I first heard their high-pitched whistle, then saw them, a flock of twenty or so, shopping for fruit. Right on schedule for my neighborhood: first week in October and among my favorite signs of autumn

I saw a potential Philadelphia Warbler at Creekside Park this morning. Dark cap, some color in chin/breast, dark lores -- other possibility is Warbling Vireo, but cap seems too dark and dark lores too

Seen today in the same spot as two previous winters - the boulders adjacent to the take-off point of the breakwater. Ken Berniker El Cerrito

A Townsend’s Solitaire appeared at my small yard pond just now.. Plain gray bird, size between that of a Robin and Bluebird, white eye ring, cream/ peachish color on wing. At first glance I thought Mo

Friends! This evening (1 October 2020) we had the pleasure of a FOS Hermit Thrush in an Ashbury Avenue yard in El Cerrito. For at least 3 years a Hermit Thrush has overwintered here or nearby and been

Hi all, hope you're surviving the heat and smoky air. Maybe you can do a little vicarious birding by helping with an Empidonax ID. My impression *in the field* (i.e., not sure it's totally bourne out

A immature Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler taking a bath this evening here in Richmond View. It's the first rump i have seen, they usually head straight to our persimmon tree every year. Last year we wou

Hi All, Yesterday 9/30 Eric Heisey and I birded around various spots in Richmond, Contra Costa county. We focused our efforts primarily on migrant passerines, checking a variety of coastal traps, park

The certainty of morning heat prompted me to visit Heather Farm Park soon after the sky became light enough. A cool breeze was helpful. I was treated to FOS waterfowl on the natural pond. Ruddy Duck (

Hello all, We did not have any trips from Half Moon Bay this last weekend. We were down south in Morro Bay and Monterey Bay, and our friends (Redwood Region Ornithological Society) had a great trip ou

Thanks to all you helpful responders! Your ideas included: the book "Peterson Guide to Bird Identification -- in 12 Steps" by Howells and Sullivan; the Merlin app; writing down notes and later hitting

A bright individual in my yard today. I'm sure to be joined by many for weeks to come until they finish off what the squirrels left of the wax myrtle berries. Judi Sierra - Oakland

Welcome back migrating sparrows! What a treat to see these sparrows return to my East Oakland yard after disappearing in April! 3 males and a female flew in and pecked around the ground under the feed

Five Western Bluebirds (#42), (2 adults and three juveniles ) were a joyful addition to our year-old yard list in downtown Berkeley this morning , delighting my 1 year old granddaughter who called the

This morning there was a Palm Warbler and a Grasshopper Sparrow (surprisingly very rare as fall migrant along East Bay shore north of Bay Bridge) in fennel patches around the Burrowing Owl habitat pla

We've been sort of getting together at reported rare bird locales, but it's been a long time since I could raise questions with a knowledgeable leader or gang of birders. What do you do if you've got

Three of us, and later a fourth, saw the Northern Waterthrush just downstream from the tennis courts on the south side of Albany Creek later this morning. Don Lewis and Judith Denham were upstream whe

Last time I was at Point Isabel I misidentified a Whimbrel as a Long-billed Curlew. Today around noon both of them showed up along with some Killdeer, Western Sandpipers and a Marbled Godwit. The Long

This morning at around 8:30 Susan Greef and I found the continuing Northern Waterthrush at Creekside Park in Albany. It was foraging at the creek edge just west of the basketball court. Chris Carmicha

The Chestnut-sided Warbler continued between noon and 12:30 at Booker T. Anderson Park in Richmond. The bird was along the south side of the creek west of the footbridge, associating with a couple of