April 26:

The Rock Wren team approached Birdathon as a distributed countywide effort, with team members covering different regions and habitats across Santa Clara County. Together, the team recorded 156 species during the day.

Bob Hirt reported covering about 118 miles and recording 108 species during a full day of birding from 7:30 AM to 8:15 PM, with stops including Calero Creek Trail, the loop around Mountain View Forebay, and Palo Alto Baylands.

Among the species Bob recorded that were not found by other Rock Wren team members were Black-chinned Hummingbird, Black-bellied Plover, Long-billed Curlew, Bonaparte’s Gull, Western Wood-Pewee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, American Goldfinch, and Black-throated Gray Warbler.

his year’s Rock Wren team included Mike Mammoser birding South County, Bob Hirt birding West County, Craig Hunter birding the Santa Cruz Mountains, David McIntyre and Bill Holland birding Palo Alto and Mountain View, and Steve Patt joining in the early morning.

The team also recorded several locally uncommon “Code 4” birds, species that occur yearly in Santa Clara County but are not always found in the same places. These included Blue-winged Teal found by Bill and David, Snowy Plover found by Craig, Swainson’s Hawk found by Mike, Pileated Woodpecker found by Craig, Cassin’s Kingbird found by Mike, and Pygmy Nuthatch found by Bob and David.