Re: What do people think of the revised National
Geographic Guide?
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 10:00:16 PDT
From: Doug Greenberg
I know Peter is concerned about keeping people "on topic," but hey, I don't think that this list needs to be policed that closely. Everyone uses a field guide, and the arrival of a major revision of one of the major tools birders use is worth a bit of discussion, even in a "regional" list.
Let me add that I don't relish wading through a hundred rhapsodic BirdChat postings about the arrival of the first spring Robin and the glorious sounds of the morning chorus to find reviews of the National Geographic guide.
Doug Greenberg
Original Message Next Reply Subject List
Re: What do people think of the revised National
Geographic Guide?
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 10:46:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: Peter Rauch
Doug Greenberg wrote:
I know Peter is concerned about keeping people "on topic," but hey, I don't think that this list needs to be policed that closely.
Sorry about your feeling "policed." I had hoped that the pointer to the 35 reviews already posted about the NGS book would be of some interest.
Let me add that I don't relish wading through a hundred rhapsodic BirdChat postings about the arrival of the first spring Robin and the glorious sounds of the morning chorus to find reviews of the National Geographic guide.
Exactly. That's why I explained how to "search" so that all you would retrieve were those 35 relevant postings. Now, if you don't want to wade through those either, then what's the point of asking what people think of the Guide?....
And, I'd be interested, as I noted earlier, in what people think of the treatment (graphic, text, maps) of local birds. Fair enough?
Peter
Original Message Next Reply Subject List
1998 Ohlone Christmas Bird Count Results
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 21:49:26 PDT
From: Bill Scoggins
Hello East Bay Birders,
Don Emery is editor of the Kite Call, newsletter of the Ohlone Audubon Society. Recently he published the results of the 1998 Ohlone Christmas Bird Count in the May 15, 1999, issue of the Kite Call and on the Ohlone Audubon web site.
Go to the Ohlone Audubon Society web page at the following URL:
http://members.aol.com/wnscoggins/oas.html
Happy bird counting,
Bill Scoggins
Castro Valley, CA
Redwood Regional Park
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 21:49:50 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning Ore Carmi and I birded the south half of Redwood Regional Park, from Redwood Gate to Mill Site. For me the highlight was the large number of singing Winter Wrens in the middle part of the park, including some feeding fledglings with bright yellow gapes. There were also a lot of Dark-eyed Junco fledglings around - you need to watch your step because they were often sitting motionless and almost indetectable right in paths or flat areas. At Mill Site, a Pacific-slope Flycatcher was feeding nestlings in a nest located in plain view on a ledge at a corner of the opening to a picnic rain shelter.
As usual, Ore's outstanding ears provided a lot of information about what was in the area, and we were able for about half the species eventually to get a visual confirmation. We started about 6:30 AM with overcast, but by 7:30 the sun was coming out and it turned out to be a lovely and pleasantly warm morning.
Here's our list:
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) - only one seen, almost at end of walk
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) - heard only
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
California Quail (Callipepla californica) - on lawn at Canyon Meadow
Rock Dove (Columba livia) - flyovers
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) - heard only
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
Downy Woodpecker or Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides sp.) - glimpses only
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) - lots of them around
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni) - heard only
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) - many around
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) - heard only
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Tree Swallow or Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta sp.)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) - many, some fledglings
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) - heard only
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) - heard only
Brown Creeper (Certia americana)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) - heard only
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - feeding fledglings
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) - heard only
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) - heard only
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) - heard only
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) - feeding fledglings
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis) - feeding fledgling
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) - many
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) - many, with many fledglings
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) - heard only
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
We also saw rabbits around the Canyon Meadow area.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
http://www.best.com/~folkbird/