Red Knot at Arrowhead Marsh and Tufted Duck
at Lake Merritt
Sun, 7 Jan 2001 11:32:14 -0800
From: Mike Ezekiel
I birded Arrowhead Marsh (Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline) in Oakland Saturday between 11 AM and about 2 PM and was shown a Red Knot by a couple who had spotted it. (This was a should-have-seen-it-long-ago Life Bird for me).
This morning at around 11:00 AM, I once again saw the female Tufted Duck which has been at Lake Merritt since November.
This time it was between the shore and the refuge islands just east of the Nature Center, therefore close enuf to see easily with just binoculars - sleeping with its head tucked in. At least in profile, the tuft is very easy to see - very prominent.
Mike Ezekiel
Oakland
White-throated X Golden-crowned
Sparrow
Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 12:33:35 -0800
From: Emilie Strauss
The hybrid sparrow reported from the Oakland Christmas Bird Count December 19 is still present as of yesterday, January 6, at the East Bay Regional Park native plant Botanic Garden in Tilden Park. The bird hangs out with a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows in the lawn area near the potting shed and thimbleberry thickets (turn left when you enter the gardens, cross the creek, and you're basically there - there is only one lawn area). The bird has a blazing white throat and a gold crown, lateral but no median crown stripes, etc. (have written a description).
Lewis' Woodpeckers in Contra Costa and San
Mateo Counties
Sun, 07 Jan 2001 20:03:30 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
East Bay Birders, San Mateo County Birders, County Birders:
Today I birded both eastern Contra Costa County and San Mateo County.
This morning I birded Round Valley Regional Park in eastern Contra Costa County off of Marsh Creek Road. On the way there I checked out the pond on Marsh Creek Road just west of Walnut (alias Vasco) Road. There were no Wood Ducks this time, but in addition to the four American White Pelicans there were five Tundra Swans.
Back at Round Valley Regional Park, park in the lot off of Marsh Creek Road just west of milepost 8.0 and take the Miwok Trail. After a short distance you can cut off about 0.25 mile off the hike by taking the trail that runs along the edge of the fence rather than taking the trail that goes up the hill and then back down and then merges with the trail that runs along the side of the fence. After a while you will find a black water tank on the right side of the trail and soon there after the trail bends to the left; go straight and pass through the small green gate. From the gate you can see a row of large oaks straight ahead.
I hadn't even passed the black water tank when I had already spotted the Lewis' Woodpecker in the right-most tree in the row of oaks opposite the small green gate. Total distance of the hike with the short-cut is about a mile.
From here I made to the opposite side of the bay to Filoli Center off Cañada Road in San Mateo County. It has been nearly two years since I have birded along Cañada Road. I had completely forgot that the road is closed to vehicular traffic every Sunday from 9 AM to 3 PM (October thru March), 9 AM to 4 PM the rest of the year. the Filoli Center is likewise closed on Sundays. There is even a sign on Cañada Road that mentions this. None of the four earlier posts regarding the Lewis' Woodpecker mentioned any closure times, only information on how to find the woodpecker. I parked at Cañada Road and Edgewater Road and hiked 1.25 miles to the north gate of the Filoli Center. The gate was closed, and the Filoli Center sign had its "closed" sign as well. I could see from the locked gate the pay kiosk mentioned in earlier posts, and I looked to the right of the pay kiosk and saw the largest oak in the middle of all the others where one of the posts mentioned the Lewis Woodpecker had been seen. I watched for a while and then spotted the Lewis' Woodpecker in the top of the large oak just beyond the pay kiosk. It disappeared from sight once and then reappeared again in the same tree later.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, Alameda County
Cooper's Hawk perched on wire
Mon, 08 Jan 2001 09:21:30 -0800
From: Lisa Viani
Just wanted to report on one bird I saw while walking the Bay Trail in Richmond (off of 51st Street) this weekend: a Cooper's Hawk, perched on a wire above one of the marshes there at high tide. Is this at all unusual?
Lisa Viani
Cooper's Hawks at UC Berkeley on January
1
Mon, 08 Jan 2001 13:26:16 -0800
From: Tom Condit
Just after noon on Monday, 1 January 2001, there were two Cooper's Hawks calling to each other on the UC Berkeley campus. One was perched and clearly visible in a tree near the statue of Pappy Waldorf. The other was replying from somewhere near the Phoebe Hearst Women's Gym.
I don't know whether this was a pair keeping in touch or two males warning each other off, although I suspect the former. The tempo was much slower than that of the calls on the Cornell Lab recordings.
Tom Condit
Contra Costa birds
Mon, 08 Jan 2001 18:47:27 PST
From: Jim Tietz
Hi-
Today in Moraga I went birding at the Upper San Leandro Reservoir from the Valle Vista staging area which is on Canyon Rd. I encountered 64 species over the 5 hours I was there. I saw very few water birds, however, due to the water level being so low. The highlights were an adult male Black-throated Gray Warbler, an adult light-morph Ferruginous Hawk, and a hybrid flicker. Some of the other fun regulars seen today included Red-breasted Sapsucker, Loggerhead Shrike, Varied Thrush, California Thrasher, Western Bluebird, and Winter Wren.
The Black-throated Gray Warbler was found in a large flock of chickadees and juncos in the riparian area between the southwest corner of Joaquin Moraga Jr High and Canyon Rd. There were also a male and female Townsend's Warbler in the flock and a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets as well.
The Ferruginous Hawk was seen from a ridge flying and circling over downtown Moraga and then turning to the north towards the grassy ridges.
The hybrid flicker was in a cottonwood at the south side of the ranch. It had yellow shafts, brown face, blue-gray crown, red nape patch, and a red malar stripe (as opposed to the black malar that a true Yellow-shafted would show). I don't know if I have ever seen a true Yellow-shafted Flicker in California. Does anyone know if they occur here?
Jim Tietz