Parent
From email@hidden Sat Nov 01 08:38:18 1997
Subject: High Tides @ Palo Alto
These data were obtained from the Tide and Current Predictor link on:
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
I have only listed the data for high tides greater than 8.5 feet for
November through February.
Kendric
---------------------------------
PALO ALTO YACHT HARBOR, CALIFORNIA
November 1997
High Tide: Sat 1997-11-01 1:02 PM PST 8.51 feet
High Tide: Sun 1997-11-02 1:44 PM PST 8.51
High Tide: Tue 1997-11-11 9:41 AM PST 8.62
High Tide: Wed 1997-11-12 10:26 AM PST 8.97
High Tide: Thu 1997-11-13 11:11 AM PST 9.22
High Tide: Fri 1997-11-14 11:56 AM PST 9.35
High Tide: Sat 1997-11-15 12:41 PM PST 9.33
High Tide: Sun 1997-11-16 1:26 PM PST 9.16
High Tide: Mon 1997-11-17 2:12 PM PST 8.86
High Tide: Thu 1997-11-27 10:27 AM PST 8.51
High Tide: Fri 1997-11-28 11:09 AM PST 8.71
High Tide: Sat 1997-11-29 11:51 AM PST 8.86
High Tide: Sun 1997-11-30 12:33 PM PST 8.92
December 1997
High Tide: Tue 1997-12-02 2:03 PM PST 8.78
High Tide: Wed 1997-12-03 2:51 PM PST 8.57
High Tide: Tue 1997-12-09 8:20 AM PST 8.72
High Tide: Wed 1997-12-10 9:10 AM PST 9.03
High Tide: Thu 1997-12-11 9:58 AM PST 9.28
High Tide: Fri 1997-12-12 10:44 AM PST 9.43
High Tide: Sat 1997-12-13 11:31 AM PST 9.46
High Tide: Tue 1997-12-16 1:46 PM PST 8.81
High Tide: Thu 1997-12-25 9:07 AM PST 8.51
High Tide: Fri 1997-12-26 9:53 AM PST 8.76
High Tide: Sat 1997-12-27 10:38 AM PST 8.98
High Tide: Sun 1997-12-28 11:24 AM PST 9.14
High Tide: Mon 1997-12-29 12:09 PM PST 9.22
High Tide: Tue 1997-12-30 12:55 PM PST 9.20
January 1998
High Tide: Thu 1998-01-01 2:31 PM PST 8.85
High Tide: Tue 1998-01-06 7:00 AM PST 8.64
High Tide: Wed 1998-01-07 7:52 AM PST 8.87
High Tide: Thu 1998-01-08 8:43 AM PST 9.07
High Tide: Fri 1998-01-09 9:34 AM PST 9.21
High Tide: Sat 1998-01-10 10:23 AM PST 9.28
High Tide: Sun 1998-01-11 11:11 AM PST 9.25
High Tide: Mon 1998-01-12 11:56 AM PST 9.13
High Tide: Tue 1998-01-13 12:40 PM PST 8.92
High Tide: Wed 1998-01-14 1:24 PM PST 8.64
High Tide: Fri 1998-01-23 8:33 AM PST 8.50
High Tide: Sat 1998-01-24 9:23 AM PST 8.75
High Tide: Sun 1998-01-25 10:12 AM PST 8.99
High Tide: Mon 1998-01-26 11:00 AM PST 9.19
High Tide: Tue 1998-01-27 11:48 AM PST 9.31
High Tide: Wed 1998-01-28 12:36 PM PST 9.31
High Tide: Thu 1998-01-29 1:25 PM PST 9.16
High Tide: Fri 1998-01-30 2:15 PM PST 8.84
February 1998
High Tide: Tue 1998-02-03 5:35 AM PST 8.61
High Tide: Wed 1998-02-04 6:27 AM PST 8.70
High Tide: Sat 1998-02-07 9:10 AM PST 8.81
High Tide: Mon 1998-02-09 10:51 AM PST 8.75
High Tide: Mon 1998-02-23 9:46 AM PST 8.69
High Tide: Tue 1998-02-24 10:38 AM PST 8.89
High Tide: Thu 1998-02-26 12:19 PM PST 9.01
High Tide: Fri 1998-02-27 1:10 PM PST 8.84
High Tide: Sat 1998-02-28 2:01 PM PST 8.51
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From email@hidden Sat Nov 01 12:11:27 1997
Subject: Re: Apparent LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lake Cunningham
Feighner, Mike wrote:
>
> The bird's feet were brownish pink with the upper portions being more
> yellow. There were what appeared to be about 4-5 notches in the front
> of each lower foot.
Dare I ask what you mean by this?
> It was the only gull on the lake that had an almost entirely dark bill.
For those who may go looking for this bird, beware of first-winter
Herring, Thayer's, and Western Gulls. All of these species may have
mostly or entirely black bills, and there were first-winter Herring
and Thayer's present at the lake this morning. The contrast between
the black bill and the head (because the bill is black to the base,
where the feathering is pure white) may be a good feature to look for,
but looking for the black bill by itself may be misleading.
> I don't have Grant's book on Gulls, but I did check Harrison's Seabird
> book, and the picture of the first-winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on
> Plate 59 takes on a very close resemblance.
I don't have an illustration of a "first-winter" LBBG in my edition of
Harrison's (is there a different edition?). In case others go look for
the bird, I don't want anyone to be misled as to its appearance. The
bird's mantle and upperwings are not nearly as neat and contrasty (i.e.,
having much obvious contrast between pale and dark areas) as is depicted
on either the "juvenile" or the "first-summer" individual on Plate 59.
The upperparts are darker overall and have much more muted coloring,
with less distinct light and dark areas, than on these illustrations.
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Sat Nov 01 17:59:48 1997
Subject: Alviso and Salt Pond A9
I had an adult Snow Goose flying around A9 this afternoon. I saw 3 Bitterns,
a Short-eared Owl, a Merlin, and a Peregrine (eating a Stilt) out there. NO
turnstones though.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Sat Nov 01 18:28:14 1997
Subject: Apparent LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lake Cunningham
All:
>From 1 to 1:45 PM I viewed the apparent LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lake
Cunningham in San Jose. Apparently In arrived there after Steve
Rottenborn's and Nick Letherby's departure.
The gull was quite easy to find. It was not associating itself with any
of the other gulls. As a matter of fact it spent the entire time I was
there standing on the round black buoy about 100 yards to the north-east
off the pier.
The bird's feet were brownish pink with the upper portions being more
yellow. There were what appeared to be about 4-5 notches in the front
of each lower foot.
The bird's eyes were not yet yellow, still rather yellowish brown.
It was the only gull on the lake that had an almost entirely dark bill.
Only the tip of the bill was pale. I did not notice the paleness at the
base of the bill.
The primaries were dark and extended beyond the tip of the tail when its
wings were folded.
There was light streaking over the crown and nape.
The front of the face, throat, breast, belly, and undertail were white,
although the breast did show some light streaking.
The feathering around the eye was dark, and there seemed to be a light
spot just below to the right of each eye.
There was a light -brown "dimple mark" on each side of the face.
The feathers covering the base of the primaries were light.
Most the back and wing-coverts were light brown with some lighter
outlining.
I don't have Grant's book on Gulls, but I did check Harrison's Seabird
book, and the picture of the first-winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on
Plate 59 takes on a very close resemblance.
The gull did not take to flight while I was there. So, I did not notice
any tail pattern. The bird did a lot of yawning though.
********************
Afterwards I headed for Charleston Slough where 9 of the original 14
BLACK SKIMMERs were still present below the first park bench.
The "north" pond of the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin had 4 BLUE-WINGED
TEAL (3 males, and one female), and at 5:09 PM yet another SHORT-EARED
OWL flew out over the flood control basin.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden, 11/1/97, 6:21 PM
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 02 11:31:56 1997
Subject: Re: The Lake Cunningham LBBG
All:
Saturday (1 Nov.), I returned to Lake Cunningham to take another
look at the bird that Mike Rogers and I had tentatively identified
as a first-winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL the previous day. I
arrived at the lake at 09:15 and was somewhat surprised to find
no one there looking for the bird. I quickly found it sitting on
the water at the edge of a group of 200 gulls and enjoyed good
looks at the bird until Nick Lethaby and his wife arrived. As
soon as Nick saw it, he stated that the bird was not a first-
winter individual, but rather that it was probably still in
first-summer plumage. That is, it had not yet acquired second-
winter plumage (either because it as an individual was late in
molting or because it belonged to a taxon that normally molts late).
On Friday, Mike Rogers and I had been confused as to this bird's
age. The worn condition of the plumage and lack of any "juvenile"-
type feathers in the upperparts suggested that the bird was not a
hatching-year individual, but the nearly all-black bill (with only
a hint of pale color at the base) and lack of any plain gray feathers
in the mantle indicated that the bird was not yet in second-winter
plumage. We did not consider that it might still be in first-summer
plumage, as I at least thought that by 31 October the bird should
have had at least some fresh second-winter feathering. Nick's
conclusion that the bird is still in first-summer plumage makes a
lot of sense, reconciling some characters more typical of a first-
year bird (lack of any plain gray feathers on the mantle, black base
to the bill, worn plumage) with those suggesting a second-year bird
(pale tip to the bill, lightening eye).
As we watched the bird, Nick and I discussed this bird's identification,
trying to determine whether any of the bird's characters eliminated
Lesser Black-backed Gull and discussing how the bird's characters
eliminated other species. With the exception of its relatively short
primary extension (relative to most LBBG), we could not think of any
characters that did not fit LBBG, and we were reasonably certain that
all regularly occurring North American species could be eliminated.
However, several Palearctic species/subspecies may be more difficult
to eliminate.
After I've had a chance to look through the gull ID literature, I'll
post a detailed description of the bird from my notes and discuss
the identification of the bird vis-a-vis other similar taxa.
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 02 12:04:19 1997
Subject: Lapland Longspur
I had a Lapland Longspur flying around calling about 600 yards E of the
corral at Sierra Road Summit. Also usual Prairie Falcon, Rock Wren, Lark
Sparrow, etc up here.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 02 12:07:38 1997
Subject: CCRS Today
There were 3 Pectoral Sandpipers on the pond today, with a Ferruginous and
Cooper's Hawk soaring overhead. The banders trapped a White-throated Sparrow
today. On Friday, an apparent eastern race Fox Sparrow was banded by Diane
although I have tried twice to see this bird and failed.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 02 12:11:10 1997
Subject: SCVAS Gull Field trip
ALL:
To my acute embarresment, I have discovered that I have double-booked myself
for the upcoming SCVAS gull id field trip on Nov. 15 at Alviso/CCRS. I will
be in Mexico. I will contact Audubon to see if we can rearrange/get a
substitute leader but I'd appreciate if you can spread the word that
prospective attendees should contact Audubon first to check if it's still on.
Thanks, Nick
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 02 12:18:29 1997
Subject: The Lake Cunningham LBBG
I am strongly of the opinion that this bird is a first-summer bird. The pale
eye, worn scapulars and coverts, pale tip to the bill, and amount of gray in
the mantle/scaps all indicate this to me.
Since first-summer birds are much paler bodied than first-winters, we need
to careful about reading too much into the pale head and body. Having said
this, I have a high degree of confidence that this bird is a LBB Gull,
although it may be impossible to eliminate "Siberian Gull" of the race
taimyrensis (sometimes regarded as a race of LBB Gull, or a race of Herring
Gull, or a separate species!). The fact the bird is still in first-summer
may be indicative of Siberian Gull but I will try to so more research over
the next few weeks.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 05:39:54 1997
Subject: RE: Apparent LESSER-BLACK-BACKED GULL at Lake Cunningham
Steve, South-Bay-Birders:
Steve:
You asked what I meant by
"There were what appeared to be about 4-5 notches in the front
of each lower foot."
Yesterday, I returned to view the Cunningham LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL, and Joe Morlan asked me about the same thing. I replied to Joe
that I was not aware of the scientific term of what I was trying to
describe. Joe tells me that the marking I was trying to describe are
referred to as "scotes".
In regard to my statement: "It was the only gull on the lake
that had an almost entirely dark bill.", I am aware that first-winter
HERRING, THAYER's and WESTERTN GULLS too have all-bills, but the gull in
question at the time of viewing was the only nearly all-dark billed gull
on the lake.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 06:00:48 1997
Subject: Lake Cunningham and Alviso Ponds
All:
Yesterday, I returned to Lake Cunningham to view the LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL a second time. Steve Rottenborn remarked in his earlier e-mail
that he was surprised that s that no others had come to investigate this
gull. On Saturday I had arrived about an hour after Steve's departure,
and I too was surprised that no other birders were around. On Sunday
there was only a small hand-full of us there. To be specific only five
besides me: Joe Morlan, Mark Miller, Mike Mammoser, and another birder
from San Francisco. Surely, such a rare bird as this reported to the
Northern California Bird Box and reported to South-Bay-Birds should
attract much more interest than this.
After viewing the gull for some 45 minutes, I hiked around the entire
lake stirring up 5 GREEN HERRONs along the way.
>From the reeds behind Raging Waters I scared up a COMMON SNIPE.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 06:10:44 1997
Subject: Alviso Ponds (cont)
All:
Sorry for the additional e-mail....sent off the original without
finishing.
Late yesterday I hiked out to Alviso Pond A-9 (7.29 miles round trip)
hoping to find Nick Letherby's Snow Goose. I did not find the snow
goose nor any turnstones, nor any good terns, but on the way out I did
find two PEREGRINE FALCONS between Ponds A-13 and A-14, and along the
north side of Pond A-9 I scarred up an AMERICAN BITTERN twice.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 06:51:39 1997
Subject: Re: Alviso Ponds (cont)
At 06:10 AM 11/3/97 -0800, Feighner, Mike wrote:
>All:
>
>Sorry for the additional e-mail....sent off the original without
>finishing.
>
>Late yesterday I hiked out to Alviso Pond A-9 (7.29 miles round trip)
>hoping to find Nick Letherby's Snow Goose.
I'm not sure this bird ever landed. I had it circling over the pond for some
time and had good looks but I didn't follow it out of site. We may want to
check any Canada Goose flocks in the area.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 10:28:15 1997
Subject: more on LBBG at Lake Cunningham
Hi Everyone--
Joe Morlan and I spent over an hour watching the apparent LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULL paddle around Lake Cunningham on Sunday. We commented
on the rather flat-headed look of this bird, and the fact that its body
seemed to be in 2nd year plumage but its mantle seemed to be in
something earlier. We noted barring in the tertial crescents, hints of
brown in the tips of all but the outermost primaries, and irregular
barring in the wing coverts (some tracts were more extensively barred
than others). Completely dark trailing edge to the wing, and extensive
white in the rump and tail base were visible in flight. I remember Vega
Gulls looking more pied in flight around this age due to white in the
secondaries reaching the trailing edge. I haven't seen taimyrensis and
heuglini at this age; I saw a few winter adults in Hong Kong this
spring, and even they did not permit close study.
Mark
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 03 14:33:36 1997
Subject: birds
On Saturday, 1 Nov 97, I went to Ed Levin Park, where I quickly found =
the adult male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER in the trees along =
Calaveras Road just past the park entrance. I was able to show the bird =
to the Audubon field trip group that was there. We saw a couple RED-
BREASTED SAPSUCKERS and a PRAIRIE FALCON as well. A =
soaring accipiter was debated, without resolution I believe.
I then went up Calaveras Road along the reservoir, where I had a =
soaring adult GOLDEN EAGLE, but nothing else unusual.
I went to Alviso, where I walked the entire loop trail out of the marina. =
On salt pond A15, a flock of foraging DOUBLE-CRESTED =
CORMORANTS had a cloud of FORSTER'S TERNS and =
BONAPARTE'S GULLS overhead. Both VIRGINIA RAILS and =
SORAS were calling from the slough and marina. Out at A9, during the =
peak of high tide, a large number of shorebirds were roosting on the exposed=
pond bottom. I was able to find a RUDDY TURNSTONE near the north end of thi=
s
pond. There were also about 14 BROWN =
PELICANS in the area.
On Sunday, 2 Nov 97, I went to the Guadalupe River to check for =
sparrows. All the usual ones were there, but nothing new. Along the =
riparian I found that the MAGNOLIA WARBLER was still there, as =
was a YELLOW and an ORANGE-CROWNED. =
Then I went to Lake Cunningham and enjoyed a leisurely look at the =
immature LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (apparently), with Joe =
Morlan, Mike Feighner, and Mark Miller.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Tue Nov 04 09:42:01 1997
Subject: Guadalupe River at Montague
This morning, while looking unsuccessfully for the Magnolia Warbler, I saw
at least one Solitary Vireo (a Cassin's, but with a gray head and white
throat), a Black-headed Grosbeak, and Yellow and Orange-crowned Warblers.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Tue Nov 04 11:14:10 1997
Subject: birds
Yesterday, 3 Nov 97, at lunch time I had a HOUSE WREN along the Coyote Creek=
trail south of Hellyer Ave.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 09:28:43 1997
Subject: SBBU update
(1) Larry Tunstall has updated the Bay Area Calendar for November 8-14 for SBBU.
(2) Recent news about Merlie.
(3) The High Tides at Palo Alto that I sent out by e-mail have now been
posted on SBBU.
Kendric
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 09:32:43 1997
Subject: LBBG still around??
Does anyone know if the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL is still around at
Lake Cunningham in San Jose??
Alan
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 12:22:54 1997
Subject: LBBG still around?? (fwd)
>
>
> Does anyone know if the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL is still around at
> Lake Cunningham in San Jose??
>
> Alan
All:
It was still there at 10 this morning. Perched on the round black
disk south of the rocky island.
I couldn't find the Magnolia Warbler south of Montague. And several
of us couldn't find a Townsend's Solitaire on West Edith off Foothill
Expressway.
Yours, John Meyer
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 12:56:08 1997
Subject: Tides Correction
HIGH TIDES at Palo Alto.
Mike Rogers has called to my attention that some dates were missing for
December (1,14,15). Here is the new list.
December 1997
Mon 1997-12-01 1:17 PM PST 8.90
Tue 1997-12-02 2:03 PM PST 8.78
Wed 1997-12-03 2:51 PM PST 8.57
Tue 1997-12-09 8:20 AM PST 8.72
Wed 1997-12-10 9:10 AM PST 9.03
Thu 1997-12-11 9:58 AM PST 9.28
Fri 1997-12-12 10:44 AM PST 9.43
Sat 1997-12-13 11:31 AM PST 9.46
Sun 1997-12-14 12:16 PM PST 9.36
Mon 1997-12-15 1:01 PM PST 9.14
Tue 1997-12-16 1:46 PM PST 8.81
Thu 1997-12-25 9:07 AM PST 8.51
Fri 1997-12-26 9:53 AM PST 8.76
Sat 1997-12-27 10:38 AM PST 8.98
Sun 1997-12-28 11:24 AM PST 9.14
Mon 1997-12-29 12:09 PM PST 9.22
Tue 1997-12-30 12:55 PM PST 9.20
Sorry for the trouble.
Kendric
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 12:56:16 1997
Subject: Lake Cunningham LBBG
All,
This morning Frank Vanslager and I saw the apparent first summer, second
year, Lesser Black-backed Gull on the float on the center of the lake and
later on the small island in the Northeast corner of the lake. It is
recommended that birder's, even those who have already seen the LBBG this
year (Alviso, Southern Cal. etc), see this uniquely marked gull.
We also tried for but missed the Magnolia Warbler along the Guadalupe river
South of Montague Expwy.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 12:40 PM, 11/5/97
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 13:29:13 1997
Subject: Immature LBBG
All,
In my last post I should have said that the small island is in the Northwest c
orner of the lake.
Bob Reiling, 11/5/97
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 15:01:05 1997
Subject: LBBG, and others
All
An early afternoon check at 1:30PM today (11/5) confirmed that the
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL is still present at Cunningham Lake in San
Jose. It was first swimming near the black "float" on the center of
the lake, easily visible from the pier adjacent to the marina
building. The gull then perched on the float and never left it for
the next half hour. Also present were many CALIF GULLS and RING
BILLED GULLS, as well as representatives of three grebes:
PIED-BILLED; HORNED, and EARED.
After watching the LBBG for about 20 minutes, it regurgitated what
appeared to be a chicken bone (no doubt from someone's picnic
lunch?) and proceeded to pick away at it.
Thanks to all who responded to my earlier email asking about the
LBBG!
Alan
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 15:48:50 1997
Subject: Duck Days at SF Bay Refuge
All,
Duck Days are coming to the Alviso Environmental Education Center!
I have been asked to forward to you a CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS on behalf of the
Environmental Education Center of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge. Guides are needed for one or more bird walks during this special
event at the Refuge EEC. Your commitment could be as little as 1-2 hours of
guiding, or more depending on your time & interest.
The event is scheduled for SATURDAY FEBRUARY 7 and SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8 (hours
11-4 both days). Saturday's programs are focused on general adult-oriented
activities, while Sunday's programs will have a family emphasis.
If interested, please contact Christine Coy at the Refuge EEC at (408)
262-5513, or by e-mail at . Thanks!
--Garth Harwood, SCVAS Chapter Manager
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 16:53:57 1997
Subject: things with wings
Hi Everyone--
This afternoon I watched a PRAIRIE FALCON land on a high-voltage tower
on Lockheed Martin property about 1/2 mile west of the Sunnyvale Sewage
Treatment Plant. Water levels in the flood control ponds here are low,
and are attractive to shorebirds, including KILLDEER, AMERICAN AVOCET,
BLACK-NECKED STILT, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, and
WESTERN SANDPIPER. On the levee road there were unusually high numbers
of Pygmy Blue butterflies.
Mark
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 05 17:38:59 1997
Subject: YSFL, PEFA, MERL
All,
I also had no luck in refinding Steve's Townsend's Solitaire today
11/5/97, but that spot in Los Altos Hills was quite birdy. I managed
to find 32 species, the highlights of which included an apparently
pure female YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER (bright yellow wing linings and
undertail, typical YSFL face pattern with prominent red nape spot)
hanging out with an intergrade flicker (red linings but YSFL face
pattern without much of a red nape spot) and a soaring immature
PEREGRINE FALCON overhead. Other birds of interest included
several oak woodland species such as CALIFORNIA QUAIL, ACORN
WOODPECKER, HUTTON'S VIREO, CALIFORNIA THRASHER, OAK TITMOUSE etc.
On the return I had a MERLIN flying low over El Camino Real at
San Antonio Road.
Mike
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 06 07:28:41 1997
Subject: rngr
All:
This morning, 11/6/97, the RED-NECKED GREBE was in the northeast corner
of Shoreline Lake.
Bill
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 06 08:34:22 1997
Subject: Immature LBBG
All,
For some reason I did not recieve this post from yesterday, only my follow up
post on the location of the small island. If this is a duplicate to you my
apologies.
This morning Frank Vanslager and I saw the apparent first summer, second
year, Lesser Black-backed Gull on the float on the center of the lake and
later on the small island in the Northwest corner of the lake. It is
recommended that birder's, even those who have already seen the LBBG this
year (Alviso, Southern Cal. etc.), see this uniquely marked gull.
We also tried for but missed the Magnolia Warbler along the Guadalupe river
South of Montague.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 12:40 PM, 11/5/97
Bob Reiling, 11/6/97
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 06 12:15:28 1997
Subject: Sierra Rd
I checked Sierra Rd again today without much success. However, Horned Lark
numbers have increased dramatically with at least 70 there now. Despite
careful checking, I could not locate any longspurs. Other birds included
Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, 2 Rock Wrens, and 8 Lark Sparrows.
I also quickly checked Calaveras Res from Marsh Rd hoping for a swan or Bald
Eagle, but no luck there either.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 10:57:04 1997
Subject: Rock Sandpiper request
Do we still have a reliable spot on the coast for Rock Sandpiper? I need to
find out for a friend in Southern California (Brian Small).
--Pete
-----------------------------------------
Peter LaTourrette
Birds of Jasper Ridge:
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~petelat1/
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society:
http://www.scvas.org/
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 11:47:26 1997
Subject: Re: Rock Sandpiper request
Peter LaTourrette wrote:
>
> Do we still have a reliable spot on the coast for Rock Sandpiper? I need to
> find out for a friend in Southern California (Brian Small).
>
One's been reported recently at Glass Beach in the town of Mendocino.
As to how reliable sightings are or even the current status, I can't
say.
Mark
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 13:29:01 1997
Subject: EAPH, WTSP, WITU
At lunch time today, 7 Nov 97, I found that the EASTERN PHOEBE has returned =
to
Shady Oaks Park in San Jose for, I believe, the fourth year. This bird was =
about
200 yards into the orchard, straight back from the blue jungle gym at the s=
outh
end of the park. Also in the orchard was an immature WHITE-THROATED SPARROW=
From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 13:49:26 1997
Subject: Re: Rock Sandpiper request
Mark W. Eaton wrote:
>
> Peter LaTourrette wrote:
> >
> > Do we still have a reliable spot on the coast for Rock Sandpiper? I need to
> > find out for a friend in Southern California (Brian Small).
> >
>
> One's been reported recently at Glass Beach in the town of Mendocino.
> As to how reliable sightings are or even the current status, I can't
> say.
>
> Mark
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Hello All:
Glass Beach is in Fort Bragg, not in the town of Mendocino. The Fort
Bragg area is a regular location for this species. Pt. George in
Crescent City is also a good spot.
Doug Shaw
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 13:55:59 1997
Subject: EAPH, WTSP, WITU
Aren't incompatibilities between mailers so annoying?
At lunch time today, 7 Nov 97, I found that the EASTERN PHOEBE =
has returned to Shady Oaks Park in San Jose for, I believe, the fourth =
year. This bird was about 200 yards into the orchard, straight back from =
the blue jungle gym at the south end of the park. Also in the orchard =
was an immature WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Perhaps more =
surprising were the 6 WILD TURKEYS along the bike path across the =
creek from the north end of the park.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 07 16:19:02 1997
Subject: Re: Rock sandpiper request
Pete wrote:
> Do we still have a reliable spot on the coast for Rock Sandpiper? I need to
> find out for a friend in Southern California (Brian Small).
As of about 4 years ago there were two moderately "reliable" spots on the San
Mateo coast. This probably represented the same 2-3 individuals returning for
many years. However, about that time, one after another, they stopped coming
back (died off?). While there have been one or two sightings in the last
two winters in San Mateo, I know of no currently reliable spot south of the
Fort Bragg area in Mendocino Co. Bodega Head apparently ceased being reliable
quite a few years ago. Of course, maybe Brian Small can find one for the rest
of us....
Regards, Al Eisner
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From email@hidden Sat Nov 08 16:27:09 1997
Subject: Birds
This morning at Sierra Road Summit I saw 4 Rock Wrens, 2 Golden Eagles, a
Sharp-shinned Hawk, and 40-50 Horned Larks. I also saw another Golden Eagle
over 680 and Capitol Expressway. At Alviso, there was a Peregrine by A13.
At Shoreline Lake the Red-necked Grebe was still present, and I had a Merlin
and a Sharp-shinned Hawk nearby. There was a male Eurasian Wigeon on the
forebay and the 14 skimmers on the salt pond.
_____________________________________________________________
Nick Lethaby Pronghorn Consulting
email@hidden 1112 N. Abbott Avenue
Tel: (408) 941 0223 Milpitas, CA 95035
U.S.A.
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 09 10:48:24 1997
Subject: last week's birds
All:
On 4 November, I spent a bit more time studying the LESSER BLACK-BACKED
GULL over lunch. While doing some work along the Guadalupe River I had
3 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS near the San Jose Airport. While working on
another job along Adobe Creek near West Edith Avenue in Los Altos Hills,
I saw a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE repeatedly sallying from a perch in the
dead top of an otherwise live redwood just downstream from W. Edith.
As Mike Rogers has already reported, there were quite a few birds in
this area, including an imm. female BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER with
4 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and one WRENTIT (probably not unusual, I just
don't see them in these residential areas very often).
On 6 November, I again spent my lunch time at Lake Cunningham, where
I got some pretty good video of the gull through my scope. I'd never
tried this before, but it worked quite well, and allowed me to get
some detailed, fairly sharp footage even while the bird was perched on
the small island. I hope to post a detailed description of this bird
along with a discussion of its likely identity (i.e., whether gulls
other than Lesser Black-backed can be eliminated with confidence) soon,
and I'd really be interested in hearing if anyone got good photos of
the bird. Mike Rogers got some good ones and my video footage helps,
but good photos of the wings (especially spread, even partially) would
still be very helpful. This bird's apparent molt schedule is very
unusual for a number of reasons, and the order in which it apparently
is replacing or has replaced some of its feathers contradicts
what is currently thought to be the norm for gulls. This makes it
very difficult to age the bird (and some feather groups) properly,
which may be essential for identification.
On 7-8 November, I surveyed seabirds aboard a tug towing dredged materials
from Richmond Harbor out to the Deep Ocean Disposal Site about 30 miles
west of Southeast Farallon Island. Highlights included a FORK-TAILED
STORM-PETREL and two LAYSAN ALBATROSS on 7 November and a very close
WILSON'S STORM-PETREL on the 8th.
Today (9 November), Heather, Rebecca and I took a walk at Shoreline Park.
A flock of 40 AMERICAN PIPITS at the Shoreline Amphitheater overflow lot
did not include anything more unusual. An adult male MERLIN was near
Crittenden Marsh, and the imm. RED-NECKED GREBE was still near the
boathouse on Shoreline Lake. A YELLOW WARBLER in olive trees along
Homestead Road in Santa Clara was probably the one present at the
same location last Sunday (Scott Terrill also had a late YELLOW WARBLER
at Sunnyvale Baylands Park on 4 Nov.).
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 09 13:02:03 1997
Subject: LBBG, etc..
Hello All:
Mike Feighner and I had the LBBG at Lake Cunningham on the beach
on the west side, just south of the pier on Sat. at 1450 hr.
The EAPH was at Shady Oaks Park in the same English Walnut tree as
last season.
The adult FEHA has returned to Morgan Hill at the intersection of
Cocraine and Mission View on a telephone pole.
The YBSA was at Ed Levin County Park in the south section in trees
along Calaveras Road, specifically in the tree with a yellow
directional sign pointing towards it.
In Monterey county we had 2 AMDI at Pfeiffer State Park about 50 yards
upstream of the bridge that is just above camp sites 192 & 195. The
AMDI were quite active feeding and calling to one another.
Doug Shaw
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 05:51:19 1997
Subject: RE: Rock Sandpiper request
Mark:
Glass Beach is in Fort Bragg. Toby who is the regular reporter for the
Fort Brag area would know more about its regularity.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
------
From: Mark W. Eaton
Reply To: email@hidden
Sent: Friday, November 7, 1997 12:47 PM
To: Peter LaTourrette
Cc: South Bay Bird List
Subject: Re: Rock Sandpiper request
Peter LaTourrette wrote:
>
> Do we still have a reliable spot on the coast for Rock
Sandpiper? I need to
> find out for a friend in Southern California (Brian Small).
>
One's been reported recently at Glass Beach in the town of
Mendocino.
As to how reliable sightings are or even the current status, I
can't
say.
Mark
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 05:58:15 1997
Subject: RE: EAPH, WTSP, WITU
Mike:
I was there Sunday with Doug Shaw. The Eastern Phoebe was an easy
find...as a matter of fact in the same English Walnut Tree where I had
seen it last Marsh. Yes, it's back for the fourth season.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
----------
From: email@hidden
Sent: Friday, November 7, 1997 2:29 PM
To: email@hidden
Subject: EAPH, WTSP, WITU
At lunch time today, 7 Nov 97, I found that the EASTERN PHOEBE
has returned to
Shady Oaks Park in San Jose for, I believe, the fourth year.
This bird was about
200 yards into the orchard, straight back from the blue jungle
gym at the south
end of the park. Also in the orchard was an immature
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 06:23:21 1997
Subject: RE: LBBG, etc..
Doug and all:
I would like to point out that for those of you who need to see a
FERRUGINOUS HAWK in Santa Clara County, then the one in Morgan Hill near
the intersection of Cochrane Road an d Mission View Drive is a rather
reliable one. I believe it was back in November 1991 that I had first
discovered this bird. Doug Shaw and I were driving back from Monterey
County, when I asked Doug if he would like to see a FERRUGINOUS HAWK in
Santa Clara County, and he said sure why not. There was no waiting
around for the bird. As a matter of fact it was there waiting for us.
As far as the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER goes, it was in the exact same
tree that Kathy Parker and I had it in back on January 6th. The
directional sign is across the road and points right at the tree. This
directional sign is for the traffic warning about the turn in the road
ahead.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
----------
From: Douglas G. Shaw
Reply To: email@hidden
Sent: Sunday, November 9, 1997 2:02 PM
To: email@hidden
Subject: LBBG, etc..
The adult FEHA has returned to Morgan Hill at the intersection
of
Cocraine and Mission View on a telephone pole.
The YBSA was at Ed Levin County Park in the south section in
trees
along Calaveras Road, specifically in the tree with a yellow
directional sign pointing towards it.
Doug Shaw
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 09:46:07 1997
Subject: Bittern at the Forebay
I received a report of an American Bittern seen at 8:30 am in the Mtn. View
(Coast Casey) Forebay on Sat. morn., 11/8/97. Marianne Dieckmann reported
seeing it at the east end of the forebay which is on the Shoreline lake side.
If you stand at the bench looking into the forebay, it was to the left at the
base of the slope.
Les
==============================================
Les Chibana, Mountain View, CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 11:21:13 1997
Subject: YBSA, FEHA, OSPR
All,
Like many others, I too checked the Sierra Road summit on Saturday
11/8/97, but late in the evening. The HORNED LARK flock was away from
the road and I had to be satisfied with a few fly-over birds. I did
have 4 ROCK WRENS, but not much else of interest. Driving along
Felter Road to Calaveras Reservoir I had 11 WILD TURKEYS across the
road from the Covo Ranch, and passing Marsh Road I could see many
ducks on the small pond towards Calaveras Road. I headed up Calaveras
Road and scoped the pond from that side, finding 2 female/immature
HOODED MERGANSERS among 51 BUFFLEHEAD (only 6 adult males). This
group was a little removed from the many GREEN-WINGED TEAL, MALLARDS,
NORTHERN PINTAILS, AMERICAN WIGEON, and single GADWALL on the south
half of the pond. Scoping Calaveras Reservoir from the "second
pullout" added a pair of hooting GREAT HORNED OWLS, but no unusual
raptors or waterfowl.
On Sunday 11/9/97 Mike Mammoser and I teamed up for a check of some
areas in the south county. We started out at the western end of
Bloomfield Road and spent about 2.5 hours covering the entire road to
highway 152 and nearby Frazier Lake Road (to the San Benito county
line). The western portion of the road had many sparrows, but only a
single OAK TITMOUSE and DARK-EYED JUNCO seemed out of place along the
valley floor here. Also had 5 CALIFORNIA QUAIL near the bridge over
Llagas Creek. The fields east of Llagas Creek had mnay birds but no
real rarities :(. There was a huge flock of several thousand
blackbirds out in the middle of the fields but the birds were too far
away to scope; the fringe birds we studied were all the usual species.
Careful scoping turned up 190+ AMERICAN PIPITS, 74+ KILLDEER, and 16
HORNED LARKS. Despite keeping our ears open we heard no longspurs or
Red-throated Pipits. Also of interest were 2 COMMON SNIPE and
2 female/immature MERLINS sitting and hunting in the fields.
A quick check of San Felipe Lake turned up a WESTERN GREBE and a pair
of BLACK SWANS. A pair of low-flying GOLDEN EAGLES cruised slowly
over the hills on the Santa Clara County side of the road.
We then headed to Canada Road, which was extremely dried out and had
very few birds of any kind (not even many zonotrichia!). We did have
another adult GOLDEN EAGLE here and at the one healthy stock pond we
found we had a flock of 50 DARK-EYED JUNCOS and two LARK SPARROWS.
Noting lots of sapsucker drillings at the "La Canada Ranch" entrance
at 4165 La Canada Road we pulled over to check the trees here. Almost
immediately a mid-sized woodpecker flew over our heads and landed.
Mike quickly got on the bird and identified it as an adult male
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, which then gave us excellent views while it
slowly worked the main trunk slightly above eye level! This is the
ninth county record of this species, with all except one record coming
from the last four years and most pertaining to males! Along nearby
Jamieson Road we had an adult RED-TAILED HAWK chasing an adult
FERRUGINOUS HAWK.
A few birdy areas between Jamieson Road and Gilroy Hot Springs Road
produced 30+ RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, 20+ HERMIT THRUSHES, 2 HUTTON'S
VIREOS, 3 PURPLE FINCH, 1 HAIRY WOODPECKER, 1 FOX SPARROW, 9 WILD
TURKEYS, and a "clean" flock of about 12 "MYRTLE" WARBLERS.
The water level at Coyote Lake is way down, exposing a huge mud flat
at the south end of the reservoir. There were lots of ducks and
shorebirds here including what is probably a county record-count of
COMMON SNIPE - at least 89 birds! Ducks included GWTE, MALL, PINT,
CITE, SHOV, GADW, AMWI, 13 RING-NECKED DUCKS, several BUFFLEHEAD, and
RUDDY DUCK. Shorebirds (besides Snipe) included KILL, BNST, GRYE,
LESA, DUNL, and LBDOW. Also a few gulls here including an adult
HERRING GULL and both PIED-BILLED and EARED GREBES.
Next stop was the infamous "Goose Farm" on E. Middle Ave just east of
highway 101 in Morgan Hill. Still in their pens were the 3 pairs of
Canvasback and 4 adult White-fronted Geese (3 banded). Many Canada
Geese were all over the area, including 14 "small" birds (apparently
including both "Cackling" and "Aleutian", at least one capable of free
flight) and 1 dark-breasted mid-sized bird (unbanded and with both
hind toes). The entire SNOW GOOSE flock was easily visible this time
(I think my count of 11 adults on 8/31/97 may have missed some hidden
birds). It consisted of 13 adults (3 banded, 9 with right rear hind
toes cut, 1 with a massively broken left leg and a big limp, and 1
that was unbanded and had both toes) and 1 immature (right hind toe
cut, left wing broken). Since Mike Feighner had 14 SNGO here on
4/5/97, this seems to be the stable number here and the 21 birds he
recorded on 1/19/97 and 22 on 2/23/97 may have included some wild
birds. Wild birds here included 2+ COMMON SNIPE (for a day total of
93!) and many BLACKBIRDS, including TRICOLORED and BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRD.
On the way home we stopped off at the Ogier Ponds, where we had a
male OSPREY perched atop a tall tree and then a half hour later flying
southeast towards Anderson Reservoir, a male RING-NECKED DUCK, and
2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS feeding together.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 11:31:38 1997
Subject: 160 after all
All,
Well, consistency does not guarantee accuracy. I finally got around
to putting together the "official" spreadsheet for our 10/12/97 Big
Day from all my field notes of that day and it turns out that we did
have 160 species after all (despite not getting Barn Owl)! The list
that we used during the day had both Herring Gull and Thayer's Gull
numbered "68" and on the checklist I filled out that night as a check
of our grand total I accidentally left off Hutton's Vireo, which was
actually mentioned in the trip update! Thus even though both lists
indicated 159, they were both wrong :(.
So we did get our nice round number after all! And now our sponsors
owe a few more pennies - just kidding :).
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 12:07:12 1997
Subject: Tule/Klamath 11/8-9/97 Trip Report
The following is the trip report for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory's
field trip to Butte Valley, Klamath Basin, Tule Lake and Lava Beds NM on 8-9
Nov. 1997. Highlights include:
American Bittern
Tundra Swan
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross' Goose
Surf Scoter
Hooded Merganser
Bald Eagle
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Praire Falcon
Merlin
Sandhill Crane
Williamson's Sapsucker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Pinyon Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Mountain Bluebird
Red Crossbill
Our first birding stop was in the forests above Deer Lodge off Hwy 97 north
of Weed. Upon getting out of our cars we were treated to an exceptional look
at a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER. Travelling up the Butte Valley we regularly
observed ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS as well as numerous RED-TAILED HAWKS, including
many "dark-phase" individuals. In AG fields at the corner of Meiss Lake Rd.
and Hwy 97 we observed 3 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, and a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.
Traveling along Meiss Lake Rd. toward Juanita Lake we observed PRAIRIE
FALCON and GOLDEN EAGLE. At Juanita Lake, on a tip from a local birder
(name??) we observed both male and female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS at the
campground.
Lower Klamath was an unbelievable spectacle of ducks, geese and cranes. Here
we observed overwhelming numbers of TUNDRA SWAN, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE,
SNOW GOOSE, ROSS' GOOSE, CANADA GOOSE, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, MALLARD, NORTHERN
PINTAIL, NORTHERN SHOVELER, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, CANVASBACK, BUFFLEHEAD,
RUDDY DUCK, along with fewer numbers of, CINNAMON TEAL, REDHEAD, RING-NECKED
DUCK, and LESSER SCAUP. SANDHILL CRANE were abundant in the fields just
beyond the southern unit and put on quite a show as several hundred launched
into the air and moved eastward along the hills. While the viewing of
individuals was made difficult by their wariness (it is hunting season) the
overall spectacle of tens of thousands of birds on these ponds more than made
up for it (it is estimated that 3.4 million waterfowl are on Lower & Upper
Klamath & Tule Lake). On numerous points through the trip we observed (and
heard) large numbers of ducks and geese taking off and swirling over these
ponds, an absolutely breathtaking sight. Our only ardeids were BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERON, and GREAT BLUE HERON. Several BALD EAGLES and NORTHERN HARRIERS
as well as a MERLIN were sighted here as well. Several species of shorebird
were still present including BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, KILLDEER, LONG-BILLED
CURLEW, DUNLIN, and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. Several HERRING GULLS were
amongst the CAGU and RBGU.
The next morning (11/9/97) we started out at the NWR Headquarters. The staff
there was incredibly helpful and friendly and they maintain an excellent
display as well as feeders. Highlights here include GOLDEN EAGLE, CALIFORNIA
QUAIL, ROCK WREN, BEWICK'S WREN, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. On the way to the
HQ several EMU were sighted, although not officially counted, as we decided
that their appearance was likely human influenced : ), evidenced by the large
chain-link fence which surrounded them (I doubt this sighting would get by
the CRBC, especially with the lack of photo documentation).
Tule Lake was again a spectacle of ducks, geese and swans. In addition to
those species mentioned for Lower Klamath we also observed AMERICAN WHITE
PELICAN, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, AMERICAN BITTERN, GREAT EGRET, SURF
SCOTER, COMMON GOLDENEYE, HOODED MERGANSER, BONAPARTE'S GULL, and LINCOLN'S
SPARROW.
Our last destination for the trip was Lava Beds National Monument. We
started off with a beautiful view of an GOLDEN EAGLE at 50 yards near Captain
Jack's Stronghold, as well as MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. On
the way to the visitor's center for lunch several members stopped for PINYON
JAY. At the Visitor's center CEDAR WAXWINGS AND A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE
entertained us at lunch. Many participants wandered into Mushpot Cave to
escape the wind and found a wonderful display about the geological features
of caves. Our last stop was at the crater where we picked up PYGMY NUTHATCH,
RED CROSSBILL and a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER which flew over just after we had
lamented not seeing it as we went over the trip list.
We totalled 102 species for the trip. Overall, we were told that it has been
a mild fall so far, but with the approaching storms look for some of these
waterfowl and the remaining cranes to begin moving through in the coming
weeks.
The next SFBBO field trip is to the Charizzo Plain Natural Area on February
20-22, 1998. Highlights of this trip will include the large concentration of
raptors that overwinter here, and a visit to Soda Lake to observe the
Sandhill Cranes. We are going to limit participation to 15. If you would
like more information about this trip or would like to reserve a space please
contact SFBBO.
Good Birding,
Tom
********************************************
Tom Ryan
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
1290 Hope St.
Alviso, CA 95002
(408) 946-6548
(408) 946-9279 fax
email@hidden
"While in my own estimation my chief profession is ignorance, yet I sign my
passport applications and my jury evasions as Ornithologist."
- William Beebe
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 13:18:41 1997
Subject: Sunday Birds
Amy and I spent Sunday, 11/9 in southern Henry Coe SP. Highlights
included
12 Wood Ducks in a stock pond in Hunting Hollow. We also had a Lewis's
Woodpecker at the upper end of Grizzly Gulch and a Say's Pheobe near Wilson
Ranch; both birds are rare in the park (except for the San Antonio valley
portion of Coe where the woodpecker is a breeding species). Finally, we
saw a male Hooded Merganser at Coit Lake, which is a first park record for
the species.
James Yurchenco
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 14:59:36 1997
Subject: Cunningham Gull
Last Friday when Ed Frost and I were enjoying the gull from our vantage
point on the dock, we observed something quite disturbing. A lone birder
in a green jacket and a cap with an "M" started throwing rocks at the
bird from the far shore! Fortunately his aim and his arm were poor, but
the gull got the message and swam to the middle of the lake and then took
off and flew south over the parking lot and the far trees. The thought
came to mind that we might have been the last to see the bird, but it
returned a few minutes later. Hopefully this individual won't be throwing
any more rocks at birds now that he has been caught in the act, and my
guess is that he will hide the cap as well.
Jack Cole
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 19:35:13 1997
Subject: Re: Rock Sandpiper request
Just a short follow-up to Mike Feighner's post:
Toby refers to Dorothy Tobkin, who lives in Fort Bragg. Her phone
number, (which she okayed me posting), is (707)-964-6216. She last saw a
Rock Sandpiper approximately 5 days ago. She does not mind being called
regarding any recent sightings or locations.
FWIW, Rich
Richard Kuehn, MD &/or Dean Schuler
WindandSea Productions
2701 Sequoia Way 296 Buckeye Court
Belmont, CA 94002-1451 The Sea Ranch, CA 95497
(650)-591-4380 (707)-785-3415
____
( ' v ' )
// ` ( ( ) ) ` \\
\ /
=== " ~ " ===
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 10 23:27:13 1997
Subject: Re: Tule/Klamath 11/8-9/97 Trip Report
At 03:07 PM 11/10/97 -0500, email@hidden wrote:
>The following is the trip report for the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory's
>field trip to Butte Valley, Klamath Basin, Tule Lake and Lava Beds NM on 8-9
>Nov. 1997. Highlights include:
Tom did not mention, modestly, the excellent guiding provided by him and
Gjon Hazard. They pulled out a number of difficult birds with aplomb,
including the first bird of the trip -- Black-backed Woodpecker -- which we
literally drove up to, got out of our cars, and had Gjon point out to us.
Gjon's patient scanning also got us all the Surf Scoter, which is a great
bird for Siskiyou County. Despite the sometimes chilly weather, it was a
great weekend of birding.
We also had a nice Mexican meal at Sergio's Dos in Klamath Falls, OR, for
you Calbirders who venture across the border.
Luke Cole
San Francisco, CA
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Nov 11 09:49:37 1997
Subject: Bay Birding Calendar Nov.15-21
Larry Tunstall has updated the Bay Area Calendar for November 15-21 for SBBU.
Kendric
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
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From email@hidden Tue Nov 11 12:03:50 1997
Subject: osprey
I attended the Eve Case Discussion Group today. Great group, very
informative. No wonder it's been around for 30 years! The hosts Pat
and Jean Dubois have a great view of vasona. there was a white=throated
sparrow feeding today and they'd seen an osprey perched on the island in
vasona yesterday.
gloria leblanc
los gatos
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From email@hidden Tue Nov 11 14:49:17 1997
Subject: birds
On Saturday, 8 Nov 97, I went to the Palo Alto Baylands during the =
morning high tide, hoping to find a Swamp Sparrow or something. I had =
nothing unusual, but the usual suspects were on the mudflats at the =
ebbing tide. These included WHIMBREL, SHORT-BILLED =
DOWITCHER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, and LONG-BILLED =
CURLEW. VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, and CLAPPER RAIL were all =
calling from the marsh. An immature COOPER'S HAWK was =
overlooking the duck pond as the Audubon field trip group looked on. =
I then went up Sierra Road, where I found about 75 HORNED LARKS, =
without a longspur anywhere to be seen. Lots of SAVANNAH =
SPARROWS here, a couple ROCK WRENS, a pair of adult GOLDEN =
EAGLES, a PRAIRIE FALCON, and a SAY'S PHOEBE. =
On Sunday, 9 Nov 97, I joined Mike Rogers for a tour of the south =
county. To reiterate the highlights: we had a large number of =
AMERICAN PIPITS and lesser HORNED LARKS along Bloomfield =
Road and area, 2 MERLINS here as well, a pair of adult GOLDEN =
EAGLES along hwy 152, an adult FERRUGINOUS HAWK along =
Jamison Rd., an adult male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on =
Canada Road, 9 WILD TURKEYS on Canada Road, a seeming record =
89 COMMON SNIPE at Coyote Reservoir, a male OSPREY and 2 =
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS at Ogier Ponds. Also, I believe =
we had at least a dozen SAY'S PHOEBES throughout this area.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 06:04:53 1997
Subject: Los Gatos White-throated Sparrow
All:
Yesterday, 11-11-97 after work, I headed over to Jean and Pat DuBois'
place in Los Gatos to view the WHITE-THROATED SPARROW mentioned in
Gloria LeBlanc's post yesterday. I spent between 30 and 45 minutes
enjoying the DuBois' hospitality and the views over Vasona Lake while
waiting for the WHITE-THROATED SPARROW to come to the feeders. Sure
enough it did a performance. The adult sparrow was of the "Tan-Stripe"
variety. Generally, it had a rather dirty looking appearance with
yellow lores and a black malar stripe. Jean says there are actually two
separate WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, but they never seem to show up at the
same time: one "White-Striped" and one "Tan Striped". Jean and Pat are
on South-Bay-Birds.
Thanks again to the DuBois.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden, 11//12/97, 5:57
AM
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 10:04:06 1997
All,
I took advantage of the government Veteran's Day holiday yesterday
11/11/97 to make a trip over Mt Hamilton. I was hampered by rain and
not enough time to do everything as thoroughly as I would have liked,
but had a few birds of interest nonetheless.
While driving south on highway 101, I had a MERLIN fly low over the
freeway in its highest gear just north of Lawrence Expressway - these
birds can move!
Smith's Creek Ranger Station was productive despite drizzle. A big
flock of chickadees and kinglets foraging along the creek (first west
of the bridge and then later on the east side) contained a
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER (apparently an adult female), at least one
TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, 4 or 5 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS (later in the
conifers by the ranger station), and 2 HUTTON'S VIREOS. There could
have actually been more GCKI, but they are hard to count accurately
with so many RCKIs around and BROWN CREEPERS calling as well. These
warblers are quite late, but they were outdone by a WINTER WREN that I
finally got nice looks at along the creek after hearing it call.
Later I had another WIWR calling further east, so there may have been
two birds present! This bird is quite unusual in the Diablo Range.
Other birds of interest included 9 PURPLE FINCH, the only ANNA'S
HUMMINGBIRD of the day, and 1 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER plus 1 or 2 more
sapsucker sp heard.
Moving on over the summit in pouring rain I stopped at Isabel Creek,
which was bone dry (as were virtually ALL the stock ponds along the
route!). Several FOX SPARROWS, a PURPLE FINCH, and a overflying
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBER (sounded like "MYRTLE") were all I could muster
here.
Another RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was at milepost 11.52 before the San
Antonio Valley.
A stop at the "yellow gate" proved quite productive, with a single
LEWIS' WOODPECKER, a female PHAINOPEPLA, another RED-BREASTED
SAPSUCKER (plus another sapsucker sp heard), a "SLATE-COLORED" JUNCO
in with about 60+ "OREGON" JUNCOS and several sparrows, and a Coyote.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (probably one of Steve's pair) was at the Fred
Gehri Bridge and at least 9 LARK SPARROWS were in the oaks just north
of the road just past the bridge.
Another big sparrow/junco flock north of the Mallinson Ranch contained
25+ SAVANNAH SPARROWS and an AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. Also here were a
SAY'S PHOEBE and another LEWIS' WOODPECKER.
Along Del Puerto Canyon Road, the first pond had only AMERICAN COOTS
and a PIED-BILLED GREBE, but one further down the road had 6 AMERICAN
WIGEON among 70+ MALLARDS, a GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and a GREAT BLUE
HERON.
The first cattle guard north of the junction was quiet but did have
one flyover LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH (only one of the day) as well as
several LESSER GOLDFINCH.
And finally, there was a MERLIN stirring up WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at the
Biel Ranch not too far south of the Alameda County line.
No solitaires or roadrunners for the county year list though :(.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 10:15:16 1997
Subject: FWD:PBS Manu special
South-bay-birders,
I received this from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, I thought some of you might
be interested, I have no idea if the local station is airing it or what time
it might be on, but just thought I would alert you to it.
Fellow birders:
"Manu, Peru's Hidden Rainforest" will be shown on PBS Wednesday evening,
November 12, at 8:00 p.m. CST. This award winning film was made by Neal
Williams and Mary Helsaple, whose first trip to South America was on a VENT
tour to Brazil led by Ted Parker. Their film on Manu took first place at the
recent Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 12:15:21 1997
Subject: Re: FWD:PBS Manu special
At 01:15 PM 11/12/97 -0500, you wrote:
>South-bay-birders,
>
>I received this from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, I thought some of you might
>be interested, I have no idea if the local station is airing it or what time
>it might be on, but just thought I would alert you to it.
>
>Fellow birders:
>
>"Manu, Peru's Hidden Rainforest" will be shown on PBS Wednesday evening,
>November 12, at 8:00 p.m. CST. This award winning film was made by Neal
>Williams and Mary Helsaple, whose first trip to South America was on a VENT
>tour to Brazil led by Ted Parker. Their film on Manu took first place at the
>recent Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
I can't find it on this week's schedule (Bay Area), although I know I've
seen it advertised. Has it already aired here? Does anyone know?
-----------------------------------------
Peter LaTourrette
Birds of Jasper Ridge:
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~petelat1/
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society:
http://www.scvas.org/
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 13:13:00 1997
Subject: Manu on PBS
All:
A check of www.kqed.org showed that Manu is scheduled to be broadcast at
8:00 pm tonight. You should also check out the www.pbs.org/eden/manu
site for a preview.
Steve Miller
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 13:17:00 1997
Subject: Manu web site
All:
Oops. The web site is www.pbs.org/edens/manu
Steve Miller
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 14:54:54 1997
Subject: SCVAS field trip (11/12/97)
All,
Today at Coyote Reservoir we had one ad Bald Eagle, 2-3 Golden Eagles (three
sightings of 1, 2, 1), one ad Osprey, one ad Ferruginous Hawk (Roop Rd south
of park entrance), one Spotted Sandpiper (upstream edge of dam), one Rock
Wren (calling and seen on the upstream side of the dam), 6-8 Ring-necked
Duck, and 10-12 Common Snipe (south end of lake under brush, the "island"
near the dam previously referred to by Mike Rogers is now part of the
shoreline).
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 2:40 PM, 11/12/97
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 21:44:54 1997
Subject: Manu -- Peru's Hidden Rainforest
South Bay Birders -- For those of you who missed the above TV show on KQED
(as I did), it will be repeated on Sunday, Nov 16, at 12 noon. Paul Armer
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From email@hidden Wed Nov 12 23:25:04 1997
Subject: Re: Los Gatos WTSP
Feighner, Mike wrote:
> The adult sparrow was of the "Tan-Stripe"
> variety. Generally, it had a rather dirty looking appearance with
> yellow lores and a black malar stripe.
Mike may well be correct in his assessment of the age and morph of this
bird, but I wonder how this bird was identified as an adult tan-striped
individual. Last winter Jennifer Matkin raised the issue of the difficulty
of ageing supposed tan-striped WTSP. If memory serves, eye color might
differ slightly between adults and first-year birds, but other differences
are slight.
According to Bent, juveniles usually molt into their first-winter plumage
by September or October, so on the wintering grounds and in fall migration
(when we see them), they look similar to adults but sometimes duller,
occasionally with more vague brownish streaking on the underparts. In
this first-basic plumage, the pale supercilium is usually "light tan" on all
immatures, and only a small percentage of immatures (11 of 209 that Bent
examined) have a white median crown stripe during winter, the rest having
an "olive gray buff-tinged" median crown stripe. In spring, the immatures
acquire their adult head patterns. Unfortunately, recent guides to
sparrows (such as that by Rising) offer little more than Bent in terms
of diagnostic characters that can be used to age these birds.
Bent also says that although some white-striped adults retain the white
head stripes during winter, most white-striped adults have a buffy tinge
to these areas until new white feathers are acquired in spring.
Other plumage characters may be of some help in determining whether
an adult is white- or tan-striped. White-striped birds are
"generally brighter colored and less streaked; they have more black
on the lateral crown areas [rather than dark brown], less streaking
on a wider and grayer chest band, less intense black on the malar
markings of the white throat patch, and brighter yellow on the
superciliary stripe." Of course, in applying these characters to a
bird, one must first determine whether the bird is an adult or an
immature (which may be difficult or impossible to do with 100%
accuracy). If a bird has vague streaking on the underparts and
tan crown stripes, it may be a tan-striped adult, a tan-striped imm.,
or a white-striped imm.
Conclusions: if a bird has pure white head stripes and/or bright
plumage with no streaking below, it is a white-striped bird. If a
winter bird has tan or buff head stripes and is dull with some vague
streaking below, it might be of either morph and could be either an
adult or an immature.
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 13 09:05:26 1997
Subject: Pygmy Palm Swift Talk
Hi all,
I would like to invite you to a presentation on the CSULB expedition to the
Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela to find the Pygmy Palm-Swift. It will be at the
Sequoia Audubon Society meeting tonight (Thursday Nov. 13th) beginning at
7:30 at the San Mateo Garden Center at the corner of Alameda de Las Pulgas
and Parkside Way.
This presentation includes discussion and photos of the avifauna of the
Venezuela's cloud forest, the Andes mountains and the plains of the Maracaibo
Basin. Additionally it details the adventures of our crew in documenting the
status and distribution of this little known species. Prior to this trip it
was unknown whether this species was endangered, where this species nested,
what its preferred habitat and range was, and whether or not it was the
world's smallest swift. Our findings included the first documented nest,
first body weight calculations, the determination of its habitat and
expansion of its known range. Come hear tales from the tropics on this rainy
night!
Tom
********************************************
Tom Ryan
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
1290 Hope St.
Alviso, CA 95002
(408) 946-6548
(408) 946-9279 fax
email@hidden
"While in my own estimation my chief profession is ignorance, yet I sign my
passport applications and my jury evasions as Ornithologist."
- William Beebe
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 13 10:25:09 1997
Subject: WTSP
I reported the White-throated Sparrow that I saw at Shady Oaks Park as =
an immature; more specifically a first-winter bird. Despite whatever =
difficulties there may be in ageing these birds, I feel that this assessment=
=
was good. =
This bird had a tan supercilium with no real noticeable yellow in the =
lores. It had a dark malar stripe through the white throat, though it =
wasn't a real solid black, and the throat itself wasn't outlined with a thin=
=
black border. The bird was fairly heavily streaked across the breast and =
down the flanks, all the way to the undertail coverts. It was also duller =
in the head pattern. I didn't note the median crown stripe color, but the =
lateral crown stripes were a duller brown than what I would expect on =
an adult. These stripes also seemed to be edged or tipped pale, giving =
the stripes something of a =22broken=22 or mottled look to them. As for =
illustrations: the book =22Sparrows and Buntings=22 by Curson et al shows a =
=
first-winter bird that closely resembles the one I saw at Shady Oaks.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 13 12:28:50 1997
Subject: San Jose gull - LBBG? (long)
All:
This message details the plumage of an immature gull in San Jose,
California that is apparently a Lesser Black-backed Gull
(hereafter LBBG), and discusses the elimination of this bird (and
LBBG in general) from similar Palearctic forms. While such an
identification would be considered fairly straightforward on the
East Coast, forms such as taimyrensis (and possibly heuglini and
others) might occur as vagrants to the West Coast (and possibly
elsewhere in North America), and these forms may be very similar
to LBBG. In fact, it is not clear that these other forms have
been eliminated in the case of any of the eight or so previously
accepted records of LBBG in California (all adults). Also, the
molt schedule, and apparently the molt sequence of some feather
groups, of the San Jose bird are unusual. Therefore, I would very
much appreciate comments on the identification of this gull. I
hope to post photos of this bird to the web in the near future,
which will hopefully facilitate discussion of this birdıs identity.
On 30 October, Mike Rogers and I were birding at Lake Cunningham
in east San Jose when I spotted a medium-sized gull with a mostly
white head, neck and breast contrasting with a black bill and dark
brownish upperparts. The initial impression I got was of an immature
LBBG, and I jokingly said to Mike, "Hey, look at the Lesser Black-
backed Gull". At the time I was merely joking, but upon taking a
second look at the bird, we were unable to "fit" the characters we
were seeing with any regularly occurring North American species.
Mike ran to get his scope, and we enjoyed excellent looks at the
bird in direct comparison with Ring-billed Gulls (hereafter RBGU)
and California Gulls (CAGU), both sitting on the water and in flight.
The bird is still present as of this writing (13 Nov.), and I have
observed it on a number of other occasions, getting close looks at
the bird in direct comparison to RBGU, CAGU, and Herring Gulls (HEGU),
both standing and sitting in the water.
DESCRIPTION
In terms of overall size, the bird is slightly longer than most
CAGU (although about the same size as some) but quite a bit
bulkier, with a heavier body, thicker neck, and larger head than a
CAGU. When sitting on the water, this bird often looks very
similar in size and shape to nearby CAGU, but when standing on
rocks it clearly has a larger, more rounded body. When standing,
the breast is broadly rounded and the posterior end is held more
or less parallel to the ground, whereas on the more slender CAGU,
the breast is not as "full" and the posterior end is pointed down
at an angle. Compared directly to a first-winter HEGU on one
occasion, it was slightly smaller overall but seemed slightly
stockier than the HEGU. The bill is shorter than that of a HEGU,
appearing the same length as the bills of some CAGU (and even
shorter than on some CAGU), but it is much deeper (both
actually and relative to length) than the bills of the CAGU and
only slightly less deep (if less deep at all) than the bill of the
HEGU. The culmen is straight on its proximal half or more, but
just beyond its midpoint it begins to curve downward gradually
toward the tip, so that the distal portion of the culmen is
broadly rounded. The lower edge of the lower mandible is quite
straight over most of its length, curving down only slightly just
proximal to the apex of the gonydeal angle before ascending at a
shallow angle up to the tip. Therefore, the bill is only enlarged
slightly at the gonys. The length of the culmen appears
approximately three times (or slightly less) than the depth of the
bill at the gonydeal angle, attesting to the overall short, deep
appearance of the bill. The bill appears all-black at a distance.
At close range, a small amount of pale pinkish-horn coloring is
visible at the base of the lower mandible (some observers have
seen a tiny bit of pale coloring at the base of the upper mandible
at the gape), and there is a small amount of pale horn color at
the very tip of the bill. This coloring is limited to a thin
strip right along the culmen at the tip of the bill and to a small
amount at the very tip of the lower mandible. The legs appear
proportionately longer than those of Ring-billed or California
Gull, and longer than I recall on most other LBBG I have seen.
The toes and webbing are a fairly bright medium-pink, this color
becoming duller and paler farther up the tarsi to the ankles. The
ankles are pale pinkish, but above the ankles this color fades
further to a pale grayish color with a slight yellowish tinge.
The forehead is very shallow, sloping gradually from the base of
the bill to the mid-crown, where the head becomes more rounded;
the highest point on the crown appears to be approximately midway
between the eyes and the nape. The back of the head is not
perfectly rounded but is not noticeably angular or "squared-off".
On the folded wing, three primaries (7th, 8th, and 9th, plus the
regrowing 10th) extend beyond the longest tertial, and the tip of the
tail falls midway between the seventh and eighth primaries. In terms
of the extension of the primaries beyond the tertials and tail tip,
the bird currently appears similar to California Gulls (although p10
is still growing).
Overall, the bird appears bright whitish on the head, neck, and
underparts, contrasting strongly with medium-dark grayish-brown
upperparts and with the black bill. The feathering around the
base of the bill, on most of the lores, and on the forehead, lower
cheeks, chin, and throat is white and mostly unmarked (although
there are a very few tiny dark streaks on the anterior lores and
forehead). Fine, vague dark dusky streaking appears on the crown
just above the eyes and extends posteriorly on the crown in a
fairly uniform manner back to the nape. This streaking is
moderately dense, but because the streaks are so fine, the crown
still appears mostly white. Contrasting with the white anterior
loral area, there is a dark sooty smudge in front of the eye that
curves back both above and below the eye. Behind the eye there is
a dark dusky postocular stripe that consists of very dense, fine
streaks and extends almost to the posterior edge of the auricular
region (becoming somewhat paler posteriorly). This postocular
stripe is not quite as dark nor as uniformly sooty as the spot in
front of the eye, but from a distance this stripe occasionally
appears almost uniform (the fine streaking was most easily seen at
close range). Below the eye and the postocular area, the dark
streaking is more dense than on the crown, lower face, and neck,
forming a vague dark patch under and behind (and just including)
the eye. This fine streaking becomes more sparse posteriorly, and
there is a vague pale stripe (formed by the sparseness of
streaking) extending diagonally from the sides of the lower throat
up toward the nape; this pale stripe isolates a small, rounded
patch of streaks at the lower posterior corners of the auriculars,
separating this small dark auricular spot from the dark area
around the eye. Overall, the well streaked crown and sides of the
head, contrasting with the unmarked white foreface and forehead,
gives the bird a vaguely hooded appearance.
A pale area on the nape (pale due to sparseness of streaking)
separates the dark streaking on the crown from streaking on the
hindneck. The dark streaking becomes broader, somewhat more
sharply defined, and darker on the hindneck and sides of the neck
than the streaking on the head, so that the sides of the neck and
the hindneck are darker overall than the head. The foreneck is
white with scattered well defined dark brown streaks down the sides
of the foreneck onto the sides of the breast. Slightly narrower
and much more sparsely dispersed streaking is present on the midline
of the foreneck as well.
The sides and flanks are much paler than the mantle and wings but
are darker than the rest of the pure white breast and the midline
of the belly; the feathers of the sides and flanks have large,
dingy, medium-pale dusky-brown smudges with scattered dark brown
bars or spots. The vent and most of the undertail coverts are pure
white, although there are a few blackish bars and spots on the tips
of the lateral and (especially) the distal-most undertail coverts.
Most of the mantle feathers and scapulars are a dull, dingy,
moderately dark brownish color with medium-dark gray undertones
over most of their surface. Some of these feathers, especially
the scapulars, also have vague darker (brownish-gray) or paler
(buff) internal or terminal markings. However, these markings are
very vague and diffuse on most of these feathers, contrasting
little with the overall dark gray-brown tones. All of the
feathers matching the above description appear somewhat worn and
"washed out", although not overly faded. Two of the innermost
scapulars are colored quite differently from the others and appear
quite fresh (probably being recently acquired feathers of the
second-winter plumage). One scapular in one of the upper rows is
plain gray except for slightly paler buff-gray edging near the
tip; this gray is darker than on the mantles of adult CAGU and
appears indistinguishable from that of a LBBG of the race
graellsii. The lowermost posterior scapular has a dark gray
(darker than the plain gray feather) interior with extensive white
at the tip. The rump and uppertail coverts appear mostly pure
white with only a few small blackish spots or bars in the interior
of this white rump patch and more black spotting/barring on the
posterior-most uppertail coverts. Overall, this rump patch
contrasts very strongly with the darker gray-brown mantle and with
the blackish tail. The rectrices are mostly black, darker and
more blackish than the dark brown tails of the first-winter CAGU
and HEGU, with a narrow white terminal band and, on a few
feathers, some subterminal pale spotting. The bases of all the
rectrices have very small white spots and some white
vermiculation, this white spotting becoming limited distally,
although a few white spots are present on some of the rectrices
out beyond the midpoint of these feathers. This white is most
extensive on the outer rectrices and becomes progressively more
limited toward the central rectrices, but even the central pair
have some white spotting visible beyond the tips of the uppertail
coverts. Overall, the amount of white in the tail appears more
limited than on some LBBG but definitely more extensive than that
present on a first-winter smithsonianus HEGU. The rectrices
appear fresh, and are neither worn nor faded.
The upperwing is quite worn. The marginal, lesser, and median
coverts have dark brown (though slightly faded) interiors and
broad, very worn, dingy off-white fringes. The innermost three
greater coverts on the left wing and two inner greater coverts on
the right wing have extensive brown (again, dark though somewhat
faded) bases but quite a bit of paler mottling distally. The
innermost greater upper-secondary covert on the right wing was not
visible during early observations, but on 13 Nov. I could see that
this regrowing feather was about 2/3 the length of the others;
this feather is fresher than the other coverts and had more of a
gray tinge to the brownish interior. The rest of the greater
coverts are mostly dark brown with little or no paler mottling
except at the very tips. On the spread wing, these greater
coverts appear as a broad dark brown bar that is at least as dark
as (if not darker than) the secondaries.
It appears as though the uppermost 1-2 tertials on the left side
are missing. On the right side, these uppermost two tertials are
still present (as of 13 November) but extremely worn. On the
uppermost (smallest) tertial, the dark brown base and dark barbs
extending distally from the dark bases along the shaft are still
present, but there is only a hint of the pale edging that was
apparently present near the tip of this feather (these pale barbs
having mostly worn away). The next innermost tertial on the right
side is also quite worn; this feather has a dark brown base and
whitish tip with a dark shaft streak extending into the white and
connecting with a blackish subterminal bar. The next tertial on
both sides (larger than the upper two) is colored similarly, being
mostly dark brown but with broad whitish tip (the white extending
posteriorly for some distance along both edges) having two dark
brownish-black transverse bars connected by a dark shaft streak.
The remaining tertials, which are the same size as the large
tertial just described, have been difficult to scrutinize, but
they appear to be mostly dark brown with broad white tips. These
outer tertials all appear to be fresher (less worn) than the inner
two tertials present on the right side.
The outer portion of the upperwing appears quite uniformly dark.
The primaries and primary coverts are dark blackish-brown, almost
black, and they appear neither faded nor noticeably worn. Each
primary has a very narrow pale fringe or spot at the tip; these
small "spots" are very small and buff colored on the outermost
primaries but become somewhat larger and paler (more whitish) on
the inner primaries. The greater primary coverts also have pale
apical spots that are moderately conspicuous on the spread wing,
these spots being perhaps whiter than on the underlying primaries.
The primaries are uniformly dark; the inner primaries appear
slightly paler than the outer primaries in some photos of the
bird, but the wing lacks an obvious paler inner primary window.
The secondaries are uniformly dark brown (possibly slightly paler
than the primaries) with moderately broad pale buff tips.
The underwing appears dark and quite uniform. The undersides of
the primaries and secondaries appear dark and sooty with a slight
paler "bloom" visible when the bird banks in direct sunlight.
Again, the inner primaries appear slightly paler than the outer
primaries in some photos, although this was not apparent in the
field, and both the underwing and upperwing appeared uniformly
dark in the field. On one photo, a single secondary about midway
out on the "arm" appears somewhat paler and more brownish than the
other secondaries and the primaries, and there appears to be a gap
next to this feather due to a missing secondary. The axillaries
and all the underwing coverts are dark sooty-brown, not appearing
noticeably paler nor darker than the rest of the underwing. The
pale bases to a few of the secondaries are visible in one photo
due to the absence of several greater under-secondary coverts on
this wing.
MOLT
When first discovered, the two uppermost tertials and one or two
median secondary coverts on the left side were missing, as were
several greater under-secondary coverts and one secondary on the
left wing. The 10th (outermost) primary on each wing is being
regrown, being approximately 1/2-2/3 its full length. On 13
November, a new greater covert was visible on the right wing that
had not been visible during earlier observations, and additional
gaps in the row of median upper-secondary coverts on each wing
were visible.
AGE
It appears that none of the feathers of the mantle and the
scapulars are juvenal-type feathers (which would have dark brown
interiors with neat pale fringes). Rather, I would guess that
most of these feathers are fairly worn first-winter or first-
summer feathers. The exceptions are a relatively fresh scapular
that is mostly medium-dark gray, as expected of a second-winter
feather (the darker lower scapular with a whitish tip may also be
a fresh second-winter feather), and one fresh greater upper-secondary
covert. All the rest of the upperwing coverts are apparently very worn
first-year feathers. Therefore, it would appear that most of this
birdıs body feathering and secondary coverts are typical of the first-
summer plumage. The eye color (paler than on a first-winter bird),
pale tip to the bill, overall whitish head, neck, and underparts with
only limited dark markings on the white rump and undertail coverts, worn
condition of the upperparts feathering, and flight feather molt indicate
that this bird is not a very advanced first-winter bird. Similarly, the
mostly black bill, worn nature of the upperparts feathering, and patterning
of the back and scapulars (with only one mostly-gray "adult-type"
feathering) indicates that this bird is not completely in second-winter
plumage.
The plumage that best matches the overall appearance of this bird's
upperparts is first-summer. However, graellsii and intermedius
LBBG typically have finished their first complete molt into second-winter
plumage by mid-fall, November or December at the latest, so if this is a
graellsii LBBG, then its upperparts molt is somewhat retarded. Regardless
of which species/form this bird represents or how retarded the molt of
its upperparts feathering may be, this birdıs molt sequence is very
strange. The primaries and primary coverts, the rectrices, and the outer
three tertials on each side appear fresh and dark on this bird, not worn
and faded as I would expect if these were first-year feathers like those
of the upperparts. The 10th primary, which is being regrown on each wing
and which is therefore fresh, is not noticeably darker nor less worn than
the rest of the primaries. According to Dwight (1925), Grant (1986), and
others, the regrowth of the 10th primary occurs at or near the end of the
complete molt, after most of the body feathering has been molted.
Therefore, this bird's molt sequence is very unusual.
Although it may seem that I've belabored the point of this bird's
age and molt sequence, establishing the age of this bird and its
individual feather groups is important in identifying this bird. For
example, if the rectrices are first-year (i.e., retained juvenal)
feathers, then the pattern and amount of white on them help to eliminate
several species. However, if the rectrices are recently acquired second-
winter feathers (which in many species may have more white at the base
than first-winter feathers), then the amount of white at the base may not
eliminate these other species.
COMPARISON OF THIS BIRD'S CHARACTERS WITH THOSE OF LBBG
Characters shown by this bird that are typical of (though not in all
cases diagnostic for) a first-summer graellsii include:
(1) Mostly black bill.
(2) Little "swelling" of the bill at the gonydeal angle.
(3) Short, deep bill.
(4) Dark patch around eye.
(5) Unstreaked white forehead, giving "hooded" appearance to
streaked head.
(6) Sparse but well-defined streaks (with no brown smudges or
mottling) on neck and breast.
(7) Predominantly white head, neck, and underparts contrasting
with dark mantle.
(8) Overall fairly uniform dark mantle with dark sooty-gray tones
to the brownish first-winter/first-summer scapulars.
(9) Moderately dark gray color to the single apparent second-
winter scapular; this color was virtually identical in
comparison to the mantle color of adult California Gulls to
the mantle color of an adult graelsii LBBG present
simultaneously nearby.
(10) Dark brown greater coverts with pale markings restricted
primarily to the innermost coverts.
(11) Dark brown outer wing, including dark inner primaries.
(12) Rump/uppertail coverts white with sparse dark markings,
contrasting with dark mantle and tail.
(13) Tail with very broad black subterminal band and white
mottling at the bases of all rectrices.
Two characters seem somewhat unusual for a first-summer
graellsii. First, as discussed previously, the molt of the
first-year body feathering is apparently late for graellsii.
Second, the bird's long-legged appearance seems somewhat
unusual for LBBG (although the legs are not extremely long).
If the bird is a LBBG, then the timing of the flight feather molt
is consistent with graelsii or intermedius, while the retarded
replacement of the mantle, scapulars, and secondary coverts may
better fit nominate fuscus. The long-legged appearance may also
better match nominate fuscus than the other two races. However,
the extension of three primaries beyond the tip of the tail (once
the 10th has grown in), color of the single gray second-winter
scapular, deep bill, and relatively large size for a LBBG
(approximately the same size or perhaps slightly larger than the
adult graellsii present nearby) suggest that this bird is
graellsii. Intermedius is rather rare on the East Coast of North
America, and nominate fuscus has apparently not been recorded with
certainty in North America. Given the range and migratory routes
of nominate fuscus, as well as its small population size, this
race of LBBG is an unlikely candidate for vagrancy to California.
COMPARISON OF THIS BIRD'S CHARACTERS WITH THOSE OF OTHER SPECIES
Most gull species/forms are obviously eliminated by the characters
described above, so only those that are similar (at least
superficially) to LBBG are discussed below.
Great Black-backed Gull is generally larger and has a larger bill,
more strongly contrasting pale and dark areas on the upperparts,
more extensive white barring on the greater coverts, and much more
white on the tail than the San Jose bird has. Western and Yellow-
footed Gulls are much larger and have broader wings and larger
bills with a more prominent gonydeal angle. I'm not sure that a
Western Gull would show the pale yellowish tinge to the legs that
this bird [barely] shows. In first-year plumages, Western Gulls
have all-dark tails, so Western Gull is easily eliminated if the
rectrices of the San Jose bird are first-year feathers. Also, I
have not seen Western Gulls of any age that have the pattern of
streaking on the head and neck that is found on this bird and that
is typical of LBBG and several other Palearctic species. Yellow-
footed Gulls molt early, and even in first-summer plumage they
usually show more pure dark gray-black feathers in the upperparts
than the single "second-winter type" scapular on this bird; by
November, a second-year Yellow-footed Gull should show many more
of these dark gray-black feathers in the mantle than the San Jose
bird.
Slaty-backed Gull is a larger, stockier bird with a larger bill
than the Lake Cunningham bird. If this bird were a Slaty-backed,
I would also expect the gray second-winter scapular to be
noticeably darker, the inner primaries to be paler relative to the
outer primaries, the retained first-winter mantle feathers and
scapulars to be more bleached and faded, and the legs to be
brighter pink (or at least to be pinkish throughout rather than
pale gray or pale yellowish). Similarly, most Kelp Gulls are
larger and stockier, with deeper and more massive bills than this
bird. The definitive mantle color of Kelp Gull is much darker and
more blackish than on the single second-winter scapular on this
bird.
Herring Gull (including argentatus, argenteus, smithsonianus, and
vegae) can be eliminated by several characters. The San Jose bird
lacked the pale inner primaries shown by all these forms, and the
shade of the single gray second-winter scapular (as well as the
gray tones to the first-winter/summer scapulars) was darker than
would be present on any of these forms. Also, the small size,
short, deep, mostly black bill, and lack of pale barring/mottling
on most of the greater coverts help to eliminate Herring Gulls.
According to Shirihai (1996), Armenian Gull (Larus armenicus) has
"extensively barred" greater coverts, a "more or less obvious"
pale inner primary window, and a narrower black subterminal band
than LBBG; I would not expect an Armenian Gull to reach California
on its own power, but this form seems to be eliminated
nevertheless.
I think that most Yellow-legged Gulls can also be eliminated.
Both michahellis and nominate cachinnans molt earlier than
graellsii (and would be even more retarded than graellsii if they
retained mostly first-summer feathering in November), and both
species appear more "adult-like" in any given immature plumage
than LBBG. Both races should show more pale gray in the mantle
(as immatures) than the San Jose bird shows, and the definitive
mantle color would probably be noticeably paler than the gray on
the single second-winter scapular of the Lake Cunningham bird.
According to Garner (1997), "Most Lesser Black-backs have dark
sooty-brown or grey-brown first-winter scapulars, giving a
generally grey-brown 'muddy' appearance; in contrast, both Herring
and michahellis have paler scapulars." Garner also states that
michahellis have "pale greyish" or "whitish-grey" scapulars with
contrasting black bars or anchors in their first-winter plumage,
rather than the sooty-brown of the San Jose bird. First-summer
nominate cachinnans usually show more gray in the mantle than the
San Jose bird, often having mostly-gray lower scapulars. The San
Jose bird had only one mostly-gray scapular, and this feather was
darker than would be present on a Yellow-legged Gull. These
Yellow-legged Gulls also have more white at the base of the tail
(with more well-defined black barring on the white tail base) than
this bird. Michahellis may show a pale inner primary window on
the underwing, while nominate cachinnans should show at least a
vague pale inner primary window from both above and below (and
should show paler underwing coverts, axillaries, and paler
undersides to all the primaries than the San Jose bird); the San
Jose bird had dark inner primaries and mostly dark underwings.
Eliminating Yellow-legged Gulls of the race atlantis may be more
difficult. According to Garner (1997), first-summer atlantis may
be very similar to LBBG, and Garner gives no characters to
distinguish immature atlantis from LBBG. The definitive mantle
color of atlantis is darker than on other Yellow-legged Gulls and
may approach that of graellsii (and therefore appear similar to
the color on the single gray second-winter scapular). Because
atlantis has apparently occurred in North America (in Quebec), it
is important to eliminate this form. Therefore, I'd appreciate
any information on the identification of immature atlantis
(specifically with regard to distinguishing atlantis from LBBG)
that anyone might offer.
Barabensis, linked at times by various authors with cachinnans,
armenicus, and heuglini/taimyrensis, is described by Garner (1997)
as "a small, compact form with a very well-rounded head (including
a steep forehead, unlike most nominate cachinnans), a noticeably
small (sometimes very thin) bill, and a rather light body" that
"recalls Common or Iceland Gull at times", a description not at
all consistent with the San Jose bird. Garner also states that
these birds have short legs and that even the stockier barabensis-
types usually show a "straight, deep, flat chest profile" rather
than the more round-chested look of this bird.
I have not been able to find much information helpful in comparing
this bird to a mongolicus Yellow-legged Gull. However, the one
photo of the juvenile mongolicus in flight in Grant (1986) shows a
bird with much more white at the base of the tail and a paler
inner primary window than the Lake Cunningham bird; in these
respects, this mongolicus more closely resembles nominate
cachinnans than it resembles either the Lake Cunningham bird or a
typical graellsii LBBG. Also, Kennerley et al. (1994) state that
the definitive mantle color of mongolicus is similar to that of
birulai (paler than CAGU), which would be paler than the second-
winter scapular on this bird. Still, Iıd appreciate any further
information on mongolicus (e.g., mantle and scapular pattern of
first-summer birds, variation in the amount of white at the base
of the tail).
Nominate "Heuglin's Gull" (hereinafter "heuglini"), is described
by Shirihai (1996) as being larger and having a large, "powerful"
bill with a prominent gonydeal angle, a description not consistent
with the Lake Cunningham gull; however, there is overlap in
mensural characters between heuglini and graellsii. First-
winter/summer heuglini is also described as having coarsely and
contrastingly patterned upperparts, with dark internal markings on
the scapulars contrasting with paler margins, unlike the more
uniform, sooty upperparts of this bird. The inner primary window
may be more conspicuous on heuglini than on graellsii (Grant 1986,
Shirihai 1996); the inner primaries of the Lake Cunningham bird
appear slightly paler than the outer primaries only in a few
photos, appearing uniformly dark in the field. According to
Shirihai (1996), adult heuglini complete the post-breeding molt
"during Sep./Oct. to Feb./Mar. (though increasingly later the
younger the age of the bird", and "this arctic species' extremely
retarded winter moult is often of use as a diagnostic character".
Acknowledging the variability in timing of molt within species, it
seems that the flight feather molt of the Lake Cunningham bird is
more advanced than would be expected of heuglini, but that the
retarded molt of the feathers of the upperparts may be consistent
with heuglini. Like the Lake Cunningham bird, heuglini is
described as being long-legged (Grant 1986). Taimyrensis is
described as being more similar to heuglini than to vegae by
Shirihai (1996) and is described by Grant (1986) as being similar
to heuglini in "size, structure, and plumage". However, due to
the apparent variability of taimyrensis, this may be an
oversimplification, and I have been unable to find any detailed
descriptions of the range of variation in either heuglini or
taimyrensis that would allow a good comparison with the Lake
Cunningham bird. Birulai has a paler mantle than taimyrensis,
being more similar to michahellis or nominate argentatus and paler
than CAGU (Kennerley et al. 1994), and thus should be noticeably
paler than the single second-winter scapular present on this bird.
Nevertheless, I've been unable to find a good description of
immature birulai. If the descriptions of the pattern and
coloration of the upperparts and pale inner primary window of
heuglini (and thus presumably taimyrensis and birulai) are
accurate, then I suspect that the Lake Cunningham bird is not one
of these forms. However, because I am not familiar with
taimyrensis and birulai (and the range of variation in immatures
of these two forms), I would not rule out any of these forms at
this time.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, I think that this bird is entering into its second
winter, and apparently many or most of the primaries, secondaries,
rectrices, and some tertials are second-winter feathers while most
of the mantle feathers, scapulars, and upper- and under-secondary
coverts are retained first-year feathers. This birdıs characters
probably match LBBG, most likely graellsii, better than any other
form, and although I would never confidently identify a bird based
on probability, I think that this bird is most likely a LBBG.
However, based on the information I have at hand, I can not
eliminate the possibility that this is an atlantis Yellow-legged
Gull or a taimyrensis or birulai "Heuglin's Gull". In addition, I
suspect that the information I have is not sufficiently detailed
to eliminate nominate heuglini, and variation within some of the
taxa that I have supposedly "eliminated" may be great enough that
these taxa are still contenders for this birdıs identity.
I would be grateful for any information that anyone can provide on
this birdıs identity. Hopefully photos will be posted before
long.
Thanks in advance,
Steve Rottenborn
Santa Clara, CA
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Thu Nov 13 17:55:55 1997
Subject: Sat 11/15 Gull Trip cancelled
All,
Nick Lethaby is out of the area and won't be able to lead this Saturday's
gull trip (scheduled for 1 PM at the Alviso marina). The trip is officially
cancelled, but we'd appreciate your help spreading the word as we have no
means other than this list to get the word out between issues of the
Avocet. A "greeter" will be present to meet anyone who doesn't get the word
in time, and informal birding is always a possibility, of course.
Thanks for your help - we regret any inconvenience this may cause.
--Garth Harwood, SCVAS Chapter Manager
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 14 12:57:41 1997
Subject: LMMS PEREGRINE FALCON
All:
Today here at LMMS at 11:20 AM at 3rd Street and H Street a PEREGRINE
FALCON circled overhead. Two loud COMMON RAVENs shouted their
discontent, and the FALCON made a turn toward the Lockheed Ponds.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden, 11/14/97, 12:51 PM
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 14 13:31:59 1997
Subject: birds
I went to the Ogier Ponds at lunch time today, 14 Nov 97, to look for =
Swamp Sparrow. Seems like there's lots of good habitat for these birds, =
but I couldn't find any. The male OSPREY was still there, on the same =
perch where Mike and I found it last Sunday.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 14 14:17:02 1997
Subject: birding TV series request for information
Our company produces ALL BIRD TV, a half-hour weekly television series about
birds and birding for the Discovery Channel's new nature channel, Animal
Planet. We are researching possible story ideas and locations for one of our
programs. We would be grateful for any assistance you could give us.
Specifically, we would like to know which bird species would be present in
Redwood forest habitats during the first week of December, and which of the
Redwood forests provide the best birding opportunities.
Please respond to my e-mail address: email@hidden
We welcome your input. Thank you for your time and help with our program.
Sincerely,
Laura Russell
Associate Producer
ALL BIRD TV
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 14 14:30:55 1997
Subject: high tide at Palo Alto
All,
I made a quick stop at the Palo Alto Baylands after the peak of
the high tide today and found many birders already in attendance.
The water level was quite high (helped by the rain) but apparently
not as high as yesterday according to those present then. The
BLACK RAILS were apparently quite numerous today, with five having
been seen before I arrived. I headed out with Steve to check for
sparrows past the interpretive center and we were treated to good
views of a single NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW as it sat atop
the vegetation for a minute. It then flew to the dike we had
walked out on, but flew back shortly thereafter. Also present
were an adult PEREGRINE FALCON on a tower by the interpretive
center, an adult PEREGRINE FALCON on the Elwell Court tower and
a female/imm MERLIN perched over the duck pond.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Fri Nov 14 15:40:50 1997
Subject: Shoreline Lake
After a visit to the Palo Alto Baylands (see Mike Rogers' report - however,
I missed the Sparrow), I made a brief stop at Mountainview Shoreline Lake
this afternoon:
Red-Necked Grebe (near north end)
Brown Pelican - 1
Common Goldeneye - about 24
Barrow's Goldeneye - at least 3 (2 adult M, 1 F)
Red-Breasted Merganser - 1
Al Eisner
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From email@hidden Sat Nov 15 13:18:02 1997
Subject: Baylands
Today (11-15) at the Palo Alto Baylands parking lot corner, in the space
of about five minutes beginning shortly after noon, four BLACK RAILS flew
in to the vegatation in front of the logs. All the rails, plus a VIRGINIA
RAIL, flew along the same path, which was subsequently dubbed the
"railroad". While waiting for the rails, Mike Mammoser spotted a
SHORT-EARED OWL straight out along the shoreline. The PEREGRINE FALCON
was still on the tower, where yesterday it was observed eating a Clapper
rail. (Endangered species eating endangered species).
Jack Cole
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From email@hidden Sun Nov 16 13:53:16 1997
Subject: Re: Baylands
From: email@hidden (John A Cole)
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 16:18:02 EST
Sender: email@hidden
Precedence: bulk
Status: R
Today (11-15) at the Palo Alto Baylands parking lot corner, in the space
of about five minutes beginning shortly after noon, four BLACK RAILS flew
in to the vegatation in front of the logs. All the rails, plus a VIRGINIA
RAIL, flew along the same path, which was subsequently dubbed the
"railroad". While waiting for the rails, Mike Mammoser spotted a
SHORT-EARED OWL straight out along the shoreline. The PEREGRINE FALCON
was still on the tower, where yesterday it was observed eating a Clapper
rail. (Endangered species eating endangered species).
Jack Cole
By 12:30 atleast 3 other BLACK RAILS were seen. One of these was the
highlight of the day. I saw a small bird fly in from near the electrical
tower and drop into the water. Then it started to swim and was very
low in the water - just the head and a little bit of the neck
was above water. It was an odd scene. I pointed it out to some folks who
got the scope on it and we watched the BLACK RAIL swim slowly in open water
for almost about a minute or so!
Then it reaced some vegetation and proceeded
to sit there in the open for 10-15 minutes. Everyone had mind-bending looks
at it thru scopes, as it preened, streched its wings etc!
This was even better than the BLACK RAIL/GREAT BLUE HERON chase that I saw
at the Baylands last year.
A SNOWY EGRET flushed a BLACK RAIL and then proceeded to hunt and
swallow a non-native (floor ?) mouse.
A quick stop at the Mt. View Forebay yielded an adult GOLDEN EAGLE that
Adam Winer and I had great looks at through a scope. Also at the Shoreline
Lake were several BARROW's GOLDENEYEs.
Vivek
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 17 07:03:35 1997
Subject: Lake Cunningham LBBG
All,
On Sat. 11/15 the Lake Cunningham Park Lesser Black-backed Gull was in the
picnic area to the right (southeast) of the Marina.
Bob Reiling, 6:55 AM, 11/17/97
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 17 11:00:57 1997
Subject: birds
On Saturday, 15 Nov 97, I went to the Palo Alto Baylands for the high =
tide extravaganza. Arriving fairly early, I went out the levee towards the =
airport to look for sparrows. I tried hard to get a Swamp Sparrow out =
along the outflow channel, but had no luck, finding only a wayward =
Harbor Seal all the way up the channel near the lagoon. While out there, =
I had a flyby MERLIN (immature or female) and an adult PEREGRINE =
FALCON. Many rails were calling from the marsh, including =
VIRGINIA RAILS, SORAS, and even CLAPPER RAILS. I worked my =
way back to the parking lot just prior to the peak of high tide and took =
up a post at the corner. While waiting there, a SHORT-EARED OWL =
flew over the marsh and landed out of sight along the bay edge. The =
water looked to be quite low as the peak time approached, but it surged =
quite suddenly in a short period of time. This produced a quick rush of =
4 BLACK RAILS into the edge cover, 2 by land and 2 by air. A =
VIRGINIA RAIL also joined them. I then left to go back out and look =
for sparrows along the outflow channel. I was unable to find either =
Swamp or Sharp-tailed Sparrows this day, but I got some killer views of =
a VIRGINIA RAIL that was roosting up along the edge of the airport =
levee.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Mon Nov 17 18:08:33 1997
Subject: Carrizo Plain/Morro Bay Field Trip
Carrizo Plain/Morro Bay Field Trip
Date: 20-22 February 1998
Cost: $35 members/$50 non-members (includes membership)
Leaders: Tom Ryan & Gjon Hazard
This unique region is the winter home of more than 200 species of birds. The
central coast allows access to avifauna that overwinters in California's
inland AND coastal regions. We will begin our adventures at the Carrizo
Plain, a remnant of the