Fall Migration in Oakland Part Two.

    Saturday morning we returned to the scene of the crime.  This time we had two accomplices, three if you counted Cooper.  It was a bright blue morning on the Oakland bayshore, with the City rising out of the fog a few miles across the water.  Birding had been so spectacular the previous morning that our hosts, Andrew and Shawn were eager to take a gander at this profusion of sandpipers and their ilk.  Cooper, who is an 11 year old poodle maltese mix, was delighted to be included in the expedition.  

Shawn, Andrew, Yours Truly and Cooper.

   Unlike Friday morning, parking was unavailable right across the street from the Elsie Roemer Wildlife Sanctuary and we parked about a quarter mile down the road.  The walk back up the beach gave us a look at what would have happened had not enlightened minds stepped in to protect this patch of marshland.  Less environmentally conscious folk had turned the north part of the Alameda Island shoreline into a sandy beach, replete with sun worshipers,, bathers and kite fliers.  

    As we approached the spot where a fence separated the sandy beach from the preserved marsh, I spotted two dozen chunky black birds on an exposed gravel bar.  When we got a bit closer, I was able to confirm that this was a large group of Black Oystercatchers.  On the Oregon coast these birds occur singly or in pairs.  Up in Puget Sound, though, we have seen similar congregations of these amusing birds with their comical red bills.  It was a pleasure to add them to the Alameda list.  

Royal Terns.  NB the white foreheads.

    When we got down to the small pier there were not as many birds on the mudflat as had been the case the day before. We showed our hosts a half dozen species and admired the plaques that continued to serve as our field guide.  Cooper took the opportunity to stretch out and rest after his long walk. 

   After a few minutes we left the small pier and headed south.  Before we left the pavement, Andrew was asking what the group of birds were on a muddy bar at the water's edge, perhaps 50 yards away.  A quick look revealed that it was a squadron of terns.  These birds were a little smaller than the single Caspian Tern we had seen the day before and, with a modicum of effort on my part, I was able to impress my associates with the white forehead in front of the sweeping black crest.  I guessed these were Royal terns.  And I was right. I am including a picture borrowed from the web in which the photographer cleverly finds four Royal Terns in plumage varying from summer breeding to winter; the latter bears the most white on his pate.  The twenty or so birds we saw had distinct white foreheads similar to the bird second from the top.

Roger Tory Peterson , the Dean of American Birdwatching

   It wasn't until we made it all the way home to Vancouver that I was able to check them out in an actual bound field guide,  reviewing the terns in the traditional manner. The book we keep on our coffee table is a hard bound copy of Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds, 1969.  As I prepared to write this blog I discovered that RTP has been in watching birds with Saint Peter low these last 25 years.  May the Dear Good Lord bless him and keep him.  With his landmark field guides he may have done more for American bird watching and,in the process, habitat preservation than anyone else of his generation.  And please note that he called himself a birdwatcher, not a birder.  

  Anyway, Roger Peterson tells us that San Fransisco Bay is the northern boundary of Royal Tern habitat, so this was a pretty good spot.

   After identifying the terns, we headed south onto the sandy trail.  As we stepped onto the sand I encountered an elderly birdwatcher replete with floppy hat, a fly fishing vest and a spotting scope balanced upon his left shoulder.  I asked if he had seen anything good and he inadvertently revealed that, despite his magnificent outfit, he wasn't much of a birdwatcher.  Many are called but few are chosen. Mathew 22:14.  

    Don't get me wrong.  If I am able to dotter out onto the flats in ten years and admire a few birds I will be more than pleased.  So God bless him , as well.

The Redoubtable SKG joins our hosts on the bay front.

     No worries.  Despite the lack of any hot tips we proceeded to spot many of the birds we had seen the day before, including several excellent looks at the long billed curlew.  A couple times we found a LBC near enough to a Whimbrel that we could clearly demonstrate the difference in bill length.  I think Shawn and Andrew were impressed, but they are both exceedingly polite, so it was tough to tell.  Additionally, we found a bevy willets with their bold black and white wing pattern and a few greater yellowlegs.  All in all, counting terns, pelicans, cormorants and gulls, we saw 22 species out on the mud flats.  This without a scope or a field guide. 

    Shawn and Andrew took off to find the house of one of his teaching colleagues, who has a home facing the bay front.  Alameda is adjacent to downtown Oakland so prices here,even for waterfront property are lower than you might expect.  Or so we are told.

     We caught up with Shawn, Andrew and Cooper and then the five of us headed back up the sandy path.  Suddenly a large butterfly flew over.  And then another floated into the area and landed in a stand of wild fennel that I had admired the day before.  the fennel grows as far north as Anacortes where it thrives on the edge of a beach only two blocks away from our favorite thrift store.  Because Anacortes is much further north, it is not clear if anise Swallowtails make it to that shoreline, despite the presence of this darn near nominative host plant.  How pleased was I to see the Anise Swallowtail in the fennel herein Oakland!

Anise Swallowtail San Francisco Bay

     The Anise Swallowtail flopped around in one clump of fennel, holding sufficiently still that we could see his distinctive black scapular cell on the dorsal forewing.  He then flew ten feet to another clump and paused in resting position.  I had a five to ten second look at his ventral wings and Boy Howdy were they good lookin'.  He had a line of blue dots going all the way from fore to aft.  I'm including somebody elses's picture of an anise swallowtail.which was taken on San Francisco Bay.  I leave it up to you to turn that blue gray line on the forewing into a series of blue dots.

 

    We wandered up the beach back towards Shore Front boulevard.  along the way we stopped to watch avocets marching through the shallows while simultaneously swishing their curved beaks back and forth.  By the time we made it to the small wooden pier, the tide had come in and there were many birds closer to shore.  This included a group of five Long Billed Curlews only ten yards away, four of them with their saber-like bills at the ready.  Even my ancient Lumix could not fail with subjects like these.  I hope you enjoy the picture.  

jeff

Long-billed Curlews on San Francisco Bay!  What's not to love?