From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Mon Mar 31 18:31:58 2003 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.8/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h312RAit014168 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:27:11 -0800 (PST) Received: from mms3.broadcom.com (mms3.broadcom.com [63.70.210.38]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.8/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h312QRZQ014131 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:26:29 -0800 (PST) Received: from 63.70.210.1 by mms3.broadcom.com with ESMTP (Broadcom MMS1 SMTP Relay (MMS v5.5.0)); Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:26:28 -0700 Received: from mail-sjcw-1.sw.broadcom.com (mail-sjcw-1.sw.broadcom.com [10.20.128.21]) by mon-irva-11.broadcom.com (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id SAA01245 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:26: 06 -0800 (PST) Received: from pc2kmikem (dhcpe1-sjcw-254 [10.20.64.254]) by mail-sjcw-1.sw.broadcom.com (8.12.4/8.12.4/SSM) with SMTP id h312QKVE020853 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:26:21 -0800 (PST) From: "Mike Mammoser" <[[email protected]]> To: SBB <[[email protected]]> Subject: RE: [SBB] Bushtit nesting (thanks for input!) Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:26:19 -0800 Message-ID: <[[email protected]]> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4910.0300 Importance: Normal In-Reply-To: <001801c2f634$dd6f8200$[[email protected]]> X-WSS-ID: 1296275E1534574-01-01 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1+ 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]] > -----Original Message----- > From: Garth Harwood > Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 12:51 PM > > Thanks to everyone who responded to my recent posting from Hidden > Villa in which I wondered about the degree of Bushtits' > dependence on oak trees for nesting. About a dozen respondents > assured me that they do often nest in other vegetation, even, in > one case, poison oak vines on a wall! Eucalyptus and Coyote Bush > were the other plants most often cited as alternate nesting > sites, although there does seem to be an especially strong link > to Live Oaks and Ceanothus. I believe that Bushtit is much more of a generalist than the above statements imply. Certainly, live oak trees are good nesting substrates. They are large, densely-leaved evergreens, providing nice clumps of leaves year round to hide nests in; especially early in the season when other trees have yet to leaf-out. However, utilizing a good nesting substrate where it occurs is not the same thing as being dependent upon it, or even strongly linked to it. Bushtits are widely distributed as breeders in Santa Clara County, occurring in virtually all habitats - with or without live oaks. Of the 165 5-square kilometer breeding bird blocks in the county (as established by the Santa Clara County Breeding Bird Atlas), Bushtits were found during the breeding season in 163 of them, missing in only 2 Bayside blocks composed mainly of salicornia and mudflats, and were confirmed as breeders in over 92% of them. This distribution pattern closely mirrors that of other generalist species, such as Western Scrub Jay and California Towhee. In contrast, the breeding distribution of Hutton's Vireo, a species generally accepted as a live oak dependent, is much different. It is most highly concentrated in the Santa Cruz Mountain foothills, where live oaks are quite abundant; more scattered in the Diablo range, where live oaks are less concentrated; and virtually absent from the Bayside, the urban valley floor, and a good portion of the south county agricultural valley. I don't claim to have a complete list of nesting substrates used by Bushtits, but I suspect it's greater than so far indicated. They are common in riparian areas, and I can't imagine them not using riparian vegetation. Also, their presence in the urban valley suggests a willingness to use ornamental trees and shrubs as well. Mike Mammoser _______________________________________________ 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]]