Stuff
Wed, 29 Dec 1999 01:14:36 PST
From: Anthony Fisher
Hi Folks!
I was at the Berkeley Marina - soon to be Eastshore Park - field last week with my daughter on my back. I saw an immature Red-shouldered Hawk moving from bush to bush. Is this the bird others are seeing? More than one? Also, a White-tailed Kite and large pile of dog doo (which I stepped in ... ugh!).
At the Mountain View Cemetery, located at the top of Piedmont Ave in Oakland, on the 27th: 2 pair of exquisite Hooded Merganser and 2 female Ring-necked Ducks in the middle pond. The call of a Belted Kingfisher rang out. When a similar report spewed from a nearby pair of Nuttall's Woodpeckers, the battle of the rattle ensued. The racketeering of two henchmen from the Steller's Jay mob led the Kid and I to a nonplused Great-horned Owl, roosting about 40 feet up in Eucalyptus globulus, by the upper pond. A hundred yards down this stand of trees, a Red-shouldered Hawk repeated itself from a lofty perch.
A Red-breasted Sapsucker, wings folded, arced by in the apex of its typically bounding flight. I silently begged the bird to pull up in the branches of a nearby oak, but must have been using the wrong frequency as it disappeared into a thicket of trees. Neat rows of holes in the oak, willow and acacia around the ponds are this bird's edible signature.
Yellow-rumped Warblers and Townsend's Warblers, Golden-crowned Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows, kinglets, Oak Titmouse, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Merlin (pointed out by Don Johnson) rounded out the morning.
Peace,
Anthony Fisher
Lucy's Warbler
Wed, 29 Dec 1999 12:23:46 -0800
From: Kay Loughman
East Bay Birders
Sheila Dicky has a fine Lucy's Warbler in her north Oakland yard. It's been seen several times since Sunday, including this morning. If you'd like to visit, call her for the address: (510) 655-5554.
Kay Loughman
Berkeley Marina
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 20:24:32 -0800
From: Larry Tunstall
This morning a small crowd joined Alan Kaplan for his East Bay Regional Park District birdwalk at the Berkeley Marina. We had a reasonably good morning, with a good selection of birds. After a walk out the pier, we moved to the southwest corner of the North Sailing Basin (across from the Radisson Hotel, where we scanned the waters toward Golden Gate Fields and also explored the edge of the Berkeley Meadow.
Here's our combined list for the two locations:
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)
Clark's Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea albus)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
American Coot (Fulica americana)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) - heard only, at Meadow
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) - on breakwater at Marina mouth
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Sanderling (Calidris alba) - 1 with injured leg, at foot of pier
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
Good birding, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA