Santa Clara County Bird List 2025

Cumulative list compiled and discussions written by Brooke Miller. Monthly reports are made up of both eBird sightings and postings on South Bay Birds. Please email additions, corrections, or comments to Brooke at idbirds@me.com.

Please post all your sightings to southbaybirds@groups.io and/or eBird.

See the Santa Clara County Bird List Discussion Archive 2025 or view all the cumulative year lists.

Discussion for January 2025

We started off 2025 with 176 countable birds seen on January 1, and a total of 203 countable birds for the month of January. The average for January 1st is 157, and the average for the month of January is 202. There was 1 bird that was not ABA-countable in January (see below). Thank you to everyone that birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Of the countable 203 birds that were recorded for January, there were 2 birds rated as rarity (6), and 4 birds rated as rarity (5). As a reminder, here is what each rarity code means:

**Rarity Codes:

1 = common, always seen in habitat in season.
2 = fairly common, usually in habitat in season, but missed sometimes.
3 = uncommon, always around, but sometimes you can't find.
4 = rare, occurs yearly in the county, but not always in same places.
5 = very rare, does not occur every year.
6 = casual or vagrant, generally fewer than 10 records.

Rarity Code 6’s for January 2025:

  1. Long-eared Owl (6), Sensitive Species, hidden date, location, and observer/s

  2. Black Oystercatcher (6), 2025-01-31, at the San Francisquito Creek mouth, by Mike Rogers

Rarity Code 5’s for January 2025:

  1. Black Rail (5), hidden date, location, and observer – ‘sensitive species’

  2. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (5), 2025-01-01, at the Metcalf Motorcycle Park, by Mike Rogers and Richard Jeffers

  3. Clay-colored Sparrow (5), 2025-01-23, at TJ Martin Park, by Dan Kadra

  4. Pacific Golden-Plover (5), 2025-01-30, at the Palo Alto Baylands, by Mike Rogers

The 1 ABA non-countable bird for January was:

  1. Scaly-breasted Munia, 2025-01-01, seen by an anonymous ebirder, at the Santa Clara Valley Water District Headquarters

My monthly reports are made up of eBird sightings, postings on south-bay-birds, and direct emails. The monthly cumulative lists are archived on the SCVBA website at https://scvbirdalliance.org/sc-county-cumulative-year-lists. Please post all your sightings to: south-bay-birds@groups.io or to www.ebird.org .

Please contact me if you find errors or omissions, or have questions or comments.

Brooke Miller

Birds observed through January 2025

Bird Name 2025 date RARITY CODE OBSERVER
Fulvous Whistling-Duck 6
Snow Goose 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Ross's Goose 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Greater White-fronted Goose 2025-01-02 3 GL
Brant 5
Cackling Goose 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Canada Goose 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Tundra Swan 5
Wood Duck 2025-01-02 3 RHe
Garganey 6
Blue-winged Teal 2025-01-01 4 SRot
Cinnamon Teal 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Northern Shoveler 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Gadwall 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Eurasian Wigeon 2025-01-01 3 GL, SRot
American Wigeon 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Mallard 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Northern Pintail 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Green-winged Teal 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Canvasback 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Redhead 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Ring-necked Duck 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Tufted Duck 5
Greater Scaup 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Lesser Scaup 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Surf Scoter 2025-01-01 2 MOb
White-winged Scoter 5
Black Scoter 6
Long-tailed Duck 5
Bufflehead 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Common Goldeneye 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Barrow's Goldeneye 2025-01-01 4 SRot
Hooded Merganser 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Common Merganser 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Red-breasted Merganser 2025-01-01 2 SRot
Ruddy Duck 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Mountain Quail 6
California Quail 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Wild Turkey 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Ring-necked Pheasant 4
Pied-billed Grebe 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Horned Grebe 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Red-necked Grebe 5
Eared Grebe 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Western Grebe 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Clark's Grebe 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Rock Pigeon 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Band-tailed Pigeon 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Oriental Turtle-Dove 6
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2025-01-01 2 MOb
White-winged Dove 6
Mourning Dove 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Greater Roadrunner 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 6
Lesser Nighthawk 6
Common Nighthawk 6
Common Poorwill 3
Black Swift 4
Chimney Swift 6
Vaux's Swift 3
White-throated Swift 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Black-chinned Hummingbird 3
Anna's Hummingbird 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Costa's Hummingbird 5
Calliope Hummingbird 4
Rufous Hummingbird 3
Allen's Hummingbird 3
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 6
Ridgway's Rail 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Virginia Rail 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Sora 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Common Gallinule 2025-01-01 2 MOb
American Coot 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Yellow Rail 6
Black Rail 2025-01-01 5 Sensitive Species
Sandhill Crane 6
Black-necked Stilt 2025-01-01 1 MOb
American Avocet 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Black Oystercatcher 2025-01-31 6 MMR
Black-bellied Plover 2025-01-01 1 MOb
American Golden-Plover 5
Pacific Golden-Plover 2025-01-30 5 MMR
Snowy Plover 2025-01-01 4 SRot
Semipalmated Plover 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Killdeer 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Mountain Plover 6
Whimbrel 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Long-billed Curlew 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Bar-tailed Godwit 6
Hudsonian Godwit 6
Marbled Godwit 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Black Turnstone 6
Red Knot 4
Ruff 5
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 6
Stilt Sandpiper 5
Curlew Sandpiper 6
Sanderling 2025-01-01 4 SRot
Dunlin 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Baird's Sandpiper 4
Little Stint 6
Least Sandpiper 2025-01-01 1 MOb
White-rumped Sandpiper 6
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 6
Pectoral Sandpiper 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper 4
Western Sandpiper 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Short-billed Dowitcher 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Long-billed Dowitcher 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Wilson's Snipe 2025-01-01 3 CGa
Wilson's Phalarope 2
Red-necked Phalarope 2
Red Phalarope 5
Spotted Sandpiper 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Solitary Sandpiper 5
Wandering Tattler 6
Greater Yellowlegs 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Willet 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Lesser Yellowlegs 2025-01-04 3 MOb
Pomarine Jaeger 6
Parasitic Jaeger 5
Long-tailed Jaeger 6
Common Murre 5
Pigeon Guillemot 6
Ancient Murrelet 6
Cassin's Auklet 6
Black-legged Kittiwake 6
Sabine's Gull 5
Bonaparte's Gull 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Black-headed Gull 6
Little Gull 6
Laughing Gull 6
Franklin's Gull 5
Heermann's Gull 6
Short-billed Gull 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Ring-billed Gull 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Western Gull 2025-01-01 1 MOb
California Gull 2025-01-01 1 MOb
American Herring Gull 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Iceland Gull 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Lesser Black-backed Gull 5
Slaty-backed Gull 6
Glaucous-winged Gull 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Glaucous Gull 4
Least Tern 4
Gull-billed Tern 6
Caspian Tern 2
Black Tern 5
Common Tern 4
Arctic Tern 6
Forster's Tern 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Elegant Tern 3
Black Skimmer 2025-01-02 3 MJM
Red-throated Loon 2025-01-20 4 JTs
Arctic Loon 6
Pacific Loon 5
Common Loon 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Yellow-billed Loon 6
Ashy Storm-Petrel 6
Northern Fulmar 6
Sooty Shearwater 6
Magnificent Frigatebird 6
Nazca Booby 6
Brown Booby 6
Brandt's Cormorant 6
Pelagic Cormorant 6
Double-crested Cormorant 2025-01-01 1 MOb
American White Pelican 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Brown Pelican 2025-01-24 2 OL
American Bittern 4
Least Bittern 6
Great Blue Heron 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Great Egret 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Snowy Egret 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Little Blue Heron 6
Cattle Egret 5
Green Heron 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Glossy Ibis 6
White-faced Ibis 4
California Condor 6
Turkey Vulture 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Osprey 2025-01-08 3 RTr
White-tailed Kite 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Golden Eagle 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Northern Harrier 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Cooper's Hawk 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Northern Goshawk 6
Bald Eagle 2025-01-01 3 CGa
Red-shouldered Hawk 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Broad-winged Hawk 6
Swainson's Hawk 4
Zone-tailed Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Rough-legged Hawk 5
Ferruginous Hawk 2025-01-01 4 MOb
American Barn Owl 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Flammulated Owl 6
Western Screech-Owl 2025-01-01 2 RGJ, MMR
Great Horned Owl 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Northern Pygmy-Owl 2025-01-01 3 RGJ, MMR
Burrowing Owl 2025-01-01 3 GL, RTr
Long-eared Owl 2025-01-04 4 Sensitive Species
Short-eared Owl 2025-01-08 4 JHa
Northern Saw-whet Owl 3
Belted Kingfisher 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Williamson's Sapsucker 6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2025-01-01 5 RGJ, MMR
Red-naped Sapsucker 5
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Lewis's Woodpecker 2025-01-04 4 MOb
Acorn Woodpecker 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Downy Woodpecker 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Nuttall's Woodpecker 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Hairy Woodpecker 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Pileated Woodpecker 2025-01-02 4 WWb
Northern Flicker 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Crested Caracara 6
American Kestrel 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Merlin 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Peregrine Falcon 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Prairie Falcon 2025-01-01 4 RTr
Mitred Parakeet 2025-01-02 3 MMR
Olive-sided Flycatcher 3
Western Wood-Pewee 2
Willow Flycatcher 4
Least Flycatcher 6
Hammond's Flycatcher 2025-01-14 4 CD
Gray Flycatcher 5
Dusky Flycatcher 5
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 1
Black Phoebe 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Eastern Phoebe 6
Say's Phoebe 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Vermilion Flycatcher 6
Ash-throated Flycatcher 2
Tropical Kingbird 6
Cassin's Kingbird 4
Thick-billed Kingbird 6
Western Kingbird 2025-01-13 2 MOb
Eastern Kingbird 6
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 6
White-eyed Vireo 6
Bell's Vireo 6
Hutton's Vireo 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Yellow-throated Vireo 6
Cassin's Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 6
Plumbeous Vireo 6
Philadelphia Vireo 6
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 6
Loggerhead Shrike 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Northern Shrike 6
Pinyon Jay 6
Steller's Jay 2025-01-01 1 MOb
California Scrub-Jay 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Black-billed Magpie 6
Yellow-billed Magpie 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Clark's Nutcracker 6
American Crow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Common Raven 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Oak Titmouse 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Horned Lark 2025-01-01 3 MSt, RTr
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Purple Martin 4
Tree Swallow 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Violet-green Swallow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Bank Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Cliff Swallow 1
Dusky Warbler 6
Arctic Warbler 6
Bushtit 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Wrentit 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2025-01-01 3 BM
White-breasted Nuthatch 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Pygmy Nuthatch 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Brown Creeper 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2025-01-05 2 MOb
Rock Wren 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Canyon Wren 4
Northern House Wren 2025-01-17 2 ABu
Pacific Wren 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Marsh Wren 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Bewick's Wren 2025-01-01 1 MOb
American Dipper 2025-01-03 4 DG
European Starling 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Gray Catbird 6
Brown Thrasher 6
California Thrasher 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Sage Thrasher 6
Northern Mockingbird 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Western Bluebird 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Mountain Bluebird 6
Townsend's Solitaire 5
Varied Thrush 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Swainson's Thrush 2
Hermit Thrush 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Wood Thrush 6
American Robin 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Bohemian Waxwing 6
Cedar Waxwing 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Phainopepla 2025-01-01 4 MOb
House Sparrow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
White Wagtail 6
Red-throated Pipit 6
American Pipit 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Evening Grosbeak 5
Gray-crowned Rosy Finch 6
House Finch 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Purple Finch 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Cassin's Finch 6
Red Crossbill 5
Pine Siskin 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Lesser Goldfinch 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Lawrence's Goldfinch 2025-01-04 3 MOb
American Goldfinch 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Lapland Longspur 6
Chestnut-collared Longspur 6
Snow Bunting 6
Grasshopper Sparrow 3
Chipping Sparrow 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Clay-colored Sparrow 2025-01-23 5 DKa
Black-chinned Sparrow 4
Brewer's Sparrow 5
Black-throated Sparrow 6
Lark Sparrow 2025-01-01 2 RTr
Lark Bunting 6
American Tree Sparrow 6
Fox Sparrow 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Dark-eyed Junco 2025-01-01 1 MOb
White-crowned Sparrow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Golden-crowned Sparrow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Harris's Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 2025-01-01 4 MOb
Bell's Sparrow 2025-01-04 4 PDu
Vesper Sparrow 5
LeConte's Sparrow 6
Nelson's Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Song Sparrow 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Lincoln's Sparrow 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Swamp Sparrow 2025-01-14 4 MMR
California Towhee 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Green-tailed Towhee 5
Spotted Towhee 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Yellow-breasted Chat 4
Yellow-headed Blackbird 5
Bobolink 6
Western Meadowlark 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Orchard Oriole 6
Hooded Oriole 2025-01-02 2 MMR
Bullock's Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 6
Scott's Oriole 6
Red-winged Blackbird 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Tricolored Blackbird 2025-01-01 3 MMR, RGJ
Brown-headed Cowbird 2025-01-01 2 MMR, RGJ
Rusty Blackbird 6
Brewer's Blackbird 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Great-tailed Grackle 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Ovenbird 6
Worm-eating Warbler 6
Louisiana Waterthrush 6
Northern Waterthrush 5
Black-and-white Warbler 5
Prothonotary Warbler 6
Tennessee Warbler 6
Orange-crowned Warbler 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Lucy's Warbler 6
Nashville Warbler 2025-01-15 4 MMR
Virginia's Warbler 6
Connecticut Warbler 6
MacGillivray's Warbler 4
Kentucky Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Hooded Warbler 6
American Redstart 5
Cape May Warbler 6
Northern Parula 5
Magnolia Warbler 6
Bay-breasted Warbler 6
Blackburnian Warbler 6
Yellow Warbler 2025-01-04 1 CGa
Chestnut-sided Warbler 6
Blackpoll Warbler 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler 6
Palm Warbler 5
Pine Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2025-01-01 1 MOb
Yellow-throated Warbler 6
Prairie Warbler 6
Black-throated Gray Warbler 2025-01-18 3 KE
Townsend's Warbler 2025-01-01 2 MOb
Hermit Warbler 2025-01-01 3 MOb
Black-throated Green Warbler 6
Canada Warbler 6
Wilson's Warbler 1
Painted Redstart 6
Summer Tanager 5
Scarlet Tanager 6
Western Tanager 2025-01-01 2 GZ, JZ
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
Blue Grosbeak 4
Lazuli Bunting 2
Indigo Bunting 5
Painted Bunting 6
Dickcissel 6
NOT ABA Countable:
Mute Swan
Egyptian Goose
Mandarin Duck
African Collared-Dove
Nanday Parakeet
Red-masked Parakeet
Northern Red Bishop
Scaly-breasted Munia 2025-01-01 Anon
Orange-cheeked Waxbill
European Goldfinch
Yellow-crowned Parrot
Red-whiskered Bulbul

Observer Codes*

Abbreviation Name
ABu Adam Burnett
Anon Anonymous
BM Brooke Miller
CGa Carther Gasiorowski
CD Cliff Drowley
DG Don Ganton
DKa Dan Kadra
GL Garrett Lau
GZ Gena Zolotar
JHa Janet Hanson
JTs John Tsortos
JZ Jeff Zolotar
KE Kathy Eder
MOb Many Observers
MJM Mike Mammoser
MSt Michael Stubblefield
MMR Mike Rogers
OL Olive Lee
PDu Pete Dunten
RHe Rick Herder
RGJ Richard Jeffers
RTr Ray Trent
SRot Steve Rottenborn
WWb William Webb

Rarity Codes**

1 = common, always seen in habitat in season.
2 = fairly common, usually in habitat in season, but missed sometimes.
3 = uncommon, always around, but sometimes you can't find.
4 = rare, occurs yearly in the county, but not always in same places.
5 = very rare, does not occur every year.
6 = casual or vagrant, generally fewer than 10 records.