The Nesting Instinct

With New Year's Eve falling on a Thursday, it's likely that many Castro Valleyans -- at least those with means -- have blown the burg and are settled in elsewhere for what amounts to a four-day weekend. Others are staying close to home, of course. Some of us -- Your Boulevardier falls into this third category -- find ourselves flitting about like overwintering birds between leafless trees, rather than settling into one spot for an extended period. While cozying into a nest may be appealing, circumstances prevent it.



The inviting small bird nest seen here is in one of the Chinese Pistache trees on the Castro Valley Boulevard side of the Safeway parking lot. For now it is vacant, but one can imagine that with the return of warmer weather -- and some leaf cover -- it will be reoccupied by some LBB. (Confused? See the third definition.) The aerie is much smaller than the photo seems to indicate; nothing is in the picture to provide viewers with a sense of scale. For the record, it's no more than 2 inches wide. That's the Sunflower restaurant in the background.

Sighting this nest the other day served as a reminder that now is a good time for bird aficionados to check trees for nests. Big nests high in deciduous trees are easy to spot in winter, and smaller nests near eye level can be mentally tagged for future checking when spring returns.

However readers are spending the first few days of 2010 -- whether nesting or flying about -- Your Boulevardier wishes you a happy new year.

Remodeling McDonald's

Your Boulevardier notes that the McDonald's on Castro Valley's Fast Food Island is closed for remodeling. This event has been in the planning stages for years, it seems. This morning a cold steel fence kept all but the birds from visiting the Golden Arches. And because the restaurant was not being patronized, and the fries and burger buns on which the pigeons and seagulls had, in the past, feasted were not forthcoming, so the avian scavengers had precious little to do. One telling note as to the abruptness of the property's fencing: copies of USA Today remain in the newsrack by the restaurant's door.

Deep in the recesses of Your Boulevardier's memory, he can recall eating at this restaurant when it was brand new. The building was covered with white tile, and sported several red concrete outdoor tables in lieu of indoor dining then. The structure was spanned by the trademark aureate arcs. The hamburgers cost, if memory serves, twenty-nine cents.

Over the years, the building expanded as its real estate morphed. The playplace was added, and a section of the dining area was segregated as a party room. (Neveau de Boulevardier celebrated at least one birthday there.) The establishment's parking lot grew dramatically, even as the freeway and its offramps encroached.

Automobiles have always been the preferred mode of access to McDonald's, it seems, and pedestrians such as Your Boulevardier took some risks in attempting to walk to the place -- what with motorists juggling too-hot coffee, filing their change, shushing the youngsters, and, oh yes, driving their cars from the drive-through.

But one can say what one will about McDonald's -- Your Boulevardier has concerns about its business practices and the health value of its products -- but the company has maintained its Castro Valley property well through all the changes. On a survey mission this morning, Your Boulevardier noted the lush green lawns, carefully trimmed shrubbery, and crimson Pistache trees along the property's perimeter. Let us hope that the new structure adds some architectural interest and other thoughtful touches, since this site is, for better or worse, one of the gateways to our town.




Postscript, unrelated: On a walk to Valley Java this morning, Your Boulevardier noted that gasoline at the Shop 'N' Save on Stanton Avenue has dipped one tenth of a cent below $2 per gallon.

Nesting Instinct

It's an ideal time of year to get out of doors and look up. The deciduous trees in town are leafless, making any nests they host (vacant, for the most part) much more visible. Your Boulevardier noted dozens of nests, ranging from tiny hummingbird cups to large aeries for big birds unknown, all around Castro Valley on a walk this morning. When the trees leaf out these nests will disappear into the foliage, but spotting them now can give viewers a clue as to where to look for birds come spring and summer.

In a related note, on a kayak outing to Lake Chabot yesterday Your Boulevardier noted one heron staking out a residence high in the rookery tree near the lake's northeast corner. This is always a good birdwatching show later on in the spring and summer. Subsequent reports will be posted.

Birdland in Castro Valley?

Your Boulevardier has been chained to his desk -- fortunately these days, not literally -- but today he did venture forth briefly to walk with the Trusty BoulevarDog to the post office and Trader Joe's.

The Chinese Pistache trees along the Boulevard near Redwood Road are about to burst into fall color. Their seed pods are already ripening to a torrid fuschia, and on Tuesday afternoon around dusk the trees were loaded with tiny singing birds, eating their fill.