Parent
From email@hidden Tue Dec 01 12:39:39 1998
Subject: [SBB] List owner?
I sent a message requesting enrollment of a birder newly arrived in the
area to email@hidden, and it was apparently
sent to Steve Rottenborn's no longer valid Stanford email address, and so
bounced.
Who is currently the list-meister?
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 02 07:19:27 1998
Subject: [SBB] Birds
All,
Yesterday (12/1) there were two ad male Barrow's Goldeneye on Shoreline Lake.
A Merlin flew between the Palo Alto Duck Pond and the interpretive center.
The tide was quite low (high barometric pressure, no onshore breeze and no
apparent effect from rain water runoff) although I did hear (second hand) that
a Black Rail was seen at Rail Corner. Frank and I were looking for sparrows
during high tide.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 7:10 AM, 12/2/98
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 02 11:30:14 1998
Subject: [SBB] Archive updated
South Bay Birders,
The South Bay Birders archive at
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/southbay.htm has been updated to
include the November 1998 messages. The Santa Clara County page has
also been updated to include links to John Mariani's Almaden Valley
pages.
Additions to the photo gallery this month include Short-tailed
Albatross, Red-billed Tropicbird, and Northern Wheatear. I have added
accounts and descriptions of Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Gull,
Tricolored Heron, Slaty-backed Gull and American Woodcock to the
"Recent Rarities" section.
This month's mystery birds include a female finch and a female
blackbird. I am personally very puzzled by the finch and would
appreciate more input. Last month's mystery hummingbird page now has
"answers" and discussion.
Enjoy!
--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044: email@hidden
California Birding; Mystery Birds: http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan
California Bird Records Committee: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 02 13:07:53 1998
Subject: [SBB] Baylands
All,
Relatively wimpy "high" tide today. The water barely reached the
top the lowest letter "C" on the wooden post. I didn't arrive until
after 11:00am and missed the single BLACK RAIL that was apparently
seen coming into the corner. Did have a female MERLIN flying to,
and landing on, one of the towers though. Also of interest was a
large SCOTER/SCAUP flock on the Bay (finally) - the birds were
way out and the light was not great so I couldn't pick out the
Oldsquaw among them (probably outside the county anyway).
A quick stop at Shoreline Lake on the return found the 2 adult
male BARROW'S GOLDENEYES still present with 28+ COMMON GOLDENEYES,
lots of SCAUP (including our resident injured male GREATER), and
several BUFFLEHEAD and CANVASBACKS. A GREEN HERON was in the creek
that feeds into the Forebay.
Mike Rogers
12/2/98
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 03 07:49:11 1998
Subject: [SBB] Anderson Reservoir
On 12/2/98, at Anderson Reservoir, we observed a male and female PRAIRIE
FALCON, several GOLDEN EAGLES, COMMON MERGANSER, WOOD DUCK, and a flock
of BONAPARTE'S GULL.
Good birding,
Tom
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 03 15:16:43 1998
All,
What a difference a little wind and rain makes! Today's high tide was
excellent, despite being officially only 0.1 foot higher than
yesterday. When I got to the Baylands at 11:20am the water was nearly
up to the road at the duck pond and up to almost the bottom of the top
"C" on the wooden post at the corner. Despite this, no Black Rails
had been seen yet, so I headed out towards the outfall channel. The
water was high, but the wind kept all the birds hunkered down and the
only bird of interest I saw here was an adult male columbarius MERLIN
cruising over the marsh. Also many MARSH WRENS, not a one that could
be turned into a Sedge Wren :(. I headed over to the path that
parallels the airport runway since this looked a little birdier, with
lots of HOUSE FINCHES and CROWNED SPARROWS. Just before the point
where the outfall channel turns away from the path towards the bay a
SWAMP SPARROW scurried off, calling twice. By watching here and
pishing a little I eventually got nice looks at this bird as it
foraged at the base of the vegetation along the edge of the channel.
Also here was a surprising male SPOTTED TOWHEE and, further down the
path, a single FOX SPARROW (plenty of SONG SPARROWS and COMMON
YELLOWTHROATS and a few LINCOLN'S SPARROWS too). Back at the corner
I was able to see one of two BLACK RAILS hiding underneath some
vegetation. On the way out, the GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was still
at the duck pond and a couple hundred BONAPARTE'S GULLS were over the
Water Pollution Control Plant.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 03 16:42:04 1998
Subject: [SBB] more habitat gone
A really nice hillside at Montalvo Arboretum (Park) in Saratoga is
about to be bulldozed to create "Artist's Residences".
This hillside is the "old orchard" immediately above parking lot N0.1
at Montalvo. I have birded and photographed here countless times
during the past 10 years. Good birds at all seasons. I for one will
miss this area very much.
I noticed some bluebird boxes there sponsored by SCVAS, but they seem
to be gone now.
Anyone know who actually owns this land?? Private - Public??
Alan
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 04 08:12:37 1998
Subject: [SBB] BRPE
Folks:
On my bike commute this morning, 12/4/1998, I saw an immature BROWN
PELICAN over Salt Pond A2W. The frost on the marshes and seasonal wetlands
was glorious.
Bill
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 04 12:33:05 1998
Subject: [SBB] White-throated Sparrow
I'm watching a White-Throated Sparrow in my backyard as I write
this....I've never seen one in my backyard before!!! Perhaps, the one Jean
and Pat Dubois see in their yard has decided to visit!!!
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos off Quito
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 04 13:02:13 1998
Subject: [SBB] Western tanager and bluebirds at Stanford
At 8 am this morning (12/4), I saw a female WESTERN TANAGER
at Stanford Medical Center. It was not refound at lunchtime. The
habitat was surprising - an urban canyon between two tall buildings.
Some small ornamental trees with pinkish red berries on two-inch
stalks in clusters could have been the attraction.
Also here were 5-6 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. I have seen these at several
campus locations during the past year in places where they did not
occur formerly (at least since 1976). This is gratifying, since the
whole area is becoming steadily more urbanized.
Dick Stovel email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 05 12:01:46 1998
Subject: [SBB] Palo Alto Baylands
Jack Cole led our bird walk again this Saturday out at Palo Alto Baylands.
Among the usual residents, we spotted a beautiful male Wood Duck in the duck
pond. We also got a great look at two White-Tailed Kites. Although we were
too early for high tide, two of our participants got a look at a Clapper
Rail out on the boardwalk.
Pat Curtis
Lily Douglas
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 05 18:45:45 1998
Subject: [SBB] Baylands
This morning the Audubon trip had one BLACK RAIL at Rail Corner. The tide
was a low-seeming 9.3 and the rail didn't fly out until almost exactly high
tide. There were 4 very cooperative CLAPPER RAILS out along the boardwalk
and a VIRGINIA RAIL at the edge of the path at the first bend. A NELSON
SHARP_TAIL SPARROW was seen by some where the white poles are visible
along the path leading along the north side of the outfall channel. The
Swamp Sparrow was not seen. SORAS were heard, but not seen but those who
count heard-only birds had a 4 rail day.... not bad. Kathy Parker
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 05 19:55:08 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Baylands
South Bay Birders,
I had my class out at the high tide at Palo Alto Baylands today. We
added two species to my personal cumulative class list for this trip,
Brown Pelican and Wood Duck. The Brown Pelican was seen flying high
to the south over the duck pond and the Wood Duck was on the duck
pond. We also saw the adult Greater White-fronted Goose on the pond.
I was wondering if the Wood Duck and the goose are wild or domestic
releases. Several of my students wondered if they were countable and
I didn't know.
We did not try for Black Rail as there was too big a crowd. We were
unsuccessful at seeing Swamp or Sharp-tailed but the tide didn't
really seem as high as I expected. Nevertheless it was a good trip and
the weather was great. The full list is at
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/PALO.html .
--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044: email@hidden
California Birding; Mystery Birds: http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan
California Bird Records Committee: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 06 13:26:24 1998
Subject: [SBB] weekend birds
Yesterday, I saw the male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on Shoreline Lake, and 10
BLACK SKIMMERS on the island in Charleston Slough. Tried the Baylands
trail near the sign where Swamp and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows were
seen; no luck, but at least two VIRGINIA RAILS were in the shrubbery along
the path near the sign.
Today, I checked out the dry bed of Lake Lagunita at Stanford. One of
these years a Longspur will show up. Well, at least a couple Horned Larks.
But this year I found only a flock of 20 AMERICAN PIPITS.
Went on to Arastradero Preserve, and walked along the creek to the upper
pond, hoping for Hooded Mergansers or maybe Ring-necked Ducks. No ducks at
all. Best bird was a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. Also saw 3
WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS near the entrance, a pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS were
doing their courting (or bonding) flight, and two WHITE-TAILED KITES were
trying to chase a couple of Ravens away. The walk was very pretty on this
cool clear day, and not as muddy as I had feared.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 00:03:26 1998
Subject: [SBB] San Francisco Bay Area owling
Howdy South-Bay-birders,
I've updated my web pages, and added a page on owling. The Almaden
Valley bird list is now at 211 species, with the addition of old records
of Willow Flycatcher and Great-tailed Grackle furnished by Bruce
Barrett. You can get there from:
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot/index.htm
To go directly to the owling page:
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot/owling.html
John Mariani
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 08:48:27 1998
Subject: [SBB] More Pelicans, bayside birds
Folks:
On my return bike commute on Friday, 12/4/1998, I saw an adult BROWN
PELICAN over Salt Pond A1 (so that makes both an immature and an adult in the
area that day), a female/immature RED-BREASTED MERGANSER in Stevens Creek just
below Crittenden Lane, and a PRAIRIE FALCON in Salt Pond A2W on the line of
towers just outside of the Stevens Creek Mitigation Area. Usually, by this
time of year there are good numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers on the Alviso
salt ponds, but I've not had any reported from there yet. There has been a
Prairie Falcon in this general area for the past 1-2 months, so maybe it will
stay around for the Palo Alto CBC.
This morning, on my bike commute, 12/7/1998, I counted at least 9 BLACK
SKIMMERS on the southern island in Charleston Slough.
Bill
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 09:11:55 1998
Subject: [SBB] Almaden Area Birds, Dec 6
Hello Everyone,
Here are a few sightings from the Almaden area for Sunday, Dec 6.
Almaden Reservoir: 125 WOOD DUCKS. This is the most I've ever seen at
one time. The ducks were all crowded in the shallow marshy area at the
upper end of the reservoir. NOTE: For anyone checking out Almaden
Reservoir for wintering Wood Ducks, be aware that these ducks seem to
come and go, so sometimes you can see lots of ducks and at other times
hardly any at all. As Wood Ducks tend to be quite skittish, any
disturbance can set them packing. Last weekend I found only four Wood
Ducks, while this weekend I seemed to have hit the jackpot.
Calero Reservoir: Two COMMON LOONS seen near the lower end by the dam.
At the upper end an adult PEREGRINE FALCON was seen perched on a small
snag by the mudflats.
Chesbro Reservoir: Twenty COMMON MERGANSERS
Almaden Lake: Among the 200+ California Gulls, approx 30 Herring Gulls
were seen as well as one Glaucous-winged Gull
Guadalupe Creek Riparian: a YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER was seen in the
vicinity of the Coleman Road Ponds.
And that's it for now - Ann
Ann Verdi
AMD/CA Central Svc Scheduling
408-749-2199 or x42199
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 10:07:35 1998
Subject: [SBB] Swifts now?
Hi all,
On Saturday while I was at Sunnyvale Baylands I saw several times a flock
of swifts overhead. I am not that good at swifts, but was sure I saw the
white flank patches of the WHITE THROATED SWIFTS. I also thought that
some of the birds (perhaps a different flock as they came and went
several times throughout the morning and early afternoon hours) seemed
only to be grey overall with a paler throat patch. Where these likely
VAUXS SWIFTS or immatures?
I was quite suprised to see them around here this late in the season, is
this normal?
-Chris
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 10:11:27 1998
Subject: [SBB] Swifts
Folks:
Tom Ryan did his Master's Thesis on White-throated Swifts, I
believe, and may wish to comment on the query from Chris [no lastname].
By and large, White-throated Swifts are resident birds, but outside
the nesting season are very wide ranging. We are near the limit of
their range and perhaps there is some southward dispersal in winter.
Nonetheless, they are here all winter and will roost in tiles at Stanford
and in Palo Alto through the season. In severe winters, that is,
extended periods of heavy rain, we have had some extensive die-off of
these birds and this shows the kinds of limiting factors that affect
birds seasonally.
Vaux's Swifts are occasionally seen along the coast in winter,
but are extremely rare locally November through March. Winter records
of Vaux's require excellent views and the accompaning description must
reflect those excellent views.
Bill
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 07 14:19:05 1998
Subject: [SBB] FEHA
Hi Everyone--
At lunch today an adult FERRUGINOUS HAWK soared past my office window at
Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale. It headed southeast (toward 101 and 237) and
was not visible when I went outside to look for it.
Mark Miller
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From email@hidden Tue Dec 08 08:29:34 1998
Subject: [SBB] SJ/PA CBC's
Hello South Bay Birders,
This is a reminder of our upcoming ''Bottom of the Bay'' Christmas Bird
Counts - San Jose CBC, Sunday, Dec 20, and Palo Alto CBC, Monday, Dec
21. And as always, we encourage your participation in these counts.
For the San Jose, our count circle includes the challenges of the Diablo
Hills open spaces and the equally challenging sectors of the valley
floor where ever-increasing urban/high tech development continues to
impinge on vestiges of viable habitat. Of particular emphasis is the
Alviso Sector not only for the salt ponds with all the waterfowl and
shorebirds, but also Alviso itself where major changes in land use have
been proposed, so it will be very important to document the birds here.
To participate in the Alviso Sector, please contact Dick Carlson, team
leader, at e-mail: email@hidden or 650/494-3160.
For this and any other sectors, you can contact the team leaders as
listed in the SCVAS Newsletter, The Avocet, or you can contact me, Ann
Verdi, SJ CBC Compiler:
Ann Verdi
email@hidden
408/749-2199 (w)
408/266-5108 (h)
The Palo Alto Count takes place on Monday, Dec 21, and also needs
counters in all sectors - baylands, urban sectors, foothills, and Santa
Cruz Mountains. To participate in the Palo Alto Count, please contact
the following:
Merrie Haveman, PA CBC Coordinator
650/344-2146
or
Garth Harwood
email@hidden
408/252-3747
Thank you for your support.
Ann Verdi, SJ CBC Compiler
Ann Verdi
AMD/CA Central Svc Scheduling
408-749-2199 or x42199
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Dec 08 12:40:15 1998
Subject: [SBB] McClellan Park Birds (BTGW!)
All,
Shortly before 12 noon today I had excellent views of an adult male
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, a first record for this park as far as I know.
The bird was foraging in low sycamore foliage in the remotest corner of the
park, just above some derelict water dept structures. I also had another
park first in my 2-1/2 year tenure when two COMMON RAVENS came over from
the north, lingering low over the 4-H animal pens before heading south. The
larger corvids are always unusual here for some reason...the crows seem to
actively avoid this park, though they are seen near every perimeter from
time to time.
Several FOX SPARROWS are resident here this winter, and nearly 100 waxwings
are hanging around today. On last Saturday's beginners' walk here we had
prolonged looks at SHARP-SHINNED and COOPER'S HAWKS, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK,
and RED-TAILED HAWK, the largest concentration of raptors I'd seen here
yet. The Sharp-shinned has been especially active in the park for the past
week or so.
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden Tue Dec 08 16:08:33 1998
Subject: [SBB] Skyline Blvd. birds
All,
I had another Red FOX SPARROW sighting this past Saturday, 12/5. This may
be the same bird I saw during Thanksgiving weekend. The difference is
that this bird had fully grown tail feathers and the back streaks were more
obvious from the side. I don't know about growth rates of retrices (tail
feathers). Is it possible for the half-grown tail feathers to grow out fully
in a week? The number of Sooty Fox Sparrows increased greatly as it seems
that another race came in with some of the latest storms. These were more
gray than dark brown in the face and their outer retrices were entirely
dull red-brown.
Last night, I tried to call in a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL but only got it to
call loudly from trees within 50 ft. of our deck. I never saw it. This
past weekend Mary heard an owl call that, by her description, sounded like a
Northern Pygmy Owl. I have yet to hear one in our area yet.
As a side note, all of our Band-tailed Pigeons have moved on elsewhere. I
saw about 10 of them fly off from a nearby perch a week ago, but they
haven't visited our yard in about a month.
Les
==========================================
Les Chibana, Palo Alto email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Dec 08 17:37:40 1998
Subject: [SBB] 'Kamchatka' Gull back.
Hello,
The oddball gull which has frequented the Palo Alto Duck Pond for the
last two winters is back. This bird looks superficially like the Asian
(Kamchatka) subspecies of the Mew Gull but shows several points against
that identification. I tend to think that it is a hybrid Ring-billed Gull x
Mew Gull. In any case, its worth having a look at. If anyone can obtain
more photos of the wing pattern, that would be great. Look for a large
adult Mew Gull with paleish eyes, a ring on the bill and noticeably long
wings. The wing pattern is similar to that of a Mew Gull, with large
mirrors on the primaries.
There was also a Wood Duck there.
Al
Alvaro Jaramillo "It was almost a pity, to see the sun
Half Moon Bay, shining constantly over so useless a country"
California Darwin, regarding the Atacama desert.
email@hidden
Helm guide to the New World Blackbirds, Birding in Chile and more, at:
http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro
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From email@hidden Tue Dec 08 21:18:46 1998
Subject: [SBB] Almaden Lake, etc.
Howdy South-bay-birders,
This afternoon between the SCVWD Pond and Almaden Lake I counted about
100 HERRING GULLS. At the SCVWD Pond there was also a GLAUCOUS-WINGED
GULL, an adult THAYER'S GULL, and lots of LESSER SCAUP and RING-NECKED
DUCKS. Bunches of BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS were roosting on the
islands in the pond.
Late yesterday I stopped by Calero Reservoir, where I saw one of the
COMMON LOONS reported by Ann Verdi. Also at the boat launch there I saw
2 DUNLIN, 15 LEAST SANDPIPERS, BONAPARTE'S GULL, and the usual
BLACK-NECKED STILTS, WHITE-TAILED KITE, etc.
John Mariani
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 09 15:18:37 1998
Subject: [SBB] Wind
I did some birding above Milpitas this morning - a bad choice, it turned
out, due to the wind. The Sierra Road summit was virtually impossible to
bird seriously, but I did see a Prairie Falcon there. At the Spring Valley
area of Ed Levin park, I had only one Sapsucker, a Red-Breasted.
Al
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 09 17:45:16 1998
Subject: [SBB] WFGO, OSPR, LBBG
All:
On Tuesday, 8 Dec., I checked the Morabito (sp.?) goose farm in San
Martin to see if any wild geese have joined the captives. Nothing
obvious, although it's hard to tell how many of the CAGO, of numerous
races, are captives. Eight TREE SWALLOWS were in the area. Five
minutes at Shady Oaks Park in south San Jose failed to turn up the
Eastern Phoebe, but I did see a cismontanus-type SLATE-COLORED JUNCO
with 10 Oregon's. In Alviso, I saw the ad. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
flying over the flats east of the marina, heading NNE in the direction
of the EEC.
Wednesday, 9 Dec., on the way south to Morgan Hill, I saw an
OSPREY eating a fish at the Parkway Lakes. From Hwy. 101, I
could see several groups of CANADA GEESE numering about 120
flying north over Coyote Creek; these flocks included 9 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE. On my way back north, I stopped at the Ogier
Ponds, where I saw 85 CANADA GEESE, 1 female COMMON MERGANSER,
4 TREE SWALLOWS, and two OSPREYS (possibly including the Parkway
Lakes bird?). I then checked the disked corn field on the north
side of Bailey Road between Santa Teresa Blvd. and Monterey Hwy.
in south San Jose, as Canada Geese often forage here. Sure enough,
there were two adult GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE with about 190
CANADA GEESE here. There were also more than 2200 ROCK DOVES in
these fields! A quick check of Lake Cunningham produced 5 more
TREE SWALLOWS and 8 WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, but my 4-5 visits to
this lake so far this fall have failed to turn up last winter's
Lesser Black-backed Gull. Also on 9 Dec. I had a MERLIN over
Hwy. 101 near Morgan Hill. In Alviso, I've seen an adult male
MERLIN daily near our office; the bird roosts on the antenna of
the house next door between 15:00 and 16:30 (though not usually
during the entire period) every day, as one has done for the past
3-4 winters according to Scott Terrill.
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 08:04:26 1998
Subject: [SBB] AMBI on the Guadelupe River
Yesterday, 9 December, 1998, I observed a single AMERICAN BITTERN along
the Guadelupe River between the Pond at the SCVWD HQ and Blossom Hill
Rd. I sighted the bird in flight and foraging along the bank. The area
is accessible by levee trails from the SCVWD HQ building on Almaden
Expressway. I also observed a BELTED KINGFISHER and a SORA here.
Tom Ryan
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 08:30:34 1998
Subject: [SBB] County birds
All,
Yesterday during the SCVAS field trip we had a Prairie Falcon on a power pole
on the Southeast side of Hall Lake. During most of the day we had Golden
Eagles in sight (and the tiny Red-tailed Hawks). In the afternoon we had
three adult GOEAs doing their territorial display (steep dives followed by
steep climbs) in the same area. Bird numbers (species & quantity) were down
and the wind did not help matters (as Al pointed out). There were lots of
single birds (Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Say's
Phoebe, etc.) but we did have a nice flock of Tree Swallows later in the
morning when the wind died down. It appears that "my" Hermit Thrush is still
around. It has taken to bathing at dusk during which "he" seems to quite
fearless, letting me approach much closer than "he" would during the day.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 8:21 AM, 12/10/98
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 10:39:56 1998
Subject: [SBB] dead trees
My backyard habitat is changing. My backyard is a hill. At the very top of
the hill are PG&E lines. Two years ago the row of pretty large trees
underneath those lines died. This morning PG&E is cutting down all the
dead trees, possibly 10 of them. Thus the tall trees that the birds
congregated in before they flew down to eat at my feeders are gone....be
interesting to see how this all plays out...from a fire hazard side it's
good the dead trees are gone....yesterday my "normal" fall influx of a
dozen or so WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS arrived. i'd been wondering where they
were. the WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was only present for 3 consecutive days
and hasn't been seen since. A SHARPIE has taken to patroling my feeders and
comes in about 5-8 feet off the ground. certainly causes a fast exit.
gloria leblanc
los gatos off quito
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 12:03:03 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] dead trees
Hi Gloria- If there is time, you could ask PGandE to leave some length
of trunk on a couple of the trees so that woodpeckers could use them for
nesting and roosting. A 12 or 15 foot stump isn't much of a hazard I
don't think. Woodpeckers need dead wood and these practices insure that
they don't have the habitat they need!
Good luck,
Leda Beth Gray.
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 16:28:08 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] County birds
All,
In my note this morning I should have said Hall's Valley Lake (or Grant Lake
per Birding at the Bottom of the Bay). It's on the left after you pass the
main entrance to Joseph D. Grant Ranch County Park.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 4:11 PM, 12/10/98
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 17:26:17 1998
Subject: [SBB] Harlan's Hawk
Today, 10 Dec. 1998, there was an adult Harlan's (Red-tailed)
Hawk sitting in a tree south of the Trimble Ave. overcrossing of the
Guadelupe River. It is probably the most "textbook" example I have
seen. It is all dark, except for a "dirty" white tail with a hint of
rufous on a speckled black sub-terminal band. It has a white speckling
accross the chest and whitish facial feathers. Its a very beautiful
bird. It may have been in the area for some time, one of our biologists
reported a dark bird with a white tail about 3 weeks ago sitting in the
same tree.
Tom Ryan
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From email@hidden Thu Dec 10 23:45:05 1998
Subject: [SBB] Calero Reservoir & Almaden Lake
Howdy South-bay-birders,
Today (December 10th) among the many ducks at Calero Reservoir there
were 26 COMMON MERGANSERS. Other birds seen there included 16 LEAST
SANDPIPERS, 2 DUNLIN, and 10 BONAPARTE’S GULLS. On Almaden Lake
there were 120-plus HERRING GULLS along with larger numbers of
CALIFORNIA GULLS and lesser numbers of RING-BILLED GULLS. Along the
Guadalupe River near the SCVWD Pond there were 2 COMMON MOORHENS.
John Mariani
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 11 14:17:38 1998
Subject: [SBB] looking for SEOW
We have a friend looking to add Short-eared Owl to a state list. Anyone seen
one lately from a public trail? Sorry if I missed an earlier observations and
thanks for the help.
Janet Hanson
SFBBO
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 11 14:25:10 1998
Subject: [SBB] Various unidentifiable birds
South Bay Birders,
Al Jaramillo and I made a journey over to the Mount Hamilton area today
(Fri) to look at some Fox Sparrows, hoping (at least in my case) to get
a better sense for our "situation" in San Mateo County. We did not turn
up anything that will cause a megatwitch, but we had a good day of
looking at various things.
We started checking the chaparral on the east side of the mountain soon
after crossing the summit. We did not find as many Fox Sparrows as we
might have expected, but it was worthwhile. We had about 15 SOOTY FOX
SPARROWS in total. Most of these were pretty standard-looking, basically
the same as the majority of birds on the coast (which are not too dark,
not too light). We saw a couple of Sooties that were paler and grayer
with larger bills; these likely originated from farther north in this
group's breeding range. We did find two SLATE-COLORED FOX SPARROWS.
These were fairly normal-looking _schistacea_-types, with small bills,
yellow lower mandibles, gray heads, gray backs with a very faint hint of
streaking, fairly bright red wings and tails, and crisp, dark streaking
on the underparts. One gave its metallic, towhee-like "chink" call when
it flew in; I don't think that I personally could distinguish this from
the Thick-billed Fox Sparrows I've heard. I have encountered these
Slate-colored Fox Sparrows in San Benito and southeastern Monterey
counties as well; they seem to be widespread but not particularly common
in the inner coast ranges. Al has also banded one at CCRS. I've tried to
find these birds in San Mateo County, but I have not had any luck so
far. I'd be very interested in hearing about any sightings of
Slate-coloreds in the Santa Cruz Mountains; somewhere like Loma Prieta
might have them.
We also had a COMMON SNIPE at a little pond east of the summit. We did
not see a whole lot in the valley or a little way down Del Puerto, but
we stopped and hung out with a big mixed blackbird flock at the cattle
feeding area a few miles south of the Junction for a while. Among
various interesting blackbirds in this flock were one male and one
female "regular" RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, likely of the northwestern race
(at least the bright female). These are not too rare down here, but they
often go unnoticed. On the way back over the mountain, we had a very
crisp, clean HAIRY WOODPECKER with strikingly white underparts and back.
This could have represented one of the "other" races, but we did not get
to study it for very long.
On the way home, we stopped at the Palo Alto Duck Pond to look at the
weird Mew/Ring-billed-type thing. We found it immediately and were able
to study and photograph it at close range for quite a while. I strongly
recommend taking a look at this bird to anyone who has not already
checked it out. It is quite a shocking gull. Steve and Al have already
described it well and pointed out that is either a Mew x Ring-billed
hybrid or a Kamchatka Gull showing some unusual characters. The
Ring-billed-like calls, the fact that the mantle seems very slightly
paler than our Mew Gulls, and, of course, the pattern on P8 would seem
support the hybrid theory, but it seems best to refrain from pinning an
identification on it until we can obtain more information on calls and
variation in Kamchatka Gulls. In the meantime, go take a look at it and
get lots of flight photos. It's quite an educational bird, whether it
ever gets identified or not.
Bert McKee
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 11 15:39:43 1998
Subject: [SBB] creek walks
Yesterday, 10 Dec 98, on my walk along Coyote Creek south of Hellyer, I
had a WINTER WREN. Also had an OAK TITMOUSE singing its spring song as
well.
Today, 11 Dec 98, I found an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER along the creek. Two
pairs of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS were having a discussion over territory.
Also, the EASTERN PHOEBE was in Shady Oaks Park, right near the blue
jungle gym, chasing a BLACK PHOEBE and doing its circular tail-wagging
thing.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Fri Dec 11 16:35:30 1998
Subject: [SBB] composite list
DECEMBER 11, 1998 SANTA CLARA COUNTY YEAR LIST UPDATE
With three weeks until New Years Day we are sitting at 298 species for
the year. Oldsquaw and Red Crossbill would do it...but perhaps the
Xmas counts will turn up something much more surprising!
Mike
P.S. Some advice from Kendric:
[To make the columns line up, please copy this list to a word processor, and
change the font to a monospaced font (Monoco, Courier, etc.), and set the
right hand margin to 7.5 inches.]
________________________________________________________________________
Recent progress of the composite list:
297: 11/ 1/98 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER
298: 11/19/98 HEERMANN'S GULL
Please send any additions, corrections, or comments to Mike
Rogers, email@hidden.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY YEAR LIST - 1998
SCR MMR MJM COMP SOURCE
377 264 254 247 298+ICGU
% OF COMPOSITE FOR 1998
% OF 377 (Iceland Gull not counted)
Red-throated Loon 2/16 2/ 8 2/ 8 SBT
Pacific Loon 2/21 SBT
Common Loon 2/ 8 2/11 2/14 1/ 2 AVe
Pied-billed Grebe 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Horned Grebe 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Red-necked Grebe 1/ 2 1/16 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Eared Grebe 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Western Grebe 1/ 2 2/11 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Clark's Grebe 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Northern Fulmar
Sooty Shearwater
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Brown Booby
American White Pelican 1/ 2 1/16 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Brown Pelican 7/ 3 1/ 6 2/ 8 1/ 4 JMa
Double-crested Cormorant 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Brandt's Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Magnificent Frigatebird
American Bittern 1/16 11/28 2/28 1/15 CWh
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Great Egret 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Snowy Egret 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Little Blue Heron 5/ 7 8/21 4/29 PJM
Cattle Egret 1/ 2 4/24 4/26 1/ 2 SCR
Green Heron 1/ 6 2/11 2/13 1/ 1 DJC
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
White-faced Ibis 8/16 8/ 6 8/ 8 8/ 6 RWR
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Tundra Swan 1/ 2 1/ 7 1/ 3 1/ 1 CKS,JML,DJC
Greater White-fronted Goose 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Snow Goose 1/ 2 1/19 1/ 3 1/ 2 SCR
Ross' Goose 2/ 8 1/19 1/16 1/16 MJM
Brant
Canada Goose 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Wood Duck 4/21 4/11 1/18 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Green-winged Teal 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Mallard 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Northern Pintail 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Garganey
Blue-winged Teal 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Cinnamon Teal 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Northern Shoveler 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Gadwall 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Eurasian Wigeon 1/26 2/24 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
American Wigeon 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Canvasback 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Redhead 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Ring-necked Duck 1/ 2 1/ 7 1/31 1/ 1 m.ob.
Tufted Duck 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Greater Scaup 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Lesser Scaup 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Oldsquaw
Black Scoter 3/ 8 3/ 2 3/ 8 3/ 1 JMe
Surf Scoter 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
White-winged Scoter 2/11 1/ 6 2/13 1/ 6 MMR
Common Goldeneye 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Barrow's Goldeneye 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Bufflehead 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Hooded Merganser 1/ 4 2/28 2/28 1/ 1 AVe,CH,NLe
Common Merganser 1/ 2 1/ 7 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Red-breasted Merganser 1/16 2/11 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Ruddy Duck 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Turkey Vulture 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
California Condor
Osprey 3/ 2 1/19 1/18 1/17 JMa,JLa
White-tailed Kite 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 2 SCR,MJM
Bald Eagle 2/ 8 2/16 1/16 SGu
Northern Harrier 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1/ 2 1/19 4/26 1/ 2 SCR
Cooper's Hawk 1/ 2 1/ 6 2/22 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk 1/ 2 1/16 1/ 3 1/ 1 DJC
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Ferruginous Hawk 1/ 2 1/19 1/ 2 SCR
Rough-legged Hawk 1/ 3 1/ 3 SCR
Golden Eagle 1/ 6 1/ 7 1/17 1/ 1 DJC
American Kestrel 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Merlin 1/ 9 2/ 9 1/ 3 1/ 2 fide CKS
Peregrine Falcon 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Prairie Falcon 3/ 4 10/31 10/17 1/25 NLe
Ring-necked Pheasant 1/ 6 1/13 2/22 1/ 6 SCR
Wild Turkey 3/16 4/11 4/ 5 1/ 1 JMa
California Quail 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/18 1/ 1 SCR,DJC
Mountain Quail 6/11 5/13 MLF
Yellow Rail
Black Rail 1/12 1/12 2/ 8 1/ 9 VTi,RWR,FVs
Clapper Rail 1/12 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Virginia Rail 1/ 2 1/12 1/31 1/ 2 SCR
Sora 1/ 2 1/16 2/ 8 1/ 2 SCR
Common Moorhen 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
American Coot 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Pacific Golden-Plover 7/27 7/26 7/25 AME
American Golden-Plover 9/19 NLe
Golden-Plover sp 8/16
Snowy Plover 5/13 6/14 4/19 TRy,SSa
Semipalmated Plover 1/ 6 4/24 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Killdeer 1/ 1 1/ 7 1/18 1/ 1 m.ob.
Mountain Plover
Black Oystercatcher
Black-necked Stilt 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
American Avocet 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Greater Yellowlegs 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Lesser Yellowlegs 1/ 6 4/24 8/ 1 1/ 6 SCR
Solitary Sandpiper 4/19 PJM
Willet 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Wandering Tattler
Spotted Sandpiper 4/27 2/ 8 2/16 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Whimbrel 1/ 6 1/ 6 2/ 8 1/ 4 CKS,JML
Long-billed Curlew 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Hudsonian Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit 10/ 2 10/ 2 SCR
Marbled Godwit 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Ruddy Turnstone 7/24 8/24 4/28 RWR
Black Turnstone 10/ 2 10/ 2 SCR
Red Knot 1/ 6 8/24 1/ 6 SCR
Sanderling 5/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 6 MMR
Semipalmated Sandpiper 7/ 4 8/22 7/ 4 SCR,NLe
Western Sandpiper 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Least Sandpiper 1/ 2 1/ 6 2/14 1/ 1 AVe,CH
White-rumped Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper 9/27 8/ 9 8/ 1 DWe,TGr
Pectoral Sandpiper 9/14 9/16 7/26 7/26 MJM
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Dunlin 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Curlew Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper 8/16 8/18 8/16 8/16 SCR,MJM
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Ruff 8/ 3 8/ 6 8/ 1 8/ 1 DWe,TGr
Short-billed Dowitcher 1/ 6 1/ 6 4/26 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Long-billed Dowitcher 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 2 SCR,MJM,AVe
Common Snipe 1/ 5 10/12 3/ 8 1/ 1 DJC
Wilson's Phalarope 6/16 7/10 6/13 6/12 BMc
Red-necked Phalarope 6/30 8/ 4 4/17 4/17 MJM,AVE,FVs
Red Phalarope 2/11 2/ 8 2/ 8 SBT
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger 9/18 9/18 9/17 SMi
Long-tailed Jaeger
Laughing Gull 6/22 DSt
Franklin's Gull 6/ 9 6/10 6/13 5/13 RWR,FVs
Little Gull 4/28 4/29 4/28 4/28 SCR
Black-headed Gull
Bonaparte's Gull 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Heermann's Gull 11/19 11/19 SCR,DJ
Mew Gull 1/ 2 1/19 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,TGr
Ring-billed Gull 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
California Gull 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Herring Gull 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Thayer's Gull 1/ 2 1/16 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
??Iceland Gull 1/16 1/16 SBT,SCR,AJa,MH
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1/18 3/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Western Gull 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Glaucous-winged Gull 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,TGr
Glaucous Gull 1/ 6 2/24 1/ 6 SCR
Black-legged Kittiwake
Sabine's Gull 8/18 FB,JMS
Caspian Tern 4/17 4/11 4/11 4/ 2 RWR
Elegant Tern 9/ 3 9/ 1 8/ 8 NLe
Common Tern 9/ 3 9/23 5/15 SBT
Arctic Tern
Forster's Tern 1/ 6 2/ 8 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Least Tern 7/ 2 7/ 7 7/ 3 7/ 2 SCR
Black Tern 5/ 7 4/29 9/18 4/28 TGr,JSt,RWR
Black Skimmer 1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Common Murre
Ancient Murrelet
Cassin's Auklet
Rock Dove 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Band-tailed Pigeon 1/ 1 3/27 3/15 1/ 1 SCR
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Greater Roadrunner 11/21 4/19 SMi
Barn Owl 4/19 1/ 9 4/26 1/ 9 MMR,RJe
Flammulated Owl
Western Screech-Owl 11/15 6/ 2 4/26 1/ 1 JMa
Great Horned Owl 1/14 4/25 3/22 1/ 1 DJC
Northern Pygmy-Owl 1/ 1 11/14 4/12 1/ 1 SCR,JMa
Burrowing Owl 1/ 5 1/20 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Long-eared Owl 11/14 11/14 10/11 RHu
Short-eared Owl 10/ 2 3/ 7 RiC
Northern Saw-whet Owl 4/26 1/ 1 JMa
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill 9/30 4/26 4/26 MJM,GKH,DSt
Black Swift
Chimney Swift
Vaux's Swift 4/13 4/25 4/25 4/12 DPo,SMi
White-throated Swift 1/18 1/21 2/22 1/ 8 RWR,FVs
Black-chinned Hummingbird 5/ 6 5/ 8 4/18 4/16 CCRS
Anna's Hummingbird 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Costa's Hummingbird 6/ 8 6/ 8 SCR
Calliope Hummingbird 4/19 4/19 SCR,HLR,RPR
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird 3/16 4/ 8 4/ 5 3/16 SCR
Allen's Hummingbird 3/ 4 4/11 3/15 1/25 AME
Belted Kingfisher 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/17 1/ 1 DJC
Lewis' Woodpecker 11/21 1/ 6 NLe,RWR,FVs
Acorn Woodpecker 1/ 1 1/ 6 2/28 1/ 1 SCR,JMa,DJC
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1/ 2 1/ 1 CKS,JML
Red-naped Sapsucker 11/15 1/ 6 1/ 6 MMR
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1/ 2 1/ 7 1/17 1/ 1 m.ob.
Williamson's Sapsucker
Nuttall's Woodpecker 1/ 2 1/ 7 1/ 3 1/ 2 m.ob.
Downy Woodpecker 1/ 1 3/ 4 1/ 3 1/ 1 SCR,CKS,JML
Hairy Woodpecker 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 SCR,JMa,DJC
Northern Flicker 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Pileated Woodpecker 6/11 4/12 4/12 MJM
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4/26 5/ 6 4/25 4/16 JCo
Western Wood-Pewee 4/26 4/25 4/25 4/19 JDa
Willow Flycatcher 5/28 8/29 6/12 5/28 SCR
Least Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher 4/30 4/11 4/11 4/11 MMR,MJM
Dusky Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 3/28 3/27 3/18 1/ 4 CCRS
Black Phoebe 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Eastern Phoebe 1/ 2 3/ 4 3/ 1 1/ 2 SCR
Say's Phoebe 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/18 1/ 2 SCR
Ash-throated Flycatcher 4/14 4/25 4/26 4/ 8 RWR
Tropical Kingbird 10/26 KG
Cassin's Kingbird 5/ 4 4/11 4/11 3/ 1 DRo,RCa
kingbird sp. 2/ 8 AGu
Western Kingbird 3/16 4/ 8 4/11 3/16 SCR
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Horned Lark 3/16 4/26 3/15 1/25 AME
Purple Martin 5/14 RCi
Tree Swallow 1/18 1/19 3/ 1 1/17 LCh
Violet-green Swallow 2/ 5 1/19 2/22 1/18 JDa
Nor. Rough-winged Swallow 2/ 8 2/25 2/28 2/ 8 SCR
Bank Swallow 7/ 2 5/26 NLe
Cliff Swallow 3/ 2 3/ 1 3/ 8 2/26 TRy
Barn Swallow 1/ 2 1/19 3/ 1 1/ 2 SCR
Steller's Jay 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/17 1/ 1 m.ob.
Western Scrub-Jay 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
Yellow-billed Magpie 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
American Crow 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Common Raven 1/ 1 1/ 5 2/13 1/ 1 m.ob.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1/ 1 1/16 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
Oak Titmouse 1/ 3 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 CKS,JML,DJC
Bushtit 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
Red-breasted Nuthatch 9/27 11/15 4/12 1/ 1 JMa
White-breasted Nuthatch 1/ 3 1/ 6 1/13 1/ 1 DJC
Pygmy Nuthatch 1/ 1 4/12 1/ 1 SCR,JMa
Brown Creeper 1/ 1 4/25 1/17 1/ 1 m.ob.
Rock Wren 3/ 16 1/19 1/13 1/13 MJM
Canyon Wren 1/ 1 JSa,HGe
Bewick's Wren 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
House Wren 3/29 4/ 8 4/ 5 3/21 LAY
Winter Wren 1/ 1 10/12 4/ 4 1/ 1 SCR
Marsh Wren 1/12 1/12 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
American Dipper 4/11 3/29 TGr
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1/ 2 10/ 1 10/17 1/ 2 SCR
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4/26 3/27 3/29 1/ 5 CJC
Western Bluebird 1/ 2 1/ 6 2/16 1/ 1 DJC
Mountain Bluebird 1/17 JLu
Townsend's Solitaire 5/ 6 5/ 3 MHa,DHa
Swainson's Thrush 4/30 5/ 6 5/ 9 4/ 2 PMB
Hermit Thrush 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/13 1/ 1 SCR,JMa
American Robin 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/13 1/ 1 m.ob.
Varied Thrush 1/ 1 10/31 11/ 1 1/ 1 SCR
Wrentit 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/17 1/ 1 SCR,JMa,DJC
Northern Mockingbird 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Sage Thrasher 4/ 7 BWe
Brown Thrasher
California Thrasher 1/ 1 1/ 6 2/28 1/ 1 SCR
Red-throated Pipit 9/26 NLe
American Pipit 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing 1/ 2 1/14 3/28 1/ 1 JMa
Phainopepla 11/15 4/18 1/ 6 NLe,RWR,FVs
Northern Shrike 11/15 11/14 11/14 11/14 MMR,MJM
Loggerhead Shrike 1/ 1 1/19 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
European Starling 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Bell's Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Cassin's Vireo 4/26 4/11 4/12 4/ 5 LAY
Plumbeous Vireo
Hutton's Vireo 1/ 1 1/19 1/ 3 1/ 1 SCR,JMa
Warbling Vireo 3/28 3/27 3/29 3/18 AME
Red-eyed Vireo
Tennessee Warbler 9/28 9/28 9/28 SCR
Orange-crowned Warbler 1/ 4 1/24 3/ 1 1/ 4 SCR,CCRS
Nashville Warbler 4/14 4/25 9/20 4/12 JMM
Virginia's Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler 1/ 4 4/11 4/25 1/ 4 SCR
Chestnut-sided Warbler 9/27 10/ 7 10/10 9/27 SCR
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Black-throated Gray Warbler 4/30 4/25 4/ 5 1/ 9 SBT
Townsend's Warbler 1/ 1 3/27 3/15 1/ 1 SCR,JMa,DJC
Hermit Warbler 4/26 4/ 4 2/ 1 AVe,CH
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Prairie Warbler 1/ 4 1/17 1/ 4 SCR
Palm Warbler 1/ 4 1/13 1/ 4 SCR,HLR
Blackpoll Warbler 9/23 9/16 10/10 9/14 CCRS
Black-and-White Warbler 11/ 1 EA
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird 6/ 7 SRo,KVV
Northern Waterthrush 9/23 8/29 8/30 8/29 MMR
Kentucky Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler 4/26 4/25 8/30 4/19 NLe
Common Yellowthroat 1/ 4 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 2 MJM
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler 3/28 3/27 3/22 3/22 MJM
Yellow-breasted Chat 5/ 6 5/ 3 CCRS
Summer Tanager 9/17 JMa
Scarlet Tanager
Western Tanager 4/24 4/26 4/25 1/23 RWR
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 10/10 10/ 7 10/10 5/25 KCo,MWr
Black-headed Grosbeak 4/ 8 4/11 4/11 4/ 5 VTi
Blue Grosbeak 5/ 6 5/11 4/19 4/19 MJM
Lazuli Bunting 4/19 4/26 5/ 3 4/19 SCR
Indigo Bunting 7/18 AJa
Passerina sp. 4/10 4/10 SCR
Dickcissel
Green-tailed Towhee 9/28 CCRS
Spotted Towhee 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 SCR,JMa,DJC
California Towhee 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/13 1/ 1 m.ob.
Rufous-crowned Sparrow 1/ 2 4/ 8 4/11 1/ 2 SCR
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow 4/27 4/26 3/31 GFi,MPl
Clay-colored Sparrow 10/22 10/26 10/24 10/22 SCR
Brewer's Sparrow 9/15 9/11 NLe
Black-chinned Sparrow 5/23 JGa
Vesper Sparrow 9/15 9/15 SCR
Lark Sparrow 4/ 8 1/19 1/ 4 1/ 4 MJM
Black-throated Sparrow
Sage Sparrow 11/14 11/14 4/12 AME,DPo
Lark Bunting 9/16 9/16 MMR
Savannah Sparrow 1/ 2 1/12 1/ 4 1/ 1 DJC
Grasshopper Sparrow 4/10 6/ 2 4/10 SCR
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 1/ 9 fide AME
Fox Sparrow 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Song Sparrow 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Lincoln's Sparrow 1/ 2 1/13 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH
Swamp Sparrow 1/ 2 12/ 3 10/17 1/ 2 SCR
White-throated Sparrow 10/ 6 3/29 1/15 AJb
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
White-crowned Sparrow 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Harris' Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 3 1/ 1 m.ob.
Lapland Longspur 11/ 8 NLe
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Tricolored Blackbird 1/ 2 1/14 4/11 1/ 2 SCR
Western Meadowlark 1/ 2 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 DJC
Yellow-headed Blackbird 5/ 4 9/16 10/ 5 4/ 4 NLe
Brewer's Blackbird 1/ 1 1/ 4 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Great-tailed Grackle 5/25 5/28 5/30 5/25 SCR
Brown-headed Cowbird 1/ 2 1/16 1/18 1/ 1 AVe,CH,DJC
Hooded Oriole 3/29 4/24 4/26 3/21 AWa
Baltimore Oriole
Bullock's Oriole 3/28 4/ 8 3/22 3/19 GHa
Scott's Oriole
Purple Finch 1/ 1 3/27 2/28 1/ 1 SCR
Cassin's Finch
House Finch 1/ 1 1/ 6 1/ 2 1/ 1 m.ob.
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin 1/18 10/31 11/ 1 1/ 9 TGr
Lesser Goldfinch 1/ 1 1/13 1/ 4 1/ 1 m.ob.
Lawrence's Goldfinch 5/ 5 4/26 4/26 1/ 6 NLe,RWR,FVs
American Goldfinch 1/ 1 1/ 7 1/20 1/ 1 m.ob.
Evening Grosbeak 10/31 LCh
House Sparrow 1/ 2 1/ 6 2/22 1/ 1 CKS,JML,DJC
Observer codes: m.ob.-many observers, AGu-Arnel Guanlao, AJa-Al
Jaramillo, AJb-Alberta Jasberg, AME-Al Eisner, AVe-Ann Verdi, AWa-Alan
Walther, BMc-Bert McKee, BWe-Bruce Webb, CCRS-Coyote Creek Riparian
Station, CH-Caralisa Hughes, CJC-Chuck Coston, CKS-Chris Salander,
CWh-Clark White, DHa-David Haveman, DJ-Dave Johnston,DJC-Don & Jill
Crawford, DPo-David Powell, DRo-Don Roberson, DSt-Dick Stovel,
DWe-Dave Weber, EA-Ernie Abeles, FB-Florence Bennett, FVs-Frank
Vanslager, GFi-George Finger, GHa-Garth Harwood, GKH-Grant Hoyt,
GLB-Gloria LeBlanc, HGe-Harriet Gerson, HLR-Heather Rottenborn,
JCo-Jack Cole, JDa-Jim Danzenbaker, JGa-Jim Gain, JLa-Jolene Lange,
JLu-John Luther, JMa-John Mariani, JMe-John Meyer, JML-Jeanne Leavitt,
JMM-John & Maria Meyer, JMS-Jean-Marie Spoelman, JSa-June Santoro,
JSt-John Sterling, KCo-Kitty Collins, KG-Ken Goss, KLP-Kathy Parker,
KVV-Kent Van Vuren, LAY-Amy Lauterbach & James Yurchenco, LCh-Les
Chibana, m.ob.-many observers,MH-Matt Heindel, MHa-Merry Haveman,
MJM-Mike Mammoser, MLF-Mike Feighner, MMR-Mike Rogers, MPL-Marjorie
Plant, MWr-Marti Wright, NLe-Nick Lethaby, PMB-Phyllis M. Browning,
RCa-Rita Caratello, RCi-Rich Cimino, RCo-Rita Colwell, RHu-Ralph
Hunter, RiC-Richard Carlson, RJe-Richard Jeffers, RLe-Rosalie
Lefkowitz, RPR-Rebecca Paige Rottenborn, RWR-Bob Reiling, SBT-Scott
Terrill, SCR-Steve Rottenborn, SGu-Stephan Gunn, SMi-Steve
Miller,SRo-Steve Rovell,SSA-Susan Sandstrom, TGr-Tom Grey, TRy-Tom
Ryan, VTi-Vivek Tiwari, WGB-Bill Bousman
SANTA CLARA COUNTY YEAR LIST HISTORY
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 HIGH
COMP 278 295 303 293 296 305 305
SCR 279 291 262 251 268 291
MJM 234 250 265 242 253 276 276
MMR 214 234 254 271 257 258 275 275
MLF 136 183 199 209 215 235 194 165 218 265 265
WGB 216 228 245 170 245
AME 240 220 219 231 240
KLP 232 232
RWR 204 201 203 228 228
TGr 189 211 211
CKS 185 195 186 195
GLB 190 190
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 12 12:08:08 1998
Subject: [SBB] Shoreline
Jack Cole led our Saturday morning bird walk out at Shoreline today. We had
a some good sitings for this time of year including a BROWN PELICAN in
Shoreline Lake, (11) BLACK SKIMMERS on the island in Charleston Slough, a
LESSER YELLOWLEGS in the Forebay (which was feeding right along side a
GREATER YELLOWLEGS) , and a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE in Shoreline Lake.
Pat Curtis
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 12 14:07:21 1998
Subject: [SBB] Some Alum Rock Park birds
All,
On Friday (12/11) in Alum Rock Park I saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet in the
playground area with a mixed flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Townsend's
Warblers. Today (12/12) during the SCVAS field trip we had a Lincoln's
Sparrow near the top of the Weather Loop portion of the North Rim Trail and a
pair of Winter Wrens behind the Visitor Center.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 1:56 PM, 12/12/98
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 12 15:23:35 1998
Subject: [SBB] Fisherman's Wharf birds...
A bit north of South Bay, but some interesting birds...
Unfortunately, since we were Christmas Shopping, we were sans
binoculars. Walked the bay from Pier 39 to the Maritime museum and
back today. Saw one winter plumage yellow-billed loon among the boats
near Aliotos, but he went out of view fairly quickly after we saw
him. Two or three Western Grebes sprinkled around the area, and two
brown pelicans. In amongst the many gulls were a few weird ones --
coming home and looking them up, they had to be immature Heermans
(but it seems quite late for them to be hanging around this far
north?) -- three or four amongst the flocks near the sea lions, and
the black legs were unmistakable.
Also saw a small group of comorants that I don't believe were the
double-crested, but couldn't get a definitive ID. Might have been
pelagic, since they were smaller, but I can't say for sure. Another
unsure was out far enough to not get a clear view, but was a clearly
delineated black/white bird. Too large for a bufflehead, might have
been a goldeneye. It was bathing, so I could see lots of movement but
nothing definitive. (memo to self. never leave home without the
binoculars)
Finally, over the Maritime museum, seen in sillouette, was a common
raven. Definitely not a crow, too large, and had the proper tail
conformation.
chuq (memo to self. always carry the stupid binoculars... grin)
Oh, one more, this one local. We've had a Northern Flicker take up
residence in the neighborhood. I've seen it on top of a dead, huge,
pine tree three times now, twice for over half an hour. This is near
Central park in Santa clara, near the Swim center. The pine is easily
visible from the park (it's 50-70' tall) in the housing area east of
the park (side away from kaiser)
--
Chuq Von Rospach (Hockey fan? )
Apple Mail List Gnome (mailto:email@hidden)
Plaidworks Consulting (mailto:email@hidden)
+
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 12 15:52:08 1998
Subject: [SBB] Grace's Warbler - Monterey Co.
Hi Birders -
This morning around 10:45 or so, Bob Tintle, with his Audubon field trip
group, found a female type GRACE'S WARBLER at Jacks Peak County Park just
east of Monterey. The bird was seen for a few minutes before it flew off
and out of sight. This is a first for Monterey County. The bird was
seen flying in to a large flock of mostly TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS. Bob said there were also two HERMIT WARBLERS in
the flock. The bird was looked for from about noon till 3:00 PM but not
refound.
Jacks Peak County Park is located off of Highway 68 (between Salinas and
Monterey). From Highway 68, take Olmsted Road south about a mile. Turn
left on Jacks Peak Road and drive all the way up to the top. An entrance
station is located at the top. They charge $3 on the weekends. After
paying, turn right and drive to the parking lot. Take the trail on the
inland side of the parking lot up the hill past the water tank and almost
to the top of the hill. The bird was originally seen in the dead pine
tree there.
On another note, another Monterey birder, Paul Eastman, found a male
VERMILLION FLYCATCHER at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in Merced
County. He said it was about 1/4 mile past the last viewing platform on
the loop road. It was sitting on the fenceline and flew off.
Steve Rovell
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Dec 12 19:39:34 1998
Subject: [SBB] Sat birds
In the morning, I saw a first-winter Glaucous Gull at the Fremont Lagoons.
There was also a third-winter Glaucous x Herring hybrid and an adult
Peregrine. At Ed Levin, I saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker.
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 09:08:29 1998
Subject: [SBB] Evening Grosbeaks
Hi all,
There must be something about our yard that Evening Grosbeaks
find attractive. We had a pair for a weekend in May '96, and now we
have two once again. They spent about an hour yesterday
afternoon, and they are hanging out with the HOFIs this morning.
As this is Dec, I wonder if they might settle in for awhile.
Another noteworthy observation yesterday AM was a House Wren
that flitted about in the back yard for a few minutes, giving me good
looks. It had the patterned breast of a young bird, no detectable
supercilliary stripe.
------------------------
George Oetzel
Menlo Park, CA
650.854.2385
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 13:29:33 1998
Subject: [SBB] Townsend's Warbler
Yesterday I "did" La Rinconada Park in Los Gatos again. I am exaggereating,
but there seemed to be a 100 Townsend's Warblers along the pathway
intermixed with some yellow-rumps. Had a Calif Thrasher too.
gloria leblanc
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 14:32:21 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Various unidentifiable birds
Bert McKee wrote:
>
> I'd be very interested in hearing about any sightings of
> Slate-coloreds in the Santa Cruz Mountains; somewhere like Loma
> Prieta might have them.
I had a winter bird along San Francisquito Creek in SCL (Palo
Alto) and SM (Menlo Park) Counties several years ago. That's
the only one I've seen near the Santa Cruz Mountains, I think.
> On the way home, we stopped at the Palo Alto Duck Pond to look at the
> weird Mew/Ring-billed-type thing. We found it immediately and were able
> to study and photograph it at close range for quite a while. I strongly
> recommend taking a look at this bird to anyone who has not already
> checked it out. It is quite a shocking gull. Steve and Al have already
> described it well and pointed out that is either a Mew x Ring-billed
> hybrid or a Kamchatka Gull showing some unusual characters. The
> Ring-billed-like calls, the fact that the mantle seems very slightly
> paler than our Mew Gulls, and, of course, the pattern on P8 would seem
> support the hybrid theory, but it seems best to refrain from pinning an
> identification on it until we can obtain more information on calls and
> variation in Kamchatka Gulls. In the meantime, go take a look at it and
> get lots of flight photos. It's quite an educational bird, whether it
> ever gets identified or not.
This bird is certainly strange, and it may very well be something other
than a pure Mew Gull (Larus canus brachyrhynchus). However, I've never
been comfortable eliminating the possibility that it is an aberrant Mew
Gull. I must admit that I'm ignorant of the differences in calls between
Mew and Ring-billed. If the bird gives calls unlike a Mew, and if we know
that these calls differ consistently and diagnostically between Mew and
other forms such as Ring-billed and Kamchatka (L.c. kamschatschensis)),
then the bird is not a Mew Gull.
Several characters are bad for Mew Gull, but I don't think that they
eliminate that form. Since I first saw this bird, I've looked at a
number of Mew Gulls fairly carefully, and the eye color, overall size,
head shape, bill size and shape, and the moderately well-defined dark
ring on the bill can be found on a few Mew Gulls (the size and shape
of Mew Gulls in particular show tremendous variability). I have not
yet found a Mew Gull that combines all these features as the Palo Alto
bird does, again suggesting that it is not a pure Mew, but I think it
is possible that a Mew could show these characters.
The mantle of the Palo Alto bird does seem a bit paler than on a typical
Mew. I have not paid much attention to variation in this character on
adult Mew Gulls, but it does vary to some extent. Tove (1993) found no
difference in average mantle color or range of mantle color between Mew
and Kamchatka Gulls, although Common (L.c. canus) and Ring-billed Gulls
were paler. Johansen (1961 fide Carey and Kennerly 1995) and Grant
(1986) indicated that adult Kamchatka Gulls have darker mantles on
average than Mew and Common Gulls. So if the mantle of this bird is too
pale for Mew (which I have doubts about), that would be a strike against
Kamchatka.
The first year the bird was at Palo Alto, I got very good, close, sharp
photos of the wingtip, both from above and below. I hope to get these
scanned so that I can post them to a web page (or maybe just send them
to this list attached to a message?). The wing pattern is unusual because
it does not fit the expected pattern of either a Mew or a Kamchatka Gull,
and perhaps this is a point in favor of a hybrid (although based on wing
pattern alone, I don't think Mew x Ring-billed is favored over Mew x
Kamchatka).
The wingtip of the Palo Alto bird does show more black than is typically
present in the wingtip of a Mew Gull, in part because the Palo Alto bird
had more extensive black and less white subterminally on p8. On a
typical adult Mew Gull, p8 has (from tip to base) a small white apical
spot, then a subterminal black area, then a fairly large white patch,
then a long medium-gray base. The subterminal black area often extends
much farther toward the base on the outer web than on the inner web,
often extending past the white patch on the outer web. At the same time,
the white patch between this black and the gray base is usually more
extensive and more prominent on the inner web; Grant shows this effect
fairly well on page 56 and 220. On eight photos of Mew Gulls that I
have in front of me (not including the Palo Alto bird), the length of
the black area comprises about 20-65% of the length of p8 visible beyond
the greater coverts, although on most of these birds (including those
with the most extensive black), much or most of this black is only on
the proximal portion of the outer web. On one photo of Kamchatka Gull
and six of Common Gulls (which are supposed to be similar to one another
in terms of the amount of black on p8), this black extends 70-100% of
the visible portion of p8, at least as seen along the outer web on the
upperwing. On most of these Common and Kamchatka Gulls, this black is
present throughout most of both webs of p8, whereas on the Mew Gulls
having extensive black on the outer web, the portion of the outer web
along the shaft and the inner web are mostly pale. On the Palo Alto
bird, the subterminal black mark extends 75% of the length of p8, but
about half of this black consists of only a narrow sliver along the
outer edge of the outer web. Therefore, p8 of the Palo Alto bird had
the general pattern of a Mew Gull except that the black was more
extensive. I also looked at the portion of the feather that is
extensively black on both webs (between the white apical spot and the
more proximal white patch) as a percentage of the total feather length.
This black area comprised 35% of the length of p8 on the Palo Alto bird,
compared to <20-25% on eight Mew Gulls.
So, the Palo Alto bird does have more extensive black on p8 than should
be present on a Mew Gull. However, there is another reason why this
bird has such extensively black-looking wingtips. The mirror on p9 is
much smaller than that on p10 and is smaller than is typical for any L.
canus. The area that on most Mew Gulls would be occupied by a large
white mirror has only a small mirror and increased black. I think that
the small size of the p9 mirror is as much responsible for the extensivel
black appearance of the wingtip as is the extent of black on p8. The
reduced white mirror on p9 might suggest the influence of RBGU genes,
but again, I have seen a few otherwise typical adult MEGU with reduced
white mirrors on p9 (I have a photo of one).
The underside of the wingtip of the Palo Alto gull looks very similar
to the Common Gull in photo 85 in Grant in terms of the amount of black
on individual feathers. However, compared to other photos of Common
and Kamchatka Gulls, the Palo Alto bird definitely has less extensive
black on p8. Also, this bird has a prominent white patch between the
black subterminal area and the gray base on p8. Although Common and
Kamchatka Gulls can have these white patches on p5-7, they are
supposedly not present on p8 on Common and Kamchatka Gulls (Tove 1993,
Carey and Kennerley 1995). If this holds true of all such birds, then
it is diagnostic for Mew Gull and indicates that the Palo Alto bird
is a Mew Gull or a hybrid thereof.
Conclusion:
In terms of overall appearance, the bird is more similar to a Kamchatka
Gull than a Mew Gull, but all the features making it Kamchatka-like
(size, shape/structure, soft parts coloration) are found on at least
some Mew Gulls. The wingtip pattern is not typical of either Mew or
Kamchatka, but I think it is most similar to Mew. The pattern of p8
differs qualititatively from Kamchatka but only quantitatively (in the
extent of black) from Mew. As I mentioned previously, I don't have a
good sense of the differences in calls among all these forms, and I'd
appreciate comments from Al, Bert, and others as to how the Palo Alto
bird's calls differ from Mew Gull, how they compare to those of Ring-
billed and Kamchatka, and whether or not these differences are
diagnostic.
If the bird is a hybrid, the wingtip pattern, size, shape, eye color,
and bill pattern could result from either a Mew x Ring-billed or
Mew x Kamchatka cross. The paler mantle color might suggest the
former, although I wonder whether the mantle really is outside the
range of variation of pure Mew or Kamchatka Gull. The calls might
be important in distinguishing between these two hybrid scenarios.
At this point, I'm stumped as to the bird's true identity, and I'd
welcome any insightful commentary. As Al has suggested, it would be
interesting to get some good photos this winter to see if the wingtip
pattern has changed at all over the past two years. Hopefully I'll
be able to post some photos before long.
Steve Rottenborn
P.S. For those who have looked at the unusual Mew Gull from Kansas
at
http://www.qni.com/~epreston/birds.htm
I think that the Palo Alto bird has more black on primaries 5-7 (and
probably more on p8) than on the Kansas bird and is therefore even
less like a Mew Gull than the Kansas bird.
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 14:36:31 1998
Subject: [SBB] Brant, Tufted Duck
Today at about 12:30, a couple of us saw the both the TUFTED DUCK and the
BRANT at the Sunnyvale WPCP, on the West Pond. Both birds were toward the
south side of the pond. A EURASIAN WIGEON was also on this pond, and a
COMMON LOON and 3 BROWN PELICANS were on the next pond further west (A3W),
which is where Steve Rottenborn earlier saw the Brant.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 15:01:33 1998
Subject: [SBB] ps, weird AMWI
Along with the birds already reported at Sunnyvale WPCP today, I forgot to
mention an odd AMERICAN WIGEON, on which the white of the crown
extended all the way around the green patch on the side of the head,
replacing the usual speckled gray on the cheek.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 20:11:42 1998
Subject: [SBB] Brant, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon
South-Bay-Birders:
At about 8:30 this morning I caught up with Mike Rogers and his
girl-friend and Mike Mammoser who (all with better scopes than mine)
pointed out the location of the male Tufted Duck and Eurasian Wigeon on
the west side of the west pond of the main Sunnyvale Ponds. Soon
thereafter we all saw the Common Loon that was in the slough to the
north of the west main pond. From here we scoped Pond A3W. Not being
satisfied with distant views I separated from the others and did an
entire walking tour of pond A3W and still had not seen the Brant that
Steve Rottenborn had reported from the NW corner of Pond A3W on Saturday
the 12th. After completing my A3W tour I ran into Kent VanVuren and Tom
Grey who had thus far only seen the Common Loon. I walked Tom and Kent
back to the main west pond to show them where both the Tufted Duck and
the American Wigeon had been earlier in the day. At about 12:30 PM (all
at about the same time) Tom Grey refound the Tufted Duck and I refound
the Eurasian Wigeon, and Kent VanVuren refound the Brant in the
west-central portion of the west main pond.
>From here I returned home over Mount Hamilton to see if I could refind
the Red-naped Sapsucker at the Arnold Ranch and the Northern Shrike at
the cattle guard 0.4 mile north of the junction. Don Schmoldt had seen
the Northern Shrike at the cattle guard 0.4 mile north of the junction
on Saturday December 12th. I saw neither the shrike nor the sapsucker.
--
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 07:05:27 1998
Subject: [SBB] Grace's Warbler Update
Hi Birders -
The GRACE'S WARBLER was probably seen again on Sunday by two competent
observers, one of them yesterday's 'finder of the bird.' This time it
was "seen" by the water tank.
It is sort of like looking for a needle in a haystack. There is so much
habitat, and very little to keep the bird in the general vicinity.
To get there from Highway 68, turn south on Olmsted Road. Drive about a
mile and turn left on Jacks Peak Road. Follow this all the way up to the
top where you pay the entrance fee ($3). Turn right once you have paid
and drive to the parking lot. Looking toward the end of the parking lot,
there are two trails you can take. Take the one on the left which goes
up the hill. The leaky water tank will be on your right as you go up the
hill. The bird was originally seen near the top of the hill in a dead
pine.
Although it seems like a tough bird to find, I was very surprised to hear
that no out-of-towners were there to look. This is an exceptional record
for the Northern California region.
Steve Rovell
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 07:10:00 1998
Subject: [SBB] Monterey CBC
Hi Birders -
Just like last year, we are short of counters for the pelagic portion of
the count. So far, only four counters have signed up for the boat. The
cost is only $15! If you are at all interested, please contact me by
replying to this message. The count date is Tuesday, Dec. 29.
Steve Rovell
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 07:58:28 1998
Subject: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
I've picked up two dead PISI in the past week, and the feeding flock
has decreased from 30-40 birds to the point that I seldom see as
many as 5. I suspect that this decrease is due to a large number
dead from disease. There were reports earlier of a large number of
dead siskins in OR, presumably from salmonella.
I've discontinued one of our thistle feeders and thoroughly
disinfected the remaining small one. With the siskins gone, we
now get mostly goldfinches, which I hope will not get the disease if
the feeder is kept clean.
----------------
George Oetzel
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 08:03:32 1998
Subject: [SBB] "Junk" Bird in P.A.
While walking in my Palo Alto neighborhood on Saturday morning, I was
astonished to see a Great Blue Heron sitting on a TV antenna! (I live on
Hamilton Ave. near Embarcadero Road) He/she didn't seem to be looking at
anything in particular, just sitting. Guess this says something about
adaptability, or could it have been sick?
Nancy Teater
--
Nancy R. Teater Hamilton Communications phone: +1 650 321 0252
email@hidden http://web.hamilton.com fax: +1 650 327 4660
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 08:23:07 1998
Subject: [SBB] 9-to-5 Thieves
Folks:
The police frequently warn folks in suburbia of the nine-to-five thieves
who anticipate that people are not always at home on a workday. In my case,
the thieves at my small fish pond include GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, SNOWY
EGRET and BELTED KINGFISHER. The m.o. for the masked ardeids is to land on
the TV antenna, then the roof, and then down to the pond edge. The comets and
koi are pretty shy about these birds and most of the time we have our nets
over a good portion of the pond to discourage then. Nonetheless, they
sometimes succeed. Saturdays and Sundays, of course, are hard on these urban
thieves as more folks are home and will raise a ruckus at their incursions.
Bill
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 09:06:03 1998
Subject: [SBB] Wilson's Warbler
Hello Everyone,
On Saturday, Dec 12, while doing a dry run of my count sector for the
upcoming San Jose CBC, I found a male WILSON'S WARBLER at Berryessa
Creek Park in northeast San Jose. The park is located on Isadora Drive
off Piedmont Rd south of Cropley. The bird was seen foraging in a small
poplar next to a stand of large eucalyptus just west of the small
footbridge that crosses the creek. Now, if it will just stick around
for the SJ CBC on Dec 20.
Ann
Ann Verdi
AMD/CA Central Svc Scheduling
408-749-2199 or x42199
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 09:13:29 1998
Subject: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
George -
Your comment was very timely since I had a dead Pine Siskin on the ground
underneath my feeders yesterday. I didn't think why it might have died.
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos
>
>I've picked up two dead PISI in the past week, and the feeding flock
>has decreased from 30-40 birds to the point that I seldom see as
>many as 5. I suspect that this decrease is due to a large number
>dead from disease. There were reports earlier of a large number of
>dead siskins in OR, presumably from salmonella.
>
>I've discontinued one of our thistle feeders and thoroughly
>disinfected the remaining small one. With the siskins gone, we
>now get mostly goldfinches, which I hope will not get the disease if
>the feeder is kept clean.
>
>
>----------------
>George Oetzel
>
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>
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 09:33:15 1998
Subject: [SBB] Slate-colored Juncos
>From email@hidden Sun Dec 13 21:33 PST 1998
>
>Bert McKee wrote:
>>
>> I'd be very interested in hearing about any sightings of
>> Slate-coloreds in the Santa Cruz Mountains; somewhere like Loma
>> Prieta might have them.
>
>I had a winter bird along San Francisquito Creek in SCL (Palo
>Alto) and SM (Menlo Park) Counties several years ago. That's
>the only one I've seen near the Santa Cruz Mountains, I think.
>
My parents had two Slate-colored Juncos in the last week at
their backyard feeder in Santa Rosa. One this weekend, and a
noticeably different individual a week ago. SCJU invasion?
- Chris Salander
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 11:03:23 1998
Subject: [SBB] Alviso/SWPCP
All,
Since Bill Bousman indicated that he had received no reports of
Red-breasted Merganser yet this Fall, I decided that it was time to
check the Alviso Salt Ponds (also a good scouting trip for the San
Jose CBC). Saturday 12/12/98 Mike Mammoser and I made the bike tour
around the ponds north of the Marina. All the ducks were out on the
furthest two ponds A9 and A10, as is typical. Unfortunately, most of
these two ponds are outside the count circle.
Highlights included a male EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL on Salt Pond A9
and 3 EURASIAN WIGEON (1 imm male and a pair, including an adult male
and a female) on pond A10. The dike separating these two ponds had
one adult BROWN PELICAN and 13 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS. Unfortunately
we couldn't pick out a Tufted Duck or Oldsquaw among the hundreds of
scaup and (thousands of?) Canvasback out there. These two ponds also
had over 45 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS (only a single RBME was on A12
near the Marina), numerous COMMON GOLDENEYES, and two begging young
WESTERN GREBES on A10 (one was even fed twice by the adult). We have
had Western Grebes feeding young on the Alviso Salt Ponds in Jan/Feb
1995 and Feb 1997 as well. Who knows whether these are dispersants
from late breeding at nearby Calaveras Reservoir or something else.
Other birds of interest included 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS (one north of A14
along Coyote Slough-"Gray Goose Marsh"? and another along Alviso
Slough south of the middle of pond A11), 25 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS on
Coyote Slough, and an adult anatum PEREGRINE FALCON on a tower over
the confluence of Alviso and Coyote Sloughs. Several THAYER'S GULLS
in southeast pond A10 included a very large, pale, first-winter bird
and a very petite second-winter individual. Quite a variable species.
As Mike Feighner has already reported, a morning check of the big pond
at Sunnyvale yesterday 12/13/98 turned up 1 adult male EURASIAN
WIGEON, 1 male TUFTED DUCK coming out of eclipse plumage, and, in the
nearby channel, the immature COMMON LOON. We also had a female
RING-NECKED DUCK on the pond and 12 BROWN PELICANS here and on Salt
Pond A3W (all adults!, and outnumbering the 5 AMERICAN WHITE
PELICANS). At least 20 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS on Salt Pond A3W
included a higher proportion of adult males than at Alviso the day
before (3 out of 20 compared to 1 out of 46). A COMMON SNIPE was in
the channel with the spray machines and a BURROWING OWL was near the
entrance to the closed landfill.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 11:17:16 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
I got a letter from my seed supplier in Ceres, California who is warning
retailers about diseases spreading among pine siskins in their area. They
recommend that bird feeders stop using tray-type feeders to feed the pine
siskins. The birds often drop waste in these feeders while feeding, which
is aggravating the problem. Use only tube feeders (without a tray to catch
the falling seed) and clean them with disinfectant regularly.
I personally have had a significant drop off in the number of pine siskins
feeding in my yard. (I'm in Campbell.) I was getting up to twenty at a
time. Now I'm only getting a few. I did pick up two dead ones last week.
My neighbor mentioned that she found two as well. We thought at first it
might be a cat but now suspect otherwise.
I will be asking around to see what others are experiencing.
Pat Curtis
-----Original Message-----
From: George Oetzel
To: email@hidden
Date: Monday, December 14, 1998 9:10 AM
Subject: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
I've picked up two dead PISI in the past week, and the feeding flock
has decreased from 30-40 birds to the point that I seldom see as
many as 5. I suspect that this decrease is due to a large number
dead from disease. There were reports earlier of a large number of
dead siskins in OR, presumably from salmonella.
I've discontinued one of our thistle feeders and thoroughly
disinfected the remaining small one. With the siskins gone, we
now get mostly goldfinches, which I hope will not get the disease if
the feeder is kept clean.
----------------
George Oetzel
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 11:29:16 1998
Subject: [SBB] Dead Birds
We haven't had any dead Pine Siskins, but this week I found two of "our"
Lesser Goldfinches dead.
We use a tube feeder, but of course thistle seeds fall on the ground. I
try to keep this area cleaned up. They do eat the seeds on the ground, and
so do the doves.
Kendric
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 11:39:37 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] Slate-colored Juncos
We have had a Slate colored Junco a couple of times in the past three weeks
in our yard in Bonny Doon. I reported it on Monterey Bay Birds listserve.
Cliff Bixler
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 12:01:48 1998
Subject: [SBB] White-throated Sparrows
I currently have TWO White-throated Sparrows in my backyard feeding. On one
the white is pure white and the throat is pure white on the other one the
white looks dirty. Are you seeing them both too, Jean Dubois?
gloria leblanc
los gatos off quito
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 12:02:22 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
REPLY Re: [SBB] diseased Pine Siskins
All,
I recall reading in either Erlich's Birders Handbook, Kaufman's Lives of
NA Birds, or somewhere else, that PISI are prone to diseases at feeder
stations, and that it may be a regular occurence. I don't recall if any
particular malady was mentioned.
When I lived in Mtn. View and had PISI coming to our feeders, I recall
finding 2-4 dead birds over the duration of their appearance in a season. We
also occasionally observed a PISI appearing very ill while perched at the
feeder, slowly seeming to doze off. I assumed that it was succumbing to
its illness.
Les Chibana
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 12:50:05 1998
Subject: [SBB] HOOR in S Clara yesterday 12/13
All,
I just received a phone call from Georgann Meadows, a member from the
neighborhood of Scott & Saratoga in Santa Clara, who reports that a female
HOODED ORIOLE has visited her nectar feeder in the last 24 hours. Her views
were very close and prolonged, and she made a careful study of the bill
shape to rule out other vagrant orioles. Heads up, CBC teams!
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 13:10:25 1998
Subject: [SBB] Re: Dead Birds
While we had huge flocks of siskins, they dropped a lot of seed on
the ground which the Mourning Doves worked over with great
diligence. (How do they find uneaten seed amidst all the husks?)
I've cleaned up pretty regularly, but they've eaten a lot. Only today
did it register that we never saw more than 3 MODOs in the back
yard this weekend, vs the usual 7 to 10 at peak crowd.
The goldfinches may have been spared by the fact that the large
flocks of siskins were pretty effective at chasing them all away.
There has been a period of overlap; I hope it doesn't prove
devastating for the goldfinches (LEGO & AMGO about equally
these days).
----------------
George Oetzel
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 13:56:28 1998
Subject: [SBB] Wood Duck
Hello, the male WODU reported around 12/5 was at the Palo Alto Baylands
duck pond this Saturday 12/12 and Sunday 12/13 as well.
R. Scott Young
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 14:25:18 1998
Subject: [SBB] birds
On Saturday, 12 Dec 98, I went out on a bike trip around the Alviso salt
ponds with Mike Rogers. In the vicinity of Triangle Marsh we had about 6
NORTHERN HARRIERS, while an AMERICAN BITTERN flushed from the marsh near
the north end of salt pond A14. Among the many ducks on pond A10 was a
eurasian race of GREEN-WINGED TEAL. An adult PEREGRINE FALCON was
perched on a power tower near the confluence of Alviso Slough and Coyote
Creek. The levee separating A10 from A9 sported 13 AMERICAN WHITE
PELICANS and a single BROWN PELICAN. A9 had 3 EURASIAN WIGEONS, an
eclipse male (probably a first-winter bird, though it refused to reveal
its forewing for confirmation) and an adult alternate male with a
female. A number of WESTERN GREBES included at least 2 begging young,
and 3 CLARK'S GREBES were present as well. A second AMERICAN BITTERN
flushed from Alviso Slough on the way back.
On Sunday, 13 Dec 98, I met Mike and Alma at the Sunnyvale sewage ponds
to look for some of Steve's reported birds. BROWN PELICANS were in
evidence both at the lagoon and on salt pond A3W (I had a total of 9).
We managed to find both the adult male EURASIAN WIGEON and the male
TUFTED DUCK at the far west corner of the larger sewage pond. The TUDU
still had some dusky feathering along the top edge of the white sides,
indicative of basic (eclipse) plumage, and some brownish hint to the
back feathers (1st year bird?). The basic-plumaged COMMON LOON was in
the small pond that separates the sewage pond from A3W. We missed the
Brant, which I understand was seen later.
Afterwards I went to the Guadalupe River at the Trimble Ave crossing,
where I got a good, though brief, scope view of the HARLAN=92S HAWK south=
of the bridge. Its markings were consistent with the bird that had shown
up the previous 2 winters.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 14:49:30 1998
Subject: [SBB] BRANT, EUR WIGEON
All,
Today 12/14/98 over lunch I headed to Sunnyvale to see if the Brant
had remained on the main pond there. I climbed the dump and scoped
from there, finding an adult PRAIRIE FALCON perched on the nearby
tower and the adult male EURASIAN WIGEON along the southern edge of
the main pond. Also saw Nick Lethaby returning from walking around
the ponds. Nick had seen the wigeon and the Brant along the western
edge of the main pond, and I was subsequently able to refind the BRANT
in the same area. Many BROWN PELICANS still around, including an
immature today.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 15:15:33 1998
Subject: [SBB] Snow Goose & GWF Geese
Today (14 dec 98) I observed a lone SNOW GOOSE and 2 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE at the ponds north of the corner of Metcalf and
Monterey Highway. Also here were COMMON MERGANSER, COOPER'S HAWK, and
several GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and BLACK-NECKED STILTS.
Good birding,
Tom Ryan
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 14 16:25:51 1998
Subject: Re: [SBB] 9-to-5 Thieves
By an odd coincidence, we just encountered one of Bill's "urban thieves"
in our own backyard. Within our backyard's corner water garden, we have a rivulet that flows into a small fish pond. Most noteworthy of the recent visitors to this area, was a Cedar Waxwing bathing party that made excellent use of the rivulet.
On Sunday, we saw something entirely different. Instead of sighting the expected passerines, I witnessed a towering white Great Egret scarfing down one of our goldfish. As I called to my husband, the snacking intruder flew out from the middle of the pond and alighted on the top rail of our redwood fence. As it remained perched on the fence, the egret's yellow eyes peered at us from across the pond. Obviously, the egret was hoping that we would leave so that it could continue to dine on our hapless fish. After I slid open the door to the backyard, the white marauder gave up its pursuit and fled.
BTW Bill, what kind of netting do you use to screen out the "thieves"?
Gina Sheridan
Santa Clara
email@hidden
At 08:23 AM 12/14/98 -0800, email@hidden wrote:
>Folks:
>
> The police frequently warn folks in suburbia of the nine-to-five thieves
>who anticipate that people are not always at home on a workday. In my case,
>the thieves at my small fish pond include GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, SNOWY
>EGRET and BELTED KINGFISHER. The m.o. for the masked ardeids is to land on
>the TV antenna, then the roof, and then down to the pond edge. The comets and
>koi are pretty shy about these birds and most of the time we have our nets
>over a good portion of the pond to discourage then. Nonetheless, they
>sometimes succeed. Saturdays and Sundays, of course, are hard on these urban
>thieves as more folks are home and will raise a ruckus at their incursions.
>
> Bill
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 16 00:55:43 1998
Subject: [SBB] Birds in south San Jose, Calero Reservoir
Howdy South-bay-birders,
Today I saw a STELLER'S JAY and a couple of ACORN WOODPECKERS along
Clematis, off Camden Ave. near Blossom Hill. The Jay in particular
seemed kind of out of place in this suburban neighborhood on the valley
floor, but maybe the conifer and live oak plantings create good habitat
them. Along the Guadalupe River near the SCVWD Pond there were still 2
COMMON MOORHENS, also a COOPER'S HAWK, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and OAK
TITMOUSE (which considering the habitat along the levee also seemed kind
of out of place).
Near Calero Reservoir in the late afternoon I watched a
WHITE-TAILED KITE and 2 AMERICAN KESTRELS simultaneously attacking a
perched RED-TAILED HAWK, all taking turns swiping at its head with their
talons. A MERLIN was seen flying very fast and away over the reservoir.
John Mariani
email@hidden
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 16 07:17:39 1998
Subject: [SBB] Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon. no Brant
All,
Yesterday (12/15), Frank Vanslager and I saw the partial eclipse plumaged male
TUFTED DUCK and the male EURASIAN WIGEON in the large West Pond of the
Sunnyvale Water Treatment Plant. We were unable to locate the BRANT in either
of the ponds, Salt Pond A3W, the various channels or in Guadalupe Slough. It
is highly recommended that a scope be used when looking for the TUFTED DUCK or
the wigeon as the ducks are very skittish (you would be to if you were hunted)
and are most likely to be as far away from you as they can get.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 7:05 AM, 12/16/98
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From email@hidden Wed Dec 16 10:00:20 1998
Subject: [SBB] Siskins irrupting in CA
Thought you might like to know about this, if you don't already.
Allison Wells
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Ithaca, NY
Pine Siskins Irrupting in West
Early Project FeederWatch results indicate that this winter, Pine Siskins
appear to be irrupting in the West, particularly in California. The map
below, created from the this year's online Project
FeederWatch results, show
many more western reports, when compared with last year's results.
Ten years of FeederWatch data indicate that Pine Siskins regularly irrupt
into southerly regions. But the continental pattern of this irruption appears
to vary. For the past several years, the irruption has occurred on opposite
sides
of the continent. Last year, siskins irrupted in the East; this year, the
irruption appears to be in the west. But in 1988, FeederWatchers observed
an irruption of
Pine Siskins across the entire continent. Why did this pattern change? Will
it change
again?
The continued monitoring of winter bird populations by
Project FeederWatchers will help us find out.
The Breeding Bird Survey and Project FeederWatch indicate that Pine Siskin
populations are declining in the Northwest. We are already hearing reports
of massive
Salmonella outbreaks in the Northwest. FeederWatchers can help us monitor
the outbreak
of this deadly wild bird disease.
Visit the Project FeederWatch web site at
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
>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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden (H) email@hidden
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
http://www.sfbbo.org
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From email@hidden 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@hidden (H) email@hidden
>San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
>http://www.sfbbo.org
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>
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From email@hidden 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.
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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--
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
http://home.pacbell.net/redknot
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From email@hidden 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.
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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.
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
Alpine Road
Menlo Park, CA
Scott Spencer, Menlo Park, CA
email: email@hidden (spouse: email@hidden)
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From email@hidden 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@hidden.
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
Thanks, Gary Meyer
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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?
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Dec 28 15:44:00 1998
Subject: [SBB] Tufted Duck At Sunnyvale WPCP
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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
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From email@hidden 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 , as this is a
relative's address.)
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
http://www.sfbbo.org
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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.
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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@hidden
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From email@hidden 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
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From email@hidden 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
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