Lazuli Bunting in Garin Regional Park, Hayward
Tue, 20 Apr 2004 07:47:04 -0700
From: Frano
I enjoyed a long look at a male Lazuli Bunting Sunday morning on my hike. He perched on a downed tree atop the hill looking over the bay. He was singing up a storm hoping to draw a mate, so perhaps nesting in this picturesque spot is in the near future. Let's hope.
good birding
Frano
Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland
Tue, 20 Apr 2004
10:54:49 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
At Arrowhead Marsh in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline (Oakland), the shorebirds' plumage is a treat to see right now, and the birds are antsy with hormones, so there's lots of big flocks flying hither and yon.
It's neat.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Calliope Hummingbird in Baypoint
Tue, 20 Apr
2004 19:25:05 -0700
From: Nathan Crawford
This evening Monday, April 19 at about 6:00 PM, I sighted a pristine-looking adult male Calliope Hummingbird in a cottonwood being harassed by a adult male Rufous Hummingbird. The area I spotted this beauty in is a creek outlet off of a paved trail in a residential neighborhood, however this particular area is low enough in elevation that you are out of sight of any residences so therefore no risk of accidentally pointing your binoculars at a residence. The area is located behind the Riverview Middle School yard. I would think the best place to get to this area would be to go and park at Mariners Cove Dr across from the Rio Vista Elementary School and take the walking trail east, away from the elementary school for about a quarter of a mile till you come to a very large elevated olive-colored water/sewage pipe on the right, on the left is the outlet for a very small creek. There is a medium-sized cottonwood. The birds were hanging out there, although they were heard buzzing about all over the adjacent eucalyptuses. You can get to Mariners Cove by taking Hwy 4 to the Willow Pass exit, go under Hwy 4 on Willow Pass. Almost immediately you will intersect with Evora Rd. Go right, stay on Evora till the top of a huge hill. There you will come to a light, make a left onto Driftwood Dr (you see a subdivision on the left), keep on Driftwood till you hit Pacific Ave, make a right on Pacific till you come to Mariners Cove Dr. You will see the yard for Rio Vista Elementary on the righthand side of Mariners Cove Dr. You should be able to go up the road a little ways and see the trail crossing. Park somewhere in this vicinity and follow the aforementioned directions for finding the bird off this trail. There are some other nice finds here as well Both orioles, Black-headed Grosbeaks.
Nathan Crawford
About migration
Wed, 21 Apr 2004 08:22:54
-0700
From: Phila Rogers
Dear Birders:
Though I heard the first Western Tanager today, in my garden in the Berkeley Hills, birds' activity is mostly about departures. The Fox Sparrows left last week for either the Sierra or points north (anybody know which?), and the feisty flocks of Golden-crowned Sparrows are down to two individuals, both males. Maybe because I'm always sad to see them go, I wonder why they do migrate when both food and nest sites seem readily available.
I can understand why swallows and certain other insect-eating birds move south in the winter especially in the winter-cold east coast and midwest, but why do sparrows leave the temperate Bay Area? Are they imprinted to do so because of an earlier climate regime? With the exception of Canada Geese who have evidently decided that migration is just too much trouble and have become resident birds, are there other species that no longer migrate?
Can anyone illuminate the subject for me?
Phila Rogers
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Re: About Migration
Wed, 21 Apr
2004 09:28:08 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Phila Rogers writes:
The Fox Sparrows left last week for either the Sierra or points north (anybody know which?)
Hi all,
Assuming the Fox Sparrows are the dark chocolate-brown types that are by far the most common here in suburban settings, they are now returning to breeding grounds that stretch from the Olympic Peninsula north to the Aleutians. These are known as "Sooty" Fox Sparrows. The Sierra breeders are known as "Thick-billed" Fox Sparrows. They are much grayer and have a very different call that is more of a metallic chink than the very loud call of "sooties." The chocolate-brown sooties are far and away the most common here but the thick-billed can be found somewhat reliably in extensive stands of chaparral in winter on Mt Diablo.
Fox Sparrow taxonomy is dreadfully complex and there has been talk for years of splitting them into three or four species. Don Roberson's excellent Monterey Birds 2nd edition has an excellent discussion of this group and the info is pertinent to the East Bay.
Oh, I meant to mention that Fox Sparrows appear to linger latest in chaparral and I was able to find them on Big Days in late April nearly every year, sometimes with one or two birds even lingering into May. The late April and early May birds, though, might just as well be northbound migrants rather than local winterers.
Hope this helps,
Steve Glover
Dublin
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Strange yardfellows
Wed, 21 Apr 2004 10:15:28
-0700
From: Terry Coddington
Dear EBBers,
Apropos the current migration discussion, I've been pleased to notice that past the censusing date (April 2) for the Cornell Feeder Watch, I am still seeing one of the winter stars of my feeding station in the Berkeley Hills: the White-throated Sparrow. Only now he has to share the stage with Black-headed Grosbeaks. Golden-crowned Sparrows also persist, but are looking very dressed for courtship.
Keep up the good work.
Terry Coddington
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Winter stragglers
Wed, 21 Apr 2004 10:25:17
-0700
From: Lisa Owens-Viani
I still have two Golden-crowned Sparrows hanging around. I live in West Berkeley near San Pablo Ave. Also, yesterday I thought I saw a Common Yellowthroat here (!!), but I know that would be somewhat unusual and it left before I could positively identify it...
Lisa
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Re: Strange yardfellows
Wed, 21 Apr 2004 10:25:47
-0700
From: Laura Gee
Hi,
As of yesterday about 4:30 PM, my own star White-throated Sparrow was still feeding on the ground under my feeders, along with two remaining Golden-crowned Sparrows. Have not yet seen any grosbeaks, but they do visit a platform feeder we have during migration. We live in Walnut Creek near Buena Vista Elementary school.
Laura Gee
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Re: Strange yardfellows
Wed, 21 Apr 2004 11:13:07
-0700
From: Doug Greenberg
There are still several Golden-crowned Sparrows hanging around our yard, and I saw and heard several at Point Isabel this morning. Otherwise, spring migration is in full force. In the large black acacia in our back yard there have been Wilson's Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, and Nashville Warblers over the past several days, and we had a female Black-headed Grosbeak at our sunflower seed feeder. It's fun to sit on the back deck and "bird" my own yard this time of year.
Doug Greenberg,
Berkeley
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