With the nesting season winding down, here are a few interesting bird stories from our 2014 season:

On April 4th, Seth and I saw an adult bald eagle soaring between us (while inside a helicopter) and the pine-surrounded pasture ponds of Corte Madera. The timing of this observation strongly suggests the possibility of local nesting, and that area has bald eagle written all over it.
On July 4th, I had an adult male red-eyed vireo literally in my backyard, in Point Loma. He sang and foraged in three different jacaranda trees for about a 15-minute period while I watched and photographed him from my backyard, before moving on to who knows where. This was the 1st summer record for this species ever in San Diego County.
On August 7th, I found a California gnatcatcher nest with at least two young, only about two days old. This is very late for this stage of nesting for this species, and so is notable in that regard.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled out there! You never know what kind of surprises might be in store!