Barry Langdon-Lassagne with Team Sharpies

We went out birding this weekend, before the rains hit (well mostly before, we did get some sprinkles). It was perhaps too soon for it to count as a Birdathon scouting expedition (The Sharpies plan to participate in late April), so it was more like a “regular” day birding. Here are some highlights:

At the Santa Clara Valley Water District, we had great views of a Bald Eagle perched on a snag. After a while it flew off over the Guadalupe River, flushing all the ducks (Gadwall, Bufflehead, Cinnamon Teal, Mallard). We later saw what was likely the same eagle flying over Los Capitancillos Ponds across the street from the Water District.

The sapsuckers are continuing — there were two Red-breasted Sapsuckers in the pepper trees along the paths.

I also got my first ever looks at Scaly-breasted Munia in the county. In fact, we found several small flocks of them, ultimately totalling 25 individuals. Munias are an introduced species that has been rapidly increasing all over California.

You can see more pictures and a full listing of our observations in our eBird checklists:

You can help out the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society by sponsoring The Sharpies or one of the many other teams participating this year.

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