Black Skimmer in Oakland
Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 13:43:29 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
Saturday morning at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, the highlight birds were the Black Skimmer (a first for Oakland?) and a pair of White-faced Ibis. I saw at least 80 avocet chicks. Also saw my first Killdeer chicks of the season.
Here's the complete list:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Who's the keeper of the Oakland list?
Sat, 27 May 2000 13:46:17 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
I suspect that the White-faced Ibis I saw Wednesday and the Black Skimmer I saw Saturday (both at the freshwater ponds at Mitigation Marsh near Arrowhead Marsh in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline) might be the first occurrence for each species in Oakland. Does anyone know who is the official Keeper of the List for Oakland?
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Oakland skimmer and ibis
Sat, 27 May 2000 20:27:44 -0700
From: Sheila Junge
One Black Skimmer and two White-faced Ibis were still at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline as of about 6 PM today. They were in Mitigation Marsh near the entrance road less than one-tenth mile north of the handicapped parking area. All three birds were with a bunch of Ring-billed Gulls. Two Caspian Terns were also in the group.
Sheila Junge
Hayward, CA
Least Terns near Point Isabel
Mon, 29 May 2000 09:27:14 -0700
From: Lina Jane Prairie
Along the Albany waterfront trail [new segment of the Bay Trail from north parking lot of Golden Gate Fields racetrack to Point Isabel] towards the Costco end [north end, actually in Richmond and Contra Costa County], I observed 10 Least Terns on the new shell islands and 20 American White Pelicans overhead.
Lina Jane Prairie
Hayward Shoreline
Mon, 29 May 2000 11:03:02 PDT
From: Bob Richmond
At Hayward Regional Shoreline, the Arctic Tern and Forster's Tern are nesting again this year. They are incubating two eggs. Also four pairs of Black Skimmers are present, with at least one on a nest.
Two pairs of Eared Grebes are present with chicks. One has two and the other has three. These are the fourth and fifth Alameda County nest records, the third was also here last year.
Good birding
Bob
Least Terns, White-faced Ibis and Black
Skimmers
Mon, 29 May 2000 17:40:45 -0700
From: Calvin Lou
Least Terns continue at the Albany Flats [between Point Isabel and Golden Gate Fields] at low tide.
This afternoon, the White-faced Ibis continues at Arrowhead Marsh at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline. The ibis was in Mitigation Marsh near the entrance road less than one-tenth mile north of the handicapped parking area. Also a Clapper Rail was present.
At Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, 7 Black Skimmers were on the right island inside the fences, toward the bay [from the center].
Calvin Lou
Sibley Volcanic Regional Park on Sunday
Mon, 29 May 2000 19:59:20 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Bob Lewis' Golden Gate Audubon Society field trip on Sunday morning had wonderful weather and quite a few birds at Sibley Volcanic Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. Among the highlights were a Golden Eagle, lots of Lazuli Buntings, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Lark Sparrow.
We took Round Top Trail to the left (west) of the hill. From the north side of the hill, one alert person spotted the eagle perched in a tree below the leftmost electronic tower on the hill. Later it gave us a fine exhibition of soaring, while two Red-tailed Hawks cavorted above it and an American Kestrel hovered, harrassed a redtail, and then was itself driven off by smaller birds.
If you continue north on this trail, bearing to the left, you will come to a small rectangle of chain-link fence. The sparrows were in the area near this fencing and up the hill from it. Western Bluebirds usually are in this area, but they were surprisingly absent on Sunday. One White-throated Swift made a brief appearance overhead.
A few of us left the group on the way out and walked around the Loop Trail on the east side of the hill. We had great close-up views of a pearched Red-tailed Hawk, and we saw a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers. A Red-shouldered Hawk made an appearance over the canyon to the southeast, and we heard California Quail in the distance (unless one of the many youngsters around was doing a good and subtle quail imitation).
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA