Re: Found robins, missing blackbirds and
waxwings
Mon, 8 Oct 2001 10:38:27 PDT
From: George McRae
Here is my theory about the changing patterns for robins and waxwings. (At least as far as El Cerrito is concerned....)
There has been an accelerated degree of development and environmental change/degradation here in El Cerrito in the last couple of years. An accelerated removal of nesting trees and food sources. Along the San Pablo corridor and Ohlone Greenway the rate of tree removal is unprecedented. Canyon Trail Park is under attack with tree removal. And on private properties here, everywhere you go people are cutting down trees and clearing food sources (berry bushes, etc.). It may sound anecdotal, but if you have any experience here in El Cerrito, it will be clear to you that the environment is rapidly being exterminated. So there is nowhere for the birds to nest and or feed.
When I lived in considerably more urban Oakland I was impressed with the vast variety of wildlife coexisting there especially birds. I had a suction-cup window feeder outside my apartment window and was constantly overwhelmed with finches, chickadees, sparrows, robins, hummingbirds, hawks, you name it they were there. When my wife and I moved in together in a little rental in the Temescal area of Oakland we put up numerous feeders in out tiny yard and had to more often than not restock them twice a day so numerous were the birds.
We moved to El Cerrito in 1996 and the first thing I noticed was the absence of birds. We put up the feeders, and they went largely unused!! The feed would get wet, sprout go bad, We'd freshen it up and still no birds we move it around, no birds. We have hummingbirds, the desperate robin pair which nests in the ornamental plums in the front of the house, and the occasional Mourning Dove. If it weren't for the squirrels there would be no point of putting up the feeders at all. And it has only gotten worse. Robins did visit our Pyracantha for the first couple of years in mass as well as the waxwings, but in the last 3 years it goes as well largely un-visited. The berries eventually fall off uneaten. So my conclusion is that in the city as a whole there is a large-scale environmental change taking place which is driving the birds elsewhere. The city is not bird friendly. And I believe it is the city's denuded landscape which is responsible and the anti-environmental policies/lifestyles of the community. I know this may rub some folks the wrong way and may not be appropriate for the site and for this I apologize. But it is an area of enormous concern to me as I love birds and am sorry to see them go.
George McRae
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Missing data
Mon, 8 Oct 2001 11:25:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Peter Rauch
George McRae wrote:
Here is my theory about the changing patterns for robins and waxwings. (At least as far as El Cerrito is concerned....)
I don't think the theory flies....
There has been an accelerated degree of development and environmental change/degradation here in El Cerrito in the last couple of years.
There remains a huge number of feeding/nesting sites all over El Cerrito.
An accelerated removal of nesting trees and food sources. Along the San Pablo corridor and Ohlone Greenway the rate of tree removal is unprecedented. Canyon Trail Park is under attack with tree removal.
Not so. Canyon Trail Park has had some few trees removed, and plans to remove pines (which incidentally will make room for any number of native species of trees/shrubs lingering in the undercrown of those few pines). Those replacement trees - many will be native oaks which provide refuge and food for a huge number of native birds and insects - will be welcomed by the local native wildlife.
And on private properties here, everywhere you go people are cutting down trees and clearing food sources (berry bushes, etc.). It may sound anecdotal,
It does seem to need some hard counting. The city seems to still have a preponderance of very heterogenous "green" over much of its length and breadth.
but if you have any experience here in El Cerrito, it will be clear to you that the environment is rapidly being exterminated. So there is nowhere for the birds to nest and or feed.
That's certainly not the El Cerrito I know.
... So my conclusion is that in the city as a whole there is a large-scale environmental change taking place which is driving the birds elsewhere. The city is not bird friendly. And I believe it is the city's denuded landscape which is responsible and the anti-enviromental policies/lifestyles of the community.
Hardly. Given the tendency of bird populations to fluctuate - to wax and wane - over time and space, a less dramatic explanation might be that any such local change is momentary and normal.
I know this may rub some folks the wrong way and may not be appropriate for the site and for this I apologize.
The rub is the lack of sound data to back up the impressions.
But it is an area of enormous concern to me as I love birds and am sorry to see them go.
On the other hand, those intermittent fluctuations may be just what Nature ordered for them, in order to give us humans something to ponder and to figure out how to explain. :>)
Peter
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Another morning walk
Mon, 8 Oct 2001 13:34:50 -0700
From: Val Blakely
On my morning walk this morning along Alameda Creek, I did see what I saw last Thursday - Black-crowned Night-Herons (6), Black-necked Stilts (2), Common Mergansers (6), Snowy Egret (2), and Mallards. The dam downstream from Mission Blvd and the SPRR railroad track is a hot spot for these birds. To my joy, I saw some birds I haven't seen for a little while along the creek. These were Gadwalls (4), Northern Shovelers (12), and a Green Heron (I think it should still be called Green-backed Heron). And of course, downstream from the dam inhabits about 150 Canada Geese surrounding an island. These is where I saw the shovelers. This island can easily be viewed from J St in the Niles District of Fremont. Just take Mission Boulevard and turn on Niles Blvd toward the old town of Niles (away from the hills) and turn on J St. Go through two stop signs and to the end of the road, which dead-ends at a levee along Alameda Creek. Go up the levee and look straight down to see the island. I have seen American White Pelicans there about two weeks ago. If you walk downstream from J St, you will run into Niles Community Park. Great place to see turtles, waterfowl, and other birds.
'Til next time,
Val Blakely
Fremont, CA
Birds in El Cerrito
Tue, 9 Oct 2001 17:19:07 -0700
From: Russ Wilson
Att'n. George McRae:
You expressed a theory for a perceived reduction in bird population in El Cerrito, and me thinks you should find another theory. You stated that "If you have any experience here in El Cerrito it will be clear to you that the environment is rapidly being exterminated." My experience comes from having lived in El Cerrito (in the same house) for more than 50 years, and in the long run the bird population has been quite stable. Some species such as robins, and - more specifically - waxwings, appear to go in cycles. I don't see many around for a year or two, and suddenly they're back again.
I have a small backyard, but I can look out almost anytime and see Lesser Goldfinches, House Finches, California Towhees, Mourning Doves, hummingbirds, and robins. And not infrequently mockingbirds, Steller's Jays, scrub-jays, chickadees or Bushtits and - seasonally - Hooded Orioles. Last week there were 2 Townsend's Warblers foraging at eye level beside our patio.
You also mentioned the vast variety of wildlife that coexisted in Oakland. It happens here too. My backyard is often a host to deer, raccoons, skunks and opossums.
Perhaps you're being too accommodating to the squirrels. After I witnessed a squirrel stealing eggs from a Bushtit's nest I took action. Over a period of time I relocated 20 or 25 squirrels to another habitat where I'm sure that Great Horned Owls and hawks were happy to find them on their menu.
Russ Wilson
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Seabird viewing in Alameda County?
Tue, 9 Oct 2001 17:28:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Vijay Ramachandran
Hello.
Is there any place to see seabirds in Alameda County, from the shore? This is in connection with a birdathon big day.
Many thanks,
Vijay
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