[SBB] Foothills Park Birding at Sunset

[Kay Partelow <[[email protected]]>]

Hello birders,

Wednesday night (Sept. 20) Debbi Brusco, Karen DeMello and I did an after 
work jaunt around Boronda Lake in Palo Alto's Foothills Park, in hopes of 
hearing owls at
sunset.  Our first fun bird sighting was at the Page Mill Park & Ride lot 
where Karen found a watchful adult COOPER'S HAWK perched on top of a 
telephone pole.

We then ventured to the park and walked around the lake.  We were 
entertained by a BELTED KINGFISHER rattling along the shore, EUROPEAN 
STARLINGS in choreographed flocks flying across the lake and landing in 
layers in tree tops, numerous MALLARDS with whistling wings settling down 
into the lake, and a RED-TAILED HAWK flying toward the trees as the sun 
began to set.  A second Red-tail was being harassed by a "mystery 
bird".  In the fading light we could see no field marks, but the closest 
thing the silhouette and flight pattern resembled was a nighthawk.  It had 
long pointed wings which were flapped above the body as a nighthawk would 
do.  We plan on returning again in hopes to solve this mystery.

It didn't take long before we heard the hooting of two separate GREAT 
HORNED OWLS, one bird hooting distinctly lower than the other.  We were 
treated to this dusk chorus for about 15 minutes.  Finally one of the owls 
took off and flew across the lake, giving us a quick glimpse of it in the 
fading light when it perched in a tree.

Just when we thought our birding evening was over we had one final viewing 
of Wood Ducks around 8:30 p.m....although these were painted on the wall 
inside Celia's restaurant on El Camino in Palo Alto.  Nice to see something 
other than typical Mallards depicted so it was a pleasant sighting.

An additional sighting of note with apologies for the lateness:  Last 
Sunday (Sept. 17) after hiking to the top of Black Mountain with MROSD 
docent Mary Leeburg,  7 VAUX'S SWIFTS flew over the peak of the mountain 
right over our heads.  One of the group was performing a tumbling act which 
I've never seen a swift do.  ("Swift du Soleil?") It did this about 3 or 4 
times while we watched them disappear from view.

Kay Partelow
Palo Alto


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