Warbler Guy, I'm planning an upcoming California birding tour and want to go with a San Francisco birding guide. As I prepare, where do I check for "rare" bird alerts that will reveal which rare California bird species are recent sightings?

Hi Davey:

Here's the answer to your question, above:

To see recent bird species sightings throughout California, feel free to check:

http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=all_lists

This link features a composite list of all California listserv sites.

Click on one or more as you please to see the latest bird sightings lists posted by
birders.

Questions?

Glad to help: danieledelstein@att.net

One "strange but true" facet of California birding relates to how most of the state soon expresses a touch of spring (already!), given the courtship dance of male Anna's hummingbird individuals are often observed this time of year (and especially by November and December, annually).

Initial egg laying by this common, year-round resident hummingbird species occurs as early as December. Multiple broods may be tended by a female during one breeding season, with July and August the latest months each year when final active nests are observed.

As for wood-warblers typically occurring on listservs currently in the SF Bay Area where I often serve as birding guide to hot spots such as Point Reyes National Seashore (Marin Co.) and Bodega Bay (Sonoma Co.), the once abundant in-migration Yellow Warbler (late summer through September) is now a rare sighting, with only the rare individual detected on local San Francisco Bay Area Christmas Bird Count forays.

More typical, it's common to see Yellow-rumped Warbler individuals in many habitats this time of year through March (Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler subspecies — Setophaga cornonata auduboni) is the most abundant subspecies in this species to observe, though the West Coast also attracts the occasional to uncommon Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler subspecies (Setophaga coronata coronata).

Feel free to review my web site's "Warbler ID Charts," if you wish additional info. and/or see the "Birding Links" articles and my "2017 Nature Watch Calendar" where several wood-warbler articles appear, among other information elements.

Regards, Daniel Edelstein
Consulting Avian Biologist,
Birding Guide,
& Birding Instructor (Merritt College, Oakland, CA)