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Recent Postings from
Inland County Birds

Updated on Friday, October 19 at 08:52 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Hi,

Pretty dull birding in the east Mojave the past two days. The most 
interesting birds were at Horse Thief Spring, where a male Williamson's 
Sapsucker was present Thurs and Fri, an Evening Grosbeak on Thurs, and 
a Cassin's Finch today.

There was also a Palm Warbler in the Prado Basin (SBE CO portion) on 
Thursday.

Jim Pike
Huntington Beach
 

This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary.  We cover Imperial, 
Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Names in the report are 
generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the 
person claiming the first sighting.

Birds mentioned:

House Wren
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Crissal Thrasher
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
American Redstart
Wilson's Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Oregon Junco
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

- Transcript
	
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Julie Bryson reported from Ford Park in Redlands on Oct. 12, where 
she saw 2 vocal CASSIN'S VIREOS, a GREEN HERON at the east end of 
the lower pond, and a YELLOW WARBLER.

Tom Benson reported from Cal State on Oct. 14 where he saw a singing 
PLUMBEOUS VIREO, and several montane species including a RED-
BREASTED SAPSUCKER, 5 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES, 2-3 WHITE BREASTED 
NUTHATCHES, 2-3 BROWN CREEPERS, and 1 OREGON (DARK-EYED) JUNCO.

Sandy Remley reported seeing a FERRUGINOUS HAWK flying over Erwin 
Lake at the east end of Big Bear on Oct. 14.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Madeline Bauer birded the tamarisks along 66th ST. in Mira Loma on 
Oct. 14. Birds seen included 2 BROWN CREEPERS, 1 WHITE-BREASTED 
NUTHATCH, 3-4 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS, and 2 TOWNSEND'S 
WARBLERS. She also saw a LINCOLN SPARROW at 66th and Etiwanda on the 
north trail down to the river and Hidden Valley.

Roger Higson reported from the Blythe area on Oct. 13. He noted  a 
large push of WHITE-FACED IBIS in the early part of the week, 
sometimes several hundred in a field. He also reported unprecedented 
numbers of GREATER YELLOWLEGS, some 30 in flight and 86 at the 
sewage plant.

Brooks Hart also reported from the Blythe area on Oct. 13. 
Highlights included a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, 
BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, CRISSAL THRASHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY 
WARBLER, and a MAGNOLIA WARBLER. The warbler was not confirmed by 
another birder, but all birds were seen on a dirt road outside a 
private drive off HWY 95 about 8 miles north of Blythe. She 
suggested walking the road along the south side of a mesquite stand, 
between the irrigation canal and the mesquite.

IMPERIAL COUNTY

Guy McCaskie posted a detailed report from the south end of the 
Salton Sea and the Imperial Valley on Oct. 12. Highlights included: 
10 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 5 OSPREY, 1 WHITE-TAILED KITE, 1 SHARP-SHINNED 
HAWK, 3 COOPER'S HAWK, 2 PEREGRINE FLACON, 1 SOLITARY SANDPIPER at 
the Kuhn's Dairy west of Seeley, 25 STILT SANDPIPER at the 
intersection of Davis and Schrimpf Rds., 1 WILSON'S SNIPE, 3 
FRANKLIN'S GULLS, 2 adults at Obsidian Butte and 1 first-winter bird 
at the intersection of Lack and Lindsey, 1 HEERMANN'S GULL at the 
intersection of Lack and Lindsey, 20 HERRING GULLS, 3 YELLOW-FOOTED 
GULLS, 2 WHITE-WINGED DOVES in Niland and at the Wister Unit, 1 
LESSER NIGHTHAWK, 3 COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRDS, 5 BELTED KINGFISHER, 5 
GILA WOODPECKER, 1 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER at the Lakeview Golfcourse 
near Fig Lagoon, 1 LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, 1 GRAY FLYCATCHER at 
Cattle Call Park, 4 VERMILION FLYCATCHER at Lakeview Golfcourse, 1 
TROPICAL KINGBIRD at the Lakeview Golfcourse, 6 WESTERN KINGBIRD, 2 
at the golfcourse, 1 at the intersection of International and Pound 
near Niland, and 3 about a mile west of Seeley, 1 WARBLING VIREO at 
Cattle Call Park, 2 HOUSE WREN, 2 BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, 2 
AMERICAN ROBIN, 1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER at the Wister Unit 
HQs, 1 AMERICAN REDSTART at the Wister Unit HQs, 1 WILSON'S WARBLER 
at Cattle Call Park, 2 VESPER SPARROW, 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, 15 PINE 
SISKIN near the the southern end of International Rd. south of 
Niland, and 1 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH with the pine siskins.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's it for today.  This summary is done weekly, usually on 
Thursday.  
    

Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba AT earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
To report sightings phone 

For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have 
information on any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in 
this report, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  We can't update reports if we 
don't hear from you.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are 
classified as at least rare in "Birds of Southern California" by 
Garrett and Dunn, "Birds of the Salton Sea" by Patten, McCaskie, and 
Unitt, or in "Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley" by 
Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson.  Rarity can be regional or 
seasonal.  For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where 
it is rare, may be on the summary.  That same bird reported from the 
San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be.  A 
sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common 
there in December.

If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get 
MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to 
inlandcountybirds (see below).  

To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!!  If there 
is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail 
Kirk and Linda Stitt at secalrba AT earthlink.net or call  
(Linda's cell).  Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. 

Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records 
Committee review species (as noted in the text above) to:

Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA  , E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net

Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity 
should be reported to the "North American Birds" (formerly "Field 
Notes") County Coordinators.  They are:

IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA  
91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net

INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA  93513 E: 
tjheindel AT aol.com

KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA  93305 E: 
jcwilson AT lightspeed.net

RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, 
CA  92507 E:bewickwren AT earthlink.net

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY  Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, 
Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu
************
There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and 
Imperial) bird report & discussion group.  You can view messages 
at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ 

IMPORTANT:  Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA 
are not reported to Inlandcountybirds.  Sites and phone numbers 
where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below.  If 
you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or 
phone number first, in addition to this RBA.

Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County 
reports are posted on BIRDWEST.  To subscribe, send a message to

LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in 
the message (and your name = YOUR real name).

Orange County has an RBA update mailing list.  To subscribe, write 
to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu

There is also an Orange County Listserv.  Messages can be viewed 
there at;  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding

San Diego County has its own Listserv.  You can view messages at:  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS  ***

The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to:  
http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html  ***

Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds 
covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports.  To 
subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-
subscribe AT yahoogroups.com  ***

Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at 
http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/

Some Kern County reports are posted at: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding

Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon

Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds

************
A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is 
available on the SBVAS website:  http://www.sbvas.org

Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: 
Los Angeles RBA          ***
Monterey Bay RBA        
Morro Bay RBA           
Orange County RBA       
San Diego RBA            ***

Santa Barbara RBA        (report to )
Southeastern CA Bird Alert    report to 
Southern California BIRDBOX   + 5 ***
CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (to report wildlife 
violations)

-- 

Hi all,

A phone call from Don Hastings that he got a phone call from Bob Theriault. Bob 
has a Worm-eating Warbler near campsite 10, mostly on the ground, at Tamarisk 
Grove Campground, off of Hwy 78 south of Borrego Springs. 


See ya at the sea.........or in the desert.

   (!__!)
   (0V0)      HAPPY BIRDING
  {}~~{}        BOB MILLER
 =='''='''==

Southwest Birders
108 West I Street
Brawley, CA. 92227
Imperial County

http://www.southwestbirders.com
bob.miller AT mindspring.com

Sunday October 14. In the tamarisks along 66th Street in Mira Loma 
north of the Goose Creek Golf course (which is north of the Santa Ana 
River and northwest of Hidden Valley Wildlife area): 2 Brown Creepers, 
1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 3-4 Black-throated Gray Warblers, 2 
Townsend's Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, but surprisingly few 
Yellow-rumped Warblers. Lincoln Sparrow at 66th and Etiwanda (north 
trail down to the river and Hidden Valley).

Good birding,
Madeline in Mira Loma

I created a new folder, "Big Bear" and posted six pictures which may 
interest you.

See you out there,

Sandy Remley
Big Bear Lake

Today at noon a Ferruginous Hawk was in the skys over Erwin Lake(east 
end of Big Bear)

Sandy Remley
Big Bear Lake

I birded Cal State University San Bernardino campus this morning. It was quite 
birdy, although Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to be displacing other migrant 
warblers that I was seeing?this week. The only notable migrant today was a 
singing Plumbeous Vireo hanging out in the pines aournd the Commons. In 
addition to the vireo, a montane invasion seems to be occurring on campus. 
Included in this were 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker, about 5 Mountain Chickadees, 
2-3 White-breasted Nuthatches, 2-3 Brown Creepers, 1 Oregon (Dark-eyed) Junco, 
10 Chipping Sparrows, and 1 Oak Titmouse. I ahd 43 species total for the 
morning. 


Good birding,

Tom Benson
San Bernardino, CA
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - 
http://mail.aol.com 



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

Greetings WEBMASTER
I have been trying for several eons (ie a week) to put pictures into 
the "blythe birds" folder on this site.I know my password, hk has it 
also. I go to "Add Now" and get a roll down list of sites I can add to.
Sadly none are for me !
 I do not mind being excoriated for upsetting the wunder "uber-alles" 
vogelers because of their dislike of my prose and predilictions. But 
would like the option of posting photos, after all a picture is worth 
a thousand words !
thanks RH in Blythe.ps I trust this gets through the shrouds of 
anonimity mystery, and disguise. And we can resolve this issue, if 
not? Have you ever had your ankles chewed by a 7 week old Jack 
Russell ?
I can not get more thratening than that ! 
Thanks in advance

This post is a bit late as I have limited internet access.

I had the opportunity to bird periodically this past week in the 
blythe area. Hit and miss, some areas were surprisingly good. 
Migrants continue and winter residents are setting in. A lucky find 
ended the week.

Too much to write and too little time. Here is thie brief:

Red-naped sapsucker and dark-eyed junko at Aha Quin (sp?) resort off 
state hwy 95 north of Blythe. 

Spotted towhee in the walnut grove off 6th ave (east from 95), near 
the hidden beaches RV park. 

The best luck came off hwy 95 where it curves right as it leaves the 
ag. land approximately 8 miles (guessing) north of blythe. Take a 
road left at this curve and park on a dirt road outside a private 
drive (marked with a bright yellow pipe gate). Walking the road along 
the south side of a mesquite stand (between the irrigation canal and 
the mesquite). The bird count was high and included: Northern 
harrier, Sharp-shinned hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Turkey 
vulture, Killdeer, Black phoebe, Say's phoebe, Lesser Goldfinch, 
Ladder-backed woodpecker, Ruby-crowned kinglet, Cactus wren, Bewick's 
wren, Gambel's quail, Abert's towhee, Barn swallow, Dark-eyed junko, 
Blue-gray gnatcatcher, black-tailed gnatcatcher, Crissal Thrasher (my 
most exciting bird for the week, as it was a lifer), Orange-crowned 
warbler, Wilson's warbler, Yellow-rumped warbler, Black-throated gray 
warbler and a nice surprise: MAGNOLIA WARBLER. 

The following characteristics were used to positively ID the Magnolia 
warbler: Gray head with complete eye ring, yellow chin, throat and 
flanks, bright white undertail coverts, wingbars, greenish back and 
dark-tipped tail. 

The bird offered great views between 0800 and 0930 while enduring 
harrassment from a verdin.

Happy Birding.

Brooks Hart

greetings. This early ? Woke up in a pool of anxious sweat, SWMBO 
pointed out that it was not "the change of life" and that I had, had 
that 30 years ago, when I ran into Guy Mc ! 
Phew ! Getting worried there. Then as I was nervously polishing the 
lenses on my optics into a Schmidt configuration. The reason why 
came back to me............
my  birding buddy in blythe, Brooks left a message about a Magnolia 
warbler. SWMBO called me and told me, immediate sickness rushing 
in,dashed to office. Norma, "She who really runs the school" the 
secretary looked up, and bless her heart said "I have no subs", as I 
walked past The Uber secretary, she said "is it a life bird ?"So I 
returned to a class packed full of teens thirsting for knowledge on 
the Doppler Effect, knowing that the body pierced anti social brat 
in the front row, would now not go to jail because of my sacrifice.
Could not find it in the evening.
Quick meeting of the Blythe rarities Committee. Record placed on the 
Hypothetical (H) list, one person sighting,no obvious pattern of 
occurence,description insufficient and the possibility of escape 
could not be ruled out. Actually Stormin Norman vetoed my original 
decision, and as he carries 50% of the votes we did not place it in 
Category (CBRIDNSI) that's "Can't be right I did not see it" A 
ubiquotous category, used to perfection by many rarity groups. I 
just had my computer returned. Gosh how I love HP tech support, I 
called them last weekend, nearly died of dehydration from spitting 
at the phone. I ended up with a person, who was (from background 
noise) sat on an outside communal toilet in the middle of the Bombay 
Train Terminal during rush hour. After saying "can you repeat that" 
for the googlth time and 2 and a half hours, my help said "could you 
speak slower and in English, I am not you understanding "
I did not know swmbo could catch a phone that easily, actually she 
trapped it with her foot.
Birds The winds and change of ponds basicly emptied the sewage plant 
this week Too much other stuff interfered with birding during rhe 
week. A huge push of Plegadis moved through in the earlier part of 
the week at timess several hundred in a field. Unprecedented #s of 
Gtr Legs (for me and Birds of LCRV  Rosenberg et al) I think I have 
a pic of 30 plus in flight, part of 86 at the Sewage plant one eve. 
They all passed through in a hurry. 2 swainsons hawks remain. Oh 
well,set to warblerize.The sun is not coming up, the wind must be 
pushing it back. regards rh (guinness) Stormin Norman, and the 
Russell puppy named Jack.
ps 
re GMc ?
I would not have half my knowledge of CA birds, if I had not figured 
out that the man has a great pool of knowledge and a passion for 
birds that surpasses James Fisher, and Eric Hosking. Both of whom I 
had the pleasure of birding with. SO thicken your skin and listen, 
there will not be another CA birder like him,... or like him not !
 I like the Guy even though he is Scots!

I spent yesterday (11 October 2007) birding along portions of the south end of 
the Salton Sea and at select locations in the Imperial Valley, and managed to 
see 129 species. 


Species seen/heard - Gadwall (2), American Wigeon (6), Mallard (20), 
Blue-winged Teal (10), Cinnamon Teal (2), Northern Shoveler (2000), Northern 
Pintail (25), Green-winged Teal (75), Ruddy Duck (25), Gambel's Quail (25), 
Pied-billed Grebe (10), Eared Grebe (15), Western Grebe (20), Clark's Grebe 
(2), Aechmophorus Sp (20 - all at the mouth of the Alamo River), American White 
Pelican (2500), Brown Pelican (500), Double-crested Cormorant (750), Least 
Bittern (1), Great Blue Heron (25), Great Egret (250), Snowy Egret (300), 
Cattle Egret (2000), Green Heron (5), Black-crowned Night-Heron (25), 
White-faced Ibis (1000), Turkey Vulture (20), Osprey (5), White-tailed Kite (1 
- one near Niland), Northern Harrier (10), Sharp-shinned Hawk (1), Cooper's 
Hawk (3), Red-tailed Hawk (10), American Kestrel (25), Peregrine Falcon (2), 
Common Moorhen (10), American Coot (250), Black-bellied Plover (10), 
Semipalmated Plover (15), Killdeer (50), Black-necked Stilt (150), American 
Avocet (250), Greater Yellowlegs (20), Lesser Yellowlegs (5), Solitary 
Sandpiper (1 - one at the Kuhn's Dairy west of Seeley may have been the same 
bird present here last winter), Willet (15), Spotted Sandpiper (5), Long-billed 
Curlew (5), Marbled Godwit (150), Western Sandpiper (1500), Least Sandpiper 
(250), Dunlin (5), Stilt Sandpiper (25 - twenty-five with dowitchers at the 
intersection of Davis and Schrimpf Roads), Long-billed Dowitcher (300), 
Wilson's Snipe (1), Laughing Gull (500), Franklin's Gull (3 - two adults with 
Laughing Gulls at Obsidian Butte and one first-winter bird at the intersection 
of Lack and Lindsey Roads), Heermann's Gull (1 - one hatch-year bird at the 
intersection of Lack and Lindsey Roads was presumed to be the same bird present 
in this general area since 07 September), Ring-billed Gull (500), California 
Gull (150), Herring Gull (20), Yellow-footed Gull (3), Caspian Tern (500), 
Forster's Tern (2), Rock Pigeon (150), Eurasian Collared-Dove (150), 
White-winged Dove (2 - single birds in Niland and at the Wister Unit HQ's), 
Mourning Dove (100), Inca Dove (15), Common Ground-Dove (25), Greater 
Roadrunner (1), Barn Owl (1), Burrowing Owl (5), Lesser Nighthawk (1 - one at 
the Wister Unit HQ's), Anna's Hummingbird (2), Costa's Hummingbird (3), Belted 
Kingfisher (5), Gila Woodpecker (5), Red-naped Sapsucker (1 - one at the 
Lakeview Golfcourse near Fig Lagoon), Ladder-backed Woodpecker (1), Northern 
Flicker (15), Gray Flycatcher (1 - one at Cattle Call Park in Brawley was 
undoubtedly the same bird present here each of the past four winters), Black 
Phoebe (20), Say's Phoebe (25), Vermilion Flycatcher (4 - four at the Lakeview 
Golfcourse adjacent to Fig Lagoon), Tropical Kingbird (1 - one at the Lakeview 
Golfcourse near Fig Lagoon was undoubtedly the same bird present here each of 
the past four winters), Western Kingbird (6 - two at Lakeview Golfcourse near 
Fig Lagoon, one at the intersection of International and Pound Roads near 
Niland, and three about one mile west of Seeley were all late staying birds), 
Loggerhead Shrike (6), Warbling Vireo (1 - one at Cattle Call Park in Brawley), 
Common Raven (10), Horned Lark (5), Tree Swallow (75), Barn Swallow (150), 
Verdin (10), Cactus Wren (1), House Wren (2), Marsh Wren (5), Ruby-crowned 
Kinglet (5), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (5), Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (2), American 
Robin (2 - two together at the Wister Unit HQ's establish the second earliest 
date for a fall migrant at the Salton Sink, exceeded only by an exceptionally 
early migrant near the Alamo River mouth on 21 September 2006), Northern 
Mockingbird (20), European Starling (250), Phainopepla (2), Orange-crowned 
Warbler (15), Yellow-rumped Warbler (50), Black-throated Gray Warbler (1 - one 
at the Wister Unit HQ's), American Redstart (1 - one first-year male at the 
Wister Unit HQ's), Common Yellowthroat (5), Wilson's Warbler (1 - one at Cattle 
Call Park in Brawley), Abert's Towhee (20), Chipping Sparrow (25), Brewer's 
Sparrow (5), Vesper Sparrow (2), Lark Sparrow (2), Savannah Sparrow (75), Song 
Sparrow (5), Lincoln's Sparrow (2), White-crowned Sparrow (75), Dark-eyed Junco 
(1), Red-winged Blackbird (1500), Western Meadowlark (30), Yellow-headed 
Blackbird (5), Brewer's Blackbird (25), Great-tailed Grackle (150), 
Brown-headed Cowbird (15), House Finch (35), Pine Siskin (15 - fifteen together 
near the southern end of International Road south of Niland establish the 
earliest date for a fall migrant at the Salton Sink), Lesser Goldfinch (25), 
American Goldfinch (1 - one with Pine Siskins and Lesser Goldfinches near the 
southern end of International Road south of Niland establish the earliest date 
for a fall migrant at the Salton Sink) and House Sparrow (75). 




Guy McCaskie
954 Grove Avenue
Imperial Beach, CA  91932


 


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

The birds in Ford Park were very lively Tues. (10/9). 
Highlights were 2 very vocal Cassin's Vireos, one very
bright and one very dull, and a Green Heron at the
east end of the lower pond.  There was one Yellow, one
Orange-crowned and one Townsend's Warbler and several
Wilson's and lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers.  

Good birding,

Julie Bryson


 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 

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This morning a Brown Creeper was in the tamarisks on the north border 
of the Goose Creek Golf course in Mira Loma (66th and Etiwanda). There 
was also one Townsend's Warbler (first in over a month) and a Black-
throated Gray Warbler, and the first Lincoln's Sparrow this fall.

Ibis (Plegadis) are roosting along the Santa Ana River east of Hidden 
Valley Wildlife area. I've seen 500+ flying east over the Santa Ana 
River to roost around 6 pm and as many flying west in the morning (~7 
am).

Good birding,
Madeline in Mira Loma

This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary.  We cover Imperial, 
Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Names in the report are 
generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the 
person claiming the first sighting.

The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum 
is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must 
use a phone line, please call .

Birds mentioned:

Green Heron
Blue-winged Teal
Yellow-footed Gull
Lewis's Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Willow Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin's Vireo
Violet-green Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Townsend's Solitaire
Yellow Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Painted Redstart
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Hooded Oriole
Pine Siskin

- Transcript 
	
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Tom Benson birded the east Mojave on Oct. 6, where he saw an adult 
PAINTED REDSTART at Zzyzx. The bird was first in the tamarisks and 
fruiting palms at the north end of the entrance road, then moved to 
the ring of fruiting palm trees north of the pool house. Also seen 
that day was a PINE SISKIN at Zzyzx, a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER at both 
Zzyzx and Crystal Spring, a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER at Crystal Spring, 
possibly 2 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and 1 WILLOW FLYCATCHER at China 
Ranch, a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, a FOX SPARROW, and a DARK-EYED 
(OREGON) JUNCO at Horsethief Springs. October 7, Tom reported from 
the Cal State campus in northern San Bernardino. Highlights there 
included 2 WILSON'S WARBLERS, a YELLOW WARBLER, a CASSIN'S VIREO, 
several CHIPPING SPARROWS, a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH,a MOUNTAIN 
CHICKADEE, and one continuing adult male VERMILION FLYCATCHER.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Sandy Swan reported on the October bird walk at the Coachella Valley 
Wild Bird Center in Indio. 44 species were seen, with highlights 
including GREEN HERON, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.

Dan Williams confirmed the many reports of MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES in 
many neighborhoods. On Oct. 9, he reported an ASH-THROATED 
FLYCATCHER and a HOODED ORIOLE at the RCA Garden path on Glenwood 
and 14th.

IMPERIAL COUNTY

Bob Miller reported from the Salton Sea area on Oct. 10. He found 
VESPER SPARROW on the edge of Niland heading east on Noffsinger Rd. 
At Obsidian Butte, on the rocks off the north east side, he had a 
YELLOW-FOOTED GULL and possibly a second one in flight.

That's it for today.  This summary is done weekly, usually on 
Thursday.  
The report for the next two weeks, Oct. 18 and 25, may be late as we 
will be traveling, sometimes without internet access.
    

Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba AT earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
To report sightings phone 

For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have 
information on any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in 
this report, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  We can't update reports if we 
don't hear from you.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are 
classified as at least rare in "Birds of Southern California" by 
Garrett and Dunn, "Birds of the Salton Sea" by Patten, McCaskie, and 
Unitt, or in "Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley" by 
Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson.  Rarity can be regional or 
seasonal.  For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where 
it is rare, may be on the summary.  That same bird reported from the 
San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be.  A 
sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common 
there in December.

If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get 
MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to 
inlandcountybirds (see below).  

To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!!  If there 
is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail 
Kirk and Linda Stitt at secalrba AT earthlink.net or call  
(Linda's cell).  Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. 

Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records 
Committee review species (as noted in the text above) to:

Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA  , E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net

Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity 
should be reported to the "North American Birds" (formerly "Field 
Notes") County Coordinators.  They are:

IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA  
91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net

INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA  93513 E: 
tjheindel AT aol.com

KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA  93305 E: 
jcwilson AT lightspeed.net

RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, 
CA  92507 E:bewickwren AT earthlink.net

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY  Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, 
Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu
************
There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and 
Imperial) bird report & discussion group.  You can view messages 
at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ 

IMPORTANT:  Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA 
are not reported to Inlandcountybirds.  Sites and phone numbers 
where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below.  If 
you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or 
phone number first, in addition to this RBA.

Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County 
reports are posted on BIRDWEST.  To subscribe, send a message to

LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in 
the message (and your name = YOUR real name).

Orange County has an RBA update mailing list.  To subscribe, write 
to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu

There is also an Orange County Listserv.  Messages can be viewed 
there at;  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding

San Diego County has its own Listserv.  You can view messages at:  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS  ***

The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to:  
http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html  ***

Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds 
covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports.  To 
subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-
subscribe AT yahoogroups.com  ***

Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at 
http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/

Some Kern County reports are posted at: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding

Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon

Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds

************
A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is 
available on the SBVAS website:  http://www.sbvas.org

Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: 
Los Angeles RBA          ***
Monterey Bay RBA        
Morro Bay RBA           
Orange County RBA       
San Diego RBA            ***

Santa Barbara RBA        (report to )
Southeastern CA Bird Alert    report to 
Southern California BIRDBOX   + 5 ***
CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (to report wildlife 
violations)
-- 

Looks like you photographed a White-crowned Sparrow (the bird on the coffe cup 
in photo #118 and #123) It looks like an immature who has not gotten all the 
white on it's crown yet. These sparrows are winter migrants. The finch is a 
House Finch, pretty common and here year round. The other sparrow is a male 
House Sparrow (photo # 158 and #160), also very common, especially in urban 
areas. These birds are actually non-native and were originally brought over 
from England. Hope this helped. 

   
  Jill


Jill Coumoutso
Field Biologist
Santa Ana Watershed Association
4500 Glenwood Ave.
Riverside, CA 92501
Office:
Cell:

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

Afton Canyon birding resulted in 22 species.  All expected migrants 
and a good example of desert birds(no thrashers). There was no water 
under the two trestle expansion. I was told that the third trestle 
had water but I was not inclined to forge the river crossing which 
was more than knee high at it's deepest point and I did not want to 
disturb the American Coot, the only waterfowl seen.  The third 
trestle can be reached via Basin Road per the ranger who came by to 
service the campground. I camped here for two nights(Oct 7 & 8)and 
enjoyed the area.  This can be a busy campground at times as the old 
Mojave road comes through this canyon which the jeep people will stop 
for a rest or camp and the star gazers were there at night with their 
scopes . The trains were coming through as well on a regular basis 
and I became intrigued with the art on the side of the cars.  No mud 
flats per se and the river bed is very deep sand which kept me from 
going to far off the main track.  I will come back again hopefully 
with more knowledge about where and how to bird this area and 
ofcourse more water. This area has great potential in my opinion. Be 
careful of the deep sand as my motorhome got stuck and the off-road 
recovery at Razor is expensive.

Zzyzx was a first for me and I can see why this is a very popular 
place to bird.  Birding here on Oct 9 and 10.  I did not refind the 
Painted Redstart reported by Tom Benson but saw all the other birds 
mentioned.  My additional observations include Cedar Waxwings, Black-
throated Gray and Townsend's Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird(immature), 
American Robin, and Mocking Bird.  The saline pond had one each of 
the following: Belted Kingfisher, American Advocet, Least Sandpiper, 
and Blue-winged Teal(female). I watched a biologist and a ranger 
inspect and treat the Mojave Tui Chub that lives in this lake. This 
ancient little fish is doing well according to their findings. I 
camped here in a, I thought, secret place but there were others who 
came by as well. They did not stay long as my presences(and two dogs) 
would have interferred with their pleasure seeking.  The desert holds 
many mysteries.


See you out there,

Sandy Remley
Big Bear Lake

Hi all,

Birded the morning with Mark and Jim. Started in Niland at 0800. Birded 
Noffsinger Road east of Niland for sparrows then headed for the Salton Sea. Had 
Brewer's and Vesper Sparrow right on the edge of town and a Phainopepla there 
was nice. Looked for Mountain Plover on English between Sinclair and Peterson. 
Did not find any but the Bermuda Grass field at Peterson and English is the 
first one I've seen that has been burned this year which makes it ripe for 
Mountain Plover. Shoreline is going out fast on Garst Road. Not much activity 
at the SB Salton Sea NWR HQ. LOTS of Brown Pelicans on Obsidian Butte. 
Strangest birds on Obsidian were six Common Raven which flew west high out over 
the sea then headed south. Finally found a Yellow-footed Gull on the rocks off 
the north east side of the butte. Third year bird looking adult but for the 
bill color and some black still near the tip of the bill. As we were watching 
it in the scope Malcolm, Wendy and Ken rode up on their biking big year. Talk 
about timing! Malcolm and Ken got to see it but it moved before Wendy saw it. 
Bummer! I scoped for awhile and could not re-find it. Just as Mark, Jim and I 
were about to leave I spotted a large gull chasing a smaller gull. 
Yellow-footed!! Thought I saw a bright yellow bill on it in flight so think it 
was a second individual. Saw it land in the distance and could not see it well 
with the heat waves so Malcolm was breaking out his well packed scope to go for 
a closer look as we left. 


Malcolm reported that they had seen an immature Heerman's Gull at Lack and 
Lyndsey Roads. 


See ya at the sea..............

   (!__!)
   (0V0)      HAPPY BIRDING
  {}~~{}        BOB MILLER
 =='''='''==

Southwest Birders
108 West I Street
Brawley, CA. 92227
Imperial County

http://www.southwestbirders.com
bob.miller AT mindspring.com

    Yesterday (10/9), a day which started with some fun new winter 
arrivals in my neighborhood, finished with two rather late summer 
species.  
    At the RCA Garden path on Glenwood and 14th I had an ASH-THROATED 
FLYCATCHER and a first fall HOODED ORIOLE.  I checked both out very 
carefully for more exotic identifications to no avail.  Nice though, 
probably wont see them again for 6 months.

Dan Williams
Riverside

Need help identifying the sparrows and finches.
I would like to know what people think about my photos.
I am trying to get better at Photography and bird ID.
Any tips or Ideas would be helpful.

    Just wanted to add to the many posts from LA and SD that there are 
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES in many of our neighborhoods here in Riverside as 
well, as I'm sure many of you are aware.  
    For those who haven't heard, Pygmy and Red-breasted Nuthatches, 
Pine Siskins, and even a few Clark's Nutcrackers have been seen in 
SoCal lowlands already this fall.  Low elevation birders should 
definitely keep an eye on those ornamental pines this winter.  It's 
looking like a decent invasion year. 

Dan Williams
Riverside

Saturday 6 October
Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center, Indio
 
Windy weather kept the count down to just 44 species on our October bird  
walk. Species seen included Green Heron, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged  Teal, 
Northern Harrier, Red-necked Phalarope, Orange-crowned Warbler and  
Yellow-rumped Warbler.
 
From the observation towers we had great views of White-throated Swift,  
Violet-green and Tree Swallows zipping by at eye level just a few feet  away.
 
Next public bird walk will be Saturday 3 November. Meet at the trailer  
office at 8am. Info .
 
NOTE: Voting closes Monday 8 Oct at 11:59pm ET for Animal Planet's 2007  Hero 
of the Year Award. If you have not yet voted and would like to support  Linda 
York, director of the Wild Bird Center, 
_http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/hero_of_the_year/poll/poll/html _ 
(http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/hero_of_the_year/poll/poll/html ) 
will take you to the poll page.
 
Good Birding!
Sandy Swan



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


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

I birded California State University San Bernardino this morning. It was quite 
birdy despite the winds. A number of migrant species?are moving through, and a 
few winter residents have started to arrive. A small mixed flock of warblers 
contained 2 Wilson's, 1 Townsend's, and 1 Orange-crowned?Warbler. Elsewhere on 
campus there was a Yellow Warbler, another Townsend's Warbler, and a Cassin's 
Vireo. A single Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and several small flocks of Yellow-rumped 
Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows represented the returning winter birds. 
Several Chipping Sparrows, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and a Mountain Chickadee 
have apparently?descended from the mountains. And lastly, one of the adult male 
Vermilion Flycatchers previously reported by the Stitts continued on the 
athletic fields. 


Good birding,

Tom Benson
San Bernardino, CA
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - 
http://mail.aol.com 



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

I birded the oases and springs in the east Mojave today, the first part of the 
day in the company of Jim Lomax. With the exception of Zzyzx Desert Studies 
Center, the desert was relatively un-birdy. Hermit Thrushes, Yellow-rumped 
Warblers,?and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the most frequently encountered birds 
of the day. Of note today I saw:?1 adult Painted Redstart at Zzyzx, initially 
(07:10)?in the tamarisks and fruiting palms at the north end?of the entrance 
road, and then later (08:10 and 17:30) in the ring of fruiting palm trees north 
of the pool house; 1 Pine Siskin at Zzyzx; 1 Red-naped Sapsucker each at Zzyzx 
and Crystal Spring; 1 Hammond's Flycatcher at Crystal Spring; 1 (maybe 2) 
Lewis' Woodpecker and 1 Willow Flycatcher at China Ranch;?and 1 Townsend's 
Solitaire, 1 Fox Sparrow, 1 Chipping Sparrow, and 1 Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco at 
Horsethief Spring. 


Good birding,

Tom Benson
San Bernardino, CA
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - 
http://mail.aol.com 



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

Free public bird walks at the Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center will resume  
again for the season, starting this Saturday, October 6. Bird walks are held 
the  first Saturday of the month, October through May. Meet at the trailer 
office at  8am. Birders of all skill levels are welcome!
 
Info and directions .
 
As you have already heard, Linda York, the director of the Wild Bird  Center, 
has been chosen as one of 10 finalists in Animal Planet's "2007 Hero of  the 
Year" award. This is in recognition of her long-time work in the  
rehabilitation of injured birds (especially raptors), and the Center's 
educational 

outreach programs which bring birds and birding to local schools and 
organizations. 

 
If you have not met Linda or are not familiar with the work being done at  
Wild Bird Center, please visit 
_http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/hero_of_the_year/poll/poll.html_ 
(http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/hero_of_the_year/poll/poll.html) This 
will take you directly to the poll page where you 

can read a  short bio and vote. When you vote, please remember to click the 
"Submit"  button!
 
Thank you for your support for the Wild Bird Center, and we hope to see you  
at one of our bird walks.
 
submitted by Sandy Swan



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com


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

It's time to stock up on seed and suet.  4 white crowned sparrows, 1
song, 3 yellow rumped, and a stop in by a oak titmouse, common
yellowthroat, and a wilson's warbler have all helped to start my
backyard bird season off to a early bang this week.  Project feeder
watch starts in a few weeks and I encourage everyone to look into
participating.  It's a fun and scientific way to document the birds that
visit your feeders.  Have fun.

                            Adam Timura from Riverside

This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary.  We cover Imperial, 
Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Names in the report are 
generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the 
person claiming the first sighting.

The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum 
is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must 
use a phone line, please call .

Birds mentioned:

Peid-billed Grebe
Green Heron
White-faced Ibis
Greater White-fronted Goose
Wood Duck
Northern Shoveler
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Prairie Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Sandhill Crane
American Avocet
American Golden-plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Dunlin
Baird's Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Black Tern
Common Tern
Lesser Nighthawk
Vaux's Swift
Red-naped Sapsucker
Cassin's Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Violet-green Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
MacGillivray's Warbler
Summer Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Sage Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Baltimore Oriole
Pine Siskin

- Transcript 
	
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Elias Elias, a forest service worker currently assigned to the 
Barstow area, birded the Barstow sewage treatment plant on Sept. 27. 
He found one SOLITARY SANDPIPER and 3 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS at the 
eastern-most pond. He also saw a LESSER NIGHTHAWK in the area.

Sandy Koonce reported a bright CASSIN'S VIREO and a BROWN CREEPER in 
Ford Park on Sept. 30. The birds were in the trees next to the large 
field on the west end of the park.

Mary and Nick Freeman reported from the China Ranch area on Oct. 2. 
Highlights included 2 SUMMER TANAGERS, a PLUMBEOUS VIREO, 
MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLERS, a GREEN HERON that flushed from the stream 
area in front of the B&B, a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, an INDIGO 
BUNTING, LINCOLN'S SPARROWS and PINE SISKIN. The previous weekend, 
they birded Tecopa Hot Springs where they saw 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 
AMERICAN AVOCET, PIED-BILLED GREBE, LEAST SANDPIPER, 1 WHITE-FACED 
IBIS, NORTHERN SHOVELERS, a male WOOD DUCK, and a COMMON TERN. At 
China Ranch Wash trail they saw SAGE SPARROWS, VIOLET-GREEN 
SWALLOWS, one RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER and a single BLACK-TAILED 
GNATCATCHER.

Steve Druce saw a BALD EAGLE at Lake Gregory in Crestline on Oct. 2, 
and reported he had seen an OSPREY in the area earlier.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Curtis Marantz located a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at San Jacinto 
Wildlife Area on Sept. 27. The bird was in the green wet spot just 
south of the porta-potty by the reclaimed water ponds.

Roger Higson reported a ZONE-TAILED HAWK in the Blythe area that he 
has seen more than once this week. He also saw 5 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS 
at the sewage plant. Later in the week he reported a PRAIRIE FALCON, 
a PEREGRINE FALCON and a FERRUGINOUS HAWK on 6th Ave. There were 
also 16 SWAINSON'S HAWKS there. On Sept. 30, Roger reported SAGE 
SPARROWS in good numbers at the drop, an OSPREY, 200+ SANDHILL 
CRANES, SWAINSON'S HAWKS, a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, HARLAN'S HAWK, a 
BLACK TERN, 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, a WILSON'S 
SNIPE, and a DUNLIN.

Madeline Bauer reported seeing a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH in the Mira 
Loma area on Sept. 28.

Andy Boyce found at least one PECTORAL SANDPIPER, 1 juvenile 
PEREGRINE FALCON, and 1 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE at SJWA. 
Sightings were on Sept. 28. On Sept. 29, Andy found a BLACK-AND-
WHITE WARBLER in the row of trees south of the main refuge road just 
before the dirt track leads to the new ponds. He also saw the 2 
BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS previously reported.

Howard King found good numbers of HERMIT WARBLERS and a PLUMBEOUS 
VIREO at Fairmount Park on Sept. 30. He also noticed 3 loud RED-
CROWNED PARROTS.

Chet McGaugh spotted a CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER at SJWA on Sept. 29. 
The bird was in the riparian strip across from Marsh C. He noted 
that many birds were in the riparian area, including VAUX'S SWIFTS 
flying overhead.

Cathy McFadden reported 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS in the new south pond 
at SJWA and a DUNLIN at Mystic Lake on Sept. 29.

IMPERIAL COUNTY

Bob Miller reported from the Salton Sea area on Sept. 29. He found a 
PAINTED BUNTING west of Calipatria along Bowles Rd. where it dead 
ends into the Salton Sea. He also spotted an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER 
in the grass area in the SE corner of the field at the intersection 
of Young and the seawall. He noted there were many sparrows going 
east out of Calipatria on Noffsinger Rd., including VESPER SPARROW, 
and SAGE SPARROW. He also saw many sparrows along the I canal going 
west from the East Highline Canal. He also said SANDHILL CRANES have 
returned to the grain warehouse on Carey Rd. south of Brawley, and 
he forwarded a report from Howard King of an immature male BALTIMORE 
ORIOLE at the SBSSNWR. It was at the Visitor's Center near the drip 
in front of the office.

Howard King made his own post of the Baltimore Oriole he found on 
Sept. 29, and added he had also seen Bob's AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. 
Howard also reported an AMERICAN REDSTART at the Wister 
Headquarters, SANDHILL CRANES at Unit One, and a GREATER WHITE-
FRONTED GOOSE on Garst Rd.

Paul Jorgenson reported 16 SWAINSON'S HAWKS leaving their roost in 
Borrego Valley on Sept. 28. The bird were heading southeast, which 
would have put them on a course for Imperial County.

That's it for today.  This summary is done weekly, usually on 
Thursday.  
    

Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba AT earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
To report sightings phone 

For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have 
information on any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in 
this report, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  We can't update reports if we 
don't hear from you.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are 
classified as at least rare in "Birds of Southern California" by 
Garrett and Dunn, "Birds of the Salton Sea" by Patten, McCaskie, and 
Unitt, or in "Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley" by 
Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson.  Rarity can be regional or 
seasonal.  For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where 
it is rare, may be on the summary.  That same bird reported from the 
San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be.  A 
sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common 
there in December.

If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get 
MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to 
inlandcountybirds (see below).  

To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!!  If there 
is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail 
Kirk and Linda Stitt at secalrba AT earthlink.net or call  
(Linda's cell).  Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. 

Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records 
Committee review species (as noted in the text above) to:

Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA  , E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net

Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity 
should be reported to the "North American Birds" (formerly "Field 
Notes") County Coordinators.  They are:

IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA  
91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net

INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA  93513 E: 
tjheindel AT aol.com

KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA  93305 E: 
jcwilson AT lightspeed.net

RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, 
CA  92507 E:bewickwren AT earthlink.net

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY  Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, 
Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu
************
There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and 
Imperial) bird report & discussion group.  You can view messages 
at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ 

IMPORTANT:  Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA 
are not reported to Inlandcountybirds.  Sites and phone numbers 
where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below.  If 
you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or 
phone number first, in addition to this RBA.

Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County 
reports are posted on BIRDWEST.  To subscribe, send a message to

LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in 
the message (and your name = YOUR real name).

Orange County has an RBA update mailing list.  To subscribe, write 
to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu

There is also an Orange County Listserv.  Messages can be viewed 
there at;  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding

San Diego County has its own Listserv.  You can view messages at:  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS  ***

The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to:  
http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html  ***

Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds 
covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports.  To 
subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-
subscribe AT yahoogroups.com  ***

Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at 
http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/

Some Kern County reports are posted at: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding

Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon

Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds

************
A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is 
available on the SBVAS website:  http://www.sbvas.org

Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: 
Los Angeles RBA          ***
Monterey Bay RBA        
Morro Bay RBA           
Orange County RBA       
San Diego RBA            ***

Santa Barbara RBA        (report to )
Southeastern CA Bird Alert    report to 
Southern California BIRDBOX   + 5 ***
CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (to report wildlife 
violations)

-- 

Dear Fall Migrants,

I have been keeping up my nightly Swainson’s Hawk vigil in 
Claremont, when I get home from work. I scored tonight. At least seven birds 
swooped down around me at the parking lot for the Metrolink Station, 100 yards 
east of the intersection of 1st St and College Ave. Several of them were 
dark-morph birds (I’m tryin’ Kimball, I’m 
tryin’!). They were clearly getting ready to land in trees near me, 
and they drifted in a loose flock to the south, so I hopped into the car, and 
raced east to Claremont Blvd, where I took a sharp right turn on 2 wheels, in 
order to drive south towards the cemetery, and observe their roost. Like a 
scene in a low-rent TV crime show, the train lights started flashing, the 
crossing guards arms lowered in front of the Celica, and I came to a screeching 
halt, while the flock got away. Curses, foiled, again. 


I would guess that the place to hang out tomorrow morning is the southwest 
corner of Blaisdell Park, scanning east. 


This weekend I had what must have been the world's brightest yellow 
Orange-crowned Warbler, and it had an exaggerated broad, bright yellow 
supercilium. No, it wasn't a Willow Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, or a 
Yellow-throated Vireo, but it was just a bizarre Orange-crowned Warbler. Having 
looked though several books I can only call it an Orange-crown, but it was 
weird. 



Tom


Thomas Miko 
(Mikó 
Tamás) 


thomas.miko AT verizon.net
thomas_miko AT hotmail.com

653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., #C
Claremont, CA 91711
U.S.A.
 N,  W

home:
cell:   
work:

In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears 
is Britney Spears-and that is our problem. 

-Thomas Friedman in "The World Is Flat", page 265

   I saw a BALD EAGLE being harrassed by a Raven, fly by my  window 
this evening, after arriving back home again after a quick one week 
rental. Did not see the Osprey perched in front of my deck, although it 
was there the day after I last posted, and was also seen by fellow 
Crestline birder, Peter Robertshaw, the last two days.
   I also saw a Bald Eagle eight days later in 2005.

Hi Birders

On Sunday, 9/30/07 after attending the WFO convention in Henderson,  
NV, Nick and I headed out to China Ranch in Inyo County, about an  
hour Baker, near Tecopa Hot Springs.

After having a blast this past spring, we made time to drive over  
from Nevada into California to see the autumn birdlife at the China  
Ranch B&B. It's a great drive, and only 1 1/2 hours from Vegas!

We arrived mid-morning to be greeted by a SUMMER TANAGER. We had two,  
one bright and and the second a duller plumaged bird, both males.  In  
the willows just outside the B&B, we found a snappy-looking PLUMBEOUS  
VIREO. We came across YELLOW, TOWNSEND'S, YELLOW-RUMPED,  
MACGILLVRAY'S, ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S WARBLERs on both days.  A  
GREEN HERON flushed out of the stream area in front of the B&B.   
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWs (1 Oriantha and oodles of Gambel's) were  
abundant.  Also pleasing was a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. LAZULI BUNTING  
and a single INDIGO BUNTING were seen down the road feeding in the  
grass.  LINCOLN'S SPARROW was present as well. PINE SISKIN were  
flying over the premises both days. Both expected phoebes were our  
only expected flycatchers! Saturday night, I tried the call of a  
Western Screech Owl but so far, no luck.

On Saturday afternoon, we visited the area just north of Tecopa Hot  
Springs.  A week ago, a rainstorm that lasted 20 hours straight  
according to the owners of "Pastels Bistro"  hit the area.  There  
were signs of the rain alongside the road and the dry lake beds north  
of town were filled with water!  We had two GREATER YELLOWLEGS,  
AMERICAN AVOCET, PIED-BILLED GREBE, LEAST SANDPIPER, 1 WHITE-FACED  
IBIS and NORTHERN SHOVELERS.  We were surprised to find a female and  
immature/eclipse (?) male WOOD DUCKs.  And the big find here was a  
COMMON TERN.

This morning we hiked down the China Ranch Wash trail alongside the  
mesquite-covered river coarse and came across SAGE and CHIPPING  
SPARROW and ROCK WREN down at the Amargosa River overlook.  BARN,  
VIOLET-GREEN and CLIFF SWALLOW made appearances over the river as  
well as WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. A single RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER was on a  
cottonwood over the river coarse.  With the heat of the afternoon  
sun, we made our way back from our hike towards the B&B, we found a  
single visual BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER (good for the county).  It  
called and we watched it foraging in the vegetation alongside the  
trail between the two rusted cars and the Nature Conservancy sign.

Although nothing extraordinarily rare was seen, visiting the B&B to  
see what it's like during the fall was a nice way to end the  
weekend.  It was a bi-state birding weekend!  BTW, Cynthia the  
innkeeper is encouraging birders to visit the premises at China Ranch  
B&B. Even if you don't stay there, stick your head in and report your  
finds for her and others.

Happy migrant/vagrant watching!!

Mary & Nick Freeman
Glendale, CA

Hi Birders

On Sunday, 9/30/07 after attending the WFO convention in Henderson, NV, Nick 
and I 

headed out to China Ranch in Inyo County, about an hour northof Baker, near 
Tecopa Hot 

Springs.

After having a blast this past spring, we made time to drive over from Nevada 
into 

California to see the autumn birdlife at the China Ranch B&B. It's a great 
drive, and only 1 

1/2 hours from Vegas!

We arrived mid-morning to be greeted by a SUMMER TANAGER. We had two, one 
bright 

and and the second a duller plumaged bird, both males. In the willows just 
outside the 

B&B, we found a snappy-looking PLUMBEOUS VIREO. We came across YELLOW, 
TOWNSEND'S, YELLOW-RUMPED, MACGILLVRAY'S, ORANGE-CROWNED and WILSON'S 
WARBLERs on both days. A GREEN HERON flushed out of the stream area in front of 
the 

B&B. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWs (1 Oriantha and oodles of Gambel's) were abundant. 

Also pleasing was a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. LAZULI BUNTING and a single INDIGO 
BUNTING were seen down the road feeding in the grass. LINCOLN'S SPARROW was 
present 

as well. PINE SISKIN were flying over the premises both days. Both expected 
phoebes were 

our only expected flycatchers! Saturday night, I tried the call of a Western 
Screech Owl but 

so far, no luck.

On Saturday afternoon, we visited the area just north of Tecopa Hot Springs. A 
week ago, 

a rainstorm that lasted 20 hours straight according to the owners of "Pastels 
Bistro" hit 

the area. There were signs of the rain alongside the road and the dry lake beds 
north of 

town were filled with water! We had two GREATER YELLOWLEGS, AMERICAN AVOCET, 
PIED- 

BILLED GREBE, LEAST SANDPIPER, 1 WHITE-FACED IBIS and NORTHERN SHOVELERS.  We 
were surprised to find a female and immature/eclipse (?) male WOOD DUCKs. And 
the big 

find here was a COMMON TERN.

This morning we hiked down the China Ranch Wash trail alongside the 
mesquite-covered 

river coarse and came across SAGE and CHIPPING SPARROW and ROCK WREN down at 
the 

Amargosa River overlook. BARN, VIOLET-GREEN and CLIFF SWALLOW made appearances 

over the river as well as WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. A single RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER 
was on 

a cottonwood over the river coarse. With the heat of the afternoon sun, we made 
our way 

back from our hike towards the B&B, we found a single visual BLACK-TAILED 
GNATCATCHER (good for the county). It called as we watched it foraging in the 
vegetation 

alongside the trail between the two rusted cars and the Nature Conservancy 
sign. 


Although nothing extraordinarily rare was seen, visiting the B&B to see what 
it's like during 

the fall was a nice way to end the weekend. It was a bi-state birding weekend! 
BTW, 

Cynthia the innkeeper is encouraging birders to visit the premises at China 
Ranch B&B. 

Even if you don't stay there, stick your head in and report your finds for her 
and others. 


Happy migrant/vagrant watching!!

Mary & Nick Freeman
Glendale, CA

There were a bunch of warblers in Fairmont Park this morning. Nothing 
rare but a good numbers of Hermits, Townsend's, Black-throated Grays 
etc...Near the rose garden was a loudly calling Plumbeous Vireo and 3 
even louder Red-crowned Parrots.
cheers..Howard King

greetings had until noon to bird until the spheres of reality lined 
up and made life intolerable.No not the IRS this time. SWMBO 
organised a "You will sit down, and eat dinner like a real person 
with our guests, DO NOT stick your knife in the pretend healthy 
butter and decorate your knife by picking up peas, while reading a 
bird book this time ". And these people came back ! ? Frightening.I 
only have a few minutes to develope a different ploy. So...
Quick bird report.went to the drop, a smattering of wildfowl and a 
horde of Mudhens Sage sparrows back in good #s and a splendid 
Osprey. Worked my way back to Mayflower through the 2 to 4 ave back 
roads 200+ Crane, Swainsons, and RSh Hawk still at the pecans. More 
photos of the "Eastern" RT Hawk if anyone is interested. Harlans 
back on territory (5th year?). Headed for sewage plant. Late Black 
Tern, 2 pecs (nice pics together) 2 bairds,3 solits assorted others 
a Snipe, and year tick DUNLIN. Driving home "SWALLOWS", stopped and 
looked.Hundreds of Hirundines, most of them Barn Swallows. All 
headed North . Go figure. As I headed for home on 6th I felt my life 
force being sucked away. Util a "Desert Raven" appeared in front of 
me "Plonk" in the middle of the road. hopped over to the side and 
grabbed a giant slice of Pizza. Could have shared, nice pic though!
Summoned. regards rh (guinness) and assorted infidel terrierists 

This morning at Ford Park there were a couple of interesting birds. A nice 
bright CASSIN'S VIREO was one, and the other was a very unexpected BROWN 
CREEPER, working the trees next to the large field on the west end of the park. 


Sandy

Sandy Koonce
Department of Mathematics
University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373
sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu


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

greetingsi am now owner of a 6 week old Jack Russell. The only thing 
preventing me from drowning it, is the fact that I can tune out 
annoying continuous whining. The benefits of a long marriage and 
teaching 9th Graders. Hm I think someone just told me the ac filter 
needs changing, and SWMBO is not in the house, I think ?
Anyway birds.
The ZT Hawk showed up last weekend, along with an odd job. I will 
post the pic if it will let me. Cranes have been back since Tuesday. 
Fall migration in the Blythe area was non existent, one of these one 
of those, that be it. Could not tell you what a Hermit Warbler looks 
like, and it has got to be 3 years since I saw a Townsends. Good 
numbers of waders though, the sewage farm is being run to 
perfection, water levels perfect, perfect clump of grasses for 
Solits. Maybe my MEGA will show up today !
Raptors coming through in steady #s, many returning to their old 
haunts. The Prairie, Peregrine and ferrug, on 6th ave, joined by a 
fly by of 16 Swainsons hawks. Do not know how long the Peregrine 
will last, I have seen the Prairie beat it up twice now !Guess I 
will go check the air filter !regards rh (Guinness) stormin norm and 
a Jack in a box.

This morning, there was a hatch year Baltimore Oriole at the Sonny Bono 
Refuge Headquarters.  Bob Miller's Golden-plover continued at the west 
end of Young Road in a grassy field. At Wister Headquarters, there was 
an American Redstart and 6 other western warbler spp.. Sandhill Cranes 
were present at Unit One and south of Brawley near Keystone. A Greater 
White-fronted Goose on Garst Road seems a bit early..
 Cheers..Howard King

Hello,

I birded SJWA this afternoon and found a Black-and-white Warbler in
the row of trees south of the main refuge road, just before the dirt
track that leads to the southern (new ponds). As reported earlier
today, there were 2 Baird's Sandpipers present as well. I looked for
the CSWA, but could not find it. If you head to SJWA and plan to look
for warblers, be aware that there are TONS of mosquitos sharing the
riparian areas with the warblers, and bug-spray is highly recommended. 

Also, I was told by someone with apparently no affiliation with the
refuge that the roads surrounding the new ponds are strictly
maintenance roads and are not to be driven by visitors to the refuge.
That being said, there are no signs of any kind indicating this. I
couldn't find any staff to ask, so use your best judgement I guess.


-Andy Boyce
Riverside, CA

Paul Clarke, Martha Estus and I also birded San Jacinto Wildlife Area
today (9/29). We had two Baird's Sandpipers in the new south pond at
about 2 pm - they hadn't been present in the morning.  We also had a
Dunlin at Mystic Lake, but no sign of Pectoral, Buff-breasted or
Solitary Sandpipers (an individual of the latter species was seen at
SJWA by Martha Estus on 9/26). We missed the Chestnut-sided Warbler,
but still had great warbler-ing around the back ponds (trail from the
viewing platform) - add Townsend's and Hermit Warblers and Warbling
Vireos to the list of those species already reported by Chet and Steve.

Cathy McFadden
Claremont

Steve Myers and I birded the San Jacinto Wildlife Area this morning (29
Sept). The highlight was a Chestnut-sided Warbler in the riparian strip
across from Marsh C. This riparian habitat was teeming with migrants, mostly
Orange-crowned Warblers (80), as well as Yellows, Yellow-rumps, Nashville,
Wilson's, Black-throated Grays, Western Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
Vaux's Swifts and swallows swarmed overhead all morning. Shorebirding was a
bit disappointing; lots of shorebirds but none of the seasonal specialties
(no Baird's, Pectoral, or Buff-breasted sandpipers).
Chet

Hi all,

First chance at a computer this morning. Yesterday morning, 28th, Bill and 
Karen Plourde and I had a PAINTED BUNTING west of Calipatria along Bowles Road 
where it dead ends into the Salton Sea. I believe it to be an immature bird but 
have little experience with this species. When we first spotted it we thought 
it was an Orange-crowned Warbler by color. Least active Orange-crowned I've 
ever seen! When it came out to feed in the low vegetation we had great extended 
looks at it for about fifteen minutes. Bright green back. Distinct pale eye 
ring. Heavy bill, darker on upper mandible with yellow at gape which made me 
think juvenile. Pale area at throat. Orange-crowned Warbler like broad dull 
streaking on breast. Yellowish green belly. Got a few blurry digiscoped pics in 
low light. Howard King and Bill Moramarco looked for it this morning but the 
wind was extreme and they did not refind it. 


Going north along the seawall from Bowles Road the ditch is out at Young Road 
so you have to go east back over to Lack Road. In the SE corner of the field at 
the intersection of Young and the seawall there was an AMERICAN GOLEDEN-PLOVER 
in the grass area. Studied it for an extended time and it came quite close. 
Primary extensions were seen well. Bird had no golden color at all though. 


Sparrows are coming in strong. Going east out of Calipatria on Noffsinger Road 
the pavement ends just out of town. MANY sparrows at that spot! Brewer’s, 
Vesper, Chipping and White-crowned. We then continued east toward the East 
Highline Canal (EHL). A very dark capped Sage Sparrow with strong malar stripe 
was seen along the desert habitat before the EHL. We then followed the EHL 
south and then turned back west onto the “I” canal. Numerous Sage, Vesper 
and White-crowned along “I” Canal. 


Checked the area east of the Calipatria Prison along Peterson Road. Most all 
off the fields were newly plowed and readied for new crops and I am not sure 
what they are putting in yet. My thinking is that it might be really great 
habitat for longspurs, pipits and larks but NOT for birders to walk in. Will 
see how it goes when they get the crops in. 


SANDHILL CRANES have returned south of Brawley. Jeff Klicka who owns the 
waterfowl club where they traditionally roost, east of Dogwood Road and north 
of Keystone Road, said he saw the first ones there on Thursday 27th. We counted 
80 individuals coming into the grain warehouse on Carey Road at about 5pm from 
the east. Only two of the 80 were juveniles? Howard said he had two individuals 
fly over Keystone Road near Holly Sugar from the west. 


Howard King called about 0930 this morning to report an immature male BALTIMORE 
ORIOLE just showed at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Visitors Center near the 
drip in front of the office. 


See ya at the sea…………..


   (!__!)
   (0V0)      HAPPY BIRDING
  {}~~{}        BOB MILLER
 =='''='''==

Southwest Birders
108 West I Street
Brawley, CA. 92227
Imperial County

http://www.southwestbirders.com
bob.miller AT mindspring.com

Hi all,

First chance at a computer this morning. Yesterday morning, 28th, Bill and 
Karen Plourde and I had a PAINTED BUNTING west of Calipatria along Bowles Road 
where it dead ends into the Salton Sea. I believe it to be an immature bird but 
have little experience with this species. When we first spotted it we thought 
it was an Orange-crowned Warbler by color. Least active Orange-crowned I've 
ever seen! When it came out to feed in the low vegetation we had great extended 
looks at it for about fifteen minutes. Bright green back. Distinct pale eye 
ring. Heavy bill, darker on upper mandible with yellow at gape which made me 
think juvenile. Pale area at throat. Orange-crowned Warbler like broad dull 
streaking on breast. Yellowish green belly. Got a few blurry digiscoped pics in 
low light. Howard King and Bill Moramarco looked for it this morning but the 
wind was extreme and they did not refind it. 


Going north along the seawall from Bowles Road the ditch is out at Young Road 
so you have to go east back over to Lack Road. In the SE corner of the field at 
the intersection of Young and the seawall there was an AMERICAN GOLEDEN-PLOVER 
in the grass area. Studied it for an extended time and it came quite close. 
Primary extensions were seen well. Bird had no golden color at all though. 


Sparrows are coming in strong. Going east out of Calipatria on Noffsinger Road 
the pavement ends just out of town. MANY sparrows at that spot! Brewer’s, 
Vesper, Chipping and White-crowned. We then continued east toward the East 
Highline Canal (EHL). A very dark capped Sage Sparrow with strong malar stripe 
was seen along the desert habitat before the EHL. We then followed the EHL 
south and then turned back west onto the “I” canal. Numerous Sage, Vesper 
and White-crowned along “I” Canal. 


Checked the area east of the Calipatria Prison along Peterson Road. Most all 
off the fields were newly plowed and readied for new crops and I am not sure 
what they are putting in yet. My thinking is that it might be really great 
habitat for longspurs, pipits and larks but NOT for birders to walk in. Will 
see how it goes when they get the crops in. 


SANDHILL CRANES have returned south of Brawley. Jeff Klicka who owns the 
waterfowl club where they traditionally roost, east of Dogwood Road and north 
of Keystone Road, said he saw the first ones there on Thursday 27th. We counted 
80 individuals coming into the grain warehouse on Carey Road at about 5pm from 
the east. Only two of the 80 were juveniles? Howard said he had two individuals 
fly over Keystone Road near Holly Sugar from the west. 


Howard King called about 0930 this morning to report an immature male BALTIMORE 
ORIOLE just showed at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Visitors Center near the 
drip in front of the office. 


See ya at the sea…………..


   (!__!)
   (0V0)      HAPPY BIRDING
  {}~~{}        BOB MILLER
 =='''='''==

Southwest Birders
108 West I Street
Brawley, CA. 92227
Imperial County

http://www.southwestbirders.com
bob.miller AT mindspring.com

Hello,

Headed down to SJWA with two friends to look for the shorebirds
recently reported down there. We missed both Baird's and Buff-breasted
Sandpiper but did manage at least one Pectoral Sandpiper and one
Dunlin found by Bob Packard. There were a ton of shorebirds on the
recently reclaimed ponds to the south of the main refuge road and
turnover was noticeable even in the hour we were there. Also in the
area were; 1 juv. Peregrine Falcon and 1 Greater White-fronted Goose.

Go Red Sox.

-Andy Boyce
Riverside, CA

Thursday am I saw Yellow-rumped Warblers for the first time this fall, 
the Say's Phoebes and Ruby-crowned Kinglets have returned, and today I 
saw the first White-crowned Sparrow of the fall.

Migrants continue to trickle through (although a longer and bigger 
trickley than in past years) ... Townsend's and Black-throated Gray 
Warblers, still some Wilson's and a few Warbling Vireos, and today the 
third White-breasted Nuthatch this fall.

No Merlin yet.
Good birding,
Madeline in Mira Loma

Hi all,

Yesterday evening I birded the eastern most 3 ponds.  There were good
numbers of ducks at the 3rd to the west.  At the drawn-down eastern
most pond, I had a single Solitary Sand and 3 Baird's Sands with the
more usual migrants.  At dark a bobcat came out to play just after a
coyote rambled across the pond.  Is a LENIghthawk still usual at this
date?

I've been in 'stow now for about 4 weeks and have 9 more to go before
I'm released (no I'm not in the pen though it feels like I'm in
solitary) I'm working a biological survey job SE of town and am
looking for people to bird with. I'm almost always back in town on by
2 pm, so if you want some company to the treatment ponds or some other
place that I have yet to discover, give a shout to the cell number .  I can meet you for a spur-of-the-moment birding foray.
-- 
Elias Elias
HOME 141 G Street Arcata, CA 95521
WORK USDA Forest Service, Redwood Sciences Lab., Bird Monitoring Lab.,
1700 Bayview Drive Arcata CA 95521
 home  mobile  fax

greetings pushed for time. "Dancing with the stars" might come on, 
resulting in me leaving the house,then and lay outside, cover myself 
with leaves and hope to die. ZT Hawk in the area , seen it twice this 
week. Will send a longer note on Sat and post a pic of a fun bird. Up 
to 5 Solit sand s at sewage plant. Habitat just awesome for waders. 
rh and (Guinness)

Curtis Marantz and I went back out to the San Jacinto Valley today (27
Sept)to look for the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that I observed for five
seconds yesterday. We failed to refind it yesterday. Today we started at
Mystic Lake, then went to the new ponds on the south side of the SJWA and to
yesterday's location. After checking Marsh C we got distracted by warblers
in the trees in the river channel and spent our remaining time looking at
Yellows, Orange-crowns, Black-throated Grays, Common Yellowthroats,
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. We then got back in my truck and drove to Riverside,
where Curtis noticed as he unloaded that his scope was not in the truck. I
drove home; Curtis went back to the SJWA. About an hour later I get the
call: Curtis found his scope and he found the Buff-breasted Sandpiper. He
found the bird in a place we checked twice yesterday: the green wet spot
just south of the porta-potty by the reclaimed water ponds. This is the
direction the bird flew when it left Marsh C yesterday.
Chet

This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary.  We cover Imperial, 
Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Names in the report are 
generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the 
person claiming the first sighting.

The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum 
is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must 
use a phone line, please call .

Birds mentioned:

Green Heron
Merlin
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Red Phalarope
Sabine's Gull
Vaux's Swift
Gray Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Cassin's Vireo
Clark's Nutcracker
Townsend's Solitaire
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Clay-colored Sparrow
Red Crossbill

- Transcript 
	
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

Bill Deppe found a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW at the northwest end of 
Pebble Beach Park in Victorville and at least 2 RED CROSSBILLS at 
the south end of the park on Sept. 21. On Sept. 23, Bill found an 
INDIGO BUNTING at Knott Sky Park in Twentynine Palms.

Andy Boyce and Dan Williams both reported on a birding trip on Sept. 
21. Highlights included a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, a VERMILION 
FLYCATCHER, at least 2 SUMMER TANAGERS, and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE 
at Morongo Preserve.

Catherine McFadden reported form Glen Helen Regional Park on Sept. 
23. Sightings included a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, a MERLIN, and a 
reported GRAY FLYCATCHER and CASSIN'S VIREO.

Steve Druce saw a GREEN HERON at Lake Gregory on Sept. 23.

Kirk Stitt reported, on Sept. 24, that at least 2 male VERMILION 
FLYCATCHERS are still being seen on the Cal State campus near the 
athletic fields.

Robert McMorran reported seeing a NASHVILLE WARBLER, and a TENNESSEE 
WARBLER ON Sept. 25 as he was leaving the Barstow BLM office.

Howard King reported seeing a CLARK'S NUTCRACKER flying south over 
Morongo Valley on Sept. 26.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Dan Williams had a TROPICAL KINGBIRD in a tree in his front yard in 
Riverside on Sept. 20.

Madeline Bauer visited Hidden Valley Wildlife Area on Sept. 23 and 
saw a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, a Selasphorous HUMMINGBIRD, and several 
VAUX'S SWIFTS. She's also been seeing the VAUX'S SWIFTS on the north 
side of the river at the Goose Creek Golf Course in Mira Loma over 
the last week.

Chet McGaugh reported a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER in Marsh C (between 
ponds 2 and 3) at the San jacinto Wildlife Area on Sept. 26. Also 
seen were at least 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and 2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS.

IMPERIAL COUNTY

Dan Williams found a juvenile SABINE'S GULL just northeast of Rock 
Hill on Sept. 22. Also seen was a RED PHALAROPE on the tern colony 
pond just south of the hill.

Andy Boyce reported what he felt was a few SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER at 
the edge of the pond adjacent to the Alamo River mouth. They were 
mixed with large flocks of Western Sandpipers. 

That's it for today.  This summary is done weekly, usually on 
Thursday.  
    

Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba AT earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
To report sightings phone 

For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have 
information on any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in 
this report, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  We can't update reports if we 
don't hear from you.  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are 
classified as at least rare in "Birds of Southern California" by 
Garrett and Dunn, "Birds of the Salton Sea" by Patten, McCaskie, and 
Unitt, or in "Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley" by 
Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson.  Rarity can be regional or 
seasonal.  For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where 
it is rare, may be on the summary.  That same bird reported from the 
San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be.  A 
sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common 
there in December.

If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get 
MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to 
inlandcountybirds (see below).  

To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!!  If there 
is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail 
Kirk and Linda Stitt at secalrba AT earthlink.net or call  
(Linda's cell).  Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. 

Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records 
Committee review species (as noted in the text above) to:

Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA  , E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net

Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity 
should be reported to the "North American Birds" (formerly "Field 
Notes") County Coordinators.  They are:

IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA  
91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net

INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA  93513 E: 
tjheindel AT aol.com

KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA  93305 E: 
jcwilson AT lightspeed.net

RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, 
CA  92507 E:bewickwren AT earthlink.net

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY  Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, 
Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu
************
There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and 
Imperial) bird report & discussion group.  You can view messages 
at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ 

IMPORTANT:  Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA 
are not reported to Inlandcountybirds.  Sites and phone numbers 
where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below.  If 
you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or 
phone number first, in addition to this RBA.

Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County 
reports are posted on BIRDWEST.  To subscribe, send a message to

LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in 
the message (and your name = YOUR real name).

Orange County has an RBA update mailing list.  To subscribe, write 
to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu

There is also an Orange County Listserv.  Messages can be viewed 
there at;  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding

San Diego County has its own Listserv.  You can view messages at:  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS  ***

The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to:  
http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html  ***

Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds 
covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports.  To 
subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-
subscribe AT yahoogroups.com  ***

Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at 
http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/

Some Kern County reports are posted at: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding

Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon

Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be 
viewed at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds

************
A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is 
available on the SBVAS website:  http://www.sbvas.org

Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: 
Los Angeles RBA          ***
Monterey Bay RBA        
Morro Bay RBA           
Orange County RBA       
San Diego RBA            ***

Santa Barbara RBA        (report to )
Southeastern CA Bird Alert    report to 
Southern California BIRDBOX   + 5 ***
CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (to report wildlife 
violations)

-- 

Greetings: 

I apologize for the non-sighting post, and to those of you who
subscribe to multiple lists and are seeing this twice. 

I am trying to recruit volunteers for a relatively new project
organized by the Hawk Migration Assoc. of North America. This
organization compiles raptor migration data from across the continent
and is initiating a winter monitoring program. Apart from CBCs, little
quantitative data on winter raptor populations is available. There
have been similar routes done in the area covered by this list, and
some good areas I can think of include the Imperial Valley and the San
Jacinto Valley. I'm sure there are more good spots. A route or two
from this area would be a valuable addition to this database. 

These surveys are driving routes done once per month from late
November through early March (for souther california, Dec-Feb is more
realistic). We are leaving the choice of routes up to volunteers in
each area with local knowledge of raptor concentrations and road
access. If anyone is interested, protocols and a datasheet can be
found at www.hmana.org/wrs.php. 

This is an ambitious project that can only work with the help of
skilled volunteers. 

If you are interested in helping, please email me and download forms
from the HMANA website mentioned above. 

Thank you. 

Zach Smith
Davis, Ca.

First WCS of my season yesterday, also a Sharp-Shinned Hawk flying over 
Hwy 18 in Apple Valley.

Hi Birders,

This is a one-time announcement approved by the respective list 
owners. Please do not reply to this message on the list. If you have 
any questions, please use the mailto link in my signature.

Run by birders for birders, Optics4Birding has the widest selection 
of birding optics available in the area. From Alpen to Zeiss, we have 
the binoculars, scopes, and tripods to match your needs and fit your 
budget. Come in and let our staff help you find the best optics for you.


Optics4Birding is located at

19 Hammond, Suite 506
Irvine CA 92618


Our hours are:
8 AM to 7 PM M-F
10 AM to 5 PM Sat

We will be closed Sept. 27-30 for the WFO Conference in Las Vegas. 
Please visit us there.


Directions

 From I-5 or I-405 near the El Toro "Y" in Orange County:

*  Exit onto Bake Pkwy. and go north (toward the mountains)
*  At the sixth traffic light north of I-5, turn left onto Irvine 
Blvd. (A right turn at this intersection would put you on Trabuco, 
and that sign may be more visible than the one for Irvine.)
*  At the first light, turn right onto Parker
*  Turn left into the first driveway
*  Go past two buildings and turn right at the FedEx drop box
*  Optics4Birding is on the right about halfway up the building

Please use these directions. Not all navigation systems or online 
directions are as accurate.


Good Viewing,
Steve Sosensky 
Vice President

www.Optics4Birding.com
19 Hammond Suite 506
Irvine CA .OP4.BIRD () Toll Free
949.360.OPTX () Local
 Cell  

Hi Birders,

This is a one-time announcement approved by the respective list 
owners. Please do not reply to this message on the list. If you have 
any questions, please use the mailto link in my signature.

Run by birders for birders, Optics4Birding has the widest selection 
of birding optics available in the area. From Alpen to Zeiss, we have 
the binoculars, scopes, and tripods to match your needs and fit your 
budget. Come in and let our staff help you find the best optics for you.


Optics4Birding is located at

19 Hammond, Suite 506
Irvine CA 92618


Our hours are:
8 AM to 7 PM M-F
10 AM to 5 PM Sat

We will be closed Sept. 27-30 for the WFO Conference in Las Vegas. 
Please visit us there.


Directions

 From I-5 or I-405 near the El Toro "Y" in Orange County:

*  Exit onto Bake Pkwy. and go north (toward the mountains)
*  At the sixth traffic light north of I-5, turn left onto Irvine 
Blvd. (A right turn at this intersection would put you on Trabuco, 
and that sign may be more visible than the one for Irvine.)
*  At the first light, turn right onto Parker
*  Turn left into the first driveway
*  Go past two buildings and turn right at the FedEx drop box
*  Optics4Birding is on the right about halfway up the building

Please use these directions. Not all navigation systems or online 
directions are as accurate.


Good Viewing,
Steve Sosensky 
Vice President

www.Optics4Birding.com
19 Hammond Suite 506
Irvine CA .OP4.BIRD () Toll Free
949.360.OPTX () Local
 Cell  

Hi Birders,

This is a one-time announcement approved by the respective list 
owners. Please do not reply to this message on the list. If you have 
any questions, please use the mailto link in my signature.

Run by birders for birders, Optics4Birding has the widest selection 
of birding optics available in the area. From Alpen to Zeiss, we have 
the binoculars, scopes, and tripods to match your needs and fit your 
budget. Come in and let our staff help you find the best optics for you.


Optics4Birding is located at

19 Hammond, Suite 506
Irvine CA 92618


Our hours are:
8 AM to 7 PM M-F
10 AM to 5 PM Sat

We will be closed Sept. 27-30 for the WFO Conference in Las Vegas. 
Please visit us there.


Directions

 From I-5 or I-405 near the El Toro "Y" in Orange County:

*  Exit onto Bake Pkwy. and go north (toward the mountains)
*  At the sixth traffic light north of I-5, turn left onto Irvine 
Blvd. (A right turn at this intersection would put you on Trabuco, 
and that sign may be more visible than the one for Irvine.)
*  At the first light, turn right onto Parker
*  Turn left into the first driveway
*  Go past two buildings and turn right at the FedEx drop box
*  Optics4Birding is on the right about halfway up the building

Please use these directions. Not all navigation systems or online 
directions are as accurate.


Good Viewing,
Steve Sosensky 
Vice President

www.Optics4Birding.com
19 Hammond Suite 506
Irvine CA .OP4.BIRD () Toll Free
949.360.OPTX () Local
 Cell  

About 9:00 this morning, I had a Clark's Nutcracker flying south over 
Morongo Valley. This species is not on thier checklist. Does anyone 
know of other records for Nutcracker in Morongo ?
Cheers..Howard King