By Mary Malec

I first heard about the new Bald Eagle nest at Lake Chabot in early March.  There had been a couple of reports of Bald Eagles at the lake, and then one of the rangers was fishing with his son and spotted an eagle carrying nesting material.  Doug Bell, the Wildlife Specialist for the East Bay Regional Park District, was notified and in turn informed the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The park district had contracted for fire suppression timbering in the area surrounding the nest, and people were concerned that the cutting, grinding and helicopter log removal might disturb the nest. Monitors started watching the nest immediately, noting all noise from timbering, boating, planes and people, and tracking the birds’ response. The timber contractors agreed not to do any fly-overs of the nest, and to stop all activity if the pair seemed bothered.

The female of the pair was a four-year-old, looking like a dirty blond and not very much like an adult Bald Eagle. In fact, there had been a report of a Golden Eagle diving into Lake Chabot and pulling out a fish.  Clearly it was this immature bald female who had been spotted that day.  Everyone doubted that she would be able to nest successfully, and when it was determined the male was about five years old (still young for breeding), it appeared to be even more of a long shot.

Female Bald Eagle at Lake Chabot / Photo by Mary Malec

I was oriented to the site one rainy day in March.  We hiked in to the Observation Point where volunteer monitor Harv Wilson was already at work.  He had brought  his tent and was inside with his scope focused on the nest across the cove.  The O.P. is about 1,000 feet from the nest and it was a challenge to be a nest monitor that day, watching activity so far away while rain dripped off the front flap of the tent.

Area of Bald Eagle nest at Lake Chabot / Photo by Mary Malec

The female was having a difficult time of it during those early weeks.  Either her lack of experience or her immature hormone levels were getting in her way.  She would settle down on the nest but never stay long.  The male would immediately take her place, or he would find her and chase her back to the nest, where again she would sit for a while and then leave. …

By GGBA Staff

We’re delighted to share the news that San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has signed an America’s Cup settlement agreement that will provide benefits to Bay Area bird populations, both during the world-famous yachting event and in years to come.

Golden Gate Bird Alliance was among several community groups that appealed the environmental impact report for the 2013 America’s Cup.

We were concerned about impacts to birds, especially birds on the open water of the Bay and the threatened Snowy Plovers at Crissy Field.

Among many other provisions, this settlement will provide $150,000 for a three-year study of the impacts of disturbances to birds on the Bay, including disturbances from boating activities.

The city also agreed to abandon plans for a floating Jumbotron video screen in the waters of Aquatic Park lagoon, which is good news for swimmers and recreational users as well as wildlife in the area.

Meanwhile, in parallel talks, event organizers have promised to cordon off and provide monitors around the Snowy Plover area at Crissy Field, to prevent America’s Cup spectators from disturbing those at-risk birds. Similar steps are being taken at other ecologically sensitive sites.

The Bay Area is a site of international significance for shorebirds and contains many Audubon Important Bird Areas, including the open waters.  Particularly in winter, the Bay draws large populations of feeding and resting birds such as Double-crested Cormorants, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Western Gulls and several kinds of grebes.

These “rafting” birds rely on the Bay to nourish and reenergize them for future migrations and breeding. Yet there’s much less Bay today than there used to be: Ninety percent of its wetlands and forty percent of its surface water have been lost to landfill and development since 1850. The remaining open water is heavily used by boats, which can flush rafting birds from as far away as 100 to 500 meters.

The environmental impact report for the America’s Cup estimated that race events will draw about 1,800 spectator boats carrying 18,000 passengers on the open waters of the Bay. Even more spectators will line the Bay at various viewing sites.

Now, as part of the settlement agreement, the U.S. Geological Survey will conduct studies before, during and after the America’s Cup to determine how boating activity affects bird populations on the Bay. These surveys will provide baseline data to guide future special events involving the Bay, and will help us protect birds from both daily marine traffic and unforeseen disasters like the Cosco Busan oil spill.…

By Dave Quady 

No matter what your normal birding pattern is, sooner or later you’ll probably find yourself chasing off in hopes of finding a particular species.  Often it’s a potential addition to your life list, which might generate the need (or “opportunity,” as birders usually put it) to visit a new part of the country. Arizona, say, or Texas or Alaska.

Other times it’s an individual bird that gets your blood pumping, maybe one that shows up way out of its normal range.  Could be a bird never before found in your favorite birding patch, in your home county, or even in your part of the world. You might want to chase it, or a friend might suggest a chase.  Either way, one is likely to ask, Do you think we’ll find it? … and then hope for an encouraging reply.

California birders got a jolt to their chasing impulse recently when they learned that PRBO Conservation Science biologist Peter Warzybok had detected a Northern Gannet flying near Southeast Farallon Island early on the morning of April 25.  Within hours, links were published to distant flight shots, and before nightfall Sophie Webb’s spectacular full-frame photos made the rounds.

Southeast Farallon Island, 28 miles offshore of San Francisco. While it’s not open to the public, a small team of PRBO Conservation Science researchers is present year round. Photo by Dave Quady.

A Northern Gannet!  A beautiful member of the Sulidae family that breeds in cliffside colonies along the north Atlantic coastlines of North America and Europe.  But there are no known records anywhere in the Pacific Ocean.  So how did it get here?  The next day, Pacific Seabird Group researchers reported that a Northern Gannet had been seen in the northeastern Chukchi Sea in 2010, when the Northwest Passage was ice-free, and seen again a few days later further west near Barrow, Alaska.  Perhaps the question had been answered.

Chasers began to wonder: Will it stay around? The answer came on May 1, when the bird was seen again.  Next chaser question: Is there a chance of seeing it?  The answer was another yes: Dedicated pelagic birding trips to the Farallons were scheduled for July 15, and for August 5 and 19.

But that’s a long time off!  Can’t we try sooner? cried the chasers.  A third “yes,”  since whale-watching boats visit the Farallons on many summer weekends.

In mid-June, Riverside birder Curtis Marantz began to investigate the possibilities. …

By Phila Rogers

It’s this way every year. June’s sunny days end with the arrival of July and the return of the coastal fog. In this summer-dry climate, any moisture should be welcome. I try and appreciate the gray mists enveloping my hill and how the fog-drip dampens the soil and puts a wet sheen on the foliage.  When fog drip was measured under the trees along the ridgeline in Tilden Park, an astounding 10 inches was collected – more than a third of our annual precipitation.

What intensifies the gloom for me is the decline of birdsong.  It’s tempting to blame the lack of sunshine.  But I know with breeding season mostly over, there is less to sing about – no territories to vocally defend, no females to attract.  The Spotted Towhees are still singing – not a surprise for a species that typically has more than one brood each spring.  Sometimes I hear a stanza or two from a distant Black-headed Grosbeak. Or a robin, undaunted by the gloom or the lateness of the season, sings its cheery song.  The irrepressible Bewick’s Wren periodically bursts forth, and out over the open hillside I can hear the plaintive call of a Red-tailed Hawk who can’t quite accept it is on its own now.

Spotted Towhee - Photo by Bob Lewis, http://www.flickr.com/photos/boblewis

Look at the local bird listserve, East Bay Birding Sightings, and you will see that there is now less to report.  Only Bob Richmond — reporting regularly from the Hayward Shoreline and knowing the value of place closely observed — has heartening news that shorebirds are once again on the move.

During the brief period of clearing skies, I went out onto the open hillside headed for the pond below Lawrence Hall of Science where you can stretch out under the branches of the big-leafed maple.  I find that a sky viewed through green leaves looks especially blue and deep.  And what better way to watch for swallows and swifts or the antics of passing ravens than while lying on your back?

Whether upright or supine, I’m always on the lookout for swifts.  And when I’m not finding them, I’m reading about them.  Early on, I learned that they are not related to swallows as I had assumed, but to hummingbirds.  They are hardly sippers of nectars or able to suspend themselves midair, but like hummingbirds, swifts are masters of flight.…

By Jack Dumbacher

(Note: Jack will present slides and describe his expedition to Papua New Guinea on July 19 at our monthly Speaker Series in San Francisco.)

In fall of 2011, I led an expedition to some of the most remote islands off the southeastern tip of New Guinea.  The primary purpose of the expedition: To survey the birds on these islands, and collect samples that could be used to study the pathogens that they carry.

Milne Bay Province, where we worked, has over 600 islands.  Each represents an independent evolutionary experiment,  where birds and other critters arrive by wind and ocean current.  Some survive and some don’t.  Once isolated, they begin to evolve with the other species that also survived and form their own unique island ecosystem.  (And by the way, each one is quite beautiful and photogenic too.)

Our first task was to survey the birds on as many different island groups as we could visit in a two month period.  We birdwatched, recorded calls and set up nets to catch birds.  We surveyed local villagers and visited their hunting grounds.  We tried to take the pulse and assess the health of the bird populations there.

Ginetu Islands is a small uninhabited island near Woodlark. It boasted a breeding pair of White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) and many Island Imperial Pigeons (Ducula pistronaria). / Photo by Jack Dumbacher

Our second task was to collect samples for studying bird diseases.  Birds can carry a variety of tiny “bugs,” including blood-borne malaria species, viruses and other parasites.  We mostly sampled blood and took oral and fecal swabs, and brought these back to be screened by virus and malaria experts at U.C. San Francisco and San Francisco State University.  By studying many small islands, each with different birds and different diseases, we hope to understand how the diseases are transported from island to island and how they affect avian health.

But mostly, it was a great adventure.  To get to these places, we traveled with an amazing French couple who built their own sailboat, we visited traditional island villages where people still build and sail outrigger sailing canoes, we ate local food, and we saw and handled most of the species that are resident breeders on the islands.

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Jack Dumbacher, a board member of Golden Gate Bird Alliance, is Chair of the Department of Ornithology and Mammalogy at California Academy of Sciences. …