From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Thu May 20 20:16:41 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i4L3EoUw003666 for <[[email protected]]>; Thu, 20 May 2004 20:14:50 -0700 (PDT) Received: from smtp2.Stanford.EDU (smtp2.stanford.edu [171.67.16.125]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i4L3CkD6003613 for <[[email protected]]>; Thu, 20 May 2004 20:12:46 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [10.0.1.2] (KSmith-pbdsl2.Stanford.EDU [171.66.208.19]) by smtp2.Stanford.EDU (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i4L3ChuJ002711 for <[[email protected]]>; Thu, 20 May 2004 20:12:44 -0700 Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Sender: [[email protected]] Message-Id: Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 20:12:41 -0700 To: [[email protected]] From: "Kendric C. Smith" <[[email protected]]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.5b1 Subject: [SBB] S. C. Co. Bird List for April 2004 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]] Bill Bousman Writes: The composite list had a nice jump in April, from 217 to 236. We normally expect a decent increase in April, but this month not only had an increase in the regular expected species, but also some of the unexpected 5s and 6s. All in all, it was good month. First, I need to clean up March. We had a CASSIN'S VIREO (heard) on 28 Mar and that brought the March total to 217 not 216. In April, we had five of our 2s--these are our expected species. Both OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER and ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER were found on 3 Apr. Both a bit early, but not abnormally so. A LAZULI BUNTING was found on 9 Apr and a WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE was seen on 10 Apr. RED-NECKED PHALAROPE rounded out the 2s, although they are much less common in spring than in late summer. For the 3s, a CHIPPING SPARROW showed up at a feeder in Milpitas on 1 Apr. COMMON POORWILLs were heard at Monte Bello on 17 Apr and the first SWAINSON'S THRUSH of the season was banded at the Coyote Creek Field Station on 21 Apr. MOUNTAIN QUAIL were heard on the east slopes of Black Mountain on 12 Apr. This is one of our rarest 4s. For a while, it seemed that BLUE GROSBEAKs might be becoming more regular, but the one along Coyote Creek below Hwy 237 this spring has been the only one found. A MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER was seen at Smiths Creek on 21 Apr. Someone seems to always find a migrant each spring, but it is not easy. The 5s are a tougher crowd, but we did fairly well in April. A CASSIN'S KINGBIRD was seen at Joseph Grant CP on 10 Apr. This is another species we thought might become easier, as they nested near the San Benito border for a few years, but it still remains a significant rarity. Two SWAINSON'S HAWKS were seen on a Big Day on 17 Apr, but the bigger story is that multiple birds were found later in the month and in May--this looks to be the biggest spring showing in half a century for this hawk that is regularly found in the Central Valley, but rarely in the coast ranges. YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were again found in the Alviso area on 17 Apr, perhaps attracted to the horse boarding area at the Arzino Ranch or the remnant freshwater marsh there. This seems to be a regular pattern, but not clearly understood. Birds were seen in the vicinity into May. A singing YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was found at Sierra and Felter roads on 24 Apr. Later, birds were found at more typical locations. This has always been a special bird locally, and its ability to succeed under the intense Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism it has suffered over the last 80 years has been a continuing source of amazement to us, as we've lost the Willow Flycatcher, Swainson's Thrush, and Wilson's Warbler to this parasite. To wrap up the 5s, a male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD was found on another Big Day on 25 Apr at Calero CP. What a find! The big story for April is, of course, the 6s. A BLACK-HEADED GULL was found in the drying ponds at the San Jose-Santa Clara WPCP on 6 Apr. A few people who followed up the report immediately got to see this mega-rarity, but the rest of us were left to stand on the nearby dike and socialize with our good birding buddies over the next few days and commiserate on what we did not see. Another Big Day bird was an adult LAPLAND LONGSPUR at the Sierra Road summit on 17 Apr. This birds was completely unexpected as we never thought we would see a longspur so late in the spring! Then what to think when a CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR was found in a closed area of the the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge on 22 Apr? Amazing! The complete list is posted on: South Bay Birders Unlimited (SBBU) http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/ -- Kendric C. Smith, Ph.D. 927 Mears Court Stanford, CA 94305-1041 (650) 493-7210 (voice or fax) [[email protected]] http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/ _______________________________________________ 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]]