Spreckels Lake Short-billed Dowitcher
bitanangan
Hi Birders,
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Re: Yellow bellied sapsucker
Chris Vance
Thanks Brian! Found the tree and the bird if only briefly. It was in the tree with red berries and it dropped below the top of the tan fence. A gardener is now in the yard trimming the tree with red berries.
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Chris
On Mar 5, 2021, at 9:56 AM, Brian Fitch <fogeggs@...> wrote:
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Re: Yellow bellied sapsucker
Brian Fitch
I just spent some quality time with what's likely the former Manor House/Buena Vista sapsucker that I discovered in late 2020. I walked up to Corona before 8, as both previous sightings were during that hour. I hung out for a while in the dirt patch, which is accessed off of 15th, by a narrow walkway west of the tennis courts, then hiked up the very poorly executed trail that meanders up the steep hillside. After more than an hour, I finally sat down on a log which is not far below the upper end of trail, where you have an excellent view of the mostly conifererous grove, and just after 9, the Yellow-bellied flew in from the west and landed in a cypress. It did a little quiet pecking in this and a few other trees, including the big, dead, multi-branched pine, made several fly-catching sorties, and eventually dove down over the dirt patch and into the first yard west of the tennis courts. A large fruit-bearing tree there has many sapsucker wells which can be seen from the dirt patch, but visibility was impossible from the hill, and I left around 9:15. The bird was utterly silent, even as it pecked, flew, and snapped at flying insects. Brian Fitch
On Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at 8:09 AM Rachel Lawrence <Rachelalawrence@...> wrote:
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Re: Fulmar & Shark
Brian Fitch
The facial profile and body-fin proportions of today's shark reminded me of the Great White many of us witnessed on Al Jaramillo's October 2012 trip to the Farallons. But that general gestalt appears, at least in on-line photos, to be shared with other species like Tiger or Mako. So thank you Peter for the seasonal and especially behavioral cues that weren't readily findable on-line. This shark was definitely lunging with mouth agape, and not breaching. Thresher has a very different look than what I saw this morning. Brian
On Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at 3:58 PM Peter Pyle <ppyle@...> wrote: Hi Brian -
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Re: Fulmar & Shark
Alvaro Jaramillo
Hello all, Adding to what Josiah commented, we had foraging frenzies here on Tuesday (here being Half Moon Bay). Gulls, cormorants, and lots of Red-throated Loons. I had not seen Bottlenose Dolphins for some time, and three sightings this week. I was guessing it was anchovy. The fishing folks are telling me that there is also krill being found in stomachs of fish a bit to our south and further offshore. The wind we are getting is April wind, in late Feb early March. Totally in agreement with Josiah, winter is different now. Alvaro
From: SFBirds@groups.io <SFBirds@groups.io> On Behalf Of Josiah Clark
Sent: Thursday, March 4, 2021 7:08 PM To: Peter Pyle <ppyle@...> Cc: Brian Fitch <fogeggs@...>; SF Birds <SFBirds@groups.io> Subject: Re: [SFBirds] Fulmar & Shark
What a cool sighting! I agree with Peter. Several sf birders watched a thresher shark breaching repeatedly at Baker Beach a couple years ago. This was the first ever Inaturalist record for the species for the city. This is a species I see quite often and sometimes hook while Salmon Fishing, sometimes almost hitting the kayak. The one we saw at Baker Beach with small but they can get up to over 1000 pounds I believe.Their massive tail is not always obvious as they jump. I noticed Dominic witnessed a large feeding frenzy just a week ago. Meanwhile my fishing friends caught the first halibut of the season. IIt seems the bait fish season has begun. Thresher sharks are all about bait fish, so no concern for swimmers or surfers. This does mean we have a seriously different ocean on our hands. Basically more anchovies in the winter than anyone’s ever seen, from what I can tell. This is also the reason we are seeing humpback whales in winter, something we never ever used to see. Suddenly I’m thinking about salmon. With every season realizing it could be the last one.
Josiah Clark | Habitat Potential | Consulting Ecologist | 415.317.3978 License #1043929
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Re: Fulmar & Shark
Josiah Clark
What a cool sighting! I agree with Peter. Several sf birders watched a thresher shark breaching repeatedly at Baker Beach a couple years ago. This was the first ever Inaturalist record for the species for the city. This is a species I see quite often and sometimes hook while Salmon Fishing, sometimes almost hitting the kayak. The one we saw at Baker Beach with small but they can get up to over 1000 pounds I believe.Their massive tail is not always obvious as they jump.
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I noticed Dominic witnessed a large feeding frenzy just a week ago. Meanwhile my fishing friends caught the first halibut of the season. IIt seems the bait fish season has begun. Thresher sharks are all about bait fish, so no concern for swimmers or surfers. This does mean we have a seriously different ocean on our hands. Basically more anchovies in the winter than anyone’s ever seen, from what I can tell. This is also the reason we are seeing humpback whales in winter, something we never ever used to see. Suddenly I’m thinking about salmon. With every season realizing it could be the last one.
On Mar 4, 2021, at 3:58 PM, Peter Pyle <ppyle@...> wrote:
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Re: Fulmar & Shark
Peter Pyle
Hi Brian -
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I would guess (tentatively) either thresher shark or white shark based on your description of size and behavior. No other sharks around here typically jump out of the water and many are not gray dorsally. March is the month in which young white sharks (10-12') start practicing preying on mammals and this sort of behavior (often misses) toward just about anything on the surface is expected. Prior to this age they feed on fish. Thresher usually is more of a warm-water species and I've mostly seen them jump in fall rather than spring (and especially might not expect this in a cold-ocean spring such as this one). 10-12' would also be quite large for a thresher. So my leaning would be toward a white shark. Peter
At 02:03 PM 3/4/2021, Brian Fitch wrote:
A motley gray Northern Fulmar flew quite close to the Sutro Baths terrace this morning, the only bird species of note among an exciting set of other oceanic animals.
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Fulmar & Shark
Brian Fitch
A motley gray Northern Fulmar flew quite close to the Sutro Baths terrace this morning, the only bird species of note among an exciting set of other oceanic animals. Bottlenosed Dolphins started the show, at least six of them swam past heading into the Gate around 7:15. What appeared to be the same group returned around 9, and spent some time fishing between me and North Rock. A single distant spout was likely my first Gray Whale of the year, a number of Harbor Porpoise were scattered about, and only one sea lion passed by. The highlight was my first ever shark species seen from land in the city. I was scope scanning a feeding frenzy of gulls and cormorants when I caught a brief but perfect profile view of a shark lunging out of the water at a diagonal. I could see the angular open jaws, the flat head, and the relatively high triangular dorsal fin, but nothing behind that. It appeared to be completely steel gray as far as I could tell at distance, and judging from a nearby Harbor Porpoise and the birds, it was between 10-12 feet in length. I've been looking on-line at different species known to dwell in our waters, but there are several that could match up, and I doubt that I'll be able to ID it exactly. Brian Fitch
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Yellow bellied sapsucker
Rachel Lawrence
Refound yesterday by Rob Cullison continues in dead pine viewable east of dirt patch at end of dog park , Corona Heights. Likely same bird as in Buena Vista you can see the trees in Manor Park from here
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Red-throated Loon at Candlestick Point
Mick Griffin
Also at Candlestick point yesterday this Red-throated Loon molting into breeding plumage, quite close to shore south-east corner..
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CA Thrasher Photo
David Nelson
This is a photo I took at 1:20 am, of the CA Thrasher at Candlestick Point Park about 1:20pm today. It was cooperative if you stood very still.
Good birding! David W. Nelson
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CA Thrasher at Candlestick Point
David Nelson
Still here across from the restroom building at the end of the point (SE).
Good birding! David W. Nelson
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California Thrasher
Chris Vance
I made a mistake by saying the thrasher was on the southwestern side of the spit at Candlestick Pt. Here is where I saw the thrasher: 37.708682, -122.374811. It is southeastern. Chris Vance
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Re: Vireo reports
Adam Winer
As Dominik notes, there are exceedingly few records of any members of the "Solitary" Vireo complex at this time of year. The image attached below is the eBird barcharts for the combined Bay Area counties - you'd conclude from this data that Plumbeous Vireo is equally likely if not more so than Cassin's, but none are likely at all. (No, I'm not suggesting people saw Plumbeous.) And none of those January/February/early March records in eBird are from San Francisco. I can't say that any one of these records is certainly erroneous, but I can say that the notion that *all* of these reports are correct strains credulity. At any rate, the basic rule applies: these would be exceptional records, and therefore they need good documentation. Even if one was seen well enough to confidently identify it as a "Solitary" Vireo, you'd still need careful elimination of both Blue-headed and Plumbeous Vireos. And note that at this time of year, these would all typically be on the dull side, making identification even more challenging. -- Adam Winer
On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 8:22 PM Dominik Mosur <dominikmosur@...> wrote:
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Re: Vireo reports
John,
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A Cassin’s vireo at this time of year in SF would almost certainly be an overwintering bird. While we have a couple of winter records over the years, this seems to me a very normal occurrence of one inexperienced observers making an erroneous report that then convinces other inexperienced observers that’s it’s not time to start reporting the species. This happens every year and is part of the learning process. No harm done.
On Mar 1, 2021, at 19:20, John Facchini <john.facchini@...> wrote:
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Re: California Thrasher continues at Candlestick Park - ACCESS ISSUES
Chris Vance
I saw the California Thrasher this afternoon at 1:15 on the south western corner of the park. Hundreds of ground squirrels at this park which was maddening as they are about the same size as the thrasher. And no raptors in sight. All the best, Chris Vance
On Mon, Mar 1, 2021 at 1:57 PM Robbie Fischer <robbie22@...> wrote:
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Vireo reports
With all due respect to those posting: Regarding these reports of multiple Cassin’s Vireos from multiple locations , please note that over many decades now a typical arrival
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Date for Cassins Vireo in SF is around the first days of April. A few exceptionally early birds have been noted by the third week of March. Cassin’s vireos winter in Mexico. There’s typically a pulse of migrants noted in SoCal before we start seeing them up here. Good birding, Dominik
On Mar 1, 2021, at 10:40, Ken Moy <ken.moy62@...> wrote:
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Re: California Thrasher continues at Candlestick Park - ACCESS ISSUES
Robbie Fischer
Joe Morlan and I tried to visit Candlestick Park this morning to look for the thrasher. We were unaware that all parking lots are closed and dilapidated RV'S and other vehicles line Hunter's Point Expressway in front of the park. We were uncomfortable parking our car for fear it would be vandalized so we did not stay. Just a heads up for anyone trying for the California Thrasher. Robbie Fischer Pacifica
On Sunday, February 28, 2021, 01:45:07 PM PST, David Assmann via groups.io <david_assmann@...> wrote:
The CALIFORNIA THRASHER found Thursday at Candlestick Park continues this morning. It was almost at the end of the spit in the south eastern corner of the park. _._,_._,_
-- Robbie Fischer Pacifica, CA
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Cassin's vireos in Oak Woodlands @ GGP
Ken Moy
Hi all, 2 Cassin's vireos (1 seen, 2 heard) on Oak Woodlands on the wooden box steps leading to Stanyan and Fulton. Good birding. Ken Moy
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Cassin's vireo by Middle Lake
Loretta
Hi Folks, I saw a Cassin's vireo yesterday morning, around 9:15 am. It was in the tall pines in the meadow south of Middle Lake, directly in front of the parking lot. Two Townsends were foraging in the general area as well. Clear spectacles, a short rising call. It flitted around for about 15 minutes, then disappeared. I wasn't able to refind it. Apologies for the delayed report. Good birding, Loretta
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