Great day in Contra Costa County on 8 June
Fri, 9 Jun 2000 09:30:32 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
Despite yesterday's miserable winds I managed to have a top-notch day in the county. First I headed to McNabney Marsh [east of Martinez] to see what the Great-tailed Grackles were up to. After watching them fly from one end of the marsh to the other for over an hour, I finally saw them disappear into the same area enough times that I figured that must be where the nest is. Eventually I saw the female carrry nest material into the clump for the first county nest record. I will keep trying for stronger evidence on this one since it is the first record. When I arrived at the north end there was also a singing male Yellow-headed Blackbird but I never saw it again after that. The real highlight, though, was a well-studied female Blue-winged Teal with ten tiny youngsters. See Shuford's excellent Marin Atlas book for cautions on nesting Blue-winged Teal. There were also two male Blue-winged Teal at the south end. The other interesting thing there was the number of Cliff Swallows. The young from nearby have recently fledged and there were approximately 300 there today.
With my mission accomplished I headed east to atlas in a block in Bay Point. They don't call it West Pittsburg anymore but it sure looks like West Pittsburg. Anyway, I headed south on Bailey Rd into the hills. This is a high speed, windy road with few pullouts so if you go out there please by very careful. In about a half mile or so you will pass a turnoff to the dump on the left. Just around a turn or two you will come upon a tiny pullout nest to a "45 MPH" sign. In the oaks downhill from there I found a singing male Northern Parula, my first in the county and only about the third or fourth county record. Also here was a fluffy white Great Horned Owl in a nest with an adult in the large snag. There was also Rock Wren and Rufous-crowned Sparrow here. Nest confirmations included House Wren, Western Meadowlark, Western Bluebird, Song Sparrow, California Towhee, House Finch, Brewer's Blackbird and Mourning Dove. Just a little farther in the nest block there was another meadowlark carrying food.
In the evening I headed to east county. At Orwood Resort at the east end of Orwood Rd there was a pair of Blue Grosbeaks, as well as a Brewer's Blackbird feeding a Brown-headed Cowbird. An adult Red-shouldered Hawk was at the Orwood Resort. Finally, at dusk, I stopped at Clifton Court Forebay near Byron to look for Lesser Nighthawk. I had three at exactly 8:30 crossing south to north over the houses and bulldozers on the entrance road.
Good luck,
Steve Glover
Dublin, CA
Great Horned Owls, etc.
Sat, 10 Jun 2000 07:25:06 -0700 (PDT)
From: Karen Peterson
Yesterday, 9 June, I walked Nimitz Trail [north from Inspiration Point in Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley Hills] looking for the elusive MacGilllivray's Warbler, which I didn't find, but the highlights were a Great Horned Owl mom and 2 kids, an Ash-throated Flycatcher, a good-sized flock of noisy Red-breasted Nuthatches, and several Northern Harriers including two immatures strongly disagreeing (or playing - do raptors play?).
I was alerted to the presence of the owls by Kathy Robertson, who gave me directions. They are on the left side of the trail about 100 feet before the quarter-mile marker. The nest looks big enough for a condor, but I guess it is just a strange growth pattern of the tree. When I first saw them, one fuzzy baby was sitting on a branch above the nest, one was in it, and Mom was looking on. I was informed by a passer by that there had been 3, but a carcass was discovered on the path about 2 weeks ago. On the right side of the path an Olive-sided Flycatcher was in a hurry for beers.
Karen Peterson
Berkeley
Reply #1 Reply #2 Subject Index
Re: Great Horned Owls, etc.
Sat, 10 Jun 2000 08:33:34 -0700
From: Cynthia Hamilton
Karen Peterson wrote:
Yesterday, 9 June, I walked the Nimitz Trail looking for the elusive MacGilllivray's Warbler, which I didn't find, but the highlights were a Great Horned Owl mom and 2 kids, ....
Ummmmm - where is the Nimitz Trail?
Cynthia Hamilton
Original Message Next Reply Subject Index
Re: Nimitz Trail
Sat, 10 Jun 2000 12:47:28 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Cynthia Hamilton wrote:
Ummmmm - where is the Nimitz Trail?
I'm sure that Karen was referring to Nimitz Way, the paved trail that leads north along the ridge from Inspiration Point on Wildcat Canyon Rd at the east edge of Tilden Regional Park in the Berkeley Hills.
By the way, I was told by someone who seemed knowledgeable that the huge circular thing that looks like a giant nest is in fact a growth of the tree. It has a technical name, but basically it is something like a tumor - a situation where cell division gets out of control and produces closely clustered branches, twigs, and leaves.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Original Message Subject Index
McNabney Marsh and Bailey Road (Contra Costa
County)
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:15:42 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
Early this evening I spotted the pair of Blue-winged Teal at the south end of McNabney Marsh in Contra Costa County. Nearby were 10 disassociated ducklings, and there was no sign of the second male Blue-winged Teal.
At 8:20 PM I was about to give up hope for refinding the Great-tailed Grackles at the north end of McNabney Marsh when a female Great-tailed Grackle followed by two males flew in loudly from the east and headed to the west end of the marsh.
Earlier I did a follow-up on Steve Glover's Northern Parula across from the 45 mph sign on Bailey Road. It was quite breezy here. The Great-Horned Owl was quite visible. I could detect several species of birds by voice, but there was no sign of the Northern Parula either visible or audible.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Killdeer chick on I-80 at Emeryville
Sun, 11 Jun 2000 05:53:29 -0700
From: Joseph Morlan
East Bay Birders,
Yesterday afternoon while sitting in traffic approaching the Bay Bridge from Emeryville, I noticed two adult Killdeer with a tiny chick on the bare dirt at the Emeryville off/on ramps.
There is a triangle of bare dirt enclosed by the freeway and the two ramps. I wonder if this site has enough resources for this little guy to grow up without crossing the roads.
Also you may wish to ponder this month's mystery birds at:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/mysteries.htm
Enjoy!
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA
Fall Birding Classes begin Sept 5:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
Garin, Dry Creek Pioneer Parks
Sun, 11 Jun 2000 08:32:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: David Armstrong
We went on a 10-mile hike yesterday starting in Hayward at the Garin Regional Park entrance, then moving south to the Dry Creek Pioneer Park. The creek is anything but dry and there is a very long riparian corridor that has excellent habitat. Does this get birded often? I don't recall seeing reports on this list.
Here is a partial list of sightings from yesterday afternoon:
Horned Lark (abundant on hillsides)
Western Meadowlark
Hooded Oriole
Bullock's Oriole male/female (possibly nesting)
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Lazuli Bunting
Cooper's Hawk
Western Bluebird couple with fledgling
3 swallow species
White-throated Swift
Ash-throated Flycatcher
David Armstrong
Contra Costa County
Sun, 11 Jun 2000 20:04:13 -0700
From: Calvin Lou
June 11, 2000 - CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
ALBANY
At "least" 20 Least Terns were at the Albany Flats. Also present,
an Osprey.
BAILEY ROAD
The Great Horned Owl continues with the two chicks in the snag as
previously described by Steve Glover. The owl sat about ten feet from the
nest.
1180 SUNSET ROAD
While driving to Orwood, I spotted two Burrowing Owls in a field across from
1180 Sunset Road (Oliver Stables). I stopped and scanned the field which
also had sheep. There were a total of 10 Burrowing Owls in this field.
At the East End of Orwood Rd
There were two Blue Grosbeaks along the levee road at the end.
CLIFTON COURT FOREBAY
AT 5:50 PM, two Lesser Nighthawks flew over the road
at the bridge by the marina. At 5:55 PM another two birds
flew to the south. One landed in the field to the north. The birds seemed
to be hunting the canal beyond the field to the north. On my way out, I spotted
a family of 5 Burrowing Owls
Calvin D Lou
Wildcat Creek Regional Trail, Richmond
Sun, 11 Jun 2000 21:45:46 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
It was an interesting morning on Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk at the Wildcat Creek Regional Trail off the Richmond Pkwy between Gertrude and Pittsburg Aves. The small parking lot is on the west side of the road and a little hard to spot. All of the signage in the area has apparently been ripped out and stolen for the salvage value of the metal, and the restrooms have been closed because of vandalism.
The short segment of trail west of Richmond Pkwy follows a segment of creek that has been restored with a nice winding course and wetland borders - a far cry from the old concrete storm-channel approach. Eventually, the plan is to run the trail all the way up to Alvarado Park to connect with the trail in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. The trail does not go all the way out to the Bay - apparently some of the wetlands here still belong to Chevron, and others the Dept of Fish & Game wants to keep off limits to any human traffic.
We had some great looks at a variety of Red-winged Blackbirds, from this year's youngsters up to displaying males. A pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds were hanging around, as well as the usual finches and sparrows. Barn and Cliff Swallows were present, and flyovers included American Crow, Common Raven, Snowy Egret, and Green Heron (more of a flyby).
Of greatest interest were the raptors. A White-tailed Kite hovered and then perched close enough for great looks. Two Osprey came in from the Bay with fish and perched on poles to eat, one soon picking up its partially finished meal and heading back toward the Bay after a little sparring with a Northern Harrier. There was also a small hawk, probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk, that dashed past at low level and vanished into the trees before anyone had much of a look. A probable Red-tailed Hawk was perched on a power tower some distance away, but no one had brought a scope for a better view. (A scope would also be useful if you want to study the many gulls on the landfill from here.)
All in all, a fine example of how much bird life can be accomodated in a rather small area of wetland restoration.
[Web posting addendum: I forgot to mention a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants! --Larry]
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA