From south-bay-birds-bounces+south-bay-birds-archive=[[email protected]] Wed Sep 8 11:49:30 2004 Received: from www.plaidworks.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i88IlBwS019099 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:47:12 -0700 (PDT) Received: from conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net (conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net [207.217.120.54]) by plaidworks.com (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id i88IjA1c019036 for <[[email protected]]>; Wed, 8 Sep 2004 11:45:10 -0700 (PDT) Received: from user-vcaun0h.dsl.mindspring.com ([216.175.92.17] helo=pavilion.earthlink.net) by conure.mail.pas.earthlink.net with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 1C57RJ-0006vy-00; Wed, 08 Sep 2004 11:45:06 -0700 Message-Id: <[[email protected]]> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.2.1 Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 11:53:20 -0700 To: Alvaro Jaramillo <[[email protected]]>, [[email protected]] From: Bill Bousman <[[email protected]]> Subject: Re: [SBB] Roadrunner in Alviso! In-Reply-To: <[[email protected]]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Cc: 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]] At 06:19 PM 9/7/04, Alvaro Jaramillo wrote: >Birders > > Maybe Janet's e-mail is stuck somewhere as I did not see it go > through. But Janet Hanson spotted a Greater Roadrunner outside of the > SFBBO trailer in Alviso today! We all got to see the bird, and distant > photos were taken. I can't think of a Roadrunner being seen down in the > valley since I have been around, Bill are there recent precedents for > this amazing observation? > >Al > >Alvaro Jaramillo Folks: SBB hung up on undigestible spam (of course), which is why there has been a recent flood of messages. Once upon a time, roadrunners nested on the flatlands of the Santa Clara Valley and nested along the edge of the foothills as far north as San Carlos. However, they have largely withdrawn from this historic range in the last century. Along the edge of the Santa Cruz Mountains, an observation near Stevens Creek Reservoir in 1947 is the most recent and northerly for the Santa Clara Valley. They remain rare residents near the Santa Teresa Hills beside the Coyote Narrows. This is the only area in the Santa Cruz Mountains where they are still resident. A few years ago, individual birds were seen on the flatlands near the Santa Teresa Hills. Chet Nelson photographed a bird near Oakridge on 31 Dec 1999 and one was trapped in a car dealership at Coleman and Blossom Hill about 21 Feb 2000 (fide Karen Hoyt). The nearest records to the Alviso bird that I know of are from the north side of Alum Rock Canyon in some housing areas there. Those locations are probably five km or more from Alviso. Because of my suspicious nature, I tend to discount all reports of roadrunners away from their Diablo refuge. Kirsten Holmquist reported one at Monte Bello this spring on a SCVAS trip, but I concluded that the views and descriptions were not sufficient for a record so far out-of-range. Similarly, the late Anne Wilson reported a bird in Alviso between Guadalupe Street and Hwy 237 on 26 Jun 1983. Initially, she said her look was poor, but she was convinced that the bird she saw was not a female or young pheasant. In later years, she would needle me about rejecting her record. She may have been right. So what are these birds doing, invading our flatlands so many years after we kicked them out? They don't have a chance, you know. 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]]