==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 16 10:17:46 1998
Subject: [SBB] Shoreline Birds
Folks:
On my bike commute yesterday, 12/15/1998, I counted at least one male
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on Shoreline Lake, a PRAIRIE FALCON was on the transmission
towers on the Stevens Creek Mitigation Area, and 12 BLACK SKIMMERS were on
Charleston Slough.
Bill
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 16 18:56:18 1998
Subject: [SBB] Brant, American Bittern
Hi,
Yesterday (12/15) I saw the Brant that was previously reported. It
was still at the west end of the Sunnyvale WPCP west pond. It was about
1:00 pm.
Today at 4:00 pm I was at the Casey Forebay watching a Virginia Rail
while being serenaded by Sora and Red Wing Blackbirds. When out for the
marsh flew an American Bittern. It landed in the water in the southeast
corner of the forebay and was visible from path between the forebay and
Shoreline Lake.
Cheers,
Bill Eklund
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 17 15:31:26 1998
Subject: [SBB] Shoreline & environs
This morning there was a female/immature Merlin perched on top of a dead
conifer on the edge of Shoreline Lake that abuts a road along the edge of
an industrial planting strip full of fruiting cotoneaster and pyracantha.
The planting strip yielded 3 Fox Sparrows, 2 Hermit Thrushes, a Northern
Flicker and numerous crowned sparrows. There were 2 male Barrow's
Goldeneyes on the Lake, 2 Lincoln Sparrows along the edge of the Forebay,
and 3 Bonaparte's Gulls flying over Salt Pond No.1.
Phyllis
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 17 18:05:23 1998
Subject: [SBB] Barn Swallow nests
South Bay Birders:
I'm writing the Barn Swallow species account for the Santa Clara
County breeding bird atlas, and I'm wondering if anyone has
observed Barn Swallows nesting on a natural substrate in the
county. I am not aware of any atlas records other than those on
artificial structures, and I have not found a reference to a
specific nest on a natural substrate either before or after the
atlas.
If anyone out there has seen such a nest within Santa Clara County,
please let me know where (and when if you have that information)
the nest was and what kind of substrate the nest was attached to.
Thanks very much!
Steve Rottenborn
[[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Fri Dec 18 16:13:36 1998
Subject: [SBB] Hidden Villa
All,
This morning Frank Vanslager and I birded Hidden Villa (our PA CBC area).
Things in general were very slow but we did see at least three VARIED THRUSH
and at one time we had about 20 TURKEY VULTURES soaring over this fairly
narrow canyon (over Page Mill Road).
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 4:03 PM, 12/18/98
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Fri Dec 18 17:28:24 1998
Subject: [SBB] Tufted Ducks
I visited the Sunnyvale WPCP this morning. Although I didn't have time
for a full check, I walked out to the west corner of the larger (northwest)
pond and back. I did not spot the Brant or any Loons, but I did see the
male and female Tufted Ducks near that corner. (They were mostly asleep,
and quite near each other.) Other birds included 3 or 4 Brown Pelicans,
and (in the salt pond to the northwest) at least 12 Red-Breasted Mergansers.
(It was too hazy to see clearly all the way across this pond.) Not much
shorebird variety, but I did flush one Spotted Sandpiper.
Al
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 20 13:47:26 1998
Subject: [SBB] CANYON WREN (12/20 Alum Rock)
Birded today with some visiting friends for my last day
of county birding for the year.
Mt. Hamilton Rd was closed right off Alum Rock Rd.
Went to Alum Rock Park instead.
In between snow showers (!) saw 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETs
on the road to the visitor's center.
2 VARIED THRUSHes at the visitor's center parking lot.
Howard Friedman who was doing the CBC there, pointed
out a CANYON WREN. The bird was flying between the
stream bed and the rocky bank, midway between the
Mineral Springs and Sycamore Grove picnic area.
Vivek Tiwari
[[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 20 15:18:18 1998
Subject: [SBB] recent birds, CBC
All:
On 11 Dec., I saw 3 TREE SWALLOWS at the CCRS waterbird pond.
Unusual here was a bird that was ostensibly a dark-eyed adult
THAYER'S GULL in every respect except that it had extensive
dark charcoal gray on the undersides of the primaries (much
darker and more extensive than on a typical Thayer's).
On 12 Dec., I spent a few hours at the Sunnyvale WPCP, where I
found the BRANT (in pond A3W when I first saw it), the male and
female TUFTED DUCK (the male with some brownish feathering in the
upperparts and dingy dusky markings on the anterior and upper
portions of the pale flank areas; also a single long, very thin,
wispy tuft that was barely visible), a male EURASIAN WIGEON,
and single imm. COMMON and PACIFIC LOONS. There were also about
15 BROWN PELICANS, 70 or so RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and 150 PIED-
BILLED GREBES (the latter three numbers based on memory, as I didn't
write them down).
On 18 Dec., David Plumpton (from H.T. Harvey) and I saw an imm.
FERRUGINOUS HAWK along Nortech Pkwy. in Alviso.
Today (20 Dec.), I had some work to do in Morgan Hill before
participating in the San Jose CBC. On the way back north (still
early in the a.m.), I stopped at Bailey Road between Monterey Hwy.
and Santa Teresa Blvd. to look through the 400 or so CANADA GEESE
feeding in the old corn field. With this flock were three ROSS'S
GEESE (no signs of immaturity, although some immatures can appear
virtually adult-like by this date), 1 ad. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED
GOOSE, and 3 "CACKLING" CANADA GEESE (the first I've seen in a wild
state in the county).
I then headed to Lake Cunningham, where I saw the immature LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL that spent last winter at this location. Its
upperparts had changed quite a bit since last winter, as the back
and scapulars consisted of solid gray adult-like feathers, and the
upperwing coverts were predominantly gray (though with some brown).
The tail was mostly white, but all the rectrices appeared to have
some dark markings, especially distally. The head, neck, and
underparts appeared similar to the way the bird looked last year,
being white with fairly extensive streaking on the head and neck,
especially around the eye. The eye was very pale yellow, paler
than last year and contrasting even more with the dark patch around
the eye. Oddly, the bill was still mostly black, with only slightly
more pale color at the tip and even more paleness near the base.
The legs and feet were yellowish-gray, not very yellowish. All the
feathering appeared fresh, with no noticeable molt in the upperparts
or wings. When the bird flew, I could see no gaps in the primaries
or secondaries, and all the flight feathers and primary coverts
appeared quite fresh. The tenth primary may have been slightly less
than full-length, but it did not appear noticeably shorter than p9,
and I think that it may have been full-grown. I chased this bird
around the lake several times, getting some distant photos, before
the group that was actually assigned this area on the CBC arrived.
Eventually the five others also saw this bird.
Other interesting birds that we saw at Lake Cunningham included a
vocal YELLOW WARBLER near the boat docks, 4 COMMON MERGANSERS,
8 HORNED GREBES, 5 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, 19 TREE SWALLOWS,
3 GREEN HERONS, and 2 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES.
I then drove to Sierra Road. On the way up, I saw a flock of about
100 HORNED LARKS flying over, and disappearing behind, a distant
ridge. At the summit, I ran into another party of birders, and
patience paid off with a large, very loose group of 150 HORNED LARKS,
50 AMERICAN PIPITS, 50 LARK SPARROWS, and 60 SAVANNAH SPARROWS.
Unfortunately, we were not able to pick out a longspur, but I
eventually got good looks at a VESPER SPARROW among these birds.
A check of several areas in Alviso produced a total of 60+ THAYER'S
GULLS in the count circle plus others outside the circle. In New
Chicago Marsh at the intersection of State and Spreckles, I got
good looks at an _adult_ GLAUCOUS GULL preening with other gulls.
I met up with Mike Rogers, and we went to Arzino Ranch to take a
look at a ROSS'S GOOSE (again, no signs of immaturity) that Dick
Carlson had found earlier. Mike and I then drove around the Alviso
salt ponds hoping to add a bittern to the count. Unfortunately,
the huge flocks of ducks were all in A9 or the portions of A10
outside the count circle. These flocks were so large that we
doubtless missed something good (e.g., we could not find a Tufted
Duck among the 1100+ scaup). However, we did find 6 EURASIAN WIGEON
(1 in A10, 5 in A9; I only saw three), Mike spotted an imm. SNOW
GOOSE in A9, and I found a strange MALLARD hybrid in A9. Mike and
I agreed that MALLARD x GADWALL was the most likely parentage.
Finally, we saw three SANDERLINGS in the southeast corner of pond
A-13, where Mike had found them earlier in the day.
Quite a good day, despite the weather!
Cheers,
Steve Rottenborn
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Mon Dec 21 08:13:21 1998
Subject: [SBB] LEYE
Folks:
On my bike ride home on Friday, 12/18/1998, I saw a LESSER YELLOWLEGS in
a temporary construction pond just south of the Stevens Creek Mitigation Area
along with a Greater Yellowlegs.
Bill
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 22 08:27:52 1998
Subject: [SBB] CBC birds
A quick report from some bayside areas on the Palo Alto Count
yesterday...
After owling in the snow with some other strange people, I started my
daytime counting at Shoreline Lake. The two male BARROW'S GOLDENEYES
were still here, and four COMMON MERGANSERS flew over (two males and two
females). Charleston Slough had 12 BLACK SKIMMERS. I stopped at the Palo
Alto Duck pond briefly to see if the "Kamchatka-like" (sort of) gull was
around, and it was, along with the white-fronted goose and the male Wood
Duck. Geng Road had a lot of landbird activity in the various non-native
trees, but I did not find anything rarer than a YELLOW WARBLER. A very
gray-headed, bright, contrasting ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was also there,
along with a small exotic finch-like thing that I still need to look up
(watch out if you're birding the area - it looks very good for a variety
of vagrants at first glance from below...).
That was about it.
Bert McKee
Pescadero, CA
[[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 22 10:11:13 1998
Subject: [SBB] Lesser Black-backed Gull
I had a WONDERFUL time birding Sunday for the CBC even though it was windy,
rained, snowed and sleeted! I was one of the 5 lucky ladies who birded the
Lake Cunningham area with Steve Rottenborn for a couple of hours. Steve has
given a terrific description of the Lesser Black-backed Gull.
I thought some of you might be an "intermediate" birder like myself. It is
an easy gull to spot - even in a flock of several hundred. The back is
black and the tail appears to be black. It is darker than any other gull
you'll see. You can walk around Lake Cunningham - which we did.
The Yellow Warbler was in the short willows next to the fence and even on
the fence itself a foot from the lake.
Location:
We entered Lake Cunningham off White. Take 101, Tully Road exit, left on
White, left into Lake Cunningham. Do a 270 degree after the entry gate and
head to the Marina parking lot. Park there, don't go on to Raging Waters.
Last year I saw the Lesser Black-backed Gull between that parking lot and
the water. Sunday it was across the lake from us, but moved a bit. As
you're facing the lake there is a fence that enters the lake on your left.
That is where we saw the Yellow Warbler. Our CBC group, led by Mary
Simpson, also had a Merlin at the golf course across the street.
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 22 10:12:47 1998
Subject: [SBB] Lesser Black-backed Gull--2nd
>Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998 10:11:13 -0800
>To: Bird-South Bay
>From: Gloria <[[email protected]]>
>Subject: Lesser Black-backed Gull
>
>I had a WONDERFUL time birding Sunday for the CBC even though it was
windy, rained, snowed and sleeted! I was one of the 5 lucky ladies who
birded the Lake Cunningham area with Steve Rottenborn for a couple of
hours. Steve has given a terrific description of the Lesser Black-backed
Gull.
>
>I thought some of you might be an "intermediate" birder like myself. It is
an easy gull to spot - even in a flock of several hundred. The back is
black and the tail appears to be black. It is darker than any other gull
you'll see. You can walk around Lake Cunningham - which we did.
>
>The Yellow Warbler was in the short willows next to the fence and even on
the fence itself a foot from the lake.
>
>Location:
>We entered Lake Cunningham off White. Take 101, Tully Road exit, left on
White, left into Lake Cunningham. Do a 270 degree after the entry gate and
head to the Marina parking lot. Park there, don't go on to Raging Waters.
Last year I saw the Lesser Black-backed Gull between that parking lot and
the water. Sunday it was across the lake from us, but moved a bit. As
you're facing the lake there is a fence that enters the lake on your left.
That is where we saw the Yellow Warbler. Our CBC group, led by Mary
Simpson, also had a Merlin at the golf course across the street.
ooops, forgot my name the first time.
Gloria LeBlanc
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 22 15:48:11 1998
Subject: [SBB] Some observations on Palo Alto CBC
For the Dec. 21 CBC I again worked in the foothills section at the north
end of Santa Clara Co. just west of Hwy. 280. Mary Murphy joined me for all
but owling. Generally, I found that landbird numbers and variety were low,
especially for insectivores, hummingbirds, and some woodpeckers (especially
including Acorn). I suspect a relative shortage of food may have been re-
sponsible.
Highlights included a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW near a feeder station off Los
Trancos Road (it seemed to be using wild food near the station, rather than -
as did the other sparrows present - food in or fallen from the feeders); it
was one of three seen on the Count overall (one more was seen by Grant Hoyt at
Stanford, but I didn't note where the third was). Another highlight was an
adult GOLDEN EAGLE soaring over Felt Lake. This bird was seen at 2 PM, and
had some cryptic patches of a buffier color on the upperwings. Is there any
way to figure out if sightings of Eagles by two other groups were of the same
or different birds?
The sparseness of insectivores was particularly noticeable at the Palo
Alto Hills GCC; probably our best bird there was one RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
(not unusual for the location). Unfortunately, the golf course remodelling
in progress has left the ponds quite sterile (no ducks at all there), and
removed a clump of trees which had had good berry crops in the past.
The water level at Felt Lake remains low, and diving duck numbers remain
severely depressed as compared to about a decade ago. Also, unlike last year,
no rarities were present. The 7 HOODED MERGANSERS seen were about par for
recent years, however.
An hour and a quarter of early morning owling turned up 4 WESTERN SCREECH-
OWLs along Los Trancos Road; 3 were in San Mateo Co. (I don't worry about
crossing the county line for the owling, although I stick to my Santa Clara
area for the rest of the day.) Weather was cold but calm.
Other than the Eagle, the raptor highlight was a concentration of five
WHITE-TAILED KITEs at Arastradero Preserve, including one in striking juvenal
plumage. (Isn't it a bit late for that?) We also saw 2 COOPER'S HAWKs, but,
for the first time since I've been doing this area, managed to entirely miss
Red-Shouldered Hawk.
Cheers, Al Eisner
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 22 16:49:55 1998
South-bay birders,
Lots of birding this weekend thanks to the Christmas counts!
The San Jose count on 12/20/98 was at times quite unpleasant. Getting
hit by hail in 40mph wind gusts while out on an exposed dike in the
middle of the Alviso Salt Ponds doesn't make for productive birding :(.
The dikes were too wet to drive in the morning, but I eventually did
get to circle the ponds by car late in the afternoon with Steve
Rottenborn, after the fierce wind dried things out. The best birds
were unfortunately outside the count circle. Steve and I had 6 adult
male EURASIAN WIGEONS (1 on Salt Pond A10 and 5 on A9), an immature
SNOW GOOSE (A9) and a male GADWALLxMALLARD (A9), while earlier in the
day I had a single SNOWY PLOVER on the dike near the northwest corner
of pond A14. Inside the count circle good birds included single
SANDERLINGS along the eastern edge of A13 and in the impoundment east
of A12 early in the morning, followed by three birds (probably
including the first two) in the southeast corner of A13 at 2:07pm and
4:40pm. Four AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS overflew pond A11 to land with a
fifth bird outside the count circle on the A9/A10 dike. Two adult
BROWN PELICANS were in the eastern portion of pond A10, just inside
the count circle initially. An adult PEREGRINE FALCON was hunting
shorebirds low over the A9/A10/A11/A14 junction. Also here was the
only FORSTER'S TERN I had for the count. My prime job, of course, was
counting gulls and I came up with 16450 HERRING, 975 CALIFORNIA, 42
WESTERN, 40 THAYER'S, 38 RING-BILLED, 29 GLAUCOUS-WINGED, 11 MEW, 1
BONAPARTE'S, and 3900 GULL SP. No sign of the Lesser Black-backed
Gull though.
On Monday 12/21/98 I met Grant Hoyt and Bert McKee at 3:45am for some
owling. We succeeded in getting a response from a NORTHERN SAW-WHET
OWL at the usual spot north of Highway 84 on Skyline (good whistling
Bert!) after glimpsing a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL fly across Page Mill Road
on the way up. Then we headed to Monte Bello. The Virginia Rail pond
was frozen solid (still lots of snow up there) and we got no response
to taped rail calls. Bert whistled up another NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL
just past the clearing at the trail junction, but tapes of Long-eared
Owl only induced a response from a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL. The meadow
area below the Black Mountain trail junction failed to produce the
usually dependable Northern Pygmy-Owl, but added another NORTHERN
SAW-WHET OWL and two more WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS. Most interesting were
some repeated upslurred whistles from just further down the canyon;
the quality of the vocalizations was that of a Long-eared Owl and I
glimpsed a large-looking bird flying from a nearby tree top - but the
only definitive owls calls we could muster were from two more WESTERN
SCREECH-OWLS. Later, back at the meadow, we did hear a single hoot
that sounded like a Long-eared Owl from across the canyon but whatever
it was never spoke up again. :(
We split up for the day and my next stop was the San Francisquito
Creek Delta, which produced 14 RED KNOTS and a SANDERLING as well as
good numbers of the more usual shorebirds (such as 300 SEMIPALMATED
PLOVERS!). I returned here again in the evening (another receding
tide at 4:30pm) and had a RUDDY TURNSTONE as well as 13 RED KNOTS.
The turnstone was unusual in that it actually did make it to Santa
Clara County airspace by flying across San Francisquito Creek right at
the creek mouth, from the encrusted rocks on the north side of the
creek mouth to a buried snag just offshore on the south side. Also
had 4 CLAPPER RAILS calling here in the evening (3 in San Mateo
County).
Then on to the Sunnyvale WPCP, where I had two ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS
right at the parking lot (outside the count circle), another in the
eucalyptus along the road, and two more in the fennel patch behind the
landfill. Also near the landfill were numerous sparrows, including
two FOX SPARROWS, and both VIRGINIA and SORA RAILS. A driving tour of
Salt Ponds A3W, A3N, B2, B1, and A2E was highlighted by the immature
COMMON LOON on A3W and 10 adult BROWN PELICANS over the west side of
A3W. Of interest were 216 MEW and 67 BONAPARTE'S GULLS picking at the
water in Salt Pond A3N, among roosting large shorebirds and a single
SANDERLING (30 more MEW and 11 more BONAPARTE'S GULLS on nearby B1,
along with all 31 FORSTER'S TERNS for the day). Other birds on these
ponds included 179 PIED-BILLED GREBES, 322 EARED GREBES (and 2 HORNED
GREBES), 160 BUFFLEHEAD, 40 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 3595 RUDDY DUCKS,
3995 AMERICAN COOT, 247 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1537 AMERICAN AVOCETS,
and 1880 MARBLED GODWITS - plenty to count out there! The main pond
at Sunnyvale was productive with 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 50 MALLARDS, 3
NORTHERN PINTAILS, 760 NORTHERN SHOVELERS, 775 GADWALL, 72 AMERICAN
WIGEON, 478 CANVASBACK, 3 REDHEAD (1 male, 2 females), 35 GREATER
SCAUP, 80 LESSER SCAUP, and the male TUFTED DUCK inside the count
circle. The TUFTED DUCK preened extensively, allowing for good looks
at its almost non-existent tufts. When it tipped its head forward the
wind would whip up the two short little wisps - otherwise they were
invisible.
On the way back to the San Francisquito Creek Delta in the evening, I
stopped by Byxbee Park and photographed the SNOW GOOSE. No sign of
any Short-eared Owl over the Flood Control Basin, although there were
11 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS in Mayfield Slough. Also got photos of the
now resident GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at the Palo Alto Baylands.
Biking back from the delta just after 5:00pm, I decided to check the
wet area along the golf course for snipe, as this bird can be missed
on the count. Managed to flush up one bird that apparently was indeed
the only one found on the count.
This morning 12/22/98 I spent a few hours with Nick Lethaby at the
Newby Island landfill searching for "count week" gulls (the landfill
is in the San Jose Count circle). We scoped out a first-winter
Glaucous Gull on the nearby Fremont Lagoon (in Alameda County), but
had no other rarities. Interesting were a very pale first-winter
THAYER'S-type gull, and a very dark first-winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL.
Between the Fremont Lagoon, Coyote Slough, and the landfill we
estimated 33,000 gulls, including 24000 HERRING, 8000 CALIFORNIA, 400
WESTERN, 300 GLAUCOUS-WINGED, 200 THAYER'S, 20 RING-BILLED, and the
GLAUCOUS GULL. The number of HERRINGS GULLS is likely to be actually
even more than this.
Mike Rogers
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 07:56:03 1998
Subject: [SBB] Some CBC birds
All,
On Sunday (12/20) Garth Harwood, Dick Williams and I birded Arroyo Hondo on
the East side of Calaveras Reservoir. Birding was quite a bit slower than in
previous years (maybe it was all the rain, snow and hail). Shortly after noon
as we stopped to lunch the snow was coming down in big fluffy flakes. We did
manage one Varied Thrush and three Golden-crowned Kinglets (down from previous
years). There were almost no ducks in the lower canyon (two Wood Ducks, six
Mallards, one pair of Bufflehead and four Ruddy Ducks) which is way down from
previous years in both quantity and variety (the water level was the lowest
that I have seen). It was, however a good Golden Eagle day (we had three
adults in the air at one time and several sightings).
On Monday (12/21) Frank Vanslager and I birded Hidden Villa and Moody Road up
to Page Mill Road. It was very cold but birding was somewhat better than on
Friday (12/18). We had five Varied Thrush (one in the first parking on the
open ground as we drove by), one Red-breasted Sapsucker, one male and one
female Hairy Woodpecker (a mile apart), one Winter Wren (on Moody Road near
the NE edge of Hidden Villa in heavy brush), one Red-shouldered Hawk, two
Anna's Hummingbirds and three Western Bluebirds. We, however had no Turkey
Vultures (Vs. one kettle of 20 on Friday), one California Thrasher, one
Nuttall's Woodpecker and only two Mourning Doves. On the other hand Hermit
Thrushes were seemed to be everywhere
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 7:42 AM, 12/23/98
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 07:59:20 1998
Subject: [SBB] GHOW, ACWO in Menlo Park
Two or three weeks ago, we heard a Great Horned Owl for a few
evenings, close enough to pick up through double-glazed windows.
I didn't think much more about it till Marti was told by a neighbor
who lives 2 blocks away that she has been hearing it every night,
quite consistently. Apparently it is roosting (and preparing to nest?)
in the large trees at Avy and Altschul.
I should add that the call when we heard it wasn't quite the
traditional GHOW. I went through taped calls to see if it resembled
anything else and decided there wasn't another reasonable
candidate.
I have been surprised recently to see an Acorn Woodpecker on
power poles at SRI. It's been there every day that I've checked in
the past couple of weeks. These poles were consistent ACWO
daytime perches as recently as 2 years ago, but I seldom, if ever,
saw one there last year.
Wondering about the disappearance of ACWO where there are
many mature oaks, I've gone on some acorn hunts this fall. Both
here at SRI, in Burgess Park, and in Sharon Hills Park, acorns are
really scarce. More than scarce. I have yet to find one mature
acorn! I've found many tiny ones that were dropped before maturing.
I've found some sprouts, indicating that there were acorns last
year. So the lack of nuts may be another effect of El Nino. Or it
may indicate that the trees are less healthy than they look.
At SRI, one might think that ACWO have disappeared because
starlings take all the available nest holes. (There are many holes in
our 50-year-old wooden buildings, and the starlings do use them.)
At Sharon Hills, however, starlings are not common. The ACWO
family that used to be a fixture there has also disappeared. There
are now numerous Nuttalls Woodpeckers in the park. Could it be
that they have driven off the Acorn Woodpeckers? Or is
a diminishing acorn crop over several years the real cause? Are
there any records of acorn crops in the valley? Although ACWO do
not seem threatened in the hills, I wonder whether the yield is
decreasing there as well.
George Oetzel Menlo Park, CA
(W) [[email protected]] (H) [[email protected]]
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
http://www.sfbbo.org
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 09:23:22 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] GHOW, ACWO in Menlo Park
I live off Summit Road on Old Santa Cruz Hwy in the Santa Cruz Mts., just
barely into Santa Cruz County. Having lived there 10 years, I have never
seen such a bumper crop of acorns and acorn woodpecker activity. We have
been thru several years of poor acorn yields. I would need to look in my
notes to see how many years exactly.
Claire
At 08:59 AM 12/23/98 -7, George Oetzel wrote:
>Two or three weeks ago, we heard a Great Horned Owl for a few
>evenings, close enough to pick up through double-glazed windows.
>I didn't think much more about it till Marti was told by a neighbor
>who lives 2 blocks away that she has been hearing it every night,
>quite consistently. Apparently it is roosting (and preparing to nest?)
>in the large trees at Avy and Altschul.
>
>I should add that the call when we heard it wasn't quite the
>traditional GHOW. I went through taped calls to see if it resembled
>anything else and decided there wasn't another reasonable
>candidate.
>
>I have been surprised recently to see an Acorn Woodpecker on
>power poles at SRI. It's been there every day that I've checked in
>the past couple of weeks. These poles were consistent ACWO
>daytime perches as recently as 2 years ago, but I seldom, if ever,
>saw one there last year.
>
>Wondering about the disappearance of ACWO where there are
>many mature oaks, I've gone on some acorn hunts this fall. Both
>here at SRI, in Burgess Park, and in Sharon Hills Park, acorns are
>really scarce. More than scarce. I have yet to find one mature
>acorn! I've found many tiny ones that were dropped before maturing.
>I've found some sprouts, indicating that there were acorns last
>year. So the lack of nuts may be another effect of El Nino. Or it
>may indicate that the trees are less healthy than they look.
>
>At SRI, one might think that ACWO have disappeared because
>starlings take all the available nest holes. (There are many holes in
>our 50-year-old wooden buildings, and the starlings do use them.)
>At Sharon Hills, however, starlings are not common. The ACWO
>family that used to be a fixture there has also disappeared. There
>are now numerous Nuttalls Woodpeckers in the park. Could it be
>that they have driven off the Acorn Woodpeckers? Or is
>a diminishing acorn crop over several years the real cause? Are
>there any records of acorn crops in the valley? Although ACWO do
>not seem threatened in the hills, I wonder whether the yield is
>decreasing there as well.
>
>
>George Oetzel Menlo Park, CA
>(W) [[email protected]] (H) [[email protected]]
>San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
>http://www.sfbbo.org
>==========================================================================
>This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
>server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
>message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
>
>
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 09:41:46 1998
Subject: [SBB]Persimmons and Birds
Hello All
As I am sure most of you know, many birds in these parts find that
persimon fruits still on trees this time of year provide an excellent
food source. The mix of birds eating these fruits is amazing -
sparrows, woodpeckers, warblers, thrushes, waxwings, etc. I am
working with a writer friend to document this.
If anyone in the south bay has or knows of a persimmon tree visited
often by birds that is in a location suitable for some photographs I
would appreciate a quick note.
regards
Alan W.
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 10:00:39 1998
Subject: [SBB] Re: Some CBC birds
Bob Reiling wrote:
> On Monday (12/21) Frank Vanslager and I birded Hidden Villa and Moody Road up
> to Page Mill Road. It was very cold but birding was somewhat better than on
> Friday (12/18). We had five Varied Thrush (one in the first parking on the
> open ground as we drove by), one Red-breasted Sapsucker, one male and one
> female Hairy Woodpecker (a mile apart), one Winter Wren (on Moody Road near
> the NE edge of Hidden Villa in heavy brush), one Red-shouldered Hawk, two
> Anna's Hummingbirds and three Western Bluebirds. We, however had no Turkey
> Vultures (Vs. one kettle of 20 on Friday), one California Thrasher, one
> Nuttall's Woodpecker and only two Mourning Doves. On the other hand Hermit
> Thrushes were seemed to be everywhere
Winter Wren was one of the species missed at the countdown for the Palo Alto
CBC (at which the preliminary species count was 162). Now, did anyone get a
Green Heron or a Red-Breasted Nuthatch? CAn we reach 165?
Interestingly, I also had a severe shortage of Turkey Vultures (none) and
Mourning Doves in my area.
Al
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 13:56:58 1998
Subject: [SBB] EVGR, RNSA in Pescadero today
All,
Hope I got those codes right...anyway, thought some of you would take an
interest in these birds:
Today, 12/23/1998, at about 12:15 PM, a single Evening Grosbeak stopped
briefly in the top of our backyard birch tree at 5901 Pescadero Road. This
bird was clearly observed for a couple of minutes before flying off to the
west in the direction from which I heard calls from at least one additional
grosbeak.
About ten minutes later I was admiring our winter-resident sapsucker as it
worked over one of the gravenstein apple trees about 20 feet from our kitchen
window. Then I noticed that this bird had clearly divided red patches on
throat, crown - and nape! This is the first Red-naped Sapsucker I have seen
since my days of research in the Rocky Mountains. This bird was much more
generous than the grosbeak and allowed even my binocular-free family members
great views at close range. A second bird was present but not well seen; I
have to assume the second bird was our everyday Red-breasted.
We are located within the Ano Nuevo CBC count circle and will do our best to
track these birds prior to the count on January 2. We're off on a family
vacation until the end of the month, so of course this turns out to be the
biggest "yard-bird" day yet.
There are good views into the orchard from our fenceline - have fun!
--Garth Harwood
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 14:28:18 1998
Subject: [SBB] birds
I spent last weekend doing Christmas Bird Counts locally, starting with
the San Jose count on Sunday, 20 Dec 98. I worked with Candice Scott
along the northeast shore of Calaveras Reservoir, through the on-and-off
hail and snow flurries. We didn't see any rarities, but some interesting
birds included a HORNED and a CLARK'S GREBE in with the group of
WESTERNS at the dam. At least 2 young Westerns were begging from adults,
though I never saw any feeding. Duck numbers seemed to be low, though
the variety of species was fairly consistent with previous years. In
fact, most bird numbers seemed low, except for LESSER GOLDFINCH, which
numbered about 120 in our sector. Spaced through our section were 2
SAY'S PHOEBES, 3 RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, 3 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, and
singles each of FOX SPARROW and AMERICAN PIPIT. The resident pair of
GOLDEN EAGLES (seen every year) was in the area north of Arroyo Hondo.
There was some courtship displays being performed and, at one point, I
saw one of these birds carry a stick into the large draw just before the
big bend of the arroyo east of the reservoir. We saw a third GOEA along
the southeast shore of the reservoir later, this one a subadult.
On Monday, 21 Dec 98, I worked on the Palo Alto count, starting at the
east end of the Dumbarton Bridge. I had 6 MEW GULLS where the Hetch
Hetchy aquaduct enters the bay; the only place I find this species in
this sector. Two CLARK'S GREBES were on the bay with a handful of
WESTERNS. At the west end of the bridge, the ponds north of the hwy were
well drawn down and had lots of shorebirds, mostly WESTERN SANDPIPERS,
DUNLIN, and WILLETS. A large scaup flock of about 850 birds was on the
bay north of the bridge.
I drove onto the Cargill levees behind the Sun Microsystem complex,
walking out the levee that usually holds some Snowy Plovers, but I was
unable to find any this year. I did have a LESSER YELLOWLEGS out there
and, when I returned to the car, a MERLIN was perched on the wooden
structure supporting the flow pipes. It allowed me to approach to about
10 yards and then to scope it for a few minutes.
Bayfront Park had a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL in Flood Slough (there seems
to be one here every year), but nothing else unusual.
On the way to the Redwood City Marina I had a BROWN PELICAN sitting on
the median strip on Seaport Blvd. It was obviously sick, as it allowed
me to approach to about 10 feet. In Redwood Creek, southwest of the
marina, I had a basic-plumaged COMMON LOON.
Mike Mammoser
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 23 20:18:45 1998
Subject: [SBB] CBC Highlights, Palo Alto Region 2
Here are some of the more interesting birds from the Palo Alto CBC on
Monday 21 Dec 1998 at Moffett Field and the region between Permanente and
Stevens Creek comprising Shoreline Tech Park, the eastern side of MV
Shoreline Park, and Salt Pond A2W:
In the field by the kite-flying area at Shoreline Park, used for overflow
parking at the Amphitheatre, there were 4 HORNED LARKS along with larger
flocks of American Pipits. Across the road in the golf course near the park
entrance were a couple of BURROWING OWLS (and there were of course a few
more at Moffett Field as well).
It was somewhat unusual to see an OAK TITMOUSE by the marshy area next to
Silicon Graphics.
In Stevens Creek just across from the Mitigation Area was a male EURASIAN
GREEN-WINGED TEAL with a large group of Americans. Around noon the adult
PRAIRIE FALCON that has been seen frequently in this area in the last
several weeks was hunting around the Stevens Creek Mitigation Area.
At about 10 am I flushed an adult GOLDEN EAGLE from the heavy grass and
brush on the side of a hill beside the Amphitheatre overflow parking field;
it flew onto a nearby light post. I saw it on and off till about 1 pm while
I was at my "provisional headquarters" at the Shoreline kite-flying parking
lot. I suspect it had a kill in the brush. Later in the day, at around 4
pm, I was along the runway at the northwestern side of Moffett Field, and,
after watching a COOPERS HAWK fly across the runway, I turned to see an
adult Golden Eagle gliding eastward across the north end of the runway,
from the direction of Shoreline Park, and fly into the trees at the Moffett
Golf Course on the northeast side of the base. I presumed this to be the
same eagle that was at Shoreline all morning, and circumstantial evidence
would suggest that it was there all day. In response to Al Eisner's concern
about multiple counting of the eagles seen Monday, I doubt we were looking
at the same bird. On the other hand, I can't actually vouch for the
whereabouts of my eagle at 2 pm, and it also showed some irregular buffy
feathering on the upperwings!
At about 1:45 pm I spotted a rather dark PEREGRINE FALCON (possibly an
immature anatum, but I never had a good enough look to tell for sure)
flapping hard as it hauled a heavy kill from the east side of Moffett field
northeast across Lockheed and out to the Sunnyvale salt ponds, where I
spotted it atop a high-voltage tower eating its prey (a large bird of some
sort) several minutes later from the back fence of the Moffett Golf Course.
At about 2:15 I spotted a very large, long-bodied buteo standing in a
grassy area just south of the Moffett Golf Course, devouring its kill. Its
underparts were almost pure white, its back was solid brown, and head was
light except for a prominent osprey-like eye line. I hesitated calling this
a Ferruginous Hawk on count day because of the lack of any reddish
coloring, which was indicated in the field guides I had with me, and the
off-chance it was an odd Redtail. But after talking with my more
experienced group leader (Mike Rogers) the next day and checking his
superior reference guides, we're sure it was an ordinary immature
light-morph FERRUGINOUS HAWK.
A final note: From my account above you can see I spent all day watching a
lot of hungry raptors munching things. In fact, on a somewhat humorous
note, while heading in from the field in the late afternoon I saw a kestrel
in the middle of a road, which, made nervous by my presence, was trying to
fly off with a dead starling (its own kill?). Flapping furiously, it only
managed to drag the large carcass a foot or so before it flew off a safe
distance, and then returned to its oversized meal once I'd gone by. That, I
guess, was an appropriate way to end the day.
-- WC
William Cabot, (650) 964-3834, [[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 24 13:34:28 1998
Subject: [SBB] Re: Palo Alto CBC region 2 raptors
William Cabot wrote:
> At about 10 am I flushed an adult GOLDEN EAGLE from the heavy grass and
> brush on the side of a hill beside the Amphitheatre overflow parking field;
> it flew onto a nearby light post. I saw it on and off till about 1 pm while
> I was at my "provisional headquarters" at the Shoreline kite-flying parking
> lot. I suspect it had a kill in the brush. Later in the day, at around 4
> pm, I was along the runway at the northwestern side of Moffett Field, and,
> after watching a COOPERS HAWK fly across the runway, I turned to see an
> adult Golden Eagle gliding eastward across the north end of the runway,
> from the direction of Shoreline Park, and fly into the trees at the Moffett
> Golf Course on the northeast side of the base. I presumed this to be the
> same eagle that was at Shoreline all morning, and circumstantial evidence
> would suggest that it was there all day. In response to Al Eisner's concern
> about multiple counting of the eagles seen Monday, I doubt we were looking
> at the same bird. On the other hand, I can't actually vouch for the
> whereabouts of my eagle at 2 pm, and it also showed some irregular buffy
> feathering on the upperwings!
I agree, it seems very unlikely (both from the locations and from the pattern
of sightings above) that this Eagle was the same one I saw. Mine was a "Foot-
hills Eagle",
Also, William's Ferruginous Hawk brings the preliminary count to at least
164. Although I don't think this species was on the field list (I'm saying
that from memory), it has been seen 5 of the past 15 years.
Al
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 24 22:38:40 1998
Subject: [SBB] Count week birds
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_000F_01BE2F8E.27876A00
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
All,
Realizing that today 12/24/98 was the last day to add count week birds =
to the Palo Alto Christmas count tally, I stopped by the Mountain View =
Forebay, hoping to find a Green Heron, which up until the count had been =
pretty dependable along the creek that feeds into the Forebay. I failed =
to find a Green Heron, but did see 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS (count week =
bird)chasing each other here, with one landing and foraging in the open =
before sneaking off into the reeds. Matthew Dodder also enjoyed these =
birds with me; he has asked to be added to the south-bay-birds mailing =
list. Matthew reported a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on Shoreline Lake and three =
REDHEAD on Charleston Slough today (but no sign of the EURASIAN WIGEON =
that was there recently, which would have been a count week bird). I =
quickly scanned Shoreline Lake and failed to refind the Barrow's =
Goldeneye, but did find an adult male (presumably returning) BARROW'S x =
COMMON GOLDENEYE in with the COMMON GOLDENEYES. This bird can be picked =
out by its intermediate back pattern and a pointed tip to the facial =
spot that is reminiscent of the beginnings of a crescent.
Matthew reported a couple of other count week birds: a male WESTERN =
TANAGER (with some red in the face) along San Francisquito Creek near =
University Drive and Creek Drive on 12/23/98 and a "SLATE-COLORED" =
DARK-EYED JUNCO on the lawn at his work on Partridge Ave, also on =
12/23/98. This latter bird has been present for some time.
Anybody see a Green Heron or a Eurasian Wigeon within the count circle =
between 12/18/98 and 12/24/98 (inclusive)?
Mike Rogers
------=_NextPart_000_000F_01BE2F8E.27876A00
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
All,
Realizing that today 12/24/98 was the last day to =
add count=20
week birds to the Palo Alto Christmas count tally, I stopped by the =
Mountain=20
View Forebay, hoping to find a Green Heron, which up until the count had =
been=20
pretty dependable along the creek that feeds into the Forebay. I =
failed to=20
find a Green Heron, but did see 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS (count week =
bird)chasing=20
each other here, with one landing and foraging in the open before =
sneaking off=20
into the reeds. Matthew Dodder also enjoyed these birds with me; =
he has=20
asked to be added to the south-bay-birds mailing list. Matthew =
reported a=20
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on Shoreline Lake and three REDHEAD on Charleston =
Slough=20
today (but no sign of the EURASIAN WIGEON that was there recently, which =
would=20
have been a count week bird). I quickly scanned Shoreline Lake and =
failed=20
to refind the Barrow's Goldeneye, but did find an adult male (presumably =
returning) BARROW'S x COMMON GOLDENEYE in with the COMMON =
GOLDENEYES. This=20
bird can be picked out by its intermediate back pattern and a pointed =
tip to the=20
facial spot that is reminiscent of the beginnings of a =
crescent.
Matthew reported a couple of other count week birds: =
a male=20
WESTERN TANAGER (with some red in the face) along San Francisquito Creek =
near=20
University Drive and Creek Drive on 12/23/98 and a =
"SLATE-COLORED"=20
DARK-EYED JUNCO on the lawn at his work on Partridge Ave, also on=20
12/23/98. This latter bird has been present for some =
time.
Anybody see a Green Heron or a Eurasian Wigeon =
within the=20
count circle between 12/18/98 and 12/24/98 (inclusive)?
Mike Rogers
------=_NextPart_000_000F_01BE2F8E.27876A00--
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Fri Dec 25 15:13:43 1998
Subject: [SBB] Red-necked Grebe & Glaucous Gull at Almaden Lake Park
Howdy South-bay-birders,
This afternoon I visited Almaden Lake Park. There I saw a RED-NECKED
GREBE and a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL, both Almaden Valley firsts, at
least as far as I know. The gull was beautiful, almost entirely
chalk-white in plumage, with a pink bill with mostly black tip, rounded
head, pale eyes, and grayish-pink legs. It was slightly larger than the
nearby HERRING GULLS. Gull flocks are constantly coming and going at the
lake. Other birds of local interest at Almaden Lake were 1 WESTERN
GREBE, several COMMON MERGANSERS, 2 COMMON MOORHENS, THAYER'S GULL,
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, and 1 MEW GULL, for a total of 7 gull species.
Yesterday I also had 2 MEW GULLS eating crumbs in the Blockbuster
parking lot at Blossom Hill Rd. and Kooser. Locally (south San Jose)
this species seems to be pretty scarce.
At the SCVWD Pond there was a pretty good assortment of ducks, more
gulls (including at least 2 GLAUCOUS-WINGED), and I saw a MARSH WREN in
the reeds there. Merry Christmas and good birding!
John Mariani
[[email protected]]
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Fri Dec 25 16:46:31 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Red-necked Grebe & Glaucous Gull at Almaden Lake Park
At 03:13 PM 12/25/98 -0800, John Mariani wrote:
>Howdy South-bay-birders,
>
> This afternoon I visited Almaden Lake Park. There I saw a RED-NECKED
>GREBE and a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL, both Almaden Valley firsts, at
>least as far as I know. The gull was beautiful, almost entirely
>chalk-white in plumage, with a pink bill with mostly black tip, rounded
>head, pale eyes, and grayish-pink legs.
Surely a second-winter if it had a pale eye.
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Fri Dec 25 22:54:53 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Red-necked Grebe & Glaucous Gull at Almaden Lake Park
Nick,
Thanks for pointing that out about the Glaucous Gull--made me go have a look at
the books, and you are right, it must have been a second winter bird. I had
completely forgotten that with sub-adults eye color was an age determiner, and
was judging only by its plumage. About its leg color--it was a dull grayish pink,
which struck me as odd. Other Glaucous Gulls I've seen have had bright pink
legs--might this also be a characteristic of Glaucous Gulls at this age?
John Mariani
[[email protected]]
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot
Nick Lethaby wrote:
> At 03:13 PM 12/25/98 -0800, John Mariani wrote:
> >Howdy South-bay-birders,
> >
> > This afternoon I visited Almaden Lake Park. There I saw a RED-NECKED
> >GREBE and a first-winter GLAUCOUS GULL, both Almaden Valley firsts, at
> >least as far as I know. The gull was beautiful, almost entirely
> >chalk-white in plumage, with a pink bill with mostly black tip, rounded
> >head, pale eyes, and grayish-pink legs.
>
> Surely a second-winter if it had a pale eye.
> ==========================================================================
> This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
> server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
> message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sat Dec 26 09:05:05 1998
Subject: [SBB] Big Sur Condors
Hi Birders,
Could anyone give rather specific directions in Big Sur where my wife and her
visiting parents could watch and wait on Sunday for a couple of hours, hoping
to see one of the released Condors? It can't be too rugged to get to.
Thanks for your help,
Bob & Sharon Lutman
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sat Dec 26 21:44:45 1998
Subject: [SBB] Stanford campus local interest
I saw a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the Stanford Arboretum today about 1 pm,
first one I've seen on campus in a couple of years.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA [[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 01:44:43 1998
Subject: [SBB] (near) Stanford herons
While my wife & I were doing some Christmas-day biking along Junipero
Serra - by the SU golf course, we spotted an immature Black-crowned
Night-Heron beneath the bridge over San Francisquito Creek. Checking
back the next day (the 26th), we couldn't find the bird. However, Gayle
quickly noted that a Green-backed Heron was standing about a yard from
where we'd seen the BCNH. Quite a metamorphosis! I'd seen an GBHE here
earlier this year; but, the other heron was a first for me in this
locale. Both birds were on the north side of the bridge, easterly bank -
near the bridge, by an enormous downed log.
Cheeps, Scott
Scott Spencer aka [[email protected]]
Alpine Road
Menlo Park, CA
Scott Spencer, Menlo Park, CA
email: [[email protected]] (spouse: [[email protected]])
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 08:14:15 1998
Subject: [SBB] Sandhill Crane fly-in
27 Dec. 1998
Yesterday I went by the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve near Lodi, CA. I was
there for the sun down fly-in. I have seen this fly-in before, but yesterday
was really spectacular with thousands of sandhill cranes returning to roost,
along with hundreds of teal, shovelers, shorebirds, and about 100 beautiful
tundra swans. All this with Mt. Diablo, the Central Valley, and a red and pink
clouded sundown in the background. I was there at from about 4:15PM until
5:15PM.
The fly-in of cranes is nearing its peak so I have included some information
if you want to take the Dept of Fish and Game two hour tour which offers
close-up views of these magnificent birds.
Public tour dates are every Sunday through February, except Feb. 14; plus the
Saturdays Jan. 16, Jan 23, Feb 6 and Feb 27, and the Thursdays Jan. 7 and Feb
4. Group tours are also available on some Saturdays. The tours are in the
late afternoon ending at sunset and involve a little walking.
To register, send a self-addressed stamped envelope and a card listing name,
address, phone number, first and second choices of date, and number in your
party to Crane Tours, Dept. of Fish and Game, 1701 Nimbus Road, Rancho
Cordova, CA 95670. A $5-a-person donation is requested at the site. Please
call (916) 358-2900.
=======================
Golden Gate Audubon is also going to Woodbridge.
Sunday, January 31
WOODBRIDGE ROAD ECOLOGICAL PRESERVE AND AREA, San Joaquin County
Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the park and ride lot on the east side of the
intersection of I-5 and Hwy. 12, west of Lodi. The first planned stop will be
the Lodi Sewer Ponds. This location is very birdy, and depending upon water
levels, is usually reliable for Pacific Golden Plover. We will then caravan to
the Woodbridge Road Ecological Area, where we should see Sandhill Cranes and
Tundra Swans. The rest of the day will be determined by the leader on the day
of the trip. Bring lunch. Trip will end by mid afternoon or sooner depending
upon weather. Beginners welcome. Be prepared for cold. Heavy rain cancels. Fog
may make viewing difficult.
Leader: Jim Rowoth (209) 462-7512. E-mail: [[email protected]].
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 12:40:25 1998
Subject: [SBB] Cal Gnatcatcher / Black Tailed Gnatcatcher
Yesterday at Salinas River NWR two if us saw several Blue-Gray
Gnatcatchers, one of which had black on the underside of the tail. Now I'm
not saying it had a little bit of black on the underside, it was 99% black
on the underside of the tail, with white edgings. Has anyone ever seen a
Black Tailed Gnatcatcher or a California Gnatcatcher this far north in
California ? If you have any information about any such sightings, please
send e-mail to [[email protected]]
Thanks, Gary Meyer
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 15:22:31 1998
Subject: [SBB] San Mateo Co
The THICK-BILLED kINGBIRD was in the dump area at the end of Bay Hill in
the Ocean Colony this morning. Also the ROSS'S GOOSE at the end of
Fairway.
Checked the area around milepost 6.73 on Pescadero Rd (the Birdbox report
called it Hwy 35) where a Golden-winged Warbler was reported. That would
have been quite a twofer, but no luck. Adam Winer had been there all
morning without seeing the bird.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA [[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 16:27:31 1998
Subject: [SBB] PUFI
All,
Today, along with CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, PINE SISKINS (in small numbers),
LESSER & AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, HOUSE FINCHES, AMERICAN ROBINS etc. I had a
female PURPLE FINCH in my bird bath. I live near Miller and Bollinger Rd near
Cupertino, in the valley, and have not seen PUFI in my yard before.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 4:14 PM, 12/27/98
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Sun Dec 27 19:56:12 1998
Subject: [SBB] Looking for Mr. Condor (and Snowy Plovers)
Happy Holidays South Bay Birders,
This is a two-day weekend report.
My wife's parents are visiting for the holidays so we thought we'd take a ride
on Saturday, the day after Christmas, to Calero and Chesbro Reservoirs, hoping
to see Dunlin - this bird having escaped us so far in our 3 1/2 years of
birding.
At Calero we saw no Dunlin, but at Chesbro Reservoir, we saw perhaps a dozen
BONAPARTE'S GULLS, in winter plumage. The unusual part is that the water is
low, and they glide around at about eye level, so you get excellent views from
all angles. But what really caught our eye was a large number of birds
swiming slowly in formation, in the water, in the upstream direction. Then
they all dove together, resurfaced after twenty seconds or so. We broke out
the scope and saw a raft - my mother-in-law said no, it was a flotilla - of
COMMON MERGANSERS. They would glide from right to left, then about face, and
go left to right. The leader in one direction became the trailer in the
other. I counted 124 of them.
Then today, Sunday, after requesting Snowy Plover and Condor location
assistance (getting condor pointers) from you all, we took off for Big Sur,
hoping to catch a glimpse of a Condor perhaps over a ridge for a second or
two. We stopped off at the bird-banding lab next to Molera State Park, as
Todd Newberry suggested, but it was closed. However, two other young people
were there. I talked with Ju Lee (Li, Le?) and my wife talked with Dave ?,
both members of the Condor Project. Ju told me to try in Pfeiffer Big Sur
State Park. She said at this time of day (1000 am), they would still be
roosting, and for the last few days, they had roosted in the redwood trees
just next to Pfeiffer. She said that there were five in the area. I asked if
they hung out together, and she said "always." Somehow, I had pictured each
of them living a solitary life, deep in the wilderness. I came back to the
car and found Sharon talking with Dave. He was giving directions for walking
up a couple of trails to see them, also near Pfeiffer.
We took off, went south perhaps 5-6 miles, turned left into Pfeiffer, paid $6
to enter, and I asked the ranger if he knew anything about roosting condors.
He said that three nights ago, they had roosted in the redwoods in the traffic
island - right next to the lodge, two nights ago they roosted about a half-
mile further down the road, but he didn't know about last night. We continued
on in, and parked next to the lodge. Upon getting out, we began checking the
redwoods when a young man with dreadlocks came out of the store and asked if
we were looking for the condors. We said yes, and he said he had seen several
early this morning. My expectation/excitement/adrenalin indicator moved up
two notches. Would they be gone already?
He moved over to a location he liked, and said, "There's one." Two more
notches. We set up the scope, and over the next hour, had spectacular perched
looks at four juvenile CALIFORNIA CONDORS. They were in all states from
hunkered down, to fussing with one another, to jumping from limb to limb, to
wings fully spread out - absorbing sunlight, to gliding over and back from
another large redwood. We could see their dark heads, white under-wing
linings and huge size. We saw a blue marker tag on one of them.
Then Ju and Dave pulled up nearby, and we saw them take out their directional
antenna and point it around. They later came over, and Ju said she had
verified the presence of all five, but we were saw only four. We were able to
give maybe 30 people scoped views of the big birds.
The five birds is a meaningful number, because that's how many adults were
left in California when they trapped and captured all of them to begin the
breeding program several years ago. On January 30, they are going to release
seven more in this area, so there will then be twelve.
My mind spins in awe at this project, especially when I read the last line of
the California Condor in the NGS: "Intensive rescue efforts continue; captive
breeding program may eventually return birds to the wild."
The exchange of several months ago comes to mind regarding whether you can
count these birds. The consensus seemed to be that perhaps you could count
the offspring of these birds. While the discussion goes on (well, even if
it's over), WE'RE COUNTIN' 'EM. I've sort of decided that after our list
reaches a thousand birds, we'll go back over the list and remove entries such
as this, that are technically not countable. That way we can cross a thousand
again. A trial balloon, then the real thing.
We finished up there about 11 am, and decided to go try for the Snowy Plovers
at Gazos Creek Beach, as described by Marj Bourre a couple of months ago.
This is another bird that has escaped us so far. On the way up, we decided to
eat our picnic lunch next to the old Holiday Inn, on the beach in Seaside,
north of Monterey. As we were breaking out the food, Sharon asked what it
said on that sign over there. We checked and it basically said not to trip
over the nesting Snowy Plovers in the spring. After we ate, we put away the
leftovers and headed out across the bridge, up the little creek on the beach,
and found 10-20 MARBLED GODWITS, 10-20 GREATER CURLEWS (reminding us of the
Bristle-thighed Curlews we saw around Thanksgiving on north Oahu), 10-20
WILLETS and 5-10 SNOWY PLOVERS, plus a few winter peeps. We were able to get
quite close to the plovers - they didn't seem to mind at all.
Then we came home and some of us had our naps. My condor meter was still too
high.
Good Birding,
Bob Lutman
P.S. Thanks for all the condor and snowy plover tips. Now that I'm back home,
I wonder how I could contribute to the Condor Project. Anybody know?
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Mon Dec 28 09:58:34 1998
Subject: [SBB] LBBGU
All,
On Saturday 12/26/98 I flushed a single BURROWING OWL from underneath
one of the many parked cars at the "Yellow" long-term parking lot at
the San Jose airport. Probably used to have his hole under that
concrete :(.
On Sunday 12/27/98 I went to Lake Cunningham, hoping to get a look at
the returning (now third-winter) Lesser Black-backed Gull. I arrived
at about 8:25am and the bird was nowhere to be found. After driving
around the lake I eventually ended up photographing gulls in the
parking lot north of the lake (the last one before you go behind
Raging Waters). At 9:34am the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL suddenly
appeared and I was able to get several decent photos using the car as
a blind. Other gulls of interest at the parking lot here included a
first-year GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, 1st-winter, 3rd-winter, and adult
THAYER'S GULLS, and 1st-winter and 2nd-winter HERRING GULLS. Four
AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were on the lake and several WHITE-THROATED
SWIFTS were heard overhead (where were they on count day?!).
I then drove up above the fog to Wrights Station Road, where the
weather was truly beautiful! This area was really birdy, with many
"OREGON" DARK-EYED JUNCOS, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, PYGMY
NUTHATCHES, VARIED THRUSHES, TOWNSEND'S WARBELRS, etc. Couldn't pull
out a crossbill for the composite list though.
Mike Rogers
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Mon Dec 28 11:12:48 1998
Subject: [SBB] Belated X-Mas Report
12/25/98:
Although I did not see the reported Tufted Duck at the Sunnyvale
WPCP, I did observe a Sora from the bridge that provides trail head access from the parking lot.
Besides the abundant Ruddies, Mallards, Coots, and Shovelers, I saw
several Moorhens, a few Gadwalls, one Green-winged Teal, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a few Bonaparte's Gulls, Spotted Sandpiper,
Pied-billed Grebes, Horned Grebes, and a scolding Marsh Wren. There were quite a few sparrows in the matted down tules. These included Song, Golden-Crowned, and Savannah.
Gina Sheridan
Santa Clara
[[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Mon Dec 28 15:44:00 1998
Subject: [SBB] Tufted Duck At Sunnyvale WPCP
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
------_=_NextPart_000_01BE32BB.F5D4F500
Content-Type: text/plain
Hello all:
The male TUFTED DUCK was present at the north end of the large pond at 2:30
this afternoon. It showed just a small spike coming out of the back of the
head. The female was presumably with him, but she was asleep the entire 15
minutes I watched them. A female PEREGRINE FALCON was on the high tension
lines and a BURROWING OWL was peering out of the squirrel hole at the
entrance to the plant.
Steve Miller
------_=_NextPart_000_01BE32BB.F5D4F500
Content-Type: application/ms-tnef
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64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=
------_=_NextPart_000_01BE32BB.F5D4F500--
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Mon Dec 28 20:45:45 1998
Subject: [SBB] Notes on Seattle-area CBC experience
All,
On our family vacation to Seattle I hooked up with a local Christmas Bird
Count in the Everett,WA count circle on 27 December 1998. A few
highlights for those interested in the area or in comparisons between th
bird communities of the two areas:
The day started with a pair of Peregrine Falcons near the local sewage
treatment ponds, where our team's primary responsibility was to sift
through the thousands of ducks and gulls present. Both Peregrines and
Bald Eagles are considered common here, although the wretched weather
kept all many species down and these falcons were the only ones of their
species found on this year's count.
Of the gulls and ducks present, the mix was considerably different from
ours. The dominant species is Mew Gull, followed by Glaucous-winged Gull.
California, Herring, and Western Gulls are all considered "good finds" at
this time of year, and only the last of those three was found. We had a
single Bonaparte's and a couple of Thayer's Gulls; otherwise, gull
diversity was disappointing, although one team boating on Puget Sound had
yet to report back when I left.
Ducks were more diverse but different from ours only in proportions of
the mix. Canvasbacks, Green-winged Teal, and Ring-necked Ducks were
present in the high hundreds. Redheads were not found this year but are
present in ones or twos for most CBCs here.
Owls are a different mix than ours, with Barred, Long-eared, and
Short-eared all possible. The latter two were found this year, and
efforts to get Barred Owl were still in progress. Otherwise Northern
Saw-whets, Great Horned, and Barn Owls rounded out the owls. Rough-legged
Hawk was the only raptor we wouldn't expect to see.
A single Northern Shrike studied at close range through a nifty new
Swarovski scope (not mine!) was a lifer for me, but is relatively common
here and the only shrike regularly found. Songbirds in general were very
sparse in frigid wind and rain, but the prospect of a possible Harris'
Sparrow (more common as a winter bird here than White-crowned!) kept me
going through many a blackberry thicket. Alas, no unusual sparrows were
located, although my team was led by Chris Hill, a PhD candidate whose
research is in sparrow ecology. Indeed, no unusual songbirds of any kind
came out on this count in these lousy conditions.
Hope you've found something of value in all this. Just in case you're
heading up this way, the main Seattle count is on January 2...check the
Audubon web page at www.audubon.org for details. (Please note that any
responses to this message should go to <[[email protected]]>, as this is a
relative's address.)
--Garth Harwood
___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 29 08:04:36 1998
Subject: [SBB] Reservoirs
Highlights of a survey at Anderson Reservoir on 12/29/98 include
PRAIRIE FALCON, GOLDEN EAGLE, COMMON MERGANSER, WOOD DUCK, GREATER
YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER, WILLET, BONAPARTE'S
GULL, and MEW GULL. A MERLIN was at Chesbro Reservoir.
WOOD DUCKS are now at Chesbro, Almaden, and Guadelupe
Reservoirs, and probably at others as well, I will give an update later.
They are usually found at the inlets to the reservoirs. COMMON
MERGANSERS are at each of the reservoirs as well. They are easily
viewed from the road. All the reservoirs except Anderson are accessible
by car, just be sure to pull all the way off the road, and watch for
traffic. Anderson Reservoir is accessible by car only on the south end.
Unfortunately, most of the good birding spots (stream inlets) require a
boat.
Good birding,
Tom Ryan
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 29 14:57:15 1998
Subject: [SBB] more reservoirs
Today (12/29/98) we observed a BALD EAGLE at Calero Reservoir. The bird
was perched on a fence-post on the north side of the reservoir between
the two dam structures. There was also a COMMON GOLDENEYE, several
HORNED GREBE, and two COMMON LOON.
At Coyote Reservoir we observed HOODED MERGANSERS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL,
NORTHERN PINTAIL, CANVASBACK, COOPER'S HAWK, and MEW GULL.
Cheers,
Tom
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Tue Dec 29 21:11:36 1998
Subject: [SBB] Interesting holiday
A few days late, but I think observations of Dec 25 & 26 worth
reporting.
A bicycle ride on Xmas day, from our house to the end of Canada
Rd & return yielded two interesting observations. First was 3 pairs
of Ravens, two on the Canada College campus, and the third on a
power tower near the Crystal Springs Reservoir. On another tower
during the return trip I noticed a light-colored object that didn't look
like part of the tower, so I got out the binoculars. It was a
Ferruginous Hawk facing toward me with its llight breast and white
tail showing. While I watched, a second hawk, presumably its
mate, flew in and landed next to it.
Next day, we were treated to a flock of 10 robins and one Cedar
Waxwing that came to clean the remaining fruit from our crabapple
and sample some holly berries (Menlo Park). Such flocks used to
be a common autumn phenomenon, particularly around pyracantha
bushes, but I haven't seen one for a long time, maybe 30 years. I
got out the video camera to capture robins fighting over rights to the
birdbath and received another surprise when a Swainson's Thrush
posed on the crabapple tree for about 15 sec of video. I've captured
some stills from that and posted them at
http://www.sfbbo.org/gno/thrush.htm
(There's no link from the SFBBO site to this page.)
George Oetzel [[email protected]]
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
http://www.sfbbo.org
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 08:42:01 1998
Subject: [SBB] Monterey Peninsula CBC highlights
Hi Birders -
Just a quick note to mention the great success we had on yesterday's
Monterey Peninsula CBC. I, along with others, are not sure what the
record is for our count (in terms of #'s of species), but someone seemed
to think it was 195. Anyhow, we have been averaging around 174 for the
last 5 years or so. Yesterday we had an whopping 193 species!
Highlights included:
Tundra Swan
Bald Eagle
Evening Grosbeak
Snow Gooe
Oldsquaw
Ross' Goose
Wilson's Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Prairie Falcon
Baltimore Oriole
Barrow's Goldeneye
Glaucous Gull
Yellow Warbler
Red-naped Sapsucker
Swamp Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Northern Waterthrush
Common Raven (rare on peninsula)
Long-eared Owl
Pacific-clope Flycatcher
GRACE'S WARBLER!!!
Steve Rovell
[[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 10:47:28 1998
Hi all!
Yesterday 12/29/98, Mike Mammoser, Alma Kali, and I covered much of
Isabel Valley for the Mt Hamilton Christmas Bird Count. We managed to
find 72 species in what warmed up to be a very nice day out there. We
covered the main reservoir and areas east and north of it and the
entrance road, leaving areas south and west to Don Schmoldt and Sally
Walters.
We started out owling at the summit of Mt Hamilton at 6:15am, but
failed to hear any owls until a spot 2.5 miles east of the summit,
where we had 2 WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS, a GREAT HORNED OWL and distant
brief notes from what was probably a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Stopping
near the bridge over Isabel Creek we heard another GREAT HORNED OWL
and 2 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS, which we could not track down.
>From here it was on to the valley, where an adult BALD EAGLE was at
its usual perch over the reservoir. On the reservoir were 1180
AMERICAN COOTS, 40 PIED-BILLED GREBES, 1 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT,
1 GREAT BLUE HERON, 1 male WOOD DUCK, 2 MALLARDS, 130 GADWALL,
2 AMERICAN WIGEON (114 more on other ponds in the area), 17 RING-NECKED
DUCKS, 12 COMMON MERGANSERS (6 males and 6 females), and 22 RUDDY
DUCKS - clearly the bulk of the bird biomass seen during the day!
Most of the raptor activity was also near the reservoir. Besides the
BALD EAGLE, we had two light morph adult FERRUGINOUS HAWKS (one
spending ALL day on the telephone poles near the north end of the
airstrip), 1 of the day's 3 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 2 COOPER'S HAWKS, an
immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, many of the day's 10 RED-TAILED HAWKS,
2 adult GOLDEN EAGLES, most of the day's 4 AMERICAN KESTRELS, and a
cooperative female-plumaged dark (suckleyi) MERLIN. The ranch houses
added 12 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and a male PHAINOPEPLA.
Working the road around the valley we had trouble finding many
sparrows flocks, although a few big flocks paid off. 3 LINCOLN'S
SPARROWS were in a large Zonotrichia flock at the southeast arm of the
main reservoir (we had another single bird along the east edge of the
valley - this bird can be tough to find in winter here) and a big
sparrow flock containing 17 of the day's 22 FOX SPARROWS (including
many mostly gray-hooded birds) and lots of Zonotrichia added the day's
only SAGE SPARROW. A few PINE SISKIN were about (we had four), but
more impressive were GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, with 7 birds found in
oak woodland habitat in which they seemed out of place.
"Write-up" species for the day included a pair of BLACK-NECKED STILTS
(new to the count) on a pond along the southern edge of the valley
(never though I'd spend 20 minutes documenting and photographing this
bird as a rarity!) and a female HOODED MERGANSER on another pond
further northeast.
Other goodies included 10 COMMON SNIPE in a wet field that had them
last year too and another PHAINOPEPLA (a female) at the eastern edge
of the valley; 16 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH drinking at a puddle here
boosted their total to 22, outnumbering the 18 LESSER GOLDFINCH we
found for the day. Mammals of interest included 2 BOBCATS,
12 PRONGHORN, and 45 ELK.
At dusk we tried again to locate the NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS heard early
in the morning. Again they responded to whistling but were very
distant. This time, however, by walking a quarter-mile down the road,
we did manage to find and get nice looks (in fading light) at one of
the birds as it aggresively defended its territory.
All in all a very nice day!
Mike Rogers
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 13:07:55 1998
Subject: [SBB] Mt Hamilton CBC
Since I didn't have an assigned area, I spent most of my time birding the
area either side of the Cattle Guard N. of the junction. I also spent 2.5
hours in the San Antonio Valley and 1.5 hours owling south of the
Alameda/Santa Clara county line.
In the area of the cattle guard, I eventually had a shrike appear in a tree
E of the road after 4 hours of waiting. Frustratingly, it vanished while I
was putting the telescope on it, so I was unable to confirm if it was the
N. Shrike. Other birds in this area included 10+ Lawrence's Goldfinch, 4+
Pine Siskins, at least 2 Sage Sparrows, a California Thrasher, male and
female Phainopepla, a Red-breasted Sapsucker and a Hairy Woodpecker. The
vicinity of the pond immediately N.of the cattle guard had 5 Lincoln's, a
Fox and a Swamp Sparrow, a Snipe, and 2 Bufflehead.
San Antonio Valley was disappointing with the best birds being 2 Golden
Eagles, a Prarie Falcon, another female Phainopepla, and a Red-breasted
Sapsucker. Virtually no sparrows were seen.
Evening owling proved very disappointing especially after the morning
exploits of the Richardson/Glover team, who had 6 species including no less
than 7 Pygmy Owls. Apart from 1-2 Great Horneds, I succeeded in relocating
only the Saw-whet Owl. Although it responded quite well to my imitations,
it did not come close enough to be seen.
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 15:12:01 1998
Subject: [SBB] CNWR
All,
I took a short hike in Alum Rock Park over lunch today 12/30/98
and was rewarded with nice looks at a CANYON WREN, which was in
the creek on both sides of the bridge at the far side of the
last parking lot. Also of interest was a hybrid sapsucker in
front of the YSI. The bird had the face pattern of a Red-naped/
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker except that a red streak ran diagonally
across the face behind the eye. The red of the throat completely
covered the black "frame" around it and the black chest crescent
was heavily invaded by red, with some red also being present
below this crescent. Given the various breeding ranges I guess
this is most likely a RED-NAPED x RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, although
it may not be possible to tell this with any certainty. The bird
was being chased by a normal-looking RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER. In
the same area were at least 6-7 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS and
several TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS.
Mike Rogers
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 15:14:37 1998
I have been trying to find a copy of BIRDING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAY, but
the Stanford bookstore, and the Palo Alto bookstores, do not seem to have
one. Does anyone know of a store that stocks this book?
Richard Rorty
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Wed Dec 30 20:46:38 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Tufted Duck At Sunnyvale WPCP
Miller, Steve E wrote:
>
> Hello all:
>
> The male TUFTED DUCK was present at the north end of the large pond at 2:30
> this afternoon. It showed just a small spike coming out of the back of the
> head. The female was presumably with him, but she was asleep the entire 15
> minutes I watched them. A female PEREGRINE FALCON was on the high tension
> lines and a BURROWING OWL was peering out of the squirrel hole at the
> entrance to the plant.
>
> Steve Miller
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Part 1.2 Type: application/ms-tnef
> Encoding: base64
Steve:
What's in the attachment that I can't open?
--
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, [[email protected]]
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 31 00:16:33 1998
Subject: [SBB] CAKI, SNGO, ROGO, CAEG
All:
On 29 Dec., a CATTLE EGRET and the ROSS'S GOOSE were at Arzino
Ranch, and Scott Terrill and I saw a MERLIN at the Santa Clara
Valley Water District office on Almaden Expwy.
On 30 Dec., I had some work to do near San Felipe Lake, allowing
me to do a little birding in the vicinity. The sun was directly
behind the 1100 gulls on the lake, so I was not able to scrutinize
them for rarities, although a small proportion of these birds seen
flying overhead (in Santa Clara Co.) included a first-winter
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL and 4 THAYER'S GULLS. Two MERLINS were in
the area, both in Santa Clara Co. (one of these also seen in San
Benito). Thirty-five TREE SWALLOWS were in both counties. A field
south of Hwy. 152 east of Bloomfield Ave. had 3 SNOW GEESE (1 ad.,
2 imm.) and 3 ROSS'S GEESE (none showing obvious imm. feathering).
These birds were very close to the county line, and the three Snow
Geese flew in a broad circle at one point, venturing into San Benito
County. However, I think that the birds were foraging in Santa
Clara County.
Wet fields along Bloomfield Avenue between Hwy. 152 and Frazier
Lake Road hosted 3 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, 205 COMMON SNIPE (with 15
more in another field nearby), small numbers of 8 other shorebird
species, 90 AMERICAN PIPITS, and 3 HORNED LARKS. At Dunne Lane, I
found a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD in the large eucalyptus nearest Pacheco
Creek; this is the location where this species has oversummered the
past two years, and the bird's presence now suggests that it will
overwinter.
Good birding, and Happy New Year!
Steve Rottenborn
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]
From [[email protected]] Thu Dec 31 14:33:10 1998
Subject: [SBB] SWSP, WTSP, LIGU
All,
Well, despite today's 9.6-foot high tide at the Baylands the area
didn't get very flooded. One to two BLACK RAILS were seen briefly
from the corner (I caught a brief glimpse of what was supposedly one
flying back into the marsh after the high tide). Highlight of the
day, however, was a cooperative SWAMP SPARROW found by Rita Colwell
along the dike out to the airport. After being flushed from the dike
this bird would perch on top of the reeds for a bit before eventually
returning to the dike again. This process was repeated several times
until at least a dozen people got nice looks at the bird.
After spending some time at the Baylands I headed down Embarcadero
Road to the Stanford Mausoleum, where it took all of two minutes to
relocate Grant's WHITE-THROATED SPARROW across from the angel statue.
County year bird number 264, presumably the last for 1998. I will
soon distribute the final composite list for 1998. If you are
interested in adding the total number of bird species you saw in Santa
Clara County in 1998 please let me know. I have already received
Vivek Tiwari's total of 209. Any others?
Scott Terrill left a message on my machine here at work saying that he
had just seen a basic-plumaged adult LITTLE GULL fly by his office
window, flying from west to east. Keep an eye out down there!
Mike Rogers
==========================================================================
This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to [[email protected]]