[EBB Sightings] Oakland CBC highlights: Mountain View Cemetery

Highlight #1 had to be the clear weather. What a relief. Highlight #2 had to
be not one but two MERLINS at the cemetery. They were well separated when we
first found them but while we watched they joined up, flew around awhile,
and then flew off. At least 1 bird has been seen periodically at the
cemetery over the last couple weeks. We were later rewarded with a bonus
Merlin flyby at the top of Piedmont Park. 

We found a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at the far end of the quarry area beyond
the fence at the end of the high road. The area's not open to the public but
it gets lots of dog-walker and jogger traffic. The quarry periphery seems to
be part of the backyards of the adjacent houses--it's not clear to me what's
private property and what's cemetery property. So if anyone challenges you
up there, don't tell them I sent you.

Tony Brake and I found a Sharp-shinned Hawk at the top of the hill by the
maintenance area on Saturday but we couldn't refind it yesterday. We also
found a number of broken up tombstones, including one from someone who died
less than a year ago. What's up with that?

Try as we might, we were not able to call up a California Thrasher, tape or
no tape. Our tape did provoke a few CALIFORNIA QUAIL to vocalize just
upslope from the highest pond ("the debris pond"). Quail numbers seemed to
be generally down for the count, which raised concerns at the count dinner.
The quail population at the cemetery should be a concern because someone is
feeding feral cats by one of the lower ponds.



Bruce Mast
Oakland, CA
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