By Pat Bacchetti
When I told friends that I was going to Minnesota in January, the most common response was “Why on earth would you go there then?!”
I started to have second thoughts as well, as I watched temperatures in Duluth dip below zero, with the wind chill reading hovering around -20F. But as a life-long Californian, I was looking forward to experiencing a Northland winter as well as the birds that favor that climate. So off I went to Minneapolis on December 31, with three Dungeness Crabs in tow for a New Year’s party, and many layers of down clothing.
Our first stop was for Snowy Owls, who like the long flat fields around airports to hunt for their mousy prey during the day. As my friend in Minneapolis, Susan, drove us around the cargo area of Minneapolis International, we dodged airport security looking for owls. We were able to finally locate my life-list Snowy Owl, a beautiful pure white male, sitting on a building near the runway. It was a thrill to finally see one of these beautiful Arctic owls. We would see two more at the Richard I Bong Airport in Superior, Wisconsin, but the first sighting is always the most memorable.
A wing-tagged Snowy Owl in Superior, WI, which is just south of Duluth. The researcher dyes the head feathers with a black dye to make them easier to spot in the field. Photo by Patricia Bacchetti
Duluth was the next stop, for a Minnesota Birding Weekends fieldtrip. Duluth is a delightful old port town at the southwest tip of Lake Superior that’s been transformed into a tourist destination, with galleries, cafes, and excellent restaurants. Though ore boats still ply the lake, visitors are more important for its economy these days. Lake Superior held Minnesota’s third state record Common Eider, who has been living near the pier since November. In addition to the eider, a couple of Northern Pintails and American Black Ducks were hanging out with the mallard/goldeneye flock, unexpected visitors in January.
For a Californian, the next target bird was a lesson in perspective: a Golden-crowned Sparrow had been at a feeder for the month of December, and this was a much-desired state sighting for Minnesota birders. After a brief appearance by the sparrow, we headed off to find Hoary Redpolls in the large flocks of Common Redpolls that winter in the area. Kim Eckert, our leader, found a single Hoary Redpoll in a large flock of Common Redpolls.…

By George Peyton
In February, 2005, after reading The Big Year by Mark Obmasick, later made into a popular movie, my other half, Lani Rumbaoa, announced that she intended to do her own Big Year of Birding, but limited to the Lower 48 States rather than all of North America.  I thought she was a bit crazy, but when Lani decides that she wants to do something, she is very determined. So even though we were both working full-time and had limited time for travel outside of the Bay Area, she ended 2005 with a total of 428 bird species.
In 2014, Lani announced that she wanted to do her second Big Year, to compete against her 2005 total, but with a goal of seeing 600 species. I shook my head in disbelief, since I knew that it would be far more difficult seeing 600 species than 428 – but Lani had made up her mind.
So here we are in January, 2015, all geared up for her to see as many bird species as possible.
Here are some specifics. Lani is 53, has been birding for 14 years, including 15 international bird tours, has great eyes for spotting birds, lots of energy, major enthusiasm – and most important, she is absolutely determined to see at least 600 bird species during 2015. One more key factor is that she will be continuing her work as a store manager full five-day workweeks for at least 26 weeks out of the year, which will restrict her ability to drop everything and travel promptly to see some rare bird that has shown up in California or elsewhere.
Lani and George on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2014
In contrast, I am 76, have been actively birding for 66 years, and have organized and escorted over 40 international bird tours. I am not as expert a birder as Joe Morlan or Dave Quady or Bob Lewis, but have many years of active birding experience.
My title is Big Year Coach, Cheerleader, and Primary Bird Guide, but it also includes being Planner and Chief Sherpa, carrying the scope, field guide and pack on our many upcoming days birding in the field.
I have already spent over 300 hours planning where and when Lani should go to see at least 600 species during 2015, as well as making plane, rental car, and motel reservations for our many out-of-state birding trips.…

By Ilana DeBare
Golden Gate Bird Alliance celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a fitting way at a most fitting location — a day of community service at the Oakland shoreline park that bears his name.
GGBA joined with about 40 volunteers from Outdoor Afro on Monday January 19 for a morning of planting native seedlings, removing shoreline trash, and learning about the birds of this beautiful shoreline park.
Outdoor Afro is a national organization dedicated to strengthening African-Americans’ connection to nature and outdoor recreation. Over the past few years, GGBA has developed a strong partnership with the young and growing group, including serving as its fiscal sponsor.
“One thing that is very important about this place is that it is home to some very endangered species,” Outdoor Afro founder Rue Mapp said as she welcomed the crowd.  “It’s no coincidence that it is also next to some communities that are also threatened. The Wilderness Act and the Civil Rights Act were both signed 50 years ago…. We have an opportunity to make connections between vulnerable people and vulnerable places.”
Removing trash from the shoreline on MLK Day / Photo by Ilana DeBare
The vulnerability of nature was tragically and ironically evident along the East Bay shoreline on Monday, as hundreds of seabirds turned up weakened and dying from an unidentified sticky substance that was not petroleum. Experts from International Bird Rescue hurtled into action, aided by volunteers who spotted and reported ailing birds. As of Tuesday morning, IBR had rescued more than 300 birds but government investigators had not yet figured out the nature and source of the contamination.
The contamination news didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of Monday’s Outdoor Afro and GGBA volunteers. Some knelt in the dirt to plant seedlings or used long poles to pull trash out of the water. Many tried out binoculars for the first time and were rewarded with views of Snowy Egrets, Willets, and a Northern Harrier hunting over the marsh. A few even caught a glimpse of an endangered Ridgway’s Rail darting through the reeds at high tide. And when the work was done, everyone joined in a picnic lunch of six-foot-long Subway sandwiches.
Teamwork planting native seedlings / Photo by Ilana DeBare
Digging holes for native seedlings / Photo by Ilana DeBare
All ages took part in MLK Day of Service / Photo by Ilana DeBare
The MLK Shoreline day of service, co-sponsored with the East Bay Regional Park District, capped a long history of civic involvement with this beautiful shoreline area.…

By Dave Quady and Bob Lewis
Though the weather forecast for Sunday, December 14, was favorable, caution seemed warranted as Count Day approached, because 3.4 inches of rain had fallen in Oakland in the preceding few days. Happily, early owlers in Redwood Regional Park found crisp temperatures and clear skies, heard the three expected owl species, and then heard a totally unexpected Long-eared Owl, the count’s first in eleven years. Oakland’s 74th annual Christmas Bird Count was off to a good start.
Good weather and good birding continued throughout the day. A record-high 257 field observers, together with a dozen feeder watchers, detected 180 species, two more than our recent average, and three fewer than our record high. Our total of 98,920 individual birds was some 3,000 higher than our recent average. Local press coverage allowed others to share the fun vicariously, and everyone can now reflect on it at leisure:
San Francisco Chronicle
Contra Costa Times
Berkeleyside
None of this year’s ‘rare’ birds could hold a candle to last year’s Painted Redstart, but a Barn Swallow over Alameda, chosen as Best Bird, was only our second since 1974 on count day. Swallows seem to be wintering here in higher numbers recently; Tree Swallow has become almost expected on our count (one was over Alameda this year), and other local CBCs also recorded Barn Swallow. A Black-headed Grosbeak, a Black-and-white Warbler, and two Western Tanagers were other nice finds.
Among the handsomest of all warblers, this Black-and-white Warbler displayed its nuthatch-like feeding behavior at Berkeley’s Codornices Park. Photo by John Colbert.
 
Seen sporadically in Claremont Canyon over the preceding weeks, this male Black-headed Grosbeak obligingly appeared on count day as well. Photo by Kay Loughman.
Seventeen Snowy Plovers along the Alameda shoreline were not totally unexpected; small flocks have occurred there episodically over the last couple of decades and GGBA volunteers won protective fencing for them on part of Crown Beach during 2014. Red-necked Grebe, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Hermit Warbler (all single individuals) rounded out this year’s list of review-worthy species.
A Snowy Plover at Oakland’s Middle Harbor Park raises hopes that other small shoreline beaches might also provide wintering habitat for this threatened species. Photo by Calvin Lou.
Nearly every year at least a few species occur in record-high numbers. But this year many species exceeded their previous records by at least twenty percent: Green Heron, American Coot, Semipalmated Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, and Hermit Thrush.…

By Bob Lewis
Two quite rare sparrows have turned up in the Bay Area this winter. Both are birds that breed in northern areas and winter further south. Their normal fall migration generally takes them on a route far from the Bay Area, but these two, probably blown off course by winter storms, are spending their non-breeding season with us.
The Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), first found by Alan Hopkins, has been coming to an area across the street from the California Academy of Sciences (where we teach our Master Birding class) since Dec. 7. How convenient is that?! A lot of folks have been able to see the bird, including some photographers, so it’s being well documented.
Rustic Bunting breeds in Northern Europe and Asia as far east as Kamchatka and Sakhalin, and normally migrates to Japan and China for the winter. A handful of sightings have been made along the West Coast, with four reported in Rare Birds of California prior to 2006. Because of its large range and population, it is not considered endangered by the IUCN Redlist, although its population is decreasing. Our bird apparently got on the wrong side of the Bering Strait, and then migrated down North America instead of Asia.
Rustic Bunting in Golden Gate Park by Bob Lewis
Rustic Bunting in Golden Gate Park by Bob Lewis
LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii) was found on the Point Reyes Christmas Count by Wendy Dreskin, and identified by Scott and Ryan Terrill at the count dinner.  There are 32 accepted records of this colorful little sparrow in California (as of 2006) but this is a first for the Bay Area.  It breeds in Northern British Columbia east to Quebec, and migrates through the center of the US down to the south-east where it winters in Texas, Missouri and Kentucky east to northern Florida.  It’s a ground-loving bird, and generally hides in wet grassy areas, where it’s difficult to see.  It’s status on the IUCN list is, like the bunting, a bird of Least Concern.  It has a large range and significant population, although diminishing.
Our bird apparently got on the wrong side of the Rockies and migrated south, finding familiar habitat in Point Reyes.
LeConte’s Sparrow at Abbot’s Lagoon by Bob Lewis
The trek is a long one to see this sparrow, to the south side of Abbot’s Lagoon.  But usually after a significant wait, birders have been rewarded with fleeting views of the little skulker as it feeds along the edge of wet areas. …