Ornithology IIB Calendar
If you miss a class, please check this page and study the listed topics in your field guide. A useful reference for finches is "Finches & Sparrows : An Identification Guide" by Peter Clement, Alan Harris, John Davis (Illustrator), John David (Illustrator).
For Field Trips, click here.
We completed and reviewed the large grebes on page 20. The spring schedule is here. Please preregister if possible. Thank you for a great year and have a wonderful holiday!
We completed and reviewed the loons on pages 18-20.
We added four species to our cumulative class list for the Palo Alto high tide trip, Brown Pelican, Wood Duck, Northern Flicker and Say's Phoebe. The Brown Pelican was seen flying high to the south over the duck pond and the Wood Duck was on the duck pond and the Say's Phoebe flew over the marsh near the airport..
Another highlight was the adult Greater White-fronted Goose on the pond which arrived last year as an immature
and never left. Young wild geese need their clan to learn migration and may not migrate normally if they get lost
as this bird did. The consensus among the locals is that the Wood Duck is probably a released bird and not countable
as wild. It arrived late last spring in a very disheveled condition.
We did not try for Black Rail as there was too big a crowd. Nevertheless it was a good trip and the weather was
great. The full list is at
http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/PALO.html .
We reviewed finches and started loons on page 18. The most accurate and complete set of loon illustrations is Birds of Europe by Lars Jonsson (Princeton 1992); but Pacific Loon is not treated.
Remember that this Saturday's trip to Palo Alto meets at 11am. I suggest bringing a snack to munch.
We finished the book! We completed and reviewed Evening Grosbeak, Hawfinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Oriental Greenfinch and Brambling on page 442. There is no class next week because of Thanksgiving holiday and no field trips until December. Have a great holiday!
We added three new species to our cumulative list since 1985: Great Egret, Steller's Jay and Hermit Warbler. The Egret was at the main arboretum pond. We had several Steller's Jays including 1-2 around the Lily Pond in the Rhododendron Dell, one flying over toward the arboretum across the street from the Academy and one (same?) in the Arboretum itself. The Hermit Warbler was a dull female foraging in a Norfolk Pine adjacent to the rest rooms by the ballfield across from the Academy.
Other birds of interest were three Acorn Woodpeckers by the Lily Pond and a gull that, for now, I'm calling a very pale 1st winter Thayer's Gull on the main pond at Strybing. It's wingtips were very slightly darker than the rest of the bird, with narrow pale fringing. Tertials were mostly solid at the base but with pale fringing and several of the upper tertials had a few pale internal loops. The tail was fairly solid with some pale fringing at the tip, but no obvious vermiculations across the middle. The bill was very interesting. It was shaped like a Thayer's but had a faint pinkish coloration to the basal 2/3rds. This is incorrect for Thayer's. The back was paler than most Thayer's with the mantle feathers having about equal amounts of light and dark.
A case can be made that this bird is similar to some Iceland Gulls, but there is probably not enough to claim it as such in California. The bill coloration is good Iceland, but the bill is bit too long and better for Thayer's in size. The tertial pattern is ok for either. The tail is apparently ok for either, but favors Thayer's. The wing-tips are ok for either, but probably favor Thayer's. So if you want to claim an Iceland based on the bill coloration combined with a bunch of ambiguous characters which might be ok for Iceland, now's your chance.
My best guess is that it is probably a Thayer's x Iceland intergrade. The bird can be approached closely and photographs would make great conversation if nothing else.
The full trip list can be viewed here.
We completed and reviewed Purple, Cassin's, House and Common Rose finches on page 440. Next class is November 18th. There is no class November 25th. The next field trip is this Saturday November 14th meeting at the Rhododendron Dell in Golden Gate Park.
Because next Wednesday, November 11th is a holiday, the class has been rescheduled for this Monday, November 9th at the same time and room. Sorry for the inconvenience.
We completed and reviewed Common and Hoary redpoll and the Rosy Finch on page 438. The taxonomic status of the redpolls is disputed. A study of skeletal features by Troy supported the idea of one highly variable species, but a study of captive birds in Scandinavia suggested that the intermediate birds were immature Hoary Redpolls and that the two forms were distinct species. At this time the matter is unresolved.
The Rosy Finch has been split into three separate species. The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch ranges from Alaska to the Sierra Nevada. Black Rosy-Finch is in primarily in the northern Great Basin Ranges The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is resident in the Rocky Mountains. Black Rosy-Finch is accidental in eastern California although there is apparently a record from Mt. Pinos, Ventura County. The easiest place to see Gray-crowned Rosy-finches in California is at the Wallace's feeding stations in Aspendell, west of Bishop. Black Rosy-finch has also been seen there occasionally.
This morning's class field trip to Lake Merced had nice weather but the number of ducks and herons was way down.
I think there may be a problem with water quality, especially at the north end. Highlights were an Osprey fishing
at the north end and super views of immature Thayer's, Herring, and Glaucous-winged X Western hybrids from the
bridge at the south end. This is a terrific spot to study immature gulls. We only added one new bird to our composite
list, a tan-striped White-throated Sparrow at the edge of the NE end of the golf course. It was under the tree
that the osprey likes to roost on. The cat colonies by the golf course are going strong and I think the cat people
are also putting out bird seed in the area. I suspect the cats have wiped out the California Quail that used to
inhabit the hedges around the golf course.
The full list is online here.
We completed and reviewed Red and White-winged crossbills and the Pine Grosbeak on page 436. For more information
on Red Crossbill, visit Jeff Groth's site at: http://research.amnh.org/ornithology/crossbills/
.
We completed and reviewed the Pine Siskin and American, Lesser and Lawrence's goldfinches on page 434.
We also touched on the identification of the Eurasian Siskin vs. the green morph of the Pine Siskin. American
Goldfinches have distinct summer and winter plumages while Lessers stay the same in both seasons. Look for
the white undertail coverts in American. Lessers have yellow undertail coverts and often show streaks on
the back and a small white chevron at the base of the primaries. Voices of all goldfinches are quite distinct.
The field trip to Point Reyes started with good views of Great-horned and Barn owls at Drake's Beach.
At Mendoza Ranch we were rewarded with fine views of two Palm Warblers. We also got to study an immature
Ferruginous Hawk and saw four Pacific Golden-Plovers at the Spaletta Plateau. Just before lunch we were treated
to a soaring Peregrine Falcon. After lunch several of us spent time walking in a recently plowed field and
eventually we saw close scope views of both Lapland and Chestnut-collared longspurs. Thanks to all who came.
It was a great trip! The full bird list is here.
We completed and reviewed Stripe-headed Tanager, Bananaquit, Eurasian Tree and House sparrow on page 432. Next week is the last class of the quarter. Please preregister for the next quarter if possible. The field trip to Point Reyes is this Saturday. I hope to see you there!
The trip list for the Chain of Lakes has been marked with the birds we saw including five species new species not seen on past fall trips at this site. We added Eared Grebe, Herring Gull, Hairy Woodpecker, Steller's Jay and Black-headed Grosbeak to the composite list. It was an excellent trip with lots of very cooperative birds. The Steller's Jay was particularly unexpected.
We completed and reviewed Scarlet, Western, Summer and Hepatic tanagers on page 430. Female Scarlet Tanagers may be distinguished from similar female Summer and Hepatic by the gray (not yellow or orange) underside to the tail. Fresh fall Summer Tanagers may have grayish in the ear coverts and show a duller back than the illustration. Such birds may be mistaken for Hepatic.
We completed and reviewed, Hooded, Streak-backed, Altamira and Spot-breasted orioles on page 428. The field trip to Rodeo Lagoon was a great success. The bird list is here.
We completed and reviewed Scott's, Orchard, Audubon's, Baltimore and Bullock's oriole on page 426. The Northern Oriole has been split back into Baltimore and Bullock's. First year male and older female Bullock's Oriole have a small black bib and may be confused with Hooded Oriole. Female Bullock's Orioles have yellow, not white undertail coverts.
We completed and reviewed Common, Boat-tailed and Great-tailed Grackle on page 424. My recent observations of
Great-tailed Grackles in Southern California suggest that a small percentage of Great-tailed Grackles appear to
have dark eyes.
We completed and reviewed Rusty and Brewer's blackbirds and Brown-headed and Bronzed cowbirds on page 422. We also briefly discussed the Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) which is a recent immigrant from the Caribbean which has been seen as far north as Canada and as far west as Oklahoma. The male looks like a small Brewer's Blackbird with a dark eye. The female is indistinguishable from female Brown-headed Cowbird except for its longer thinner bill.
By popular demand, review "quizzes" will continue to include some birds covered last semester as far back as page 404. For reference, the Ornithology II a and b calendar summary from last semester is below:
The schedule for Ornithology IIIa has been changed. The class will begin Thursday, September 17th and a makeup class will be scheduled.
We finished and reviewed Yellow-headed, Red-winged and Tricolored blackbirds on page 420. Highlights of the
Briones Field Trip last Saturday are here. The last field trip will be June 6th at Point Reyes, Drake's Beach
at 9am. Hope for overcast skies and calm winds. Bring lunch and be prepared for possible cold and blustery conditions.
I hope to see you all there. If not, have a great summer. Classes will continue starting September 9th. Fees will
be $90. Please preregister after July 1st.. Click here
for information.
This Saturday, May 23rd, there will be a field trip to Briones Regional Park. Click here for information.
Sunday's trip to Alviso was excellent. About 10:30 we found the immature Little Gull on the narrow
island with Forster's Terns. We got good scope views until the bird flew over to the pond to the east (A18?) after
which we could not find it. About 11:30 an adult Little Blue Heron flew over New Chicago Marsh while we were exploring
the boardwalk. It disappeared behind the levee to the north. We had two flyover Cattle Egret sightings possibly
of the same bird flying back and forth between Arzino Ranch and the heronry. Landbird migrants included several
Western Kingbirds, Bullock's Orioles, a Western Tanager, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow Warblers, Wilson's Warblers,
Warbling Vireo and Western Wood-Pewee. Most of these species are not on the checklist posted at the center. Another
highlight was a brood of baby Avocets.
Tonight, George Griffeth brought a copy of Les Lieurance's excellent video of the Bristle-thighed Curlew they found at Kehoe Beach, Pt. Reyes on Saturday. I saw that bird on Sunday Afternoon. An account with captures from the video are posted on my website here.
We finished and reviewed Bobolink, and Eastern and Western Meadowlarks on page 418. Next week is the last evening
class of the semester.
This Sunday's Field Trip will meet at the Environmental Education Center in Alviso, Santa Clara County. Take Hwy. 101 south to Mountain View and go east on Hwy. 237. Go north on North First Street and turn right on Grand Blvd. When you get to the intersection of Los Esteros Road, bear slightly left onto the entrance road to the center. Meet at the parking lot at 9am. The gate will be opened early for us. Click here for a map and alternate directions if you are coming from the East Bay.
We completed and reviewed Black-faced Grassquit, White-collared Seedeater, Dickcissel and Lark Bunting on page
416 and started Bobolink on page 418.
We completed and reviewed Snow, McKay's, Rustic, Reed, Pallas', Little and Gray buntings on pages 412 & 414. Requests for the field trip on May 17th are welcome. Send me email if you have a suggestions. Remember that's "Bay to Breakers" day.
Today's field trip to northeast Contra Costa County started at Piper Slough at the north end of Bethel Island Road. Black-chinned Hummingbirds put on a great show and we had excellent views of Blue Grosbeaks and Yellow-breasted Chats, the latter doing song-flights. These were around the bend along the levee to the west. We only saw one pair of Hooded Orioles near the first house but quite a few Bullock's Orioles were in the neighborhood.
Back down Bethel Island Road the traffic from a free dump day was seriously disturbing a Loggerhead Shrike nest. Not much we could do about the constant stream of traffic there.
On Jersey Island Road we found a Swainson's Hawk sitting on a nest at the top of a tall cottonwood on the west side about half way between Dutch Slough and Cypress Road. The nest is across an open field surrounded by trees and just north of the only house on the road. This is the same area where George Griffeth had a pair of Swainson's Hawks copulating a week ago Friday. A few Long-billed Curlew were in the flooded field on the east side.
Then we checked Delta Road east of Knightsen finding a Great Horned Owl sitting in a cottonwood behind an abandoned
shack just south of the Rock Slough Bridge. At the Holland Tract we serendipitously got invited into the private
property at the west end of the Rock Slough Bridge and walked over to the tall cottonwood where Steve Glover had
reported a Swainson's Hawk nest back in March. The hawk was still on the nest sitting tight. We could only see
the nest and the hawk when we were almost under the tree. It was interesting looking through a scope straight into
the nostrils of a Swainson's Hawk. This nest was not visible from the bridge or public road. Perhaps the tree had
not yet completely leafed out when Steve found this nest. In the distance three Western Kingbirds were harassing
a Raven on a pylon.
Very few migrants were seen, but it was a good day.
This Sunday's Field Trip will be at Bethel Island in Eastern Contra Costa County. From Concord, take Hwy 4 East; continue east (right) on Hwy 4 through Oakley. About a mile past Oakley, turn left on Cypress Road. Continue east on Cypress about 4 miles all the way to the end. Turn left and continue north on Bethel Island Road across the bridge, past the town of Bethel Island all the way to the end. Park along West Willow Road on the right. There are no facilities whatsoever here. The closest public restrooms are at the golf course on Gateway Road just north of the town of Bethel Island. Travel time about 1¼ hour. Meet at 8:30am. Click here for a map.
We completed and reviewed Chestnut-collared, McCown's, Smith's and Lapland Longspurs on pages 408 and 410.
We completed and reviewed Fox, Lincoln's and Swamp sparrows on page 406.
Highlights of the Mount Diablo Field trip were Calliope Hummingbird, and several Hammond's Flycatchers. We also saw Nashville Warblers, Western Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings, Purple Finches, Hairy Woodpeckers, etc.
Saturday Field Trips are now available to all classes. Click here
for a list of trips and here for lists of birds.
A field trip to Mount Diablo will meet at 8:30am this Sunday, April 19th at the south end of Mitchell Canyon Road near Clayton, Contra Costa County. A $3 toll gate into the parking lot at the end of the road requires exact change. From Walnut Creek, take Ygnacio Valley Road east to Clayton Road. Turn right on Marsh Creek Road then right on Mitchell Canyon all the way to the end. Click here for a general map. Travel time is about one hour from San Francisco. We will explore the Mitchell Canyon and Back Point Trails, returning to the parking lot for lunch. Click here for a map with links to more details on the trails including photos and video. A brief article on chaparral birds is at http://www.mdia.org/birdschap.htm
We completed the fours species of Zonotrichia sparrows on page 404. For photos of an apparent hybrid Golden-crowned X White-throated Sparrow, click here.
Highlights of the Pescadero trip included nice close views of large numbers of Surfbirds and several Black Oystercatchers along the rocks. A male Black Scoter was offshore and a gray whale spouted several times. We walked across the bridge to check the shorebirds in the North Pond where we found at least two Lesser Yellowlegs. My plans to check the headquarters at the end of Water Lane were thwarted by the still-flooded fire road. However we did enjoy many landbirds in the area including a Lincoln's Sparrow and a male Rufous Hummingbird while we had lunch. Several of us explored Waddell Creek in the afternoon under pleasant balmy conditions, but failed to find the hoped-for Northern Pygmy-Owl.
A field trip will meet this Sunday, April 5th at 9am Pacific Daylight Time at Pescadero Beach. Meet at the parking lot on the west side of Highway 1 across from Pescadero Road. Please remember to set your clocks ahead the night before. The meeting time is thus equivalent to 8am, Pacific Standard Time. Travel time from San Francisco is about one hour. Click here for a map.
Completed and reviewed Brewer's Sparrows on page 400. Covered Black-chinned Sparrow and Dark-eyed & Yellow-eyed juncos on page 402. Discussed geographic variation in Dark-eyed Junco and the hybrid zones that exist..
Completed and reviewed Rufous-crowned, American Tree and Field sparrows on page 398. Covered Chipping and Clay-colored sparrows on page 400. Next week we will review those as well as cover Brewer's Sparrow.
A thorough fully illustrated paper on Spizella sparrows is by Pyle & Howell (Birding 28:374-387, 1996). Kenn Kaufman also has a chapter on these birds in Advanced Birding (1990).
Next week is the last class for the quarter. Please pre-register for the second session which starts April 15th.
This was the first time I took a group to Del Valle, a large reservoir south of Livermore. We had a congenial group of 10 students but clouds were threatening and just as the trip started, it began raining in ernest. Very inauspicious.
Swallows were flying around the docks affording great looks a Barn and Rough-winged. A fine male Osprey was perched on the opposite shore. As we started for the trail, I heard the Osprey calling loudly and looked up to watch an adult Bald Eagle chasing the Osprey out over the lake. The two circled around until the Eagle won the battle, fully intimidating the smaller Osprey and chasing it off. The Eagle then disappeared up to the north end of the lake as the rain stopped and the sky started clearing.
I wondered what I could do for a finale :). The rain let up and we watched Cliff Swallows building a new colony
on a closed off outhouse. Taking the trail to the north we heard Rufous-crowned Sparrows calling and singing and
eventually got spectacular scope views of these shy birds. Meanwhile I kept hearing Belted Kingfishers across the
lake. Eventually we found a pair excavating a nesting hole at the top of a
sheltered embankment on the far shore. Through scopes we could see the male working on the hole while the female
perched on an exposed root below the nest. Dirt was flying as the male kingfisher pecked out the hole.
Arriving at the Hetch Hetchy Picnic Area the adult Bald Eagle was perched in the open near the top of a large
Gray Pine across the lake. In a nearby tree we could see the nest, with just a glimpse of another adult eagle apparently
incubating. Meanwhile, an adult Golden Eagle glided over the ridges at a distance. Two brilliant newly arrived
Bullock's Orioles displayed in an open tree and a flock of about a half dozen Phainopeplas showed off around the
mistletoe. The weather became balmy as we headed up the hill to get a closer look at the Western Bluebirds and
a better vantage looking down into the eagle's nest. Now we could see the whole head and bill of the incubating
bird.
On the way back an immature Golden Eagle flew very low over our group, quickly gaining altitude and then cruising low below the radar of the ubiquitous ground squirrels finally disappearing behind the ridge. We didn't see if it made a kill or not. A White-tailed Kite started calling and flew over us as we returned to the parking area at the boat launching ramp.
A memorable morning.
Field Trip will meet at 9am this Sunday, March 22 at the Del Valle Regional Park south of Livermore. Take I 580 east to Livermore. Go south on North Livermore Avenue which becomes South Livermore Avenue which becomes Tesla. Make a right on Mines Road and right on Del Valle Road to the entrance kiosk. Pay the fee and drive to the last parking lot near the boat launching area on the right. Travel time about 1.5 hours. Click here for map.
Completed page 396, Bachman's, Botteri's and Cassin's Sparrows and did Rufous-winged Sparrow on page 398. Additional reference on Botteri's vs. Cassin's is pg 252 in "Advanced Birding" by Kenn Kaufman.
Completed page 394, Lark, Black-throated, Five-stripped and Sage sparrows. Molt in Lark Sparrow is quite complicated, with a supplemental plumage now recognized with body feathers replaced twice, once in the summer and once in the fall. This may explain the variable appearance of 1st year birds in the fall and winter. See Pyle (1998) "Identification Guide to North American Birds" for details.
We had a wonderful trip to Pt. Reyes this morning. The White-tailed Kite put on a great show over Olema Marsh; the Ospreys were carrying nesting material into a nest right by the road at Limantour while an adult Golden Eagle flew over. At the beach we found Marbled Murrelet and Red-necked Grebe as well as big flocks of Brant.
After lunch a few of us went to Bolinas Lagoon where we found the adult male Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon and a Rufous-crowned Sparrow. But the best part was the great weather.
