a collection of glass chickens

Today was what Inspiration Trail is supposed to be! The weather was perfect, sunny under high clouds with no wind, and my ebird list was forty-five species, not a record but very satisfying. Two migratory species that I had not seen or heard there in three months showed up, Varied Thrush and Fox Sparrow, making me wonder if they are on the move again. Also first Mourning Dove since August! Where do they go? Not only was there a Say's Phoebe at the North end of the trail, as last time, but while I was sitting in the dip on return I heard two calling simultaneously. Three? Amazing. There was a Western Bluebird / House Finch / Yellow-rumped Warbler flock on the hillside below the trail out to the point, also containing a few Dark-Eyed Juncos, some Purple Finches, two Golden-crowned Sparrows, and a California Towhee. I also heard or saw less expected species: American White Pelican, less regular on the reservoir lately; a pair of Great Horned Owls hooting presumably at each other somewhere down slope; a Belted Kingfisher rattling overhead; Red-winged Blackbirds singing by the lower pond and flying west in small flocks as they do this time of year. ( The list: )

I sat in the dip eating apple slices for quite a while, listening for Brown Creeper. Merlin suggested it several times, but I heard nothing. Merlin and I often hear different birds, or perhaps my my range is decreasing. But I hear Brown Creepers in Tilden every week and sometimes on this trail, just not when Merlin does.

This morning I walked Memory Trail between Cañon Drive and Upper Packrat in preparation for going that way next Monday, and it's lovely, though quite short. There were Purple Finches and Oak Titmice and most of the usuals, nothing specially exciting. ( The list: )

Before going home I stopped at Lake Anza, very different from a month ago. I think we were having unsettled weather, unlike the clear skies lately. On the Lake there were two Pied-billed Grebes and three female Hooded Mergansers.:) ( Another very short list. )

The only other notable sighting was the Northern Flicker, who was exactly where they was foraging on the lawn a month ago. Must be their Winter home.

I started my list about 8, when the sun was hitting the hillside just below the ridge. Right away I saw something unusual, two Canada Geese flying overhead. They are on my list almost every time because I can hear them from way down on the reservoir, but I very rarely see one. Walking north I head a Band-tailed Pigeon cooing, so I guess their breeding season is here, and there was a Black Phoebe on the first south-facing hillside, always a surprise. At the north end of the trail there was a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows, TWO Say's Phoebes either fighting or courting, and a mixed flock of Western Bluebirds and House Finches with one Yellow-rumped Warbler. I've seen that mix before but not frequently and it's certainly colorful, although the Warbler had only the yellow rump. Now if only some Lesser Goldfinches had joined in. ( The list: )

Again no Acorn Woodpeckers. The only bird on the huge snag they frequent was, briefly, a Common Raven.

During the last wet Winter, 2023, Wildcat Canyon Drive down the east side of the hills from Inspiration Point, washed out near the bottom, and only just reopened about a month ago. This makes birding in Briones easier to get to, and today I went out there for the first time. My excuse was that there are three ponds I wanted to check for wildlife (there wasn't any) so I parked outside the western boundary of Briones Regional Park and walked up the western edge as as far as the second pond. Mud plus cattle plus a couple of weeks of drying out means very choppy ground, and while I've seen worse there, it was slow going for not much reward. When I first walked north there were half a dozen Red-winged Blackbirds singing and displaying in the tall, dead weeds; when I returned half an hour later there were none. I have no idea. But it was beautiful oak woodland, if quiet. ( A list: )

I took a break in the car before crossing Bear Creek Road to the EBMUD Connector Trail to Bear Creek Staging Area. I've always liked that little piece of trial, and I've only once met another person there, a definite advantage. That trail wasn't a great deal birdier but a little different, including a male Purple Finch sitting quietly in the fork of a slender tree. The trail leads under trees before opening onto a grassy hillside similar to the first trail, but no cattle chop. I walked up to check the third pond, nothing, and then went as far as the crest of a steep bit of trail down to the Staging Area before turning back. It was very lovely and a flock of of Lesser Goldfinches and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were bouncing. There was even water in, presumably, Bear Creek, or at least a tributary thereof. ( Another list: )

I love Winter birding, but this trail has been wonderful in the Spring.

U and I went down to MLK Regional Shoreline to see if we could find the Green-tailed Towhee, which she saw briefly the first time and I did see at all. We couldn't, but we birded an area we'd only seen from afar, getting a much closer view of the shorebirds that roost there: lots of American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts, lots of Willets and Marbled Godwits. We were also delighted to discover that the seasonal wetland at Garretson Point still has water and ducks two weeks plus since the last rain. I wish the Berkeley Meadow ponds were that well fed! ( A combined list: )

The Garretson Point parking lot was blocked so we parked in a little lot off Zhone Way with direct access to the Damon Slough area as well as a back route to Garretson Point. Could come in handy.

Well, it wasn't like last week but we had a good time. Instead of California Quail we had a wonderful view of a Varied Thrush, the best I've had this season and Chris's first. We've hear them but they've been visually elusive. I took Lower Packrat Trail and found it dry enough, with a few patches of mud but nothing I couldn't manage. There were two pairs of Mallards on Jewel Lake, so I guess Spring is here, and the Great Egret was in place for the third Monday in a row. The trees at the Lake were full of Lesser Goldfinches, and a Nuttall's Woodpecker was exploring loudly, possibly for nest sites; one nested right there last year. We even had multiple Golden-crowned Sparrows on the walk back. ( The list: )

U and Chris may have seen a selasphorous hummingbird but not quite well enough to list. It's early, but they are just beginning to be reported.