Livermore yard birds
Mon, 7 Oct 2002 15:59:57
-0700
From: Steve Huckabone
Friday October 4 I had two Fox Sparrows (sooty) and what I believe was a Clay-colored Sparrow in my backyard. I've lived in this house about 4 years and these are the first Fox Sparrows I've noted. I had less than a minute to observe the Clay-colored Sparrow and have very little experience identifying the species. The bird had very nice contrasting head markings - in fact, my first thought was Lark Sparrow but this bird was much smaller and very active. I left Friday night for Northeastern California so have not been home to report it, and I don't know if it's still in the area. Sorry for the very late post.
PS: I know this list is for East Bay, but the birding was good in the Susanville / Honey Lake area. Weather was great for this time of year.
Steve Huckabone
Alameda County
Livermore, Ca 94551
White-crowned Sparrow high in Oakland Hills
Mon, 7 Oct 2002 16:02:19 PDT
From: Sylvia Sykora
A White-crowned Sparrow, rare up here at 1500 feet in the Oakland hills, was at the bird bath drinking this afternoon. In 15 years at this location, I haven't had more than three prior sightings of this species.
Sylvia Sykora
Melville Drive near Skyline
Alameda County
Oakland,
CA
Winter yard birds returning to Orinda
Mon,
07 Oct 2002 16:37:02 -0700
From: Kitty O'Neil
Nice to see these birds back at my feeders:
Fox Sparrow (Sooty)No sign yet of the White-throated Sparrow from last winter.
Bewick's Wren
Golden-crowned Sparrows
Great birding at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont on Saturday. Highlight: spotting a Red-shouldered Hawk in a tree through the binocs and then seeing a Great Horned Owl was sitting right behind it!
Kitty
Kitty O'Neil, Abbott Ct
Orinda, CA
Sausal Creek
Mon, 7 Oct 2002 19:24:52 PDT
From: Mark Rauzon
On Saturday October 5, the Friends of Sausal Creek bird-monitoring team surveyed the length of the watershed from Joaquin Miller Park across from Chabot Space and Science Center, to Dimond Park and the Friends' native plant garden and restoration area in Dimond Canyon, to William Wood Park on Fruitvale and ending at the outflow at Fruitvale Bridge.
We saw or heard 47 species in 4 hours. Best bird was the first one of the morning - a cooperative Red-breasted Sapsucker. At Dimond Park we found a feeding/bathing flock that included Western Tanager, Warbling Vireo, Townsend's Warblers in the trees, and a Hutton's Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Lesser Goldfinch male all bathing together in the creek. Lincoln's Sparrows have returned for the third winter in the elderberry patch.
Mark Rauzon
Owls and Yellow Warblers near Martinez
Tue,
08 Oct 2002 12:26:03 -0700
From: Nat Weber
I had a great birding experience in an hour of free time Sunday afternoon with my brother-in-law Ray Witbeck. Here is a place we should call "Owl Hill." It is part of the new McNabney Marsh interpretive area. It is off Hwy 680, east on Marina Vista and right on Waterbird Way. The entrance is about 400 yards up. The gate is locked and the sign says opening soon. I couldn't wait for it to open, I've wanted to bird the top of this hill for years.
That's the end of my confession, here is what I saw: There are two rows of non-native trees planted long ago, two very old palm trees and about 10 eucalyptus trees. On the other side of Waterbird Way is another 10 to 20 eucalyptus. This is the only substantial grove of trees within a half-mile. To the east, the nearest grove is probably several miles. We walked up the hill to the first palm tree and I was nearly clipped by an escaping Barn Owl. Further up the hill, out of the largest palm a Great Horned Owl flew (directly at us). These two owls were 50 yards apart at most. On the other side of the largest palm was another Barn Owl. The fleeing Great Horned Owl seemed to have a conflict with a Red-tailed Hawk about landing rights in the eucalyptus. We expected owls on this hill but I was suprised at the results. The food supply must be good in the surrounding grassy fields. In the eucs were 10 or more Yellow-rumped Warblers, We also had two Hutton's Vireos and one Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We also had two migrating Yellow Warblers. This grove may be an excellent migrant trap. It seems that any bird flying south between the Benicia bridge and the edge of Joice Island (part of Grizzly Island area) may choose this grove as a resting place.
We did not see the grackles in the marsh - however, we did see 35 American White Pelicans. 20 were on the ponds in the Mt View Sanitary District and 15 were in the usual spot on McNabney Marsh. Other species seen in the marsh were the usual suspects.
Nat Weber
Moraga, CA
Birds and one odd mammal at Tilden Regional Park
Tue, 08 Oct 2002 20:56:46 -0700
From: Jennifer Rycenga
Peggy Macres and I did a late afternoon walk from the visitor center at Tilden Regional Park Nature Area through to Jewel Lake. We had a few unusual birds. When we arrived at 3:00 PM, there was a Northern Harrier circling high overhead; we presumed this was a migrating bird. At the small bridge (#5 marker on the nature trail) we had a Townsend's Warbler and a Nashville Warbler female among the chickadees, as well as some immature Golden-crowned Sparrows.
The most unusual sighting came at Jewel Lake. At 4:10 PM, as we sat on the north bank looking south, we saw a bat foraging over the water. It came to the surface of the water a number of times to drink; it was also obviously flycatching. We lost sight of it; when it emerged a few minutes later, it continued its flycatching ways, but never again drank. This time we saw it perch from its nearly-invisible feet in a nearby tree. It repeated this pattern, returning to the tree, at least five times over the next hour.
Needless to say, we were not carrying the mammal book. But from our field notes and recollections, we would put forth a tentative identification as a western red bat. Its fur was basically a reddish-brown color on top, its feet and ears were small, its roosting habits in dense foliage seemed distinctive, and its belly was paler. It was a fairly large bat, and was not a Myotis type.
Unfortunately it kept its mouth shut, and though it flew to within 10 feet of us, we could not count its teeth! There was also a large, distinctive translucent area near the shoulder of each wing.
In any case, we invite commentary on this occurence - do bats often leave their roosts 2.5 hours before sunset? Are they more apt to do this during migration? One other thing we noted: when the bat would appear, the Yellow-rumped Warblers would cease their flycatching for a while, as if intimidated. The bat was definitely larger than the "butterbutts." We never saw a second bat, and its acrobatic flycatching spoke to its overall good health (i.e., we don't think it was rabid). We were rather stunned by the show, and watched it until after 5 PM.
Complete list of birds:
Great Blue Heron (1 at Jewel Lake)
Mallard (2 at Jewel Lake)
Turkey Vulture (1)
Northern Harrier (1)
Red-shouldered Hawk (2)
Downy Woodpecker (2)
Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker (8)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (2)
Black Phoebe (1)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (lots)
Brown Creeper (4)
Wrentit (3, heard only)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (4, heard only)
American Crow (6, returning to roost)
Steller's Jay (plenty)
American Robin (6)
Nashville Warbler (1, female)
Townsend's Warbler (1, male)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (lots)
California Towhee (4)
Song Sparrow (1)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (4)
Dark-eyed Junco (plenty)
Jennifer Rycenga
Berkeley, California