Santa Ana NWR, 8/3/16

Recognizing I wasn't going to see any good birds while laying around the house, I crawled out into the heat this morning and drove over to Santa Ana NWR.  I checked out the brush around the visitors center for juicy butterflies and odes but not much was stirring so I headed on down the tour road.  One of the first sounds I heard after crossing the levee was the "ee-ee-ee-ee" of Northern Beardless Tyrannulet.  This one was cooperative though a bit scruffy.

I heard some "whit"-ing nearby and managed to find three Least Flycatchers.  Seems like they come in small groups more so than the other Empids. 

I walked on towards the Pintail Lakes complex and picked up a probable Alder Flycatcher.   But it was silent so will go on eBird as a Traill's  There was also a couple more Leasts.  My studies of the Empidonax this spring made the IDs pretty easy.

A nearby Olive Sparrow trilled.

I failed to get a photo of a calling Blue Grosbeak but did manage one of this Painted Bunting.

Nothing unusual on the water at Pintail.  I did like the colors on the young Tricolored Heron.

Back at the old manager's residence, a Javelina or Collared Peccary as it is properly called sauntered by.

Groove-billed Anis are pretty common this time of year.

So nothing great but an interesting morning as usual.  Certainly better than puttering around the house.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (fulgens) 15
Mottled Duck (Gulf Coast) 11
Plain Chachalaca 6
Anhinga 1
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 22
Tricolored Heron 1
Cattle Egret (Western) 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 5
White-faced Ibis 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Harris's Hawk 3
Common Gallinule (American) 1
American Coot 2
Black-necked Stilt 1
Killdeer 10
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 4
Inca Dove 3
Common Ground-Dove 10
White-tipped Dove 3
White-winged Dove 300
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 4
Greater Roadrunner 1
Groove-billed Ani 8
Buff-bellied Hummingbird 1
Green Kingfisher 2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Northern) 4
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 4
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet 2
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher) 2
Least Flycatcher 5
Empidonax sp. 1
Brown-crested Flycatcher 3
Great Kiskadee 6
Tropical Kingbird 2
Couch's Kingbird 6
White-eyed Vireo 4
Green Jay (Green) 2
Purple Martin 6
Barn Swallow 1
Cave Swallow (Texas) 6
Black-crested Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 3
Northern Mockingbird 6
Common Yellowthroat 4
Olive Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 4
Blue Grosbeak 1
Painted Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Great-tailed Grackle 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Orchard Oriole 1
Hooded Oriole 1
Altamira Oriole 3
House Sparrow 3