May 1999 Field Journal 5.2 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Exotic Tits and other birds
Alan Hopkins wrote:
>
> SF Birders
>
> The Great Tit is a great bird! I saw quite a few of them in France.
> Unfortunately there is no chance that it is a wild bird. It belongs in
> the class of Hugh's Leafbird, the Streaky Seedeater, and the numerous
> Bishop sightings. The question is where are these exotics coming from?
>Originally from someone's cage. If someone can have a pet Maribu (sp?) Stork, a pet Great Tit is downright rational.
> It is interesting that the I found the Streaky Seedeater on 5/4/97 and
> the Bishop sightings were just a few weeks ago. When did Hugh first find
> the Leafbird?
>I have a theory on this. It's reasonable to assume that these are first generation cage birds, i.e. wild birds which have been caught for cage birds. Why then shouldn't they be subject to the same urges that other wild birds, i.e. the urge to migrate, at this time of year? Like true vagrants and other lost birds, they tend to concentrate along the coast during spring and fall migration. The fact that they show up earlier in migration might be as simple as they don't have very far to go, i.e. their release point is not far from where they are observed, unlike eastern most eastern vagrants.
Of course, this argument falls into a heap for non-migratory birds.
> I trust we will be kept informed on sightings of the Tit. I noticed that
> none of the birds seen yesterday from the Cliff House were on the RBA.I'll write up today separately. Since I didn't see the Fork-tailed Storm Petrel, I didn't feel compelled to call it in. :-| However, I agree that a bird of this ilk should be called in.
5.2 [SFBirds] Great Tit, Black-legged Kittiwake, etc.
I was about to shove off this morning when I realized that it had
started to rain. I decided to have another cup of coffee and
breakfast and it was still raining. Anyway, I decided to head out the
Cliff House anyway and scope from the protection of the overhangs at
the Cliff House. Shorebirds are still moving through, with decent
numbers (for Ocean Beach) of WHIMBREL and MARBLED GODWITS. However,
LOON numbers were down significantly from yesterday.I had to wait awhile for the first of my 8 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES to
come by, but they kept straggling through while I watched the feeding
frenzy grow just beyond Seal Rocks and drift in on the incoming tide.
None of the birds I saw were adults. A pair of PIGEON GUILLEMOTS flew
behind the largest of the Seal Rocks and didn't come out the other
side. Is there a nest on the back side? A pair of medium-sized terns
which I judged to be FORSTER'S TERNS flew south, appearing to have
come from inside the gate.The rain had stopped by the time I got to Kobbe and Upton. I heard at
least one KILLDEER calling and there were two different OLIVE-SIDED
FLYCATCHERS singing, my first of the year. I did see three CALIFORNIA
QUAIL; the bad news is that they were all males, two adults and one
immature. The sentinel was giving its single note unmated call.Crissy Field was teeming with terns. The two piers had over 200
FORSTER'S TERNS alone and there were hundreds more swarming flocks
near the gate and at other points in the bay. Two BONAPARTE'S GULLS
were hiding in the tern flock and a PIGEON GUILLEMOT flew by the pier.
Passerines seemed to be in short supply, but I didn't spend much time
looking for them.I spent a fair amount of time at Glen Park Canyon and saw quite a few
birds (no migrants, though) without seeing the tit. I found a
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER in the willows north of the Day Care Center and
south of where the trail crosses the creek and was enjoying that when
I heard a rattle that sounded quite a bit like a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE. I
tracked that down and found (yup, you guessed it) a BUOR. I did hear
a couple of quick notes that didn't sound familiar, but found no tit.I moved upstream beyond the stream crossing and found a nice mail
LAZULI BUNTING not far up the canyon wall about 50 yards beyond the
stream crossing. There was also an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER around this
area. The BGGN had moved up here, but I wasn't having much luck
finding the tit. I finally saw a very brief flash of a bird with a
relatively bright yellow belly just north of the stream crossing, but
couldn't relocate the bird.Walking down the other side of the canyon, I found a WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW where the willows run a small side canyon. There was another
BGGN there as well. There is also a large brush pile here. At this
point, still titless and no longer being titulated, I discontinued my
titubation and headed out, resigned to adding my tittles to my day
list.On the way out, I ran into Calvin who was no doubt searching for the
tit. We headed back upstream on the side with the Day Care Center.
It was pretty quiet and we too crossed the stream and headed up the
canyon. We managed to refind the first BGGN, the OCWA and I heard a
Goldfinch singing, probably an AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. We were heading
back down to where the stream crossing where I heard a rattle I hadn't
heard before. Unlike a real BUOR, I judged this to be softer and
rounder than the rattle of a BUOR. Fortunately, the bird was giving
it quite often and we walked right up to it, right where the path
crosses the stream.I located the GREAT TIT giving the rattle not 20 feet from me, looking
superficially like a large chicadee with a yellow belly and a black
streak running all the way down its breast and belly. I didn't take
detailed notes as we really only had the bird in sight for a couple of
minutes, but the bird had extremely worn rectrices, likely due to cage
wear. The light wasn't great in there, but I did manage to squeeze
off one photo that should be identifiable but perhaps not much more
than that.Cliff House
8 Black-legged Kittiwake
3 Pigeon Guillemot
6 Caspian Tern
2 Forster's Tern
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Kobbe & Upton
3 California Quail
2 Olive-sided Flycatcher
KilldeerCrissy Field
100s Forster's Tern
2 Bonaparte's Gull
Pigeon Guillemot
Battery Caufield Overlook
Red-tailed HawkGlen Park Canyon
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Lazuli Bunting
Bullock's Oriole
Goldfinch sp.
Great Tit5.4 [SFBirds] Heron nests at Stowe Lake
Apparently, Great Blue Herons are nesting again at Stowe Lake. There was a
report in Joe's class last week, but I can't remember the details at this
point in time. Can anyone flesh this out, or did I miss this in a recent
message?5.7 [SFBirds] Red-breasted Nuthatch, Western Tanager
Had both of these in my yard this morning. Perhaps the first large wave of
migrants is finally coming through. Or maybe I should just put up a feeder
like my neighbors. :-|5.12 [SFBirds] Lawrence's Goldfinch
There was a report of a LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH from the Hunter's Point area
tonight in Joe's class. Unfortunately, I don't have any more details than
that.5.21 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Migrants this Am - 05/21/99
Htcotter@aol.com wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I stopped at the East wash this morning to see what was happening. There
> finally seems to be some visible migration happening - nothing earth
> shattering but here are the highlights;
>
> [...]
>
> Lazuli Bunting - 3 (2 adults and juv)
>I would guess that you mean first spring male plumage; juveniles would be
improbable at this time of year. NGS indicates a separate plumage for
first spring males; are first spring females separable from adult females?
Also, the second edition (my third edition is at home) of NGS doesn't show
a separate plumage for juvenile LAZBs; anyone know how this differs from
the female plumage?5.22 [SFBirds] (Belated) 5.22.99 SF Birds
Hugh, Dan M. and I managed to see most of the same (species of) birds that
Calvin did that day at the East Wash. Interestingly enough, when we got to
Mt. Davidson, apparently right after he left, most of what Calvin saw was no
longer around. The early bird...East Wash
Lesser Goldfinch
Western Wood-Pewee
MacGillivray's Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Warbling Vireo
Black-headed Grosbeak
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Winter Wren +2 young
American Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bushtit
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Chipping Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Cedar WaxwingMt. Davidson
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Warbling Vireo
Cassin's Vireo5.29 [SFBirds] 5.29.99 SF Birds and Mammals
After a brief and uninspiring stop at the East Wash, I headed over to the
parking lot above Land's End. There was a large feeding flock of
uninteresting species not far from shore, but a little farther out, there
were good numbers of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. Interestingly, the Black-legged Kittiwake
diddn't seem to intermingle much with the other gulls or cormorants that
were in the feeding flock. After watching for quite awhile, I came up with
47 Black-legged Kittiwake, including a flock of up to 18 sitting on the ocean quite close to
shore. While there may have been some adults around, all of the birds that
I identified were immatures. As well, there was a single PIGEON GUILLEMOT
and a heavily barnacle-encrusted cete which I believe was a GRAY WHALE,
quite close to shore.At the Cliff House, I managed to find 3 more Black-legged Kittiwake to up the total to 50.
Another Pigeon Guillemot flew by and there was a BLACK OYSTERCATCHER asleep on the
largest rock just offshore, perhaps on nest? An OSPREY hovered almost
motionless near Louis' Coffee Shop. COMMON MURRES are back in force with
literally 100's flying by. It's nice to see them back.>From there, I drove along Ocean Beach and stopped at the entrance to the
now-closed southernmost parking lot along the beach. The wind was whipping
and the birds were very close to shore, sometimes being inside the
breakers. Shorebird migration is still continuing; I had about 20 WHIMBREL
in a very short amount of time. However, the main show was the kittiwakes;
I had another 93 to bring my day total to 143. I'm not sure if this passes
Hugh's "100's" offshore but it's certainly a high count for SF.In this period, about six medium terns flew by which I tried hard to turn
into either COMMON or ARCTIC TERNS; alas, they appeared all to be FORSTER'S
TERNS to me, which left me wondering how many of these offshore terns are
correctly identified. CASPIAN TERNS were in large numbers from all three
spots.At the concrete bridge, there were a small number of interesting birds.
CLIFF SWALLOWS are nesting as originally pointed out by Dan M. At the east
end, a GREEN HERON flew over and there was a PURPLE FINCH singing in the
willows. CEDAR WAXWINGS are still around and there were a few AMERICAN
GOLDFINCHES at the west end of the bridge. I had a SPOTTED SANDPIPER also
at the east end of the bridge on the north side.But the most interesting bird was a very worn small first-year "black-headed
type" gull on the north side of the west end of the bridge. I managed to
get good photos of the bird, so I won't bother with a full description, but
the bird was most likely a BONAPARTE'S GULL or something even more
interesting. I'll post the pictures when they come back.Lands End
50 Black-legged Kittiwake
Pigeon Guillemot
Gray Whale
6 Red-throated Loon
Cliff House
Black Oystercatcher on nest?
Pigeon Guillemot
Osprey
100's Common MurreSouth End of Ocean Beach
93 Black-legged Kittiwake
6 Forster's Tern
Lake Merced
Bonaparte's Gull
Purple Finch
Green Heron
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Spotted Sandpiper23rd & Vicente
Red-tailed Hawk5.30 Pinnacles National Monument
Debi and I decided to take an afternoon hike in the Pinnacles National Monument on Sunday. After wading through the crunch at the East Entrance Station (silly us), we managed to park at the Bear Gulch Visitor Center and start our hike. We took the High Peaks Trail clockwise from the visitor's center and descended via the Condor Gulch Trail and are pleasantly surprised by how active birds are for an afternoon walk, perhaps more so due to the relatively cool temperatures. While there was nothing particularly rare here, the entire trip was quite birdy and the wildflowers warrant a separate posting.Most of the expected birds are present; ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS are singing at various points along the trail and WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS are ubiquitous on the upper reaches of the trail, including a(n apparently) copulating pair near the summit of the trail. STELLER'S JAYS are easy to see even in the oak woodlands near the visitor center; were these present even before the irruption this year?
CANYON WRENS can be heard calling at various points, but somehow I don't manage to pick out ROCK WREN amongst all of the singing birds. LESSER GOLDFINCHES are frolicking in the pines higher up. A large falcon, most likely a PRAIRIE FALCON, screams out from some unseen roost high in the high peaks. A PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER is calling just below the peaks themselves, perhaps a migrant, perhaps not. A WESTERN KINGBIRD looked particularly out of place in the chaparral high on the west slope; I'd guess this to be a migrant.
Most probably the best birds were the breeding pair plus fledgling RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS on the high peaks trail coming up from the visitor's center, at the first bend after the (only) short tunnel on this trail. This was an intensely birdy area and we spent quite a bit of time here. Another RCSP was heard singing on the descent on Condor Gulch Trail.
Hummingbirds are plentiful but none are adult males; most I identify only as "Small Plain Species" (Calypte/Archilochus sp.) though some constantly flip their tails while hovering reminiscent of my experience with BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD in SE AZ.
Finally, there was one bird I had which was not on the park list (and not in the park either). While driving at dusk north on Hwy. 25, I had a single SWIFT that was certainly not a WTSW. It appeared fairly large (but I was very tired) and the throat appeared to be pale. While it was probably just a VAUX'S SWIFT, I can't remember the last time I saw (just) a single VASW. To titillate the twitchers out there, CHIMNEY SWIFT was reported that day from Andrew Molera SP, though I'd guess inland records of CHSW are virtually unknown in CA.
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