Snowy Egret - a Tilden Regional Park rarity
Sat, 23 Feb 2002 17:14:29 -0800
From: John Poole
I took a walk around Lake Anza this morning [Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley Hills]. In addition to the expected birds, there was a Snowy Egret near the dam. This is a very rare bird for Tilden Regional Park.
John Poole
Blue-winged Teal continues at MLK Regional
Shoreline
Sun, 24 Feb 2002 09:50:47 -0800
From: Mike Ezekiel
Following Courtenay Peddle's Golden Gate Audubon Society walk yesterday at Arrowhead Marsh in Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland, I stopped at Garretson Point and walked the slough leading back from the bay towards the Coliseum, where I observed several Cinnamon Teal and a Blue-winged Teal. I believe this teal has been reported - but I never looked for it in the slough - it was just about where the bridge crosses the slough.
Mike Ezekiel
Oakland
Gold Medal birding day in Richmond
Mon, 25 Feb 2002 22:52:20 -0800
From: Phil Maynard
What a great day Sunday was for our annual Richmond Bay Trail Bird Blitz. We had about 15 other birders join us and introduced folks to the hidden beauty of birding in Richmond. One could not ask for better weather in February and the falling tide brought out the shore birds. We went to Miller Knox Park, new Ferry Point pier, Brickyard Landing and then Marina Bay.
We saw a total of 63 species, the highest number of species we have ever seen. Our best sightings were 2 Black Oystercatchers, Common Yellowthroat, 13 species of duck (good for beginners), White-tailed Kite, and a boat stranded high on the harbor jetty. My face is still itchy from a slight sunburn (in February?). It was a gold medal day and we got bronzed.
Philip Maynard
Richmond, CA
Lake Merritt duck question
Wed, 27 Feb 2002 11:30:36 -0800
From: Mary
A friend of mine has e-mailed me begging for a duck identification. She's a beginning birder, and was able to describe it only vaguely. However, being graphics-oriented, she was able to use Photoshop to produce an approximation.
This duck - or rather, two similar ducks, both of which sort of look like this image - was floating near the nature center in Lake Merritt (Oakland) yesterday morning.
Mary
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Request for county Big Day routes
Wed, 27 Feb 2002 12:16:23 -0800
From:Dave Quady
Hello all (and apologies for duplicate messages to multiple lists):
Do any of you have descriptions in electronic form of Big Day routes in single counties around the San Francisco/Monterey Bay areas that you are willing to share? (The only one I can recall seeing recently was the Contra Costa County route that Steve Glover posted to EBB in November, 1999. I've saved his note, and would be glad to forward it to anyone who's interested.)
I'd appreciate receiving any and all such descriptions you may have prepared or saved as I did Steve's description. The more details of route timing, locations birded, species expected, and best times of year the better.
Thanks in advance for any routes you can supply.
Dave Quady
Berkeley, California
NOTE: Send replies to birds@folkbird.net and I'll forward them to Dave. --Larry
Re: Lake Merritt duck question
Wed, 27 Feb 2002 12:47:37 PST
From: Phil Gordon
Greetings Mary,
Nice to have a reasonable pictorial description of "mystery" birds. Its no doubt an Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus). A commonly kept (and escapee) species found in waterfowl collections. They're seen in the Giraffe and Vulture compound at Oakland Zoo. Although it has the name "Goose" it is a duck (Subfamily Anatinae, not the Anserinae of True Geese) and is most closely related to the Shelducks of Europe and Asia. Although the Egyptian Goose is considered a native to Africa, they bred in Europe up to the early 18th century and were re-introduced later in the century to England and now number about 500.
Phil Gordon,
Hayward
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Re: Lake Merritt duck question
Wed, 27 Feb 2002 20:46:14 -0800
From: Tom Condit
Phil Gordon wrote that Egyptian Goose is ...
A commonly kept (and escapee) species found in waterfowl collections. They're seen in the Giraffe and Vulture compound at Oakland Zoo.
... And they've been living at Lake Merritt time out of mind.
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Re: Lake Merritt duck question
Wed, 27 Feb 2002 21:00:08 -0800
From: Mary
Thanks for all your help about the Egyptian Goose, everyone. What amazes me is that I lived half a block from the lake for a long time, and walked around it (often birding) several times a week, and I don't recall ever having seen this bird.
Mary
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