6.1 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] The Rose-breasted
Grosbeak
Eric Preston wrote:
>
> was singing his heart out this morning in the ravine on
Mt. Davidson. I
> appreciate these eastern birds more now that I only see
one a season.
>
Oh, you might get to see another this fall. :-)
After not getting to the UTC in spring for
a couple of years, I find a real need
to get back to remember what these birds actually look like.
6.1 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Goose eggs?
Luke Cole wrote:
>
> At 11:22 PM 5/31/2000 EDT, you wrote:
> >Also, I could see Least Terns in Alameda, but none on
our side.
> >Brian
>
> Brian (and SF Birders) -- a corner of Alameda is actually
in SF County, so
> that if you could see terns out there, they could conceivably
be in SF County.
>
I'm still trying to figure out how Brian could
see Least Terns in Alameda from
Heron's Head park. :-)
6.1 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Pelicans, foxes
and Pt counts
Jay Withgott wrote:
>
> > regarding your
> > > PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER seemingly lost deep
in the eucalyptus
> > >northwest of the parking lot at the north end of
Lake Merced.
> > > I was surprised to learn from Tom Gardali at
PRBO that Pac Slopes arent
> > uncommon breeders in Eucs. Go Figure, but then again
the Presidios only
> > record is from Eucs...
> > keep an eye on that guy if you have the chance.
> >
>
> I think that bird has been there for a month at least.
I first heard it
> back when everybody was seeing that Palm Warbler there,
whenever that
> was.
>
I have a very naive question. It's been widely
assumed that PSFL breeds in SF,
presumably in McClaren if not other spots in the city. Why then
have I never
hear the full PSFL song in SF?
6.2 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Pelicans, foxes
and Pt counts
Dan Singer wrote:
>
> My theory at the time was that a certain number of birds
of
> several different species (e.g. PSFL, BUOR, BHGR, WAVI)
would set up
> territories in SF but could never attract a mate because
perhaps the habitat
> was/is so fragmented and degraded or the birds were too
young or otherwise
> unsatisfactory breeding material.
I would tend to agree, although I'm pretty
sure I recall seeing both sexes
of a Black-headed Grosbeak pair in Glen Canyon in '98, one of
which was
carrying nesting material. I may have even found the nest, but
never saw
any young (or cowbirds, for that matter), probably because I
was too
engrossed in finding my next year bird. :-|
This year there are three Bullock's orioles
present, including at least one
female if recollection serves me. Maybe we'll get lucky this
year...
6.6 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] That gull
I agree with Harry; most of these
birds are invariably very worn GWGU,
particularly if they are badly worn.
Did you see the photo of the putative ICGU in Monterey?
Mark
Josiah Clark wrote:
>
> Hey again,
> Harry braught up the possibility of the gull I saw being
a young GW Gull,(
> which I commonly see at Crissy) I want to re iterate. This
bird was WHITE.
> It was totally striking in appearance, even from the top
of Merry Way. It
> was like nothing I have ever seen, (perhaps only because
the plumage is so
> worn, but still a good study)
> I am writing again because Ive never heard of such
a lack of interest
> about such a potentially rare species.
> I would ask anyone around that area to take a special
peek onto the
> rocks or into the Sutro Baths. The primaries were in such
bad shape I could
> imagine it staying around a while.
>
> Josiah
>
> following is a kind message from Harry about the gull:
>
> That kind of gull wason Ocean Beach Saturday and a similar
one at Merced a
> week
> ago...I believe all are yearling Glaucous-winged with very
worn
> feathers...at
> least the two I saw were slender but overall taller than
the Westerns
> nearby...black beak I believe is a key field mark in these
veyr light
> colored
> gulls, but I am not a great gullacsious birder
6.10 - 11
Yuba Pass
I was joined by Stephen Davies and
Katharine Feldman for the Saturday portion of this classic trip.
While we didn't manage to see anything particularly rare, it
was quite a nice trip for photography.
Everyone's favorite bird, I found this AMERICAN DIPPER flying up the river as I returned to Sierra City on the 10th. I headed out first thing the next morning and found the bird sunning itself in the early morning light against the still-dark water. It sat quite cooperatively as I was able to get relatively close, partially hidden by the embankment of the highway. When was the last time you saw the wing linings of a dipper?
I was driving along Mountain Quail road when I noticed a pair of MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES going in and out of a stump right near the road. I returned the next morning and set up shop, partially hidden by a sapling near the stump. While I struggled to catch the birds coming in and out of the nest hole, I had much better luck getting on one while it was waiting with food for the nest exchange with its mate.
A WILLET rarely garners a second glance in most parts of California. It's too bad, because the intricacy of the bird in alternate plumage such as seen here on Marble Hot Springs road is really quite lovely.
The Fox Sparrow complex is often mentioned good candidate for more splitting, and this THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW shows why with its enormous bill and gray head. This bird was singing more or less non-stop from a willow thicket near at Bear Trap Lake, an exciting 4WD journey north from Yuba Pass.
I've always found CHIPPING SPARROWS to be a bit of an enigma. Seemingly equally at home in lucious, wet montane habitat at Yuba Pass and in arid Juniper/Sage at Red Rock Canyon near the Nevada border, I often overlook it because of the similarity in its song to Dark-eyed Junco. Thie bird was vociferous not far from the parking lot at Yuba Pass.
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Hard to see and harder to photograph, this mated pair of WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS were breeding at the small pond just east of the highway on the to road to Salmon Lake Lodge. I think they have breed there for several years running. Black-backed Woodpecker is also regular here.
89 species seen:
Pied-billed Grebe (9)
Snowy Egret (9)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (9)
White-faced Ibis (9)
Turkey Vulture (4)
Canada Goose (9)
Gadwall (9)
Mallard (4)
Cinnamon Teal (9)
Northern Shoveler (9)
Northern Pintail (9)
Green-winged Teal (9)
Ruddy Duck (9)
Northern Harrier (5)
Swainson's Hawk (9)
American Kestrel (6)
Mountain Quail (4)
Killdeer (9)
Black-necked Stilt (9)
American Avocet (9)
Willet (9)
Wilson's Phalarope (9)
California Gull (9)
Band-tailed Pigeon (3)
Common Nighthawk (8)
Calliope Hummingbird (4)
Belted Kingfisher (10)
Lewis's Woodpecker (10)
Williamson's Sapsucker (4)
Red-breasted Sapsucker (4)
Downy Woodpecker (10)
Hairy Woodpecker (4)
White-headed Woodpecker (4)
Black-backed Woodpecker (4)
Northern Flicker (4)
Pileated Woodpecker (7)
Olive-sided Flycatcher (4)
Western Wood-Pewee (3)
Hammond's Flycatcher (4)
Dusky Flycatcher (4)
Ash-throated Flycatcher (10)
Hutton's Vireo (4)
Warbling Vireo (3)
Steller's Jay (3)
Black-billed Magpie (9)
Common Raven (6)
Horned Lark (8)
Tree Swallow (6)
Cliff Swallow (6)
Barn Swallow (9)
Mountain Chickadee (4)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (3)
White-breasted Nuthatch (4)
Brown Creeper (4)
Bewick's Wren (9)
House Wren (10)
Marsh Wren (9)
American Dipper (7)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (3)
Townsend's Solitaire (7)
Swainson's Thrush (4)
Hermit Thrush (4)
Nashville Warbler (4)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (3)
Black-throated Gray Warbler (7)
Hermit Warbler (4)
MacGillivray's Warbler (2)
Wilson's Warbler (3)
Western Tanager (4)
Green-tailed Towhee (4)
Spotted Towhee (6)
Chipping Sparrow (4)
Brewer's Sparrow (6)
Vesper Sparrow (6)
Savannah Sparrow (6)
Fox Sparrow (4)
Song Sparrow (3)
Lincoln's Sparrow (4)
Black-headed Grosbeak (7)
Lazuli Bunting (10)
Red-winged Blackbird (9)
Western Meadowlark (5)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (9)
Brewer's Blackbird (5)
Bullock's Oriole (10)
Cassin's Finch (3)
Pine Siskin (4)
Lesser Goldfinch (10)
Evening Grosbeak (3)
Locations:
1) Yuba Pass (Jun 10)
2) Basset's (Jun 10)
3) YEWA (Jun 10)
4) Yuba Pass (Jun 10)
5) Hwy. 89 (Jun 10)
6) Calpine Corner (Jun 10)
7) Yuba Pass (Jun 10)
8) Hwy. 89 (Jun 10)
9) Dyson Lane (Jun 10)
10) Burn area (Jun 10)
6.15 [SFBirds] Re: FW: [SFBirds] Parula
continues
"Stephen J. Davies" wrote:
>
> I suspected this too. Didn't Parulas nest out on Pt Reyes
some years ago?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harry Fuller [mailto:Harry_Fuller@zd.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 2:24 PM
> To: sdavies@cgl.ucsf.EDU
> Subject: RE: [SFBirds] Parula continues
>
> Kevin says trhere's a female too, possibly mating pair?
A few years ago a
> pair
> of Am Redstarts actually mated and nested at Phipps Ranch
near Pescadero,
> way
> out of their range
>
Way out of their current range, I'd guess.
I don't have Grinnell and Miller
here, but I think NOPA historic range was well up the coast,
much farther than
they did recently. Also, NOPA are more or less regular, though
rare, breeders
in Monterey County, if recollection serves...
Unfortunately, I'd guess that their chances
of success are probably about as
good as the Olive-sided Flycatcher in the wash... :-(
6.16 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] ruddies
I thought small numbers of RUDU breed
in various locations in the Bay Area.
Mark
Harry Fuller wrote:
>
> Hugh, Dan, Alan, anybody: are the baby Ruddy Ducks at south
Merced worthy of
> some kind of write-up? would it be worth "North American
Birds" for example?
6.30 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Increasing numbers of finches
@ Mt. D
Paul Saraceni wrote:
>
> This morning (7:15-8:15) in the fog at Mt. Davidson, I observed
21 Pine
> Siskins and at least 48 Lesser Goldfinches (many juveniles),
my high counts
> for the year for both species. 3 Orange-crowned Warblers
(including 2
> juveniles) continue in the bramble at the Summit.
>
Any idea if this is simply post-breeding dispersal
or possibly the beginning of
a southward movement for these birds?
You can contact me via email.