Tilden Nature Area
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 22:28:42 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
It was a lovely warm spring morning in Tilden Park as several of us joined Alan Kaplan for his East Bay Regional Parks birdwalk.
We started with an unsuccessful look for the Summer Tanager near the pond behind the Junior Ranger clubhouse (north of the Little Farm corrals, up the hill from the Visitor Center). Then we wandered on the Jewel Lake Trail and Loop Trails to Jewel Lake, where we enjoyed some fine Tibetan-style chanting by a couple sitting on the bench.
Black-headed Grosbeaks, Warbling Vireos, and Pacific-slope Flycatchers were singing vigorously, although we never saw any of these species. We did see lots of Selasphorus hummingbirds chasing one another past our heads, and quite a few Chestnut-backed Chickadees fearlessly exploring the branches (and in one case the ground) just a few feet from us.
We made our way back on the road to the Visitor Center and then up the Upper Packrat Trail to check out the Hutton's Vireo nest, which is still active in a small bay tree right at the edge of the trail.
After the walk, we met someone who had just seen the Summer Tanager, so Sheila, Karen, and I made another trip to the pond. We waited around for half an hour or so, but never saw the tanager. We did see a Red-breasted Nuthatch pretending to be a shorebird at the edge of the pond, and a Turkey Vulture flew overhead to add to the following list for the walk:
Double-crested Cormorant - several flying over
Great Blue Heron - in silt ponds near Visitor Center and on path
Cooper's Hawk - soaring
Red-shouldered Hawk - heard only
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Selasphorus Hummingbird - mostly probably Allen's, but one was very rufous
Belted Kingfisher - diving in Jewel Lake
Nuttall's Woodpecker - heard only
Downy Woodpecker - heard only
Northern Flicker - heard only
Pacific-slope Flycatcher - heard only, but all over the place
Black Phoebe
Hutton's Vireo - saw just the tail poking over edge of nest
Warbling Vireo - heard only, singing along road to Jewel Lake
Steller's Jay - very active and doing all their voices
Common Raven - carrying a stick
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper - we saw two in plain sight near us
Bewick's Wren - heard only (uncertain identification)
American Robin
Wrentit - heard only
Cedar Waxwing - clusters flying about and seen in treetops
Orange-crowned Warbler - some singing, some seen
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler - lots of them singing, some seen
Spotted Towhee - heard only
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak - heard only, Alan says they have been around for about a week
Purple Finch
House Finch
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
New yard bird
Mon, 10 Apr 2000 19:24:09 -0700
From: Debbi Brusco
When I got home around 7 PM tonight, I heard an out-of-the-ordinary call. I looked up to find a male Hooded Oriole on the telephone line in front of my house - first time I've seen one in the neighborhood in the 2 years I've lived here.
Debbi Brusco
Hermosa Terrace, Hayward
Tropical Kingbird at Hayward Regional
Shoreline
Wed, 12 Apr 2000 12:25:23 -0700
From: Sheila Junge
A Tropical Kingbird was seen today just outside the West Winton Ave entrance to Hayward Regional Shoreline. The kingbird, which was reported by Peter Dramer, favors the lower branches of the bare trees in the row of trees across from the East Bay Regional Park District office. It was also seen on the barbed wire which tops the chain link fence surrounding the office and service yard.
Good birding!
Sheila Junge
Hayward, CA
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Re: Tropical Kingbird
Wed, 12 Apr 2000 16:45:07 PDT
From: Peter Dramer
The Tropical Kingbird remaind throughout the day. Early in the day it was in the trees across from the Park Office sign at 3050 W Winton Ave. During the afternoon it favored the barbed wire strands on the north side chainlink fence.
Tomorrow morning Mosquito Abatement will be at the north fence putting out granular larvacide. This activity might shoo the bird back to the tree row across the street.
As a final identifier the bird did do the pip-pip-pip call one time.
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Hayward Tropical Kingbird (Alameda County)
Wed, 12 Apr 2000 18:38:20 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
East-Bay Birds:
It was great to receive e-mail at work on the Tropical Kingbird. Took a detour route on the way home to Livermore via the Winton Avenue entrance to Hayward Regional Shorline.
I arrived there shortly after 3 PM. Peter Dramer, who had originally found the kingbird this morning, came out and met me just outside the office at 3050 West Winton Avenue to tell me the bird had been there just 2 minutes earlier. I walked a short distance along the road to the north. The Tropical Kingbird was hanging around the fence that runs east-west, dropping down into the weeds, and then hopping back up on the top of the fence.
Having missed the Tropical Kingbird in Nov-Dec 1997 only a short distance from here, this was the first one I have seen in Alameda County.
Another Tropical Kingbird has been reported until very recently for a long time at Lake Merced in San Francisco. I don't think that bird is being seen any more.
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Kingbird still there Thursday
Thu, 13 Apr 2000 18:41:30 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
I'm happy to report that the Tropical Kingbird was still at the end of Winton Avenue in Hayward on Thursday. I was able to enjoy it for 25 minutes, from 4:45 PM, feeding amid the shrubbery and frequently perching conspicuously on the fence on the west side of Winton Ave just north of the slough. Thanks to Peter Dramer for finding it!
In other news, at least three pairs of Blue-winged Teal were still at Martin Luther King Shoreline in Oakland on Wednesday. But still no stilt or avocet chicks.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
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Briones Regional Park
Thu, 13 Apr 2000 22:22:39 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
It was a lovely morning for Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Parks birdwalk at the Bear Creek Rd entrance to Briones Regional Park, near Orinda. The light was just perfect to bring out the spring colors in plumages, and the trails weren't even significantly muddy after last night's rain!
Lots and lots of birdsong to sort out, and a lovely morning for a stroll and good conversation. What more could one want?
Here's what I caught of the group's sightings/hearings for the walk:
Turkey Vulture
Accipiter sp. (probably Cooper's Hawk)
California Quail
Band-tailed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit - carrying nesting material
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - heard only
American Robin
Wrentit
European Starling - copulating
Orange-crowned Warbler
Wilson's Warbler - heard only
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Song Sparrow - heard only
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Lesser Goldfinch
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA