Reports to the Northern California BirdBox, transcribed for BirdWest by Adam Winer.
ALAMEDA COUNTY
24 January In Oakland, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, the Oldsquaw, and a few Barrow's Goldeneye were at Channel Park, along the channel through Laney College south of Lake Merritt. Carol ???19 January In Berkeley, 3 Oldsquaws were at the pier [west end of University Ave]. Mike Morris
17 January In Oakland, 2 female Oldsquaws were at Lake Merritt, just past the island nearest the Rotary Nature Center. Scott Terrill
14 January In Oakland, a female Tufted Duck was at Lake Merritt. This bird differs from the aberrant Ring-necked Duck seen here last fall. Roger Muscat
14 January In Oakland, the Oldsquaw was still in the channel between Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary. Ed Hayes
9 January In Oakland, a female Oldsquaw, a pair of Hooded Merganser, and half a dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes were in the channel from Lake Merritt to the Oakland estuary through Laney College. Larry Tunstall
8 January In Oakland, 12 Greater White-fronted Goose, 2 male Blue-winged Teal, and a female Tufted Duck were at Arrowhead Marsh [Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline]. Denise Hamilton
8 January In Oakland, the Oldsquaw, a male Hooded Merganser, and many Barrow's Goldeneyes were in the channel from Lake Merritt to the estuary, near 7th St. John Luther
7 January In Berkeley, 4 Redheads were at Aquatic Park in the pond north of the radio tower. Dick Speit
6 January In Berkeley, 2 Oldsquaws were at the fishing pier [west end of University Ave]. Emily Strauss
6 January In Oakland, a female Oldsquaw and a female Hooded Merganser were in the channel from Lake Merritt to the Oakland Estuary through Laney College, between 8th and 10th Sts. Joel Hurr
3 January In Oakland at Lake Merritt, an Oldsquaw was with goldeneyes near the channel to the estuary. Elizabeth Dickey
1 January East of Livermore, 2 Lark Buntings were still at milepost 6.51 on Patterson Pass Rd at noon. Also present were 5 or 6 Mountain Bluebirds. Mike Feighner
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
28 January In Danville, the immature Harris' Sparrow was seen again at the south edge of the Macedo Ranch parking lot at the north end of Green Valley Rd. Kevin Hintsa26 January In eastern Contra Costa County, 32 Lesser Yellowlegs were in a flooded field on the south side of Orwood Rd, near its east end. An out-of-place Varied Thrush was in a clump of vegetation at the end of the road. At Holland Tract, 26 Swainson's Hawks, mostly dark phase, were present. At least 12,000 Greater White-fronted Goose and 4,000 Snow Goose or Ross' Goose were over Webb Tract. Steve Glover
23 January In Danville, the immature Harris' Sparrow was seen again at the south edge of the Macedo Ranch parking lot for Mount Diablo State Park, at the north end of Green Valley Rd. The parking lot opens at 8 AM. Kevin Hintsa
22 January In Danville, the immature Harris' Sparrow was seen at the southeast corner of the Mount Diablo State Park staging-area parking lot at the north end of Green Valley Rd. Dennis Wolf
21 January In Danville, the immature Harris' Sparrow was seen again. Mike Rogers
20 January In Danville, the immature Harris' Sparrow was seen again. Kevin Hintsa
18 January In Danville, an immature Harris' Sparrow was found near the Green Valley Rd entrance to Mount Diablo State Park. Take Green Valley Rd north from Diablo Rd or Stone Valley Rd to the end. Be sure to use a legal parking place. Look for the Zonotrichia sparrow flock that feeds in the field within 100 feet of the houses lining the southsoutheast edge of the park. It also has been seen on the driveway at 505 Wildflower Pl. Kevin Hintsa
17 January In eastern Contra Costa County, the Sage Thrasher was still at the cattle guard on Byron Hot Springs Rd, 0.7 mile south of Holey Rd. Jean Richmond
13 January In eastern Contra Costa County, 2 Sage Thrashers were seen. One was at the cattle guard on Byron Hot Springs Rd 0.7 mile south of the intersection with Holey Rd. The second was 0.3 mile farther south, on the east side of the road near a rusty cattle trough. John Luther
11 January In eastern Contra Costa County, the Sage Thrasher was seen again. From Hwy J4 south of Byron, go west on Holey Rd and then left on Byron Hot Springs Rd. The bird frequents the area around a cattle guard 0.7 mile from this intersection. Steve Glover
4 January In Walnut Creek, 2 escapee Mute Swans were at Heather Farm Park off Ygnacio Valley Rd. Hugh Harvey
1 January In Richmond, a Ferruginous Hawk and a Eurasian Wigeon were at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Emily Strauss
1 January In Richmond, a female Black Scoter was off the neighborhood of Point Richmond. Go through the tunnel to Keller Park and look north toward the San Rafael Bridge. The bird was with a large flock of Surf Scoters. Don Schmoltz
1 January In Dublin, a Ferruginous Hawk was along Dougherty Rd, just north of the county border. Later it was seen along Santa Rita Rd at ??? Regional Park. [There is no regional park along Santa Rita Rd. My best guess would be that this refers to Tassajara Creek Regional Park off Tassajara Rd, which is the northern continuation of Santa Rita Rd. --Larry] Ed Tandelfino