From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Mon Dec 30 22:28:15 2002 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gBV6QYPM012643 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 30 Dec 2002 22:26:35 -0800 (PST) Received: from mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net [204.127.131.117]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gBV6Q13Y012609 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 30 Dec 2002 22:26:01 -0800 (PST) Received: from acer ([12.81.6.58]) by mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net (InterMail vM.5.01.05.12 201-253-122-126-112-20020820) with SMTP id <20021231062557.DBXK20003.mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net@acer> for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 31 Dec 2002 06:25:57 +0000 Message-ID: <002301c2b095$838a74a0$0503510c@acer> From: "John Mariani" <[[email protected]]> To: "South-bay-birds" <[[email protected]]> Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 22:26:08 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 Subject: [SBB] Calero-Morgan Hill CBC Summary X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1rc1+ Precedence: list List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Howdy South-bay-birders, Well the fourth Calero-Morgan Hill CBC is now history. At the countdown on Saturday evening we added up all the species found and came up with a total of 138. Since then Leda Beth Gray has reported Calidris sp. and Willet, so I guess we now have a revised total of 139 or 140, depending on review of the Willet details--so maybe we didn't set a low species record for the count after all! Plus we have count week Surf Scoter, Bald Eagle, and Phainopepla. Some of the highlights have already been reported, but here is a summary of the rare bird reports submitted: 2 PACIFIC LOONS, 1 at Parkway Lakes (mike Rogers) and the other at Coyote Creek Golf Course (Mike Mammoser); 4 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 4 GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES at Coyote Creek Golf Club (Mike Mammoser), 2 REDHEADS at the Ogier Ponds (Mike Mammoser), another GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at Cottonwood Lake (Alan Eisner), 2 SNOW GEESE seen flying north over Anderson Reservoir by Grant Hoyt and I, a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW at Coyote Ridge (again!), an amazing 2 HERMIT WARBLERS at Edenvale Park (Bruce Barrett's party, details provided by Tadd Ottman and Debbie Wong), and an equally amazing 4 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS seen by the same party in the same area (and I thought two was pretty good for that park!). Pacific Loon, Hermit Warbler, and Great-tailed Grackle are all firsts for the count! I personally started my day owling along McKean Road, where I got 2 BARN OWLS around 3 am. Owling along Hicks Road was made more difficult by loud rushing water and wind--my owling group got only 1 WESTERN SCREECH-OWL and 1 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL, which as usual started calling right at dawn. Grant Hoyt, Jean Myers, Julia Curlette, and I covered the Anderson County Park/Morgan Hill area in the morning. We first checked fields south of Cochrane, finding a perched MERLIN near El Toro School, but no Burrowing Owls or Ferruginous Hawks. After that we went up to Anderson County Park, and hiked from the dam along the shoreline to where we had a view of the north end of the reservoir. Hundreds of AMERICAN ROBINS & CEDAR WAXWINGS were in the area below the dam, attracted by the abundance of toyon berries there. Near the dam an immature PEREGRINE FALCON made repeated passes, and a pair of adult GOLDEN EAGLES was patrolling the area--we saw them several times, sometimes at fairly close range. It turned out to be a pretty good raptor spot, with both accipiters and several RED-TAILED HAWKS also cruising by. The 3 MUTE SWANS, 2 CHINESE (domestic) GEESE, and 1 CANADA GOOSE were still together in a cove along the west shore of the reservoir. Out further there were about 15 WESTERN GREBES and a few EARED GREBES. Jean Myers had 5 WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, flying high overhead, and on our walk back the ROCK WREN was spotted by Julia along the lakeshore. Along the creek below Anderson Reservoir we had 1 COMMON MOORHEN, and farther downstream 6 WOOD DUCKS and 1 COMMON MERGANSER. Weather turned bleak and rainy in the early afternoon, but Grant was able to pull a TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD out of one of the blackbird flocks in Morgan Hill, and all our searching was finally rewarded with 6 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS. The mix of gulls on a high school field off Main Street in Morgan Hill included 13 MEW GULLS. At about 3pm Grant and I stopped by Edenvale Park where Bruce Barrett's party was having another look around, already having seen the Hermit Warblers and White-throated Sparrows there earlier. By then it was really raining. Grant and I made a couple of final stops before calling it quits--at Almaden Lake Park there were 11 HOODED MERGANSERS, the most I've ever seen there. Bruce Barrett told us his group hadn't gotten GREEN HERON, and worried that it might be missed on the count we went to the SCVWD headquarters, and sure enough, there was one waiting for us in the NE corner of the main pond. Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who came out on a gloomy rainy day to find all these birds! You are the ones who make a count like this possible. Ann Verdi will be the compiler next time around, but I would like to come back and participate in future counts (work permitting)--I wish you all a happy New Year and hopefully I'll see you all next winter! John Mariani [[email protected]] www.birdswest.com _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. south-bay-birds mailing list ([[email protected]]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://www.plaidworks.com/mailman/options/south-bay-birds/south-bay-birds-archive%40plaidworks.com This email sent to [[email protected]]