By Greg Dunne                

April 4, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- Pigeons are the ultimate urban birds. At our parks, on top of our downtown skyscrapers, even at the beach we see them.

Pigeons and Doves seem to be everywhere in the County—but even though it’s ordinary to see them on a daily basis, there are some extraordinary facts about these birds that may surprise you.

By Greg Dunne

May 22, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- The other day, my friend Glenn Kessell asked me what bird he often hears making very piercing calls in the morning before any of the other birds have started singing. I told him it was most likely the Western Kingbird. The Kingbird has a very loud, high pitched call – best described as Chi-BEER!

By Greg Dunne

“Hush, little baby don’t say a word, Mama’s going to buy you a mockingbird.”—traditional lullaby

September 13, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- The Northern Mockingbird is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather.  While most other North American birds become silent or migrate in the fall, mockingbirds keep on singing in hopes of landing a mate for next spring.  Males with a good repertoire of song can be a good catch.

By Greg Dunne

January 24, 2014 (Mission Trails) -- Instead of being  glued to the sofa and TV watching championship football games to see who will be going to the Super Bowl, I got a big pay-off with a photo of a cute little bird on Sunday.  I passed a few hikers along the way to the top of Mt. Fortuna out at Mission Trails Regional Park on Sunday afternoon.  How can you beat the great weather we have for hiking here in the East County, especially considering the hard winter the East Coast is getting right now?

The big pay-off for me was my first photo of this warm and fuzzy Wrentit.