[EBB Sightings] an evening walk

Dear Birders:

Friday evening I had the pleasure of accompanying Denise Wight on an
early evening walk to one of her favorite haunts -- the Orinda
Connector Trail.

As many of you know, she is the consummate expert on bird calls and
songs, and has taught a number of courses on the subject.  

Late summer is surely the season of smaller sounds, although both
goldfinches -- the Lesser and the American -- were singing giving
Denise a chance to point out the differences in their song -- the
Lesser Goldfinches song includes imitative phrases while the American
sticks to a consistent "wild canary" repertoire.

The trail leads downhill through a mixed woodland with specimen-sized 
Black Oak and the Valley Oaks. A bridge crosses the stream which was
running bank to bank - a impressive flow for the dry season.  The trail
bottoms out and crosses a broad grassland planted with Monterey pines,
many of which appear to be near the end of their life span.  A group of
Pygmy Nuthatches, a species which is expanding their range, twittered
sweetly in the treetops.

Retracing our steps, we were surprised to see that the stream flow was
only half of what it had been less than an hour early, confirming our
suspicion that the high water was from a release upstream at the Orinda
EBMUD treatment plant.

Denise will be giving a talk as part of the Close to Home series on
Monday, September 10, standing in for Rusty Scalf.  Check out their
website for the details of a not-to-be missed evening.

Phila Rogers    



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