12-28-99
Two female and one male Tufted Ducks were at Salt
Pond A10 in Alviso today. As well, in the nearby Salt Pond
A14, there was yet another drake Eurasian Wigeon.
Maps to these locations are difficult to come by, but I
recommend the following site for assistance: http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
The "Eurasian" Green-winged Teal remains in the
Palo Alto Bayland area, at the junction of the lagoon trail
and the Palo Alto Airport Runway. This bird is almost identical
to our usual GWTE, but has a lengthwise white stripe on
the back that parallels the surface of the water, as opposed
to the smaller, vertical, thumb-shaped white mark on the
breast we usually see. Facial patterning seems to be more
bold on this rare bird as well.
Just south of Halfmoon Bay, at the end of Wavecrest Avenue,
on a north/south trail beyond the model airplain run, there
remains a female Chestnut-collared Longspur.
White-throated Sparrows seem to popping up all
over the place. Keep watching those flocks of white-crowns
and golden-crowns for this uncommon sparrow! While you're
at it, look for the occasional "Slate-colored" race of Dark-eyed
Junco too.
12-17-99
It's been a while since I posted any news items. I've been
coordinating the Region 7 portion of the 1999 Palo Alto
Christmas Bird Count (PACBC). The date for the count is
December 20, and the survey area includes much of Skyline
Boulevard and the nearby Windy Hill, Russian Ridge, Coal
Creek and La Honda Creek Open Space Preserves. If you would
like to assist in the count, please contact me immediately
at mdodder@earthlink.net
or call me at 650-858-0847.
Despite my recent silence, there is no shortage of good
birds to be seen in our area. Short-eared Owls continue
to be seen at Byxby Park in Palo Alto and there are at least
two, perhaps three wintering Red-throated Loons as
well as a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes at Shoreline
Lake.
It's also time to consider joining us for the winter session
of the BEGINNING BIRDING
class at Palo Alto Adult School. As before, the goal is
to familiarize class members with the basic skills necessary
to become an active birdwatcher. For more information, please
refer to the course description on my home page, or visit
the school's site at: www.paadultschool.org/
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