UPDATE:  As our compilers continue to review data from the count, it now seems like the total number of species sighted was 182, not 184. But there is more study under way. We’ll have final results in February.
By Ilana DeBare
The 73rd annual Oakland Christmas Bird Count  on Sunday brought beautiful weather, beautiful birds, and a record number of species — thanks to our friend the Painted Redstart.
About 250 people had signed up to count birds in the field or in their backyards, our biggest turnout ever.
And – even though we won’t have final results for another month or two – the preliminary count for the day was 184 species. That breaks last year’s record of 183!
One of those species was the Painted Redstart that had been found in an oak tree in a  Berkeley backyard in mid-November. The redstart drew birders and bird photographers from all over the Bay Area for a couple of weeks, a local avian celebrity.
But would the redstart be here for the CBC? Things didn’t look good when, five days before the count, in the midst of last week’s cold snap… it vanished.
Count compilers Dave Quady and Bob Lewis sent a team over to Woolsey Street on Sunday morning just to scout for the bird. They were prepared to stay as long as it took, all day if necessary.
But there it was, in its familiar oak tree.
“The group basically walked up to it first thing in the morning,” said Dave Quady. “Let’s hope it makes it through the winter and further.”
Gathering at San Pablo Dam Reservoir at sunrise – before the day started to warm up / Photo by Ilana DeBare
Barn Owl in palm tree on Telegraph Avenue / Photo by Bob Lewis
Among other highlights of the day (besides an absence of sideways rain):

• A “Vega” form of Herring Gull and a Glaucous Gull, which shared the rare bird award for the day.
• A Swainson’s Thrush, unusual for this time of year, reported in Moraga.
• A Golden Eagle sighted eating a jackrabbit in Alameda.
• Two separate pairs of Ruby-crowned Kinglets that were spotted wrestling, talon to talon.
• Five river otters in the Briones Reservoir. (Okay, they’re not birds, but they are darn cool.)

Counting along the Emeryville shoreline / Photo by Peter Maiden

As Dave  reported on the East Bay Birds email list:

Other unusual species participants were happy to find included a handful of Snowy Plovers along the Alameda shoreline, a single Ruddy Turnstone that flew over San Leandro Bay, Surfbirds along Emeryville’s rocky shoreline, and three Red Knots at the end of the Albany Bulb.

By Raunak Bhinge
In spite of the large number of people using Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina, the Burrowing Owls have again returned to winter in the northeast corner of the park. Just one day after Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Burrowing Owl docent training session in late September, our youngest docent (age nine) spotted the first owl of the season.
All the new docents – including me – flocked to the park’s Art Installation Area to spot the new “Art” owl and talk about it to the public.  The second owl flew in more than a month later. Currently there are three owls, two at the Art Installation and one closer to I-80 near the Tom Bates soccer fields.
Many regular park visitors are aware of the wintering Burrowing Owls and start looking for the feathered arrivals each October. Other people read the signs that describe the owls and look for them but don’t see them. Still others walk past the Art Installation without knowing anything about our owl visitors. When docents are present, they provide these people with stunning views of the owls through scopes, binoculars and powerful cameras.
Burrowing Owl at Cesar Chavez Park / Photo by Doug Donaldson
This is why people need docents to help spot the owls! Photo by Doug Donaldson
November had many cold wintry days, and the gusty breeze at the marina only escalated the chill. The owls hunkered down in their burrows, almost invisible to most of the regular “owl spectators.” On some of the warmer days, the Art-area owl made brave appearances into the open, dancing along the northern rip-rap and foraging for rodents during the day. Those lucky enough to witness the owl in action went home with memories to cherish.
Shortly into this year’s docent season, we received some inspiring news. Last year, an injured owl had been found near Aquatic Park in Berkeley. It was taken to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, where radiographs confirmed a simple, mid-diaphyseal fracture of the left humerus.  The fracture was pinned and wrapped. After a month of rehabilitation, the bird was banded and released at Chavez Park.
Recently Jay Holcomb at International Bird Rescue told us that this bird had been discovered alive and healthy in June by researcher Jamie Groves near Kuna, Idaho – more than 600 miles from Berkeley!
Jamie, who is studying parental/nesting behavior in Burrowing Owls for a master’s degree in Raptor Biology at Boise State University, wrote:

I banded this female, as well as her mate and their 7 nestlings (about 4 weeks old at banding). 

By Ilana DeBare
Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a national treasure, some 80,000 acres of wild coastland in the middle of our very urban San Francisco Bay Area.
It is also the center of a political battle – between uncompromising dog advocates and people who believe the GGNRA should balance the interests of wildlife, dog owners, and visitors who want a dog-free nature experience.
The National Park Service is currently undertaking a long-overdue process of updating its GGNRA dog management policies to provide a more balanced approach.
Golden Gate Bird Alliance supports the proposed new policies as an improvement over the status quo, where a combination of outmoded rules and lax enforcement allows dogs to run uncontrolled through important wildlife areas like Ocean Beach and Crissy Field.
But San Francisco dog activists are mounting a loud, emotional campaign against the new policies, which they call a “plan to get rid of people with dogs” and an “attack on all recreational use and access on GGNRA land.”
If you care about wildlife and a healthy balance of uses within the GGNRA, the National Park Service needs to hear from you.
The Park Service is accepting comments until February 18^h.  Click here to file a comment online.
Crissy Lagoon at the GGNRA, which provides year-round habitat for birds / Photo by David Assmann

Background

The roots of the dog conflict go back to the formation of the GGNRA in 1972. The new national park was formed from a variety of public and private lands, all of which had different policies about dogs. As a result, GGNRA became the ONLY national park in the country to allow unleashed dogs.
The hodge-podge of grandfathered-in rules continued until 1979 when the National Park Service adopted a Pet Policy aimed at governing where dogs were allowed, both on-leash and off-leash.
But the 1979 policy was quickly overwhelmed as the Bay Area’s population grew and the number of visitors – both with and without dogs – skyrocketed.
Some parts of the GGNRA became so thick with dogs that they were essentially giant dog runs. Off-leash dogs threatened the colonies of endangered Western Snowy Plovers at Ocean Beach and Crissy Field.  Park staff spent more and more time managing conflicts between dogs and people, dogs and wildlife, and among dogs themselves.
Western Snowy Plover resting in the dunes at Crissy Field / Photo by Matt Zlatunich
In 2008, the NPS filed almost 900 pages of Criminal Incident Records involving dogs in the GGNRA, many of which involved dogs chasing and harassing wildlife.…

By Marissa Ortega-Welch
As an educator for Golden Gate Bird Alliance,  I’m always searching for great books about birds to share with my students. I’ll admit I’m very picky. The books have to teach a concept but still be easy to read (3rd grade reading level). They should be factually-based but still entertaining, with good illustrations. And here’s my real pet peeve – they can’t be too East Coast-centric in the birds represented.
Here are a few gems I’ve discovered recently and shared with my students. They’d make good holiday gifts for the young birders in anyone’s life.

Falcons in the City, written and illustrated by Lisa Manning.

Told from the perspective of “Frida,” a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, this book is based on the true story of a Peregrine Falcon nest on the Fremont Bridge in Portland, Oregon. Frida talks young readers through the life of an urban Peregrine and the exciting moment when she and her siblings fledge. Her brothers end up in the Williamette River and are rescued by birders who have been watching the nest (one of them sporting an “Audubon” shirt).
Falcons in the City
Frida also explains how Peregrine Falcons have made a remarkable comeback from near extinction. The illustrations are warm and child-friendly; the story is readable for beginner readers; and young birders will be excited to learn that this is a true story and very similar to the Peregrine Falcon nests we have here in the Bay Area. Maybe someone here could write a short story about our Peregrines fledging from the Fruitvale Avenue bridge in Oakland?

What Makes a Bird a Bird? by May Garelick. Illustrated by Trish Hill.

May Garelick’s book talks readers through questioning what makes a bird a bird: Is it a bird because it flies? Is it a bird because it has wings? Because it builds a nest? Lays eggs? Sings?
What Makes A Bird A Bird?
She introduces readers to a variety of birds that appear to be the exception to what we commonly think of as birds – penguins and ostriches that can’t fly and oystercatchers that don’t build nests. It’s an interesting question for even us adults to ponder: What is the one thing common to all birds that sets them apart from other animals? Read Garelick’s book if you can’t figure it out.

She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head, by Kathryn Lasky.