May 2:

7 Curious Clickadees spent the Spring Birdathon in the wonderful East Hills of Santa Clara County, starting bright and early.

We spent the early morning at Smith Creek Fire Station, where the birding was excellent right from the start. Northern Rough-winged Swallows were carrying nesting material, and the trail produced Cassin’s Vireos, noisy Steller’s Jays, and several beautiful Black-headed Grosbeaks singing from the trees.

Ash-throated flycatcher: Vinayak Hebbagil

Later, at Joseph Grant County Park, colorful Lazuli Buntings greeted us immediately and remained one of the highlights throughout the trail. Spring migrants were active everywhere, with Western Kingbirds, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Western Flycatchers all showing well. We also enjoyed watching a variety of seasonal behaviors: a pair of Northern Flickers mating, Bullock's Orioles feeding a fledged chick, a White-breasted Nuthatch catching insects and flying into its cavity nest to feed hungry mouths, and a female Blue-gray Gnatcatcher building a nest. A singing Orange-crowned Warbler on the trail clearly showed its rarely-seen orange crown. We finished the day with a juvenile Bald Eagle that soared over and gave great looks to the group.

We ended the trip by sharing birding stories over lunch, capping off a nice spring morning.

The group totaled 62 unique species for the day (we had 57 at Joseph Grant County Park and 20 at Smith Creek).

Lazuli bunting by Vinayak Hebbagil