Bald Eagle near Concord
Tue, 1 Jan 2002 13:37:40 PST
From: Denise Wight
Hi EB Birders,
This morning just north of Concord, there was an adult Bald Eagle flying south along Walnut Creek. It flew low, directly over my head near the bridge along Imhoff Drive, then crossed Highway 4, and continued on towards Buchanan Field Airport.
Great way to start the New Year!
Denise Wight
Martinez, CA
Fwd: Red-breasted Mergansers at Berkeley
Aquatic Park
Tue, 01 Jan 2002 15:18:53 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
From: Jeffrey Black
Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2002 15:09:06 PST
Subject: Reporthere's what i want to report. today, noontine, at aquatic park in berkeley, the largest pond (enter from channing or bancroft), i saw 15 to 30 male and female Red-breasted Mergansers. in past years, i've seen perhaps a single bird infrequently.
can you add to the email list of sightings.
thanks, jeffrey black
Forwarded to EBB by Larry Tunstall
Moraga Country Club pond
Tue, 01 Jan 2002 18:06:27 -0800
From: Kitty O'Neil
Dropped by the ponds by the chipping greens at Moraga Country Club today and saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers (male and female), a few Buffleheads (male and female), Killdeer, a Great Egret, a Belted Kingfisher, plus a Green Heron.
Kitty
Kitty O'Neil
Orinda, CA
http://www.kittoi.com/
January 1 in Oakland
Tue, 01 Jan 2002 18:09:17 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
Hello folks,
Every January 1, I bird solely within the city limits of Oakland, just to start my year list off right. This year I managed only 89 species. Here they are:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)
Mew Gull (Larus canus)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
The list bizarrely lacks Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, Western Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Western Meadowlark, but it was fun. Others saw the Dusky-capped Flycatcher.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Clapper Rail count at Arrowhead Marsh
Tue, 01 Jan 2002 18:15:49 -0800
From: Courtenay Peddle
On New Year's Eve, the East Bay Regional Park District surveyed Arrowhead Marsh (in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland) by powerboat at high tide and counted 38 Clapper Rails and 2 Soras.
No Virginia Rails were seen.
Good birding!
Courtenay Peddle
Ferruginous Hawks near Altamont Pass
Tue, 1 Jan 2002 18:17:59 -0800
From: Akira So
Midafternoon today, I saw two Ferruginous Hawks (light morph) circling together overhead near the entrance to Bethany Reservoir State Recreation Area. (The reservoir is located near Altamont Pass off Hwy 580, in the northeastern corner of Alameda County.)
Oddly picturesque with numerous windmills in all directions, the area features rolling grassy hills with plenty of California Ground Squirrels. If not for the windmills it would have been a perfect raptor habitat. Also seen around the reservoir were Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Meadowlark, American Pipit and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
The reservoir itself was somewhat disappointing in that the waterfowl consisted of many scaups in the far side of reservoir and a small number of Buffleheads only. Gulls were also present on the water.
Good birding,
Akira So
Pleasanton, CA