Wood Duck at Lafayette Reservoir
Wed, 6 Oct 1999 07:57:11 PDT
From: Marilyn Trabert
Last night at an Ohlone Audubon meeting, Dr Howard Cogswell offered that the juvenile Wood Duck I reported at the Lafayette Reservoir on October 4 could also possibly be an adult male in eclipse plumage. I would appreciate the opinion of anyone else who sees this Wood Duck. Thanks.
Marilyn Trabert
Walnut Creek
Original Message Subject Index
Yellow-shafted Flicker in Concord
Wed, 6 Oct 1999 08:46:00 -0700
From: Scott Hein
East Bay Birders,
Just as we were leaving for work this morning in Concord, Claudia noticed that we had a Northern Flicker drinking from our backyard pond. I got my bins on it and noticed that it had a nice red chevron on the nape, a pure black mustache, yellow margins to the outer primaries, and yellow (not orange) underwings. Looked like a pure "Yellow-shafted" Northern Flicker. I'm pretty sure this is the first one that I have seen in Contra Costa County.
Regards,
Scott
Short-eared Owl at Hayward Regional Shoreline
Thu, 7 Oct 1999 18:07:06 PDT
From: Denise Wight
Hi E.B. Birders,
This morning at Hayward Regional Shoreline, Winton Ave. exit, a Short-eared Owl was flying over the bay, about 100 yards from shore. It was flying south, and was being harassed by gulls as it flew.
Denise Wight
Sibley Regional Preserve, Orinda
Thu, 7 Oct 1999 19:36:42 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning I joined Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve on Skyline Dr in the Oakland Hills between Oakland and Orinda. Checking the map just now, I see that almost all of the preserve is in Contra Costa County.
It was a fairly quiet morning for birds, but there were plenty of individual birds to look at. Most surprising was the lack of vultures and hawks soaring over the hills - perhaps it was just too early and cool for good thermals.
We walked out to the overlook above the quarry to admire the maze, then back to the parking lot. Here's a composite list for the group:
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) - several
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) - heard only
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) - heard only
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) - heard only
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Townsend's Warbler (Dendroica townsendi)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) - heard only
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Lake Merritt, Oakland
Thu, 7 Oct 1999 19:47:30 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
After the Sibley birdwalk, I stopped by Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland on my way home.
The only wintering ducks so far (at least near the Nature Center - I didn't check the entire lake or the channel) were about 40 Ruddy Ducks near the islands. There were very large numbers of American Coots. Among the usual residents that I spotted were Mallard, Canada Goose, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Western Gull, California Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, and Great Blue Heron.
Rex Burress reports that at least one of the Western Gull chicks hatched on the islands this year has survived to full size. Stephanie Benavidez says that a Belted Kingfisher has been around, and yesterday she saw a Black Phoebe in the new native plantings around the Nature Center - the first time she has seen a phoebe in the park in her many years there.
Also, in the duck ponds area, there is what appears to be a small, immature Greater White-fronted Goose. It lacks the "white front," has no speckling on the breast, and has yellowish bill and legs. It seems small and slim compared to my memories of adult birds of that species. None of us are familiar with the young of this species, so we're not sure of this identification.
As always, Lake Merritt is a great place for close observation of water birds. Within the next couple of months, many species of ducks should be arriving, including Barrow's Goldeneyes and possibly Hooded Merganser (the latter two often are found in the channel out to the Estuary rather than in the lake itself).
Best wishes, Larry