From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Mon Dec 22 18:02:44 2003 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id hBN1xYPG021897 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 22 Dec 2003 17:59:34 -0800 (PST) Received: from grebe.mail.pas.earthlink.net (grebe.mail.pas.earthlink.net [207.217.120.46]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id hBN1w5UP021849 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 22 Dec 2003 17:58:05 -0800 (PST) Received: from user-38lc02i.dialup.mindspring.com ([209.86.0.82] helo=birdnutz.com) by grebe.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 1AYboB-0002ML-00 for [[email protected]]; Mon, 22 Dec 2003 17:58:04 -0800 Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2003 18:02:38 -0800 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v552) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: Les Chibana <[[email protected]]> To: South Bay Birders <[[email protected]]> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.552) Subject: [SBB] Today's high tide at "Rail Corner" X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2+ 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]] At today's high tide, activity at the rail corner at Palo Alto Baylands was minimal. One rail flew in for more cover at the roadside. I guess I was the only person to get a good look at it in flight. It was a SORA. I could clearly see the yellow bill, dark lores and its body plumage was much lighter than a Black Rail. It was also a bit too large for a Black Rail. I have a good mental snapshot of the bird as it stretched out its body to land in the pickleweed. Rail watchers were entertained, and probably distracted from seeing a Black Rail, by two PEREGRINE FALCONs "team" hunting over the marsh. I didn't witness any successful forays. I heard from others who went looking for sparrows by the outflow channel by the airport that the activity was very low and nothing of note was seen. Deb Bartens, Baylands Chief Naturalist, mentioned that two CLAPPER RAIL were seen from the boardwalk. By the way, the boardwalk was closed off before "Rail Alley" because it was flooded at peak tide today. By the way, if my messages about my sparrow sightings yesterday weren't clear enough, I did see a SWAMP SPARROW 30 yds. beyond the last coyote brush along the channel by the airport. I apparently managed to not be clear about this in two messages. Tomorrow's tide is expected to be the highest for this current cycle at +9.5 to +9.93 ft. at 11:35a to 12:04p, depending on which web resource you use. According to Weather.com, there's a 70% chance of rain from 6:00 to 9:00a, decreasing to 60% chance from 10:00 thru 11:00a. The winds are forecast to be low (5 MPH from the SE). The low pressure system could accentuate the tide even if the rains and wind don't. For the best chance at seeing the rails, come early, if you can. Les Chibana _______________________________________________ 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]]