And then I took a job in the birding world. I joined my local Audubon chapter, attended birding events, and made lots of nature-loving friends. Boat-billed HeronsĪfter the knitting phase, I developed an intense interest in birdwatching, and left my knitting needles to gather dust as I ran around the woods and meadows looking for new species to add to my growing bird list. I think it was because I’d made my hobby into my job, and that sucked the joy out of it. And then one day I just lost interest in it all. I sold my patterns nationwide and had a blast doing the marketing and all the other facets of running a business. I loved it so much I started a knitting design business. I went to knitting conventions, took classes, and bought lots of yarn. I spent the first decade of this century immersed in the knitting world, spending hours each day creating sweaters, socks, and hats. More about the trip below, but first a bit about those changing passions of life. I think my recent trip to Costa Rica helped clarify things for me - traveling always helps to get my brain out of a rut. It also helps your family, friends and Berkeley neighbors have access to reliable, independent reporting.Typical scenery in Costa Rica – gorgeous mountain viewsĭo you find that you go through phases in life where your interests change suddenly? I do, and I’m moving into another one of those now. Your donation goes beyond supporting our journalism. Thank you.īerkeleyside relies on reader support to remain free for everyone in our community. Your donation makes this and all our other local reporting possible. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out All the News. Rare bluebird sightings bring happiness in a Berkeley park (08.07.12)īerkeleyside publishes many articles every day. Sitting on the dock of the bay: Birds throng Berkeley pier 02.28.13) The mystery and thrill: Shorebirds enjoy winter in Berkeley (03.21.13) Lynxes of the bird world: Cooper’s hawks nest in Berkeley (04.18.13) In a Berkeley park a bluebird displays unusual behavior (08.05.13) You can email him at This post originally appeared in Golden Gate Birder, the Golden Gate Audubon blog.Ĭlimate change spells trouble for Berkeley birds (09.10.14)Ĭounting crows: Why are there so many in Berkeley? (03.28.14) Photo: Larry and Dena Hollowoodīruce Mast writes the monthly Observations column on rare and unusual bird sightings that appears on Golden Gate Audubon Society’s website. So what does the future hold for our clown-faced friends? Is crop failure due to drought or just cyclical variation in acorn production? University of California’s Oak Woodland Conservation Workgroup sheds some light on the drivers of crop size:Īn Acorn Woodpecker. The valley oak crop is reasonably good but, overall, acorn production is the worst it has been since 2003, and less than half the crop production of 20. Blue oaks are generally fair to poor and it’s a fairly poor year for tanoaks. Results are particularly poor for live oaks: it is either the worst or next-to-worst year ever for coast live oaks, canyon live oaks, and interior live oaks. 2014 edition of the California Acorn Report, this is a medium-to-poor acorn year. This year appears to be one of those years. Groups that exhaust their stores often abandon their territories and wander off in search of alternative food. N areas where there are large seasonal fluctuations in insects and other foods, year-round residency is dependent on the birds’ ability to store sufficient acorn mast to provide food throughout the winter. Only about half their diet actually consists of acorns - the other half is made up of fruit, insects, and other vegetable matter - but the acorn granaries are the staple food source that gets them through lean times. They develop communal granaries that may consist of tens of thousands of holes drilled in tree trunks and limbs, each stuffed with an acorn. True to their name, Acorn Woodpeckers are acorn specialists. What’s driving it? The most likely answer is acorn crop failure. This irruption – the term for a sudden upsurge in a bird population - is particularly noteworthy because Acorn Woodpeckers are not migratory. They’ve also been sighted across the Bay in San Francisco. In Berkeley, they have been reported near McKinley and Bancroft streets, at the UC Botanical Gardens, in Claremont Canyon, and behind the Seabreeze restaurant near the Berkeley Waterfront. 1, Acorn Woodpecker reports started rolling in from multiple East Bay sites from Oakland to Richmond. Photo: Larry and Dena Hollowoodīeginning around Sept.
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