Re: [SBB] Where are the Wilson's Phalaropes? in Sunnyvale!

[Kris Olson <[[email protected]]>]

Frank found them in Sunnyvale!

Kris

--- Kris Olson <[[email protected]]> wrote:

> I birded along the Bay in San Mateo county yesterday
> AM with Ron Thorn. He
> wondered where the Wilson's Phalaropes were in Santa
> Clara county, since he
> has seen females (leaving males to care for the
> young) in San Mateo and
> others have been reported in S. California.  
> 
> So about 11am I headed south to see what I could
> find. I did not have the
> chance to check my records to see what locations I
> had seen them in prior
> years, but I checked Alviso RR tracks near the
> Marina, State & Spreckles,
> New Chicago Marsh and the EEC first salt pond with
> nesting terns.  No luck.
> Then I headed for CCFS, also no luck, but wow! is
> the water LOW LOW LOW. The
> only birds there are a bunch of American Avocets, 3
> Black-necked Stilts and
> 2 Gadwells, oh and one gull. A Red-tailed Hawk flew
> over (probably looking
> for food for 2 very noisy youngsters sitting near
> their nest at the entrance
> to CCFS).  Three avocets chased the hawk high into
> the sky.  CCFS had
> several BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and one male BROWN-HEADED
> COWBIRD, whose head
> looked absolutely golden in the sun.
> 
> EEC/New Chicago Marsh had 2 BURROWING OWLS, one of
> which was sitting across
> the entry road and flew back to its mound to be with
> the other owl. I had
> not seen this behavior before. It actually perched
> up on the curly dock to
> look around.  Poor owl, can't even sit on a native
> plant. A BARN OWL was in
> the nest box.
> 
> Otherwise, I saw mainly Stilts and Avocets
> everywhere I went, with 4 young
> stilts near the RR tracks by the Marina and 1 nearly
> adult stilt (with
> golden edges to its back feathers-- assume a
> juvenile) along the EEC
> entrance road.
> 
> I even stopped briefly at San Antonio and Terminal
> Rds in Mt View-- again,
> no sign of a phalarope, but lots of stilts, avocets
> wading and Forster's
> Terns nesting on the island--- which is pretty much
> the mixture of birds
> that Ron and I had found in the north San Mateo
> County bay from Coyote Pt up
> to Oyster pt. Except we found the pair of Oyster
> Catchers that is apparently
> nesting there and the male Harlequin Duck at Coyote
> Pt.
> 
> Past records show that I have seen Wilson's
> Phalaropes in Alviso/EEC etc. in
> June, July and August in years past. So I guessed
> the right locations, at
> least!
> 
> Good birding and may those phalaropes show up
> somewhere.
> 
> Kris Olson, Menlo Park
> 
> 
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