Banded Black Skimmer
Wed, 4 Apr 2001 09:55:48 PDT
From: Rusty Scalf
BirdWest today had a report of a banded Black Skimmer at Corte Madera Marsh in Marin. Does anyone know if the nestling Black Skimmers at Hayward Shoreline (over the years) have been banded? The only skimmer banding of which I am aware is at Bolsa Chica Lagoon in Orange County.
Rusty Scalf
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Re: Banded Black Skimmer
04 Apr 2001 10:04:56 -0700
From: Les Chibana
The skimmers that fledged from the Mountain View Shoreline area in the South Bay were banded by the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) but the description of the bands provided by the person that reported the Corte Madera banded skimmer did not match the bands used by SFBBO. I think that the Hayward birds have been banded at one time or another. A couple of the banded birds among the 9 to 14 skimmers that have been present year-around at Charleston Slough, Mountain View, are birds hatched at Bolsa Chica.
Les Chibana, Palo Alto
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Re: Birding hot spots
Wed, 4 Apr 2001 11:35:58 -0700
From: Maury Stern
In response to Larry's request:
March 1 - Violet-green Swallow at Lafayette Reservoir in Lafayette
March 11 - Cliff Swallow and Orange-crowned Warbler at Lafayette Reservoir
March 21 - Wood Duck, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and Bullock's Oriole at Upper San Leandro Reservoir near Moraga
March 23 - Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Lime Ridge in Walnut Creek
April 3 - Grasshopper Sparrow and Western Kingbird at Lime Ridge
Good birding,
Maury Stern
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Coyote Hills Regional Park
Wed, 4 Apr 2001 11:43:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Vijay Ramachandran
I had an opportunity to bird Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont on April 1. The returning birds I saw were lots (20+) of Wilson's Warblers, 1 Bullock's Oriole, goldfinches, and Cliff Swallows and Barn Swallows. I also heard the Great Horned Owl up in Hoot Hollow. White-crowned Sparrows were singing, but I did not see any Golden-crowned. There were also very few Yellow-rumped Warblers around - I saw just one, in very faded plumage. It was also nice to see at least 2 pairs of California Quail.
Vijay
Wood Ducks
Wed, 4 Apr 2001 12:28:20 -0700
From: Don Lewis
At Upper San Leandro Reservoir, Valle Vista staging area in Moraga, I saw 3, 2, 2, and 2 Wood Ducks on March 31. Not necessarily all different birds, of course. Last August 4, I saw 10 there, most of them juveniles. I'm pretty sure that they were raised right there. [Editor's Note: You need an East Bay Municipal Utility District hiking permit to enter this area. Buy one at any East Bay Regional Parks visitor center.]
I don't bird there much during the winter but my records over the years show them present at least from March 14 to September 9, although, until recently, not seen regularly. The Sibley Guide to Birds shows our area as year 'round for Wood Duck. Does anyone know whether the local birds move south for the winter? I suspect not. Did the Christmas Bird Count see Wood Duck last year in this area?
Third hand, I hear that the new Wood Duck box at the end of the bridge at Valle Vista is occupied already. Also, that there are a lot of Wood Duck at San Pablo Reservoir. Are they increasing their numbers? Due to all the nest boxes, or just a good year or two or ??
Is there a California Waterfowl Association member or anyone who can shed some light on the apparent increase in these gorgeous birds?
Don Lewis
Lafayette, CA
Re: Wood Ducks
04 Apr 2001 12:50:06 -0700
From: Les Chibana
Wood Ducks are present year 'round in the South Bay, I would guess the same situation applies to the rest of the Bay Area. I counted 118 of them on Almaden Reservoir on 10 February 2001, the highest number that I've seen or heard about in this location. They also breed in this area. This group probably included birds that breed elsewhere because counts during the breeding season are much lower, around 30+. However, since they seem to be more secretive during breeding season, it's probably harder to get a good idea of their summer population.
Les Chibana, Palo Alto
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First Pacific-slope Flycatcher in yard
Wed, 4 Apr 2001 16:06:57 -0700
From: John Luther
I heard my first Pacific-slope Flycatcher of the year today in my yard in the Oakland Hills. It is one day later than last year. Also saw an Orange-crowned Warbler collecting nesting material.
John Luther
100 birds in Contra Costa County
Wed, 04 Apr 2001 16:04:29 -0700
From: Nat Weber
On April 1 I went with Ray Witbeck, my brother-in-law, to attempt a 100-bird day in Contra Costa County. It worked - we had 102. We followed Steve Glover's directions for birding Contra Costa. Here is the URL for those instructions:
Some highlights were breeding-plumage Eared Grebes and Horned Grebes in the Richmond Harbor [Richmond Marina Bay]. Some shorebirds in near breeding plumage, particularly the Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin. We had one Spotted Sandpiper in near-breeding plumage. Also, three different vireos. No rarities and no flycatchers in Mitchell Canyon. We started on the Contra Costa side of Albany Cresent [Albany Mudflats], then to the Center Ave location in Richmond, then the Richmond Harbor and out towards Brooks Island. We went inland to Inspiration Point where we saw 4 warbler types in two trees. Then Mitchell Canyon.
Good Birding,
Nat Weber
Here is the full list:
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe (breeding plumage)
Eared Grebe (breeding plumage)
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
California Quail
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover (many in breeding plumage)
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper (near breeding plumage)
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Black Turnstone
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
dowitcher sp (clearly heard Short-billed Dowitcher)
Common Snipe
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Wrentit
Northern Mockingbird
California Thrasher
Starling
Hutton's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Cassin's Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Re: Banded Black Skimmers
Wed, 04 Apr 2001 18:21:07 PDT
From: Peter Dramer
There have been two (possibly three) Black Skimmer chicks banded at Hayward Shoreline. They were banded by Doug Bell of SFBBO (San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory) and he would certainly have the particulars. I may be able to get the info when I get back to work, but that will be next Tuesday.
Peter
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Yard birding in Lafayette
Wed, 04 Apr 2001 22:09:10 PDT
From: Jim Tietz
Hi-
Today I managed to find 42 species in my yard in Lafayette. The house is about 0.5 mile east of Stanley Junior High with Las Trampas Creek just 50 meters away. In the morning, I spent about an hour walking around the yard and pishing into the flowering and leafing oak trees. I then broke away from the computer periodically to see if there were any raptors flying about. I probably spent only about 2.5 hours outside. Here's the list:
2 Turkey Vulture
4 Mallard
2 Red-shouldered Hawk
3 Red-tailed Hawk (1 immature, 2 adult)
1 Merlin (brown-backed) A yard bird! Ripped through the goldfinches.
3 California Quail I only see them in our yard once a year now. They used to be much more common.
2 Mourning Dove
5 Band-tailed Pigeon
3 White-throated Swift foraging up high
1 Anna's Hummingbird (female)
1 Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird (male wing whir)
1 Nuttall's Woodpecker (male)
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
1 Black Phoebe
5 Cliff Swallow Yard bird! Flying with swifts very high.
4 Western Scrub-Jay
3 Steller's Jay
3 Oak Titmouse
2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
6 Bushtit
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
30 American Robin
3 Hermit Thrush
2 Northern Mockingbird
15 Cedar Waxwing
2 European Starling
8 Audubon's Warbler Most in breeding plumage and males singing
1 Myrtle Warbler Singing male
2 Townsend's Warbler 1 singing male and 1 female
1 Black-headed Grosbeak female
3 Spotted Towhee 2 singing male, 1 female
4 California Towhee
4 Golden-crowned Sparrow (1 singing)
1 White-crowned Sparrow (singing)
2 "Oregon" Dark-eyed Junco (both singing)
1 Brewer's Blackbird (flyby female)
1 Purple Finch (singing)
5 House Finch (some singing)
40 Pine Siskin (feeding in the oaks)
25 American Goldfinch (feeding in the oaks)
3 Lesser Goldfinch (singing)
The Bewick's Wrens were very loud 2 weeks ago, but are not making a peep now. They must all be nesting.
Jim