Fwd: Two long-distance San Francisco County
Pelagics
Thu, 03 Aug 2000 04:58:03 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
SFBirders, East-Bay-Birders, North-Bay-Birders:
For those of you do not receive e-mail from CalBird, here are two long-distance pelagic trips originating in Berkeley and passing through the Golden Gate. I am sure, by following the closest-point-of-land rule that the entire or nearly entire trip will be within San Francisco County waters.
Here is Todd Easterla's original post:
Calbirders,
Deep water pelagic birding trips now available on a very fast, clean boat out of Berkeley California. The web site is still under construction and more dates will be added soon. Check it out.
Posted to EBbird by Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Nesting Green-winged Teal
Thu, 3 Aug 2000 07:54:25 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
Yesterday morning, 2 August, I spent a couple of hours birding McNabney Marsh near Martinez. The highlight was a female Green-winged Teal with three half-grown youngsters. This is the first nest record for Contra Costa County and the fourth new county nest record this year.
It was slow otherwise. The high water levels out there leave little of the shorebird habitat that is usually out there at this time of year.
Good luck,
Steve
Banded Double-crested Cormorants at Richmond-San
Rafael Bridge
Thu, 3 Aug 2000 09:30:45 PDT
From: Mark Rauzon
Thought you all might be interested in the latest news from Team Cormorant!
Using 15X image-stabilizing binoculars, we were able to read the band number of the bird we saw last time. It is a 18-year-old cormorant, banded in 1982 on Maintop of the S. E. Farallon Island. It is still breeding and has 3 eggs, although its position at the edge of the colony and late-season eggs suggests its reproductive fitness has peaked - but we shall see and perhaps be surprised. Meredith Elliott also reported seeing another banded cormorant at the Alameda Naval Air Station jetty recently.
Since our last-day of-July visit to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, there has been a rough total count of 433 fledglings so far from the cords (that part of the bridge we can see into.)
Mark Rauzon
Some backyard birds
Sat, 05 Aug 2000 21:12:55 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
Sorry if I have nothing special to report, but I thought a couple sightings from my kitchen window here in Livermore in eastern Alameda County may be of interest to some.
Last week while I was on the phone, I saw a male American Kestrel come in and land some 8 feet away from the window and grab and kill a female House Sparrow before flying off with it.
This morning I watched about a dozen Bushtits hopping around in a 8-foot-high Potato Bush. Most of the limbs touch the window. There couldn't have been more than 18 inches in distance between me and the closest Bushtit. And of course my camera wasn't ready.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
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Re: Some backyard birds
Sun, 6 Aug 2000 13:29:02 PDT
From: Doug Greenberg
Mike Feighner writes:
Sorry if I have nothing special to report, but I thought a couple sightings from my kitchen window here in Livermore in eastern Alameda County may be of interest to some.
I, too, am experiencing the summer doldrums, but I do have something to report. This year, the neighborhood I live in (south Berkeley, just west of Alta Bates Hospital) has been just replete with Lesser Goldfinches, more than I ever remember seeing and hearing before. The goldfinches are easily the most conspicuous birds around, singing constantly, flitting hither and yon, perching on wires and treetops, etc.
Is this species having a banner year elsewhere in the East Bay, or is this just a local outbreak?
Doug Greenberg
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Lesser Goldfinches on the Rise?
Sun, 06 Aug 2000 14:02:05 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
It seems to me this has been a very good year for Lesser Goldfinches. they seem to be on the increase here too in Livermore. Yes, their presence seems to be much more obvious than usual. There have been other reports through the SFBirds Egroups Listserv of increased nesting activity of Lesser Goldfinches in San Francisco as well. Can someone tell me if I have been misinterpreting the SFBirds reports on Lesser Goldfinches?
PS: The three Masked Lovebirds are still hanging out in my neighborhood just across the street.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
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A good year for ...
Sun, 06 Aug 2000 16:51:55 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Alan Kaplan mentioned today that it has been a banner year for Dark-eyed Juncos at Tilden Regional Park, with youngsters all over the place.
On Thursday, I saw three Lazuli Buntings in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park right next to the Wildcat Creek Trail, a short distance south of Rifle Range Rd. All were in drab plumage. I assumed it was a female with two youngsters.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
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