Date: 1/8/26 2:23 pm From: Vicki Silvas-Young via groups.io <mrnngwrblr...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Yesterday's Field Trip to Sunnyvale WPCP, 1-7-2026
Good morning, Birders of the South Bay,
Yesterday after some good rain, Dan Bloch and I joined 15 wind-proofed birders to explore the environs of the Sunnyvale WPCP. Our 35 species list started off with theTree Swallows that greeted us overhead as a Green Heron waited patiently in the Sunnyvale West Channel for us to spot it. Walking toward the bay we looked high and low on the slope for a Burrowing Owl. but the grass is getting taller making it difficult to see them and maybe difficult for them to use the ground squirrel burrows there. White-crowned Sparrows escorted us along the trail to another Green Heron hanging out in the channel. A male Anna's Hummingbird and Yellow-rumped Warblers "sang" to us as we observed a HUGE flock of American Crows up the trail. A few pairs of Green-winged Teal prompted a discussion of the characteristics of Green-winged Teal and Eurasian Teal as did the European Starlings prompted a discussion of their plumage. One attendee stated that the speckled plumage of the juveniles looked like they had a string of Christmas lights hung on them! Can't disagree with that. Then we saw not one, but two Bald Eagles in the distance which made it easier to see the Forster's Tern flitting in the foreground. There were lots of gull species sitting on the two pipes with their heads tucked under their wings that had some male and female Lesser Scaup swimming behind them. There was a lot of discussion about which scaup! But maybe we learned something. All along this part of the channel were the Common Gallinules of the day, a most curious spot for them to be found on this trip. The Marsh Wrens were singing as were the Red-winged Blackbirds, tuning up for Spring. At the very end, along with the Black-necked Stilts and Greater Yellowlegs, very neatly lined up were a Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and a Great-blue Heron making a nice comparison as a Clark's Grebe lounged on land gazing in the distance. On the way back we were surprised by an escort of White-throated Swifts who flew low along the channel so we got some good views of the top of the birds as they flew by us.
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.
