From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun Jan 12 19:23:50 2003 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h0D3MB4p015880 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:22:11 -0800 (PST) Received: from mail-out2.apple.com (mail-out2.apple.com [17.254.0.51]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h0D3LOSE015842 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:21:24 -0800 (PST) Received: from mailgate2.apple.com (A17-129-100-225.apple.com [17.129.100.225]) by mail-out2.apple.com (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id h0D3LNI17788 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:21:23 -0800 (PST) Received: from scv2.apple.com (scv2.apple.com) by mailgate2.apple.com <[[email protected]]> for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:21:23 -0800 Received: from apple.com (wilmotidsl5.apple.com [17.219.180.46]) by scv2.apple.com (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id h0D3LMQ28881 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:21:22 -0800 (PST) Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 19:21:23 -0800 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v551) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: Barry Langdon-Lassagne <[[email protected]]> To: [[email protected]] Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.551) Subject: [SBB] Picchetti Ranch Sunday X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1 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]] I spent the morning wandering Picchetti Ranch today and thought I'd share the birds. For me the best sighting was the large number of VARIED THRUSH (I saw almost a dozen total). I also loved the two separate sightings of CALIFORNIA THRASHER, and my one BROWN CREEPER. I started out at 8:45am in the parking lot. On the way to the pond, in the old orchard below the trail I saw a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK attempt to catch something on the ground. The bushes on the sides of the trail produced an OAK TITMOUSE, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, a WRENTIT and a SPOTTED TOWHEE on the way to the pond. An accipiter flew overhead but I did not have enough of a look to identify it (seemed small, the tail didn't seem overly long, it flapped only occasionally with slowish wingbeats and it seemed a smidge pudgy). The pond was the highest I've seen it in a long time, but not full to overflowing. The newts were easily visible along the edge by the giant eucalyptus tree. Occasionally mating pairs would surface for air, then dive back down again. There were at least 30 MALLARD in the pond, the most I've ever seen there. Later they all spooked and spent the morning circling the pond. A BLACK PHOEBE hunted from the oak tree on the south side. Small (20-30) flocks of CEDAR WAXWING and AMERICAN ROBIN flew by occasionally. At various points on the trails I had to stop to let the GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWs feed. At the northeast corner of the pond I saw two CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, another titmouse, a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and a BROWN CREEPER. Two hummingbirds fought for territory, one a definite ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. On the hill above the pond I got great views of a CALIFORNIA THRASHER calling (not singing) from a bush, and towards the douglas fir tree up the hill I found a spot where the birds were singing in profusion: CALIFORNIA QUAIL, NORTHERN FLICKER, WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, and wrentit could be heard, among others. There were STELLER'S JAYs in the douglas fir. While I stood enjoying the birdsongs a male VARIED THRUSH flew up into a tree right in front of me and watched me for several minutes before disappearing. Later, on several other occasions, Varied Thrushes popped out of bushes to check me out. It seemed almost as if every large bird that I flushed was a Varied Thrush. Considering that I had great trouble seeing one at all last year, this was quite a surprise. To the south of the pond on the Zinfandel trail is a bridge over a small creek. There I saw a HUTTON'S VIREO in an oak tree east of the bridge. On the downhill trail just before the bridge I found a BEWICK'S WREN repeatedly calling from the top of a leafless tree (thanks to Joseph Morlan for the identification of this bird which I mistakenly thought was a possible Warbling Vireo!). A flock of COMMON BUSHTITs flew through near this spot. On the way back to the parking lot I saw two CALIFORNIA TOWHEE in the orchard, and a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKs flying high up the hill. At the parking lot I heard an ACORN WOODPECKER while I scanned the eucalyptus tree for interesting birds. I returned to my car at 10:55am. Barry ----- _______________________________________________ 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]]