Parent
From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 08:01:01 1999
Subject: [SBB] RFI Clay Kempf
All,
Does anyone have a current phone number or know where Clay Kempf lives.
Thanks,
Bob Reiling, 7:01 AM, 3/1/99
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 08:56:47 1999
Subject: [SBB] Reservoir Birds
I apologize for getting this in late, but I figure better late than
never.
On 23 Feb. at Anderson Reservoir we observed HORNED, EARED, WESTERN and
CLARK'S GREBE, an immature BALD EAGLE, two groups of WHITE-THROATED
SWIFTS, and PRAIRIE FALCON.
At Stevens Creek Reservoir there were four HOODED MERGANSERS on 26 Feb.
WOOD DUCKS continue to be present in good numbers at all other
reservoirs, we observed flocks of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS at Anderson,
Calero, Uvas, Chesbro and Calero Reservoirs between 23-26 Feb.. I also
noticed large groups of TURKEY VULTURES returning to the area, spring is
almost here!
Good birding,
Tom
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 09:27:34 1999
Subject: [SBB] baylands 2/27
Hi All,
At Palo Alto Baylands saturday, 2/27, I saw a male common golden-eye in the
stream in front of the interpretive center, who seems to have taken up
residence there as I've seen him there before.
Also by the interpretive center,Clark's grebe,marbelled godwits,
canvasbacks,green-winged teals, ruddy ducks,and avocets.
There were plenty of lesser scaups at the duck pond.
Good birding!
Pat Prickett
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 11:01:13 1999
Subject: [SBB] south county and Panoche
Hi Everyone--
On Saturday I drove down toward Panoche, stopping at San Felipe Lake (lots
of TREE SWALLOWS, 15 or so WHITE PELICANS, GREAT BLUE HERONS starting to get
interested in nesting, no grackles) and the Eucalyptus trees along San
Felipe Road (no kingbirds). Paicines Reservoir had 2 adult BALD EAGLES, at
least 6 REDHEAD, a few RING-NECKED DUCKS, several COMMON MERGANSERS, and 2
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS. A RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was at milepost
18.65. The LEWIS' WOODPECKER is still at milepost 19.00, as are 3
PHAINOPEPLAS. There were a total of 3 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS in different areas
of Panoche Valley. The wash at Silver Creek Ranch had 4 VESPER SPARROWS and
a SAGE THRASHER (there's an unmarked dirt road that splits off New Idria
Road a mile or so beyond the Panoche School; this road goes through the wash
and connects back with the paved road a bit past the separation of Silver
Creek Ranch Road and New Idria Road). Two more SAGE THRASHERS and 5 MOUNTAIN
BLUEBIRDS were in the Panoche Hills BLM area. The best part, though, was
Mercey Hot Springs: at 6:30 PM, I saw and heard the LONG-EARED OWL (after
all these years, the first one I've ever seen that was awake!), and saw a
tawny BARN OWL. Larry, the proprietor, was quite hospitable, and I encourage
people to consider camping there when he gets the place renovated.
Mark
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 11:03:08 1999
Subject: [SBB] Barn Owls
Hi All, there are Barn Owls nesting is the trees at the end of my road in La
Honda. I have watched these birds over the past three years and have heard
the "stacatto clicks" described by Tom Gray when the adults are feeding the
young. I have observed the adult feeding young after the young birds fledge
and are perched on a snag near the nesting cavity.
Barbara Costa
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 11:56:08 1999
Subject: [SBB] Barn Owls
All,
Many of these reports of (possibly?) breeding Barn Owl are significant.
During the SCL Breeding Bird Atlas our earliest breeding confirmation
was and "Occupied Nest" on April 15 and a "Nest wiht young" on April 16.
The postatlas work did a little better, with "Occupied Nest" on March 16
and "Nest with Eggs" on March 30. However, we have no records of young
in March and nothing in February. Barn Owls are known to nest early,
but our atlas has so far missed this. Please alert me to any early
breeding evidence of this species, including date, exact location, and
level of breeding confirmation.
Thanks,
Mike
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 12:32:26 1999
Subject: [SBB] Ravens on-nest
The COMMON RAVENS are on nest again at Marine Way near the
Mtn. View Forebay. Incubation was in progress on Friday,
2/26. Apparently, because last year's nest structure was
still intact, nest-buiding was minimal.
Les
==========================================
Les Chibana, Palo Alto email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 13:07:56 1999
Subject: [SBB] Early Barn Owl nesting data
Hi Mike and All,
I started talking to a women in South San Jose on 1/21/99 who had been
monitoring a barn owl nest on a ledge/gutter of the building across from
her office window. The young barn owls were 2-3 weeks old at that time.
One left the nest at about 5 weeks and I went out to help put it back. The
bird did not stay in the nest and is now being raised through Wildlife
Rescue. There were two nestling and the second is continuing to grow and
being monitored. The building workers have even taken videos of the owls.
I have the exact location at home, it was just past Evergreen College.
Karen Hoyt
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 10:56:08 -0800 (PST)
From: "Dr. Michael M. Rogers"
To: email@hidden
Subject: [SBB] Barn Owls
Sender: email@hidden
All,
Many of these reports of (possibly?) breeding Barn Owl are significant.
During the SCL Breeding Bird Atlas our earliest breeding confirmation
was and "Occupied Nest" on April 15 and a "Nest wiht young" on April 16.
The postatlas work did a little better, with "Occupied Nest" on March 16
and "Nest with Eggs" on March 30. However, we have no records of young
in March and nothing in February. Barn Owls are known to nest early,
but our atlas has so far missed this. Please alert me to any early
breeding evidence of this species, including date, exact location, and
level of breeding confirmation.
Thanks,
Mike
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To: SOUTH-BAY-BIRDS@LISTS
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 15:34:21 1999
Subject: [SBB] Cliff Swallows at Charleston Slough
Five early Cliff Swallows were checking out last year's nest sites on the
pumphouse at the foot of Charleston Slough this AM.
Phyllis
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 01 18:31:06 1999
Subject: [SBB] Brown Creeper, Varied Thrush, etc
The most interesting bird discovered on the bird walk I led at La Rinconada
Park (Los Gatos) on Saturday was a Brown Creeper. On private property near
the park I got a great look at a Varied Thrush and probable look at a pair
of Western Bluebirds.
For the Cornell Backyard Bird Count I think I reported 12 American
Goldfinches (most seen at any one time). Well, after the bird walk
sponsored by Backyard Birds on Saturday, Pat (owner) showed me pictures of
the goldfinches at her new feeder. A person, such as myself, with 15 bird
feeders can obviously live without a new one. But, I succumbed and bought
this new one made by some man in Oklahoma using disabled people. (Yep, got
the whole story) It holds 1 1/1 lbs of thistle and has places for 20
goldfinch. Guess what I have MORE than 20 goldfinches! I got them waiting
in line and all 20 perching spots are taken. What I don't do for my
feathered friends!!!
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos off Quito
Your PFO (Personal Financial Officer)
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 02 13:53:31 1999
Subject: [SBB] Epic bird-a-thon
Greetings friends ... I just spent five days touring the Bay Area from Pt.
Reyes to the bayshore and Moss Landing, including a trip I led into Panoche
Valley. I think some of my findings should be reported but I don't want to
bore the whole list of subscribers with the details.
Could someone let me know the best way to submit a complete trip report? If
it should go here, I'll gladly post it. Thanks, Steve
Steve Shunk
Sisters, OR
541-549-8826
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 02 16:29:43 1999
Subject: [SBB] Menlo Park
This afternoon, outside my residential office in Menlo Park I saw a
MERLIN in a large redwood tree visible from El Camino Real and Partridge
Avenue. It appeared as dark as the one I reported from the area a few
weeks ago. I find it amusing that I still have not been able to find
kestrel for my office checklist, but merlin has shown up twice...
There also continues a "Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Junco in my front lawn
feeding on seeds each afternoon with a dozen or so "Oregon" Dark-eyed
Juncos.
At the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin on Frontage Road, there were thee
BLUE-WINGED TEALS associating with the many shovellers, ruddies,
gadwalls, pintails, green-winged and cinnamon teals. I also believe 1-2
REDHEADS were among the flock of canvasbacks in the large pool, but
light was waning and they were too far away to be sure.
Matthew Dodder
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 03 08:35:16 1999
Subject: [SBB] Webmaster job opening at CLO
Hi, California birders--
Thought you might like to know about this exciting job that has opened up
here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you'd like to a copy of the
complete job description, let me know and I'll email you a copy.
Allison Wells
Webmaster for the Lab Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Job:
Serve as Webmaster of the Lab of Ornithology's web Site--a large,
nationally recognized, highly interactive, award-winning site-that includes
information from many Lab programs: Library of Natural Sounds, Bioacoustics
Research Program, Bird Population Studies, Education and Citizen Science,
Publications, and Membership.
Responsibilities:
Develop new pages and links for the Lab's web site, ensuring
standardization and easy navigation through a complex site involving
thousands of individual pages, and keeping the site on the cutting edge of
web technologies.
Maintain the web site, ensuring that productions systems are available to
the public on a 7/24 basis.
Develop online systems for Lab member and project recruitment and
servicing, including interactive forms for sign-ups and feedback.
Participate in planning meetings with other members of Lab's communications
unit and public affairs and development unit, ensuring consistency between
web site and other Lab media products.
Work with development staff in developing Lab web site potential as a
mechanism to inform, involve, and engage Lab members in fundraising
activities.
Experience:
At least 3 year's experience with HTML, including forms, tables, and
frames, is essential. Must have a keen understanding of web dynamics and
web navigation, and be able to manage a web site based on a Windows NT
server using Netscape Web server software. Must also be skilled in working
with images and other multimedia data types including audio and video.
Knowledge of JavaScript is desirable. A keen interest in birds and
ornithology is highly desirable.
Allison Wells
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 254-2475
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 03 12:02:26 1999
Subject: [SBB] Panoche Report
> THIS MESSAGE IS IN MIME FORMAT. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
--MS_Mac_OE_3003303746_8013401_MIME_Part
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
At the request of many of you, below is the first of two reports from my
venture to the Bay Area. This highlights Panoche Valley and the second
will cover the rest of the trip. It's great to hear from all of you. Stay
in touch! Steve
LOS GATOS WILD BIRD CENTER
PANOCHE VALLEY TRIP LIST -- FEBRUARY 28, 1999
TRIP LEADER: Stephen Shunk
CO-LEADERS: Freddy Howell, Ralph Schardt, Terry Steele, Kristine Falco
Below is the official checklist for the above-described Panoche Valley trip.
The group included twenty-three birders in five vehicles. All birds listed
were confirmed by at least one leader and one other birder. Significant
findings (according to Steve) are listed in capitals. Please call
541-549-8826 or e-mail email@hidden with any questions.
Loons, Grebes, Cormorants, Herons
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
CLARK'S GREBE (1) - Paicines Reservoir
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (4+ imm.) - Paicines Reservoir
Waterfowl
Canada Goose
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
REDHEAD (2+) - Paicines Reservoir
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Vuktures, Raptors
Turkey Vulture
WHITE-TAILED KITE (1) - Griswold Canyon
BALD EAGLE (2 ad.) - Paicines Reservoir
Northern Harrier
Accipiter sp.
Red-shouldered Hawk
SWAINSON'S HAWK (1) - Over Paicines Store
Red-tailed Hawk
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (2+) - Panoche Valley
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Waders, Shorebirds
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
Quail, Doves, Cuckoos
California Quail
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
GREATER ROADRUNNER (3) - Panoche Rd.
Hummers, Woodpeckers
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Flycatchers, Shrikes
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
KINGBIRD sp. (mult. birds seen en route; unidentifiable as Cassin's ,
Western or otherwise)
Loggerhead Shrike
Corvids
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Small Insectivores
Tree Swallow
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (3+) - Paicines Reservoir
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (1) - Panoche Rd./Tres Pinos Creek
Barn Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
ROCK WREN (3+) - Griswold Canyon
Bewick's Wren
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (1+) - Paicines Store
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wrentit
Thrushes, Thrashers, Mimics
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Silky-Flycatchers, Warblers
PHAINOPEPLA (6+) - seen between milepost x.x and x.xx on Panoche Rd.)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's and Myrtle)
Sparrows
California Towhee
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW (100s) - Abundant and in large flocks throughout Panoche Valley
SAGE SPARROW (1) - mouth of Griswold Canyon
Savannah Sparrow
FOX SPARROW (1) - mouth of Griswold Canyon
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Icterids, Finches, Weavers
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Steve Shunk
Sisters, OR
541-549-8826
email@hidden
--MS_Mac_OE_3003303746_8013401_MIME_Part
Content-type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
Panoche Report
At the request of many of you, below is the first of two reports from my ve=
nture to the Bay Area. This highlights Panoche Valley and the se=
cond will cover the rest of the trip. It's great to hear from all of y=
ou. Stay in touch! Steve
LOS GATOS WILD BIRD CENTER
PANOCHE VALLEY TRIP LIST -- FEBRUARY 28, 1999
TRIP LEADER: Stephen Shunk
CO-LEADERS: Freddy Howell, Ralph Schardt, Terry Steele, Kristine Falco
Below is the official checklist for the above-described Panoche Valley trip=
. The group included twenty-three birders in five vehicles. All =
birds listed were confirmed by at least one leader and one other birder. &nb=
sp;Significant findings (according to Steve) are listed in capitals. P=
lease call 541-549-8826 or e-mail email@hidden with any questions.=
Loons, Grebes, Cormorants, Herons
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
CLARK'S GREBE (1) - Paicines Reservoir
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (4+ imm.) - Paicines Reservoir
Waterfowl
Canada Goose
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
REDHEAD (2+) - Paicines Reservoir
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Vuktures, Raptors
Turkey Vulture
WHITE-TAILED KITE (1) - Griswold Canyon
BALD EAGLE (2 ad.) - Paicines Reservoir
Northern Harrier
Accipiter sp.
Red-shouldered Hawk
SWAINSON'S HAWK (1) - Over Paicines Store
Red-tailed Hawk
FERRUGINOUS HAWK (2+) - Panoche Valley
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Waders, Shorebirds
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
Quail, Doves, Cuckoos
California Quail
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
GREATER ROADRUNNER (3) - Panoche Rd.
Hummers, Woodpeckers
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Flycatchers, Shrikes
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
KINGBIRD sp. (mult. birds seen en route; unidentifiable as Cassin's , Weste=
rn or otherwise)
Loggerhead Shrike
Corvids
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Small Insectivores
Tree Swallow
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (3+) - Paicines Reservoir
NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW (1) - Panoche Rd./Tres Pinos Creek
Barn Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
ROCK WREN (3+) - Griswold Canyon
Bewick's Wren
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (1+) - Paicines Store
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wrentit
Thrushes, Thrashers, Mimics
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Silky-Flycatchers, Warblers
PHAINOPEPLA (6+) - seen between milepost x.x and x.xx on Panoche Rd.)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's and Myrtle)
Sparrows
California Towhee
Vesper Sparrow
LARK SPARROW (100s) - Abundant and in large flocks throughout Panoche Valle=
y
SAGE SPARROW (1) - mouth of Griswold Canyon
Savannah Sparrow
FOX SPARROW (1) - mouth of Griswold Canyon
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Icterids, Finches, Weavers
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Steve Shunk
Sisters, OR
541-549-8826
email@hidden
--MS_Mac_OE_3003303746_8013401_MIME_Part--
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 03 13:02:06 1999
Subject: [SBB] Excellent Adventure
Greetings Friends:
Below is part 2 of the list y'all requested. Could someone be so kind as to
post it to Calbird so I don't have to subscribe, post and unsubscribe???
Thanks, Steve
Steve and Terry's Excellent Bay Area Birding Adventure
Many thanks to those of you who expressed interest in receiving the bird
list from my recent Bay Area tour. I'm happy to share our findings and
would be pleased to answer any questions about the sightings below.
In the interest of all our precious time, I will attempt to list only the
"significant" findings. For those of you from Oregon, that means birds like
Nuttall's Woodpecker, California Towhee, Yellow-billed Magpie, etc. will not
be listed. For a simple and complete list of the nearly 180 species seen,
please e-mail me again and I will forward it to you personally.
Wednesday birds were seen by myself on the way to Samuel P. Taylor St. Pk.
>From Thursday on, all the birds below were verified by both myself and Terry
Steele, nature photographer from Corvallis, OR. A handful were audio IDs,
which could not be verified by Terry due to his admitted hearing challenges.
Kris Falco joined us on Saturday 2-27, so anything found after Saturday was
also verified by Kris.
Have fun with the list and please e-mail me if you have more specific
questions about locations, etc. Steve
Wednesday, 2-24
100s of TURKEY VULTURES in the Central Valley
MERLIN near entrance to Las Gallinas Sewage Ponds (LGSP)
NORTHERN SHRIKE in field northwest of LGSP
BRANT in field north of LGSP
EURASIAN WIGEON in field north of LGSP
Thursday, 2-25
HUTTON'S VIREO - Samuel P. Taylor State Park (SPTSP)
WOOD DUCK - in creek from first bridge between Pt. Reyes Station and
Inverness
HOODED MERGANSER - marsh at s. end of Tomales Bay seen from overlook en
route to Bear Valley Visitor's Center (BVVC)
COOPER'S HAWK - gorgeous adult male in Morgan Horse Ranch at BVVC
RUFOUS HUMMER - BVVC
EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL - Bolinas Lagoon
PEREGRINE FALCON - Bolinas Lagoon
EURASIAN WIGEON - count 'em, 5 males on Bolinas Lagoon
CLARK'S GREBE - Bolinas Lagoon
PEREGRINE FALCON - Redwood Shores Sewage Ponds
Friday, 2-26
FOX SPARROW - Moss Landing State Beach/Elkhorn Slough (ML/ES)
OLDSQUAW - one male at ML/ES
ELEGANT TERN - single bird flying out the mouth at ML/ES
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER - ML/ES
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER - multiple birds around ML/ES
PACIFIC LOON - ML/ES
PEREGRINE FALCON - ML/ES
SNOWY PLOVER - 2 birds at Moss Landing Wildlife Area (west side of Hwy. 1)
AMERICAN PIPIT - Moonglow Dairy
MERLIN - Moonglow Dairy entrance road
LESSER YELLOWLEGS - marsh north of Strawberry Rd at Elkhorn Rd.
SORA - marsh south of Strawberry Rd. at Elkhorn Rd.
WESTERN SCREECH-OWL - at least 3 birds (2 m, 1 f ?) at Fremont Peak
Campground
Saturday, 2-27
LESSER GOLDFINCH - Fremont Peak
CALIFORNIA THRASHER - three birds on entrance road below Fremont Peak
ROSS'S GOOSE - Coyote Creek Waterbird Pond
RUFOUS CROWNED-SPARROW - off Mt. Hamilton Rd. between Grant Ranch and Smith
Creek.
THAYER'S GULL - Baylands Duck Pond
LESSER SCAUP - Baylands Duck Pond (first ones of the trip)
CLAPPER RAIL - 3 birds off Baylands boardwalk
BLACK SKIMMER - 8 birds (1 solo, 7 together) at Charleston Slough
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT - Mountain View Forebay
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE - pair on Shoreline Lake
Sunday, 2-28
(Refer to separate Panoche Valley report)
Monday, 3-1
BLUE-WINGED TEAL - ranch pond N of Abbott's Lagoon, Pt. Reyes
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE - 2 birds at ranch pond N of Abbott's Lagoon
RED-THROATED LOON - ranch pond N of Abbott's Lagoon
WHITE-FACED IBIS - hundreds of birds around Sacramento Valley refuges
TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD - many around Sacramento Valley refuges
MANY SWANS (Tundra and Trumpeter) - 100s/1,000s north of McDoel (sp?) SW of
Klamath refuges
MANY GEESE (cacklers, white-fronts, snows, etc.) - 1,000s SW of Klamath
refuges
Steve Shunk
Sisters, OR
541-549-8826
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 03 13:27:43 1999
Subject: [SBB] SCz County event worth noting, via MBB
The Santa Cruz Bird Club is sponsoring a symposium on the status, biology,
ecology, and conservation of Marbled Murrelets in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The symposium is scheduled for Saturday, March 20, 1:00-4:00 pm at the UC
Santa Cruz Arboretum (on High Street near Western Drive). The event is
free and open to the public.
Scheduled presentations:
Forestry management and Marbled Murrelets under the California Forest
Practice Rules in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
- Brad Valentine, California Dept. of Forestry
A long-term inland monitoring project of Marbled Murrelets in the Santa
Cruz Mountains.
- David Suddjian, David L. Suddjian Biological Consulting
Use of radio-telemetry to study Marbled Murrelets in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
- Esther Burkett, California Dept. of Fish and Game
Use of radar to monitor Marbled Murrelets in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
- Steve Singer, Santa Cruz Mountains Murrelet Group
At-sea habitat selection, monitoring, and productivity estimates of Marbled
Murrelets off Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties.
- Ben Becker, UC Berkeley
For more information call Laird (831) 475-8769 or Jeff (831) 459-4763.
Hope to see you there.
Jeff Davis, President
Santa Cruz Bird Club
Laird Henkel, Vice President
Santa Cruz Bird Club
Todd Newberry
Santa Cruz CA
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 04 15:24:43 1999
Subject: [SBB] Iceland Gull still at CCRS
All,
Steve Rottenborn and I found the Iceland Gull (the original "Bird 1")
at the San Jose-Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant across from
the CCRS trailers today 3/4/99 at about 12:20pm. Many very pale
(bleached) Thayer's were here as well. Shortly after 1:00pm the bird
started moving around, twice flying and landing within the same pond.
It appeared to be trying to regurgitate something and then flew off
to the southeast (same thing happened on 19 Feb too). Unfortunately
we could not refind it in either the McCarthy Ranch or the mall across
highway 237 (not many gulls of any kind here). Perhaps it continued
on into Milpitas.
Many more gulls were in ponds too far from the dike to be seen.
Note the CCRS gate is now usually locked and access will be a problem
unless you know someone is out there.
Mike Rogers
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 04 15:33:59 1999
Subject: [SBB] the Palo Alto gull.
Birders:
Yesterday on my way home from SFBBO I stopped at the Palo Alto Duck Pond
and quickly found the odd, Kamchatka gull like bird. Kamchatka Gull is the
Asian subspecies (species?) of the Mew Gull. If this bird is not a
Kamchatka then it could be a hybrid between a Ring-billed Gull and a Mew
Gull. I was able to obtain some good recordings of the bird, as well as
recordings of Ring-billed Gulls. It does not quite sound like a Ring-billed
Gull, but it is very close. I don't really know how to interpret this
without recordings of typical Mew Gulls, hopefully I can get some of those
but Mews tend to be pretty quiet during the winter.
regards,
Alvaro
Alvaro Jaramillo "It was almost a pity, to see the sun
Half Moon Bay, shining constantly over so useless a country"
California Darwin, regarding the Atacama desert.
email@hidden
Helm guide to the New World Blackbirds, Birding in Chile and more, at:
http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 05 10:36:25 1999
Subject: [SBB] Glaucous Gull, Salt Pond A1
Shortly after 8 AM today, a first-year Glaucous Gull was feeding on a
carcass in the water at the foot of Salt Pond A1. The bird afforded very
close looks since it was less than 20 yards from the path between the MV
Forebay and the pond.
Also, a flock of above 50 Violet Green Swallows was overhead, a few Cliff
Swallows were also present, and 7 Black Skimmers.
Yesterday at the Sunnyvale Baylands, we saw a few Northern Rough-winged
Swallows in addition to Cliffs and Violet-Greens. Also a group of 6-7
White-throated Swifts were foraging over Hwy. 237 near 3Com, and a
Green-backed Heron was spotted at Calabazas Marsh.
Phyllis
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 05 14:51:31 1999
Subject: [SBB] Some birds
All,
Today Frank Vanslager and I saw an adult male Osprey fishing at Stevens Creek
Reservoir. Later we saw an Osprey, carrying a fish, flying west over the hill
above Picchetti Ranch. We also saw two (a pair?) of American Dippers just
beyond the third bridge, over Stevens Creek, above the three way stop at the
junction of Stevens Canyon Rd and Mt. Eden Rd. Best birding however, was in
the Picchetti Ranch OSP. A huge eucalyptus tree near the parking area was
loaded with birds including a male Allen's Hummingbird, Orange-crowned and
Townsend's Warblers. Below the tree were Wrentits, a Bewick's Wren and a Song
Sparrow. The hillsides were covered with Golden-crowned Sparrows, several
calling California Thrashers, Spotted & California Towhees, Hermit Thrushes,
Dark-eyed Juncos, a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk. Red-tailed
Hawks, the Osprey, a nice male Red-shafted Northern Flicker, two fighting male
Nuttall's Woodpeckers and a nice, cooperative, female Hairy Woodpecker. Three
pair of Mallards were in the pond. Not bad birding for this time of the year.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 1:52 PM, 3/5/99
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 05 17:51:04 1999
Subject: [SBB] Cedar Waxwings, Nesting Anna's, Flicker in South San Jose
Hi South Bay Birders,
Two days ago (Wed 3/3/99), had a flock of 50 Cedar Waxwings in one tree and
about 20 in another on Via Romera. Today, only two remain. A flock appears
like this about two or three times a year.
Also, discovered an Anna's Hummingbird, sitting on a nest on the Via Ramada
closest to 101. My first hummingbird nest after four years of birding!
Had our first backyard Northern Flicker two days ago and again yesterday.
Good Birding,
Bob Lutman
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 05 21:01:09 1999
Subject: [SBB] new swallows.
Birders:
Today at CCRS I saw my first Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow of the
season. One of the possible Iceland Gulls was about (probably what may have
been labelled as Bird number 2 in other e-mails). In addition, the Ross'
Goose is still around at the waterbird pond.
regards,
Al
Alvaro Jaramillo "It was almost a pity, to see the sun
Half Moon Bay, shining constantly over so useless a country"
California Darwin, regarding the Atacama desert.
email@hidden
Helm guide to the New World Blackbirds, Birding in Chile and more, at:
http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 06 11:42:44 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] new swallows.
I was out this morning (3/6/99) and also saw my first Barn Swallow and
Cliff Swallows of the season. The Barn Swallow was with a group of
perhaps 50 Violet-green Swallows at the north end of the Emily Renzel
Wetlands in Palo Alto. The Cliff Swallows were at Mountain View
Shoreline as reported yesterday by Phyllis Browning. Also there were 2
male Blue-winged Teal in the forebay.
Rosalie Lefkowitz
Alvaro Jaramillo wrote:
>
> Birders:
>
> Today at CCRS I saw my first Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow of the
> season. One of the possible Iceland Gulls was about (probably what may have
> been labelled as Bird number 2 in other e-mails). In addition, the Ross'
> Goose is still around at the waterbird pond.
>
> regards,
>
> Al
>
> Alvaro Jaramillo "It was almost a pity, to see the sun
> Half Moon Bay, shining constantly over so useless a country"
> California Darwin, regarding the Atacama desert.
>
> email@hidden
>
> Helm guide to the New World Blackbirds, Birding in Chile and more, at:
>
> http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 06 11:59:55 1999
Subject: [SBB] Am. Bittern, Blue-winged Teal at MVFB
About 8:30 AM today, there was an American Bittern perched about 8 feet
high in the reeds at the Shoreline Lake end of the Mtn. View Forebay.
There were two male Blue-winged Teal in the pond facing Salt Pond #1. I
didn't see yesterday's Glaucous Gull.
Phyllis
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 06 12:04:44 1999
Subject: [SBB] Revisions on SBBU Web Site
I have added a page of Mnemonic Bird Songs, both on the regular index, and
also reformatted for use on a PalmIII.
Merlie's home page has been updated.
We are also getting a lot of Red-shouldered hawk activity around our yard
(starting at dawn). I hope he(?) finds a mate and nests in our yard. It
will be noisy, however.
Kendric
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 06 23:22:48 1999
Subject: [SBB] black-backed Lesser Goldfinch
CCRS Bander Susan Sandstrom asked me to forward the following bird sighting:
>From: email@hidden
>Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 16:24:03 EST
>Hi, Al,
>
>Speaking of rarities, I just saw an unusual Lesser Goldfinch at my thistle
>feeder in Mountain View this morning. This LEGO had completely black
>auriculars and a solid black back, which were a striking contrast to its
>yellow throat and breast. I checked Pyle's Identification Guide to North
>American Birds (Part I) and thought the LEGO might be either the C.p.
psaltria
>or mexicanus subspecies. Pyle states that the psaltria subspecies has black
>mottling and is rarely almost entirely black, whereas the mexicanus
subspecies
>has an entirely black back and auriculars.
>
and today:
>Well, it wasn't a fluke. I spotted the male black-backed Lesser Goldfinch
>again at my thistle feeder today. (Last sighting was on 2/20/99.) Please
>spread the word. If anyone is interested in checking this bird out, please
let
>me know, and I will provide directions.
from email@hidden
regards,
Al
Alvaro Jaramillo "It was almost a pity, to see the sun
Half Moon Bay, shining constantly over so useless a country"
California Darwin, regarding the Atacama desert.
email@hidden
Helm guide to the New World Blackbirds, Birding in Chile and more, at:
http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 12:54:36 1999
Subject: [SBB] Arastradero
A walk along the creek at Arastradero this a.m. produced a MERLIN, the
pair of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS perched next to each other on a branch, a
Selasphorus (sp.) at the lake, two RING-NECKED DUCKS at the upper pond,
and singing RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and HUTTON'S VIREOS.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 13:30:38 1999
Subject: [SBB] Some birds at CCRS
On Sunday I saw a male Allen's Hummingbird (solid green back) at CCRS
perch atop a coyote bush on the levee slope close to the trailers. Also
saw an Orange-crowned Warbler foraging at willow catkins along with
many, many Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Rita Colwell
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 15:04:21 1999
Subject: [SBB] birds
On Saturday, 6 Mar 99, I stopped at Stevens Creek Park and was unable to
find or hear any Orange-crowned Warblers, which are usually on territory
by this time.
However, on Sunday, 7 Mar 99, I had quite a few ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS
at Almaden Quicksilver Park singing on territory. I also heard a few
gobbles from WILD TURKEY on this morning. PURPLE FINCHES were also
singing here.
At Calero Reservoir, the GOLDEN EAGLES are nesting again on the power
tower. Only this time they are on the next tower over (the 4th one from
the road), on which a metal platform has been installed. They have a
nest on the platform, and an eagle was sitting on the nest this Sunday
morning.
Almaden Lake Park still has the immature SNOW and the adult ROSS' GOOSE.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 15:45:02 1999
Subject: [SBB] Skyline fauna and flora
Just a note about the wildlife currently around our house
at 2200 ft. along Skyline Blvd. between Page Mill Rd.
and Saratoga Gap.
BAND-TAILED PIGEON numbers are increasing to more than a
dozen birds after a couple of winter months of absence.
A single VARIED THRUSH has been feeding with the sparrows
next to the house. HUTTON'S VIREO have been "singing".
At least a dozen FOX SPARROW were feeding next to the
house this morning. These have grayish faces, unstreaked
backs, noticeably reddish uppertails. I think they are of
one of the races of the Sooty FOSP. 2-3 pairs of SPOTTED
TOWHEE are among the regulars. PINE SISKINS are still
present; they number over 20. BREWER'S BLACKBIRDS have
also been present.
Currently, the last vocal NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS were
heard on Feb. 26; WESTERN SCREECH-OWLS on Feb. 22 (Paul
Noble's owl prowl did get both vocalizing at nearby
Monte Bello Ridge on Feb. 27).
A Merriam's Chipmunk foraged near the house today to
get that species on our yard list. On Mar. 5, 3 Coyote
foraged next to the house in the morning, raising a huge
ruckus with the W. Gray Squirrels and jays.
The Indian Warrior started blooming about 2 weeks ago
along Page Mill Rd. just above MP 3.
Les
==========================================
Les Chibana, Palo Alto email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 16:37:32 1999
Subject: [SBB] ICGU
I forgot to mention in my previous post that on Saturday, 6 Mar 99, I
had the apparent ICELAND GULL at the CCRS waterbird pond.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 17:35:28 1999
Subject: [SBB] San Antonio Valley, etc.
On Saturday I spent a good part of the day on a daytime trip to the San
Antonio Valley. Upshot: pleasant birding, not much success with specialties.
That is, no Lewis's Woodpeckers or Lawrences's Goldfinches, and sparrows were
relatively hard to come by. However, I ran into Art Edwards out there, and
he HAD seen about 15 Lawrence's near "green milepost 25", a place I hadn't
stopped (it must be fairly near the Alameda line).
Western Bluebirds were readily available, especially as compared to what
Bill found on the CBC. I also had one male Phainopepla, at a typical location,
by the cattle guard just north of the junction. Two Pine Siskins were also
here. A blackbird/starling flock near mile 3.6 in the Valley had an impressive
number of Tricoloreds, with probably well over 50 adult males. And a first for
me out there: the pond on del Puerto Road, 0.5 miles east of the junction, had
an adult Sora. Art said one had also been here a week ago. On the way back
over Mt. Hamilton, I saw 6 Wood Ducks at the pond just east of the Arnold
Ranch, near white milepost 9.93. (I found no Sapsuckers at the Ranch.)
Best bird of the trip was in Alameda Co.: a Greater Roadrunner perched
well up in a roadside tree at mile 7.11 of Mines Road.
I also made a few brief Alviso stops on my way home. Of note were 42
Great Egrets in the field just northeast of Zanker Road/Hwy 237; and an adult
Golden Eagle along the EEC entrance road. No Ross's Goose, however.
Cheers, Al
(Al Eisner)
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 19:54:54 1999
Subject: [SBB] AMDI
Today, March 7, Charlie Moores and I saw the pair of AMERICAN DIPPERS at
the third bridge along Stevens Creek above Mt. Eden Road, previously
reported by Bob Reiling.
At the Palo Alto Duck Pond the apparent Kamchatka race of the Mew Gull
climbed out of the water and preened on the edge of the pond about 12
feet away.
Jack COle
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 07 22:40:11 1999
Subject: [SBB] barn owl: Stanford
All: This afternoon, Maria and I saw a Barn Owl roosting in a palm on the
west side of Palm Drive at Stanford. It was in the seventh palm north of
Museum Way, and was very visible from the sidewalk on the south side of the
tree.
Also we saw a Cooper's Hawk, apparently a regular, which was perched on top of
a tall tree across Escondido Road (and 1/2 block further north) from
Escondido School.
John Meyer
********************************************************************
John W. Meyer, Dept. of Sociology, Stanford U., Stanford, Cal. 94305
email@hidden (650) 723 1868
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 09:50:36 1999
Subject: [SBB] Almaden Birds
Hello Everyone,
On Saturday, Mar 6, the ROSS' GOOSE and imm SNOW GOOSE were seen again at
Almaden Lake at noon time by the outflow and also feeding on the lawn. Also
of local interest were five CINNAMON TEAL by the outflow (this is not a
common species in the Almaden area).
On Sunday, Mar 7, I led an SCVAS field trip at Almaden/Quicksilver Park from
the New Almaden entrance up to Capehorn Pass. In addition to the arrival of
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS in the oak woodlands (as previously mentioned by
Mike Mammoser). On a scouting trip last weekend, Feb 28, I did not hear or
see any Orange-crowned Warblers, so these appear to be the first arrivals of
the season. HUTTON'S VIREOS were also seen and heard calling, and we found
a VARIED THRUSH in a heavily wooded gulch at the base of Hacienda Trail. A
few of us opted to visit Almaden Reservoir afterwards where we found at
least nine WOOD DUCKS in the flooded upper reaches of the reservoir.
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS were seen in the hillsides near Twin Creeks, and we
also saw a MERLIN at the O'Day property.
That's it for now - Ann
Ann Verdi
AMD/CA Central Svc Scheduling
408-749-2199 or x42199
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 11:02:41 1999
Subject: [SBB] Few weekend birds at Jasper Ridge
Hi all,
I went out for a hike on Jasper Ridge on Sunday, 3/7, and had 1
Orange-crowned Warbler in some chaparral and oak woodland and 3 Hooded
Mergansers on Searsville Lake. Five or so Northern Rough-winged Swallows
were over the lake also along with 2 Barn Swallows and some Violet-greens.
Nothing else of note. Cheers,
Richard
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 11:24:26 1999
Subject: [SBB] GLAUCOUS GULL/BIRD CLASS
Sunday, at around noon, I saw a first winter GLAUCOUS GULL near Woodside
Road in the large marshy area on the Bay side of 101. There was also a
PEREGRINE FALCON in the area. BLUE-WINGED TEAL continues both near the
Charleston Slough at the end of San Antonio Road and in the Palo Alto
Flood Control Basin along Frontage Road. The male WOOD DUCK and GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE also continue at the Palo Alto Duck Pond. Behind
Echelon and Gunn Highschool along Arastradero Road in Palo Alto, there
were two pairs of HOODED MERGANSERS earlier in the weekend in a tiny
drainage pond.
Additionally, I will be leading the following class on "Beginning
Birdwatching" through the Palo Alto Adult School. I know most people on
this list are not beginners, but if you know of anyone who might like a
class at this level, please pass along the word. Schedule and pricing
details are available in the Palo Alto Adult School catalog, which will
appear in this Wednesday's Palo Alto Weekly.
CLASS DESCRIPTION:
What's the big deal about birdwatching?? Find out in this class. You
will learn to recognize and identify dozens of common, easily observed
birds in our immediate area. Class meetings (one per week) will be two
hours each, during which time there will be opportunities to discuss our
encounters with local birds. We will distribute a local checklist, and
offer tips on distinguishing basic bird groups (ie, ducks, shorebirds,
songbirds, etc.). As the class becomes confident with these large
divisions we'll tackle smaller, more difficult ones. Handouts and slides
will help you learn these basic skills. We will discuss the selection
and use of field guides, binoculars and possible locations for our four
fieldtrips where we'll practice our identification in the field.
Matthew Dodder
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 11:33:23 1999
Subject: [SBB] San Antonio Valley
Hi Everyone--
I was out birding in San Antonio Valley on Saturday, too (I saw Al Eisner
drive past going the other direction, and spoke briefly with Art Edwards). I
didn't have much luck with specialties, either, but I did see 2 LAWRENCE'S
GOLDFINCHES at The Junction, heard a CANYON WREN at milepost STA 19 in Del
Puerto Canyon, and saw one between mileposts 10 and 11. I went back up Del
Puerto Canyon between 8 and 9 PM, and saw one GREAT HORNED OWL at around
milepost STA 5, and heard two more in Santa Clara County on Mines Road about
5 miles north of the Junction (it got down to 30 degrees F, so I didn't stay
out long).
Mark Miller
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 13:27:55 1999
Subject: [SBB] 3/8 Afternoon
Yesterday at 4:00PM, there were 4 Swallow species over the Emily Renzel
Wetlands near the Palo Alto Flood Control Basin - lots of BARN, VIOLET-GREEN,
TREE SWALLOWS and at least 2 N. ROUGH-WINGEDs.
A GLAUCOUS GULL and multiple GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs were at the FCB.
On the path behind the animal control clinic, I was pleasantly surprised to
find
a pair of RINGED-NECKED PHEASANTs.
No Redheads or Blue-Winged Teals.
A male BLUE-WINGED TEAL was in the Mtn. View Forebay.
Vivek Tiwari
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 14:57:04 1999
Subject: [SBB] Band-Tailed's, etc.
I just counted 52 Band-Tailed Pigeons eating in my backyard. The most I've
had before this (last year) was 32. Anybody want to contribute to my
birdseed expense?
The White-throated Sparrow continues to appear daily joining the 20 or so
Golden-Crowns. A couple of White-Crowned sparrows are now appearing daily
after a month or so without any. The Purple Finch remains.
The American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin now number 40 thanks to the new
thistle feeder. Amazing how much the Goldfinch-Siskin population grew with
the change in feeders.
I've been seeing a Merlin overhead - it appears to be living in a tree
across the street from the Reservoir on More Avenue (at the very top of the
hill)
Gloria LeBlanc
Los Gatos near Quito
Your PFO (Personal Financial Officer)
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 16:40:24 1999
Subject: [SBB] South-bay-birds archive updated
South Bay Birders,
I have updated the South-bay-birds archive with the February messages.
There have been some other additions to my California Birding
Web Site in the last month. Thanks to contributions by Larry Sansone,
I have been able to post much improved images of the Gray
Silky-Flycatcher in the Santa Ana Mountains and several excellent
photographs of a mystery warbler which may be a Townsend's x
Black-throated Gray hybrid or possibly an axanthic Townsend's Warbler.
This month's mystery birds include a grosbeak and a grebe and there
are now answers and discussion for last month's hummingbird and
warbler.
Rod Hug has updated the Trumpeter Swan identification page and added
new photos.
The photo gallery has new photos of the Rustic Bunting in Washington
contributed by Ruth Sullivan a Glaucous Gull contributed by Don
DesJardin and apparent Iceland Gulls in Santa Clara and Orange
Counties contributed by Mike Rogers and Matt Heindel.
There has also been some lively discussion on the identification of
some of these birds on the public comment page and Don Roberson has
updated the birding statistics on many of the county pages.
The site is at http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
The California Bird Records Committee site has been updated with a
photo of its members at the last meeting. It is at
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/cbrc_mem.shtml
Enjoy!
--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044: email@hidden
California Birding; Mystery Birds: http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 08 19:45:37 1999
Subject: [SBB] Birds this week/breeding activity
All,
Forgive the delay in some of these reports, I've been out of circulation
briefly. Have been circulating through the area checking on nestbox trails
etc., however.
Tuesday, March 2 1999 I made the rounds of 2 nestbox trails at Arastradero
Preserve. Several dozen Violet-green Swallows were present and some were
actively investigating nestboxes in pairs. (No swallows had been present on my
previous visit on 2/20 when leading a field trip for Bay Area Action.) A
single pair of Tree Swallows was staying close to the box located near the
main parking lot, making occasional trips inside, but without carrying nesting
material. This particular box was the only one at the Preserve used by TRSW
last season, so it seems likely that these birds are of the same family group.
Mating of American Kestrels was observed atop the bare palm spires visible to
the West from the main parking lot, where a pair of kestrels is usually in
evidence. A second pair was present and active in the area near the lower
pond, where I mounted a kestrel nestbox on the BAA trip last month. Other
raptors seen were a pair of adult White-tailed Kites, two Red-shouldered Hawks
behaving territorially near the lower pond, and at least one immature and one
adult Red-tailed Hawk, mostly over the hilltops east of the parking lot (no
sign of the Peregrine Falcon that whipped through southbound on my 2/20
visit).
No nest-building was observed, at nestboxes or otherwise, but one Oak Titmouse
nest and one apparent House Wren nest in SCVAS nestboxes were apparently of
quite recent construction. A few Western Bluebirds winged by overhead, but
they showed no overt interest in the boxes.
Later in the day, while visiting my father near Middlefield and Charleston in
Palo Alto, I observed a pair of Bewick's Wrens putting the finishing touches
on a nest in a backyard nestbox.
On Weds. March 3 I visited McClellan Ranch Park in Cupertino where I maintain
22 nestboxes. A pair of Western Bluebirds was actively inspecting natural
cavities there; otherwise, there was no significant activity at the boxes
unless one counts the pregnant-looking Western Fence ("Bluebelly") Lizards
found in several boxes.
Friday March 5 I installed 6 new nestboxes on Stanford University land in the
Mausoleum area (with full permission of the University - no small feat! Kudos
to Carol Hankermeyer for that effort. Also to faculty sponsor/supporters Paul
Ehrlich and Alan Launer of the Center for Conservation Biology for helping to
encourage Stanford Land Management to support this program.)
While placing these boxes I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a single
Golden-crowned Kinglet lingering at close range in a rangy ornamental juniper
near the "Weeping Angel" statue. Hermit Thrush and Fox Sparrow were also
welcome sights in such an isolated habitat patch. As I was leaving a single,
vocal White-throated Swift caught my ear as it circled for a couple of minutes
over the office buildings just north of the mausoleum area.
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 09 17:46:51 1999
Subject: [SBB] Panoche Valley
If you can stand yet another Panoche Valley trip report, read on.
Monday March 8, Ed Frost, Charlie Moores and I combed Panoche Valley, and
then went on to Merced NWR and Los Banos. At Picenes Reservoir a few
REDHEAD remain, and the bald eagle had been replaced by an OSPREY.
Highlights in Panoche Valley included a FERRUGINOUS HAWK and a GOLDEN
EAGLE along Panoche Road, a SAGE THRASHER on the fence along Shotgun
Pass, (sharing a lifer with someone who has over 2,000 is always a
thrill!), a PRAIRIE FALCON three miles up the BLM road, two CHUCKERS on
the road just before Little Panoche Reservoir, MERLINS in two places, and
another GOLDEN EAGLE above the reservoir being harrasssed by a male
northern harrier, supported by a common raven and surrounded for fighter
support by white-throated swifts.
Lowlights included no roadrunners, no mountain bluebirds, and no vesper
sparrows. Two red-tailed hawks were on the Lewis's woodpecker snag at MP
19. Five people searched in vain for long-eared owl at Mercey Hot
Springs, but had to settle for three barn owls. We logged 104 species for
the day, breaking our previous high total of the past 12 years by 11.
We saw no uncommon birds at the refuges, but the Ross's/snow
goose/sandhill crane flocks at Merced NWR were VERY impressive, along the
auto tour road instead of in the middle of the refuge.
Jack Cole
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 09 21:04:18 1999
Subject: [SBB] Birds today
Howdy South-bay-birders,
This afternoon, while visiting an office building on Bordeaux Drive
in Sunnyvale, I saw a pair of COMMON RAVENS and a flock of about 40
CEDAR WAXWINGS. This evening the ROSS'S GOOSE and SNOW GOOSE were still
hanging out on the lawns at Almaden Lake Park. There were also 22 COMMON
MERGANSERS at the lake--
John Mariani
email@hidden.
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 10 12:21:13 1999
Subject: [SBB] WITU
(A somewhat late report)
On Thursday afternoon, 3/4/99, there were approx. 20 WILD TURKEYs
along Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos, between Union Ave and Leigh
Ave, on the south side of the road.
They were in the cleared (former orchard) area posted for some new
home construction that has not started yet. There were at least 4
displaying males in the group, which was only about 20 feet from the
road! They sure are getting close to suburbia!!
good birding!
Alan W.
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 10 15:49:32 1999
Subject: [SBB] MENLO PARK MERGANSERS
I just got back from my afternoon walk around my office. Along the San
Franciquito Creek at the corner of Creek Drive and Cornell Drive there
was a beautiful pair of COMMON MERGANSERS swimming lazily down stream.
They were moving toward El Camino.
In the same area there were the ubiquitous YELLOW-RUMPED and TOWNSENDS
WARBLERS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS (no Golden-Crowned Kinglets today), and
BLACK PHOEBE engaging in courtship display. BUSHTITS abound! As well
there was HERMIT THRUSH, DOWNEY WOODPECKER, NUTTHALL'S WOODPECKER,
BELTED KINGFISHER, a single dark MERLIN, BEWICK'S WREN, a large flock of
LESSER GOLDFINCH and CEDAR WAXWINGS.
Matthew Dodder
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 11 10:25:08 1999
Subject: [SBB] postpone
please postpone my subscription until july 15, as i will
be away from the area.
thanks
wlg
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 11 11:17:17 1999
Subject: [SBB] birds
On the subject of Orange-crowned Warbler migration, I was at Stevens
Creek Park on Wednesday morning, 10 Mar 99, and still failed to find one
of these birds. They typically return to this location within the first
few days of March (I've even had them in late February). So, it seems to
me that migration is a little late for this species; in spite of the
fact that I had singing birds at Almaden Quicksilver on the 6th (I'm not
familiar with their migration timing at that location). Perhaps the
cooler weather that we are having is holding them up or slowing them
down. Or is this phenomenon site specific to Stevens Creek Park? Of
course, I'm speaking here of finding birds that are singing on
territory, rather than silent migrants or wintering birds.
On Tuesday, 9 Mar 99, I observed a pair of RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS
copulating along Coyote Creek south of Hellyer. I haven't yet found a
nest site. The pair of RED-TAILED HAWKS is nesting again on the power
tower across Hellyer from work, using the same nest from which they
fledged 2 young last year. The BELTED KINGFISHERS are chattering up and
down the creek. I wonder if they will nest along the trail again this
year?
Still lots of wintering birds around, though, including HERMIT THRUSHES,
LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, crowned sparrows, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (with a
MYRTLE thrown in).
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 11 14:28:54 1999
Subject: [SBB] birds
Along the Coyote Creek trail today, 11 Mar 99, a WHITE-TAILED KITE was
persistently performing a courtship flight. I couldn't see its mate, but
it spent a lot of time hovering over the top of the oak tree in which
they nested last year. While watching the kite, I noticed something well
in the distance to the south and high in the air. It turned out to be a
GOLDEN EAGLE performing its "roller coaster" display flight.
Mike Mammoser
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From ???@??? Fri Mar 12 10:09:21 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] postpone
At 09:25 AM 3/11/99 -0800, email@hidden wrote:
>
>please postpone my subscription until july 15, as i will
>be away from the area.
>
>thanks
>wlg
>
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 12 13:38:14 1999
Subject: [SBB] Oka ponds
All,
The best birds today at Oka Ponds were an American Bittern, three Hooded
Mergansers (including one immature male), a molting male and a female Common
Goldeneye and a couple of Lincoln's Sparrows. There were of course several
Green Herons and lots of Lesser Scaup but almost no gulls. See you there
tomorrow.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 12:38 PM, 3/12/99
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 12 17:45:54 1999
Subject: [SBB] Escapee at Almaden Lake Park
> Hi,
> On Wednesday 3/10 I saw a strange bird at Almaden Lake Park. Actually it was a pair of birds actively building a nest. I could not find it in any of my North American field guides so I assume it was an escapee. Never the less I would appreciate any help I can get on identifying the bird. The bird was slightly larger than a Lesser Goldfinch and looked like a finch. The head, neck, back and wings appeared to be uniformly rufous tending towards brown, without any marks (spots, bars). The tail was orange yellow. The solid black beak was conical. The belly was clear white. The breast and flanks had white feathers with black fringe that gave the effect of scales (quite striking). I did not notice any difference in the appearance of the two birds. The nest was a ball about six inches in diameter with an entrance hole in the side. I welcome any comments or questions.
>
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 01:33:58 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Escapee at Almaden Lake Park
Your description seems to fit that of Lonchura punctulata, variously known
to aviculturists as Nutmeg Mannikin, Spice Finch, Nutmeg Finch,
Scaly-breasted Munia, Spotted Munia. There are various subspecies that vary
in brightness of the rufous tones. Some are quite cinnamon in color.
Native to the Philippines, Southeast Asia to India. it is a popular cagebird
in California. You can probably find some at local pet stores that carry
birds.
In the wild they are found in reedy habitats and can build quite bulky nests
and like to use long strands of vegetation in building it.
Let us know how big the ball nest grows.
http://www.nw.com.au/~gwilliam/nutmegmannikin.html shows a picture.
Bruce Webb
Granite Bay, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: William Eklund
To: South-Bay-Birds
Date: Friday, March 12, 1999 4:54 PM
Subject: [SBB] Escapee at Almaden Lake Park
>> Hi,
>> On Wednesday 3/10 I saw a strange bird at Almaden Lake Park. Actually it
was a pair of birds actively building a nest. I could not find it in any of
my North American field guides so I assume it was an escapee. Never the less
I would appreciate any help I can get on identifying the bird. The bird was
slightly larger than a Lesser Goldfinch and looked like a finch. The head,
neck, back and wings appeared to be uniformly rufous tending towards brown,
without any marks (spots, bars). The tail was orange yellow. The solid black
beak was conical. The belly was clear white. The breast and flanks had white
feathers with black fringe that gave the effect of scales (quite striking).
I did not notice any difference in the appearance of the two birds. The nest
was a ball about six inches in diameter with an entrance hole in the side. I
welcome any comments or questions.
>>
>
>
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 10:31:20 1999
Subject: [SBB] Pileated Woodpecker etc.
All,
While checking 4 nestbox trails yesterday 3/12/99, the best bird I encountered
was a single PILEATED WOODPECKER winging southward along the skyline crest at
Russian Ridge OSP at about 6PM. From the flight pattern it seemed possible
that I had startled the bird from a nearby forested patch.
Few other birds of interest were encountered while making rounds at McClellan
Ranch Park, Stanford Mausoleum, Foothills Park, and Russian Ridge (placed 15
new boxes during the day, most of them at Stanford with the assistance of Dave
Webber). However, it was interesting to hear PURPLE FINCHES in song at both
McClellan and Stanford. At McClellan, OAK TITMOUSE nests were nearing
completion in a couple of nestboxes and a BEWICK'S WREN nest remained eggless
despite looking ready to go. A WESTERN BLUEBIRD pair was observed sitting atop
a nestbox at Foothills Park, but none were observed elsewhere.
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 10:57:50 1999
Subject: [SBB] More Stanford barn-owls, and more
The subject heading may be misleading. These may be the same BARN-OWLS that
have recently occupied the Law School at Stanford, but during the last week
a raucous group of them has taken over the Old Union building nearby on
campus. Monday night (8 March 1999), in the rain, I heard several making a
chorus of high-pitched raspy squawks from the roof area. One flew onto a
tower, and then took off with a shriek, while another was soaring high
overhead clicking loudly. Last night (12 March 1999) at around 7:30pm, they
were again making quite a commotion. Two were perched on one of the Old
Union towers, and one would half unfurl its wings and screech whenever it
saw me. I could hear two or three others squawking from the main roof area
(which I couldn't directly observe).
On 10 March 1999, I again saw the female VARIED THRUSH and the pair of
mating RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS along Stevens Creek just south of Hwy 101.
This morning (13 March 1999) at around 7 am, there was a first winter
GLAUCOUS GULL in the west side of Crittenden Marsh (opposite the Stevens
Creek Mitigation Area).
--
William Cabot
Stanford University, email@hidden
(650) 723-8520 fax: (650) 723-9617
NASA/Ames Research Center, email@hidden
(650) 604-4728 fax: (650) 604-0841
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 15:56:39 1999
Subject: [SBB] Byxby Park, Palo Alto
Not much unusual was here today, save for the RED-THROATED LOON, in the
slough before the dam. Among the regulars were a pair of Northern
Harriers, a Red-tailed Hawk, Burrowing Owl, and many ducks including
both Scaup species, American Wigeon, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal,
Canvasback, Ruddies etc. PIntails seemed to be completely absent from
the area.
Over at Charleston Slough the 12 BLACK SKIMMERS put on a wonderful show
for our cameras, skimming and roosting in their typical location. Has
anyone seen any breeding behavior from these birds??
Shoreline lake still has Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye and both Eared
and Horned grebes showing the beginnings of spring plumage.
Matthew Dodder
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 18:47:24 1999
Subject: [SBB] Misc. birds: SCLA Open Space
A visit today to the Rancho Ulistec Open Space Preserve in Santa Clara (old
Fairway Glen Golf Course on Lick Mill Blvd) yielded: a pair of
white-tailed kites, red-shouldered hawk, hermit thrush, orange-crowned
warbler and WCSP, RCKI, NUWO, CBCH, CATO, GREG, ANHU, COBU, SOSP, RWBL
and YRWA. The Great Egret was enjoying some of the croaking frogs; as far
as butterflies go: lots of pairs of mourning cloaks among the pussy
willows and a few west coast ladies.
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 20:03:50 1999
Subject: [SBB] Rancho San Antonio: FLICKER Yellow x Red-shafted
I was hiking this morning at Rancho San Antonio and saw a FLICKER
sitting in a tree. It had:
1. A red nape
2. A red mustache
3. Yellow underside of tail
4. Yellow under the wings (The wings were folded, but there was
a line of yellow visible sometimes along the folded primaries.)
5. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the crown looked like. Sorry.
Jeff Finger
PS. There were also about 15-20 not very WILD TURKEYS in the field across
the bridge from the parking lot/bathrooms.
Recently, among other things, I have had good sightings of an adult male
BOBCAT, FOX SPARROW, and many, many COOPER'S HAWKS and RED-SHOULDERED
HAWKS at Rancho San Antonio.
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 20:30:22 1999
Subject: [SBB] Oka Ponds field trip report
All,
The field trip at Oka Ponds today was well underway when Viki Baker spotted a
single Common Snipe on one of the small bare islands in the middle of Los
Gatos Creek. (At that distance how could see have found it using just
binoculars?) While all of the other birders were getting 50x and 100x views
of the sometimes you see'um and sometimes you don't snipes using Frank
Vanslager's Questar, Viki was busy finding an American Bittern which was
flying toward the far southeastern corner of the park. A female and an adult
male Hooded Merganser were also in the creek near the islands and most in the
group were subsequently able to get at least quick glimpses of a Hutton's
Vireo, Ruby Crowned Kinglets and a Lincoln's Sparrow (a Bushtit was a life
bird for a woman from Ohio but then you don't want to know what kind of birds
she commonly sees). A good sized group of Lesser Scaup were in the southern
most pond on the west side of the creek. On our way back upstream after
having seen a pair of Horned Grebes in the largest pond, more Common Snipe and
a couple of Green Herons in the creek Frank found a male and four female Ring-
necked Ducks in the pond with the scaup. Although we "dipped" on the Common
Goldeneye we did find a Cooper's Hawk to add to the pair of American Kestrels
we had seen during the day. In all, a total of 44 species were seen.
Take care,
Bob Reiling, 7:21 PM, 3/13/99
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 21:36:52 1999
Subject: [SBB] Hooded Mergansers and Ring-Necked Duck
All:
Palo Alto's Arastradero Park's second pond has three Ring Necked
Ducks and 3 Hooded Mergansers. The second pond is about 3/4 of a mile
past the first larger pond on the lower road. They're spectacular.
Dick
--
Richard C. Carlson Birder, Economist, Skier, Biker
Palo Alto, California
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 13 21:42:10 1999
Subject: [SBB] Saturday at Calero Reservoir
Howdy South-bay-birders,
What a nice day! I went out to Calero Reservoir this afternoon, stopping
at the boat launch. In a large mixed flock of blackbirds & cowbirds
there I saw at least 2 male TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS. Then I drove to the
park office, and walked to the east end of the reservoir, where the
waterfowl were concentrated. Among the ducks on the water I spotted the
best bird of the day, a RED-THROATED LOON. Farther out there was a
single COMMON LOON. Among the ducks were 2 pair of CINNAMON TEAL, 11
COMMON GOLDENEYES, about 30 COMMON MERGANSERS, and plenty of
BUFFLEHEADS, LESSER SCAUP, etc. Overhead, among the VIOLET-GREEN
SWALLOWS, there was at least 1 WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. Near the reservoir
I also saw BARN, CLIFF, and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, although
they were greatly outnumbered by the Violet-greens.
A HOUSE FINCH was collecting nesting material by the kitchen window
today--I guess spring is here--
John Mariani
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 14 15:48:05 1999
Subject: [SBB] Pink-sided Oregon Junco
I am not certain that I have ever seen a Pink-sided Oregon Junco before.
Do other people see them locally? It looks exactly like the picture in the
National Geographic book (p 402). If they split the Juncos again, I will
have a Life bird.
Anyway, one spent quite a few hours at our feeder on Sunday (3/14/99). I
had forgotten how small Juncos are compared to sparrows. We don't get that
many Juncos in our yard.
I also have a Merlie story.
I watched Merlie catch a bird the other day. I had just put my binocs on
his tree when he took off really fast (normal speed) toward El Camino.
When he got about there I saw another bird approaching at 90 degrees.
Merlie hit it and dropped. I think he caught the bird in his talons, since
I only saw one body drop. Merlie must have seen that bird coming from a
long way off, and paced his speed and triangulation to catch it in a
straight flight. It was impressive.
We also had a brown Merlin on Merlie's tree the other day, so now we have
to be more careful in identification.
Kendric
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 14 16:04:45 1999
Subject: [SBB] Birds and Berries
We have a medium large pyracantha bush (10x10x6), and it was loaded with
berries. A lot of Robins had been about, but none ate the berries. My
wife and I discussed this problem, because in past years when they weren't
eaten, they became covered with thick gray mold, which is not fun to deal
with when pruning, and is probably not too healthy.
Anyway, a few days later a giant mixed flock of Robins and Cedar Waxwings
came in first thing in the morning, and ate about half of the berries. The
feeding frenzy was impressive. I checked for Bohemians, but found none.
The next morning the frenzy was repeated, and on the next morning the
residual berries were gone.
However, our cement patio, which is next to the pyracantha bush and with an
overhanging tree, had changed from gray to red. I commented about this to
my wife and she said, "well, which would you prefer to do, prune off all
the berries (I hate pruning pyracantha because I always seem to bleed a
lot), or clean the patio." My comment was, "tough choice". Fortunately,
the rain took care of the patio.
During this time I was reading David Attenborough's new book, The Life of
Birds. In Chapter 3, The Insatiable Appetite, he spends a lot of time
talking about how birds distribute the seeds of plants in their droppings
at some distance from the original plant. But he then says, "Most fruits
contain a high proportion of water and very little sustenance. In
consequence they are easily and swiftly digested, and many fruit-eating
birds my void seeds within two minutes of swallowing them." So this is why
our patio was red!
Anyway, Attenborough's book is quite interesting (I haven't finished it
yet). The book was written for his new PBS TV program that is supposed to
air this year. I have searched KQED for information about this program,
but find none. The search URL for KQED is:
http://www.kqed.org/TV/search.html
I hope that this was not too boring.
Kendric
South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU)
http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 14 16:07:48 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Pink-sided Oregon Junco
Kendric,
I've seen a number of Dark-eyed Juncos in the South Bay, always
in fall and winter, that looked very much like "Pink-sideds".
However, none have been perfect Pink-sideds in having mostly
pink underparts (with just a whitish area along the midline
of the belly, the underparts otherwise being mostly pinkish)
and an all blue-gray hood (those I've seen have shown some
brownish on the hindneck). I think that the birds I've been
seeing represent some form of "Oregon" junco, although I
have not been able to determine what these birds are.
Of course, it is possible that you really do have a Pink-
sided Junco, but to my knowledge there has not been a
documented (e.g., photo or specimen) or verified (seen by
many observers) record of a Pink-sided Junco in northern
California.
Cheers,
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 14 16:44:38 1999
Subject: [SBB] Gulls, longspur, and loons
All:
On 1 March, Scott Terrill and I saw the largest, palest of the
ICELAND-type gulls at CCRS/WPCP ("Iceland Gull #2"), plus
another gull that was in the "Iceland/intergrade" range but
had some solid dark areas in the tertials.
On 4 March, Mike Rogers and I saw "Iceland Gull #1" at CCRS/
WPCP. The bird flew off to the southeast over Coyote Creek,
and we could not relocate the bird.
On 5 March, the female CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR was still
on private property in northeast San Jose.
On 8 March, Matt Heindel, Mike Rogers, Al Jaramillo, Scott
Terrill, and I saw another ICELAND-type gull at CCRS/WPCP.
This bird was different from the three previous birds (actually,
I'm only claiming three Iceland-type Gulls including the 8 Mar.
bird, as we never saw the tail of the original "Iceland Gull #3"
on 26 Feb. and saw the spread wing only briefly). The
imm. ROSS'S GOOSE was still at the CCRS waterbird pond.
On 9 March, I saw the third-winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
at Lake Cunningham. At Calero Reservoir, I saw a very pale
(possibly leucistic) RED-THROATED LOON, 3 COMMON LOONS, and
43 female COMMON MERGANSERS (no males!).
On 10 and 12 March, the female CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR was
still in northeast San Jose.
Steve Rottenborn
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 14 17:12:39 1999
Subject: [SBB] Stanford field trip
A good group braved the threatening weather and enjoyed the Stanford
Campus field trip this morning (3/14). Among the highlights were:
- An immature merlin which, after posing for Frank Vanslager's questar, put
on a dazzling speed show.
- The barn owl (reported a week ago by John Meyer - many thanks) was in the
south side of the seventh palm north of Museum Way on the west side of
Palm Drive.
- An Anna's hummingbird on her nest.
- A cooperative red-shouldered hawk perched on the edge of a building.
- Western bluebirds were seen in three places - near the business school,
the medical center and at Lagunita - indicating that this species is doing
well on campus, probably thanks to the nest box program of Garth Harwood
and others.
Dick Stovel
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 10:32:04 1999
Subject: [SBB] Suburban Raptors
Upon my return home on Friday evening, I encountered a male Cooper's Hawk dining on a MODO. The Coop continued feeding out on our neighbor's lawn, for about ten minutes. Finally, it flew off with remainder of the carcass.
On Saturday, I saw a Merlin perched in a tree at the corner of Benton & Lawrence Distressway.
Gina Sheridan
email@hidden
Santa Clara
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 10:55:08 1999
Subject: [SBB] Bye for now
Greetings friends ... I just wanted to thank you all for your help in
planning my recent Bay Area trip. In order to keep my daily e-mail to a
sane level, I will be signing off for now.
It was a pleasure chatting with all of you and staying posted on the South
Bay birding highlights. If you're headed to Oregon, especially Malheur
Refuge, or know someone who is, you know where to find your best local
guide!
Take care and stay in touch. Steve
Stephen Shunk
Sisters, OR
541-549-8826
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 11:15:51 1999
Subject: [SBB] Exotics
Folks:
Bill Eklund's report of breeding Scaly Munia/Nutmeg Mannikin at
Almaden Lake Park prompts me to write this note. I track all exotics
that are reported to me (thank you for those reports), but I do not
publish them in my column in the Avocet. This may seem unrewarding in a sense
to local observers, but my rationale is based on the undetermined status of
these local population of exotics. What I mean by undetermined status is that
the introduction of any exotic bird population into a new area normally
results in a number of outcomes. First, the birds may survive for a few years
and then, unable to sustain themselves, they die out. Second, the birds may
rapidly expand and reach some relatively stable population and sustain
themselves roughly that level. Third, the birds may rapidly expand, then
crash, and die out or be sustained a some very low level.
Identifying any of the outcomes that I mention above is difficult for
a number of reasons. Sometimes, it is impossible to determine whether a
population is increasing on its own, or new members are being continuously
added, either by accident, as occurs for local caged birds, or on purpose,
because of policies of the Fish and Game Department as is the case of Wild
Turkey. Additionally, some birds are long-lived while others have a short
life span. Let me illustrate my points with a number of examples.
1. Ring-necked Pheasants were introduced locally at the beginning of the
century. They appear to have sustained themselves, but there are also
occasional releases by game farms. In addition, their center of abundance has
been the edge of the Bay which is now under tremendous development pressure.
It is unclear whether the remaining refugia will allow this exotic to maintain
its place. All may be gone in another decade.
2. Northern Red Bishops have been noted locally, particularly along the lower
parts of the riparian corridors. We have one or two breeding records from
1995. However, it is unclear if they have continued to breed. We've no idea
if these populations are increasing, declining, or being sustained.
3. Three to four species of Aratinga parakeets are present locally and it
seems clear that at least two have bred. However, this species lives for
fifty years or so. Thus, it will takes us decades to determine if their
population is stable or in the process of crashing.
The real mark of population viability in the local area is breeding. Thus,
all substantial nesting evidence for exotics is of great interest. As always,
I need a positive identification of the species involved, dates, precise
locations, description of the evidence observed, and the observer's name.
With time, this body of evidence will assist us in determining the status of
local populations of exotics.
Currently my best guess of exotic populations is as follows:
1. Ring-necked Pheasant. Fairly stable for 70 years, but possibly now in
decline because of land use practices.
2. Wild Turkey. Introduced sometime after the World War 2--I have no details.
The population in Henry Coe SP appears stable and is used by Fish and Game as
a source for releases elsewhere in the county and state. I have no details on
these releases.
3. Rock Dove. Stable.
4. Ring-necked Turtle-Dove. Occasional breeding records, but abundant caged
birds. Species status unclear--there may be no wild population in the world.
5. Blue-crowned Parakeet. Unbanded juvenile (aduls were banded) in 1994 and
adults in probable nest cavities in 1996 suggest local breeding in Palo Alto.
6. Mitered Parakeet. Two young seen in 1995 and adults in nest cavities in
1996 in Palo Alto. Dead Aratinga nestlings in Sunnyvale in the last 10 years
demonstrate breeding, but species is unknown.
7. European Starling. Natural invasion in late 1950s. Slightly increasing.
8. Scaly Munia. First breeding record this year. Unknown viability.
9. Northern Red Bishop. One or two recent breeding records from 1995.
Unknown viability.
10. House Sparrow. Long-term decline from huge peaks in the early part of the
century when populations were sustained by horses, livery stables, and so
forth.
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 13:16:53 1999
Subject: [SBB] Owls, etc.
Saturday night, 3/13/99, I took a small group from my birding
class into the Monte Bello Ridge Open Space Preserve to look
for owls. I had arrange entry with the Midpeninsula Regional
Open Space District as access is restricted after sunset. We
were accompanied by two docents who had accompanied us on
Paul Noble's Owl Prowl two weeks ago.
We hoped that we wouldn't be rained on as the most recent
storm front began to move in. Very cold winds whipped
northward through the Upper Stevens Creek drainage. Based
on the experiences from Paul's trips, I was not too
optimistic that we'd hear or see any owls. One of the theories of their
silence on these recent trips was that
they had already mated (a bit early, maybe) and were not moved to respond
at this time.
Our first bird of the trip was an unexpected COMMON SNIPE
that landed in the seep on the southern edge of the parking
area in the twilight.
We were not able to get any owl response until we got beyond
the meadow on the Canyon Trail. This was much like on Paul's
trip. A WESTERN SCREECH OWL finally responded, then flew into
the same tree in which we were not able to locate a very
vocal saw-whet on the Owl Prowl. And, while we saw the WESO
in flight, we could not find it on a perch.
We moved further down the trail and got a NORTHERN SAW-WHET
OWL to respond in an area that had no conifers. After
spending some time in this area, it seemed that we had up
to 3 NSWOs. But we began to realize that one owl seemed
to be flying to different perches in a roughly 100 yard
diameter. We ended up under the same tree in which we had
the vocal but unseen saw-whet on the Owl Prowl. While we
had a couple of flight-sights of this bird, we still could
not find it on its perch. We heard other interesting sounds,
most likely from this bird, or a mate. We finally left this
bird calling. Frustrating!
Back at the meadow, I could not get any screech-owl response;
we heard one call here on the Owl Prowl. Then a saw-whet
began to call near the silent frog pond. After a couple of
passes overhead and a close encounter in a shrubby madrone,
we were able to see this bird on a perch; I was lucky to see
it through binoculars at about 15 feet. Neat bird!
The wind had gotten fairly strong and we were not able to
detect anymore owls after this, not even at the sag pond.
Yard stuff: on Saturday, 3/13/99, our 1st selasphorus hummer
for the year (probably Allen's) appeared at our blossomless
vine honeysuckle. Two VARIED THRUSHES seen around the house
this weekend; I have not heard them singing their spring
songs yet.
Les
==========================================
Les Chibana, Palo Alto email@hidden
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 14:05:47 1999
Subject: [SBB] WITU
The Wild Turkey's were back yesterday(3/14/99) in the partially
cleared orchard along Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos, between Union
and Leigh.
This time I only saw about 8 or 10 birds as I drove by around 4:00PM.
Alan
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From email@hidden Mon Mar 15 19:15:00 1999
Subject: [SBB] Scaly Spice Nutmeg Finch-Mannikin-Munias
Hi
I checked out Almaden Lake Park this afternoon and the pair of <> is still very actively building their nest.
No sign of the Ross's or Snow Geese. but it was mis-afternoon.
Bruce Barrett
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 16 09:11:30 1999
Subject: [SBB] Barn owl at Stanford-Macy's
Yesterday (15 March) after leaving Stanford campus last night -- where a
BARN OWL with tawny undersides had been roosting all day in clear view in a
large pine behind the Old Union Bldg -- I went over to Stanford Shopping
Center at about 7pm and heard another Barn Owl squawking from a small (0.5
x 1 ft) rectangular opening high up in the east side of Macy's (facing
Quarry Rd, near the parking structure). They're everywhere!
William Cabot
Stanford University, email@hidden
(650) 723-8520 fax: (650) 723-9617
NASA/Ames Research Center, email@hidden
(650) 604-4728 fax: (650) 604-0841
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 16 18:56:07 1999
Subject: [SBB] birds
On Saturday, 13 Mar 99, I decided to try Stevens Creek Park again, to
see if any ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS could be found. Nick Lethaby was
leading a group for Pat Curtis and said that they had a couple, and I
finally heard one singing later. After birding the park for a while, I
caught up with Nick & Co. along the road where the series of bridges
cross the creek. They had not seen any AMERICAN DIPPERS, but I managed
to glimpse the pair right after the first car left. The remaining people
and I searched the immediate area, but couldn't refind them. I flushed
them on my walk back to the car, though no decent looks were acquired.
On Sunday, 14 Mar 99, I went to Ed Levin Park, where I found one
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER and had a male ALLEN'S HUMMINGBIRD sitting on a
eucalyptus perch. I have seen a male Allen's on this perch in each of
the previous 3 years; I wonder if it's the same individual. A RED-TAILED
HAWK was on a nest in a sycamore tree across the street from the park.
At Lake Cunningham, the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was still present,
exhibiting some changes from when I saw it earlier in the season. The
pale yellowish areas at the base of the bill have increased and the
median upperwing coverts have become more solid dark gray, losing much
of the brownish tones they had earlier. This bird seems to spend a fair
amount of time on the little island across from the marina, and can be
found perching often at the top of the pole on this island.
At Shady Oaks Park in San Jose, the EASTERN PHOEBE was still present as
well. It was straight into the orchard from the blue jungle gym, right
where a dirt road cuts through the trees.
Mike Mammoser
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 16 20:26:52 1999
Subject: [SBB] Chukar
We received an interesting bird this weekend at the wildlife center. It's a
female Chukar and showed up in an urban backyard during our last storm. It's
pretty tame and easy to approach (odd for a game-bird). The wings seems to be
clipped which leads us to believe that it's been domesticated.
Question, have any of you seen this bird "wild" in the bay area? I understand
that it was introduced from Europe and Asia years ago and resides further east
in California and out to Colorado.
Thanks for any information on this species.
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 16 22:36:00 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Chukar
email@hidden wrote:
> We received an interesting bird this weekend at the wildlife center. It's a
> female Chukar and showed up in an urban backyard during our last storm. It's
> pretty tame and easy to approach (odd for a game-bird). The wings seems to be
> clipped which leads us to believe that it's been domesticated.
>
> Question, have any of you seen this bird "wild" in the bay area? I understand
> that it was introduced from Europe and Asia years ago and resides further east
> in California and out to Colorado.
>
> Thanks for any information on this species.
>
My guess is that this bird is a game farm raised Chukar that was being used for
gun dog training. I use them myself during the off season. They give off good
scent that is easily tracked by pointing breeds. The closest wild populations are
in western Fresno and San Benito Counties.
Regards,
Screech.
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--
Paul L. Noble
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^ ^
@ @
( v )
( )
/ \
m m
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From email@hidden Tue Mar 16 23:24:53 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Chukar
Trudi:
The other day I was talking to a dog trainer/owner/hunter who, like Paul
Noble, uses Chucker and has about 40 in pens on his property in Boulder
Creek. He says that about 9 out of 10 birds they release in the Los Banos
area escape, which makes one wonder about the wild nature of birds seen
in Panoche Valley. They could be part of the wild population there or
recently released from a gun club or dog training area.
Jack Cole
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 17 00:31:47 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Chukar
email@hidden wrote:
>
> We received an interesting bird this weekend at the wildlife center. It's a
> female Chukar and showed up in an urban backyard during our last storm. It's
> pretty tame and easy to approach (odd for a game-bird). The wings seems to be
> clipped which leads us to believe that it's been domesticated.
>
> Question, have any of you seen this bird "wild" in the bay area? I understand
> that it was introduced from Europe and Asia years ago and resides further east
> in California and out to Colorado.
>
> Thanks for any information on this species.
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///////////savemono/////////savemono////////////
In 1983 I had a Chukar in the field at the far eastern corner of San
Antonio Rd on the Bay this field is now a SUN Microsystem building.
I know several fellows that talked about hunting Chukar in the "Fall
season" along the bay shore during the latter 1960's. At that time the
bay shore was dotted with "bird game farms".
Three years ago I had a similar "game bird" on Patterson Pass Rd. here
in the East Bay. I found a very good specimen road kill of a Northern
Bob White. I gave it to Dr./Profressor Howard Cogswell of Hayward State
U prepared the skin. Now it can be viewed @ the college. By the way Dr.
Cogswell said it had no tail.
I have a once a century bird that pre-dates the rare bird networks.
December 1972 a SNOWY OWL in the Mt View Marshlands and refound in a
field behind the Bold Knight on Mathilda Rd. It spent an evening on the
Bold Knight Roof in the rear of the building. Several Audubon members
did find the Owl. I wrote a short article about the find in the Avocet.
Regards
Richard Cimino
and it can be viewed at the Unsi
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 17 05:47:38 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Chukar
All:
I have been searching for my old copy of California Game Birds published
by the California Department of Fish and Game and still have not
re-found it. Is anyone aware of this publication? It included range
maps. Regarding Chukar it showed part of its range along the Santa
Clara/Merced County Line and Santa Clara/Stanislaus County line.
Chukars may have been released in these locations earlier but apparently
have died out.
For those of you subscribing to Calbird will recall Bill Principe's
recent post regarding the "countability" of Chukars seen at Galileo Hill
in California City (Kern County). Many of these have been re-released
for the same purpose as mentioned in Paul Noble's (alias Screech's)
post.
Some may also recall when the Northern California Bird Box (415)
681-7422 went to self-service mode a couple years back, a woman with a
strong Manhattan accent reported three days in a row finding Chukars in
Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Once I even saw a couple Chukars near the visitor center of the Grizzly
Island Wildlife Area in Solano County. Even a Gray Partridge was found
as well. The ranger explained these had been recently released for
hunters. Apparently these had survived the hunting season.
--
Mike Feighner, Livermore, CA, email@hidden
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 17 09:24:33 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Chukar
John A Cole wrote:
> Trudi:
>
> The other day I was talking to a dog trainer/owner/hunter who, like Paul
> Noble, uses Chucker and has about 40 in pens on his property in Boulder
> Creek. He says that about 9 out of 10 birds they release in the Los Banos
> area escape, which makes one wonder about the wild nature of birds seen
> in Panoche Valley. They could be part of the wild population there or
> recently released from a gun club or dog training area.
>
> Jack Cole
>
> I hunt the Panoche Hills area quite frequently for both Quail and Chukar. My
> experience with pen-raised Chukar is that they do not last long in the wild.
> They do not have the "survival smarts" of wild individuals and soon either
> starve or are picked off by a predator (land-based or aerial). The pen-raised
> chukars also tend to want to return to their pens or release area (where other
> Chukars await release). This is what makes pen-raised birds desireable for
> hunting preserves, as the surviving birds tend to come back to be captured (in
> an entrance only pen) to be re-used the following day. It is unlikely that
> pen-raised Chukars would venture many miles from hunting clubs in Los Banos to
> the Panoche Hills. ( However I have been curious about some of the reports of
> Chukars recently seen in the Panoche Hills by observers birding the area. My
> experience is that the birds are quite secretive and inhabit the steep canyons
> and slopes in the Panoche Hills. I have never seen any on or along the roads
> out there. It is possible however that these observable birds are released by
> sportsment training dogs. The area around the Panoche Retention Dam is used by
> field trial groups training and competeing with their dogs. I have seen
> released Chukar in this area shortly after such events).
Regards,Screech.
--
Paul L. Noble
email@hidden
^ ^
@ @
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( )
/ \
m m
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From email@hidden Wed Mar 17 10:44:58 1999
Subject: [SBB] Re: Chukar
They are even found west of California. On a birding trip
that I led with Jack Jeffrey in the Hawaiian Is., we came
across 6-10 Chukar at about 10,000 ft. on Haleakala, Maui.
I don't know if they are hunted a lot or used for training
hunting dogs in the Islands, but that's apparently the
reason they were introduced. They're everywhere!
Les
==========================================
Les Chibana, Palo Alto email@hidden
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From email@hidden Thu Mar 18 13:33:32 1999
Subject: [SBB] Nashville Warbler in Menlo Park
It was an good day for the "Partridge Avenue Checklist Area (PACA)" in
Menlo Park near my office. Between University Drive & El Camino Real
along Creek Drive there were the following birds: WESTERN TANAGER (a
rather dull male) engaging in a rather acrobatic flycatching display,
MERLIN, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, PURPLE FINCH, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS,
FOX SPARROW, HERMIT THRUSH, and a Selasphorus HUMMINGBIRD. I'm omitting
the many other more common birds seen regularly in the area...
Only a week ago there were Common Mergansers in the same area, but no
luck since that one day.
Most exciting was an early NASHVILLE WARBLER (new for the "PACA" list).
This male warbler was about 15-20 feet up in a tree along the San
Francisquito creek close to Cornell Avenue. There was a low metal fence
on the shoulder of the road. The tree was unfamiliar to me, but a fairly
tall and open deciduous with sweetgum-type woody fruit on it. The NAWA
was foraging half-way up in the branches with many Townsend's and
Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Still visiting the seed on the front lawn on Partridge Avenue is the
"Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Junco I've mentioned before.
Matthew Dodder
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 19 10:28:58 1999
Subject: [SBB] GOEA, Pileated WP, etc.
All,
On Weds. 3/17 at 10:30 AM, while checking nestboxes at Arastradero Preserve,
Kathy Alberts and I saw a GOLDEN EAGLE in an apparently successful attack on a
ground squirrel or other rodent near the radar dishes on Stanford lands, just
150 yards or so above highway 280. The bird spent about 2 minutes on the
ground, being mobbed by two tiny-looking RED-TAILED HAWKS, before flying off
to the north. We saw an exceptional number of VOLES making brief above-ground
dashes, making raptor conditions at the Preserve pretty good this season, I
guess.
Otherwise bird activity at the preserve was low despite the mild weather (no
more incoming migrants, that is). Although TREE SWALLOWS were seen looking
into a nestbox, no nest construction, by any species, was underway in any of
the boxes checked. However, only 1/2 of the set was checked, and some of the
unchecked series had activity two weeks ago... more later on those.
I reported a PILEATED WOODPECKER at Russian Ridge OSP last Friday 3/12. Mike
Feighner requested confirmation that the sighting occurred within SC County,
whereupon I rechecked the map and found that the bird was actually seen in San
Mateo County airspace. However, it was last seen headed southward down the
summit ridgeline, which would have taken it to the county line within a few
more seconds if it maintained the same line of flight (pretty likely given
that the grasslands over which it was flying offered little potential for
distraction to a PIWO). So, as to its county affiliation(s), "You be the
judge."
Straying even farther into SM County stuff, it may be of interest that the
white-form VARIED THRUSH I first reported from our orchard at 5901 Pescadero
Road on 2/21 has been seen here intermittently ever since, most recently on
both of the past 2 mornings. It is generally seen before 10AM under overcast
skies, and its all grey/white markings blend in very well with the leafless
apple trees where it has been hanging out. It's very shy as well, rarely
granting a full, unscreened perspective.
--Garth Harwood
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 19 10:43:45 1999
Subject: [SBB] Goldfinches
This rain is bringing the birds out in droves to my backyard. My best
estimate is 120 Goldfinches!!! on the feeders, on the ground. Plus my
"regulars" including my White-Throated Sparrow, a pair of Spotted Towhees
and a Purple Finch which are eating as I type this...Gloria LeBlanc Los
Gatos off Quito
Your PFO (Personal Financial Officer)
http://www.lgsia.com http://www.wallstreetgifts.com
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 19 18:15:58 1999
Subject: [SBB] Bullock's Oriole
Right on cue, I saw a male Bullock's Oriole today in Milpitas. Also three
species of swallows at Hall Lake.
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 19 18:26:24 1999
Subject: [SBB] Milpitas Gulls
All:
For those of you who wish to experience the hideous complexity of gull
identification close up, Hidden Lake in Milpitas (on W side of Milpitas
Avenue, S of the intersection with Jacklin/Abel) offers a great
opportunity. Today, I saw 15-20 Thayer's Gulls (mostly 1W). In addition, I
saw a 1W Glaucous x Herring, at least one 1W Glaucous-winged x Herring, an
adult Glaucous-winged x Western Gull, another adult that was possibly a
Glaucous-winged x Herring. Some Californias, Glaucous-winged (not sure if
some of these aren't hybrids), and Ring-billed Gulls present. Herring and
Mew Gulls often drop by, but not today.
The action will drop off in a week or as birds depart.
Nick
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From email@hidden Fri Mar 19 21:18:45 1999
Subject: [SBB] A few recent birds
Howdy South-bay-birders,
On Wed., Mar.17, I visited the SCVWD Pond on Almaden Expressway. Over
the pond there were a bunch of N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS and 2 TREE
SWALLOWS. Along the nearby Guadalupe River I saw a GREEN HERON, the
usual COMMON MOORHEN, and a GREATER YELLOWLEGS.
I stopped at Calero Reservoir on the evening of the 18th. A CLARK'S
GREBE and 16 COMMON MERGANSERS were near the boat launch, and there were
thousands of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS over the water (a few BARN SWALLOWS
too).
John Mariani
email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 20 12:30:13 1999
Subject: [SBB] unusual goose
Date: March 19,1999
White-Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) Location: Palo Alto Duck Pond
More specific: on grassy shoulder between main road and duck pond, feeding amongst Canada Goose.
Time: 2:30 PM
This goose is much smaller than Canada Goose and has irregular black markings on chest, white bordered wings, orangy red legs, white rump and whitish ring around base of beak.
Dirk Thiele
(email@hidden)
Discovery Channel Online
Your World. Your Experience.
www.discovery.com
KE6ZUY
Sent by Discovery Mail
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From email@hidden Sat Mar 20 22:43:52 1999
Subject: Re: [SBB] Milpitas Gulls
Hi all, I decided to check out Nicks gulls today at Hidden Lake - what a
place! Gull heaven (or hell, depending on your view)!
There was about 25 Thayers - all 1W's, except 1 2W. I also saw the presumed
1W Glauc-winged X Herring hybrid/beast and adult Western x Glauc-winged
(more Western like than GW). One of the very faded 1W Thayers looks like a
Kumliens Gull, until it flew, and there were a couple of birds that I really
didn't want to attach a name to.
At Palo Alto duck pond the wintering White-fronted Goose and Wood Duck were
still there, as was the presumed hybrid Mew X Ring-billed Gull, now loosing
it's grey neck mottling.
At Arastradro Park there was at least one drake Hooded Merganser on the 2nd
lake (roosting for quite a long time in the willows, until it came out for 5
mins to swim around).
I didn't check out the King Vultures reported from Monday on the birdbox -
anyone done that yet?
Good birding,
Graham Etherington
UC Berkeley
At 05:26 PM 3/19/99 -0800, you wrote:
>All:
>
>For those of you who wish to experience the hideous complexity of gull
>identification close up, Hidden Lake in Milpitas (on W side of Milpitas
>Avenue, S of the intersection with Jacklin/Abel) offers a great
>opportunity. Today, I saw 15-20 Thayer's Gulls (mostly 1W). In addition, I
>saw a 1W Glaucous x Herring, at least one 1W Glaucous-winged x Herring, an
>adult Glaucous-winged x Western Gull, another adult that was possibly a
>Glaucous-winged x Herring. Some Californias, Glaucous-winged (not sure if
>some of these aren't hybrids), and Ring-billed Gulls present. Herring and
>Mew Gulls often drop by, but not today.
>
>The action will drop off in a week or as birds depart.
>
>Nick
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>server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
>message body of "unsubscribe south-bay-birds" to email@hidden
>
>
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 21 10:08:35 1999
Subject: [SBB] RNDU at Lagunita
This morning (3/21/99) there were 20 RING-NECKED DUCKS on Stanford's
Lagunita a.k.a. "The Puddle", as well as 12 BUFFLEHEADS.
Up the hill near the big radio dish in the Stanford Foothills, I spotted 6
LARK SPARROWS.
William Cabot
Stanford University, email@hidden
(650) 723-8520 fax: (650) 723-9617
NASA/Ames Research Center, email@hidden
(650) 604-4728 fax: (650) 604-0841
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 21 11:41:25 1999
Subject: [SBB] various birds
At Rancho San Antonio along the creek this morning I heard at least 9
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS singing, also 4 singing RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and
a singing PURPLE FINCH. A pair of RING-NECKED DUCKS were in the pond.
The RED-TAIL HAWK pair that hangs out around Frenchman's Meadow on the
Stanford campus is nesting in a redwood at the back of 607 Gerona. A pair
of GREAT HORNED OWLS have been regularly hooting at dusk from the
eucalyptus grove on the corner of Estudillo and Frenchman's at the Meadow.
-- Tom Grey Stanford CA email@hidden
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From email@hidden Sun Mar 21 14:23:15 1999
Subject: [SBB] Arastradero 3/19 (Kites mating etc.)
All,
A few noteworthy birds from Arastradero Preserve on Friday midafternoon
3-19-1999...
Three HOODED MERGANSERS (2m/1f) and a single female BUFFLEHEAD were on the
upper pond, where HUTTON'S VIREO was also in song. A pair of WHITE-TAILED
KITES were observed at a very remote spot along the border with Foothills
Park, in a row of sickly Monterey Pines (visible from the drive-up overlook
at Foothills). At one point an apparent in-air