• Dancing with Sage Grouse

    By Bruce Mast

    Editor’s note: If you would like to experience Sage Grouse for yourself, we currently have one spot available for our March 22nd trip. For more information and registration go to https://goldengatebirdalliance.org/birdathon-2019-fundraising-trips/

    The eastern sky was just beginning to glow pink. We were cold. It was early spring in the eastern Sierras and we were cold. And under-caffeinated. We had been up since 4 a.m., bundling into our down and fleece, driving since 5 a.m. past the High Desert State Prison, and then trudging up the flank of Shaffer Mountain to shiver expectantly on the side of a rutted jeep road. We were 20 hardy souls from Golden Gate Bird Alliance, under the veteran leadership of Dave Quady. Why had we journeyed northeast to Susanville to visit such a desolate place? The answer came soon enough.

    Grouse watching at Shaffer Lek

    The answer came quietly—low, muffled plopping sounds from the north. A binocular scan revealed an expanse of yellow, lava-strewn grass interrupting the sagebrush sea. But some of the rocks were moving! As morning light spread over the landscape, the tableau came into focus. Greater Sage Grouse, those enigmatic denizens of Basin and Range sagebrush country, were gathering for their annual lekking ritual. Wikipedia tells us that a lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays to entice visiting females, which are surveying prospective mates. The term derives from the Swedish “lek”, a noun which typically translates as “play”. The term was originally used for Black Grouse (Swedish: “orrlek”) and for Western Capercaillie (Swedish: “tjäderlek”).

    Sage Grouse, Shaffer Lek, Lassen Co., March 19, 2016

    On this morning, multiple male Sage Grouse strutted regally, their spiky tails fanned, white feathering on the sides and back of their necks forming a royal ruff. Large air sacs on their breasts suggested avian bagpipes. Scope views revealed large yellow bare patches on their breasts, a yellow fleshy comb above the eye, and wispy filoplumes extending from their nape.

    The dominant males held court in the center of the lek, challenging newcomers for status and position. Most interactions involved choreographed strutting and posturing but occasionally a wing fight was required to put a young male in his place.

    How many birds were there? In some years, I had counted as few as a half dozen males but this year repeated scans consistently tallied 25. But where were the females?…

  • Albany Mudflats-McLaughlin Eastshore State Park-Albany Bulb

    Editor’s note: If you’ve never taken the time to read a trip report, you are missing out. Please enjoy Fred’s report and this “snapshot” of a morning at the Albany mudflats.

    By Fred Werner

    On January 26th, 40 people showed up including seasoned experts, total novices and everywhere in between.  It was a mild day for January: mostly cloudy but with no wind, the Bay was glassy. We started the day scanning the mudflats, taking in the scattered American Avocets and other assorted shorebirds, coots and ducks. Multiple Red-tailed Hawks flew by but the foraging flocks didn’t seem too concerned.

    American Avocet Albany 19-01-26

    Moving on to the uplands area of the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park, we got even better views of the Canvasbacks and some of the other ducks, and really nice views of a lone Mew Gull.

    Mew Gull – Albany 19-01-26

    The biggest highlight of the day was the Burrowing Owl standing in fairly tall grass in the middle of its protected enclosure, patiently awaiting some excitement. For us, he was it!!!

    Burrowing Owl Albany 19-01-26

    As we rounded the curve at the west end of the Burrowing Owl area, most people headed for home. But a Red-throated Loon cruising along the flooded shoreline below us, beckoned us to continue. Three people joined the optional extension out to the tip of the Albany Bulb, beginning with a chase for the perfect view of that loon. These few intrepid birders were rewarded richly for their efforts.

    Red-throated Loon – Albany 19-01-26

    Jutting a half mile further out into the Bay, the rocky spit at the tip of the Bulb was a refuge sought by large flocks of shorebirds as the tides rose, including quite a few we hadn’t seen yet today:  Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Least and Spotted Sandpipers, Black Turnstones, a lone Black Oystercatcher, and one Eurasian Wigeon trying to blend in with a large raft of American Wigeons. The massive schooling flocks of Western Sandpipers also put on a spectacular show out there, as did the White-tailed Kites and the Osprey.

    Black-bellied Plovers – Albany 19-01-26 Western and least sandpipers Black Turnstone – Albany 19-01-26

    Fred Werner lives in Berkeley where he teaches high school science and design.  A native of Washington DC, he first became interested in birds when he failed a bird calls quiz as a sophomore at the University of Michigan.  Later, he studied ornithology at Cornell University, researching fruit-eating birds and reforestation in Costa Rica. …

  • Enjoy Our Wintering Birds While You Can

    By Lee Friedman

    [Note: If you cannot see the accompanying photographs or if they are blurry, please click on the title or the “read in browser” link to view this blog on the GGBA website.]

    “While you can” refers to the next few months, after which our wintering migrant birds will depart to their breeding grounds elsewhere and be gone until fall. But it could also refer to the longer-run sustainability of bird migration patterns as our global climate changes. None of us knows when one or more migrating species might find it necessary to change their migratory patterns simply in an attempt to survive. White Storks that breed in Europe, for example, are already forgoing their traditional African wintering ground and choosing to migrate a much shorter distance within Europe. Perhaps some of the migrant species of birds that we can see today (and in the next few months) might not be returning in comparable numbers in future years. But they are exquisite to see and to appreciate now, while we are privileged to have them.

    Bird species in one geographic location are generally classified into one of two categories: residents that are year-round, and migrants that are there for only part of the year. Within the migrant category, there are the birds that are generally there during the summer to breed but elsewhere during the winter, and the wintering migrants that arrive in the fall and leave in the spring to go elsewhere to breed. The focus of this post is on the wintering migrants (those here now). There are other more transient types of migrants as well: those that may regularly pass through our area on their way to their breeding and/or wintering areas (e.g. Hermit Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler), as well as “vagrants” that we don’t really expect but show up occasionally perhaps because they have gotten off course (e.g. a Summer Tanager seen from last October to January in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve). But back to the wintering migrants—it might be natural to think of them as visitors, but ornithologists think that they are descended from those who at one time were full-time residents of the winter grounds. In other words, the wintering birds are simply returning to their ancestral homes. More reason to appreciate them, I think.

    What are the wintering species? I’m going to describe a few of my favorites, chosen to illustrate differences in migration patterns and the different parts of the world they rely upon in addition to our own.…

  • Misses Marked 2018’s Oakland Christmas Bird Count

    by Dave Quady and Bob Lewis

    During the week preceding count day, forecasts of rain and high winds created a sense of
    foreboding that continued into the early hours of Sunday, December 16, as early-rising
    birders set out to seek owls. Along Telegraph Avenue few vehicles broke the silence and
    ambient light bouncing off low clouds obviated the need for flashlights. Playing a bit of
    tape elicited a single call from a distant Barn Owl. Moments later Berkeley’s City Bird
    silently flew in and circled overhead, and so at 3:30 a.m. Oakland’s 78th annual Christmas
    Bird Count got underway.

    Sunrise photo of Bay Trail count by Katherine Briccetti

    Thick cloud cover made dawn a non-event, but it nonetheless marked the usual ramp-up
    of birding activity as teams met up in the field and began to bird their assigned areas.
    Although winds gusted to 18 mph, the weather was mild during the morning:
    temperatures in the 50 – 60 degree range, moderate winds and no rain. Our two boats
    were able to get onto San Francisco Bay, 261 field observers provided good coverage
    over the complete count circle and 34 yard watchers contributed mightily– producing, for
    example, more than half of our record high 22 White-throated Sparrows. Rainfall began
    about 2:15 pm, but by that time many teams had done their job, and by 3:00 p.m. most
    folks had called it quits.

    Our “good birds” of the day were a varied lot. They included single Long-tailed Ducks
    from two different areas, a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk detected in two adjacent areas
    (and chosen as the count’s Best Bird), 18 Snowy Plovers, 35 Surfbirds, a House Wren, a
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, two Black-throated Gray Warblers (one reported by a yard
    watcher) and a Western Tanager. Besides White-throated Sparrow, record-high numbers
    (since 1974) were recorded for Cackling Goose, Green-winged Teal, Semipalmated
    Plover, Great Blue Heron, White-tailed Kite, American Crow (2,486 birds) and Common
    Raven (453 birds).

    Photo by Miya Lucas

    In recent years we’ve experienced a record-high count for one or the other of these two
    corvids several times, so let’s examine their population trend. From 1974 through 1990
    we averaged fewer than 200 total crows and ravens a year … over the following 10 years
    we averaged more than 700 total crows and ravens annually, and since 2010 the annual
    average has been nearly 1,800 birds. That has been quite a population increase, and
    there’s no sign that it has topped out.…

  • We Are Not Powerless Against Climate Change

    World Wetlands Day February 2, 2019
    and the Ramsar Convention

    by Maureen Lahiff

    Our San Francisco Bay is not only a designated Important Bird Area, it is a Wetland of
    International Importance under the Convention on Wetlands, often called the Ramsar
    Convention. This treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s wetlands was
    put into final form on February 2, 1971 at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran.

    Arrowhead Marsh by Rick Lewis

    The Convention defines wetlands broadly, as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether
    natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh,
    brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed
    six metres.” The Convention places wetlands in a comprehensive and holistic context, but it
    does recognize the key role of birds, as its full name is the Convention on Wetlands of
    International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. By waterfowl, the Convention
    means any bird species ecologically dependent on wetlands. BirdLife International is one of the
    five major partners.

    Common Goldeneye by Bob Gunderson

    The materials for World Wetlands Day 2019 emphasize the role of wetlands in “stabilizing
    greenhouse gas emissions and blunting the impacts of climate change.”  Wetlands, especially
    peatlands, are natural absorbers of carbon. More carbon is sequestered in peatlands than in
    the world’s forests. As sea levels rise, wetlands can dampen storm surges and protect near-by
    lands from flooding. As the materials point out, 60% of the earth’s population live and work
    along coastlines. In sum, “Wetlands are a natural solution.”

    Worldwide, we have lost about 70% of our wetlands, and the loss since 1970 has been
    dramatic. Although we have lost 90% of the San Francisco Bay’s wetlands, we have been saved
    from the disaster of a largely filled-in Bay, thanks to the courage and commitment of Esther
    Gulick, Kay Kerr, and Sylvia McLaughlin, who founded Save the Bay in 1961.

    Nelson’s Sparrow photo at MLK Jr. Restoration Day by Rick Lewis

    The creators of the Ramsar Convention express confidence that wetlands can be conserved
    and restored within a context of sustainable development. I would go even further: unless
    wetlands are protected and restored, we cannot be successful in the sort of development
    envisioned for the world’s people in the Millennium Development Goals and their successor
    the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Almost 90% of the United Nations’ member states are contracting parties to the Convention.…