Surfbirds and Sage Thrasher
Sun, 5 Mar 2000 15:37:06 -0800
From: Calvin Lou
Hi all,
Point Emery-
This morning at High Tide, I refound the Surfbirds (6) on the rocks, just
south of Point Emery. Also present in the area, there were Black-bellied
Plovers, Sanderlings, Black Turnstones, Willets, a Clark's Grebe, Canvasbacks,
Surf Scoters, and Ruddy Ducks.
Richmond Inner Harbor - Vincent Park
I looked for the Long-tailed Duck [Oldsquaw] - without luck. On the jetty,
there were lot of Black-bellied Plovers, some Sanderlings, Marbled Godwits,
Western Sandpipers, and Willets. Also, there were Common Loons, Eared and
Horned Grebes, Clark's Grebe, Surf Scoters, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes,
scaups, and a Red-throated Loon.
Miller/Knox Regional Park
I immediately saw the Sage Thrasher as I pulled up. It was on the grassy
area near the shrubs (with the drain gutter and No parking Sign). I walked
over to the shrubs to try for a picture. The Sage Thrasher moved to the top
of shrubs, paused for a moment, then flew across the street into the shrubs
behind the NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING sign. Next, I headed into the park. There
was a Red-breasted Sapsucker near the bathrooms. In the pond, there were
the usual American Wigeons, coots, and Canada Goose plus a pair of Gadwalls
and a male Red-breasted Merganser.
Point Isabel
There were two Peregrine Ralcons near the radio towers.
Calvin D Lou
Oldsquaw
Sun, 5 Mar 2000 19:53:43 -0800
From: Emilie Strauss
Today, Mike McClaskey and I refound the Oldsquaw originally found by Steve and Lillian at Marina Bay [Richmond Inner Harbor]. It was just offshore from the description I will reprint (as per Lillian's instructions) below. This spot is directly adjacent to several pillars commemorating the Kaiser shipbuilding yards. It was seen on an outgoing tide at about 3 PM.
The following was from Lillian:
There is an Oldsquaw at Richmond Marina - a molting male without the long tail. Dorthy Furseth, Steve Hayashi and I saw the bird today between 1 and a little past 2. The bird stayed in the inner harbor [Marina Bay] associating with Surf Scoters. To see the bird, go to Barbara and Jay Vincent Park, which is the end of Peninsula. Take Hwy 580 to Marina Bay Parkway. Take Marina Bay Parkway south. Marina Bay Parkway becomes Peninsula. There are a lot of birds in the inner harbor - Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Common Loon, Common Goldeneye, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, California Gull, and more.
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Nesting material: Ravens and house sparrows
Datestamped: Sat, 04 Mar 2000 19:11:44 -0800 (but received 6 March)
From: Tom Condit
Yesterday Marsha Feinland and I saw a Common Raven carrying nesting material at the southwest corner of the UC Berkeley campus (Oxford and Bancroft). It lighted on one of the pillars of the wall around the sports field, contemplated the situation for a moment, then flew off northward.
House Sparrows are beginning to build nests in the eaves of my barn in central Berkeley.
Breeding behavior - Hairy woodpeckers
Datestamped: Sat, 04 Mar 2000 19:13:16 -0800 (but received 6 March)
From: Tom Condit
This is a highly belated report. I've forgotten who wants breeding behavior info, so I'm sending it to the whole list.
During the Christmas bird count at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, we were treated to a floor show of Hairy Woodpeckers copulating on a tree branch near the picnic ground by the horse arena. It wasn't very interesting.
Brant near MLK shoreline, Oakland
Mon, 06 Mar 2000 17:15:11 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
Brant. Heckuva bird for Oakland! Joan Collignon (sorry if that spelling is way off, Joan) and I had just finished our part of the monthly Golden Gate Audubon monitoring of Mitigation Marsh and the rest of Arrowhead Marsh and San Leandro Bay, and I was driving back toward Swan Way on Sunday at 15:15, when I saw a much smaller bird amid a flock of Canada Geese in the meadow between Mitigation Marsh and Swan Way. I hoped it might be an Aleutian Goose, but immediately saw its all-dark head, and necklace. It had dark flanks, so was what we used to call a Black Brant.
References from the Web and Dr. Harold Cogswell's invaluable Water Birds of California suggest that this time of year is when the migration starts to pick up, so presumably it is a migrant that became separated from its kin on the ocean. I was delighted to be able to add it to my Oakland and Alameda County lists, since I've never seen on inside the Bay before. Is it common in the Bay during migration?
I did not see it Monday, though plenty of its cousins (Branta canadensis) were grazing on the lawn on the west side of the Airport Channel, adjacent to the old Beach Cafe.
On Monday I did see a White-tailed Kite and a Peregrine Falcon in addition to the Usual Suspects at the shoreline.
Also saw five pairs of Blue-winged Teal, but didn't see the sixth male which many have reported. It's a treat to see the numbers of this species increasing at the shoreline. My records show no more than two pairs here before this year. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been studying them here.
Thanks, and Good Birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Oldsquaw is still there
Mon, 6 Mar 2000 17:58:21 PST
From: Otto Haubensak
The Oldsquaw is still in the Richmond inner harbor [Marina Bay]. He was spotted about 1:30 this afternoon (Monday, March 6) with a group of Surf Scoters. He was north of the Kaiser memorial tower in the inner harbor just as Lillian described in her earlier alert. Once spotted, he was fun to track (when not diving).
Otto Haubensak
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Brant
Mon, 6 Mar 2000 18:01:18 -0800
From: John Luther
Sunday 27 Feb four of us saw a Brant fly into the large pond at the west end of the Alameda Refuge. This is the first one that I know of seen on the soon-to-be-established refuge. It was with a flock of Canada Geese when it landed in the pond which is mostly in San Francisco County (sorry out of "our" reporting area, but only a few steps away). After a few minutes in SF the flock flew back into Alameda County where it came from.
I would guess that this is the same bird reported yesterday from Martin Luther King Shoreline. Perhaps it is also the same bird that was on the Oakland Christmas Count (I think it was at Point Isabel in Contra Costa County). I do not like to report birds in areas that are not available to the general public, but thought this was worth mentioning. Some day the refuge will be open to all (I hope).
Also interesting was a Peregrine Falcon seen flying over the Oakland Coliseum parking lot about 5:30 yesterday evening as my son and I were going to the Warriors game. At least the Peregrine was a winner.
John Luther
Oakland
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