[EBB Sightings] April 15, 2007-Antioch Dunes NWR

Antioch Dunes NWR, April 15, 2007. 
Thanks to John Bradley of FWS  The Oakland Bird Club had a very
interesting and informative trip to the Antioch Dunes NWR. John gave us
a short talk about the habitat and history of this unit of the NWR
system, focusing on the Lange?s Metalmark Butterfly and its host plant,
a subspecies of Naked-stemmed Buckwheat, and also the Antioch-Dunes
Evening Primrose and the Contra Costa Wallflower. The butterfly and the
three plants are all endangered. Volunteers have been planting out
buckwheat and wallflowers from plants raised in a nursery area, and
have been trying to clear out vetch and other weeds which smother these
native plants which are part of the butterfly?s native habitat. Workers
have been clearing brush and making fire breaks to reduce the chance of
fires. Many butterfly larvae maturing on buckwheat leaves have been
killed in wildfires that have occurred over the years. The property is
now fenced to keep people from entering the area except on trips led by
the NWR staff and volunteers. The Stamm and Sardis units are separated
by a PGE property and PGE has worked to preserve habitat also.

The day was sunny but windy and cool. Many N Mockingbirds and four
species of swallows were seen, and we could see a colony of Great
Egrets and Great Blue Herons nesting in the trees across the San
Joaquin River. During our walks through both units we saw some 32
species of birds, the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose, California Poppy,
Bush Lupine and Contra Costa Wallflower in bloom, and the Naked-stemmed
Buckwheat. 

Take Highway 4 and exit A Street / Lone Tree Way. Turn North onto A
Street. Turn right (East) onto Wilbur Avenue. Turn left (North) onto
Fulton Shipyard Road. Cross over the railroad tracks and turn right
into the second gravel driveway. The refuge is on your right. Although
the refuge is closed to the general public, docent-led tours are
offered on the second Saturday of each month at 10 am. Educational
tours are available upon request. 
E-mail: sfbaynwrc at fws.gov    
Phone Number: 510-521-9624

Birds seen:
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant 
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Western Gull
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Western Kingbird
Tree Swallow
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Bushtit
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
California Towhee
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch


kathy jarrett
kathy_jarrett at yahoo.com

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