Chestnut-sided Warblers
Tue, 05 Oct 1999 09:01:49 -0700
From: Rusty Scalf
This is a general question for anyone with an opinion.
Are Chestnut-sided Warblers more numerous this Fall than is typical?
Rusty Scalf
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Re: Chestnut-sided Warblers
Date: 05 Oct 99 10:49:49 -0700
From: Les Chibana
Rusty,
If you mean for the whole Bay Area (not just the East Bay), then I think the answer is yes, from my impression of the RBAs and bird list reports. Also high in reports are Virginia's Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, and maybe American Redstart. Philadelphia Vireo seemed fairly plentiful, too. Adam Winer, the Northern California Birdbox transcriber, may be still keeping a database of the RBA reports, which, although not a scientific analysis, can provide this kind of overview.
Les Chibana
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From: Steve Glover
Re: Chestnut-sided Warblers
Tue, 5 Oct 1999 12:30:22 PDT
Rusty, Les, and all,
Rich Stallcup told me on Saturday that he has had 15 or 16 Chestnut-sided Warblers this fall in Marin County. He said that he usually thinks of Chestnut-sided Warblers and Magnolia Warblers as being about equal in number in fall, and there have only been a handfull of Magnolias. As far as the East Bay goes, the vagrant species recorded are of such infrequent occurence that there is absolutely no way you could ever conclude whether it was a good year for anything. Palm Warblers [are so common that they] barely rate a mention on the coast, yet there is just one (and possibly two) Contra Costa County record. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is a good year or a bad one, I just can't seem to find one.
I can say that last year and this were good years for Chestnut-sided Warblers and that I have found one in Contra Costa County both years. Make of that what you will. Maybe if I could convince more of you to hang out on this side of the bay more often, we could find more of these things. Just a thought.
Adam Winer's summary of vagrant reports from the Rare Bird Alert can be found on Joe Morlan's website at
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
Go into "links".
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Wood Duck in Lafayette
Tue, 5 Oct 1999 13:32:44 PDT
From: Marilyn Trabert
I had what I believe to be a juvenile Wood Duck at the Lafayette Reservoir (seen from the path on the dam) Monday (Oct 4) about 10:00 AM. Resembling a female, his face was patterned, but the bright colors had not yet filled in. The top of his head was greenish, and he had a crest (or tufts?) hanging down his neck. I think Wood Duck is unusual at this location.
Marilyn Trabert
Walnut Creek
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Re: Wood Duck in Lafayette
Tue, 05 Oct 1999 15:47:01 -0700
From: Kay Loughman
Unusual, but not unheard of. Wood Duck was reported on the 1989 Christmas Bird Count at Lafayette Reservoir, and was seen by me in at least one other year while scouting for the CBC. Maury Stern has the Reservoir for the Contra Costa County Breeding Bird Atlas, and may have some additional information.
Kay Loughman
Berkeley
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Martin Luther King Shoreline, Oakland
Tue, 05 Oct 1999 19:11:13 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
I've been ignoring my local shoreline recently. The temptations of Hawk Hill and Point Reyes have been too much to resist. But Tuesday morning, at high tide, I was able to spend a couple of hours birding, mostly at Mitigation Marsh.
My best bird of the day was Dunlin, my first of the season, closely followed by the Spotted Sandpiper, also my first of the season. A couple of observations, before I list my observations:
1) Marbled Godwits are abundant in a variety of sizes and colors right now, leading my blood pressure to rise, briefly, when I thought I had a Bar-tailed Godwit;2) Some Least Sandpipers are still quite bright, leading to further raised BP;
3) Lots of Western Sandpipers have very short bills, but they all droop a bit and taper noticeably toward the tip;
4) I counted only the peeps and came up with 1,200.
Here's what I saw:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
Spotted Sandpiper (Tringa macularia)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) - heard only
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) - heard only
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
(47 species)
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Joy of birding
Tue, 05 Oct 1999 19:32:02 -0700
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello Folks,
Kay: Thanks for noticing my little essay. (The sketch at the top was my impression of the Curlew Sandpiper, which along with the White-winged Tern was my inspiration for writing.)
Larry: Sorry I didn't respond earlier to your e-mail about posting it. I haven't been on line since the end of last week - too many birds to chase!
Mike: Hey, please buy at least the Sunday Ex - it pays my mortgage (I've been an editor there for 26 years).
Sheila and Rebecca: Thanks for unearthing the URL.
Good Birding!
Courtenay
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