Date: 5/2/25 5:38 pm From: Bruce Mast via groups.io <cathrasher4...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] peregrines at Castle Rock Regional Reserve (Walnut Creek)
Hello East Bay Birders, I hiked up Pine Canyon this morning from the Castle Rock trailhead to check on the Peregrine Falcons and a few other birds. For those of you who haven't birded that area, a falcon pair has been hanging out for the last month in the cliffs where falcons traditionally nest. Talking to Fred Lindeman, who's part of the Peregrine monitoring team, he tells me that this year's female is a young inexperienced bird. She hasn't shown any sign of egg laying or incubation so far this season. Birds are best observed from the second meadow (37.878478663919665, -121.9866937511811), where a nice bench at the top of the slope offers a relaxing vantage point.
In other news, I birded up Pine Canyon as far as Pine Pond, looking for migrants, etc. I detected Lawrence's Goldfinches at multiple spots, mostly by flight call, but I also had a pair coming down to the creek for water right where I was preparing to cross. Lesser Goldfinches are numerous so sorting them out can be tricky. Summer breeding birds all seem to be on territory, but not much in the way of passage migrant activity. I heard one Empid, one Western Tanager, and a handful of Townsend's Warblers, but not much else in the migrant category. Birdcast reports for the last few days had shown high migrant action but apparently they were flying over without stopping. Breeding birds were quite active, with a number of Lazuli Buntings keeping it lively.
My ulterior motive for hiking Castle Rock this morning was to scout for a Mount Diablo Hiking Big Day I'm doing on Sunday as part of GGBA's annual Birdathon fundraiser. Maria K is planning to join me. We'll start pre-dawn at Mitchell Canyon listening for owls and poorwills, then after birding Mitchell in the morning, we'll hike up to Deer Flat and Moses Rock Ridge, then down to Pine Canyon in the afternoon. An anonymous donor has offered to match every per-species pledge, dollar for dollar, up to a combined total of $400. If I hit my 72 species goal, then I need pledges totaling $5.55 per species to max out the match. I'm currently at $4.25 so I still need pledges totaling $1.30 to max out the match. If you would like to support GGBA and double your donation, then please make a pledge at https://charity.pledgeit.org/Birdathon2025/@Bruce-Mast.
And with that, I'll stop testing the moderator's patience!
