When my alarm went off at 5:30 AM this morning and I could hear the rain coming down outside, with no prospect of letting up all day, I really thought I was crazy for even thinking about doing the San Jose Christmas Bird Count. When I got up to Ed Levin Park I was thrilled to see 10 other DEDICATED birders (Harold Fukuma, Ed Gustafson, Alan Thomas, Shira Gruhl, Randy Little, Dark Little, Les Chibana, Fred Schulenberg, Arthur Traum and Kathleen Lee) ready to go count birds.
The Berryessa Hills section gets divided up into three different parties as we try and cover the area. In total we did not find any rare birds, but, the folks covering the area around the Ed Levin Park Ranger Station flushed a BARN OWL, a first for this area on a count day. Another brave party walked a muddy, wet trail throughout the park and came upon a roosting pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS.
The third party drives a 17 mile loop around Ed Levin. We were thrilled to come upon three different GOLDEN EAGLES.
After our morning of counting, Les Chibana and I drove home via Felter and Sierra Roads. As we drove home the rain had let up and we found HORNED LARKS & WESTERN MEADLOWLARS,
and SAVANNAH SPARROWS all had not been seen during the first pass in the pooring rain.
Its a challenge to find birds and count them, (let alone ID them) when the wind is blowing and your optics are dripping. And its such a bummer when a good bird is sitting on the other side of the road and ya can't count it! Everyone managed, as are thousands of other birding volunteers throughout the nation this time of year. I congratulate you all for your efforts!
In total - Section J had 64 species.
Lisa Myers