Parent
From email@hidden Fri Jun 01 09:09:58 2001
Subject: [SBB] Birders for Montebello?
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My companions for Montebello OSP (for Palo Alto Summer Bird Count) had to
drop out.
I am on my own for this area, as of now.
Would someone like to join me ( Black-chinned Sparrow!)?
Please let me know ASAP.
Thanks,
Vivek
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 01 13:20:30 2001
Subject: [SBB] Lewis's Woodpecker at Loma Prieta
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All,
This morning Frank Vanslager and I had an adult Lewis's Woodpecker that
eventually was in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. When Frank first
found the bird it was in a brown topped evergreen tree about 100 yds. west of
the "Martin snag" (near where the area has been cleared to build a new home).
(The "Martin snag" is located northeast of where the paving used to end on
Loma Prieta Rd.) After some time the bird slowly worked it's way southeast
(toward us) flying from snag to snag and spending several minutes on each
snag (but always staying on the north side of the ridge line and in Santa
Clara County). Eventually it flew around us to the south (we were on the
highest point on the ridge line, i.e., the county line) and into Santa Cruz
County. It continued out over the road and then seemed to me to turn back
toward the north (I thought into the valley) and flew below our line of
sight. We were never able to refind it. At one point a Hairy Woodpecker
landed on the same snag and fairly quickly moved toward the LEWO but then
when only about foot it away stopped and flew away. We had a few distant
swallows but no Purple Martins and no Black-chinned Sparrows.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 1:21 PM, 6/1/01
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 01 16:03:36 2001
Subject: [SBB] Admin message
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Just to let you know that if you want some administrative assistance
over the next 3 weeks, please use the list owner message and not my
personal address.
Thanks.
--
Les Chibana
List Bureaucrat
South-Bay-Birds List
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 01 16:11:37 2001
Subject: [SBB] test - please discard
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 02 10:38:48 2001
Subject: [SBB] Oka Ponds / Los Gatos Creek Osprey
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Good Morning All...
Ran over to Oka Ponds this morning around 7:15 and found CASPIAN TERNS flying
over the ponds. The PIED BILL GREBE in the third pond along the freeway side
is till incubating. A pair of CANADA GEESE with 8 Goslings where a delight.
There was a BELTED KINGFISHER at the bridge for quite sometime.
On the Los Gatos Creekside, I had the pleasure of seeing, 2 GREAT BLUE
HERONS, 2 GREEN HERONS, SNOWY EGRET, GREAT EGRET. Lots of CLIFF SWALLOWS,
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and only 2 BARN SWALLOWS. CASPIAN AND FORSTER'S TERNS
over the ponds on the Los Gatos Creek Trail side. A surprise was that there
were only 2 COOTS and 2 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS today. The fledging
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and CALIFORNIA TOWHEES were begging for food.
On the way back to the car I decided to change my route and walk across the
bridge and then make a left onto the dirt path and walk back up the Los Gatos
Creek on my left and the ponds/freeway on my right. On the Los Gatos Creek
side I found SONG SPARROWS singing their little hearts out. A beautiful
OSPREY flew overhead towards the Los Gatos Creek Dell Avenue Ponds. As I
walked down the path, much to my surprise I found an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER.
I watch it for a while and noticed it flew to another Ash-throated
Flycatcher in the trees in the center of the creek. A new bird for my Oka
Ponds/Los Gatos Creek list. I was thrilled. A COOPER'S HAWK was flying low
and headed over the freeway.
All and all pretty nice birding for June....Wishing you all good birding.
My best regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 02 11:51:06 2001
Subject: [SBB] Frenchman's Meadow, Stanford
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A nestling RED-TAILED HAWK, with the body feathers apparently all in, was
up on the side of the nest this morning -- with one of the adults there at
the same time teaching wing stretching and flapping. A PACIFIC-SLOPE
FLYCATCHER has been regularly at the bend in Gerona Rd. HOODED ORIOLES are
back to chasing around in the meadow (presaging a second clutch?) and I've
seen a juvenile HOOR at our hummingbird feeder a couple of blocks away.
-- Tom Grey Stanford Law School email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 02 13:03:49 2001
Subject: [SBB] Breeding, etc @ "My Farm"
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Since I'm spending half of my time in San Diego and half here I was disappointed I couldn't help on the Breeding survey. I had just an hour for birding....my results.
@ "My Farm" (La Rinconada Park)
The pair of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS are feeding young. They are in and out of their birdhouse every few minutes. It's not the birdbox I reported on before, but the one closest to the creek by the fence and the house.
The nest of BUSHTITS near there hateched, but the babies didn't make it...lots of feathers on the ground. However, another family of BUSHTITS with very, very young birds was by the chain link fence along the walk.
A couple of baby WESETERN SCRUB JAY's were begging on the 2nd bridge.
A CALIFORNIA TOWHEE was busy carrying nesting material.
ETC>
The saddest part was the lack of ACORN WOODPECKERS. Wonder where they went?
At the first bridge I saw 2 BROWN CREEPERS, 2 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, a DOWNY WOODPECKER, 5 OR 6 NUTTALL'S all on the same large oak tree at the same time!!!!
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos off Quito
www.wallstreetgifts.com
"largest selection of Wall Street inspired gifts"
www.cowscowscows.com
"internet store of the Chicago (Cows on Parade) and NYC (CowParade)
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 02 15:09:10 2001
Subject: [SBB] INBU at Windy Hill
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Hi all,
After the completion of the scheduled Audubon Field trip to Skyline Ridge
OSP, Lead by R.Reiling, several members of the group tried for the INdigo
BUnting at Windy Hill on Hwy 35. We were delighted to have several views of
it perched on thistles close to the road. Later it began chasing a LAzuli
BUnting. I'll leave the trip highlights to RReiling. He files a good report
and leads a good trip. Thanks, Bob and Frank Vanslager for an interesting
day birding.
Karl Fowler
We change best when
we learn from the past and
plan for the future,
while enjoying the present. _SJ
_______________________________________________________
Send a cool gift with your E-Card
http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 02 16:32:47 2001
Subject: [SBB] YellowBreasted Chat
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I have just joined the list and excited to be hearing what's going on around
the south Bay. My daily walk is in Uvas Preserve in Gilroy. Three times
since May 21 I've spotted a yellow breasted chat, and have been fairly
certain I have heard a chat 3 or 4 other times, including this morning. For
those of you familiar with the preserve, the sightings have been near the
southerly prolongation of Wren Avenue at Uvas Creek.
Other interesting birds in the preserve are yellow warblers (lots), black
headed grosbeaks, wrentits, ash throated fly catchers, beswicks, nutalls, 3
or 4 kinds of swallows, thrashers (singing again - second mating this
spring?), fledging kestrels this morning and two Pacific Slope flycatchers
yesterday. It's a beautiful place to walk, and for out of towners, there
are restrooms at adjacent Christmas Hill Park.
Sue Kruse, Gilroy CA
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 10:37:12 2001
Subject: [SBB] RE: Bayshore Ash-throated Flycatcher in Redwood City
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Greetings SBB birders,
Yesterday, with my Acalanes Bird Class (Contra Costa Co.), I visited Redwood
Shores to view the nesting Egrets at the Redwood City Wastewater Treatment
Plant. Several Snowy Egrets were on eggs at stage 1 (no young visible yet)
in the gum trees (Eucalyptus) around the plant periphery; and the west pond
had Gadwal and Mallard ducklings with one 1/3 grown Avocet near the access
road. Nesting Forster's Terns, Avocets, and Black-necked Stilts are easily
viewed from the city streets.
While observing a Whimbrel (late) from the southeast levee (at the gated off
- - under construction) end along the opposite (south) mudflat shore, Sandra
Wilson found an Ash-throated Flycatcher foraging from and near the Plant
cyclone fence - - apparently several miles from suitable habitat along the
foothills of the Santa Cruz Mts.
Also, impressive to us, were the dozens of Double-crested Cormorant (and a
few Great Blue Heron) nests on the Power Towers to the southwest.
Happy Birding,
Phil Gordon, Instructor
Hayward
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 15:55:45 2001
Subject: [SBB] ERLCP - Logger-head Shrikes
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Good afternoon all;
We did our usual weekly Bluebird trail monitoring, and worked our "farm" at Ed
R. Levin County Park this morning. The day was nearly perfect (temperature
and climate wise), and got better with our finding two Logger-head Shrike
nests! We only got a mediocre species list with 72 entries. But finding
these and other nests made up for that little disappointment.
Finding the two LOSH nests did indeed make up for the meager count. The first
nest was the most interesting in that the adults had caught and stashed a
small mouse on a strand of barbed-wire in true "Butcher-bird" fashion (a
European naming variant on this bird). We found the stashed mouse because of
the LOSH activity nearby. A quick check of the mouse found it still
warm--freshly dead. Given that the head was already gone, we decided that
there would be little benefit from mouth-to-mouse resuscitation, so we left it
for our feathered hunters.
As we watched, the adults took turns tearing off pieces and ferrying them to
their youngsters. They fed those pieces to 3 nearly ready to fledge
hatchlings still in their nest a few meters away. They constantly hooked and
unhooked the mouse, as they turned and maneuvered it for better purchase or
leverage for better tearing. The young were given surprisingly large
pieces--fur and all, which they in turn fought over as soon as the adults
would leave for more mousy morsels...
Sometime later, about a kilometer away, we found a second nest that was
apparently already in the process of disgorging its brood. Two of the young
were already out, following one parent around begging for food. One of the
last three was out of the nest, and begging hard from the other parent, but
still in his tree. And the last two were standing on the rim of their nest
looking somewhat forlorn... Their begging cries went unheeded, as the three
newly mobile young got the lions share of attention. In an effort to take
something from the parent, the third character seemed to fall/flutter off of
his perch and out of the tree. I had intended to capture and return it to the
safety of the branches. We got some good long looks at it from less than a
meter's distance. But as I got to within a hands width or so, it flew safely
back into the branches--thank goodness! A short while later, it flew the
several hundred meters needed to join its siblings on the golf course fence.
Other interesting observations, all three dove instantly out of sight into a
nearby tree when a TUVU made an overhead approach apparently in violation of
some unspoken separation or interval and spacing rules. This must be an
instinctive reaction, as I saw no indication of the adult doing likewise (no
monkey see, monkey do opportunity). The fourth joined them a few moments
later. And the fifth about 20 minutes after that. Last we saw of them they
were a mobile cacophony of begging and squabbling as they followed their
beleaguered parents about...
L8r all,
Dusty Bleher
San Jose, Ca.
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 17:02:39 2001
Subject: [SBB] Arastradero, Sunday
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I had to miss the BBC yesterday, but I went around the Preserve this morning to see what was there a day after. I usually just walk up and back on the Corte Madera Trail, but this morning did a loop of Perimeter, Acorn, and Corte Madera. First notable thing was a pair of adult BULLOCK'S ORIOLES feeding young in a eucalyptus where the Perimeter skirts Arastradero Rd. Then in the woods by the dry creek where the Perimeter meets the Acorn, there were two BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, a pair of WARBLING VIREOS chasing around (double clutching?) with the male uttering fragments of song, and a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE singing. Up near the top of the ridge on the Acorn were more BGGNs, another singing WWPE, and two juvenile WESTERN BLUEBIRDS with a pair of adults. Along the Corte Madera there was a singing HOUSE WREN, another singing WARBLING VIREO, and a GREEN HERON was at the Lake. There were ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS at various points along the way, one WHITE -THROATED SWIFT overhead, and I !
saw fo
ur swallow species, missing Rough-winged (which however can be seen at the 280 underpass). I again saw a juvenile WHITE-TAILED KITE. Again, no sight or sound of Red-shouldered Hawks again. I haven't seen/heard any Flickers around my regular haunts this year -- is there a shortage?
Tom Grey
Stanford Law School
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 21:14:24 2001
Subject: [SBB] Hayward Shoreline
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The following was seen today
Black Skimmer - 5, only 1 nesting pair
Eared Grebe - 3 pair of adults with young
Cattle Egret - 1, I have not seen the other adult in several weeks
Blue-winged Teal - 1, this is the first one this summer, following last
years
sighting of adult female with ducklings.
Good Birding
Bob
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 21:18:52 2001
Subject: [SBB] Indigo Bunting
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An indigo bunting, several lazuli buntings, and a hybrid indigo x lazuli
bunting were all seen this (Sunday, june 3rd) afternoon at Windy Hill along
the anniversary trail between the two parking lots on Skyline Blvd. Bob
Juhl used his Swarovski spotting scope and hand-held my Sony Mini-DV
camcorder up through it and took some video of the Indigo bunting. You can
view this video at my web site:
http://pages.zdnet.com/brookemiller/brookesbirds/. This is one of our first
attempts to shoot video through the spotting scope.
Brooke Miller
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 03 22:46:55 2001
Subject: [SBB] Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon, Saturday, June 2nd
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Howdy South-bay-birders,
On Sat., June 2, we had a class field trip to Mines Road and Del Puerto
Canyon. We started at 7am near Livermore, and ended the day near I-5 at
about 3pm. Fortunately our trip coincided with a cooling trend, so the heat
wasn't as bad as expected.
We parked along Mines Road at about 5.4 miles, and walked up the road to
milepost 5.75. In this area we had WESTERN KINGBIRD, ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHER, 10+ PHAINOPEPLAS, 2 CALIFORNIA THRASHERS, WESTERN BLUEBIRD,
RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, 2 LARK SPARROWS, and BULLOCK'S ORIOLES. The
Phainopeplas and thrashers were feeding in elderberry bushes (some with
berries already ripening) above the road right at milepost 5.75. The
Rufous-crowned Sparrows and Bullock's Orioles gave us really nice looks,
especially the male oriole, which at one point decided to perch atop a rock
below us.
Later, many miles farther south (in Santa Clara Co.), we saw a SAGE
SPARROW where a chaparral covered slope faces the road on the right. At
Digger Pine Ranch, about 0.8 mile north of San Antoinio Junction, we found
WESTERN POND TURTLE, PIED-BILLED GREBE, a singing DARK-EYED JUNCO, and a
female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD feeding a fledgling. No Lawrence's Goldfinches.
At the cattleguard 0.5 mile north of San Antoinio Junction we saw a distant
LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, a fly-by PHAINOPEPLA, and heard a single SAGE SPARROW
singing.
We arrived at San Antonio Junction at about 11am. The feeders were being
mobbed by a horde of ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, but no other hummingbird species
joined them while we were watching. Other birds seen there included 1-2
GREEN HERONS (commuting back and forth), KILLDEER (looking a little out of
place in blue oak woodland), and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. At the nearby fire
station we saw another fly-by LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, WESTERN
KINGBIRD, HOUSE SPARROWS, and a BREWER'S BLACKBIRD feeding a fledgling.
Again, no Lawrence's Goldfinches.
A couple of birders from San Francisco came by and told us that they had
seen a pair of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS along San Antonio Valley Road just south
of the junction, and suspected there to be a nest there. We went to check it
out, and immediately found the pair of woodpeckers where there is a little
building and pole on the left (from the junction it is less than .5 mile to
this spot; park near the first road on the right, and the little building is
immediately ahead on the left). The woodpeckers may have a nest in a tall
oak there.
After that we backtracked and turned onto Del Puerto Canyon Road, where
I saw another LEWIS'S WOODPECKER fly to a tree just a short distance past
the junction.
At about 10 miles from I-5 we stopped to check the sheer cliff beside
the road. The COMMON RAVEN nest on the cliff face held 3 young birds, fully
feathered and about ready to fledge. There was a RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW
singing near the nest, but we didn't find Costa's hummingbird or Canyon Wren
there. At 9.0 miles we saw another GREEN HERON.
We made stops to look for reported Costa's hummingbirds and Cassin's
Kingbirds, but without luck. We had been told about a Blue Grosbeak sighting
earlier in the morning at milepost 3.0, but when we reached this desolate
looking spot there were no grosbeaks to be found. We did get nice views of
HORNED LARK there, and while searching the gully near the cattleguard we got
to see a female COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD.
After the rest of my group headed for home I went back to try for a
couple of birds that we had missed. While rechecking the creek at 3.5 miles
I spotted a male BLUE GROSBEAK atop one of the cottonwoods. Then I heard a
CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, and found it upslope in an oak (across from a
20-mile-per-hour sign). I think there may have been 2 Cassin's in the oak,
but I never got a look at the second bird it was interacting with. Other
birds found in the same area included a pair of BELTED KINGFISHERS, WESTERN
KINGBIRD, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, SAY'S PHOEBE, LARK SPARROW, and BULLOCK'S
ORIOLE. At 3.7 miles I spotted a male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD perched atop a
bare cottonwood limb. Now why couldn't these birds be at their posts when we
were looking for them earlier?
Earlier in the week I visited Almaden Lake Park. There I saw several
COMMON MERGANSERS resting on rocks near the footbridge, and counted about 30
FORSTER'S TERNS. A female BULLOCK'S ORIOLE was feeding a fledgling near the
restrooms on the east shore of the lake.
John Mariani
email@hidden
www.birdswest.com
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 01:23:45 2001
Subject: [SBB] PILEATED W. at M'bello OSP
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Thanks to folks who responded to my plea for count partners for Montebello
SBC.
The final team included Steve Miller, Mary Murphy and George (didn't note
last name).
We had some good birding on a nice day. 5 miles, 5hrs 40 min, 53 species.
Highlight was a PILEATED WOODPECKER, first heard, then seen on a snag down
in
Stevens Creek Canyon, seen from the trail below the parking lot, just east
of the vista point sign.
Also, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWs (counted 4 as heard, with one seen singing)
2 CHIPPING SPARROWs, and 1 LARK SPARROW.
Several LAZULI BUNTINGS and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERs.
Dipped out on Black-chinned Sparrow, though we spent an hour in the chappral
on Indian Creek Trail, west of Black Mtn. Even played some tape.
Vivek
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 03:47:20 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
On Saturday, 2 Jun 01, I helped on the Palo Alto summer bird count, working
the levee areas between the Sunnyvale sewage ponds and Stevens Creek.
A single WHITE-THROATED SWIFT was in the swallow flock over the old landfill
at the sewage ponds. A RING-NECKED PHEASANT called from the fields adjacent
to Lockheed. A GREEN HERON was perched on a power tower along the channel
adjacent to the old landfill. Some interesting ducks, all in the ponds on
Lockheed property, included 2 male NORTHERN SHOVELERS, a pair of NORTHERN
PINTAIL, and a female AMERICAN WIGEON. Two pairs of LESSER SCAUP were in the
channel next to the western-most sewage pond. This channel also contained
large number of RUDDY DUCKS including broods of 11, 12, 4, and 2. A CASPIAN
TERN flew by over the large sewage pond. Along Guadalupe Slough a male
NORTHERN HARRIER carrying a rodenty thing called in a high thin tone,
bringing a female out of the vegetation. She took the prey from him and
returned out of sight to the weeds, probably to a nest. Salt pond A3W
contained an EARED GREBE, a WESTERN GREBE, and 2 CLARK'S GREBES. Scoping
across this salt pond, I saw 4 BROWN PELICANS on a levee in pond B2.
Moving over to Stevens Creek, I had 2 RING-NECKED PHEASANTS and 11 LESSER
SCAUP in Crittenden Marsh. A total of 20 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were seen
overhead. At the mouth of Stevens Creek I had a WHIMBREL fly in on the
ebbing tide, and 3 WESTERN GULLS flew by with numbers of CALIFORNIAS.
On Sunday, 3 Jun 01, I checked out some areas in south San Jose. At the
Coyote Ranch Marsh I saw 3 male TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS, but none of the
activity that was there a couple weeks ago, when I saw females carrying in
nesting material. At Ogier Ponds I had a couple flyby TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS,
but no activity at the typical nesting site for these birds there. A male
OSPREY was perched on the usual tree adjacent to the cherry orchard. At the
northern-most pond of the Parkway Lakes chain a female OSPREY was present.
Also here was a female WOOD DUCK with a brood of 12 downy young. On the next
pond south, the one with the water ski slalom course, I had a CASPIAN TERN
and a GREEN HERON.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 15:21:44 2001
Subject: [SBB] orange bishop
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All:
While working on the Palo Alto count, Saturday, Mich Ninokata and Maria
refound Bill Bousman's Orange Bishop along Adobe Creek. It was readily
observable -- perched by the bike path about half way between the Bayshore
Freeway and the pumphouse with the Cliff Swallow nests.
Yours, John Meyer
* * * * * * * *
John Meyer, Dept of Soc, Stanford U, Stanford, CA 94305, 650-7231868
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 17:53:38 2001
Subject: [SBB] SCVAS Skyline Ridge OSP field trip
--------
All,
Saturday's (6/2) field trip to Skyline Ridge started well with multiple
sightings of Common Raven, a Purple Finch, an Ash-throated Flycatcher,
White-throated Swifts and later two Vaux's Swifts. The area just south of
Alpine Pond yielded Orange-crowned Warblers, good views of a foraging female
Black-headed Grosbeak and an adult male Purple Finch singing from the top of
a fairly low tree in the bright sunlight was a good chance for all to make
note of the unstriped undertail coverts. A short time later a family group
of three Hutton's Vireos was well seen as it foraged high in the Oaks, only
an occasional song revealing it's presence. A little further on, as we
walked out onto the open hillside, Frank Vanslager immediately picked up the
call of distant Lazuli Buntings which were subsequently found by one of our
sharp-eyed birders on trees and bushes in the valley below us. All had good,
but distant views of the beautifully marked males. The rest of the trip up
Ridge Trail was fairly uneventful from a birding standpoint but did yield
spectacular scenery including a view of waves breaking on the beach many
miles to the west. Shortly after crossing over the ridge line to the north
an adult male Black-throated Gray Warbler obligingly sang as it perched near
the top of an evergreen for all to see. As if not to be outdone a Spotted
Towhee, which had been hiding and singing nearby, flew to the top of an Oak
tree so that he might also be well seen. Later we had close-in views of Barn
Swallow, Violet Green Swallow and Western Bluebird near the County
maintenance facility and at the bottom of the hill, near Alpine Pond, we had
a male Cowbird, a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches, a cooperative Warbling
Vireo and a not so cooperative Cassin's Vireo (heard only). The field trip
ended with another, better sighting of an Ash-throated Flycatcher and of an
unexpected Caspian Tern which circled the pond several times before flying
on. At his point, although the trip was over, about half of the group made
the short drive west on Skyline Blvd. to a point about half way between the
two western most parking lots for Windy Hills OSP and subsequently refound
the pure bred adult male Indigo Bunting found there earlier in the week. A
relatively small total of 40 plus species was more an indication of a lack of
quantity than of quality.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 5:49 PM, 6/4/01
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 18:46:02 2001
Subject: [SBB] Palo Alto SBC, BBS route
--------
All,
On Saturday 6/2/01, I woke up early to do some owling for the Palo
Alto Summer Bird Count, meeting Grant Hoyt at 3:30am at the Page Mill
Park 'N Ride near Interstate 280. We first headed up to an area along
Skyline Blvd about a mile north of Skylonda. In response to a tape,
we tallied two NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS, one of which hovered over our
heads briefly.
Next we headed to Monte Bello OSP, where we had to hike in quickly to
reach "the meadow" before dawn. At least two NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS were
already calling when we got there just before 5am, and we had a third
bird later. Another NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL came in close at the trail
junction before the meadow, and we had 7 WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS and 5
GREAT HORNED OWLS as well. Managed to find 28 other species by the
time we made it back to the car at 6:15am, including a singing
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, a singing CHIPPING SPARROW, 4 singing
LAZULI BUNTINGS, a couple BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, and a very recently
fledged CALIFORNIA TOWHEE in the middle of the dirt road. No Virginia
Rails at the sag pond, despite taping on both the way in and out.
I then headed to the Mountain View Forebay, where taping for rails
again proved fruitless. The WHITE-FACED IBIS was still here, however,
and was seen again later by the two other parties working region 2.
The bird appeared to be an adult (although I did not scope it), in
contrast to earlier reports of a "subadult".
Following this, I birded the area around the Palo Alto Water Pollution
Control Plant at the end of Embarcadero Way. One HOODED ORIOLE, two
RING-NECKED PHEASANTS, and a CALIFORNIA TOWHEE nest with young were of
interest here. A quick check of the duck pond and the old yacht
harbor turned up a CLAPPER RAIL, 2 MARBLED GODWITS, and a LONG-BILLED
CURLEW. A half hour along San Francisquito Creek at the end of Geng
Road turned up a surprising OAK TITMOUSE (we have no breeding records
this close to the bay). Also of interest were a VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW,
2 BULLOCK'S ORIOLES, a COOPER'S HAWK, a HOODED ORIOLE feeding young,
and a female AMERICAN GOLDFINCH carrying nest material.
Along Matadero Creek I found what may have been the only migrant of
the day, a singing male YELLOW WARBLER, first in the riparian corridor
and later in the fennel to the north of the creek. There are no
breeding records from here (although the habitat is decent) and the
bird is a known late migrant. Also of interest were a GREEN HERON and
two DOWNY WOODPECKERS.
I had to take a break for my son's baseball game at 10:00am, but was
back in the field at the San Francisquito Creek delta at 2:00pm,
catching the mudflats as they uncovered. The only shorebird of
interest here was another LONG-BILLED CURLEW. Most surprising was an
immature BROWN PELICAN heading north up the bay - usually this bird
doesn't make it's way into the South Bay until the last few days of
June. Two other region 2 parties recorded them though, so it's clear
there were a few around. Two more CLAPPER RAILS from nearby San Mateo
County were notable, and two SAVANNAH SPARROWS provided the only two
of the day for me; few were found on the count. The San Mateo County
pond were the Tropical Kingbird was held a GREEN HERON and a pair of
PIED-BILLED GREBES with a nest.
Back at the yacht harbor, shorebirding had improved, with 3 WHIMBRELS
and 3 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS. The situation at the duck pond improved as
well, with the injured female GREATER SCAUP now being present with the
3 LESSER SCAUP that had been present since the morning. A very worn
first-winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was with the 310+ CALIFORNIA GULLS
and smattering of WESTERN and RING-BILLED GULLS.
Last stop for the day was Moffett Field, where highlights included 10
CINNAMON TEAL and 2 COMMON MOORHENS at the NASA settling pond by the
big yellow test stand. Over at the Moffett Golf Course I managed to
find one BURROWING OWL after extensive searching - another was along
11th Street in the Lockheed Martin facility. Also on the golf course
were four BULLOCK'S and two HOODED ORIOLES, a huge GOPHER SNAKE, and a
single adult male TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD in among a big RED-WINGED flock
(including many begging juveniles). The Tricolored Blackbird may have
been the only one found on the count.
Disturbing was no Loggerhead Shrikes reported on the entire count (at
least by those at the dinner). This species seems to be now declining
here like everywhere else. I checked many places where I have had
them in past years to no avail on Saturday.
All in all I tallied 95 species on Saturday, with 74 of these found
along the bay edge. Most abundant birds included 248 HOUSE FINCHES
and 211 CLIFF SWALLOWS. AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES seemed particularly
obvious and vocal, with 43 found throughout the day. And, of course,
there were 99 MALLARDS, 69 MOURNING DOVES, 36 ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS,
55 BUSHTITS, 25 AMERICAN ROBINS, 36 NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS, 80 EUROPEAN
STARLINGS, 33 SONG SPARROWS, 104 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, 49 BREWER'S
BLACKBIRDS, 12 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, and 55 HOUSE SPARROWS - the
stuff this count is all about :)
On Sunday 6/3/01 I again was up early (4:00am), this time to run my
breeding bird survey route in the south (mid?) county. As David
Suddjian recently summarized, these routes include 50 3-minute stops
every half-mile along a 24.5 mile route. This is the eighth year I
have run this route, which heads west along Metcalf Road, by Parkway
Lake, past Calero and Almaden Reservoirs, and ends along Guadalupe
Reservoir. Highlights among the 80 species recorded were a CLARK'S
GREBE on Calero Reservoir (also reported by Ann Verdi) and a flyover
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH over the IBM marsh on Bailey Road, both firsts for
this route for me. Other good birds included a GREEN HERON at the IBM
marsh along Bailey Road, continued increase in RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
numbers, another RING-NECKED PHEASANT in New Almaden (wild birds
here?), a WILD TURKEY heard at Calero Reservoir, 4 GREAT HORNED OWLS
at the first 3 stops, 4 HORNED LARKS (near the Metcalf Rd summit),
4 singing YELLOW WARBLERS at 4 different stops, only the second COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT I've found on the route (at the IBM marsh), 2 singing
LAZULI BUNTINGS, and 2 RUFOUS-CROWNED, 2 LARK, and 1 GRASSHOPPER
SPARROW (all at or west of the Metcalf summit).
Big misses included Common Merganser (only missed one previous year as
there is normally a brood on Almaden Reservoir), White-tailed Kite
(after a whopping 6 last year!), Western Screech-Owl (not vocal at the
first stop at 5:14am where I normally find them), Olive-sided Flycatcher
(first miss in 8 years! - normally vocal at New Almaden), Cassin's
Vireo (first miss in 8 years!, with a previous 7-year average of 3
birds), Purple Finch (missed in only one previous year), and
Loggerhead Shrike, which has now been absent for four years after
being present during the first four surveys. Also no Rock Wrens (only
seen in four of the eight years), although I did find a NORTHERN
MOCKINGBIRD doing a very good impersonation of one (the same bird was
also doing Wrentit and Yellow-billed Magpie!).
Lots of breeding activity, including the GOLDEN EAGLE nest with two
large young near Calero Reservoir.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 19:36:20 2001
Subject: [SBB] Loggerhead Shrikes
--------
I've read recent posts about these birds and thought I should post on a
spot I saw them today. It's at the SW corner of De la Cruz Blvd. and
Central Exp. There is a grass lawn there that they hunt at. I spotted
them perching on the chain link fence, a telephone wire, and a small
tree there. I saw 2. One appeared to be an adult and one was smaller.
I'm assuming its a juvenile by its fluttering it's wings in a begging
style while perched next to the adult. I did not have my binoculars with
me so these distant observations. I have seen a pair at this spot last
year too. I don't know if this location has been noted before.
~Tom Cochrane
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 04 22:16:03 2001
Subject: [SBB] Grant Ranch
--------
While at Grant Ranch on Sunday monitoring the heron colony for SFBBO, I saw
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, LAZULI BUNTING,
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and heard a singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW all near the
intersection of Quimby Road and Mt. Hamilton Road. I also observed at least
one PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER for about 30 minutes. It repeatedly flew in
and out of a yellow barn. After coming out of the barn, it would perch in
an oak tree, catch a few bugs and then fly back into the barn. Often the
bird would fly out of the barn almost immediately after flying in, making me
wonder if there were two flycatchers. However, I only saw one at any one
time. Do PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS breed in this area?
Jan Hintermeister
Santa Clara, CA
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 02:21:05 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
This morning, 5 Jun 01, I visited Uvas Creek Preserve in Gilroy, refinding
the YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT that was reported yesterday by Sue Kruse. Norma
Cabot also observed the bird with me. Other birds along this stretch of
creek included 2 singing WILSON'S WARBLERS, 5-6 YELLOW WARBLERS, a juvenile
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, a couple BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, a PACIFIC-SLOPE
FLYCATCHER, a couple ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, and a singing CALIFORNIA
THRASHER.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 02:39:31 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
I forgot to mention that I had 2-3 GREEN HERONS and a WHITE-THROATED SWIFT
along Uvas Creek in Gilroy today.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 08:45:18 2001
Subject: [SBB] Vaux's Swift
--------
Hi,
I went for a walk this morning at Oka Ponds. There were the usual
assortment of birds there, except for several Vaux's Swift flying overhead.
A couple flew quite low over me and I had good views without binoculars.
Don Ganton
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 11:01:21 2001
Subject: [SBB] Possible Rose-breasted Grosbeak
--------
Howdy South-bay-birders,
One of the people in my birding class, Allan Bernstein, reported seeing a
bird yesterday that may have been a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. He
described it as having a large pale bill, black head, and red breast. It was
at McClellan Ranch Park, atop an oak at the edge of the field just across
the parking area from the SCVAS building. We couldn't refind the bird to
confirm the I.D., and I would consider it only a possible identification at
this point, but it may be worth checking out.
John Mariani
email@hidden
www.birdswest.com
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 13:50:09 2001
Subject: [SBB] Yellow-breasted Chat & Lawrence's Goldfinches
--------
All,
This morning Frank Vanslager, Roland Kenner and I saw the Gilroy
Yellow-breasted Chat that was previously reported by Susan Kruse, thanks to
Norma Cabot who showed us where she and Mike Mammoser had seen the bird
earlier. I assume that Mike will give details in his post. The chat was
quite a skulker and after a couple brief sightings the bird stopped calling
and was not seen again even after spending an additional 35-45 minutes
looking for it. Roland decided to stayed on while Frank and I went to Canada
Rd where we found Lawrence's Goldfinches just south of Susle Lane (LAGO were
seen carrying nesting material here after a 5/9/01 SCVAS field trip to Gilroy
Hot Springs/Canada Rd). At one point after an adult male and female had been
feeding on the lawn at 3440 Canada Rd for perhaps five minutes they were
joined by a recently fledged immature LAGO. This bird was essentially gray,
black and white with the slightest hint of yellow in the wings and the outer
tail feathers were obviously shorter than the central tail feathers. Once on
the ground the bird seemed to be searching for food (it did not beg) but when
they flew off it patiently waited on a branch, by itself, trying hard to stay
awake. Earlier, further down Susle Lane, Frank had a couple Chipping Sparrows
on a fence at the end of a driveway to a home there.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 1:49 PM, 6/5/01
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 13:58:18 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Possible Rose-breasted Grosbeak
--------
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are being seen sporadically in San Francisco past three
weeks
------------ Previous Message from "John Mariani"
on 06/05/2001 11:01:21 AM ----------
To: "South-bay-birds"
cc:
Subject: [SBB] Possible Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Howdy South-bay-birders,
One of the people in my birding class, Allan Bernstein, reported seeing a
bird yesterday that may have been a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. He
described it as having a large pale bill, black head, and red breast. It was
at McClellan Ranch Park, atop an oak at the edge of the field just across
the parking area from the SCVAS building. We couldn't refind the bird to
confirm the I.D., and I would consider it only a possible identification at
this point, but it may be worth checking out.
John Mariani
email@hidden
www.birdswest.com
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 15:38:31 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Yellow-breasted Chat & Lawrence's Goldfinches
--------
For others who may come to Gilroy to see the YELLOW BREASTED CHAT/S, there is a path (actually a couple of meandering paths, on the north side of the creek between Miller Avenue and Santa Teresa Expressway with several great birding sites - - warblers, orioles, finches (including Lawrences seen here) about midway between, then closer to Santa Teresa nesting swallows (tree, cave, etc.) herons and egrets. Bluebirds and Oak Titmice nested here earlier. I've been seeing 25 to 30 different birds each morning along this stretch (a little over a mile each way). Sue
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 15:57:33 2001
Subject: [SBB] McClellan Ranch
--------
Good Afternoon All.....
After reading John Mariani's post on the possible Red-breasted Grosbeak at
McClellan Ranch, I figured I live only 15 minutes away, I would go to see if
I could locate this life bird.
I must give a warning that if you read this post any further, I can't be held
responsible for any injuries you receive from falling off your chair in
laughter.
I got to McClellan Ranch, binoculars, book and scope, ready for a challenge.
I decided to leave the scope in the car and just look around first. I walked
over by the white fence and watched male and female Bullock's Orioles. As I
started down the path, I got to the opening where you can go down into the
creek. I heard a bird call I had never heard before. Then from out of the
bush in the creek, flew a bright yellow and green bird! What is this I
thought? Can't be a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! So, I turned and focused my
binocs on this bird, and all of a sudden it flew directly at me....Darn (I
cleaned that up) it was a Parakeet. I looked around thinking someone is
playing a joke, and waiting to see my expression. When I found no one
around, I went into the SCVAS office to get the lady at the desk. She came
out and couldn't believe it either. She tried to catch it and it seems
pretty tame but she could not catch it. Well, she went back into SCVAS office
and I went in search of the Grosbeak. Upon leaving McClellan Ranch, I
checked my book on the Parakeet and it turned out to be a Budgerigar Parrot!
(I did go into the SCVAS office and show the lovely lady that in the Guide
Book it was a Parrot and not a Parakeet)
Oh, by the way, I didn't find the Rose-breasted Grosbeak! I think the
Budgerigar should be countable! LOL
Good birding to you all.
Regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 20:20:13 2001
Subject: [SBB] Canary
--------
A neighbor of mine had her 2 Cockatiels on her patio. A beautiful Canary came singing. She brought her 2 birds inside and the Canary kept coming to the window. As the day progressed and night was approaching and the canary did not leave, she got an empty bird cage, put it next to her 2 birds and opened the sliding door. The canary flew in and went into the empty cage. So she fed it. It ate and drank like it was starving. It has now been 2 weeks and no neighbor has claimed the Canary. She's advertised in the paper and no phone calls. She would like to keep it, but her husband says 2 birds are enough. She will give it to a good home. She wants no cats, no children...she's thinking an older person who would enjoy a singing companion.
If you know someone who lost a Canary near Quito in Los Gatos, contact me.
Or, if you know of someone who would thoroughly enjoy a singing Canary...pls contact me directly.
As for "my farm" I can hear the baby ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS chirping inside their box. Had a COOPER'S HAWK nearby this AM, hope she leaves!
Gloria LeBlanc
www.wallstreetgifts.com
"largest selection of Wall Street inspired gifts"
www.cowscowscows.com
"internet store of the Chicago (Cows on Parade) and NYC (CowParade)
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 05 22:16:30 2001
Subject: [SBB] A birding miscellany
--------
I don’t know when the Least Terns can first be seen
from Stevens Creek, so I went there this lunchtime. No
joy on that front but the first surprise was a Blue-winged
Teal, which I only noticed because I took a closer look
at a Cinnamon Teal. The second was a female
Bufflehead – somewhat late I thought.
I slogged round an extremely arduous 5 or 6 mile loop
of Joe Grant on Sunday for the Lewis’s Woodpeckers. No
joy again. In fact I only needed to bother with the
meadow behind the fire station, which produced a flock
of Lawrence’s Goldfinches and at least one Chipping
Sparrow along with plenty of the Bay regulars.
A quick trip round Los Trancos on Saturday gave me
views of what I at first thought was a Kestrel. It was
hovering over some tall grass but it did look too small.
Through the binoculars it did seem to be about a
Meadowlark size and shape and basically a nondescript
brown with a possible red or orange wash on the breast.
As usual with these sightings that I post the bird was
very distant, so I couldn’t say much more about it. I
figure that the hovering has to be a bit of a giveaway.
Anyone any ideas?
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 06 08:24:41 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] : Correction: Cliff
--------
Please correct my message of yesterday to read Cliff Swallows (not cave!)
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 06 14:23:18 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Indigo Bunting
--------
On Sun, 3 Jun 2001 21:18:52 -0700, "Brooke Miller"
wrote:
>An indigo bunting, several lazuli buntings, and a hybrid indigo x lazuli
>bunting were all seen this (Sunday, june 3rd) afternoon at Windy Hill along
>the anniversary trail between the two parking lots on Skyline Blvd. Bob
>Juhl used his Swarovski spotting scope and hand-held my Sony Mini-DV
>camcorder up through it and took some video of the Indigo bunting. You can
>view this video at my web site:
>http://pages.zdnet.com/brookemiller/brookesbirds/. This is one of our first
>attempts to shoot video through the spotting scope.
Very nice video!
Today Robbie Fischer and I saw the bird in the ravine just below the
two benches. We also saw an immature male at the south end of the
Anniversary Trail. This bird looked like a typical male Indigo
Bunting, but had grayish white mottling on the lower belly. It had no
trace of wing-bars. Is this the same as the bird being identified as
a hybrid? Kenneth Peterson noted a hybrid there on 19 May which had a
"white belly and the slightest hint of a light colored single wing
bar." The picture of the hybrid in Sibley shows bold white wing-bars,
which we definitely didn't see. In fact we saw no white in the wing
at all. First-year male Indigo Buntings often show grayish or whitish
bellies and that's what our bird looked like this morning. My
recollection is that the Indigo Bunting photographed in this area in
1999 had whitish undertail coverts so maybe the all blue one is the
same bird returning.
Also three to four Lawrence's Goldfinches were still along the Spring
Ridge Trail down from the northwest parking area and just uphill from
the cypress grove. Grasshopper Sparrows were numerous throughout the
area.
My map shows this area as entirely within Santa Clara County, but the
mile post markers along Skyline say San Mateo County. Who is right?
--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044: mailto:email@hidden
California Birding, mystery birds: http://fog.ccsf.org/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 06 15:30:32 2001
Subject: [SBB] Whose County, Anyway?
--------
Joe and folks:
It would be nice to include Windy Hill in Santa Clara County
when there are good birds present. But the Santa Clara border with
San Mateo is to the south. It basically strikes Skyline Boulevard
at the Alpine Road intersection and then weaves back and forth across
Skyline Boulevard as you drive south.
Bill
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 06 16:24:10 2001
Subject: [SBB] Question on Great Blue Heron
--------
Good Afternoon,
After walking Oak Meadow/Vasona this morning and finding a Swainson's Thrush,
I saw a Great Blue Heron fly out of one of the large Euc trees. With just my
binoculars I could see another large GB Heron on a nest. I went home to get
my scope and went back and found that there was a GB Heron adult standing
over two small nestlings. Their head feathers were sticking straight up in
the air. The adult Heron did not leave the nest for over two hours (I stood
there that long) and during that time a Red-shouldered Hawk circled over.
Would the Red-shouldered Hawk take a nestling that size? Also, the adult
Heron finally sat back down on the nest after standing for two hours. Could
it be possible that there are more eggs or just protecting the nestlings?
Wouldn't the nestling have to be fed often? I did look up in the nest book
that they have 3-4 eggs, but it didn't tell how far apart they hatch. How
would a person figure out how old the nestlings are? I also read in the book
they nest in colonies, this nest is by itself, is that common?
Good birding to you all.
My best regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 06 18:15:36 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sunnyvale Dump
--------
The BURROWING OWL situation at the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant
this afternoon was the same as last Wednesday afternoon: no owls on the
hill near the parking area, one owl standing on a wood post up around the
hill to the right.
A COMMON MOORHEN swam in the creek near the parking lot, as did GADWALLS and
MALLARDS. The RUDDY DUCKS in Sunnyvale seem to have the bluest bills in the
area.
On the Bay Trail a GREAT EGRET stood upon a chain-link fence post, and a
SNOWY EGRET did the same a little further down. A GREAT BLUE HERON flew
low overhead, as did a TURKEY VULTURE and NORTHERN HARRIER.
On the overgrown side trail the thistle is 6' tall and in bloom. The purple
flower looks and feels exactly like a Koosh ball! There are still a couple
of WESTERN GREBES in the pond.
Karen DeMello
(email@hidden)
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 09:32:06 2001
Subject: [SBB] Oka Ponds
--------
Good Morning All...
Parked at Oka Lane and walked into the ponds to check on the Pied-billed
Grebe nest along the walking path over highway 17. She now has five babies
and still has one brown egg, which she is incubating.
The Canada Geese have had two goslings within the last couple of days. Lots
of Canada Geese with all different age goslings.
At the bridge, in the cement wall opening is a Black Phoebe's nest in which
she is feeding young. There is an egg at the opening of the hole just
sitting on the tin. She seems to be perplexed on how it got there. She did
pecked at it a few times, but mostly flew in and out with bugs for the
nestlings.
The Swallows also nesting and feeding young in the holes in the cement wall
and under the bridge.
The best sighting was a family of four (4) Belted Kingfishers. Two adults
and two fledglings.
Good birding to you all.
Regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 10:43:34 2001
Subject: [SBB] BBS trends
--------
All,
Having tabulated my Breeding Bird Survey totals from 6/3/01, I am able
to make some interesting comparisons to the average totals from the
previous 7 years I have done this route.
The 81 species was right on the 7-year average, but the 909
individuals was the second-lowest total ever and 117 below the 7-year
average. Surprisingly few Rock Doves (3) and Starlings (32) were
tallied compared to their 7-year averages of 53.9 and 66.3 and this
explains the bulk of this decrease. Further analysis reveals some
more disconcerting numbers though (see below).
Resident species were present in numbers very close to their 7-year
averages. This list includes Mallard, California Quail, Mourning
Dove, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, White-breasted
Nuthatch, Wrentit, Northern Mockingbird, California Towhee, Song
Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, House Finch, House
Sparrow, etc. Both Steller's and Scrub Jays and also American Crow
were present in average numbers as well.
Species in above-average numbers included known expanding birds like
Red-shouldered Hawk (3 > average of 0.9) and Common Raven (3 > average
of 0.7) as well as some less explainable increases for Bushtit (22 >
average of 8.7), Hutton's Vireo (8 > 3.1), and Lesser Goldfinch (21 >
14.9). Fortunately the increase in Cowbirds was probably not
significant (11 > 9.6).
Besides pigeons and starlings, the species that appeared to be low
(at or below 50% of the 7-year average) are listed below:
6/3/01 7-yr average
Olive-sided Flycatcher 0 1.7
Western Wood-Pewee 2 6.0
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 5 8.0
Cassin's Vireo 0 3.0
Warbling Vireo 5 10.4
Orange-crowned Warbler 12 22.7
Black-headed Grosbeak 6 15.1
Western Meadowlark 14 24.3
Obviously there is a pattern here of neotropical migrant insectivores.
Not all such species are on this list, as Ash-throated Flycatcher,
House Wren, and Yellow Warbler were present in normal numbers, and
Bullock's Oriole was up slightly (15 > 11.3). But the numbers are
nonetheless somewhat disturbing. Were birds less vocal on Sunday for
some reason? - perhaps further along in their nesting cycle this year
and therefore quieter? (almost all of these species are detected
virtually only by ear). Hopefully next year's survey won't suggest
the same declines.
Mike
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 13:57:07 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] BBS trends
--------
Your flycatchers are all up here at Tahoe, enjoying the early summer. We
have numbers of Olive-sided, Pewees, Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers beyond
anything I've ever seen.
Our problem is our woodpeckers. I think they fledged so early that they are
just dispersed and hard to find -- only 1 out of 8 known past nests active
this year.
Richard C. Carlson
Full Time Birder, Biker, Skier, Hiker
Part-time Economist
Palo Alto & Lake Tahoe, CA
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 15:11:49 2001
Subject: [SBB] south bay's Caspians
--------
Here at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, June is 24/7 field work, or at least feels that way.
We just got back in from visiting a Caspian Tern colony, having kayaked to the island in a salt pond. A perfect day to get muddy and and get data! No wind, mild weather.
Scout birds came out to harass us, but most of the adults sat tight until we were about 50' away on our approach.
We censused the colony by counting nests, eggs, and of course, chicks. Just a few had already hatched and these mostly just laid low while we went about our work, treading very carefully of course. But one chick was already about a week old, and at that point they scream and run, so we temporarily stashed him in a ventilated box for his own safety, and released him (or her) just as we were stepping off. We haven't collated the data yet, but I estimate we counted ~150 nests.
We were off in less than 20 minutes and the adults returned almost immediately, settling down to incubate or shade their youngsters. Other adults began arriving with prey fish within 10 minutes.
This work is part of our 20 years of studying and protecting the Birds of the Baylands. We are coordinating with a West coast-wide Caspian tern network to monitor population dynamics and address management issues in this region. SFBBO monitors heron, egret, gull and tern nesting colonies around the south bay. Staff biologists uses this data to time colony visits to the larids, to count nests, and to look for signs of predation or disturbance and this info is used to manage habitats for birds. This year we are also the potential effects of contaminants in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service. .
Most of our data comes from restricted areas so please forgive the lack of specific locations.
This year our work is being supported by the San Francisco Foundation in addition to the many of you who support the work of the Bird Observatory. (Thanks!) Anyone can easily view active Forster's colonies at MV shoreline or at the EEC in Alviso, without any disturbance to these nesting birds.
Good birding!
Janet Tashjian Hanson
Executive Director
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
email@hidden
408/946-6548
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 15:16:27 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Question on Great Blue Heron
--------
Hello Linda -
congratulations on locating that nest - good observation!
The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory employs volunteer monitors for all
heron, egret, gull and tern
colonies in the south bay. I do believe we have observers at Vasona.
Regarding the age of the nestlings, sounds like they are approaching the
"punk rocker" stage, with the mohawk look to the head feathers, but if still
small, then maybe 2-3 weeks old. Sure, the Red-shouldered could take one,
esp. to feed its own nestlings. There may have been more eggs but probably
no more will hatch at this point, or the others were predated. Nature would
not encourage such a disparity in ages, the youngest quickly succumbing. So
further brooding would be to protect, shelter or shade the nestlings. They
do need
frequent feeding and the mate was probably away actively foraging. We see
some single nests, but it's far more advantageous to nest in colonies, for
the group effort at repelling predators. Singles have a harder time
raising chicks to fledging.
Enjoy watching the nest! just don't get too attached.....;-)
Janet
Janet Tashjian Hanson
Executive Director
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
email@hidden
408/946-6548
-----Original Message-----
From: email@hidden
To: email@hidden
Date: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 4:24 PM
Subject: [SBB] Question on Great Blue Heron
>Good Afternoon,
>
>After walking Oak Meadow/Vasona this morning and finding a Swainson's
Thrush,
>I saw a Great Blue Heron fly out of one of the large Euc trees. With just
my
>binoculars I could see another large GB Heron on a nest. I went home to
get
>my scope and went back and found that there was a GB Heron adult standing
>over two small nestlings. Their head feathers were sticking straight up in
>the air. The adult Heron did not leave the nest for over two hours (I
stood
>there that long) and during that time a Red-shouldered Hawk circled over.
>Would the Red-shouldered Hawk take a nestling that size? Also, the adult
>Heron finally sat back down on the nest after standing for two hours.
Could
>it be possible that there are more eggs or just protecting the nestlings?
>Wouldn't the nestling have to be fed often? I did look up in the nest book
>that they have 3-4 eggs, but it didn't tell how far apart they hatch. How
>would a person figure out how old the nestlings are? I also read in the
book
>they nest in colonies, this nest is by itself, is that common?
>
>Good birding to you all.
>
>My best regards,
>Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 07 22:40:04 2001
Subject: [SBB] Teal and, er, parakeets
--------
Having reported a Blue-winged Teal in Stevens Creek
earlier in the week after an absence of over a year for
me, I found two more near Sunnyvale WPCP this
lunchtime. They were in the right-hand channel leading
away from the radar tower. A few Lesser Scaup were also
loafing around there. Four American White Pelicans flew
over.
Yesterday at OSH in Sunnyvale I got a good look at
some of the feral parakeets. There were certainly Mitred
Parakeets in the flock and I fancied that one was a Red-
masked but I couldn’t see its wing coverts. Now I know
I’m really turning into a trainspotter…
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 08 10:36:52 2001
Subject: RE: [SBB] Question on Great Blue Heron
--------
Linda,
Most of the local Great Blue Herons nest in small to medium sized colonies
ranging from 3-5 to 25-35 nests. However, there are at least five locations
(including Vasona) where single nests have been found in a given year.
Several of the single nests and smaller colonies are at lakes within county
and city parks where there is high disturbance, but a lot of fish, aquatic
invertebrates & gophers.
Good birding,
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: email@hidden
[mailto:email@hidden]On Behalf Of
email@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 4:24 PM
To: email@hidden
Subject: [SBB] Question on Great Blue Heron
Good Afternoon,
After walking Oak Meadow/Vasona this morning and finding a Swainson's
Thrush,
I saw a Great Blue Heron fly out of one of the large Euc trees. With just
my
binoculars I could see another large GB Heron on a nest. I went home to get
my scope and went back and found that there was a GB Heron adult standing
over two small nestlings. Their head feathers were sticking straight up in
the air. The adult Heron did not leave the nest for over two hours (I stood
there that long) and during that time a Red-shouldered Hawk circled over.
Would the Red-shouldered Hawk take a nestling that size? Also, the adult
Heron finally sat back down on the nest after standing for two hours. Could
it be possible that there are more eggs or just protecting the nestlings?
Wouldn't the nestling have to be fed often? I did look up in the nest book
that they have 3-4 eggs, but it didn't tell how far apart they hatch. How
would a person figure out how old the nestlings are? I also read in the
book
they nest in colonies, this nest is by itself, is that common?
Good birding to you all.
My best regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 08 12:38:28 2001
Subject: [SBB] Rose-breasted Grosbeak
--------
This morning, Friday, a friend of mine living 3 miles up Black Road in the
hills behind Los Gatos, had an adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak coming to
her sunflower feeder. Of course, I hurried up and saw it about 9:30. It has
a silver band on its right leg, but we couldn't read it. Kathy Parker
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 08 15:22:38 2001
Subject: [SBB] today's tern adventures
--------
Today we censused the Forster's Tern and American Avocet colonies at pond A16, at the EEC in Alviso, a public viewing area.
We counted 381 tern nests on the four separate islands. Most nests held 2 or 3 eggs; many had newly hatched chicks. Fortunately no predators, eg gulls, were in the area and with volunteer help, we were able to move fairly quickly. A couple of us got minor head whacks, unusual for terns (routine with gulls!); but with new chicks, they were quite understandly feistier than usual. The birds resettled before we even departed the island(s).
We were harassed by a single Black Skimmer and did finally locate a scrape with 2 newly hatched chicks - by then the second bird was also in hot pursuit. They fly right at your head, then veer straight up at seeming last second. Master pilots!
The nest is on the 3rd island as you walk away from the EEC. It is tough to see from the road, since they are down in a crevice, but the attending bird's tail was visible as we prepared to leave.
The road bordering the eastern edge of this pond is teeming with Avocets, Stilts and their young of all stages, as they commute between New Chicago Marsh and the pond. If you go out, please be aware of your surroundings, that is, keep an eye out for predators and make every effort not to flush youngsters unnecessarily. Particularly try not to make the really little guys swim for it, much better if they go back into the marsh.
Good birding!
Janet Tashjian Hanson
Executive Director
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
email@hidden
408/946-6548
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 08 16:00:54 2001
Subject: [SBB] County birding
--------
All,
This morning Frank Vanslager and I birded the edges of Skyline Blvd. (the
Santa Clara County areas, of course). The area just west of Hwy. 9, about
1/2 mile past the CDF Fire Station where the trail to Table Mountain starts
was the most productive. We had Hutton's Vireo, Cassin's Vireo (most heard
only), Warbling Vireo, at least one female Western Tanager (had a nice adult
male earlier at Castle Rock), Black-throated Gray Warblers, Chipping Sparrows
, Purple Finches, Lazuli Buntings (had a mating pair at one point) and at
least one Black-headed Grosbeak (a female) among the "mentionables". Young
Chestnut-backed Chickadees were doing there Blue-gray Gnatcather type of call
while the parents were busy scolding us. It nice to be birding in the shade
on a hot morning and the trees are not so tall when your on the ridge line.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 3:48 AM, 6/8/01
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 08 17:22:23 2001
Subject: [SBB] More Question on Great Blue Herons Nest
--------
Good Evening All..
I went to Vasona to check on the nestlings around 12 noon today, and thought
I spotted a third nestling. At 12:30 Debbie Stephenson came and agreed that
there were three nestlings instead of two, with one being smaller than the
other two. At that time the adult was standing over the nestlings with its
wings extended to shade the chicks. It stood there for 3 hours. At 3 PM
another GBH flew in and relieved the one in the nest. It did not bring food.
The nestlings were calling (crying) grabbing the adults bills for food, but
there was none. The GBH that was there flew off. Around 4 PM, Debbie and I
spotted three additional GBH in another tree. They looked to be young birds
maybe 1st year birds?. Question: Could these three older 1st year GBH be the
chicks from this years birds nesting parents? Do juvenile birds come back to
help with this years nestlings? We stayed until 4:30, as we were taking our
last look, we saw that the nest did not contain an adult and we did not see
it fly off.
I would like to thank all of you who were so great in emailing answers to my
last questions. I really learned a lot and used that information to help me
understand some of the activities going on in the nest today.
Wishing you all good birding.
My best regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 09 11:04:44 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sierra Rd
--------
Hi,
This morning I took a drive up Sierra Rd from Felton Rd. I parked at the
top by the cattle shute and walked the road in both directions. It wasn't a
terribly birdy day, but I did see a good number of Horned Larks, Western
Bluebird and a singing Grasshopper Sparrow. On the way down I saw a Say's
Phoebe.
Don Ganton
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 09 12:15:22 2001
Subject: [SBB] Frenchman's Meadow. Stanford
--------
Yesterday there were two young RED-TAILED HAWKS doing the "branchling"
thing near the nest in the redwood (best seen looking west from
intersection of Mirada and Cabrillo). This morning only one.
Yesterday a female HOODED ORIOLE was constructing a second nest in the
hillward of the two palms in the meadow, and this morning she was sitting
in it, apparently incubating.
There seem to be two PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER pairs here, one that hangs
out around the curve in Gerona Rd near the play area, and the other in the
eucs at the bottom of Estudillo.
-- Tom Grey Stanford Law School email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 09 15:42:48 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sharpie
--------
They say that only a hummingbird can fly backwards. This afternoon I was
watching the French Open and saw a "flash" out my sliding glass doors. I
assumed the Sharpie who feeds in my yard was hungry. A few moments later a
Lesser Goldfinch comes flying at my sliding glass doors with a Sharpie in
hot pursuit (about 3 feet from me). The goldfinch crashed into the window,
the Sharpie went into a kiting type behavior - except vertical, not
horizontal. If I didn't know better, I'd say he backed up. He couldn't have
been further than 2 feet behind the goldfinch when the goldfinch hit the
glass. He also had excellent "brakes"!!!When the goldfinch bounced off the
glass, he grabbed it with his talons and off they went. Fascinating being so
close. The Sharpie can definately manuever.
Gloria LeBlanc
http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
"largest selection of Wall Street inspired gifts"
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 09 19:43:57 2001
Subject: [SBB] Eagle Lake 06/09/01
--------
All,
Two adult Lewis' Woodpeckers were observed flycatching from the exposed
lower branches of a large oak at the south end of Eagle Lake this afternoon.
Good birding,
Michael Wienholt
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 10 00:42:21 2001
Subject: [SBB] Northern Harrier Takes Bird in Mid-Air!
--------
While at Sunnyvale Baylands this morning, I had a very interesting NORTHERN
HARRIER encounter. Around 9:30, I saw a male harrier carrying prey. It
flew over to the side of a levee road, and proceeded to pluck and eat the
prey. When it finished its meal and took off, a little bird flew up nearby.
After a short acrobatic pursuit of 10 feet or so, the harrier reached out
and grabbed the little bird and flew off out toward the salt ponds. I
checked the harrier dining area and found the remains of a little bird. Not
enough remained for me to identify the victim. However, there were remains
(feathers only) of other birds in the same area, including large tawny
feathers from what may have been a burrowing owl. . In the same area
there was lots of coyote scat, just a guess from a non-scat expert. About
10:30 as I walked back to the parking area, I saw the harrier perched on a
fence post plucking yet another small bird. A couple BLACK-NECKED STILTS
repeatedly harassed the harrier until it flew off with its prey again
towards the salt ponds. In about an hour, this harrier had taken three
birds! The underparts were white with black tips and black trailing edge
of an adult male. It's head was gray, but the tail and back had a lot of
brown, so this may be a second-year bird. A PEREGRINE FALCON also made an
appearance, flying in from the salt ponds and soaring over the other side of
237.
Shorebirds included BLACK-NECKED STILT, AMERICAN AVOCET, GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
KILLDEER with chick, and a single DOWITCHER (sp.). Twenty-three WHITE
PELICANS flew up and over the baylands. I also had a GREEN HERON, and both
adult and juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS flew by. Ducks included
GADWALL, CINNAMON TEAL, RUDDY DUCK, and a female HOODED MERGANSER that is
still in the area.
There were lots of singing SONG SPARROWS, MARSH WRENS and COMMON
YELLOWTHROATS out in the Calabazas Marsh area. In the bayland seasonal
wetland area, I had WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, a male RING-NECKED PHEASANT and a
WHITE-TAILED KITE, as well as BURROWING OWLS.
Jan Hintermeister
Santa Clara, CA
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From email@hidden Sun Jun 10 16:45:10 2001
Subject: [SBB] misc. birds
--------
It's been a pretty good week. On Tuesday I was able to confirm a third
chick in "our" Cooper's nest in Los Altos and on Thursday I had a great
view of one chick standing right on the edge of the nest--they sure grow up
fast! I think it was Friday that I saw a Sharpie chasing something through
the Safeway parking lot in Sunnyvale, and yesterday another Accipiter,
probably a Sharpie, flying across the populated section of Calaveras road
coming home from Ed Levin.
Ed Levin itself only yielded 1 probable Red-tail at long distances and a
tiny glimpse of a possible kite--nothing like the sights in winter. But it
was a gorgeous day, and we saw several Loggerhead Shrikes in the hills
above the Wooly Lake parking lot, and a couple of likely Western Kingbirds
in the eucalyptus near the parking lot and picnic area. As we approached,
both of us saw multiple birds, including at least one very orangey
*something* engaged in a flurry with the Kingbirds. We're guessing it was
one of the Bullock's Orioles reported near there, but unfortunately it was
very shy. As for the Kingbirds, I'm a little puzzled that I saw no signs
of the white outer tail feathers--and I had a good view of the fanned tail
from beneath. But I can't make a good case for any other ID.
As we climbed the hill, the margins of the path were alive with critters
dashing to safety. Lots of lizards, and lots of a small rodent between the
size of a rat and a mouse, with no visible tail. Since there were so many
of them I'm assuming it's sheer bad luck I haven't seen these before, but
I'm still stumped about their identity. I thought maybe vole or pocket
gopher, but the pictures I've found show tails. Hmmm.
Hope everyone's enjoying the glorious weather,
Natasha
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 07:55:16 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
On Saturday, 9 Jun 01, I decided to check Matadero riparian for any possible
migrants. Nothing unusual here, but I did have 2 GREEN HERONS, 2 pairs of
YELLOW WARBLER, and a female ANNA's HUMMINGBIRD with a nest. Thenest
contained 2 half-grown young and was suspended only a foot or so above the
surface of Matadero Creek.
On Sunday, 10 Jun 01, I joined Anna Clarke and Sherry Hudson for a trip up
to Montebello and Windy Hill OSP. At Montebello we had numbers of singing
LAZULI BUNTINGS, one of the target species. About a half dozen GRASSHOPPER
SPARROWS were scattered about, with one reasonable look obtained right near
the parking lot. A family of WHITE-TAILED KITES included 2 adults and 3
immatures. Other birds included a few small flocks of BAND-TAILED PIGEON,
some singing PURPLE FINCHES, singing (but unseen) BLACK-THROATED GRAY,
ORANGE-CROWNED, and YELLOW WARBLERS, and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.
At Windy Hill we refound the male INDIGO BUNTING just across the road from
the northern-most parking lot. At the southern parking lot a singing
CALIFORNIA THRASHER was quite cooperative. SWAINSON'S THRUSHES could be
heard singing their ethereal song from down in a small canyon.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 09:05:05 2001
Subject: [SBB] El Sereno Open Space, Bald Mountain
--------
Garth Harwood may be interested in this posting in reference to his May
9th, Hidden Villa posting.
Yesterday (Sunday, June 10th), on a Santa Cruz Bird Club trip to the El
Sereno Open Space near Lexington reservoir, a Black Swift was seen by the
group, confirmed by four of the participants. It was flying with a large
mixed group of White-throated Swifts, Vaux Swifts, Cliff Swallows, and very
few Violet-green Swallows, spending most of its time more-or-less
associated with the White-throated Swifts.
Also seen/heard were California Thrashers, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Oak
Titmice, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Orange-crowned
warblers. A possible Black-throated-gray Warbler went unconfirmed as it
never truly gave its full song. Interestingly, many individual birds
(various species) were not completing or giving their full complete songs,
making it difficult for the four beginning birders along on the trip (as
well as for the leader who was trying to point out the various songs/calls
to these birders :-)). In addition, Chestnut-backed-chickadees, Bushtits,
Song Sparrows, and Oregon Juncos were all encountered. Wrentits and
Spotted Towhees were the most prevalent species calling/singing. The walk
started at 7:30 AM, but no possible Sage Sparrows were heard or seen.
The group also visited St Joseph's Open Space preserve and Bald Mountain in
the Mt. Umunhum Area. Added to the list were Nuttall's Woodpeckers,
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Bewick's Wrens, Cassin's Vireos, Black-headed
Grosbeaks, and Lawrence's Goldfinches (unsatisfactory looks).
Eric
Eric Feuss
ABTS Application Developer, Administrator
Program Management, Program Management Technologies (Team)
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Mailstop: W06, 345 Park Ave., San Jose, CA 95110
Phone: (408) 536-3050
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 10:05:34 2001
Subject: [SBB] Almaden/Quicksilver CP
--------
Hello All,
On Sunday, June 10, a morning SCVAS field trip took place at
Almaden/Quicksilver County Park. We covered the "short loop" from the
McAbee Rd entrance up Mine Hill Trail to Guadalupe Trail then over to the
Senador Mines Trail and back down again - a distance of about a mile and a
half. Within this short loop, however, we saw and heard 46 species - pretty
good for an early summer morning covering mainly oak woodland habitat only.
Most the birds seen and heard were typical of our oak woodlands -
woodpeckers, towhees, chickadees, titmouse, Bushtits, White-breasted
Nuthatches, Bewick's Wren, Hutton's Vireos, Lesser Goldfinch, jays, etc.
However, we did encounter some special birds, and here are the highlights.
We started the morning with an adult male COOPER'S HAWK flying out of the
dense foliage near the trailhead with prey in his talons. Continuing up the
hill we saw several WILD TURKEYS in the grassy meadows. Swallows swooped
overhead - mostly Violet-Green, also a few Cliff and Barn with several
VAUX'S SWIFTS in the mix. A few BAND-TAILED PIGEONS flew by overhead, but
then we also had good views of one up close and personal as it fed on
elderberries near the trail. WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were seen including several
in the rocky oak hillsides along the Senador Mines Trail. Also along
Senador Mines trail, a RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW was seen in the underbrush at
a seep area and a N. PYGMY OWL was heard by several participants. Summer
migrants seen and heard included PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, ASH-THROATED
FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. The highlight of
the morning was the discovery of a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER nest in a valley
oak at the junction of Senador Mines/New Almaden Trails. The nest was
initially discovered by Janna Pauser, and we watched the adults fly back and
forth to the nest which appeared to have young. One gnatcatcher flew down
right at our feet only inches away and we were able to view and appreciate
this exquisite little bird without the aid of binoculars or scopes - truly
an "Audubon moment" for all of us.
Ann
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 11:52:19 2001
Subject: [SBB] Guadalupe River, South County
--------
All,
On Saturday 6/9/01, I spent about three hours working the Guadalupe
River between Montague and Trimble, hoping for eastern vagrants or
early dispersing birds from the dried out Diablo Range. Ended up with
neither, although there were some interesting breeding birds around.
Most interesting was a singing DARK-EYED JUNCO atop a redwood in the
nearby light industrial complex. These birds penetrate into urban
areas on the valley floor wherever redwoods are present with ivy
ground cover beneath, as was the case here. A singing male
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK sounded a bit different, which got my hopes up,
but it turned out to be a BLACK-HEADED anyway :(. Birds in flight
over the riparian corridor included an adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON
going north, four FORSTER'S TERNS (in three groups) going south, and
2 CASPIAN TERNS heading north. At least one WHITE-THROATED SWIFT was
heard foraging high overhead. Breeding confirmations included a
banded (on the left leg) NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER feeding a juvenile, a
male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT carrying food, begging young HOODED ORIOLES,
and two different BULLOCK'S ORIOLES carrying food. A baby RACCOON was
the highlight of the mammals seen.
On Sunday morning 6/10/01, I headed down early to Big Sur to try for
the Blue-winged Warbler reported there. On the way, I stopped at Uvas
Creek at the end of Wren Ave. In 45 minutes here, I heard the
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT sing rather quietly several times. Also of
interest here was a male RED-CROWNED PARROT atop a sycamore, a begging
fledgling BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, a family of recently fledged AMERICAN
KESTRELS, and a BELTED KINGFISHER carrying food for young.
On the way home, a quick check along San Felipe Road immediately
turned up a calling CASSIN'S KINGBIRD atop the southernmost
eucalyptus. It soon flew all the way across the vineyard, dropping
down behind the last row of grapes. At San Felipe Lake there were 3
GREAT BLUE HERONS at 5 or 6 nests and 8 or so big white lumps on the
southern shore that were likely AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 13:16:17 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Guadalupe River, South County
--------
> Most interesting was a singing DARK-EYED JUNCO atop a redwood in the
> nearby light industrial complex. These birds penetrate into urban
> areas on the valley floor wherever redwoods are present with ivy
> ground cover beneath, as was the case here.
Juncos are quite common at the SRI grounds in urban Menlo Park.
They don't seem particular about the local vegetation. I saw adults
and 4 fledglings in the middle of a large parking lot last week. The
lot has islands with small trees in which I often see Juncos. I've
also found them nesting in modest sized bushes adjacent to
buildings and rather distant from the nearest large tree.
================================
George Oetzel Menlo Park, CA
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 14:35:59 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sierra Rd (Sunday)
--------
Drove up Felten Rd and down Sierra Rd on Sunday evening (6-7:30PM).
Some of the same species as Don.
SAY's PHOEBE on the drive up. Several HORNED LARKs at the corral on the
summit.
A GRASSHOPPER SPARROW seen. Couple of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. 8 YELLOW-BILLED
MAGPIEs.
No Rock Wren.
Several LARK SPARROWs on the way down, including an immature walking on the
road
looking like a Lark sp.
Vivek
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 14:45:28 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] misc. birds
--------
Dear Amphibian--
Voles have virtually no visible tail, and they might be moving
rapidly. It doesn't sound like gopher behavior.
Ruth Troetschler
--------------------------
At 4:45 PM -0700 6/10/01, amphibian wrote:
>
>As we climbed the hill, the margins of the path were alive with
>critters dashing to safety. Lots of lizards, and lots of a small
>rodent between the size of a rat and a mouse, with no visible tail.
>Since there were so many of them I'm assuming it's sheer bad luck I
>haven't seen these before, but I'm still stumped about their
>identity. I thought maybe vole or pocket gopher, but the pictures
>I've found show tails. Hmmm.
>
>Hope everyone's enjoying the glorious weather,
>Natasha
>
>
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Ruth Troetschler
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 14:53:17 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Guadalupe River, South County
--------
Folks--
This spring alone I have banded 14 DEJU in my yard-- 8 of these were
juveniles. In the past 30 years we have seen juncos increase from
one that used to travel with House Finches in winter, to this large
group which are resident here. There are few redwoods + ivy locally,
and none at Foothill college where I have seen juncos for many years.
At foothill they favor a grove of peppers.
Ruth Troetschler
--------------
At 1:16 PM -0007 6/11/01, George Oetzel wrote:
> > Most interesting was a singing DARK-EYED JUNCO atop a redwood in the
>> nearby light industrial complex. These birds penetrate into urban
>> areas on the valley floor wherever redwoods are present with ivy
>> ground cover beneath, as was the case here.
>
>Juncos are quite common at the SRI grounds in urban Menlo Park.
>They don't seem particular about the local vegetation. I saw adults
>and 4 fledglings in the middle of a large parking lot last week. The
>lot has islands with small trees in which I often see Juncos. I've
>also found them nesting in modest sized bushes adjacent to
>buildings and rather distant from the nearest large tree.
>
>
>================================
>George Oetzel Menlo Park, CA
>
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Ruth Troetschler
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 11 15:07:33 2001
Subject: [SBB] Table Mountain
--------
Hiked to Table Mountain from Skyline on Sunday in the afternoon for a few
hours - and saw or heard all of the usual breeding birds expected,
including Ash-Throated Flycatchers, Black-Throated Gray and Wilson's
Warblers, Warbling, Cassin's, and Hutton's Vireo, Black Headed Grosbeaks,
Western Tanager, etc. Also saw 4 Pygmy Nuthatches and 2 male Allen's
Hummingbirds. I don't recall seeing either of these two species on any my
previous 4 hikes during Spring and Summer. Also, for the first time did
not see or hear the Pileated Woodpecker.
- Dave
Division of Immunology/Transplantation Biology
Dept. of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine
CCSR Building, Room 2115B
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford, CA 94305-5164
Tel: (650)498-4189 FAX:(650) 498-6077
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 12 11:13:44 2001
Subject: [SBB] "My Farm"
--------
The downy look of babies is so cute. Sunday at "my farm" (La Rinconada Park) I saw family of baby titmouse, bushtits and California thrasher.
The coyote is seen lots there. I talked to 3 people and all 3 had seen it at different times in the past week. One guy had it on his deck who lives nearby. Santa Clara County Wildlife person has told me to "FLAIL" and not "freeze" as I'd been doing. I flailed the last time and the coyote changed his direction and went the other way. I never knew proper coyote behavior before.
In my own backyard I had 5 baby quail and their parents. The little ones were about 2"!!! so cute.
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos off Quito
www.wallstreetgifts.com
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--------
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 12 13:23:53 2001
Subject: [SBB] backyard youngsters
--------
Linda and I have been watching a pair of CAlifornia TOwhees gather the long,
stiff outer hairs of our Siberian Husky from our front and back yards for
several years. This year we are please to see 2 or 3 fledglings fly about
the yard with the adults. The nest must have been close by, but not in our
rather small yard. We have 8 different feeders in the backyard so its
fairly busy. Too busy for nests?
In addition to the CATO fledglings we are seeing young LEsser GOldfinch,
HOuse FInch, HOuse SParrow, NOrthern MOckingbird, MOurning DOve, WEstern
Scrub Jay, and ANna's HUmmingbird visiting our feeders.
During the past week, I have watched a GReen HEron fly by our house which is
two blocks from Canoas Creek. This creek has no riparian zone and runs
parallel to Cree Dr. in San Jose between Santa Teresa Blvd and the Santa
Teresa Hills.
Cheers,
Karl Fowler
We change best when
we learn from the past and
plan for the future,
while enjoying the present. _SJ
_______________________________________________________
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 12 13:52:36 2001
Subject: [SBB] Little Blue Herons
--------
Folks:
I received the following e-mail, which I forward:
I don't know how rare Little blue herons are here, but I sighted two
yesterday , June 10th in the afternoon in the slough about 1/4 mile north of
the cinder block building housing all the Cliff Swallows.
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 12 14:00:06 2001
Subject: [SBB] A brief McClellan Ranch morning
--------
I visited McClellan Ranch in Cupertino this morning at 9:30am on the way
to work (30 minutes free, why not go birding?) In the parking lot I
watched the Bullocks Orioles for a few minutes near the feeders. No
Hooded's that I could identify. I walked over to the creek and out to
the edge to look at what was there: House Finches, Mourning Dove,
Northern Mockinbird singing, Lesser Goldfinches. I heard a noise and
attempted to track what I'm pretty sure was a Belted Kingfisher cackling
its way over the road and out towards the golf course. I also got a
glimpse of a Nuthatch (probably White-breasted) and a Starling. A flash
of yellow caught my eye and I got some great views of a male Yellow
Warbler singing away.
Then I heard a California Towhee making a racket in the small oak behind
me. I got close to see if I could see what was going on and saw a snake
slithering down the branches inside the tree. The Towhee could easily
have taken him; he was a Gopher Snake about two feet long and not as big
around as my thumb. I suppose the Towhee had a nest in the tree or
nearby, but I didn't look for it. The Towhee basically just stood sentry
near the snake and occasionally made a complaining chirp.
I walked a little further down the trail and stopped again to look at
the creek. There was a Black Phoebe calling from near the top of one of
the Sycamores. I heard a Robin sing. Then a small dark flycatcher caught
my eye. I waited and it came back. After watching it for a while - it
flew from bare branch to bare branch all around me, I decided it was a
Western Wood-pewee. At one point it flew straight at me and touched my
shirt while I was attempting to watch it at closest focus in my
binoculars. It seemed as interested in me as I was in it. I watched it
some more until 10:15 am when I decided I should go to work. The Pewee
never made a peep, but I got so many great looks at it I'm sure that's
what it was.
Chestnut-backed Chickadees came by as I was watching the Pewee. Then, as
I walked away from the Pewee hunting grounds, I heard baby birds
directly above me and saw a female Oriole (probably Bullock's) fly up
and give an alarm call. I quickly backed away and from a distance looked
to see where the baby birds were calling from. There I saw an Oriole
nest made from some almost-white plant fiber, decorated with those
colorful ribbons that are usually attached to balloons. It was beautiful
yet almost completely invisible unless you knew where to look.
As I was leaving the trail I wondered whether the Pewee had a nest
nearby as well - that might explain why it was so interested in watching
me. Saw a Nuttall's Woodpecker on the way back to the car. The Gopher
Snake was in the same spot, this time coiled into a bundle with the
Towhee still watching.
Barry
-----
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From email@hidden Tue Jun 12 16:44:03 2001
Subject: [SBB] Chat continues....
--------
The Yellow-breasted Chat was heard sporadically from 0930 to 1345 this
afternoon at Uvas Creek Preserve in Gilroy. I had a nice long look at it
early this afternoon when it came out and perched for a few seconds on a snag
over the creek about 40 yards downstream/left/south from the spot at which
the path from the parking area ends at the creek. Courtesy of Bob Reiling,
directions are as follows: from US 101, take the SH 152 East/10th Street
exit in Gilroy; go west on 10th street until it becomes Uvas Park Drive.
Follow this to the end, at Wren Ave. Park in the dirt area, walk up the
stairs, cross the paved path and the dirt paths to the creek. You can walk
maybe 50 yards south along the (fairly) dry stream bed or take the dirt path
closest to the creek. The bird was calling from 20 - 80 yards south, and
always seemed to be on the west side of the creek. Also in the area were at
least 4 Green Herons, a Golden Eagle, Ash-throated Flycatcher, California
Thrasher, Black-headed Grosbeak, Orange-crowned Warbler and the usual species.
Roy Carlson
San Carlos, California
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 13 13:21:39 2001
Subject: [SBB] County birding, Uvas Creek Preserve
--------
All,
This morning Sue Kruse, Frank Vanslager and I checked out the riparian
corridor along Uvas Creek in Gilroy between Miller Ave. and Santa Teresa
Blvd. in hopes that it would make a suitable SCVAS field trip. Best birds
were the Yellow-breasted Chat (a quick look), a near adult Golden Eagle
(soaring over the fields south of the preserve) and a light phase Ferruginous
Hawk (over Santa Teresa Blvd. about half way between the Uvas Creek bridge
and Miller Ave.). The tail on the FEHA was white except for a couple of the
central tail feathers which looked quite dark (possibly retained juvenile or
stained?). The legs were dark (forming a "V" on the lower body). Because of
the low viewing angle we did not get good looks at the upper parts except to
note the pale head and the light windows formed by the primaries. Other
"mentionables" include Green Heron (lots), Ash-throated Flycatcher,
Black-headed Grosbeak, Hairy Woodpecker, Purple Finch, Yellow Warbler,
White-throated Swift and Red-shouldered Hawk (an interacting pair). We also
had a family of American Kestrels that included three and possibly four
fledged and begging young. I'm looking forward to birding this area more
often in the future.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 1:20 PM, 6/13/01
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 13 14:16:53 2001
Subject: [SBB] Ulistac Natural Area
--------
Yesterday evening, around 7pm, we took a family walk around Ulistac Natural
Area in Santa Clara. There were great numbers of Cliff Swallows flying
everywhere, along with a few Barn Swallows. There was, as typical of the
area, a lot of bird activity, though I didn't see or hear very many
different species on our short walk. Most notable were a male Bullock's
Oriole and two White-tailed Kites which were involved in either a mating
display or a territorial squabble.
Don Ganton
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Jun 13 20:33:03 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sunnyvale Macaw
--------
This evening (7pm) there was an incredibly large parrot, whose tail was
as long as his body, hanging out in the vicinity of Poinciana and White
Oak (a few blocks NW of Lawrence Expressway & El Camino) in Sunnyvale.
In the fading sunlight and from a distance I wasn't able to get field
marks except that I'm pretty sure it has blue on parts of the back and
tail. I believe it was a variety of Macaw based on the size and the
silouette. While I was at Eklund Park (a tiny local park) with my
children he was in a redwood tree about a block away, making a loud
"squawk!" about every minute or two. A Sharp-Shinned Hawk briefly landed
in the same tree and the parrot was twice the size of the hawk. The
parrot eventually flew off south towards El Camino Real, landing in
another tree in that direction.
I imagine birds like this are generally recent escapees. Is there
anything I should do, such as call Animal Control?
Barry
-----
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 14 05:34:29 2001
Subject: [SBB] Peregrine Falcon
--------
Hi.
Does anyone know of a place where the Peregrine Falcon
can be seen regularly. I've never seen one before and
would really like to.
I went to see the LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS yesterday by
Eagle Lake. They were interesting birds.
Thanks.
Riccardo Magni
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 14 05:41:18 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Peregrine Falcon
--------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Riccardo Magni"
>
> Does anyone know of a place where the Peregrine Falcon
> can be seen regularly. I've never seen one before and
> would really like to.
An adult PEREGRINE FALCON was perched on a power tower along the entrance
road to the EEC in Alviso today, 14 Jun 01.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 14 13:13:14 2001
Subject: Re: [SBB] Santa Clara County Parrots
--------
Which church in Palo Alto has the parakeets?
Richard C. Carlson
Full Time Birder, Biker, Skier, Hiker
Part-time Economist
Palo Alto & Lake Tahoe, CA
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 14 14:16:58 2001
Subject: [SBB] Shoreline
--------
Good Afternoon All....
Spent the morning over at Shoreline, there where 75+ White Pelicans feeding
and then flying overhead. Lots of Caspian and Forster's Terns, some with
babies on the island. Could only scope out three Green Winged Teals, one
Northern Shoveler, one pair of Ring-necked Ducks and what looked like a pair
of Common Mergansers. I could not find the Little Blue Heron, although I had
a Heron that was different from what I have seen before. Dark bill, blue
gray body, but his neck was reddish. There must have been over 75 Marbled
Godwits. Also lots of Avocets, few Killdeer and I did not see any Skimmers.
Good birding to you all.
My best regards,
Linda Sullivan
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From email@hidden Thu Jun 14 15:34:10 2001
Subject: [SBB] Bird Banding on Guadalupe River
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Myself and Gina Barton were banding birds at our study site on Guadalupe River south of Montague Road today and we captured and banded an After Second Year (ASY) male Hooded Oriole. He was beautiful! We also captured/banded Bullock's Orioles, Bushtits, Common Yellowthroats, Song Sparrows, House Sparrows, a Black Phoebe, a Barn Swallow, and a baby Brown-headed Cowbird; and captured (but not banded) Anna's Hummingbirds and a Selasphorus Hummingbird. Other birds that we heard or saw there were
Mourning Dove
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Western Scrub Jay (carrying food)
Cliff Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bewick's Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling (it literally attacked us)
California Towhee
House Finch
We have two banding sites on Guadalupe River between Montague and Trimble, and three banding sites on Coyote Creek between Hwy 237 and Montague. We band at each of these sites once every 10 days (per MAPS protocol). This project is designed to study birds in urban riparian strips bordered by an overflow channel, and to eventually compare the results back to our long-term data set from the Coyote Creek Field Station (CCFS), located on Coyote Creek north of Hwy 237. If anyone is interested in a banding demonstration, they are conducted on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at CCFS, by appointment only.
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Sherry Hudson
Landbird Biologist
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
phone: 408/946-6548
fax: 408/946-9279
e-mail: email@hidden
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 15 05:28:04 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
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I went to Charleston Slough at lunch time today, 15 Jun 01. I eventually ran
into Al Eisner here as well. We couldn't find any Little Blue Herons
anywhere, but we did have approximately 160 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS
scattered about between the slough, Adobe Creek, and salt pond A1 (some
being immatures). Also present were a male BLUE-WINGED TEAL and 2 male
GREEN-WINGED TEAL on Adobe Creek. Three pairs of LESSER SCAUP were in the
general area. Some returning shorebirds included numbers of WILLET and
MARBLED GODWIT. Al pointed out a BLACK SKIMMER flying in as we were leaving.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 15 07:04:35 2001
Subject: [SBB] Sick Band-Tailed Pigeon
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As you probably know I have Band-tailed's in my yard year round with the
population changing from 2-4 in the winter to 40 in the spring with as many
as 70 in the summer. Thus, I see a lot of Band-Tailed's at very close range.
I currently have one that is sick. This is probably the 6th one that I've
had like this. I'm curious what it's sick of and how it got it. If anyone
knows.
It's beak doesn't shut. It's open at a perhaps 30 degree angle. It's
feathers are puffed up. It sits in a feeder and sticks its beak in the
birdseed and then wiggles it neck trying to get it down, like a heron would
with a fish. It can fly, but slower than normal.
In the past I've just left the sick ones alone. I never find a dead one. I
don't know where they go to die. By allowing it to stay am I contaminating
my area?
If anyone has any thoughts as to what is wrong and what I should do, please
let me know.
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos off Quito
http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 15 11:24:40 2001
Subject: [SBB] Santa Clara County Parrots
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Hi all,
Two of the parrot project folks, Alison Sheehey & Karen Mabb were in town
over the weekend and observed a flock of 17 Aratingas along Saratoga
Sunnyvale Rd south of El Camino Real. They identified 3 Blue-crowned
parakeets and 9 Mitred parakeets, 4 of the Mitred were juveniles. There
were 2 smaller unidentified green parakeets with some red on the chest and
head.
There were also several Mitred Parakeets present at the church in Palo Alto.
Tom
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 15 13:52:37 2001
Subject: [SBB] Ravens in cupertino
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As I left work for lunch, we had two ravens in a tree in the parking lot
(Valley Green, near 280&De Anza). Heard them gronking, and they seemed
to be either grubbing for insects or going after eucalyptus nuts, but
they definitely seemed to be foraging (maybe one of them had a sore
throat). It took me a few minutes (and a few weird stares from
co-workers) but I finally got a good look at them through binocs and the
beak was a raven beak, so these weren't crows on steroids. Good sized
beasts, too.
--
Chuq Von Rospach, Internet Gnome
[ = = ]
Yes, yes, I've finally finished my home page. Lucky you.
When an agnostic dies, does he go to the "great perhaps"?
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From email@hidden Fri Jun 15 13:55:37 2001
Subject: [SBB] Chat
--------
Mid-morning today, the Yellow-Breasted Chat was still at the Uvas Creek
Preserve in Gilroy, in the same location well described most recently by
Roy Carlson. The creekbed here is still moist, but there's no actual open
water -- I wonder if the bird will stick around much longer.
Mike Mammoser has already listed all the highlights I saw at Charleston
Slough. (By the way, Bill's forwarded message about Little Blue Herons did
not say where they were, but the location description made Charleston Slough
sound like a good bet.)
Al
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 16 04:57:42 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
I went back down to Uvas Creek Preserve in Gilroy this morning, where I
found a mated pair of YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, rather than just the single
bird of last weekend. I saw both birds low in a willow, where one of them
was doing a wing-quivering display and was given a food item by the other.
About 20 minutes later I saw both birds again in the same willow with John
and Maria Meyer, Mitch Ninotaka and his friend Caroline. While waiting for
the chats, we saw an adult GOLDEN EAGLE fly over, heard some RED-SHOULDERED
HAWKS, had a male YELLOW WARBLER, some singing CALIFORNIA THRASHERS,
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, PURPLE FINCHES, SPOTTED TOWHEES, WRENTITS, etc.
Then we all went to San Felipe Road, where we found a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD in
the southmost eucalyptus. There was also a WESTERN KINGBIRD feeding a young
fledgling here. Couldn't confirm anything on the Cassin's, though.
On the way back, I wound through San Benito County and came back up Fraizer
Lake Road, where I found an adult GOLDEN EAGLE perched on a fence with a
headless ground squirrel and being dive bombed by a WHITE-TAILED KITE.
A stop at Ogier Ponds produced an OSPREY.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 16 08:57:50 2001
Subject: [SBB] BABOB 3rd Edition
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To: All South Bay Birders
From: Freddy Howell & Bobbie Handen
Birding at the Bottom of the Bay (BABOB)
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS)
Many of you have already assisted SCVAS in writing and updating articles
for the 3rd Edition of BABOB. Many, many thanks to Bill Bousman, Bob
Reiling, Frank Van Slager, John Mariani, Ann Verdi, Peg Bernucci, Emelle
Curtis, Gail Cheeseman, Ted Chadnik, Jim & Sue Lickovec, Darryl Wheye,
Linda Sullivan and Dave Johnston. Harriet Benson, Mary Wesnewski and
Kenneth Peterson are helping with editing. If I've missed anyone in this
short list or spelled your name wrong, I apologize. I just want to get this
letter out. We will make sure everyone is listed correctly.
Anyway - we still have some gaps. We have the original writeups on some of
the following sites. We need experienced folks who have birded the area to
do the updates. If you see that you did the original and would like to do
the update, great. We tried to send all the existing writups to the
original author. Our apologies if it didn't happen. Please follow the basic
format: Description, Directions, Habitats, Specialties of the area, How to
Bird the area. Please keep in mind that this guide is designed for all
levels of birders and for locals and visitors alike. The "specialties" area
should contain regulars as well as rarities.
Pichetti Ranch Open Space new
Fremont Older Open Space new
Mt Hamilton East existing (hard copy available)
(Bill Bousman, you did this originally) but I don't think we have any
update)
Ed Levin-Calaveras Road-Sunol Park existing
St Joseph's Hill ` existing
Coyote River Park/Anderson Reservoir existing
Santa Teresa County Park existing
Hidden Valley Ranch Garth Harwood working on
Stevens Creek & Upper Stevens Creek existing
Arastradero Preserve Grant Hoyt working on
Henry Coe State Park existing
Long Ridge Open Space Les Chubana
Coyote Creek-south to Metcalf existing
(should this be updated or dropped)
Calero, Chesbro & Uvas Reservoir existing
Grant Ranch to Smiths Creek existing
Mt Hamilton east existing
Alviso & SF Bay NW Refuge new
Overfelt Gardens existing
Lake Cunningham existing
Coyote Creek - Burnet Ave existing
Los Trancos Open Space Preserve new
Villa Montalvo Arboretum new
Guadalupe River Park new
Lexington Reservoir existing
Kelly Park existing
West Valley College new
Yes, this is a huge list but we also have a huge list of completes. Our
goal is to get the write ups in between July 1 and July 15.
If you have a site you'd like to do, please email me at
email@hidden and the original will be sent. We know this has
taken forever but we know how busy we all are and we are just trying to do
the best we can. With you help we can get this valuable resource updated.
Another question, we have write ups on:
Windy Hill San Mateo County
Castle Rock State Park Santa Cruz County
Big Basin State Park Santa Cruz County
Palo Alto Foothills Park Palo Alto residents only
Should they be in the main portion of the book or should they be listed as
out of county. What other out of county do you want listed?
Thanks for reading this whole message and thanks in advance for helping us
with getting this project complete.
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 16 13:44:44 2001
Subject: [SBB] ORBI Along Adobe Creek
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All:
On my Saturday, June 16, field trip to Charleston Slough, we observed about
48 of the usual suspects. And, in addition, we had close views of a male
Orange Bishop. It was feeding in the greenery alongside the bicycle path
along Adobe Creek, about 100 yards upstream from the pump house.
Frank Vanslager
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From email@hidden Sat Jun 16 21:21:17 2001
Subject: [SBB] LEWO,LAGO,BLGR
--------
Hi, all.
Today, I started at Grant County Park at about 11:30 am, drove over Mt.
Hamilton onto San Antonio Valley Road, then took Del Puerto Canyon Road out
to I-5. A few highlights:
At Grant's Ranch, I birded the vicinity of the big lake and McCreery Lake,
which, despite midday heat, produced most of the expected June birds:
BULLOCK'S and HOODED ORIOLE, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK,
WESTERN BLUEBIRD, LAZULI BUNTING, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, ACORN and NUTTALL'S
WOODPECKER, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, OAK TITMOUSE, etc. One surprise: two WOOD
DUCKS flushed out of a tiny puddle along the small trail that goes from
McCreery Lake to the Eucalyptus stand.
Just before 3pm, on San Antonio Valley Road, about midway between Mt.
Hamilton and the Mines Road junction, I found a little hotspot. I saw two
WESTERN KINGBIRDS, and while I was trying to make them into something more
interesting, an adult LEWIS' WOODPECKER flew into a nearby oak. As I was
trying to relocate that bird, I flushed up 4 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH out of the
grass next to the road. Meanwhile, a HOUSE WREN made several dutiful
bug-deliveries into a cavity nest in an oak. I foolishly neglected to note
the mileage for this stop. I pulled off by a locked AO gate which said "To
Ponds 7-11, 14-15". The gate was on the right side of the road (headed
toward Livermore), and the birds were 50 yards past it.
Del Puerto Canyon Road didn't produce anything remarkable (besides lots of
kingbirds and orioles) until I had already given up and was speeding toward
I-5. At 6:20pm, I spotted an adult male BLUE GROSBEAK on a fence along the
road. The bird was 2.9 miles west of the junction with I-5.
That's it. Good birding!
Jesse Conklin
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From email@hidden Mon Jun 18 03:19:53 2001
Subject: [SBB] :
--------
I forgot to mention that on Saturday, 16 Jun 01, we had a PACIFIC-SLOPE
FLYCATCHER calling from the eucalyptus along San Felipe Road.