Date: 7/17/25 11:22 am From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: [SFBirds] cont. A. Redstart, breeding notes, arrivals
This morning (7/17/25) the first summer male AMERICAN REDSTART found on 7/3 (and last reported in eBird on 7/4) continued in the willows at the east end of Pine Lake. It's in the same area it was initially located but is no longer singing which probably explains the lack of any recent reports.
On Sunday (7/13) I confirmed successful breeding of Olive-sided Flycatchers at Mount Sutro OSP in the course of bi-monthly surveys of the site. Two recently fledged juveniles were huddling together in an elderberry at the junction of the Edgewood and Fairy Gates trails approximately 50-75m from the Cypress tree that held the nest this year. Olive-sided Flycatchers have nested in this spot for at least the past 4 summers and in nearby sites on Sutro before then. This is the only site left for nesting Olive-sided Flycatcher in San Francisco since a fledgling was found on Mount Davidson c. 2016-17. They were once more widespread.
On a (perhaps) less encouraging note, repeated visits to the Haight-Ashbury district this spring have resulted in confirmation of breeding White-eyes in the area of Clayton and Waller. Last week (6+) birds were noted including at least one somewhat obvious juvenile; visits earlier in spring typically turned up only 1-3 birds. These are tentatively being identified as Swinhoe's which is the species that has rapidly colonized Southern California but I will continue to look into the ID and update the list if I find out anything more on this.
While the bulk of fall migration is still about a month from kicking off for passerines there are already a few birds that are starting to come through. 7/17 - female Bullock's Oriole on Corona Hill 7/13 - male Black-headed Grosbeak, (2) House Wrens, Orange Crowned warbler on Mount Sutro
Shorebirds on the other hand are already arriving in good numbers. On 7/11 I visited the Yosemite Slough Restoration Unit of Candlestick State Recreation area. The exposed mudflats of the Slough held: (2) Black-bellied Plovers, (~20) Least Sandpipers and (7) Greater Yellowlegs along with a couple of Whimbrels and Curlews. The mudflats of the slough begin to uncover approximately 3 hours before the peak low tide and at this time the birds tend to be concentrated in a smaller area and more easily studied. The most direct access is from the east end of Van Dyke Street.
