12.7 [SFBirds] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Palm
Warbler...
I had a few birds of interest this morning. All three scoters
were present
off of the viewing platform at Fort Funston. At the South End
of Lake
Merced, there was a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER foraging along with
a HUTTON'S
VIREO in the hedge row which is west of the parking lot on the
_east_ side
of the concrete bridge. The PALM WARBLER continues at Bercut
and at North
Lake there was an adult accipiter which I judged to be a SHARP-SHINNED
HAWK.
Fort Funston
18 Black Scoter
5 White-winged Scoter
Common Loon
Red-throated Loon
Lake Merced
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hutton's Vireo
Bercut
Palm Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk
North Lake
Steller's Jay
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Wilson's Warbler
12.8 Solano County
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Prairie Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
Long-billed Curlew
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Say's Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Tricolored Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
House Finch
American Goldfinch
12.9 [SFBirds] Juvenile Mew Gull
I forgot to mention on Friday that
I had a juvenile (not first winter) MEW
GULL at Lake Merced. I'm not sure I've seen that plumage before
in
California.
12.11 [SFBirds] Oak Titmouse, White-tailed
Kite
This morning, Brian Fitch refound
the OAK TITMOUSE at Candlestick. I had
made one pass looking for the bird and did not find it, but fortunately
the
bird was still being seen when I returned from my excursion to
the rubble
pile. Also, I had a WHITE-TAILED KITE where the trees end north
of the
parking lot near the bay. It appeared to be an older juvenile,
with white
tips to the scapular and back feathers.
12.11 [SFBirds] Oak Titmouse Description
A small, plump passerine with brownish-gray
upperparts and slightly paler
underparts with a prominent tuft on top of its head. Crested
jays would be
far larger and none have this coloration. Waxwings all show a
prominent
yellow band at the tip of the tail and have much different coloration.
Male
Phainopeplas are all black, while females are almost uniformly
gray with no
brownish coloration.
Thus, we're left with the titmice. Of the
extralimital titmice, Bridled
Titmouse shows a harlequin face and Tufted Timouse has gray upperparts,
paler underparts and rusty or buffy flanks. Juniper Titmouse
is quite
similar to Oak Titmouse, averaging much drabber gray that the
Oak Titmouse.
The prominent and noticeable brownish coloration as well as the
range
distribution prefers OAK TITMOUSE.
12.14 Subject: Re: [GGASConservation] agriculture
and bird conservation
Mark et al . --
The house finch spread involves dispersal,
maybe with evolutionary (i.e.
genetic) change, but maybe not. If they've undergone any rapid
evolution it
would be because they went through a bottleneck in their tiny
founding
population on the East Coast (& before that in captivity
in so. Calif.), or
because they've encountered new selection pressures in the East
vs. the West,
or because right now their mortality is so high due to the conjunctivitis
epidemic. But I'm not sure we can attribute their rapid spread
per se to any
new evolutionary change. For one thing, like many other invasive
species, they
found themselves in the right place at the right time, with some combination of
ready resources and absent predators &
parasites, with a continent laid out
before them to conquer. (Sound a bit like OUR species?) For another,
perhaps
there is something about house finches (they are somewhat nomadic
by nature in
the West) that predisposes them to be good dispersers, such that
they were
"preadapted" to take advantage of their situation once
they were introduced on
the East Coast.
I'd guess that most of the agriculture-using behavior of birds is also a matter of preadaptation, rather than de novo evolution. Those species that eat seeds, that flock together against predators, that have few predators, that are especially cryptic against soil, etc., do well. Geese, sandhill cranes, horned larks, & pipits, for example, share some of these predisposing characteristics.
That said, I have often wondered to what extent
birds are undergoing rapid
evolution to pesticides. Certainly there are well-known cases
of rapid
adaptation to toxins in plants, but I don't know of any similar
work with
birds. Yet when you think about it, birds (esp. farmland birds)
have been
exposed to this widespread danger (& thus strong selective
pressure) very
suddenly within the last half-century, such that susceptible
genotypes MUST
have been eliminated from populations by now, and more-resistant
ones favored.
If this were true I certainly would NOT argue that chemical abuse
is okay now
because birds can deal with it (& I think that because this
would be taboo in
our circles, this is why no one ever brings this topic up). But
I do suspect
that some rather interesting cases of rapid evolution have probably
been going
on for decades right under our noses.
If anyone knows of some literature on evolving
avian resistance to pesticides,
I'd be very interested to hear about it - thanks!
Jay
"Mark W. Eaton" wrote:
> Is it possible that certain species of
avifauna have evolved during the last
> few hundred years during which large-scale agriculture has
been practiced to
> preferentially survive in this modified habitat? There are
other examples
> of relatively short-term evolutionary changes, such as the
House Finches on
> the east coast that have expanded their range westward to
meet the western
> population, but do not interbreed in the overlap region.
This can
> presumably be traced to a relatively short-term evolutionary
modification of
> the eastern population.
12.15 [SFBirds] Birds Today
Mark, Stephen and I birded around the city today and the following
is a
summary of highlights, ( Tropical Kingbird, Swamp Sparrow, Nashville
Warbler, Yellow Warbler, "Slate Colored" Junco ) and
some sightings that may be of
interest to CBC'ers.
Cliff House
Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, 3 loons, Common Murre, 6 Black Oystercatcher
Ocean Beach
Many Sanderling, Willet, 6 Heermann's Gulls, Marbled Godwit
Off last parking lot adjacent to Fort Funston
3 Scoter Sp (many Black Scoter and at least 4 White-winged Scoter)
Lake Merced- Harding Park Entrance and
West side
Yellow Warbler - 1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 4
Nashville Warbler- 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Townsends - 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler - lots
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red Breasted Mereganser - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Parking Lot adjacent to Boathouse Restaurant
Swamp Sparrow - 1
South End of Lake Merced
3rd Winter Herring Gull
12.16
[MBB] Panoche Pass 12.16.01
Stephen Davies, Eric Preston and I
birded Panoche Pass on a gorgeous, nearly
wind-free day on Sunday. Best bird was probably the CASSIN'S
KINGBIRD,
along Panoche Road well west of the fire station. If you need
better (i.e.
chaseable) directions, let me know and I'll try to reconstruct
it from my
notes. VESPER SPARROWs were plentiful with at least 6 seen in
at least
three different locations along Panoche Road and New Idria Road.
MOUNTAIN
BLUEBIRDS were hard to find; we had them only on Little Panoche
Road north
of Mercy Hot Springs. The BLM area off of Little Panoche Road
in Fresno
County had virtually no bird life and combined with almost no
wind was
eerily surreal.
GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
CORMORANTS
Double-crested Cormorant
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Tundra Swan
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
White-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
FALCONS AND CARACARAS
American Kestrel
Merlin
Prairie Falcon
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS
American Coot
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer
SANDPIPERS
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
KINGFISHERS
Belted Kingfisher
WOODPECKERS
Acorn Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Cassin's Kingbird
LARKS
Horned Lark
WAGTAILS AND PIPITS
American Pipit
KINGLETS
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
SILKY-FLYCATCHERS
Phainopepla
MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS
Northern Mockingbird
THRUSHES
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
OLD WORLD WARBLERS
Wrentit
LONG-TAILED TITS
Bushtit
CHICKADEES AND TITS
Oak Titmouse
SHRIKES
Loggerhead Shrike
CROWS AND JAYS
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
STARLINGS
European Starling
WOOD WARBLERS
Yellow-rumped Warbler
SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS
Spotted Towhee
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
Purple Finch
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow
////---- STATISTICS ----/////
Species seen - 75
12.17 SFBirds Reference Site
I'm going to school at SFSU, majoring
in Geography. I had to do a project for my class in Biogeography
(what lives where and why). The assignment was to tell the Natural
History story of any species that lives in California. My professor,
gives this assignment every time she teaches the class and is
progressively building a web site of everyone's work. I chose
the Great Egret. My paper is on a web site, and I wonder if you
think this is something appropriate to post on SFBirds.
You can use this link to check my work out.
http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/Fall01%20projects/gEgretWeb.htm
You can check out other projects here:
http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/316/final_projects_index.htm
http://bss.sfsu.edu/geog/bholzman/courses/316/finalprojectsF01.htm
It was a lot of work but very rewarding. I look forward to your comments!
12.22
Southwestern United States
Highlights of our trip to the southwest
include:
SNOW GOOSE "Blue morph" at Bosque
del Apache, NWR, NM (Dec 31)
BALD EAGLE at Bosque del Apache, NWR, NM (Dec 31)
NORTHERN GOSHAWK at South Fork Cave Creek, Chiricahaus, AZ (Dec
29)
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE at Cedar Crest, NM (Jan 04)
RUDDY
GROUND-DOVE at Paton's, Patagonia, AZ (Dec 28)
BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD at Paton's, Patagonia, AZ (Dec 28)
BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (3) at Spofford's, Portal, AZ (Dec
30)
EASTERN BLUEBIRD at Onion Saddle, Chiricahaus, AZ (Dec 29)
RUSTY BLACKBIRD at Costco Parking Lot, Santa Barbara, CA (Dec
24)
All three ROSY FINCHES at Sandia Crest, NM (Jan 04)
and four Bighorn Sheep in Anza Borrego.
138 bird species seen:
Pied-billed Grebe (53)
Eared Grebe (13)
American White Pelican (13)
Brown Pelican (2)
Double-crested Cormorant (13, 34)
Great Blue Heron (13, 34, 56)
Great Egret (34)
Turkey Vulture (60)
Snow Goose (34, 53)
Ross's Goose (34)
Canada Goose (34)
Gadwall (34)
Mallard (34)
Northern Shoveler (34)
Northern Pintail (34)
Green-winged Teal (34)
Bufflehead (34)
Hooded Merganser (34)
Common Merganser (34)
Ruddy Duck (53, 56)
Bald Eagle (34)
Northern Harrier (15, 24, 34)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (4)
Cooper's Hawk (34, 53)
Northern Goshawk (26)
Red-shouldered Hawk (4)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, 34)
Ferruginous Hawk (14, 46)
American Kestrel (1, 34)
Merlin (10)
Prairie Falcon (5, 17, 47)
Gambel's Quail (12, 28, 32, 50)
American Coot (34)
Sandhill Crane (34)
Killdeer (14, 23)
American Avocet (53)
Greater Yellowlegs (34)
Long-billed Dowitcher (34)
Heermann's Gull (2)
Ring-billed Gull (13, 59)
California Gull (2, 13)
Herring Gull (2, 34)
Western Gull (2)
Caspian Tern (13)
Rock Dove (2, 40)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (39)
White-winged Dove (19, 31)
Mourning Dove (19)
Inca Dove (19)
Common Ground-Dove (16, 20)
Ruddy Ground-Dove (20)
Greater Roadrunner (34)
Broad-billed Hummingbird (20)
Blue-throated Hummingbird (28)
Anna's Hummingbird (4, 20)
Costa's Hummingbird (8, 12)
Belted Kingfisher (34)
Lewis's Woodpecker (35, 48)
Acorn Woodpecker (2, 19, 28)
Gila Woodpecker (19, 23, 26)
Red-naped Sapsucker (21, 26)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (20, 21, 32)
Hairy Woodpecker (26, 44, 56)
Arizona Woodpecker (21, 26, 28)
Northern Flicker (19, 26, 44)
Gray Flycatcher (11, 23)
Black Phoebe (2, 9, 13, 34)
Say's Phoebe (6, 7, 49, 53)
Cassin's Kingbird (4)
Loggerhead Shrike (8, 29, 34, 51)
Hutton's Vireo (26)
Steller's Jay (38, 55)
Western Scrub-Jay (4)
Mexican Jay (21, 26)
Clark's Nutcracker (56)
Black-billed Magpie (35, 56)
Yellow-billed Magpie (61)
American Crow (2, 33, 34)
Chihuahuan Raven (30)
Common Raven (6)
Horned Lark (22)
Mountain Chickadee (37, 38, 43, 55)
Bridled Titmouse (20, 26, 28)
Juniper Titmouse (42, 43)
Verdin (7, 8, 12, 48)
White-breasted Nuthatch (26, 37, 46)
Pygmy Nuthatch (44)
Brown Creeper (26)
Cactus Wren (8, 28)
Rock Wren (8, 22)
Bewick's Wren (4, 8, 23, 28, 57)
Marsh Wren (53, 58)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (55)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (11, 26, 28, 34, 54)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (12)
Eastern Bluebird (27)
Western Bluebird (8, 9, 12, 36, 42, 43)
Townsend's Solitaire (41, 45)
Hermit Thrush (26)
American Robin (28, 56)
Wrentit (60)
Northern Mockingbird (4)
Curve-billed Thrasher (20, 28)
European Starling (4)
American Pipit (4, 49)
Phainopepla (11, 12, 18)
Orange-crowned Warbler (20)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (4, 8, 19)
Townsend's Warbler (4)
Common Yellowthroat (4)
Tanager sp. (4)
Spotted Towhee (8, 28, 57)
Canyon Towhee (18, 28, 29)
California Towhee 
(8)
Abert's Towhee (20)
Chipping Sparrow (19, 23, 29, 31, 32, 34)
Lark Sparrow (9, 23)
Black-throated Sparrow (8, 29)
Sage Sparrow (12, 49)
Lark Bunting (24)
White-crowned Sparrow (4, 19, 28, 34)
Dark-eyed Junco (28, 30, 35, 38, 41, 44, 57)
Yellow-eyed Junco (28)
Northern Cardinal (19)
Pyrrhuloxia (19)
Lazuli Bunting (20)
Red-winged Blackbird (9, 19, 34)
Western Meadowlark (22, 34)
Rusty Blackbird (3)
Brewer's Blackbird (3, 9, 25, 34)
Great-tailed Grackle (14, 19, 34, 52)
Brown-headed Cowbird (3)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (38)
Black Rosy-Finch (38)
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (38)
House Finch (2, 9)
Pine Siskin (28)
House Sparrow (3)
Non-bird species:
Bighorn Sheep (8)
Javelina (25)
Coyote (43, 53)
Locations:
1) US101 south of San Jose (Dec 22)
2) Santa Barbara, CA (Dec 23)
3) Costco Parking Lot, Santa Barbara, CA (Dec 24)
4) UCSB (Dec 24)
5) near Julian, CA (Dec 24)
6) Borrego Springs. CA (Dec 25)
7) Visitor Center, Anza Borrego, CA (Dec 25)
8) Palm Canyon Nature Trail, Anza Borrego, CA (Dec 25)
9) Borrego Springs Road (Dec 25)
10) Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, CA (Dec 25)
11) North end of Yaqui Pass Road, Borrego Springs, CA (Dec 25)
12) Yaqui Well, Anza Borrego, CA (Dec 26)
13) Salton Beach, CA (Dec 26)
14) Blythe, CA (Dec 26)
15) I10, Western AZ (Dec 26)
16) Tempe, AZ (Dec 27)
17) I10 south of Tucson (Dec 27)
18) AZ83 (Dec 27)
19) Paton's, Patagonia, AZ (Dec 27)
20) Paton's, Patagonia, AZ (Dec 28)
21) Harshaw Canyon Road, AZ (Dec 28)
22) Bog Hole WMA, AZ (Dec 28)
23) Fairbank, AZ (Dec 28)
24) NM80 south of Rodeo (Dec 28)
25) Stateline Road, AZ/NM (Dec 28)
26) South Fork Cave Creek, Chiricahaus, AZ (Dec 29)
27) Onion Saddle, Chiricahaus, AZ (Dec 29)
28) Spofford's, Portal, AZ (Dec 30)
29) Portal Road, AZ (Dec 30)
30) NM90 northeast of Silver City, NM (Dec 30)
31) Hlllsboro, NM (Dec 30)
32) Curchillo, NM (Dec 30)
33) Socorro, NM (Dec 31)
34) Bosque del Apache NWR, NM (Dec 31)
35) Chimayo, NM (Jan 02)
36) NM76 (Jan 02)
37) Santa Fe, NM (Jan 04)
38) Sandia Crest, NM (Jan 04)
39) Cedar Crest, NM (Jan 04)
40) Gallup, NM (Jan 05)
41) Canyon de Chelly, AZ (Jan 05)
42) Canyon de Chelly, AZ (Jan 06)
43) Grand Canyon, AZ (Jan 07)
44) Grand Canyon, AZ (Jan 08)
45) Walnut Canyon, AZ (Jan 08)
46) Chino Valley, AZ (Jan 09)
47) US95 north of Las Vegas, NV (Jan 09)
48) Furnace Creek, Death Valley, CA (Jan 10)
49) Salt Springs, Death Valley, CA (Jan 10)
50) Rhyolite, NV (Jan 10)
51) Leadville, Death Valley, CA (Jan 10)
52) Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley, CA (Jan 10)
53) Furnace Creek, Death Valley, CA (Jan 11)
54) China Garden, Death Valley, CA (Jan 11)
55) Lee Vining, CR (Jan 12)
56) Mono County Park, Lee Vining, CA (Jan 12)
57) Pop's Place, Lee Vining, CA (Jan 12)
58) DeChambeau Ponds, Lee Vining, CA (Jan 12)
59) Gardiner, NV (Jan 12)
60) Grass Valley, CA (Jan 13)
61) Sacramento, CA (Jan 13)
You can contact me via email.