Date: 7/21/26 8:00 am From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] SCVBA August Field Trips
Hi Everyone!
Registration for August SCVBA field trips opens tonight (July 21st) at 8
pm. You can preview our trips now on our field trip page (
https://scvbirdalliance.org/fieldtrips). Please limit your sign-ups to 1
weekend trip and 2 weekday trips per month.
Starting Sept 1 all field trip announcements, including open spots
announcements, will be posted only to *SBB-Events*. To sign up for
SBB-Events, follow the instructions 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.
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: 7/19/26 10:10 am From: Brooke Miller via groups.io <brooke.bam...> Subject: [southbaybirds] June 2026 Cumulative Bird Report for Santa Clara County
Hello south Bay Birders:
Before I report on June, there was 1 bird missed in May. On 25 May 2026,
Sam Sam found a Solitary Sandpiper (5) at Shoreline Lake.
In June we added 3 new countable birds, bringing the total to 266 at the
end of the month. The average for June is 3 new birds, with an average of
256 at the end of the month. 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 June:
1. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (5), 6 June 2026, found by Vivek Tiwari at Monte
Bello OSP
2. California Condor (6), 17 June 2026, seen by Elinor Gates at Lick
Observatory
3. Indigo Bunting (5), 18 June 2026, found by John Mariani at Joseph D
Grant County Park
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: 7/17/26 1:56 pm From: janna pauser via groups.io <jannapauser...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Ruddy Duck family Los Capitancillos Ponds
Last night I birded the west Los Capitancillos Ponds from 6:30-7:30. On
the first pond west of Meridian was a Ruddy Duck family with three
ducklings plus another male. (distant photo attached)
I was looking for Vaux's Swifts and saw twenty plus, fewer than
expected. Their numbers will continue to grow into September when they
migrate. White throated Swifts, Tree Swallows and Nor. Rough winged
Swallows were in with the swifts, sometimes feeding low over the middle
ponds.
Also seen were three Green Heron, two Great Blue Heron, a dozen Great
tailed Grackle, many Am. Coots with young and a few Pied billed Grebe
families. Thirty species total.
Neighbors Coopers Hawks fledged on July 3rd and three young are hanging
around our yard. This tree squirrel was a prize one day last week. (see
photo) One fledgling perched on our deck and just watched a ground
squirrel yesterday. I'm hoping their presence will keep it away.
The Pygmy Nuthatch pair was seen in our yard today and last week I found
a pair in Greystone Park.
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.
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: 7/13/26 10:49 pm From: Jim Dehnert via groups.io <dehnert...> Subject: [southbaybirds] [admin] An AI policy for (SBB)
Greetings to SBB subscribers.
We have had queries to the administrators of <southbaybirds...> (SBB)
about our policy on artificial intelligence (AI) tool use in producing
posts to the group, and agree that it is a good time to address this
question. What follows is an initial effort, which may well need to be
refined further. It starts with a summarized policy below, followed by an
elaborated version including some rationale.
We welcome your feedback, but it is off-topic for the group itself. Do not
reply directly to this message. Please send comments to
southbaybirds+<owner...> <southbaybirds+<owners...> or
<dehnert...> You'll hear back from us, and we'll incorporate what we
learn in subsequent iterations. Note that some of us are software
engineers but not AI experts, and feel free to correct any errors I make
(with explanations).
Thank you for your contributions to birding in Santa Clara County,
Jim Dehnert, List Administrator
Policy Summary:
A simple summary of what follows is: SBB is a forum for factual reporting
of birds you see. The use of AI on SBB should be limited to minor
corrections of factual, human writing (such as spelling and grammar
corrections), and minor photograph enhancements (like denoise and
sharpening). AI-generated elaborations have no place on SBB. The use of AI
to help prepare your reports is not inherently a problem, but we ask that
you be very careful to ensure that it has not changed the essential content
of your identifications, descriptions, or any backup photos before you post
them.
AI tools are rapidly becoming widely available and easy to use. They can
greatly simplify some tasks central to posts on southbaybirds, including
writing posts and processing photos. This policy addresses what we
consider appropriate usage of these tools. Keep in mind the context:
Acceptable content on this list is almost entirely the reporting of recent
sightings of interesting birds in Santa Clara County. The objectives are
primarily to help other subscribers discover places where birds they want
to see might be found, and secondarily to serve as an historical record (a
function largely being overtaken by eBird).
AI Editing and Writing:
SBB posts need to identify, describe, and provide the location of the
bird(s) of interest. If you use AI, you should always review the results
to verify that it has not changed descriptions or other content in
significant ways. We should be seeing your description, and you are
responsible for what is sent. Pay particular attention that AI changes
have not eliminated uncertainty or nuance from your descriptions, nor
mis-corrected birding-specific terminology.
AI Photo Processing:
Photos shared on SBB should serve the primary purpose of the list, i.e.,
they should illustrate the subject bird(s) either to help less familiar
subscribers identify them in the field, or in some cases to help with
uncertain identities. Cropping or very minor retouching (e.g., sharpening,
noise reduction, light levels) is acceptable, but don’t go beyond that.
Avoid major edits like color shifts such as are produced by pushing
saturation, and don’t ever ask your AI tool to generate an image (or to
replace a significant part of one). These things can be done using either
AI or non-AI photo tools, so take care throughout the photo editing
process. It is important that users attempting to verify an ID have
essentially the original photo to work from, and over-editing can prevent
later exploration.
AI and Bird Identification:
Follow Cornell’s Merlin and eBird advice about using AI identification
tools. Audio IDs from Merlin are quite useful for learning bird calls and
discovering birds you wouldn’t otherwise notice, but they make mistakes
especially on rarer birds, and are suggestions that need to be confirmed
visually or by humans familiar with the vocalizations. Photo IDs are also
becoming very helpful, but present similar problems with mistakes,
especially when presented with poor photos. Be sure that you have
independent reasons to believe your AI tool. Keep in mind that the general
photo ID tools from Google and Apple are not currently location specific
and consequently make more, and more dramatic, mistakes than Merlin does.
Rationale and Elaboration:AI Editing and Writing:
The easiest AI assistance to use is probably to revise and clean up posts,
e.g., spelling, grammar, and style – this function is now integrated into
major email applications so that invocation requires little more than a
button click.
SBB posts need to identify, describe, and provide the location of the
bird(s) of interest. If you use AI for revision, we ask that you always
review the results to verify that it has not changed descriptions or other
content in significant ways – this must be your description of what you saw,
and is your responsibility. In particular, if there is any uncertainty in
the identification or description, the message should still be clear about
that after AI does its cleanup. (Writing style guidelines tend to
discourage uncertainty in wording, so that is something that AI
cleanup is likely
to remove.) Remember too that these tools are general-purpose, not
specific to birds or birding, so that may cause problems with birding
terminology, e.g., spell-correcting into something completely different.
Some AI tools available can flesh out full messages from minimal cues.
That may be an effective creative writing tool, but it won’t produce
descriptions that reflect uncertainty or nuance. Don’t ask your AI tool to
produce a description – it should be yours, and AI could determine that you
are talking about species X and add typical details of X from elsewhere.
If you use such capabilities at all, you need to be doubly careful that
we’re seeing facts about what you saw, not AI imagination (a.k.a. fiction
or hallucinations).
AI Photo Processing:
There is a wide variety of AI-assisted photo processing tools available
today. Many of the common photo apps have such capabilities built in
(e.g., Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz), and your photo processing may use AI
even if your message writing does not.
Photos shared on SBB should serve the primary purpose of the list, i.e.,
they should illustrate the subject bird(s) either to help other subscribers
identify them in the field, or in some cases to help with uncertain
identities. In both cases, it can be critical to see the original photo
with minimal modification – that’s why eBird requests that photos submitted
be unmodified.
For SBB, cropping or very minor retouching (e.g., sharpening, noise
reduction, light levels) is acceptable, but don’t go beyond that. In
particular, don’t use photo tools (including AI) to remove the branch in
front of the bird, remove the background, shift the colors (e.g., pumping
up saturation), etc. If you really want to make a point that requires more
processing, you could provide the original and a processed image, clearly
labelled. Remember that your readers can do their own cleanup if they have
the original and want to explore, but you could eliminate that possibility
by heavy-handed processing beforehand.
From the above, it should be clear that asking your photo processing tool
(AI or not) to generate an image or a significant part of one is not
appropriate for SBB.
AI and Bird Identification:
AI is also making the bird identification process much easier, but that
also requires care. Most of you have probably encountered Cornell’s Merlin
app, which does ID assessments based on either audio recordings or photos,
using AI. It does very well, at least in North America. But it’s not
perfect, and its results are suggestions (sometimes several for the same
bird), not firm IDs. If you use eBird, you’ve probably seen warnings about
not relying on Merlin audio to report birds unless you or someone else
reliable can confirm based on visual confirmation or human audio
confirmation. That becomes even more important with rarer birds, partially
because there is less training data available for the AI. You should
follow that advice when reporting on SBB.
Photo ID also requires care. Merlin does pretty well, but can get it wrong
given a poor photo or just difficult cases. Other tools also do fairly
well – Google Image Search on Android, or Apple Visual Look Up on iPhone –
but they don’t do as well as Merlin, partially because they don’t take
proper account of location. So again, please take care to confirm your
identification before reporting to SBB.
Note that there’s a tension here between getting a timely notification for
true rarities out promptly to SBB users vs. making sure that the ID is
valid. Unless you think the bird is likely a rarity and time of the
essence, please deal with ID first – SBB is not a forum for miscellaneous
bird ID queries. For a potential rarity, check what you can and then
provide all of your information in your SBB post, including what you think
it might be and (importantly) why.
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: 7/11/26 10:51 am From: Carter Gasiorowski via groups.io <carter.gasiorowski...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Edit: Not a Brandt’s Cormorant
I just saw the bird that I believed was a Brandt’s cormorant preen under its wing and show its gular pouch in the sun, which was fairly bright yellow. I’m surprised I didn’t see any hint of this yellow color in the previous ten minutes I watched the bird preen. Additionally, a DCCO walked over and stood right next to this bird, and the size difference wasn’t as large as it appeared from the other position. So, this bird must be just an unusually small Double-crested Cormorant with wet head and neck feathers that made the head and neck appear more narrow like a Brandt’s Cormorant compared to the other, already dry Double-crested Cormorants on the levee. Good to learn a lesson!
FWIW I am 100% confident about the red knots on A9
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: 7/11/26 10:34 am From: Carter Gasiorowski via groups.io <carter.gasiorowski...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Brandt’s Cormorant, Red Knots Alviso
Earlier this morning there were 3 alternate plumage Red Knots with a big dowitcher flock on the west end of A9. There is currently a Brandt’s Cormorant sitting on the A14/A9 levee around here (37.4532888, -122.0015310). I am viewing it with a scope from the pump tower at the north end of A13 here (37.4537380, -121.9866534). You can’t get much closer than this 1-mile distance to the bird, so a scope is required to see it. Very poor digiscope photo attached
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.
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: 7/8/26 4:10 pm From: Chris Overington via groups.io <chris.overington...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] [EBB-Sightings] Cooks Petrels offshore - Craveri's Murrelet - and new pelagic scheduled for July
Thanks Alvaro,
It was a great trip indeed! Do you know if anyone else recorded the band on
the (first) Laysan Albatross and has already reported it? If not, I can go
ahead and do it.
Thanks, Chris.
On Wed, Jul 8, 2026 at 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
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.
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: 7/6/26 7:30 am From: Howard Friedman via groups.io <howardnfriedman...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Costa's?
Sorry Dori, I can't tell from this photo.
On Sun, Jul 5, 2026, 5:23 PM Dori via groups.io <Dorienne777=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Friday, at Spring Valley, I snapped this photo and just got around to
> loading it into ebird and it said it was a Costa's? Your thoughts? This was
> in the "Magic Tree."
> Thanks,
> Dori
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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: 7/5/26 5:23 pm From: Dori via groups.io <Dorienne777...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Costa's?
Friday, at Spring Valley, I snapped this photo and just got around to loading it into ebird and it said it was a Costa's? Your thoughts? This was in the "Magic Tree."
Thanks,
Dori
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: 7/5/26 4:45 pm From: Chris Brown via groups.io <cybrown...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Caspian Terns and Bald Eagles at Los Capitancillos
Saw a magnificent Bald Eagle this afternoon perched in a tree in the middle of Los Capitancillos ponds east of Meridian. Two Caspian Terns (I think!) were mobbing another bald eagle flying around above it, and the terns spent the rest of the next hour fishing in the ponds. Also at least one adorable baby American Coot and some ducklings.
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: 7/5/26 4:27 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Black Oystercatchers and Snowy Plover
Hi Everyone!
I biked around various salt ponds today. This may be old news but a pair of Black Oystercatchers were on the north side of one of the islands A2W and on the east side levee of A2E. I’m thinking these were two different pairs. I also saw a Snowy Plover relatively close to the trail at Crittenden Marsh viewed from about here: 37.4311733, -122.0677433
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.
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: 7/3/26 4:03 pm From: Chris Overington via groups.io <chris.overington...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Red-necked Phalarope at Sunnyvale WPCP
There is currently a solo *Red-necked Phalarope* foraging (spinning circles!) in the *NW corner of the East Pond *at the Sunnyvale WPCP. It's a little distant so bring a scope if you have one, but it's quite visible with bins. from the northern end of the channel that separates the two ponds ...
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.
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: 7/2/26 12:27 pm From: Dorothy Johnson via groups.io <dfj6281...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Birding Calero Creek Trail
Hi Everyone,
This morning I birded the Calero Creek Trail from Harry Rd. It was fairly quiet, but saw a WOOD DUCK in the creek, an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and WESTERN KINGBIRD at the model airplane field, and a small group of CALIFORNIA QUAIL on the dry side of the hill. The bird of the day though was a BARN OWL that flew from an oak tree not far from Harry Rd into the oak tree above me. I wasn't able to find it again though. Maybe the low flying TURKEY VULTURE nearby spooked it from its roost?
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.
Good evening, South Bay Birders,
Today Dan and I met 12 birders out near the Sunnyvale WPCP to do a bit of
birding on a very nice day with a slight breeze from the SE and a
temperature of 72°F. So nice and un-July-like. Closely viewed birds were
Black-crowned Night Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons,
and, of course, the rear ends of departing Green Herons. Along the way
providing entertainment was a family of Black Phoebes, Marsh Wrens singing
near their fresh "pineapple" nests, young House Sparrows "playing" among
the tules on the slough shore, with not-so-red House Finches flying here
and there. And then, appearing out of nowhere, were some American
White Pelicans gently flying away, all black and white against the
gray-blue sky. Barn, Cliff, and North Rough-winged Swallows danced
overhead all day long, only to be interrupted by a Caspian or a Forster's
Tern. A Cooper's Hawk presented an identification problem by landing on
the cross bars of a telephone pole, hiding its head and part of its body by
an insulator! Only the tail, wing length, and fluffy underparts were
visible to start an identification. There were lots of Brewer's, European
Starlings, and Red-winged Blackbirds of various ages to really challenge
our and my identification skills. Then, THE BIRD OF THE DAY made an
appearance! With tules as it's stage a juvenile male Tri-colored Blackbird
posed, sang, fluffed itself, posed some more , then flew off to do
Tri-colored Blackbird stuff. Really cannot add much after this show
stopper, except...
...thank you to Dan for keeping the eBird list which is here.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S366424006
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.
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: 7/1/26 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.
Date: 6/29/26 8:29 pm From: carlin otto via groups.io <carlinotto...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Pair of Great Horned Owls continues in Palo Alto
The pair of Great Horned Owls that took up residence here in south Palo Alto early this spring, continues to reside here. They are both in the Modesto Ash in my backyard, softly calling to each other (830pm) tonight.
This is located at the very south end of Park Blvd where it meets with Whitclem Drive. My backyard is on the edge of Adobe 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: 6/28/26 7:08 pm From: john tsortos via groups.io <jtsortos99...> Subject: [southbaybirds] SCVBA Año Nuevo Field Trip
Hello South Bay Birders,
This morning, Connor Christensen and I led 9 participants on a SCVBA Field
Trip to Año Nuevo State Park. We lucked out with a clear, sunny day and
little to no wind. We started the morning observing *Cliff Swallows* nesting
outside the visitor center and using a scope to observe the distant *Bank
Swallow* nests on South Point. In the midst of observing the various nests,
we had a surprise *White-throated Swift* fly overhead. This was a
good visual reminder of what a non-Black Swift looked like. Hopefully, we
would later see some Black Swifts to compare!
We slowly made our way out to the staging pond while *Bushtits *and
*Wrentits* serenaded us. Upon arriving at the staging pond, bird activity
was lower than we had expected. Fortunately, we had a male *Northern
Harrier* circle over the pond several times, giving us great looks, and we
had plenty of *Brown Pelicans* and *Western Gulls* flying between the pond
and the coast. Eventually, a male *Common Yellowthroat* gave us a few
phrases of its song, and then we started to see some *Barn Swallows* and *Cliff
Swallows*.
We gave the pond several more minutes, and just as we were about to move
on, a small *San Francisco Garter Snake* slithered out of the grass! These
snakes are endangered due to extensive habitat loss, and Año Nuevo State
Park is one of the only places left to see them in the world. This was a
lifer snake for everyone in the group, and some folks managed to get a
decent photo (see the checklist) before it disappeared into the grass!
At the end of the staging pond, we spotted dozens of *Heermann's
Gulls* roosting on
the beach below along with a couple of *Black Oystercatchers*, and many
more *Western Gulls* and *Brown Pelicans*. We also got a great scope-view
of some *Pelagic Cormorant* nests on South Point, where we could observe
chicks begging their parents for food.
Above us in the pine trees, we observed several *Purple Finches*, some of
which were gathering nesting material, as well as an *Olive-sided
Flycatcher* spotted by Linda that gave us only a brief look. We also had a
female *Belted Kingfisher* that circled high over the pond, and made a
couple of passes directly overhead! Around the bend we had great looks at
an obliging pair of *Wrentits*, our first *Chestnut-backed Chickadees* of
the day, and a distant *American Kestrel *that was escorted by a group of
angry songbirds.
Once we made it up to the path that goes across the top of South Point, we
managed to get several looks at *Bank Swallows*. While the looks weren't
all great, it was a good opportunity to practice differentiating them from
the Cliff Swallows based on their field marks. We also spotted a *White-tailed
Kite* in the trees where they are presumably nesting. The bushes were also
littered with *White-crowned Sparrows* (Nuttalli ssp.) and *Song Sparrows*,
some of which were feeding fledglings.
As we made our way along the path towards the staging area, we began to
spot more snakes. What was initially one or two garter snakes, turned into
6 *Coastal Garter Snakes* (T. elegans terrestris) and a *Western
Yellow-bellied Racer*. Three different snake species on a birding field
trip is a record for me! The excitement didn't stop there - we also
observed a *Peregrine Falcon* flying powerfully over the field
towards a *Brandt's
Cormorant* which it chased briefly. We wondered if this behavior was
evidence of a nearby nest on the cliffs. A few minutes later we could see
it harassing a *Western Gull* in the distance.
Once we got to the staging area, we observed several *Pigeon
Guillemots* floating
on the water surface below and confirmed our snake identifications with one
of the park's docents. Then, we headed off towards the elephant seal
viewing areas in the preserve. After a few minutes down this trail, we
finally found a large foraging flock of swallows. While we didn't add any
new swallow species to our list, we finally managed to spot a *Black
Swift* flying
high over the swallows! This was a lifer bird for many in the group, and we
managed to get better and better looks as we made our way further down the
trail. We even had two in view simultaneously at one point.
Stopping at some of the ocean overlooks, we attempted to search for these
sea caves where the *Black Swifts* nest. While searching, we managed to
spot not one, but two *Ospreys* ascending over the coastal cliffs carrying
fish right in front of us before flying up and over towards inland perches
out of sight. These sightings were just minutes apart from each other, and
we are confident that we had two different individuals as they were both
carrying different fish. Eventually we managed to spot some of the Black
Swift sea caves, marvelling at how incredible these birds are for nesting
in such inaccessible areas.
We eventually made our way to Bight Beach to view the immature *Northern
Elephant Seals* hanging around to complete their molt. These seals were
accompanied by dozens of *European Starlings* as well as a pair of
*Killdeer* on the beach. In the distance we could see Año Nuevo Island in
the scope, and we managed to spot a few enormous *Steller's Sea Lions* amongst
the *California Sea Lions*. As we made our way back, we rounded out the
checklist with a few *California Gulls*, *Pine Siskins*, and a vibrant male*
Ruddy Duck*.
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.
Happy to report that at least one of the condors can still be seen at Harvey Bear. The juvenile with the blue tag was seen at noon hanging around the right barn from New Ave, at approximately 37.09615° N, 121.57440° W
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: 6/27/26 10:19 am From: Melanie Barnett via groups.io <mjb2024...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Condors
Hi all
Thanks for posting this Mike!
They are at least three here now, I parked and scoped from the side of New Avenue from about here (37.0962052, -121.5744516)
Happy birding Melanie
-------- Original Message -------- On Friday, 06/26/26 at 16:18 Michael Mammoser via groups.io <mmammoser...> wrote:
> After getting a call from Bob Hirt, I headed down to Harvey Bear to see condors. Bob had found the 8 birds on a cow carcass in the field off the north end of New Road. There was only one left there when I arrived, but if this carcass is still present tomorrow, they may be back. The coordinates are 37.095190 -121.569193. > > Michael Mammoser > >
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.
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: 6/26/26 8:57 pm From: Garrett Lau via groups.io <Garrett.Lau...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Condors!
There must have been at least nine condors. I got photos of the wing tags of eight of them, but people who arrived later saw one with a blue 1, which I did not photograph.
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: 6/26/26 4:18 pm From: Michael Mammoser via groups.io <mmammoser...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Condors
After getting a call from Bob Hirt, I headed down to Harvey Bear to see condors. Bob had found the 8 birds on a cow carcass in the field off the north end of New Road. There was only one left there when I arrived, but if this carcass is still present tomorrow, they may be back. The coordinates are 37.095190 -121.569193.
Michael Mammoser
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: 6/26/26 2:16 pm From: Dori via groups.io <Dorienne777...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Blue Grosbeak
Some fun finds at Ed Levin Sandy Wool this morning. As I was driving in, the Caspian Tern was circling the lake. An Ash-throated Flycatcher that we heard on Tuesday was back near the dog park. Then, walking up the hill I ran into a guy with a big camera who told me he had seen a Blue Grosbeak up near the windsock off the Tularcitos trail but encouraged me to look along the trail anyway because it had been making visits to lower areas. (That was good because I was not about to climb all the way to the windsock!) A little way past the green cattle gate, I heard the distinctive chirp. First, I saw a female in the thistles on the left side of the path. which soon took off for higher ground. But I still heard the chirping and found a beautiful male who hung out for about 5 minutes before following the female. I got a few distant blurry but unmistakable pictures. Thank you to the gentleman who shared!
Dori
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: 6/26/26 1:58 pm From: Garrett Lau via groups.io <Garrett.Lau...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Condors!
They are still visible from the parking lot, but closer to the main trail,
in the hills.
Garrett Lau
On Fri, Jun 26, 2026 at 12:23 PM Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> They seem to be moving south…
>
> > On Jun 26, 2026, at 12:18 PM, Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > There’s about 8 condors at the Harvey-Bear entrance to Coyote Lake.
> Viewed from the parking lot. (37.0985026, -121.5750359)
> >
> > Happy birding!
> > Eve Meier (San Jose)
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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: 6/26/26 12:23 pm From: Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> Subject: Re: [southbaybirds] Condors!
They seem to be moving south…
> On Jun 26, 2026, at 12:18 PM, Eve Meier via groups.io <eve.m.meier...> wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> There’s about 8 condors at the Harvey-Bear entrance to Coyote Lake. Viewed from the parking lot. (37.0985026, -121.5750359)
>
> Happy birding!
> Eve Meier (San Jose)
>
>
>
>
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.
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.
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: 6/24/26 12:10 pm From: Brooke Miller via groups.io <brooke.bam...> Subject: [southbaybirds] May 2026 Cumulative Bird Report for Santa Clara County
South Bay Birders:
Before I report on May, there was 1 bird missed in a prior month. On
2-January 2026 was the first sighting of Swainson’s Hawk (4) by Howard
Friedman at Salt Pond A16.
In May we added 10 new countable birds, bringing the total to 262 at the
end of the month. The average for May is 9 new birds, with an average of
253 at the end of the month. 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. Black Tern (5), 2026-05-02, seen by multiple observers at Shoreline Lake
2. Black Swift (4), 2026-05-02, seen by multiple observers at Loma
Prieta—Lower Saddle
3. Broad-winged Hawk (6), 2026-05-02, found by Aidan Sinha in Coyote
Valley—Palm Avenue
4. Blue Grosbeak (4), 2026-05-03, found by Thomas Olson along the Calera
Creek Trail at Ed Levin County Park
5. Northern Parula (5), 2026-05-13, found by Karen DeMello at the ranch
house area at Joseph D Grant County Park
6. Least Bittern (6), 2026-05-16, found by Mike Mammoser at Calero Reservoir
7. Wilson’s Phalarope (2), 2026-05-18, seen by Chris Overington at
Spreckles Avenue Pond
8. Willow Flycatcher (4), 2026-05-19, found by Carter Gasiorowski at Santa
Clara University
9. Tennessee Warbler (6), 2026-05-20, found by Melissa Johnson at Ulistac
Natural Area
10. Least Tern (4), 2026-05-30, found by Richard Jeffers, Mike Mammoser,
and Mike Rogers at a closed pond in Mountain View
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.
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.
