Date: 11/6/25 6:06 pm From: Vicki Silvas-Young via groups.io <mrnngwrblr...> Subject: [southbaybirds] SCVBA Field Trip to Sunnyvale WPCP, 11-5-25
Good evening, SBBirders,
Yesterday, in spite of a weather forecast of gloom and doom, 9 adventurous birders along with Dan Bloch and myself met to see what we could see in and about the Sunnyvale WPCP. The weather was surprisingly warm, about 65 degrees F, that made some of us toss our jackets before heading out! I thought that just maybe the American Bittern was waiting for us so we headed out to Yahoo Marsh. It was not there for us, but there were a bunch of good looking birds just waiting. Common Gallinule, American Coots, White-crowned Sparrows (adults and juveniles) with an accompanying Song Sparrow, American Pipits, American White Pelican (always against a gray sky!), Mallards, Yellow-rumped Warblers and some Pied-billed Grebes started us off to see 35 species that day! Continuing down the trail we were escorted by Black Phoebes and a Say's Phoebe (we watched as it chased down a Cabbage White Butterfly and cheered when it caught it! Eat those invasive species, I say!), Lesser Goldfinches, and more American Pipits with a lonely Western Meadowlark. One of the sharp-eyed attendees spotted a Muskrat leisurely munching cattail roots (Y u m m i e!) allowing everyone a good look with identification discussion. Photos in ebird list. This Muskrat is almost a regular in this body of water. I report every sighting to CDFW. And then, we came to those pipes that go across that "no-name" body of water, just south of West Pond. It was standing room only! California, Ring-billed, and one Western Gull along with a Short-billed Gull, Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, and a whole flock of Black-necked Stilts with an egret or two took up all the pipe space. The wind was picking up, but the temperature was 69 degrees F, on the way back to the car. Dan kept the eBird list and here it is...... https://ebird.org/checklist/S283150150
It is November......not too late to sign up for a Christmas count, Vicki S-Y, co-leader
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
