Date: 7/15/26 11:41 am From: Van Pierszalowski via groups.io <van...> Subject: [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Newsletter + Town Hall + Top 20 Species
Hi birders,
Thank you all for continuing to build an incredible first year of the first statewide California Bird Atlas. As of this writing, 160,228 Atlas checklists have been submitted from 5,141 atlasers. The number of blocks with data is approaching the 50% mark, with 8,202 blocks receiving some coverage (49.63% of total blocks).
For more detailed updates, please see the following resources:
*ATLAS FIRSTS*
In June, atlasers confirmed breeding observations for 26 additional species, bringing our total (as of May 30) to 298 species. Visit Atlas Dispatch ( https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/news/atlas-dispatch-june-2026 ) to see the full list of newly confirmed breeding observation species.
Date: 6/23/26 5:18 pm From: Justyn Stahl via groups.io <justyn.stahl...> Subject: [CALBIRDS] Birds of California's Channel Islands book presale
Birders,
Pardon the blatant self-promotion, but along with my co-authors Paul W.
Collins and H. Lee Jones, I'd like to share that the long overdue *Birds of
California's Channel Islands* is available for presale.
Presales are open through June 30th and include free shipping if ordered
through the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History:
This landmark two‑volume work represents the most comprehensive survey ever
produced of the islands’ avifauna and ecological history. Spanning
prehistory through 2023, this definitive reference guide brings together
decades of research on the status, distribution, and forces shaping bird
life across the Channel Islands. With more than 800 pages of data‑rich analysis
and detailed species accounts, it will be an essential resource for
birders, ornithologists, resource managers, conservation and restoration
professionals, archaeologists, ecologists, and all who work on or study the
Channel Islands.
Date: 6/23/26 1:06 pm From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [CALBIRDS] (Rare) Bird ID group-think, questioning authority, and bird-finding abilities
A week ago, the monthly zoom meeting of San Diego Field Ornithologists was treated to a talk by Connecticut (and ex-UK) birder Julian Hough on "Phantasms and Fallacies--Problems and Pitfalls of Bird Identification." In this talk, Julian looks at the psychology of how we identify birds and discusses such topics as the need to question authority and to keep an open mind, how can both single and large groups of birders misidentify birds, and why do a small number of birders find an inordinate number of rare birds. (As program chair for SDFO, you are also forced to see a bit of me at the beginning and end.)
Many of the topics Julian addresses are important to all birders, especially those out looking for and chasing rare birds. The talk lasts one hour and has been recorded and saved as a YouTube video available to all. I recommend people take a look.
https://youtu.be/XIV8HZKrrDo?si=gqdCKfs9pctRSwJE
Yesterday, 6/21 was a Bodega pelagic everyone on board will remember for a long time. We embarked on the Surf Scooter, a boat that has lived in Bodega Harbor for years in the shadow of it's larger cousin the New Sea Angler. We left the harbor at 7am. June has always been a neglected time on the water off of Northern California, and a time that holds more intrigue and promise than almost any other to me. As we departed, we were greeted by flat birdless waters punctuated only by Common Murres and Pelicans for the first few miles offshore had some of us grumbling about the fear of a dead, slow June trip. But all this stopped when screams came out of "passerine!!" The boat stopped and we watched a tattered-looking passerine, seemingly a warbler circling the boat. After a minute or so of confusion as to it's identity it came close by the boat and we realized we were looking at a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER! The bird circled for about 5 minutes, taunting us and considering landing on the boat but eventually giving up and flying back east. We were in shock. We had already seen what we assumed would be the rarest bird of the day, and it wasn't even 8am! There is just a single previous record of Yellow-throated Warbler for Sonoma county, and this was the first to be photographed. Unbelievable.
As we charged offshore life picked up, a (summering?) Red-necked Phalarope flopped around about 10 miles off, and our first Pink-footed Shearwaters and Black-footed Albatross appeared. Then, about 20 miles off when we were reaching Bodega Canyon shouts came out of a Pterodroma: a COOK'S PETREL had appeared at the horizon! We waited around for a while. Some albatross came by, but with some patience we found several more Cook's Petrels.
We headed south and off of the continental shelf. What would ensue in the next hour was one of the most magical pelagic experiences I have ever encountered. A few miles from Bodega Canyon, we hit a wall of birds. Most were Sooty Shearwaters, but LOTS were COOK'S PETRELS! Dozens turned into hundreds, and before long we had seen upwards of 200 COOK'S PETRELS in one 45-minute stretch!! It had been years since Cook's had been seen from Cordell and Bodega, and this was a county bird for almost everyone on board. Through all of this, we picked up our first couple LAYSAN ALBATROSS for the trip as well as an interesting June first-summer LONG-TAILED JAEGER and several Ashy and Black Storm-Petrels.
As we proceeded south the Cook's thinned out somewhat but the birdlife did not. A FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER made a quick pass my the boat and our first pair of SCRIPPS'S MURRELETS were found on the water. As we neared the area right off Cordell Bank, the farthest area offshore we would reach today, we found a feeding frenzy of several Storm-Petrels. Among them was a small, blackish, white-rumped, short- and square-tailed bird that caught our attention. After a quite a bit of study, we concluded that the bird appeared to be a TOWNSEND'S STORM-PETREL, a potential first record for Sonoma/Marin and the farther north the species has ever been seen! It allowed good views for all, and eventually drifted off. We will be sending photos of the bird off for further discussion in the coming weeks.
The return leg was suitably spectacular. We re-entered the COOK'S PETREL zone, with hundreds all around us for over an hour. If you scanned the horizon, you were sure to see at least a few if not a dozen or more Cook's at any given time! Flocks of 15 and 20 were found resting on the water. Amidst all the commotion, a close HAWAIIAN PETREL bombed right by no more than 30' from the boat at times, and we ran into a group of BLUE WHALES feeding among large numbers of birds. On many boats, a Hawaiian Petrel would be the talk of the day, but not today! It was during this period that someone spotted a Murrelet off the front of the boat: a GUADALUPE MURRELET! Not only is this a rarity at this date, but it is all but unknown in June. Then again, there are no June boats, so who knows....As we headed back in another white-rumped Storm-Petrel crossed by, this one a clear nominate/northern LEACH'S STORM-PETREL, and not long after a stunning breeding-plumaged RED PHALAROPE landed by the boat.
As we kept cruising inshore, a group of DALL'S PORPOISE briefly investigated our vessel. By 20 miles off, we had re-entered the pelagic desert of inshore dead waters. But, it was spiced up by the occasional shearwater raft. As we neared shore, we found a dead Humpback Whale with a few Black Storm-Petrels nearby, just 5 miles off Bodega Head! Normally the species is rarely found inshore of 15-20 miles this far north. It looks like it will be a good summer for Black Storm-Petrels off NorCal!
It was an unbelievable day out there, with the quantity of quality birds, let alone the ubiquity of Cook's Petrels and the Yellow-throated Warbler making a truly unforgettable combination. Through the day, we estimated upwards of 400 Cook's Petrels, the most anyone on board had ever seen, even off of SoCal!
For those interested in getting offshore elsewhere this season, there is a Fort Bragg pelagic on June 26th that still has available spots. Noyo is often similar to Bodega, and there could well be many Cook's out of there too, and who knows what else! If you are interested in joining the additional Cordell Banks trips like the one above, message me off-list, as there may be options for July.
A Full list of pelagic birds and mammals is here (Birds inshore of about 5 miles off not included):
