Elfin Forest Birds in May and June

 

In the Chaparral, it’s nesting season. Young are being fed and many birds are singing. Look and listen for:

 

California Quail

Anna’s Hummingbird

Black Phoebe

Hutton’s Vireo

Western Scrub Jay

Cliff Swallow

Wrentit

Oak Titmouse

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Bushtit

Bewick’s Wren

California Thrasher

California Towhee

Spotted Towhee

House Finch

Lesser Goldfinch

 

From the overlooks, most of our non-resident waterfowl and shorebirds have moved to breeding grounds, and the numbers will continue to dwindle through June and July, but watch for:

 

Double-crested Cormorant

Black-crowned Night Heron

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Great-blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Canada Goose

Brant (a few still lingering)

Gadwall

Green-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

American Wigeon

Northern Harrier

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Sora

Black-bellied Plover

American Avocet

Willet

Greater Yellowlegs

Marbled Godwit

Long-billed Curlew

Western and Least Sandpipers

Caspian Tern

Marsh Wren

Common Yellowthroat

Song Sparrow

 

The edges of the Elfin Forest, at the end of the streets, are well worth checking for birds. Many people have feeders up, and there are often quite a few birds around. It does seem to collect the introduced birds such as:

 

Eurasian Collared Dove

European Starling

House Sparrow

 

but these edge areas also can be good for the chaparral species listed above plus:

 

Band-tailed Pigeon (a few recently)

American Crow

Northern Mockingbird

Hooded Oriole (nesting on 13^th)

House Finch

American Goldfinch

 

May is also a great time for rarities. Migration can bring in almost anything. Some of the rarer ones seen in or near the Elfin Forest recently are:

 

Vaux’s Swift

Phainopepla (very rare on the immediate coast)

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting