[EBB Sightings] San Joaquin delta cruise

On the first day of March my partner Noreen and I were lucky to join an
enthusiastic group of naturalists, photographers and nature lovers for a
full day cruise of the Sacramento Delta aboard Dolphin Charter's Delphinus.
Departing from the Antioch Marina Captain Ronn Patterson assisted by
eagle-eyed wildlife expert Pam Lewellyn presented an eye opening perspective
of the natural and cultural history of this bio-rich region. The 8:00 AM
departure began mostly cloudy and blustery but gradually gave way to clear
skies, continued breezy but an overall glorious day. 

Shortly after entering the San Joaquin River system we were treated with an
excellent view of an adult Peregrine Falcon perched under the Highway 160
bridge. Captain Ronn has been touring this area by boat for over twenty
years and has observed nesting Peregrines around this bridge for about the
last 15 of those. Upstream from this area things got much livelier. A group
of River Otters were porpoising on the starboard side; first dozens, then
hundreds of divers including Scoters, Scaup, Goldeneye plus a few
Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks and Common Mergansers were working hard to make a
living. Fishing Forster's Terns darted by every few minutes and Coots were
everywhere with a few Buffleheads standing out of all of that black and
white. Massive American White Pelicans with breeding knobs bulging flew over
and plowed the waters. The Captain pointed out a few beaver lodges and I
briefly spotted one sunning on top a mat of water hyacinth only a few feet
from an Egret. 
 
Once we entered the calmer waters between Sherman Island and the Webb Tract
the advantage of the high decks of the Delphinus really came into play. In
our many years of exploring this region by wheel and foot never had we seen
the amazing abundance of avifauna that exists there in winter on this level.
Public access is typically limited to roadways and the few area preserves
but from a high deck on the rivers one can view over the high levees into an
area not many ever see or even know about. Many thousands of private acres
are owned and managed for waterfowl habitat by wealthy conservationists and
hunting groups. Most of the rest is grazed or cultivated for grains or
covered in orchards that were slightly past full bloom this day. Thousands
of Sandhill Cranes, tens of thousands of Snow and Greater White-fronted
Geese, Wigeons, Green-winged Teal blanketed the low lying flood plains and
potholes. Lesser numbers of Tundra Swans and all of the other common
dabblers along with the occasional Wood Duck were spotted. Shorebirds were
mostly too far to ID but many Stilt and Dowitchers were obvious. Ibis popped
up every now and again. Raptors, especially Red-tails, Harriers and Kites
were abundant. A Great Horned Owl was expected and then found deep in some
willows. Gulls included a single Bonaparte's but were mostly California,
Ring-billed and Herring a few Western close to Antioch. We cruised slowly by
many active Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Cormorant rookeries. The
light turned excellent for a couple of hours in the afternoon making
photographers very happy.
 
Expertly navigated through the quieter sloughs and backwaters we were able
to pickup the songs of a good number of passerines especially Marsh Wrens
and a few Common Yellowthroat. Yellowrumps were abundant and a few Flickers,
one Downy Woodpecker came into view. Chattering Tree Swallows mating in mid
air was a spring time treat to see. Common Moorhens would exit the tules
every once in a while but we never got that lucky with Bittern that are
often seen on this trip despite regular scanning. On the return route a
Coyote trotted along one of the rock levees for a minute and an unusual
sighting for this area was an Osprey perched on a piling feeding on it's
catch. Two Sea-lions barely looked up at us as we passed their buoy lounge.
 
On the way home I was thinking that this may have been the most waterfowl we
have ever seen in a single day in California. This area has its share of
challenges and those are apparent as well from the many abandoned boats and
collapsed structures in the waterways to the untenable levee and pump
situation but all in all it was very inspiring and this cruise is probably
the most accessible way to explore this amazing region. In case any are
interested Dolphin Charter's offers both private charter and public cruises
and you can check out their Bay Area schedule at
http://www.dolphincharters.com/sfbaydel.htm

Happy trails!

Eddie Bartley
www.naturetrip.com
 
BIRD LIST (I probably missed a few but this is what I remember)
San Joaquin River from Antioch to Medford Island
3/1/08

Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)
Ross's Goose (Chen rossii)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhyncos)
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca carolinensis)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Common Goldeneye (Becephala clangula)
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhyncos)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea herodias)
Snowy Egret (Ardea thula)
White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)

Mammals:
Coyote (Canis latrans)
River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)