Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Of Intermittent Sightings of White-tailed Kites in the East Bay Hills

View of Sibley landscape in the Oakland hills

Not long ago, poking around in a back stretch of Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, fortune rewarded me with a first-ever sighting of a White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus). Make that White-Tailed Kites, as in a pair of them feeding in some branches!

White-tailed Kite pair feeding in tree top (Albany Bulb)

What elegant, stealth flying machines they are, possessing an unsurpassed evolutionary competitive edge in hunting prowess and survival skill. Nearly driven to extinction in California in the 1930s and 1940s by an even badder predation machine 
 the trigger-happy, egg-collecting human  their ranks have rebounded nicely since those days.

White-tailed Kite, stealth creature

In California, White-tailed Kites are found in just a handful of specialized habitats, including the San Francisco Bay Area. Actually, this unique accipiter is pretty scarce outside of a small swathe of the world, inclusive of California, stretching from southern Texas to eastern Mexico.

View of Mount Diablo from Sibley plain

In all my word-botchin' days, I've never seen a White-tailed Kite! Fascinating how they seem to preen, almost vainly, surveying their vast domain from the snag of an old tree. I watch their every move from a mere fifty feet away, magnified 10X. For an easy twenty minutes, I watch them engage in all sorts of White-tailed Kite behavior.

White-tailed Kite surveying domain

One of them goes off hunting, disappearing for a few seconds, then returns to deftly circle-hang over the meadow, suspended in the embrace of a thermal updraft, before suddenly drop-diving to snatch up an unsuspecting rodent or hapless insectivore and bring it triumphantly to the roosting snag and, without regard to her partner, begin to tear it apart and eat it greedily.

Back side perspective of the regal raptor

From my own perch on a rise of ground above a hidden labyrinth, I can look eastward and see ever-dominant Mount Diablo, and northeastward to take in Brionesland, and west across the shining bay to Mount Tamalpais. Behind me is the blown out caldera of a ten million year old volcano – yep, right here in the Berkeley Hills.

Seasonal ponds at Briones Regional Park

People – who and when precisely is not known – built several complex circular labyrinths up in Sibley, as offerings (?), gifts (?), geodetic spiritual markers (?), a magical mystery tour to the Center of the Cyclone (?) . . .

Mary 'n Bogie walking the walk at the Sibley labyrinth

The two Kites are gorgeous, specialized hunters, decked out in white chests, black shoulder streaks on gray white plumage, with sharp yellow talons and slanty piercing black eyes. I’m struck by their air of kingly superiority, calm detachment, and utter control over their dominion.

The Kite pair feeding

The one begins to tear apart her mouse, pecking, jabbing, fiddling with it, dropping a stringy piece of gut and slurping it up like a noodle, then more picking apart in stabs and jabs, more gobbling down, all the while ever vigilant, looking around in head-swiveling 360 degree surveillance, all the while seemingly totally enjoying herself, the one feasting.

White-tailed Kite about to fly off in search of victuals

Her partner, evidently, is unsated, and goes off searching for his own morsel. He takes off to hunt in the low open country of this small but expansive canyon. I watch as he hovers, balancing with his long fan-shaped tail, as sunlight glints off outspread wings.

Tree top Kite feeding site at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park

His death swoop is exhilarating – he disappears for a second then veers back up and heads to the tree snag in an amazing several seconds of inhuman maneuvering to join his mate still licking her chops and ruling the roost.

Kite feeding time

But I don’t see anything warm, furry and dead in his clutches. Where’s dude’s meal? Before I can answer my own question, I do a double-take through the binoculars as the hawk stretches upward and splays opens his big, plumy breast in a series of flapping histrionics to reveal, like a magician, voila – a goofy looking little vole or something.

Comical pocket gopher about to become someone's meal

Did I really just see what I think I saw? Which is him flying back with a rodent stashed in his breast plumage and then unfurling it back on the roost. I’ve not found anything written on the subject, and as such would be an easy thing to refute, especially given my questionable IDing talents. No matter, this is truly a special moment to witness my very first ever White-tailed Kites doing their natural thing.

Flying off with enormous payload (of what I'm not sure)

On another day, I’m exploring the intricacies of a lagoon in the John Muir Nature Area in Briones Regional Park. I love the natural setting and remote feeling of Briones, despite its manifest “ills” – rude mountain bikers, cows and cow shit galore. In this fenced-in sanctuary, you look east and see the rising bulwark of beloved Mount Diablo, and all around you’re surrounded by big, rolling hills.

Nature pond at Briones in springtime

The lagoon is a seasonal body of water, sometimes full and other times desiccated to a slathering layer of cracked mud. Today, plenty of water attracts teeming frogs and swarms of Red-winged Blackbirds; splashy Ducks and nectar-happy Hummingbirds.

Nature pond

Up there  can it be?  a White-tailed Kite? Yes, it’s her roosting in the snag of a dead tree. It makes me wonder – is the pretty girl new to the area or am I just now noticing her presence after at least a dozen visits to this very spot.

White-tailed Kite in launch mode

My other White-Tailed Kite sightings have been in the biotically rich Berkeley Hills. From my 1250 ft. purview atop Wildcat Peak in Tilden Regional Park, I once saw a Kite in a pine tree 100 ft. below – a striking white figure against the evergreen.

Wildcat Peak at 1250 ft. above sea level

Another time, I watched an elegant specimen patrol over low hills in Wildcat Canyon up on Nimitz Way at the Conlon Trail turn-off. And then there was the time finishing up a bike ride on Wildcat Canyon Road, near the five-junctures, when I just happened to look up and see a beaut circling and swooning. I pulled over to watch that huntress ply her trade for five minutes adjacent a residential area above a small hillock off the busy road.

Never tire of checking out the mean and lean looks of a Kite

And not to be forgotten are multiple fine sightings at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park and Albany Bulb where preserved swathes of riparian and arboreal landscapes provide ideal hunting, roosting and nesting habitat for the magnificent White-tailed Kites who reside in the East Bay shoreline areas along with Peregrine Falcons and Ospreys.

Rehabilitated land at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park

Such are the unexpected treasures
to enjoy and cherish right in your own back yard.

Briones Hills is perfect Raptor habitat

But, as my dear ol’ departed dad always used to admonish:

Birds flock to Briones' ponds

You gotta keep your "eyeballs peeled"
if you expect to see anything.

Gorgeous Kite
regal majestic powerful

Read more about the Raptors living in the Berkeley Hills and beyond:


Red-tailed Hawk
perched on electric pylon
in Berkeley Hills

Watch a few of Gambolin' Man's live action shots of various raptors
eating, flying, hovering & perching @


Red-shouldered Hawk
in Live Oak Park



Monday, July 9, 2012

A Bonanza of Birds Waiting for You in Tilden / Wildcat Hills


Wildcat Canyon hills in sere summertime

In the dry hills around Wildcat Peak, about 1150 feet up, I've found an elevated plateau situated atop a cow dung splattered knoll with fabulous 360 degree views of the Bay Area. I'm surrounded by oak, pine, scrub brush, and Big West views of the twin mountain eyes – Diablo to my right, and Tam to my left.

View of Mount Diablo atop Wildcat Peak

Into this powerful setting, I unknowingly enter an outburst of heavy bird activity and raucous chatter. Two hours effortlessly elapse, as I walk round 'n round in circles and note over a dozen different species of birds in this impromptu outdoor aviary.

Spotted Towhee sheltering in brush

I'm able to identify many of the flittering fluttering flying creatures, but other avian individuals have me stumped. Even if I know it's a Wren or a Sparrow or a Warbler, that's no longer enough to sate my curiosity. Now, I'm intrigued to know, precisely, which Wren, which Sparrow, and which Warbler it is with whom I am making a most special acquaintance! For how can we forget Thoreau's memorable words:

Lil ol' Black Phoebe

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”

Artsy Fartsy Crow shot

Ah, the frustrations of an aspiring, "serious" birder when it comes to reliable IDing. Even the "experts" get stumped and make wrong calls. (Think Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.) It's because those elusive birds in the bush are often so very difficult to get to know; that is, until you get to know them. Then, they're like old friends almost!

Favorite knoll to birdwatch in the Berkeley Hills

Most of the time "in the field" though, you're unprepared. (Well, I'll speak for myself!) Where's your pen and moleskin and bird book? At least you have the good sense to bring binoculars, which help you home in on a dazzling Hummingbird, gazing for a mere fleeting instant at a literal mirage, certain it's not the pedestrian "Anna's" but some other exotic variety you've never seen before, such as Allen's.

Golden-crowned Sparrow ground feeding

But, alas, you can't be sure because now she's gone like a fart in a hurricane and you'll never remember, you'll never know. That's remedial birding for you.

Steller's Jay looking for a grasshopper perhaps

Other times, if you're lucky, a previously unseen songbird will come into your ocular purviews for but a few vanishing seconds – as did a very special visitor today – and your job, while simply trying to enjoy the sublime moment, is to keep the details in your head for later IDing. It mostly turns out my IDing skills are deficient.

Precious looking White-crowned Sparrow

I always have said if I had to give an eye-witness description of a criminal to the police, I'd fail miserably. Seems my bird observation skills, if I'm to plead my case for being a "serious" birder, need to be ratcheted up a notch. And then, apart from physical IDing, what of the musical aspects of their character? As with my shortcomings in visual inspection and reportage, I can't carry a tune in a bucket.

Fabulous Pine atop knoll seen from San Francisco

Thus, any attempt at aurally figuring out which bird is which based on subtle note variation and intricate melodies presents a great challenge. Which I intend to take on. But, then again, once you know a bird's song, it's recognizable as belonging to such-and-such little bird.

Secretive Black-headed Grosbeak

It's good know who "such and such" is, because ultimately nothing is more of a let down than to spot a newcomer to your Life List and coming up short not knowing precisely which kind of bird you just encountered.

Varied Thrush sightings are always exciting!

Such avian antics all around on this hot July day, with a plague of grasshoppers scattering about at my every shuffle. The presence of thousands of the insects is part of why so many birds are congregated in this spot about the size of a football field.

Though an ecological bane, these thistles provide food for birds

It's an absolute orgiastic feeding frenzy on the grasshoppers and the abundance of tasty popped out seedlings of thistles, wildflowers and several varieties of tasty grasses.

Dark-eyed Junco homemaker

In response, the birds, being no dummies, are coming out of the proverbial woodwork! (That'd be the trees?)

Wild Tom Turkey

The excitement of the day surmounts when I happen to espy a never-before-espied-before bird – a six-second glimpse of the notoriously hard to pin down Lazuli Bunting, dancing up and down on rusty strands of barb wire. I'm certifiably stunned. How can it be that I have never before set eyes on this tropical-looking, couldn't-be-more-beautiful member of the Cardinal family?

Lazuli Bunting

This breeding male Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena). Wow! Wow! Wow! For two of those seconds, Laz stops to preen and I catch a decent frontal view of bright blue upper parts and a handsome red-orange breast, with nicely accenting white wing bars. Then, before you can react, that bird is so gone from your world, so disappeared into his own flighty realm, he might as well have entered a different dimension.

Lazuli Bunting

Alas, such are the remote chances that you'll ever be lucky enough to spot a Lazuli Bunting again. Ironic though it may be, as with the "common"  Kingsnake – oh, yeah, so common I've seen a grand total of three in my life! – Laz is considered a "Code 1" specimen, widely distributed and so-referred to as "common".

Fox Sparrow not spotted as often as other Sparrows

So I guess that explains why in all my countless outdoor experiences over 50 years I've seen so much of Laz! But what an incredible, amazing, astounding, all too ephemeral sighting of a rare bird, Code 1 or no! And, let me tell you, I really want to see that bird again!

Red-breasted Sapsucker in Tilden Park

Against all hope, before setting off, I sit under a tree and face the fence, visualizing the mythic (in my mind!) bird coming my way again, replaying in my mental youtube the pretty little cuss' fugacious flashing and vanishing brilliance. But, look, aha!

Two Western Bluebirds (in case you were wondering)

He's back – there he is, playfully jostling on the fence, flitting about on the rusty barb wire strands – for a full ten seconds! An eternity in bird observation-dom. Then off he flies, bouncing up and down in a lilting fluttering ethereal dance, a magical, lithe being of first-rate beauty, skill and stealth.

Western Bluebird

It is truly a field day for doing nothing but watching our feathered friends. Yeah, I should have hiked farther and harder. But when I found this place, I stopped right in my tracks. And you can count on it:

San Pablo Reservoir (another hot spot for birding)

I shall return!

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This birding, it's not for everybody, though. You have to strive for Zenlike patience, and embrace an ardent, near fanatic, desire to want to understand and know birds.

Anna's Hummingbird going after nectar

And for what?

Vulture on tree branch

They're "just" birds, after all.

Townsend Warblers are always tough photo subjects

But you will eventually come to see that
it's an activity that quickly becomes obsessive.

Lark Sparrow, another of those ground feeding birds hardly ever espied

You'll discover it can border on the voyeuristic.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

You will feel it feeding
your escapist propensities at every turn,
so you can simply stop . . .

Anna's or Rufous (?) are the obvious suspects

 . . . interacting with the human world . . .

Yellow-rumped (see it!?!) Warbler

. . . and begin to more fully engage
with the secret, intimate world
of birds and nature all around you.

Beautiful Wildcat hills any time of year

Birds spotted atop knoll near Wildcat Peak, Tilden Regional Park:
* indicates new addition to Life List

Lazuli Bunting*
Spotted dancing on barb wire fence

Cooper's Hawk*
Spotted roosting atop a 75 ft. dead treetop snag

Black-headed Grosbeak*
Spotted in plain view of dozens of Nimitz Way strollers, resting on a branch above the hiking trail near the parking lot of Inspiration Point

European Starling
"Nuisance" birds nesting heavily in this area

Yellow Warbler
Spotted a pair of them sitting primly on the barbed wire fence, occasionally exchanging positions

Wilson's Warbler
Spotted along Wildcat Gorge Creek Trail, first WW in a long time!

Spotted Towhee
Here, there and everywhere!

Black-capped Chickadees (or were they Chestnut-backed Chickadees? Ah-ha, there's the rub!)
Spotted along Wildcat Gorge Creek Trail

Winter (or) House Wren
Spotted in thick brush, characteristic fan-tail action

Brown Creeper
Spotted along Wildcat Gorge Trail. Up until two months ago, never saw a-one of them, now see them all the time. Explain that.

Turkey
Spotted 'ol Wild Tom while laying against tree waiting for Laz to show up

Vulture
Spotted several circlin' the skies, ridin' the currents

Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted in a branch on ride

Anna's Hummingbird
Spotted several of them zipping and spinning about

Western Bluebird
Clusters of them congregating in pine trees on knoll

American Robin

Dark-eyed Junco

Other types of Juncos (had to have been! ?)

Unidentified Sparrows (?)

San Pablo Reservoir
 from Wildcat Peak area

Read more from Gambolin' Man's bird blog about the allure and attraction
(and stellar views) of Wildcat Peak and - what I call - Conlon Knoll:


Crow
sounding barbaric yawp
over treetops of his world