Re: Great-tailed Grackles nesting in Contra
Costa County
Mon, 17 Jun 2002 10:08:44 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
I may have forgotten to post a message about the McNabney Marsh Great-tailed Grackles, but they have been noted all spring for the third straight year. Hugh and Rosita Harvey reported the two fledglings to me on June 8, a much more satisfying confirmation than the original one I had two years ago which was carrying nest material.
Despite their current invasion of Northern California, we haven't been able to find any other nesters in Contra Costa County.
Good luck,
Steve Glover
Dublin
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Wild Turkey in El Cerrito hills
Mon, 17 Jun 2002 21:56:05 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
I received a phone call this evening from Stanley Scher about a lone female Wild Turkey he saw today near Arlington Park, off Arlington Blvd just north of Moeser Ln in El Cerrito.
There is a creek that runs down from Arlington Blvd near 1099 Arlington. At dusk, the turkey was perching in a plum tree just above the roof of that house. You can view it closely from a public path along the creek.
If you want help finding it, Stanley lives nearby, will be home most of the day Tuesday, and is willing to assist birders looking for the turkey. His phone is 510.526.3520.
I have done quite a bit of birding in Wildcat Canyon and Tilden Regional Parks, the only nearby wild area from which the bird would be likely to have come, and I have never seen or heard turkeys. So, the origin of this bird is a mystery unless someone else has some insights to offer. I have no idea whether a female domestic turkey looks similar to a female Wild Turkey.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
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Wild Turkeys in Contra Costa County
Mon, 17 Jun 2002 22:30:19 PDT
From: Steve Glover
Hello everyone,
Though this is the first report I have heard of from the immediate area of Tilden/Wildcat Canyon it doesn't surprise me in the least. They seem to have spread significantly in Contra Costa County in the past few years. There have been birds on the western slopes of Mount Diablo around Alamo and Walnut Creek for years, but in the past few years we have gotten reports from Las Trampas, Briones, Martinez, and probably other places I can't remember off the top of my head. I think it is only a matter of time before they are present throughout the woodlands of the county.
To view the atlas map for Wild Turkey from the Contra Costa County Breeding Bird Atlas go to Joel Herr's great website at
While you are there you might want to look at some of the other things on his site.
Good birding,
Steve Glover
Dublin
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RFI: Saw-whet Owls in Redwood Regional Park
Mon, 17 Jun 2002 23:57:13 -0700
From: Nathan Crawford
I just got through reading Steve Glover's Guide to Finding Birds in Contra Costa County and was shocked that Northern Saw-whet Owls are common in the Redwood Regional Park area (Oakland Hills). Does anyone have any advice on finding one of these beauties? I know tapes are not recommended, but if anyone could give any specific areas to go and check for them I would be most grateful.
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