Coyote Hills Regional Park
Sat, 13 Apr 2002 16:12:16 -0700
From: Rusty Scalf
An Albany Adult School class trip to Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont this morning saw good evidence of migratory movement. Students saw a Cassin's Vireo, Swainson's Thrushes and Bullock's Orioles. Orange-crowned, Wilson's and both races of Yellow-rumped Warblers were singing and feeding in the oaks. A Western Tanager made a quick fly-by and an invisible Pacific-slope Flycatcher sang from the hillside. Of interest were a pair of Blue-winged Teal in the westmost pond and a rather late Lincoln's Sparrow in Hoot Hollow.
Rusty Scalf
Sunol Regional Wilderness
Sat, 13 Apr 2002 20:01:41 -0700
From: Wen Hsu
I joined a Sierra Club hike at Sunol Regional Wilderness near Sunol today, and stayed a bit longer after the hike was over to check out the birds in the trees and bushes along the creek behind the visitor center and the Wilderness Room. Within 30 minutes (3:30 to 4 PM), and walking no more than 50 yards, I saw
California Quail - 2
Hermit Thrush - 1
Bullock's Oriole - 2
Acorn Woodpecker - 2
Black Phoebe - 2
plus
California Towhee - 1
Steller's Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Mallard - 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 2
And heard lots of songs and calls that I couldn't identify.
Wen Hsu
Berkeley
Advice on buying binoculars
Sat, 13 Apr 2002 23:34:25 -0700
From: Marc Rumminger
Editor's Note: A few days ago, Marc asked for advice from list members on purchasing binoculars. I had not posted that message and a couple of responses to the archives because they were not closely related to the topic of this list (birding in the East Bay). Such discussions really belong on BirdChat, and in fact they occur there periodically. However, this message summing up what Marc learned from other list members seemed so useful that I decided to post it to the archives, even though the information may become dated fairly rapidly. --Larry
EBB members -
Thanks for all of your advice. My question brought out a lot of responses, and although I'm not much clearer about which type or brand to buy, I now know where to find info.
For the benefit of the list, here is a summary of some of the responses I received privately.
Web resources:
* http://birds.cornell.edu/publications/livingbird/spring_99/binos.html - a many-page discussion of the pro/cons of binos and rating sheet for a great number of them.
* http://www.betterviewdesired.com/ - lauded as the best site out there.
* http://www.birdwatching.com/optics.html
* http://www.optics4birding.org/
* http://www.njaudubon.org/NatureNotes/Optics.html - written by an optics expert.
* http://www.bigpockets.com/R_binos.html - a big list of links for binos.
* BirdChat archives - has especially good information about customer service from the makers.On where to buy:
* Out of this World - http://www.discounttelescopes.com/ - in Mendocino - They have fairly competitive prices on Nikon, Leica, Bausch and Lomb, Swarovski and Zeiss. Website includes a detailed buying guide with explanatory figures.
* e-Bay
* National Camera Exchange (763.546.6831)
* Wild Birds Center in Walnut CreekParticular brands and models:
* Dollar for dollar, Swift is tough to beat.
* The newly redone 8.4 X 44 Audubon is splendid. Very bright and sharp and with a greater field of view than any other binocular I know about. They go for about $270 and I would put them on a par with the $600 to $800 crowd.
* The Swift Ultralite 8 X 42 is quite sharp, ergonomic, light weight, marvelous for back packing.
* It took me six months to finally buy a pair. My choice: Minolta Activa roof prism 8 X 42. It's got all the top-end features, great brightness ... to my eye comparable to Leica, but pales to Swarovski. It lists for $500, but I found it for $309 online.
Although online shopping was recommended, the overwhelming opinion was that one should try before buying.
Marc Rumminger
Oakland, CA