From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun Jul 11 21:17:29 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i6C4FYOQ026131 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 11 Jul 2004 21:15:34 -0700 (PDT) Received: from la.znet.com (la.znet.com [207.167.96.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i6C4EYMR026092 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 11 Jul 2004 21:14:35 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [69.19.247.119] (host-69-19-247-119.rev.o1.com [69.19.247.119]) by la.znet.com (8.12.6/8.12.6/le1-la) with ESMTP id i6C4EUnE028183 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 11 Jul 2004 21:14:32 -0700 (PDT) X-Envelope-From: [[email protected]] X-Envelope-To: <[[email protected]]> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 21:16:01 -0700 To: [[email protected]] From: Dean Manley <[[email protected]]> Subject: [SBB] Ruff hunt X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5b1 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]] Hi SBBers, I spent the afternoon (1:30 to 4:30) trying to turn up the Ruff that Al Eisner found earlier in the New Chicago Marsh. No success. I had started on the Spreckles street side when Mike Mammoser arrived. We later went out the rr tracks making multiple searches. At about half way out the tracks Mike departed and I continued out to the end. I was supprised by the concentrations of shorebirds that continued to be revealed on the EEC side as I approached the A16 levee. The return trip was not marked by as dedicated searching as the outbound trip but still no Ruff seen. My reward for the afternoons effort was some Peregrine Falcon action. About 3/4 of the way out the track I was scoping shorebirds on the Alviso side when I heard some commotion and turned to see a PREREGRINE FALCON coming in close by. He crossed the track and went down low to about 3 feet above the pickle weed. Very shortly later the Peregrine dropped behind some pickle weed, halting his flight, then coming up with a prey item in his clutches. The catch was very small and as the Peregrine return toward me, getting quite close, I could tell it was a peep and by leg color it seemed to be a Western Sanpiper. Barely a snack! The Peregrine made a straight line flight toward the Zanker Rd landfill/dump area and had not stopped at a steel tower to eat when I lost him in the haze. My past observations (minimal) and things I've read make me think that Peregrines usually eat their catch at or near the kill site. Carrying the prey so far from the hunting area to eat dosen't seem effecient but I'm not privy to the plan. I might like to think he is carrying food to a family on some roof top SE of the Zanker fill but that would be highly speculative and a very rare possibility. There are probally other possibilities. 2 or 3 minutes after I lost sight of the departing falcon a second Peregrine Falcon zoomed low over the pickle weed across my front. No kill as he dissapeared toward the west end of A16. This Peregrine looked larger than the first and perhaps a warmer tone overall but I can't say positivly that it could not have been the return of the first Peregrine. It just dosen't seem likely the first would have returned so soon. Dean _______________________________________________ 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]]