[EBB Sightings] Jewel Lake field trip

Dear Birders:

After a long period of very warm days and the last two with smoky
skies, the ocean fog rolled in bringing its cool comfort.  Twenty of us
gathered at the Jewel Lake parking lot in Tilden Park for the regular
first-Friday-of-the-month Jewel Lake walk sponsored by Golden Gate
Audubon.

Highlights of the walk included listening to the distinctive
post-breeding song of the Song Sparrow and hearing Swainson's Thrushes
calling from the thickets with even one bird whispering a stanza of its
glorious summer song. At the lake itself we watched a Great Blue Heron
stalking the lake margin, a Black-crowned Night Heron in a tree (we
missed the Green Heron), and a Belted Kingfisher flying back and forth
announcing its presence with its raucous, rattling calls that seem like
the vocal equivalent of its spiky head feathers. Altogether we heard or
saw 29 species.

Many of the summer residents remain -- Warbling Vireos, Orange-crowned
and Wilson's Warblers among others.  Soon these birds will embark on
the perilous journey south to Mexico and beyond.  Mostly they will fly
at night setting down to feed during the day.  

The Swainson's Thrushes often use, in winter, the trees that shelter
the coffee plantations in the Mexican and Central American highlands --
another good reason to buy shade-grown coffee.  During their night
flights where they appear to be guided by magnetic fields, the thrushes
keep in touch with each other with a sweet, long-carrying flight note
that on a quiet night can be heard overhead.  Hearing those voices, the
listener's heart rises to join them. 

As our summer residents leave, travelers from the north and east will
begin arriving -- Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Fox Sparrows, the Hermit
Thrush, and the Golden-crowned Sparrows whose plaintive notes in the
minor key truly mean fall.  And Varied Thrushes -- what can we expect
this year after last years astounding bumper crop when more than 200
birds were counted at Jewel Lake alone?

And with the lake at its lowest point in the year and the creek almost
silent in its stream bed, who can fail to look forward to that first
rain of the season?

Phila Rogers




       
____________________________________________________________________________________
Need a vacation? Get great deals
to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.
http://travel.yahoo.com/