[EBB Sightings] Cedar Waxwings in Montclair

  So I decided to prowl Win's neighborhood this
afternoon and saw some good action at someone's
backyard feeders, which could be seen nicely from the
road. 
  There were cedar waxings to be seen, though not the
huge flock Win reported. Also, black-headed
grossbeaks, male and female, chestnut-backed
chickadees, a very timid oak titmouse which would
nervously grab one sunflower seed at a time and
hightail it out of there, red-breasted nuthatch,
Steller's and scrub jays and mourning doves.
  There were also finches--at least 2 and maybe 3
brands; house, and purple and/or Cassin's. I hesitate
to claim the latter, as my IDing skills have a tough
time with species so close in appearance. But there
was a noticible, deeper red color difference from the
house finches present and there seemed to be a
Cassin's-like crown on some of the birds.
  I also glimpsed a small bird whose markings were
like the red-breasted nuthatch, but which I'd almost
swear had a wren-like curved bill. Yeah, I probably
just saw a nuthatch at a weird angle or something.
  Elsewhere in the immediate neighborhood, there were
lots of robins and jays and doves, a couple of lesser
goldfinches picking at thistledown, a spotted towhee
and a bushtit or two. A redtail hung high above in the
strong winds.
  I didn't make it up to Sibley as I'd hoped I might.
Anything new on the eagles, anyone?
Peace,
Alan Howe
North Oakland

--- win kryda  wrote:
> Decided not to go photograph the Blue Grossbeaks on
> Patterson Pass today 
> because of being woken  at  ~ 4am by an earthquake
> along the Hayward fault. 
> Thought it was better to stick close to home. Just
> when I was wishing I 
> had gone because of the flurry of bird activity that
> happens between the 
> rains when fronts are moving rapidly and the diffuse
> light that happens, 
> I looked up from my computer to see Cedar Wax Wings
> in the Holly tree 
> outide our dining room window! I ran up to get my
> camera to be greated 
> by 2 rather shy Band-Tailed Pigeons on the tree
> outside the back deck! 
> The Wax Wings came and went only to come back with
> their friends 
> totalling hundreds! till they demolished all the
> berries leaving hardly 
> any for the Hermit Thrush that came. Definately was
> a great rainy day 
> activity to practice my teleflash to freeze the
> flurry of activity in 
> the woods that has low light in the cyn. behind our
> house.
> Win Kryda
> Montclair, Mountaingate and Castle
> back yard faces Larry Lane which has a creak and
> lots of bird action!
> Spring is here. Our female Grossbeaks are
> particularly plump and the 
> males are rather stuning and singing quite
> beautifully. Robins eggshells 
> are in the yard and Bewick's wren's are nesting in
> one of our bird houses.
> So who needs to go to the canyons of AZ! when you
> live in CA!.....now 
> all I need is a canyon wren.......
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You got this message because you visited 
> www.diabloaudubon.com and subscribed to the mailing
> list 
> Sightings at diabloaudubon.com
> 
> To unsubscribe, ask questions, change your
> subscription, or learn how to post to the list,
> visit the list information page at 
http://www.diabloaudubon.com/mailman/listinfo/sightings
> 
> Archives of past messages for Sightings are at
http://www.diabloaudubon.com/mailman/private/sightings
> 
> Archives of past EBB messages are at
http://www.diabloaudubon.com/ebb/archive/archindex.html
> 
> Posts to this list average 100 to 120 per month.  
> 


		
Discover Yahoo! 
Stay in touch with email, IM, photo sharing and more. Check it out! 
http://discover.yahoo.com/stayintouch.html