Parker Kaye has worked with banding /monitoring Snowy Plovers in various
places around the bay (currently at Point Reyes National Seashore), and
might be able to give you more info. He’s been able to share info with me
in the past on Ocean Beach Snowy Plovers as well as birds seen in the east
bay. (He was also a co-lead one year in my Sunset CBC area, which includes
a fair chunk of Ocean Beach)
I’ll share his public profile page here, since this is a public forum:
On Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 2:59 PM John Harris via groups.io <jhh.birder=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi all,
> This morning I photographed a color-banded Snowy Plover at Ocean Beach,
> though I didn't realize it until later.
> I suspect this information has been shared previously, so I apologize for
> any duplication, but I wondered if anyone knew who might be involved in
> color-banding Snowy's who would be interested?
> Thanks very much,
> John Harris
> Oakdale, CA
>
>
>
On Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 2:59 PM John Harris via groups.io
<jhh.birder...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> This morning I photographed a color-banded Snowy Plover at Ocean Beach, though I didn't realize it until later.
> I suspect this information has been shared previously, so I apologize for any duplication, but I wondered if anyone knew who might be involved in color-banding Snowy's who would be interested?
> Thanks very much,
> John Harris
> Oakdale, CA
>
Date: 7/31/26 2:59 pm From: John Harris via groups.io <jhh.birder...> Subject: [SFBirds] Banded Snowy Plover
Hi all, This morning I photographed a color-banded Snowy Plover at Ocean Beach, though I didn't realize it until later. I suspect this information has been shared previously, so I apologize for any duplication, but I wondered if anyone knew who might be involved in color-banding Snowy's who would be interested? Thanks very much, John Harris Oakdale, CA
Date: 7/31/26 11:48 am From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: [SFBirds] Jaegers and Hawks
At the Sutro Baths this morning, the first Parasitic Jaegers I’ve seen this
year came in from the south, harassed some Elegants, and quickly moved on.
Both were light morph adults. Also present were four continuing Wandering
Tattlers, a molting Red-necked Phalarope in the baths, and a minimum of 21
Pigeon Guillemots still near the nesting cliffs.
I then went up to Battery Chester, and instead of looking for migrant
passerines as planned, I was caught up in an amazing congregation of
hawks. At first there were four Red-shouldereds perched in the dead pines
having a conversation, and I assumed they were a family unit. But they
took flight one by one and were gradually joined by another four, along
with three different Red-taileds and a juvie Cooper’s, all soaring and
occasionally bickering in the airspace over the battery. One of the tails
was a dark morph adult whose molt created two bright white spots in the
outer primaries for a very unique look. They circled in differing
configurations for at least twenty minutes before slowly dispersing.
Brian Fitch
Date: 7/28/26 7:16 pm From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] recent misc./summer "vibe shift" in effect
Thanks Lee.
Yeah, not sure where this one wandered in from either.
On Tue, Jul 28, 2026 at 19:01 Lee-Hong Chang <lhchang825...> wrote:
> Dom,
>
> Regarding dispersing Great Horned Owl, I saw all three hatch year owls in
> their natal territory in Buena Vista Park last night. Benal Hill's two
> hatch year Great Horned Owls were still there on July 14.
> Therefore, I don't really know where the owl you observed on Corona Hill
> was coming from.
>
> Lee
>
>
> Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
> <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=US_Acquisition_YMktg_315_SearchOrgConquer_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=US_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100002039&af_sub5=C01_Email_Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=0c38e4b0-a27e-40f9-a211-f4e2de32ab91&af_android_url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?<id...>&listing=search_organize_conquer> >
> On Tue, Jul 28, 2026 at 1:26 PM, Dominik Mosur via groups.io
> <dominikmosur...> wrote:
>
> Migration/post breeding dispersal is underway. People widely use the terms
> "spring" and "fall" migration; but a colleague of mine suggested the term
> "vibe shift" might be a bit less confusing considering Allen's
> Hummingbirds begin arriving in SF by mid January and many species are
> already migrating/dispersing post breeding by the end of June/early July.
> This is quite apparent for anyone visiting shorebirding locales like Ocean
> Beach and the Bayside but it's happening with landbirds as well.
>
> Here are some observations from the last couple of weeks indicating that
> birds are already on the move:
>
> Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds - presumed Allen's Hummingbirds appear to have
> cleared out early this year. My last sighting of an adult male was 7/8.
> Numbers began to drop noticeably for Hatch-year birds as well by the end of
> the 2nd week of July. For those eBirding you may have noticed that Allen's
> is now flagged as "rare", this is because Rufous can be moving through by
> now as well and the immatures of these two species are extremely difficult
> to distinguish even with good photos. Best reported as Rufous/Allen's from
> here on.
>
> Northern Harrier - a hatch year was flying over the St. Francis Wood
> neighborhood west of Mount Davidson in the afternoon on 7/24 which is
> pretty close to my earliest date for SF but another observer photographed
> two over El Polin Spring on 7/15
>
> Great Horned Owl - a hatch year Great Horned owl dispersing from its natal
> territory was noted on Corona Hill 7/7. May have come from nearby Buena
> Vista Park where they nested. However according to owl breeding monitoring
> work by LH Chang we have approximately ~30 pairs in SF the past couple of
> years.
>
> Belted Kingfisher - on at Pine Lake 7/10 was the first arrival
> post-breeding I've noted
>
> Northern Flicker - 2 at the Clarendon School 7/12, and 3 around the Sutro
> Radio Tower /Twin Peaks7/17 could be evidence of breeding in this section
> of the City, with breeders on Mount Davidson and the Presidio still hanging
> out at those respective sites. I have been noting flickers in the block
> encompassing Mount Sutro OSP/Twin Peaks throughout spring and into early
> summer so it appears they may have nested in 3 blocks in 2026
>
> Western Flycatcher - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known
> to nest in '26 were 2 on Mount Sutro 7/26 and one at Pine Lake 7/27
>
> Hutton's Vireo - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known to
> nest in '26 were on Corona Hill 7/24 and Pine Lake Park 7/27
>
> Western Warbling Vireo - an early migrant/dispersant was at Alemany Farm
> 7/16. three together at Pine Lake Park 7/27 were interesting. I had
> observed a pair here at the end of June, last seen 6/28. However there were
> no further observations until yesterday morning. Could they have nested
> successfully without being detected? Maybe. However I wasn't able to see
> any significant difference in plumage to indicate age and no behavior that
> would suggest it was a family group rather than early migrants on the move
>
> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - a small push of these occurred over the weekend
> with singles on Corona Hill 7/25 and Mount Sutro 7/26. On the second day
> other observers also noted them on Mount Davidson and at McLaren Park
>
> Northern House Wren - a tally of four on Mount Sutro 7/26. This is a
> typical count for this site by mid-summer when non-breeders begin to arrive.
>
> RED CROSSBILL - a small push of Crossbills has been noted by multiple
> observers starting at the beginning of July from the Presidio, Mount
> Davidson and Lake Merced as well as two that briefly visited Corona Hill
> 7/17. This species has nested in SF in past years but was not confirmed in
> '26. These birds may be dispersing from nearby breeding territories in the
> Santa Cruz Mountains where they are expected within about 15-20 miles of SF
> (most notably around Skylawn Cemetery off HWY 92 x HWY 35)
>
> Pine Siskin - first arrival on Corona Hill 7/28 joined Lesser Gold and
> House Finches on a residential feeder at the edge of the park
>
> Wilson's Warbler - a worn AHY first arrival on Corona Hill showed up 7/18,
> was still present 7/23
>
> Western Tanager - two early side migrants were at Buena Vista Park 7/21 as
> well as several other reports around the city in the past week
>
> Black-headed Grosbeak - did not appear to nest in SF this year (only one
> record in recent memory from Mount Sutro in 2020) but multiple birds noted
> in recent days from Mount Davidson as well as one on Mount Sutro 7/26 are
> probably early migrants/dispersants f
>
> Lazuli Bunting - first migrant/dispersant of the season was noted with a
> mixed flock of House Finches er al in West GGP near Bercut 7/28
>
> Swinhoe's White-eyes - continue to be observed around the Haight-Ashbury
> where they nested this spring with two on Waller at Clayton 7/22 and 3
> birds reported yesterday from a few blocks away. Seems like they are here
> to stay for now.
>
> Happy Summer Birding,
>
> Dominik Mosur
> San Francisco
>
>
>
>
Date: 7/28/26 7:01 pm From: Lee-Hong Chang via groups.io <lhchang825...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] recent misc./summer "vibe shift" in effect
Dom,
Regarding dispersing Great Horned Owl, I saw all three hatch year owls in their natal territory in Buena Vista Park last night. Benal Hill's two hatch year Great Horned Owls were still there on July 14.
Therefore, I don't really know where the owl you observed on Corona Hill was coming from.
Lee
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
On Tue, Jul 28, 2026 at 1:26 PM, Dominik Mosur via groups.io<dominikmosur...> wrote: Migration/post breeding dispersal is underway. People widely use the terms "spring" and "fall" migration; but a colleague of mine suggested the term "vibe shift" might be a bit less confusing considering Allen's Hummingbirds begin arriving in SF by mid January and many species are already migrating/dispersing post breeding by the end of June/early July. This is quite apparent for anyone visiting shorebirding locales like Ocean Beach and the Bayside but it's happening with landbirds as well.
Here are some observations from the last couple of weeks indicating that birds are already on the move:
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds - presumed Allen's Hummingbirds appear to have cleared out early this year. My last sighting of an adult male was 7/8. Numbers began to drop noticeably for Hatch-year birds as well by the end of the 2nd week of July. For those eBirding you may have noticed that Allen's is now flagged as "rare", this is because Rufous can be moving through by now as well and the immatures of these two species are extremely difficult to distinguish even with good photos. Best reported as Rufous/Allen's from here on.
Northern Harrier - a hatch year was flying over the St. Francis Wood neighborhood west of Mount Davidson in the afternoon on 7/24 which is pretty close to my earliest date for SF but another observer photographed two over El Polin Spring on 7/15
Great Horned Owl - a hatch year Great Horned owl dispersing from its natal territory was noted on Corona Hill 7/7. May have come from nearby Buena Vista Park where they nested. However according to owl breeding monitoring work by LH Chang we have approximately ~30 pairs in SF the past couple of years.
Belted Kingfisher - on at Pine Lake 7/10 was the first arrival post-breeding I've noted
Northern Flicker - 2 at the Clarendon School 7/12, and 3 around the Sutro Radio Tower /Twin Peaks7/17 could be evidence of breeding in this section of the City, with breeders on Mount Davidson and the Presidio still hanging out at those respective sites. I have been noting flickers in the block encompassing Mount Sutro OSP/Twin Peaks throughout spring and into early summer so it appears they may have nested in 3 blocks in 2026
Western Flycatcher - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known to nest in '26 were 2 on Mount Sutro 7/26 and one at Pine Lake 7/27
Hutton's Vireo - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known to nest in '26 were on Corona Hill 7/24 and Pine Lake Park 7/27
Western Warbling Vireo - an early migrant/dispersant was at Alemany Farm 7/16. three together at Pine Lake Park 7/27 were interesting. I had observed a pair here at the end of June, last seen 6/28. However there were no further observations until yesterday morning. Could they have nested successfully without being detected? Maybe. However I wasn't able to see any significant difference in plumage to indicate age and no behavior that would suggest it was a family group rather than early migrants on the move
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - a small push of these occurred over the weekend with singles on Corona Hill 7/25 and Mount Sutro 7/26. On the second day other observers also noted them on Mount Davidson and at McLaren Park
Northern House Wren - a tally of four on Mount Sutro 7/26. This is a typical count for this site by mid-summer when non-breeders begin to arrive.
RED CROSSBILL - a small push of Crossbills has been noted by multiple observers starting at the beginning of July from the Presidio, Mount Davidson and Lake Merced as well as two that briefly visited Corona Hill 7/17. This species has nested in SF in past years but was not confirmed in '26. These birds may be dispersing from nearby breeding territories in the Santa Cruz Mountains where they are expected within about 15-20 miles of SF (most notably around Skylawn Cemetery off HWY 92 x HWY 35)
Pine Siskin - first arrival on Corona Hill 7/28 joined Lesser Gold and House Finches on a residential feeder at the edge of the park
Wilson's Warbler - a worn AHY first arrival on Corona Hill showed up 7/18, was still present 7/23
Western Tanager - two early side migrants were at Buena Vista Park 7/21 as well as several other reports around the city in the past week
Black-headed Grosbeak - did not appear to nest in SF this year (only one record in recent memory from Mount Sutro in 2020) but multiple birds noted in recent days from Mount Davidson as well as one on Mount Sutro 7/26 are probably early migrants/dispersants f
Lazuli Bunting - first migrant/dispersant of the season was noted with a mixed flock of House Finches er al in West GGP near Bercut 7/28
Swinhoe's White-eyes - continue to be observed around the Haight-Ashbury where they nested this spring with two on Waller at Clayton 7/22 and 3 birds reported yesterday from a few blocks away. Seems like they are here to stay for now.
Happy Summer Birding,
Dominik MosurSan Francisco
Date: 7/28/26 1:26 pm From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: [SFBirds] recent misc./summer "vibe shift" in effect
Migration/post breeding dispersal is underway. People widely use the terms "spring" and "fall" migration; but a colleague of mine suggested the term "vibe shift" might be a bit less confusing considering Allen's Hummingbirds begin arriving in SF by mid January and many species are already migrating/dispersing post breeding by the end of June/early July. This is quite apparent for anyone visiting shorebirding locales like Ocean Beach and the Bayside but it's happening with landbirds as well.
Here are some observations from the last couple of weeks indicating that birds are already on the move:
Rufous/Allen's Hummingbirds - presumed Allen's Hummingbirds appear to have cleared out early this year. My last sighting of an adult male was 7/8. Numbers began to drop noticeably for Hatch-year birds as well by the end of the 2nd week of July. For those eBirding you may have noticed that Allen's is now flagged as "rare", this is because Rufous can be moving through by now as well and the immatures of these two species are extremely difficult to distinguish even with good photos. Best reported as Rufous/Allen's from here on.
Northern Harrier - a hatch year was flying over the St. Francis Wood neighborhood west of Mount Davidson in the afternoon on 7/24 which is pretty close to my earliest date for SF but another observer photographed two over El Polin Spring on 7/15
Great Horned Owl - a hatch year Great Horned owl dispersing from its natal territory was noted on Corona Hill 7/7. May have come from nearby Buena Vista Park where they nested. However according to owl breeding monitoring work by LH Chang we have approximately ~30 pairs in SF the past couple of years.
Belted Kingfisher - on at Pine Lake 7/10 was the first arrival post-breeding I've noted
Northern Flicker - 2 at the Clarendon School 7/12, and 3 around the Sutro Radio Tower /Twin Peaks7/17 could be evidence of breeding in this section of the City, with breeders on Mount Davidson and the Presidio still hanging out at those respective sites. I have been noting flickers in the block encompassing Mount Sutro OSP/Twin Peaks throughout spring and into early summer so it appears they may have nested in 3 blocks in 2026
Western Flycatcher - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known to nest in '26 were 2 on Mount Sutro 7/26 and one at Pine Lake 7/27
Hutton's Vireo - post breeding dispersants at sites where not known to nest in '26 were on Corona Hill 7/24 and Pine Lake Park 7/27
Western Warbling Vireo - an early migrant/dispersant was at Alemany Farm 7/16. three together at Pine Lake Park 7/27 were interesting. I had observed a pair here at the end of June, last seen 6/28. However there were no further observations until yesterday morning. Could they have nested successfully without being detected? Maybe. However I wasn't able to see any significant difference in plumage to indicate age and no behavior that would suggest it was a family group rather than early migrants on the move
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - a small push of these occurred over the weekend with singles on Corona Hill 7/25 and Mount Sutro 7/26. On the second day other observers also noted them on Mount Davidson and at McLaren Park
Northern House Wren - a tally of four on Mount Sutro 7/26. This is a typical count for this site by mid-summer when non-breeders begin to arrive.
RED CROSSBILL - a small push of Crossbills has been noted by multiple observers starting at the beginning of July from the Presidio, Mount Davidson and Lake Merced as well as two that briefly visited Corona Hill 7/17. This species has nested in SF in past years but was not confirmed in '26. These birds may be dispersing from nearby breeding territories in the Santa Cruz Mountains where they are expected within about 15-20 miles of SF (most notably around Skylawn Cemetery off HWY 92 x HWY 35)
Pine Siskin - first arrival on Corona Hill 7/28 joined Lesser Gold and House Finches on a residential feeder at the edge of the park
Wilson's Warbler - a worn AHY first arrival on Corona Hill showed up 7/18, was still present 7/23
Western Tanager - two early side migrants were at Buena Vista Park 7/21 as well as several other reports around the city in the past week
Black-headed Grosbeak - did not appear to nest in SF this year (only one record in recent memory from Mount Sutro in 2020) but multiple birds noted in recent days from Mount Davidson as well as one on Mount Sutro 7/26 are probably early migrants/dispersants f
Lazuli Bunting - first migrant/dispersant of the season was noted with a mixed flock of House Finches er al in West GGP near Bercut 7/28
Swinhoe's White-eyes - continue to be observed around the Haight-Ashbury where they nested this spring with two on Waller at Clayton 7/22 and 3 birds reported yesterday from a few blocks away. Seems like they are here to stay for now.
Date: 7/23/26 1:41 pm From: Dominik Mosur via groups.io <dominikmosur...> Subject: [SFBirds] [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Town Hall Webinar TONIGHT - Late Breeders
Breeding Bird Atlas Webinar tonight:
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Van Pierszalowski via groups.io <van...>
>
Date: Thu, Jul 23, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Subject: [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Town Hall Webinar TONIGHT - Late
Breeders
To: <CALBIRDS...>
Hi birders,
California Bird Atlas is excited to host our 4th Town Hall webinar tonight
at 7:00 pm PT on Zoom. We'll share project updates, answer your questions,
and highlight some of California's bird species that breed later in the
year.
Date: 7/22/26 6:21 am From: Keith Maley via groups.io <keith.maley...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] Ruddy Turnstone - Ocean Beach, Kirkham
Ruddy continues just north of Sloat joined by a Black Turnstone.
> On Jul 21, 2026, at 7:01 AM, Keith Maley via groups.io <keith.maley...> wrote:
>
> There’s a Ruddy Turnstone in with a small flock of Sanderlings opposite Kirkham on Ocean Beach.
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 7/20/26 12:41 pm From: David Assmann via groups.io <david_assmann...> Subject: [SFBirds] Local Interest - Arriving shorebirds
Shorebirds are starting to trickle in on their southbound migration. There were two SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and an AMERICAN AVOCET in Crissy Lagoon this morning (joining the two LONG-BILLED CURLEWS that have been there for a few weeks). Quartermaster Reach had 8 LEAST SANDPIPERS and 2 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, along with 8 KILLDEER (including 3 young).
On Tuesday, 7/14, the summering HOODED WARBLER continued at it's new location (where it has now been observed for several weeks longer than the old location) along the Steep Ravine Trail which parallels Clarendon Drive along the north edge of Laguna Honda Open Space/Hospital grounds. The Hooded Warbler sang regularly from about 6:30 when we first arrived until about 6:40 when it stopped and flew further up the slope of the canyon in the direction of the hospital buildings.
Some late season breeding notes -
Olive-sided Flycatcher - Mount Sutro OSP where confirmed by Connor Schmidt and Michelle Moir carrying nesting material in late May, adults were accompanied by a begging fledgling 7/12. The breeding territory is at the top of Woodland Canyon Creek near the jct of Edgewood/Historic/Fairy Gates trails where they have nested every year since at least 2021. This is the only(last) breeding territory for this species in the city/county since they stopped breeding on Mount Davidson c. 2017
Swainson's Thrush - Laguna Honda/Steep Ravine Trail, while looking for the Hooded Warbler on 7/13 I observed an agitated Swainson's Thrush carrying food and giving alarm calls while a CA. Scrub Jay poked around the area possibly looking to predate the young. This confirms Swainson's Thrush in the 3rd block in SF in addition to juveniles found at Dragonfly Creek (C.Schmidt) and Mountain Lake Park (Logan Kahle)
And some probable/possible breeding species still unconfirmed:
Ruddy Duck - if they bred successfully this year adults should be accompanied by juveniles any day now, with South Lake Merced around the Concrete bridge the most consistent and easily observable site
White-throated Swifts - have been observed entering weeps in the HWY 101 overpass in the Presidio above McDowell Ave/Pet Cemetery/Presidio Stables. Adults carrying food to nests will display a distended throat - tough to observe but possible with some patience. Other probable locations under HWY 280 at Mission Creek/Islais Creek and the 101/280 jct near Alemany Market
Green Heron - a pair has been noted all spring around the Concrete Bridge.
Western (Pacific-slope) Flycatcher - last reports of vocalizing adults have been from around the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park. The area west of El Polin around the Ecology Trail is another potential breeding area. I have not heard them this spring from various locations in East and West Golden Gate Park where they have been suspected of nesting in previous years
American Goldfinch - this species was once a relatively common breeder in willow stands in the north/west portion of the city (Land's End, Presidio, Lake Merced) but essentially disappeared c. 2018 around the time of an extended drought. There's been a few reports this summer from Land's End where there is lots of good looking habitat (extensive willow stands)
Date: 7/8/26 11:37 am From: San Mateo County Bird Alliance via groups.io <office...> Subject: [SFBirds] Thurs. July 9 Birding New Zealand & Australia's Subantarctic
*This Thursday's Monthly Meeting - ZOOM*
As a recipient of the True Young Explorer scholarship, John Tsortos will share highlights of a 16-day expedition to the subantarctic islands of New Zealand and Australia with Heritage Expeditions. This region encompasses multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is known for its unparalleled diversity of nesting albatross and penguin species. It is also home to endemic landbirds, unique marine mammals, and undiscovered marine invertebrates—not to mention that this region is the primary breeding ground for Sooty Shearwaters and Cook's Petrels—two annual visitors to California waters. The talk will focus on seabirds through stunning photos and entertaining videos, but will also touch on the region's natural history, the other incredible wildlife that lives there, and the unprecedented conservation efforts that have allowed these islands to flourish. If you're interested in seabirds, you don't want to miss it!
John is a seabird photographer and volunteers both as a pelagic birding guide with Alvaro’s Adventures and as an aquarium guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Although he spends much of his time along the coast, he lives in Los Gatos and leads field trips for the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance.
Date: 7/8/26 9:51 am From: Liam Murphy via groups.io <liammsf...> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] Cooks Petrels offshore - Craveri's Murrelet - and new pelagic scheduled for July
Great summary Alvaro and it was really super to be out there with you on a
couple of the trips!
One correction if I may is that the Craveri's were seen early in the day on
Sunday, while we were still in San Mateo County. The county-birder part of
me hopes we can connect with them in San Francisco eventually!
Great season this is shaping up to be, good birding all and hope to see
some of you out on pelagics soon!
Cheers,
Liam Murphy
On Wed, Jul 8, 2026, 9:33 AM Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io <chucao=
<coastside.net...> wrote:
> Hello all
>
>
>
> The three back-to-back trips, two to the Farallon Islands last Friday
> and Saturday as well as the Half Moon Bay trip on Sunday were superb. Apart
> from the amazing yet regular species we see in abundance on the Farallon
> Islands we saw a lot of unusual birds offshore. I think that if one had to
> back up to the 10,000-foot view, Black Storm-Petrels are well inshore and
> relatively easy to find. We found them inside of the Farallon Islands, and
> some were quite close to shore out of Half Moon Bay. Folks who seawatch
> should be on the lookout for them as they are closer to shore than we have
> ever seen them around here. The other story is that Scripps’s Murrelets
> seem to be out there in numbers, they are not always an easy species to
> pick out when weather is choppy. But we saw them on all three trips
> including the Farallon Island trips where we have limited time offshore.
> Northern Fulmar is also here in numbers that are not always this high in
> mid-summer. The implication is that we have birds heading to us from the
> south (murrelet, storm petrel) and from the north (Northern Fulmar). The
> behavior of the storm petrels being closer to shore than normal is surely
> food oriented, but we do not understand why.
>
> Now for the unusual stuff. Friday the 3d we saw that Ancient Murrelet
> on the Farallon trip. Unusual, but they are being recorded in well above
> average numbers in various spots in California and Oregon. Again, a bird
> seemingly retreating from poor food areas in the north. Sunday though blew
> the roof off things, as this was a trip where we were able to spend time
> well offshore. We found 5 species of storm-petrels! They were Black, Ashy,
> Wilson’s, Fork-tailed and Leach’s. There were multiple Leach’s (3), which
> is always a difficult species for us here. Black Storm-Petrels were the
> most common, and this is not the long term normal, but it has happened in
> warm water years. We discovered that a pair of murrelets that flew by and
> were photographed were in fact Craveri’s Murrelets, 16 Scripps’s Murrelets
> were seen to highlight that they are numerous out there. But THE star of
> the show was Cook’s Petrels. Some of the folks who go out regularly will be
> amazed, flabbergasted even to hear that we saw more Cook’s Petrels than
> Pink-footed Shearwaters! At times flocks of Cook’s were visible sitting on
> the water, and some great looks were had although often they did go by at a
> distance. Photos below in the trip report. A total of 55 was estimated for
> Cook’s, and it likely was higher. Amazing. We think this situation will
> continue into July unless conditions change radically. A couple of folks
> saw a Flesh-footed Shearwater, and a nice number of Black-footed Albatross
> was accented by a gorgeous adult Laysan Albatross that joined in the mix.
> The birding was non-stop, superb. The Cook’s and Craveri’s and Laysan were
> in San Francisco counties. We hope that if weather allows on upcoming
> trips, we can look for these birds in both counties. We also had some
> superb marine mammal watching, but the best was a Blue Whale that decided
> to actually circle our boat. Just fantastic!
>
> Given that our July 18 trip heading offshore is sold out and we sense
> there is great interest to get out there, we have added a trip out of Half
> Moon Bay on July 25 on the New Captain Pete. You can book on the link
> below.
>
>
>
> https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2026.html >
>
>
> Trip reports for the three trips are below:
>
> Friday Farallon Is
>
> https://ebird.org/tripreport/546980 >
> Saturday Farallon Is.
>
> https://ebird.org/tripreport/547008 >
> Sunday offshore
>
> https://ebird.org/tripreport/547114 >
>
>
> Good birding.
>
> Alvaro Jaramillo
>
> <alvaro...>
>
> www.alvarosadventures.com
>
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Date: 7/7/26 4:31 pm From: David Assmann via groups.io <david_assmann...> Subject: [SFBirds] City List additions for June brings total to 270 for the year
June was comparitively quiet, with five new species added for the month, including Tufted Puffin, Ovenbird, Green-tailed Towhee, Least Tern and Common Nighthawk. This still was enough to bring us to a record 270 species through the end of June. You can see the complete list at https://sfbirds.net/2026-city-cumulative (this page has been re-formatted to be readable on mobile phones)
Date: 7/7/26 11:09 am From: Brian Fitch via groups.io <fogeggs...> Subject: [SFBirds] Bittern and Continuers
I arrived at Heron’s Head this morning at 6:15, and immediately heard the
previously reported Least Terns. Upon coming into view of India Basin, I
saw three of them fishing the main body of water between HH and the new
park. While watching them, two Black Skimmers came in and skimmed for
awhile over the same patch. At least one of these birds had also been seen
on previous days. By 6:30 they had all left my field of view, and rather
than hang around for low tide, I decided to head over to Lake Merced.
As I walked out onto the concrete bridge at 6:55, an American Bittern flew
out of the reeds just north of the fishing pier and headed low and fast
over the surface toward Gun Club Marsh. It vanished into that embayment
and didn’t reappear, so I assume it to be a post-breeder that might stay
put for some period. To top off what’s likely my best July birding day
ever in SF, a drake Cinnamon Teal, probably also a continuing individual,
flew in from the north and dropped into the reeds NE of the bridge.
Brian Fitch
Date: 7/3/26 8:31 pm From: Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io <chucao...> Subject: [SFBirds] Farallon Islands today - Ancient Murrelet, Scripps's Murrelet etc.
Hello all.
It was a nice and unexpected Farallon Island trip today. The islands were
teeming, and we were able to see multiple Tufted Puffins out there along
with hundreds of thousands of Common Murres, and the breeding marine mammals
of course. The unusual nature occurred once we left the islands for the
offshore portion of the trip. There were storm petrels and Black-footed
albatross very close to the islands. Overall Black Storm-Petrel was more
common than Ashy Storm-Petrel, in itself unusual. Soon John Tsortos spotted
the first Scripps's Murrelet which we seldom see on a Farallon Island trip.
This was in a sea of Cassin's Auklets. Eventually there were 4-5 Scripps's
Murrelets and a good number of albatross. Northern Fulmars were also more
common than the norm at this time of year. The real surprise was an Ancient
Murrelet that popped in close to the boat for close views. Usually this is a
winter species, and found on some but not all winters. Others have been
found this summer in northern California, so something must be pushing them
south this year. But for us it was a total surprise. Lots of Sooty
Shearwaters are out there now, and many Pink-footed Shearwaters. I think the
interesting birds will continue to build through the season.
