It's still Daylight Savings Time!
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 06:59:46 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
My apologies for my error in the website calendar. Daylight Savings Time ends on October 31, not October 24. (I took the erroneous info from a wall calendar and should have double-checked it.)
I certainly hope I haven't made too many people late for birdwalks today!
Best wishes, Larry
Rock Wren at Arrowhead Marsh
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 18:22:41 -0700
From: Rusty Scalf
There was a Rock Wren at Arrowhead Marsh today foraging around the parking lot and nearby waterside riprap. I assume this bird was just moving through. Do the readers of this list often see Rock Wrens away from known haunts? This is not a species I think of as dispersing over great distances.
Rusty Scalf
Berkeley, CA
Ora Loma Marsh, Hayward Shoreline
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 18:48:57 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning I joined Vi & Ron Barklow's Ohlone Audubon Society walk in the northern part of Hayward Regional Shoreline at the recently restored Ora Loma Marsh, north of Sulphur Creek. [The name of this marsh is not given on any map that I have seen.] We began at the north end of Cabot Blvd. This entrance is barred by a locked gate (Ron had permission and keys to go this way), but the same area can be reached by public trail with a little more walking from the East Bay Regional Park District parking lot at the end of West Winton Ave. We saw a great many birds, including a Burrowing Owl and a Peregrine Falcon. Near the end of the morning, we were treated to the sight of a Northern Harrier flushing a great cloud of small shorebirds while the peregrine repeatedly dove through the flock, apparently coming up empty-taloned each time. Ten White Pelicans majestically soared overhead to provide a dramatic finish to the morning.
Here's a composite list for the group:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
On a scouting trip yesterday, the leaders had seen Green-winged Teal and Loggerhead Shrike, which we failed to find. All in all, quite a good morning, though.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Berkeley Meadows and Arrowhead Marsh
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 19:10:26 -0700
From: Lillian Fujii
Hi Birders.
Highlights from birding the Berkeley Meadows (University Ave & Hwy I-80) this morning:
Good day for raptors: Merlin, Red-shouldered Hawk, accipiter, Kestrel. 1 Yellow Warbler, hundreds of White-crowned Sparrows. Fewer Song Sparrows than usual, Savannah Sparrows and at least one Golden-crowned Sparrow, 11+ Meadowlarks, hundreds of House Finches and many American Goldfinches. From the wire overlooking the Bay, a Belted Kingfisher. In the Bay, a Clark's Grebe exhibiting what appeared to be begging behavior. It was smaller than the two grebes it was following. I assume family groups migrate together and pick up where they left off at the breeding grounds (?).
At Arrowhead Marsh this afternoon, we saw Rusty's previously reported Rock Wren. To find it, stand near the bridge by the commemorative placque. We missed the Merlin but had a Golden Eagle.
Lillian Fujii and Steve Hayashi
Re: Berkeley Meadows and Arrowhead Marsh
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 19:45:44 -0700
From: Lillian Fujii
Hi Birders,
Sorry for sending the last message in haste. At Arrowhead Marsh, we had an odd Wigeon. We first thought it was a Eurasian Wigeon. Rusty red head with pale spot on crown. However, it was also rusty red on the sides, like the rufous morph Eurasian Wigeon shown in National Geographic. We are definitely not wigeon experts. The wigeon was definitely a Eurasian Wigeon or part Eurasian Wigeon, not a Cinnamon Teal, although there were at least two drake Cinnamon Teals nearby, as well as two beautiful drake Blue-winged Teals. Also two females.
Also, we had a juvenile Northern Harrier and at least 3 Fox Sparrows at the Berkeley Meadows, as well as at least one jack rabbit, with evidence of more.
Lillian Fujii and Steve Hayashi
Original Message Subject Index
Re: Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 20:01:08 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Rusty Scalf sent me the detailed lists for his Albany Adult School class visits this weekend to Arrowhead Marsh, Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland. I thought it would be useful to post them here for future reference as the newly restored marsh matures. By the way, earlier this year I was on a walk at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge with Dr Howard Cogswell. He remarked that the LaRiviere Marsh (on your right as you approach the Visitor Center) was covered with huge numbers of shorebirds during the first years after it was opened to tidal action, but these numbers dropped off as the marsh vegetation grew.
What follows is a somewhat edited combination of Rusty's two messages about his class fieldtrips.
Good birding, Larry
Saturday: Wonderful day. 16 students. Highlights were great looks at a Merlin, and the sheer numbers of shorebirds. Five Blue-winged Teal took off and hid in the distant part of the marsh. The restored area is truly astounding. As the tide came in, there were tens of thousands of shorebirds, including many thousands of Dunlins. This is the first place I have seen Dunlin in a majority this season - they carpeted the mud. There were big flights of Willets and godwits out over the water.Sunday: Beautiful day. 16 students. Again, very large numbers of shorebirds in the restored area, although not as many as yesterday. Today we missed Merlin but had a surprise Rock Wren and great studies of Blue-winged Teal.
In the following list, numbers of individuals are shown for Saturday / Sunday. ** = I can't even begin to guess how many.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 6/12
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) 1/1
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) 4/7
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) 0/3
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) 1/1
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 1/1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 2/2
Great Egret (Ardea albus) 1/2
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 3/5
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 12/3 (migrating kettle on Sat?)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 50/120
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 30/50
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 30/30
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 5/5
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 15/2
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 0/1
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 5/6
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 4/0
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) 4/8
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 80/100
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 0/1
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 0/1 (a quick flyby)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1/1
Merlin (Falco columbarius) 1/0 (wonderful study in scope)
American Coot (Fulica americana) 100/150
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) **/hundreds
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 30/8
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2/8
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 40/60
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 20/20
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) **/thousands
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) 4/6
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa) **/thousands
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) 50/15
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) 40/30
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 50/100
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) **/thousands
dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.) 100/hundreds
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 10/200
California Gull (Larus californicus) 0/50
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) 3/20
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 1/1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri) 7/8
Rock Dove (Columba livia) 5/10
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 0/4
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 0/1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1/1
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 1/1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2/3
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) 10/15
Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus) 0/1
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 1/0
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) heard both days
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1/0
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 25/20
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) 5/6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) 30/30
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 3/1
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis) 1/2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 6/10
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1/1
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 20/20
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 6/8
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 0/2
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 4/10
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) 10/0
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 0/1
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Re: Rock Wren at Arrowhead Marsh
Sun, 24 Oct 1999 21:35:48 -0700
From: Joseph Morlan
Rusty Scalf wrote:
Do the readers of this list often see Rock Wrens away from known haunts?
For several years we used to see them at the base of the "Albany Bulb" at the old landfill on Christmas Bird Counts. I don't think they have been there in recent years though.
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044
California Birding; Mystery Birds:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
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