April 19:
Carolyn, Rowena, Steve, and Carolyn hit the pavement on Sunday for a morning of birding in downtown San Jose! Beginning at Plaza Cesar de Chavez, we watched Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Oak Titmice flit between oaks and palm trees. Quetzalcoatl was not counted as part of our checklist, despite his fine feathers. After seeing the Acorn Woodpeckers of this small park we headed east through the city for coffee and made our way onto San Jose State University campus.
American Robins and Black Phoebes accompanied our stroll through campus, and we were able to find where the Cliff Swallows were nesting on campus, adding yet another breeding code to our list of birds!
Despite our patience (and checking the nest cam feed to confirm they were in residence!) we were not rewarded with a sighting of San Jose’s Peregrines, and the university’s resident Common Ravens were also uncooperative, leaving us with 20 species to end our adventure!
Checklist: https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/checklist/S324290918