These older entries were found in the 1997-2001 South-Bay-Birds mailing list archives that Chuq von Rospach has kindly hosted all these years. These updates were posted to south-bay-birds by Kendric Smith based on the data gathered by Bill Bousman.

See the Santa Clara County Bird List 2001 or view all the cumulative year lists.

Mid-January 2001

"Here is a mid-January list. 170 species is a good start and it is likely that there are quite a few missing from the list. Particularly notable are three "6s" to start off the new year: Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-backed Wagtail, and Great-tailed Grackle. People should check this list for missing fairly common or uncommon species or if they have earlier dates than shown here. I will update the list based on their response."

It is hard to believe that this starts the 6th year of posting this list.

January’s End 2001

The county list is up to 188 although some of the regulars are missing. I've placed '?' by Black-bellied Plover, Great Horned Owl, and Wrentit, as I know they've been seen. Some less common regulars that may have been seen are Semipalmated Plover, Lewis's Woodpecker, Horned Lark, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Lawrence's Goldfinch. Of the 18 new species since 21 Jan, 14 are new, while the other 4 are 'fillers', that is, species that were seen earlier, but I didn't have records for. So, by the end of January we almost made 200 species. With spring we'll quickly get another 30 or 40. After that it will be hard scrabble birding until to find another 60 species to bring us to our usual 290 or 295.

February 2001

There were nine new species for the county list in February, plus I obtained three January "clean-up" records. This brings the county list total to 196. The best new birds, all 5's, were: Rough-legged Hawk, Snowy Plover, Long-eared Owl, and Costa's Hummingbird.

New Birds:

Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Snowy Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, Costa's Hummingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow

Additional January Birds:

Greater Scaup, Black-bellied Plover, Wrentit

March 2001

March was not quite bursting with spring, but added six new species, all of them typical early arrivals of locally breeding birds, excepting Common Poorwill, which may be partially resident. That brings us to 202.

Caspian Tern, Common Poorwill, Western Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Wilson's Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow

April 2001

The number of species jumped 31 this month, but part of this is corrections and oversights from previous months. I added Rock Wren for February and seven species for March that I had overlooked: Rufous and Allen's Hummingbird, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Horned Lark, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Hooded Oriole, and Lawrence's Goldfinch.

April was, as expected a big month, with 23 new species. Many were returning summer residents such as: Vaux's Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Western Tanager, Chipping Sparrow, and Lazuli Bunting. There were also some rare migrants such as Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruff, Solitary Sandpiper, Calliope Hummingbird, Hammond's Flycatcher, and Nashville Warbler. A few rare residents were also found: Greater Roadrunner, Lewis's Woodpecker, and Cassin's Kingbird. Finally, the status of Cattle Egret and Blue Grosbeak remains an enigma.

Of the '2's on the checklist, only Red-necked and Wilson's Phalaropes are left and it's no secret that they've been found in May. All the '3's have been found this year and only eight '4's are left unfound (and some have been). So that leaves a lot of exciting birding to do.

May 2001

(no entry?)

June 2001

We added four new species in June, to bring the county list to 250. An adult COMMON TERN was found on 6/24/01 (Steve Rutledge, Julie Beers) which is unusual for the summer, but we often find a few in Fall. A BLACK SWIFT found on 6/10/01 (Eric Feuss) was within the range of dates for spring migrants overthe Santa Cruz Mountains. An overdue PHAINOPEPLA was seen in San Antonio Valley on 6/2/01 (John Mariani). Finally, a friend of Kathy Parker found a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK on Black Road on 6/8/01, and she made the id that day. Interestingly, John Arnold saw another bird at his feeder in Los Altos on6/15/01. These are expected dates for this Eastern vagrant.

This leaves only three '4s' still not seen this year: Pectoral Sandpiper, Least Tern, and Willow Flycatcher. Pectoral is very likely (certain) by September. Least Tern should be seen this month. We missed Willow Flycatcher in the spring migration (which is typical), but they are more common in August and September.

In recent years, we've been getting on the order of 280 to 305 birds for the year -- so the last 30 or 40 are going to be tough, but something is sure tofly in. (Indigo Bunting has already been found in July).

July 2001

As you will recall, June ended with a nice round 250 species for the year. Six new species were added in July, bringing the total to 256.

A Little Blue Heron along Artesian Slough on 7/4/2001 (Ann Verdi) was the first adequately described this year. They've not been found in the Alviso salt ponds as in past years. An adult Semipalmated Sandpiper on 7/15/2001 (Mike Rogers) was a good find and typical date. Juveniles are later and more likely. The first Least Terns showed up on 7/14/2001 (FrankVanslager). They concentrated in salt ponds A2E and B1, mostly out of binocular range. A Willow Flycatcher was banded at CCFS on 7/22/01, and is amonth earlier than typical fall passage birds. A Bank Swallow was found at the Mountain View Forebay on 7/21/01 (Vivek Tiwari). San Mateo County's Indigo Buntings proved infectious when an adult male was found at the Arastradero Preserve on 7/3/01 (John Meyer, Lisa Pavey).

The only "4" not recorded this year is Pectoral Sandpiper. This bird is very likely in September; occasionally we have adults earlier. The rest of the year is going to be tough, but the new birds that are found will all be exciting.

August 2001

Four birds were added to the county list in August and, not surprisingly, three were shorebirds. This boosts the total to 260. John Mariani found a juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER at Calero Reservoir on 17 Aug, a surprising inland location. Mike Rogers found eight juvenile PECTORALSANDPIPERS in the San Jose-Santa Clara WPCP drying ponds on 26 Aug. Mike Mammoser found an adult STILT SANDPIPER at the ponds at State and Spreckles in Alviso on 18 Aug and the bird has been enjoyed by many and remains there into September (with a female Ruff). Finally, Rogers and Mammoser found a SUMMER TANAGER along Guadalupe River below Trimble on 25 Aug. This bird, probably an older female, was not found subsequently.

September 2001

September, the month of vagrants, was so-so, and we boosted our county list to 265 with five new species. John Mariani found a Swainson's Hawk in Alviso on 3 Sep (another bird was found later in the month on the Bolsa de San Felipe in San Benito County). Jim Lomax saw a second-year Little Gull at the Mountain View salt ponds on 17 Sep. This is our 7th record, but only the first for fall. Matthew Dodder and his group found an immature Sabine's Gull at the Alviso EEC on 29 Sep. This is the 9th record and most have been in September. Sherry Hudson reported a Gray Catbird banded at the Coyote Creek Field Station on 26 Sep and this is only the 2nd record. Our only other passerine vagrant (well, almost) was a Northern Waterthrush found by Mike Rogers along Stevens Creek below L'Avenida on 11 Sep. It stayed around (maybe still there) although it has only been seen twice since then (but heard more often, maybe).

Three of these birds were "6's", which are always the hardest to get, so that's good news (the gulls and the catbird). Even if we are to see all of the remaining "5's", an unlikely event, this would only bring us to 289. Beat those bushes.

October 2001

(no archive)

November 2001

(no archive)

December 2001

We finished the year with 281 species, gaining five in December. This is lowest total we've had in recent years, I believe. The mean for the the last five years is 293. However, there is some compensation in that we added two new species to the countly list during the year. Within a day of each other Mike Mammoser found a YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, and Mike Rogers found a GLOSSY IBIS. Both were enjoyed by many.

Wrapping up 2001, Ann Verdi found an immature YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at the Alamitos Ground Water Recharge pond next to the SCVWD headquarters off Almaden on 2 Dec. The next day, Bob Reiling and Frank Vanslager found a family of TUNDRA SWANS in the New Chicago Marsh. Mike Rogers picked off an adults SWAMP SPARROW near the waste water outfall at the Palo Alto Baylands on 14 Dec. On the San Jose CBC, Mike Mammoser found a very late SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER at the New Chicago Marsh. Finally, while banding along Coyote Creek below Tasman, Sherry Hudson and Gina Barton saw a GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. One wintered here two years ago (also in the mid-1990s)
Bill