Mt. Diablo
Mon, 17 May 1999 13:13:31 PDT
From: Joseph Morlan
East Bay Birders,
Yesterday, May 16th, Robbie Fischer and I birded along the South Entrance Road up to the summit of Mount Diablo hoping for migrants.
Sparrows along the entrance road were scarce. We heard one or two Sage Sparrows, but there were no signs of Black-chinned Sparrows anywhere we checked. Do they still breed on the mountain?
Lark Sparrows were copulating and nest building along the road. A Cooper's Hawk sailed by at eye level carrying a mouse, perhaps to a nest over the ridge. There seemed to be a good group of migrants along the creek at Rock City. Townsend's Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, also Lazuli Buntings, Swainson's Thrushes, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeaks. Many of the warblers were singing.
We checked the Sunset Picnic Area, adding Nashville and Orange-crowned Warblers and Western Flycatcher. We had Yellow Warbler and a couple of lingering Ruby-crowned Kinglets at Pioneer Picnic Area. Oak Knoll was fairly dead, but we did have good views of a Hammond's Flycatcher.
Swainson's Thrushes and Lazuli Buntings were particularly evident at most stops. Pewees were conspicuously absent. We also missed Olive-sided Flycatcher and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Weather was pleasant; sunny with light winds.
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044
California Birding; Mystery Birds:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
Berkeley Meadows on Saturday, 5/15/99
Mon, 17 May 1999 20:03:47 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Lillian Fujii and Steve Hayashi pass along the following information about their birding at the Berkeley Meadows on Saturday. This is the brushy "vacant lot" area on the north side of University Ave, between the freeway and the marina. This area is part of the new Eastshore State Park, and plans for its use are still in the works, so it is important to gather information about what birds and other wildlife make use of the present habitat.
Posted to EBbird by Larry Tunstall, El Cerrito
There were many singing Song Sparrows, some with songs very similar to Savannah Sparrows. The count of Savannah Sparrows in the list below includes only those identified by sight, due to difficulty in differentiating by song alone. On our visits to this area since February, we have not observed White-tailed Kite or Loggerhead Shrike, both of which are often seen in the area. Barn Owls sometimes inhabit trees along the Bay and undoubtedly hunt in the Meadow, though we have not seen them in our daytime surveys. On this visit, in addition to the birds, we saw a jack rabbit and at least four well-behaved dogs.Great Egret - flyover
Mallard - 3+
Northern Harrier - one
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
White-throated Swift - 5
Anna's Hummingbird - 5+
Allen's Hummingbird - 4+
Barn Swallow - 2+
Bushtit
American Robin - 2 building nests, plus others
Northern Mockingbird - one
European Starling
Wilson's Warbler - one heard only
California Towhee - 4
Savannah Sparrow - 4 seen
Song Sparrow - many
Red-winged Blackbird - abundant
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird - one
House Finch - many
American Goldfinch - several
Birds Seen at the Coyote Hills Wetlands
Festival
Tue, 18 May 1999 20:03:37 PDT
From: Bill Scoggins
15 May 1999, Birds Seen at the Wetlands Festival, Coyote Hills Regional Park.
Hoot Hollow:
Wilson's Warbler 2
Bullock's Oriole pair feeding young in the Red-tailed Hawk tree at Hoot Hollow; this nest is made entirely out of dark green Easter egg basket filler
Red-tailed Hawks feeding two young in nest at Hoot Hollow in tall conifer
Mourning Dove 4
Western Wood-Pewee 1
Common Yellowthroat male singing
Anna's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Ash-throated Flycatcher 1
Western Scrub-Jay 3
Bewick's Wren 2 singing in suitable habitat
Bushtit 7
Western Kingbird 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher by voice (Anthony Fisher)
kinglet species 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Marty Morrow)
Song Sparrow singing 3
Western Tanager 2
Visitor center:
Killdeer 2 nesting
California Quail 3 pair
Ring-necked Pheasant 1
California Thrasher singing in oak tree most of the day
California Towhee 2
European Starling 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Barn Swallow 3 pair building nests
House Finch 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Pond at parking lot:
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Mallard 6
Northern Shoveler 1 pair
Ruddy Duck 3 pair
Canada Goose 4
American Coot 5
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 2
Forster's Tern 2
Cliff Swallow 35
Tree Swallow 5
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Marsh Wren 8
This list is compiled from sightings made through the day by the following people: Dave Riensche, Anthony Fisher, Ore, Maggie Clark, Marty Morrow, Steve, Robin, and Jon Wiley, Bill & Rose Firestone, Bill Scoggins, and other birding friends.
Happy birding,
Bill Scoggins
Lake Merritt
Tue, 18 May 1999 20:46:34 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Last Tuesday there were 20+ each of scaup and Ruddy Ducks still at the lake. Today I saw only the following wintering ducks:
1 Gadwall male
3 Greater Scaup males
1 Ruddy Duck female
In the duck pond yard there was a white goose that looked very much like a Snow Goose, though it had black mottling on the bill and a few black patches in its plumage (mostly under the white surface feathers). This certainly had the physique of a wild duck rather than a domestic one, but I wasn't fully satisfied with the ID (mainly because I have very little experience with Snow Geese).
There are around 70 Canada Goose goslings this year at the lake, a bit fewer than in recent years for reasons unknown. There was also a group of domestic goslings, but they have been found a home elsewhere. Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned Night-Herons are nesting in the bushes on the islands in large numbers. Double-crested Cormorants have taken over about half of the area in the tall island trees that was formerly used for nesting by Great Egrets, but there still are several Great Egret nests. I saw lots of cormorants and egrets on nests, but didn't spot any nestlings yet.
The efforts to plant rainbow trout in Lake Merritt for a fishing program continue. From just the preliminary trials, over the past 6 weeks or so, four Double-crested Cormorants, two Canada Geese, and one young Western Gull have been found with fishing hooks embedded in their throats or gullets, and most have been euthanized. If you are interested in helping protect America's oldest wild bird refuge, please contact Supervising Naturalist Pablo Cepero at rnc@naturecntr.org
In my yard in El Cerrito, I've seen fledglings of American Goldfinch, House Finch, House Sparrow, and California Towhee. Lots of mating activity still seems to be going on, so no doubt there will be more to come.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA