[SBB] Mines Road 5/15/05

[Cyndie Illes <[[email protected]]>]

We took a trip today out Mines Road and what a gorgeous day it was! The
weather was nice, the wildflowers were still in bloom and we saw some
excellent birds.

At mile marker 6.26 we saw a PHAINOPEPLA fly catching from the fence at the
top of the hill. It eventually came down the hill and landed on the fence
about 10 feet from us where we could clearly see the bright red eye.
Meanwhile, a GOLDEN EAGLE and an unidentified hawk were circling overhead, a
SAYS PHOEBE was hanging out near the fence at the top of the hill, a BLACK
PHOEBE was fly catching near the water trough, two or three WESTERN
KINGBIRDS were flying in and out of the oak tree and a CALIFORNIA QUAIL was
calling behind us. On the way back to the car, we found a RUFOUS-CROWNED
SPARROW in the bushes near the road.

Near mile marker 7.75 we had BULLOCK¹S ORIOLES (male and female) and a
female HOODED ORIOLE. We joked about adding to our day list the peacocks
that we heard calling from somewhere down the canyon.

At CDF Sweetwater Station 25, we met up with a handful of other birders and
saw several LAWRENCE¹S GOLDFINCH and a BLACK-HEADED GROSSBEAK. One of the
gentlemen said he had seen several LAZULI BUNTINGS on his way there. We
never found them, though we did see a number of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS.

After lunch we turned back, stopping near the horse corrals where we found a
female WOOD DUCK and 2 ducklings in the creek behind the horses. She didn¹t
stick around for long, though she seemed reluctant to leave the babies.

We also stopped at mile marker 6.26 again, just to see if we could locate
the PHAINOPEPLA or RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW again (yes and no, in that order).
What we did see was a CALIFORNIA THRASHER that ambled across the road and
promptly disappeared into the undergrowth.

Thinking we had probably already seen all the exciting birds we would for
the day, we were surprised when a GREATER ROADRUNNER shot across the road in
front of us about a mile from the intersection of Mines Road and Del Valle
Road. Luckily, there was a pull-out and we jumped out of the car and crossed
the road to see where the ROADRUNNER had gone. There it was, about 8 feet
down the hill, its crest standing straight up and the blue & red on its face
glaring brilliantly at us! It stayed there for a few moments and then flew
down the hill and disappeared under a large oak tree. (I had never seen a
Roadrunner fly before, so that was an added treat!)

I know my descriptions can¹t do justice to everything we saw today, but I
just had to share! 

If you would like to see a few photos that Chris took of today¹s birds, you
can view them here:
http://homepage.mac.com/cmi/PhotoAlbum26.html


Good birding!
Cyndie (and Chris) Illes
San Jose, CA
[[email protected]]



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