What to Look For Now—Timely Birding
SUMMER 2021
Matthew Dodder
SCVAS Executive Director
Summer is the time to remember what youth is like—that not-entirely-accurate moment when a fawning adult looks at a squirming newborn and says something like, “you look just like your parents”... It’s also when fledgling Juncos and Chickadees show resemblance to their parents, but are far from being mirror images. In some cases, these young ones are a challenge to recognize—not exactly like their parents, but generally identifiable with an extended look.
Doldrums?
Summer is also the time when at the moment we begin to feel confident about the songs around us, the birds mostly stop singing... And when most of the exciting arrivals of spring are now so familiar that we impatiently watch for something new. And nothing shows up. Not yet.
Last year at this time, I mentioned something called “froth” which is my name for a phenomenon that we often see in summer. Think of the slow turning bubble in a tide pool after a wave has rushed in and the next one hasn’t yet hit the beach. It’s that June-August time period after most breeding has occurred and a few lost, exhausted or discouraged birds wander into unexpected areas. This coincidence of late arrivals, failed breeders, wayward travelers accounts for some of our rarest and most astonishing discoveries of summer, perhaps even the year. One has only to look at our checklist (scvas.org/birding) to see the sprinkling of unexpected birds that have shown up over the years—things like Common and Lesser Nighthawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Least Flycatcher and Eastern Kingbird to understand the variety that is possibilities during these “doldrums” birders often bemoan.
What I’d like to talk about though is not the unexpected, not the rare, but the predictable birds of summer. Most notable are the species that annually (or close to annually) arrive in our area shortly after breeding elsewhere. These are the post- breeders. These are not so much the “pass through” species I’ve mentioned before—birds like Red-necked and Wilson’s Phalaropes, or Hammond’s Flycatcher that come through in spring and fall, nor the wintering species that remain with us for several months, but the species that show up specifically after breeding and are quite reliable for a brief period in summer. It’s an under-appreciated seasonal category of birds but one that I look forward to every year in addition to the southward movement of Shorebirds which also begins in summer.
Elegant Tern, Chuq Von Rospach
One Good Tern...
The most obvious example I think would be the Least Tern. Fond of freshwater areas in the eastern portion of its range, here it is all about salt and coast. These tiny aerialists arrive in California from Mexico in spring and are easy to view on their nesting grounds on Alameda Point. One can learn about their migration and even view these endangered birds as they forage at the Crab Cove Visitors Center not far from their nest sites on the Point. Seeing them in Santa Clara County, even though they breed just an hour away, is not so easy until the nesting is done and the families head back south. They pass through the South Bay beginning in June and feed on A2E and adjacent ponds each year, predictably. For almost two months out of each year, we have our smallest tern, an endangered sprite, delighting local birders before they leave for Mexico again, probably not to be seen again until next year.
Black Tern, Tom Grey
The Black Tern has a related story. This one actually is rare, but I want to mention it anyway. Black Terns breed in the northern Central Valley, Sierra Valley and the Klamath Basin. They winter in Central and South America. Like the Least Tern, we don’t see them in Santa Clara County during the breeding season, and only rarely during spring migration. We see
them mostly in summer, again after breeding is completed elsewhere. They show up less commonly, and in far fewer numbers, in the same salt ponds as their slightly smaller cousin. When/if they do arrive here, they are usually in their blotchy non-breeding or juvenal plumage, so...probably not black. They feed on insects primarily, and do not dive like other Terns. While you’re out admiring the Least Terns on A2E, A12 or A16, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for the Black. Common Tern? Yes, that happens too.
Elegant Tern is a perfect example of a post-breeder. Considered a species of concern due to its limited breeding colonies in western Mexico, they have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to changing climate and colonize areas further north—first in Southern California, then Monterey, San Mateo and onward. Perhaps some day we’ll even see them breed in Santa Clara County. The real story here is not their summer arrival in the South Bay but that this species has travelled increasingly further north after breeding along the coast, making sightings as far up as Seattle familiar. Ocean temperatures and climate change seem to be a likely explanation. Whatever the reason, these large Terns, mid-size between Forster’s and Caspian, can usually be found July– November on large ponds such as A2W, A4, A12, A16, SWPCP or even Shoreline Lake. Learn to recognize their loud grating “kee-rick” call so you’ll know if they are anywhere within earshot.
Brown Pelican, Tom Grey
One final example of this post-breeding phenomenon deserves mention, the Brown Pelican. These huge, awkward birds breed along the rocky coast from Mexico to Monterey. When I moved to California in 1981, I had never seen a Brown Pelican away from the coast. I think maybe they were still rebounding from the DDT poisonings. Occasionally I would see one among the many Cormorants on the San Mateo Bridge, but I don’t recall seeing them in Santa Clara County, certainly not the Baylands near my home. It seems the species has made a remarkable recovery and can now be seen almost year round in our county. Look for them especially after breeding is complete, with numbers peaking in late summer.
The Future
Rich Stallcup used to refer to the Brown Pelican, the Elegant Tern and the Heermann’s Gull as the “three Amigos” because of their close association and similar schedules. We see examples of their closeness just a few miles away in Half Moon Bay. With Brown Pelicans and Elegant Terns becoming a more reliable sighting, perhaps we should watch for them here as well, during the summer doldrums...
Photos L to R:
Brown Pelican Tom Grey, Least Tern Juvenile Carter Gasiorowski, Black Tern Tom Grey, Elegant Tern Tom Grey, Common Tern Tom Grey