Re: Hayward Shoreline
Fri, 05 Nov 1999 09:48:21 -0800
From: Nat Weber
Tom Condit wrote:
Historically, the Lapland Longspurs at Hayward Shoreline flocked with Horned Larks, so if the Horned Larks have returned as reported, look for Longspurs in the flocks. (They'll drive you crazy with inconspicuousness, but once you finally spot them you'll know them.)
Hi
Taking the observations and suggestions of Peter Dramer and Tom Condit, I went to the Hayward Shoreline yesterday. It was about 4 PM. I found a Lapland Longspur with a small flock of 8 Horned Larks. It was a male. It was distiguishable from the Larks with juvenile plumage but it takes a while to notice. Tom remarks were perfect. I did notice that the Longspur in this group was less weary [wary?] than the Horned Larks and was the last to move away from me as I approached for a better view.
It was not on top of the two disked landfills but to the north of the parking area. About half a mile to the north is a gentle rise with 5 large antennas on it and large piles of debris with working vehicles. At the bottom of the rise is a sort of moat/drainage ditch. I saw the longspur on the trail adjacent to the ditch about 100 yards from the bay trail. This is a very sparse area. In some areas the fresh dirt is matted down and no plants grow there.
When I arrived I checked out the first landfill and I saw the hundred plus Killdeer. Then toward the antennas. While I was walking that direction, two people walking dogs flushed the large flock of Horned Larks. The flock looked like it had 75 or more Larks. The longer it flew, the more it split up. There is a lot of area for the flocks to cover. Hopefully, it will return to the same area.
Good Birding
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Yard bird
Fri, 05 Nov 1999 09:40:42 -0800
From: Kay Loughman
EB Birders
Right on schedule, a White-throated Sparrow showed up in my Berkeley yard on Wednesday. Sixth year in a row to see at least one in the yard in November, though they don't always stay right here all winter.
Kay
Eurasian Kestrel up north
Fri, 5 Nov 1999 13:26:07 PST
From Mark Rauzon
I hear there's one in the Skagit flats of western Washington.
Someone has temporarily placed Bud Andersen's photo of the Washington Eurasian Kestrel at
http://columbia-pacific.interrain.org/ahscience/photo_archive/Mvc-029s.jpg
Mark Rauzon
Martin Luther King Shoreline, Saturday
Sat, 06 Nov 1999 15:27:24 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
A very high tide (+6.1 feet) let me see more of the ducks than usual, because Arrowhead Marsh was flooded, but rather fewer shorebirds, because Mitigation Marsh was flooded too!
I believe I may have seen that interesting wigeon that Lilian Fujii saw at the Damon Slough (northwest) end of the shoreline. It's still a very messy, rufous bird, but with a clearly cinnamon head.
Bird(s) of the day: Northern Pintails, Cinnamon Teals, and Green-winged Teals, which are so beautiful I can't decide which I enjoy the most.
Here's my list:
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) - at least 2 pairs
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) - flying!
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
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)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Selasphorus loiterers
Sat, 06 Nov 1999 16:45:29 -0800
From: Tom Condit
There were still several Selasphorus hummingbirds at the Mesoamerican hill of the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley this morning. Hard to count because most of them were staying low in the shrubbery and flitting about rapidly, buzzing.
Other birds seen:
Anna's Hummingbirds
Chestnut-backed Chickadees
Bushtits
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Scrub-Jay
probable Hutton's Vireo
Dark-eyed Juncos
and no Steller's Jays!!! (They must have been hiding.)
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Sat, 6 Nov 1999 17:02:39 PST
From: Steve Glover
This morning I spent some time birding Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline at Point Richmond. While there, I saw one and possibly two male Eurasian Wigeon, a young Greater White-fronted Goose, and six "small" Canada Geese. The Eurasian Wigeon are sporadic here, which always surprises me since there are 250 or so American Wigeon there. The Greater White-fronted Goose did not hang out with the other geese and when I saw it the bird was always swimming around.
The Canada Geese continue to be a burr in my saddle, although everytime I look in Palmer's Handbook of North American Birds I am comforted somewhat. The fact that as I was trying to study them they were constantly trading places with each other only added to my confusion. About all I can say is the following: There were 6 Canada Geese present there today that were very obviously smaller than the large forms, which presumably were the introduced moffitti that occur there year round. There was even a fair amount of size variation amongst the six when all were near each other. Three of the birds were noticeably very dark brown on the breast, the other 3 much paler. Only one of the six had much of a collar around the front and even that one was not terribly prominent, it was one of the dark birds. The very dark birds had foreheads that were rather blocky with very short bills, giving them the exact opposite effect of a duck with a sloping forehead and bill like a Canvasback. One of the dark birds had a more evenly sloped profile. After reading Palmer I am at a loss as to how to differentiate between Aleutian and Cackling as all of the features he considers are highly variable even between races. Both can be dark-breasted or not, both can have neck rings or not, the chinstraps can or may not meet under the chin in both. Perhaps someone can help me with this or point me to a source that might shed some light on this.
At Point Isabel Regional Shoreline there was a Peregrine Falcon on the pair of radio towers (although only on one of them at a time, of course).
At the Richmond Sewage Ponds on Richmond Parkway there wasn't much going on but the roosting gulls were represented by Mew, Ring-billed, California, Herring, Thayer's, Glaucous-winged, and Western.
I also got a message from Bob Wisecarver that there are 5 Tundra Swans at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek. They apparently appeared yesterday. This park is on the north side of Ygnacio Valley Rd. When you pass John Muir Hospital on your right you are almost there. At the bottom of the hill, turn left. There is a Lucky's on your left.
Steve Glover
Eurasian Kestrel, Sandhill Crane Festival
Sat, 06 Nov 1999 21:27:48 -0800
From: Michelle Sixta
I was just boating on the Delta today with a group from the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival, and our guide mentioned he had driven all the way up to Washington to see the Eurasian Kestrel and was fortunate to actually see it when he arrived.
Aside from that, the Delta/Crane Festival group I was with was treated to an incredibly close and unobstructed view of 2 Great Horned Owls - the first entry of an owl on my life list! Earlier in the day, a Crane Festival group I was with on a cattle ranch was treated to a Golden Eagle - my second sighting in one month! During that excursion, I also added two new birds to my list - a Loggerhead Shrike and Common Snipe. There were many other birds we saw, but nothing extraordinary. Oh, and of course, Friday evening at Woodbridge, my friend and I were treated for our third year in a row to a beautiful sunset over Mount Diablo while thousands of Sandhill Cranes flew in to roost for the night.
Later!
Michelle Sixta
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