Date: 10/6/25 3:46 pm From: michael helm via groups.io <cecinit2007...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] Diurnal migration now (Monday)
We have occasionally seen masses of violet-greens near McNear's brickyard,
sometimes in the marsh, sometimes in the direction of the McNear's Beach
park or the quarry.
Fall and spring.
People often report them on the San Pablo Ridge or Vollmer in the fall
migration but I've never been there at the right time.
Michael Helm
Richmond CA
On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM Zac Denning via groups.io <zdenning1=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Thanks for the nice report, Liam!
>
> Similarly, in the east bay yesterday morning, Bruce Mast and I observed
> significant numbers of Vaux’s Swifts (73) and Violet-Green Swallows (108) moving
> past Vollmer Peak, counted individually. At times, the flow was heavy
> enough to make accurate counts a challenge - and I’m sure many more were
> moving out of our immediate view.
>
> Also obviously on the move, were Northern Flickers (19, almost certainly
> an undercount) and to a lesser extent (mostly from my later solo peak
> watch), Sharp-shinned Hawks (5, from several locations). The flickers were
> mostly migrating lower down through the valleys and lower slopes, so were
> harder to detect, though we heard them constantly. Migrating Hermit
> Thrushes were also in abundance, and Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches were
> present in very strong numbers (but difficult to observe movement through
> trees without more focused effort). A lone Swainson’s Thrush and 4 Brewer’s
> Blackbirds were also in the mix.
>
> Very early on, a small portion of the Vaux’s movement was southward, but
> after that, all the
> Vaux’s & Violet-greens were moving north. My guess is that the southbound
> Vaux’s at least, were already-arrived wintering birds on daily foray from
> the McNeer Brickyard roost spot (to the north, in San Rafael, Marin Co),
> while the northbound Vaux’s were still on their way to winter roof spots at
> McNear, the Healdsburg roost, or further north. The northbound direction of
> Violet Green swallows at that one moment may be related to wind direction
> and topography in that particular spot, as one leg of a generally
> southbound migration. But who knows? The Vaux’s and Violet-Greens were
> often in loosely segregated or slightly mixed groups.
>
> Zac
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM Liam Murphy via groups.io <liammsf=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>> Impressive numbers of Vauxs Swifts and Violet green Swallows flying by
>> Bernal Hill right now on a warm east wind. I encourage you to take your
>> lunch hour outside and see what can be seen.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Liam Murphy
>>
>>
>
>
