Big Springs Trail in Tilden Regional Park
on Tuesday
Thu, 24 May 2001 00:07:40 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
On Tuesday morning, Alan Kaplan's East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk went up Big Springs Trail from South Park Drive in Tilden Regional Park [in the Berkeley Hills] to the "picnic table on top of the world" on Sea View Trail. It was a lovely morning just above the fog, but near the ridgetop there was a strong cold wind blowing toward the east, trying to cool things off out there.
Fairly early in the walk, a couple of people saw a Hermit Warbler, though most of the group never got good looks at it. There were a lot of Wilson's Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Wrentits, and House Wrens singing, and we saw and heard several Lesser Goldfinch, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Oak Titmice, as well as a couple of Nuttall's Woodpeckers and at least two Red-tailed Hawks. On the ridgetop we watched a Red-breasted Nuthatch prying seeds from pine cones and carrying them off to a presumed nest some distance away.
Alan and a small group returned by the same route, but most of us walked on north along Sea View Trail almost to Inspiration Point, and then back down to the cars via Quarry Trail. Almost at the end of the walk, we clearly heard an Ash-throated Flycatcher calling, but we were unable to spot it visually. Later I heard from Alan that his group had good looks at a singing Rufous-crowned Sparrow.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
The list:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
California Quail - 1 heard
Band-tailed Pigeon - 6 flew over
Mourning Dove - 1
Anna's Hummingbird - 3+
Nuttall's Woodpecker - 2
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 3+ heard, 1 seen
Western Wood-Pewee - 1 heard
Pacific-slope Flycatcher - 2 singing, more calling
Ash-throated Flycatcher - 1 calling
Steller's Jay - 1
Western Scrub-Jay - 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 2 seen, 12+ calling
Oak Titmouse - 2 seen, 4+ calling
Bushtit - 5 seen, 12+ calling
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
House Wren - 1 seen, 2+ singing
American Robin - 1 seen
Wrentit - 3+ singing
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1 seen, 3+ singing
Townsend's Warbler - 1
Hermit Warbler - 1
Wilson's Warbler - 2 seen, 6+ singing
Spotted Towhee - 1 seen, 2+ calling/singing
California Towhee - 3
Rufous-crowned Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - 2+ singing
Dark-eyed Junco - 3 seen, 3+ singing
Purple Finch - 1 singing
Lesser Goldfinch - 7+ seen, more heard
Lesser Nighthawks
Thu, 24 May 2001 11:06:35 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello all,
A belated message from two nights ago, Tuesday May 22. First I did some owling in the area of Highland Rd and Morgan Territory Rd which is south and east of Mt Diablo. Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl and Western Screech Owl were noted frequently including at least 9 Western Screech Owls in about a mile on Morgan Territory Rd.
At the east end of Camino Diablo in Byron there were at least 6 Lesser Nighthawks in the vicinity of the sewage ponds. One was constantly over the ponds, the rest were a little south. This is probably a better spot to see them than the traditional spot at Clifton Court Forebay.
The birding was very slow and windy at Piper Slough where the only migrants were a Western Tanager and 4 Yellow Warblers. Also found were the usual Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Blue Grosbeaks and Yellow-breasted Chats. For those who don't know, this is at the north end of Bethel Island Rd on Bethel Island. Walk up onto the levee, turn left, and climb over the gate.
Going to Italy, see you in a couple of weeks,
Steve Glover
Some thoughts on separating Hutton's Vireo
from kinglets
Thu, 24 May 2001 11:47:17 PDT
From: Jim Tietz
Hi
I'm writing this in response to the confusing Hutton's Vireo/kinglet that Rebecca Freed saw at Ohlone Park. When I first started birding, it took me a while to figure out the best way to separate Hutton's Vireo from Ruby-crowned Kinglet so I have put a lot of thought into how to do it. Since I find that I'm not the only one that has had this problem, I would like to share what I have learned.
The best things for visually separating a kinglet from a Hutton's Vireo are the wing bar, the legs, and the bill. For a Golden-crowned Kinglet, however, simply looking at the black and white head stripes should be enough to identify it. On kinglets, the black inner flight feathers (secondaries) are edged green to within about a half centimeter of the lower white wingbar. This creates a black bar just below the lower white wingbar. On a Hutton's Vireo, the flight feathers are edged green to their bases and so there is no black bar below the white wingbar. This is well illustrated in the Sibley Guide and easily seen in photos. I consider this the best visual field mark for separating the very similar appearing Ruby-crowned Kinglet from Hutton's Vireo. Also the upper wingbar on a kinglet tends to be more difficult to see than on a Hutton's Vireo, thus making the lower white wingbar and its adjacent black bar even more prominent. The legs of most all vireos, including Hutton's, are stout and gray, while on a kinglet they are skinny and black with yellow toes. The bill of a kinglet is thinner than on a Huttons Vireo and lacks the hook that most all vireos have. However, a Hutton's bill is relatively thin for a vireo and it can be difficult to see the difference at first. Two other visible differences between Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Hutton's Vireo that are discernable with practice are that a Hutton's shows entirely pale lores and has a more chunky shape. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet tends to look much thinner and show only a white spot in front of the eye. These last two features should only be used to help support your ID.
Many people I've met claim that behavior is the best field mark. Typically kinglets are much more flitty and nervous when they forage and do more hovering, while vireos tend to be more methodical about foraging. This may hold true some of the time, but I have seen many Hutton's Vireos act just as nervous as kinglets, and they can also hover while gleaning. And sometimes kinglets are inactive and not looking flitty. So use behavior cautiously.
Possibly the easiest way to identify a Hutton's Vireo or a Ruby-crowned Kinglet is by voice, and then, you don't even have to look at it. The most common call of Hutton's Vireo that is heard year round is a high, nasal whee-dee-dee. Their song is extremely variable though, but can be identified by its monotonous repetition. Two typical variations are zuee-zuee-zuee-zuee-..... or weechu-weechu-weechu-weechu-.... with a phrase given every 1 to 3 seconds. Rarely you might hear a Hutton's Vireo changing its song at which point it will alternate between its old phrase and its new phrase, for instance ...zuee-zuee-zuee-weechu-zuee-weechu-zuee-weechu-weechu-weechu-... The most common call of Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a fast je-dit-dit-dit that can vary from a simple je-dit to a much longer series. Be careful of the longer series as it can be easily confused with the rapid scold call of Winter Wren. Since Ruby-crowned Kinglets do not breed on the coast, we only get to hear their two-parted songs in late winter and early spring just before they depart. It starts with about 4 high see notes that rise quickly in pitch and then switches to a lower dedit-dedit-dedit-dit-dit-ditdit that speeds up dramatically at the end as it also rises in pitch.
One last thing, since Ruby-crowned Kinglets only breed in California in the Sierra Nevadas, it would be very unusual to still find one on the coast at this time of year.
Best of luck getting these straightened out,
Jim
Grasshopper Sparrows in El Sobrante
Thu, 24 May 2001 14:26:28 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning I hiked up Clark-Boas Trail into the north end of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. I saw at least 3 singing Grasshopper Sparrows near the trail, a short walk from the trailhead. However, I didn't see any Lazuli Buntings. Is it just me or are the buntings scarce this year in their usual spots?
From Hwy 80 in San Pablo, take San Pablo Dam Rd east through the commercial area and back into more residential surroundings. Watch for Clark Rd, which has a stoplight. Turn right on Clark and go to the end. Park in the small parking area right at the trailhead (not in the school parking lot). At first the trail (fire road) is cut into the side of the hill, but then it emerges into a wide grassy area (horse pasture) and slopes on up the hill. The Grasshopper Sparrows were near the lower part of this grassy area. I did hear at least one singing at the junction with Belgum Trail at the top of the ridge, but I wasn't able to find it visually.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
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