[SBB] DeDUCKtions trip report 04-15-06

Yesterday, Cricket and I awoke at 4:30 to begin our SCVAS bird-a-thon. We packed our lunch and gathered all our necessary items (field guides, binoculars, telescope, iPod and mini speakers, clipboard, itinerary and most importantly, the Santa Clara County checklist). The plan called for us to meet the other team members, Phil and Joan Leighton, Ashutosh Sinha, Leonie Batkin, Jeff Mencher and Ken Lillis at 5:45 at the CostCo parking lot on Rengstorff and Hwy 101. Having all arrived on time, we consolidated the cars and hit the road. From that point on the eight of us were officially "the DeDUCKtions" and our big day had begun.

The first bird, as some of us predicted, was a singing Dark-eyed Junco we could hear in the trees by Krispi Kreme. It was too dark to see the bird, but we all recognized its voice.

Smith Creek was our fist birding stop. We headed up Mount Hamilton road in the drizzle and arrived just after sunrise. It was cool and quiet with very few birds in evidence. We had hoped for a warm, song-filled spring morning, but it seemed the weather had something else in mind for us... In the field we spotted a small group of Wild Turkeys as well as American Robins that were singing in the taller trees. Slowly, as we slogged through the riparian section we began to log additional species. Brown Creeper, House Wren, Hermit Thrush and Black-headed Grosbeak were all located rather easily but the woods still seemed to be generally asleep. Only one or two birds were vocalizing. We doubled back, crossed the field and headed up hill past the collapsed shack. Golden-crowned Sparrows were numerous along the weedy trail, Western Meadowlark flew from the grass and the Acorn Woodpeckers called from the oaks. Passing through the fence and hiking to the clearing we saw a Bewick's Wren in the bushes, scolding something. The clearing actually looked like the kind of place one might see a Phainopepla if you were lucky because there was so much mistletoe draped in the branches. Instead we saw Lesser Goldfinch, Western Bluebird, Red-tailed Hawk, White-breasted Nuthatch, both Steller's and Western Scrub Jay, and American Crow. We did a wide circle in the area before returning to the trailhead. We spotted a Yellow-billed Magpie crossing the hillside as well as a Hairy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. Band-tailed Pigeons crossed the gray sky overhead. Things were beginning to pick up now!

Twin Gates was our second stop and since we dallied at Smith Creek, and reached the gravel lot by the trailhead about 30 minutes behind schedule. We picked up Bullock's Oriole in the large oaks, a single Lark Sparrow way up hill and a flyover Western Kingbird. Common Raven souring over the valley completed our Corvid list for the day. A very cooperative Lincoln's Sparrow called from the barbed wire fence and allowed us commonly good looks. It was clearing up slightly and pale patches of blue were peaking through the clouds.

Mount Hamilton Road has several good pullouts where the sagey scrub is thick and we stopped to investigate. In the areas where outcroppings of rock are visible we looked for Rufous-crowned Sparrow. Sure enough, 3 popped up out of the scrub almost immediately when we played a short sample of the song. Here also we could hear California Thrasher, but it wasn't until later that we actually saw one. I looked at my watch. Time to go.

Grant Lake provided the remaining Swallows, Cliff, Barn and Northern Rough-winged, as well as a host of Waterbirds like Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Common Moorhen, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, Ruddy Duck and Bufflehead. Especially welcome was a male Belted Kingfisher that flew over us and perched in a tree, as well as a Green Heron that flew from the reeds where Song Sparrows were singing. White-tailed Kite hovered uphill from the trail and two singing Calfornia Thrashers allowed us to view them. Yellow-rumped Warblers were numerous here as expected, a Common Yellowthroat was seen in the reeds, and a group of Bushtits foraged in the shrubs along the trail. White-crowned Sparrows were now appearing more frequently than before.

Grant Park around the farmhouse and orchard, is where we hoped to find a few missing Passerines, like Wilson's Warbler or Warbling Vireo. No luck there. It was very cool and began to rain again, this time more heavily, so the area was all but dead. A tractor working in the mud near the house, proved to be another obstacle, making it very difficult for us to hear anything the might be singing... Still, we were patient, hoping that we might get a break. The tractor stopped for an early lunch break, the rain became a drizzle, and then a fine mist, and then nothing at all. The stage was now set for the birds to appear. Yellow-billed Magpies foraged on the lawn, House Wren sang from somewhere in the oaks, Western Bluebird perched on the wire by the nest boxes, Wrentit sang from the coyote bush below the orchard, American Kestrel appeared on a snag on the hillside, a Cooper's Hawk chased something through the willows, and an Orange-crowned Warbler appeared briefly among the many Yellow-rumped Warblers. Then we heard the sputtering "kip-wheer!" of an Ash-throated Flycatcher. Within a short time, we saw the bird, a first of season (FOS) appearance for all of us.

On the way down hill and through the residential areas, we got a couple of species easy to miss on a big day. Northern Mockingbird and House Sparrow. Both are pretty urban, or at least a little harder to find in a non-residential areas, so not always seen when you really want to see them. We got those two, plus Rock Pigeon.

Alum Rock Park was where we stopped for lunch, a full hour past schedule. We parked at the Rustic Lands picnic area and ate our sandwiches. In the eucalyptus trees overhead we spotted a Western Tanager, and heard a couple of Bullock's Orioles. Downy Woodpecker called from near the creek and Nuttall's from the drier trees uphill. An Allen's Hummingbird zipped in and out of the trees overhead. After finishing lunch, we packed up and walked across the bridge where we found a Pacific-slope Flycatcher below the canopy. A little farther, near the stone bridge we paused to look for Owls or Rock Wren, but neither were found. Overhead though, both White-throated and Vaux's Swifts foraged, with a view Violet-green Swallows. A ranger told us there had been a Mountain Lion in the area in the morning, right near the bridge, but it hadn't been seen since. We moved back rather quickly toward the cars...

We drove next to the upper parking lot where we thought we had an outside chance of finding American Dipper, which proved unsuccessful, but two more Cooper's Hawks appeared, an adult and an immature. The adult perched in full view and while we were watching the Turkey Vultures two Golden Eagles and a Red-shouldered Hawk showed up too. On our way out of the park, not far from the visitors center, we spotted a dark bird on the top of a dead tree. We expected it might be an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and indeed it was. Another FOS for our group!

Alviso EEC was where we expected we speed up the numbers with Gulls and Waterbirds. On the entrance road we logged Cinnamon Teal, Northern Pintail, Bonaparte's Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Willet, Black-necked Stilt and American Avocet. Additionally, we saw the Barn Owl in its nest box by the trail, and a Fox Sparrow digging underneath a bush in the garden. The ponds were filled with birds, American White Pelicans, Least Sandpiper, and all manner of Gulls, Western, Ring-billed, California, Herring, 2 Thayer's and Glaucous-winged. Forster's Terns dove repeatedly as we watched. Although we'd heard the Marsh Wren since we arrived, it was only after repeated coaxing we got one to appear. As wel left, we paused near the railroad tracks to admire the two Burrowing Owls that were visible on their mound.

State and Spreckles was too flooded to support many Shorebirds, but a few Dowitchers were present, as were a few Bonaparte's Gulls. We moved on without even getting out of the cars, and got back some of our lost time.

Alviso Marina was very productive. Both Sora and Virginia Rail were detected in the reeds beneath the first platform off the lot. A distant flotilla of Ducks turned out to be Lesser Scaup, and nearby were two female-plumaged Red-breasted Mergansers. Few Grebes were present, a few Eared way out, but we figured we'd have another chance at those in Mountain View. A Peregrine Falcon chased a Gull over the water, which was obviously exciting to watch.

Charleson Marsh proved disappointing. Yesterday's Hooded Merganser and Northern Waterthrush failed to reappear despite our best efforts. A Red-tailed Hawk watched curiously from its nest across the creek as we pished, took a few steps, pished again, more few more steps, and more pishing... Our group of eight must have looked pretty funny to any outsiders. We weren’t talking, just pishing.

Shoreline Park (main entrance) had originally planned as our next stop, but having already located the Burrowing Owl and feeling a bit pressed for time, we skipped it.

Charleston Slough was an exciting next stop. We were almost back on schedule but we were tired. Now as it was late afternoon, and we hadn't gotten any new birds at the last two stops. Now we were motivated by the possibility of seeing the Black Skimmers on their island. Sure enough, a large group of close to 20 was resting where they often do. Once or twice, one of them took flight before resettling among the crowd of Stilts, Avocets, Willets, Marbled Godwits and Forster's Terns. All the species seemed to be getting along, with less squabbling that I'd seen the week before. Greater Scaup was also near the island, as well as a few Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers and Mallard. We walked past the platform and the Mountain View Forebay.

Shoreline Lake is mostly blocked from the Slough side, but we able to scope the water from a gap in the fence. Surf Scoter was the first discovery here, but the Eared Grebes were wearing full breeding plumes and were really a joy to see. Among them was a Horned Grebe who appeared to be leucistic. It was a very pale individual with basic plumage. Its flat head and thicker, yellow-tipped bill were still good fieldmarks. Double-crested Cormorant foraged on the far side and hundreds of American Coots appeared to be taking over the lawn by the golfers. Oh, my gosh! It was getting late. We had at least two more stops to make and it was already after 5:00.

Palo Alto Baylands was a good place to pick up missing Shorebirds as the tide was out, allowing for many birds to forage within view of the parking lot. The yacht club flats, just as they did yesterday, produced many great looks at alternate-plumaged Dunlin, Black-bellied Plovers, and both Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers. Other birds seen were Least and Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Bonaparte's Gull, Black-crowned Night Heron, Canvasback and American Wigeon. We searched unsuccessfully for the previous day's Eurasian Wigeon, but were pretty pleased with what we did see.

The Duck Pond allowed for great side-by-side comparisons of Lesser and Greater Scaup. The differences are so obvious when the birds are together, and we were even able to see the different colored sheens, green for Greater, bluish-purple for Lesser, as they clambered for the bread crumbs people were tossing in. California and Ring-billed Gulls dominated here, but Western and a Glaucous-winged were also present. A single Northern Pintail hung out with the domestic Geese on the far side. In the lot we scanned the Blackbirds, both Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbird, for our Brown-headed Cowbird, of which there were several.

The boardwalk did not produce Clapper Rail, not even the call was detected. Heard however, was the call of Ring-necked Pheasant back near the cars. In the water beyond the platform we spotted several Clark's Grebe though, as well as a flyby Whimbrel that appeared to be flying toward Coyote Point where Ron Thorn would undoubtedly intercept it...

Stevens Creek Park was next. In the lower picnic area we got Purple Finch, another Western Tanager, and a FOS Western Wood Pewee. The strangest sighting of the day was also had here, a Caspian Tern visible through a gap in the trees as it flew overhead toward the reservoir. No hoped-for Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Warbling Vireo, not even Hutton's.... Mustn't dwell on the negative.... Count. And move on.

A snap decision was made. We would visit SCVAS headquarters at McClellan Ranch for an almost guaranteed additonal species. It would be a quick in-and-out operation before it got dark.

McClellan Ranch was now in twilight and the parking lot was deserted. Within moments we heard the familiar "wheep!" call of the Hooded Oriole, quite different from the closer Bullock's call. We cupped our ears to determine from which direction it was coming, but we already know. It was almost a formality to see the bird. We know it would be in the fan palm in the center of the meadow. We hurried toward the community garden, opened the gate and cast our eyes toward the glorious palm in the center of our horizon. The male was still calling from somewhere there. A moment later we saw a brilliant yellow-orange blur as it flew straight up from the large bush. Soon we had the male in our binoculars as he made his way toward the crown of the palm. Just to his right was the female with some straw in here beak. They were building a nest we supposed. We would have been done right then, but took one final walk around the periphery to look for anything we'd missed before. The list of no-shows was actually pretty large, but we had only a few that might be expected here. Townsend's Warbler being the most obvious. I had seen it here just a couple days earlier. Well, you guessed. It didn't show. But California Quail was scurrying in the underbrush and as we reassembled our group in the parking lot, we spotted a Barn Owl perched above the door of the barn, of all places! Time for dinner.

Dinner and the check We dined at Hobbee's on Stevens Creek, and checked off the list. Page after page of showed check marks. Many bird missed, but more than enough to meet our original goal of 100 species. Four of us kept tallies during the day, and now we would see if our counts matched. I sat back and asked the Joan and Jeff what they had counted, and then I told them what I had counted. We were agreed, the total was 140 species, with very few being heard-only IDs. As I sit at my computer and write this now, I see three groups of Cedar Waxwings, totaling over 100 birds, fly past my window... a species we somehow missed yesterday. We'll get them next year, for sure.  