Re: Essays by Rex Burress on EBBC website
Sun, 10 Jan 1999 12:11:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Condit
Well this is good news! I was afraid RB was dead.
Upper San Leandro Reservoir on Jan 10
Sun, 10 Jan 1999 20:43:16 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
Bob Lewis' field trip for Golden Gate Audubon Society to Upper San Leandro Reservoir this morning had about 30 participants. It was cold and foggy, though the sun broke through near the end of the walk. Highlight was a Golden Eagle "shooting out of the fog, being hurried on it's way by a Redtail. Unfortunately, most people were focused on the redtail and missed the eagle." (Quote from Bob's GGAS report) A few of us trailing behind at the end of the walk saw a male Red-naped Sapsucker near the bridge between Rocky Ridge Trail and Canyon Rd (just to the northwest of the bridge, on the trail leading to Valle Vista Staging Area. The sapsucker gave us great looks, at times from only 20 ft away, so we had plenty of time to consult guides and verify the identification to our complete satisfaction (including the fact that the red on the throat met the white below the eye without a black border between). We also had great looks there at a Spotted Towhee a few feet from us (and I saw an Oak Titmouse that everyone else missed while they were watching the towhee or the sapsucker).
A reminder that this area is on EBMUD lands, and you need to get a permit (available for a small fee at any EBMUD office or staffed EBRPD facility). EBMUD has huge amounts of land in the East Bay, and this is a great way to get away from the crowds and look for birds with minimal disturbance.
The following list comes from Bob's report (with the addition of an egret that I saw, two Black Phoebes seen by the laggards near the staging area, and a goldeneye seen by another of the laggards):
1 Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Snowy Egret, 6 Canada Goose, 4 Mallard, 1 Common Goldeneye, 4 Ruddy Duck, 1 immature Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Golden Eagle, 2 American Kestrel, 2 American Coot, 2 Killdeer, 1 Common Snipe, 2 Mourning Dove, 2 Anna's Hummingbird, 1 Red-naped Sapsucker, 1 Nuttall's Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 2 Northern Flicker, 2 Black Phoebe, 2+ Steller's Jay (heard), 3 Western Scrub-Jay, 1 Oak Titmouse, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 6 Brown Creeper, 3 Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet (heard), 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 5 Hermit Thrush, 2 Wrentit, 2 European Starling, 1 Spotted Towhee, 2 California Towhee, 1 Fox Sparrow, 1 Song Sparrow, 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow, 10 White-crowned Sparrow.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
[Note added on website: I accidentally omitted "Chestnut-backed Chickadee (heard)" from Bob's list.]
Drive-by goose
Tue, 12 Jan 1999 21:24:57 -0800
From: Peter Grace
There was a Ross' Goose feeding with the Canadian geese on the lawn to the south of the College of Alameda. I saw it while driving on West Atlantic.
Peter Grace
Ross' Geese at Arrowhead Marsh, other
Wed, 13 Jan 1999 23:09:59 -0800
From: Lillian Fujii
More reports of Ross' Geese in the East Bay - today there were two on the lawn area at Arrowhead Marsh with the large flock of Canada Geese per Anna Wilcox. There are several Canada Geese of the minima race in this flock, which we saw last week.
The Oldsquaw reported by Kirk Swensen [to the Northern California Bird Box] was still at Berkeley Marina on Sunday, 1/10. We saw it just north of the pier as reported.
Lastly, we observed the Tropical Kingbird on 1/10 at Hidden Lakes Park, Martinez. It was "flycatching" bees in the Eucalyptus trees. The Merlin was still there, as was a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Happy birding.
Happy birding. Lillian Fujii and Steve Hayashi
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