From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Mon Jan 12 10:40:45 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i0CIag2m019900 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:36:42 -0800 (PST) Received: from rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (rtjones.nas.nasa.gov [129.99.19.30]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i0CIZe1l019860 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:35:40 -0800 (PST) Received: from rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (SGI-8.12.5/8.12.5/NAS-6n) with ESMTP id i0CIZd78129683 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:35:39 -0800 (PST) Received: (from mrogers@localhost) by rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (SGI-8.12.5/8.12.5/Submit) id i0CIZdJk122419 for [[email protected]]; Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:35:39 -0800 (PST) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:35:39 -0800 (PST) From: "Dr. Michael M. Rogers" <[[email protected]]> Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> To: [[email protected]] Subject: [SBB] BAEA, RBNU, PIWO, DIPP, owls 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]] All, After hearing that the Bald Eagle was roosting at Calero Reservoir on Friday afternoon, I decided to check there before dawn on Saturday morning 1/10/04. When I arrived at the boat launch just after 7:00am, there was no sign of the eagle, but a few minutes later the adult BALD EAGLE appeared out of nowhere on his perch near the dam. A quick check of the stables area afterwards turned up 65 WILD TURKEYS feeding with the horses. I stopped by Richmond Avenue on the way home. The fog was pretty thick, but in a clear patch partway down Richmond Avenue was an adult FERRUGINOUS HAWK on the ground (7:45am). Impressive was a flock of 220+ AMERICAN PIPITS in the same field - would have been a great place to look for Red-throated Pipit three months ago! Later, I had an OSPREY at Parkway Lakes. On Sunday 1/11/04, I decided to fill out my year list by taking a trip to Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. Good birds started right near where I parked the car across from the start of the Canyon Trail on Page Mill Road. A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH provided excellent looks on both sides of the road back where it bends sharply left as you walk back towards Palo Alto. My 3-mile hike down the Canyon Trail netted the expected moist woodland species: BAND-TAILED PIGEON (16), HAIRY WOODPECKER (3), BROWN CREEPER (8), WINTER WREN (1 to 2; in the Stevens Creek drainage below old milepost 1.3), VARIED THRUSH (35), HUTTON'S VIREO (12), "MYRTLE" YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (3+), TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (8), and PURPLE FINCH (5). The return trip added 2+ PYGMY NUTHATCHES (for a 3-nuthatch morning!) and at least one calling PILEATED WOODPECKER heard in the Stevens Creek drainage below old mileposts 0.6 to 0.3 from 11:26am to 11:35am. A quick check of the area around the upper parking lot failed to turn up any Grasshopper Sparrows. A male DOWNY WOODPECKER foraging in the coyote bushes there seemed out-of-place, but provided the 6th woodpecker species of the morning. Next, I headed down to Stevens Creek Park to search for dippers. Just as I started searching, Mike Mammoser pulled up and told me that there were no dippers to be found - which proved to be correct. :( So I opted to head east to the Diablo Range foothills for other options. I stopped at the upper Ed Levin Park parking area and searched the grassland above the green gate on the way to sycamore gulch for Grasshopper Sparrows. I flushed up 6 to 7 sparrows, including some silent short-tailed ones, but they all proved to be SAVANNAH SPARROWS. Nearby at the sycamores I did find 3 RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS. Two RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS were chasing each other back near Sandy Wool Lake. Heading to Alum Rock Park via the Sierra Road summit, I was able to find 4+ HORNED LARKS and 36+ AMERICAN PIPITS in a flock west of the summit. Hiking upstream along Penitencia Creek from the last parking area in Alum Rock Park, I located a pair of AMERICAN DIPPERS across from the Live Oak picnic area just past the bridge beyond the Sycamore Grove picnic area. A GOLDEN EAGLE soared over the parking lot on my return. This morning 1/12/04, I got up a little early and hiked into Monte Bello OSP along the Canyon Trail shortly before first light. A NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was calling incessantly from below the Stevens Creek trail junction, while GREAT HORNED and WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS called from upslope. At the meadow just past new milepost 1 a BARN OWL called four times as it passed low overhead. At 6:58am, as it was getting light, a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL (Santa Clara County year bird #175!) started calling and was soon joined by a second bird. I whistled back and nearly had my head taken off as the bird flew past me to a nearby leafless tree and continued claiming its territory. Not a bad start to the day! Mike Rogers _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. 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