From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun Mar 7 21:45:19 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i285g1wi023038 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 7 Mar 2004 21:42:01 -0800 (PST) Received: from mta4.rcsntx.swbell.net (mta4.rcsntx.swbell.net [151.164.30.28]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i285eakF022990 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 7 Mar 2004 21:40:36 -0800 (PST) Received: from KrisDesktop (adsl-64-169-18-243.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net [64.169.18.243]) by mta4.rcsntx.swbell.net (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id i285eYrA020258; Sun, 7 Mar 2004 23:40:34 -0600 (CST) From: "Kris Olson" <[[email protected]]> To: "Peninsula-Birding" <[[email protected]]>, "'South Bay Birders'" <[[email protected]]> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 21:40:35 -0800 Message-ID: <018e01c404cf$e1517590$6401a8c0@KrisDesktop> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by plaidworks.com id i285eakF022990 Cc: Subject: [SBB] County Line birding in the Baylands 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]] Hello all, On the way home across the Dumbarton this afternoon, I checked out the road that parallels the bridge -- accessed via Don Edwards wildlife refuge. There were over 100 BONAPARTE GULLS feeding next to the bridge, just before the high rise starts up. So they were in Alameda County. I have noticed flocks of them here other times but never stopped to check them out. Since I have not seen a Bonaparte Gull in San Mateo County, and here they were soooo close, I checked out the west end of the Dumbarton on both sides of the road. No Bonapartes. There were huge flocks of LEAST SANDPIPERS and DUNLIN doing their swirling thing in the air, even forming a gigantic rectangle. A PEREGRINE FALCON managed to flush most of them just after they landed in front of me. Checked for Cliff Swallows where they nest at the U-turn under the bridge: no sign. There are still 13 mud nests intact from last year. Next I tried Cooley Landing at the end of Bay Road in EPA. The tide was way out, so this place that had been inundated during high tides with Ring-billed Gulls snatching mice off the water was all marsh plants. There was a thick swath of shorebirds from just south of the Dumbarton along the mudflats all the way down to the Palo Alto Baylands. I walked south over the boardwalk, and passed a CLAPPER RAIL in its own Clapper Alley. Saw and heard RING-NECKED PHEASANTS. I could see a huge flock of Bonaparte Gulls way south, in the channels created past the mouth of San Francisquito Creek. Which county were they in? Luckily one of the flocks took off and swirled pretty far north before returning for a feeding frenzy in the channel. I also saw 4 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, which were definitely in the San Mateo part of the mouth. Oh, and much closer to me were 200 (I counted each one) SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, feeding on the mud. There were undoubtedly more beyond accurate scope view. I saw a RED-TAILED HAWK sitting on a post in the pickleweed, on the San Mateo side. Next I tried walking out to the mouth of the creek from O'Connor St in EPA. The pond there is pretty dry -- just 10 Coots or so. I got out to the creek mouth about 5:45pm. A PEREGRINE FALCON sat on one of the snags out on the mud flats (SCL side). Lots of ducks - Canvasbacks, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeons, Pintails. GREATER YELLOWLEGS on both sides of the creek. Huge flocks of shorebirds strung out up and down the shore. By this time, the Bonaparte Gull flocks were quite far out -- one flock straight ahead and one somewhat to the south, so I am not sure what county they were in. The CSAA map looks as if the county line follows the Palo Alto Baylands closely until it makes a 90 degree turn by Hook's Island and goes out into the Bay, so they might have been in San Mateo. I am definitely not a county map expert. I heard several Clapper Rails as I walked out from O'Connor: most on the San Mateo side but one on the SCL side. I looked longingly over the EPA marshes as I walked back to a wonderful sunset --no Short-eared Owl. However, I was accompanied for part of the walk by a bat! Near the O'Connor pond and pump house (and no swallows there either.) Small brown bat. Any ideas on species? Good birding (and batting?) Kris Olson Menlo Park, CA _______________________________________________ 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]]