[EBB Sightings] Mountain Blue Birds and more

Actually last week I did get to see the Patterson Pass Mountain Blue Birds.
I was only able to find two of them in the previous location reported .
The same day the Ferruginous Hawk was near the main wind power gate road
maker 15020 north side of the road.
I was busy so I didn't report them.
Today off of Via Nicole and Patterson Pass Rd. Jim Ross and I  had three
male and several female Tri-Color Black Birds.
Also on North Flynn Rd. (unknown road marker) we had a nice flock (20+) of
female and first year Red-winged Blackbirds - no males in the flock.
Just for fun on Thursday 1/31/08 in Dublin off of Tassajara Road in front
of the AAA office / Safeway curb side was a Red-winged Blackbird Variation
1st summer.
Go to Sibley page 513 for a description and drawing.
Rich Cimino a.k.a. Raven


> [Original Message]
> From: Bob Power 
> To: ebbsightings ebbsightings 
> Date: 2/2/2008 10:09:07 PM
> Subject: [EBB Sightings] Alameda Co. various
> Hi all:
> I spent most of the morning following up on previously
> reported birds.
> Highlights:  2 male White-winged Scoters at San
> Leandro Marina, just off of the point.  The first bird
> dove and another appeared in an area that just seemed
> to far away to have been the first bird.  Shortly they
> were both up at the same time.  Very close-range looks
> were completely captivating.
> After the scoters at the point, I drove to the last
> marina parking lot and walked the par course to look
> at the island offshore.  The crew-crews (crewers?
> skullers?) had a Horned Grebe flying around the
> interior channel, and I couldn't recall ever seeing a
> small grebe in flight.  It was a treat.
> At the farthest northern point of the parcourse loop,
> I could see one of the White-winged Scoters preening
> and thought I might get a better picture than I
> already had. I started to walk down towards the rocks
> and heard a twittering and there were 50 or so Willets
> parked below me. No one flushed, and I was fortunate
> to find 2 Surfbirds roosting with them. 
> I scanned the northeast side of the island and there
> was another large shorebird roost, primarily Willets,
> but also containing 3 Ruddy Turnstones.
> I ended the morning enjoying Chuck Woodrum's
> extraordinary hospitality and having a brief but
> satisfying view of the Clay-colored Sparrow. 
> After other responsibilities, the afternoon had me
> back at Patterson Pass looking for my nemesis bird. I
> scoured Patterson Pass and Flynn Rd. I had quite
> similar results to Rich Cimino's. 
> An adult Ferruginous Hawk was just south of the
> intersection of the Railroad tracks and Patterson Pass
> rd. at about the 1 mile mark west of the county line.
> A couple of pictures from today can be seen at:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/14935921 at N00/
> And to piggy-back on Steve Glover's note, there's at
> least one Winter Wren adjacent to the parking lot at
> the end of the Stream Trail entrance to Redwood Park.
> As reported earlier in January.
> Good birding,
> Bob Power
> Oakland, CA
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