Date: 7/1/25 9:17 am From: David Zittin via groups.io <dzittin...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Two behavioral first for our backyard
Hi Birders,
I was late getting seed out this morning when a female Black-headed Grosbeak arrived and landed on our empty seed feeder. Instead of leaving, she jumped onto the oriole's jelly feeder and spend the better part of a minute eating grape jelly. A first for us.
A few minutes later, I noticed what I thought was a female Black-headed Grosbeak on a feeder support. But its feathers were fresh and bright compared to the adult female we have been observing over the past several weeks. A few moments later, the adult male, who was gorging on seeds, flew over and fed what turned out to be a juvenile, which explained the bright feathers.
The adults have been visiting our seed feeder over the past several weeks.
I posted a couple of photos at https://ebird.org/checklist/S255933407. These were taken through our not-so-clean kitchen window with bird protector strings outside the window, so they aren't the greatest quality.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 7/1/25 5:32 am From: Group Notification <noreply...> Subject: [southbaybirds] South Bay Birds Monthly Reminder #guidelines-notice
Thank you for being a member of South Bay Birds [SBB]. This is our monthly reminder sent to the list with information about the group.
South Bay Birds [SBB] is a list intended for reporting the interesting birds you find in Santa Clara county, in order to help your fellow birders see them as well. We encourage everyone to share where they bird and what they see. Please include the general location (e.g., an eBird hotspot) and, if appropriate, the bird(s) of interest in the subject line, with any additional detail needed in the message body. If you use eBird, we encourage you to include a link to the eBird trip report that you filed.
This list is maintained by the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance ( scvbirdalliance.org) ( https://scvbirdalliance.org ). Their volunteers and funding keep the list running so please consider joining or donating to them. SBB's Lead Admin is Jim Dehnert. Chuq Von Rospach, Brooke Miller, Matthew Dodder and Barry Langdon-Lassagne assist Jim. You can contact the administration team with your questions and concerns at southbaybirds+<owner...>
The home site for this list is https://scvbirdalliance.org/siliconvalleybirding and you can find out more about us there. To start sending messages to members of this group, send email to <southbaybirds...>
The birds we watch should be our primary concern. As birders we need to be sensitive to their needs and not do things that put the birds or their habitat at risk.
We believe all birders should act as ethical birders. Your personal year list or that special photograph could put the bird at risk or cause its nest to fail. Because we expect all birders to act ethically around the birds that bring them joy, we expect that of the birders who are on our list as well. We have written up some ideas of what it means to be an ethical birder, and list links to other resources on ethical birding as well. Please read them and act to put the bird’s needs ahead of your own. If we find out that members of the list are putting birds or their habitat at risk, those members may lose access to the mailing list and its resources.
We also believe that members of the list should treat each other properly. If a list member is found to be attacking or harassing other list members, or engaging in activities that violate the ethical birding code it may affect their future ability to contribute to or subscribe to our lists.
*Acceptable Content*
The primary content for SBB is reports of interesting birds you saw and where you saw them ( https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/message/24065 ). The objective ( https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/message/25078 ) is to help other birders interested in the birds you saw to find them themselves. Please include the general location (e.g., an eBird hotspot) and, if appropriate, the bird(s) of interest in the subject line, with any additional detail needed in the message body. Please report only Santa Clara County locations -- other counties have their own mailing lists for trip reports.
Occasionally the administrator will post an Advocacy digest -- no more than once a week, and more typically much less often. This digest contains topics that are not typically posted to the list but we feel are of interest to the readers of SBB and are important enough to warrant posting to the wider audience. These messages will be tagged with the word "Advocacy" in the subject so members who aren't interested can delete or filter them if they choose. Topics posted as Advocacy messages typically include updates on important Advocacy activities by Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance (SCVBA) and SCVBA volunteer activities.
*Unacceptable Content*
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
We discourage general discussion and questions on South Bay Birds, for that we've created a Facebook group (see below). If you wish to propose a general-purpose announcement for an Advocacy digest post, please send the proposed text to the administrator (below).
Please do not post notices of upcoming events to SBB. There is a sister list, South Bay Birds (Events) [SBB-Events], that should be used for that purpose. If you are interested in knowing what events are being offered by SCVBA and other county bird-oriented organizations, we encourage you to subscribe to this list (see below).
Please do not post carpooling requests for events to SBB. We request that they go to the Facebook discussion group.
*Unsubscribing from South Bay Birds*
If you ever need to unsubscribe from this list, an unsubscribe link is at the bottom of every message, or you can go to https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/. That's also where you can view the list archives, set up a vacation hold, change your email address, or modify your subscription in any way.
South Bay Birds and Birdwatching in Silicon Valley are affiliated with the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance ( scvbirdalliance.org ( https://scvbirdalliance.org ) ), which offers classes and outings around the county, so if you're interested in learning more about birding in the county or joining other birders in going out birding, they can help you find an outing that matches your interests.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/30/25 8:34 pm From: <dottycala...> via groups.io <DOTTYCALA...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Black Oystercatchers at Shoreline
Today at about 1:30 in the afternoon, I walked the trail along the south side of Shoreline Lake in Mountain View. When I was at the closest point to observe the island in the lake, I noted one Canada Goose, four Double-crested Cormorants, and two Black Oystercatchers visible on the island. The Oystercatchers were a surprise to me.
Dotty Calabrese
Mountain View
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/29/25 6:34 am From: Ryan L. via groups.io <ryanbirding...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Field Notes: Grant CP - Ranch House Area, June 28, 2025
Yesterday, fourteen birders braved the heat at Joseph D. Grant county park on a Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance field trip led by me with Eve Meier. We started at the Green Barn parking lot and followed the road to Stockman’s Picnic area. A flock of female Wild Turkeys with poults crossed our path. A White-tailed Kite perched at the top of a sycamore for good looks. We observed two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers harassing a California Scrub-jay until it left. We suspected they were defending a next. We found one Lesser Goldfinch pair building a nest and copulating. Grant Loop and Hotel Trail were quite silent in the mid-morning. We couldn’t identify one bird in the field but after reviewing photos we believe it’s a juvenile Lazuli Bunting. The rose garden fountain was not running and we didn’t observe any birds there. Along the creek we heard Warbling Vireo, Western Flycatcher, and saw one Cassin’s Vireo. We ended with 40 species by 11:15am.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/28/25 3:54 pm From: Andrew Melnick via groups.io <andrew.melnick...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Loma Prieta (informal) SBC
Today Sheila Raymond, Liz Frith, Karen Rush, and I conducted the second annual (informal) Summer Bird Count at Loma Prieta. This is the (approximately) six-month offset count from the formal Christmas Bird Count for the Calero-Morgan Hill circle.
The weather was excellent: sunny, unlimited visibility, warm (and hot), and calm with gentle breeze here and there.
We birded the Loma Prieta Upper Saddle (restricted access (Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD))), and the section of Loma Chiquita Road from the intersection with Loma Prieta Road to just beyond the Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Station building.
Highlights of the trip included a significant number of Purple Martins, Olive-sided and Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Wood-Pewee, a pair of Western Kingbirds, Cassin’s and Warbling Vireo, a large flock of Cliff Swallows, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Lazuli Bunting. We also had an unexpected flyover of an Osprey, transiting the quite dry habitat on its way towards, we expect, wetter habitat.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/28/25 1:25 pm From: Lisa Myers via groups.io <lisa...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Los Capitancios Ponds east of Meridian
Hi all -
Janna's recent post inspired us to go bird the Los Capitancios ponds
this morning. At the start of our walk on the east side of Meridian Ave.
we found an active *WESTERN BLUEBIRD *nest in a Sycamore along the
creek. Our walk had us running into various fledglings from Starlings to
House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and Red-Winged Blackbirds. We never did
find the Wood Ducks, but had great views of an *ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHER*. The *WARBLING VIREO* was a heard only. We thought we had a
Belted Kingfisher only to realize it was one of the many singing
*NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS* found today. An adult *COOPER'S HAWK *hiding in
a tree was a great spot. An adult *RED-TAILED HAWK* was circling high
above in the company of swifts.
Baby *AMERICAN COOTS* were with the adults and one *COMMON GALLINULE*
even FLEW across the pond.
*SONG SPARROWS*, *SPOTTED TOWHEES* and *CALIFORNIA TOWHEES* were all
here and singing.
*GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES* were in several places along with *HOODED ORIOLES*.
And there were hummingbirds everywhere. We watched many females pulling
gnats out of the air, but sadly could not distinctly say we were seeing
any Black-Chinned Hummingbirds.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/27/25 3:08 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Swainson's Hawk continues at Casa de Fruta
Hi Everyone!
Today I need to be off my feet so my son and I drove down to Casa de Fruta in hopes of the Swainson's Hawk that had been reported earlier. After birding around the buildings and gardens and keeping an eye out for raptors from the road, we finally were rewarded at about 10:40 with one *Swainson's Hawk *flying over the freeway. Other birds of interest were a couple of *Western Kingbirds* at the east end of the road, I think one was a juvenile. On the way home, we stopped at San Felipe Rd to see the pair of *Cassin's Kingbirds*.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/26/25 3:32 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Snowy Plovers on Spreckles
Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to let you all know that there were about 4-5 Snowy Plovers at State and Spreckles. I think you'd probably want to have a scope though. The Wilson's Phalaropes continue but they were pretty far out.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/26/25 1:41 pm From: Dori via groups.io <Dorienne777...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Today at Spring Valley
We had a great time at Spring Valley at Ed Levin County Park today with 48+ species. Immediately, from the parking lot, we spotted White-tailed Kites catching an updraft. Then, we got really good looks at an Ash-throated Flycatcher going in and out of a nesting box, at one point carrying a dragonfly! Other highlights were three Foster’s terns and (very surprising) two Caspian Terns flying above the small pond. One of our sharp young birders caught sight of a bright Bullock’s Oriole high in a eucalyptus tree giving us some good looks. There were many pairs to admire including Red-tailed Hawks completely synced in their flight, two Great Blue Herons, Western Bluebirds and many Lesser Goldfinches chasing each other. We enjoyed seeing many young birds as well including two juvenile Red-shouldered hawks, Wild Turkey chicks, juvenile Dark-eyed Juncos and an occupied GB Heron nest (Thank you, Dave Weber!) Other highlights include a Western Flycatcher, a Lazuli Bunting singing from the top of a tree and a variable cloud of Bushtits! We heard and Merlin picked up Lawrence‘s Goldfinches and I may have had a brief glimpse of one but alas not good enough for a positive ID on this elusive but very much a park regular this year.
Many thanks to the great group we had. All of your eyes and ears helped us find all 48+ species! A special thank you to Melanie Barnett, our wonderful trip co-leader and Susan Tenney who were blessed to have with us!
Dori
Our EBird list:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S254328094
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/26/25 12:41 pm From: janna pauser via groups.io <jannapauser...> Subject: [southbaybirds] 5MR surprises in Almaden Valley
Los Capitancillos Ponds are in my 5MR. Within the last few days I birded
the east and west ponds. Birds of interest were five WOOD DUCKS on the
bank of the second house on the east ponds. A YELLOW WARBLER sang from
the creek. The COMMON RAVEN pair that nested at Valley Water were here.
HOODED ORIOLE, twelve GREAT TAILED GRACKLE, three GREEN HERON and a few
VAUX'S SWIFTS were seen. RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS were in the willows. An
ASH THROATED FLYCATCHER family were active near Meridian.
Yesterday, the west ponds had 20+VAUX'S SWIFTS, WHITE THROATED SWIFTS
and an assortment of swallows. BAND TAILED PIGEONS were feasting on
elderberries along the creek. GREAT TAILED GRACKLES were in the cattails
and two GREEN HERON were seen. WESTERN BLUEBIRDS included fledged young.
WARBLING VIREO were singing in three locations, one male WOOD DUCK and
three male RUDDY DUCKS were seen.
Capitancillos Drive is on the south side of the Guadalupe Creek. I went
there to look for the NORTHERN FLICKERS heard the previous day. Today I
saw a family of four together and another heard only. VAUX'S SWIFTS and
swallows were seen near Coleman. I walked along a footpath at the south
end of the drive and found male BLACK CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS displaying in
two locations but never saw a female. Another surprise was PYGMY
NUTHATCH'S that few from a tall Redwood tree to the trail. A single
WARBLING VIREO and WESTERN FLYCATCHER were heard only near Camden.
A Coyote was seen near the pollinator garden.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/23/25 10:34 pm From: john tsortos via groups.io <jtsortos99...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Interesting vocalization - opinions welcome
Hello everyone,
I was on a walk in Bel Gatos park this evening when I heard an interesting
vocalization that I’m unfamiliar with. It sounds like individual portions
of some yellow-breasted chat calls I’ve found online, but I know chat songs
usually feature a variety of different sounds rather than repeating the
same type of call. I’m curious what others think.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/22/25 4:53 pm From: Vicki Silvas-Young via groups.io <mrnngwrblr...> Subject: [southbaybirds] First of Day of Summer Field Trip to Lake Cunningham, 6-22-2025
To all Summer birders, Well, what a turnout we had today! Thirty-one attendees showed up to explore the area in and around Lake Cunningham. Sarah Chan from SCVBird Alliance and Ashok Jethanandani from California Native Plants and Open Space Authority along with myself were on hand to guide everyone to see the amazing birds of Lake Cunningham. This is the season of tired-looking adult birds and fluffy, bright-eyed juvenile birds. American Coots with their squawking teen-agers, Ruddy Ducks with their tiny, serious little ones following and diving with the female adult, Green Herons showing their offspring how to stand stately, and juvenile Pied-billed Grebes showing off their independence demonstrated the season. Thirty-five species were seen with some delightful surprises, i.e. Western Kingbird and Bullock's Oriole. We watched while juvenile Tree Swallows hung out in a tree to be fed by the adults. And we all learned a lot about native plants and how they maintain biodiversity by providing shelter and food for birds. Here is the eBird list graciously kept by Sarah Chan. https://ebird.org/checklist/S253238470 It was a gorgeous beginning of the summer day, Vicki
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/22/25 1:42 pm From: Jon Dart via groups.io <jdart...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Smith Creek Fire Station
I went to the Smith Creek Fire Station this a.m., which I had not visited before. Lots of bird activity. There were several species Merlin detected, but which I did not record, because I didn't hear or see them myself to confirm. One such species was a MacGillivray's Warbler. My checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S253191866.
Note the trail appears to be closed about 0.4 mile from the trailhead. Also there is a branch blocking it at one point, and you need to cross the small creek.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/22/25 11:08 am From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Sunnyvale WPCP
Hi Everyone!
This morning I rode my bike around the east and west ponds of Sunnyvale WPCP. My favorite bird moments were watching Common Gallinules sitting on their nests, Cliff and Barn Swallows gathering mud for their nests, Ruddy Ducks in full breeding plumage doing their silly courtship display, and seeing the Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal.
Most of the vegetation has been removed along the two big ponds; that was sad to see.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/21/25 12:42 pm From: Vicki Silvas-Young via groups.io <mrnngwrblr...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Scouting for Lake Cunningham field trip on Sunday, June 22, 2025
To all, Just want to share that Lake Cunningham never fails to amaze me. Recently, while I birded there, I was greeted with barely any of the regulars, but then on Friday, I was pleasantly surprised. Green Herons could not pose enough, many swallow species abounded even at eye level, a Sora could not stop calling, a Western Tanager with his mate bounced from tree to tree, a Western Bluebird family group of all ages, and recently fledged birds were out and about acting very adult-like. Here is the ebird list. https://ebird.org/checklist/S252820623 Sunday looks like it will be a good day, Vicki
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/20/25 2:37 pm From: Dorothy Johnson via groups.io <dfj6281...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Birding Vasona
Hi Everyone,
I birded Vasona lake this morning, rather late, but it turned out to be a good day. Highlights were, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, and AMERICAN COOTS feeding young, a lone BROWN PELICAN circling over the lake, and best of all, a family of RUDDY DUCKS, with 4 young. I've never seen baby Ruddy's before, so that made my day.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
On 6-20-25 I saw a */great tailed grackle/* fly over Coast Casey- it's
been many years since they were common at that location. Nowadays
they're common at Ed Levin park in Milpitas. There were also 2 very
young */Black-necked stilts/*, probably no more than a couple of days old.
I met Frank Vanslanger in the parking area and he asked me to convey to
the group that he is almost 92 years old and still birding.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/16/25 6:09 am From: Brooke Miller via groups.io <brooke.bam...> Subject: [southbaybirds] May 2025 Cumulative Bird Report
Greetings South Bay Birders:
On 28-April 2025 the first-of-the-year Yellow-breasted Chat was found by
Ollie Brown at Ulistac Natural Area. That sighting increased April’s
number from 17 to 18, and year-to-date from 247 to 248.
In May we added 7 new countable birds, bringing the total to 255 at the end
of the month. The average for May is 9 new birds, and an average of 253 at
the end of the month. We also added 1 uncountable bird, a Yellow-crowned
Amazon Parrot, seen by Ray Trent at Los Gatos Creek County Park. Thank you
to everyone who birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB,
eBird, or send emails directly to me.
Here are the birds that were found in May:
1. Blue Grosbeak (4), 2025-05-01, found by Mike Rogers along the Calera
Creek Trail at Ed Levin County Park
2. Black-chinned Sparrow (4), 2025-05-03, found by Alex Henry, Philip
Georgakakos, Sharon J, and Teale Fristoe along the Bear Mountain Trail in
Henry Coe State Park
3. Least Bittern (6), 2025-05-03, found by Matthew Dodder, Andrew Melnick
Jim Dehnert, and Liz Frith at Calero Reservoir
4. Black Tern (5), 2025-05-03, found at Shoreline Lake by Vivek Tiwari
5. Mountain Bluebird (6), 2025-05-05, seen by Melanie Barnett at Smith
Creek Fire Station
6. Lesser Nighthawk (6), 05-10-2025, found by Steve Rottenborn along Llagas
Creek
7. Indigo Bunting (5), 2025-05-28, seen by Sam Rawlins on Upper Mt Madonna
Rd at Loma Prieta.
As a reminder, here is what each rarity code means:
**Rarity Codes:
1 = common, always seen in habitat in season.
2 = fairly common, usually in habitat in season, but missed sometimes.
3 = uncommon, always around, but sometimes you can't find.
4 = rare, occurs yearly in the county, but not always in same places.
5 = very rare, does not occur every year.
6 = casual or vagrant, generally fewer than 10 records.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/14/25 12:12 pm From: Lisa Myers via groups.io <lisa...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Lake Cunningham - baby Ruddy Ducks
Hi all -
Had a walk this morning at Lake Cunningham Park, San Jose. As I drove in from the S. White Road entrance I could hear a *WESTERN FLYCATCHER* calling from within the round-about.
All in all it was pretty quiet throughout our morning but we had wonderful moments with a few species. A female *RUDDY DUCK* was carefully guarding her four newly hatched ducklings in the section of the lake in front of the native plant garden. Seeing these (adorable) and quite handsome tiny ruddy's so close was a first for me and most on the walk.
One *COOPER'S HAWK* appeared to be hunting and a *RED-SHOULDERED HAWK*Â flew over several times. One time it clearly had a meal in its grasp. Two *RED-TAILED HAWKS* may be nesting on the cell tower structure in the middle of the lake closer to the water slides. The ground squirrel numbers at this park were mind-boggling and clearly make for a great raptor meal.
A *GREEN HERON *was along the shore and two *GREAT-BLUE HERONS *flew directly overhead. One landed in a pine tree allowing for spectacular viewing.
And we all now have a better knowledge of the begging calls of baby *AMERICAN COOTS* and *PIED-BILLED GREBES*.
P.S. And thank you to all that supported our team's efforts in this years Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance Spring Birdathon. They met their goal with the help of everyone. And that's how its done!
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/12/25 11:34 am From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Mnt Umunhum Trail: Black-throated Gray Warblers
Hi Everyone,
This morning I walked the Mnt Umunhum Trail from the Bald Mnt parking lot to the Guadalupe Creek Overlook. Black-throated Gray Warblers were singing all along the trail but I was most excited to see a family of Black-throated Gray Warblers when the young birds were beginning the adults for food.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/11/25 2:36 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] SCVBA Trip to Rancho Cañada del Oro
Hi Everyone!
Today, Edward Rooks, Melanie Barnett and I led a SCVBA trip to Rancho
Cañada del Oro! We lucked out with 50 species seen or heard. Our
highlights were several good views of *Western Wood Pewees*, 2 *White-throated
Swifts* copulating mid-air, *Anna's Hummingbirds* and a *Black Phoebe*
hawking insects over Llagas Creek at the pedestrian bridge, a pair of
*Lawrence's
Goldfinches* nest building, nice views of *Black-headed Grosbeaks* and
watching a coyote trot up the hill with a *Wild Turkey* in his mouth!
A few of us headed to Calero Reservoir to have lunch. At this location we
had an adult *Bald Eagle* and a *Caspian Tern*.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/10/25 3:10 pm From: Chris Henry via groups.io <birdingwithchris...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Vasona Summer Birding
Hey Everyone!
Today I set out around sunrise at Vasona Lake in search of eastern spring vagrants, while I didn't have any eastern vagrants, I did have a good morning of birding. I saw 61 species, a new high for me and Vasona in the summer and some of the highlights were a female *Black Chinned Hummingbird *hanging out near the flowering eucs here (37.2409066, -121.9715395), an odd *Clark's Grebe *(A first for me at Vasona!), My latest *Yellow Rumped Warbler *in the county ever, and finally a weird large swift that I am 50/50 of it being a *Black Swift. *However I got horrible documentation of the swift which makes it a tough one to confirm. Overall a great day of summer birding! List attached below.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/8/25 8:01 pm From: janna pauser via groups.io <jannapauser...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Pygmy Nuthatch fledgling in Almaden Valley
We've had a Pygmy Nuthatch pair in the neighborhood since last August.
They have been frequenting our feeders all spring and today a fledgling
finally arrived with an adult. Both adults have a white spot on their
nape and have lost the buffy undersides seen last fall. The fledgling's
gape is visible on several attached photos.This could be a breeding
record for my sector.
Other breeding yard birds include Chestnut backed Chickadee, Oat
Titmouse, Hooded Oriole, Cal. and Spotted Towhee, Mourning Dove, House
Finch, Dark eyed Junco, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Anna's Hummingbird,
Bewicks Wren, Northern Mockingbird, Lesser Goldfinch and Am. Crow.
A Wrentit sang in the yard one morning last week. One dispersing bird
comes through each year but doesn't stay.
A large bobcat was caught on our backyard game camera last night.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Ten eager birdwatchers of various degrees of experience (one had been birding for 10 minutes! and had already seen 5 life birds) greeted Dan Bloch and myself. It was a lovely day with great promise. Loudly singing Marsh Wrens greeted us at the beginning with a Green Heron skulking in the tules, looking very suspiciously at us. Black Phobes chirped/tail bobbed for us with an Ash-throated Flycatcher making a brief appearance. I suspect that it is the same one that we saw last month and may be breeding there. Lotsa bugs there! Hanging out along the slough a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, and a few Snowy Egrets with some juveniles were seen. Mallards and Canada Geese showed up here and there. Barn and Cliff Swallows darted overhead. The hazing and netting that the WPCP has been doing is working. The numbers of Brown-headed Cowbirds, Great-tailed Grackles, and European Starlings was down. Only one Great-tailed Grackle was seen, flying away! Red-winged Blackbirds were out in the tules lifting up and showing off their brilliant red epaulets. To finish off the trip, American White Pelicans flew in and landed on the water to feed. Here is the eBird list graciously recorded by Dan. https://ebird.org/checklist/S247127413
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/6/25 2:55 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Joseph D Grant
Hi Everyone!
Today I visited Joseph D Grant park. I started near the ranch house and walked a two mile loop along the Hotel and Barn Trails ending at the Stockman's Group Picnic Area. Next, I drove to Grant Lake and did the short walk out to the water. I had a good day with a total of 64 species. Some fun sightings were the continuing *Vermillion Flycatcher*. I spotted him twice, once at about junction 22 (Hotel Trail and Loop Trail intersection) and later in the Stockman's picnic area. In both cases, the flycatcher was busy chasing other birds away. There were many *Lazuli Buntings* and *Lawrence's Goldfinches* mostly along the Hotel Trail. My other favorite birds were the *Ash-throated Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds* and *Bullock's Orioles*. One *Lark Sparrow* was in the Stockman's picnic area. At the lake, the male *Ruddy Ducks* were displaying for the females - always fun to watch!
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/4/25 3:37 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Shoreline Lake Area
Hi Everyone!
This morning Patricia and I birded the Shoreline Lake area starting at the Rengstorff House, then walking along the Permanente Creek Trail, the maintenance road, and around to Shoreline Lake. The maintenance road near the intersection with the Permanente Creek Trail was birdy with *Western Kingbirds*, *Hooded and Bullock's Orioles* and a family of 4 *Red-tailed Hawks*. We were excited to see one of the adult Red-tailed Hawks deliver a rodent to one of the young Red-tailed Hawks. At Shoreline Lake, the 2 *Black Oystercatchers *and the *Black Tern* were continuing.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
Date: 6/1/25 5:31 am From: Group Notification <noreply...> Subject: [southbaybirds] South Bay Birds Monthly Reminder #guidelines-notice
Thank you for being a member of South Bay Birds [SBB]. This is our monthly reminder sent to the list with information about the group.
South Bay Birds [SBB] is a list intended for reporting the interesting birds you find in Santa Clara county, in order to help your fellow birders see them as well. We encourage everyone to share where they bird and what they see. Please include the general location (e.g., an eBird hotspot) and, if appropriate, the bird(s) of interest in the subject line, with any additional detail needed in the message body. If you use eBird, we encourage you to include a link to the eBird trip report that you filed.
This list is maintained by the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance ( scvbirdalliance.org) ( https://scvbirdalliance.org ). Their volunteers and funding keep the list running so please consider joining or donating to them. SBB's Lead Admin is Jim Dehnert. Chuq Von Rospach, Brooke Miller, Matthew Dodder and Barry Langdon-Lassagne assist Jim. You can contact the administration team with your questions and concerns at southbaybirds+<owner...>
The home site for this list is https://scvbirdalliance.org/siliconvalleybirding and you can find out more about us there. To start sending messages to members of this group, send email to <southbaybirds...>
The birds we watch should be our primary concern. As birders we need to be sensitive to their needs and not do things that put the birds or their habitat at risk.
We believe all birders should act as ethical birders. Your personal year list or that special photograph could put the bird at risk or cause its nest to fail. Because we expect all birders to act ethically around the birds that bring them joy, we expect that of the birders who are on our list as well. We have written up some ideas of what it means to be an ethical birder, and list links to other resources on ethical birding as well. Please read them and act to put the bird’s needs ahead of your own. If we find out that members of the list are putting birds or their habitat at risk, those members may lose access to the mailing list and its resources.
We also believe that members of the list should treat each other properly. If a list member is found to be attacking or harassing other list members, or engaging in activities that violate the ethical birding code it may affect their future ability to contribute to or subscribe to our lists.
*Acceptable Content*
The primary content for SBB is reports of interesting birds you saw and where you saw them ( https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/message/24065 ). The objective ( https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/message/25078 ) is to help other birders interested in the birds you saw to find them themselves. Please include the general location (e.g., an eBird hotspot) and, if appropriate, the bird(s) of interest in the subject line, with any additional detail needed in the message body. Please report only Santa Clara County locations -- other counties have their own mailing lists for trip reports.
Occasionally the administrator will post an Advocacy digest -- no more than once a week, and more typically much less often. This digest contains topics that are not typically posted to the list but we feel are of interest to the readers of SBB and are important enough to warrant posting to the wider audience. These messages will be tagged with the word "Advocacy" in the subject so members who aren't interested can delete or filter them if they choose. Topics posted as Advocacy messages typically include updates on important Advocacy activities by Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance (SCVBA) and SCVBA volunteer activities.
*Unacceptable Content*
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
We discourage general discussion and questions on South Bay Birds, for that we've created a Facebook group (see below). If you wish to propose a general-purpose announcement for an Advocacy digest post, please send the proposed text to the administrator (below).
Please do not post notices of upcoming events to SBB. There is a sister list, South Bay Birds (Events) [SBB-Events], that should be used for that purpose. If you are interested in knowing what events are being offered by SCVBA and other county bird-oriented organizations, we encourage you to subscribe to this list (see below).
Please do not post carpooling requests for events to SBB. We request that they go to the Facebook discussion group.
*Unsubscribing from South Bay Birds*
If you ever need to unsubscribe from this list, an unsubscribe link is at the bottom of every message, or you can go to https://groups.io/g/southbaybirds/. That's also where you can view the list archives, set up a vacation hold, change your email address, or modify your subscription in any way.
South Bay Birds and Birdwatching in Silicon Valley are affiliated with the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance ( scvbirdalliance.org ( https://scvbirdalliance.org ) ), which offers classes and outings around the county, so if you're interested in learning more about birding in the county or joining other birders in going out birding, they can help you find an outing that matches your interests.
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
