Team Fledglings Birdathon at Ed Levin

        I had first heard about the Fledglings through a San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory newsletter about the 2013 Fall Challenge, which included birdathon groups you could join. The Fledglings team caught my eye immediately, because, unlike any of the others, it was made of young birders. I asked to join the team, and went on my first birdathon with the young birders on October 5th. We saw a total of 71 species (still my big day record), and had a great time together. Later, I also joined the Fledglings for an "eBirding party" and for a nature sketching class with the awesome John Muir Laws.

       On April 20th, I went on another birdathon with the Fledglings team. This time, instead of traveling to several different spots, we would be doing a survey of Ed Levin County Park, one of the best birding spots in the county. Again, this trip report won't contain photos, because I generally don't use my camera on birdathons.

       I got there at the meeting time of 7:00, and received a welcome from the our team leader, Pati Rouzer, and the other young birders. We checked off some of the species we saw as we were waiting 30 minutes for the park to open, like Tree Swallow, Wild Turkey, Acorn Woodpecker. As soon as we were let in, we drove to the parking lot near the dog park area. Birds there included several Brown-headed Cowbirds, and both Hooded and Bullock's Orioles.

       Walking up the first stretch of the Agua Caliente Trail yielded Red-winged Blackbirds in the blooming mustard to the right of the trail, and Yellow-billed Magpies on the slope of a hill. Now, we began looking carefully for two species we wanted to document: Grasshopper and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, to see how many there were of each. At the place that the trail turns right for the first time, there was a pair of Western Kingbirds, my #149 for the county this year. What would the next one be?

       It turned out that we weren't disappointed by the number of Grasshopper Sparrows. By our count, there were about seven buzzing their insect-like calls in the grass. Most, however, were pretty far away and backlit. We couldn't find a Rufous-crowned Sparrow, though, even when Vivek Tiwari, one of the Fledgling parents, played it song and call from his phone. We soon came to Sycamore Gulch, a place known for its nesting birds. Ozzie, one of the young birders, spotted a Lazuli Bunting on top of one of the sycamores, and we all got good looks at it. I realized I was 3/4 of the way to achieving my goal of this year! The Lazuli Bunting is a great bird to have for this milestone. Only 50 left, but these are going to be the hardest birds to get!

       At Sycamore Gulch, I found an Anna's Hummingbird on her nest, and Ozzie found another one, about five feet from the trail! A House Finch nest was found, too, and Lesser Goldfinches were everywhere.

       We moved on farther down the trail, and found more Grasshopper Sparrows, but still no evasive Rufous-crowns. We struck gold on the way back, though, when Ozzie found one singing loudly, perching on a fence 20 feet from the trail! Another sparrow flew into Sycamore Gulch.

       Almost at the parking lot, we noticed a Golden Eagle flying over the park. Apparently, before I had got there, a Golden Eagle was seen hunting Wild Turkeys. Too bad I didn't get to see it!

       We carpooled to the Spring Valley Unit, and started to bird the areas around the lake. Ozzie's dad, Steve, noticed a Green Heron on the lake, which was one of my most overdue yearbirds. Good to finally see that one! Tree Swallows were in the air, due to our proximity to nest boxes put up especially for them. There were no sapuckers anywhere: it was too late for them, as we could see.

       We noticed several White-crowned Sparrows at the last Spring Valley parking lot, and we also had some Golden-crowns on the Agua Caliente Trail - they'll probably be gone soon. Also in the eucalyptus at the last parking lot, there was a selasphorus hummingbird. Eventually, it sat on one of the oaks nearby and showed an almost completely green back, making it an Allen's Hummingbird! Well, most likely... The hummingbird never spread its tail to show un-notched R2 feathers, or narrow outer tail feathers (R5), but the almost entirely green back confirmed Allen's.

       We then moved on to another parking lot with several flowering eucalyptuses, dubbed "Oriole-ville" for its plethora of Bullock's Orioles chattering in the foliage above. At one point, there were at least four orioles fighting each other at the same time! Nearby, there was a pair of Western Kingbirds posing so nicely that I couldn't resist taking out my camera and taking a photo, breaking my unofficial rule of not using cameras on birdathons. Of course, it just had to turn away. :)

        
       Other birds we spotted at the Spring Valley Unit included more Acorn Woodpeckers, a White-breasted Nuthatch, two Cedar Waxwings, a Eurasian Collared Dove, and two Red-shouldered Hawks in the surrounding forest. We ended the day with 54 species. Overall, I had an awesome day, netting four FOYs, and seeing some great birds, like Grasshopper Sparrows, and watching nesting hummingbirds.

       We then had lunch, and talked about... you guessed it... birding! As we were getting ready to leave, we met three birders on bicycles: Robert Furrow, his friend (whose name I don't remember), and Logan Kahle, a junior from San Francisco who is doing a California big year, where he will try to see 460 species. He is currently at 327. Good luck!

Summary:
Birds seen: 54
New birds: 4
Big year count: 152 

Good birding,

Sergey

 

Palo Alto Baylands

       Ah, spring break! What a relief! During this break, I'll try to find as many migrants as I can, in order to go out less in May, because I have finals and standardized testing in school, as well as projects due. I'm also going to Colorado for five days on a school trip.

       On the first day of the break, I had originally planned to walk the Stanford Dish Trail to look for migrants, but I was deterred by my legs still being very sore from doing a walk-a-thon at school on Thursday. I decided that I wouldn't be able to do this trail, so I opted to go to Palo Alto Baylands instead to catch the tail end of shorebird migration, view shorebirds in breeding plumage, and find some birds I had missed earlier this year.

       I obtained some valuable advice from Jasen Liu, a young birder friend who knows the Baylands well. He told me the best time to go was somewhere between low and high tide, but I hoped (incorrectly) that low tide would also be a good time to go. I got there at around 10:30, about an hour before low tide, and walked around the Duck Pond first. The only birds I found there were Ring-billed and California Gulls, and some Ruddy Ducks.

      I checked out the mudflats near the Lucy Evans Interpretive Center next, and found about 10 Least Sandpipers. Nesting at the Interpretive Center were Barn and Cliff Swallows, the latter of which was the last common swallow I had yet to see this year. The Cliffs were actively gathering mud for their nests.

 

      Also seen near the Interpretive Center were two Forster's Terns and Green-winged Teals. Next, I headed towards the boat launch, and found about 10 each of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts on the ponds in the marsh to the left of the road.

       At the boat launch, there were lots of Song Sparrows singing, Barn Swallows, and many more Least Sandpipers. On the way back, I saw a huge flock of shorebirds twisting and turning somewhere on the exposed mudflats near Dumbarton Bridge. We then decided to check the entrance of Byxbee Park, where I saw two Marsh Wrens flitting in the reeds and chattering loudly, for only the second time this year.

       I was disappointed with myself for not going at the right time, but I learned from this experience, and got one yearbird. In fact, I'll probably be going to Palo Alto Baylands again next weekend to try my luck once more, but I'll make sure to bird at the right time.

Summary:
Birds seen: 27
New birds: 1
Big Year count: 148

Good birding,
Sergey
     

Close Hotspots Bird-a-Thon

        I have been wanting to do this trip for so long (about a month), and April 13th seemed like a perfect time: a green mini birdathon on my bike entailing the hotspots near my house. I was going to attempt to break my big day record of 72. I would count heard only birds (that weren't new for the year) on my big day.

       The only problem was that I had to go to my theater class at 10:00 in the morning, so my mom and I had to get up very early, and blitz these hotspots in around two hours and thirty minutes, which is harder than it sounds, mostly because of all the good birds to enjoy. I planned out a rough agenda, but, of course, I took longer than I planned.

        This trip report will not have photos, because I decided to not take my camera: I barely had time to watch the birds, let alone take photos of them.

       At around 6:55 AM my mom and I rode out on our bikes, and added 14 species to the day's count, the best being Bewick's Wren, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and Northern Mockingbird, all heard only.

       At the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the main pond was shallow, exposing mudflats on which foraged a Black Phoebe, a Killdeer, a Song Sparrow, and a Spotted Sandpiper - my first county code 3 of the day! Since it was an overcast day, the swallow flock came very low over the pond. I saw some Barn Swallows, and also several Northern Rough-winged Swallows (probably the longest bird name found in our county), which were a first for the year! Only one common swallow left to get for the year: Cliff Swallow.

       In the swallow flock, I noticed a smaller, faster bird with more rapid wingbeats. With my binoculars, I noted the rather plain color and cigar-shaped body, making the bird a Vaux's Swift (actually pronounced Voe's, I think)! This was my first lifer of the day, and a code 3. I got really nice looks; in fact, there were several in the swallow flock.

       As we walked around the headquarters building, I spotted two birds skulking in some green bushes. As one hopped out, I recognized it as a white-striped White-throated Sparrow! This bird had been reported all winter long at the water district, but it was my first time seeing it in the county! The second bird also turned out to be a White-throated Sparrow, and another pleasant surprise.

      Other birds near the main pond and on the Guadalupe Creek Trail included Cedar Waxwings, Acorn Woodpeckers, lots of Violet-green Swallows, a Myrtle subspecies Yellow-rumped Warbler, and several female Brown-headed Cowbirds near the pedestrian bridge near Coleman Ave. Happy with my efforts so far, I left the Santa Clara Valley Water District with 36 birds on the day, but way behind schedule.

       At Almaden Lake, I picked up Common Merganser and Ruddy Duck, as well as Great Egret on the heron rookery island.

       The only good birds on the Los Alamitos Creek Trail were near the bridge, with Black-headed Grosbeak (FOY!), Oak Titmouse, and a gorgeous breeding-plumage American Goldfinch. We had to cut our time on the Los Alamitos Creek Trail short, and biked to Guadalupe Oak Grove.

       At Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, I pished for a few seconds, and a Pacific-slope Flycatcher (another FOY!) came in! I immediately stopped pishing, and, to my surprise, the flycatcher flew to a snag, and sat for a few seconds in what looked like a nest cavity! It then sat more exposed on the dead tree, and I could have gotten a shot, if I had my camera. Awesome to know that this bird might be nesting so close to our house, in a readily accessible place!

       Other birds added at Guadalupe Oak Grove included Red-shouldered Hawk, Dark-eyed Junco, and White-breasted Nuthatch.

       We then moved on to Los Capitancillos Ponds to look for wintering waterfowl and gulls. Here, I was sorely disappointed: not a single gull or wintering duck was on any of the main ponds! This was a huge blow to my big day, and it was already time to go home, so we decided to check the ponds closer to the SCVWD. Here, I had a hear only Spotted Towhee, lots of Red-winged Blackbirds singing from the bushes near the ponds, and two lingering Ring-necked Ducks.

       The final count for my big day, despite a promising start at the SCVWD, was a mere 46, which means I broke my previous big day record by -26! In all seriousness, though, I got five first of years (including one lifer), and had a great time. Next year, I might do this route again, but when I have more time to bird all the places better, and a bit later in the year for more migrants.

Summary:
Bird seen: 46
New birds: 5
Big Year count: 147

Good birding,

Sergey


P.S. - This week, I have spring break, which, of course, means I'll be birding a lot. Went to Palo Alto Baylands today, doing an Ed Levin birdathon with the Fledgling team tomorrow, going to Santa Teresa County Park during the week, and planning on going to Stevens Creek County Park next weekend. What will #150 be? We'll see, probably tomorrow! :)

      



      

Out and About Ed Levin

       On March 29th, a Friday, I had time after school to visit the hotspots around Ed Levin. My dad would drive me and my brother up to the Sierra Road summit, to Marsh Road, and lastly to the Spring Valley Unit of Ed Levin County Park.

       The Sierra Road summit is famous for being one of the only places in the county to reliably see Horned Lark, as well as a good spot for some bonus birds, like Rock Wren and American Pipit. On Marsh Road, there had been a recently reported rare Lark Bunting. In Ed Levin, I wanted to find some migrating selasaphorus hummingbirds (Allen's and Rufous), and later try for the resident Barn Owl. This trip promised to be really good!

       We drove up to the scenic summit of Sierra Rd, overlooking the Silicon Valley at about 2000 feet above sea level. The clouds were starting to roll in, as it was supposed to rain on the weekend, and on Monday and Tuesday.

          
       Unfortunately, the summit was devoid of birds, despite the scenery. That is, until I walked a bit past the summit, toward a clump of rocks. There, I head a small "weet" call, and saw a bird rustling around in the grass. Horned Lark! I love how these guys look, with their yellow faces and black horns:

 
       We then braved the meanders on the partly one-lane Felter Road to reach Marsh Road, where the Lark Bunting had been reported earlier this week, together with Lark Sparrows. At the end of the road, there were lots of Turkey Vultures (not often you see them on the ground!), Yellow-billed Magpies, and Red-winged Blackbirds, but no Lark Sparrows or Bunting.

       As we were driving onto Marsh Road, I took some photos of a distant falcon sitting on a telephone pole. After some scrutiny, I eventually passed it off as a large, backlit female American Kestrel, whose size I had misjudged in the field to look bigger than it really was. Upon looking back at the photos, I realized that I was right originally - the bird was indeed too big for an American Kestrel, and was a Prairie Falcon - a lifer, and a county Code 4! On my yearlist, this leaves, of all the falcons, only the sneaky Merlin, which I'll somehow have to find next winter.

 

        At Ed Levin, we parked in the dirt parking lot where we'd looked for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker earlier this year. There, we came upon a large group of Wild Turkeys, with a displaying male.

       We walked up and down the street where my brother and dad had seen the Barn Owl about a month ago. As we were walking past a small eucalyptus tree, I heard the buzz of a selasaphorus hummingbird, and saw a male darting through the leaves. Soon, it perched on an oak tree, and showed an all-orange back, making it a Rufous Hummingbird! This was another Code 4, and another lifer for me! I ended up without shots because it started to get dark.

       I decided to walk around Spring Valley before it got dark. In the eucalyptuses, I heard many more hummingbirds, but it was too dark to identify any of them. Also, there were many (too many) starlings, which were calling loudly. As I came to a more open area, I heard a slightly different call, located it, and found a male Bullock's Oriole sitting on a pine tree! This was another FOY for me, and a really pretty bird.

       As it got dark, and the sun set, we were rewarded with picturesque views of Spring Valley Pond.

        My dad, brother, and I returned to the road where they had seen the Barn Owl fly in to roost in February, and waited there, as it got completely dark. We kept an eye out on the sky, looking for a large, light shape to perch in one of the trees in the residential area. At around 8:05 PM, I spotted the Barn Owl winging over the houses to roost in a pine near one of the houses, just like it had been seen last time! As the owl landed in the tree, it made a funny tittering noise, nothing like the classic screech This was the second owl on my lifelist, and my last FOY of the great day.

Summary:
Birds seen: 34
New birds: 5
Big Year count: 140

* * *

       On March 30th, I went to Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, and found yearbird Sharp-shinned Hawk in the adjacent Jefferey Fontana Park (no Chipping Sparrows), and got much better looks at a Hairy Woodpecker near the main parking lot. Photos from the trip:

       Also, the day after celebrating my birthday, April 6th, I went to the Santa Teresa Hills near our house, and got yearbird Violet-green Swallow. Other good birds there included Orange-crowned Warbler, and lingering Lincoln's Sparrow and Hermit Thrush. 

Summary:

Birds seen: 37

New birds: 2

Big Year count: 142

Good birding,

Sergey Pavlov

John Nicholas Trail and Lake Ranch Reservoir

       I'm glad to report that Hooded Orioles are back nesting in my neighborhood! On March 15th, my brother and I went out early, without any real hopes of finding these beautiful orange and black birds - it was still very early for them to be nesting in the fan palms. However, I thought I heard the "wheet!" call of the oriole, and, to my great surprise, located a male sitting on top of the same tree I saw my lifer sitting on last year. Unfortunately, I only saw the orioles on more time in March - they may have left for a different part of the neighborhood.

* * *

       
       On March 23rd, I went birding on the John Nicholas Trail in Sanborn County Park. I expected to get at least six or seven FOYs, but was (spoiler alert) disappointed with only three. The hike was great, though, and I always enjoy being in nature.

       I originally planned this trip for January, but couldn't go because of all my schoolwork. Now, I had to go in March, so I was scared some of the winter birds had already left. Some of the birds I expected to find included Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, Pacific Wren, and Brown Creeper, as well as any possible early migrants.

       That morning I put on the same shirt I had dipped in on the Pileated Woodpecker in Big Basin back in December of 2013. Not a good idea! Next time I go looking for the woodpeckers, I'll remember to not put that shirt on...

       We drove up in the fog to the John Nicholas Trail trailhead, and unloaded our gear. The first bird on the trail was a distant Hairy or Downy Woodpecker. My brother noticed a California Newt on the ground, as well as a Banana Slug:

       To my disappointment, the first half-mile of the trail was not very birdy, other than Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Steller's Jays, and American Robins. There were no Varied Thrushes where I had seen them in November 2013. Luckily, as we were reaching a place where a stream crosses the trail, I heard a bubbling, trilling song coming from ahead. I soon spotted two tiny birds in the brush near the trail, which turned out to be Pacific Wrens! They where really singing their hearts out.

       These birds helped raise my spirits, but only for a little bit - soon, the trail seemed devoid of life, except for the common birds. I took some shots of the surroundings:

      I first heard, and then spotted a Townsend's Warbler in a tree, and then got my first decent photo of one:

       As we were walking along the trail, I heard a loud, fast drumming coming from the right side of the trail. "Pileated Woodpecker!" I immediately thought, and, to confirm my suspicions, I heard its wuk-wuk-wuk call. However, I don't count heard onlies, and I've heard that Northern Flickers can sound identical to Pileated Woodpeckers, so my brother and I went off trail to look for the woodpecker.

       After a futile search of around ten minutes, during which we heard the woodpecker multiple times, we gave up, thinking the bird might be a well-hidden flicker, and moved on. Later, at home, I checked the calls and drums of the Northern Flicker and the Pileated Woodpecker on Cornell, and found that they can be exactly the same.

I will find you eventually, Pileated Woodpecker!

In the trees near the lake, there were many passerines, which included to early migrants and FOY Warbling Vireos.

Lake Ranch Reservoir is an awesome place! I love the scenery here - it's rare to find this type of lake in our county. 

       Birds near or on the lake included: Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, only one female Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbirds, Killdeer, and some flyover Band-tailed Pigeons. At the reservoir's dam, where I'd seen the best birds last time, I was once more disappointed with only Spotted Towhee and Fox Sparrow.

        We ate lunch and headed back, still hoping for some more birds. We met another birder, who told us that most of the Varied Thrushes were gone for the summer already, and there were a lot less Townsend's Warblers than there were several weeks ago. I'd come late for the winter birds here, like I feared!
 
       I did pick up one yearbird on the way back, and that was a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers. Even though I only saw three yearbirds, and saw no Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, or Brown Creeper (!), I still had a good time hiking the John Nicholas Trail. I'll probably come back here during my spring break in April to get the migrants, and have another try at the Pileated Woodpecker. I'll make sure to not wear the Pileated Woodpecker-dipping shirt!

 Summary:
Birds seen: 38
New birds: 3
Big Year count: 135

Good birding,

Sergey