[SBB] Palo Alto Christmas count coverage - 12/18/06 (belated)

[[[email protected]] (Mike Rogers)]

All,

On 12/18/06, I covered the Palo Alto Baylands, Stevens Creek from Highway 101
to Crittenden Lane, and Moffett Field for the Palo Alto Christmas bird count.

First stop was the Palo Alto Golf Course at the end of Geng Road just before 
7am. A pair of HOODED MERGANSERS was at the pond; a couple hours later
on my return 2 GREEN HERONS were duking it out right out in the open there.
A quick trip out to the San Francisquito Creek mouth turned up the two SNOW
GEESE (adult and immature) flying into the golf course from nearby San
Francisquito Creek, along with hundreds of Canada Geese. The pond at the
end of O'Conner Street had 6 WILSON'S SNIPE and across the path in the
marsh were RING-NECKED PHEASANTS and a SORA; further out near the
creek mouth were 3 CLAPPER RAILS and a pair of adult PEREGRINE FALCONS.
Also surprising was the day's only HORNED GREBE, in San Francisquito Creek.
The area between the Geng Road parking lot and Highway 101 turned up a
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and an OAK TITMOUSE.

Next I headed over to Stevens Creek north of Highway 101, spending  from
9:15am to almost 11:00am searching for landbirds, including lingering
stakeout rarities. The HY female BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER was
still at her usual location and I got great looks at the HOUSE WREN, this time
about 50 yards north of the lone eucalyptus (which held a single TOWNSEND'S
WARBLER). A MERLIN flew to the north over the Crittenden Lane bridge.
On my return up the west side of the creek I was surprised to hear a
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH chipping from the point where the creek
waters cross over from the east channel. Patiently waiting and pishing
eventually got me great looks at this tail-pumping bird. Ten minutes
later, it flew to the east channel and I could hear it "chinking" its way slowly 
north. An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER here rounded out 6 warbler
species in the 2/3 mile of creek south of Crittenden Lane - not bad for
December!

Within ten minutes I was a half mile south, at the very last vegetation before 
the opening at the end of L'Avenida. I had been walking fairly quickly without 
pishing and therefore not dragging a waterthrush with me. And yet there
was a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH pumping its tail and flipping leaves
at the edge of the creek. This bird had an overall yelllowish cast to the
underparts and supercilium that the first bird lacked, and appeared to have
brighter pink feet (although nowhere near the bubblegum pink of a Louisiana
Waterthrush). It never called the entire time, even though I remained and
pished for ten minutes after I last saw it. All the pishing did bring up a
SPOTTED TOWHEE though, an unusual bird this close to the bay.

A Northern Waterthrush has wintered at the nearby Charleston Road marsh for
the past five winters (first noted there in April 2002) and we have suspected 
that sightings from Stevens Creek during this period have involved the same
bird, but noone has noted plumage differences that suggested two birds.
Remarkably, Richard Jeffers found a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH in the
marsh in the afternoon. He noted a fairly strong yellowish cast to the bird,
unlike his (and my) recollections of previous sightings there, suggesting that
both birds may be foraging in the marsh as well as in the creek.

Next I headed back to the Palo Alto Baylands, hoping to refind the Swamp
Sparrow while the tide was still up. No luck with that, but 8 SORAS and
3 VIRGINIA RAILS were nice, and a female BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD
at the parking lot was the only one I had all day (and the only one noted at
the countdown). From the end of the boardwalk behind the interpretive
center I added 11 SURF SCOTERS, 2 BROWN PELICANS (1 adult and
1 immature), and another CLAPPER RAIL.

Back at the parking lot, a male HOODED MERGANSER was in the estuary
but there was no sign of the Eurasian Wigeon. A male TOWNSEND'S
WARBLER at the ranger station was unexpected, unlike 21 BONAPARTE'S
and 2 MEW GULLS across the street in the estuary. Two BLACK-BELLIED and
4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS there were also nice, but these numbers
were dwarfed by those at a later stop at the uncovering mud flats at the
mouth of San Francisquito Creek (162 and 115, respectively).

Before biking to the creek mouth from the end of Geng Road, I stopped and
checked the end of Embarcadero Way. An intergrade flicker was mostly
Yellow-shafted-like (yellow wing and tail linings and red nuchal collar), but
had much red mixed in the malar stripe, which was on a gray face. The Snow
Geese were not visible as I biked out to the creek mouth, apparently because
they had taken a break up into San Mateo County, where they were seen
while winging there way back to the golf course at 2:45pm by parties in
region 1 by two parties. Out at the delta a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL was
foraging with a group of 210 GREEN-WINGED TEAL on the bay. Several
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS were out there and I found 2 RUDDY
TURNSTONES and a single SANDERLING, specialties of this location,
but failed to locate any Red Knots or Whimbrels. The SNOW GEESE were
back at the golf course as I left at 2:51pm and then at the golf course pond
at Geng Road when I drove off at 3:00pm.

With the remaining light I covered NASA Ames and the east side of Moffett
Field. The Storm Water Pond at Ames had another male BLUE-WINGED
TEAL with 4 CINNAMON TEAL. A WILSON'S SNIPE was in the marsh behind
the pond. Driving around to the Golf Course at Moffett Field, I found a single
BURROWING OWL. A bike ride around the golf course added a low-flying
WHITE-THROATED SWIFT (the only one noted at the countdown), another
MERLIN, and 134 AMERICAN ROBINS all over the greens.

In the waning light I stopped by Byxbee Park, hoping for a Short-eared Owl.
I had to be content with a BARN OWL out over the flood control basin at
5:20pm, as I apparently missed the Short-eared by ten minutes (at least
it was found for the count!).

All-in-all a great day of birding in nice weather, with a remarkable 120 species
found just along the bay edge! (And that without a Gadwall all day!)

Mike Rogers
Sunnyvale

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