Date: 9/24/25 9:07 pm From: Carol Pecot <carol.pecot...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Homeless Garden Santa Cruz
Wonderful ideas and thoughts! I’d like to add another thought to the mix:
In addition to knowing that their garden is special b/c it is so welcoming to rare birds, it might be nice to know something about the bird to “personalize" it, so it is more than “just” rare.
For example: (these small tidbits are taken from “All About Birds” website):
-The Brewer’s Sparrow is rare here because it is usually only living in dry sagebrush and deserts, and can even go for weeks without drinking!
-the Clay-colored Sparrow isn’t usually closer to us than New Mexico and Utah, and are really shy and hard to find. Their call sounds like a buzzy insect.
They nest in a shrub, and about a week before the babies can actually fly, they hop to the ground and then run ~40 ft to some thick bushes.
-When the Painted Buntings they are seeing in the garden now grow up, the male looks like a kid went wild using all the brightest colored crayons to fill in the coloring book picture of a bird. They are usually in south Texas and the Gulf states in the summer, and fly to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for the winter. So these ones in the Homeless Garden are really far away from where we often expect to see them.
-The Prairie Warbler with beautiful black and yellow markings, weirdly prefers young forests, not prairies!. Besides the colors, you can recognize it because it is often flicking its tail. They usually spend summers in the South-east, then migrate to the Caribbean in the winter. Normally, the closest they are to us is East Texas.
If someone had a picture of a mature male Painted Bunting, I bet the people at the Homeless Garden would really get a kick out of seeing it :-)
Best wishes, Carol Pecot
> On Sep 24, 2025, at 3:38 PM, Pablo <pheady3...> wrote:
>
> A young man who works for The Homeless Garden Project approached me and asked if we might share photos of the rare birds that we chase there. If you have quality photos you can text or email them to me and I will share with Roman Gioglio.
> <pheady...> or 831-359-8318
> The seem interested and supportive of our birding there.
> Cheers
> Paul Heady
>
>> On Sep 24, 2025, at 13:06, larry corridon <larry961357...> wrote:
>>
>> Excellent thought, Ezra. Perhaps birders could offer to point out the birds, if someone is interested. We could also purchase some of their produce. Phil Brown led a walk at Swanton Pond one time and suggested birders should consider making a purchase as a way to support the farm. I do that every time I bird there now. I will do that at the Homeless Garden in the future and hope other birders might consider doing that, also.
>> Larry
>>
>>> On Sep 24, 2025, at 15:42, Ezra Garfield <ezgarfieldphoto...> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Birders,
>>>
>>> I just came from the Homeless Garden in Santa Cruz, where the Painted Bunting, Prairie Warbler, Clay Colored and Brewer's Sparrows continued around 11:45. While there, I was approached by Darrie, the Executive Director of the Homeless Garden Project with a message she wanted to pass on to the birding community as the garden has gotten a lot of birder traffic in recent days with all the rarities.
>>>
>>> She wanted me to pass along first and foremost that birders are welcome in the garden, they are happy to open their gates and share the land that they manage with all members of the community. However, they do have active programs underway at the garden while people are birding, including confidential meetings like counseling sessions, and some people have felt a bit uncomfortable with birders and their cameras standing very close without at least acknowledging their presence or saying hello.
>>>
>>> I know we as a birding community appreciate the access to the farm and the special birds it often hosts and I hope we can maintain good relations with the community there, many of whom would love to learn more about the birds on the farm and why we are so excited about them. I think a friendly smile, acknowledgement and awareness when birding in the vicinity of people working or meeting in the garden would go a long way.
>>>
>>> That's all, happy birding!
>>>
>>> Ezra Garfield
>>>
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>> larry corridon
>> <larry961357...>
>>
>>
>>
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