Arrowhead Marsh (Oakland) yesterday
Wed, 02 Jan 2002 10:14:08 -0800
From: Mike Ezekiel
I birded Arrowhead Marsh [in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline] in Oakland between 2:00 and 5:00 PM. When we arrived, both Arrowhead and the New/Mitigation marsh were almost totally submerged, but began coming out of the high tide fairly soon. I haven't checked tides, but could see that we arrived as the water was streaming out the channel from the New Marsh.
There must have been 750 shorebirds - Marbled Godwits and Willets, primarily - sitting on the boardwalk, but before we had a chance to look at them very long, a family walked out and flushed them all. As there was almost now dry land, I was assuming that there should have been lots of Clapper Rails on the boardwalk as there didn't seem to be any place else for them to go, but when we scanned the emerging reeds, we only saw one Clapper. Nothing else of much note to report except about 4 Barrow's Goldeneyes - neither we or several other people we saw found the Blue-winged Teals that were reported at the seasonal pond at the end of Edgewater Dr earlier.
Mike Ezekiel
Oakland
Raptors in Oakland
Wed, 2 Jan 2002 12:17:57 -0800
From: Bruce Mast
This morning I observed 2 Red-shouldered Hawks at the Bird Sanctuary at Lake Merritt in Oakland. They were moving north through the Botanical Gardens to points beyond. A couple of weeks ago I encountered a guy in the park who told me there is a Red-shouldered Hawk nest with a chick in it somewhere in the park area around the lake. Can anyone substantiate this?
Just had the pleasure of watching an adult (presumably male, judging from size) Sharp-Shinned Hawk outside my bedroom/office window as it killed and ate a Mourning Dove.
Bruce Mast
Oakland, CA
I need help!
Wed, 2 Jan 2002 14:20:30 PST
From: Jeff Mohamed
I have a British friend visiting who has a list of birds she particularly wants to see while she's here. I know where to find most of the birds on her list but does anyone know any fairly reliable Contra Costa County or Marin County sites for California Thrasher, Western Screech-Owl, and Phainopepla?
Thanks!
Jeff
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Hooded Mergansers at Berkeley Aquatic Park
Wed, 02 Jan 2002 19:10:53 -0800
From: Ted Duffield
My wife and I saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers at Berkeley Aquatic Park late in the afternoon on New Year's Day. They flew into the middle pool shortly after we arrived and we watched them for half an hour or so until it got too dark. The plumage on the male was quite striking even in poor light.
Ted
Re: I need help!
Thu, 03 Jan 2002 20:26:00 -0800
From: Tom Condit
I don't know about "reliable," but I'm told that the Mines Road - Patterson Pass - etc. area of southern Alameda County is good for Phainopepla. I have seen sign but not the actual birds at Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.
California Thrasher are everywhere from Wildcat Canyon Regional Park eastward, but tend to be secretive (that is, under the scrub rather than on top).
Does anyone know better spots?
Tom
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California Thrashers in Wildcat Canyon
Thu, 03 Jan 2002 23:24:48 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning on Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk in Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, we saw a California Thrasher singing from the top of a bush near the road, and later heard probably another one singing not too far away.
From the Alvarado Staging Area off Park Ave, walk out the Wildcat Creek Trail toward Tilden Regional Park. This trail is actually an old paved road that continues for more than a mile to an old parking lot with a single picnic table (this lot was the EBRPD staging area before they acquired the lower part of the canyon to Alvarado Area). At several places, the paved road is buried beneath mudslides. Not too far before the old parking lot, the full width of the paved road is exposed, with double yellow center lines still visible. It was in this vicinity that we saw and heard the thrashers. You will know when you reach the old parking lot because the main road is blocked by a fallen tree (one of a few growing in concrete planters) and the detour around that tree goes through the old parking lot. From here to Tilden Nature Area, the trail is an unpaved fire road.
Along Wildcat Creek Trail between Alvarado Area and the old parking lot, we saw many birds including Purple Finches, Bewick's Wrens, a flyover of 9 Band-tailed Pigeons, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks perched near the road in the morning fog, a Downy Woodpecker, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a Varied Thrush, a Hermit Thrush, and a few Northern Flickers including one yellow-shafted. In Alvarado Area, we saw a Cedar Waxwing (yes, just one in a small tree with a Spotted Towhee).
Perhaps the easiest way to find the Alvarado Staging Area is to take McBryde Ave east up the hill from San Pablo Ave in Richmond. This will bring you to a Y fork at the entrance of the Alvarado Area. Stay to the left on Park Ave and watch for the entrance to the Staging Area on the left in a short distance.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA