Date: 8/15/26 3:13 pm From: Mark Rauzon via groups.io <mjrauz...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Red-eyed Vireo continues on day 11
The Red-eyed Vireo (REVI) at Creekside Park in Alameda, found by Erica Rutherford and John Colbert 11 days ago, sang generously at 10:35at the intersections of the trail up hill and across the creek. The site is visible in this very short video of the interestingexperience. At one point the REVI got a caterpillar and a Hutton's reacted; it looked like a food exchange only the caterpillar remained with REVI.Offering to share rebuffed? Stills are in here.
https://youtu.be/L-UhaYa4cqI Happy fall birding.Mark RauzonOakland
Date: 8/15/26 8:34 am From: Cal Walters via groups.io <calw...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] Cranes?
There have been a flock of 10 or so white pelicans over southern Oakland. They are huge, high flying birds with long looking necks and beaks. In the past at first glance I have thought similarly.
Cal Walters
> On Aug 15, 2026, at 8:21 AM, Caren via groups.io <carenann...> wrote:
>
>
> I know this is highly unlikely but I saw a flock of large birds flying in roughly single file over the Grand/Lakeshore area Friday around 5. I only got a glance because I was driving on 580. At first I thought they were geese but then I saw what looked like long legs trailing behind. Without my being in a situation to stand and look with Bono’s I couldn’t see any markings. They had long thin necks though. There were about ten of them. I’ve never seen cranes in oakland and it’s not really migration season. Did anyone else see something?
>
> Happy birding,
> Caren
>
>
>
Date: 8/15/26 8:21 am From: Caren via groups.io <carenann...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Cranes?
I know this is highly unlikely but I saw a flock of large birds flying in
roughly single file over the Grand/Lakeshore area Friday around 5. I only
got a glance because I was driving on 580. At first I thought they were
geese but then I saw what looked like long legs trailing behind. Without my
being in a situation to stand and look with Bono’s I couldn’t see any
markings. They had long thin necks though. There were about ten of them.
I’ve never seen cranes in oakland and it’s not really migration season. Did
anyone else see something?
Date: 8/13/26 9:39 am From: Zac Denning via groups.io <zdenning1...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] (Another) Red-eyed Vireo at Berkeley Meadows
To add to the recent rare vireo sightings, there’s a Red-eyed Vireo at
Berkeley Meadows. First seen at about 8:30am in the Willows near the
intersection with a small spur trail at about (37.8670630, -122.3101858).
Moving with periodic slow hops in the tops of the willows on both the north
and south sides of the main trail, singing occasionally. Last heard singing
at the east end of the main willow clump on the South side of the trail at
(37.8672615, -122.3086902).
Date: 8/12/26 10:23 pm From: Alexander Henry via groups.io <awhenry...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] BELATED REPORT: White-eyed Vireo on 6/25/2026 at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park (Heard only / Recorded)
Also shoutout Steve Huckabone, Livermore Valley all-timer
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Akira So via groups.io <akiradotnet= <gmail.com...> wrote:
> Greetings, > > Sorry about this being a belated report, as it is now too late to chase > it. But I recorded vocalization of a very likely White-eyed Vireo at Shadow > Cliffs on June 25, 2026. (~7 weeks ago.) The recording can be found at > below eBird checklist link. > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S382746025 > > In the field at the time, the Merlin app was unable to suggest any ID, and > I was unable to locate it visually. Today, I thought to try the BirdNET app > (the desktop version, not the new "BirdNET Live" app for smartphones). And > it gave me an ID as White-eyed Vireo, giving me confidence scores of ~95%. > > In case you wondered (perhaps to look for it in future years for possible > return visits), the approximate GPS coordinate of the observation location > was 37.668485, -121.848638 - in the western part of the park along the > arroyo. The time of observation was ~9:30 am. (The recording was made at > 9:35am.) > > This is the first White-eyed Vireo record for this location as far as I am > aware. But there have been several eBird records in this general area of > the East Bay, including those from May 2004 (Tassajara Creek Regional Park, > Tassjara EBRP Land Bank) and May 2020 (Patterson Pass). > > Again, it is too late to chase it now, but mentioning it for future > reference. > > Good birding, > Akira > > Akira So > Pleasanton, CA >
Date: 8/12/26 10:11 pm From: Alexander Henry via groups.io <awhenry...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] BELATED REPORT: White-eyed Vireo on 6/25/2026 at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park (Heard only / Recorded)
Wild find, great bird! Definitely strange how the Livermore Valley seems
like such a “good” spot for them relative to pretty much the entire Bay
Area except coastal Marin.
Makes me wonder about the potential of places like Patterson Pass, Shadow
Cliffs, etc for other southeast songbird vagrants like Hooded Warbler,
Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-throated Warbler, god
willing maybe a Kentucky! Give it enough decades, perhaps… definitely worth
checking these traps into late spring and early summer, even if the
probability of something this good is extremely low on any given visit!
Basically the whole eastern half or so of Alameda county could always use
more coverage, at least relative to the western half the of the county the
population density is lower and while there’s a handful of good dedicated
birders finding great stuff, the ratio of birders to land area is just a
lot lower.
Congrats, that’s a super rare bird and also is another data point
supporting a peculiar and fascinating pattern. I wonder if anyone might
know why or have any ideas as to why this pattern exists, or if you think
it’s just a small sample size and stochasticity.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Akira So via groups.io <akiradotnet=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> Sorry about this being a belated report, as it is now too late to chase
> it. But I recorded vocalization of a very likely White-eyed Vireo at Shadow
> Cliffs on June 25, 2026. (~7 weeks ago.) The recording can be found at
> below eBird checklist link.
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S382746025 >
> In the field at the time, the Merlin app was unable to suggest any ID, and
> I was unable to locate it visually. Today, I thought to try the BirdNET app
> (the desktop version, not the new "BirdNET Live" app for smartphones). And
> it gave me an ID as White-eyed Vireo, giving me confidence scores of ~95%.
>
> In case you wondered (perhaps to look for it in future years for possible
> return visits), the approximate GPS coordinate of the observation location
> was 37.668485, -121.848638 - in the western part of the park along the
> arroyo. The time of observation was ~9:30 am. (The recording was made at
> 9:35am.)
>
> This is the first White-eyed Vireo record for this location as far as I am
> aware. But there have been several eBird records in this general area of
> the East Bay, including those from May 2004 (Tassajara Creek Regional Park,
> Tassjara EBRP Land Bank) and May 2020 (Patterson Pass).
>
> Again, it is too late to chase it now, but mentioning it for future
> reference.
>
> Good birding,
> Akira
>
> Akira So
> Pleasanton, CA
>
Date: 8/12/26 8:06 pm From: Akira So via groups.io <akiradotnet...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] BELATED REPORT: White-eyed Vireo on 6/25/2026 at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park (Heard only / Recorded)
Greetings,
Sorry about this being a belated report, as it is now too late to chase it. But I recorded vocalization of a very likely White-eyed Vireo at Shadow Cliffs on June 25, 2026. (~7 weeks ago.) The recording can be found at below eBird checklist link.
In the field at the time, the Merlin app was unable to suggest any ID, and I was unable to locate it visually. Today, I thought to try the BirdNET app (the desktop version, not the new "BirdNET Live" app for smartphones). And it gave me an ID as White-eyed Vireo, giving me confidence scores of ~95%.
In case you wondered (perhaps to look for it in future years for possible return visits), the approximate GPS coordinate of the observation location was 37.668485, -121.848638 - in the western part of the park along the arroyo. The time of observation was ~9:30 am. (The recording was made at 9:35am.)
This is the first White-eyed Vireo record for this location as far as I am aware. But there have been several eBird records in this general area of the East Bay, including those from May 2004 (Tassajara Creek Regional Park, Tassjara EBRP Land Bank) and May 2020 (Patterson Pass).
Again, it is too late to chase it now, but mentioning it for future reference.
Date: 8/8/26 6:44 pm From: Zac Denning via groups.io <zdenning1...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] Went looking for the Red-eyed Vireo
Hi Claude,
The hummer is an Anna’s. The stout build, straight medium length bill and
the dingy grayish underparts are typical.
Costa’s or Black-chinned females / juveniles would have quite a bit of
clean white on the throat, breast and belly, plus differences in the body
shape (e.g. Black-chinneds are long and lanky with a very long bill,
Costa’s are petite with a slightly ‘dumpy’ posture and a short curved bill)
Both the latter species would be rare, though a juvenile Black-chinned
was reported
at Creekside yesterday.
Zac Denning
Albany
On Sat, Aug 8, 2026 at 6:00 PM Claude Lyneis via groups.io <cmlyneis=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> I went to the Creekside Park to look for the Red-eyed Vireo, which I
> didn’t see but a number of birders did shortly before I arrived around
> 11:30 AM. I did see and get a photo of the Swinhoe’s White Eye with help
> of some other birders. On my way back, I saw a Hummingbird, photo below,
> that might not be an Anna’s. Perhaps a Costa’s? Is there an expert out
> there that can ID it from the photo? Two Lifers in one day? That seems
> unlikely.
>
> Claude Lyneis
>
> [image: 55450420767_8e91b0319b_b.jpg]
>
> Hummingbird Creekside Park <https://flic.kr/p/2stXUen> > flic.kr <https://flic.kr/p/2stXUen> > <https://flic.kr/p/2stXUen> >
> [image: 55451796670_8d78f5da0d_b.jpg]
>
> Swinhoe's White-eye Creekside Park <https://flic.kr/p/2su5XeQ> > flic.kr <https://flic.kr/p/2su5XeQ> > <https://flic.kr/p/2su5XeQ> >
> Claude Lyneis
> <cmlyneis...>
> https://www.youtube.com/bhsvideodad > Flickr Photos at https://flic.kr/ps/36it5P >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 8/8/26 6:00 pm From: Claude Lyneis via groups.io <cmlyneis...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Went looking for the Red-eyed Vireo
I went to the Creekside Park to look for the Red-eyed Vireo, which I didn’t see but a number of birders did shortly before I arrived around 11:30 AM. I did see and get a photo of the Swinhoe’s White Eye with help of some other birders. On my way back, I saw a Hummingbird, photo below, that might not be an Anna’s. Perhaps a Costa’s? Is there an expert out there that can ID it from the photo? Two Lifers in one day? That seems unlikely.
If you have been afflicted by the same issue with the latest version of the Telegram app that I have, where it has stopped sending you notifications, there has been a Red-eyed Vireo at Creekside Park. There are details on eBird.
Date: 7/27/26 9:19 am From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] notes
I should clarify my Forster's Tern statement: I have not seen them in
summer on Richmond's San Francisco Bay shoreline in 5 or so years. While
they have declined along the north Richmond (and North Richmond) shorelines
on San Pablo Bay, they are still present during the summer in that region.
Ethan
On Mon, Jul 27, 2026 at 9:14 AM Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> This morning I was able to briefly check some spots in Richmond.
> Highlights were one Red Knot at Meeker Slough, 4 Forster's Terns in the
> Albany Crescent, and 10+ Least Terns in the Albany Crescent/off Isabel.
> Forster's Terns were not a difficult species to find in Richmond in
> July/August when I started birding, but I think it has been five or more
> years since I have seen a summer Forster's Tern in Richmond. The Least
> Terns were curious. At about 6:25 AM, I heard Least Terns flying over me
> while I was scoping the bay from near the Pt. Isabel radio tower. I looked
> up and saw a flock of 8 silhouetted against the fog flying northeast. I
> followed them as they appeared to beeline into urban Richmond towards
> ~50th/55th streets . About thirty minutes later I was scoping the Albany
> Crescent when 8 Least Terns dropped in from the north--from over the
> Costco--and began to forage in the bay water. I presume the same birds?
> Other than the 8, one adult and doting juvenile were foraging together off
> Pt. Isabel for much of the morning.
>
> While I am here, last Friday morning birding Bethel Island I found a
> Swainson's Thrush. This is one of the latest local breeding species to
> migrate, and is exceptionally rare away from breeding sites in July. So, it
> feels worth a mention here.
>
> Best
> Ethan Monk
>
>
>
>
Date: 7/27/26 9:14 am From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] notes
This morning I was able to briefly check some spots in Richmond. Highlights were one Red Knot at Meeker Slough, 4 Forster's Terns in the Albany Crescent, and 10+ Least Terns in the Albany Crescent/off Isabel. Forster's Terns were not a difficult species to find in Richmond in July/August when I started birding, but I think it has been five or more years since I have seen a summer Forster's Tern in Richmond. The Least Terns were curious. At about 6:25 AM, I heard Least Terns flying over me while I was scoping the bay from near the Pt. Isabel radio tower. I looked up and saw a flock of 8 silhouetted against the fog flying northeast. I followed them as they appeared to beeline into urban Richmond towards ~50th/55th streets . About thirty minutes later I was scoping the Albany Crescent when 8 Least Terns dropped in from the north--from over the Costco--and began to forage in the bay water. I presume the same birds? Other than the 8, one adult and doting juvenile were foraging together off Pt. Isabel for much of the morning.
While I am here, last Friday morning birding Bethel Island I found a Swainson's Thrush. This is one of the latest local breeding species to migrate, and is exceptionally rare away from breeding sites in July. So, it feels worth a mention here.
Date: 7/23/26 3:09 pm From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Town Hall Webinar TONIGHT - Late Breeders
Date: 7/21/26 7:33 pm From: Zac Denning via groups.io <zdenning1...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] 5 Warbler morning at Vollmer Peak, plus post-breeding dispersers
My recent birding has been fairly quiet, but this morning really stood out for variety and novelty.
Following up on reports of *Black-throated Gray* and *Hermit Warblers* at Vollmer Peak, I went to see if they continued. While these species are regular here later in the fall, the 3rd week of July is earlier than I usually start monitoring this spot. I'm not sure if Hermits typically show up this early, but it's definitely early for Black-throated Gray.
I was pleased to find both of those species (including at least 2 Hermits - perhaps as many as 4), plus a female *MacGillivray's Warbler seemingly with a begging fledgling* in tow, plus *Orange-crowned Warblers with fledglings*, and *Wilson's Warblers*. I can't remember having a 5 warbler day in late July, so this was quite a treat. The MacGivllivray's seemingly had a breeding territory here earlier in the year, so it's nice to see they've been successful.
Other highlights:
- One major highlight for me was a f*ledgling Rufous-crowned Sparrow*, which I photographed in harsh light in the midst of chasing warblers - assuming at the time that it was a Song Sparrow fledgling. I only noticed my hasty mis-ID later when reviewing photos. This is my first for this species at Vollmer (and a nice breeding code), so in retrospect, that turned out to be a real treat! I thought at one earlier point that I'd heard Rufous-crowned Sparrow deer-deer calls, but this wasn't heard clearly enough - so I've only counted the one I photographed. - *2 Lazuli Buntings* called from dense brush on the NE side of the peak, making buzzy flight calls in response to a low flying Red-tailed Hawk. Thanks to the Red-tail, otherwise I'd never notice the buntings! - A *banded adult Red-tailed Hawk* was interesting to see perched on a radio dish on one of the towers - though I couldn't get the whole band number. It might include the numbers 669, but I'm not sure. - *Blue-gray Gnatcatchers* were present at several locations - a bird that's less common except on the lower slopes. - *California Thrashers* were being quite vocals, making various cryptic calls from the poison oak thickets on the east side of the peak - *House Wrens and Purple Finches* (in incognito mode) were seemingly everywhere - probably post-breeding dispersers - The *Western Flycatchers* have seemingly bred successfuly here (or are dispersing from elsewhere) - since there were mixed adults and juveniles. They tend to breed down by the steam train area, so they're less often on the east side of the peak along the Seaview trail, except during migration.
Many of these species are being more quiet (mostly calls and few songs) and less visibly obvious right now, so if you go look for them, listening for calls can really help.
Date: 7/18/26 7:34 pm From: Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] East County misc.
Today I spent the morning walking the levee at Clifton. The highlight came in the form of a Black Tern foraging over the south end of the forebay. I am not sure the species has ever been found in July in Contra Costa County. Other noteworthy birds included a pair of Goldeneye, a pair of Common Mergansers, ~3 (+?) Semipalmated Plovers, 41+ Long-billed Dowitchers, and 9 Godwits.
On Monday, I did the same walk as this morning but a bit more pressed for time. I saw the same two Goldeneye, but did not see the Mergansers (which I think are new arrivals), also a Bank Swallow, a pair of dancing Clark's Grebes and a Forster's Tern being trailed by two brownish begging young.
Otherwise today I checked a number of other spots in East County. The first solid evidence of passerine migration-- I found 3 Western Tanagers, 2 Western Flycatchers and a Warbling Vireo. At Byron WTP I found a Say's Phoebe (I did not find them anywhere in this area in June) and a Peregrine, and I ran into Erica Rutherford and John Colbert on Bethel Island who pointed out some Cattle Egrets.
