[SBB] Sunnyvale water control plant

[Chuq Von Rospach <[[email protected]]>]

I did a long walk up the levee out past the sunnyvale water control  
plant. no sign of the franklin's gull. A group of birders was at the  
water distribution center when I got back in, and they found a  
Bonaparte's Gull feeding in the channel; I later refound it and spent  
some time watching it before it got full and wandered off somewhere  
to enjoy the meal. I did a close check of the gulls within view, and  
it was the only one I found. amaazingly enough, I have a nice shot of  
the bonaparte's. I'll post it later.

Leaving the area, I had a belted kingfisher wander out for a good  
view -- first time I've seen one there. I also had an American  
Kestrel stop and perch for a nice look (other raptors included a  
couple of turkey vultures, a red tail, and a possible northern  
harrier (it was at extreme distance and flying in and out of the  
weeds, but I saw the tail patch flash twice before I lost view)

way out in one of the ponds I saw a grebe (likely eared), the only  
one I saw, and a couple of common moorhens. Other than that, it was  
usual suspects: northern shovelers, pintails and ruddy's in good  
numbers, coots, pied-bill grebes. Some snowy egrets and two great  
blue herons. There was very little activity in the ruses today (dark,  
grey, cool and a bit windy) unlike a few days ago -- I saw one small  
flock of blackbirds up on the wires, and a few young ones in the  
weeds, but the rushes on the walk out to the radar dish was almost  
completely silent. Only got glimpse of one warbler the whole walk.

Way out on the levee, I saw some peeps out on the algae maps. Much to  
my amazement (probably not yours), where the mats weren't strong  
enough to carry their weight, they were using their wings to give  
them just enough lift to allow them to walk the mats and feed. See  
something new every day, if you look...

also the normal denizens, a couple of ravens, some crows...

Two things I'm not sure of. Out on the levee where it makes the turn  
right (I was on the left-hand side one with the pond that opens up  
over to Moffett) I distinctly heard something whistling -- that  
distintive whistle of a squeaker toy. I did some looking but didn't  
find what it might have been, but the sound was coming from far away  
across the water (if you look off towards the shoreline pavillion  
tents, it was that direction). it was definitely not the sound made  
by any of the usual suspects there, If you've ever heard a whistling  
duck -- that's what it sounded like. but there was only one (maybe  
two) of them out there somewhere, whatever it was.

Also, one shorebird in the channel next to the radar dish, and I'm  
not entirely sure what they were. My first thought was marbled  
godwit, but the beak was dark, not bi-color, and they were smaller  
than that, but buffy, not grey. Beak is long, curves upward slightly,  
small but noticable white eyebrow, pale legs. there were two of them  
when I went out, gone when I came back. larger than a peep -- maybe  
the size of a greater yellowlegs. I'll see if I can find a usable  
photo, because I'm just not sure... any ideas?






-- 
Chuq Von Rospach, Architech
[[email protected]] -- http://chuqui.typepad.com/

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't  
fallen asleep yet.



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