Hidden Valley Lakes Park, Martinez
Sat, 23
Nov 2002 10:36:52 PST
From: Phil Gordon
Greetings EBB'ers, Yesterday (22 November) between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM I visited Hidden Lakes Park in Martinez (Contra Costa County). (Take Chilpancingo Pkwy to Hidden Lakes Dr to Center Ave to Glacier Dr to trail.)
An unidentified sparrow was associating with the mixed flock of White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows just below the upper (southwest) soccer field. It was about the size of the Lincoln's Sparrow also here (one-quarter smaller than the Zonotrichias). It could have been a Clay-colored Sparrow. The brief (one and only) glimpse I had was of a clear throat/necked and clear breasted, medium brown sparrow with a mediumly distinct face pattern. It flew from the trailside cockleburrs into dry forbs to dissapear.
I walked the trail from the school, across the lake dam and up the southwest trail to the playing fields, finding the following:
Mallard (1)Note: a female Common Merganser was in the (north) creek at the Chipancingo bridge across from MacDonalds of the DVC Shopping Center.
Mourning Dove (5)
Anna's Hummingbird (4)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (2; one male in such downy-looking molt? it appeared as juvenile)
(Red-shafted) Northern Flicker (2)
(Red-shafted X Yellow-shafted) Northern Flicker (1 dead, hanging over the lake from a fishing line; unusual was the red mustache and red hind crown = double male?)
Black Phoebe (2)
Western Scrub-Jay (3)
Oak Titmouse (2)
Bushtit (8 +/-)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3)
Western Bluebird (2; associating with House Finches & Lesser Goldfinches)
American Robin (12+) (feeding along dam on pyracantha, habitat for Varied Thrush?)
(Audubon's) Yellow-rumped Warbler (5)
California Towhee (1)
sparrow sp. (Clay-colored ?)
Lincoln's Sparrow (1)
White-crowned Sparrow (10+)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (10+)
(Oregon) Dark-eyed Junco (6)
Red-winged Blackbird (2)
Western Meadowlark (7)
House Finch (8)
Lesser Goldfinch (heard 3 to 5?)
House Sparrow (2; near school)
Happy Holidays,
Phil Gordon
Hayward, Alameda County
Merlin in Piedmont yard
Sun, 24 Nov 2002 07:40:55
-0800
From: Derek Heins
My very abbreviated yard list received a boost yesterday when a Merlin flew up and perched on a telephone pole outside my kitchen window for ten minutes or so. I purchased a digital camera recently, so I took a couple digiscoped photos which I haven't uploaded yet.
Derek Heins
Piedmont
No birding today
Sun, 24 Nov 2002 17:47:13
-0800
From: Dennis & Patricia Braddy
EastBayBirders,
Having been birding every non-work day for months, we decided to take a break and not go birding today. And we didn't. We did look out the back windows at the birds on the feeders, in the trees, in the bushes, on the ground, flying by. But that doesn't count. And of course we took Skip for a walk, twice. But walking the dog doesn't count as birding. Not really.
Here's the list of birds (32) we saw in our yard and west-side San Ramon neighborhood while not birding today:
Brewer's Blackbird
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
American Crow
Mourning Dove
Rock Dove
House Finch
Northern Flicker
American Goldfinch
Ring-billed Gull
Cooper's Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Anna's Hummingbird
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Dark-eyed Junco
American Kestrel
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-tailed Kite
Northern Mockingbird
Black Phoebe
American Robin
Golden-crowned Sparrow
House Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
European Starling
Oak Titmouse
California Towhee
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Oh! There was also the Ferruginous Hawk (33) that we saw while not birding on the way back from the new Apple Store in Emeryville.
Dennis and Patricia Braddy
San Ramon
San Pablo Reservoir
Sun, 24 Nov 2002 21:58:44
-0800
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning (8 AM to noon), I walked from Bear Creek Rd & San Pablo Dam Rd (north of Orinda) along Old San Pablo Trail to the Boat Launch at San Pablo Reservoir (East Bay Municipal Utility District trail permit required). Met John Poole along the way. We didn't find the Bald Eagle.
Highlight was great looks at the Osprey circling over us, and a strange encounter on the lake near the launch between a Bonaparte's Gull and two Double-crested Cormorants. The gull was hovering and occasionally coming down to the surface, then leaping up again. The cormorants were diving and sometimes shooting up to the surface. It was hard to tell whether they were all after a school of fish or were having some kind of interaction with each other - whatever it was, it didn't seem to be very hostile.
Here's my list, including a few things John saw while with me - he may have some additions to the list from his birding before we met.
Pied-billed Grebe - 1
Eared Grebe - 2
American White Pelican - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 20
Great Blue Heron - 4
Turkey Vulture - 6
Canada Goose - 50+
Gadwall - 4
Lesser Scaup - 6
Common Merganser - 1
Osprey - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 20 (not seen close enough for good ID)
Mourning Dove - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Acorn Woodpecker - 4+
Nuttall's Woodpecker - 4+ (most heard)
Northern Flicker - 2 (heard)
Black Phoebe - 2
Steller's Jay - 15+
Western Scrub-Jay - 2
Common Raven - 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 20+
Oak Titmouse - 1+ (heard)
Bushtit - 15+
Pygmy Nuthatch - 1 (ID not certain, seen poorly)
Brown Creeper - 1 (heard)
Bewick's Wren - 4+ (most heard)
Winter Wren - 2 (ID not certain, seen poorly)
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 20+
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 10
Varied Thrush - 4
Wrentit - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 6+
Townsend's Warbler - 1
Spotted Towhee - 4 (only 1 seen)
California Towhee - 3
Song Sparrow - 1
White-crowned Sparrow - 5
Golden-crowned Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 6
This is a very pleasant, mostly level walk through lovely woods, but it will get pretty muddy in spots after another rain or two.
Good birding,
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA