April 25:

Cedar Nature recorded 103 species of birds.

Group 1
Charleston Slough, Shoreline Park and Palo Alto Baylands
8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Meeting Time: 8:00 AM
Meeting Point: trailhead near the corner of Terminal Blvd and San Antonio Rd, Mountain View, GPS: 37.433767, -122.099796
Leader: Joyce & Junyan

Group 2
Calero Creek Trail, Santa Teresa County Park & Coyote Valley OSP
8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Meeting Time: 8:00 AM
Meeting Point: trail head on Harry Rd: 37.207263, -121.823664
Leader: Susan

I started the day on a neighborhood street near the Webb Canyon entrance of Almaden Quicksilver County Park, where a silk oak tree often attracts many birds. Besides a large group of Band-tailed Pigeons often seen in this area, I saw Western Tanagers, Hooded Orioles, and one Black-headed Grosbeak. Western Flycatchers and Warbling Vireoswere heard. A Cooper's Hawk flew low overhead.

I then went to Calero Creek Trail. Although the Yellow-breasted Chat reported yesterday was not found, the birds were very active. A pair of House Wrens were visiting tree holes. Another pair were visiting a birdhouse from which babies’ calls could be heard. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher flew over. Western Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, and Ash-throated Flycatchers were found. Along the hill, a pair of Lark Sparrows followed me. A pair of Lazuli Buntings kept singing. The male perched on top of a bush, while the female hid in the tall grass.

At the end of the trip, I met Kiting and his mom. They told me that some rare birds had been found at Santa Clara University, so I went there. After an hour of searching, I was rewarded with a sighting of the Gray Flycatcher.

Group 3
Los Gatos County Park & Vasona Lake
8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Meeting Time: 8:00 AM
Meeting Point: Trail head on 14341 Oka Ln, Los Gatos: 37.2598339,-121.9556785
Leader: Ping Li

Sarah, Kevin, and I started off at the Eucalyptus Grove where the Great Horned Owl nest was. But the owlets were gone and nowhere to be seen. Sarah wanted to check out a Merganser that she saw a week ago in the Los Gatos Creek. But it’s no longer there.

There were quite a few beautiful Western Bluebirds in an open lawn. As we walk towards the lake, many Violet-green Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows (200?) flew around. We saw Bullock's Oriole near the top of a palm tree next to the lake. A Red-shouldered Hawk stood on a tree close to the trail, which gave us a great view of it!

There is an island in the center of the lake. A family of Great Blue Herons lives there. The three chicks have grown quite big now. We looked for the Bald Eagles but with no luck. A group of birders told us there was a Green Heron nest not far from the pier. We found it! A mother Green Heron sat there in the nest.

As we headed out, we saw a couple of birders looking up for the owlets in a parking lot near the Eucalyptus Grove. They could not locate them and got to their car to leave. When I looked up, I saw the two owlets immediately! They stood next to each other, half asleep and half watching us. I ran to the other birders’ car and called them back. What good luck and great ending of the trip!!

Group 4
Ed R. Levin County Park
Meeting Time: 1:30 PM-6:00 PM
Meeting Point: Ed Levin Sandy Wool Lake parking lot 37.456157,-121.865335
Leader: Kaiting

We kicked off our afternoon birdathon under damp conditions at Sandy Wool Lake, where it poured hard for quite a while. Despite the steady rain, we still managed to pick up some nice birds, including Great-tailed Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Bullock’s Orioles, and Western Kingbirds, though overall bird activity was fairly limited.

Given the slow start, we decided to head over to Spring Valley, but unfortunately bird activity there was even quieter. We missed our target Lazuli Buntings, and the chickadee nest we were hoping to check on was empty.

We then made a quick stop at my school, Curtner Elementary, to look for the nesting pair of Bald Eagles, but had no luck there either.

Our final stop was Ulistac Natural Area, which also proved to be on the quieter side, with no sign of the Palm Warblerwe were hoping for.

However, the day ended on a high note when I spotted a Hammond’s Flycatcher in another section of the park, a rewarding find to wrap up an otherwise challenging afternoon.