Hooded Mergansers at Berkeley Aquatic Park
Fri, 15 Feb 2002 15:10:56 -0800 (PST)
From: Karen Peterson
The pair of Hooded Mergansers previously reported was still at Berkeley Aquatic Park in the middle pond at about noon today, mostly sleeping. Very striking birds.
Karen Peterson
Berkeley
Re: Ovenbird in El Cerrito yard
Fri, 15 Feb 2002 16:19:04 -0800
From: Lisa Viani
Hi everyone,
The Hermit Thrush (that I so wrongly thought was an Ovenbird... :-O ) is still wintering in my yard. It seems to have been here for weeks now. Even though it is not an Ovenbird, I am thrilled to have it here. What a gorgeous bird. When I moved here 10 years ago, there was no vegetation of any kind in my yard. Since then, I went about planting lots of trees, shrubs, etc., with birds in mind. It seems to have paid off, especially since I live in a pretty urban area.
I also still have White-crowned Sparrows (winter visitors), but haven't seen the Dark-eyed Juncos in a few days. I'm wondering if they've left.
Lisa Viani
Richmond
Original Message Subject Index
Hayward Regional Shoreline
Fri, 15 Feb 2002 17:21:53 -0800
From: Bob Hole
In a vain wild attempt to go after the Long-tailed Duck seen yesterday at Hayward Landing, I went to Hayward Regional Shoreline at the end of W Winton Ave and walked out to the landing, taking my trusty binoculars. There were a bunch of dots on the surface of the Bay, but... Maybe someday I can get a scope.
Notable to me was the Northern Harrier sitting on a log at the base of the Landing, 10 meters from me at below eye level. I didn't need binoculars to see the facial disks. Way Cool. The other Find for the day was the Greater Yellowlegs poking around in the slough near the Bay Trail entrance to Cogswell Marsh (by the "closed" sign).
Also notable was the almost complete absence of gulls in the air. There were some out on the bay, but nothing flying. None were close enough for me to truly identify.
I also popped by Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez, and saw nothing unusual - except the lack of a Red-tailed Hawk for the day. My first redtail-less birding day of the year. Ah, well. It had to end sometime.
Cheers,
Bob
Here's my trip list (36 species):
American Coot
American Crow
American Wigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
Canada Goose
Canvasback
Clark's Grebe
Common Goldeneye
Double-crested Cormorant
Dunlin
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Greater Yellowlegs
Hermit Thrush
House Finch
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Mallard
Marbled Godwit
Mourning Dove
Northern Harrier
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Red-winged Blackbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Duck
Savannah Sparrow
Snowy Egret
Song Sparrow
Surf Scoter
Turkey Vulture
Western Grebe
Western Meadowlark
White-crowned Sparrow
Willet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Robert Hole, Jr.
Yearlist total: 138
Lake Merritt, Oakland
Mon, 18 Feb 2002 07:35:44 -0800
From: Joseph Morlan
On Saturday, I took my Field Ornithology Class to Lake Merritt in Oakland where we also recorded a large number of American Robins. Interesting is that on last year's trip we didn't see any robins.
Other highlights included the Cattle Egret and good numbers of Barrow's Goldeneyes at Peralta Park [south of the lake along the channel to the Estuary]. A Cooper's Hawk posed in an oak tree right over our heads before flying off to terrorize the chickadees. Greater Scaup now outnumber Lesser Scaup at the duck feeding area. When I first started taking classes to Lake Merritt 20 years ago, Lesser Scaup was abundant and only a few Greaters hung out in the middle of the lake, seldom venturing close as they do now.
We failed to find the Dusky-capped Flycatcher at the Horticultural Center although a maintenance man at the duck feeding area said the bird had been reported the weekend before. Anybody know if the bird is still around?
The full list for our field trip is at: