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California notes



Hey, everyone,

Went to the Bay Area for four days and got a little birding in between San
Francisco street scenes and a friend's wedding in Marin, and campus hills at
Santa Cruz...

Among the usual suspects (Steller's Jays, scrub jays, towhees, brown
pelicans, acorn woodpeckers, etc.), saw a Wilson's Warbler in Ano Nuevo
State Park, and in the same locale, a lovely sight (especially to someone
filled with CA nostalgia): a pair of California quail taking their fourteen
chicks out for a stroll and a dustbath.  Magical... Aren't those little
deelybobbers on their heads the cutest things???
Also heard what I think was an owl (amateur that I am) in the redwoods north
of the UCSC campus, uttering low but penetrating "whoos", in two notes, one
high, then one low, a little like a European cuckoo.  Sounded large, though
I know bird calls can be misleading (just consider the lungs of the Carolina
Wren). Also heard a beautiful thrush but not sure which kind.
What I loved most:  the smells of eucaplyptus, bay, and fennel, and the DRY
air (strange, considering how close to the ocean).  Like a tonic...  And
now, welcome back home to 92% humidity!

By the way, a friend in CA told me that condors have been released in the
Grand Canyon.  Is this true?  Where are other release sites outside of CA,
if any?  What a sight that would be!  Has anyone in this group seen a
condor?

Cheers,
Paula
Durham, NC by way of Santa Cruz, CA