Folks I am traveling and just heard about the massive number of Murphys Petrels seen by Lucas Corneliussen and team out of Bodega Way to go!!! Now the waters can be different in the Pioneer Canyon, but that will be the quest. To get out beyond the shelf and look for Murphys this Sunday out of Half Moon Bay. Right now the conditions look good to make this happen. We have a few spots left on the trip This trip will be guided by Chris Hayward, Malia DeFelice, Eli Gross, Dorian Anderson and Dessi Sieburth. You can sign up here: https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2023.html Click on the May 14 date to download more information about the boat and trip. Good birding. Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com

Hi All,
This morning Malia DeFelice and I headed to Santa Cruz in hopes of seeing the Red-flanked Bluetail, found by Matt Brady yesterday afternoon. We tromped around in the drizzle for several hours until I eventually saw the bird in a willow thicket some distance from Matt's original location, I alerted other birders in the vicinity and the bird was eventually seen by multiple observers.
We have put a GPS location where the bird was refound along with a few photos on our ebird checklist link below.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S124868848

Chris Hayward and Malia DeFelice
Half Moon Bay Ca.

Our string of fantastic Alvaros Adventures pelagics continues!

Saturday, August 28th
We departed Half Moon Bay harbor under sunny skies. A lone MARBLED MURRELET and two PARASITIC JAEGERS showed
before we rounded Mavericks, and we picked-up SOOTY and PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS as we headed offshore. Approaching
the continental shelf, we found hundreds of BLACK STORM-PETRELS, dozens of ASHY STORM-PETRELS, and double-digits of
WILSONS STORM-PETRELS. This trip was billed as San Mateo specific, so we did not proceed into the Pioneer Canyon (SF County)
as we had the two previous weeks; instead, we turned southwest and hugged the county line into deeper water. We added several
BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES across the next hour, but the action peaked when we encountered several massive rafts of
storm-petrels (500+ birds each). They, like the group we found earlier, was overwhelmingly Black with Ashy, Wilsons, and 1-2
FORK-TAILED. A confiding LAYSAN ALBATROSS circled the boat several times, and we found singles of BULLERS SHEARWATER,
LONG-TAILED JAEGER, POMARINE JAEGER, SABINES GULL, and ARCTIC TERN. Returning inshore, we encountered one
FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER and one SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER over feeding HUMPBACK WHALES about ten miles
from the harbor. Otherwise, RHINOCEROS and CASSINS AUKLETS showed in expected numbers. Among dozens of RED-NECKED
PHALAROPES, 1-2 REDS were welcome. Shearwater and jaeger numbers were very low, but those were offset by huge numbers of
storm-petrels and other, high-quality finds. With minimal swell, this was a pretty perfect trip! Offshore water temp was 59.5 degrees,
and we reached a maximum depth of 1,600 feet. (The shelf falls-off very slowly in San Mateo County compared to the 4,000-foot
Pioneer Canyon in nearby SF waters.)

Sunday, August 29th
Translocating to Monterey, we powered south towards Carmel Canyon amidst overcast and fog. Nothing beyond gulls was flying
around on this windless morning, but we sussed out SOOTY and PINK-FOOTED SHEARWATERS from floating flocks. Occasional
jaegers offered distraction, and our first BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS was encouraging. Diversity remained low through the morning,
but we tacked-on usual suspects like RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and RHINOCEROS and CASSINS AUKLETS. Leaving the canyon,
joining the underwater weenie, and venturing into the deeper Monterey Seavalley, the action increased. Among swelled shearwater
numbers, a lone BULLERS the only new variety, we found ARCTIC and COMMON TERNS, ~30 SABINES GULL, a single RED
PHALAROPE, and 5-6 EXAMPLES OF EACH JAEGER. The highlight, however, was two GUADALUPE MURRELETS, one of which
allowed pants-soiling views as it paddled about the bow for ten minutes; that amazing encounter helped minimize a notable (distressing)
lack of storm-petrels across the day, two ASHIES all that we found. In the un-bird department, we observed several HUMPBACK WHALES,
two NORTHERN FUR SEALS, and a group of LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHINS beyond the expected SEA OTTERS, SEA LIONS, and
HARBOR SEALS. Offshore water temp was 63-64 degrees, and we reached a maximum depth of ~5,500 feet. The first GUMU was at that
depth; the second was at 3,000 and only 7-8 miles from Point Pios. Oh yeah - a putative LEAST TERN went over the boat near the
aquarium, but we'll need to scrutinize photos before we can say for sure. That's a nice MTY County bird if it holds up.

Our remaining boats are selling out fast, so dont delay if youre thinking about joining us in September and October. August has been
incredible, so who knows what well find as fall progresses!!!

https://www.alvarosadventures.com/pelagic-dates-2021.html

Cheers,
Dorian Anderson (on behalf of fellow spotters Malia De Felice, Chris Hayward, Eli Gross, Steve Tucker, Bill Hubick, and Mark Kudrav)

Three species of Godwit are now being seen on Tunitas Creek Beach! The Hudsonian Godwit found by Dan Sidle two days ago (which I saw yesterday) and the Bar-tailed Godwit, found today by Dave Weber, both in with about 45 Marbled Godwits. Beautiful.

About access: The beach is a county park and is open to the public! The legal access is from the corner of Highway 1 and Tunitas Creek Road. Park on the Tunitas Creek Road pull out and follow a poorly marked (but wide enough) path down the embankment, under the Highway 1 bridge, and down along the north side of the creek. There is one tricky spot toward the end where you need to climb a slick 15 hill with the help of a rope for stability. But thats it. Malia, Chris and I are on the beach with a county park ranger who confirms that this is all public access. Please do not scale down the cliffs using the long ropes from the south side of the creek. This is Post land, and even though it is not posted, it is certainly a hazardous way to get down to the beach. The public access path is much easier.

Thanks everyone for getting the word out!

Aaron Maizlish

Kurt and all,

I can zoom in on photos in an eBird checklist by doing this.

Using a Macbook Pro with a logitech wireless mouse (not sure how much of this translates to PC users),
I open the checklist and right click on the photo I want to enlarge
A menu pops up. Then I left-click/select "View Image"
The image will then appear larger.
Then using the keyboard, not the mouse, I hold the Command key down while clicking on the "+" key as many times as I can to further enlarge the image

Hope this helps,

Malia DeFelice
eBird reviewer for San Mateo County
Half Moon Bay, CA

Hi all, I found an adult Slaty-backed Gull at the mouth of Frenchmans Creek this afternoon. Malia DeFelice and Chris Hayward were birding themselves, and they were able to drop in almost immediately and see this bird. It is an adult, on the slightly paler end of back color but still a tad darker above than Western Gull. Features include: Structurally bulky, deep bellied, big breasted and relatively long-winged. Eye pale Orbital ring reddish like the red gonys spot on the bill Streaking on head and neck a warm cinnamon color, becoming dense on the nape and rear neck. Legs dark pink. In flight white tongue tips (string of pearls) to the 8 th primary. This bird had no mirror on 9 th primary as Slaty-backed can have. Below, wings silvery and string of pearls clearly visible, primary tips darker than primary bases. Black to 5 th primary. Photos are here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S43300221 Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com

Just wanted to let folks know the Red-footed Booby was seen yesterday 11/30 between the hours of 9:00am and 12:30pm. It was on the same inner free-standing breakwater as it has been seen on consistently. Yesterday, it had positioned itself about 60 yds to the right of the ladder that is on the left most end of this breakwater. We got good views of it from the end of Johnson Pier. We also were able to view it from the paved walkway just south of the kayak rental.

Malia DeFelice Half Moon Bay, CA

Hello all, I sent out some quick messages to Penbirds earlier, but thought I would get the word out to a wider audience. On the morning dog walk, I found a LeContes Sparrow here in Half Moon Bay. This may be a first San Mateo County record The bird first showed up at about 08:20, I had no camera so I returned to get photos and was able to see it along with Malia DeFelice, Chris Hayward and Aaron Maizlish. The last view we had was at about 0940 or so, then it became warmer and activity began to drop. The bird is undoubtedly still there, and perhaps it will become easier to find the afternoon when activity picks up It is to the south of the path that borders a ditch with a few dry cattails at the end of Myrtle Street, in Half Moon Bay. The area is a county park (Blufftop Park), and no entrance fee is required. The bird liked the biggest set of coyote bushes about 100 yards or so west from Railroad Ave. Birders were arriving from 10 am onwards, and hopefully updates will be posted. I unfortunately need to get my car serviced! Real life once again intrudes. Photos here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39898510 good luck, Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo alvaro@... www.alvarosadventures.com

Hello Birders,

I found a pair of binoculars at the Pescadero
State Beach parking lot today. If you lost a pair, please email me
personally and describe to me the details of what you lost so we can
make arrangements for their to return.

Cheers!
Malia DeFelice
Half Moon Bay, CA

There was an immature Black-tailed Gull on Ocean Beach in San Francisco this evening.
It was roosting with (50) Western and (8) California gulls before being flushed by a dog and heading south.
It may be the same bird reported from Monterey and San Mateo Counties by Blake Matheson and Malia Kai DeFelice respectively earlier this winter.
Some digiscoped photos are embedded in the eBird checklist here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37106433
Dominik Mosur San Francisco

Hi All,

This morning the Vermillion Flycatcher was seen by Chris
Hayward and others between 7:35am and 9:30am, before my arrival . I
arrived at 9:30am and watched and photographed the bird until a bit
after 10:00am. The bird was still present when Chris and I left after
10:00am. It was moving around the headstones quite a bit but generally
staying in the location of Birch and Oak (cemetery streets) and being
quite cooperative.

Cypress Lawn Cemetery is on both the east and
the west side of El Camino Real. The Vermillion Flycatcher has been
seen on the west side of El Camino Real not the east side.

The
original eBird hotspot "Cypress Lawn Cemetery" points to the east side
of El Camino Real and this may create some confusion for those not
familiar with the area and put folks in the wrong side of the cemetery.

I
have created a new eBird hotspot that points to the correct cemetery
location and correct side of El Camino Real. The full name of the new
hotspot is:

 
  
    
     Vermillion Flycatcher location - Cypress Lawn Cemetery-westside, San Mateo County, California, US   
    
     
    
    
      ( Map )
    
    
      ( Hotspot )

All,

Chris Hayward and Malia DeFelice found the adult KELP GULL about 7pm this
evening at the mouth of Pilarcitos Creek in Half Moon Bay. I arrived about
7:20 and had the bird in view for about 25 minutes before the bird flew
north. It landed with another group of gulls but disappeared again. There
were numerous flocks of gulls scattered on the beach.

It was in a flock of Western and California Gulls on the beach. My photos
are at...

http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/KelpGullP1070970.htm

This is presumably the same Kelp Gull which moved between Ano Nuevo, Half
Moon Bay and the Farallons in April and May of last year and which was
photographed on Southeast Farallon April 26 of this year.

Good luck!
--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA

The Couch's Kingbird was refound by Chris Hayward at 2:05pm after a 3 hour search Malia DeFelice and Chris Hayward

This morning around 11:10am, we saw the continuing NORTHERN SHRIKE. It perched briefly on top of a tall leaf-bare bush (elderberry) on Rancho Tehama Rd about 100 yds from the intersection of Rancho Tehama Rd. and Paskenta Rd. We saw it within 10 minutes of arriving, but it flew towards Paskenta Rd. and though we waited about an hour for it to reappear in the biting cold wind, it did not. Malia DeFelice and Chris HaywardHalf Moon Bay, Calif.

The Rustic Bunting re-appeared this afternoon around 1:35pm foraging
with several Juncos in the little wood pile that has been described in
previous posts. The wood pile(s) are fairly close to the intersection of
Martin Luther King and Nancy Pelosi streets. Where there were none just
prior, suddenly I first saw several Junco's foraging on the wood
pile, then another reddish colored bird "flew down" and joined the
Junco's it was the Rustic Bunting. The bunting was visible for maybe 10
minutes max, then disappeared. The bunting then re-appeared
again around around 3:30pm for another 15 minutes or so, once again with
juncos. This time it foraged on the wood piles, but then moved to
foraging on the grass next to the wood piles.There definitely
seems to be a correlation between the bird foraging where it is visible
and folks not getting too close to the wood piles.Malia DeFeliceHalf Moon Bay