Coyote Hills Regional Park
Sat, 29 May 1999 21:01:44 PDT
From: Bill Scoggins
29 May 1999, Coyote Hills Regional Park
Today I joined Jan Southworth, park naturalist, and friends on an East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk. It was windy and overcast and about 55 degrees. We began at Hoot Hollow; then went on to the North Marsh, DUST Trail, and finally returned to the visitor center via the boardwalk.
Birds seen:
Pied-billed Grebe building nest 9
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
Canada Goose 6
Mallard 14
Gadwall pair
Ruddy Duck 7
Red-tailed Hawk adult with chick in nest at Hoot Hollow
American Kestrel 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 2 seen, 5 by voice
California Quail 2
Common Moorhen 2
American Coot 4
Killdeer 1 by voice
Black-necked Stilts 7 in north marsh
Long-billed Curlew 3 flying overhead
dowitcher sp. 6
Forster's Tern 2
Mourning Dove 1
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Allen's Hummingbird 1
Nuttall's Woodpecker 1
Bushtit 3
Bewick's Wren 1 seen, 2 by voice
Marsh Wren 3 seen, 12 by voice
American Robin 3
Tree Swallow 5
Cliff Swallow 120
Barn Swallow 7, three nests at visitor center
Chestnut-backed Chickadee by voice
Western Scrub-Jay 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
California Thrasher 1
European Starling 8
Common Yellowthroat 1 seen, 6 by voice
California Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 3 singing in appropriate habitat
Red-winged Blackbird 12 males sing on territory
Brewer's Blackbird 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Happy birding,
Bill Scoggins
Castro Valley, CA
Hayward Shoreline Sunday May 30
Sun, 30 May 1999 20:20:11 -0700
From: Sheila Junge
Highlights of a birdwalk led by naturalist Cam Wolff of the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center included a Snowy Plover in basic plumage seen within 40 feet of the main trail (near the 'no collecting' sign). At least 10 Least Terns, an Arctic Tern and a Black Skimmer were seen on and around the long narrow island in the southwestern wastewater pond. The Least Terns, in particular gave us great looks as they dived near the fence separating pond and trail. We also got good looks at the Arctic Tern while the Skimmer flew up briefly and then spent most of the time flat (head stretched out like a dog) on the ground. Caspian Terns and Forster's Terns were also seen in this area. It was a great opportunity to compare the species. Returning via the southern trail inside the closed area we saw additional Least Terns and two more Snowy Plovers - both in breeding plumage. The walk took place between noon and 3 PM. Most of our time was spent and most species were seen on the public trail. Our list included:
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Scaup species (Aythya species)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Dowitcher species (Limnodromus species)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Good birding,
Sheila Junge
Hayward, CA
Baby birds at Hayward Shoreline
Sun, 30 May 1999 21:56:22 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Lynn and I were also on Cam Wolff's walk at Hayward Regional Shoreline this afternoon. Sheila's excellent report covered the main points, but I just wanted to throw in a little more info about the baby birds that were the focus of the walk (at least, until we saw all the Least Terns).
At the Interpretive Center itself, there are dozens of Barn Swallows, and the roofs and railings seemed covered with swallow fledglings, waiting more or less patiently for adults to come stuff food in their mouths. You actually can get within a foot or two for good looks at the babies and the feeding process. Cam says that within a week or so, the parents should be presenting food a short distance away to lure the babies into flying and taking food in the air, and she says that this is a fascinating process to watch.
Not far from the front door, a Black-necked Stilt was sitting on a nest, and when a Mallard flew into the shallow water nearby, the other stilt parent aggressively chased it away. On the opposite side of the building, three stilt chicks were exploring their new world, not too far from an adult. All along the trail out to the Bay, stilt and avocet chicks could be spotted, as well as more birds on nests. It appears that normal schedules of molting, mating, fledging, and so on are all out of whack this year.
Although we saw quite a large number of Mallards, many feeding in pairs, we didn't see any ducklings. We did see a Raven flying back and forth between the back ponds where most ducks nest and the area near the bridge tollbooths, each time carrying a duck-sized egg in its bill.
The Arctic Tern and Black Skimmer were on the southwestern island in the western pond of Hayward Marsh, near Johnson's Landing. The tern was often flying back and forth over this island, harrassing the other terns and trying to grab fish from them - behavior it displayed last year as well. The Skimmer at first was hidden behind the island, then came out and sprawled on the dirt in the sun, flattening itself with bill on the ground until it looked like road kill (I saw this behavior last year also). Everyone agreed that it appeared to be sunbathing behavior.
When we walked through the closed area and could see the back side of the island, we saw another skimmer there. We could no longer see the area where the first skimmer had been sprawled, so we could not be sure whether or not this was a second skimmer.
Finally, I had three species on my list that Shiela didn't have on hers:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Oh yes, and a very dead bird in the marsh just outside the front door of the center that appeared to have been a European Starling!
And then there was the big United Airlines jet swerving and turning at very low altitude over our heads. All in all, it was a very exciting and rewarding afternoon.
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA