[EBB Sightings] "the eagles have landed"

I am new to birding, and do not really consider myself one (yet).  But
I am pretty sure I saw a single golden eagle Monday (Sep 3) early
afternoon, soaring just west of the San Pablo Ridge, in Wildcat
Regional Park, on Nimitz Way, failrly far north, near the old Nike
installation.

I am sure that it was not a turkey vulture, and it was bigger than any
hawk I've ever seen. I had my binoculars, and was treated to a very
lengthy and close-up side view. It did not have black and white
underwing markings that I think I've seen on young ones. It soared
with very little, if any, dihedral. The feathers on the wingtips were
slightly spread apart. Its head was a bit darker than its neck.


In message <7622875D6C08FF4695DDD96E95F2EDEF3E83F0 at exch1.win.ebmud>you write
{ Similarly, we have seen nesting or probable nesting pairs of golden
{ eagles in our "south watershed" (southwest of Moraga), at Sibley, in the
{ watershed northeast of San Pablo Reservoir, and just north and east of
{ Pinole Peak in the Franklin Canyon area.  We've never done GOEA nesting
{ surveys, and we can't say if these pairs have ever all nested in the
{ same year. But the south watershed pair is there every year. 
{ 
{ The San Pablo GOEA pair moves around (usually due to nest tree
{ failures), and has recently backed away from the reservoir (Lindsey
{ Museum has twice been instrumental in saving a golden eagle chick from
{ this pair after the nest failed or they were otherwise on the ground).
{ Last year we saw them closer to Briones Reservoir, and juveniles were
{ seen soaring in July.  The Sibley pair is not closely followed by EBMUD.
{ The Franklin Canyon (probably your "Alhambra Valley") pair nested this
{ year, and could frequently be seen foraging over Pinole Valley.  
{ 
{ So, ancillary observations during the course of our other work suggest
{ that the northern- and southernmost pairs nested this year.  Though we
{ usually see the nesting GOEAs near San Pablo Reservoir, we don't have
{ any reports for 2007. And as I suggest above, others track the GOEAs at
{ Sibley.
{ 
{ Roger
{ 
{ Roger D. Hartwell
{ Supervising Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist
{ East Bay Municipal Utility District 
{ Fisheries and Wildlife Division
{ 500 San Pablo Dam Road
{ Orinda, CA 94563
{ (510) 287-2025
{ Business Fax (925) 254-8320
{ 
{  
{ 
{ -----Original Message-----
{ From: sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com
{ [mailto:sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com] On Behalf Of Bob Power
{ Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 7:15 PM
{ To: Linda Fishman; Sightings at diabloaudubon.com
{ Subject: Re: [EBB Sightings] "the eagles have landed"
{ 
{ Linda, while I hope that we're all sharing our eagles, And the current
{ Sibley pair may indeed have nested in Briones this year, an equally
{ plausible explanation is that the east bay is big enough to house
{ several breeding pair of Golden Eagles. 
{ 
{ Contra Costa's Breeding Bird Atlas
{ (www.flyingemu.com/ccosta/) shows confirmed breeding of Golden Eagle in
{ the Sibley area, the Tilden/San Pablo Res. area, and the
{ Briones/Alhambra Valley area.
{ The boundaries of Hwy 152/101/5/ and 780 contain the highest density of
{ breeding golden eagles in north america.  We're blessed.
{ There may be a local pair who have delighted all of us, or, there may be
{ several.
{ 
{ Thanks to the atlasers for doing the fieldwork and sharing it with the
{ rest of us. 
{ 
{ Bob Power
{ Oakland, CA
{ 
{ > The family that had been soaring daily over Alhambra Valley (Martinez)
{ 
{ > has gone. I'll place a bet that the parents have returned to Sibley 
{ > and the kids have been turned out on their own.
{ > 
{ > Last time we hiked Sibley, we noticed how close Lafayette Reservoir 
{ > really is by air. From there it is an easy flight over to Briones, 
{ > where I believe the pair was nesting this year.
{ > 
{ > Thanks for the loan of your favorites, Debbie! We certainly enjoyed 
{ > their antics and cries.
{ > 
{ > Linda Ott
{ 
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--
Dave Abercrombie          510-540-4772 x2113           122 15.303' W                    
abe at rahul.net            http://GetActive.com           37 50.953' N