Hayward Shoreline
Mon, 24 Apr 2000 13:16:26 PDT
From: Bob Richmond
Today at the Hayward Shoreline, in the ponds not accessible to the public:
Black Skimmer - 1 probable male
Arctic Tern - 1 only briefly seen in flight
Yellow-headed Blackbird - 1 male
The Skimmer and the Tern may bee seen from the public trail, in the Forster's Tern colony which now has 200+ birds. More will probably be showing up. This colony had about 250 pairs last year.
At West Winton Avenue entrance:
Tropical Kingbird - 1. Peter has seen it on most days for the last two weeks. Seen mostly across Winton Ave from the entrance to EBRPD Headquarters or on the fence line on the northeast side of the buildings.
Good Birding
Bob Richmond
Allen's vs Rufous Hummers
Mon, 24 Apr 2000 16:52:53 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
Birders:
In fairness to all I must announce that an Allen's Hummingbird as far inland as Carnegie SVRA in San Joaquin County and as late as late April is highly unlikely. In fact, when I first sighted the "all-green-backed" Selasphorus hummingbird, I thought to myself "What is an Allen's doing here in late April?" The hummer in question was the first hummingbird I came across at Carnegie State Vehicle Recreation Area on Saturday 22 April. I recall now all the discussion over the past months about "all-green-backed" Selasphorus hummingbirds.
A male Selasphorus hummer with some rufous back feathering is a Rufous Hummingbird; a male Selasphorus with an all-green back could be either a Rufous or an Allen's.
An Allen's Hummingbird in late April as far inland as Carnegie SVRA is highly unlikely.
Waldo Holt is leading a trip to Carnegie SVRA on Wednesday, April 26th. See:
http://www.stocktonet.com/community/audubon/trips.html
I'm surprised only two birders noticed my blunder. I'm even more surprised nobody noticed this one:
The best bird activity was along the trail between the metal covert and the archeological exhibit.
Now this was no covert operation, nor did it have anything to do with the hummingbird's under-tail coverts: The best bird activity was along the trail between the metal culvert and the archeological exhibit.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Original Message Subject Index
Mitchell Canyon on 23 April
24 Apr 2000 20:18:35 -0700
From: Les Chibana
Avedores del Bahia Este,
I took a group from my birding class to Mitchell Canyon [south of Clayton, in Mount Diablo State Park] on Sunday, 23 April. We had such a great time birding, looking at wildflowers and butterflies, that we only got as far as White Canyon, above the steep section of trail, before we returned to the parking lot for lunch.
It was time well-spent. We had two sightings of two Golden Eagles - one was engaged in roller-coaster flight during one sighting. We had two male Calliope Hummingbird sightings, one perched about 8 feet from me at the draw about 200 yards up White Canyon. Another birder reported that he saw about 40 Calliopes fly up to escort a Cooper's Hawk down White Canyon. We were in a different location on the trail and did see about 6 hummingbirds take after the Cooper's. I heard the sharp wing buzz of Selasphorus hummingbirds in a couple of spots, but never saw any.
We had 3 Hammond's Flycatcher sightings that were not very satisfying. In all cases the small bill and grayish throat were convincing, but I never heard one call nor had the opportunity to assess the primary extension or relative tail length. On two occasions, we thought we heard a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, but we werent' sure because of the high level of birdsong. Just downhill from the Blackpoint Trail junction, we found a silent but active Western Wood-Pewee. Ash-throated Flycatchers were plentiful, and only one Western Kingbird was seen.
About halfway between the Black Point trail and White Canyon we found all three of the expected vireo species singing. One of the Cassin's Vireos was gathering nesting material.
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers seemed to be extremely abundant. (Is this one of the best-kept secrets of the East Bay?) Near the trailhead we went a short way up the road that goes east over the ridge. Part way up this slope we saw about 6 to 8 gnatcatchers working the oaks. We saw a few more on the White Canyon trail.
There was a sizeable flock of Cedar Waxwings working the mistletoe above the trail about a quarter of a mile out from the parking lot. There seemed to be anywhere from 30 to 50 that were constantly feeding then flying down to the creek area.
In the same tree where we later found the Wood-Pewee, we lucked into a good mixed flock of insectivores. Among the group was a Nashville Warbler, a Black-throated Gray Warbler, a Hermit Warbler and either a Wilson's or an Orange-crowned Warbler. Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers seemed abundant judging from the amount of song that we heard. A few lingering Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers were spotted and we heard some singing.
We had two sightings of singing Sage Sparrows in White Canyon. One Lark Sparrow was seen by the parking lot.
We had nice close views of singing and nest-material-toting Purple Finches.
There were lots of Mt. Diablo Globe Tulips in bloom, as well as Chinese Houses (do these have a new name?). There was some California Pipevine in bloom, and a Pipevine Swallowtail to go with it (White Canyon). Western Tiger, Anise and Pale(?) Swallowtails were also seen, as well as Sara Orangetips, California Ringlets, and Lorquin's Admiral.
We saw a swarm of honeybees in an oak not far from the parking area and we could also see some apiaries in a field across the canyon.
Thanks to Scott Hein for some good directions and tips.
Les Chibana, Palo Alto, CA
Fwd: Wildlife/Conservation Biology Seminar
Wed, 26 Apr 2000 18:28:54 -0700
From: Emilie Strauss
Subject: Wildlife/Conservation Biology Seminar
The speaker for this Friday's Wildlife & Conservation Biology Seminar will be:
Letitia Grenier
ESPM
Her topic, concerning endemic song sparrows in San Pablo Bay, will be:
"Causes and consequences of high density in a wetland sparrow: a plan of study"
Friday, 28 April, 2000
12:00 Noon, Room 103 Mulford Hall, UC Berkeley
Posted to EBbird by Emilie Strauss
Red Knots
Wed, 26 Apr 2000 21:34:37 -0700
From: Lina Jane Prairie
On recent walks from Central Avenue to Marina Bay in Richmond, I have regularly seen flocks of 3 to 30 summer-plumaged Red Knots.
Lina Jane Prairie
More Red Knots
Thu, 27 Apr 2000 13:20:29 -0700
From: Emilie Strauss
This morning at the Albany Mudflat [north of Golden Gate Fields], there were two Red Knots - one in basic plumage, one in "fireball" plumage (Alameda County side). Currently, they have removed the "no parking" signs on Buchanan St directly adjacent to the southern edge of the mud flat, making it easier to park close to the best viewing site.