From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun Dec 29 18:58:11 2002 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gBU2uePN025429 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 29 Dec 2002 18:56:40 -0800 (PST) Received: from rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (rtjones.nas.nasa.gov [129.99.19.30]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.6/8.12.2) with ESMTP id gBU2u13Y025390 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 29 Dec 2002 18:56:01 -0800 (PST) Received: (from mrogers@localhost) by rtjones.nas.nasa.gov (SGI-8.9.3/8.9.3/NAS 8.9.3-5n) id SAA27318 for [[email protected]]; Sun, 29 Dec 2002 18:56:00 -0800 (PST) Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2002 18:56:00 -0800 (PST) From: "Dr. Michael M. Rogers" <[[email protected]]> Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> To: [[email protected]] Subject: [SBB] Brandt's Cormorant, south county X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1rc1+ Precedence: list List-Id: South Bay Birding List-Unsubscribe: , List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Errors-To: south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] All, After receiving a message about the Brandt's Cormorant at Los Gatos Creek Park today 12/29/02, I headed out to that location. Still standing at the northeast corner of the pond was the immature BRANDT'S CORMORANT. I got what should be great pictures of it at 11:30am, before deciding to circle the northernmost pond. Thanks Roland and Pat for Santa Clara County year bird #260! The gull flock held small numbers of some interesting species, including 6+ HERRING GULLS, 6+ GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, 4 THAYER'S GULLS, and 2 adult MEW GULLS. One of the adult THAYER'S GULLS had a pure yellow eye (but all the other field marks of a pure Thayer's Gull). Sibley states that up to 10% of Thayer's Gulls can show this, but it seems of rarer occurrence to me. Looking over the next pond south just after noon, I found another immature PACIFIC LOON. This one was bigger billed, darker on the nape, and had a less crisp demarcation between the light and dark at the rear of the auriculars than the Parkway Lakes bird. On the way back around the northernmost pond I could not relocate the Brandt's Cormorant. Jack Cole arrived as I was departing and did manage to refind it after I left though. I next decided to make a quick check of the south county. A real surprise seen from southbound 101 was an adult BROWN PELICAN at Parkway Lakes in with several AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS. I believe that this would have been a new bird for the count if it had been there yesterday (still a nice count week bird!). I drove Bloomfield Road from west to east, hoping for a Rough-legged Hawk, but having to be content with a PRAIRIE FALCON. Lots of other raptors here. A big flock of 72+ AMERICAN PIPITS failed to produce any larks or longspurs... and all 5 SHRIKES were LOGGERHEADS :( Several hundred CANADA GEESE were winging their way northwest in groups of various sizes, but no other geese were buried among them. An immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was perched at the east end of the road. Along San Felipe Road off highway 152 I was treated to great views of a sitting adult male "PRAIRIE" MERLIN. Down by the three eucalyptus trees a single ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was with many RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Many DARK-EYED JUNCOS and a few CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES seemed out-of-place in this habitat but have been here before. Even more surprising were at least 2 or 3 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS in the pines along the road down by the bridge at the county line. No sign of any Cassin's Kingbirds though. I decided to take the Monterey Highway on the way home in order to check again for the Brown Pelican. An OSPREY was eating a fish atop a tree just north of Coyote Ranch Road. Six AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were still at Parkway Lakes, along with the immature PACIFIC LOON from the day before, but the Brown Pelican was gone. A quick stop at Cottonwood Lake allowed me to get some close photos of the immature GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE there. Mike Rogers _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. south-bay-birds mailing list ([[email protected]]) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://www.plaidworks.com/mailman/options/south-bay-birds/south-bay-birds-archive%40plaidworks.com This email sent to [[email protected]]