White-throated Sparrow
Tue, 7 Nov 2000 19:02:42 -0800
From: Rusty Scalf
There is a white morph White-throated Sparrow in my back yard [2700 block of Dohr St in Berkeley]. Anyone wishing to see this bird call me at
510.666.9936 -home
510.622.4520 -work
Rusty Scalf
Fwd: Redwood Regional Park Pileated Woodpecker
Tue, 07 Nov 2000 22:08:37 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
Forwarding the following e-mail for Roy Carlson from San Carlos:
At noon today, I heard, and then saw, a Pileated Woodpecker near the same spot mentioned in a previous submission over the weekend. From the Skyline Staging Area, take the West Ridge Trail to a point just beyond the intersection with the French Trail. There is an open spot looking over to the hills to the southeast. The bird was calling and flying from the vicinity of the trail intersection to the ridge across. Another good vantage point would be from a bench (memorial from the Berkeley Hiking Club) 100 to 150 yards further along the trail. This spot overlooks much of the park and the hills beyond - should be able to see and hear the Pileated's perambulations in the area. Other birds of interest were many Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Cooper's Hawk.
Roy Carlson
San Carlos, California
Posted to EBbird by Mike Feighner
Recent sightings at Martin Luther King Jr
Regional Shoreline, Oakland
Wed, 08 Nov 2000 16:31:13 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
Here are some recent, personal "first of the season" sightings, with dates of the sighting, at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline:
Green-winged Teal, 23 October
American Pipit, 1 November
Say's Phoebe, 4 November
Peregrine Falcon, 8 November
The young Golden Eagle has also been hanging around, with very empty crop.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Say's Phoebe in Richmond
Wed, 08 Nov 2000 16:50:07 -0800
From: Lisa Viani
I also spotted a Say's Phoebe last Sunday (in the polluted Zeneca marsh) at the Richmond shoreline (off of 51st Street).
Lisa Viani
Editor's Note: To reach this area, take the Bayview exit from Hwy 580 and turn onto Seaport Ave (Seaport is straight ahead if you are coming off the freeway heading toward Berkeley), then immediately left onto 51st St. You can go only a block on 51st, then park, and follow the trail toward the Bay. The Zeneca marsh is on your right (the northern part of this marsh is discolored by past chemical discharges). When you reach the Bay Trail, you can go south toward Point Isabel or north toward Meeker Slough and Marina Bay.
Lake Merritt this week
Wed, 8 Nov 2000 22:00:34 -0800
From: Mike Ezekiel
Hello EB Birders,
I signed on to the listserv a while back but haven't contributed anything yet, but as I have been taking a 20-minute stroll at Lake Merritt [in downtown Oakland] every morning this week, thought I would send this out.
Today, I saw what I am fairly certain was an immature Trumpeter Swan in the lobe of the lake that stretches out toward the Grand Lake theatre - sorry to be uncertain, but it was fairly distant , I didn't have a scope, and frankly haven't seen all that many trumpeters anyway.
Also of note:
numerous (8 or 10) Barrow's Goldeneye
one Cattle Egret
also, Bonaparte Gulls just showed up today
and all the usual gang of ducks, geese, coots, cormorants, herons, egrets, and gulls.
Mike Ezekiel
Oakland
Immature Great Blue Heron at Lake Merritt
Thu, 09 Nov 2000 17:28:47 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
I stopped by the Rotary Nature Center at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland this afternoon, and a staff member told me that the pair of Great Blue Herons nested successfully this year, and the first-year heron is often to be seen on the islands, sometimes coming to the island directly across from the center.
The Cattle Egret has taken up residence for the winter. It's usually to be found near the Nature Center.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Marina Bay & Meeker Slough, Richmond
Thu, 09 Nov 2000 21:33:26 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning I made a quick trip around the area of Meeker Slough and Marina Bay in Richmond. The tide was high, and there was a slight wind keeping many of the land birds in hiding. Still, I saw a quite respectable variety of birds.
Next Thursday morning (16 November) I'll lead a walk in this area, starting at 8 AM from Shimada Friendship Park (see the Calendar for more details). I hope many of you will join me (I picked the day because there's no East Bay Regional Parks birdwalk that morning). With better tides, more birders, and (I hope) a scope or two to pick out waterbirds and distant shorebirds, we should do even better than the list below.
And, if anyone else would like to lead an EBBC walk in an area you know well, just e-mail me the details and I'll be happy to put it in the calendar.
Here's what I saw this morning:
Pied-billed Grebe - 2
Horned Grebe - 1
Eared Grebe - 2
Western Grebe - 12
Clark's Grebe - 2
Aechmophorus sp. - 30
Brown Pelican - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 12
Great Egret - 2
Snowy Egret - 3
Turkey Vulture - 4
Canada Goose - 62
Gadwall - 2
American Wigeon - 3
Mallard - 20
Surf Scoter - 50
Bufflehead - 40
Common Goldeneye - 5
Ruddy Duck - 400
American Coot- 150
Black-bellied Plover - 4
Willet - 90
Marbled Godwit - 9
Sanderling - 3
Western Sandpiper - 12
Least Sandpiper - 25
Dunlin - 12
Herring Gull - 1
Western Gull - 20
Rock Dove - 20
Mourning Dove - 2
Anna's Hummingbird - 3
Black Phoebe - 1
Hutton's Vireo - 1
Bushtit - 6
Marsh Wren - several heard
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 1
California Towhee - 3
White-crowned Sparrow - 17
Golden-crowned Sparrow - 15
Dark-eyed Junco - 10
Red-winged Blackbird - 25
Western Meadowlark - 2
House Sparrow - 5
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA