Elegant Terns on old Berkeley Pier
Wed, 28
Apr 2004 09:15:46 -0700
From: Matt Ricketts
While out on the Bay both Monday and Tuesday for work, my co-workers and I have observed Elegant Terns in full breeding plumage roosting out at the end of the old Berkeley Pier (accessible only by boat, although if you had a scope you might be able to see them from the end of the existing pier). At least four were seen yesterday (Tuesday). This is the first time any of us have seen Elegant Terns in the Bay Area in the spring. Does anyone know if there are any records of them breeding in the Bay, or have any ideas about why these birds might be here?
Matt Ricketts
Oakland
Re: Elegant Terns on old Berkeley Pier
Wed,
28 Apr 2004 10:57:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bob Power
Matt, speculation from the west side of the bay, outlined below.
Bob Power
Ron Thorn has had a tantalizing pair of Elegants off Coyote Pt for a while now, he (and I) suspect they may be prospecting for new nesting sites. We could have breeding Elegant Terns in San Francisco if they set up shop at the Alameda refuge!
Luke Cole
San FranciscoAll,
There were at least 7 Elegant Terns offshore and around Crissy this evening which is likely the earliest that I have them in SF. Hugh Cotter
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Re: Blue Grosbeak on Patterson Pass Road
Wed,
28 Apr 2004 10:58:06 -0700
From: Debbie Viess
Thanks for all of the tips. I got out there about 7:30 this morning. Alas, no good visuals, although I did hear the distinctive chink of the Blue Grosbeak. What a lousy place to look at birds, though: the thrum of the killing fields ... I mean windmills, a precipitous slope covered in awn-ridden grass to perch scratchily upon, and lord that wind. Not to mention all of the crazed commuters. I assume that I was at the right place; below me was a willow thicket. Not a lot of walking that I could see, without a climbing rope.
Debbie Viess
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Re: Where have all the chickadees gone?
Wed,
28 Apr 2004 16:51:18 PDT
From: Bill Gilbert
E. B. Birders
There has been some feedback on my sightings of fewer permanent-resident arboreal woodland species in the Tilden Nature Area (Berkeley Hills), and it may not be unexpected that some of the species I mentioned are being seen elsewhere. I'll make a few comments. Initially, while individual sightings and impressions can give clues about bird populations, we really need numbers to document trends. Secondly, my understanding is that declining bird populations tend to "retreat" from more marginal breeding habitats or geographical areas toward more suitable breeding habitats or areas. I see this with Orange-crowned Warblers (OCWAs) and Wilson's Warblers (WIWAs). OCWAs tend to "retreat" from riparian nesting when OCWA breeding numbers are low, while WIWAs tend to "retreat" from oak woodland nesting when WIWA breeding numbers are low. It seems possible that the oak/bay and riparian woodlands (at least where I made my survey) are not ideal Bushtit or Brown Creeper breeding habitat, and the species have "retreated" from these habitats this spring. Multiple sightings of these species elsewhere does not mean that the species did not decline significantly in my survey area this year, nor does it mean that the overall local populations of these species may not have declined. Although I did pick up a pair of Bushtits this morning in riparian habitat, I usually see more nests of the species than I have seen individuals this spring. Regarding creepers, they usually are regular, albeit not abundant, in my survey area. This year I recall seeing just one.
Regarding chickadees seen elsewhere, again I think comparative numbers would better tell how these populations are maintaining themselves. But certainly the low counts I made this spring do not support my usual impression that Chestnut-backed Chickadees are the commonest species in the woods.
Hutton's Vireo probably is the ideal indicator species for arboreal permanent-resident birds in the oak/bay woodland. I cannot envision the species "retreating" to another preferred local breeding habitat. Possibly the species has been more abundant elsewhere this spring, but in my survey site I recall seeing just a single pair (although I may have seen others). Their metronome song has been notably absent from the woods this spring, at least where I have listened.
Finally, it was suggested that I might simply have overlooked the four permanent-resident arboreal species I mentioned. I don't think this was the case. Understory species and migrant arboreal species have been present in good numbers, and have not been overlooked.
The site where I have noticed declines in the four species I mentioned is just a small portion of their total East Bay ranges. I believe multi-year Christmas Bird Count numbers might better answer the question of whether or not overall population declines in these species occurred last year.
Bill Gilbert
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