Barrow's Goldeneyes, Contra Costa County
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 08:48:55 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders
Yesterday morning I checked out McNabney Marsh in Contra Costa County (formerly Shell Marsh) to check on Hugh Harvey's Bird Box report of Eurasian Wigeon and Redhead here. I checked both the north and south ends and found neither species. There were however lots of Green-winged Teal.
I also checked out Martinez Regional Shoreline (Contra Costa County). I had birded here in the past looking for both Tufted Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye, failing on both in the past. As Steve Glover suggested, I hiked along the trail to the western end of the park. At one point, the trail and the tracks merge. This is the end of the trail. For those who plan to continue a hike further west note there is a "No Trespassing" sign here. From here slightly to the north-east there was a flock of about 100 Common Goldeneyes, and directly to the north from here at about a distance of about 300 feet was a single male Barrow's Goldeneye. At one point the Common Goldeneyes started moving around. The single male Barrow's Goldeneyes was then joined by 3 other Barrow's Goldeneyes (1 male, 2 females). There was another large flock of goldeneyes further to the west which I could not tell whether it too included Barrow's Goldeneyes.
All birds reported here were in Contra Costa County as all were closer to the south bank than the mid-point of the strait. Although the county line does not appear everywhere to be the mid-point, anything beyond the mid-point I would guess would be in Solano County.
For directions to these two places see:
Mike Feighner, Livermore CA, Alameda County
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Egyptian Geese at Lake Merritt
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 17:14:56 -0800
From: Allison Hawxhurst
Location: Lake Merritt (closest intersection - Grand Ave & Bay Pl), Oakland, Alameda County
Sunday, December 10, afternoon - While trying to get a better look at what I suspected to be the female Tufted Duck (? sort of like a female Mallard, but had an almost afro-like tuft on its head), spotted a pair of strange geese on the shoreline. Couldn't ID them using my Stokes Guide, but in National Geographic North America book found them under Exotics. In fact they were Egyptian Geese.
Are these commonly found? (This is a first for me.)
Also spotted: Buffleheads (about 8), Common Goldeneyes (about 5), Brown Pelicans (3), Snowy Egret (1), Pied-Billed Grebes (2)
Allison M. Hawxhurst, Director of Operations
YellowGiant Corporation, Oakland CA
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Re: Egyptian Geese at Lake Merritt
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 19:07:50 -0800
From: Allison Hawxhurst
Here's a good photo of one (FYI):
Apparently the Oakland Zoo has them - probably escaped.
Allison Hawxhurst
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Re: "Secret Park" near Hilltop
Mall, Richmond
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 19:31:40 -0800
From: Tom Condit
The park was built, but obviously hasn't been maintained in some time (probably since Proposition 13). I've assumed it was a "mitigation" when the mall was developed. There's some sort of sewage or stormwater plant (very small) attached, and many concrete benches, walls, etc., which are overgrown and/or falling apart. A dam at the north end drops water to a little riparian woodland. Folks in the neighborhood use it to walk their dogs or jog, but in very small numbers. A newly paved road leads down from the new housing development up the hill.
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Los Vaqueros Watershed (Contra Costa County)
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 19:34:26 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders:
Birded Los Vaqueros Watershed (Contra Costa County) off of Vasco Road, south end. There is a $6 entrance fee, and the road to the reservoir is closed to vehicle traffic. Basically, you have to hike in at least 3 miles. I opted to add in another 3 miles. So, the round trip totaled 12 miles.
I was hoping to track down a Bald Eagle. The ranger at the gate said she had just seen one fly over. I saw none although I did find two Golden Eagles and an Osprey, a Common Loon, both Western and Clark's Grebes, and lots of Common Mergansers.
Here is the trip list:
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
California Towhee (Pipilo fuscus)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
43 species
Mike Feighner, Livermore CA, Alameda County
Fwd: American Tree Sparrow in Berkeley
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 20:22:36 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
I am forwarding this message for Emilie Strauss, who was having trouble posting.
Tuesday, December 05, 2000 4:56 PM
From: Emilie StraussEvidently, last Wednesday (29 November) several observers saw an American Tree Sparrow which they reported to Rich Stallcup. Rich reported the sighting to George Griffeth. The bird was seen at César Chávez Park (Alameda County) in Berkeley. Go West on University Avenue until you reach the Berkeley Marina area. Turn right at the big Y intersection and go towards César Chávez Park (if you turn left you will end up at the Berkeley fishing pier and Skate's Rest). Turn left (going west) where the road jobs sharply to the west (you will have no other choice) and park. The bird was seen in the most easterly conifers of this road, which also roughly correlates to the northeastern corner of the Radisson Hotel parking lot.
I looked for the bird this morning with George Griffeth and did not find it.
Also, on Saturday (2 December) I observed a blue-gray gnatcatcher at Arrowhead Marsh (Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Alameda County) in flowering shrubs (currents) near the bathroom at the last parking lot.
Posted to EBbird by Larry Tunstall
Re: "Secret Park" near Hilltop
Mall, Richmond
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 21:06:47 -0800
From: Lisa Viani
FYI, the dam is on Garrity Creek - in other words, the whole thing used to be a riparian woodland. (I think the park was built in conjunction with the housing developments, but I'm not sure...)
Lisa Viani
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Redwood Regional Park
Sun, 10 Dec 2000 22:41:07 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
On Rusty Scalf's Golden Gate Audubon Society birdwalk this morning at the Canyon Meadow Staging Area in Redwood Regional Park (in the Oakland hills), a very low overcast (high fog) kept the birds fairly quiet. Birding by ear was difficult with a large group, and many of the birds that were seen were hard to identify as they were silhouetted against the uniformly bright sky.
Perhaps the best bird news of the morning was a report from a ranger that a Pileated Woodpecker had been reported within the past week "in the redwoods" somewhere along Stream Trail. Note that the boundary between Contra Costa and Alameda Counties cuts across the middle of Redwood Park. The area where we were birding is in Alameda County, but the sighting(s) of the woodpecker could have been in either county.
Here is what I caught of the species seen or heard by the group (including a couple heard and identified only by Rusty):
Red-shouldered Hawk - heard calling in distance
Red-breasted Sapsucker - at Redwood Gate
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit - heard only
Red-breasted Nuthatch - heard only
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren - heard only
Golden-crowned Kinglet - flock of 10 or more
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush - heard only
Wrentit - heard only
California Towhee
Song Sparrow - heard only
Pine Siskin - large flocks flying around
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA