[EBB Sightings] flight of the frugivores

It's the start of huckleberry season at Huckleberry
Preserve in the Oakland hills, and I am not the only
one to have noticed. Time spent loitering along the
upper trail above the slopes awash in evergreen
huckleberry shrubs provides many looks at feeding
flocks. Yesterday I saw a pair of hooded orioles come
in to feed; this is the first time that I have seen
this species at this location (although it certainly
doesn't mean that it is the first time that it has
been there). A single song sparrow fed rather oddly
upon a single, large purple berry, poking its beak
inside, rather than gobbling it down whole. 

A mad buzz of insect life attracted a number of
insectivorous birds, including a Wilson's warbler male
that STILL had a "height of breeding readiness" orange
forehead; kinda late in the season, isn't it, buddy?
The fleet, fat gray forms of band-tailed pigeons
melted through the trees, and chickadee families
joined in the feast. 

The ravens are back en masse, with a flock of dozens
tumbling over Skyline Blvd.; bad news for the
beleaguered goldens, conspicious by their absence in
the past few months, at least as far as viewpoints
from a Huckleberry perspective.

This all took place in the late afternoon, so you can
sleep in, and still enjoy the show. 

My Oakland backyard is also an avian hotbed, with our
ripening figs attracting hooded warblers on a daily
basis; so bold that they still come in to noisily
feed, even while I sit below them, peering up into the
canopy. They are the flashiest members of a crew that
includes our resident brown towhees and the
neighborhood mockingbird. Once the figs are abundantly
overripe, beetles will come to feed (large enough to
observe flying above the treetop) and they, in turn,
will bring out our resident big brown bats. It's a
virtual flying circus out there!

Last week had a big, yellow-eyed juvenile accipiter
perched upon our TV antenna, and hopping about
hopefully on top of our backyard aviary; local Allens
and Annas hummingbirds, as well as both Lesser and
American goldfinches flew in to express their
displeasure with the new neighbor. Our captive birds
are so jaded that they didn't even fly, although the
poor cockatiels did have alarmingly erect topknot
feathers.

Lots to see and hear and marvel at. Get out there and
discover your own juicy slice of our Bay Area bounty.

Debbie Viess