Arrowhead Marsh Saturday morning
Sat, 14 Jul 2001 13:47:10 -0700
From: Mike Ezekiel
I walked for an hour between 8:30 and 10:00 this morning at Arrowhead Marsh in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline (Oakland) - lots of birds in a fairly high - but probably ebbing - tide. (In other words, Arrowhead Marsh didn't have any mudflats, but Mitigation Marsh did.)
There are a lot of birds present in Mitigation Marsh - hundreds of Willets, Marbled Godwits and peeps. Of note was one Long-billed Curlew, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Black-bellied Plover, numerous Short-billed Dowitcher with some in red-breasted breeding plumage.
I haven't seen the Burrowing Owl in a while - anybody?
Mike Ezekiel
Oakland
Double-crested Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Forster's Tern
Caspian Tern
Western Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Western Sandpiper (probably Least Sandpiper as well, but they were pretty far out)
Black-legged Stilt
American Avocet
Willet
Marbled Godwit
Short-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Yellowlegs
Black-bellied Plover
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Clapper Rail (heard only - not seen)
American Coot
Lesser Scaup
Mallard
Black Phoebe
House Finch
European Starling
Mourning Dove
Northern Mockingbird
American Crow
Albany Mudflats, Long-tailed Duck
Sun, 15 Jul 2001 09:16:58 -0700
From: Dustin Alcala
I visited the Albany Mudflats and peninsula [Albany Bulb] Saturday afternoon from about 1:00 to 3:00. [Access from foot of Buchanan St.]
At low tide the number and composition of shorebirds was very similar to that reported by Mike Ezekiel yesterday. Hundreds of peeps with only Western Sandpipers identified, hundreds of Willets, and up to a hundred or so Short-billed Dowitchers.
The Long-tailed Duck was easily seen at the northeast point of landmass west of the mudflat. She was still in the company of a lone Greater Scaup. Unusual was a Cooper's Hawk that flew into the trees in this area.
Here's the complete list and estimated numbers:
Western Grebe 1
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 6
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Canada Goose 12
Mallard 2
Greater Scaup 1
Long-tailed Duck 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Black-bellied Plover 4
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 15
American Avocet 14
Willet 200+
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Whimbrel 12
Long-billed Curlew 2
Marbled Godwit 15
Western Sandpiper 200 to 300
Short-billed Dowitcher 80
California Gull 2
Western Gull 50
Caspian Tern 6
Forster's Tern 10
Least Tern 5
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Black Phoebe 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 4
American Crow
Bushtit 45
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling
California Towhee 5
Savannah Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 35
House Finch
American Goldfinch 6
Little Blue Heron continues at Niles
Sun, 15 Jul 2001 17:55:00 -0700
From: Calvin Lou
This morning, the adult little blue heron was present at Alameda Creek at the Niles Community Park [in the Niles area of Fremont]. The bird was seen first on the down-stream end of the large island with the shopping carts to the other island.
Calvin Lou
Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Castro Valley
Mon, 16 Jul 2001 19:17:40 PDT
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was reported yesterday at a feeder in Castro Valley. The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was on schedule today on an hourly basis with sightings at 2:30 PM, 4:35 PM, and 5:32 PM. Other birders present were Emilie Strauss, Kevin Hintsa, and Helen W. Besides a female Black-headed Grosbeak and a male Black-headed Grosbeak, two juvenile Grosbeaks showed up periodically at the feeders showing an inclination of hybridization with a streaked breast and yellowish underwings. When the camera was ready, the birds weren't.
Many thanks to the Casello Family for their hospitality. The location is in the 5900 block of Highwood Rd.
Good birding....
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, Alameda County