Belted Kingfisher
Mon, 31 May 1999 14:40:31 -0700
From: Lillian Fujii
Steve Hayashi, Dorthy Furseth and I atlassed the Refugio Creek Area of Hercules this morning. Steve's persistence paid off when he saw the female Belted Kingfisher flying away with food (frog or other amphibian) in her bill. She has been here for at least two weeks. There is a cat feeding station nearby - hopefully the cats won't take too great a toll.
Lillian Fujii
Coyote Hills Regional Park
Mon, 31 May 1999 15:01:44 PDT
From: Bill Scoggins
30 May 1999, Coyote Hills Regional Park, 8-11 AM.
The highlight for this trip was a Rock Wren seen near the Quarry parking lot. The weather was a sunny 70 degrees - a beautiful day for our breeding bird survey.
Birds seen in and around Hoot Hollow:
Red-tailed Hawk adults with a chick in nest at Hoot Hollow, PY
Ring-necked Pheasant 2 seen, 2 by voice, observed in suitable nesting habitat, PO
California Quail 3; only heard calling for about 2 minutes around 9AM; nesting has most likely started
Mourning Dove 2
Anna's Hummingbird 3+ 1 immature
Rufous Hummingbird 1 male in madrone tree foraging with 3 other hummers
Allen's Hummingbird 3 males + 1 female
Selasphoras sp. 1
Western Wood-Pewee 1
Ash-throated Flycatcher 2
Bushtit 5, ON
Bewick's Wren 1 seen, 2 A, singing in suitable nesting habitat and agitated behavior
Warbling Vireo 1 by voice
American Robin 2
Tree Swallow 4
Cliff Swallow 150
Barn Swallow 11, PY, three nests at visitor center
House Finch 1 PO, singing in suitable habitat
Western Scrub-Jay 4 + 1, CN, carrying nesting material
Northern Mockingbird 2, T
California Thrasher 1 singing male in suitable nesting habitat during its breeding season
European Starling 10
Spotted Towhee by voice
California Towhee 2 PO, seen in suitable nesting habitat
Red-winged Blackbird 12 T, males sing on territory and defending territories
Brewer's Blackbird 11
Brown-headed Cowbird 1 female, 2 males
Seen in the South Marsh near Dairy Glen and Quarry Parking lot:
Pied-billed Grebe 5 + 1 immature
Double-crested Cormorant flying over marsh
Mallard 9, FL, on nest with young
teal sp. 1 on nest; seen from a great distance so ID is uncertain
Snowy Egret 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
American Kestrel 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 1 PO, seen in suitable nesting habitat
Common Moorhen 3
American Coot 7, ON: 2 occupied nests and 1 coot carrying nesting material
Killdeer 1 by voice
Black-necked Stilt 7, ON: occupied nest, another pair in suitable nesting habitat
Forster's Tern 3
Western Kingbird 1
Rock Wren 1, A: agitated behavior & alarm calls, might be defending a nest - located above Quarry
Marsh Wren 2 seen, 4 by voice, T, defending territory & singing in suitable nesting habitat
Tree Swallow 2
Cliff Swallow 175
Barn Swallow 5
American Goldfinch 7 feeding in thistles
Spotted Towhee 1 singing in suitable nesting habitat
Song Sparrow 4, T
Common Yellowthroat 1 seen, 3 by voice
Hooded Oriole pair
Bullock's Oriole 1 immature male + adult pair
Thanks to Kay Bloom, Ore Carmi, Maggie Clark, Rose Firestone, and friends for their excellent bird surveying skills.
If you would like a complete list of the Breeding Bird Criteria Codes used above or to be placed on my email list for Coyote Hills please contact me. I send out email notices about birding/nature events at Coyote Hills.
Happy birding,
Bill Scoggins
Castro Valley, CA
http://members.aol.com/wnscoggins/