Black-crowned Night-Herons at Rockridge
Shopping Center
Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 15:56:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kathy Jarrett
Sunday evening April 28 at dusk there were at least 2 Black-crowned Night-Herons in the old quarry at the Rockridge Shopping Center, Pleasant Valley (51st St) and Broadway in Oakland. This body of water is behind a fence that runs between Long's Drugs and Emil Villa's restaurant.
kathy jarrett
Ohlone Wilderness Trail backpacking trip
Thu, 2 May 2002 16:08:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kathy Jarrett
ebb'ers:
Thought you might be interested in this:
Golden Gate Audubon Society Backpack Trip, Ohlone Wilderness Trail, April 25 to April 27, 2002 Report by leader Kathy Jarrett
When our group arrived at Sunol Regional Wilderness at 9:30 AM on Thursday morning, April 25, the weather was cool but sunny. Five of us left our backpacks on a picnic table by the interpretive center and birded along the creek and the meadow while my husband and a friend ferried our van to Lake del Valle. An unexpected sighting was two Green Herons winging over the meadow. We also saw Western Bluebirds, Yellow-billed Magpies, Black Phoebes, and Acorn Woodpeckers. We saw the brilliant Bullock�s Oriole and the Golden-crowned Sparrow.
Finally we knew we had to put on the backpacks, loaded with three days� worth of provisions, and hit the trail. As we climbed we saw some Bewick�s Wrens. The wildflowers were fantastic, with Chinese houses, lupine, Mariposa lilies and poppies thriving in the serpentine rock. We descended to return to Alameda Creek at Little Yosemite and have lunch; my husband and our friend caught up with us there. We enjoyed Steller�s Jays and Acorn Woodpeckers and the falling water below us as we ate.
Our friend left to return to work, and the rest of us, now six, ambled up Alameda Creek. We heard a report of Phainopeplas but unfortunately did not see any ourselves. We were rewarded with a great view of a Lazuli Bunting, however. We had a steep climb to Backpacker�s Camp and pitched our tents. We then enjoyed an afternoon watching Western Bluebirds, Western Meadowlarks, Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels. We cooked our dinner and turned in early.
During the night it rained briefly and we woke to fog, which we expected to burn off as the day warmed. We were so wrong; it got cooler and windier as we climbed steeply toward Rose Peak, which, at an altitude of 3,817 feet is only some 50 feet below Mt Diablo. The previous day we had started from an altitude of 390 feet.
By lunchtime we had to seek the shelter of a creek drainage to avoid the wind, and be the time we arrived at Maggie�s Half Acre, our second camp, we had been trudging through a rain cloud that precipitated on us from every tree. We still managed to see Lark Sparrows and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, and some great views of Horned Larks. We saw Red-winged Blackbirds singing at a small pond with a patch of reeds, and a Killdeer at a higher pond. We were exhausted by the time we arrived at camp after our six mile uphill battle against the elements. Tents were quickly put up and dinner hastily prepared so we could get our chilled bodies into sleeping bags to warm. It soon began to rain in earnest and did so all night. I learned later that there had been no precipitation back home in Oakland.
In the morning we heated water and many of us had oatmeal and a hot beverage. Cold cereal could be another day. We packed our gear, including our wet tents, and were on the trail by 9:30. Saturday started looking better; it stopped raining, we got a bit of sun now and then, and now we were mostly descending. We departed from the main trail to descend to Stewart�s Camp for lunch, and enjoyed the Red-winged Blackbirds in the pond there. Doffing our packs, we took a short walk out to see Murrieta Falls. Coming up the hill to return to the main trail, I turned left too soon and added a mile to our hike; we fortunately saw a Golden Eagle and a Lewis� Woodpecker on this stretch.
Throughout the trip the wildflowers were just incredibly beautiful; there were literally carpets of them, blue and yellow, red and orange. The majestic oak trees had leafed out and the sycamore trees were just beginning to get their leaves; elderberry was in bloom, and buckeye soon would be. We saw Checkerspot and West Coast Lady butterflies, and ladybugs. After a short stretch of more or less level hiking, we were descending again.
We stopped at Schlieper Rock to rest and enjoy the view, and were pelted with hail. There was a long steep descent to William�s Gulch where we filtered some water to replenish our almost empty supply, then an equally steep climb to a ridge. We stopped at Boyd Camp, where we were to spend the night, and decided that we would hike out the last two miles; most people had really wet gear, and we were afraid it might rain again during the night.
We pounded down the hill to Lake Del Valle, following the lovely Vallecitos Trail to the campground. We saw Turkey Vultures roosting in eucalyptus trees just above the road. It was so strange to hear cars again. We arrived at the van at 7:30 PM, with the sun rapidly setting below the hills.
51 species of birds, Sunol to Del Valle on the Ohlone Wilderness Trail, April 25 to April 27:
Green Heron
Mallard
Common Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
California Quail
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Lewis' Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Horned Lark
Violet-green Swallow
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Rock Wren
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Western Bluebird
American Robin
Wrentit
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Lazuli Bunting
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence's Goldfinch
Other flora and fauna:
Mammals: California Ground Squirrel.
Flowers: Monkey Flower, Lupine, Yellow Lupine, Wind Poppy, Pansy Violet, Geranium sp., Wild buckwheat, Wild Rose, Baby Blue Eyes, Brodiaea, Manzanita, Fiddleneck, Gooseberry, Godetia, Pale Sweetpea, Yarrow, Larkspur, Red Larkspur, Indian Paintbrush, Shooting Star, Chinese Houses, Mule�s Ears, Mariposa Lily, California Poppy, Blue-eyed Grass, Gilia, Blue Dicks, Buttercups, Forget-me-nots, Miner�s Lettuce.
Insects: Ladybug, Checkerspot and West Coast Lady Butterflies.
Trees: Gray Pine, California Buckeye, Blue Elderberry, Western Sycamore, California Bay, Eucalyptus, Madrone, and Live, Blue, Black and Valley Oak.
Mileage and Altitude
Day 1, Sunol to Backpack Camp via Little Yosemite: 3.5 miles and 1200 feet net elevation gain.
Day 2, Backpack Camp to Maggie�s Half Acre: 6 miles and 2130 feet net elevation gain.
Day 3, Maggie�s to Lake Del Valle Campground: 12 miles and 3010 feet net elevation loss.
kathy jarrett
Tilden Regional Park Nature Area, Berkeley
Hills
Thu, 02 May 2002 17:24:49 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
We had a great morning chorus in Tilden Regional Park Nature Area early this morning on Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk (beginning at 7 AM). We walked on Lower Packrat Trail to Jewel Lake and back along the road. American Robin, Black-headed Grosbeak, Warbling Vireo, and Swainson's Thrush were all singing in many locations, providing lots of opportunity to work on distinguishing among these songs. However, the vireos and thrushes stayed stubbornly invisible. Near the Jewel Lake dam, we saw a Hutton's Vireo on the nest right beside the fire road. A Steller's Jay doing very good Red-shouldered Hawk imitations was carrying nesting material at the time.
Here's what I caught of the composite group list:
Double-crested Cormorant (flyovers)
Mallard
Mourning Dove (heard)
Anna's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (heard)
Hutton's Vireo
Warbling Vireo (heard)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren (heard)
Swainson's Thrush (heard)
American Robin
Wrentit (heard)
Cedar Waxwing (flyover by flock)
Orange-crowned Warbler (heard)
Wilson's Warbler
Spotted Towhee (heard)
California Towhee
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Carpodacus sp. (high up, poor lighting, not singing)
American Goldfinch (heard)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA