There has been lots of talk of a Painted Redstart in Berkeley over the last two weeks. It is the first recorded sighting of a Painted Redstart in Alameda County.
It has been in the newspapers (and online) First local sighting brings flocks of birders to Berkeley | Berkeleyside.
It has been on television: Rare Bird Spotted In Quiet Berkeley Neighborhood « CBS San Francisco.
Today we decided to go see for ourselves. The landlord of the address where most of the sightings have taken place asked that we not go on his property due to work being done in the yard. We looked from various angles from a number of the streets and saw a bird that MAY have been the Painted Redstart, but at the distance, partially hidden view in the tree and in the bad light it was difficult to tell. Other birders who came after us did not see the bird today. We did see a Raven being mobbed by crows, a couple of Lesser Goldfinch, Bushtits, American Robins, a Scrub Jay and heard Anna’s Hummingbirds but no confirmation of the Painted Redstart. Did we see the Redstart today? We will never know.
There is still some seasonal color in Berkeley so I took a few photos of some street trees. I did Photoshop out some of the wires so I could imagine what Berkeley would look like if we put the many electrical, phone and cable wires underground.
Natural History Wanderings 
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