Date: 4/18/26 12:02 pm From: Jaan Lepson via groups.io <lepson...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] brown-headed cowbird
Interesting! I only see/hear them in Livermore during Spring and Summer, so I assumed the migrated away for the winter.
Jaan Lepson
Livermore
> On Apr 18, 2026, at 07:15, Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> wrote:
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> cowbirds are always around in the Bay Area. After the breeding season they form flocks and become more localized. In spring they disperse to look for nests to parasitize so you may see them more frequently and in more places. But they never actually leave and I would not categorize them as ever being uncommon or rare in a general sense.
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> One thing that will increase your detections is familiarizing yourself with their vocalizations. They try to be sneaky when looking for nests and might be tough to spot but they vocalize to each other.
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> dm
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> On Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 7:04 AM Hilary Powers via groups.io <http://groups.io/> <hilary...> <mailto:<salamanderfeltworks.com...>> wrote:
> On 4/17/2026 6:46 PM, ktandy2 via groups.io <http://groups.io/> wrote:
>> I live in North Oakland/Temescal on a commercial street. I have a bird feeder outside my front window and for the past few days I've had a brown-headed cowbird coming to the feeder! I have NEVER seen a cowbird in Oakland before, although I've seen them on Grizzly Island. Has anyone else seen cowbirds in the Oakland flats?
> They're uncommon but not astonishing at Lake Merritt at this time of year. I keep a record of what we see on the Golden Gate Bird Alliance 4th-Wednesday walk, and there's about a 50-50 chance in April and rather less in May and June. The rest of the year, unheard-of - dunno where they go then.
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Jaan Lepson
(he/him/his)
University of California
Space Sciences Laboratory
7 Gauss Way
Berkeley, CA 94720-7451
