Date: 6/1/25 10:31 am From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] late migrants
Like other birders have noticed, spring started off slow but it seems the
migrants are just moving late. The last week or so of birding I have seen
notably more migrants than I typically do at this time, and a number of
later than typical things, too. May 27th I checked a couple spots in
Tilden, turning up 2 Townsend’s Warblers, 3 Hermit Warblers, and 3 warblers
that were either or. This in addition to a handful of Tanagers, migrant
Warbling Vireos at sites where they don’t breed, etc. The Fox Sparrow Zac
Denning found at Jewel Lake the 26th continued for me, and elsewhere in
Tilden I found a Hammond’s Flycatcher that I thought was the latest date
for Contra Costa County… but my attention was brought to a record in the
iNaturalist database from May 29th. So thank you Lisa from iNaturalist for
that observation.
That afternoon there was a Greater Yellowlegs in the “Richmond Pond” off
the end of 51st street.
May 30th I encountered a very late American Pipit at Clifton, and
apparently in good health. A Wood Duck on the forebay was unusual, and
presumably the same as reported a few days prior by Vicky Atkinson. In the
various water bodies around Bethel Island I found a Lesser Scaup and 38
Mute Swan. The Mute Swan numbers are down from the 100+ that were here
through the winter, but just over the county line in Solano, Roger Muskat
counted 579 a month ago. So fear not, the Mute Swan armada continues to
multiply exponentially. There are surely over a thousand in the delta now.
And that is not to say anything of the three other populations in Suisun
Bay, Concord/Martinez, and the North Bay.
Yesterday, May 31st, I took another tour through Tilden, missing Zac’s Fox
Sparrow, but along the way managed 6 Townsend’s Warblers, 3 Hermits, and a
Sharp-shinned Hawk circling over the Meadows Area. I have long suspected
this species breeds somewhere very locally here, but they are always
challenging to find in the summer. I have seen adults with closely
following young around in the past, but not so young that you think they
are certainly from the immediate vicinity.
Finally today June 1st I took a walk through Curry Canyon with Sarah Lynch,
where we found a single Townsend’s and Hermit, one Lawrence’s Goldfinch but
no signs of breeding, and then a handful of the more expecteds. For
reference, the latest Contra Costa County records of Townsend’s and Hermit
Warbler that I know of are June 8th and June 3rd, respectively.
