Winter Birding along the Bayshore in Sunnyvale, CA
On Sunday (December 3), I did a relatively short walk in the vicinity of the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant, following a series of trails that started at the area’s main trailhead on Sunnyvale’s Caribbean Drive. From there, I headed north along the Sunnyvale West Channel, then west along Moffett Channel, and then south and east over the Old Sunnyvale Landfill, eventually returning to the trailhead. The area through which these trails traversed is known locally as a birding hotspot, especially during the winter months, when it attracts a diverse array of shorebirds, wintering waterfowl, and the raptors that prey on them. I was curious to see what birds the changing of the seasons had brought here.
At first, the birds were mainly resident birds that one could find there at any time of the year – a half dozen House Finches (Haemorrhous mexicanus), loose formations of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), the occasional Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura). But then a dark blur zipped past me, as it sped past the trailhead and then up and over the hill formed by the Old Sunnyvale Landfill. It was a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), eagerly hunting for its next meal. Although one can find Peregrine Falcons here at any time of the year, they turn up much more often during the winter months.
Along the Sunnyvale West Channel, I heard a few Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) softly “whichety-whichety-whichetying” from dense stands of California Bulrushes (Schoenoplectus californicus). At times, their murmurings were punctuated by the chip notes of some wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronate), who hid with them amongst the bulrushes. Nearby, the snowy plumes of some Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) attracted small flocks of wintering White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), who seemed to find their seeds irresistible.
Moffett Channel was broader and deeper than the Sunnyvale West Channel, with tall patches of Cattails (Typha sp.) crowding along its edges. Amongst the Cattails, resident Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) and Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris) flitted ghost-like, daring me to photograph them. I edge up to the Cattails slowly, slowly, to avoid spooking them too much; as I did, I heard a loud, harsh croak: I had disturbed a Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) from its mid-day torpor.
Continuing westwards along Moffett Channel, the Cattails disappeared, giving me clear views of its waterway. Across this waterway drifted scattered flocks of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwalls (Mareca strepera), and American Coots (Fulica americana), likely a mix of resident and migrant birds. Amongst the coots, I quickly spotted an adult Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), proudly flaunting the bright red color of its beak and parietal shield.
A footbridge soon carried me across Moffett Channel and onto the ramparts of the Old Sunnyvale Landfill, whose use had been discontinued many years ago. It had been capped with a copious amount of soil, on which a scruffy mantle of grasses and non-native forbs had grown. This was the favorite haunt of Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) and Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria), the latter munching eagerly on the seeds that they found hidden away in the spent flower heads of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum). Joining them were some American Pipits (Anthus rubescens), who like to flock here during the winter months.
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