Santa Clara County, CA

I had a recent work trip to Sunnyvale, CA, and was able to spend a couple of hours at nearby parks in search of wildlife. One late evening was spent at Baylands Park near Sunnyvale, and another was spent at McClellan Ranch Park in Cupertino.

Baylands was very dry, but there were a couple of small ponds that were close enough to watch. Black Phoebe's dominated the area, with a few Song Sparrows. Nearby areas included a soccer field and picnic area. In that part of the park there were some Lesser Goldfinch, California Towhee and Hooded Orioles. There were also some interesting burrowing squirrels (picture below). They didn't look like ground squirrels, however.

McClellan Ranch Park seemed to have more potential. Chestnut-backed Chickadee were common, along with many Spotted Towhees and California Towhees. Also seen were more California Towhee, a Red-Shouldered Hawk, Stellar's Jay, Lesser Goldfinch, Hooded Oriole, California Quail, and a few other common species. Surprisingly, two deer were grazing through this park, too.



Squirrel in a burrow of some sort


Chestnut-backed Chickadee


Chestnut-backed Chickadee


Spotted Towhee


Song Sparrow


Stellar's Jay


California Towhee


Deer


California Quail


Distant Hooded Oriole