[EBB Sightings] A sunny corner in Tilden Park

Dear Birders:

This morning I joined Emilie Strauss for one hour of her long birding 
morning.  As the sun hadn't yet risen enough to shine on Jewel Lake, we 
spent an hour near the north end of the Meadow - an always productive spot 
because of the willow and creek dogwood thickets, the live oaks, and the 
several verges where one plant community edges on another.  Though one 
doesn't necessarily associate the end of September with bird song, both the 
resident Song Sparrows and the newly-arrived Fox Sparrows were singing.  
Wrentits and Wilson's Warblers also briefly sang.  Emilie pointed out a 
Lincoln's Sparrow in the weedy area in front of the willows, and I had a 
long look at this subtly beautiful sparrow.

So here's a more or less complete list on this sunny morning on the date of 
the Fall Equinox -- all seen (or heard) by Emilie ("nothing you wouldn't 
expect to find here this time of the year") -- and a lesser number by me.

Wilson's Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Warbling Vireo (lots)
Hutton's Vireo
Northern Flicker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Ca. Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Varied Thrush
Western Tanager
Pacific Coast Flycatcher
Lincoln's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Wrentit
Red-shouldered Hawk

What I have learned is that September is a dynamic month in the bird world 
with all the 'passers- through' and the newly-arrived.  Today marks the end 
of summer and the official beginning of fall.  For those who grew up in 
colder climates, the end of summer may be cause for a certain wistfulness.  
But for me,  having lived always in the Bay Area, fall brings a delicious 
anticipation -- the first rain storms that turn brown hills green, send 
streams coursing again in their canyons, while ushering in a new population 
to join the resident birds

Phila Rogers