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Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Cassin's Vireo - a lifer!

This morning I birded the neighborhood for about an hour, inspired by all the reports of eastern vagrant warblers elsewhere. I didn't find any, needless to say, and hardly any warblers at all; but I did get excellent looks at my first Cassin's Vireo along the Yellowthroat Creek. It had a pale yellow wash on its flanks, and its upperparts were grayish-olive with very little contrast. Apparently, Cassin's Vireo is relatively sparse and uncommon in fall migration in southern California, so I was happy to find it. I didn't get any photos of it, since it was foraging up high in the eucalyptus trees. I also found a couple Ruby-crowned Kinglets, new for the neighborhood. Those two new species push the neighborhood list up to eighty-seven!