From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Sun May 30 12:57:08 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i4UJt0iv026642 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 30 May 2004 12:55:01 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mms3.broadcom.com (mms3.broadcom.com [63.70.210.38]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i4UJrhcu026563 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 30 May 2004 12:53:44 -0700 (PDT) Received: from 63.70.210.1 by mms3.broadcom.com with ESMTP (Broadcom SMTP Relay (MMS v5.6.0)); Sun, 30 May 2004 12:53:11 -0700 X-Server-Uuid: 8D569F9F-42CF-4602-970D-AACC4BD5D310 Received: from mail-sjcw-3.sw.broadcom.com (mail-sjcw-3.sw.broadcom.com [10.20.128.23]) by mon-irva-11.broadcom.com (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id MAA25813 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 30 May 2004 12:52: 36 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail-sjcw-1.broadcom.com (mail-sjcw-1.sw.broadcom.com [10.20.128.21]) by mail-sjcw-3.sw.broadcom.com (8.12.9/8.12.9/SSM3) with ESMTP id i4UJrBkp006104 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 30 May 2004 12:53:11 -0700 (PDT) Received: from pc2kmikem (dhcpe1-sjcw-254 [10.20.64.254]) by mail-sjcw-1.broadcom.com (8.12.9/8.12.4/SSM) with SMTP id i4UJrAku005163 for <[[email protected]]>; Sun, 30 May 2004 12:53:11 -0700 (PDT) From: "Mike Mammoser" <[[email protected]]> To: SBB <[[email protected]]> Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 12:53:10 -0700 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 V6.00.2800.1165 Importance: Normal X-WSS-ID: 6CA4E42D1LW5634026-01-01 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: [SBB] : 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]] On Saturday, 29 May 04, I went down to Llagas Creek, where I walked the west levee out towards the Gilroy Sewer Plant. At the first pond (dried up) from Bloomfield I had an immature Intermediate (or Rufous) Morph SWAINSON'S HAWK circling low overhead. The underwing linings on this bird were a pale whitish to cream color, uniformly speckled with dark spots. The underwing flight feathers were grayish, blending to black at the feather tips. The brown head shrouded a white strip of a throat. The upper breast was dark brown, breaking into ribbons of streaks on the lower breast. The rest of the underparts were whitish to cream in color. The tail was brown above with many thin darker bands. The underside of the tail was pale with dusky bands; a lighter version of the uppertail pattern showing through. A slightly thicker subterminal band was noted on the tail when it was closed, but generally disappeared as the tail was spread. The upperside of the bird was generally brown, but a thin white band crossed the rump at the lower end of the uppertail coverts. This bird circled higher overhead and eventually move over to the east side of the creek, where it dove out of sight behind the trees. In a minute or two, it rose back into the air. As I watched it in my binoculars, another raptor dove on it, which turned out to be, surprisingly, another SWAINSON'S HAWK. Though at a further distance and a poorer light, this bird looked to be an adult. It had a couple primaries missing in the left wing, showing a gap there. They had a dogfight for about 30 seconds before breaking off; the second bird circling away to the southeast, while the first one returned to the west side of the creek and back overhead again. Here, it got into a tussle with a RED-TAILED HAWK and the structural differences between these species were easily noted, especially the slightly larger size of the Swainson's with its longer, thinner, and more pointed wings. A pair of WHITE-TAILED KITES has a nest in the willows west of the creek, just before the first dried out pond. A male NORTHERN HARRIER circled overhead carrying a food item, but it just continued climbing higher and I eventually got tired of watching it, so didn't see if there was any exchange with a female. Back on the ponds, there were many broods of MALLARDS about, but no breeding evidence of other species. I had 10 CINNAMON TEAL, only 2 of which were females. Perhaps other females are on eggs at the moment. A single male WOOD DUCK was also in the pond. Along the creek I heard a few singing YELLOW WARBLERS. At one point I had a group of 6 of these birds foraging in the willows in close proximity to each other. One of the birds was an adult male and another looked like an adult female. The rest were female/immature, with some being quite dull. They went about their business in complete silence - not a peep (or chip) out of them. I watched for some minutes without seeing any begging or feeding, but it's hard to imagine that this was anything other than a fledged family group. A single ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER was working the edge of the levee, likely a dispersant bird. A number of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS were around, with singing going on as well (they must be breeding here). Other breeding observations include a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT carrying food, a DOWNY WOODPECKER carrying food, and recently fledged SONG SPARROWS. On the way out I saw an adult GREEN HERON fly up the creek, and when I passed the spot where it flew from, I heard another calling. So, I headed back to the point from which these sounds emanated, only to flush a second adult heron. Scanning the tree from which it came produced a juvenile bird sitting in the branches, still with some strands of natal down on its crown. No sign of a nest in the tree, but this bird hadn't come far. Later, I checked along Coyote Creek near Coyote Ranch Park. Here, I found a COMMON MOORHEN in the marsh with 2 precocial young. A pair of adult YELLOW WARBLERS was quietly foraging here as well, probably local breeders. At least 2 GREEN HERONS were along the creek. 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]]