At the end of May, Mary and I spent three lovely days near Sierra City with Bob Power and his merry band of birders. Thanks to their eagle eyes and kind cooperation, I was able to see and photograph some excellent birds up in the mountains. As always, the Sierra in summer is vibrant and gorgeous.
See the full set of pictures here
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Texas 2008 Birding and Photography Trip In Progress
Hello all,
Our 2008 trip to the Rio Grande Valley is underway, take a look at this set of photos on flickr for the results as I process them in the field; more detailed notes to follow after we get back
Our 2008 trip to the Rio Grande Valley is underway, take a look at this set of photos on flickr for the results as I process them in the field; more detailed notes to follow after we get back
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Announcing the Bird Walker 2008 Wall Calendar
I'm pleased to announce that my 2008 wall calendar is ready! Each month features plenty of space for writing appointments plus one of twelve images I made this year while traveling from the marshes of Florida to the alpine meadows of the Canadian Rockies.
If you don't mind spoilers, you can look at a web preview of the artwork, or read these liner notes.
This calendar does make an excellent gift! If you're in the bay area, you can buy them from me directly, send email for more information. If you're out east or would like a calendar shipped directly, please visit my cafepress store.
Note: friends and family should watch their mailboxes for a copy accompanying the christmas letter, like last year.
Friday, November 30, 2007
December, Laughing Gull
Captiva Island, Florida [taken December 2006]
East-coast birders are very familiar with the Laughing Gull, but California birders like me find them fresh and intriguing. The black legs and black bill indicate that this bird is in non-breeding winter plumage. On the sandy beach of Captiva island, with the beautiful blue Gulf of Mexico in the background and puffy clouds overhead, this day sums up the best I can hope for myself and for you in 2008; many wonderful days spent outdoors in the presence of beautiful birds and gorgeous weather.
East-coast birders are very familiar with the Laughing Gull, but California birders like me find them fresh and intriguing. The black legs and black bill indicate that this bird is in non-breeding winter plumage. On the sandy beach of Captiva island, with the beautiful blue Gulf of Mexico in the background and puffy clouds overhead, this day sums up the best I can hope for myself and for you in 2008; many wonderful days spent outdoors in the presence of beautiful birds and gorgeous weather.
November, Acorn Woodpeckers
Guadelupe Oak Grove Park, San Jose, California [taken August 2007]
Acorn Woodpecker colonies gather and store acorns in granary trees. Each of the thousands of acorn they collect has to be fit into the proper-sized hole for the long winter. As the acorns dry, the woodpeckers move the shrinking acorns to smaller holes to keep them from falling out. Acorn Woodpeckers use a hard surface, such as the top of a tree limb or a wooden light post as an anvil to crack open the dry acorns and eat them at times when insects are not readily available. I love the clown-like facial coloring of the Acorn Woodpeckers, especially the round black patch surrounding the bill. In this photo, a male sits a the top of the tree while the female (identified by the black patch on the crown of her head) lands on the same tree, carrying an acorn in her bill.
Acorn Woodpecker colonies gather and store acorns in granary trees. Each of the thousands of acorn they collect has to be fit into the proper-sized hole for the long winter. As the acorns dry, the woodpeckers move the shrinking acorns to smaller holes to keep them from falling out. Acorn Woodpeckers use a hard surface, such as the top of a tree limb or a wooden light post as an anvil to crack open the dry acorns and eat them at times when insects are not readily available. I love the clown-like facial coloring of the Acorn Woodpeckers, especially the round black patch surrounding the bill. In this photo, a male sits a the top of the tree while the female (identified by the black patch on the crown of her head) lands on the same tree, carrying an acorn in her bill.
October, Spotted Towhee
Mount Umunum Road, Los Gatos, California [taken May 2007]
I drove the 35 windy miles to Mount Umunhum in Spring 2007 searching for a Black-chinned Sparrow. It was a lonely, foggy morning at the top of the mountain and I shot photos of several other birds while hunting for the sparrow. One special treat was seeing this Spotted Towhee at the top of a bush. "Spotties" are notorious skulkers, more often heard than seen, but it seemed the birds allowed me to approach more closely in the dense fog of this early morning. Singing is a full-body experience with this bird, and his manic, red eye increases the intensity of the moment.
I drove the 35 windy miles to Mount Umunhum in Spring 2007 searching for a Black-chinned Sparrow. It was a lonely, foggy morning at the top of the mountain and I shot photos of several other birds while hunting for the sparrow. One special treat was seeing this Spotted Towhee at the top of a bush. "Spotties" are notorious skulkers, more often heard than seen, but it seemed the birds allowed me to approach more closely in the dense fog of this early morning. Singing is a full-body experience with this bird, and his manic, red eye increases the intensity of the moment.
September, American Goldfinch
Half Moon Bay, California [taken October 2007]
American Goldfinches are a common subject for photographers and artists in their bright yellow summer plumage, but their subtle winter feathering is equally beautiful and a good sign of the changing seasons. A flock of goldfinches were feeding in thistles near the entrance to Venice Beach in Half Moon Bay. When the flock flew off, I set up my camera to wait for their return. The muted backdrop of dry grasses is another sign that we are entering fall and ready for the winter rains to come refresh the landscape.
American Goldfinches are a common subject for photographers and artists in their bright yellow summer plumage, but their subtle winter feathering is equally beautiful and a good sign of the changing seasons. A flock of goldfinches were feeding in thistles near the entrance to Venice Beach in Half Moon Bay. When the flock flew off, I set up my camera to wait for their return. The muted backdrop of dry grasses is another sign that we are entering fall and ready for the winter rains to come refresh the landscape.
August, Tufted Puffin
Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Bodega Bay [September 2007]
Tufted Puffins wear jaunty breeding plumage from April to September. At the time of this photo, the bird is shifting into winter plumage,when his entire head will be grey-black and his yellow cere (the skin where the bill meets the head ) will turn black to match the head. Our ocean-going birding trip in September out of Bodega Bay with Shearwater Journeys had amazingly calm seas and overcast skies, which allowed me to keep shooting all day. When we found this puffin on the water, the captain cut the engines and allowed us to drift close to the bird -- so close we could see the bird's feet under the surface of the ocean. The two furrows in the bird's upper mandible indicate that this bird is 3-4 years old and will reach sexual maturity in the next year or so.
Tufted Puffins wear jaunty breeding plumage from April to September. At the time of this photo, the bird is shifting into winter plumage,when his entire head will be grey-black and his yellow cere (the skin where the bill meets the head ) will turn black to match the head. Our ocean-going birding trip in September out of Bodega Bay with Shearwater Journeys had amazingly calm seas and overcast skies, which allowed me to keep shooting all day. When we found this puffin on the water, the captain cut the engines and allowed us to drift close to the bird -- so close we could see the bird's feet under the surface of the ocean. The two furrows in the bird's upper mandible indicate that this bird is 3-4 years old and will reach sexual maturity in the next year or so.
July, White-tailed Ptarmigan
Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada [July 2007]
We traveled to Canada in summer 2007 with Paradise Birding, on a trip led by Steve Shunk and David Wimpfheimer. This was our only day above the treeline at Jasper National Park. We walked from the tramway terminus up a gently-sloping path around the mountain, where we found a female Ptarmigan with her brood. Higher up, at the very top of the mountain, we found 3 males in close proximity. As you can imagine, we were all very excited about this moment and tried contain our enthusiasm so as not to frighten the (nearly oblivious) birds. The ptarmigan males did not really respond to our presence -- they seemed more interested in posturing for each other, taking dustbaths and short naps. Their half-white, half-speckled summer plumage is perfect camouflage for their summer habitat among mossy rocks with splotches the same color as the bird. Photographing these birds was an intense emotional experience, made more intense by a mysterious problem with my camera. As the ptarmigan males ran towards me, my camera refused to take any shots, and I nearly threw it off the mountain! Afterwards, I spent a few quiet moments just observing the birds, freed of the need to make photographs and just able to enjoy them.
We traveled to Canada in summer 2007 with Paradise Birding, on a trip led by Steve Shunk and David Wimpfheimer. This was our only day above the treeline at Jasper National Park. We walked from the tramway terminus up a gently-sloping path around the mountain, where we found a female Ptarmigan with her brood. Higher up, at the very top of the mountain, we found 3 males in close proximity. As you can imagine, we were all very excited about this moment and tried contain our enthusiasm so as not to frighten the (nearly oblivious) birds. The ptarmigan males did not really respond to our presence -- they seemed more interested in posturing for each other, taking dustbaths and short naps. Their half-white, half-speckled summer plumage is perfect camouflage for their summer habitat among mossy rocks with splotches the same color as the bird. Photographing these birds was an intense emotional experience, made more intense by a mysterious problem with my camera. As the ptarmigan males ran towards me, my camera refused to take any shots, and I nearly threw it off the mountain! Afterwards, I spent a few quiet moments just observing the birds, freed of the need to make photographs and just able to enjoy them.
June, Western Scrub Jay
Hidden Villa, Los Altos, CA [June 2007]
As a member of the Bay Area Bird Photographers, I keep up with hot tips posted on our local email list. This cherry tree at Hidden Villa was mentioned on our list as providing both an abundant food source and a beautiful photographic backdrop for robins, jays and grosbeaks, who seemed to take turns at the tree, giving me a chance to photograph each one, like students lining up for yearbook pictures. The California scrub-jay is intensely blue and white, where the interior race is much more muted in color.
As a member of the Bay Area Bird Photographers, I keep up with hot tips posted on our local email list. This cherry tree at Hidden Villa was mentioned on our list as providing both an abundant food source and a beautiful photographic backdrop for robins, jays and grosbeaks, who seemed to take turns at the tree, giving me a chance to photograph each one, like students lining up for yearbook pictures. The California scrub-jay is intensely blue and white, where the interior race is much more muted in color.
May: Yellow-headed Blackbird in flight
Sierra Valley, CA [taken June 2007]
This is a moment captured from our first summer birding trip in the Sierra, led by the inestimable Bob Power. We parked at a bend in the road through a marshy/agricultural area and walked back towards the main concentration of reeds. Yellow-headed blackbirds were flying, perched, feeding, interacting all around us. Their calls are nasal, chirpy, and even buzzy like a log going through a sawmill, so different from the Red-winged blackbirds we hear in our local marshes. This shot shows a lot about the anatomy of a bird -- look at the way the breast muscles are activated when the wings are fully extended behind the bird, ready to provide air braking for the imminent landing in the reeds.
This is a moment captured from our first summer birding trip in the Sierra, led by the inestimable Bob Power. We parked at a bend in the road through a marshy/agricultural area and walked back towards the main concentration of reeds. Yellow-headed blackbirds were flying, perched, feeding, interacting all around us. Their calls are nasal, chirpy, and even buzzy like a log going through a sawmill, so different from the Red-winged blackbirds we hear in our local marshes. This shot shows a lot about the anatomy of a bird -- look at the way the breast muscles are activated when the wings are fully extended behind the bird, ready to provide air braking for the imminent landing in the reeds.
April, Great Egret
Captiva Island, Florida [taken December 2006]
Captiva is an exclusive beach community just beyond Sanibel Island. Formerly, it was an independent island, but it has largely become attached to Sanibel by a roadway and silt. We arrived about 10 am, after a visit to Ding Darling NWR. The public beach was lined with fishermen casting into the surf and the herons were sticking near the fishermen to grab any cast off bait or small-fry that might be tossed aside. Our photo group took advantage off the habits these birds have learned from close association with the fishermen -- tossing a few bait fish in the direction which gave the most pleasing background for the photo. Great Egrets are found in most coastal and southern states. They are stately and zen-like with their dramatically contrasting black legs, white plumage and yellow bills.
Captiva is an exclusive beach community just beyond Sanibel Island. Formerly, it was an independent island, but it has largely become attached to Sanibel by a roadway and silt. We arrived about 10 am, after a visit to Ding Darling NWR. The public beach was lined with fishermen casting into the surf and the herons were sticking near the fishermen to grab any cast off bait or small-fry that might be tossed aside. Our photo group took advantage off the habits these birds have learned from close association with the fishermen -- tossing a few bait fish in the direction which gave the most pleasing background for the photo. Great Egrets are found in most coastal and southern states. They are stately and zen-like with their dramatically contrasting black legs, white plumage and yellow bills.
March, Short-billed Dowitcher
Radio Road pond, Foster City, California [taken April 2007]
The pond at the very end of Radio Road is a great location for photography. it has great afternoon light and the photographer can creep right down to the water's edge. Getting down at eye level with the birds helps you see the world from their view point. Dowitchers spend most of their time in the water, "probing the ground with a sewing-machine like motion" so it was a real treat to see this bird fully out of the water. If you look closely, you can see partial webbing between the toes of both feet. The breeding colors and the bunchy posture give this bird a lot of personality. Identifying dowitcher species is tough, but in breeding plumage the spotting pattern on the breast and sides plus the extensive white on the underparts make this bird a Short-billed (Thanks to Al Jaramillo and Stephanie Ellis for help with this identification).
The pond at the very end of Radio Road is a great location for photography. it has great afternoon light and the photographer can creep right down to the water's edge. Getting down at eye level with the birds helps you see the world from their view point. Dowitchers spend most of their time in the water, "probing the ground with a sewing-machine like motion" so it was a real treat to see this bird fully out of the water. If you look closely, you can see partial webbing between the toes of both feet. The breeding colors and the bunchy posture give this bird a lot of personality. Identifying dowitcher species is tough, but in breeding plumage the spotting pattern on the breast and sides plus the extensive white on the underparts make this bird a Short-billed (Thanks to Al Jaramillo and Stephanie Ellis for help with this identification).
February: Allen's Hummingbird
Presidio of San Francisco, California [taken March 2007]
Photographing wildlife in the park areas of The Presidio is a bit surreal -- surrounded by the busy city of San Francisco, the open landscape of The Presidio provides small oases for migrating birds, like this Allen's hummingbird, drinking from a spring in the park. On the weekday morning when I shot this male Allen's, Ashok Khosla and I had the park pretty much to ourselves, except for the occasional dog walker passing the spring where the hummingbirds had stopped to drink. Distinguishing this "orange rumped" Allen's from a "green-backed" Rufous hummingbird relies on other photos in the series, where we can see that his outer tail feathers are narrow and pin-like.
Photographing wildlife in the park areas of The Presidio is a bit surreal -- surrounded by the busy city of San Francisco, the open landscape of The Presidio provides small oases for migrating birds, like this Allen's hummingbird, drinking from a spring in the park. On the weekday morning when I shot this male Allen's, Ashok Khosla and I had the park pretty much to ourselves, except for the occasional dog walker passing the spring where the hummingbirds had stopped to drink. Distinguishing this "orange rumped" Allen's from a "green-backed" Rufous hummingbird relies on other photos in the series, where we can see that his outer tail feathers are narrow and pin-like.
January, Burrowing Owl
suburban Cape Coral, Florida [taken December 2006]
This owl is in trouble in Florida just as he is in California -- Burrowing Owl habitat is highly sought-after for development and the owls are strongly faithful to specific burrow sites, so it is difficult to relocate them as their habitat is consumed. Although I think of this as a California bird, it can be found in Florida, Texas and other southern states. The eyes of the Florida birds I photographed were much brighter and more saturated than their west coast cousins. Reflected in this bird's you see the rooflines of the suburban houses and other structures surrounding the burrow. Fortunately, the white flowers in this abandoned field make a pleasant setting.
This owl is in trouble in Florida just as he is in California -- Burrowing Owl habitat is highly sought-after for development and the owls are strongly faithful to specific burrow sites, so it is difficult to relocate them as their habitat is consumed. Although I think of this as a California bird, it can be found in Florida, Texas and other southern states. The eyes of the Florida birds I photographed were much brighter and more saturated than their west coast cousins. Reflected in this bird's you see the rooflines of the suburban houses and other structures surrounding the burrow. Fortunately, the white flowers in this abandoned field make a pleasant setting.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Many Questions at Lake Merritt
(1) The first and most pressing of which was, "Where is the Tufted Duck?" There had been email reports of Tufted Duck in the week leading up to our visit, but we were unable to locate any Tufted Ducks among what must have been 1,000 scaup on the lake.
(2) Whose feet are these? It's not a really hard quiz for those who have birded around here, especially if you peek at the tail feathers.
(3) What duck is this? I had a diagnosis in mind while I was shooting this ambiguous brown female duck, and the more I looked at it afterwards I realized it was an usual bird.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Hunting for Warblers
Following a hot tip from fellow photographer Tom Grey, Ashok and I set out to find some warblers in the fennel around Palo Alto Duck Pond. On our second lap around the trail behind the ranger house, we had a good flock of warblers and sparrows and some nice light.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Gallinago Go Go's California Fall Challenge
Today we went with Lisa Myers on a fundraising Big Day trip as part of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory California Fall Challenge.
First stop of the day was Zmudowski State Beach. This out-of-the way approach road, many birds were seen on the drive to the beach. A Virginia Rail responded to a single taped call by flying across the entire pond directly toward us, landing at our feet.
Our sightings for Moss Landing State Beach include birds seen from the Moss Landing Marina as well as Jetty Road. The group was very excited to see six Snowy Plovers roosting quietly on the beach.
At Moonglow Dairy, we drove in through blackbird flocks, scoped nearby ponds for shorebirds, briefly checked edges of Eucalyptus grove. Circling Golden Eagle harassed by Red-tailed Hawks and Pectoral Sandpiper were the highlights of this stop.
Our lunch stop was the Embassay Suites hotel parking lot, where we immediately found the roosting Peregrine Falcon in the 'S' of the hotel logo. We showed it to a variety of hotel guests before moving to the lagoon.
After lunch we drove to Jacks Peak, which was very quiet. We worked hard to get seven woodland species in return for our $20 admission fee, a pricey $3 per bird.
The only target bird for this trip was the California Condor, so we made a beeline for the area south of Andrew Molera, stopping only to pick up Pelagic Cormorant and Black Oystercatcher on the rocky coast below highway one. South of Big Sur Station, Harold said to Lisa, "What's that?" We pulled off to investigate a large perched bird with no feathers on its head. It was clearly a Condor perched on a snag. While watching this bird, other team members found four more Condors circling the ridge line to the south. Great views were had by all.
Last bird of the day was the Great Horned Owl on Dolan Road in near total darkness. Preliminary tally is 108 species in Monterey County. Thanks, Lisa, for an excellent day!
First stop of the day was Zmudowski State Beach. This out-of-the way approach road, many birds were seen on the drive to the beach. A Virginia Rail responded to a single taped call by flying across the entire pond directly toward us, landing at our feet.
Our sightings for Moss Landing State Beach include birds seen from the Moss Landing Marina as well as Jetty Road. The group was very excited to see six Snowy Plovers roosting quietly on the beach.
At Moonglow Dairy, we drove in through blackbird flocks, scoped nearby ponds for shorebirds, briefly checked edges of Eucalyptus grove. Circling Golden Eagle harassed by Red-tailed Hawks and Pectoral Sandpiper were the highlights of this stop.
Our lunch stop was the Embassay Suites hotel parking lot, where we immediately found the roosting Peregrine Falcon in the 'S' of the hotel logo. We showed it to a variety of hotel guests before moving to the lagoon.
After lunch we drove to Jacks Peak, which was very quiet. We worked hard to get seven woodland species in return for our $20 admission fee, a pricey $3 per bird.
The only target bird for this trip was the California Condor, so we made a beeline for the area south of Andrew Molera, stopping only to pick up Pelagic Cormorant and Black Oystercatcher on the rocky coast below highway one. South of Big Sur Station, Harold said to Lisa, "What's that?" We pulled off to investigate a large perched bird with no feathers on its head. It was clearly a Condor perched on a snag. While watching this bird, other team members found four more Condors circling the ridge line to the south. Great views were had by all.
Last bird of the day was the Great Horned Owl on Dolan Road in near total darkness. Preliminary tally is 108 species in Monterey County. Thanks, Lisa, for an excellent day!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Half Moon Bay en fuego
All the cool kids with their big lenses are heading down to Blufftop Park on Popular Street in Half Moon Bay, where a irruption year for Meadow Voles is leading to a really big population of Red-tailed Hawks, White-tailed Kites, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels. Go over to flickr to see some cool midair shots of Kites duelling. The shot of the day, though, was this American Goldfinch showing its non-breeding plumage to great effect.
More pictures here.
More pictures here.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Notes from an Alameda County Big Day
On September 23rd, our three person crew met up in Bob's driveway at 2:30 AM with the goal of seeing as many bird species as possible in Alameda County in one day. By 2:55 we had our first bird: Great Horned Owl calling at Redwood Regional Park. At 8 pm we wrapped up with bird #128, a Common Tern at Berkeley Marina. Our first warbler of the day, found at Del Valle Regional Park, turned out to be the bird that
followed us throughout the county -- Yellow Warbler. On reveiwing the ABA rules, we find that we can count our 3 partially seen birds for a Grand Total of 131 species or 52.610% of Alameda County.
(note: for full details see birdwalker.)
Site-by-site notes
Our itinerary was heavily researched and frequently rearranged during the four weeks between coming up with the idea to do a big day and our chosen date -- chosen because it was the only free day in our calendars inside the SFBBO Fall Challenge period. We'll be using these notes to enter our total in the Fall Challenge contest and for planning our next Alameda Big Day.
2:55 - 4:15 am - Redwood Regional Park
Much quiet listening and tape playing only turned up two owl species - Great Horned (between 2 and 6 individuals) and Western Screech (4 individuals). A slow start.
4:45 - 5:40 Arrowhead Marsh
Walking in the back way let us look at Black-crowned Night-heron, Mallard, Mourning Dove and Great Egret in the dark on our way to the Rail Spot, where both Clapper & Virginia Rail obliged, but Sora and (elusive?) Black Rail did not.
6:45 - 7:00 Mines Road
A quick pullout turned up California Thrasher and Rufous-crowned Sparrow. One of our biggest scouting successes was knowing where to go to get these dry, interior species quickly.
7:00 - 8:30 Del Valle Regional Park
A great spot for dawn - and we chose the specific stop inside the park based on email sent to the EBB mailing list the night before. Our "species per hour" average jumped way up, as we entered Del Valle with 21 species (that's four per hour) and left at 8:30 with 53 (slightly over ten per hour). Specialties of the location were : Wilson's Snipe, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Spotted Sandpiper, Osprey, Yellow-billed Magpie and Green Heron.
8:45 - 9:00 - Murietta's Well
This quick stop for a specialty bird did not go as planned. We left without the Eurasian Collared Dove, but traded that miss for a Western Tanager. And Yellow Warblers.
9:15 - 9:30 - Owl Road
Another great scouting success - knowing where to find a Burrowing Owl, Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike and (possible) Golden Eagle was very helpful in picking up 6 species in about 15 minutes. Onward!
9:55 - 10:10 - Tassajara Creek park
Reported on EBB, this park was another quick dive into known birds, turning up two good warblers and a House Sparrow.
11:00 - 1:30 pm - Frank's Dump
Eucalpytus / bushes around the parking lot had a Lincoln's Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, more Yellow Warblers, and a White-Crowned sparrow.
The large pond south of the parking lot obliged with a couple of duck species we hadn't gotten at Del Valle - Greater Scaup, Ruddy Duck, and Northern Pintail - along with an Eared Grebe.
The long walk out to the main shorebird roost was wearing -- some of us were dragging a bit by this time. But the payoff was *huge* with large flocks of Western Sandpiper and Black-bellied Plover harboring small numbers of Sanderling (10ish), Ruddy Turnstone (3), Black Turnstone (1), Red Knot (20?), and Surfbird (1). Hundreds of Marbled Godwit scanned failed to turn into Long-billed Curlews. On the walk back, we heard, but never saw, Horned Larks on top of the active trash heap and Bob spotted a single fly-by Whimbrel. We probably spent more time than we should have trying to spot the Horned Larks, but they were soooooo annoying close and vocal, it was hard to resist
2 pm - 3:30 pm Coyote Hills
The butterfly garden had a Western Woodpewee and American but not Lesser Goldfinches (a miss for the day). An adult Cooper's Hawk landed on a pole just beyond the gardens and there wasn't much feeder action after that! Rock Wren failed to appear on our way out to the ducks overlook, but Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, and Common Moorhen were located amongst hundreds of eclipse Northern Pintails -- and seen by Bob & Bill but missed by Mary, rats! The arrival of a Lark Sparrow (once again, credit to Bob!) was a consolation prize.
3:50 - 4:15 - San Leandro Marina
Drove up to San Leandro and found the Pectoral Sandpiper which Bob had discovered while scouting the day before. The sandpiper was on the island breakwater, but the tide was so low at this point that the "island" was acessible to the humans, and no terns were hanging around.
4:30 - 5:00 - Alameda shore
Parked near the beach at Alameda South shore, where Bob spotted two Elegant Terns heading away -- which Bill & Mary could not pick up. Picked up Long-billed Curlew, but no Sora. Elected to cut this stop short in order to return to the redwoods, since our "likely" list had 8 redwood species left on it.
5:30 - 6:30 - Chabot observatory
Another highly successful stop brought morale back up after a mid-afternoon slump amongst the smaller animals in the expedition. In 10 minutes, we picked up Townsend's Warbler, Pygmy Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Steller's Jay, Brown Creeper, and Hairy Woodpecker in the first 10 feet of the trail. Only Mary saw the Band-tailed Pigeon flyover, so we can't count that on the list, but another 15 minutes' work brought us Red-breasted Nuthatch and Hutton's Vireo. A second stop for chaparral netted us a Wrentit. Now we were at 127 species and had our eyes on 130. We dashed back to the shore to try our luck.
7:00 - 7:45 pm - Cesar Chavez Park
We headed north along the road towards Cesar Chavez park near Berkeley Marina. There was one Clark's Grebe visible in the water -- but none of our hoped for comormants or scoters. We did find at least one Common Tern, but were unable to scare up the Barn Owl from the kite flying park. We had to close our day with 128 species. A more energetic team would surely have tried another stop for Pelagic Cormorant or maybe Sora back at Arrowhead, to boost the total, but we were cooked on both sides and had to call it a night.
Our day ends with 128 species for the team - a perfect square - and a feeling that we did "pretty well" for our first Alameda Big Day, but we want another shot!
POSTSCRIPT: A big day is not over until the list is discussed & retallied at length and the rules reviewed. ABA Big Day rules allow species to be included in the Grand Total even if they are not seen by all observers. We had five species in that category -- Elegant Tern, Black-headed Grosbeak, Common Moorhen, Violet-green Swallow and Band-tailed Pigeon -- and a review of the rules shows that these all count, not just the ones seen by a majority of ht team. We were allowed 6 species not seen by the whole team -- so all 5 of our "partials" count. This increases our total to 131 for the trip and that's the total we will be reporting to SFBBO.
Totals:
Bob Power: 126 + VIGSWA + ELETER + COMMOO = 129
Bill Walker: 126 + COMMOO = 127
Mary Wisnewski: 126 + VIGSWA + BATPIG + BKHGRO = 129
Grand Total: 131
Percentage: 52.610% of 249 species in Alameda County
followed us throughout the county -- Yellow Warbler. On reveiwing the ABA rules, we find that we can count our 3 partially seen birds for a Grand Total of 131 species or 52.610% of Alameda County.
(note: for full details see birdwalker.)
Site-by-site notes
Our itinerary was heavily researched and frequently rearranged during the four weeks between coming up with the idea to do a big day and our chosen date -- chosen because it was the only free day in our calendars inside the SFBBO Fall Challenge period. We'll be using these notes to enter our total in the Fall Challenge contest and for planning our next Alameda Big Day.
2:55 - 4:15 am - Redwood Regional Park
Much quiet listening and tape playing only turned up two owl species - Great Horned (between 2 and 6 individuals) and Western Screech (4 individuals). A slow start.
4:45 - 5:40 Arrowhead Marsh
Walking in the back way let us look at Black-crowned Night-heron, Mallard, Mourning Dove and Great Egret in the dark on our way to the Rail Spot, where both Clapper & Virginia Rail obliged, but Sora and (elusive?) Black Rail did not.
6:45 - 7:00 Mines Road
A quick pullout turned up California Thrasher and Rufous-crowned Sparrow. One of our biggest scouting successes was knowing where to go to get these dry, interior species quickly.
7:00 - 8:30 Del Valle Regional Park
A great spot for dawn - and we chose the specific stop inside the park based on email sent to the EBB mailing list the night before. Our "species per hour" average jumped way up, as we entered Del Valle with 21 species (that's four per hour) and left at 8:30 with 53 (slightly over ten per hour). Specialties of the location were : Wilson's Snipe, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Spotted Sandpiper, Osprey, Yellow-billed Magpie and Green Heron.
8:45 - 9:00 - Murietta's Well
This quick stop for a specialty bird did not go as planned. We left without the Eurasian Collared Dove, but traded that miss for a Western Tanager. And Yellow Warblers.
9:15 - 9:30 - Owl Road
Another great scouting success - knowing where to find a Burrowing Owl, Say's Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike and (possible) Golden Eagle was very helpful in picking up 6 species in about 15 minutes. Onward!
9:55 - 10:10 - Tassajara Creek park
Reported on EBB, this park was another quick dive into known birds, turning up two good warblers and a House Sparrow.
11:00 - 1:30 pm - Frank's Dump
Eucalpytus / bushes around the parking lot had a Lincoln's Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, more Yellow Warblers, and a White-Crowned sparrow.
The large pond south of the parking lot obliged with a couple of duck species we hadn't gotten at Del Valle - Greater Scaup, Ruddy Duck, and Northern Pintail - along with an Eared Grebe.
The long walk out to the main shorebird roost was wearing -- some of us were dragging a bit by this time. But the payoff was *huge* with large flocks of Western Sandpiper and Black-bellied Plover harboring small numbers of Sanderling (10ish), Ruddy Turnstone (3), Black Turnstone (1), Red Knot (20?), and Surfbird (1). Hundreds of Marbled Godwit scanned failed to turn into Long-billed Curlews. On the walk back, we heard, but never saw, Horned Larks on top of the active trash heap and Bob spotted a single fly-by Whimbrel. We probably spent more time than we should have trying to spot the Horned Larks, but they were soooooo annoying close and vocal, it was hard to resist
2 pm - 3:30 pm Coyote Hills
The butterfly garden had a Western Woodpewee and American but not Lesser Goldfinches (a miss for the day). An adult Cooper's Hawk landed on a pole just beyond the gardens and there wasn't much feeder action after that! Rock Wren failed to appear on our way out to the ducks overlook, but Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, and Common Moorhen were located amongst hundreds of eclipse Northern Pintails -- and seen by Bob & Bill but missed by Mary, rats! The arrival of a Lark Sparrow (once again, credit to Bob!) was a consolation prize.
3:50 - 4:15 - San Leandro Marina
Drove up to San Leandro and found the Pectoral Sandpiper which Bob had discovered while scouting the day before. The sandpiper was on the island breakwater, but the tide was so low at this point that the "island" was acessible to the humans, and no terns were hanging around.
4:30 - 5:00 - Alameda shore
Parked near the beach at Alameda South shore, where Bob spotted two Elegant Terns heading away -- which Bill & Mary could not pick up. Picked up Long-billed Curlew, but no Sora. Elected to cut this stop short in order to return to the redwoods, since our "likely" list had 8 redwood species left on it.
5:30 - 6:30 - Chabot observatory
Another highly successful stop brought morale back up after a mid-afternoon slump amongst the smaller animals in the expedition. In 10 minutes, we picked up Townsend's Warbler, Pygmy Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Steller's Jay, Brown Creeper, and Hairy Woodpecker in the first 10 feet of the trail. Only Mary saw the Band-tailed Pigeon flyover, so we can't count that on the list, but another 15 minutes' work brought us Red-breasted Nuthatch and Hutton's Vireo. A second stop for chaparral netted us a Wrentit. Now we were at 127 species and had our eyes on 130. We dashed back to the shore to try our luck.
7:00 - 7:45 pm - Cesar Chavez Park
We headed north along the road towards Cesar Chavez park near Berkeley Marina. There was one Clark's Grebe visible in the water -- but none of our hoped for comormants or scoters. We did find at least one Common Tern, but were unable to scare up the Barn Owl from the kite flying park. We had to close our day with 128 species. A more energetic team would surely have tried another stop for Pelagic Cormorant or maybe Sora back at Arrowhead, to boost the total, but we were cooked on both sides and had to call it a night.
Our day ends with 128 species for the team - a perfect square - and a feeling that we did "pretty well" for our first Alameda Big Day, but we want another shot!
POSTSCRIPT: A big day is not over until the list is discussed & retallied at length and the rules reviewed. ABA Big Day rules allow species to be included in the Grand Total even if they are not seen by all observers. We had five species in that category -- Elegant Tern, Black-headed Grosbeak, Common Moorhen, Violet-green Swallow and Band-tailed Pigeon -- and a review of the rules shows that these all count, not just the ones seen by a majority of ht team. We were allowed 6 species not seen by the whole team -- so all 5 of our "partials" count. This increases our total to 131 for the trip and that's the total we will be reporting to SFBBO.
Totals:
Bob Power: 126 + VIGSWA + ELETER + COMMOO = 129
Bill Walker: 126 + COMMOO = 127
Mary Wisnewski: 126 + VIGSWA + BATPIG + BKHGRO = 129
Grand Total: 131
Percentage: 52.610% of 249 species in Alameda County
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