[SBB] Mines Rd/Del Puerto Canyon - 5/21/06

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

All,

Yesterday 5/21/06, Mike Mammoser and I spent the day looking for migrants and other birds along Mines Road, in San Antonio Valley, and down Del Puerto Canyon. Things started out pretty good, with 2 YELLOW WARBLERS, 2 WESTERN TANAGERS, and a singing TOWNSEND'S WARBLER at our first stop at the saddle above Colorado Creek at milepost 10.30 on Mines Road (about mile 24.5 on the green mile marker numbers, also painted on the road). Unfortunately, during the rest of the day, we only had another singing TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and YELLOW WARBLER to add to the migrant totals. The weather, which initially offered up only mild showers, eventually deteriorated into steady rain.

Otherwise we did find most of the expected species back there, with at least one LEWIS'S WOODPECKER 0.25 miles south of the junction, several LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES, many LAZULI BUNTINGS, SAGE SPARROWS, LARK SPARROWS, PURPLE FINCHES, etc. We had no luck with Greater Roadrunner at either of the spots where Bob Reiling reported them, and the only PHAINOPEPLA was a male at mile 11.2 in Alameda County.

Adult GREEN HERONS at two locations included one new for atlas block 3040 at the Digger Pine Ranch. Five WOOD DUCKS were at the pond near the east end of the dogleg in San Antonio Valley; also here were a pair of BARN SWALLOWS and at least 4 CLIFF SWALLOWS, the latter apparently nesting in the metal structure south of the road. TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS were feeding young at the pond 1.8 miles east of the junction in atlas block 3535 and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE nest with young was a new breeding confirmation for this block (HAIRY WOODPECKER was also a new species for this block).

Our trip down Del Puerto Canyon was productive. We could not find any Costa's Hummingbirds between milemarkers 19 and 20 near the Peach Tree Creek confluence (we did have 2 more SAGE SPARROWS here), but we did find both male and female COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRDS at mile 10.4. We also found a COMMON RAVEN nest with young, a CANYON WREN, and several RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS at this latter location. Rain made a thorough check of spots closer to I5 difficult.

Mike Rogers

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