[SBB] Beating the heat at Shoreline Park

["Karen DeMello" <[[email protected]]>]

This morning Kay Partelow and I headed to Shoreline Park in Mountain View to enjoy what little bay breeze there might be.  There were hundreds of CANADA GEESE grazing on the grass which suddenly took flight, leaving 2 injured birds behind: a Canada Goose with a bad foot, and a Marbled Godwit with one foot missing.  While the rest of the geese landed in Shoreline Lake, the injured goose and godwit stayed near us.  We never did see what spooked the geese.  Also at Shoreline Lake:  Forster's Tern, Surf Scoter, Willet, Doubled-Crested Cormorant, more Marbled Godwits, Ring-billed Gull, Snowy Egret, Anna's Hummingbird, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Mockingbird.

At Charleston Slough we saw an eclipsed plumage male AMERICAN WIGEON with a lovely slate blue bill (but no white mohawk yet), plus several Cinnamon Teal, Green Winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Great Egret, American White Pelican, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Western Sandpiper, Savannah Sparrow, Northern Harrier.  A YELLOW WARBLER flitted in a nearby tree.  A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON flew low over our heads, as did Barn Swallows and Cliff Swallows.

Sitting on the bench at the forebay, we saw a COMMON MOORHEN with a nearby juvenile.  A few seconds after I told Kay that I sometimes see SORA RAIL while watching moorhens, a Sora Rail appeared!  We watched it for over 5 minutes as it walked along the edge of the forebay, pecking at the surface of the water.  

Back at the lake, Kay told me that PIED-BILLED GREBES eat their feathers.  A second later, we witnessed this very behavior! (It's almost as if we each paid off the birds today to show off).   A Black Phoebe flew by to complete the day.  It was a beautiful day by the bay!

As you've probably heard, the California Fall Challenge is coming up soon, starting in a mere 2 weeks!  This year there are even more events to raise money for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.  It' s pretty exciting, check it out:
http://www.sfbbo.org/support/fall_challenge07.php

Wishing you good birding,
Karen DeMello
Mountain View
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