Re: Prairie Falcon at Lake Merritt
Sun, 10
Nov 2002 17:16:12 -0800
From: Rusty Scalf
I saw the Prarie Falcon reported yesterday at Lake Merritt. About 3 PM the bird was flying quite low over the water northward. Very fast.
Also two Barrow's Goldeneye and a good assortment of other diving ducks.
Rusty Scalf
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Re: Hooded Mergansers in Moraga
Sun, 10 Nov
2002 18:51:30 -0800
From: Judi Cooper
Today I checked the pond at the Moraga Country Club and the Hooded Mergansers were not there - everyone else was.
I will check again in the morning and post what I find tomorrow.
Judi Cooper
Moraga
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Bald Eagle at San Pablo Reservoir
Sun, 10
Nov 2002 21:39:33 -0800
From: Judith Dunham
Three of us set out optimistically this morning for San Pablo Reservoir [between El Sobrante and Orinda] to hike our way along the reservoir and back by midafternoon, beginning at the start of the Orinda Connector Trail at the parking lot where Wildcat Canyon Road meets Camino Pablo. It was windy when we arrived at 10 AM, then came the waves of rain. Birding was slow as we headed north, and although we returned somewhat soaked to our cars just before 1 PM, we saw more than we expected, given the blustery weather. The highlight was a Bald Eagle seen from the south end of the reservoir (our turnaround point) as it flew high over the water and disappeared beyond the trees. The eagle emerged from the far shore once more and gave us good views. A lone Osprey cruised over the water. Another treat was a sizable mixed flock including warblers, Brown Creepers, nuthatches, and chickadees, noted in the list below.
On a slight tangent, our yard in Berkeley was alive with sparrows last Wednesday, hours before the storm first hit that night. For a few weeks now we've had Golden-crowned Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows. Their numbers were noticeably larger that day. Also hanging around was a Lincoln's Sparrow, which we had seen off and on for the week prior, as well as two new arrivals: a Fox Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow. The latter was the first we'd recorded in the yard since December 1995.
What a great time of the year.
Judith
San Pablo Reservoir:
Great Blue Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Osprey
Northern Flicker
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Western Scrub-Jay
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Golden-crowned Sparrow
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American Bitterns at Tyson's Lagoon, Fremont
Mon, 11 Nov 2002 01:27:56 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
I am forwarding this message to the group for Lee Ellis:
2 American Bittern and an Osprey today (Sunday November 11) at Tyson's Lagoon (Tule Ponds) east of Fremont BART station at Walnut Blvd.
Posted to EBB by Larry Tunstall.
Re: Hooded Mergansers in Moraga
Mon, 11 Nov
2002 09:32:00 -0800
From: Judi Cooper
I checked the ponds at Moraga Country Club this morning and am sad to report the Hooded Mergansers were not there. It appears they stayed only 3 days.
I don't know why they left unless they felt there weren't enough fish - however, the Green Heron was there, sitting beautifully in the sun on a wooden post. Then it flew to the grass and crept along the edge with it's head feathers sticking straight up. I couldn't help but think how much it looked like a road runner with those feathers up.
A male Belted Kingfisher flew in and perched on top of the netting surrounding the driving range. Sooo, I assume there are some fish. Two Wilson's Snipe foraged on the water's edge while two Black Phoebes chased bugs.
I hope the mergansers return - maybe they were not the ones that come and stay. I will keep you posted.
Judi Cooper
Moraga
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San Pablo Reservoir
Mon, 11 Nov 2002 13:49:34
-0800
From: John Poole
Thanks to Judith Dunham for her post regarding the Bald Eagle at San Pablo Reservoir. I got over to the connector road this morning around 10:00 hoping to catch a glimpse of the eagle. No luck. However, I was pleasantly rewarded with a delightful walk to the Briones dam and to the south end of San Pablo Reservoir.
There were birds all over the place. Several Varied Thrushes were near the trailhead. About 100 yards along the trail I found a White-breasted Nuthatch just exiting a hole in a dead snag. I have birded Tilden Regional Park for 20 years and have never seen a White-breasted Nuthatch within the park. I'm somewhat surprised to have seen one virtually across the street from the park. Does anyone know if they are common along the creek? Has anyone ever found one in Tilden?
The trail to Briones dam is magnificent, wandering through several different habitats.
Here's a full list from this morning.
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
scaup sp.
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
California Gull
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Brown Creeper
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Black Phoebe
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Western Meadowlark
Purple Finch
Good Birding!
John Poole
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