From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Tue Jul 29 14:36:26 2003 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id h6TLXuFg010271 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 29 Jul 2003 14:33:57 -0700 (PDT) Received: from imo-r02.mx.aol.com (imo-r02.mx.aol.com [152.163.225.98]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id h6TLXHkK010225 for <[[email protected]]>; Tue, 29 Jul 2003 14:33:18 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [[email protected]] by imo-r02.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v36_r1.1.) id r.16a.220360be (17228); Tue, 29 Jul 2003 17:33:05 -0400 (EDT) From: [[email protected]] Message-ID: <[[email protected]]> Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 17:33:05 EDT To: [[email protected]], [[email protected]] MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: 6.0 sub 10581 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.2+ Cc: Subject: [SBB] Portola, Skyline, Montebello, Foothills Park X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2+ 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]] An extended trip from the afternoon of 7/27 to late morning on 7/29 took me to these spots, with most of my time spent in Portola Redwoods SP for continuing surveys there. An EASTERN KINGBIRD was along Skyline Blvd on 7/27. I first saw it on the Montebello OSP side of the road (in SCL) across from the parking lot near Horseshoe Lake. As I watched it flew across the road into the Christmas tree farm in Skyline Ridge OSP (in SM). I looked for it again on 7/28 and 7/29, but it was not in evidence. I believe it was a juvenile, but I could not view it especially closely. VAUX'S SWIFTS are indeed nesting in the chimney at the park HQ building in Portola SP. I saw/heard adults making feeding visits on each day, 7/27-29. As previously posted to Pen-Birds, I had found no evidence of nesting activity in the chimney on June 24-27, and on my visit on July 9-11 I only heard the begging young once in spite of a good deal of watching over several periods. I conclude that the nest probably had eggs with incubating adults on my visit in late June, and so confirming the presence of a nest then would have been hard. After the young hatch, sometimes long intervals between feeding visits, when the begging young were obvious, meant patience and lots of mosquito swatting to wait for the arrival of the adult to reveal the active nest. It is very cool to watch an adult plummet into the chimney. They usually appear over the building and fly back and forth 2-3 times before entering the chimney. Then they just aim straight down and in they go! The exit from the chimney was always to the west on the same route through the understory trees, right over to Pescadero Creek. In 2002 I visited on four days in late June and saw no activity in the chimney and concluded they were apparently not nesting, but now I think they might have been nesting then after all. So, the "traditional" nest site continues to be used in fine tradition. On the present late July trip I saw only individual swifts flying around in the vicinity of HQ, and did not see any elsewhere in the park. There were 3 or 4 PILEATED WOODPECKERS evident in the vicinity of the Portola HQ and the main campground on all dates from this trip, including some excellent views of a male feeding in a tan oak snag beside the HQ on 7/28. Toward dusk on 7/28 I saw one flying very high over the campground (about 3 times the height of the trees), giving "wuk....wuk...wuk" calls as it went. That was pretty neat. On all dates they were most vocal in the last few hours of the day. A male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was along the Iverson Trail in Portola on 7/29. It was in the area with lots of equisetum and snag trees, where the trail heads toward Tiptoe Falls. A family of three begging COOPER'S HAWKS was along Iverson Trail northwest of Park HQ on 7/28. A WOOD DUCK was along the Pescadero Creek at the northwest Iverson Trail crossing on 7/29. An AMERICAN DIPPER was along Peter's Creek at the north end of the Lower Escape Road on 7/28. On 7/28 I went to Foothills Park in Palo Alto and hiked much of the Los Trancos Trail. I found a male PILEATED WOODPECKER along Los Trancos Creek, near where the trail begins to climb out from the creek. It was on both the SCL and SM sides of the creek. Also interesting in the same area was a HERMIT THRUSH on the SCL side of the creek. It gave a few of its "wheeze" calls, and I had some decent looks as it foraged on the ground. I'm not sure what to make of that bird. I do not think they nest there, and they do not nest in that forest type anywhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains (as far as I know). On the other hand, I've never seen any evidence of local S. C. Mtns breeders dispersing in late summer out of their breeding habitat. Still, I suppose that is the best explanation. Seems way too early for a true migrant from afar. David Suddjian Capitola, CA [[email protected]] _______________________________________________ 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]]