East Bay Birding - Sightings

Dec. 17 Oakland CBC Feederwatch: Helping Science from the Comfort of Your Home

Devote 15+ minutes to the good of science and sign up to participate in the FeederWatch portion of the Oakland Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, December 17! If you have a bird feeder or an area by your home that birds frequent such as trees or other plants, and can spare at least 15 minutes (longer is even better), help us count the birds that are within our count circle. The Oakland count circle stretches from El Cerrito to San Leandro and from the Bay to Moraga. Virtually every year there's a bird species that a feeder watcher spies that eludes the rest of the volunteers tramping over hill and dale on the Christmas Bird Count.  And even if you don't see a relative rarity, it's important to get as much coverage as possible of the birds that are here, including in residential areas.  Scientists regularly use the data provided to eBird by "community scientists" (i.e., regular folk like you and me that enjoy looking at our feathered friends).  Plus, for feeder watchers participating in the Oakland Christmas Count, if you're uncomfortable using eBird, we'll put the data in for you! Registration is open through this Sunday, December 3 at https://goldengatebirdalliance.org/birding-resources/birding-information/christmas-bird-counts/

Last Chance for a 2023 Oakland CBC Sighting - Dec. 3 Deadline

Registration closes TOMORROW, DEC. 3, to sign up for the 2023 Oakland Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  There's virtually always a rarity -- or a few -- that are found during the CBC which will take place on Sunday Dec. 17.  Enjoy the thrill of the hunt, while doing your bit for science in helping to document our local bird population.  Plus, it's just great fun to participate with your fellow bird enthusiasts.  Or, if you prefer to contribute your efforts from the comfort of your home and have 15-plus minutes to spare, register for the FeederWatch portion of the CBC. Sign up now for both the Christmas Bird Count and the count-down dinner, too, if you can make it)! Registration and more info:   Christmas Bird Counts – Golden Gate Bird Alliance




Red-breasted Nuthatch, Alamo

Good morning birders!
 
Not a huge find, but only the second appearance of a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the yard in nearly 20 years here. Noisy little guy. The large flock of Pine Siskins is still here. Waiting for Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks to show up ;-) .
 
Best,
 
Steve Hutchcraft
Alamo

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Today there was a male yellow bellied sapsucker at queen of heaven cemetery in unincorporated Lafayette.

Location was high in a mature oak at the edge of the cemetery property along Reliez Valley Road south of Ariey Lane and adjacent to a secondary gated drive lane into the cemetery. Oak trunk is adjacent to the white sign that reads “Diocese of Oakland Youth Retreat Center”.

Jeff Acuff.
Lafayette.


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Good Birding,
Jeff Acuff. Lafayette

Re: Identification perils

Sam,

Its a common mistake to make, so don’t sweat it. You’ve learned a valuable lesson on white cheeked Surf Scoters that you’ll always remember and that’s a good thing.

John

John Sterling
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA 95695

PO Box 1653
Woodland, CA 95776A

530 908-3836
jsterling@...
www.sterlingbirds.com

Re: Identification perils

Sam,

Thanks for sharing your experience here. Scoters (and many other ocean birds) are a lot more difficult to id than it may seem at first, especially when difficult viewing conditions are taken into consideration. Plumage differences are often difficult to see and can be misleading, as in this case. Structure is usually more reliable to make an id, but that can be difficult to see and judge. You are not the first and certainly won't be the last person to make this mistake.

Last fall I saw both a female Black Scoter and a Surf Scoter very much like yours at the same time at Middle Harbor Shoreline. My photos are not great, but they illustrate the structural differences between these similar species. https://ebird.org/checklist/S121852216

Finally, I'd like to thank you for making the effort to get photos in cases like this. It not only helps verify sightings, it also gives you the opportunity to study a bird after the fact.

Happy birding,
Teale Fristoe
Albany

Link to checklist with scoter photos

If anyone would like to see photos of the faux Black Scoter at Ballena Bay, here's the checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S155501918
The photos are poor, but they do show the Black Scoter-like facial pattern and the typical Surf Scoter head and bill shape on the bird in question.
 
Sam 

Identification perils

 
This is a cautionary tale about hasty bird identification. Scoping a raft of Surf Scoters at Ballena Bay yesterday, I noticed a white-cheeked bird that jumped out from the other scoters. Instead of blotchy white patches typical of female SUSC, this one had a clear delineation between the pale part of face below the eye and the dark cap above. I IDed it as an adult female Black Scoter and put out a Telegram message after I studied the photo. No happy ending here though. Some of the most skilled birders in the Bay Area concluded it was an unusually patterned Surf Scoter based on head shape and slze and slope of bill. The lesson here, I believe, is we must take care not to let our excitement get the better of us. I wish I had taken a deep breath and gotten ID help before putting word out about a rarity. At the same time though, this has been one of the best identification exercises I've experienced recently, underscoring the importance of looking at the whole bird and not relying on a single diagnostic feature. Thanks to all who set me straight on this one.
 
Sam 

Brooks Is - Black Bellied Plovers

Today, very high tide, the spit breakwater was line with DC Cormorants and 560 to 600 BB Plovers, they were in 3 big piles each about 50 feet from the next big group.
Just fabulous 



Best Regards, 
Jennifer Fury
[cell phone email]


Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Today at lunch I found a myiachus flycatcher I knew was not a ash-throated by size but what was it? I figured it was either Arizona or Mexico specificalty and would need photo evidence to confirm. After I left it was photographed and tentatively confirmed as a dusky-capped. The size difference really stood out to me - kind-of like a orchard oriole is smaller than Bullocks/Baltimore and it was a small bill unlike a larger great-crested. Note some are still debating photo id but the size really stood put to me as not an ashy and that is not apparent in photos - but also can be misleading.

Hopefully it will stick as Middle Harbor is a green oasis (hint - vagrants) in an ocean of concrete and steel of the port of Oakland.

For those who go there is a Ross Goose west of the observation tower at middle harbor and I believe a long tailed duck is sticking at Port View park a mile away.

As this is an Oakland location security for people with cameras should be considered. I recommend birders with cameras find the park security in their pick-ip and ask them to park their vehicle next to the entrance where the birders will be.

Good Luck and I hope its around tomorrow.

Jim Chiropolos 
Orinda

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

All,

Jim Chiropolos found a Myiarchus flycatcher on the lunch hour at Middle Harbor near the port of Oakland that he thought looked good for Dusky-capped.

At the moment nine of us are on the bird - definitely Dusky-capped Flycatcher. Near the first roundabout and main parking area, mostly on the barbed wire separating the poplars from the truck yard in the port, occasionally over by the bathrooms.

Great find!

Aaron Maizlish
San Francisco

Patch birding a huge scaup flock

For the last 40 years, I park in my office parking lot (by Chevys restaurant)and scan the bay north before going to work. Today - and this week, I am looking at the biggest scaup flock I have ever seen here. I am estimating 6,500 plus scaup. I would guess most of the scaup are greater, but would need a spotting scope to verify.

Most years, the big scaup flock here is on the Emeryville fire station/toll bridge side of Powell street. Last year, the big east bay scaup flock was in the arrowhead marsh area as the big flock area is dynamic seems moves every year (based on food). I was not at the office last week, and almost no scaup were using the Emeryville area 10 days ago.

Some interesting dynamics of the scaup flock. By Chevys, the scaup flock is usually mostly greater scaup and the lessor scaup are typically a minority. The lessor Scaup prefer the shallow water level which is exposed as mudflat in king tides. The area north of Chevys usually has the most diving ducks during big storms, as the storms rotate in from the south and its likely less energy consuming for the ducks to stay in place on the morth side of Powell with the the strong south winds being partially blocked by the land my office block occupies.

Who knows, maybe there is something rare in the huge raft (many years I will find a redhead of canvasback hidden) but today it seems to all scalp (with a couple of Buffleheads/Ruddy and scoter thrown in).
It is certainly a spectacular sight to see so many scaup at once - a wow moment.

Jim Chiropolos 
Emeryville today

Re: winter diet of birds - speaking of Hermit Thrush -

We have a high back deck, under the deck are ladders and an upside down wheelbarrow stored for winter...and under the wheelbarrow a Hermit Thrush, finding perfect nighttime cover, and a yard full of wildflower seeds, bugs, and many water basins.
One can watch at dawn from the window and see them pop out for the day.
We had one live last year with us for about 3 months, using the wheelbarrow as a house. Simple things creating habitat.!



Best Regards, 
Jennifer Fury
[cell phone email]


winter diet of birds

It is easy to see all the sparrow, finches and other seed eaters come to our feeders.  But I have noticed a variety of other birds one might not normally expect to eat seeds.  Most of us know that the Yellow-rumped Warbler of the east is known as the Myrtle Warbler because of changing its diet from insects to myrtle berries when winter comes.

In Heather Farm Park near our Walnut Creek house, I scatter seeds for the sparrows as I ride my bike.  Five sparrow species come out plus the Nuthatches, Scrub-Jays, Titmouses and House Finches.  But most unusual is a fairly regular visit from a Sora (sometimes two), the Hermit Thrushes, sometimes a Bewick's Wren, our Yellow-rumped Warblers and last week a Common Yellow Throat.  Many who have suet feeders in our yards may also see the Townsend's Warblers going there, too.

I know it is not so easy to find insects in colder weather, but find it interesting to see just which bird species one can see going after scattered seeds.

Hugh B. Harvey
Walnut Creek

Re: Reflections on Birding and Biking Patterson Pass

Having spent quite a bit of time in the Altamont Hills region since fall of 2019, I would say the following: the grass was tallest and most lush in fall 2019-winter 2020. By summer and fall of 2021 and 2022 it was extremely overgrazed and barren. To the point where cows were dying at a higher rate than normal, ranchers had to put out supplemental feed much more frequently, etc. Currently, the grass is considerably taller than it was the last two years at this date. Hopefully if there is another wet winter this winter, it will recover to 2019-2020 levels. It’s important to realize that there are seasonal trends in grass height/color which can make it harder to gauge the long term trends. But overall I would say that the rains last winter helped immensely and currently things are significantly better off than they were last year or the year before at this date.


On my last visit to Eastern Alameda County, I saw 3 Ferruginous Hawks - 1 on Flynn Road, 1 on Patterson Pass Road, 1 at Bethany Reservoir. While they are certainly uncommon relative to Red-tails, they still occur in reasonable numbers in Eastern Alameda. Data on breeding populations suggests that they are declining in some areas but perhaps increasing in others. Numbers of wintering birds in our area likely fluctuate year-to-year based on prey availability and weather patterns. While there is very likely a long-term trend toward declining numbers, I think it is difficult to divine that from a small sample size and relatively short time frame. Instead of despairing and catastrophizing, we should be making efforts as individuals and as a society to minimize or mitigate our environmental impacts and working toward incremental improvement of our relationship with the environment.

On Sunday, November 26, 2023, Jim Chiropolos via groups.io <jnc=wje.com@groups.io> wrote:
Today, I birded and biked Patterson Pass , the east bays amazing grasslands. The weekend is the best place to bird here as I had multiple 20 minute periods of no cars, unlike weekdays when this is a danger high intensity transit corridor. I was wondering about raptor numbers after last years rains. Raptor number's were down and there was no green grass. I have been birding and biking the pass the last 10 years and am always interested in whats around.
I only saw 2 loggerhead shrikes-probably an all time low count. I had two mountain bluebirds at the pass (and 2 at Cedar Mountain Winery (best to see early at the winery) - this is another species that is now hard to find. When I started biking the pass, I had typically counts of 50 to 100 mountain bluebirds and they were always present- the last several years they have become rare and hard to find. A ferruginous hawk soared over the pass. This is another species that was uncommon 10 years ago- now they are a special sighting - I feel lucky to see one. One flock of trikes (tri-colored blackbirds)was by the train overpass near the power facility) their typical location here.
The rarest bird seen was a vesper sparrow with a mixed sparrow flock perched on a fence about 1/2 mile west of the train track overpass. It flew into grassland behind a fence and I did not see it again.
One prarie falcon was patrolling the area - this is an uncommon and not unexpected bird in the area.
Good Birding
Jim Chiropolos 
Orinda


--
Alex Henry

Hayward-Fremont CBC - Sunday, Dec 17

I'm seeking birders to help with the Hayward-Fremont CBC on Sunday, December 17 (yes, that's the same day as the Oakland CBC). Birders of all experience levels are welcome, though i am hoping to find at least a few experienced counters who would be willing to lead an area. We've lost some leaders and volunteers this year, and so are a little shorthanded. Email me if you're interested and available.

Bob Toleno
Hayward-Fremont CBC compiler

Re: Reflections on Birding and Biking Patterson Pass


Nice report... definitely true, least amount of cars is on early weekend days...



Best Regards, 
Jennifer Fury
[cell phone email]


Reflections on Birding and Biking Patterson Pass

Today, I birded and biked Patterson Pass , the east bays amazing grasslands. The weekend is the best place to bird here as I had multiple 20 minute periods of no cars, unlike weekdays when this is a danger high intensity transit corridor. I was wondering about raptor numbers after last years rains. Raptor number's were down and there was no green grass. I have been birding and biking the pass the last 10 years and am always interested in whats around.
I only saw 2 loggerhead shrikes-probably an all time low count. I had two mountain bluebirds at the pass (and 2 at Cedar Mountain Winery (best to see early at the winery) - this is another species that is now hard to find. When I started biking the pass, I had typically counts of 50 to 100 mountain bluebirds and they were always present- the last several years they have become rare and hard to find. A ferruginous hawk soared over the pass. This is another species that was uncommon 10 years ago- now they are a special sighting - I feel lucky to see one. One flock of trikes (tri-colored blackbirds)was by the train overpass near the power facility) their typical location here.
The rarest bird seen was a vesper sparrow with a mixed sparrow flock perched on a fence about 1/2 mile west of the train track overpass. It flew into grassland behind a fence and I did not see it again.
One prarie falcon was patrolling the area - this is an uncommon and not unexpected bird in the area.
Good Birding
Jim Chiropolos 
Orinda

Three loon day at San Leandro Marina.

Three species of loons have been reported in recent days at Mulford Point in the San Leandro Marina. What a treat to find all three there this morning, Common, Pacific, and Red-throated (https://ebird.org/checklist/S155268489). As if that weren't enough, Bob Dunn found a Red-necked Grebe at the point before I arrived and it was still patroling the riprap around the point while I was there. Not bad.
 

Bald Eagle at Crab Cove

Yesterday afternoon a Bald Eagle came flying over the beach at Crab Cove in Alameda causing a panic amongst the geese and shorebirds. EBRPD Naturalist, Michael Charnofsky happened to be present and said he expected that it was one of the eagles that nested at the golf course in Bay Farm last year, the male. Apparently the female has not been seen in some time, but the male has been making appearances lately.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192083136

Eric Barker
Alameda 

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