June 1999 Field Journal

6.5 [SFBirds] 6.5.99 SF Birds
I had a slightly less interesting day today. :-| I headed out after
breakfast and found that I couldn't even get around the west end of GG Park
due to the Fleadh, so I headed down to the south end of Ocean beach. From
there, I scoped for about 1/2 hour. There were good numbers of loons just
beyond the breakers and after awhile I realized that virtually I all of the
loons I saw had either a chin strap or a silvery nape, including some in
fully alternate plumage. I added up 65 PACIFIC LOONS, which is certainly a
city record for me.

I also had a large, block-headed basic-plumaged loon with a seemingly
upturned yellow bill which got me going for a bit until I noticed the neck
stripe was broken where the neck ring will be for this COMMON LOON. Not
surprisingly, there was no postocular spot either. :-) I also had a PELAGIC
CORMORANT in breeding plumage, which might be a first for me this spring.
BRANDT'S CORMORANTS were plentify; where are the rest of the PECOs?

At the Boathouse, BANK SWALLOWS were easy to find and I heard a VIRGINIA
RAIL call as I walked up. Why does the area in the immediate vicinity of
the boathouse reek of human waste? It's not the lake proper as the aroma
diminishes as you move away from the Boathouse. South Lake Merced had a
singing YELLOW WARBLER and a singing COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.

6.5 [SFBirds] My new yard birds
The number of BARN SWALLOWS in my front "yard", the wooded strip separating
36th Avenue from Sunset Boulevard has grown to at least three, at least one
of which have been around for almost a week (and possibly much longer since
I don't bird my front yard often :-) This raises the specter that they're
breeding somewhere around my house, something which I have a hard time
fathoming. I realize that Barn Swallows often build nests on buildings, but find it
unusual that they might be nesting in such an urban area, far from any
water.

Comments?

6.12 - 13 Yuba Pass
Here are the highlights of Eric Preston's and my trip to Yuba Pass:

Rarities:

Interesting/Hard to find:

Lowlight was certainly the BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, now all the way up to Yuba Pass.

Saturday
Eric is relatively new to the San Francisco Bay Area, so I thought it would be a nice introduction for us to head up to Yuba Pass to get some of the Sierra Nevada specialties. Perhaps due to the very wet year or just due to good karma, the trip was a tremendous success.

On Saturday, we started our day at Basset's Store with nice views of a singing MacGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER in the willows just west of the store. At the feeders, female/immature CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS are easy to find and Eric points out an adult male BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, casual in the Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley area. A TREE SWALLOW is flying about as well.

Heading up to Yuba Pass, we get to the "City" limits and a flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS is "feeding" on the gravel at the side of the road. Eric has a WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER flash through his nocs and he also finds a single VAUX'S SWIFT, rare in the Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley area.

Onto Yuba Pass where most of the usual suspects are there in fine form. RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS are nesting at the pass and there are large numbers of PINE SISKINs around. Walking the road south from the pass, I finally hear a singing HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, one of Eric's target birds. We manage to get good enough looks to study the structural details of the bird. On the way back to the pass, Eric finds a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, which treats us (twice!) to its full song, something which I'm not sure I've ever heard in the field.

On the walk up the south road, I hear another empidonax flycatcher singing but hear subtle differences in the song and realize that it's a DUSKY FLYCATCHER. We manage to track it down and it is ridiculously cooperative, allowing "crippling" views of the structural differences of this bird relative to the HAFL we had earlier that morning. A male and female WESTERN TANAGER put on quite a show in perfect light down near the ground.

We then head back down the pass to take the Gold Lake Hwy. But along the way, I almost run off the road trying to stop the car and look; a pair of MOUNTAIN QUAIL were walking across Hwy. 49! I tell Eric that he doesn't realize how lucky he is.

Heading up Gold Lake Hwy., I mention that a spot looks pretty good for GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and, of course, one is sitting on a rock about 100 yards from where I mention this. At Sardine Lakes, SPOTTED TOWHEEs are easy to find and there are several singing NASHVILLE WARBLERs on the hillside above the lakes. We then continue along the Hwy., being amazed by how much snow is still on the ground and manage to miss the turn off (again this year) for Salmon Lodge Road. With Eric's navigational help, we retrace our steps and find the road.

We stop at the pond and it's very quiet. We take a walk around and finally hear a woodpecker drumming. I pull out my tape player and play a few drums and realize that it sounds pretty good for BBWO. Eric mentions that he's had success taping out woodpeckers, so I play it a couple of times, not really expecting anything to happen. Suddenly, I notice a bird flying in right at the edge of my peripheral vision. Eric gets on it right away and it's a gorgeous female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, which is very cooperative and we get great looks.

In the meantime, the drumming we originally heard has gotten quite a bit closer. I play the tape one more time and Eric notices a large black bird flying in. We both get on a beautiful male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER that is even more cooperative than the WISA After extended close-range looks, it flies off and we realize there is at least one if not two other birds in the area.

Flush with our success here, we head back to Hwy. 49 and head down to Wild Plum Road. Shortly after leaving the highway, Eric spots a LAZULI BUNTING. Also, a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE is in a territorial squabble with a pair of WETA. A pair of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS fly over. The dipper nest under the bridge to the campground hasn't been recently occupied, but there are singing CASSIN'S VIREOs on the walk back down the road.

Sunday
While driving up Hwy. 49 to Yuba Pass, I spot a small gray bird flying rapidly up the center of the North Fork of the Yuba River which I am convinced was an AMERICAN DIPPER. Mop up at Yuba pass gives us good looks at male and female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS.

Near Sattley, we find BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE and at the corner of Hwys. 49 and 89, COMMON NIGHTHAWKs are flying overhead. At Calpine Corner, a VESPER SPARROW is quite cooperative as is the singing BREWER'S SPARROW.

Things got really interesting when we get got to Marble Hot Springs Road. In the dry sage just after leaving Beckwourth-Calpine Road. There's a small (mostly) sparrow flow there with good diversity including SAVANNAH SPARROWs, VESP, BRSP and a SAGE THRASHER. But the best bird by far is the SAGE SPARROW which I pick out as the flock flushes. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't get on this bird.

At the marshy area, it's teeming with life. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS are ubiquitous and most of the usual suspects are there in very good numbers including WHITE-FACED IBISES and SANDHILL CRANES. Eric finally identifies the WILSON'S PHALAROPES that are easy to find in flight but elude us on the ground. Both VIRGINIA RAIL and SORA are present, and a couple of AMERICAN BITTERNS fly by. The first of several FORSTER'S TERNS fly by; little did either of us that they are rare in Sierra Valley.

At the historic bridge, Eric finds a swan which we agonize over for awhile but finally agree that this it's a TUNDRA SWAN, apparently only the second summer record for this bird. Along Heriot Road, we find most of the ducks that one might imagine summering up there including GADWALL, RUDDY DUCK, READHEAD and CINNAMON TEAL. A GREAT EGRET, also rare in the valley, was also present.

Along Beckwith Sierra Valley Road, we find a field with LONG-BILLED CURLEWs sitting in it. Far away from the road, we find a very pale-headed raptor that I believe was a first spring SWAINSON'S HAWK. At Red Rocks, we change habitat yet again but fail to find JUNIPER TITMOUSE. However, we do pick up BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, ROCK WREN, LARK SPARROW and CHIPPING SPARROW, all birds but the BGGN on the CA side of the border.

93 species seen:
Pied-billed Grebe (14)
Eared Grebe (14)
Western Grebe (14)
American Bittern (14)
Great Blue Heron (14)
Great Egret (14)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (14)
White-faced Ibis (14)
Turkey Vulture (14)
Tundra Swan (14)
Gadwall (14)
Mallard (7)
Cinnamon Teal (14)
Northern Pintail (14)
Redhead (14)
Ruddy Duck (14)
Northern Harrier (14)
Swainson's Hawk (14)
Red-tailed Hawk (14)
American Kestrel (14)
Mountain Quail (4)
Virginia Rail (14)
Sora (14)
American Coot (14)
Sandhill Crane (14)
Killdeer (14)
Black-necked Stilt (14)
American Avocet (14)
Willet (14)
Long-billed Curlew (14)
Wilson's Phalarope (14)
Forster's Tern (14)
Band-tailed Pigeon (9)
Common Nighthawk (12)
Vaux's Swift (3)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (2)
Calliope Hummingbird (2)
Williamson's Sapsucker (8)
Red-breasted Sapsucker (4)
Hairy Woodpecker (4)
White-headed Woodpecker (3)
Black-backed Woodpecker (8)
Northern Flicker (3)
Western Wood-Pewee (4)
Hammond's Flycatcher (4)
Dusky Flycatcher (4)
Cassin's Vireo (11)
Warbling Vireo (4)
Black-billed Magpie (11)
Common Raven (5)
Horned Lark (14)
Tree Swallow (2)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (10)
Cliff Swallow (11)
Barn Swallow (14)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (4)
White-breasted Nuthatch (4)
Rock Wren (16)
Marsh Wren (14)
American Dipper (1)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (4)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (15)
Mountain Bluebird (4)
Townsend's Solitaire (4)
Swainson's Thrush (4)
American Robin (4)
Sage Thrasher (14)
Nashville Warbler (7)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (4)
MacGillivray's Warbler (2)
Common Yellowthroat (16)
Wilson's Warbler (4)
Western Tanager (4)
Green-tailed Towhee (6)
Spotted Towhee (7)
Chipping Sparrow (16)
Brewer's Sparrow (13)
Vesper Sparrow (13, 14)
Lark Sparrow (16)
Savannah Sparrow (14)
Song Sparrow (3)
Dark-eyed Junco (3)
Lazuli Bunting (9)
Red-winged Blackbird (5)
Western Meadowlark (11)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (14)
Brewer's Blackbird (14)
Brown-headed Cowbird (4)
Cassin's Finch (4)
House Finch (14)
Pine Siskin (4)
Evening Grosbeak (3)
House Sparrow (14)

Locations:
1) Below Basset's (Jun 12)
2) Basset's (Jun 12)
3) Basset's City Limits (Jun 12)
4) Yuba Pass (Jun 12)
5) Sardine Lake Pond (Jun 12)
6) Graeagle Road (Jun 12)
7) Sardine Lakes (Jun 12)
8) Pond on approach to Salmon Lake Lodge Road (Jun 12)
9) Wild Plum Road (Jun 12)
10) Far Side of Yuba Pass (Jun 13)
11) Near Sattley (Jun 13)
12) Sattley (Jun 13)
13) Calpine Corner (Jun 13)
14) Dyson Lane (Jun 13)
15) Red Rock,NV (Jun 13)
16) Red Rock,CA (Jun 13)

6.19 [pen-bird] 6.19.99 Peninsula Birds
I decided to abandon San Francisco and head down to your neck of the woods
for the morning. At the HMB ball fields, I found two singing male
GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS just as promised by Al Jaramillo, including very good
looks at one sitting up nicely for me. I have to say this area gets my vote
for the most improbable location for a bird this year; do any of you locals
feel the same way?

At the mouth of Pescadero Creek were (still!) 45 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES;
are there any July records for these guys? As well, there was a very worn
BONAPARTE'S GULL for a nice size comparison. At Pigeon Point, viewing
conditions were not good, but I did manage to pull out a light phase adult
jaeger harassing terns which appeared to me to be a POMARINE JAEGER.

On Gazos Creek road, I ran into Al Eisner and we birded the creek with very
little success. Al managed to convince me that we were listening to a
MacGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, probably on the far side of the creek around MP 1.8
if memory serves me. At the green gate along Cloverdale Road, the wind was
already kicking up but I managed to convince myself I heard one and probably
two GRSPs uphill from the gate.

Feeling the summer doldrums kicking in, I retired to Duarte's for a
delicious linguica omelet and then headed home.

HMB Ballfields
Grasshopper Sparrow

Pescadero Creek
45 Black-legged Kittiwake
Bonaparte's Gull
Whimbrel
Northern Harrier
Pigeon Point
Pomarine Jaeger (prob.)
Black-legged Kittiwake

Gazos Creek
MacGillivray's Warbler

Cloverdale Road
Grasshopper Sparrow

Home

You can contact me via email.