[EBB Sightings] More on Mines Road/Del Puerto Canyon birds May 3

Birders:

To supplement Hugh Harvey's post to EBBirds from late yesterday . . . .

At Murrieta's Well Winery yesterday , my Golden Gate Audubon Society  
group also enjoyed a day-roosting Barn Owl.

In San Antonio Valley, between yesterday's trip and my scouting on  
Thursday I saw at least seven Lewis's Woodpeckers.  My most southerly  
one was at the Lawrence's Goldfinch spot that Hugh mentioned; who  
knows how many more birds were present between that spot and a point  
about a mile and a half south of the junction, where I noted my next- 
most-southerly bird.  Yesterday both Jean Richmond and Art Edwards  
told me that 6-8 birds was the most they'd ever seen in the valley.   
Here's hoping their numbers increase further.

In Del Puerto Canyon, everyone in our group enjoyed a pair of  
Lawrence's Goldfinches in Deer Creek Campground, working between the  
riparian strip and nearby gray pines.   Lower in the canyon, a bit  
east of owl rock, one of our sharp-eyed participants picked out a  
male Blue Grosbeak just uphill (to the south) from where we also saw  
a male Costa's Hummingbird.  At the usual Canyon Wren spot, a Rufous- 
crowned Sparrow sang unbidden, and made itself visible, before a  
Canyon Wren belatedly responded to tape and obliged in the same way.   
Nice.

Surprises for me during the day included two Olive-sided Flycatchers  
along Mines Road -- one in Alameda County (also seen by the MDAS  
folks), and another in Santa Clara County, about a half-mile south of  
the summit.  A Steller's Jay in the riparian strip behind the old  
Branding Iron Cafe was also a spring-time first for me along this  
route, as was the Band-tailed Pigeon noted by MDAS folks at the corral.

After dark, a few hardy folks joined me to search for night birds.   
We heard single Common Poorwills in upper Del Puerto Canyon (about PM  
19.5) and in Alameda County (about mp 9 on MInes Road).  Around PM  
20-21 in DPC I was able to spotlight a responsive Western Screech- 
Owl.  And at the Alameda/Santa Clara County line on Mines Road my  
tape induced a Northern Saw-whet Owl to sing, concluding a long, but  
satisfying, four-owl day.

Dave Quady
Berkeley, California
davequady at att.net