Re: Influx of favorites
Mon, 24 Sep 2001 08:38:46 -0700
From: Lisa Viani
Lillian & all,
A couple years ago, I actually had a couple of White-crowned Sparrows breed and raise a family in my back yard. I was quite thrilled. They were here for a whole spring. Then, they seemed to disappear (I'll never know if my neighbor's cat had much to do with that - he doesn't come in my yard, but he hunts all over the general area.... :-( ) I used to hear White-crowned Sparrows calling all the time in this area (Richmond/El Cerrito border), just a few years back. Now, I never hear them. It's so sad.
But I am thrilled to have winter visitors. I think I may also have a Lincoln's sparrow hanging around with the white-crowneds. I've spent hours with my sparrow book trying to confirm, and I'm 99 percent sure of this. The suspected Lincoln's is much shyer than the white-crowneds, though, and a bit smaller. He matches the coloring and streakings, etc. of the juvenile Lincoln's in The Sparrows of the U.S. and Canada (by James Rising) exactly.
Lisa
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Fwd: County birding website
Tue, 25 Sep 2001 05:07:50 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
East-Bay (Alameda and Contra Costa County) Birders:
Sorry to those who have already seen this message someone else, but many subscribe currently only to EBB. For those interested in subscribing to the state-wide birding list serve, see
Forwarding the following message for John Sterling....
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, Alameda County
From: John Sterling
Subject: County birding websiteBirders,
Finally........I have a California county birding website up and running. My old website at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center was changed by my replacement, but I now have the Excel county list spreadsheet online.
There will be major upgrades in the future, but this will be it for now.
For the birding public, the URL is
Anyone can join the County Birding group by sending me your county list totals for all 58 California counties. There are now 39 members, many of whom have zeros in several or many counties, so don't be bashful. However, I ask that you consider joining once you have birded in at least 20 counties. Members receive a color-coded California map and access to the County Birders Website. The group seeks to motivate folks to bird in all California counties, especially those that are little-known in order to contribute to our collective knowledge of state-wide bird distribution.
Enjoy,
JohnJohn Sterling
26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA 95695
530.668.1985
Re: Sudden influx of favorites
Tue, 25 Sep 2001 16:55:36 PDT
From: Mark Rauzon
That fantastic storm blew my first White-crowned Sparrow, a brite male Yellow Warbler, and some American Robins (which were absent, Tom) into my yard, located off Park Blvd, lower Oakland hills. The Yellow Warbler was flycatching swarming winged Argentine ants, perhaps stimulated by the warm rain.
Mark Rauzon
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Re: Sudden influx of favorites
Tue, 25 Sep 2001 19:34:12 -0700
From: Lillian Fujii
Lisa and all,
Oops. Perhaps I wrote too soon. Sounds like you could have a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow with your flock, in which case they are probably nuttalli. Sorry again. I used to occasionally hear them near the Safeway near your house, but have heard none this year.
Lillian
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Bobolinks at Mission Creek, Fremont
Wed, 26 Sep 2001 13:09:40 PDT
From: Phil Gordon
Greetings Birders,
This report is about 2 Bobolinks and other migrants from Alameda County.
Yesterday at 3:50 PM I found a couple of Bobolinks that were feeding on grass seed in Mission Creek just east of Lake Elizabeth, Fremont, Alameda County.
This site is along a graveled section of a public trail that goes across a new community golf course south and east of the large Lake Elizabeth Park. The spot is marked with a small plastic water bottle that has the word BOBOLINK stuffed inside and held down with a rock. This trail leads east from the Lake and connects to Gomes Park. One access is off Paseo Padre Pkwy into the Southeast Parking Lot to walk the perimeter trail, counter clockwise, to the trail that crosses the first of two railroad tracks, and is about half the distance to the next railroad tracks (about 70 yards). This location is where the first and second Bobolinks for Alameda County were found in the early 1980s. These yesterday are probably the 3rd and 4th records.
The trail continues east along this urban creek as mostly asphalt, and is accessible to wheelchairs. Good trees for migrant insectivores are all along the way. Also here were 5 Yellow Warblers, an �Audubon�s� Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, (unusual here) a lone Western Bluebird, a Golden-crowned Sparrow, and 10 to 12 White-crowned Sparrows. It ends up at Lemos Rd, which can be reached off Mission Blvd (just south of Stevenson Blvd) by taking Las Palmas Rd to Lemos Rd and parking along the road at the trail (walkway) along Mission Creek; which divides Gomes Elementary School from Gomes Park. The distance to the spot is about a quarter mile.
Happy Birding,
Phil Gordon
Hayward, Alameda County, CA
Nighthawks at the A's game
Wed, 26 Sep 2001 19:01:35 PDT
From: Mark Westlund
Went to last night's A's vs Angels baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum... watched a pair of Common Nighthawks hunting over the gully beneath the BART overpass, then flying high in that herky-jerky way of theirs as they went after high-altitude bugs. Their nasal, repetitious calling was constant. ... A's won, too.