Spring Twilight at the Sewer Ponds

From Birds090502

If we had not spent the previous evening at a wonderful cabaret, I'd think we were off our game, heading for the Redwood Shores sewer ponds at twilight on a Saturday night. But we were in luck.

The egrets -- there had been 80 of them clustered on the shore a few weeks ago -- had taken to the trees and were flying back and forth, when they weren't dotted like cotton balls on the dark foliage.

From Birds090502

There was the usual line of shorebirds, chilling out in the pond while the tide withdrew to reveal more grubs.

From Birds090502

Up on the levee Bay Trail, goslings were taking their first outings under the watchful parental eyes. One could almost overlook the goose turds littering the trail. Are the geese driving out the endangered clapper rails? Or, by littering the trail with poop, have they discouraged the joggers and brought the clapper rails some solitude?

From Birds090502

Back at the pond, some pintail ducks were in a great territorial altercation. Don't tell Eckhart Tolle, who has a great inspirational passage about how ducks, when they are upset, flap their wings and get over it. These ducks were so not getting over it, for about 15 minutes.

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A flotilla of ducklings were scudding along with momma and poppa, breaking away and returning in a dance.

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A very large jackrabbit with long ears appeared on the shore.

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We checked out the farther pond. A young night heron and a mature one were both perched on the near shore. Further out on an islet, terns were hovering in that helicopter-like way they do.

We were there for 90 minutes. The little real-life dramas are better than the movies. At least when the evenings are mild in May.

Lovey Ducks on Valentine's Day

I love watching birds go about their lives. These photos were taken on Valentine's Day, when the birds allegedly choose their mates, at least in medieval mythology. These cinnamon teals were on a small hassock in the pond, the two males swimming around the female. She must have given a signal that she had chosen her mate, as one male took off and the other clambered up on the hassock beside her. They touched bills and linked their necks, almost making a heart outline. Then she took off while he perched there looking quite satisfied with himself. I may be projecting human emotions onto critters, but it looked like something social of that nature was going on. (Click on the image, and you'll be taken to Picassa where you will see the rest of the photos.)

Local Birding Resources

The weather was mild on Monday. We were down in the South Bay, and went roving towards Saratoga. Not sure what we'd find open on a Monday holiday.

We were in luck for a great booking resource, the Book-Go-Round, a used bookstore benefiting the Saratoga Library. They had a used copy of The Birders Handbook, a volume recommended by the ranger at Baylands in Palo Alto. (It may still be there since we already had a copy. Just a sample of what's to be found there, at greatly under market prices.)

We were aiming for the Picchetti Winery, one of those wonderful secret places tucked around the bustling Bay Area, where you suddenly step back in time. It's an old family operation from the 1890s, set in verdant foothills, with wild peacocks roaming the grounds. And the wine's good; the sort of clean, meant-to-go-with-food quality that makes me think honest winemakers have been at work here. Not just gaming the Wine Spectator's numbering system. What's a local drinkavore?

Taking a wrong turn--we were feeling somewhat random---we wound up on McClellan Avenue, rolling into the foothills. As we passed some tidy red farm buildings, a sign caught my eye. "Turn around, Dear! The Audubon Store is open today too!"

Formally known as The Nature Shop, the store is operated by SCVAS, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. It's not for birders only. There's a grand selection of relevant books and other items in a compact space. And a newly planted garden of native plants at the doorstep.

We found a second deck of cards featuring local birds. We'd found a deck with shorebirds at the Redwood Trading Post in Redwood City; the Nature Shop had the inland birds deck too. The art work on the cards is excellent. We admit to using them as flashcards rather than playing cards. We've had fun sorting the birds by size as we attempt to refine our birding expertise.

When we saw the joker in the shorebird deck was the Night Heron, we knew kindred spirits were at work. Night Herons, at least when we see them in the afternoon, often have the look of someone who craves a cuppa joe and a cigarette to face another day. (The Turkey Vulture is the joker in the inland deck.)

McClellan Ranch is quite an operation on its own. Lots of trails and UC Extension gardens. Nicely signed. Few birds to report for the afternoon -- the winery peacocks were in seclusion molting. Some largish white predator was hovering in midair above 280 in the twilight: perhaps an owl? 280 may be the world's most beautiful freeway, as it proudly signs itself, but it's no place to slow down for drive-by birding.

McClellan Ranch Park
22221 McClellan Road
What is now an 18-acre natural preserve park used to be a horse ranch during the 1930s and 40s. The site houses a nature museum and community garden. Also, preserved on the property are the original ranch house, milk barn livestock barn, a replica of the Baer's Blacksmith Shop that was originally located at De Anza and Stevens Creek Boulevards, and the old water tower from the Parish Ranch which is now the site of Memorial Park.

An Indispensible Aid

In this year of birding, particularly for shorebirds (because we can), we have become quite fond of the Northern California Almanac, which features daily tide tables and lists of seasonal wildlife for every month. We'd found our current edition at Borders last January, but there was no trace of it in this year's calendar offerings. We turned to the web, and found the website at WildNature, but no list of stores carrying it.

Shorebirds are deeply affected by tides, and we schedule our viewing accordingly. Too high, and all the birds are huddled in a great mass at the shoreline. At very low tide, the birds are happily spread out over acres of mud flats, busily sucking down grubs, which is great for them but less inspired viewing for us. The almanac also lists wildlife you're likely to see in certain months, a help to us newbies.

So we were delighted to take advantage of a break in the rains to dart over the hill to Half Moon Bay. At Coastside Books on Main Street, we found the 2009 edition of this year's Northern California Almanac, with photos by Wyn Hoag and illustrations by John Muir Laws. Once again, independent bookstores rule!

This year the printing is more elaborate on the calendar pages -- the tide tables and moon phases are more clearly laid out. Each month has an illustrated page with drawings by John Muir Laws. The detailed monthly lists of all wildlife are tucked in a booklet in back of the volume. The photos by Wyn Hoag do not show to advantage, sadly, but they do remind you of the wonderful places to be found on the Northern California coast. (If you want photos rather than tide tables, check out their wonderful wall calendars.)

Hidden Redwood Shores

From Redwood Shores - Nob Hill Foods

We learned a lot on a recent Audubon Society tour. It was scheduled to show off the nature walk at the new Redwood Shores Public Library. No one had cued the birds, so the group of about 30 set out for Radio Road, where reliable birding is to be found any hour of the day or year.
Putting better names to birds was intriguing. Veteran birdwatchers have their "tells" as Las Vegas croupiers read their gamblers -- they can read a raptor at 200 feet or ID a duck halfway across the pond.

From Audubon Tour of Redwood Shores

We also got tips on some additional spots for birdwatching. Davit Lane is a narrow strip of parkland bordering one of Redwood Shores' many lagoons. The afternoon we were there, one white swan was floating elegantly among the boat moorings.
Another wildlife hotspot is the pond behind Nob Hill Foods. You can see it from the Bay Trail, which has an access point at the end of Twin Dolphin Drive -- follow the signs to the Child Care Center. Lovely benches and landscaping overlook the slough. A short walk along the Bay Trail brings you to the pond. It's also viewable from behind Nob Hill Foods. The road is technically private but not posted as such, and there's parking once you pass the loading trucks.

Behind The Sound Wall

From Sound Wall Birds

Some corner of our peripheral vision is now dedicated to scanning for potential avian life. Even amid the hustle of Bayshore 101. With the great expanses of salt flats returning to their natural state, there's even more opportunity for spotting birds en route.
Egrets -- large, white, given to standing motionless while stalking fish -- turn up often, and in the most surprising places. Apparently even cement-lined culverts and roadside drainage offer sustenance. One Foster City egret spent much of last winter in a bank of iceplant, so far as we could tell. Another is often in the culvert at the Third Street on-ramp.

From Sound Wall Birds

On the border of Foster City and Redwood Shores, there's one patch of marsh dotted with grandfathered billboards. James spotted one egret darting in between two billboards that stand back to back, and wondered if it had found a great spot to nest. It looked like there was more bird action in some water but our view was blocked by the sound wall.
Last week I figured out how to get to the other side of the sound wall. The viewing spot is in Foster City, at Port Royal and Rock Harbor Lane. There's parking and Bay Train Access. A few steps let you look over the marsh and resident egrets. Around the corner, a drainage culvert empties into an untidy shallow basin that nevertheless attracts various birds. I suspect it's protected and out of the wind. The cormorants must think the yellow water control device was put out just for their sunning pleasure, like the electric transmission towers. Not a drop dead must-see birding destination, but a spot to find wildlife if you are in the neighborhood.
Want to find this location? Click on Sound Wall Birds above -- it has a Google map showing where the photos were taken.

Woodbridge Road Revisited

From Woodbridge Road, Lodi

Can't stay away from those Sandhill Cranes.
We were in Sacramento, headed home. The roads were open; the weather clear. Which route to take?
Of course we head back to Lodi, to see what has changed in the two weeks since we were there for the Sandhill Crane Festival. (The cranes are in residence throughout the winter.)

As we suspected, more fields had been flooded. Swans were starting to settle in. The cranes were still grazing in the fields, keeping a respectful distance from the lookie-loo birders on the road. It's drive-by birding only here. Some gates had been added at spots where we'd seen people walking into the fields, sending the cranes into the air. (Cranes don't panic, but they seem to maintain their distance.)

Midday is quiet time. The official Isenberg Preserve was nearly devoid of waterfowl, with only a few cranes. We did spot hundreds of cranes in one field of alfalfa. They are clearly organized, with one crane as lookout while the others graze; they take turns at this.

But prime time here is morning and evening, when the great flocks of cranes and swans and geese and ducks fly out and in. Pace yourself accordingly.