[EBB Sightings] This morning's field trip at Jewel Lake

Dear Birders:

It was cool in the canyon this morning as the first rays of sun illuminated the trees that edge the lawn at the parking lot.  But we were out of the wind that was raking the ridges -- wind blowing out of the east chilled by the tule fog covering inland valleys.

Some fifteen of us gathered, including Dave Quady and Alan Kaplan who continues to enjoy a day in the field after his long tenure as a naturalist in the park.

Looking back at my notes from last December's walk, I noted that an inch of rain had fallen the night before and the freshened air was rich with the scents of resinous leaves and wet earth -- in this drought year no such olfactory delights.

Birds were generally quiet.  We worked our way along the narrow Pack Rat Trail hearing the call and loud rustlings of a Spotted Towhee.  Another denizen of the understory, a wintering Varied Thrush showed itself briefly before slipping back into the deep shadows.  This appears to be a 'normal' Varied Thrush year, but who can forget two (or was it three?) winters ago when on the Christmas Count more than two hundred thrushes  were counted in this area alone.  

Whereever the sun came through openings in the tree canopy, small flocks of birds (dominated by chickadees) were active.  Dave spotted a Downy Woodpecker high in an oak while a Brown Creeper circled a nearby tree.  Someone spotted a raptor in the distance which may have been a "Sharpy" (Sharp-shinned Hawk).  

Descending to the 'lake,' we discovered that wintering waterfowl are still absent -- not even the resident mallards were about -- only the resident Black Phoebe flying back and forth declaring its territory. Last year both Buffleheads and a merganser were in residence.  The willows harbored a few Yellow-rumped Warblers.  In a small oak we got clear looks at a Hutton's Vireo that had sung earlier.  I couldn't quite register Dave's description of its blue legs, let alone his narrative of some earlier species with 'golden toes.'  I did 'get it' about the distinction between the vireo and the other small greenish bird with wingbars and an eye ring - the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Think 'plumper' build, shorter and thicker bill, and less kinetic movement (Hutton's Vireo).

These quiet bird mornings with the unlikely opportunity of snagging a 'lifer' allow for the study of details that separate most of us out from a gifted birder like Dave.

Ten days from now the Christmas Count teams will be out well before dawn (at least the 'owlers').  Any one care to bet that Sunday, December 14 will produce a longed-for "gulley-washer?"
  
Phila Rogers