Date: 3/22/26 5:56 pm From: Connor Christensen via groups.io <connor.r.christensen...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Field Trip Report: Los Gatos Creek and Oka Ponds
This morning was a beautiful morning at the Los Gatos Creek and Oka ponds. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of many birds and saw lots of breeding activity. From a Nuttall's Woodpecker drumming and Anna's Hummingbirds doing their diving display, to an American Crow breaking off branches to build its nest. Along the creek, we observed 3 Anna's Hummingbird nests in various stages of use. One was empty from a successful fledge over a month ago, another was being actively sat on, and the last was in the very early stages of nest building. We were also delighted with an active Bushtit nest with a familiar egg filled sag and a parent seen entering.
The ponds had a few small flocks of straggling winter ducks and a few dozen swallows filling the air. Over and around the ponds, Northern Rough-winged Swallows were feeding and even seen gathering nesting material from the ground. The Cliff Swallows were already busily visiting the underside of the creek bridge, where they nest every season. We also saw and heard our first of the season Hooded Orioles, including a male, female, and a first-year male inspecting the palms along the creek. In total, we identified 53 species, 26 of which had breeding behavior codes. Here is a copy of the checklist https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S312132317 ( https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S312132317 ).
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.
