Yosemite National Park
May 29-31, 2015
Leader(s): Dave Quady and Dave Cornman
# of participants: 20
# of species: 68

Twenty birders enjoyed plentiful bird song– but in a fire-scarred landscape – and wonderful weather on Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s annual field trip to western Yosemite National Park. Two of our usual birding areas had been so badly burned that we forsook them in favor of unburned areas. Worst was the damage caused by 2013’s quarter-million acre Rim Fire, the third largest in the state’s recorded history. Then, on July 26, 2014 a fire that began near El Portal devastated the south-facing portion of the Merced River gorge as it swept upslope, destroyed two homes in Foresta, and burned nearly 5,000 acres, including about 1,000 acres in Yosemite itself. As a result of that fire, we missed seeing an American Dipper at Foresta Falls for the first time in memory.

Despite the loss of habitat, our ‘official’ list (of birds recorded by at least one leader and one participant) reached 68 species, only a bit lower than average. In addition participants reported a Williamson’s Sapsucker not seen well enough by any of the leaders. Unlike last year, no unusual species stood out this year (well, Peregrine Falcons were close . . .). But like last year, we enjoyed seeing the nests of several species, with that of a Lawrence’s Goldfinch pair squarely in the spotlight. Surely the bears were our mammalian highlights: one seen by all near Tamarack Flat, and two more (a huge blonde, and a shiny, well-stuffed cinnamon-brown) seen by some on Saturday.

The highlight of our walk was a mixed flock of juvenile Oak Titmice and Dark-eyed Juncos playing in and under the oaks near Children’s Fairyland, with an adult or two of each species looking on. We also saw half a dozen juvenile Canada Geese on the lawn between the playground and the maze: half the size of the adults and covered in gray-brown plush like so many goose-shaped teddy bears.

Less good news, unless you have a serious need for quills to practice your calligraphy: the molt migration has started. The Canada Goose population is on the rise, and the long flight feathers have begun to litter the ground; by late next month, it’ll practically be possible to cross the lawn without stepping off the back of a goose. As always happens around this time of year, the geese are swapping out their whole flight suits. Unlike most birds, they lose all their primary feathers at once and can’t fly for a few weeks, and so they need a safe place to hang out – and lots and lots and lots of them choose Lake Merritt, which offers lawns for grazing, the lake for retreat, and minimal harassment from dogs and people. There’s no way to stop it short of draining the lake and paving the meadow and turning it into a skateboard park, so grin and bear it. At least the geese are entertainingly funny-looking as the feathers grow in….

The lake itself was thin of company – besides the still-nesting Double-crested Cormorants (a few retaining their crests) it was mainly Canada Geese and Mallards and mutt ducks, though we did see one lone lorn American Coot. Hank the rescue pelican did have a couple of White Pelicans visiting him, and several Brown Pelicans were checking out the rocks on the new boathouse shoreline. Our local Forster’s Terns were out in good numbers, and one Caspian Tern flew back and forth over the lake near the islands.

All told, we saw 32 species of birds and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite cloudy skies and a shivering brisk wind, proving yet again that at Lake Merritt, every day is a good day….

We had a small group yesterday due to B2B and the Fort Mason walk going on at the same time, but had a fantastic time birding the hill!  Some highlights..

• Singing WESTERN TANAGER near Coit Tower.
• SWAINSON’S THRUSH also near Coit.
• CASPIAN TERN flying over Fisherman’s Wharf
• WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and BARN SWALLOWS hawking around Greenwich steps.
• A couple mixed flocks that yielded a YELLOW WARBLER and a few WILSON’S WARBLERS.
• WESTERN SCRUB JAY feasting on bees at the local hive.
• A few good looks at used ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD nests.

We also found an awesome BUSHTIT nest hanging right over the Greenwich steps.

Good influx of migrants at Fort Mason this morning for the GGBA monthly field trip.  A very cooperative OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER perched at the top of several trees for multiple sightings.  YELLOW WARBLERS were seen throughout the morning, with a minimum of eight, mostly singing males in and around the Battery. Five were spotted in the Battery, one in the garden and two behind the General’s House. Two WILSON’S WARBLERS, one ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and two BLACK-THROATED WARBLERS rounded out the warbler sightings for the morning.  At least two WARBLING VIREOS foraged around the battery.  A WESTERN TANAGER called from a tree. A SWAINSON’S THRUSH sang at the bottom of the steps.  The Gannet was not seen.  Best birds on the water were two COMMON LOONS, a SURF SCOTER and two CASPIAN TERNS.

A real MoB (many observers) met at the Steam Trains to walk up the fire road to Vollmer Peak. Warbler Grand Slam!- Hermit, Wilson’s, Orange-crowned and Townsend’s! Nesting birds: Pygmy Nuthatch and Northern Flicker in the same snag on the peak! Lazuli Buntings singing, Olive-sided Flycatcher and Pacific-slope Flycatcher doing their best, and an amazing concert of two California Thrashers singing while a third watched! Thanks to Christine and Dan and Juan-Carlos for “big guns and big Canons” for observing the birds up close, and a warm welcome to our Meet-up group members.

Golden Gate Bird Alliance regular First Friday Birdwalk (following the Dawn Chorus special bird walk from 0530 to 0745hrs).

Our theme was how birds learn their songs. Send me an e-mail if you want the notes.

This was a First Friday SPECIAL Dawn Chorus Birdwalk. It was the Fourth Annual Dawn Chorus walk: this coming Sunday, May 3, 2015, is International Dawn Chorus Day (first Sunday in May each year).

Saturn in the west as we began at 0530hrs, meeting at the parking lot just south of Canon Drive, where it meets Central Park Drive, in Tilden Regional Park.

Our theme was the biology of the Dawn Chorus: males may be singing because it’s too dark to eat!; birds with bigger eyes start singing earlier; males may be singing to announce that they survived the night and are still on their territory and available as a mate; males may be trying to attract any females that arrived during the night. Females are evaluating males for length, intensity (energy) and variety of their song. Both males and females could be learning of territories that have become un-occupied (available).

Despite the heat (90+ degrees) by the time we finished, just after noon, we saw Bullock’s Orioles, Lazuli Bunting,   had great views of singing Wilson’s Warblers, nesting Tree Swallows, Western Bluebirds and Barn Swallows. Pacific slope Flycatchers and Warbling Vireos were vocalizing, also singing were Bewick’s Wren and Swainson’s Thrush.

The April walkers – including several from the new Meet-Up announcement – were treated to a spectacular display of Eared Grebes and Horned Grebes in near or full breeding plumage (both looking like jeweler’s work in copper and black silver and gold, with ruby eyes) fishing and preening and chasing each other about near the islands. See them soon; they’ll be off to the nesting grounds by the end of April!

The trees on the islands continue full of nesting Double-crested Cormorants, many still displaying their bunny-ear crests, though the bronze youngsters are starting to edge along the branches and think about chasing fish of their very own. We also saw several Forster’s Terns after the same fish, knifing into the water on pale wings or standing on the floats and showing off their natty black caps and red beaks and feet. And the resident Canada Geese had a couple of parties of egg-sized babies swimming and grazing along with them – half a dozen in one group and two or three in another – in an overflow of cuteness. (Come June and July, when the lawns fill up with geese, do not attribute it to reproductive success at the lake; if any of these babies survive it’ll be a surprise, but lots and lots and lots of their distant cousins and uncles and aunties will come to visit anyway because the lake is the safest place around when you have to replace all your flight feathers.)

Given how low the scaup population was all winter, the numbers remaining on the lake were surprising – both Greater and Lesser Scaup were out in substantial numbers, vigorously chowing down on the weeds and whatever else looked like providing calories for the impending trip north.

Over in Lakeside Park, the big treat was a catalpa tree full of black-masked Cedar Waxwings, closely followed by an unusually placid Bewick’s Wren hopping along the garden fence top and showing off its bright white eyebrow for all to see. But of course, this barely scratches the surface of the delights of yet another cloudy-but-lovely day at Lake Merritt, where every day has delights to share….

As part of Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Birdathon, the Wren Wranglers – did a
spending 13+ hours roaming several sites in the East Bay in an attempt to photograph as many bird species as possible. We finished the day with 89 species photographed by at least one member of the team. Another 13 species were seen or heard, but not photographed, for a total of 102. A list of species is below.

Here is a collection of our photo highlights in chronological order. Note that my name is on each photo because this is my Flickr account, but most of the photos were taken by other team members. The photographer is listed in the title of each photo:

Please join me in supporting Golden Gate Bird Alliance, the only environmental education and advocacy organization focused on the birds of San Francisco and the East Bay, by making a pledge in the name of the Wren Wranglers (a reference to all the time we spent trying to get photos of four wren species):

https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/goldengateaudubon/campaign.jsp?campaign=416&fundraiser=110589578&

Today I did a walking big day and was joined for most of the day by Rob Cullison. We started at 6:15 and I ended at 7:30. There were very few migrants to be seen; it took me until 7:pm to find a Fox Sparrow! We missed many of the birds found by other folks but we finished with 100 species, our goal, in about 18 miles of walking. No fossil fuel used.

For a full report see this article from the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Early-human-gets-the-birds-at-Audubon-Society-s-6212360.php

Juli and i led a small group of three other birders on a 14-hour-long big day in San Francisco yesterday to raise money for Golden Gate Bird Alliance. It was our third year leading this big day and our most successful by all measures, in spite of the fact that we missed most of the significant SF migrants reported by others yesterday (we had zero Broad-winged Hawks). Our route was much the same as last year with just a few refinements, starting at the city’s central hilltops, heading north, then moving gradually around the perimeter, ending in the southeast corner.

The highlights from our day (in chronological order):

• Rufous Hummingbird and a late-staying Varied Thrush on Mt. Davidson
  • California Quail calling by the handball courts in GG Park
  • Northern Shovelers, Great-tailed Grackle, and singing White-throated Sparrow at Stow   Lake
  • Black-throated Gray Warbler and a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers at an apparent nest hole in Lafayette Park
  • Merlin flyover at Fort Mason being pursued by a pair of hummingbirds
  • Wandering Tattlers, one on the old pier near Fort Mason and one at Sutro Baths
  • Western Kingbird pair hawking insects from the treetops at East Wash
  • Peregrine Falcon and Red Crossbills at Sutro Heights Park
  • Red-breasted Merganser (male in full breeding plumage) and Black Scoters at the end of Great Highway
  • Tropical Kingbird and Green Heron at Lake Merced concrete bridge
  • Short-billed Dowitchers and a late Western Meadowlark at Heron’s Head
  • Spotted Towhee on Bayview Hill

Our biggest misses of the day were Great Egret, Northern Flicker, vireos of any kind, Cliff Swallow, and Western Bluebird. We also missed Lazuli Bunting and Bullock’s Oriole, both of which we found on our scouting day Friday.
Total number of birds found in that 14-hour period: 129! A personal record for us in SF. We had a fantastic team supporting us. Big thanks to Matt Perry, Robert Clark, and Amanda Starbuck for their dedication, stamina, and spotting skills.

The Golden Gate Bird Alliance Birdathon is well underway.  24 birders covered much of western SF for the first half of the annual Murphy’s MOb group.  We got most of our target birds and 2 very nice surprises.  First was an alternate plumage White-throated Sparrow at North Lake in Golden Gate Park.  Then at Lake Merced’s concrete bridge we spotted the continuing Tropical Kingbird and a Sora.

I subbed for the ranger that normally leads the monthly GGBA bird walk at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Calm, sunny, and clear, with 5-10mph, generally westerly. 10:00am – noon. Lots of nice birds and would be hard pressed to pick a best bird. We saw a Varied Thrush and a Savannah Sparrow in the hillside underbrush by the Sea Scout Building. There was a Common Loon in striking alternate plumage and a Surf Scoter.

Observing a pair of Downy Woodpeckers eventually led us to a fresh nest cavity and I’ll be keeping my eye on that snag for fledges. A line of Double-crested Cormorants headed west, at minimum 500, and probably closer to 1000. Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed Hawks, and Turkey Vultures. A sharp-eyed birder named Daniel found 2 Wandering Tattler and 1 Black Turnstone on the abandoned pier. In all, 30 species, which is pretty decent for SF Maritime.Thanks to the participants for a great walk on a beautiful day in the national parks!

This substituted for the usual Second Friday GGBA Birdwalk. We started at the Summit Reservoir, at the intersection of Spruce and Grizzly Peak, walked north to the stub end of Grizzly Peak Blvd, and walked north on “Ye Olde School Trail” to Kensington (Hilltop) School and back.

Best bird: Calliope Hummingbird!

As part of the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Birdathon, the Soggy Sloggers
did a whirlwind six-hour tour of six birding sites in or immediately adjacent to the city of
Oakland between 7:08 and 1:08 today, finishing the day with 104 species. Naturally, a few more species were seen/heard shortly before and after the count period. The rain (unexpectedly heavy at times), wind and cold certainly cost us some species, but didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the team. Some of our favorite birds of the day included:

Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve – WHITE-TAILED KITE (perhaps one the pair Wendy Parfrey has been reporting on) (1), LARK SPARROW (1)

Lake Temescal Regional Recreation Area – WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (1),
WOOD DUCK (3), GREEN HERON (1)

Lake Merritt – all five of the regular grebes in breeding regalia, Caspian Tern

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park – Black-bellied Plover hunting worms (my best guess) on the lawn, lots of shorebirds in breeding plumage – Dunlins, Willets, Long-billed Curlews, etc.

Garretson Point, MLK Regional Shoreline – LESSER YELLOWLEGS with a
Greater nearby for comparison

Black-headed Grosbeak and Pacific-slope Flycatcher were FOS for many observers. The Grosbeaks usually return when the box-elder blooms but they were late this year: box-elder has been blooming (male catkins) for several weeks already. A Picidae hat-trick (Acorn, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers) this day. Red-shouldered Hawk nest in the eucalyptus above the iris patch (which is in bloom now) east of the dam at Jewel Lake.

About 15 participants joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance bird walk on Telegraph Hill this lovely morning with epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge.  We meandered around Pioneer Park at the base of Coit Tower, the Greenwich and Lombard Steps, and ended at the overlook at the intersection of Lombard and Telegraph Hill Blvd, which looks out at the bay and Piers 29 and 31. Highlights were Peregrine Falcon, Clark’s Grebe, Tree Swallow, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, and Red-breasted Merganser.

This morning started quite normally. The Double-crested Cormorants are nesting in the trees on the offshore islands, finally sporting their double crests and living up to their name. A few of the nests already have young ones begging for food.

Shortly after we finished counting the breeding Cormorants on the islands and floats (about 130 individuals) we looked further across the lake and discovered a huge raft of about 300 Double-crested Cormorants swimming in a long line, all in the same direction and coming towards us. The first birds in line would dive, followed by the next in line, herding fish along. Soon they were inside the floats. Birds from the back flew to the front to be first in line to dive. The scene was spectacular and went on for at least half an hour. Brown Pelicans joined the feast. It was hard to turn our attention to the other birds that were present.

Hank, the resident injured White Pelican, has grown his breeding bump on the top of his beak.. We found Ruddy Ducks looking very dapper; the male’s bills are now turning a bright blue and their backs are a beautiful reddish chestnut.

Some of the Eared Grebes are beginning to develop their golden “ears.” A Song Sparrow sang with great abandon from the top of a bush in the community garden, giving us excellent views. We caught glimpses of a small flock of Cedar Waxwings as they called overhead, but they didn’t settle down long enough to get good looks.

It’s good to see the annual cycle of life kicking into gear at the Lake where every day is a great day.

We enjoyed excellent conditions for this trip. The wind didn’t pick up from more than a light breeze until we were already on our last leg back to the marina and the overcast kept down glare making for perfect visibility. Thanks to several great spotters on board and our extremely knowledgable guide Barbara we managed to observe a total of 82 species.

Some of the highlights were: hundreds of pintails and scaup resting behind the Mare Island breakwater, an area accessible only by boat, approximately 15 Osprey nests on Mare Island and 1-2 in Napa County, Swainson’s Hawks returning to recently colonized nesting sites on the Napa River, tens of thousands of shorebirds on the recently restored Green Island Unit of the Napa – Sonoma Marshes complex, White-throated Swifts colonies on Napa River bridges.

Twenty-two birders enjoyed wonderful weather, some lingering winter resident waterfowl and raptors, and a good selection of northeastern California’s hoped-for March specialty species.

At 5:00 am Saturday morning we assembled in Susanville under a star-filled sky to begin our drive to a Greater Sage-Grouse lek. Darkness still hid the birds when we arrived, and a breeze prevented our enjoying the males’ popping display sound in the darkness. But soon we could make out their white ruffs moving about in the gloom, and after enjoying the males’ strutting in the daytime, the breeze diminished to the point that we could finally enjoy their popping sounds as well. We saw 11 displaying males, but no certain females. The males seemed more spread out on the lek than usual. That, together with the apparent absence of females, suggested that females might already be on eggs, and that the males’ display season was nearing its end

After leaving the lek, we enjoyed good views of a Sagebrush Sparrow, and also of a Sage Thrasher, giving us a fine “Sage trifecta,” of which two species – the grouse and the thrasher – are sage-obligates. Besides singing at length, the Sage Thrasher treated us to its “Bilateral Wing Display*,” a mating display that I’d never seen before.

After breakfast we birded a short stretch of the Bizz Johnson Trail in Susanville, cruised the forested edge of the Honey Lake Valley, and combed the streets of Janesville in search of Lewis’s Woodpeckers. Happily we found a pair in a friendly homeowner’s yard, where they frequented pines (!) as they’d done when I last visited two years ago. Fine as far as it goes, but it’s sobering to recall that a decade ago a dozen Lewis’s Woodpeckers could be found in Janesville with ease.

After a pleasant lunch stop at Artisan Coffee we caravanned through Honey Lake Valley from Janesville east to the Fleming Unit of Honey Lake State Wildlife Area. Our visit to Leavitt Lake produced several species of waterfowl on the lake, and a spectacular Snow Goose fly-in to fields north of the lake as sunset approached. We returned to the Fleming Unit in search of Short-eared Owls at dusk, but found none before dinner, and bed, beckoned us all back to Susanville.

Sunday morning was sunny and pleasantly warm, and we enjoyed good birds everywhere. Jack’s Valley produced a very accommodating Northern Pygmy-Owl, the first I’ve had there on a GGBA trip. The Five Dot Ranch’s pond near the north end of Willow Creek Valley held nine duck species; clearly the valley’s highlight this year. In the Eagle Lake basin our first pair of Mountain Bluebirds cheered us all, a fine set-up for our final stop, at the Orings’ residence. Lew and Kay generously opened their home to us, to enjoy our lunches and the many bird species their well-stocked feeders attracted. What a fine ending to an enjoyable trip

Despite being windy and overcast, the 35 birders on this morning’s GGBA walk at Fort Mason collectively saw 45 species of birds, with the most memorable being a PEREGRINE FALCON circling low down several times over the Community Garden. A cooperative WANDERING TATTLER walked along a ledge along Aquatic Park 8 feet below part of our birding group for at least 10 minutes (a 2nd Tattler was on the pier). The water in and around Aquatic Park also had a male SURF SCOTER that swam practically to shore, as well as a COMMON LOON, a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and all three species of Cormorant. The only true new migrant was a flyover BARN SWALLOW. Lots of EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVES and BAND-TAILED PIGEONS. The AMERICAN CROWS were very acrobatic in the wind, with one flying upside down. We found the beginnings of a RED-TAILED HAWK nest, and the two Red-Tails completed many loops around the garden, often pursued by American Crows, some of whom also carried nesting material. Several NORTHERN FLICKERS were in the garden most of the morning.

We enjoyed the faux spring weather and endured many biting mosquitoes at Coyote Hills. The marsh was full of water and singing birds. We had great looks at singing Marsh Wrens and Common Yellowthroats. The only early spring migrant was one Wilson’s Warbler heard singing.

Lots of flowers, trees in bloom (“the Black-headed Grosbeak returns when the Box-elder blooms” though, in fact, we did not have a Black-headed Grosbeak and there were Box-elders in bloom). Thanks to Wen Hsu and other RPBG docents, we saw bushtit and scrub jay nests. Juan Carlos Solis showed us a Saturniid moth pupal case (huge!) and Wen showed us a Pipevine Swallowtail chrysalis. A few swallowtail adults were flying about, too. One of the bushtit nests was under construction and many photos were taken. Danke schön to Christine for bringing the spotting scope today.

If you would like a copy of the New Sequence of Bird Orders and the accompanying bibliography from  the Bay Currents talk on What Your  Field Guide Tells You about Bird Evolution, please e-mail a request to me. Thanks!

Our theme today was the new sequence of bird orders, derived mostly from Jarvis et al. 2014 in Science, 12 December 2014, 346:1320-1331. Whole genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds.

Ducks and Geese, Pheasants and other Fowl lead the field guide sequence now, not Loons. Grebes are not closely related to Loons which with they have been paired in most of the field guides for nearly 100 years. Flamingoes and Grebes are now recognized as each others’ closest relatives. Swifts and Hummingbirds lose their respective orders, merged with the Goatsuckers and Nightjars ; they have always been associated in the guides, but the Swifts and hummers are derived from within the Nightbirds and so don’t get their own order(s) anymore. Cranes are sisters to Plovers (Gruiformes and Charadriiformes are each their own closest relatives). Penguins (out of our area), which led the world lists for almost a century, are close to the Tubenoses, Albatrosses and Shearwaters. Pelecaniformes are expanded to include storks, which lose their once-greatly expanded status as an order. New World Vultures are back with the Accipteriformes (Hawks and Eagles) after a “New York minute” as “storks.” Parrots are now closest to Songbirds, and Falcons are between the Parrot-Songbird orders and the woodpeckers (woodpeckers had immediately preceeded the sub-oscine Songbirds [Tyrant Flycatchers] for nearly a century)
Bird O’ the Day is hard to choose: was it the Red-breasted Sapsucker, once again at the parking lot picnic table for hours? The pair of Red-shouldered Hawks at the Jewel Lake Meadow? The Hooded Merganser on the lake? The pair of Double-crested Cormorants (at least one showing the crests!)? Or the four raptors (Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Red-tailed and the aforementioned Red-shouldered)? Or the five Picidae- Northern Flicker, Downy, Hairy and Acorn Woodpeckers, and aforementioned Red-breasted Sapsucker?

Orange-crowned Warblers singing everywhere, sunny day of delight!

A dozen birders joined me for a segment of the monthly GGBA walk at the Arboretum today. It was a sunny, clear day that resulted in 40 species for our group, the best sightings being the noisy and demonstrative springtime activity. We watched a pair of bushtits building a nest, some Pygmy Nuthatches excavating cavities, an Anna’s hummingbird on a nest, Allen’s hummingbirds displaying, and m/f pairs of Mallards, Canada Geese, Hooded Mergansers, and Red-Shouldered Hawks. We heard singing Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Hutton’s Vireos, Brown Creeper, Purple Finch, Song Sparrow, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, and more.

Two Cooper’s Hawks flew overhead and one perched near the California Garden. Pine Siskins were making their watch-winding call all over. One CALIFORNIA QUAIL was in the demonstration garden. Thanks to a heads-up from another group, our group spotted first one, then two, WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

I sat down by the fountain to do my list and heard a noise that sounded a bit like a very fast white-breasted nuthatch. I followed the sound and found that the source of it was a Song Sparrow–making a noise that was new to me. Learn something every day.

Nothing truly astonishing on today’s walk, but much to delight the attending birders – especially the half-dozen of the twenty or so who stayed to the end and had the chance to watch a Bewick’s Wren investigating the Bee Hotel in the garden. A pair nested there last year, and this one – with a puff of seed fluff firmly beaked – was searching in and out of every wren-sized opening, apparently looking for the perfect spot. That book-ended the day neatly, as it began with a male Nuttall’s Woodpecker showing off his ladder back and red head in the trees beside the geodesic dome cage, where we never ever saw a woodpecker before.

The female Belted Kingfisher was fishing from the island, not yet disturbed by the Double-crested Cormorants (with bunny-ear crests on their normally snakelike heads) who were beginning to assemble for the nesting season. Or by the resident Red-tailed Hawk, sitting almost invisible on a lower branch of one of the big trees on the island. (Resident? No sign of nesting, but when you often see a red-tail in the area and it’s *always* a very dark – and therefore rare – morph, you can assume it’s the same bird each time.)

The species count was 48 – missing a few regulars but including two Great Blue Herons, two pairs of Common Goldeneyes and a half-dozen female Common Mergansers. An early Northern Rough-winged Swallow zipped past like a brown bullet, possibly scoping out the lakeside wall where they nested last year; a flock of Cedar Waxwings landed briefly on one of the island trees and then swooped off in a tight bunch, and a Common Raven flew past overhead, standing out from the crows by his long diamond-shaped tail.

And over beside the Children’s Art Center, the workmen had opened part of the construction area to lake water, making the first ripples of the new wetland-to-be! A hopeful sign on a good day at Lake Merritt, where every… single… day… is a good day indeed.

We could see no water in the reservoir from any or our vantage points. Hence, no ducks or other water birds. Otherwise, it was quite birdy, with lots of bird songs, including California Thrashers singing their heads off and early Orange-Crowned Warblers singing.

We also had lots of four-legged critters, including: 2 coyotes, 2 deer, a newt (California, I believe), western fence lizards, and a brief look at 2 dusky-footed woodrats.

Golden Gate Bird Alliance organized a great boat trip to the delta today, powered by Dolphin Charters. Many thanks to Ron and John for their excellent narration of the history and natural history of the Delta. By my count, we saw a total of 75 species today, including the birds around the Marina.
A few trip highlights included, in no particular order, PEREGRINE FALCON on the Antioch Bridge, a pair of nesting GREAT-HORNED OWLS, a pair of nesting RED-TAILED HAWKS, 3 fly-over YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, plenty of SANDHILL CRANES, a few TUNDRA SWANS, AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, both on the water and soaring overhead, lots of SNOW/ROSS’S GEESE both real and decoys, a few harder to find ducks including CINNAMON TEAL, RING-NECKED DUCK, and COMMON GOLDENEYE, some great looks at a couple AMERICAN BITTERNS, several skulking COMMON GALLINULES, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE  on a power line, … I could go on.

In the mammal department, we had a glimpse of a River Otter, what may have been a Beaver or another Otter, a Raccoon-like furball in a tree, and a pair of Raccoons along the shore.

Dolphin Charters will be running a boat trip up the Napa River on April 25 as part of the GGBA Birdathon. All proceeds go to benefit the chapter’s essential conservation and education work. Bob Lewis will provide his most excellent bird guiding services. Check GoldenGateAudubon.org for sign-up information.

Gorgeous day with sunny, calm, clear conditions. Roughly 25 participants (quite a few from Berkeley and Oakland) joined co-leader Mike Gertz and me–substituting for David Assmann– for a morning of some fun and great  birding. It helped that Mike found the Orchard Oriole right at the start and the group managed to get nice, open looks at a very bright and cooperative bird. We eventually moved and then I spotted a Nashville Warbler and we looked at another cooperative bird. Pictures of both in Flickr below but there were several folks that undoubtedly got better pics. Both of these birds were seen in the garden.

We had some odd misses. No Dark-eyed Juncos and no loons, mergansers, or Western Grebes. I think there may have been some kind of swimming event because there were a lot more swimmers than usual and this may have moved the waterbirds away. We did manage to find two Wandering Tattlers on the abandoned pier and 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker, which was not in its usual spot but in the wild area by the battery.  A pair of Cooper’s Hawks flew around and one provided great scope views as it perched. Numerous sea lions in the cove. We ended with 50 species. Thanks to Mike Gertz for co-leading! Thanks to William Chan and Paul Weaver for helping with the recording and to all the participants for their energy and enthusiasm.

A large group of observers enjoyed a large group of BRANT (more than 50) ! We’ve got photos and video ! Gull-a-pa-looza was not happening, but we had good looks at Mew Gull, California Gull, Western Gull and Ring-billed Gull, and a Glaucous-winged Gull flyover.

Ted Robertson and Juan-Carlos Solis appeared and added a bunch of land birds to the list (and the Red-throated Loon). We got good views of Eurasian Wigeon to compare to the many American Wigeon present. Thanks to all who brought scopes and shared knowledge!

My 70th bird walk for GGBA ! And a nice rain fell from early on,  increased and decreased throughout the morning and continued as we finished. Bird o’ the Day must be the persistent Red-breasted Sapsucker, which was waiting for us at the start near a picnic table, and Jim A. was photographing it still at the end of the walk! it was also a Five Picidae Day: the Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and Acorn Woodpecker. We had a raptor hat-trick: Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk.

We talked about hummingbirds which form “temporary pair bonds” (we don’t say they are “promiscuous” anymore); California Towhees which form life-long pair bonds (at least as long as 5 years, when Lauryn Benedict’s study ended), and Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers which break their pair bonds at the end of each breeding season but often pair off with the same mate the next year because the pairs overwinter near their breeding territories.  See The Private Lives of Birds by Bridget Stutchbury for more stories about bird mating strategies.

Thanks to all the stalwarts and new birders who came out on a wet day!

Twenty-eight birders were treated to some wonderful sights on today’s walk: 54 species all told, including the first-ever Varied Thrush and one of the handful of Spotted Sandpipers seen here in the last decade.

People kept saying, “Find me a –” – and we did: a Mew Gull ; a Green Heron; the aforementioned Varied Thrush; a gorgeous male Townsend’s Warbler complete with bright black burglar’s mask on his bright yellow face. Beautiful birds, brilliantly lit.

But the surface of the lake was almost empty…. Well, empty for Lake Merritt – a couple of hundred Greater and Lesser Scaup, instead of several thousand; a few dozen Canvasbacks instead of a few hundred. Even the Ruddy Ducks seemed thin on the water. The solid half-dozen female Common Mergansers didn’t make up for it.

What’s happening at the lake? It’s sort of scary, even on a truly lovely day….

The group saw most of the usual suspects, including Brandt’s Cormorant, Common and Red-breasted Merganser, Black Oystercatcher, Osprey, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling and Common Yellowthroat.

Sixteen birders spent a very foggy morning at Fort Mason today. There were at least three NASHVILLE WARBLERS, two in the garden and one behind the General’s House. One of the Nashville’s spent an extensive amount of time in the Montbretia on the north side of the garden, providing great views. The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was still in its favorite small tree next to the steps leading down to Aquatic Park. The male RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were in Aquatic Park. A VARIED THRUSH called.

I subbed for Angie on today’s trip to Lake Merced and we had a few nice birds. Starting at the concrete bridge we had at least 5 Great-tailed Grackles and a Thayer’s Gull. We did easily find the Swamp Sparrow at MH 7 which put on a good show for us. We looked for but missed the other two rarities that Alan refound. A couple of Tree Swallows and a Turkey Vulture flew over the lake. A female Common Yellowthroat was quite confiding on the rocks near the fishing pier and we also had an Orange-Crowned Warbler there.

Over at the Boathouse we had 2 Purple Finches, a female Ring-Necked Duck and strangely enough a Surf Scoter near the Wooden Bridge that we saw in the scope.

After lunch Annie and I tried again for the waterthrush but no luck. We did however manage a Bewick’s Wren and 4 exotic escaped quail (Common Quail?) on the trail just below the Penguin structure. I will post some pictures to the Files section of SFBirds if anyone is interested.

I (Carlo) helped out a bit with this morning’s walk, which would have started at the foot of Hyde Street Pier except that I had to wave everyone over onto the pier to look at the Western Bluebirds. They were putting on a nice show by perching out in the open on the South End Rowing Club’s fence, roof, and roof antenna. The participants were all wowed by the warm rufous and blue tones of Western Bluebirds. The Palm Warbler put in an appearance and I hope that nice photographer finally got a decent photo; it was being fidgety and no doubt what with all the foot traffic.

The walk ranged from Hyde Street Pier to the Aquatic Park meadow then to the beach. Other birds of interest include a Common Murre, which initially confused me because I didn’t realize they came that far into the cove (it was sticking close to a Monterey-style boat), a female Surf Scoter, a couple of Buffleheads, and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers.

We walked from Inspiration Point, out on the Nimitz Way to mile marker 1 and back. There were lots of scopes and cameras today- thank you for bringing them! Bird o’ the Day must be the intergrade/hybrid Northern Flicker, nicely photographed by Erika K. Black mustache, red crescent on the nape, and reddish wing linings when it flew (though the photo seems to be yellowish in the sitting bird).

Other hits of the day were a brief look at dust-bathing Bewick’s Wren, a very persistent Varied Thrush, scratching for something under a Monterey pine, and an American Kestrel well-posed on a power tower (Jim A. posted a photo of it to the Meet-up page). Our participants included first-timers, new birders, and a visitor from the frigid suburbs of New York.

Today’s theme was Mixed-species Flocks. At the very end of the walk, in the parking lot, we had a MSF of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bushtits, a Townsend’s Warbler (but not the expected Brown Creeper or Downy Woodpecker). Bird of the Day was the male Hooded Merganser at Jewel Lake, who emerged from a nap under the willows on the west side with a splashing entrance that thrilled all who saw it.

The reference for tropical America mixed-species flocks composition and behavior is Birds of Tropical America, Steven Hilty, 1994 (Curious Naturalist Series, Chapters Publishing, Shelburne, Vermont). The reference for “group color badges” in Western Panama and Andean mixed-species flocks is Social Mimicry: Character Convergence versus Character Displacement, M. Moynihan, 1968 Evolution: 22: 315-331, cited in Ornithology (3rd ed.), Frank B. Gill, 2007 (W.H. Freeman, New York).

Composition and Temporal Variation of Flocks in the Sierra Nevada, Michael L. Morrison et al., is from The Condor: 89: 739-745, 1987, and Positive Relationships between Association Strength and Phenotypic Similarity Characterize the Assembly of Mixed-Species Bird Flocks Worldwide, Hari Sridhar et al., is from The American Naturalist : 180 (6) (December 2012): 777-790.

Thanks to Johan L. who tracked down the Hooded Merganser  for us and Bob S. for the scope view, and Erika K. for the photo of it.  GGBA President Laura Gobbi attended today, and so did a few new birders, for the New Year!