the female.
The female then dropped down to the seed where I was able to get better photos of her.
About an hour before sunset, I drove to the El Cajon Courthouse and parked on the top level of the parking deck hoping to see parrots coming in to roost. As sunset approached, I saw several groups fly by, but none of them flew into the trees next to the courthouse. Instead, they all flew by heading northeast. Fortunately, at least one of those groups was close enough to tell that they were Lilac-crowned Amazons.
I drove the few blocks back to the motel and celebrated my two new 'lifers' of the day with some ice cream.
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