San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Sat, 14 Aug 1999 22:06:41 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning I joined Howard Cogswell's birdwalk at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont (though the refuge entrance is in Newark). About 15 people enjoyed a pleasant walk in mild and calm weather under sunny skies, though there weren't very many birds to be seen. In fact, the highlight of the day was a gray fox that approached fairly closely and stayed in view for several seconds. We also saw a jackrabbit.
We walked in LaRiviere Marsh for much of the morning, then took a quick trip down to Newark Slough near the Hunters' Cabin. The nearest salt pond (#1) has been drained almost completely, so it was bare of birdlife. One possible Clapper Rail in LaRiviere Marsh was seen by only one person, who thought it might have been a moorhen. It didn't reappear for the rest of us to try to identify.
Tide was quite low, so most of the shorebirds presumably were out on the mudflats near the Bay.
Here's my list for the morning, including a couple of birds that I saw before the walk began:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) - several
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) - a few
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) - several
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) - 1 in breeding plumage
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) - many, 2 mobbing the redtail
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) - many juveniles being fed
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Peregrine Falcon
Sat, 14 Aug 1999 23:23:02 -0700
From: Rusty Scalf
Having been weathered out of the Cordell Bank trip today, I spent the day at home. Got a new "yard bird" just 20 minutes ago; A Peregrine Falcon in a high speed glide directly overhead. Adult-plumaged bird. When I was a kid this was a truly rare bird to see in California in summer.
Rusty Scalf
Berkeley, CA
Contra Costa County, 8/14 - 8/15
Mon, 16 Aug 1999 11:29:00 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
On 8/14 I spent the morning birding the Richmond area. This is usually prime-time for alcids out there, with Common Murre sighted most frequently, but there was no luck on Saturday.
Brown Pelican - 27+ on the breakwater, visible from the new parking area near Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline. Continue past the park; the lot is on the right just where the road takes a 90 degree left turn.Harlequin Duck - The female half of the pair was present near Brooks Island, seen from the Richmond Marina. Although I did not attempt it, it certainly appears that the old access via the harbormaster's office is no longer an option. Building has begun on top of the former Nuttall's White-crowned Sparrow habitat. I parked at the park at the end of Marina Bay Parkway and took the path. As others have mentioned this does provide a good view of the breakwater.
Osprey - I saw a bird fly all the way from Angel Island. This could have been a migrant coming from Marin or a wide-ranging forager.
Phalarope sp. - A phalarope, either Red or Red-necked, was in the shallow at Brooks Is. I strongly suspect that it was a Red but it was too far away. I have only seen red out there once and Red-necked on a couple of occasions.
Elegant Tern - There were approximately 140 on Brooks Island. They tend to distance themselves from the Caspian Terns, and this time they were well off to the right side of the island. Some were also visible from the park near Miller/Knox Park. If they hang around this will be a good spot to look for Jaegers.
Remember that trying to scope Brooks Island is quite difficult even in good conditions with a scope. Without a scope, I would try something else. There is currently no shorebird habitat at the Richmond Sewer Ponds on Richmond Parkway.
On 8/15 I birded Piper Slough at the north end of Bethel Island. Because of the bulldozing that has been going on, I decided a weekend would be best but although I haven't been out there in a while it doesn't appear as if much has been done this summer. This has been my fundemental complaint throughout the years that this has been going on. They never seem to just go in and do the job. They go in and mess stuff up then go away without finishing. By the time they come back the willows have started to regenerate and they need to bulldoze all over again.
Despite my annoyance there were some interesting birds.
Wilson's Warbler - At least 4, all males.Spotted Towhee - One full-grown but fuzzy fledgling.
Hooded Oriole - 2 or 3 small groups of females/immatures.
Green Heron - One immature.
Forster's Tern - 25+, at least 8 of which were brown-backed juveniles begging for food. As with the Caspian Terns, I always wonder where these birds breed. The closest Caspian colony I know of is at Brooks Island. I think that Forster's may breed in the salt ponds of Solano/Napa Counties - if not, then the closest I am aware of are in south San Francisco Bay.
Western Tanager - 1 heard.
Hummingbird - 5, none polite enough to land.
Yellow Warbler - One.
Double-crested Cormorant - numbers starting to mount, this time there were 53.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - One, very unusual there. This is probably the first I've had in fall.
Blue Grosbeak - at least 8. Six were females or immatures, 2 were adult males. The males will normally disappear in the next week or so and only fem/imm will be present into early Sept. One of the males even sang on this day.
Barn Owl - 2 adults were in the large willow clump at the end of the area I normally cover. When you go up onto the levee and go left you walk about a few hundred yards before it turns left (south). It bends a few times before turning back to the north. When you walk as far north as possible there is a large willow clump on your left.
White-faced Ibis - One bird flying low over the slough, heading east to west and landing in the slough near the above mentioned willow clump. This species is fairly regular over the island to the north but I have seen it at Piper Slough proper only 2 or 3 times. August is also an unusual time for east Contra Costa County.
Good birding,
Steve Glover