[SBB] a rainy Mt Hamilton CBC

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All,

Today 1/2/06, Mike Mammoser and I birded Isabel Valley (private land) for the Mt. Hamilton CBC.  It rained without a break for the entire day, so we ended up wet, with fogged optics, and with few passerines to show for our efforts.  Worse, the large amount of rain over the past two weeks has turned Isabel Creek into a raging river.  It was impossible to ford the creek at any location.  We got to the ranch house by a road that avoids the creek, but once there we had to do all our coverage by walking because every little drainage was a raging torrent washing across the road.  We walked a 7-mile loop, but still failed to cover many areas we usually check in years when we can drive.

We spent an hour owling before dawn, occasionally thinking we had a reply from a screech-owl, but never being able to be sure of what we were hearing over the rain and creek noise.  Things perked up as we drove up to the big reservoir near the ranch houses.  In view at the same time were 3 BALD EAGLES, an adult, a "near-adult", and a younger immature.  An adult FERRUGINOUS HAWK flew by and later we saw 2 adults at the same time in the valley.  Other raptor highlights included 2 GOLDEN EAGLES and a NORTHERN HARRIER.  Waterbirds were relatively unaffected by the rain, although duck numbers seemed down, with the exception of 168 MALLARDS.  Rarer ducks included 12 WOOD DUCKS, 1 GADWALL, 3 HOODED MERGANSERS, 3 COMMON MERGANSERS, and a male LESSER SCAUP (new for the count).  Among the 630 AMERICAN COOTS on the main reservoir was a COMMON MOORHEN, a real surprise at 2320 feet elevation, and another count first!

Surprisingly, pishing at apparently empty chaparral did elicit a response from hidden sparrows and towhees.  Our numbers were way down compared to what we find in better weather, but we still managed to locate a SAGE SPARROW, 6 FOX SPARROWS, and 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS among the 26 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and 110 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.

Other highlights included 9 WILSON'S SNIPE, 1 BELTED KINGFISHER, 2 PHAINOPEPLAS, 11 LARK SPARROWS, and 4 TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS.

For the first time ever we failed to find any Lewis's Woodpeckers in the valley (and we found only 3 ACORN WOODPECKERS, compared to 22 last year).  A late afternoon check of San Antonio Valley also failed to turn up any Lewis's Woodpeckers, although pishing at chaparral on the way over there added a SONG SPARROW, a HERMIT THRUSH, and many more FOX SPARROWS to our day list.

Mike Rogers
Sunnyvale

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