Birding Class: Waterfowl

By Alvaro Jaramillo
Thursday, March 11, 7:00 PM

We take it for granted, but San Mateo County is about as rich a place as anywhere for wintering waterfowl. We are at a prime site, a world-class place for ducks and geese. This class will touch on what makes waterfowl odd and special as far as birds go. It will also detail some of the tougher identification problems in the group while dealing with aspects of their migration, foraging behavior, and habitat needs. Some experienced birders may see ducks and geese as dull – not so. These are among our most gorgeous, interesting, and also puzzling birds. If you are a beginner, this class will get you on the right track; if you are advanced, it will hopefully re-kindle your interest in waterfowl.

Alvaro leads birding tours of California and South America for Field Guides and has authored two birding books: The Birds of Chile and New World Blackbirds: The Icterids as well as contributing both popular and scientific articles to various publications. He also wrote the icterid chapter in The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.

Accompanying Field Trip:
Radio Road Ponds, Redwood Shores
Saturday, March 13th, 9am
Follow up Field Trip for the March 11th birding class.

Winter migrants, especially ducks, are in great abundance on these ponds at this time of year.

Directions: From US 101, take exit 411 and go east on Redwood Shores Parkway for a few miles. Go past Shearwater Parkway, and look for the tall electrical towers just past a slough on your right. There is a sign there that says "SBSA 1400 Radio Road." Turn right at this sign; you are now on Radio Road. You come to a stop sign; in front of you are the ponds of Radio Road; to your right is the Dog Park; to your left is the left spur of Radio Road; if you take a right, you can reach the main parking for Radio Road (and South Bayside System Authority).

Open to everyone with a $5 fee paid to the instructor.

Instructor: Alvaro Jaramillo, chucao@coastside.net

Beginner/Advanced Trip

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Breeding Strategies of Birds in California

By Bob Stewart
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 7:00pm

The amount of up to date information available about breeding birds has been augmented by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s “Birds of North America” online. What is missing from the many studies analyzed and listed in this wealthy source are the field experiences of the authors including interesting details that are left out of formal scientific publications. Utilizing photographs, Bob will discuss breeding strategies within the two major categories of precocious (hatching with eyes open and ready to jump or run) and altricial (hatching with eyes closed and helpless).
Within the latter group the relationships between male and female adults are fascinating and run the gamut from very tight togetherness in all aspects of breeding behavior (including singing) to promiscuity with many variations in between. Wrentits for instance, have extremely tight one to one relationships where the male and female share everything equally including nest building, incubating, brooding, feeding nestlings and caring for fledglings. Both sexes sing but they are very aggressive toward Brown-headed Cowbirds so they have a low rate of parasitism. Some vireo males, while having a more or less equal sex role like the Wrentit, have a habit of singing from the nest which allows the cowbirds to locate and parasitize them.

At the other extreme of sex roles are Red-winged Blackbirds and Hummingbirds where the females do most or all nest building and caring for the young. Taking an organized approach to the role of male and female relations, Bob will relate unique behavioral facts for each species including many personal experiences from his many years of watching nesting birds as a researcher and teacher.

Bob Stewart has been a naturalist since 1962. His career includes teaching biology in the California public schools (Junior High through Junior College), biologist/teacher at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (1968-1979), and naturalist for the Marin County Open Space District (1982-1997) where he gave over 2,000 free walks to the public. He has also lead innumerable field trips in California, Arizona, Texas, Mexico, Costa Rica, Trinadad and Tobago. He has published two photographic butterfly books: Common Butterflies of California 1997, and Butterflies of Arizona 2001.

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Birding Class: Bird Sound Workshop

By Alvaro Jaramillo
Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7:00pm

Birders are attracted to birds for many reasons, aesthetics, the thrill of the chase, their behavior, amazing flying powers and migration….but one aspect of birds that transcends all is their ability to sing. Now, one can just sit back and enjoy bird song, but it is also interesting to dig a little deeper and understand a little more about it, and learn how to differentiate songs. This SAS workshop does just that. This is not a class solely devoted to identifying birds by song, although we will deal with learning bird songs, and in particular the trickier songs we hear in the county. This workshop will also delve into understanding the ecology and behavior of bird sounds.

Alvaro leads birding tours of California and South America for Field Guides and has authored two birding books: The Birds of Chile and New World Blackbirds: The Icterids as well as contributing both popular and scientific articles to various publications. He also wrote the icterid chapter in The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.

Accompanying Field Trip:
Saturday, May 15, 2010, 9:00am
Burleigh Murray Ranch State Park, Half Moon Bay
(Follow-up field trip for the May 13th birding class.)

The field trip will aim to listen to bird sounds in nature, and also to learn a few bird songs while we are at it!

Directions: The park is on the San Mateo Coast near Half Moon Bay, just over a mile south of the intersection of Highways 1 and 92. Turn east off Highway 1 onto Higgins-Purisima Road. Proceed just over one-and-a-half miles to the park. A small graveled parking area is located a short distance from the entrance to the park.

Open to everyone with a $5.00 fee paid to the instructor.

Leader: Alvaro Jaramillo

Beginner/Advanced Trip