SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIRD LIST DISCUSSION ARCHIVE 2021

| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September| October | November | December |

Compiled by: Brooke Miller. Please email additions, corrections, or comments to Brooke at idbirds@me.com. Monthly reports are made up of eBird sightings, postings on South Bay Birds, and direct email reports.

Please post all your sightings at southbaybirds@groups.io and/or eBird. You can use eBird to follow first-of-the-year sightings. Due to the fact that not everyone uses eBird, not all sightings will be included, however. To see first-of-the-year sightings in eBird do the following:

  • Click on "Explore Data" at the top of any eBird page

  • Select "Explore a Region"

  • Type in "Santa Clara" and wait for the page to fill it in

  • Select "Current Year" and click "set"

  • Click on "First Seen"

Go back to the Santa Clara County Bird List 2021 or view all the cumulative year lists.

January

We started off 2021 with 175 countable birds seen on January 1, and a total of 213 countable birds for the month of January. The average for January 1st is 156, and the average for the month of January is 200. Our January total was a record, beating the last high total for the month of 209 in 2017. There were 4 birds that were not ABA-countable in January. Thank you to everyone who birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Of the countable 213 birds that were recorded for January, there were 3 birds rated as rarity (6), and 10 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 2021:

  1. Brant, 1/1/2021, continuing from 2020, at Shoreline Lake, seen by multiple observers

  2. Tropical Kingbird, 1/1/2021, continuing from 2020, Geng Road, by multiple observers

  3. Cassin’s Finch, 1/16/2021, continuing from 2020, by Elinor Gates, near the Lick Observatory

RARITY CODE 5’S FOR JANUARY 2021:

  1. Green-tailed Towhee, 1/1/2021, continuing from 2020, at Calero Creek Trail, seen by multiple observers

  2. Summer Tanager, 1/1/2021, continuing from 2020, Geng Road, seen by Matthew Dodder and Tricia Gardner

  3. Swamp Sparrow, 1/3/2021, seen by Mike Rogers at Alviso Marina County Park

  4. Red-naped Sapsucker, 1/9/2021, found by Michelle Thurber at Stanford University

  5. Red-necked Grebe, 1/12/2021, found by Andrea Wuenschel, in Alviso Slough

  6. Long-tailed Duck, 1/16/2021, found by Matthew Dodder at Salt Pond A11

  7. Swainson’s Hawk, 1/21/2021, found by Ellie Resendiz near the Gilroy Water Treatment Plant

  8. Cassin’s Kingbird, 1/21/2021, found by Ellie Resendiz near the Gilroy Water Treatment Plant

  9. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 1/24/2021, found by Steve Tucker at Vasona Lake County Park

  10. Red Crossbill, 1/29/2021, found by Pete Dunten, at Henry Coe State Park

THE 4 ABA NON-COUNTABLE BIRDS FOR JANUARY WERE:

  1. Mandarin Duck, seen on 1/3/2021, by Gena and Jeff Zolotar, at Dale Ave & Greenview Dr

  2. Mitred Parakeet, seen on 1/3/2021, by Tom Unsicker, at Las Palmas Park

  3. Scaly-breasted Munia, seen on 1/9/2021, by Steve Tucker, at Almaden Lake Park

  4. Red-masked Parakeet, seen on 1/17/2021, by Gena and Jeff Zolotar, at Las Palmas Park

My monthly reports are made up of eBird sightings, postings on SBB, and direct emails. You can find all the monthly cumulative lists on the SCVAS website at:

https://scvas.org/sc-county-cumulative-year-lists. Please post all your sightings to: mailto: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

Return to Top

February

For February we had 8 countable birds, for a total of 221 countable birds at the end of February. The average for the month of February is 9 new birds, and the average total is 209 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds in February. Thank you to everyone who birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 8 countable birds for February, including rarity codes:

  1. 4-Feb: Allen’s Hummingbird (3), at Ulistac Natural Area, reported by Peg Albrets

  2. 10-Feb: Grasshopper Sparrow (4), at Sierra Vista OSP, seen and photographed by Bob Reiling

  3. 10-Feb: Yellow Warbler (1), along the Guadalupe River Trail—Trimble Rd. to Montague Expwy, found by Tricia Gardner

  4. 10-Feb: Wilson’s Warbler (1), found along the Alamitos Creek Trail near Mazzone, by Anonymous Birder

  5. 16-Feb: Eastern Phoebe (6), at Ulistac Natural Area, seen and photographed by Erica Fleniken

  6. 16-Feb: Rufous Hummingbird (4), at Ed Levin County Park—Spring Valley Area, by Mike Mammoser

  7. 17-Feb: Pacific-slope Flycatcher (2), along the Guadalupe River Trail—north San Jose, seen by Matthew Dodder

  8. 24-Feb: Western Kingbird (2), at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, by Janna Pauser.

Return to Top

March

Before I get to March, there was one bird reported to me after last month’s report was prepared and published. A Black Rail was detected on 28-February at an undisclosed location by an undisclosed birder. (Note: Black Rail is considered a “sensitive species” in the county by eBird, so details are hidden.)

For March we had 11 countable birds, for a total of 233 countable birds at the end of March. The average for the month of March is 13 new birds, and the average total is 222 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for March. Thank you to everyone who birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 11 countable birds for March, including rarity codes:

  1. 2-Mar: Cliff Swallow (1), detected at Palo Alto Baylands by an anonymous eBirder

  2. 5-Mar: Lesser Black-backed Gull (6), found by Noah Arthur on an island in Salt Pond A12

  3. 8-Mar: Vermilion Flycatcher (6), first seen by Ginny Murphy at the ranch house area of Joseph D Grant County Park

  4. 9-Mar: Bullock’s Oriole (1), found by Garrett Lau at Sunnyvale Baylands Park

  5. 11-Mar: Caspian Tern (2), seen by Andrew Kenny at Charleston Slough/Coast Casey Forebay

  6. 19-Mar: Warbling Vireo (2), found by an anonymous eBirder at Santa Teresa CP—Stile Entrance

  7. 20-Mar: Cattle Egret (5), found by Arleen Felt, seen in her backyard in Morgan Hill

  8. 27-Mar: Cassin’s Vireo (2), found by Janna Pauser at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park

  9. 28-Mar: Purple Martin (4), seen by Chris Johnson at Alum Rock Park

  10. 28-Mar: Vaux’s Swift (3), seen by Dean Hester at Coyote Lake CP—Harvey Bear Ranch entrance

  11. 31-Mar: Bank Swallow (5), seen by Steve Rottenborn at Don Edwards NWR—Mallard Slough

Return to Top

April

For April we had 16 countable birds, for a total of 250 countable birds at the end of April. The average for the month of April is 21 new birds, and the average total is 243 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for April. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 16 countable birds for April, including rarity codes:

  1. 7-Apr: Ash-throated Flycatcher (2), found by Mary Ann Allan at Monte Bello OSP;

  2. 7-Apr: 2 Calliope Hummingbirds (5), seen by “M N”, at Ed Levin CP—Spring Valley Area;

  3. 8-Apr: Nashville Warbler (4), found by Carlos Marquez at the ranch house area of Joseph D Grant County Park;

  4. 10-Apr: 4 Hammond’s Flycatchers (5), found by Mike Rogers, at Smith Creek Fire Station;

  5. 11-Apr: Solitary Sandpiper (5), found by Carter Gasiorowski, at Smith Creek Fire Station;

  6. 12-Apr: Black-chinned Hummingbird (4), seen by Brooke Miller at her home in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose;

  7. 14-Apr: Olive-sided Flycatcher (3), found by David Ekdahl, at Upper Stevens Creek CP—Charcoal Road Trail;

  8. 15-Apr: Red Knot (5), one found by Ray Chen at Charleston Slough/Coast Casey Forebay, and one found by Shweta Shidhore and Vinayak Hebbagil at the San Francisquito Creek Mouth;

  9. 15-Apr: Ruddy Turnstone (5), seen by Adam Burnett, at the San Francisquito Creek Mouth;

  10. 16-Apr: Two Lazuli Buntings (2), found by Sergio Perez at Santa Teresa County Park;

  11. 16-Apr: Red-necked Phalarope (2), found by Pete Dunten in the Alviso impoundment between A12 and the RR tracks;

  12. 18-Apr: Western Wood-Pewee (2), found by Howard Friedman, at Joseph D Grant County Park;

  13. 22-Apr: Common Tern (4), found by Brooke Miller, at the Emily Renzel Wetlands;

  14. 25-Apr: Two California Condors (6), seen by an Anonymous eBirder in Saratoga, CA;

  15. 27-Apr: Swainson’s Thrush (2), reported by Alex Rinkert at Loma Prieta—Lower Saddle, another bird found by Mike Danzenbaker at Smith Creek Fire Station, and a third bird found by Lena Kolesnikova at Arastradero Preserve;

  16. 29-Apr: Yellow-breasted Chat (5), found by Caitlin Chock in the ranch house area of Joseph D Grant County Park

Return to Top

May

Before I get to May, I have two revisions from prior months. A Ross’s Goose was reported on January 5, that has since been determined as a mis-identification. So, that has been removed from the list. Second, last month I reported the first date of a Yellow-breasted Chat as 29-April. In fact, the first Yellow-breasted Chat was found on 28-April by Samantha Siow in a Mountain View yard. These revisions change the end-of-April number from 250 to 249.

For May we had 6 countable birds, for a total of 255 countable birds at the end of May. The average for the month of May is 9 new birds, and the average total is 252 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for May. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 6 countable birds for May, including rarity codes:

  1. 1-May: Black-chinned Sparrow (4), found by Mike Ambrose at Henry Coe State Park;

  2. 2-May: Common Murre (5), found by Kevin Gin, at Los Gatos Creek County Park;

  3. 18-May: Yellow-headed Blackbird (5), found by Dave Weber along the San Francisco Bay Trail just East of the Moffett Field Golf Course;

  4. 21-May: Willow Flycatcher (4), found by Jim Yurchenko, at Henry Coe State Park;

  5. 22-May: Blue Grosbeak (4), found by Carter Gasiorowski, at the Pajaro River;

  6. 23-May: 14 Black Swifts (5), seen by Mike Rogers, at Grant Lake in Joseph D Grant County Park.

Return to Top

June

Before I get to June, I have a revision for May. I reported the first date of a Willow Flycatcher as 21-May. In fact, the first Willow Flycatcher was found on 13-May by Howard Friedman at Joseph D Grant County Park.

For June we had 3 countable birds, for a total of 258 countable birds at the end of June. The average for the month of June is 3 new birds, and the average total is 255 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for June. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 3 countable birds for June, including rarity codes:

  1. 16-Jun: 10 Wilson’s Phalaropes (2), found by Debbie Ottman in Alviso;

  2. 17-Jun: Plumbeous Vireo (6), found by Steve Rottenborn, at the office of HT Harvey in Los Gatos;

  3. 23-Jun: Black Tern (5), found by Brooke Miller, crossing the channel between the East and West Ponds at Sunnyvale WPCP

The AOS (American Ornithological Society) has split Mew Gull into two separate species. New World Mew Gull now becomes Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus), and the Old World Mew/Common Gull now becomes Common Gull (Larus canus) including all Old World breeding subspecies including “Kamchatka Gull”. I’ve updated the name in this month’s reports.

Return to Top

July

For July we had 5 countable birds, for a total of 263 countable birds at the end of July. The average for the month of July is 4 new birds, and the average total is 260 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for July. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 5 countable birds for July, including rarity codes:

  1. 20-Jul: Townsend’s Solitaire (5), found by Richard Cimino on Mines Rd;

  2. 24-Jul: Two Least Terns (4), seen by Jennifer Morrow at Alviso Marina County Park;

  3. 25-Jul: MacGillivray’s Warbler (4), found by Massimo Bafetti at Belgatos Park

  4. 26-Jul: Semipalmated Sandpiper (4), found by Pete Dunten at Salt Pond A13

  5. 27-Jul: Two Elegant Terns (4), seen by Patricia Lynch at Salt Pond A1

Return to Top

August

First of all, I missed a bird earlier in the year: A Common Poorwill was first heard on 27-March by Henry Burton at Henry Coe State Park. That brought the total at the end of July to 264 birds.

For August we had 5 countable birds, for a total of 269 countable birds at the end of August. The average for the month of August is 6 new birds, and the average total is 266 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for August. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 5 countable birds for August, including rarity codes:

  1. 9-Aug: Brandt’s Cormorant (6), found by Dave Weber at Shoreline Lake;

  2. 24-Aug: Pectoral Sandpiper (4), seen by Mary Ann Allan at Don Edwards NWR—Pond A16;

  3. 24-Aug: Black Turnstone (6), found by Mary Ann Allan at Don Edwards NWR—Pond A16;

  4. 28-Aug: Lark Bunting (6), found by Matthew Dodder, Michael Hawk, and Carolyn Knight at the North Coyote Valley Conservation Area (restricted area) 

  5. 29-Aug: Baird’s Sandpiper (4), seen by Mike Rogers and Mike Mammoser at the San Jose/Santa Clara WPCP (restricted area)

Return to Top

September

For September we had 8 countable birds, for a total of 277 countable birds at the end of September. The average for the month of September is 10 new birds, and the average total is 275 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for September. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 8 countable birds for September, including rarity codes:

  1. 11-Sep: Clay-colored Sparrow (5), found by Massimo Bafetti at Lone Hill Park;

  2. 15-Sep: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (6), found by Garrett Lau in Salt Pond A13;

  3. 17-Sep: Stilt Sandpiper (4), seen by Pete Dunten in Salt Pond A13;

  4. 21-Sep: Black-and-White Warbler (5), found by Ozzie Altus at Los Gatos Creek County Park; 

  5. 21-Sep: Northern Waterthrush (5), found by Ozzie Altus at Vasona Lake County Park;

  6. 22-Sep: Black-throated Sparrow (6), found by Alex Rinkert at the Lower Saddle on Loma Prieta;

  7. 27-Sep: Blackpoll Warbler (5), found by Dessi Sieburth at Vasona Lake County Park;

  8. 27-Sep: American Redstart (5), found by Garrett Lau at Vasona Lake County Park.

Return to Top

October

For October we had 4 countable birds, for a total of 281 countable birds at the end of the month. The average for the month of October is 5 new birds, and the average total is 280 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for the month. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 4 countable birds for October, including rarity codes:

  1. 4-Oct: Williamson’s Sapsucker (6), a male, found by Carter Gasiorowski at Vasona Lake County Park;

  2. 8-Oct: Magnolia Warbler (6), a first winter female, found by Peter LaTourrette at Ulistac Natural Area;

  3. 8-Oct: Palm Warbler (5), found by Garrett Lau at Shoreline Park—Shoreline Lake Area;

  4. 29-Oct: Rough-legged Hawk (5), seen by Mike Mammoser along Canada Rd.—Jamieson Rd. to Angelo Ln.

Return to Top

November

For November we had 3 countable birds, for a total of 284 countable birds at the end of the month. The average for the month of November is 3 new birds, and the average total is 283 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for the month. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 3 countable birds for November, including rarity codes:

  1. 12-Nov: Tufted Duck (5), found by James Petersen on Pond A16 at Don Edwards NWR in Alviso;

  2. 14-Nov: Harris’s Sparrow (juvenile) (6), seen by Betty DeLuco at the Palo Alto Baylands;

  3. 21-Nov: Ross’s Goose (4), found by Adam Burnett at Byxbee Park.

Return to Top

December

For December we had 5 countable birds, for a total of 289 countable birds at the end of the year. The average for the month of December is 3 new birds, and the average total for a year is 286 birds. There were no ABA-uncountable birds for the month. Thank you to everyone who birded and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

Here are the 5 countable birds for December, including rarity codes:

  1. 4-Dec: Rose-breasted Grosbeak (5), seen by Ann Hep at a yard feeder in Los Altos;

  2. 6-Dec: White-winged Scoter (5), found by Chris Overington at Pond A4 at the Sunnyvale WPCP;

  3. 13-Dec: Tundra Swan (5), 5 seen flying above Highway 85 by Mike Mammoser;

  4. 20-Dec: Curlew Sandpiper (6), found by Mike Rogers at the Palo Alto Baylands during the Palo Alto CBC;

  5. 26-Dec: Sandhill Crane (6), seen flying North above Highway 280 by Pamela and Robert Clark.

Return to Top