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Hayward Shoreline (5/14)
Bob Richmond
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Re: ID help: Swainson's or possibly Veery?
James Woidat
That first image link was cut off as the list serve processed my email report. Not sure why that happened, but perhaps the mods can look into it. Clearly not a Swainsons or a Veery (and not my image, though looks interesting). I received 2 direct replies to my original email submitted with the correct link. Pasted again below. One voted veery, one Swainson's... Best, Jim
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Re: Swainson's Thrush - Martinez yard
Jackie Bobrosky
I've had a Swainson's Thrush in my yard for two weeks and now have at least two (that I've seen). I hear them from early morning to early evening with their lovely call and song, They call to each other from one side of my street to the other so there could be more. They are quite comfortable here, especially drawn to my small fishpond waterfall. Lovin' it! Jackie Bobrosky Martinez
From: "Sightings, EBB" To: "Sightings, EBB" Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 9:03:31 PM Subject: [EBB_Sightings] Swainson's Thrush - Livermore yard - 5/14 We have had a Swainson's Thrush in our yard for a couple of days. My husband said, "there's a strange thrush out here" but it was gone by the time I came out with my binocs. But I caught it on our tortoise cam that evening. It was also bathing today and I saw it as well, though mostly heard its soft "whit" call.
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Swainson's Thrush - Livermore yard - 5/14
Jaan Lepson <lepson@...>
We have had a Swainson's Thrush in our yard for a couple of days. My husband said, "there's a strange thrush out here" but it was gone by the time I came out with my binocs. But I caught it on our tortoise cam that evening. It was also bathing today and I saw it as well, though mostly heard its soft "whit" call.
I only recall two previous records for our yard in the 20 years I've lived here. Both were birds that thumped into the patio door (both survived) on nearly the same date in May a couple years apart about 15 years ago. Nice to see one keeping in the bushes instead. Jaan Lepson Livermore On May 14, 2014, at 20:46, "Paul Schorr pkschorr@comcast.net [EBB_Sightings]" <EBB_Sightings@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Throughout today in our yard, there was a FOS Swainson's Thrush foraging, drinking and bathing.============================= Jaan Lepson University of California Space Sciences Laboratory 7 Gauss Way Berkeley, CA 94720-7451
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Swainson's Thrush - Antioch yard - 5/14
Paul Schorr
Throughout today in our yard, there was a FOS Swainson's Thrush foraging, drinking and bathing.
Good birding, Paul and Nancy Schorr Antioch
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Migrants today at Vollmer Peak, Tilden Regional Park, CCC
dp_eas
Inspired by San Francisco reports, I visited Vollmer Peak in the south part of the park early this am. Highlights were Hermit Warblers (4-8), Townsend's Warblers (7), Cassin's Vireo (3), multiple singing California Thrashers, and perhaps 8 Lazuli Buntings and two singing MacGillivray's Warblers on territories. I was surprised to hear an Acorn Woodpecker, a first for me at Vollmer, which is both my Oakland Christmas count and former CCC Atlas area. The birdiest area was on the northeast side of the peak on the paved road near the bench where the Green-tailed Towhee was found a few years back. Also huge display of flowering Wyethia (mule's ears). Emilie Strauss
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Re: Richmond Red Knots
dp_eas
Laura's 3 Red Knots continued today at 2 pm at the same spot. While looking for the knots, I observed a birder/photographer who had walked across the marsh lobe that protects the mouth of Meeker Slough. Multiple Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets yipped, screamed, and performed distraction displays indicating that nests were nearby. This continued for
15-20 minutes while the observer sat in their midst. Please do not disturb nesting birds, and please do not walk across the marsh. It is nesting habitat for the endangered California Clapper Rail--and they occupy this habitat year-round. Thank you. Emilie Strauss Berkeley, CA
On Monday, May 12, 2014 5:49 PM, "Laura Look chamaea@... [EBB_Sightings]" wrote: Today (Mon., May 12), at about 1:00 pm, 3 RED KNOTS were along the
Bay Trail near Meeker Slough in Richmond. They were just east of the ruined pier which is east of the footbridge over Meeker Slough. This was about an hour and a half past high tide, as the tide was getting low enough to make mudflats. They had a pet Dunlin following them around. Other shorebirds were present in modest numbers. There are many access points to the Bay Trail along the Richmond Shoreline. The closest one is a small parking lot at the end of Bayside Dr, which is off Marina Bay Parkway. (Marina Bay Parkway is still under construction, but the detour is well-marked.) Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/115418990@N03/13986790457/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/115418990@N03/13986763599/ Good birding, -- Laura Look Pinole, CA
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05/13 [not 05/12]-- Mt. Diablo migrants -- Dusky Flycatcher
Michael Park
Whooops... Today is 05/13. Sorry about the confusing header. I saw the birds today.
Michael Park Berkeley
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05/12 -- Mt. Diablo migrants -- Dusky Flycatcher
Michael Park
Today while out doing monitoring work on Mount Diablo near Danville, I was able to to see many more birds than usual. Much of my route was out on exposed spines of ridges in foothill country -- open grassland with oaks in favorable locations.
Considering that the work took place from 1220PM to 320PM, it was quite good. I can only imagine what flew through this morning and what I missed while working. On route to the site, I saw a perched adult GOLDEN EAGLE and a high flying PRAIRIE FALCON. One of the first birds seen on site was a DUSKY FLYCATCHER. I had excellent looks at its primary projection (on the short side), bill length (on the short side), coloration of the mandible (flesh with dusky tip). It was gray overall with pale yellow wash on the lower belly. The eyering was narrow and lacked elongation towards the rear. And it repeatedly gave a sharp "wit" calls. Also nearby was a calling and seen PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER whose presence made for good comparisons of voice, color and proportions. Also new for the site were 3 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH whose twinkling call was music to my ears, and flyover BAND-TAILED PIGEON and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW. I was looking up for swifts, but none materialized. In order of first sighting: Lesser Goldfinch -- 14 GOLDEN EAGLE -- 1 PRAIRIE FALCON -- 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher -- 3 Mourning Dove -- 4, several nests discovered while hiking the route Acorn Woodpecker -- 4 Wilson's Warbler -- 1 DUSKY FLYCATCHER -- 1 Oak Titmouse -- 2 Western Bluebird -- 3 Turkey Vulture -- 2 European Starling -- 5 Western Meadowlark -- 4 Dark-eyed Junco -- 1 Northern Flicker -- 1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher -- 1 Western Scrub-Jay -- 1 White-breasted Nuthatch -- 3 BAND-TAILED PIGEON -- 3 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW -- 4 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH -- 3 House Wren -- 1 Yellow Warbler -- 1 Anna's Hummingbird -- 1 Western Kingbird -- 1 Lazuli Bunting -- 2 California Towhee -- 1 MIchael Park Berkeley
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ID help: Swainson's or possibly Veery?
James Woidat
Highly unlikely, I know, but my heart raced a little as I looked at some images from my Sunday outing to Mitchell Canyon with my son. Birding was fairly uneventful, Black Headed Grosbeak was the highlight, and we couldn't find our primary target, the Western Tanager. I did get a couple quick shots of a briefly appearing Thrush, which we thought was Swainson's. When we checked Sibleys later, and then searched online images, the lighter spots and reddish brown began to look more like a Veery. "Very" unlikely, yes, but perhaps? What do you think? Any chance this was a Veery? Thanks! Jim Woidat Moraga
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Richmond Red Knots
Laura Look <chamaea@...>
Today (Mon., May 12), at about 1:00 pm, 3 RED KNOTS were along the Bay Trail near Meeker Slough in Richmond. They were just east of the ruined pier which is east of the footbridge over Meeker Slough. This was about an hour and a half past high tide, as the tide was getting low enough to make mudflats. They had a pet Dunlin following them around. Other shorebirds were present in modest numbers.
There are many access points to the Bay Trail along the Richmond Shoreline. The closest one is a small parking lot at the end of Bayside Dr, which is off Marina Bay Parkway. (Marina Bay Parkway is still under construction, but the detour is well-marked.) Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/115418990@N03/13986790457/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/115418990@N03/13986763599/ Good birding, -- Laura Look Pinole, CA
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Coyote Hills, 5/12/14
Robert Furrow
This morning I made a brief stop from 10:15-11am at Coyote Hills, birding around the visitor center and up to Hoot Hollow. Migrants were around, including: Swainson's Thrush (8 -- often under the flowering buckeyes at Hoot Hollow) Olive-sided Flycatcher (1 -- high snags at Hoot Hollow) Western Wood-Pewee (1 -- Hoot Hollow) Western Kingbird (1)
Warbling Vireo (6) Wilson's Warbler (4) Townsend's Warbler (1 -- fairly black cheeks but no black throat) Lazuli Bunting (2) Western Tanager (1 -- Hoot Hollow)
Black-headed Grosbeak (3) Golden-crowned Sparrow (2 -- Visitor Center) Get ready for some good migration with this hot weather. For the next two nights, winds will shift to be southeasterly overnight. This will probably make coastal birding the most productive (like those crazy San Diego fallouts in the last heat wave), but should bring a nice eastern flavor to any good migrant trap. Keep an eye out for ibis, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Swainson's and Broad-winged Hawks, and maybe even some proper eastern vagrants.
Happy birding, Rob Furrow
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Brown -headed Cow birds courting behavior
Sarah Miracle-Kyte
Hello! A first for me here in San Lorenzo, I just observed 3 male Brown-headed cowbirds courting a female...strutting around with heads tilted up and wings pulled back, all around my front lawn! Very noisy!
Sarah miracle-kyte
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5 Back-yard Western Tanagers in Livermore (Alameda County, 10 May 2014)
This evening at around 5:30 PM there were 5 individual Western Tanagers
feasting on my Royal Anne Cherry Tree., 4 males, 1 female In my 20 years' living here this is the first time I have seen in my yard such a congregation of tanagers all at the same time. Last Saturday and Sunday there was a male Western Tanager coming to the birdbath, and earlier there was a female Western Tanager coming to the same birdbath. This is in the housing development near the intersection of Murrieta Boulevard and West Jack London Boulevard in Livermore -- Michael Feighner Livermore, CA, Alameda County <http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfeighner> http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfeighner <http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfeighner> -- "You never really know a man till you walk a mile in his shoes." - Atticus Finch , main character in novel. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee 1960
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Re: Ballena Bay Alameda
Allen Hirsch <allenvhirsch@...>
I made two trips to Ballena Bay; lots of flying around, not many terns actually came back with fish for their mating ritual, though I did capture a few (including some action beyond courtship): I had just a couple Forster's in flight; it seemed to be almost all least terns when I was there last weekend.http://allenh.zenfolio.com/p33009162
On Sat, May 3, 2014 at 1:53 PM, <verne_nelson@...> wrote:
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Re: Golden Gate Audubon Society Second Friday Birdwalk May 9, 2014 at Briones R.P.
Lee Friedman
Many thanks to Alan for another great GGAS outing. Just wanted to add that many of the birds are striking in their breeding plumages at this time. Here are two examples:
Western Bluebird: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99583878@N06/13966037557/ Lazuli Bunting: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99583878@N06/13966036537/in/photostream/
Good birding, Lee Friedman
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Golden Gate Audubon Society Second Friday Birdwalk May 9, 2014 at Briones R.P.
Alan Kaplan <lnkpln@...>
Briones Regional Park--Bear Creek Staging Area, Contra Costa, US-CA
May 9, 2014, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Golden Gate Audubon Society Second Friday Birdwalk, Briones Regional Park, starting from Bear Creek entrance staging area to the archery range/Scout Camp area and back. Lazuli Buntings book-ended the trip, Acorn Woodpeckers in the middle. Bird of the Day: Hermit Warbler. FOS Ash-throated Flycatcher for me. Long looks at Wrentit out in the open for admiration. We had 35 observers and 42 species: California Quail Wild Turkey Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture makes it official! Red-tailed Hawk Band-tailed Pigeon Anna's Hummingbird Allen's Hummingbird Acorn Woodpecker Nuttall's Woodpecker Northern Flicker for a Picidae Hat Trick ! Pacific-slope Flycatcher Ash-throated Flycatcher Hutton's Vireo Warbling Vireo Steller's Jay Western Scrub-Jay Common Raven Chestnut-backed Chickadee Oak Titmouse feeding fledgling Bushtit Bewick's Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Wrentit Western Bluebird American Robin European Starling Orange-crowned Warbler Townsend's Warbler Hermit Warbler Wilson's Warbler for a Warbler Grand Slam ! Spotted Towhee California Towhee Dark-eyed Junco feeding fledgling Western Tanager Black-headed Grosbeak Lazuli Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch Lesser Goldfinch Best of Boids! Alan Kaplan
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Adult bald eagle and osprey at Valle Vista today
Wendy Parfrey
At 10 am this morning in the Valle Vista parking lot, I watched a mature bald eagle high above the ranchlands across the road. It slowly moved south toward the upper end of the reservoir. An hour later past the horse stables an osprey was circling above. Two new life species for me: an ash-throated flycatcher and lots of tree swallows that mesmerized me with the metallic blue-green feathers of the male. A pair of tree swallows was in a disputed contest with a pair of western bluebirds over a nesting box. Wendy Parfrey Oakland Hills
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San Leandro Marina - yesterday
Bob Richmond
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Great Blue Heron flying with neck extended or?????
Derek
While driving west at 6pm today on I580 near the MacArthur Blvd
off-ramp I saw a large heron-type bird soaring high in the sky flying eastward that I would take to be a Sandhill Crane as its neck was extended. Given the unlikelihood of a Sandhill being in that location, expecially at this time of year, I assume that it was a Great Blue Heron. The bird was definitely dark and large with a long neck. I can't recall ever seeing a GBH flying in that manner Anyone have thoughts on this? Derek Heins
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