Tilden Regional Park, September 27
Mon, 27 Sep 1999 15:46:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Condit
I hiked the Upper Packrat Trail and the Jewel Lake boardwalk at Tilden Regional Park this morning. Mostly birds heard, but not seen, but here's what I saw, including two mystery birds I have guesses at.
Red-shouldered Hawk (in flight overhead)
Turkey Vulture (in flight overhead)
Chestnut-backed Chickadees
Bushtits
American Robin
Hairy Woodpecker (with very few spots on wings)
Black Phoebe
Mystery Bird #1: Part of a small flock in the oak canopy at the highest part of Upper Packrat, most seeming to be the same birds, but only one seen clearly for any length of time. Small, warblerish, gray, entirely unmarked face with "beady" black eye, no eyerings. Wings streaked in gray. Very like a Yellow Warbler, but with no yellow at all in it. Immature female Yellow Warbler???
Mystery Bird #2: On edge of Jewel Lake just north of the bench people feed ducks from. Smaller than a Dark-eyed Junco, buffy brown, spindly flesh-colored legs, distinct white half-collar on nape of neck. Juvenile Chipping Sparrow????
Tom Condit
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Thu, 30 Sep 1999 20:41:10 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning Ore Carmi and I joined Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in northern Richmond. After crossing the bridge over the railroad tracks, we went left to follow the trail along the shoreline. We did not get as far as the fishing pier, even though a few of us continued for a short time after Alan had to leave.
It was a lovely warm-but-not-hot morning with no wind (as usual with Alan's walks, we began at 7 AM, and he departed at 9 AM).
There were at least 30 or 40 Black Turnstones along the shore, as well as a lot of Killdeer. A few Bewick's Wrens gave great vocal performances and also provided long close-up looks.
The following is a composite list for the group. As usual, most of the voice identifications are by Ore.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - flock seen by one person before walk began
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
American Coot (Fulica americana) - only two seen
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) - only a few seen
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.) - some Short-billed Dowitcher by flight call
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttalli) - heard only
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) - heard only
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) - heard only
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) - heard only
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) - heard only
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) - heard only
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) - heard only
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) - heard only
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) - heard only
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) - heard only
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Quite a nice selection of birds for a short morning walk, and we didn't even explore the eucalyptus forests or the marsh area.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA