[EBB Sightings] Coyote Hills - Brown Thrasher seen 11:40am

Mike, I did my best to describe the locations in my email.

when you enter Coyote Hills park, go through the entry/payment kiosk ($5) and turn left into the first parking lot. Quarry parking area. All the sightings are there.

Look aruond the entire area in poison oak, willows, the one bare tree with poison oak/ivy wrapped around it. That tree is located very well from Dave Webber's email. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Walk onto the paved trail, head away from the parking lot and you are immediately at this tree.

turn left onto the paved trail from the far end (not entrance end) of the lot and you will get to the next group of poison oak and willows, with the tallest tree nearby.

>From the end of the lot, turn right up the hill. only one hill. at the base is poison oak.

this bird clearly moves around a lot,so it may be anywhere around the hill,  or in any shrub in the area.

I hear it was seen again this morning, Wed.

good luck!
Kris

--- On Wed, 3/11/09, Mike Feighner  wrote:

> From: Mike Feighner 
> Subject: RE: [EBB Sightings] Coyote Hills - Brown Thrasher seen 11:40am
> To: "EBB" , "County Birders" 
> Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 5:29 AM
> Hi Kris:
> 
> Hoping the thrasher will still be around this Saturday.
> 
> Some questions:
> 
> 1)? Where is "the tree with poison ivy"?? Poison
> Oak?
> 2)? Where is "the trail leading up to the rock
> structures"?
> 3)? Where is "he poison oak along the paved trail"?
> 4)? Where is the Quarry Area?
> 
> >From the photos we cannot really make out the
> location?
> 
> 
> Is this perhaps the Brown Thrasher seen earlier in San
> Mateo County?
> 
> --
> Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, Alameda County
>  
> 
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com
> 
> >[mailto:sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com]
> On Behalf Of Kris Olson
> >Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 8:41 PM
> >To: sightings at diabloaudubon.com
> >Subject: [EBB Sightings] Coyote Hills - Brown Thrasher
> seen 11:40am
> >
> >Birders,
> >
> >I arrived at Coyote Hills about 11:15AM today and found
> Scott 
> >Terrill. He said he had arrived 15 minutes earlier and
> been 
> >told that no one had seen the Brown Thrasher today -
> with one 
> >birder, at least, arriving before 8AM.
> >
> >Scott and I checked the tree with poison ivy wrapped
> around 
> >it, where the thrasher was seen yesterday. We checked
> bushes 
> >along the trail leading up to the rock structures. Then
> we 
> >checked the poison oak along the paved trail-- parallel
> with 
> >the center of the parking lot, and we found the BROWN
> THRASHER.? 
> >
> >About 30 minutes later, after Scott had left, I was
> hiking up 
> >the steep trail going to the rock structures, and the
> Brown 
> >Thrasher appeared right at the base of this? path,
> again in 
> >poison oak. I was trying to imitate a Blue-gray
> Gnatcatcher 
> >mew -- and attracted a Common Yellowthroat and the
> Brown 
> >Thrasher instead. In the same bush, by the way, was a
> Fox 
> >Sparrow and Hermit Thrush - so lots of brown/rusty
> spotted birds. 
> >
> >So I would check all around the Quarry area, especially
> in 
> >poison oak. It seems to move around a lot.
> >
> >The first place Scott and I saw the thrasher today is
> in 
> >poison oak/willows that are next to the paved trail,
> near an 
> >indistinct path leading from about the center of the
> parking 
> >lot across a grass median. The path is close to the
> largest 
> >tree out there. The Thrasher was in the bushes directly
> across 
> >from this tree/path-- bushes that border the rushes and
> ponds. 
> >You are looking East (per Scott's watch) but feel as if
> you 
> >are looking South (at least Scott and I did) -- sort of
> back 
> >towards the entrance to the park-- when you face the
> right 
> >bushes. I included a photo on Flickr to show the
> location. Not 
> >hard to find.
> >
> >Second time--it was in the poison oak near the base of
> the 
> >trail to the top of the rock structure. This trail goes
> 
> >straight up from the far end of the parking lot. You
> don't 
> >need to hike up very far.
> >
> >
> >The Brown Thrasher was first seen on Feb. 13 -- in the
> Quarry 
> >area (and reported 2/18 by Stephen Long):
> >"The bird was just up the hill from the first big
> parking lot 
> >inside the gate, the so-called Quarry Staging
> Area.? It 
> >perched on a short conifer for a minute or so -- long
> enough 
> >for Lauryn [Benedict] to get a scope on it, and show
> each of 
> >the ten students the bird."? Lauryn also took
> another section 
> >of the class to Coyote Hills on Saturday.? She
> looked for the 
> >thrasher on Saturday, but did not find it.
> >
> >Good luck!
> >
> >Kris Olson
> >Menlo Park
> >
> >Photos (including a couple of the areas where it was
> seen, so 
> >you can sight them better than my words enable):
> >
> >http://www.flickr.com/photos/27741504 at N08/sets/
> >
> >
> >I also saw a Purple Finch deep in the poison oak. Do
> they 
> >frequent Coyote Hills?
> 
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