Date: 2/21/26 1:26 pm From: Leslie Flint via groups.io <lflint...> Subject: [pen-bird] Royal Tern at Gazos Beach this morning
Hi all,
I went to Gazos beach this morning hoping to see the Kittiwake reported by Marty Freeland yesterday. The gull flock was not visible from the parking lot so I walked down he trail a bit and saw that there were gulls on the north side of the beach and the Royal Tern was back on the beach among them. No Kittiwake however. I should note that the trail is in bad shape towards the lower portion. Deep water and mud and little areas to sidestep that. Here’s some photos from my eBird list.
Date: 2/15/26 12:48 pm From: Christopher Hayward via groups.io <p_t_nymph...> Subject: [pen-bird] Lesser Black-backed Gull continues, Pilarcitos Creek Mouth, 2/15/26
Hi All,
This morning while checking through the fairly small gull flock on the beach at Pilarcitos Creek Mouth, the Lesser Black-backed Gull that Malia and I photographed yesterday flew in off the ocean. I did not see the Royal Tern that I saw briefly here yesterday, but good chance it's still in the area, after checking my photos it appears to be the same Tern found on the Ano Nuevo cbc and later seen at Gazos Creek State Beach.
Worth noting the gulls were not really visible from the bluff this morning, but right on the ocean edge, so best to get down on the beach to look for the LBBG.
Photos from yesterday and today links below.
Date: 2/14/26 1:24 pm From: Michael Long via groups.io <mghl2508...> Subject: [pen-bird] Coyote Point 14-2-26
Hi all,
This morning at Coyote Point was incredibly productive with a total of 85
species over the course of around 3 hours. I started out at Harborview Park
where I was treated to a Scrub Jay calling in the willows, always an
unusual bird east of 101. I then headed north along the Bay Trail where I
noted a high number of Horned Grebes in the bay, 11 were seen in total.
When I reached the tip of the northern breakwater, I was happy to see the
long staying Harlequin Duck about 400 feet away 37.59210° N, 122.31316° W.
It only took 5.5 years and 14 visits to find him.... After scanning the
concrete blocks, which yielded nothing unusual, I hiked the bluffs hoping
to find the Long-tailed Duck first found about a week ago. Lo and behold
about 350 feet from the top of the bluffs was the Long-tailed Duck foraging
with a flock of mostly Greater Scaup (37.59210° N, 122.31316° W). I then
continued down the bluffs towards the beach and the main lawn, where I was
happy to see 10 Greater White-fronted Geese lounging around in the sun.
While watching the geese, I heard an Oak Titmouse singing from near the
Magic Mountain Playground area. This is not a very common bird at Coyote
Point, and in fact was my first time observing that species at Coyote
Point. Afterwards, I headed back towards the Yacht Harbor to check on the
shorebirds, and boy did they deliver. At this point the tide had begun to
fall and thousands of shorebirds were flying in from the east to feed at
the newly exposed mudflats. The highlights however, were a Ruddy Turnstone
briefly spotted among the Dunlin before I lost it, and a couple Red Knots
flying in with the Black-bellied Plovers. I was only able to confirm 2, but
I might've had 3 more that I wasn't able to confirm. Both of these species
are rather unusual at Coyote Point and turned out to be personal hotspot
firsts as well. Afterwards, I headed back to my car at Harborview and was
just getting ready to leave when I spotted a Yellow Warbler in the willows
east of the park. This is the exact location where one wintered last
winter, and I suspect it's the same bird. All in all a very rewarding
morning with a total of 6 new birds for my hotspot lifelist. Photos and
descriptions can be seen in my trip report linked below.
https://ebird.org/tripreport/476391 Happy birding!
Michael Long
Redwood Shores.
Date: 2/12/26 9:51 pm From: Christopher Hayward via groups.io <p_t_nymph...> Subject: [pen-bird] Common Poorwill, Gazos Creek Road, 2/12/2026
Hi All,
This evening whilst driving slowly up Gazos Creek Road listening for Owls I came across a Common Poorwill sitting on the road, it was just getting dark but I had decent looks as it sat in my low beam headlights. Each time a car came by it would flush but show back up on the road a few minutes later. once it got completely dark I lost it.
This was about half a mile down from the Cloverdale Road intersection.
Interestingly the first Poorwill I saw in the county was a bird found by Garth Harwood right around this date in the same general area, so perhaps a good time to cruise the back roads looking for this species.
Date: 2/9/26 4:51 pm From: San Mateo County Bird Alliance via groups.io <office...> Subject: [pen-bird] Thurs. Feb 12 Monthly Meeting and Youth Scholarship 2026 - Attention young birders!!
*Thursday, February 12, at 7:00 pm on Zoom*
If you missed the book release event at Kepler's, here is your opportunity to hear Dick Evans and Hannah Hindley talk about their new book, In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area.
It is a sumptuously photographed art book that showcases the wild beauty and biodiversity of one of the most significant bird habitats in North America. With over 200 full-color images by acclaimed photographer Dick Evans and poetic prose by award-winning writer Hannah Hindley, it captures the rich avian life of the San Francisco Bay bioregion, where the Pacific Flyway converges, and more than half of the country’s bird species can be found. From the Russian River to the Farallon Islands, the book explores not only the splendor of local and migratory birds but also the complex conservation challenges they face. A tribute to the resilience of nature and the human will to protect it, this book is a must-have for birders, environmentalists, and lovers of the Bay Area alike. They will share how their collaboration came about and how the book developed. You'll enjoy Dick's excellent photography. Book sales benefit Point Blue Conservation Organization in Petaluma, CA. Find it in stock at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park.
*REGISTER: https://bit.ly/3LkIWpj*
Youth Birding Scholarship for 2026
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San Mateo County Bird Alliance is pleased to announce a youth scholarship for one student ages 13-17 to attend American Birding Association's Camp Colorado ( https://www.aba.org/camp-colorado/ ) Aug. 2-8, 2026. This scholarship will encourage youth to pursue their interests in birds, the natural world, conservation, and education.
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The scholarship was made possible by donations to the San Mateo County Bird Alliance Scholarship Fund.
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This scholarship is open to students ages 13-17 residing or attending middle/high school in San Mateo County. It will cover the cost of registration for Camp Colorado, ABA membership, and an airfare stipend. Scholarship recipients will also receive a year’s membership to San Mateo County Bird Alliance.
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Students must complete an application ( bit.ly/sasscholarship ( http://bit.ly/sasscholarship ) ) that includes an essay and a letter of recommendation from a teacher or adult mentor. Here is a worksheet ( bit.ly/sasworksheet ( http://bit.ly/sasworksheet ) ) of the application that the applicant can use before submitting the digital application form. It will allow the applicant to see the essay prompt and the link to the letter of recommendation ( bit.ly/sasrecommendation ( http://bit.ly/sasrecommendation ) ) to provide to the recommender in advance.
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The deadline to apply is Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Date: 2/9/26 1:23 pm From: Ross Millikan via groups.io <rmillika...> Subject: [pen-bird] Long-Tailed Duck continues at Coyote point
Seen around 11 from the shore at 37.59127, -122.32249, just north of the marine merchantmen memorial very close to shore and associating with a scaup flock. Photos at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/337991542
Date: 2/7/26 1:22 pm From: maliadances via groups.io <maliadances...> Subject: [pen-bird] San Mateo County Cumulative Year-list Report for --- January 2026
[Edited Message Follows]
*Greetings San Mateo County Birders,*
Before the January report….first some *BIRD NEWS!* As a result of two different Clements Checklist taxonomic updates, San Mateo County’ s bird list gained 2 species due to splits. In 2024 Siberian Pipit was split from its previous designation as a subspecies of American Pipit to full species status. In 2025 Eurasian Whimbrel was likewise split from Whimbrel. Whimbrel was renamed Hudsonian Whimbrel and Eurasian Whimbrel is now a separate species. Both these new species were observed and reported years before these splits. Ron Thorn reported a Siberian Pipit on 10/27/2008 at Radio Rd. in Redwood Shores. His report was submitted to and accepted by the California Bird Records Committee. Additionally, Ron reported the first Eurasian Whimbrel record in the county on 9/4/1997 at Tunitas Creek Beach. Another record from 2019 in San Mateo County was a bird originally found by Paul Saraceni in San Francisco, but later in the day the bird flew into San Mateo County and was re-found and photographed by Ce’dric Duhalde. Both Eurasian Whimbrel and Siberian Pipit will receive the highest rarity code of (6) in our county. With the addition of these two species we now have a total of 481 recorded species in San Mateo Co. and its offshore waters
*Birders in San Mateo County* found a total *221 species by the end of January*. Here are how the January 2026 birds were broken out by rarity code:
1’s =77 species 2’s= 65 species 3’s = 34 species 4’s = 39 species 5’s = 2 species 6’s = 4 species
The rarity code system was set up in 2009 By the late Kris Olson based on Peter Metropulos’ codes on the San Mateo County Checklist which was published by The San Mateo County Bird Alliance (then Sequoia Audubon Society at time of publishing) in 2006.
*Rarity Codes for San Mateo County are defined as:*
1 = Common to abundant in appropriate habitat, always present in large numbers
2 = Fairly common, always present in moderate to small numbers
3 = Uncommon, usually present and in small numbers
4 = Rare, observed in very small numbers and perhaps not in each year
5 = Extremely rare, fewer than 10 records of occurrence in season indicated
6 = Accidental, recorded fewer than 10 times in San Mateo County and offshore waters
*From this page,* you can view the full list of the birds observed so far in 2025 plus *download a checklist* which shows seasonality, frequency, and county breeding information. Additionally, all monthly reports going back to 2009 can be found here.
*Birds mentioned* *in the following report for January 2026* , come primarily from the (4), (5) and (6) categories. There is a wide range of rarity within the (4) category, so I have chosen to highlight the rarest sightings or most unusual circumstances.
*First are the “long staying or multiple years returning rarities”:*
The long staying HARLEQUIN DUCK (4) at Coyote Point, had his first viewing on January 1 st by Dorian Anderson. The NORTHERN GANNET (6) was present on January 11 th for Adam Dudley at Pillar Point Harbor.
*Next are the “holdover” unusual/rare birds originally found in 2025 that continued into 2026:*
A male TUFTED DUCK (4) was observed by many on January 1 st at the Oracle pond and continues from December 2025, noted then by Michael Long. And could be a returning bird from February 2025 first reported at this location by Barry Thomson. Carol Miller has had a wintering CHIPPING SPARROW (2) in her El Granada yard, first found in December 2025 it continues into the end of January as of last report on eBird. Though a (2) Chipping Sparrow is pretty rare in the winter in our county. Thank you Carol for continuing to report this bird on eBird! The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (5) originally found by Cricket Raspet in December was seen by many on January 1 st along Cowell Ranch Coastal trail. The WORM-EATING WARBLER (6) originally found by Richard Jeffers in October of 2025, and had been seen sporadically by others through the latter part of December 2025. It was re-found on January 23 after an epic and exhaustive search spanning over 3 days involving Curtis Marantz, Chris Hayward and myself. Curtis came up from southern California specifically to see this bird. He contacted Chris and I to see if we were available to help search for this skulky dweller of the undergrowth. Both Curtis and Chris felt they heard the bird but neither wanted to count without seeing it to confirm the sighting. We spent many, many hours looking and listening for this bird over 3 days, Curtis especially. On the third day we got a text from Curtis that he was hearing the bird calling often, we went to the site and Chris spotted the bird and Curtis got a beautiful photo of it which he shared with us.
*These are the New Notable Birds for January 2026*
While birding the Bedwell Bayfront area, Rich Ferrick found a ROSS’S GOOSE (4) and a PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER (4), possibly the same plover last reported in November 2025. Ron Thorn found a LONG-TAILED DUCK (4) at Coyote Point. While checking the gull flock Chris Hayward spotted a GLAUCOUS GULL (4) at Venice Beach. During the Año Nuevo Christmas Bird count, a ROYAL TERN (6) was spotted by Andrew Kratter and Gary Deghi and photographed by Michael Long. RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (4) was noted at Filoli by Ron Thorn. Adam Dudley and Kent Forward saw and photographed a WESTERN KINGBIRD (4) in San Gregorio. There are no other records on eBIrd for this species Dec-Feb for all years in San Mateo county. Marty Freeland and Eddie Monson encountered a LUCY’S WARBLER (4) in Pescadero. Leo Alley photographed a SUMMER TANAGER (5) at a location in Redwood City. Donna Pomeroy had a PAINTED BUNTING (6) visit a feeder in El Granada.
*To stay informed of the latest 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 we 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 we missed something,
Date: 2/7/26 1:12 pm From: maliadances via groups.io <maliadances...> Subject: [pen-bird] San Mateo County Cumulative Year-list Report for --- January 2026
*Greetings San Mateo County Birders,*
Before the January report….first some *BIRD NEWS!* As a result of two different Clements Checklist taxonomic updates, San Mateo County’ s bird list gained 2 species due to splits. In 2024 Siberian Pipit was split from its previous designation as a subspecies of American Pipit to full species status. In 2025 Eurasian Whimbrel was likewise split from Whimbrel. Whimbrel was renamed Hudsonian Whimbrel and Eurasian Whimbrel is now a separate species. Both these new species were observed and reported years before these splits. Ron Thorn reported a Siberian Pipit on 10/27/2008 at Radio Rd. in Redwood Shores. His report was submitted to and accepted by the California Bird Records Committee. Additionally, Ron reported the first Eurasian Whimbrel record in the county on 9/4/1997 at Tunitas Creek Beach. Another record from 2019 in San Mateo County was a bird originally found by Paul Saraceni in San Francisco, but later in the day the bird flew into San Mateo County and was re-found and photographed by Ce’dric Duhalde. Both Eurasian Whimbrel and Siberian Pipit will receive the highest rarity code of (6) in our county. With the addition of these two species we now have a total of 281 recorded species in San Mateo Co. and its offshore waters
*Birders in San Mateo County* found a total *221 species by the end of January*. Here are how the January 2026 birds were broken out by rarity code:
1’s =77 species 2’s= 65 species 3’s = 34 species 4’s = 39 species 5’s = 2 species 6’s = 4 species
The rarity code system was set up in 2009 By the late Kris Olson based on Peter Metropulos’ codes on the San Mateo County Checklist which was published by The San Mateo County Bird Alliance (then Sequoia Audubon Society at time of publishing) in 2006.
*Rarity Codes for San Mateo County are defined as:*
1 = Common to abundant in appropriate habitat, always present in large numbers
2 = Fairly common, always present in moderate to small numbers
3 = Uncommon, usually present and in small numbers
4 = Rare, observed in very small numbers and perhaps not in each year
5 = Extremely rare, fewer than 10 records of occurrence in season indicated
6 = Accidental, recorded fewer than 10 times in San Mateo County and offshore waters
*From this page,* you can view the full list of the birds observed so far in 2025 plus *download a checklist* which shows seasonality, frequency, and county breeding information. Additionally, all monthly reports going back to 2009 can be found here.
*Birds mentioned* *in the following report for January 2026* , come primarily from the (4), (5) and (6) categories. There is a wide range of rarity within the (4) category, so I have chosen to highlight the rarest sightings or most unusual circumstances.
*First are the “long staying or multiple years returning rarities”:*
The long staying HARLEQUIN DUCK (4) at Coyote Point, had his first viewing on January 1 st by Dorian Anderson. The NORTHERN GANNET (6) was present on January 11 th for Adam Dudley at Pillar Point Harbor.
*Next are the “holdover” unusual/rare birds originally found in 2025 that continued into 2026:*
A male TUFTED DUCK (4) was observed by many on January 1 st at the Oracle pond and continues from December 2025, noted then by Michael Long. And could be a returning bird from February 2025 first reported at this location by Barry Thomson. Carol Miller has had a wintering CHIPPING SPARROW (2) in her El Granada yard, first found in December 2025 it continues into the end of January as of last report on eBird. Though a (2) Chipping Sparrow is pretty rare in the winter in our county. Thank you Carol for continuing to report this bird on eBird! The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (5) originally found by Cricket Raspet in December was seen by many on January 1 st along Cowell Ranch Coastal trail. The WORM-EATING WARBLER (6) originally found by Richard Jeffers in October of 2025, and had been seen sporadically by others through the latter part of December 2025. It was re-found on January 23 after an epic and exhaustive search spanning over 3 days involving Curtis Marantz, Chris Hayward and myself. Curtis came up from southern California specifically to see this bird. He contacted Chris and I to see if we were available to help search for this skulky dweller of the undergrowth. Both Curtis and Chris felt they heard the bird but neither wanted to count without seeing it to confirm the sighting. We spent many, many hours looking and listening for this bird over 3 days, Curtis especially. On the third day we got a text from Curtis that he was hearing the bird calling often, we went to the site and Chris spotted the bird and Curtis got a beautiful photo of it which he shared with us.
*These are the New Notable Birds for January 2026*
While birding the Bedwell Bayfront area, Rich Ferrick found a ROSS’S GOOSE (4) and a PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER (4), possibly the same plover last reported in November 2025. Ron Thorn found a LONG-TAILED DUCK (4) at Coyote Point. While checking the gull flock Chris Hayward spotted a GLAUCOUS GULL (4) at Venice Beach. During the Año Nuevo Christmas Bird count, a ROYAL TERN (6) was spotted by Andrew Kratter and Gary Deghi and photographed by Michael Long. RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (4) was noted at Filoli by Ron Thorn. Adam Dudley and Kent Forward saw and photographed a WESTERN KINGBIRD (4) in San Gregorio. There are no other records on eBIrd for this species Dec-Feb for all years in San Mateo county. Marty Freeland and Eddie Monson encountered a LUCY’S WARBLER (4) in Pescadero. Leo Alley photographed a SUMMER TANAGER (5) at a location in Redwood City. Donna Pomeroy had a PAINTED BUNTING (6) visit a feeder in El Granada.
*To stay informed of the latest 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 we 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 we missed something,
Date: 2/5/26 7:17 pm From: Alane_El_Granada via groups.io <alanegray...> Subject: Re: [pen-bird] Recent Eurasian Wigeon sightings - hunting at Don Edwards/Ravenswood Feb 7-8
Headsup about duck hunting at Don Edwards:
I was at R1/R2 on Sunday February 1 and was surprised there was duck hunting going on. The regular duck hunting season for 2025/2026 was Oct 18 - Jan 28.
A guy who was there for a run, and was familiar with the area, gave me a heads up. The weekend of January 31-February 1 was a season extension just for Veterans and Active Military.
But this coming weekend, Feb 7-8, is another season extension for Youth Hunting.
On the 2nd, I walked out along the trail at the Ravenswood Salt Ponds R1/R2. Hunting season ended on Jan. 31. There were still being shots fired! Ducks and shorebirds were in a panicmode. It was a very high tide and the salt marsh between the trail and the bay was completely covered in water. There was a large number of Northern Pintails and American Wigeonstaking advantage of the high tide over the marsh. Among the gathering were ( 4 ) adult males and an immature male Eurasian Wigeons. Yesterday, an adult Eurasian Wigeon was onBelmont Slough across from Preserve Park in Redwood Shores. All of the Eurasian Wigeons showed no signs of hybridisation with American Wigeon. Other recent waterfowl sightings.A pair of Blue-winged Teal were on Bird Island during a high tide, viewed from the end of Canvasback Way in Redwood Shores. A Greater White-fronted Goose was in the marsh atthe cove on the west side of Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir, viewed from Canada Road.
Ron Thorn
Date: 1/30/26 9:12 am From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: Re: [pen-bird] Scientific inquiry
All birds do this. Just the other day I watched a mixed flock of juncos
and crowned sparrows nestling in dirt/gravel on a hillside mid morning ,
some of them leaning over to one side and lifting their wings probably to
increase surface area exposure to the sun’s rays. I’ve seen hawks,
hummingbirds, wrens and others do this as well; I think it’s a universal
behavior, exhibited by all birds, depending on availability of secure
sunning areas.
Dominik
On Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 09:05 B Westree via groups.io <blwestree=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> The following message isn’t specifically about peninsula birds but I hope
> it’s of general interest.
>
> A week ago I was birding at Jepson Prairie Preserve. It was cold, about 45
> degrees, windy like it always is there, and sunny. Alongside the entrance
> road there’s a set of rusty, abandoned RR tracks. Sitting on the tracks
> and bedding rocks were dozens of killdeer. Just sitting or strolling
> around. Not feeding, like there was a feast of bugs btwn the stones, or
> displaying. Just sitting.
> I imagine that they may have been warming themselves on the substrate that
> was probably warmer than the soil or the damp grass. And so it would seem
> this would be a common behavior. But apart from seeing TVs warming
> themselves on cold mornings, I’ve never seen other birds do it. Certainly
> not songbirds or shorebirds. Anyone have thoughts or observations about
> it?
>
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 1/30/26 9:05 am From: B Westree via groups.io <blwestree...> Subject: [pen-bird] Scientific inquiry
The following message isn’t specifically about peninsula birds but I hope it’s of general interest.
A week ago I was birding at Jepson Prairie Preserve. It was cold, about 45 degrees, windy like it always is there, and sunny. Alongside the entrance road there’s a set of rusty, abandoned RR tracks. Sitting on the tracks and bedding rocks were dozens of killdeer. Just sitting or strolling around. Not feeding, like there was a feast of bugs btwn the stones, or displaying. Just sitting.
I imagine that they may have been warming themselves on the substrate that was probably warmer than the soil or the damp grass. And so it would seem this would be a common behavior. But apart from seeing TVs warming themselves on cold mornings, I’ve never seen other birds do it. Certainly not songbirds or shorebirds. Anyone have thoughts or observations about it?
Date: 1/26/26 11:11 am From: Ronald- Thorn via groups.io <Tronthorn...> Subject: [pen-bird] Ross's Goose at Coyote Pt.
This morning, at Coyote Point County Park in San Mateo among a large group of Canada Geese on the playing field across from the kiosk was a Ross's Goose. Also among the flockwere ( 10 ) Greater White-fronted Geese.
Ron Thorn
Date: 1/25/26 4:10 pm From: Kent Forward via groups.io <kforward...> Subject: [pen-bird] Apparent Western Kingbird (Stage Road / Hwy 84) - 1/25/26
Good Afternoon Birders,
Yesterday Adam Dudley, myself and our wives were enjoying a bluegrass music show at San Gregorio General Store when Adam and I saw a yellow-bellied kingbird-type bird flyover! We had no optics and if flew off into the distance and was lost. We couldn't be sure of the species, but we'd each only had one beer at that point so we felt pretty good our instincts were still intact and it was a kingbird. So today, a re-check of the area turned up the bird (exact GPS location details in the eBird checklist link). It appears to be a Western Kingbird - one of the crummy photos shows white outer tail feathers as it took flight off a fence post and another similarly poor photo shows a light grayish chest. We're open to feedback in case we've missed something here, but if this holds up, it appears there are no January records for Western Kingbird in San Mateo County (at least in eBird)!?!?! So would be pretty cool.
https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S296287721 Happy birding all,Kent ForwardEl Granada
Date: 1/24/26 8:38 am From: keith_in_eg via groups.io <keith_ineg...> Subject: [pen-bird] PAINTED BUNTING in El Granada (private yard) Fri., Jan. 23, 2026
Greetings,
Yesterday morning, as I was standing at my kitchen sink washing the coffee pot, a small bird caught my eye as I was glancing out the window. My immediate thought was, “Whoa! That’s soooo green!” The bird dropped down from the bamboo and into the raised bed where I scatter seed on the ground for the sparrows. I quickly and cautiously grabbed a nearby pair of binoculars to get a look.
In the binoculars I immediately confirmed that this was not the Orange-crowned Warbler that has been a recent casual visitor in the yard. This bird was eating seed, was about the same size as a nearby White-crowned Sparrow, was bright green with no distinct markings with only a hint of a thin and paler complete eye ring. “Holy s—-!” was my next thought as I grabbed my camera and got off several shots through the double-pane windows of the French door. PAINTED BUNTING !!! was confirmed with my photo review. “Whoa!”
I cropped up an image and sent it to Chris Hayward for a reality check and second confirmation. “Yes!” was his reply.
The individual is a bright green female type. Bill is a basic conical seed-eater type and legs are dark. It was feeding on the ground with sparrows and I watched it for probably three minutes before one of the neighbors cats strolled along the top of the fence above it and everything flushed. The cats (unfortunately there are three of them) are the main reason I did not post the sighting to Telegram or invite folks to come by and try for a look. The cats hang around and move along the fence row all day making for long periods with no birds. I also have a young Red-shouldered Hawk that is in the mix every morning. It’s not ‘chaseable’ for these reasons. I did see it briefly in the afternoon between 14:00-15:00 when it came in for a drink and some seed.
Here is my eBird checklist link with some cropped images taken through the windows. It was overcast yesterday morning so the light is not the best. I’ve made no color or other adjustments.
This is a new yard bird and new San Mateo County bird for me so I’m pretty stoked!! Interestingly, Donna Pomeroy had a Painted Bunting in her El Granada yard on Jan. 20, 2026. She has previous eBird reports from Oct. 3-4, 2025 from her yard. She’s probably about 1/3 of a mile from my yard. Pretty neat!
