Date: 10/10/25 3:15 pm From: Lisa Myers via groups.io <lisa...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Rancho San Vicente looking for raptors for SCVBA
I led a walk this morning with Ron Trent as my co-lead. This walk was
scheduled as part of this months Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance
Centennial events.
Our emphasis was on raptors and we had some wonderful moments with
several species. We did have to spend a lot of time looking through
*TURKEY VULTURES* and *COMMON RAVENS* and *AMERICAN CROWS *to make sure
we were not missing something else.
A female *AMERICAN KESTRAL* was sitting on the vertical man-made perch
that stands in the field just north/west of the bathroom.
We had both adult and juvenile *RED-TAILED HAWKS* throughout our
morning, but we also had many distant and close moments with two adult
*GOLDEN EAGLES.* The call of a *BALD EAGLE* also caught our attention.
It was sitting in silhouette on a distant tree toward Calero Reservoir.
A pair of adult *WHITE-TAILED KITES* were also staying close together.
We took the Lisa Killough Trail to the Almaden Trail and turned around.
At that final spot we watched what we decided was a family of *NORTHERN
HARRIERS* all flush out of a low growing, sprawling Oak Tree when a
Red-Tailed Hawk got too close. The harriers included an adult male,
adult female and a 1st year. The harriers were vocalizing with a
high-pitched "whee, whee, whee" that none of us had every heard before.
All were flying around with a few Red-tailed Hawks in what appeared to
be a territorial dispute.
We also had a heard only *RED-SHOULDERED HAWK*.
The others birds on our list included LARK SPARROW, WESTERN BLUEBIRD,
WESTERN MEADOWLARK, CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, SAY'S
and BLACK PHOEBE, RED-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER to name a few.
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.
