Date: 6/3/25 1:54 pm From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: [northbaybirds] Point Reyes 6/2/25
After concluding the West Marin BBS yesterday morning (more on that in a separate post) I decided to try my luck with a search for migrants in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Here's a summary of some observation I thought worth noting:
Cinnamon Teal - a drake on the restoration marsh at the parking lot for Drake's Beach, m/f pair was noted here in early May
Northern Shoveler - m/f pair were on the Spaletta Ranch main pond, visited with permission from Mr. Ernie Spaletta
Red-breasted Merganser - a worn looking "female" was with the Surf Scoters off Fish Docks, perhaps it will summer locally
Common Gallinule - the bird found by Mr. Dan Singer on 5/30 continued in the restoration marsh at Drake's Beach
Red-necked Phalaropes - two males in alternate plumage were on the Spaletta Ranch pond
Western Wood-pewee - seen by multiple observers throughout the day at Fish Docks and one of the few migrants noted on the OP yesterday
Violet-green Swallow - a loner flying around with expected Swallow species at Spaletta in the afternoon far from breeding habitat was somewhat exciting given the lack of other migrants
Bushtits - a pair in the Drake's Beach Willows where this species has apparently nested the past couple of years, Bushtit is quite scarce on the OP
Townsend's Solitaire - late migrant at Drake's Beach, this bird was found by David Sexton in the morning and was still cooperatively flycatching from the cypresses next to the Ken Patrick Visitor Center in the afternoon
Cedar Waxwing - 3 birds along Sir Francis Drake between White House Pool and the bridge across Lagunitas creek were of interest. While Waxwings are often known to linger into June before departing, this species has been rumored to have nested in the Point Reyes Station/Olema area the past couple of years
Lawrence's Goldfinch - having lucked into Dan Singer and Brian Browne at Mendoza Ranch late morning we were discussing the presence of Lawrence's nesting in the county and the lack of any further sightings on the OP since a pair was observed at Mendoza in early May. Then as Brian and I were about to part ways (he'd already started his car) a female Lawrence's flew in from the cypresses and began to forage on plantain in the gravel area in front of the residences before flying back into the trees. Someone with time to kill should definitely stake out the place and see if they can confirm another out of range breeding effort
Tricolored Blackbirds - early post breeding dispersants were (~35) males at Mendoza and a single male with Starlings at Spaletta
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - you know it was a slow day on the OP when a Yellow-rump makes your highlight list but given the scarcity of migrants out there yesterday I can't deny that I felt a thrill at seeing one crisp looking breeding plumage bird pop into view in the Nunes cypresses.
