Re: [SBB] Sunnyvale Baylands & Harvey Marsh (Correction)

[Barry Langdon-Lassagne <[[email protected]]>]

Upon reflection (and thanks to a nudge from Bill Bousman), we  
realized that our "Blue-winged Teal" from Harvey Marsh 9/16 could  
have been Northern Shovelers coming out of eclipse plumage, which are  
far more likely in these numbers and this time of year. We hadn't  
realized that a duck with a striking facial crescent, white hip-patch  
with black tail, and blue on the wings could be anything but the  
teal, so we hadn't checked the field marks against Shoveler.

Always good to be reminded you could be wrong when prepping for a  
birdathon!

- Barry & Ginger -


On Sep 16, 2006, at 11:23 PM, Barry Langdon-Lassagne wrote:


> On 9/16 between 6:00pm and 7:15pm, Ginger and I birded Sunnyvale
> Baylands; the wind was blowing so warblering in the poplars was
> unproductive, nothing more than a few barely-distingushable "chips"
> in the canopy. We headed out down the path at the southeast corner to
> see Harvey Marsh and the smaller marsh just the other side of
> Guadalupe Slough. In the small marsh, we saw 6+ Blue-winged Teal, and
> two Red-necked Phalaropes. A Common Yellowthroat was gorgeously
> cooperative in the fading light.
>
> In Harvey Marsh we saw six White Pelicans, 400+ dowitchers, 60+
> American Avocets, about 15 more Blue-winged Teal and 100+ Black-
> necked Stilts. We watched a brief battle between an American Kestrel
> and a White-tailed Kite. On the north side of Harvey Marsh, between
> the marsh and the slough we saw our first Yellow-rumped Warbler of
> the fall, in first-fall plumage; with the brief look we had, we were
> unable to determine whether Myrtle or Audubon race.
>
> - Barry & Ginger Langdon-Lassagne -

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