[SBB] Palo Alto SBC - 6/3/06

[Mike Rogers <[[email protected]]>]

All,

On Saturday 6/3/06, I birded Moffett Field, the Palo Alto Baylands, much 
of the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin, Stevens Creek between Highway 101 
and Crittenden Lane, and the Charleston Road marsh for the Palo Alto 
Summer Bird Count. The most numerous birds tallied were 493 MALLARDS, 
365 CLIFF SWALLOWS, 297 CALIFORNIA GULLS, and 248 HOUSE FINCHES, but 
there was a good variety of more interesting things, with 83 species found.

I started out just before dawn by taping for rails in the wetlands along 
the North Perimeter Road at Moffett Field. I had no luck with that, but 
the early start here turned up some interesting ducks, including a pair 
of REDHEAD in the southeast corner of Crittenden Marsh and a pair of 
BLUE-WINGED TEAL in the concrete stormwater pond south of there. Eleven 
RING-NECKED PHEASANTS and 5 COMMON MOORHENS were good counts for this area.

Heading through the Moffett housing at Orion Park I found a WESTERN 
BLUEBIRD pair tending a nest with young and a family of OAK TITMICE, 
both recent colonizers of this bayside location. Moving to nearby 
Stevens Creek turned up a pair of BELTED KINGFISHERS with the male 
carrying food upstream across Highway 101. There were no lingering 
migrants along the creek, but a GREEN HERON, 5 HOODED ORIOLES, and 3 
BULLOCK'S ORIOLES were nice. The biggest surprise was a high-flying 
LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH, heading to the east and repeatedly giving its 
high-pitched "pee-too" call. Maybe one of the birds that others reported 
up in the Santa Cruz Mountains decided to head back to the Diablo Range! 
Overall it was a good goldfinch day, with 68 AMERICAN and 30 LESSER 
GOLDFINCHES noted.

I got to Embarcadero Way just before 9am and worked my way through the 
"Hazardous Waste Day" line to check out the trees near the water 
treatment plant. Best birds here were 4 lingering CEDAR WAXWINGS.

On to the end of Geng Road, where, after checking out the family of 
PIED-BILLED GREBES on the golf course pond and a female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE 
feeding young, I biked out to the San Franciscquito Creek Delta to catch 
the outgoing tide. Normally this location has a fair number of 
shorebirds, but this day there were only three, 2 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS 
and 1 WHIMBREL. A one-year-old PEREGRINE FALCON was perched on and 
foraging from one of the towers in nearby San Mateo County and the first 
tower on the San Mateo County side of the creek had an occupied COMMON 
RAVEN nest. Biking back out to the duck pond added many of the day's 35 
MARSH WRENS and 26 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS. As I tallied breeding EGRETS 
and NIGHT-HERONS at the duck pond, I was surprised to see a TREE SWALLOW 
foraging overhead - we have no previous breeding-season records for 
atlas block 7545. A female GREATER SCAUP with an injured left wing and a 
female LESSER SCAUP with an injured right wing were joined by an 
apparently healthy pair of LESSER SCAUP.

After biking back to the car at Geng Road, I walked along San 
Francisquito Creek to Highway 101. I finally found a lingering migrant, 
a silent WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE (on both sides of the creek and thus in both 
counties), which I studied from 12:24pm to 12:35pm, hoping to make it 
into an Eastern Wood-Pewee :). A female DOWNY WOODPECKER was the only 
one I had all day and a male NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER with a beak full of 
grub was only the second breeding confirmation I know of for block 7545. 
More BULLOCK'S and HOODED ORIOLES were along the creek as well.

A check of the Emily Renzel Wetlands, nearby Matadero Creek, and the 
Palo Alto Flood Control Basin turned up no surprises. A stop at 
Shoreline Lake failed to turn up the Common Loon that has been there of 
late, although the 4 SURF SCOTERS, the injured male GREATER SCAUP, and a 
GREEN HERON were around.

Back at Moffett Field, I finally managed to locate a single BURROWING 
OWL. A small airshow event with lots of people was apparently 
responsible for the absence of birds at another favored location. Biking 
around the Moffett Golf Course added 3 more WHITE-THROATED  SWIFTS, 6 
BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, an active RED-TAILED HAWK nest with a nearby 
branchling, and a GRAY FOX.

After turning up nothing new at the heronry along Shorebird Way and the 
Charleston Road marsh, I once again got on my bike, this time to check 
out Byxbee Park, Mayfield Slough, and the outer Palo Alto Flood Control 
Basin. Highlights along Mayfield Slough included the day's 3rd NORTHERN 
SHOVELER, 9 CINNAMON TEAL, 5 NORTHERN PINTAILS, 8 LESSER SCAUP, and a 
GOPHER SNAKE. Out at Hook's Isle I finally heard 2 CLAPPER RAILS and a 
LONG-BILLED CURLEW flew into the Palo Alto estuary.

High totals of 24 BEWICK'S WRENS and 20 DARK-EYED JUNCOS (including 
feeding young) were notable. These two species were virtually never 
detected on the count in region 2 (bayside areas in Santa Clara County) 
prior to the last five or ten years. Now they are common!

Mike Rogers


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