Berkeley Aquatic Park
Sun, 12 Dec 1999 17:46:26 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
There were 22 people on Rusty Scalf's Golden Gate Audubon Society walk this morning at Berkeley Aquatic Park, and we had a very nice selection of birds to admire.
Things started off spectacularly with a Peregrine Falcon of the pealei race on the radio tower. There were dozens of Common Goldeneye, several Red-breasted Merganser (including a juvenile male molting into adult plumage), and a Mew Gull (as well as several Bonaparte's Gulls). We had good studies of shorebirds at close range, including side-by-side comparisons of peeps, Dunlin, and Dowitchers. There were at least half a dozen Greater Yellowlegs. There was a Green Heron just north of the inlet/outlet near the island in the big pond. At least 6 Semipalmated Plovers were on mudflats near the rowing club. Rusty saw a Varied Thrush in a toyon bush at the east side of the southern pond before the rest of us arrived. The only expected bird that didn't appear was the Redhead. To top things off, after the walk ended and most people had left, a few of us had good looks at a female Hooded Merganser in the southeast corner of the pond across the road from International Bird Rescue.
Here's my list for the walk:
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) - pealei
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Mew Gull (Larus canus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned or Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia sp.) - by calls
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Afterward, I made a quick visit to nearby Point Emery in hopes of finding the Redheads, but it was pretty quiet out on the bay. I did add to the above list:
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Finally, I stopped by the mouth of the Berkeley Marina in hopes of finding the Oldsquaw back in residence, but there were very few birds other than gulls to be seen there. I did spot one Common Loon (Gavia immer).
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Outhouse at south end of Hayward Shoreline
Sun, 12 Dec 1999 22:14:37 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
Cathy Purchis of Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center wants to let birders know that an "outhouse" has been installed near the center at the end of the Shoreline Trail. The restrooms inside the center will be open to the public only during the regular hours of the center, 10 AM to 5 PM on weekends only.
Good birding, Larry
Original Message Subject Index
Lake Merritt, Oakland
Thu, 16 Dec 1999 16:57:38 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
A small group joined Willie & Friends this morning for the Ohlone Audubon Society birdwalk at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland.
Highlight of the morning was a Green Heron seen just north of the Rotary Nature Center, moving between a small mud area by the path and the island nearest the shore. Otherwise, we saw expected birds (except for the Egyptian Goose, which no doubt is an escapee), but had quite a good species count for the morning. Although Redheads have been in the lake for the past couple of weeks, we didn't find them.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) - only one, and no Westerns
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) - only 20 or so
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) - one small adult
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Canvasback (Aythya vallsineria) - many
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) - only a few
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) - many
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) - one pair
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) - many
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Western X Glaucous-winged Gull - one
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) - a big flock with at least 40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Townsend's Warbler (Dendroica townsendi)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA