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Waterbird nesting
Wed, 28 May 2003 10:19:14 -0700
From: Tom Condit

This from the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory newsletter:

Waterbird News - After getting off to a bit of a late start with all the rain and cool weather, local waterbirds are now nesting in full force. Our California gull colony counts indicate that in the south bay, gulls have laid 24,301 eggs in 10,642 nests and have hatched out 201 chicks so far this year!

Caspian and Forster's tern numbers are lower this year than in the past. Chicks are hatching already out at Brooks Island, but in the south bay these birds have only begun to lay eggs.

Tom Condit

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Stilt chicks at Martin Luther King Shoreline, Oakland
Wed, 28 May 2003 14:46:21 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle

Hello folks,

On Saturday I saw my first two Black-necked Stilt chicks of the season on the tidal marsh at Mitigation Marsh (the recently restored area by Arrowhead Marsh), Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, in Oakland.

Sorry for the late post.

Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle

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White Turkey Vulture in Dublin
Thu, 29 May 2003 20:49:39 -0700
From: Steve Huckabone

Today in Dublin near the corner of Hacienda Dr & Gleason Dr I watched a almost completely white Turkey Vulture. The bird was circling with several other Turkey Vultures, very cool-looking bird. The underside appeared to be almost completely white, the dorsal side was white except for some darker patterns in the wings.

Steve Huckabone
Alameda County
Livermore California

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Cooper's Hawk nest at Lake Merritt, Oakland
Fri, 30 May 2003 15:30:47 -0700
From: Bruce Mast

A pair of Cooper's Hawks has set up housekeeping in Lakeside Park (Lake Merritt, Oakland) again this year. The adult on the nest is sitting very quietly, with just the tail sticking out over the edge of the nest, leading me to believe that they are still incubating eggs. This morning, while checking on the nest, I noticed an Anna's Hummingbird nest in the same tree.

Bruce Mast

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Fwd: Yellow Warbler fledgling in Oakland Hills
Fri, 30 May 2003 17:32:58 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall

I am posting this message to the list for Mark Rauzon:

Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 13:46:09 PDT

Today at noon, I found a fledgling Yellow Warbler with downy shoulders and back, on the ground foraging on insects along the trail. It could fly but it was a newby. This sighting was just outside Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, on the Ridge Trail where it intersects with the road to the Caldecott Tunnel.

Mark Rauzon

Posted to EBB by Larry Tunstall

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Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland
Fri, 30 May 2003 18:08:25 -0700
From: Judith Dunham

Hi EB Birders--

Danne Jones and I birded the restoration area near Arrowhead Marsh at Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline in Oakland for about two hours on Friday, May 30, beginning at noon. Although the numbers were not high, the sightings were delightful. The vegetation is a glorious green, against which the egrets, avocets, and stilts stand out - and also provides some cover for the young birds scattered throughout the area.

Our sightings:

• Numerous pairs of American Avocets with young, generally the same age - a couple old enough, however, to be feeding like the adults, sweeping their bills through the shallow water. One young avocet, perhaps newly hatched, was so unsteady on its feet, tumbling over at every turn, that the adult came over to nestle with it, gently herding the young one under its breast and nestling the youngster under its feathers.
• One young Black-necked Stilt with adult, plus a scattering of adults.
• Two pairs of Mallards with young on ponds.
• Pair of Canada Geese with young.
• Many Killdeer, no young but possible Killdeer on nest.
• American Goldfinches and young feeding on native plants around restoration fence - bickering with an Anna's Hummingbird.
• Barn Swallows active around bridge between restoration area and reference area.
• Numerous Snowy Egrets, one with a distinctive foraging approach. Standing in one of the channels up to its belly, it stretched its neck out as long as possible and dipped its bill in the water. The bird conspicuously "chewed" the water at a rapid pace, perhaps filtering out small fish from the current or "feeling" for fish under the water. When the bird occasionally caught a large fish, it moved out of the water to consume it.
• Brigade of jackrabbits.

Happy birding!
Judith

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