A sparkling, sunny morning greeted us in Pleasanton for our friend Adam’s section of the 2019 Eastern Alameda County Christmas Bird Count. Our team set out along the creekside Arroyo del Valle Trail to tally which and how many birds were around.
Right off the bat, a Red-shouldered Hawk cruised low over the creek and eventually perched nearby to soak up some morning rays.
A flock of House Finches chattered away in the treetops.
This Oak Titmouse carried some sort of tiny berry – tiny bill equals tiny food!
We admired this American Robin’s orange breast feathers softly edged in white. This angle also gave us a nice look at its spotted undertail coverts.
A noisy male Nuttall’s Woodpecker circled a slender trunk, showing off all sides.
As we peered at some sunning Turkey Vultures, this Great Blue Heron flew in, perched, and kept an eye on the creek below.
Along the riparian corridor, we stopped to listen to a small mixed flock who gave us quite the auditory show. A Bewick’s Wren dominated with two quick songs, followed by heavy scolding. We also picked out an Anna’s Hummingbird, a Dark-eyed Junco, a California Towhee, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Golden-crowned Sparrow, and a Black Phoebe.
Fox Squirrels were abundant along the trail – every direction we looked offered a view of another scurrying Sciuridae!
Last year, a small group of Hooded Mergansers delighted us at the very end of the count. This year, early along the trail, we encountered two males and a female making their way up the creek.
As we walked along, we heard a familiar screech emanating from the tangle of trees above the creek.
We followed our ears and discovered a wet Red-tailed Hawk vocalizing often while drying its wings.
Now, we present a series called: Birds Blurred by Branches.
Yellow-rumped Warblers were numerous on our count, like this striking Audubon’s type.
Anna’s Hummingbird’s begin their breeding season as early as December, and the males were already working hard to impress prospective mates and secure a breeding territory. We tallied 34 Anna’s on our four-mile route, a surprisingly high number. After several display flights, this male Anna’s perched on an exposed branch to broadcast its buzzing, scraping song.
White-breasted Nuthatches were to be expected along the trail and didn’t disappoint.
However, we weren’t expecting to see Red-breasted Nuthatches! We watched while two foraged both in and below a small stand of true cedars right next to the trail.
We came upon Purple Finches foraging in the exact same peppercorn trees as last year – but, there was a totally unexpected sight accompanying them!
It was an off-season Western Tanager! We observed the tanager as it moved around a small area, even calling occasionally.
Take a listen to a couple Purple Finches making their soft, popping call. At 0:04 seconds, you can hear the much sharper call of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Towards the end of the trail, we tallied the day’s only Hairy Woodpecker foraging in a pine tree.
At this shallow and slow-moving section of the creek, we witnessed a mixed-flock bathing session with American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song Sparrows, and even a Townsend’s Warbler – a wonderful parting gift!
This American Robin sat still, soaking for a couple minutes.
The Pleasanton count day is always one of our favorite days of the year. Spending the day birding with our dear friends while contributing to this long-standing citizen science tradition leaves us smiling every time!
Lucky guys with all the varieties of birds. Up north, only the few winter residents are coming to the feeders. Our Christmas Bird Count (Brome-Missisquoi, QC, CA) was postponed to January 4th, due to bad weather. I will get back to you on it. Cheers !
Excited to hear how today’s count went, André! Please let us know! 🙂