[SBB] Monte Bello 5/21/2007

Hello All,

Monday morning 5/21/2007, I checked in at Alpine Pond and found no buntings of any type at 6:45 (nor this morning 5/22 at 7:30, for that matter.) The Indigo that Bob's group found on the weekend may just have been passing through.

There were plenty of buntings along the Monte Bello Ridge yesterday, though. I walked the Canyon/Bella Vista/Indian Creek Trail loop, finishing up at 9:15, and had 25 Lazuli Buntings along the way. Several of these were females, with one carrying dry grasses for a nest at Mile Marker 1.0 along the MB Road. Other noteworthies included a Grasshopper Sparrow singing near the same mile marker, six Black-throated Gray Warblers singing from widely spaced territories along the route, five Orange-crowned Warblers including one with fledged young along the ridge, two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a calling Pileated Woodpecker in a narrow wooded draw surrounded by grassland just uphill from Mile marker 0.6 on the Canyon Trail.

Probable migrants included 2 singing Wilson's Warblers (unless the one at the sag pond decides to settle in...) and a Yellow Warbler incongruously singing from the oak canopy along the Canyon Trail well away from any riparian zone. (Two YEWA were heard singing here at Hidden Villa this morning, as well.)

After work, I stopped in at the MB05 pond, as the weather was still gorgeous at 5:30 PM. I have learned to love the deceptively quiet afternoons up there; with patience, there is usually a lot to notice, and a different mix of birds is generally active then. For example, I have not seen any Lawrence's Goldfinches in the morning here for many weeks, but I have had 1 or more on every afternoon visit recently. Peak numbers were 3 flying together on Saturday 5/19 and again, a bit below the pond, last evening. At least one seems to be frequenting the pines along the road, so there may well be a nest there, which would be very close to the SCL/San Mateo county line.

Also heard from the pond was another singing Grasshopper Sparrow to the east, the Red-breasted Nuthatch in its pines to the west.

Strange to see in the pond this week has been a Red-eared Pond Turtle, also seen once in February. Unlike the Western Pond Turtle (the only native turtle expected around here), this species has a distinctive red patch behind its eye, as well as a series of horizontal yellow lines across the face. Primarily a species of the southeastern US, it has become established in several California locations after local introductions. This individual is surely a released pet, but if there's more than one, we may have a new population getting underway.

Best regards to all,

Garth Harwood