Hawkwatch training
Sun, 5 May 2002 11:36:29 -0700
From: Terry Coddington
For those who are, or anticipate, re-catching the birding bug, especially with young'uns, a useful and pleasant activity for regular involvement in birding is the annual Hawkwatch. Orientation meetings are happening about now, and basic hawkwatch identification classes will be in July for the 2002 season. The "season" is mid-August to mid-December and the obligation is only a day out of every two weeks. You'll want to, and be welcome to, do more to get a real sense of an annual migration and one of the great cycles of nature (and one that's still intact).
You'll be sent to one of the great view spots in the State (Hill 129 above and west of the Golden Gate) with a team of red-hot/knowledgeable and expert birders and hawkwatchers (and beginners) to watch all this happen. Other species than avian, up to and including Homo sapiens, provide educational viewing and entertainment (not necessarily at the same time). Insights into raptor biology and banding are available.
Details at http://www.ggro.org/
Terry Coddington
May 4 at Mitchell Canyon
Sun, 05 May 2002 14:50:57 -0700
From: Tom Condit
Marsha and I took a mid-day (9:30 AM till 3 PM) hike up Mitchell Canyon [Mount Diablo State Park near Clayton] to Deer Flat Junction and back. We didn't see any of the ubiquitous Nashville Warblers reported by others (indicating either that we don't know where, when and how to look, or that they've zipped through on migration).
We did see (not in AOU order):
Anna's Hummingbirds (one of them nesting)
hummingbird sp.
Wrentit (heard only)
Bushtits
Hutton's Vireo
Wilson's Warblers
Orange-crowned Warblers
Townsend's Warblers
Hermit Warblers (in fair numbers in the trees around Deer Flat Junction and the picnic area just below)
American Goldfinches (one nesting)
Turkey Vultures
Red-tailed Hawk being hazed by Red-winged Blackbirds
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Mourning Doves
Western Scrub-Jays
California Towhees
Spotted Towhees
Lazuli Buntings
Dark-eyed Juncos
Black-headed Grosbeaks
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers
Swainson's Thrush (heard only)
Ash-throated Flycatchers (including one perched and calling loudly for several minutes)
Western Wood-Pewees
Olive-sided Flycatchers
what was probably Bewick's Wrens heard
We bumped into an entomology class field trip coming down as we were going up, and learned that the little orange and black butterflies roaming restlessly across the road were male Mylitta Crescents patrolling their territories in hopes that females would chance by. One aggressively drove off a Checkerspot while we were watching. There were also Admirals, Sisters and Swallowtails.
One beautiful but slow-moving Gopher Snake made it across the road before any bicyclists could nail it. Western Fence Lizards and mystery lizards abounded.
Plus lots and lots of flowers.
Tom Condit
Blackbird riding a hawk
Sun, 5 May 2002 18:26:10 -0700
From: Don Lewis
Last Thursday, May 2, a carload of four birders was driving between Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore and Shadow Cliffs Park in Pleasanton. We saw something I had never seen before, and had more-or-less disbelieved that it really happens.
A Red-winged Blackbird was harassing an adult Red-tailed Hawk. But it wasn't just buzzing it, it repeatedly landed on the rear part of the hawk's back and rode it for many yards. It did this at least a half dozen times. The blackbird did not appear to be pecking the hawk, just riding it. Then it would get off, buzz the hawk for a moment, then get back on. We saw this clearly, above open fields, for perhaps a minute. They flew across the road, giving excellent close views. We had time to stop the vehicle and watch it.
Anyone seen this before?
Don Lewis
Lafayette, CA
Briones Regional Park, Orinda
Sun, 05 May 2002 23:14:04 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Around midday Sunday, I did some birding near the Bear Creek Staging Area of Briones Regional Park, not far from Orinda. It was a warm day (the automated Briones weather station indicated temperatures of 75 to 80 °F from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM), and bird activity was slow, particularly away from the riparian areas. However, even so there were a lot of birds singing and calling.
I finally found some Lazuli Buntings a short distance up Abrigo Valley Trail. It sounded as if there might be a Red-tailed Hawk nest somewhere in this valley. A Black-headed Grosbeak was singing in Newt Hollow near the entrance, and I spotted one Western Bluebird on the fence near the parking lot just as I was getting ready to leave. Mostly the standard birds, though I heard few chickadees and no Wrentits (I didn't walk out Homestead Valley Trail) - and no hummingbirds.
I happened to meet Briones Park Supervisor Denise Defreese and chatted with her for awhile. She says she is very interested in maintaining good bird habitat. I told her that many longtime birders have said to me that the area around the Bear Creek entrance has had severe declines in bird populations over the years, and that my own observations over the past five years or so agree with that. She said that she would very much like to hear from longtime birders and particularly to have any documentation of what the bird populations were like in the past. She is also interested in hearing from anyone who has suggestions for improving bird habitat or who knows of problems. You can contact her at 510.635.0135.
Here's my list for about 2.5 hours, mostly in Abrigo Valley:
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk (very high, identification uncertain)
Red-tailed Hawk
California Quail (2 on road by Newt Hollow)
Mourning Dove
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee (heard)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (heard)
Black Phoebe
Hutton's Vireo (heard)
Warbling Vireo (many heard)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Western Bluebird
American Robin
Orange-crowned Warbler
Wilson's Warbler (heard)
Spotted Towhee (heard)
California Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (many seen and heard)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA