Natural History Wanderings

Yesterday I was on a birding field trip with the Audubon Master Birding Class to Valle Vista Staging Area of San Leandro Reservoir in Moraga, California. We walked about two and half miles round trip on East Bay MUD Lands. It was a sunny and the birds were active.

The habitat is a combination of Woodlands and Farmlands. The parts of the reservoir that we went by were dry. Dominant trees were Monterey Pine, Live Oak, and Eucalyptus. The main shrubs included Poison Oak, Poison Hemlock, Coyote Bush, Himalayan Blackberry and Twinberry. Many bird species were present I recorded 52 different birds species seen or heard. Very few wildflowers were in bloom.

The highlight of the day was watching a Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle interact with each other. Other observations included watching mating behavior by Kestrels, Acorn Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers; watching a single Red-tail Hawk intrude upon a pair of Red-tails; seeing and hearing a Black-headed Grosbeak; and seeing Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds at Bird Boxes.

Native Wildflowers in Bloom  included California Buttercup, California Poppy, Wild Cucumber, Poison Oak and California Blackberry. Alien Flowers in bloom werePoison Hemlock, Broom, Fruit Trees, Filaree, a small yellow Lotus, and Pineapple Weed.

Butterflies seen included California Ringlet, a Painted Lady type butterfly, and a Blue. Also seen were The Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) which are are subspecies of the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). This is typical deer we see from Northern California into the Pacific Northwest and coastal British Columbia.

East Bay MUD lands require a trail use permit. If you want to hike on any of their areas you can get a permit at Trail Use Permits | East Bay Municipal Utility District – EBMUD

To See the rather large bird list click read more

Bird List

Canada Goose  X

Mallard  X

California Quail  X

Turkey Vulture  X

Golden Eagle  X

Cooper’s Hawk  X

Bald Eagle  X

Red-shouldered Hawk  X

Red-tailed Hawk  X

Killdeer  X

Greater Yellowlegs  X

Band-tailed Pigeon  X

Mourning Dove  X

Anna’s Hummingbird  X

Acorn Woodpecker  X

Nuttall’s Woodpecker  X

Downy Woodpecker  X

Northern Flicker  X

American Kestrel  X

Pacific-slope Flycatcher  X

Black Phoebe  X

Hutton’s Vireo  X

Warbling Vireo  X

Steller’s Jay  X

Western Scrub-Jay  X

American Crow  X

Common Raven  X

Tree Swallow  X

Cliff Swallow  X

Chestnut-backed Chickadee  X

Oak Titmouse  X

White-breasted Nuthatch  X

Brown Creeper  X

House Wren  X

Bewick’s Wren  X

Wrentit  X

Western Bluebird  X

American Robin  X

California Thrasher  X

European Starling  X

Cedar Waxwing  X

Orange-crowned Warbler  X

Yellow-rumped Warbler  X

Wilson’s Warbler  X

Spotted Towhee  X

California Towhee  X

Song Sparrow  X

Golden-crowned Sparrow  X

Dark-eyed Junco  X

Black-headed Grosbeak  X

Purple Finch  X

Pine Siskin  X

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22704807