Stevens Creek Cruisers Stike Again

I was out with five other birders today as part of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's Spring Birdathon. While some birdathon teams travel from one birding hotspot to another in an effort to see as many species as possible within a 4-24 hour period, we just covered the area along Stevens Creek from McClellan Rd. to Stevens Creek Blvd. Debi Jamison organizes this team not just to raise money, but to conduct a springtime survey of birds in and around the City of Cupertino-owned land along Stevens Creek. We cover McClellan Ranch Park, Blackberry Farm Picnic Area, Blackberry Farm Golf Course, and the Stocklmeir Property.

This year we identified 51 species between 8:00 am and 2:30 pm. The most unexpected find was a Peregrine Falcon perched at the top of the redwood tree by the McClellan Ranch entrance. Not too long after the Peregrine flew off, a Merlin perched in the same spot. We also found a Cooper's Hawk and a Red-shouldered Hawk on a nest, plus a mating pair of Red-tailed Hawks. I'll add the full list at a later time.

Posted on April 10, 2011 10:35 PM by barbarab