Date: 7/18/25 1:20 pm From: Zac Denning via groups.io <zdenning1...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Berkeley Meadow Winter Wren accepted by CBRC - (Nov, 2024 - Mar, 2025)
Regarding the Winter Wren at Berkeley Meadows that I found last November:
I noticed today that the CA Birds Record Committee (CBRC) accepted this record, a first for Alameda County. A number of other Winter Wren records were also accepted, though the Creekside Park bird (a potential 2nd for Alameda County) is being recirculated, meaning the first vote wasn't conclusive. A bird that others found at SF Zoo (which I contributed documentation for), as well as a bird at Muir Beach were also accepted. A few proposed Winter Wrens are still pending, including the SF Golden Gate Heights Park bird.
FYI: For the Berkeley Meadows bird, some checklists list this bird as Pacific/Winter Wren, so I wanted to give a heads up, in case people were waiting for CBRC before including Winter Wren on their checklists. Of course, please ask your reviewer if you have questions about whether your observation should be changed or not, and what the criteria should be. But I'll add my non-expert two cents below in case it helps.
Confusingly, a Pacific Wren was also reported at Berkeley Meadow over the first 2 weeks that the Winter Wren was present, though seemingly a bird that didn't stick around long. For what it's worth, after reviewing all the checklists with "Pacific/Winter Wren" at Berkeley Meadows from Nov 2024 through Mar 2025, those with media pretty much all seem like a good match for Winter Wren, based on sonograms etc. In particular, I saw sonograms with stacked inverted-chevron shaped harmonics and other features that seemed good. The faintest recordings only showed one inverted chevron (from the loudest portion of the call, as might be expected in this scenario), but still sounded like probably the Winter Wren to my ear. But once again, please ask a reviewer if you have doubts. The photos for Pacific/Winter Wren from Berkeley Meadows also seemed to match the bird, with a noticeably pale throat etc - with many accompanied by audio recordings.
The only exception (by a birder who also documented the Winter Wren on a separate list) was one audio recording under Pacific/Winter Wren that seemed like a good fit for Pacific Wren (which the birder notes as a distinct possibility in their description).
Thank you to the CBRC, whose members volunteer their time and extensive expertise, and whose task is never ending and far from easy.
