[SBB] Saturday's Merlin, some Sunday results

[Jennifer Rycenga <[[email protected]]>]

Dear South Bay Birders -

About our MERLIN on Saturday.  We found it atop a TV antenna on a house on
Catherine Street in Alviso, near Gold (so, in essence, bisecting the route
between Spreckles and the Marina).  There were intermittent light rain
showers, and this bird certainly showed it.  The bird was a Taiga female,
with reddish-brown streaking on the breast, a banded tail, and a light brown
mustachial line.  The bill looked small.  We had time to study it, as it did
not fly when we pulled over to examine it.  We, too, believed it to be a
north-bound migrant.  My team and I did not rediscover the bird on Sunday.

Sunday Michelle Brodie and I did a Big Day for SCVAS's fund-raiser.  We
finished with at least 129 species.  I am still doing some of the paperwork
on it (amazing how work intereferes with life!), and since none of the
species we had was especially unusual or rare, I didn't post immediately.
Fun birds included three YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIES on Calaveras enroute to the
BALD EAGLE nest site, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER at the SCVWD, two BLACK-THROATED
GRAY WARBLERS at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, two GREAT HORNED OWLS, two
WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS and a CALIFORNIA THRASHER at the Senador Mines in
Almaden-Quicksilver (but no Poorwill!), the array of great spring birds at
Ed Levin (RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, LAZULI BUNTING, and
LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH), AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN and at least two HERRING GULL
at the islands behind the EEC in Alviso (but no Snipe or Blue-winged Teal),
a CLAPPER RAIL out for a stroll along the "rail alley" at the Palo Alto
Baylands Boardwalk, a few BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and DUNLIN in breeding
plumage from the observation deck at the end of the Boardwalk, an OSPREY at
Steven's Creek Reservoir, and a few high altitude birds around Monte Bello
to end the day: BAND-TAILED PIGEON, PURPLE FINCH, and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.

Here at San Jose State, the COOPER'S HAWK couple on campus was flying around
this Monday morning, much to the consternation of the remaining AMERICAN
ROBINS and CEDAR WAXWING.

Good birding to all -

Jennifer Rycenga
Half Moon Bay, CA



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