[EBB Sightings] A Plethora of Pelicans and other Coyote Hills sightings...

Took a nice stroll on Sunday around one of my favorite
bayside East Bay Regional Parks: Coyote Hills.
Although most of the ponds were dry, with the mud
cracked into geometric shapes, and odd salts of this
and that lending aquamarine and cobalt blue color to
the surface, there was enough standing water tucked
here and there to support a crowding of waterbirds.
And the weather was sunny and cool, just perfect for
woman and beast.

It was a particularly fine day for raptors. We spotted
a couple of nature photographers near the visitor
center, long lenses extended and serious looks in
place. When we asked what they were shooting, they
said a redtail, at which point the bird in question
swooped low over our heads...coulda used the
macro-lens for that shot!

Walking along the perimeter of the water-free, most
Westerly pond, we stopped to perch upon the large and
beautifully colored and fractured rock outcrop. It's a
fine spot to view the skies over the hills, and the
raptors slipping up the thermals. A beautifully marked
female harrier flew by us at eye level, heading North,
while below us a black phoebe called as it claimed its
rather unappealingly dry territory, no doubt in
anticipation of the coming wet. 

As we strolled past the trails that led to the Alameda
Creek channel, we were hailed by a pair of bikers, who
told us of a fox nearby in plain view, feeding on a
recently killed ground squirrel. At first, I thought
to just hurry by and leave it in peace. Then I started
to get concerned that it was staying so close to the
trails edge, in broad daylight. We all know what
happened to a similarly too-familiar coyote recently
in Golden Gate Park. 

As we walked back past the same area, darned if the
gray fox wasn't out in plain sight, just a few feet
from us, hunting grasshoppers in the dry grass. But
rather than be charmed, I must admit to feeling
concerned...was the creature rabid? Hand-reared?
Whatever, tameness like that can often lead to a bad
end, for humans and animals. I prefer my wildlife,
well, wild.

I warned another set of photographers hiking by about
the oddly tame fox, then we headed East towards the
Indian Mounds. Along a far creek channel were good
numbers of white pelicans, most resting and preening,
and a few hunting the shallows. Of course, it was
probably all shallow, if our ability to see the
hugely-humped backs of giant carp were any indication.
Their primitive appearing, large-scaled backs, shining
in the sun, dorsal fins flattened, rose several inches
above the murky waters. Despite their obviousness,
they were most likely perfectly safe from harm; they
might make a really big mouthful for a pelican, but
they were way out of the league of the majority of the
more dimunitive, nearby avian predators. 

It was no surprise to see that Canada Geese had a
strong presence in the various pockets of open water.
Can you remember back when seeing a honker was a rare
thrill? I can...and frankly, as they fly their
formations, honking companionably, I can almost return
to that mental and emotional place. 

Ducks, in this between-time season, were well
under-represented, and mostly boringly plumaged. There
was one eclipse male Cinnamon Teal, and a gaggle of
teal females, the usual smattering of mallards, and a
few gross-billed shovelers (not a new species, just a
new description of the same-old). 

Pied-billed grebes hung on the periphery of the water,
near the cattails and tules, and a handful of
dowitchers hammered the still water-covered mudflats.
White egrets, great and small, brightened the
landscape with their long, blazing white forms, and a
great blue heron flew overhead, neck folded and legs
dangling. 

Barn and tree swallows worked the hills and marshes,
and no doubt the usual suspects were present in the
oak woodlands. When I went to the Visitor Center
before leaving to report the odd fox behavior, the
ranger on duty mentioned that a red-tailed hawk
(probably the immature one that buzzed us earlier) was
preying on small dogs in the picnic area! Bad place to
bring your Yorkie, or Chihuahua. And I guess that
there had been several visitor incidents with overly
aggressive groundsquirrels in that same picnic area.

He was well aware of that fox, too, but nothing
untoward has happened with it. Yet.

Too many people, too little space for other animals,
even here in our wonderful green-belted Bay Area.

Happy birding, and keep that pup on a leash!

Debbie Viess
Oakland, CA