Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland
Thu, 21 Oct 1999 22:08:24 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning not long after dawn, I visited Aquatic Park near Ashby & Hwy 80 in Berkeley. This is a great spot in early morning to watch very large numbers of water birds going about their various ways of gathering food. For me the most interesting discovery was a small group of Redheads. This little flock will get a bit bigger soon, and the flock often can be found across the freeway near Point Emery if it is not in Aquatic Park. I also enjoyed watching a "mixed flock" of cormorants, pelicans, avocets, and Mallards feeding vigorously on something not far below the water surface, looking as if they might be pursuing a school of small fish.
By the time I went out to Point Emery, the tide was getting quite high and a fisherman out on the point discouraged any shorebirds from hanging out on the rocks. However, the flock of Sanderlings was busy on the beach that is just to your right as you enter the Point Emery parking lot. Unfortunately, this beach also is a favorite place for people to bring their dogs and children to play, so you have to be lucky to find the Sanderlings at home there. When they are, you can get great views from the edge of the parking lot.
The bay was very calm, almost glassy, and very few birds were within binocular range. I checked out at the Emeryville Marina, but couldn't spot anything of great interest, so I headed down to Lake Merritt in Oakland to see what has turned up there.
The small goose, presumably an immature white-fronted, is still around the duck ponds, acting quite tame. There was a large raft of Ruddy Ducks and half a dozen Lesser Scaups. Supervising Naturalist Pablo Cepero said that a single female Canvasback has been around at afternoon feedings for a few days. There were very large numbers of cormorants, and Pablo said that he had heard that some kind of work on one of the bridges had displaced many from their usual bay perches and fishing. Interestingly, I didn't see any egrets at the lake.
Finally, I made a quick visit to Merritt Channel, between the lake and the Oakland Estuary through Laney College. Here I did see one Great Egret and one Snowy Egret, and the small flock of wigeons is there (no Eurasians that I could spot). Otherwise, it was very quiet.
Here are my lists for the morning.
Berkeley Aquatic Park:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Redhead (Aythya americana)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)
dowitcher (Limnodromus sp.)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Point Emery:
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
California Gull (Larus californicus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Emeryville Marina:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Lake Merritt:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) - (?)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Rock Dove (Columba livia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Merritt Channel:
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA
Christmas Count leaders needed
Sat, 23 Oct 1999 15:37:12 -0700
From: Tom Condit
Clyde Morris and Joelle Buffa are once again coordinating the Oakland Christmas Bird Count (December 19). They are still in need of leaders for some areas. In particular, they need someone to do the Dunsmuir-Oakland Zoo-Knowland Park area, but that isn't (I don't think) the only one. You can phone them at (510) 494-1098.
Now, here's the urgent part!! They are leaving town for three weeks on the 27th (to go on on a birding tour of Africa, so all may be consumed with envy), and they'll be gone for three weeks. They'd like to get as much of this nailed down before they go as possible.
Marsha Feinland and I led the Knowland-Dunsmuir-Zoo counts in 1996 and 1997, and would be glad to share our detailed notes (broken down by subarea) with anyone who wants to take on this area. You probably won't find any rarities in this area, but you will find varied habitat and some places to tramp that you never knew existed, as well as free admission to Dunsmuir House before it opens to the public and to the Zoo, plus the chance to have the highest turkey vulture count of any area. (We know where they roost.)
Being a leader doesn't mean being the world's greatest bird identifier, nor does it require superhuman powers of any sort. You do need to be able to pick an assembly point, communicate with your group, and get there on time. You need to be able to put count sheets on clipboards or the equivalent, and get a report in to the coordinators. It's a plus if you can do it at the count dinner. You'll get info on what's been seen in your area in previous years, maps, etc., all supplied. You have to collect the count fees and turn them in. If there's more, I've forgotten it.
Tom Condit
Arrowhead Marsh, Oakland
Sat 23 Oct 1999 time unknown
From: Rusty Scalf
This morning at Arrowhead Marsh [Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline, Oakland], there were five Blue-winged Teal and (farther north on the M.L.K. Shoreline Trail) a Merlin that allowed close approach.
I was astounded at the numbers of shorebirds in the restored area ["Mitigation Marsh"]. I don't believe I've even seen such numbers north of Hayward Shoreline in the East Bay before. Apparently it doesn't take long before tidal activity creates an invertebrate invasion. Clearly there is plenty in the mud for shorebirds to eat.
Golden Gate Audubon Society really did a good thing here.
Rusty Scalf
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