Santa Clara County Bird List 2024

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 2024 or view all the cumulative year lists.

Discussion for April 2024

Before I get to April, there is one change and 2 new birds for March that were not reported last month:

1. Western Kingbird (2), was first seen on 3/15/2024 by Juliette Bryson at Ulistac Natural Area (not 3/22/24).

2. Slaty-backed Gull (6), was found by Dessi Sieburth, Cedrik von Briel, and Marty Freeland on 3/15/2024, at Salt Pond A13 (new for March).

3. Lazuli Bunting (2), was found by Susan Weinstein at Alum Rock Park (new for March).

That increased March’s total from 13 new birds to 15 new birds, and the total number of birds at the end of March from 235 to 237.

For April we had a total of 17 new species, bringing us to 254 species at the end of April. The average for April is 20, and the average total is 244. Thank you to everyone who birded, and took the time to report birds either on SBB, eBird, or send emails directly to me.

The 17 new birds seen in April are as follows:

1. Black-headed Grosbeak (1), 4/1/2024, found by Felix Cloutier, at Lake Ranch Reservoir at Sanborn County Park;

2. Ash-throated Flycatcher (2), 4/8/2024, found by Alexander Auer, on Cordelia Ave., in San Jose;

3. Solitary Sandpiper (5), 4/9/2024, found by Carter Gasiorowski, at Ogier Ponds;

4. Purple Martin (4), 4/11/2024, seen by Ezra Garfield at the Lower Saddle of Loma Prieta;

5. Red-necked Phalarope (2), 4/14/2024, found by Pete Dunten at Salt Pond A15;

6. Blue Grosbeak (4), 4/15/2024, found by Mike Beggs at Guadalupe River Park;

7. Olive-sided Flycatcher (3), 4/16/2024, found by Richard Bradus at Ogier Ponds;

8. Black-chinned Hummingbird (3), 4/16/2024, seen by Brooke Miller in her yard in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose;

9. Western Wood-Pewee (2), 4/16/2024, found by Nick Henry along the Lookout Trail in Saratoga;

10. Calliope Hummingbird (4), 4/16/2024, two birds found in different locations—one along the Stile Ranch Trail in Santa Teresa County Park by Eve Meier, and one in Janna Pauser’s backyard in the Almaden Valley;

11. MacGillivray’s Warbler (4), 4/19/2024, found by Eve Meier along the Tony Look Trail in Stevens Creek County Park;

12. Greater Roadrunner (4), 4/20/2024, seen by Craige Edgerton at the Kirby Landfill;

13. Elegant Tern (3), 4/21/2024, seen by Pete Dunten at Salt Pond A12;

14. Black Oystercatcher (6), 4/21/2024, found by Garrett Lau and Matthew Dodder at the San Francisquito Creek Mouth;

15. Swainson’s Thrush (2), 4/21/2024, found by Andrew Melnick and Sheila Raymond at Belgatos Park;

16. Black Turnstone (6), 4/23/2024, seen by Chris Overington at San Francisquito Creek Mouth;

17. Red Knot (4), 4/28/2024, seen by Garrett Lau from the sailing dock at the Palo Alto Baylands.

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 SCVAS website at https://scvas.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 April 2024

Observer Codes*

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.