Date: 8/17/26 4:48 pm From: Ronald- Thorn via groups.io <Tronthorn...> Subject: [pen-bird] Semipalmated Sandpiper and recent sightings bayside
Today, I noted a juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper with Westerns and Least along Belmont Slough near the observation deck at Preserve Park in Redwood Shores.Size, in-between Western and Least, fresh plumage the upperparts with pale fringed scapulars appearing scaly, lacking the rufous scapular band of a juvenile Western,short straight blunt-tipped black bill, black legs. Juvenile shorebird arrival I have first noted have been Semipalmated Plover, Greater Yellowlegs and Red-neckedPhalarope the past week. A little late on arrival are the first I have noted of Green-winged Teal on the 15th and Northern Shoveler the 16th at Redwood Shores. It hasbeen exceptional in the numbers of Least Terns along the bayside in the county. On the 16th, ( 12 ) were foraging at the mouth of Colma Creek in South San Franciscoviewed from the end of Haskins Way. Some passerine migration has been evident with Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warblerand yesterday Leonie and I noted Western Tanagers.
Ron Thorn, Leonie Batkin
Date: 8/17/26 4:11 pm From: Joe Morlan via groups.io <jmorlan...> Subject: [pen-bird] Royal Tern at San Gregorio State Beach.
Today I noticed an adult Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) at San Gregorio
State Beach. It was standing near but not with a small flock of Elegant
Terns just south of the creek mouth. Noticeably bigger and stockier with a
heavier less curved bill than nearby Elegant Terns.
Date: 8/12/26 8:28 am From: San Mateo County Bird Alliance via groups.io <office...> Subject: [pen-bird] Thursday, August 13 Meeting - Alcatraz Island Breeding Bird Sanctuary
*Join us on Zoom Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 pm*
Kimberlie Moutoux has volunteered at Alcatraz as a Waterbird Docent with the National Park Service since 2019. She provides information to visitors about the breeding population during the breeding season, March to August, when the wintering population swells from 400 to 30,000 birds. In the winter, she co-leads the winter bird counts. This year, she is collaborating with a small team to monitor nesting behavior on the island and observe disturbance events involving Western Gulls. At Alcatraz, there are seven species of waterbirds—Western Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Brandt’s Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night-heron, and Great Blue Heron.
Kimberlie is also a practicing artist at the Sanchez Art Center, creating data -driven art quilts based on her research. Kimberlie will share stories from Alcatraz and some of her artwork.
Date: 8/9/26 2:40 pm From: Gerry McChesney via groups.io <gerry.mcchesney...> Subject: [pen-bird] Farallon Islands talk, San Mateo Public Library, Aug 19
FYI, I'll be giving a talk on the Farallon Islands at the San Mateo Public Library on Aug 19, 6-7 PM. For more information and to register, go to: https://sanmateopublic.libcal.com/event/17270810
Date: 8/9/26 11:42 am From: maliadances via groups.io <maliadances...> Subject: [pen-bird] San Mateo County Cumulative Year-list Report for --- July 2026
*Greetings Pen-birders,*
First……I missed a June sighting of LEAST TERN (4) by Ron Thorn observed at Coyote Point. The addition of the Least Tern record in June brought end of June totals to 295. San Mateo County birders confirmed a total of 6 species that were new for the year in the month of July. This brings the total species confirmed by the end of the seventh month to 301. 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 July, their finders and locations where found:*
Marty Freeland encountered a RED-EYED VIREO (4) along the riparian at Whitehouse Creek/Rossi Rd. in the south part of the county. Alvaro’s Adventures Pelagic efforts on July 5 and July 18 produced the remaining 6 new birds for July. On July 5 th Alvaro Jaramillo with spotters, Dorian Anderson, Caitlin Chock, Malia DeFelice, Chris Hayward, Logan Kahle, Liam Murphy and John Tsortos spotted WILSON’S STORM-PETREL (5), FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL (5),and BLACK STORM-PETREL (2). A pair of offshore murrelets viewed from that boat and photographed by Michael Long proved to be CRAVERI’S MURRELET (6) after careful study of the photos the following day. Members of the July 5 spotting team added Eli Gross on the July 18 th pelagic trip and that boat added SOUTH POLAR SKUA (3) for the year. And not a bird sighting……But we had our first ever sightings of FLYING FISH in San Mateo County waters!
*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,
Date: 8/7/26 2:39 pm From: Oliver Zhang via groups.io <BLACKROCKARTSTUDIO...> Subject: [pen-bird] Coyote point yacht harbor trail findings
Hi y’all,
Yesterday afternoon, around 7:00 pm, I was walking along the waterfront trail at Coyote Marina. The wind was pretty blustery, and it was getting dark when I suddenly heard some unusual bird calls.
I looked around and noticed a few birds with striking black and white plumage. Some had black heads and necks. Farther out near the concrete blocks, I spotted a few more birds with distinctive white faces and what looked like black beards.
It was getting pretty dark, but I managed to get a few photos. When I got home and looked through them, much to my delight, I realized I had found two new lifers: Black Bellied Plovers and Black Turnstones!
I have seen plenty of shorebirds around the Bay Area, but somehow these two had escaped me until now. It was a pretty exciting surprise to discover them during an evening walk, especially when I was not even out there specifically looking for birds.
I also spotted a pair of Black Oystercatchers, which made the evening even better.
Here is my eBird checklist if anyone is interested:
Date: 8/5/26 4:26 pm From: Leonie Batkin via groups.io <Lbatkin111...> Subject: [pen-bird] Yard birds and Western River Otters in Redwood Shores
Dear Peninsula Birders-
Last week Ron and Leonie had a family of four Western River Otters visiting our deck around dusk. We have bird baths on our deck with fresh water. The youngsters liked splashing around which left obvious wet evidence. They likely visited during the night until Tuesday, since then there has been no evidence of their visits. We live along the canal off of Marlin Drive. No signs of them during the day. Attached is my eBird list with a photo of the Western River Otter family.
Leonie BatkinRon Thorn
eBird Checklist - 30 Jul 2026 - Spinnaker Place-Redwood Shores - 9 species
Date: 8/2/26 8:25 pm From: basquebirder via groups.io <allaboutbirds...> Subject: [pen-bird] 'Black' Merlin Colma Creek Mouth 08/02
Hi all,
This evening while checking out the shorebird scene at Colma Creek mouth, a Merlin bombed over the estuary heading west, flushing all my shorebirds for a little bit. In the field, I noted how dark the bird appeared but I didn't feel confident calling it a 'Black' until I got home and reviewed some photos and read up on differentiating 'suckleyi' from 'columbiarus'. There was just a 'Black' Merlin reported in the Central Valley earlier this week, which constitutes a very early record, and could be dispersal tied to the extensive wildfires in the Pacific NW right now.
Of local interest was a Great Egret, which I've only seen 2-3 times here before, and my first juvenile Western Sandpipers and a single juvenile Willet.
Date: 8/1/26 6:07 pm From: Marty Freeland via groups.io <martinf3...> Subject: [pen-bird] Red-eyed Vireo and other notes
Hi all,
Yesterday (7/31) I birded the coast from San Gregorio to Whitehouse Ck for part of the morning. The highlight was a scruffy-looking adult Red-eyed Vireo along Whitehouse Ck at Costanoa. I had one in exactly the same spot last September, and coincidentally both this year and last year I had spring Black-and-white Warblers in the same location as wellgood birds here seem to come in two-year packages! I think this bird most likely summered somewhere not too far away, and is perhaps dispersing (or molt-migrating) to nice riparian to molt, although it could conceivably have summered at this spot. I didn't see it on 3 prior checks this season since early May, but of course it may still have been there. There is a record of a bird that evidently summered at Phipps in Pescadero in 1996, and records of migrants/dispersants as early as August 11 (in 2007; Pescadero, R. Thorn) and August 12 (unsure of year; Fitzgerald, R. Thorn).
Also of note was a single Forster's Tern over North Pond in Pescadero Marsh, rare on the coast. Belted Kingfisher dispersal is under way with one at Sharon Park in western Menlo Park on 7/28 and numbers along the coast on 7/31: two at the San Gregorio lagoon, one at Pescadero Ck mouth, and one at the pond on east Pigeon Pt Rd, some distance from the nearest place they might breed. 6 Wandering Tattlers were at Pescadero SB, but otherwise shorebird numbers on the coast this year have been lackluster so far. I saw 89 juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers on one day in late July last year (while there were 2 at Gazos, 56 at Pescadero, and 12 at Pillar Pt, most of these found by others), but over the past three days I have seen only 5 peeps total on the coastincluding Western Sandpipers!
At the afternoon high tide on the bayshore, I was surprised not to find any shorebirds at all at Ravenswood, despite plenty of great high-tide habitat. A juvenile Western Sandpiper with a couple hundred adults on Belmont Slough later in the afternoon was my first juvenile of the season, right on time. There were still 4 Least Terns and good numbers of other shorebirds, including 12 Red Knots, at Shorebird Park in Foster City.
On 7/30 I had a calling Summer Tanager behind St. Peters Church in Pacifica. This is only my second summer Summer Tanager in the county (the last was along Tunitas Ck on 7/24/2022). This bird was apparently photographed six days earlier at San Pedro Valley CP, which borders St. Peter's Church, by A. Mercedes.
On 7/26, a striking-looking leucistic Brewer's Blackbird was at San Gregorio SB. Nathan Malick photographed the same bird on 7/24 at Pomponio SB. A Short-billed Dowitcher and two Semipalmated Plovers were at Pescadero Ck mouth. After spending a while trying at several locations in the county this summer, I confirmed successful breeding by Hermit Warbler along Alpine Ck near Alpine Rd x Pescadero Ck Rd. So far, Western Wood-Pewee and Olive-sided Flycatcher remain unconfirmed as breeders in the county for the new California Breeding Bird Atlas.
