Date: 3/27/25 10:14 am From: Howard Friedman via groups.io <howardnfriedman...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Grant Trip Yesterday
Hello from the confines of my house,
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Yesterday our group of intrepid birders walked the lower lands of Joseph D. Grant County Park. I will say Spring took a break and either we were in San Francisco or winter returned. But, this is March and it is a very fickle and unpredictable month.
We circled around the lower parking lots and the ranch house for the beginning of our trek. We found plenty of House Finches, Western Bluebirds, a Cooper’s Hawk, a solo Red-tailed Hawk, Nuttall’s and Acorn Woodpeckers, but only a few Violet-green and Tree Swallows. A pair of White-tailed Kites were performing courtship rituals which brought excitement to the group. For more, check the attached list.
We then hiked out to the lower southern trails and went looking for the spring migrants. We found the White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows early on and some small flocks of Lesser Goldfinches. I heard in the distance a call of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and our group spied it on the top of a row of Coyote Brush. This would not be our last encounter with this species. We found a FOS (for us) Bullock’s Oriole not much further down the trail. We searched for Kingbirds, Flycatchers,Lawerence’s Goldfinches, and Lazuli Buntings but we came up empty-handed. Along the way Red-shouldered Hawks were calling, Red-tailed Hawks were soaring, and Turkey Vultures were kettling. The weather took a turn for the better and many of us took off coats to enjoy the temporary warmth.
Down by the bridge heading toward the Snell Trail,, we found a few Lark Sparrows and listened to a Purple Finch and a Warbling Vireo calling. As we made our way back to have lunch, where the Barn Trail meets the Snell Trail, we listened to a California Thrasher calling. We had a wonderful trip and it was time to go back and enjoy lunch together with the remaining friends who could join together.
The trip was amazing and cheerful despite the climatic shifts. I really appreciated and enjoyed the perspective of our nes birders and their refreshing enthusiasm. We asked them to share their life birds with the group. Thank you for obliging us with that. More people stayed for lunch than usual for me. It was very lively and fun to be together for our meal time. By the way, did I mention we found the Vermillion Flycatcher!
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Happy Birding and remember to help with the Birdathon-GO SCVBA!
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
