Atlas Dispatch: February 2026 Rewind

Welcome to March! Before diving into a recap of February, we would like to invite you to attend a virtual California Bird Atlas Town Hall on March 19th at 7 PM PT. We will take the opportunity to share updates about the project and field your questions. Register for the webinar via Zoom here. We're excited to see you there!

In February, nearly 1,800 atlasers submitted nearly 15,600 checklists to the project. Atlasers covered 2,585 blocks, logged 17,800 hours, and covered 14,500 miles across 57 counties (Alpine—you're still on the hook!). All together, atlasers submitted >45,000 observations with breeding codes, helping to set a new monthly record for the state (the previous high was set in May 2024). And we haven't yet entered the core of the breeding season!

How does this compare to years past? Breeding code use in CA in January and February was up 598% over last year. Read on for the highlights from an amazing second month of atlasing!

Jump to section:

• Atlas firsts
• Reports from the field
• Before you hit “Submit”
• What else is new?
• Featured media

Atlas firsts:

In these early Atlas Dispatches, we’ve been highlighting Atlas-first confirmed breeding observations for each species. At last check on January 31st, 60 species had already been recorded as confirmed breeders. Since then we've collectively added another 41 more! The Atlas confirmed species list already stands above 100!

61. American Dipper – Reported building a nest (NB) by Peter Perrine at Hidden Falls Regional Park, Placer County
    “Gathering mosses and aquatic vegetation and taking to a crevice a few feet above the water of Coon Creek.”
62. Savannah Sparrow – Reported building a nest (NB) by Joni Ciarletta at San Dieguito Lagoon--southwest, San Diego County
    “Carrying long pieces of grass to area that appeared to be a nest, in the pickle weed. A pair were together. Water level was so high, I hope they chose a high enough area that the nest does not flood.”
63. Western Screech-Owl – Reported occupying a nest (ON) by Marc Fenner at American River Parkway--Gristmill Recreation Area, Sacramento County
    “7 owls in 6 nest boxes.”
64. Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Michael Park at Woodmont Ave Summit, Alameda County
65. Vermilion Flycatcher – Reported building a nest (NB) by Jonathan Rowley at La Mirada Community Regional Park, Los Angeles County
    “Watched female pick up a long plant fiber and deliver it to a very early in construction nest in a coast redwood. Which I imagine is not a common nesting location for this species. Also, the male accompanying her did some interesting clacking displays that I hadn't seen before. He shakes his wings while mantling and making a a hard but quiet cackle hard to describe in words. Quiet compared to standard song but of similar pattern.”
66. Monk Parakeet – Reported building a nest (NB) by Chris McCreedy at Rockwood Park, Imperial County
    “At least 3 parakondos here, with birds actively bringing in material. Nests in date palms, around 11-12 m high in around 13 or 14 m Phoenix.”
67. White-breasted Nuthatch – Reported building a nest (NB) by M Kwan at W. Montecito Ave., Los Angeles County
68. Black Phoebe – Reported building a nest (NB) by Brandon Stidum at San Diego Bay--Ballast Point, San Diego County
    “Actively adding pine needles to nest.”
69. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher – Reported building a nest (NB) by Chris McCreedy at CBA--Agua Caliente Springs CE | Agua Caliente County Park, San Diego County
    “Pair to nest that is adjacent the Verdin catclaw. B25. 80 cm in 160 cm Atriplex polycarpa. I don’t think I have found one this early in the year previously.”
70. Phainopepla – Reported building a nest (NB) by Chris McCreedy at CBA--Agua Caliente Springs CE | Agua Caliente County Park, San Diego County
    “M in with material, nest around B10, started today or yesterday. 2.2 m in 4.4 m Neltuma odorata, B10. Then F in, then both to the nest. Second nest 1.6 m in 2.7 m dead Neltuma, B20. 3rd nest also in Neltuma, also being built, did not walk over to assess progress or height. M in with material to it as well. Other Fs still site selecting, but I could probably find another 3-4 nests here being built today if I stayed.”
71. Verdin – Reported building a nest (NB) by Chris McCreedy at CBA--Agua Caliente Springs CE | Agua Caliente County Park, San Diego County
    “M bringing lining to a nearly complete nest, then F in with feather. B95. Real first brood attempt of season and will have eggs soon barring changes in weather. 2.4 m in 4.0 m Senegalia greggii.”
72. Rufous-crowned Sparrow – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Kiandra Mitchell at Oak Canyon Nature Center, Anaheim, Orange County
    “A presumed female gathering what looked like human hair, possible fur, and dried grass pieces from the trail while the presumed male perched in a bush next to her and sang, and a singing bird further on. The first male alternated between a whisper song and the full-voice variety as he moved around before both birds disappeared into a bush. This is very exciting, as this species only returned to this canyon in fall 2023.”
73. Green Heron – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Konshau Duman at BACKYARD / GRISTMILL AREA, Sacramento County
    “One carried a stick up into a willow”
74. Oak Titmouse – Reported building a nest (NB) by Kevin Lapp at W Fork San Gabriel River--Red Box to 2N24, Los Angeles County
    “At Camp Hi Hill, one was working on a nest”
75. Pelagic Cormorant – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Stephanie Hines at Monterey Bay Aquarium (outside only), Monterey County
    “PECO made several trips from open water to a structure over the shoreline (I couldn’t see exactly to where) with plant material.”
76. Spotted Towhee – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by James Earles, Melissa Petullo at IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, Orange County
    “Female carrying nesting material”
77. White-winged Dove – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Gjon Hazard, Robert Schneider, Amanda Gaskin, Jennifer Morrow, Mara Harwood, Anonymous eBirder, Martha Wild, Marty Mulholland, Deb Burken, Laura Harwood at Anza-Borrego Desert SP--Visitor Center, San Diego County
    “While leading a birding field trip for the Anza-Borrego Foundation, I was called over because one of the participants noticed a WWDO under a desert ironwood tree outside the visitor center. Upon closer inspection, several of us noted that the bird was repeatedly picking up small twigs from the ground. The bird (sex unknown) would pick up a thin, dead/dry stick, perhaps 3 to 6 inches in length, manipulate it in its bill for a few moments, and then drop it. It did this repeatedly.”
78. White-crowned Sparrow – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Anna Klafter at Presidio--Fort Scott, San Francisco County
79. Mute Swan – Reported occupying a nest (ON) by Connor Cochrane at Petaluma Marsh WA--Rush Creek Unit (accessed by Binford Rd or Pinheiro Fire Rd), Marin County
80. Western Meadowlark – Reported carrying food (CF) by Jimmy McMorran at San Clemente Island--Wilson Cove (town), Los Angeles County
    “One individual flew by carrying food to possible nest location”
81. Wrentit – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Luke Tiller, April Cocanower, John Cocanower at 33492–33554 Ridge Route Rd, Castaic US-CA 34.51901, -118.63567, Los Angeles County
82. Clark's Grebe – Reported building a nest (NB) by Kiandra Mitchell at Irvine Lake, Orange County
    “One nest looks like it’s almost done”
83. Horned Lark – Reported building a nest (NB) by Jimmy McMorran at San Clemente Island--Wilson Cove (town), Los Angeles County
    “Only a one individual seen gathering nesting material.”
84. Loggerhead Shrike – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Liam Murphy at Panoche Rd.--Ephedra field, San Benito County
    “Pair perched together, one with a mouthful of twigs. Maybe on the early side but the species is known as an early nester”
85. Orange-crowned Warbler – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Matt Sadowski at Mission Valley Preserve/Sefton Park, San Diego County
    “Repeatedly carrying material into a dense, low bush.”
86. Pygmy Nuthatch – Reported building a nest (NB) by Amber Zertuche at Brooks Park, San Francisco County
    “3 helping build the nest in the same cavity as years before”
87. White-throated Swift – Reported building a nest (NB) by Beverly Reynolds, Ruslan Balagansky at SDSU Mission Valley River Park, San Diego County
    “Flying in and out of cracks on the underside of trolley bridge. Photographed carrying nesting material. Also possible courtship behavior in flight, but not sure (saw individuals come in close contact repeatedly with feet out).”
88. Common Gallinule – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Warren Regelmann, Marilyn Regelmann at Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, Marin County
89. Black-throated Sparrow – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Justyn Stahl at CA-78 (33.14055, -116.28566), San Diego County
    “Both adults on ground picking up stuff and carrying around bill-fulls of greenish material (thought worms/caterpillars) but then one flew with what seemed like a bigger piece of … something. Flew 100 yds to ridge and sat for 5+ minutes then disappeared over it. Pursued in vain. Either CN or CF, taking conservative route.”
90. Swinhoe's White-eye – Reported building a nest (NB) by Tracy Drake at Brenner Park, Orange County
91. Cliff Swallow – Reported building a nest (NB) by Stephanie Hines at alkali sink, Tulare County
    “Making mud nests beneath bridge at Ave 88”
92. Northern House Wren – Reported occupying a nest (ON) by Betty Kanne, Anonymous eBirder, TG Fannon, Brian Bleecker, James Kendall, Brian Bleecker, Jim Currie at Huntington Central Park--Urban Forest, Orange County
    “Adult viewed going into and out of one of the many nest boxes repeatedly, not carrying nesting material. Vocalization heard emanating from within the box. (Vocalization could be characterized as a soft low whine or brief chutter.)--The male would then stay very close by vigorously singing seemingly to defend that apparently active nest.--Viewers surmised that a female was on eggs inside the nest box, occasionally receiving food from the defending mate.”
93. Prairie Falcon – Reported occupying a nest (ON) by David Norris at pinetree, Kern County
94. Red-winged Blackbird – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Hallie Daly at Zanker Water Treatment Ponds, Santa Clara County
    “Agitated female holding grasses in a fringe, mixed tule/cattail marsh. Males also seen adjacent displaying.”
95. Cassin's Kingbird – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Kat Byrd at I-5 Aliso Creek Rest Area (northbound), San Diego County
    “Pair bringing nest material up into same spot where they nested last year but nest not visible. Second pair did not display any particular breeding behavior today.”
96. Snowy Egret – Reported building a nest (NB) by Autumn Turner, Dominic Chui, Mark Dayton, Rob Rutledge, Kathy Burgis, Brett Rodstrom, Susan Zwierko, SD BirdFest, Seiko Grant, Phoebe He at Lindo Lake, San Diego County
97. Yellow-crowned Night Heron – Reported building a nest (NB) by Redwood Region Audubon Society, Kathryn West, Cathleen Burns, Kirk Doerger, Norman Medina, Rachel Weaver, Courtney Ellis, Mikki Doerger, Inga Emery, Jonny Oso, Miles Mcevoy, Steve Smith, SD BirdFest, Kathy Farrell, Ami Greenberg at Chula Vista Bayfront Park (J St.), San Diego County
98. Northern Rough-winged Swallow – Reported building a nest (NB) by Philip Fiorio at Division Rd. and 2 Rivers Rd. area, San Joaquin County
99. Gambel's Quail – Reported with recently fledged young (FL) by Henry Detwiler at Mission Wash, Imperial County
    “About a dozen babies ran across the dirt track”
100. Great-tailed Grackle – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Chris McCreedy at CBA—San Pasqual NW | San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego County
     “F with material (appeared to be long strip of dead Typha) and went deeper into the Typha, perhaps to the woody veg behind it.Coords on request.”
101. Brewer's Blackbird – Reported carrying nesting material (CN) by Angela Johnson at Champagne Lakes, San Diego County
     “Carrying a large stick into an ornamental Italian cypress type tree right inside the entrance to Champagne Lakes RV Park. Nest isn’t visible but it flew into the tree with the stick and came out a minute later stick-less.”

Reports from the field:

Want to share a sighting? Email us at info@californiabirdatlas.org!

• Early breeding records: Atlasers in February documented some significant records of early breeding activity. The Feb. 6th observation of Rufous-crowned Sparrow carrying nesting material was two weeks earlier than any other nest building record we are aware of for the species. The Song Sparrow fledgling found Feb 17th in San Diego was a month earlier than the early date given in the San Diego BBA. A White-crowned Sparrow nest with eggs found Feb 12th in Oakland was exceptionally early for that species (the previous earliest California record coded with NE in eBird was not until March 26th). The wet winter surely plays a role in driving early nesting activity, but breeding timing has been shifting earlier for many species over decades with climate change. Data from the Atlas will be useful for teasing apart these patterns moving forward.
• The secretive Spotted Towhee: from Chris McCreedy on the California Bird Atlas Discord channel: "Hats off to Spotted Towhees. Despite being one of the more widespread and common species, many Spotted Towhee not particularly migratory, and despite being one of the earlier nesters, there are currently 1,333 blocks with Spotted Towhee and only one with a confirmed record."
• Nest outcomes: Dom Mosur in San Francisco wrote in to report his notes from observing hummingbird nests this year: "80% failure rate for Anna's Hummingbirds this year in SF. My personal observation is that California Scrub-Jay predation and hail seem to be the main culprits." For others who are making repeat visits to nests they find while atlasing, please consider submitting your observations to NestWatch, which allows you to enter valuable information on clutch size, nesting phenology, and nest outcomes. NestWatch has very good apps for both iOS and Android.
  

Before you hit “Submit”:

If you haven’t yet, take a moment to review previous Dispatches (here and here) highlighting a few common coding pitfalls:

• Using Carrying Food (CF) for corvids and raptors feeding themselves.
• Using Occupied Nest (ON) for birds merely visiting a probable nest site (N).
• H (In Appropriate Habitat) applied to birds outside of appropriate nesting habitat.

Stay tuned for a post all about coding hummingbirds! Spoiler alert: S is only appropriate for some species; P is never appropriate; avoid using T for birds defending feeders; and don’t use DD for birds performing courtship displays (this would be C).

What else is new?

• Regional coordinators: The first batch of regional coordinators have been announced--find the list here! These dedicated volunteers are your first points of contact for answering questions about how to atlas, how to interpret bird behavior you've observed, and where atlasing effort is most needed. If you’re also interested in potentially serving in this role, please reach out to Van at van@californiabirdatlas.org.
• Get connected—new discussion groups: there are now a few platforms for atlasers to discuss the project. These are good places to ask questions about proper code usage, share exciting findings, and discuss strategies about where and when to atlas.
  • Statewide Facebook Group: California Bird Atlas Community Discussion Group
  • Statewide Discord Channel: California Birding #cal-bird-atlas channel
  • Regional BBA chats: local WhatsApp groups have been started for coordinating efforts and sharing findings in North Central Valley, Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Reach out to regional coordinators for these areas if you’d like to be added to the local group.

Featured media

A small sample of some of the images that have recently caught our eye. Tag your own media with breeding-related behaviors for easier discovery.