From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Wed Jun 2 11:49:10 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i52Ik2it008954 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Jun 2004 11:46:02 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail07e.vwh1.net (mail07e.vwh1.net [207.201.152.78]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with SMTP id i52Ij1cu008906 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 2 Jun 2004 11:45:01 -0700 (PDT) Received: from www.hiddenvilla.org (209.238.180.140) by mail07e.vwh1.net (RS ver 1.0.94vs) with SMTP id 0-050911895; Wed, 2 Jun 2004 14:44:56 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <007c01c448d1$3c99e5a0$[[email protected]]> From: "Garth Harwood" <[[email protected]]> To: "SBB" <[[email protected]]> Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004 11:41:35 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 X-Loop-Detect: 1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.5b1 Cc: [[email protected]], [[email protected]] Subject: [SBB] Hidden Villa & area birds this week - Swainson's Thrush etc. 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]] Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by plaidworks.com id i52Ik2it008954 All, I have been having a good time "hanging out in Vireoville" along the Artemas Ginzton path in Los Altos Hills, right across Moody Rd. from Hidden Villa. All three local vireos are breeding in there. Several times this week I have had the pleasure of seeing and/or hearing them all from the same stance. On Monday 5/31/04 I spent two hours attempting to confirm breeding of Cassin's Vireo, succeeding finally when I watched a silent bird beat the daylights out of a large fuzzy grey caterpillar for a couple of minutes before carrying it off (I did not see where to). It was amusing to see the CAVI lay the pulped caterpillar on a large branch and cock its head to and fro looking for further signs of life before picking it up for transport. While I waited for that spectacle to unfold I was lucky enough to see a pair of Warbling Vireos deliver food to a nest in the tip of a sprawling Bay Laurel branch. And a very active male Black-throated Gray Warbler concentrated much activity at the top of an oak just a few yards away. His activity strongly suggested the presence of a nest, but I could not confirm that; my neck got too sore. Maybe next time. All of the above took place approximately 100 yards west of the western boundary of the Byrne Preserve, along the small tributary of Adobe Creek which parallels Moody Ct. On the way in, one family group each of Wilson's Warblers and Orange-crowned Warblers were feeding fledglings (both of these first observed by Josh Bennett and I on Friday 5/28). On the way out Monday, I was astonished to hear the water-drop call note of a Swainson's Thrush, and might've hesitated to conclude that ID except that the bird itself popped into view a moment later. Meanwhile, on the Hidden Villa property, I was finally able to locate the nest of this year's Western Tanagers. The nest is plainly visible from below, in a high-traffic area of the farm, in a bigleaf maple tree which overhangs a small "duck pond" next to the big white barn. They nested in this tree two or three seasons back as well. The male bird is very quiet. It was difficult to hear him even when he sang directly above me. He was carrying food to the nest on Friday 5/28 and again on 6/1. Two broods of Calif Quail were following parents around the farm on 5/26. Both sets of precocial young (one of 5, the other of 10) were in the fuzzy-walnut-with-legs stage. On Thursday 5/27 I took advantage of a slow workday and bushwhacked to the top of Black Mtn. from the farm via the upper drainages of Adobe Creek. The birding was very slow in the upper watershed but I did encounter one singing Winter Wren at the powerline crossing, and a pair of agitated Hairy Woodpeckers there as well. Brown Creepers were carrying food at points perhaps one-quarter-mile below the powerline xing and 1/2 mile above. Botanically, I was surprised to find many small California Nutmeg evergreens in the understory, mainly under a Bay Laurel canopy. On the downhill stretch I took the Black Mtn. Trail hoping to hear and/or see Mtn. Quail - no dice - but a couple of Vaux's Swifts winged by, and Blue-grey Gnatcatchers were heard at 8 separate points. --Garth Harwood _______________________________________________ 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]]