Fwd: [SFBirds] Arrowhead Marsh
Sun, 16 May 1999 07:50:44 -0700
From: Mike Feighner
Posted to EBbird by Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA
Subject: [SFBirds] Arrowhead Marsh
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 09:47:32 -0700
From: Alan HopkinsSF Birders
There was a Golden Gate Audubon Society picnic for volunteers today at Arrowhead Marsh [Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland]. After the wine, chips and chicken some of us went for a bird walk around the new wetland and saw these species:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Greater Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Clapper Rail (heard in the old marsh)
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet, with lots of chicks
Greater Yellowlegs (heard)
Whimbrel
Red Knot
Western Sandpiper
Dunlin
dowitcher sp.
Red-necked Phalarope, 2
Bonaparte's Gull
California Gull
Western Gull
Forster's Tern
Least Tern, 2
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Crow
Mockingbird
Starling
California Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
House SparrowThe Shorebirding is best at high tide. There are seasonal wetland (fresh water ponds) at the far south end of the marsh that are worth checking. I think the place could be great in August and September.
Alan
Refugio Valley, Pinole Creek
Sun, 16 May 1999 21:05:01 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning (Sunday) Lillian Fujii and Steve Hayashi invited Ore Carmi and me to join them in birding their area for the Contra Costa County Breeding Bird Atlas. We spent the first few hours along Refugio Valley Rd in Hercules, east of Hwy 80. The development here has nicely preserved a strip of riparian habitat near the road, as well as sizeable other areas of open space. We even saw deer going back and forth along the greenway. A good place to start is at the park and community center, where we spent most of our time watching a lot of birds in search of evidence of nesting. My lists here include what I got of other's observations, but I may have missed some because we didn't stay together all the time.
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) - probable nests in eucalyptus
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) - pair seen
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) - carrying food to cavity
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) - pair with 4-5 young, nesting pair
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) - with nest material
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) - with fledglings
Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) - nest
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) - heard only
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) - heard only
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - gathering nest material
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) - heard only
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) - heard only
Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - carrying nest material
Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
In late morning, we visited an area that Lillian and Steve surveyed last year, mainly to check bluebird boxes. We took Pinole Valley Rd east from Hwy 80 out past Castro Ranch Rd, where Pinole Valley Rd becomes Alhambra Valley Rd. Most of our birding was done (with permission) in closed East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) lands north of the road, but we spent a little time along the road itself.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
accipiter (Accipiter sp.) - harassing redtail
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) - pair soaring
California Quail (Callipepla californica)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
White-throated Swift (Aeronautes saxatalis)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) - heard only
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) - nesting in 3 of 4 bluebird boxes
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) - heard only
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) - on nest in 1 of 4 bluebird boxes
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - babies in tree-cavity nest
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) - heard only
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculaturs)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) - pair, plus others heard
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) - very abundant
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) - heard only
Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii) - several
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Finally, we made a brief stop to check 2 bluebird boxes on Oursan Trail near the EBMUD Bear Creek Staging Area just west of Briones Park (this trail accessible with EBMUD permit). This stop was a very brief one in early afternoon, so we didn't see much. There was a herd of goats presumably at work on fire prevention.
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - flyover
Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) - eggs in bluebird box
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) - probable eggs in bluebird box, but adults in vicinity were Violet-green Swallows
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) - heard only
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata) - heard only
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) - heard only
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculaturs)
Thanks to Lillian and Steve for a very pleasant and educational day.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall El Cerrito CA