Central Valley Birds

[CVBirds] Putah Creek finds this morning

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:29:14 -0500

Dear Birders,

As Zach Smith noted, we crossed paths this morning between the Pedrick Road
and Hopkins Road access points to Putah Creek. I missed the band-tailed
pigeon and Hammond's flycatcher, but I did see a few other migrants, with
few being the operative word. I found one warbling vireo, four Swainson's
thrush,

[CVBirds] Putah, Brooks Rd - Pedrick, 25 May

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:51:12 -0500

Had a Band-tailed pigeon today along Putah Creek about 1/2 mile downstream of Pedrick Rd. (snags on Solano side across from the driftwood shelter).
Not much for migrants except a Hammond's flycatcher and a small group of C. waxwings.
Ran into John Trochet doing a survey...he probably had more stuff.

Zach

[CVBirds] Putah Creek birds- 24 V 12

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:13:52 -0500

Dear Birders,

This morning I went looking for evidence of breeding birds on private
property along Putah Creek near Winters. Migrants are still trickling
through:

western wood-pewee- 2

Pacific-slope flycatcher- 1

warbling vireo- 4

Swainson's thrush- 15-20

cedar waxwing- 25

yellow warbler- 3

Wilson's warbler- 4

western tanager- 3

blue grosbeak-

[CVBirds] Galileo/Silver Saddle closed to birders this long holiday weekend

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:28:09 -0500

Hi:

As Lori Conrad stated in clear, concise post to
the kerncobirding list serv Galileo/Silver Saddle
will be closed to all birders all day Saturday,
all day Sunday, and all day Monday this long May
26-28, 2012 Memorial Day Holiday Weekend , Silver
Saddle staff approached Dave Goodward, John
Luther, and

[CVBirds] Violet-green Swallows nesting

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:49 -0500

Late posting and photos of nesting Violet-green Swallows in tree cavity in Sacramento County. These were spotted last week 5/16/12 by myself and Joe Clemens. Cheack Swallow file.

[CVBirds] Black-chinned Sparrow in Tuolumne County

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:40:01 -0500

I found one and possibly two Black-chinned Sparrows at the Cherry Lake Road hotspot at 8 AM Thursday (5/24) morning. They were at the exact same location where Jim Tietz found one in 2009. N37.84431 W119.99928.

The spot is almost at the top of the winding road well beyond the Hetch

[CVBirds] Putah Creek and Cosumnes birds the last three mornings

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:45:42 -0500

Dear Birders,

Sunday I did a survey in Shaw Forest at the Cosumnes River Preserve and
yesterday another along Putah Creek near Winters. Today I did atlas work
along the creek downstream of Stevenson's Bridge. Scattered on the east
side of the Cosumnes near the forest block were half a dozen

[CVBirds] Merced County Birding

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:22:08 -0500

From Top Of The Hill, Prunedale

The Pacific Loon was seen from the Romero Visitor's Center. It was
swimming towards the west when I last saw it. Also, I had about 300
gulls (Ring-billed, California) most of which were on a island to the
west

[CVBirds] Tall Forest survey today

Sat, 19 May 2012 17:25:30 -0500

Dear Birders,

I was joined by one other birder today for this month's Tall Forest bird
survey at the Cosumnes River Preserve. We started on the east side of the
forest, where it was 40 degrees before sunrise, with ground fog there and
nowhere else. The water level was down by

[CVBirds] Quail

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:13:44 -0500

I posted a couple of photos of a California Quail from the Cosumnes Preserve to the Quail folder I made. It was a windy day Thursday and he was hanging on to the fence post. I have not noticed all the quail out at the preserve before...I only see or

[CVBirds] Owl RFI

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:23:33 -0500

Hello,

I'm a birder from Washington State, and I'm going to be in Sacramento next
week. I'd like to try to see Barn Owl and/or Western Screech-Owl while I'm
there. Does anyone know of a roosting place where I might see one of
those species

[CVBirds] Paradise Beach martins

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:17:48 -0500

Hey All,

At the risk of beating the same drum over and over, I wanted to let folks know I have been enjoying Purple Martins along the American River near Paradise Beach. I have been there the last two evenings between 6 - 7:45 and there were several to

[CVBirds] Recent Observations on Putah Creek

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:39:07 -0500

I spent the last two mornings in the Putah Creek Sink, Yolo County, on
private lands. Although the major wave of migrants seems to have pushed
through, there still were some very interesting species to be found. The
best finds by far were this morning (6-7am) when I many Yellow Warblers,

[CVBirds] SAC Bufferlands and Stone Lakes birding opportunity 5/19/12

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:12:14 -0500

Folks,

On Saturday, 5/19/12, normally closed portions of the SRCSD Bufferlands
and Stone Lakes NWR will be open to the public for Walk on the Wildside. On
the Bufferlands alone, there will be over three miles of open trails, with
a shuttle van running for those who aren't able or don't have

[CVBirds] Black-chinned Sparrow photos

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:53:56 -0500

I just placed photos on my recent photo gallery on my website of the Black-chinned Sparrow that I found today on Blue Ridge in Napa/Solano counties. John Luther refound the bird late this afternoon at mile post 7.1 but is ranges across to 7.0

John

John Sterling

26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA 95695
530

[NBB] Black-chinned Sparrow photos

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:53:56 -0500

[CVBirds] Bell's Vireos at Merced NWR

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:10:19 -0500

Hi all,
Jay Wright and myself went out birding in Merced NWR this past Sunday. The highlight of the trip were 2 Bell's Vireos counter singing and possibly a third! The birds were located just inside the main entrance to the refuge and can be heard singing from the driveway. We

[CVBirds] Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel carcass not

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:40:16 -0500

The wings and other parts I collected from the Yolo Landfill have since been confirmed to belong to a coot-- such are the identification difficulties with headless, footless, muddy parts! (I once saw an oil spill victim diagnosed as a Craveri's Murrelet but it turned out to be a

[CVBirds] Re: eBird report of Bell's Vireos - CORRECTION - Merced NWR

Wed, 16 May 2012 21:24:34 -0500

--- In (email address filtered), "Joe Devine" <mojoedevine@...> wrote:
>
> --- On Wed, 5/16/12, ebird-alert@... <ebird-alert@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: ebird-alert@... <ebird-alert@...>
> Subject: [eBird Alert] Rare Bird Alert for California <hourly>
> To:
> Date: Wednesday, May

[CVBirds] eBird report of Bell's Vireos - San Luis NWR

Wed, 16 May 2012 21:19:24 -0500

--- On Wed, 5/16/12, (email address filtered) <(email address filtered)> wrote:

From: (email address filtered) <(email address filtered)>
Subject: [eBird Alert] Rare Bird Alert for California <hourly>
To:
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 6:20 PM

[CVBirds] Putah Creek and Cosumnes birds the last few days

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:51:20 -0500

Dear Birders,

This morning I visited the Cosumnes River Preserve in southern Sacramento
County with the intention of doing a transect survey in Shaw Forest. But
the low water crossing still had too high a flow to safely negotiate. So I
headed for the Tall Forest Northeast to do some trail recovery

[CVBirds] RE: Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tulare County

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:27:56 -0500

The Tulare Co. Black-bellied Whistling Duck was last seen at 4:34 pm flying
off to the east and out of sight. In the next half hour it did not return.
The bird was in a state water impoundment known locally at the "Toledo
Pits". Some folks will be there in

Re: [CALBIRDS] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tula re County

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:57:25 -0500

Still here 4:00 pm
Steve Summers
Porterville

Sent from my Droid

----- Reply message -----
From: "John Sterling" <(email address filtered)>
To: "Central_Valley_Birds@Yahoogroups. Com" <(email address filtered)>, "Countybirders" <(email address filtered)>, "CALBIRDS@yahoogroups. com" <(email address filtered)>
Subject: [CALBIRDS] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tulare County
Date: Tue, May 15, 2012 2:20 pm

Rob Doster just called me. He is

[CVBirds] Re: [CALBIRDS] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tula re County

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:57:25 -0500

[CALBIRDS] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tulare County

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:20:45 -0500

Rob Doster just called me. He is looking at an unbanded Black-bellied Whistling Duck at the Toledo Pits in Tulare County. These wetlands are at the intersection of Ave 144 and Road 72 sw of the town of Tipton which is along Hwy 99.

John Sterling

26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA

[CVBirds] Black-bellied Whistling Duck Tulare County

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:20:45 -0500

Fwd: [CVBirds] Lark bunting, Sacramento Co.

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:25:55 -0500

Fwd: [CVBirds] Lark bunting, Sacramento Co.---oops

Sun, 13 May 2012 21:54:41 -0500

Sorry, I forgot to sign my earlier posting.

Gil Ewing
Fair Oaks, Sacramento Co., CA

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Gil Ewing <(email address filtered)>
> Date: May 13, 2012 7:24:07 PM PDT
> To: (email address filtered)
> Subject: [CVBirds] Lark bunting, Sacramento Co.
>
> My first chance to go birding this weekend wasn't until this

[CVBirds] Lark bunting, Sacramento Co.

Sun, 13 May 2012 21:24:07 -0500

My first chance to go birding this weekend wasn't until this evening. Thought I'd check again at the sparrow haunts in eastern Sac Co.

On my return leg of the trip up Meiss Rd. I heard a very unfamiliar call, stopped the car, and then an all dark sparrow jumped

[CVBirds] Chico Blue Jay

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:06:19 -0500

Hi all,
I just found out that the Chico Blue Jay is still present! It's been seen
by a couple of groups about 3 times in the last 2 weeks, up to the 8th of
May.
Cheers,
Bruce Deuel
Red Bluff

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[CVBirds] Sac Audubon-Native Bees Thurs. 5/17

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:51:27 -0500

[CVBirds] Capay Valley

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:33:56 -0500

About a mile down Road 78A near Brooks, Yolo county, I had great views of
at least 3 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES this morning. MOUNTAIN QUAILS were
audible, singing from the hills. I also heard at least one singing
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW at the same spot but to the south of the road. Nice to
read that

[CVBirds] Grasshopper Sparrow near Davis, Yolo Co.

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:17:39 -0500

This morning I located a singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW along Stevenson Bridge Rd between Russell Blvd and Putah Creek. It was on the west side of the road (wheat to be harvested? UCD land?) about 80 yards in, about even with the north end of the line of olive

[CVBirds] Cassin's Kingbird on Meiss Road?

Sat, 12 May 2012 21:16:14 -0500

I posted earlier, today, with a few notes regarding sightings, this morning, along Meiss Road and Michigan Bar Road. I began my message amazed at the number of Kingbirds seen as I slowly traveled Meiss Rd. One note I did not mention is that during the first phase of travel

[sjbirds] SJC Tricolored Blackbirds, Grasshopper & Brewer's Sparrows

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:42:33 -0500

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All,

En route to this morning's picnic/bird walk at the Camanche Fish Hatchery, I decided to pull off and check out the little pond just E of where Hwy 88 branches off from Hwy 12, E of Clements. I remember years ago we used to check this pond

[CVBirds] SJC Tricolored Blackbirds, Grasshopper & Brewer's Sparrows

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:42:33 -0500

All,

En route to this morning's picnic/bird walk at the Camanche Fish Hatchery, I decided to pull off and check out the little pond just E of where Hwy 88 branches off from Hwy 12, E of Clements. I remember years ago we used to check this pond for Redheads

RE: [CVBirds] RE: [STA_Birds] Scaup Photo

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:38:49 -0500

Jim,

This looks like a Greater Scaup to me for the following reasons.

Extent of white in the wing - white on the remiges extends way more than
halfway (basal to distal)

Quality of white in the wing - Dr. Stan Harris used to say 75w vs. 60w light
bulb (GRSC vs. LESC)

Blocky,

[CVBirds] Red-breasted Nuthatch at Reichmuth Park, Sacramento

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:29:03 -0500

This morning at Reichmuth Park in Sacramento, Karen Z and I heard and then saw the Red-breasted Nuthatch reported by Cory Gregory on May 10 and 11. While checking trees between the soccer fields and nature area we heard it calling. A couple hundred feet along the nature

[CVBirds] Birding on Michigan Bar and Meiss Roads, this morning

Sat, 12 May 2012 17:55:09 -0500

This morning was my first visit to Meiss and Michigan Bar roads having been intrigued by several postings the last couple of weeks. Got a good start, arriving about 7:30am at the intersection of Dillard and Meiss roads. Headed down Meiss in the direction of Ione Rd. and was immediately

[CVBirds] RE: [STA_Birds] Scaup Photo

Sat, 12 May 2012 17:33:15 -0500

Try this URL

http://tinyurl.com/6v234l3

Jim Gain

Modesto

From: (email address filtered) [mailto:(email address filtered)] On Behalf
Of Jim Gain
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2012 3:30 PM
To: (email address filtered); (email address filtered)
Subject: [STA_Birds] Scaup Photo

I was out at the Modesto Sewage ponds for their public day today and had a
scaup that

[CVBirds] Scaup Photo

Sat, 12 May 2012 17:30:11 -0500

I was out at the Modesto Sewage ponds for their public day today and had a
scaup that was interesting. Greater Scaup are quite rare out there, but this
one is a pretty good candidate. The only thing that troubles me a little is
the head shape in the photo seems like it

[CVBirds] Meiss Road - Sparrows and Tri-colored Blackbirds

Sat, 12 May 2012 13:31:57 -0500

I went out to the location on Meiss Road stated in previous messages (1.7 mi from Ione Road). Between 1.7 - 2.0 miles I located 1 GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and 1 BREWER's SPARROW. A flock of about 250 TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRDS were also present in the area (seen between 1.5 -

[CVBirds] Lawrence's Goldfinch and more on Michigan Bar Road

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:31:29 -0500

Although I got off to a late start (11:00 AM) yesterday, 11 May, I found the birding along the Michigan Bar Road to be quite productive. Starting from Highway 16 and driving to the intersection of Michigan Bar and Latrobe roads (4 miles), some of the highlight birds included

[CVBirds] Scholarships for students in grades 6-12 for WFO conference in Petaluma

Sat, 12 May 2012 10:11:55 -0500

Western Field Ornithologists is offering two scholarships to attend our
annual conference in Petaluma, CA September 26-30, 2012. Please encourage
any young birders you may know to apply. The deadline for applications is
June 18. Here is the link to our website for information on the conference,
scholarships and the

[CVBirds] Cosumnes birds- 11 V 12, and invitations

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:39:45 -0500

Dear Birders,

This morning I did a transect survey in Orr Forest at the Cosumnes River
Preserve in southern Sacramento County. I echo Mr. Bosler's lament of lack
of interesting birds. I did hear one yellow-breasted chat, and there were
scores of Swainson's thrushes, but that was it.

This morning there was a

[CVBirds] Black-throated Sparrow - Los Banos WA (NO)

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:10:06 -0500

Hello all,

I searched for the previously reported Black-throated Sparrow at Los
Banos Wildlife Area for a little over an hour this morning, 11 May, to
no avail. I birded multiple locations in Merced County this morning
and came across nothing of interest. It's been a downright lousy week
for migrants in the areas I've

[CVBirds] Black-throated Sparrow reported at Los Banos WA

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:03:09 -0500

A posting on eBird reports a Black-throated Sparrow was seen on Tues., May 8 near the main parking lot of Los Banos WA on Henry Miller Rd. north of Los Banos. The location given is -

"It was near the parking lot of the entrance of the wildlife area. It

[CVBirds] Lesser Nitehawk Eldorado County

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:41:58 -0500

This evening, at around 8:30 PM., myself along with Fritz and MaryAnne Steurer had a calling Lesser Nitehawk just inside of Eldorado County along South Shingle Road. This area is about a 1/2 mile to 3/4 of a mile East of Michigan Bar Road. We have looked for this species

[CVBirds] Re: Meiss Rd Black-throated Sparrow

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:11:48 -0500

Karen and I observed the Black-throated Sparrow, several Grasshopper Sparrows and 2 or 3 Brewer's Sparrows for nearly an hour this morning. When we left, the Black-throated Sparrow flew further NW ahead of us with House Finches and a Brewer's Sparrow. Another Grasshopper Sparrow was heard further

[CVBirds] Putah Creek this morning; Cosumnes River Preserve this evening

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:57:25 -0500

Dear Birders,

This morning I visited the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve upstream and down
from Hopkins Road just west of the UCD campus. The variety of migrants
wasn't stellar, but the numbers were impressive. I found one
dusky/Hammond's flycatcher, 18 warbling vireos, 50-60 (or more!) Swainson's
thrush, two orange-crowned warbler, one yellow