Berryivores
Sat, 2 Feb 2002 08:39:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Tony Chappelle
Greetings! I heard once that robins etc. can be affected by overconsumption of pyracantha berries much as humans are effected by overconsumption of alcohol. Has anyone else heard this? Perhaps this is contributing to the highway mortality?
Tony
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Drunken bird stories
Sat, 02 Feb 2002 10:27:17 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
The issue of whether robins and other birds get drunk on fermented berries has been debated for ages. Do a web search on "birds AND berries AND intoxicated OR drunken" and you'll find hundreds of sites, arguing both sides of the issue. Here are a few interesting ones:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/animals/drunken_birds.html
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=5465
http://wildlife.usask.ca/english/backNewsLetters/NewsVol6No1.htm#poisoning
Here's a case (last item in column) where CalTrans apparently did remove cotoneaster from the median:
http://www.truckline.com/infocenter/columns/route/ar_031401.html
Whether it's poisoning, intoxication, or overloading, they certainly do sometimes act as if they were drunken. But it would take autopsies on dead birds from lots of different incidents to find out whether alcohol was involved in very many of them. Still, putting berry-laden bushes in the middle of a busy freeway close to high-speed traffic does seem a bit thoughtless.
To make this relevant to the East Bay, I'll add that I've had flocks of from 20 to 200 American Robins around my neighborhood near the El Cerrito Plaza, and I had never seen more than a few in the previous six years I've lived here. Old-timers tell about flocks of thousands of robins that once roosted overnight in the Oakland Hills and flew down to the lawns in the morning. It will be interesting to see from the region-wide CBC data whether these birds came from some other area (which would have much lower-than-usual counts of thrushes) or whether it was for some reason a great year for survival of first-year thrushes. It also seemed to be a great autumn/winter for berries around here.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
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Re: American Robins in Oakland Hills
Sat, 2 Feb 2002 14:46:17 -0800 (PST)
From: John Harris
Larry et al.
I was interested in your comment regarding American Robins roosting in the Oakland Hills at night, and foraging on lawns, etc. during the day. I am often in Redwood Park, near the old headquarters on Skyline, between 3:30 and 5:00 PM or so, and I've been seeing large numbers of robins overhead, apparently heading into the park from the west, so perhaps this pattern continues.
John H. Harris
Biology Department, Mills College
Oakland, CA
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White-throated Sparrow in El Cerrito yard
Sat, 02 Feb 2002 15:27:31 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
I've had a White-throated Sparrow (white-striped) feeding in my yard this afternoon. There is also a small flock (20 to 30) of White-crowned Sparrows, but the White-throated has been feeding by himself. I had good looks from as close as my binoculars focus, and the yellow lores and well-defined white throat patch are unmistakable.
At least one House Finch began singing a week or more ago, and yesterday a Lesser Goldfinch began to sing. Even though it was a nice sunny day for Candlemas/Groundhog Day, the birds seem to think that spring is near.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Re: Birds preparing for spring
Sat, 02 Feb 2002 15:36:00 -0800
From: Lisa Viani
Yesterday on San Pablo Creek at Kennedy Plaza (yes, in the middle of "downtown" San Pablo), I saw two Red-tailed Hawks engaging in some kind of nesting behavior. I've had lots of goldfinches singing in my yard on the El Cerrito/Richmond border too.
Best,
Lisa Viani
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