Re: [SBB] Sunday / Monday Birding

[Bill Bousman <[[email protected]]>]

At 09:46 AM 7/4/05, Don Ganton wrote:
> Yesterday (Sunday) I went with my son Will to Stevens Creek Park to look 
> for American Dippers. We walked all the way up the creek without seeing 
> one, but on the way back I found one preening on a fallen branch in the 
> middle of the creek. We were able to watch it for about ten minutes, 
> easily the longest look I've ever had at this species.
>
> Today I stayed in Almaden. I started at the area between Cross Springs 
> Drive and Los Alamitos Creek. The usual suspects were there - Ash-throated 
> Flycatcher, Pacific Slope Flycatcher, Bewick's Wren, etc. I also saw a 
> Catharus sp? thrush. I assume a Hermit Thrush, but I didn't get a good 
> enough look to positively identify it.

Folks:

Catharus thrush ID is tough.  For what it is worth, Hermit Thrushes, 
although common near the valley floor in winter, rarely are found in 
summer.  In this sense, a Hermit Thrush is about as likely as a 
White-crowned or Golden-crowned Sparrow.  There is a breeding population 
(different subspecies) along the coastal slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains, 
but these birds just barely edge over onto the east side, normally where 
the summer fog sits.

Swainson's Thrush was once an abundant breeder on the Santa Clara Valley 
floor in all riparian situations.  Now, a few birds are found perhaps a 
couple of times a summer.  Jean Myers has had 1-2 birds singing along Uvas 
Creek in the last two years, which is the only regular location where 
they've been found.  A couple of years ago I had one singing on the 
Guadalupe River.  Whether any of these "ghosts" of an earlier time can 
breed successfully in our degraded habitats is a good question.  Near the 
coast, however, they seem to be flourishing (yea!).

Bill Bousman
Santa Clara County records compiler 

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