[EBB Sightings] Donner and Back Canyon, Mt. Diablo

This Sunday (4/19), I walked the Donner Canyon, Tick Wood Trail to Back
Canyon loop. (reached by taking Regency Drive to the very end, turning
right off of March Creek Road just past Clayton).  Donner Canyon had
NASHVILLE WARBLER,WESTERN TANAGER(male), HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, male/female
pair of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, and several ASH-THROATED FLYCATHER'S
(mostly heard).

The 2nd-half (western end) of the Tick Wood Trail opens up into an oak
woodland and usually rewards me with some good warbler sightings, in this
case on Sunday, a HERMIT WARBLER (male).  Also along this trail, I spotted
3 pairs of BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS.  The birds are easy to spot along this
trail since the oak vegetation is very open and you're looking down slope.

Back Canyon had its usual wonderful wildflower displays (one of the best
on the mountain) including Wind Poppies (Stylomecon heterophylla).

Last Monday (4/13), Juan-Carlos Solis and I had great looks at a Sage
Sparrow half-way up White Canyon, off of Mitchell Canyon.


Ted Robertson

Lawrence Hall of Science
University of California
Berkeley, CA  94720-5200
510-642-4087