Matthew and Cricket Dodder (south county, Coyote Valley, McClellan Ranch)
Phil and Joan Leighton (Stevens Creek Park)
Mary Ann Allan and Eric Goodill (east hills, Grant Park, Smith Creek)
Mike Voydanoff (Alviso, Shoreline and urban parks)
Ellyn Corey (Sunnyvale Baylands and adjacent ponds)
Helen Daly (Shoreline Park)
Eve Meier (Belgados Parks, Los Capitancillos Ponds)
We coordinated efforts by email and birded separately for good coverage of the county, but of course, we couldn’t hit every hot spot. We occasionally communicated by text or phone to make sure there were no loose ends in our search. When we were done, we met over zoom to exchange stories and share a toast. We tallied the multiple eBird lists and found the group had found 153 species.
The Dodder vehicle took the following locations over a 12-hour period:
— San Felipe Road (all the way to county line)
— Cañada Road, Jamieson Road (roadside stop & listen)
— Gilroy Hot Springs Road (long walk and drive)
— Hunting Hollow (around lot and just across creek)
— Coyote Lake Park (main gate to dam, Mendoza Ranch entrance, Harvey Bear Ranch entrance)
— Coyote Valley OSP (short walk)
— Laguna Avenue
— Santa Teresa (Stile Ranch hike)
— Almaden Expressway (fly-over Merlin)
— McClellan Ranch
— Cuesta Park
A few highlights from the team were:
Cassin’s Kingbirds and Ring-necked Pheasant on San Felipe Road
Wood Duck, Black-throated Gray, Hermit Warbler, and Phainopepla at Gilroy Hot Springs bridge
Hammond’s Flycatchers (2) on Cañada Road near fire station
Lawrence’s Goldfinch at Coyote Lake Park, Smith Creek and three other locations
Bald Eagle (4), Canyon Wren, Rufous-crowned Sparrow at Coyote Lake Park
Merlin Almaden Lake and Grant Park
Wilson's Snipe lingering at Charleston Slough
Ash-throated Flycatcher at many locations, first of year for us
Brant at Shoreline
Greater White-fronted Geese at Shoreline and Lake Cunningham
Vaux's Swift at Los Capitancillos Ponds
White-throated Sparrow at Santa Clara Water District and Coyote Lake Park
All 3 Nuthatch species (home and Cuesta Park provided the Red-breasted and Pygmy)
Grasshopper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Horned Lark on Stile Ranch Trail
Swainson’s Hawk, Burrowing Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl, Western Screech-Owl