Date: 8/16/26 4:59 pm From: Connor Christensen via groups.io <connor.r.christensen...> Subject: [southbaybirds] SCVBA Trip to Lake Almaden Park
Hello everyone,
This morning, an excited group of birders set out to explore the edges of Lake Almaden. The egret rookery still had some stragglers, with a few Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, and 4 Great Blue Herons hanging out in or near nests. There weren't any active nests this late in the season, but there were still young begging, being fed, and chasing their parents around. On the island was also a cute little family of Caspian Terns with two adults and a juvenile. The young Forester's Tern was begging loudly for food and could be heard across the entire park.
The biggest highlight of the trip for me was watching the Scaly-breasted Munia ferry long strands of grass from the lake's edge to its nest. I also greatly enjoyed the flurry of bird activity we had as we peered over the Los Alamitos Creek bridge, which included sightings of both a male and female Black-chinned Hummingbird. We also got great looks at a Belted Kingfisher that had been seen briefly flying around the lake. As we wrapped up our trip, we spotted an American Kestrel hunting high on the hills across the road before it was chased off by a gang of Acorn Woodpeckers. Overall, we saw and heard 37 species this morning. Here is a public link to the checklist. ( https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S384162209 )
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.
