Date: 3/15/26 12:26 pm From: Brooke Miller via groups.io <brooke.bam...> Subject: [southbaybirds] February 2026 Cumulative Bird Report for Santa Clara County
Happy Spring South Bay Birders!
Please join the California Bird Atlas project--a 5 year project using eBird
to document bird breeding in California. To learn more and get started
follow this link: https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/about/
I missed 1 bird in January, a Common Poorwill, in the Santa Cruz Mountains
found by Dani Christensen, on 2026-01-23. That increased our January total
from 206 to 207.
We had 10 ABA countable birds found in February, bringing the total
countable birds for the year so far to 217. The average number of birds
found in February is 9, and the average at the end of February is 211.
Thank you to everyone that birded, and took the time to report birds either
on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.
The 10 new birds found in February were:
1. American Bittern (4), 2026-02-01, found at 3 separate locations (Coast
Casey Forebay, Grant Lake, and Sunnyvale WPCP East Pond, by multiple
observers
2. Lesser Black-backed Gull (5), found by Marty Freeland at Salt Pond A13,
on 2026-02-04
3. Sanderling (4), 2026-02-04, found by Marty Freeland at Salt Pond A13
4. Cassin’s Kingbird (4), seen by Garrett Lau on 2026-02-09, along San
Felipe Rd
5. Ring-necked Pheasant (4), seen by Garrett Lau on 2026-02-13, at Harvey
Marsh
6. Northern Rough-winged Swallow (2), seen by Dave Weber on 2026-02-17, at
Ed Levin County Park-Spring Valley area
7. Common Murre (5), found by Aaron Srugis on Salt Pond A3W on 2026-02-19
8. Red-necked Grebe (5), found by Eve Meier on Chesbro Reservoir on
2026-02-20
9. Glaucous Gull (4), found by Garrett Lau on Salt Pond A13, on 2026-02-24
10. Rufous Hummingbird (3), found on 2026-02-27, by Abhinav Saha, at his
residence near N De Anza Blvd and Highway 280
**Rarity Codes:
1 = common, always seen in habitat in season.
2 = fairly common, usually in habitat in season, but missed sometimes.
3 = uncommon, always around, but sometimes you can't find.
4 = rare, occurs yearly in the county, but not always in same places.
5 = very rare, does not occur every year.
6 = casual or vagrant, generally fewer than 10 records.
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.
