[EBB Sightings] more band tails and a ferrugie, too

Oh! Glorious sunshine! On a mid-day walk yesterday at
Huckleberry Preserve, I wasn?t the only one enjoying
the break in the weather. The parking lot was a hotbed
of avian activity. Viewed conveniently from my perch
upon the picnic table, and continuing the line of East
Bay sightings, a flock of fifty plus band-tailed
pigeons exploded out of the sky. They wheeled to drop
and feed upon a stately, flowering madrone. A cheery
yellow Wilson?s warbler zipped by, diving into an
adjacent oak, and Selasphorus hummers, defending
territory, added their buzz and flash.

But the Huckleberry hawks proved the best of show,
avian division. Entering the preserve along the mucky,
meandering trail, I spotted a couple of larger than
average raptors, soaring over the canyon. One was
obviously a golden eagle, but the smaller was not so
readily identified. It was a very large buteo, but
with none of the field characteristics typical of a
redtail: no red tail, no dark leading edge to the
wings. Flying in tandem with the eagle it dipped down,
which is when I noticed large, white patches in the
long, broad wings. Bingo! Ferruginous hawk, or I?ll
eat my hat. 

Floral postscript: milk maids are up in sprightly
profusion, and I saw my first blooming Doug iris of
the year. Could this really, truly be spring?

My fingers are crossed.

Debbie Viess
Oakland