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Category: Resource

Post describing a resource, including technical resources, species spotlights, and location descriptions

August Migration

August Migration

Sanderling and Western Sandpipers

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers, 2020

This article was originally published in the San Joaquin Audubon Society’s The Hoot Owl newsletter, August 1, 2025 edition.

We’re nearing the end of another sizzling summer in the Central Valley. Many of us have been dragging through the summer doldrums – a period of dampened bird activity – while daydreaming about the upcoming migration that promises to inject excitement back into our birding lives. Peak fall migration in the lower 48 states is generally September through October, but did you know that August is when shorebirds are on the move?

These next several weeks are the perfect time to be scanning water sources to welcome back familiar friends from their breeding adventures. Shorebird rarities or short-term visitors will be popping up throughout the county. Look out for phalaropes spinning around in dizzying circles as they swirl up their food in the resulting vortex. Grab your scope and scan the groups of peeps (small sandpipers) to see if a Baird’s or Semipalmated Sandpiper can be plucked out of a flock. Take an extra moment to review Spotted Sandpipers in case the similar Solitary Sandpiper is actually the one bobbing along the water’s edge looking for food.

A useful tool to help predict upcoming bird migrants is eBird’s bar chart feature. Available for hotspots, counties, and even your own personal location, bar charts collect eBird data and display bird frequencies for your selected location. Use this link for the San Joaquin County bar charts (keep in mind that rarities are captured in the bar charts and do not necessarily represent expected species for the area). You can also review a nocturnal migration dashboard on BirdCast, which provides live and historical data during the spring and fall migration periods. Check out these resources, brush up on your shorebird ID, and brave the last heat of the summer as the final migration of 2025 gets underway!

New Birder Toolkit

New Birder Toolkit

Red-crested Cardinal

Red-Crested Cardinal, Hawaii. One of my favorite birds that I saw early in my birding career.

You see a bird outside your window. You hear bird songs welcome the day. A flash of brilliant colors flies by during a neighborhood walk. You are noticing birds and want to appreciate them or learn more about them. You are now entering into the birding world… But now what?

I am excited to introduce a new page on my blog: New Birder Toolkit. Here you will find a step-by-step guide on gear, field guides, and online resources to help you throughout your new birding adventures. I hope you enjoy it!

Birding with Codes

Birding with Codes

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret: SNEG

I’ve been a user of eBird for several years now. It’s a database of bird observations, and the data collected is used for research purposes. I find it cool that a simple effort on my part is contributing to science and bird conservation efforts. (To find out more, check out ebird.org. There’s also a free online course on the Cornell Lab Bird Academy website that explains how to use it.)

I prefer to use eBird on my smartphone, as it’s super convenient to use. To quickly find birds in a list, I type in the standard four-letter bird codes – a shorthand for recording bird observations. This is widely used in the birding community and is featured in eBird as an option for inputting a bird’s name.

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron: BCNH

I’ll admit, the codes are daunting! However, the more I use them the more I realize that there’s a clear pattern that emerges making it easy to figure out codes on the fly. It did take some practice, and I started off with practicing the codes for just the birds at my feeder.

Below are my observations about the codes – but use whatever shorthand that works for you! I use the Institute for Bird Populations for reference, using the PDF that organizes it by English name.

Boat-Tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle: BTGR

Bird Names with One Word

For birds whose name entails only one word, such as Bufflehead or Killdeer, all you have to do is take the first four letters of its name to come up with the code.

Bufflehead = BUFF
Killdeer = KILL

Bird Names with Two Words

For two words, you typically take the first two letters of each word, then combine them to create the four-letter code. There are exceptions, but overall this is the general pattern.

Anna’s Hummingbird = AN + HU = ANHU
Black Phoebe = BL + PH = BLPH
Lesser Goldfinch = LE + GO = LEGO
Snowy Egret = SN + EG = SNEG

There are exceptions, for example the California Towhee is CALT instead of CATO.

Bird Names with Four Words

I’m going to temporarily skip the three-worded names because it’s more complex. This category is much easier as there’s not as many birds with four words in a name.

For this category, you simply take the first letter of each word to create the code. There’s no concern about whether or not the words are hyphenated. There are some exceptions to this pattern, of course.

Black-crowned Night Heron = B + C + N + H = BCNH

Exceptions:
There are two in particular I’m aware of, but there’s probably more: Black-throated Gray Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler. The problem with these two birds is that they would both end up as BTGW! So instead, the codes reflect the last letter of the third word.

Black-throated Gray Warbler = BTYW
Black-throated Green Warbler = BTNW

Bird Names with Three Words

And finally, working with bird names with three words. I find this category the most difficult. It seems to depend on whether there is a hyphen present and where. I don’t always remember where hyphens are in names, so that can present a problem.

For no hyphens, the general pattern is to take the first letter of the first two words, and the first two letters from the third word. For example:

American Tree Sparrow = A + T + SP = ATSP

When there is a hyphen, the rule I’ve observed is that the two hyphenated words offer only one letter to the code, regardless of their position.

Examples where the first two words are hyphenated:

Black-headed Grosbeak = B + H (hyphenated) + GR (no hyphen) = BHGR
Golden-crowned Sparrow = G + C (hyphenated) + SP (no hyphen) = GCSP

Examples where the last two words are hyphenated:

Western Screech-Owl = WE (no hyphen) + S + O (hyphenated) = WESO
Northern Pygmy-Owl = NO (no hyphen) + P + O (hyphenated) = NOPO

Birding in Place

Birding in Place

Dark-Eyed Junco

Dark-Eyed Junco

It’s been nearly a week since the beginning of the Bay Area shelter in place order, and just a few days into the California mandate to stay at home. I’ve been trying to take special care to ensure that I maintain social distancing, but I’m also currently pausing my park visits. We are allowed to go to parks for exercise, but so far I’ve been preferring to walk in my neighborhood since I figure the parks would be quite populated. I’m still adjusting to this new reality as is everyone else, and perhaps I’ll sneak in a park visit soon.

Birding is an important part of my life, and in an effort to maintain some sense of normalcy, I created a list of birding-related activities to do during these times that I wanted to share.

Bird from your window, backyard, or patio

I’m starting to slow down my pace of life. For example, I’m eating meals at the dinner table and not mindlessly shoveling down food in front of a computer. During one of my recent relaxing meals next to the window, I spotted an American Crow carrying a stick. I watched it land and spotted a nest! I would have never noticed this camouflaged nest had I not been watching the birds while eating. Now I have something to watch during the breeding season.

Crack open your field guide or use AllAboutBirds.org to study birds

Have you mastered gulls yet? Sparrows? Sandpipers? Warblers? Now is a good time to start!

Plan future birding trips

This is definitely not a good time to travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan a future trip once things get back to normal. Get planning now so that you can easily put it into action.

Sign up for a course on Bird Academy

I’ve signed up for three courses thus far. The first one I finished over the span of a year and a half – “Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.” This is really science-based. I learned about the physics of flight, biology, ecology, and more.

I’m in the process of going through the “Be a Better Birder: Shorebird Identification Archived Live Series” and “Be a Better Birder: Warbler Identification.” The first course is a recorded webinar from a few years ago, but it’s still very helpful. The second course is designed for web-based learning and so far has been enjoyable.

Paint, draw, color, needlepoint, or other projects that involve birds

Are you crafty or want to start a new creative outlet? Merge your favorite pastimes!

Subscribe to a birding magazine

What better way to spend the time indoors than reading about birds! My favorite is the Bird Watcher’s Digest which takes me a long time to read. It’s worth every penny.

Talk a walk around the block

It’s OK to get exercise! Just be sure to practice social distancing in order to keep you, family, and others safe. I already spotted an Oak Titmouse nest cavity and a possible California Scrub-Jay nesting site by slowing down and looking at the local birds.

Watch a webcam

There are a lot of webcams! Check out some of these:

Cal Falcons

Cornell Feeder Watch

Ontario Feeder Watch

Panama Fruit Feeders

Watch documentaries and nature shows

Got Netflix or other streaming services? Look at their selection of nature shows. No streaming service? Go to YouTube! One tried-and-true movie that is awesome is The Big Year (2011).

Gull ID Project: Introduction & California Gulls

Gull ID Project: Introduction & California Gulls

Various Gulls

Various Gulls

“GULLS? No Waaaayyeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” This is my favorite line in Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification by Pete Dunne & Kevin T. Karlson.

My sentiments exactly. I have avoided diving into gull identification for many years. Gull plumage and hybrids make my head swirl. Then one day I read a review in the Bird Watcher’s Digest magazine for the aforementioned book, which took a more non-plumage approach to gull ID. After reading this and in combination with a field guide, I am starting to find gull ID not so scary.

I plan to write about common SF Bay Area gulls and include a few tips on ID. I found that starting with local birds and focusing on adults was the best way to ease into this project.

First up, the California Gull (CAGU).

There are a few things I look for right away when I’m hoping to ID an adult gull, including eye color, bill shape/coloring, and legs. This is usually enough to get me started.

California Gull

California Gull, Non-Breeding Adult

Adult California Gull: Basics
Eye Color: Dark
Bill Shape: Straight with no bulk
Bill Color: Yellow with red and black spots
Legs: Yellow

If all these traits line up, then chances are you’ve got yourself an adult CAGU! I used these four features to start identifying these gulls until I felt a bit more comfortable with picking them out of a crowd.

California Gull

You can see just enough of the four traits to ID this as a California Gull. Note the yellow legs, dark eye, black & red spotted straight bill.

The following features were tips I learned from the Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification book:

California Gull: Going Deeper
Standing Position: The body dips at the end so that the tail is angled downward. Compare that to the very horizontal stance of other gulls like Ring-billed Gulls.

Winter Plumage: On adults, there is grayish spotting that is concentrated on the back of the neck. This is a different spotting pattern than other winter gulls where the entire head and neck are splotchy.

California Gull

CAGU, Subadult. Note the tilted stance with the tail angled towards the bottom. Subadults also have blue legs.

There you go! Of course, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of CAGU ID, but at least the adults should be a bit easier to identify. Sit down with a bunch of gulls in a parking lot and spend some time looking at the differences in eye color, leg color, how they are standing, and anything else that seems different. Take pictures and study them at home, draw them in a notebook – whatever works to help commit this to memory!

Birding Maps Introduction

Birding Maps Introduction

Hayward Regional Shoreline. The bane of my existence. At least, in terms of nicknames.

Rare bird alert descriptions would note places like “Mt. Trashmore” and “Frank’s Dump,” but I quickly realized these were local names for areas in the regional park not included on any official trail maps. Google searches came up dry. Searches on various Facebook birding groups yielded nothing. I spent many trips wandering around this vast space never understanding exactly where these places were located.

Inspiration hit me the other day – why not create a public map for birders? I threw together a Google Map and posted it on the Fremont Birding Circle Facebook Group asking members to fill out nicknames. I got that and more – landmarks and important birding areas were also highlighted. Most of the edits came from Jerry Ting (thank you!) and we now have a crowdsourced map to help us name-newbies better understand the shoreline.

This is the first of what I hope becomes several maps, some crowdsourced and some of my own. A new webpage, “Birding Maps,” is available in the top menu bar.

Created by Elizabeth Olin
Crowdsourced by Fremont Birding Circle
https://tinyurl.com/BirdingMap-HRS
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Happy New Year!

For the past several years, my husband and I have visited the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on New Year’s Day. It’s a refreshing way to begin the new year. It also guarantees a substantial list of birds for anyone starting a new annual list.

Snow Geese

Snow Geese, 2018

Located about two hours north of the Bay Area, this water refuge is a part of a complex of several national wildlife refuges. It features a six-mile auto tour. You basically slowly drive around in a car blasting the heater on your legs (in the winter) while you poke your head out of the open car window into the freezing winter air. Visitors are permitted to stretch their legs at specified locations. These are great spots to set up a scope and take a look around.

Various Geese

Take Off! 2018

The main attraction in the winter is the thousands upon thousands of geese. Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, and Greater White-fronted Geese easily add up to more than 10,000 on location. When they get spooked and take up flight, it is a miraculous spectacle of birds lifting into the air. The subsequent noise with a mixture of calls and beating wings is quite memorable.

Bald Eagle and Common Raven

Immature Bald Eagle and Common Raven, 2017

Bald Eagles are another fun bird to observe. I’ve seen immature and adult eagles fly around and interact with the other birds. They are magnificent creatures to behold as they soar across the skies. In 2017, I was delighted to watch a Common Raven attempt to steal a partially-consumed American Coot from an eagle. The raven was boldly jumping around, and nearly on, the eagle in an attempt to snatch an easy meal.

Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike, a rarity for the area, 2018

Other fun birds are present, such as all kinds of waterfowl, sparrows, pheasants, hawks, and more. We usually take at least two hours to drive through the six miles. I’ve heard that others will ride through multiple times. If you get a chance to visit, the sheer volume of birds present will leave you with a memorable experience.

Species Spotlight: Golden-crowned Sparrows

Species Spotlight: Golden-crowned Sparrows

Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2017

Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2017

Seet, seet, seet. I hear a high-pitched call coming from the bushes and my heart jumps for joy – our winter sparrows have arrived! I crouch down to take a peek at the activity on the ground while being careful to not disturb the birds and find one of my favorite winter sparrows: the Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2016

Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2016

This little, brown sparrow has a brilliant golden crown nestled between two thick dark lines on its crown. During the winter, the gold and black is turned down a notch in brightness for its non-breeding plumage, which is what we typically see in the Bay Area.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, 2017

Golden-crowned Sparrow on Broccoli, 2017

Watch for these sparrows in mixed flocks as they forage on the ground and trees for food. They are often found alongside White-crowned Sparrows which are remarkably similar but with white and black stripes down its head that looks like a skunk. I absolutely adore the songs of the Golden-crowned sparrows. To me it’s a melancholy yet sweet song that transports me to a cozy home in the winter.

Species Spotlight: Song Sparrows

Species Spotlight: Song Sparrows

Song Sparrow, 2016

Song Sparrow, 2016

A common sparrow in the Bay Area is the aptly-named song sparrow. This little, striped, brown bird has a variety of songs and calls ranging from a dancing musical tune to a slightly raspy “cheep” call that to me sounds a bit like a wren.

When I first began birding, it was challenging for me to identify this LBJ (little brown job) as it can stick its tail straight up like a wren! A key field marker is the blend of blurry stripes down its chest that frame a bigger splotch in the middle. Song sparrows also have a thick “eyeliner” behind its eye and a general brown stripy look with a white chest.

I often find song sparrows rummaging on the ground in bushes or climbing around cattails like a marsh wren. They are not too shy and can pose prettily for glamor shots. If you find one, spend a little time observing it and wait for it to sing a song.

Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District

Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District

When one hears “wastewater treatment plant,” birding may not be one of the first activities that comes to mind. In fact, these offer a rich birding experience as a variety of birds take advantage of the ponds and plant life. You can find sandpipers, ducks, sparrows, warblers, even birds of prey. While I’m sure some sanitation plants may test the limits of stench, I’ve quite enjoyed a couple with no odors detected thus far.

Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District

Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District

This brings me to Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District located in Marin County. Admittedly I’ve only been here twice, but each time I left with a solid list of birds. Containing four ponds with fields all around, it offers a sanctuary for birds of all types. My favorite are the mute swans, which I didn’t know existed in California let alone in the North Bay. Since then I’ve learned that they are occasionally around the East Bay.

Mute Swans

Mute Swans, 2018

The paths around the ponds are pleasant with locals walking their dogs or jogging, while birders scan the area with binoculars glued to their faces. Ponds attract water fowl, blackberry bramble and fennel attract warblers and sparrows, and the trees collect woodpeckers and owls. The fields will produce white-tailed kites, hawks, turkey vultures, and more.

If you go, be sure to wear sun protection as there’s not a lot of shade and it can get warm during the summer.

Check out the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District eBird hotspot list.