On Sunday, April 18th the 29 California Towhees’ team members birded their backyards and within 1-mile-radius of their homes. The team were mostly from Santa Clara County but also from several surrounding counties including San Mateo, Alameda, San Luis Obispo and Monterey County. Collectively, the Towhees were able to find 109 species, including at least 49 California Towhees. For the complete species list see the bottom of the page (Thank You John Hurley for tabulating our results!). The following are individual accounts and photos from some of the Towhees’ Birdathon day.

Amy Kieraldo-Sanchez: Sunnyvale

I mostly birded this morning. I found 35 species. I highlighted where to find a few specific species that I hear or see on my walks. I also made a cheat sheet of what I should listen and look for as this was my first time using eBird and if I had issues, I wanted a back up.

Western Bluebird by Amy Kieraldo-Sanchez

This is a photo of my resident Western Bluebird. He lives in my neighbor’s BB house but he knows I feed my hens King Worms and will toss a few up on the roof for him so he comes right down when he sees me in the garden. He usually eats the first one but takes the extras and feeds his wife and it’s really sweet to watch.

One of the big apartment complexes near me has a pond with Canada Geese and Mallards. No sign of the Snow Geese. They must have flown north already. But one of the Canada Geese couples had their babies out on parade and I’ve included a photo of them. So darling.

Jennifer Oliver: San Jose

My husband Todd and I had a great day birding on Sunday morning. In total we identified 38 birds, 4 of which were new to us. It's amazing we have so many birds within a mile area of our home! The best part of the day was probably when we squeezed down a narrow pathway to a secluded part of Coyote Creek and found a bunch of water birds and then a majestic great blue heron flew right over our heads. Overall it was a lovely day!

LC Boros: At and around Purgatory Auto Works and Dinosaur Farm in the East San Jose Foothills

I was up in the morning and sat at my desk with my coffee and watched the birds in the north garden. The usual suspects were present, but I was on the lookout for our five recent spring arrivals: the orioles (Bullocks and Hooded), Chipping Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow and a pair of Lawrence’s Goldfinches. I spotted most of them plus noticed that most of the resident birds have been pairing up — I spied two House Finches copulating as well as the Thrashers courting. After 30 minutes or so I setup my trail cams as added insurance in case I missed any excitement and then set about with morning chores. Once finished I brought my two parrots in from their garden cage so they could enjoy breakfasts indoors and nap while took a walk. I went out our main driveway and was delighted to hear Western Meadowlarks before heading down the hillside. I found a Red-Tailed Hawk nest in one of the trees down near the creek bed and spotted some Tree Swallows out and about as well as a pair of Ravens. I decided to do the short loop back to our south pasture and spotted a couple of Pine Siskins which was interesting since I haven’t seen any up near the house in a couple of weeks. Along the low road I dodged the Wild Turkeys until I got back to grassier areas which again are nesting grounds for Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds. I made my way back up to the house and cooled off with an iced-coffee while catching up on email and glancing out into the garden. In the late afternoon I walked out to our old pole barn to photograph the Barn Swallows and see if an owl or two were napping in the rafters. No owls, but I managed to find our fickle Black Phoebes. Before it got too late I hopped in the mini-truck and drove up the mountain to try to find the White-Tailed Kite seen on past walks. I got lucky and even got a few pictures before it disappeared—I didn’t realize until I got home that on its last diving run it had been successful. I then meandered back down picking up litter from careless non-residents as I drove. Once back I watched the gardens descend into darkness and realized two interesting things. First off I hadn’t realized how varied the caps are for White-Capped and Gold-Crowned Sparrows. Just like with parrots, the little song birds’ plumage apparently matures in coloration with age. Secondly, last autumn we had a tree usually nested in by either our Scrub or Steller’s Jay “seen to” by our tree crew as the previous owners of our property had badly pollarded it. Because the foliage is no longer so dense, this spring there were no epic battles between the two species and both have instead nested elsewhere. I know the Scrub Jays are nesting about 200 yds away from house and gardens and thus they are not a consistent presence like they have been in past years. As a result all the other birds are much more relaxed…sure they are still on the lookout for our resident Sharpie (who didn’t show — nor did I catch a glimpse of the Lawrences,) but in general things are more chill than past seasons.

Lastly, once it was dark, I went out and retrieved the trail cams. Nothing on them that I hadn’t already spotted during the day, but one of the cameras did not take/apply the settings, so not only was the date several years behind but instead of video it captured stills. I’m quite glad about that as it resulted in perhaps the best photo of the day…..

Sue Umeda: Sunnyvale

Sliding glass door has DIY Acopian BirdSavers or Zen Wind Curtain I made last spring. I had read about the bird strike solutions on All About Birds and chose this project. So far I haven’t had any strikes!

I rode my bike to Raynor Park and followed the Self-Guided Field Trip from the Audubon website. This park is in the Sunnyvale Birdland neighborhood and just under a mile from my house. Here I saw a Western Bluebird for the first time this year. Later I saw a Lesser Goldfinch trying to collect cobwebs, maybe for a nest. When I got back home, I checked the back yard for birds again. By early evening I was in the front yard hoping to see the Mallard Duck pair that visit each spring between 6 and 7PM. Luckily they arrived on time as expected!

Dark-eyed Junco adult and juvenile by Barbara Coll

Sarah Chan: Sunnyvale

My area isn't very birdy but I had a good time appreciating the small things that are around. I hit the jackpot when I found a school with a small garden. My highlight was finding a bluebird perched on a street sign on my way home. It was a pleasant surprise since I didn't expect them to live in such a dense suburban area!

Patricia Bennett: Atascadero, San Luis Obispo County

We were officially bird watching at various times between 9:30 and 3:00 on Sunday the 18th in our back and side yards.

The birds we saw were:

1. Swallows – our first sighting of the day. A flock that darted back and forth at various heights. They were flying too fast to identify further.

2. Hawks – sighted at the same time we were watching the swallows. They were soaring too high to identify further.

3. Turkey vulture – again, sighted at the same time we were watching the swallows and hawks. Our neighbor has a large pine tree where the turkey vultures often roost, but on this particular morning we only saw one soaring at about the same level as the hawks, maybe a little higher.

4. California Towhee! – a small flock pecked at the ground and in the driveway at the side of our house. We were gratified to have a flock of your team’s namesake pay us a visit.

5. Eurasian Collared-Doves – two pecked at the ground at the side of our house later in the morning.

6. Jay – a familiar visitor; on Sunday, around noon, he/she pecked at the ground around the side of our house for a while.

7. Robin – a lovely robin

8. Hummingbird – appears from its coloring to be an Anna’s Hummingbird - we have a lot of lavender and this beautiful little hummingbird visits often.

9. California Thrasher – a couple lovely California thrashers

White-crowned Sparrow by Patricia Bennett

10. White crowned sparrow – I took photos of this sweet face and chose one to attach.

Thank you for letting us participate in your bird watching event on Sunday. It gave a lovely focus to the casual but daily bird watching we do when we’re out in the garden.

Massimo Bafetti: San Jose

This was my first Birdathon, and I got up early to try to see the birds that are around in the early morning. I started out with watching the birds at my feeder and around my home. At first, I saw the usual birds, House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Anna’s Hummingbirds. After about 5 minutes, I finally saw our team's namesake, the California Towhee! I also saw some Chestnut-Backed Chickadees come take some seed and fly away. Towards the end, I saw some interesting large birds on the feeder, that I was able to identify as Brown-Headed Cowbirds, a bird I hadn’t seen on the feeder before.

After breakfast, my dad, my sister, and I headed off to Belgatos Park, and climbed the hill up to the forested area of the park. There were lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, California Scrub-Jays and Oak Titmice in the trees, and lots of Dark-Eyed Juncos, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, and California Towhees foraging on the ground. I also saw a Peregrine Falcon fly over, along with lots of Violet-Green Swallows. I also added a bird to my life list with the flocks of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers foraging and calling in the bushes. Later, we stopped down at the dry creek bed to have a snack, and saw a lot of sparrows and a California Thrasher.

Canada Geese trailing goslings by Massimo Baffeti

After lunch, my dad and I took a short walk at Los Capitancillos Ponds to see the waterbirds there. At the start of the trail there’s a creek, and we saw a bunch of cute goldfinches and chickadees bathing in it. At the ponds,we saw lots of Mallards, American Coots, Canada Geese, and a couple Gadwalls. There were also Snowy Egrets and Killdeer. We also saw that the Canada Geese and Mallards had young birds following them around.

In the end, we totaled at 46 species, and I’m sure I’m going to participate in the Birdathon again!

Mary Ann Robertson: Los Altos

How exciting it is to see a favorite bird species in three locations! I birded in four places within 1 mile of my home in South Los Altos at three different times in the day: Grant Park; across the Street from my house looking for Western Bluebirds; a Bridge on Fremont Avenue over Stevens Creek between Sunnyvale and Los Altos; and Marymeade Park in Los Altos. The latter two locations were new to me and I thank the California Towhee team planners for suggesting the 1 mile radius! What delighted me during the day was seeing a flock of Cedar Waxwings, perhaps the same flock, three different times. The first time I saw about 15 in a tree near Grant Park. The second time I saw about 19 flying over my house. The third time I saw about 7 munching on Loquats next to Steven Creek. Cedar Waxwings are one of my favorite birds so it was exciting to see them in three different locations. It was definitely a highlight!

Cedar Waxwings in a loquat tree by Mary Ann Robertson

Michelle Nelson: Gilroy

Mourning Doves courting by Michelle Nelson

Even though I live in a typical suburban area, there are plenty of birds that take advantage of the yards. I have a lot of native plants and seed and water features. And within my 1 mile radius, the rolling hills begin, so we have wild turkeys, an abundance of acorn woodpeckers, and even mountain lions. my photos show some Mourning Dove behaviors, (such as sunbathing), a Brewer's blackbird giving me the eye, one of the Anna's Hummingbird that reminded me I need to change the sugar water, and a White-crowned Sparrow navigating plastic spikes that I nailed to the top of my fence to deter a pesky cat who used to wreak havoc with my birds.

White-crowned Sparrow navigating cat deterrents by Michelle Nelson

Laura Coatney and Starr Coatney: Fremont, Alameda County and Belmont, San Mateo County

Laura’s House in Fremont, Alameda County: Most exciting bird this morning in Fremont was a Cooper’s hawk flyby while walking out front to grab the morning paper. My dog, Sheena, made it a little tough to bird the backyard as she patrols for squirrels. However, I saw a handful of the usual suspects this morning: Male House Finches putting on a show and singing their hearts out for the females, Mourning Doves cooing, a White-crowned Sparrow, heard a Bewick’s Wren, House Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, Black Phoebe, American Crow, and Anna’s Hummingbird.

Laura’s yard (and Sheena) by Laura Coatney

Starr’s place in Belmont, San Mateo County: In the early afternoon, my Mom, Starr and I birded from her place in Belmont in San Mateo County off her 3rd story balcony for a while before hitting the trails of Water Dog Lake Park. We had some GREAT close-up views of Red-tailed Hawks and some Tree and Violet-green Swallows as well as neighbors' balcony Mourning Doves. Once we hit the trails of Water Dog Lake Park we had a challenge finding a secretive calling Spotted Towhee. We saw Lesser Goldfinch, an Oak Titmouse bringing either nesting material or food to a cavity, and a Hermit Thrush in the middle of the trail! We also saw a California Towhee, my mom’s first confirmed Red-shouldered Hawk, many Dark-eyed Juncos, Turkey Vultures, ravens and crows. A total of 23 species around Water Dog Lake Park trails. The heat of the afternoon may have kept the activity down.

Carol Ann and David: Monte Sereno

We were excited to participate in our first Birdathon on the California Towhees team, birding our 1-mile radius from home. We have a tiny yard, but are very fortunate to live less than 1 mile from Vasona Lake County Park. I love to take photos of the birds, and in one of the first meadows, we had some very nice views of a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron by Carol Ann and David

In another meadow a bit farther on, adult and juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons were hunting for gophers. When a Red-tailed Hawk swooped in, they scattered, and the juvenile perched in a tree, but both soon returned to resume the hunt. When we reached the other end of the meadow, we saw a Valley Pocket Gopher working on his excavations, seemingly oblivious to the nearby predators. Throughout the park, we enjoyed hearing lots of singing birds, and seeing signs of nesting – Western Bluebirds entering nest boxes, Tree Swallows visiting tree cavities, a Canada Goose at a nest with two eggs, and a Green Heron hanging out at the site of last year’s successful nest. A Mallard has taken over what was formerly a Great Blue Heron nest, and looks very pleased with it.

Western Bluebird in nest box by Carol Ann and David

We had fun watching some of this year’s growing families – Canada Goslings grazing with their parents, Great Blue Heron nestlings stretching their wings, and fuzzy white Red-shouldered Hawk nestlings being fed. Our biggest surprise was an Osprey! That’s only the second time that we’ve ever seen one at Vasona. We missed some of our usual suspects today – no California Towhees, for example! In addition to birds, we also saw California Ground Squirrels, Gray Squirrels, Valley Pocket Gophers, and Red-eared Sliders (sadly, we have never seen any native turtles at Vasona). We also saw lots of fish activity (spawning?) near some shorelines. We had a wonderful day of birding, we’re pleased that we could help SCVAS raise funds for education projects, and we’re looking forward to future Birdathon events!

Eve Meier: San Jose

Eve has a very successful nest box hosting bluebirds in her yard!

Julie MacKinnon: San Jose

I had 24 species total. The highlight of my day was the set of mallard ducklings - just little teeny fuzzballs. My second favorite was a house sparrow with a giant bug (or maybe bugs?) for the little ones it is feeding under our eaves. I was surprised to see a Song Sparrow, as well as Cedar Waxwings in two locations. My funniest sightings were a California Gull (I went to a Lucky's parking lot expecting to find one and I was not disappointed), and a Wood(en) Owl (haha, see photo).

House Sparrow providing for the family by Julie MacKinnon

Complete Bird List:

Canada Goose
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Mallard
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
California Quail
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
California Gull
Brandt's Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Golden Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Barn Owl
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Western Kingbird
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Hutton's Vireo
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wrentit
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
California Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Western Meadowlark
Hooded Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Tricolored Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager