Wednesday and Friday I spent the morning again on Mt. Diablo about a quarter mile east of Juniper Campground along Summit Rd. (“Grapevine Ridge”). Each day, between 8:30 and 8:40, just like on Monday, a single Cassin’s Finch flew over. You think once is a migrant, twice a fluke, but by time number three it seems to be a pattern… I’d guess this is a bird hanging around locally commuting over this site to somewhere else on the mountain. Very weird. In time I’ll get several audio recordings onto eBird.
After the finch this morning I walked over to the picnic area on Green Ranch Rd. where I encountered a whitting Empid. I chased it around in the chaparral for 30 minutes trying to decide Gray or Dusky (the timing is better for Gray, I think) but ended up tentatively calling it the more common, but slightly early, Dusky. Otherwise it was birdy up there, with decent numbers of Hermit, Townsend’s, Blk-thr Gray, Buntings and a couple Nashville. No Hammonds Flycatchers for me yet!!
Ethan Monk
> On Apr 15, 2024, at 10:39 AM, Ethan Monk via groups.io <z.querula...> wrote:
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> This morning John Toldi and I audio recorded a Cassin's Finch on Summit Rd. on Mt. Diablo, about a quarter mile east of Juniper Campground. There are several previous spring records for the county, including one at the summit of Mt. Diablo on April 5th, 1995 (Kevin Hintsa). Otherwise it seems the night brought a decent pulse of Townsend's, Orange-crowned (on the mountain) and Wilson's Warblers (in Alamo). Lazuli Buntings and Ash-throated Flycatchers are now around.
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> Best, Ethan Monk
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