From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Tue Nov 12 09:23:03 2002 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.2/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gACHJh7s006788 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:19:43 -0800 (PST) Received: from merlin.arc.nasa.gov (merlin.arc.nasa.gov [128.102.219.21]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.2/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gACHJ6ke006750 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:19:07 -0800 (PST) Received: from merlin.ARC.NASA.GOV by merlin.ARC.NASA.GOV (PMDF V6.1 #46498) id <[[email protected]]> for [[email protected]]; Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:19:05 -0800 (PST) Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 09:19:05 -0800 (PST) From: [[email protected]] Message-id: <[[email protected]]> MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=us-ascii Subject: [SBB] - X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b4+ Precedence: list Cc: [[email protected]], South Bay Birding <[[email protected]]> List-Unsubscribe: , List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , To: [[email protected]] Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Folks: Yesterday, 11/11/2002, driving south on Mines Road at M.P. 5.99 in Alameda County I saw a cooperative GREATER ROADRUNNER. I then birded San Antonio Valley Road from the Alameda County line (about mile 28) to the summit of Mt. Hamilton (mile 0) with a few stops on the way back to San Jose. The seed set on chamise is some of the best I've seen and the oak mast production appears exceptional in many areas (the Acorn Woodpeckers and Western Scrub-Jays were busy as bees). However, other fruits such as from mistletoe and juniper, seemed absent. Most spectacular were the bright yellows of many of the valley oaks in San Antonio Valley, beautifully back lit by the sun and, on the east side of Mt. Hamilton, the golden yellows of the black oaks. In extensive chaparral fields at the divide between Arroyo Mocho and Colorado Creek (mile 24.7), I had good looks at three different SAGE SPARROWS (this was about 9:15 am) and I had the chance to study two "Large-billed" FOX SPARROWS. These birds are striking with their gray upperparts offset by reddish wings and tail and the individual black or dark brown chevrons on their breasts. The gray on these birds was lighter than shown in Sibley and much lighter than Beadle (also no loral spot). Their bills were noticeably large, being almost as large as on a Blue Grosbeak. Both birds had different coloration on their bills. At mile 22.9, between Colorado Creek and Blackbird Valley I enjoyed a male PHAINOPEPLA flying over with some occasional fly-catching. In the ponds across from the Digger Pine Ranch, at the north end of San Antonio Valley (mile 20.2) I got a LINCOLN'S SPARROW to come out. They are seen on half the Mt. Hamilton CBCs. In the center of the valley (mile 17.4) I had a number of good looks at a PRAIRIE FALCON. I didn't find any Lawrence's Goldfinches, which is not surprising as many leave in winter, nor did I find any Lewis's Woodpeckers, which was a disappointment. At Grant Lake on my way back I counted 23 RING-NECKED DUCKS. The best 'bird' of the day was a marvelous BADGER at mile 12.7 along Arroyo Bayo. This morning, 11/12/2002, there were 14 BROWN PELICANS on Salt Pond A2W. A GOLDEN EAGLE was on one of the Stevens Creek Tidal Marsh towers. A MERLIN cruised Stevens Creek and was probably the same _columbarius_ male I saw later on a tower near Crittenden Lane. The juvenile PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER continues on the Stevens Creek Tidal Marsh. It is generally found feeding within 20 m of where I first saw it on 1 Nov. One BURROWING OWL was on mound #2 at Shoreline Park. Bill _______________________________________________ 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]]