Lake Anza
Wed, 6 Jan 1999 13:59:19 PST
From: Collin Murphy
Dear Birders,
Here is a list from 15 minutes during the noon hour today at Lake Anza in Tilden Regional Park (viewed from north side of Lake only):
Pied-billed Grebe (2), Double-crested Cormorant (6), Gadwall (2), American Wigeon (4), Mallard (10+), Canvasback (2 male, 1 female), Ring-necked Duck (1 - up to 3 have been there for the last month), Bufflehead (6), Ruddy Duck (4), Red-shouldered Hawk (heard), Northern Flicker (heard), American Coot (10), Common Raven (1).
This little lake is a nice quiet birding spot in the winter, and the ducks seem rather oblivious to intrusions of dogs swimming in the the water.
Collin G. Murphy
UC Botanical Garden notes
Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:21:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Condit
I went up to the UC Botanical Garden on Wednesday the 6th in the morning.
The Central and South American sections have been pretty hard hit by the recent freeze, with just about all the Salvia and Fuchsia wiped out. It's hard to tell how this might impact the Selasphorus hummingbird migration when it comes. The various Penstemon sp. seem to have fared quite well, especially those on the south and southwest sides. Even the Costa Rican one is doing well.
The south, east and west sides of the Central American hill are alive with Hermit Thrushes and Fox Sparrows. Not only was I able to compare a Fox Sparrow and a pair of Hermit Thrushes side by side in the open, but one (male?) Hermit Thrush was displaying and apparently marking off a breeding territory. It flew to the top of an iron pipe (one of the big hollow type), stuck its tail up vertically while holding its wings rigidly back, and chipped several times. Then it hopped to a position a few degrees counterclockwise of the original and repeated the display, then again, etc., until it had made a half circle. It then flew to a bush top a few yards away and repeated the same procedure. Given the kinds of fleeting glimpses we usually get of this species, I'd recommend going up to the garden to see how beautiful a bird it really is.
(It costs $3 admission now to enter the Botanical Garden, plus if you drive up there's a parking charge. I walked up Centennial Drive, and there's also a trailhead parking lot which is free a couple of hundred yards below the Botanical Garden. The bright side is that all this, combined with University vacation and the cold weather, meant that I saw only one other visitor during the two hours I was there, which I'm sure was a real factor in the amount of bird activity I was able to observe.)
Other birds seen: Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Steller's Jay, [Western] Scrub-Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, California Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow.
Tom Condit
Hooded Merganser at Lake Merritt
Thu, 7 Jan 1999 16:41:33 -0800
From: Bob Brandriff
East Bay Birders:
There was also one [Hooded Merganser] today at Lake Merritt at the southwest corner. I've been walking around Lake Merritt at lunchtime for the last couple of weeks; this is the first Hooded Merganser I've seen in that time. I never have enough time to search through all the sleeping ducks but did manage to see the Female Tufted Duck a couple of weeks ago between the islands close to the Rotary Science building: it has a pretty long but thin tuft. There have been lots of Common Goldeneyes at the southwest corner of the lake but I haven't seen any Barrow's Goldeneyes lately. Also, many more Canvasbacks than I remember seeing in the last couple of years here. There is a first winter Thayer's Gull which I've seen several times at the east end of the lake. I've only seen the Cattle Egret once.
Bob
Original Message Reply #1 Reply #2 Subject List
Thursday morning at Black Diamond
Thu, 7 Jan 1999 18:27:08 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
Ore and I drove out to Black Diamond Mines Regional Park this morning for Carole Dahl's birdwalk. It was cold and very foggy, creating challenging conditions for birding. However, on the way into the park we saw a flock of at least a dozen Lark Sparrows near the farm by the road, so that was a good start. The fog only got thicker through the morning, but we had one definite highlight for the day - a Snipe diligently probing for food in the mud of the creek in Markley Canyon, not far above the park office.
The road from the office up to the upper parking lot was being paved (still repairing the damages caused by last winter's storms), so we walked up the Railroad Bed Trail, visited the pond at Somersville (where Carole had seen two pair of Ring-necked Ducks on Wednesday, but the pond had no ducks at all this morning), and then strolled back to the office.
We all noted how the bad light and obscuring fog forced us to pay much more attention to behavior and more subtle aspects of shape and plumage. At one point we spent several minutes deciding that a few birds in a nearby treetop were simply damp and huddled House Finches.
Considering the poor viewing conditions, we didn't do too badly for the morning. The following is the composite list for the group:
Unidentified accipiter, California Quail, Killdeer, Common Snipe, Mourning Dove, Anna's Hummingbird (heard), Nuttall's Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Western Scrub-Jay, Oak Titmouse, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee, Lark Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Western Meadowlark, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch.
It may not take too much more of this weather to have us wishing for rain again!
Good birding,
Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
http://www.best.com/~folkbird/
Mount Hamilton
Thu, 07 Jan 1999 23:28:47 -0800
From: Graham Etherington
Called in to Mt. Hamilton on my return from Mexico on Wed 6 Jan. I drove up the 130 from San Jose and then on along the Mines Road north. The best birds were:
Santa Clara County:
Ross's Goose - 1 adult half a mile [on the] San Jose side of Joseph D Grant Park. There is a large pool just before a large horse paddock/ranch, and the bird was on the lake side with the Canada [Geese].
Phainopepla - 1 male by the San Antone Voluntary Fire Dept.
Alameda County:
Phainopepla - 1 male near mile marker 75, next to a sign (house number?) with 12405 on it.
That's about the best of it. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year - Mexico was great!
All the best,
Graham Etherington
UC Berkeley