[SBB] Migrants in Last Two Days and Orange Bishops

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

Folks:

Tuesday, 9/5/06, I joined Mike Rogers and Mike Mammoser at the 
Sunnyvale Baylands Park to chase the American Redstart found a day 
earlier in the large cottonwoods.  Before I left, we were joined by 
Bob Reiling, Frank Vanslager, Peggy Don, John Hutz, and Al 
Eisner.  It is a great spot for migrants, but none of us found the 
redstart.  My list of migrants may be roughly representative of what 
was seen Tuesday morning, although others may have had more: 2 
female/immature SELASPHORUS HUMMINGBIRDS, a "WESTERN" FLYCATCHER, an 
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 22+ YELLOW WARBLERS, 2 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS 
(my first for the fall), 2 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS (at marsh), a 
WILSON'S WARBLER, and 3 WESTERN TANAGERS.

Yesterday, 9/6/06, I birded Stevens Creek below La Avenida, walking 
up the east side from Crittenden Lane and down the west side.  I 
caught up with Al Eisner at the lone euc, as he has 
mentioned.  Notable birds were two imm. GREEN HERONS along the creek, 
2 VAUX'S SWIFTS foraging above the lower section, a WILLOW 
FLYCATCHER, 3 "WESTERN" FLYCATCHERS, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 4 
YELLOW WARBLERS, my first of the season SAVANNAH SPARROW at this 
location, a female/immature LAZULI BUNTING, which Mike R. says is 
likely a HY bird based on a fuzzy picture, and a likely juvenile ORANGE BISHOP.

Mike R. has commented on the bishop that we probably don't have 
enough information to pick out these female/immature African 
finches.  Certainly my photo does not match paintings in Sibley and 
Zimmerman et al.  As Al Eisner mentioned, he saw an adult male Orange 
Bishop and this suggests that the bird I photographed is a juvenile 
Orange Bishop.  In a later e-mail Al mentioned that he saw a similar 
female/immature bishop at the Crittenden Lane after I left.  He also 
encountered two birders who saw two similar birds there.  Al's second 
bishop may have been a female, at least Al thought it different from 
the one I photographed.  A visit in this area the next few days may 
be productive.

I think it is likely that Orange Bishops nested near Stevens Creek 
this fall, although an independent juvenile is not considered 
proof.  In Southern California they tend to nest in August and 
September, timing their nesting to ripening of favored grass 
seeds.  Steve Rottenborn found a pair that nested along Matadero 
Creek below Hwy 101 in 1995, and Mike found a nesting pair last year 
along Calera Penitencia Creek.  That latter pair may have the same 
birds found at the CCFS waterbird pond later in the summer.  The male 
there sang there for a few weeks, but we never proved nesting.  These 
few records do not suggest that this exotic finch has established 
itself in the South Bay.

Bill Bousman
Santa Clara County records compiler 



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