[SBB] Recent birds/CBC bait

Hi All,

This morning 12/14/2005, I walked a short loop around the hilltop just southeast of Horseshoe Lake. Not much to report, it was really quiet at 8 AM, but there were 26 Ring-necked Ducks on the lake and a solo Red-breasted Nuthatch was heard calling from the evergreens to the south.

Yesterday, 12/13/2005, a bright male Western Tanager, 3-6 Western Bluebirds, and a busy assortment of additional species (including Rock Doves) were feasting on Pistache fruits in the street trees at Second and State streets in downtown Los Altos. The tree closest to the street sign was the center of activity, although other trees nearby were also heavily laden with berries. The lack of precision regarding the bluebirds is due to the fact that after seeing the threesome at about 1:30 PM in the aforementioned tree, I walked to my truck at the lot just north of that point, and there were 3 WEBL in a smaller Pistache there too. The same individual birds could easily have flown the block faster than I walked it, but who knows?

On 12/8/2005 I took an early AM walk at Hidden Villa for owls. On the farm there were several Western Screech Owls calling between 5-6:20AM. Several more were encountered along the forest trails. Ultimately, the morning's total for the species was at least 6 individuals. A single Great Horned Owl called from a location just west of the farm at 6:30. At the same time I heard a series of 5 calls from what may well have been a Long-eared Owl near the same point. These calls were loud, very nasal, single calls of 1-2 seconds duration each, and spaced at intervals of about 10-15 seconds. Unfortunately, I was on the opposite slope from this location and was unable to track it down. HV's "Short Bunny Trail" would take a walker through the heart of the area involved, however.

Later, near the junction of the Creek and Pipeline Trails, two Northern Pygmy-Owls were duetting. One was calling consistently from 6:40-6:55 as the light came up to a nearly full level. The other, with a slightly higher pitch, called only intermittently and in short phrases rather than the long string of widely-spaced, monotonous toots of the other. (Question to owl fans: would this pattern indicate the presence of a mated pair?)

That's all for now,

Garth Harwood