Birds
Identify the birds of Santa Clara County and the San Jose – San Francisco Bay Area. Help save the Burrowing Owl, and learn to build nesting boxes for blue birds. Share photos of our Milpitas Bald Eagles’ Nest
My tamed Western scrub jay, No Fear, opens peanuts while sitting on my hand. She either eats them right away or buries them in the yard. I’ve noticed the squirrels watch her carefully, and steal the hidden peanuts when she comes back for another. Taming and handfeeding backyard birds is a fun project.
Common and Rare Birds
BIRDS OF THE BAY AREA
Fremont Birding Circle (FBC)
Fremont Birding Circle (FBC) is a group dedicated to promote the birding activities in the City of Fremont, California. Goals of this group are to raise the public awareness of habitat preservation, promote birding ethics, explore hot and not-so-hot birding spots and report rare bird sightings in the city of Fremont. (Note: members of this group also have helped with our eagles project. As there is no Milpitas birding group, join this one for sharing bird photos and field trips.)
Joe Morlan’s California Birding Pages
Site of the author of Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Santa Clara County Bird Lists
Bill Bousman and Kendric Smith have kept these lists of bird sightings for several years now on this Stanford website.
BLUEBIRDS
The Bluebird Box
The starting point for finding information about bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds.
California Cavity Nesters Recovery Program
Engages volunteers in building, installing, and monitoring nest boxes in Santa Clara County. Data collected through our monitoring program is then sent on to the statewide California Bluebird Recovery Program.
Nest Boxes and Accessories
Fine-tune the performance of your nest box with these specially designed accessories. Broaden your installation options with poles, brackets and hangers. Deter predators with plates, grilles and protectors to safeguard the box and its precious contents.
BURROWING OWLS
Burrowing Owl Consortium
Primary causes of population declines in California, as elsewhere, are human conversion of habitats and eradication of burrow-generating mammals. The California Burrowing Owl Consortium, formed in 1990, has contributed to increased conservation of this declining species.
CONDORS
People Keep Condors Flying in the Pinnacles
Down to as few as 22 individuals in 1982, the condor population became the subject of one of the most radical restoration efforts ever undertaken — all the remaining wild birds were captured as part of an ambitious captive breeding program.
New bird in town: Rare California condors hang out on San Jose’s Mount Hamilton
June 24, 2011. Only 20 miles east of downtown San Jose, five endangered California condors have been sighted above Mount Hamilton, socializing with turkey vultures and perching atop a Lick Observatory dome.
Bald eagles make majestic return to Milpitas elementary school
Monday, January 15, 2018
MILPITAS, Calif. (KGO) — Rex Yip arrived at Curtner Elementary School in Milpitas Monday evening just moments before two bald eagles came soaring into sight, returning to their nest. He described it as breathtaking.
Our Milpitas Eagles Freed Facebook Group
Continuing coverage of some our favorite Milpitas residents. Unlike the other “Our Milpitas Eagles” group, this group will be free to join for all interested about the Bald Eagle nest at Curtner Elementary School in Milpitas California. Open to all those who wish to post photos of our eagles, write something about them, share lessons and creative endeavors featuring the Milpitas Eagles, or have an affiliation with Curtner Elementary School. No member turned away.
JAYS
The Way of a Jay
I, and several of my Ben Rogers’s Park neighbors have managed to tame one (or several) of these birds to eat peanuts from our hands. This species is quite bold and easy to tame.
MOCKINGBIRDS
Listen to the Mockingbird
Recently a reader emailed me that a mockingbird sings in a tree close to his house each night and keeps him awake. He wanted to know how to discourage this bird from nesting near his house or from singing there at night.
SNOWY EGRET
Snowy Egret
This beautiful little heron, one of nature’s daintiest and most exquisite creatures, is the most charming of all our marsh birds. They can often be spotted along the creeks that criss-cross our city.
WILD TURKEYS
Most common turkeys this Thanksgiving are wild
Once scarce as hens’ teeth, they’re making comeback
An estimated 242,000 wild turkeys live in California, according to Scott Gardner, an environmental scientist with the state Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. A large flock lives up at Summitpointe Golf Course in the hills above Milpitas.
Concerns
Window Hazards
One of the leading causes of death for wild birds is flying into glass windows. A study conducted by Daniel Klem Jr. at Muhlenberg College, estimated that 97 million birds die each year in the U.S. as the result of collisions with windows. Tall buildings that relied heavily on large sheets of glass surface were especially hazardous.
Organizations
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
A nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach.
524 Valley Way
408-946-6548
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
We have many volunteer opportunities taking place throughout the week (days and evenings) and on weekends. We would love to have you work with us. To get help identifying birds in your backyard, visit Backyard Birds of Santa Clara County.
- Visit Common Backyard Birds of Santa Clara County for more birds.
- Visit Notes and Tips from a Backyard Birder to learn more about backyard birding in Santa Clara County.
The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group
A good site for finding more about the endangered (or not) predatory birds often seen in our hills. A resource to agency biologists, industry, and university researchers who require our expertise with problem solving and management of avian species, especially raptors.
Resources
All About Bird Feeders
A recent bulletin from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) reports that a whopping 43% of U. S. households now feed wild birds. And I know from my perch in the SCVAS office that it’s much the same story here in Santa Clara County. From the Audubon Society.