Eastern Contra Costa County
Wed, 15 May 2002 22:39:39 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
Highlights from the past few days include the following:
On May 13, I birded in eastern Contra Costa County with a friend from Virginia. At the sewage ponds at the east end of Camino Diablo near Byron there wasn't too much activity except for a pair of lingering American Wigeon and a brood of Cinnamon Teal. This is a good place for Lesser Nighthawk very early in the morning or at dusk.
At the "oasis" at the east end of Orwood Rd, there were only a couple of Wilson's Warblers in the migrant department but there were at least two singing Blue Grosbeaks near where the road lifts up over the large pipes and a male Black-chinned Hummingbird as the cottonwood/willow clump.
We then birded the end of Bethel Island Rd. Without entering into the now-forbidden zone of Piper Slough, we heard chats off in the distance (you might be able to see them through a scope if you try) and saw Blue Grosbeak, Black-chinned Hummingbird and Hooded Oriole. Eight Cedar Waxwings flew over heading north and an Osprey, unusual here, was hunting the slough to the north.
On Camino Diablo just a little ways west of Vasco Rd, there was a nesting colony of Tricolored Blackbirds with fledglings too young to fly any great distance. This is a new site as they were not here the past few years. The intersection of Camino Diablo and Vasco seems to have been the most reliable site in the county for this species in recent years with a large colony nesting in the grassy, weedy field there.
Marsh Creek Reservoir was dull except for a family of American Coots and lots of Wood Ducks. These ducks are common here now that they are dumping them there.
Morgan Territory Rd was a little slow as it was mid-day by the time we got there, but we did have all three vireos and Orange-crowned Warblers are out of the nest (or I should say a few were). Lazuli Buntings, as many have mentioned, were much more numerous than they were there during the first four years of the atlas project.
If you leave Morgan Territory heading for Livermore, keep your eyes out for a pullout on your right with a small rock cliff. There is a Barn Owl in a hole there every single time I go by.
Today I birded at the Dow Wetlands Preserve in Antioch. This is an interesting place, though the birdlist never seems to be very long. Today I had my first fledgling Song Sparrows and Common Yellowthroats as well as a pair of Northern Harriers carrying food to a nest. This is the eighth block in which we have recorded them nesting.
In block 605-205 in Antioch there was a Burrowing Owl at a burrow on Oakley Rd near Phillips Ln. This is close to where Hwy 4 takes the 90 degree turn to the north just before the Antioch Bridge and is a new block for this species.
Speaking of Burrowing Owls, we had quite a few of them on Monday, and they seem to be quite conspicuous right now. There was one yesterday at the east end of Sunset Rd that was sitting quite high on a large brush pile.
This afternoon there was a singing Dark-eyed Junco in San Ramon around Crow Canyon Rd and San Ramon Valley Blvd. In recent years they have begun to nest around the conifers in the Bishop Ranch Business Park which is nearby, but this site has particularly poor habitat in a very high traffic area. Amazing that they apparently didn't breed at all in the East Bay early in the 20th Century.
Good Birding,
Steve Glover
Dublin
Good places to bird in Tilden?
Thu, 16 May 2002 08:34:29 -0700
From: Jennifer Rycenga
I am planning a weekend morning excursion to Tilden Regional Park (Berkeley Hills), looking for spring nesters and late migrants. I plan to do the Nature Center area and Jewel Lake. I've had good luck with the Packrat Trail over the years, but I was wondering what other areas in the park are favorites with people for spring birds. It seems that when I do higher elevations in Tilden, I rarely take the same trail twice, so I don't know as much about seasonal patterns in other parts of the park. A few target birds include Hermit Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow.
Thanks in advance...
Jennifer Rycenga
Berkeley, California
UC campus & UC Botanical Garden
Thu, 16 May 2002 09:12:50 -0700
From: Tom Condit
I walked up to the UC Botanical Garden on May 14. On the way up and down through the University of California campus and Strawberry Canyon, I saw:
Chestnut-backed Chickadees
Bushtits
Dark-eyed Juncos
California Towhees
American Robins
House Sparrows
Song Sparrows
Purple Finches (near Morrison Hall on the campus)
At the Botanical Garden (on Centennial Dr above the campus), I saw and heard:
Anna's Hummingbirds
Rufous Hummingbirds
Selasphorus sp.
Wrentits
Spotted Towhees
California Towhees
Mourning Dove
Swainson's Thrush (heard only)
Orange-crowned Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Scrub-Jay
Steller's Jay
Turkey Vulture
Brown Creeper
American Robins
Oak Titmice
and a juvenile Cooper's Hawk (or at least young - no red on breast, tail not darkened yet).
Tom Condit
Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
Thu, 16 May 2002 15:23:50 PDT
From: Mark Rauzon
Hi all-
Spent the late morning at Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve in the Oakland Hills. Was almost bowled over by the sight of around 70 American White Pelicans that came close to the ridge I was on. They soared over Orinda, perhaps eyeing Lafayette reservoir before circling up and out of sight. Definitely didn't expect to see that species. (Like the man said - you never know what you'll see!) More usual unusuals were a pair of MacGillivray's Warblers, female tanager, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Rufous-crowned Sparrow singing, Lazuli Buntings, and eagles.
good luck
mark rauzon
Lawrence's Goldfinches at San Pablo Reservoir
Thu, 16 May 2002 18:34:15 -0700
From: Don Lewis
This morning the five of us in Bingham Gibbs's group saw four Lawrence's Goldfinches (3 males, 1 female) at the very base of the Inspiration Trail, just 20 yards from where it intersects the Old San Pablo Trail, between San Pablo Dam Road and the road to the boat launch on the west side of San Pablo Reservoir. This is about 0.1 mile south of the first kiosk on the boat launch road and about 0.3 mile south of the parking at the second boat launch kiosk.
We then saw the Lawrence's Goldfinches flying around the same area on both sides of the boat launch road, and saw a pair picking up grassy bits from the Old San Pablo Trail about 50 yards along it to the southeast from where it crosses the road. We watched them carrying the nesting material up into the top of a trailside pine, where we spotted the nest, which looked fully built from below. This was a nice confirmation of breeding but I note on the Contra Costa County Breeding Bird Atlas website that breeding had already been confirmed in that block (565-195).
We started at Inspiration Point and ended at the Orinda Connector Trailhead, a total distance of about 3.8 miles, almost all downhill or level. It was a beautiful day with beautiful views in the upper part and lots of bird activity all morning, especially along the lake shore area. Lots of Lazuli Buntings at the top, just north of Inspiration Point. We saw a total of 58 species (list available). Highly recommended; it takes two cars to do it the right way - i.e., all downhill. [Editor's Note: EBMUD trail permit required.]
Don Lewis
Lafayette, CA