SBT COUNTY: OUT & ABOUT

Hello, Birders,

I made a fast jet around a couple of SAN BENITO COUNTY hot spots, with nothing much new to report. At VISTA PARK HILL in downtown Hollister, things were pretty dead. When the giant lawnmowers turned on, I left. The new place to check here, though, is the Community Garden just down the hill from the entrance to the park. 

On SANTA ANA VALLEY ROAD, I found a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. It was sitting on the very top of a telephone pole near a white house with green trim, #1810, with a For Sale sign out front. A corral is just across the street from the house. The kingbird flew to barbed wire fence. Most folks are not aware that Cassin's Kingbirds can be found in small numbers throughout the year. Several WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were also on the wires.

A sub-adult BALD EAGLE was on lower QUIEN SABE ROAD. At PAICINES RESERVOIR, change in shorebirds seemed to be the "biggest" event, with a dozen LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS along the mud flats, and 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS. Two CLARK'S GREBES, RUDDY DUCKS, CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN WIDGEON, and the usual birds were around. The ADULT BALD EAGLE was sitting in the single, small oak tree on the levee. 

At the BALD EAGLE NEST, location undisclosed, I was surprised to see an ADULT BALD EAGLE near the nest, while two ADULT GOLDEN EAGLES were perched at the top of oak trees nearby. Perhaps the bald eagle was protecting its nest from being usurped by the golden eagles? Sadly, this nest failed to produce young this year after several years of success, producing two young each season. Let's hope that 2009 is a better year— in more ways than one! 

Eagles forever,

Debra

Debra Shearwater

Shearwater Journeys, Inc.

PO Box 190

Hollister, CA 95024

831.637.8527

debi@shearwaterjourneys.com

www.shearwaterjourneys.com

*Antarctica, South Georgia, & The Falkland Islands, January 5-24, 2010* 

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