Date: 10/14/26 10:07 am From: maliadances via groups.io <maliadances...> Subject: [pen-bird] San Mateo County Cumulative Year-list Report for --- September 2026
*Greetings Pen-birders,*
San Mateo County birders confirmed a total of 15 species that were new for the year by the end of September. This brings the total species confirmed by the end of the ninth month to 324. This is the 2 nd highest end of September total since this report began in 2009, with 2015 ending at 325, one bird species higher! In reading the following, please note, the number in parenthesis next to the bird name is the rarity code assigned for San Mateo County birds. *From the link below* , you can *see definitions for the rarity codes,* *download a checklist* which shows seasonality, frequency, and county breeding information, *find a full list of the birds* observed so far in 2026 *, plus* *all monthly reports going back to 2009.*
*Here are the new birds for September, their finders and locations where found:*
WHITE-WINGED DOVE (5) was found by Vanderpoels, John, William, Mark and Jim at Pillar Point Harbor. Peter Metropulos encountered a PECTORAL SANDPIPER (5) in the creek-bed at Venice Beach. BLACK TERN (5) was photographed by Cricket Raspet at Pillar Point Harbor. LEWIS’S WOODPECKER (4) was called out by Alvaro Jaramillo and Chris Hayward, and seen by others, during a skywatch at a location along Skyline. Dorian put word out he had a DUSKY FLYCATCHER (5) while bike-birding at Cypress Lawn Cemetery. TROPICAL KINGBIRD (4) was spotted on the wires above the Mavericks parking area by Chris Hayward and Kent Forward. Two groups at two different locations, on the same day, observed CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (6). One group was Ron Thorn and Leonie Batkin at Cypress Lawn Cemetery. The other group included Alvaro Jaramillo, Caitlin Chock, Chris Hayward, Eli Gross, Jari Toivanen, Liam Murphy, Malia DeFelice, Marty Freeland, Michael Long who spent 4 hours skywatching at a location on Skyline. There Eli called out the 1 st nutcracker then later Liam called out a 2 nd nutcracker. GRAY CATBIRD (6) was discovered by Nathan Malick and Chris Hayward at Seaside School Rd. in San Gregorio. Two different locations each produced EVENING GROSBEAK (4) for Ben Golet at Gazos Creek and Kent Forward at Purisima Creek Redwoods on the same day. Jari Toivanen was the finder of the LARK BUNTING (5) at the seed patch along the trail to Mavericks Beach. While visiting Coyote Point County Park, a VESPER SPARROW (4) was found and photographed by Terry Crowe. Michael Long located a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (4) along Canyon Rd. in Pescadero. Darlene McNeil and Todd McGrath had the first CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (4) along Gazos Creek Rd. Leonie Batkin and Ron Thorn detected a BLACKPOLL WARBLER (4) at Cypress Lawn Cemetery. A group including Kaiting H., Marty Freeland, Michael Long and Tino Castillo espied a PRAIRIE WARBLER (5) at Año Nuevo.
*Birding San Mateo County:* There are plenty of ways to see birds. Did you know *The San Mateo County Bird Alliance leads birding Field Trips* on a regular basis? To join a field trip, check out their schedule here: http://www.sequoia-audubon.org/fieldtrips.html
*Alvaro’s Adventures runs offshore pelagic trips* *now through November,* with many seabird, whale and sea-life finding trips out of Half Moon Bay and other ports. Alvaro’s pelagic schedule here: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2026.html
*California’s First Statewide Breeding Bird Atlas* *-* This landmark effort is being led by *California Bird Atlas* ( https://www.californiabirdatlas.org/ ) ( CBA), an independent nonprofit, in collaboration with state agencies, thousands of volunteers, and dozens of partner organizations. All birders are now officially invited to join the project by visiting the new *California Bird Atlas eBird website* ( https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home ). Simply click “ *Join Project* ” ( or “Log in to Join Project”) and you will automatically be able to contribute checklists to the Atlas project. The Atlas is fully integrated with the eBird mobile app. If you submit checklists on mobile, this *Quick Start Tutorial video* ( https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Z3kbqiO9rw ) provides a brief overview.
*To stay informed of the latest local bird news, consider creating an account with both Peninsula Birding (Pen-bird) and eBird.* To join eBird, simply go to https://ebird.org/home and create an account. To join the Peninsula Birding group, join here: https://groups.io/g/peninsula-birding You can post your sightings there and be kept informed of sightings throughout the county including discussions about birds, population trends, where-can-I-find topics, events, field trips, webinars, pelagic trips and conservation issues. You can engage with other members of the birding community and can connect with online/offline discussions.
*This Report:* As a volunteer for the San Mateo County Bird Alliance I gather content for this report, each month, by primarily using eBird and Pen-bird. When posting to Pen-bird, please include the location and date of your sighting in either the subject line or in the body of your email. If you don’t use eBird or Pen-bird, you can always email me directly. Thank you!
If you have questions or comments regarding this report, or if I missed something,
