Just for a moment, I felt like the Wizard of Mt. Hoo.
A neighbor had casually asked me, “when can we expect the yellow-rumped warblers to be making their fall arrival in Southern California?”
With a confident tone, I said, “well, the first one was spotted on Mount Laguna on Aug. 8, but the main flock is not far behind, just up north in Big Bear and the Angeles National Forest.”
He looked at me with a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
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I’m used to that. My three sons never believed half the things I told them, either.
A yellow-rumped warbler on a perch. (Ernie Cowan / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
But this was accurate and timely information that I had just gleaned from an amazing online resource that every wildbird lover should have.
It’s called eBird and this free program, available at ebird.org is a robust product managed by the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology, located on the edge of Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, N.Y.
The success of eBird, however, is due to the collaborative efforts of hundreds of partner organizations and millions of citizen science contributors.
Readers may recall I have often mentioned eBird as a real-time resource to follow bird migrations and rare bird sightings as well as to keep records of your personal wildbird list.
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But it’s far more than that, offering both the amateur and the professional birding community an unparalleled data collection that grows daily, thanks to the contributions of enthusiasts who have provided billions of observations since eBird’s creation in 2002.
Some of those observations come from remote and exotic places in the world, but most are from backyard birders who simply track the feathered visitors right outside their windows.
Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Jenna Curtis, a member of the eBird staff who focuses on the intersection of science, conservation and public engagement. Her title is eBird Community Lead.
“My main goal is to help users so that eBird is a more effective platform,” Curtis said.
Those users’ range for the highest level of environmental scientists, to participants in high school science projects, or this happy birder on Mt. Hoo and millions like me.
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Each of those sources provide a collective picture of bird data in what Curtis called, “the largest biodiversity project in the world.”
It’s citizen science on steroids.
And it has grown rapidly.
It took 19 years for 1 billion observations to be recorded. The next 1 billion were recorded in just four years, and Curtis predicts eBird will receive well over 3 billion observations by the end of this decade.
Curtis also works with some of the 2,000 volunteer bird experts who help validate observations submitted by participants.
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Here’s how eBird works.
The first step is to create a free eBird account.
Account holders also have access to a free, online course called eBird Essentials that teaches birding skills and the basics of using eBird tools.
After creating an account, eBirders can log on at any time to submit a checklist that records location, time, date and a list of birds observed. Photos and sound recordings can also be uploaded when submitting the list.
The most recent map, from October 2024, showing the global distribution of checklists submitted to eBird. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology / eBird (ebird.org))
Once reviewed and approved by the volunteer experts, your report becomes part of the massive eBird database that is not only valuable to backyard birders, but also for avian scientists monitoring bird populations, migrations and watching for red flags such as habitat changes, population declines or environmental threats.
“This is only possible through the millions of eBirders sharing experiences,” Curtis said. “I can’t stress enough how valuable this information is.”
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Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
Additionally, every checklist uploaded is kept so you have an ongoing record of your birding activity.
Another important feature offers members the ability to explore activity at birding hotspots around the world or in your neighborhood, search species by photos and sounds, and receive daily email alerts of bird sightings in geographic areas you define.
This is a great way to know about seasonal or rare birds as other eBirders report on sightings in your area of interest.
With the hundreds of thousands of checklists that are submitted and reviewed, the result is what Curtis calls a “high-resolution, extremely accurate data model.”
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That’s why I was able to share with a neighbor information about when the first migrating yellow-rumped warbler of fall was recorded in San Diego County.
A screenshot from eBird of a map showing reports of migrating yellow-rumped warblers into San Diego County this month. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology / eBird (ebird.org))
At a higher level, the data accumulated by eBird has been used by researchers to better understand bird distribution, gain deeper understanding of migration patterns, model population trends and predict bird populations over time.
This information has been critical in developing effective conservation and habitat management plans and broader conservation strategies.
The effectiveness of eBird also demonstrates how much wild birds are loved.
Curtis is just one of the millions who love wild birds, and she has recorded over 7,700 sightings on her checklists.
“What’s not to love? They are fun to watch; their behavior is amazing and no matter where you are in the world there are birds. That’s something very special and I want to share that with others,” Curtis said.
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Upcoming events
The Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park are inviting the public to a free Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Nov. 1 at the park.
Located on the western end of Palomar Mountain in San Diego’s North County, the 1,862-acre park is an alpine paradise, offering hiking trails, fishing, campgrounds and a scenic overlook from an active fire lookout tower.
This year’s festival is an expansion of the annual Apple Festival of past years, offering insights into the early history of the area, the pioneers who planted apple orchards, games, square dancing, food, music and crafts.
For additional information, visit friendsofpalomarsp.org.
The 20th annual Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest opens for submission of images from Nov. 1 to Dec. 10. The contest is open to photographers of all ages.
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Categories include People Enjoying the Park; Animals, Plants, Landscapes and Nightscapes of Anza-Borrego, and a new youth category for high school age and younger.
For contest details, visit theabf.org/photocontest.
Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniecowan.substack.com.
Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song – San Diego Union-Tribune
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SUNG-MUN SONG
Position(s): Third base, second base
Bats / Throws: Left / Right
2026 opening day age: 29
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 194 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2025
Contract status: A four-year, $15 million deal will see Song make $2.5 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $3.5 million in 2028 and $4 million in 2029 if he does not opt out of last year; Half of his $1 million signing bonus is due in January 2026 and the other half in 2027; There is a $7 million mutual option for 2030.
.214 — Song’s isolated power in 2025, a career high as he prepared for a jump to the majors. Isolated power measures a player’s raw power (extra bases per at-bat) and Song had a .190 OPS in 2018, in his third year as a pro in Korea, before it dropped to .101 in 2019 and then a career-low .095 in 2023. Hitting 19 homers pushed Song’s isolated power to .178 in 2024 and then a career-high 26 homers push it even higher in 2025.
TRENDING
Idle — Drafted by the Heroes in 2014, Song debuted in the KBO the following year but didn’t become a regular until 2019. A drop-off in production — he had an .884 OPS in 78 games in 2018 and a .597 OPS in 103 games in 2019 — was followed by losing the 2020 season and a chunk of the 2021 season to military service obligations. Then three straight sub-.700 OPS seasons forced Song to rethink his approach to professional baseball, especially in the face of the likes of Ha-Seong Kim,Jung Hoo Lee and Hyeseong Kim generating big-league buzz. Song started with weight training and nutrition. A hitting coach also helped him with balance, pull-side power and the ability to catch up with the sort of fastballs that seem to dog Korean players when they arrive in the States. It all added up to a breakthrough year in which Song paired 19 homers, 104 RBIs and 21 steals with a .340/.409/.518 batting line. To prove it was no fluke, Song followed up his 2024 season with another strong effort that solidified his wish to try his hand in the majors. The ensuing, four-year, $15 million deal that Song signed with the Padres in December cost his new employer a $3 million posting fee to be paid to the Kiwoom Heroes.
2026 OUTLOOK
Like Kim before him, Song appears to be joining the Padres as a utility player with the hope that he blossoms into more as he gets comfortable in a new country and league. Song had experience in Korea at third base (500 starts), second base (149 starts) and first base (38 starts). Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller even mentioned outfield reps in passing as he assessed how Song could help the Padres in 2026.
Former KBO player Sung-Mun Song shakes hands with Padres vice president of amateur and international scouting Pete DeYoung after signing a contract with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday. (Photo by Armond Feffer/San Diego Padres)
Drivers traveling through the city of Poway may have noticed a dramatic change to the landscape. Since September, more than 1,400 trees — many of them eucalyptus — have been removed as part of the city’s hazardous mitigation grant project aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving public safety.
Poway is spending roughly $3 million on the effort, which focuses on removing trees that are dead, dying or considered dangerous. Much of the cost is being reimbursed by FEMA. Officials say the project is designed to make emergency evacuation routes safer while improving the overall health of trees along major roadways, rights-of-way and open spaces.
“I was relieved that there were some efforts being put into improving our resiliency to wildfire in our community,” said Poway Fire Chief Brian Mitchell.
Mitchell said spacing out trees can slow the spread of a wildfire and prevent roads from becoming blocked during an emergency.
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“That certainly has the potential to block our first responders from accessing somebody’s house in the middle of an emergency,” Mitchell said.
City leaders also point to storm safety as a key reason for removing hazardous trees under controlled conditions rather than risking falling limbs or entire trees during severe weather.
“I don’t want to be driving down that street and just a random limb just happened to collapse, you know, just hit me,” said Poway resident Dawn Davis.
Davis said she also worries about the threat the trees pose to nearby homes.
“I don’t want anybody’s homes here to be damaged, either by them or fire,” Davis said.
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A Poway spokeswoman said a certified arborist evaluated nearly 6,800 trees in Poway. About 2,800 invasive trees were recommended for removal.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.
The front of the Fowler Athletic Center at San Diego State includes a pair of double doors that open from the inside out. Replacing them with revolving doors would seem appropriate, given all the comings and goings nowadays.
SDSU had two dozen football players — including five starters on the defense — enter the NCAA transfer portal, which opened Friday. The first wave of candidates to replace them visited over the weekend.
And by Sunday afternoon, SDSU announced its first two signings. It was a package deal.
Sophomore offensive linemen Charlton and Mercer Luniewski are Michigan State transfers from Cincinnati. And twins.
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Charlton Luniewski’s social media says that he goes by “Big Chuck,” although Mercer is listed as an inch taller and 13 pounds heavier at 6-foot-6, 320. Mercer is also, by the way, 45 minutes older.
Charlton profiles at guard and Mercer at tackle, though SDSU typically works players in multiple spots to find the ideal fit. The twins are expected to challenge for spots on the two-deep if not the starting O-line, which lost three starters to graduation.
The twins were highly recruited two years ago out of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, where they also competed in track and basketball. They have three years of eligibility remaining.
The Luniewskis were among a dozen transfer recruits who visited SDSU over the weekend. Commitments have come from half of them. More recruits are scheduled for the coming this week as the Aztecs look to replenish the roster.
SDSU also received a commitment Sunday from Nate Henrich, a 6-6 edge from Division II Gannon University in Pennsylvania. Henrich had six tackles at Gannon, but he is viewed as having high upside with good size and length. He could provide needed depth at a position where the Aztecs lost four players to the portal.
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SDSU also expects commitments from Oregon State edge Kai Wallin, Portland State safety Isaiah Green and College of the Sequoias wide receiver Marshel Sanders.
Wallin is a 6-5 senior from Sacramento who played in nine games this season (seven starts) for the Beavers, making 17 tackles with one sack and four quarterback hurries. Green, a 6-1 junior from Oxnard, had a team-high 101 tackles at Portland State. Sanders is a 5-11 junior from Fresno who had 70 receptions for 929 yards and four touchdowns.
Bostick back
SDSU wide receiver Jacob Bostick announced on his social media Sunday that he is returning for the 2026 season.
His post read, in part: “Excited to get back to work with my coaches and teammates.”
Bostick had 11 catches for 157 yards and three touchdowns over six games before suffering a season-ending knee injury during practice six games into the season. He anticipates being ready to return by fall camp.
