Snapshots of Cooper's Hawk fledglings
Wed, 20 Jun 2001 04:51:02 -0700
From: Russ Williams
Hi East Bay Birders:
If anyone wants to see some interesting snapshots of the Cooper's Hawk fledglings in Berkeley please go to http://birdsofberkeley.net and when the home page loads click on Yard Photos then click on Cooper's Hawk. Happy birding.
Russ Williams
Cooper's Hawk nest on UC Berkeley campus
Wed, 20 Jun 2001 10:55:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Emilie Strauss
Great photos, Russ! On Sunday June 17 I visited the Cooper's Hawk nest on the University of California-Berkeley campus (Alameda County), located just north of Moffit Library in a big eucalyptus. There were two chicks - one "branchling" just above the nest (head still downy), and (at least) one chick still in the nest. Best viewing is on the hill just north of the nest.
Mines Road Barn Owls
Fri, 22 Jun 2001 01:09:50 PDT
From: Kathy Robertson
Hello East Bay Birders,
On Wednesday June 20, at 8:30 PM, I staked out a known Barn Owl roost on Mines Rd in Alameda County [southeast of Livermore], and was amply rewarded. I had the pleasure of seeing a total of nine fledgling Barn Owls emerge from two different nest holes.
First the location: Heading out Mines Rd from Livermore, approximately 1 mile beyond the sharp left turn at the junction with Del Valle Rd, there is a sheer cliff face across a field on the left side of the road, near an old windmill. There is room to park on the side of the road, and I did so, just a little beyond being parallel with the windmill. At the upper left side of the cliff face, is a round hole (hereinafter referred to as Hole #1). Further to the right, and down lower, is a vertical fissure that has three vertically elongated cavities. The center cavity is actually a substantial little cave with much whitewash below it (Hole #2). On to the action...
When I arrived around 8:30, there was movement in both holes, particularly at #2, where I saw really good wing-stretch right out the opening of the cave mouth and caught several glimpses of (anxious) little heart-shaped faces peering out ("Mom, is it dark enough yet?"). At 8:50, the first fledgling emerged from #2, followed by four more in quick succession. They scrambled, flapped, and slid down out of the hole, with a couple of them perching on a knob slightly below and to the left of the hole. There were a couple of short flights (with the birds disappearing into the trees in the riverbed below the cliff) and a couple of return flights to the general vicinity of the hole. Then an adult flew out of the large oak next to the windmill, and perched in a tree at the top of the cliff above #1.
Around 9:00, fledglings started to emerge from #1. These guys gave the impression of being a bit younger. Although they were flapping madly and moving up and down clinging to the cliff face, I didn't see any of them actually take flight. There were a total of four that I could see.
By 9:10 I was about going blind trying to make anything out with my scope, so I put it aside and sat back to enjoy with my ears and unaided eyes. There was much clicking and screeching going on. There were flights of apparently adult birds hunting over the field between the road and the cliff face, including one who took off towards the northwest. A bit later, a bird that I believe was arriving from that general direction seemed to be heading toward #1, at which time the screeching sounds increased - dinnertime, I assumed.
What I wouldn't have given for a full moon (not due until July 5) or a big spotlight (just kidding!).
(Note: The cliff is a good distance from the road and on private property, hence the necessity to bird from the roadside. Without a scope, I'm afraid, the chances of seeing anything in or around the nest holes are pretty much nil.)
Good birding,
Kathy Robertson
Hayward, CA
Blue-crowned Parakeet in Hayward
Fri, 22 Jun 2001 11:02:15 -0700
From: Sheila Junge
A loud unfamiliar call drew my eye to a large yellow-green "parrot" in the top of a neighbor's conifer. The tree is quite tall so I got a pretty good case of warbler neck while trying to identity the bird. A sacrificial apple failed to lure the parakeet closer!
The blue crown wasn't apparent although the head was drabber than the rest of the bird. Field marks that led me to conclude the bird was a Blue-crowned Parakeet: pronounced white eye ring, very pink beak (and feet!) with darker lower mandible, definite reddish color at the base of the tail feathers. I saw a bit of the underside of the flight feathers while the bird was perched and they appeared to be yellow. The underside of the parakeet was generally yellower and the back greener. It was quite large. Sibley gives a size of 14.5 inches for Blue-crowned while National Geographic has 10. The parakeet was definitely larger than the Northern Mockingbirds and Western Scrub-Jays that were present.
The parakeet was seen in an old residential neighborhood near downtown Hayward (the tree is on Myrtle south of C St).
Good birding,
Sheila Junge
Hayward, CA
Birdbox transcriber needed
Fri, 22 Jun 2001 17:11:51 PDT
From: Collin Murphy
Dear Birders,
Please note the following message received from the Northern California Birdbox transcriber, David Armstrong. If anyone can help out with this important job [transcribing the phone reports of rare birds for distribution by e-mail on BirdWest], please contact David ASAP.
Thanks, Collin Murphy
Date: 6/21/01 12:16:12 PM PDT
From: David ArmstrongDear Collin,
As of June 30th I will no longer be able to transcribe the BirdBox reports. I will not be around much this summer, and as I am sure you are aware it is very time consuming in general, and I cannot do it often enough to be very useful. I will do another transcription this weekend and a final one at the end of the month. If you are able to find another volunteer for this I will help that person with the transition.
Regards,
David Armstrong