[EBB Sightings] BRRP Grasshopper Sparrows

Neat description of the territories!  I also heard a
grasshopper sparrow in my first trip to Point Pinole
on July 4th.  we found it on a trail that forks off to
the left when you pass the first main picnic area/play
structure.  it was singing on the left side of this
trail approx half way between the picnic area and the
eucalyptus stand.  I haven't been back to see if its
still there...

  Nothing else really unusual, although we had fun
watching an osprey eating lunch on a piling close to
the pier.

Good birding

Alan


>Birders,

>They're gone. The Grasshopper Sparrows that began
arriving at >Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve (BRRP) the
last week of April were >still present on the 4th of
July, but not today. During their 9+ week >stay they
established and defended 5 territories each of which
>stretched about 150 yards along Red Tail Hawk Trail
from just south >of the intersection with Gray Fox
Trail (territory #1) to the fence line >on the spur
trail north of the GPS station (territory #5). The
sparrows >on territories #1, #3, and #5 stopped
singing and then disappeared >3-4 weeks ago with no
sign of breeding success. I saw one adult and >one
juvenile sparrow on territory #2 about 3 weeks ago;
the following >week they were gone. 2 weeks ago I saw
a singing adult and a >juvenile on territory #4. The
juvenile sparrow was tailless, but flew >just fine. On
the 4th I saw those 2 birds again (the adult still
singing >even though its work was about done) and 2
more juveniles, both of >which had normal tails. So
the big winner was apparently the >Grasshopper Sparrow
on territory #4 adjacent to the GPS station with >at
least 3 young successfully fledged. Good luck to them
all.

>Dennis Braddy
>San Ramon


Alan Krakauer, Ph.D Candidate
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology 
3101 Valley Life Sciences Building
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3160
Office: (510) 642-7888 
fax: (510) 643-8238  
krakauer at berkeley.edu