[SBB] Gilroy sewer ponds

[Bill Bousman <[[email protected]]>]

Folks:

This morning, 5/19/06, I visited the South County Regional WasteWater 
Authority, aka the Gilroy sewer ponds or Llagas Creek north of 
Bloomfield.  A good bit of water is still in ponds #2 and 3 (counting from 
the south).  There I saw a male and three female NORTHERN SHOVELERS.  One 
of the female shovelers was accompanied by four precocial young; breeding 
of this species is less expected in the county.  Among the rarer ducks was 
a female NORTHERN PINTAIL, but there was no evidence of nesting.  A few 
shorebirds were still about, including a bright female RED-NECKED 
PHALAROPE.  I spent some time at the southern end of the ponds looking for 
a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.  Initially, I heard some brief call notes.  About 
20 min. later I positioned myself near some willows at the southern end of 
the ponds and a chat sang within 20 feet of me for 10 seconds.  This 
sounded more like a secondary song than the usual boisterous songs that I 
expect from chats.  An alternate SPOTTED SANDPIPER was at the entrance to 
the plant.  There were lots of GREEN HERONS about.  I counted three along 
Hwy 101 from Coyote Ranch to the Llagas Creek crossing near Masten and 
three more along Llagas Creek at the sewer ponds.

On my return, I stopped by the Coyote Creek GC.  I saw a male and two 
female GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES.  The male was behaving very much as male 
GTGRs do, that is, ignoring the process of nesting.  One of the females 
made a number of trips carrying food to an apparent nest in the 
reeds/cattails at the far side of the middle pond as viewed from the 
clubhouse.  Another female flew into the reeds about 2 m away from the 
first, but I did not see her carrying any food.  Based on this, I suspect 
the first has a nest with young, whereas the second is still 
incubating.  This appears to be a new confirmation of breeding in Block 1015.


Bill Bousman
Santa Clara County records compiler 


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