Oldsquaw at Richmond Marina
Sat, 19 Feb 2000 16:14:15 -0800
From: Lillian Fujii
Hi Birders.
There is an Oldsquaw at Richmond Marina - a molting male without the long tail. Dorthy Furseth, Steve Hayashi and I saw the bird today between 1 and a little past 2. The bird stayed in the inner harbor [Marina Bay] associating with Surf Scoters. To see the bird, go to Barbara and Jay Vincent Park, which is the end of Peninsula. Take Hwy 580 to Marina Bay Parkway. Take Marina Bay Parkway south. Marina Bay Parkway becomes Peninsula. There are a lot of birds in the inner harbor - Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Common Loon, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, California Gull, and more.
Although not in the East Bay, this morning we went to Schollenberger Park in Petaluma where we were close enough to American Bittern, Sora, Common Moorhen, and Common Yellowthroat to take photos. (Lots of "common" birds today.) There are still many Blue-winged Teal there.
Happy birding. Lillian Fujii
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Lake Merritt birds
Sat, 19 Feb 2000 16:17:59 -0800
From: Joseph Morlan
East Bay Birders,
Today I took my class to Lake Merritt. Highlights included excellent views of a female Tufted Duck with scaups in the northeast arm of the lake. A possibly wild Greater White-fronted Goose was with the tame Canada Geese and domestic geese and the Cattle Egret was on the island by the duck feeding area.
Other items of interest included adult and immature Thayer's Gulls and an adult Herring Gull. We recorded both species there for the first time last year, so it was interesting to find them present again this year.
Bushtits were in the early stages of nest building and a pair of Oak Titmice were going in and out of a cavity in an oak across the street from the Rotary Natural Science Center.
The only new species for our 15-year cumulative list were tame Muscovy Duck and Egyptian Goose. The complete list is at:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/merritt.htm
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044
California Birding; Mystery Birds:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
Arrowhead Marsh & MLK Shoreline
Sat, 19 Feb 2000 20:19:06 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
A beautiful morning at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline in Oakland, with a very high tide. Here's what I saw:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Mew Gull (Larus canus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
(probable) Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Other folk also reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon, but I wasn't lucky enough to see it.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Contra Costa County Tufted Duck
Tue, 22 Feb 2000 12:26:09 PST
From: Steve Glover
Hello all,
I got a message from Thomas Wurster of Southern California that he refound the adult male Tufted Duck at Clifton Court Forebay on Saturday the 19th. He said it was about 150 meters out from the levee. When I saw the bird earlier in the year it was also in fairly close and on the north side. Unfortunately the birds are sometimes much further out and in bad light. Thomas also had an adult Bald Eagle along Hwy J-4 near the reservoir. If you get out there let me know what you see.
The forebay is located off of Hwy J-4 south of the town of Byron. Turn east on Clifton Court Rd. A large white sign for the Lazy M Marina is a good landmark for this inconspicous side road. Also watch for Burrowing Owls on the north side of this entrance road.
Good luck,
Steve Glover
Dublin, CA