Rails in Alameda and Oakland
Thu, 2 Jan 2003
15:58:43 PST
From: Mark Rauzon
I thought I'd start the new year list off right with rails at high tide at Elsie Rohmer Sanctuary in Alameda. I arrived in time to see the annual rail round-up (survey) conducted by the East Bay Regional Parks. Two flat-bottomed boats manned by 4 people and 4 hip-booted walkers flushed all the rails present and counted them. There were 17 Clapper Rails, 12 Sora and 8 Virginia Rails! A banner year indeed. The person in charge said they counted 66 (!!) rails at Arrowhead marsh last week, and thought all the bay rails had ended up there, but today's results show that it was the highest count ever. Looks like that introduced Spartina grass may benefit rails.
I headed over to Arrowhead Marsh (Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland) and saw a couple of Clapper Rails on the shoreline nearest to the parking lot. That area is sure changing fast. Any open space owned by the Port of Oakland is under heavy construction. Pity the Burrowing Owls that used to live there.
Happy Birdy New Year
Mark Rauzon
Re: Rails in Alameda and Oakland
Thu, 02 Jan
2003 17:57:57 -0800
From: Peter Dramer
I have a graph, in Excel format, that demonstrates the history of rail surveys at Arrowhead Marsh. It is worth viewing.
GraphPeter
Original Message Subject Index
Upper San Leandro Reservoir, Moraga
Fri, 03
Jan 2003 15:29:06 -0800
From: Kitty O'Neil
Today at Valle Vista Staging Area on Upper San Leandro Reservoir near Moraga (EBMUD Trail Permit required), I saw about 8 pairs of Wood Ducks and several pairs of Ring-necked Ducks (in the creek and on the marsh). There were also some mergansers, probably Common Mergansers. The trails are very muddy, but a nice feature of that was all the tracks. Deer, bobcat, squirrel, and raccoon tracks all in the same one-square-foot area. Probably were not there at the same time though!
Kitty
Kitty O'Neil
Orinda, CA
Hooded Merganser at Berkeley Aquatic Park
Fri, 03 Jan 2003 17:00:25 -0800
From: John Poole
There's a handsome male Hooded Merganser at the south end of Aquatic Park in Berkeley. There are also about 15 Red-breasted Mergansers in the main lake.
John Poole
White-throated Swifts in Oakland Hills
Sat,
4 Jan 2003 12:49:34 -0800
From: Johan Langewis
Today at 12:45 PM I saw about 9 White-throated Swifts circling over my yard in the Oakland hills. They were fairly high up and moving fast so they were tough to count. I watched them circling for about ten minutes. Yesterday an Osprey flew over.
Johan Langewis
Falconry for airport runway safety
Sun, 5
Jan 2003 11:42:44 -0800
From: Frano
Here is a link to a story from the San Francisco Chronicle about the new method of keeping birds off the runways of the airports around the Bay:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/05/BA177630.DTL&type=news
Good Birding
Frano
Re: Falconry for airport runway safety
Sun,
05 Jan 2003 13:51:32 -0800
From: Arlyn Christopherson
Isn't that gyrfalcon awfully small? [in picture in newspaper story]
Arlyn
Original Message Subject Index
Local Martinez birds
Sun, 5 Jan 2003 19:51:40
PST
From: Denise Wight
Hello E. B. Birders,
Yesterday and today (4 and 5 January 2003), I stuck close to home to do some birding around the Martinez area. No rarities, but a few birds of interest.
Yesterday, at the Martinez Regional Shoreline pond there was a interesting male scaup that may have been a hybrid Greater Scaup /Tufted Duck. It had a mostly all black back, with some fine, white vermiculations. The head had just a slight bump, no tuft, and in good lighting the head feathering was mostly a green sheen. The nail on the duck's bill seemed to spread across most of the tip. If you're in the area, go take a look for yourself, and let me know what you think.
There was also a tan morph White-throated Sparrow with Golden-crowned Sparrows across the street from the Carquinez Regional Shoreline parking lot.
Today, at Hidden Lakes Open Space there was a Merlin, a female yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (lovely tan face and bright yellow wings), and at least one, possibly 2, Chipping Sparrows near the north end of the wooden bridge.
All the Best Birding,
Denise Wight
Martinez, CA
Merlin in San Ramon, or Skip Gets His Merlin
Sun, 05 Jan 2003 20:12:26 -0800
From: Dennis Braddy
EastBayBirders,
While on our dog-and-bird-walk this afternoon, Skip and I saw a Merlin fly north over the Bollinger Canyon Elementary School in San Ramon. As is often the case this was a Merlin on a mission, flying straight and fast until it disappeared in the distance.
I was pretty excited about his latest life-bird, but as usual Skip took it in stride.
Dennis Braddy and Skip
San Ramon