Golden Gate Audubon Society

Twenty birders joined Golden Gate Audubon Society’s annual late spring birding trip to Mines Road and Del Puerto Canyon.  Beginning shortly after 8:00 am, our route followed Mines Road from the outskirts of Livermore into the San Antonio Valley.  A foray south along San Antonio Valley Road added a few species before we headed down Del Puerto Canyon, which we birded to just beyond Owl Rock.  The group trip ended at about 6:30 p.m., when participants headed home along various routes.  En route back to Livermore the leader’s car stopped a few times along Mines Road to listen for owls and tape for Common Poorwill, adding a male Great Horned Owl that sang spontaneously.

The weather was perfect, with very little wind, comfortable temperatures, and clear skies.  Day transitioned smoothly into a warm, still, star-studded evening.  Daytime highlights included Wood Ducks and ducklings, an adult Bald Eagle, Golden Eagles, great looks at Lewis’s Woodpeckers, a Bushtit nest, a Rock Wren feeding fledglings, a Canyon Wren, two male Phainopeplas, and many bright male Bullock’s Orioles.

During the trip, at least one participant recorded these 61 species, which I also noted:

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Mallard

Ring-necked Duck

California Quail

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Golden Eagle

American Kestrel

American Coot

Killdeer

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Great Horned Owl

Anna’s Hummingbird

Lewis’s Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Black Phoebe

Say’s Phoebe

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Western Scrub-Jay

Yellow-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Oak Titmouse

Bushtit

White-breasted Nuthatch

Rock Wren

Canyon Wren

Bewick’s Wren

House Wren

Western Bluebird

American Robin

Wrentit

California Thrasher

European Starling

Phainopepla

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Towhee

California Towhee

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Tricolored Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock’s Oriole

House Finch

Canada Goose and Chipping Sparrow were new to the trip’s cumulative list since 1986.

Participants noted thirteen species that I missed (what was I doing all day?), for a total of 72 species as shown on the cumulative trip list:

Wild Turkey

Great Egret

White-tailed Kite

Band-tailed Pigeon

White-throated Swift

Rufous Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Downy Woodpecker

Loggerhead Shrike

Wilson’s Warbler

White-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Lazuli Bunting

As happens every year, we missed some species that have been near regular recently:

Costa’s Hummingbird

Warbling Vireo

Cliff Swallow

Northern Mockingbird

Cedar Waxwing

Black-headed Grosbeak

Western Meadowlark

Lesser Goldfinch

Lawrence’s Goldfinch

Thanks to all for making this a very enjoyable trip to lead.

Dave Quady

April 25, 2010