From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Mon Dec 6 17:08:13 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id iB715KlG007958 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 6 Dec 2004 17:05:21 -0800 (PST) Received: from pop-a065d14.pas.sa.earthlink.net (pop-a065d14.pas.sa.earthlink.net [207.217.121.252]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id iB714lYK007917 for <[[email protected]]>; Mon, 6 Dec 2004 17:04:47 -0800 (PST) Received: from user-vcaulaf.dsl.mindspring.com ([216.175.85.79] helo=pavilion.earthlink.net) by pop-a065d14.pas.sa.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 1CbTmW-0005be-00 for [[email protected]]; Mon, 06 Dec 2004 17:04:45 -0800 Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.2.1 Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2004 17:06:39 -0800 To: [[email protected]] From: Bill Bousman <[[email protected]]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Subject: [SBB] Red Crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatches (Henry Coe SP) X-BeenThere: [[email protected]] X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5b1 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]] Folks: This morning, 12/6/2004, I drove down to Henry Coe SP to see the recent specialties there. On the drive up past Anderson Reservoir, an OSPREY was perched along the east side (coming back, it was feeding on a nice fish). At Coe I walked up the Monument Trail to the first intersection, then out the Ponderosa Trail to do the Vista Loop, and then walked towards Frog Lake a bit before turning back. I counted 18 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES mostly in yellow pines and fairly evenly distributed. The RED CROSSBILLS were in small flocks and patchily distributed. At the end of my walk I counted one group with at least 40 birds, but for most of the time they were not to be seen. When I finally did obtain good looks, they were near the Coe Monument. My hopes of a trifecta were doomed when I did not find any Pygmy Nuthatches. I also did not encounter any Golden-crowned Kingets or Pine Siskins. Although mostly speculative, it is worth commenting on the recent invasion of montane species at Coe. As David Suddjian has not noticed any recent changes in resident Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches in the Santa Cruz Mountains, it is likely that all of these Diablo Range birds are from the Sierra Nevada or mountain ranges further north or east (this is probably the case for all our montane invasions). In the Sierras, montane birds may move downslope to the yellow pine belt when the weather is severe or food resources are poor. Did these birds show up at Coe in yellow pines following the late October storms in the Sierra? Or did something else send them out of range? Without regular observations it is impossible to know. Were the Pygmy Nuthatches of the Sierran subspecies rather than the coastal subspecies? And what of the crossbills? There are eight "types" (possibly full species) in North America and four of these occasionally show up in California. In the breeding season, they separate based on food trees, but in winter they may use any food resource. In the 1984-1985 invasion, four types were found locally (based on specimens and sound recordings), but in 1996-1997 only type 2 birds were found. If anyone encounters a specimen, be sure to save it in a plastic bag and put in your freezer. That goes for either the Pygmy Nuthatches or the crossbills. What of other Sierran birds? This would be the spot to find an out-of-range Mountain Chickadee or White-headed Woodpecker. Bill _______________________________________________ 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]]