Tufted Duck in Martinez
Sun, 7 Feb 1999 17:54:12 PST
From: Denise Wight
Hi East Bay Birders,
Today, 7 Feb. 1999, at Martinez Shoreline Regional Park there was an adult male Tufted Duck among the many Canvasbacks, Lesser, and Greater Scaups. This bird had a nice, long tuft, similar to the Tufted Duck in Emeryville. I would be interested in hearing if anyone saw that duck today. Maybe this bird moved to calmer waters during the storm?? Let me know what you think. I watched him from 3:45 PM until 4:30 PM, tuft blowing in the wind.
There was also at least one adult male Barrow's Goldeneye in with a group of 6+ Common Goldeneyes.
The easiest way to reach this area:
From Highway 4 in Martinez, head north on Alhambra Ave. Follow it all the
way to the end where Alhambra Ave. turns left onto Buckley. Then turn right
on Berrellesa, cross the railroad tracks, and park in the parking lot at
Granger's Wharf Park. Take the trail out to the marsh and turn left (west).
Scan the ducks from the trail near the burned out ship. The Tufted Duck was
in this area. There are 1000's of ducks in groups west along the shoreline
as far as one can scope.
Good Luck, and Stay Dry,
Denise Wight
Martinez, CA.
Jays in flatlands
Sun, 7 Feb 1999 19:06:03 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Condit
A little earlier on this list, there was a discussion of the influx of scrub and Steller's jays into areas where they hadn't normally been seen before. Now we see from the Oakland Christmas Count a lower-than-normal count for both species.
I wonder if these phenomena are related. It could be that for some reason the jays are moving out of the parks and into residential neighborhoods, so that they show up where they're not expected, but are undercounted on the Christmas count (like Rock Doves, House Sparrows and starlings).
What triggered this thought is that I was looking at a Steller's Jay in my yard today (2200 block of McGee in Berkeley) and realized that scarcely a day has passed in the past two months when I haven't seen one or the other species of jay here.
Incidentally, I had a Hermit Thrush in the yard Friday. Maybe it's time to start keeping a yard list!
Tom Condit
Escapee: Cockatiel
Mon, 08 Feb 1999 18:37:06 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
East-Bay-Birders:
Aside from the usual reports here is one of a different type:
Arriving home at about 5 PM this evening, I heard an unusual call of a bird calling from down the street near the intersection of Turino Street and Firenza Street here in Livermore.
The bird was calling from a medium-sized pepper tree. I soon made sight of the bird resting on the slanted trunk and was able to safely approach the bird without scaring it off. I was even able to pick up the bird with my hands. It tried to chew at my fingers though. I didnât know what to do with the bird. I had no place to store it away. I took the bird to my gazebo-type feeder in my back yard and let it sit inside the feeder. I've never seen such a hungry bird. I expect the bird to be sitting at the same location in the morning.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Re: Escapee: Cockatiel
Tue, 09 Feb 1999 04:56:35 -0800
From: Mike Feighner
The visiting Cockatiel survived the night and is alive and well ... and well protected from the wind and rain under the roof of the gazebo feeder.
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA