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20 Nov Salton Sea State Recreation Area [] 20 Nov Another CURVE-BILLED THRASHER report [] 19 Nov Southeastern CA RBA: November 19, 2009 [Tom Benson ] 19 Nov Salton Sea birds (no Ancient Murrelet) [] 19 Nov ancient murrelet [] 20 Nov Baker/Newberry Springs ["Jim" ] 19 Nov Re: Desert Center Nov. 18 - Ruddy Ground-Dove [Joseph Morlan ] 18 Nov Desert Center Nov. 18 - Ruddy Ground-Dove ["Chet McGaugh" ] 18 Nov Re: Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [] 18 Nov Re: Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [Bob Miller ] 18 Nov Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [Bob Miller ] 18 Nov Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [Bob Miller ] 18 Nov Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [Bob Miller ] 18 Nov Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea [Bob Miller ] 18 Nov Apple Valley Vermilion Flycatcher ["jwbnav" ] 17 Nov Prado Regional Park (Tropical Kingbird) ["Mike San Miguel" ] 17 Nov Downtown Riverside Peregrine [] 16 Nov Prado Regional Park 17 Nov 2009 ["howardbking" ] 16 Nov Hooded Mergansers, Montclair ["rfclements" ] 16 Nov San Jacinto Valley, no rarities ["dgingt22" ] 15 Nov Big Bear Lake ["Brad" ] 15 Nov Mountain Bluebirds in Big Bear ["racitup2002" ] 14 Nov Riverside County desert rarities update ["Chet McGaugh" ] 14 Nov re: Red-breasted Sapsucker in Palm Desert [] 13 Nov Re: Parker Strip [] 13 Nov Parker Strip ["Brad" ] 12 Nov Blythe Area - American Redstart - 11/12/09 [Jake Mohlmann ] 12 Nov Southeastern CA RBA: November 12, 2009 [Tom Benson ] 11 Nov BTBW still at Glen Helen ["dgingt22" ] 11 Nov Regarding Lost Lake/Sheep Fire ["kelleyal" ] 11 Nov Heard a Belted Kingfisher, saw the Bald Eagle: Lake Gregory, Crestline ["steve.druce" ] 10 Nov Bay-breasted Warbler continues 11-10-09 ["bewickwren" ] 10 Nov Salton Sea / Imperial Valley highlights, 10 Nov ["lehman.paul AT verizon.net" ] 10 Nov RE: Confusing Fall Warblers, etc. ["bewickwren" ] 10 Nov Confusing Fall Warblers, etc. ["Brad" ] 10 Nov Mira Loma: Gray Flycatcher(s) [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 09 Nov Bay-breasted Warbler still present Monday morning ["nmoorhatch" ] 09 Nov Curve-billed Thrasher photos [] 08 Nov Curve-billed Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing [] 09 Nov Another entertaining Apple Valley bird event ["jwbnav" ] 08 Nov Adult bald Eagle at Lake Gregory, Crestline. No Pelican ["steve.druce" ] 08 Nov Bay-breasted Warbler continues Sun morning ["howardbking" ] 07 Nov Re: continuing Bay-breasted Warbler [Joseph Morlan ] 7 Nov continuing Bay-breasted Warbler ["Chet McGaugh" ] 7 Nov Fw: Cackling Gooses ["Chet McGaugh" ] 08 Nov A lone White Pelican, Lake Gregory, Meadowlarks San Bernardino ["steve.druce" ] 7 Nov Cackling Gooses ["Chet McGaugh" ] 7 Nov Eastern SBE County ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 08 Nov Lake Perris etc. Saturday ["howardbking" ] 07 Nov Cal State birds [] 6 Nov dispersal species shuffle ["Lidia Seebeck" ] 6 Nov Bay-breasted Warbler, Cactus City ["Chet McGaugh" ] 6 Nov BTBlue Warbler-Riverside [Andrew Howe ] 06 Nov Fwd: Bird Outings at Lake Elsinore [Charity Hagen ] 06 Nov Rare Apple Valley Saturday morning event ["jwbnav" ] 5 Nov western RIV Nov. 5 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 05 Nov more Lewis Woodpeckers on the Santa Rosa Plateau [Charity Hagen ] 05 Nov Blue-footed Boobies at the Salton Sea ["eppygriffin" ] 05 Nov Southeastern CA RBA: November 5, 2009 [Tom Benson ] 4 Nov Nutmeg Mannikins at Hidden Valley Wildlife Area [Lynn Miller ] 05 Nov Received from Central_Valley_Birds ["jwbnav" ] 05 Nov Interesting Apple Valley Del Webb combo!! ["jwbnav" ] 04 Nov curve- billed thrasher ["linda" ] 03 Nov Clay Colored Sparrow Redlands ["Doug" ] 3 Nov Desert Center, Chiriaco, Cactus City open Nov. 3 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 3 Nov Ruddy Ground-Dove in Imperial County ["lehman.paul AT verizon.net" ] 03 Nov Mira Loma: Continuing Gray Flycatcher [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 03 Nov Re: Dead boobies at NESS ["howardbking" ] 02 Nov NESS/Palm Island Drive ["Brad" ] 2 Nov RE: Boobies Location? [Naomi Baucom ] 2 Nov Salton Sea (South) CBC - 22nd December 2009 [Oscar Johnson ] 02 Nov Mira Loma: Gray Flycatcher (0), Golden-crowned Kinglet (0), Merlin (0) [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 1 Nov Black Vulture [Ronny Roa ] 1 Nov Brawley Sat and Imperial Dam Sun ["lehman.paul AT verizon.net" ] 1 Nov Boobies Location? [Naomi Baucom ] 01 Nov Merlins in Mira Loma and Continuing Gray Flycatcher (and Golden-crowned Kinglet) [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] Subject: Salton Sea State Recreation Area From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:02 -0500 And for those who are unfamiliar with the Salton Sea State Recreation Area, it is on Hwy 111 in Riverside County at the north end of the Salton Sea approximately 10 miles south of 66th Ave or a couple miles south of North Shore. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Another CURVE-BILLED THRASHER report From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24:32 -0500 I received a phone call today from a gentleman by the name of Tony Breba that he had found a CURVE-BILLED THRASHER at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area yesterday (19 Nov) between 1100 and 1130. Directions from Tony: from the gate/entrance booth, turn left (toward the visitor center) and the bird was on the right side of the road approximately 100 feet from the turn. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: November 19, 2009 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:23:29 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * November 19, 2009 * CASE0911.19 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). 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 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Snow Goose Ross's Goose Eurasian Wigeon Surf Scoter Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Least Bittern Peregrine Falcon Marbled Godwit Laughing Gull Western Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Ancient Murrelet Ruddy Ground-dove Vermilion Flycatcher Tropical Kingbird *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* American Redstart - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY Two MARBLED GODWITS were seen at Grout Bay on Big Bear Lake on Nov 15 (Brad Singer). Two LEAST BITTERNS, 11 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, and a TROPICAL KINGBIRD were seen at Prado Regional Park on Nov 17 (Howard King, Mike San Miguel Jr.) A ROSS'S GOOSE was at Zzyzx Desert Studies Center on Nov 19 (Jim Pike). RIVERSIDE COUNTY An AMERICAN REDSTART was at Wiley's Well on I-10 on Nov 12 (Jake Mohlmann). The *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* continued at Chiriaco Summit through Nov 14 (Chet McGaugh). A female SURF SCOTER, a COMMON MERGANSER, 2 LAUGHING GULLS, a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, and a WESTERN GULL were seen at the north end of the Salton Sea on Nov 14 (Chet McGaugh). A San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trip found a EURASIAN WIGEON and a SNOW GOOSE at the Sanderson sewage ponds on Nov 15 (Dave Goodward). A PEREGRINE FALCON was seen in downtown Riverside on Nov 15 (Mike Gurbada). A RUDDY GROUND-DOVE and a SNOW GOOSE were seen at Desert Center on Nov 18 (Chet McGaugh). IMPERIAL COUNTY An ANCIENT MURRELET was found at the north end of Lack Road on Nov 18 (Steve Arlow). A YELLOW-FOOTED GULL and a HOODED MERGANSER were seen near the intersection of Lack and Lindsey, and 11 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen at Unit 1 Salton Sea NWR on Nov 19 (Tom Benson). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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. 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 Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and 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). 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/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Monterey Bay RBA (831) 626-6605 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Santa Barbara RBA (805) 964-8240 (report to (805) 964-1316) Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 Southern California BIRDBOX (818) 952-5502 + 5 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Salton Sea birds (no Ancient Murrelet) From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:11:29 -0500 Doug Karalun and I were among the birders who failed to re-find the Ancient Murrelet today. Some birds of note that we were able to find were the continuing Gray Flycatcher and Red-naped Sapsucker at Cattle Call Park, an adult Yellow-footed Gull near the west end of Lindsey Road, and a female Hooded Merganser at the north end of Lack Road. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: ancient murrelet From: leighestus AT aol.com Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:02:25 EST Birders, The ancient murrelet was a "no show" today at the Salton Sea. Apparently it is a bird that usually appears one day and then is gone; to spare some folks a long drive hoping to see it. On the other hand--there's always hope? We kept checking the spot from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. today, Nov. 19. Martha Estus Claremont, California [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Baker/Newberry Springs From: "Jim" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:10:20 -0000 Hi, I made a quick dash out to Baker today. A Pink-sided Junco was at famed Chet Huffman Park. Surprisingly, there was nothing of note behind Koonce's Kozy Kitchen (formerly Pike's Infamous Pancake House). A Ross's Goose, the continuing Gray Flycatcher, 15-20 Western Bluebirds, and only 2 Yellow-rumpeds were at Zzyzx. In the Newberry Springs area, I had plenty of Horned Larks to look through, but couldn't turn up any longspurs. Jim Pike Huntington Beach Subject: Re: Desert Center Nov. 18 - Ruddy Ground-Dove From: Joseph Morlan <jmorlan AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:15:55 -0800 On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:40:39 -0800, "Chet McGaugh" wrote: >Highlight was Dave turning a flock of ten Inca Doves into a mixed flock of nine Incas and a female Ruddy Ground-Dove. (Central park side of the southeast neighborhood). Chet's photo of the Ruddy Ground-Dove is available at the WFO site: http://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/ Click through for full size. Enjoy! -- Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA jmorlan (at) ccsf.edu SF Birding Classes start Feb.9 http://fog.ccsf.edu/jmorlan/ California Bird Records Committee http://www.californiabirds.org/ Western Field Ornithologists http://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/ Subject: Desert Center Nov. 18 - Ruddy Ground-Dove From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:40:39 -0800 Dave Goodward and I got a later than usual start but still spent four+ hours at Desert Center. Highlight was Dave turning a flock of ten Inca Doves into a mixed flock of nine Incas and a female Ruddy Ground-Dove. (Central park side of the southeast neighborhood). Also, Snow Goose, Gray Flycatcher, Red-naped Sapsucker all seeming to be settled in for the winter, the continuing influx of Western Bluebirds, the conspicuous Prairie Falcon, more waterfowl, less sparrows except White-crowns, only warblers were Yellow-rumps. En route we stopped briefly at Cactus City and Chiriaco Summit. Highlight of those stops was meeting Bob Chiriaco (pronounced "shur-ay-ko"). Nice man. He now knows about Curve-billed Thrasher. We didn't find it in our short time before sunset. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: LGREUK400 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:42:17 EST Wow Bob, is that the Steve Arlow from good old Southend-on-Sea in Essex (UK)? Has he emigrated to southern California or has he just struck lucky whilst seeking out wintering Ross's Snow Geese and that salubrious-looking Yellow-footed Gull whilst enjoying a late autumn holiday? A fabulous record and no doubt one for the photographers to make the most of. I haven't seen any since I was last in Monterey Bay. Incredibly, we once had one in Britain in an auk colony which returned for two successive years. Alcid movements are well and truly remarkable. Oh how I miss California ! Lee G R Evans British Birding Association UK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist Discussion Forum/Email Group: _http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UK400Club/_ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UK400Club/) Rare Bird Alert: _http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RareBirdAlertforBritainandIreland_UK400ClubBBA/_ (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RareBirdAlertforBritainandIreland_UK400ClubBBA/) Email Address: LGREUK400 AT aol.com Website Address: _www.uk400clubonline.co.uk_ (http://www.uk400clubonline.co.uk/) Related Blog Sites: _http://uk400clubrarebirdalert.blogspot.com/_ (http://uk400clubrarebirdalert.blogspot.com/) _ http://rarebirdsinthewesternpalearctic.blogspot.com/ http://birdingamersham.blogspot.com/_ (http://birdingamersham.blogspot.com/) _ http://birdingtringreservoirs.blogspot.com/_ (http://birdingtringreservoirs.blogspot.com/) _http://calvertbirding.blogspot.com/_ (http://calvertbirding.blogspot.com/) _http://hertfordshirebirding.blogspot.com/_ (http://hertfordshirebirding.blogspot.com/) _http://buckinghamshirebirding.blogspot.com/_ (http://buckinghamshirebirding.blogspot.com/) _http://birdreportexchange.blogspot.com/_ (http://birdreportexchange.blogspot.com/) Chaffinch House 8 Sandycroft Road Little Chalfont Amersham Buckinghamshire England HP6 6QL Telephones: 01494 763010 and 01494 581157 Mobile/Text Alerts: 07881 906629 (Lee Evans Enterprises incorporate documentation of rare bird occurrences in Britain & Ireland and elsewhere in the Western Palearctic and in North America; Rare Bird Information and Rare Bird Alerts; Rare Birds Magazine and other related publications; Bird Tours for Birders) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: Bob Miller <bob.miller AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:22:32 -0500 (EST) Hi all, I ran up to the Salton Sea and saw the Ancient Murrelet, found by Steve Arlow, (still at the location given in my previous post below) from 1:00pm till 2:10pm when I left. I was able to get a few lousy digiscope shots of it when I first arrived as it was about 100 yards north of the corner of the sea wall. It was preening out at that distance and very loosely associating with the Ruddy Duck flock for about ten minutes then it slowly moved closer to shore. It got close enough to shore on the east side of the inlet that I could no longer see it so I moved out onto the rocks to view down the shoreline. It surprised me as it was actively feeding on and chasing Tilapia minnows within a few feet of the shore and right below me! Had to pull the adapter of my camera and got a few shots of it rather close. It spent most of the rest of the hour actively feeding right at the base of the rock sea wall from about 20 feet west of the inlet to a few hundred feet east of the inlet. Naomi from the NWR refuge showed up with a good camera and probably has some very fine pictures of this bird. You could actually see it flying under water and the minnows scattering before it! It was a few hundred feet east of the inlet and the corner of Lack Road when I left. -----Original Message----- From: Bob Miller Sent: Nov 18, 2009 2:40 PM To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com, SDBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea Hi all, Just got a call (11:35am) from Eric Duerkop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR. A Steve A.(unknown last name) posted on their sightings list this morning an Ancient Murrelet on the Salton Sea. Eric went out and confirms that there is one Ancient Murrelet just off of the sea wall at the north dead end of Lack Road, where the sea wall turns east, which is just south of Obsidian Butte and north of the intersection with Lindsey Road on the SE side of the Salton Sea. Funny thing is that, to my understanding, Ancient Murrelet are the only Alcids ever recorded at the Salton Sea and rarely at that! (!__!) (0V0) HAPPY BIRDING {}~~{} BOB MILLER ='''='''== Southwest Birders Brawley, CA. 92227 Imperial County 760-455-1413 http://www.southwestbirders.com bob.miller AT mindspring.com Subject: Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: Bob Miller <bob.miller AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:22:32 -0500 (EST) Hi all, I ran up to the Salton Sea and saw the Ancient Murrelet, found by Steve Arlow, (still at the location given in my previous post below) from 1:00pm till 2:10pm when I left. I was able to get a few lousy digiscope shots of it when I first arrived as it was about 100 yards north of the corner of the sea wall. It was preening out at that distance and very loosely associating with the Ruddy Duck flock for about ten minutes then it slowly moved closer to shore. It got close enough to shore on the east side of the inlet that I could no longer see it so I moved out onto the rocks to view down the shoreline. It surprised me as it was actively feeding on and chasing Tilapia minnows within a few feet of the shore and right below me! Had to pull the adapter of my camera and got a few shots of it rather close. It spent most of the rest of the hour actively feeding right at the base of the rock sea wall from about 20 feet west of the inlet to a few hundred feet east of the inlet. Naomi from the NWR refuge showed up with a good camera and probably has some very fine pictures of this bird. You could actually see it flying under water and the minnows scattering before it! It was a few hundred feet east of the inlet and the corner of Lack Road when I left. -----Original Message----- From: Bob Miller Sent: Nov 18, 2009 2:40 PM To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com, SDBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea Hi all, Just got a call (11:35am) from Eric Duerkop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR. A Steve A.(unknown last name) posted on their sightings list this morning an Ancient Murrelet on the Salton Sea. Eric went out and confirms that there is one Ancient Murrelet just off of the sea wall at the north dead end of Lack Road, where the sea wall turns east, which is just south of Obsidian Butte and north of the intersection with Lindsey Road on the SE side of the Salton Sea. Funny thing is that, to my understanding, Ancient Murrelet are the only Alcids ever recorded at the Salton Sea and rarely at that! (!__!) (0V0) HAPPY BIRDING {}~~{} BOB MILLER ='''='''== Southwest Birders Brawley, CA. 92227 Imperial County 760-455-1413 http://www.southwestbirders.com bob.miller AT mindspring.com Subject: Re: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: Bob Miller <bob.miller AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:22:32 -0500 (EST) Hi all, I ran up to the Salton Sea and saw the Ancient Murrelet, found by Steve Arlow, (still at the location given in my previous post below) from 1:00pm till 2:10pm when I left. I was able to get a few lousy digiscope shots of it when I first arrived as it was about 100 yards north of the corner of the sea wall. It was preening out at that distance and very loosely associating with the Ruddy Duck flock for about ten minutes then it slowly moved closer to shore. It got close enough to shore on the east side of the inlet that I could no longer see it so I moved out onto the rocks to view down the shoreline. It surprised me as it was actively feeding on and chasing Tilapia minnows within a few feet of the shore and right below me! Had to pull the adapter of my camera and got a few shots of it rather close. It spent most of the rest of the hour actively feeding right at the base of the rock sea wall from about 20 feet west of the inlet to a few hundred feet east of the inlet. Naomi from the NWR refuge showed up with a good camera and probably has some very fine pictures of this bird. You could actually see it flying under water and the minnows scattering before it! It was a few hundred feet east of the inlet and the corner of Lack Road when I left. -----Original Message----- From: Bob Miller Sent: Nov 18, 2009 2:40 PM To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com, SDBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SDBIRDS] Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea Hi all, Just got a call (11:35am) from Eric Duerkop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR. A Steve A.(unknown last name) posted on their sightings list this morning an Ancient Murrelet on the Salton Sea. Eric went out and confirms that there is one Ancient Murrelet just off of the sea wall at the north dead end of Lack Road, where the sea wall turns east, which is just south of Obsidian Butte and north of the intersection with Lindsey Road on the SE side of the Salton Sea. Funny thing is that, to my understanding, Ancient Murrelet are the only Alcids ever recorded at the Salton Sea and rarely at that! (!__!) (0V0) HAPPY BIRDING {}~~{} BOB MILLER ='''='''== Southwest Birders Brawley, CA. 92227 Imperial County 760-455-1413 http://www.southwestbirders.com bob.miller AT mindspring.com Subject: Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: Bob Miller <bob.miller AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:48 -0500 (EST) Hi all, Just got a call (11:35am) from Eric Duerkop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR. A Steve A.(unknown last name) posted on their sightings list this morning an Ancient Murrelet on the Salton Sea. Eric went out and confirms that there is one Ancient Murrelet just off of the sea wall at the north dead end of Lack Road, where the sea wall turns east, which is just south of Obsidian Butte and north of the intersection with Lindsey Road on the SE side of the Salton Sea. Funny thing is that, to my understanding, Ancient Murrelet are the only Alcids ever recorded at the Salton Sea and rarely at that! (!__!) (0V0) HAPPY BIRDING {}~~{} BOB MILLER ='''='''== Southwest Birders Brawley, CA. 92227 Imperial County 760-455-1413 http://www.southwestbirders.com bob.miller AT mindspring.com Subject: Ancient Murrelet at Salton Sea From: Bob Miller <bob.miller AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:48 -0500 (EST) Hi all, Just got a call (11:35am) from Eric Duerkop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR. A Steve A.(unknown last name) posted on their sightings list this morning an Ancient Murrelet on the Salton Sea. Eric went out and confirms that there is one Ancient Murrelet just off of the sea wall at the north dead end of Lack Road, where the sea wall turns east, which is just south of Obsidian Butte and north of the intersection with Lindsey Road on the SE side of the Salton Sea. Funny thing is that, to my understanding, Ancient Murrelet are the only Alcids ever recorded at the Salton Sea and rarely at that! (!__!) (0V0) HAPPY BIRDING {}~~{} BOB MILLER ='''='''== Southwest Birders Brawley, CA. 92227 Imperial County 760-455-1413 http://www.southwestbirders.com bob.miller AT mindspring.com Subject: Apple Valley Vermilion Flycatcher From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:24:57 -0000 A male Vermilion has been occasionally reported around Jess Ranch Lakes during the past several years but to my knowledge no pictures have been posted. After two recent spottings, today I was able to get definitive shots as it skittered along the fence line separated Ashcroft Golf Course and the southern lakes. No other VF's were apparent. A picture is posted in the Apple Valley Birds album. John Breckenridge Apple Valley Mojave Desert Bird Club Subject: Prado Regional Park (Tropical Kingbird) From: "Mike San Miguel" <mikes AT wulftec.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:27:03 -0500 All, I followed up on Howard King's report at Prado yesterday and had a Tropical Kingbird along the north east shore of the lake nearest the baseball diamonds, large playground, and willow clump. The bird did not call, so Couch's could not be ruled out. In addition, I had 6 Vermillion Flycatchers, a Yellow Warbler, and at least one Least Bittern. Good Birding. Mike San Miguel, Jr. La Verne, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Downtown Riverside Peregrine From: mgurbada909 AT earthlink.net Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:25:12 -0800 (GMT-08:00) I don't get into downtown Riverside much, but when I do, I always check the cluster of government buildings for Peregrine falcons. On Sun 11-15-09 at 10:00 there was an adult bird perched on the north side of the Presley Detention Center. Mike G. Subject: Prado Regional Park 17 Nov 2009 From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:56:35 -0000 At Prado this morning, out of 70 spp seen, there were a few birds of local interest. 2 LEAST BITTERNS were heard calling from the cattails. 3 ACORN WOODPECKERS are a pretty good bird for the basin. A YELLOW WARBLER was near the campground entrance. I went looking for as many VERMILION FLYCATCHERS as I could find and was surprised to finish with 11 Vermilions. They used to be a pretty scarce bird when I started birding locally. Cheers..Howard King Subject: Hooded Mergansers, Montclair From: "rfclements" <rickclements AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:42:37 -0000 This morning at least one pair of Hooded Mergansers has returned to the small pond at the southwest corner of Palo Verde and Helena in western Montclair Rick Clements Claremont, CA Subject: San Jacinto Valley, no rarities From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:23:15 -0000 Hi, San Bernardino Valley Audubon had a field trip to the San Jacinto Valley today. It was quite windy, and the birds always seemed to be flying away. The Wildlife Area had a pheasant hunt, so we were limited to the area across the old river channel, by the duck clubs. Also visited Bridge Street, Cottonwood Lake, and the Sanderson EVMWD sewage treatment plant. All four falcons were spotted by different participants. Only one Ferruginous Hawk. A handful of Mountain Bluebirds at Bridge Street, but no plovers. good numbers of Horned Larks, so a less windy day might turn up a longspur. One of the ponds at the Sanderson sewage plant was loaded with ducks, including one Eurasian Wigeon. A lone Snow Goose was with the flock. The managed wetlands section of the sewage plant had dozens of Tricolored blackbirds; they outnumbered the redwings. A splendid time was had by all. Dave Subject: Big Bear Lake From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:42:43 -0000 I birded Big Bear Lake yesterday a.m. with Sandy Remley. The strangest sighting was a pair of Marbled Godwits at Grout Bay among a flock of California and Ring-billed Gulls. A few ducks started to show (other than the standard) including Canvasback and Common Merganser. A flock of about 50 Mountain Bluebird were at Stanfield Marsh (to me, there is nothing quite so brilliant as a flock of M. Bluebirds on a cold, crisp, fall afternoon against a mountain backdrop). Finally, a fly-over Ferruginous Hawk was at the very eastern end of Baldwin Lake (it looked as if it was heading north to the desert). Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead Subject: Mountain Bluebirds in Big Bear From: "racitup2002" <raccoonhome AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:32:56 -0000 I got a call from Brad Singer who had some GOOD birds at Grout Bay. I'll let him tell you about his keen-eye find. I'm glad I got out yesterday and birded around the lake since it is ZERO degrees this AM and very windy. Many water birds have arrived. The Coot numbers were in the 4 digits and I counted 30 Double-crested Cormorants on their favorite dock at Eagle Point Estates. Brad and I encounter some 50 to 60 Mountain Bluebirds in the SE section of Stanfield Marsh off of Division and behind the Riffenburg lumber yard. See you out there, Sandy Remley Big Bear Lake Subject: Riverside County desert rarities update From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:55:42 -0800 Steve Myers and I headed out east today (Nov. 14) to look for the Cactus City Rest Area Bay-breasted Warbler and the Chiriaco Summit Curve-billed Thrasher. We were unable to find the warbler (we did not check the westbound side). We had better luck with the thrasher; Steve found it within about ten minutes of our arrival, at the same spot where it was seen on November 3, in the dog pen near the goat pen on the west side. So though it can be easy, as it was today, giving us great photo opps, it ranges widely in the area. I believe it was missed a couple of times last week. Today it was singing a soft song. We saw it make flights of 100m+ and we last saw it flying east along the runway at the airport. In the afternoon we birded some spots around the north end of the Salton Sea, highlights: female Surf Scoter at 84th, two Laughing Gulls (SRA, 84th), first cycle Glaucous-winged Gull (North Shore), first cycle Western Gull (84th), Common Merganser (84th), Yellow Warblers (Mecca Lands). Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: re: Red-breasted Sapsucker in Palm Desert From: CYGNETS2 AT aol.com Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:00:07 -0500 Thursday 12 November The Living Desert, Palm Desert We found a Red-breasted Sapsucker during the Members' Only bird walk on Thursday morning. It was seen from the pathway near the warthog exhibit at the south end of the park. The bird was working rows of holes in the trunk of a forked tree, on the south side of the path. It was very cooperative and we all enjoyed leisurely looks with the scope. The Living Desert is located at 47-900 Portola Ave in Palm Desert. Admission fee; members no charge. Hours and Info (760) 346-5694 or www.livingdesert.org. Sandy Swan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Parker Strip From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:56:14 -0500 If you are a county lister and go to look for the Sandhill Cranes, keep in mind that the impoundment where the cranes roost lies directly on the CA/AZ state line. The majority of the cranes actually congregate on the AZ side, although a few do spill over onto the CA/SBE side. See Brad's map for details and the location of the state line relative to the roost site. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA -----Original Message----- From: Brad To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Fri, Nov 13, 2009 10:26 am Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Parker Strip Last weekend Tom Benson and I (as previously reported) went to the Parker Strip to locate the Curved-bill Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing. Located in the Cactus Garden, they were easily findable and quite co-operative. Two other county birds for me (Tom had seen them earlier in the year) were the Clapper Rail (Yuma) and Sandhill Crane. If you are a SB county lister and need those birds, I have included a map where they were sighted/heard. The cranes come in at dusk, so you may see them flying up river, however, if they have landed, they are difficult to spot (as they are behind a levee) from river level. The best place to view them are from a bluff overlooking a RV park (as indicated on the map). If you are looking for the rail, be aware that the road leading down Bluff Dr. from Rio Vista Drive soon enters a sandy wash before paralleling the river. Two-wheel drive is fine but don't stop in the middle of the wash or you may get stuck. Brad Singer P.S. Thanks to Sandy Koonce and crew for showing these spots to Tom earlier. map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100817443447245900855.0004784174630c828fe06&ll=34.115216,-114.376259&spn=0.088399,0.263672&t=h&z=12 ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Parker Strip From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:26:02 -0000 Last weekend Tom Benson and I (as previously reported) went to the Parker Strip to locate the Curved-bill Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing. Located in the Cactus Garden, they were easily findable and quite co-operative. Two other county birds for me (Tom had seen them earlier in the year) were the Clapper Rail (Yuma) and Sandhill Crane. If you are a SB county lister and need those birds, I have included a map where they were sighted/heard. The cranes come in at dusk, so you may see them flying up river, however, if they have landed, they are difficult to spot (as they are behind a levee) from river level. The best place to view them are from a bluff overlooking a RV park (as indicated on the map). If you are looking for the rail, be aware that the road leading down Bluff Dr. from Rio Vista Drive soon enters a sandy wash before paralleling the river. Two-wheel drive is fine but don't stop in the middle of the wash or you may get stuck. Brad Singer P.S. Thanks to Sandy Koonce and crew for showing these spots to Tom earlier. map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100817443447245900855.0004784174630c828fe06&ll=34.115216,-114.376259&spn=0.088399,0.263672&t=h&z=12 Subject: Blythe Area - American Redstart - 11/12/09 From: Jake Mohlmann <mohlmann2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:24:56 -0800 (PST) birders- For those making 'eastern warblers at rest-stops' runs, a female-plumaged AMERICAN REDSTART was in the row of salt cedars behind the bathroom at the Wiley's Well exit off I-10 west of Blythe today (exit 222). Also here a fleeting DARK-EYED JUNCO appeared to be of the Oregon race. In a flooded field at the corner of 95 (N. Intake Blvd) and 4th Ave. north of Blythe yielded the following of note: cattle egret: at least 300 great egret: 6 greater yellowlegs: 9 ring-billed gull: 14 california gull: 2 snow/ross's goose: 1 - too distant to rule out a hybrid The Pale Verde Ecological Reserve (which has a new entrance sign within the last 6 months) at the east end of 2nd Ave. has been extremely birdy the last couple evenings. Though nothing super rare has been noted, the raptor show at sundown has been quite impressive. In the waning light yesterday (11/11/09) 9 species of raptors were seen within 15 minutes: cooper's hawk - calling from cottonwood grove sharp-shinned hawk - fly-over red-tailed hawk - 2 american kestrel - 4 merlin - hunting low over fields northern harrier - 3 great-horned owl - 2 barn owl - 3 - one flew within 30 feet while hunting over grasslands burrowing owl - 1 - perched on edge of canal Today an OSPREY was perched along 2nd Ave. This area has excellent birding and I'm sure will produce some interesting things over the next few weeks ... cheers, Jake Mohlmann Tucson, AZ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: November 12, 2009 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:16:56 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * November 12, 2009 * CASE0911.12 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). 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 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Brant Cackling Goose Surf Scoter Peregrine Falcon Sandhill Crane Franklin's Gull Western Gull Yellow-footed Gull *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) Vermilion Flycatcher Black-throated Blue Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* Summer Tanager White-throated Sparrow - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A male VERMILION FLYCATCHER continued at Cal State San Bernardino on Nov 7 (Tom Benson). A YELLOW-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER was seen at Zzyzx Desert Studies Center on Nov 7 (Sandy Koonce). Two *CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS* continued at Black Meadow Landing above Parker Dam on Nov 8 (Tom Benson). The female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER continued at Glen Helen Regional Park on Nov 11 (Dave Goodward). RIVERSIDE COUNTY Two WESTERN GULLS were in a gull flock along Ramona Expressway in Lakeview and a FRANKLIN'S GULL was at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area on Nov 5 (Chet McGaugh). Two PEREGRINE FALCONS were at the Winchester ponds on Nov 5 (Chet McGaugh). A female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER was at La Sierra University on Nov 6 (Andrew Howe). A BAY-BREASTED WARBLER was seen at Cactus City Rest Area Nov 6-10 (John Green). A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was seen at Lake Perris near lot 7 on Nov 7 (Howard King). Three CACKLING GEESE were at the Winchester ponds on Nov 7 (Chet McGaugh). IMPERIAL COUNTY The following birds were reported from the Imperial Valley and south end of the Salton Sea on Nov 10: a BRANT, 2 SURF SCOTERS, and a YELLOW-FOOTED GULL at Obsidian Butte, a *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* at Red Hill, a YELLOW-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER at Evergreen Cemetery, and a SUMMER TANAGER at Finney Lake (Paul Lehman). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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. 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 Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and 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). 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/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Monterey Bay RBA (831) 626-6605 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Santa Barbara RBA (805) 964-8240 (report to (805) 964-1316) Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 Southern California BIRDBOX (818) 952-5502 + 5 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: BTBW still at Glen Helen From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:48:59 -0000 The female Black-throated blue warbler was in the same willow it had been seen in previously, just south of the island, around midday. Dave Subject: Regarding Lost Lake/Sheep Fire From: "kelleyal" <kelleyal AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:14:20 -0000 I believe it behooves those in the birding world to make sure our officials follow protocol, NEPA ,specifically in fire-fighting operations. The loss of at least 1 pr. of spotted owl nesting and foraging site in the upper slopes of Lytle/Sheep was because of backfiring operations on the PCT? Of other concern was usage of the limited water in Lost Lake (red-legged frog/Ensatina species) as well as water for many birds because it got 'too low' for bucket; the heli-tack crew had to go all the way to the afterbay behind Cal State when the most readily available was ski resort ponds (but, wouldn't want to interrupt business!) Mt. High was already making snow before the fire was controlled! Subject: Heard a Belted Kingfisher, saw the Bald Eagle: Lake Gregory, Crestline From: "steve.druce" <steve.druce AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:34:27 -0000 At the risk of sounding like a Christmas song: On my fourth day in Crestline, (actually I wasn't here yesterday,) I heard the squeaky wheel sound of a Belted Kingfisher several times this morning. I've heard it in the same location before (in front of my house, near the lake), and confirmed a sighting a couple of years ago, but wasn't able to see it today. I went to investigate, and several fishermen had also heard the unusual sound. Waiting around to hear it again (unsuccessfully), the adult Bald Eagle glided out of a pine tree in the same general location, somewhat east of where I saw it two days ago. Steve Druce Crestline Subject: Bay-breasted Warbler continues 11-10-09 From: "bewickwren" <bewickwren AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:55 -0800 Inlandcountybirders, Curtis Marantz reports that the Bay-breasted Warbler was still present at the eastbound Cactus City Rest Area this afternoon, and that the Curve-billed Thrasher was missed again at Chiriaco Summit. John Green Riverside, CA No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.55/2490 - Release Date: 11/09/09 12:11:00 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Salton Sea / Imperial Valley highlights, 10 Nov From: "lehman.paul AT verizon.net" <lehman.paul@verizon.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:08:43 -0500 On Tuesday, 10 Nov, Guy McCaskie, Michael Force, and I birded from El Centro north to the south shore of the Salton Sea. Highlights included: Brant: 1 at Obsidian Butte Surf Scoter: 2 females off north side of Obsidian Butte Lesser Black-backed Gull: continuing adult straight off boat launch area at Red Hill Yellow-footed Gull: only one seen--north side of Obsidian Butte "Yellow-shafted" Flicker: 1 male continuing in Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro (plus one female intergrade) Western Bluebird: 1 continuing at Riverview Cemetery in Brawley Summer Tanager: 1 female in small willow grove south of Finney Lake Black-headed Grosbeak: 1 late, bedraggled adult male in residential sw. Brawley "Pink-sided" Junco: 2 continuing in Riverview Cemetery in Brawley --Paul Lehman, San Diego -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting Subject: RE: Confusing Fall Warblers, etc. From: "bewickwren" <bewickwren AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:20:01 -0800 Brad, I was confused too! I was with my Mom, en route to visit my brother in AZ when I saw this bird. I had no warbler references with me. So I just took all the pictures that I could, and then called Chet as I left. My diagnosis at that time was probably a Blackpoll, possibly a Bay-breasted, probably not a Pine. I believe that I could have arrived at the correct ID by studying my pictures later, but am grateful that the bird stuck around so others could do it for me. The second party (Chet, Bill, and Curtis) made the final, correct diagnosis. John Green Riverside, CA -----Original Message----- From: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Brad Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:45 PM To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Confusing Fall Warblers, etc. After observing the Bay-breasted Warbler at Cactus City on Sunday (nice find by John Green), I understand how fall warblers can be confusing. I included a picture of the Bay-breasted alongside a picture of a Pine Warbler (taken earlier this year at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa). I wish I had truer colors for the Bay-breasted as it was basking in early morning glow, but if one had only a cursory look at the bird, it would be a tough identification. Dave Goodward and I had a Blackpoll Warbler at the same location earlier this fall, but luckily it had fairly prominent streaking along its flanks making it a little easier to identify. On a different note, I birded Silverwood Lake this morning, and although many ducks are starting to arrive, nothing was out of the ordinary except for one Greater Scaup. As I headed back to San Bernardino, I drove through the fire zone next to Lost Lake in the Cajon Pass, and it looks as if an A-bomb struck. Luckily, the Big-cone Firs harboring the nesting Purple Martins were still intact. In fact, they were the only trees left standing. Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead Photo: http://www.flickr. com/photos/bcsinger/4094127998/ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.60/2495 - Release Date: 11/10/09 19:56:00 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Confusing Fall Warblers, etc. From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:44:58 -0000 After observing the Bay-breasted Warbler at Cactus City on Sunday (nice find by John Green), I understand how fall warblers can be confusing. I included a picture of the Bay-breasted alongside a picture of a Pine Warbler (taken earlier this year at Estancia Park in Costa Mesa). I wish I had truer colors for the Bay-breasted as it was basking in early morning glow, but if one had only a cursory look at the bird, it would be a tough identification. Dave Goodward and I had a Blackpoll Warbler at the same location earlier this fall, but luckily it had fairly prominent streaking along its flanks making it a little easier to identify. On a different note, I birded Silverwood Lake this morning, and although many ducks are starting to arrive, nothing was out of the ordinary except for one Greater Scaup. As I headed back to San Bernardino, I drove through the fire zone next to Lost Lake in the Cajon Pass, and it looks as if an A-bomb struck. Luckily, the Big-cone Firs harboring the nesting Purple Martins were still intact. In fact, they were the only trees left standing. Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/4094127998/ Subject: Mira Loma: Gray Flycatcher(s) From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:57:06 -0800 This morning I didn't see the Gray Flycatcher when I walked by at 8:30 am, then I saw one in the bushes below Etiwanda at 66th Street (3 blocks east of William). Wondering if there might be 2, I looked careful along the golf course fence walking west on 66th. When I got to William, the (a) Gray Flycatcher was in the spot where it's been seen most mornings and noons since Jill spotted it a couple of weeks ago. Although a flycatcher could certainly fly from Etiwanda to William faster than I walked, I'm wondering if there are 2 Gray Flycatchers around 66th? Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: Bay-breasted Warbler still present Monday morning From: "nmoorhatch" <nmoorhatch AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:12:30 -0000 Hello, I had the continuing Bay-breasted Warbler this morning at the Cactus City South (east-bound) Rest Stop. A quick check at Chiriaco Summit reconfirmed that morning is not the best time to see the Curve-billed Thrasher! good birding, Nathan Moorhatch Placentia, California Subject: Curve-billed Thrasher photos From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:24:53 -0500 One photo of each of the Curve-billed Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing are available at the links below. Note that one bird appears to have either a bill deformity or some substance stuck to the face and the base of the bill. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA http://www.flickr.com/photos/40928097 AT N07/4088820104/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/40928097 AT N07/4088060213/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Curve-billed Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:45:19 -0500 Brad Singer and I birded along the Colorado River between Black Meadow Landing and Vidal Wash today, Nov 8. We had the continuing 2 Curve-billed Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing in the cactus garden. Other somewhat notable birds today included a Red-breasted Merganser, a Pink-sided Junco, and a Slate-colored Junco also at Black Meadow Landing; 2 Snow Geese flying west along Hwy 62 somewhere west of Vidal Junction; 2 more Snow Geese flying upstream over Big River Park; a Clapper Rail along the river just upstream of Vidal Wash; a Common Ground-dove and 2 more Slate-colored Juncos at the RV park at the south end of Big River; and 71 Sandhill Cranes at a roost site on the CA/AZ border opposite the Big River RV Park (a few were barely on the CA side of the river). I will be posting photos of the Curve-billed Thrashers later tonight or tomorrow. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Another entertaining Apple Valley bird event From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:45:09 -0000 20 enthusiastic birders who roamed each of the Jess Ranch Lakes Saturday morning were treated to some great glasses, scope and eyeball views of 40 interesting species not always easily seen in the area. Consensus was the morning's best bird was an elusive male Vermillion Flycatcher, known to reside there but seldom seen, although one of the valley's few Merlins drew a crowd by remaining undisturbed for at least 15 minutes. A large variety of water birds were expected but surprisingly Passeriformes delivered the more interesting shows. On any given day... John Breckenridge Mojave Desert Bird Club Subject: Adult bald Eagle at Lake Gregory, Crestline. No Pelican From: "steve.druce" <steve.druce AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:12:36 -0000 On my second day in Crestline, I just caught sight of a seemingly enormous bird perched in a pine tree, overlooking the lake just west of my house on San Moritz Dr. Although the sun was behind it, I was able to watch it enough to see the large bill, and then the white head. No sign of the pelican today. Steve Druce Crestline Subject: Bay-breasted Warbler continues Sun morning From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:39:27 -0000 The BAY-BREASTED WARBLER at Cactus City Rest Area put on a good show this morning for Tom Benson and Brad Singer and me. It was in the eucs initially then moved into the creasote behind the fence. Howard King Subject: Re: continuing Bay-breasted Warbler From: Joseph Morlan <jmorlan AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:42:37 -0800 On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:20:38 -0800, "Chet McGaugh" wrote: >The Bay-breasted Warbler found yesterday (Nov 6) by John Green was found easily today by Curtis Marantz, Leo Ohtsuki, and Brian Daniels. George Nash also reported seeing it today. Chet's superb photo of this bird can be viewed on the WFO web site at: http://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/ Click through the photo for full size. Enjoy! -- Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA jmorlan (at) ccsf.edu SF Birding Classes start Nov. 3 http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/ California Bird Records Committee http://www.californiabirds.org/ Western Field Ornithologists http://www.westernfieldornithologists.org/ Subject: continuing Bay-breasted Warbler From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:20:38 -0800 The Bay-breasted Warbler found yesterday (Nov 6) by John Green was found easily today by Curtis Marantz, Leo Ohtsuki, and Brian Daniels. George Nash also reported seeing it today. The Curve-billed Thrasher was not seen at Chiriaco Summit. It can be tough. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Fw: Cackling Gooses From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 19:51:16 -0800 ----- Original Message ----- From: Chet McGaugh To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 5:30 PM Subject: Cackling Gooses Three geese at the Winchester Ponds, seen from afar, appear to be "Aleutian" Cackling Geese (b.c. leucopareia). No other birds close enough to allow for a size comparison; seeming short necked and short billed, with prominent white neck band on one, and dark lines bisecting the white chinstraps of two, generally darker (especially the one without the bisecting line) than our local honkers. They were on the dry north side of the northeast pond. (I-215 to McCall, east toward Winchester, right on light at Menifee (?) Road, left on Simpson, left on Leon. Good goosing, Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: A lone White Pelican, Lake Gregory, Meadowlarks San Bernardino From: "steve.druce" <steve.druce AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:00:14 -0000 Got back to Crestline today for a couple of days and saw a lone White Pelican patrolling Lake Gregory, Crestline toward dusk. Also, of note, since I rarely see Meadowlarks these days, I saw about 3 in a vacant field on Del Rosa in San Bernardino south of Baseline as I was driving by. Steve Druce Crestline Subject: Cackling Gooses From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 17:30:19 -0800 Three geese at the Winchester Ponds, seen from afar, appear to be "Aleutian" Cackling Geese (b.c. leucopareia). No other birds close enough to allow for a size comparison; seeming short necked and short billed, with prominent white neck band on one, and dark lines bisecting the white chinstraps of two, generally darker (especially the one without the bisecting line) than our local honkers. They were on the dry north side of the northeast pond. (I-215 to McCall, east toward Winchester, right on light at Menifee (?) Road, left on Simpson, left on Leon. Good goosing, Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Eastern SBE County From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 16:31:18 -0800 Tom Wurster, Andrew and Vernon Howe, and I spent a very enjoyable day in the eastern part of San Bernardino County today. We started at Zzyzx, where we had perhaps our most unusual sighting of the day: 18 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. Other birds from this location included 2 WHITE-WINGED DOVES, a male YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER, 3 RED-NAPED SAPSUCKERS, a presumed continuing GRAY FLYCATCHER, a SLATE-COLORED JUNCO, and an apparent GRAY-HEADED x OREGON JUNCO. At Baker, behind Jim Pike's Famous Pancake House, were two more WESTERN BLUEBIRDS and a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Chet Huffman Park had a CATTLE EGRET and a CASSIAR JUNCO. At the Baker sewage ponds was an immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. A quick stop in Kelso produced two more female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, and a PRAIRIE FALCON. Finally, in the Newberry Springs area were quite a number of raptors, including another PRAIRIE FALCON, a brown-backed Columbarius MERLIN, 15 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS, and a very interesting Red-tailed Hawk that had many features of a light phase HARLAN'S HAWK. 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] Subject: Lake Perris etc. Saturday From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:13:31 -0000 There was a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW near the lifeguard tower, accessed from parking lot 7. Earlier on Bridge Street, 2 FERRUGINOUS HAWKS were present. No Mountain Plovers were seen. In the afternoon I looked for the Black-throated Blue Warbler at La Sierra University. did not see it but there was a PLUMBEOUS VIREO in the same area. Howard King Subject: Cal State birds From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:50:40 -0500 I birded Cal State San Bernardino for a couple hours this morning. Noteworthy birds included one of the continuing male Vermilion Flycatchers, 3 Slate-colored Juncos, 2 Merlins, and a Northern Harrier. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: dispersal species shuffle From: "Lidia Seebeck" <lidia AT seebeck.us> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 18:12:15 -0800 Been seeing some odd species shuffles among the common birds here at Pachappa. First, the nesting Mallards left the Canal when the City trimmed the bushes one day. However, today a Great Egret was attempting to feed in the ditch. This is the first time we have ever seen a GREG in this canal in six years. Second, the Red-Shouldered Hawks have not been vocalizing much lately, and now today a mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks appear to have taken their place. Also for the first time in years, I am seeing Kestrel locally. My question and thus the post is, are others seeing big changes in their local species due to post-breeding dispersal? Also could I ask others to keep their ears open when in the Riverside Plaza/ Pachappa Hill area for either Red-tailed or Red-shouldered Hawk calls? I will be keeping track too, of course, but it would be interesting to see if the Red-shouldereds go to a nearby territory or if they will displace further. Lidia [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Bay-breasted Warbler, Cactus City From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:44:44 -0800 John Green, en route to Arizona, found a Bay-breasted Warbler at the Cactus City Rest Area (eastbound side of I-10) this morning, Nov. 6. Bill Hopson, Curtis Marantz, and I were out there by noon, and spent most of an hour and a half watching and photographing it. Nice bird! (It moved around, sometimes alone, sometimes with Yellow-rumps, and seemed to like the creosote bushes just beyond the south fence near the ponds. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: BTBlue Warbler-Riverside From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:25:53 -0800 (PST) This afternoon, Vernon Howe and I had a female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER on the campus of La Sierra University. The bird was hard to see, but fortunately would chip from time to time (to me, it sounds much like a junco). From the 91 Freeway, head north on Riverwalk Parkway in western Riverside. After a mile or so, turn left into La Sierra University, past the ponds and in between the ball fields. Proceed up to the end of this short road, where you will find visitor parking by turning left (along what used to be Pierce Street). Just above this parking area is the Administration Building, and the bird was hanging out in the thick trees near the upper right corner of the building (as you face the building from where you park). There were other migrants on the mall in between the administration and the flagpole/next set of buildings. Best of luck! Andrewhowe395 AT yahoo.com Subject: Fwd: Bird Outings at Lake Elsinore From: Charity Hagen <czy4brds AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:25:51 -0800 I thought this might be of interest to local birders. Charity Hagen Lake Elsinore > > Greetings Birders! There will be a couple of bird outings soon in > Lake Elsinore, California. > > On Saturday, December 12, 2009, the Palomar Audubon Society is > having their weekly outing at Lake Elsinore, from 8:30 AM – 11:30 > AM. This is a free outing and will explore the Lake Elsinore > wetlands and other areas as time permits. See attached > directions. You can contact Julie Szabo at jsszabo1 AT verizon.net or > 951-678-8138 for more information. > > > I am pleased to announce that the Audubon Society has reactivated > the Lake Elsinore Christimas Bird Count Circle, which was last > active in 1944. Formerly numbered CA0D, the new designation for > the count is CAEN. Many of you participated in our “trial run > count” on January 3, 2009, where we saw 106 species of birds, and > over 11,000 individual birds. With the help of Pat Kilroy and the > City of Lake Elsinore, and with your efforts in helping count, it > proved to Audubon that we have enough support in our local area to > activate the count. > > The count for this season will be held on Saturday, January 2, > 2010 starting at 8:00 AM at the Lake Elsinore levee entrance > adjacent to the Storm Baseball stadium entrance (see attached > driving instructions). The count will go on all day, but start > at the levee, and then groups will disperse to count at Canyon Lake > and other areas nearby. We will also have a group out earlier > than 8:00 AM to look for owls. Our several burrowing owl > families in Wildomar did well this year with many offspring. > Please mark your calendars. I hope you can join us that day, even > if you can’t stay all day, and invite others. The cost is $5 for > Adults, under 18 is Free, and goes towards a book that you receive > later in the year from Audubon that describes all of the counts. > You can contact Julie Szabo at jsszabo1 AT verizon.net or 951-678-8138 > for more information or to sign up. > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Rare Apple Valley Saturday morning event From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:07:49 -0000 Mojave Desert Bird Club sponsors a 'backlot' tour of Jess Ranch Lakes, Saturday, November 7, 2009, birding the park and particularly 2 lakes never available to the public; 8 to 11am - admission $3. John Breckenridge Subject: western RIV Nov. 5 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:17:43 -0800 I drove south out of the fog this morning and looked at a few scattered ponds, including the Sun City sewer ponds, Heritage Lake (a new one), Winchester Ponds, Reflection Lake, and ponds at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area. And the chicken/gull ranch south of Ramona Expressway. Both the ranch and the SJWA have increased in gulls in the last week, with each location having ~400 gulls. Best were two first cycle Western Gulls at the chicken piles and a first cycle Franklin's Gull at the SJWA. Also: Ferruginous Hawk at Sun City, two Peregrine Falcons at the Winchester Ponds and another at the SJWA, continuing female Hooded Merganser at the front pond of the SJWA. Several hundred ducks at Winchester and the SJWA. Continuing Long-billed Dowitchers at the SJWA probably number 1000. I scanned the fields by Bridge Street; someone with more persistence can probably find the Mountain Plovers. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: more Lewis Woodpeckers on the Santa Rosa Plateau From: Charity Hagen <czy4brds AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:28:22 -0800 There were 5, maybe 6 Lewis Woodpeckers near the Hidden Valley parking area on the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve this morning. They were all located in the grove of oak trees that is west of the parking area. I had at least 5 in the binocular view at the same time, but there may have been more. There was also one flycatching from a telephone pole about a third of a mile up the road near the Tenaja Road intersection. This apparently is turning out to be a good season for Lewis Woodpeckers on the Reserve. Charity Hagen Lake Elsinore Subject: Blue-footed Boobies at the Salton Sea From: "eppygriffin" <eppygriffin AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:39:28 -0000 Hello All, I have been hoping against hope that the BFBOs would hang in there until the weekend when I could get off work and drive to the Salton Sea. Howard King and/or Wes Fritz seem to be the last people to have seen them. Do any of you have more recent (than Nov 3) information? I am thinking of chasing them tomorrow but would hate to drive all the way if they are known to have departed. Thank you very much for any info you can provide, Ed Griffin Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: November 5, 2009 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:02:43 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * November 5, 2009 * CASE0911.05 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). 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 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Brown Pelican *BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY* Peregrine Falcon Ruddy Ground-dove Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) Vermilion Flycatcher Mountain Bluebird *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* Black-throated Blue Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was seen in Apple Valley Oct 28-29 (John Breckenridge). The female BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER continued at Glen Helen Regional Park through Oct 30, and a MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and a PEREGRINE FALCON were seen there on Nov 2 (Brad Singer). Three VERMILION FLYCATCHERS continued and a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen at Cal State San Bernardino on Nov 1 (Tom Benson). A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was found at Hilldale Cemetery in Redlands on Nov 3 (Doug Karalun). Two *CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS* (unconfirmed) were reported from Black Meadow Landing on Nov 3 (Linda ?). RIVERSIDE COUNTY Two *BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES* continued at the Whitewater River delta through Oct 30 (Tom Harrison). The *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* continued at Chiriaco Summit through Nov 3 (Stan Walens, Chet McGaugh). IMPERIAL COUNTY Two YELLOW-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKERS were seen at Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro Oct 30-Nov 1 (Paul Lehman). Two BROWN PELICANS were seen at Imperial Dam Oct 30-Nov 3, and a RUDDY GROUND-DOVE was at a residence (1149 Picacho Road) between Winterhaven and Bard on Nov 3 (Paul Lehman). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 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. 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 Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and 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). 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/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Monterey Bay RBA (831) 626-6605 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Santa Barbara RBA (805) 964-8240 (report to (805) 964-1316) Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 Southern California BIRDBOX (818) 952-5502 + 5 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Nutmeg Mannikins at Hidden Valley Wildlife Area From: Lynn Miller <lmiller246 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 21:02:47 -0800 (PST) Hi all,   I'm not sure of what interest or noteworthiness Nutmeg Mannikin populations are to anyone, but, just in case they are, I'll share this.    Today I birded the trails by the eastern ponds in Hidden Valley. As I approached a corner of a flooded field covered in Echinochloa crus-galli, small flocks of Nutmeg Mannikins flew up out of the grass until I counted aprrox. 150 - 200 of them, the most I've ever seen in one location.   Lynn   [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Received from Central_Valley_Birds From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:22:25 -0000 Voting has begun for Audubon California's 2009 Bird of the Year, which will recognize a California bird species of conservation interest that made a significant impact in 2009. All members of the public are encouraged to cast their votes online on Audubon California's website at http://www.ca.audubon.org/ through Dec. 7. Click on the condor on the home page to go to the voting page. Audubon California created the designation this year to highlight the state's remarkable birds and the conservation challenges many of them face. Soon after voting ends on Dec. 7, the winner will be announced to those who provided their email address to Audubon California while voting. A more public announcement will be made soon afterwards. You can vote for one of the six birds Audubon California thought has made the most impact over the past year or you can write in your favorite bird. (Make sure you check other and then write in a bird on the space below). Have fun and happy birding! Ali Sheehey Outreach Director Audubon California Kern River Preserve http://kern.audubon.org Subject: Interesting Apple Valley Del Webb combo!! From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:48:06 -0000 Late Tuesday pm this unusual foursome was in the same trees at the same time near the golf course beside Mariposa Lodge pond and seemed to move away in the same direction seconds apart: Western Bluebird male, Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch male and Cassin's Finch male ? and possibly a 2nd female WBB. The only decent picture is of the Bluebird; posted under Apple Valley Birds. John Breckenridge Mojave Desert Bird Club Apple Valley Subject: curve- billed thrasher From: "linda" <kahrflix AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:59:40 -0000 Two curve-billed thrashers have returned to Black Meadow Landing. After being gone for one year, we now have a pair of thrashers. Both have been seen in the cactus garden by the golf course. Black Meadow Landing is a resort on the California side of the Colorado River about 4 miles above Parker Dam. The staff at the entrance office can direct you to the location of the birds. Subject: Clay Colored Sparrow Redlands From: "Doug" <douglaskaralun AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:21:32 -0000 Took the middle of the day to go birding in Redlands and Loma Linda. Best bird of the day was a solo Clay-Colored Sparrow at Hillside Cemetary in Redlands near the offices. I moved on to the VA hospital in Loma Linda and found two male Wood Ducks there. Are they wild? At Montecito Cemetary in Loma Linda I found a Slate-Colored Junco, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, and a Golden Crowned Kinglet. Cemetaries were very birdy today. Subject: Desert Center, Chiriaco, Cactus City open Nov. 3 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:18:25 -0800 Curtis Marantz and I spent a pleasant morning at Desert Center, with birds to look at but nothing very unusual. The only species new for fall 2009 is Western Bluebird, with a few mixing with four Mountain Bluebirds. The flycatcher (continuing Gray), warbler (one Common Yellowthroat ), and shorebird (one Wilson's Snipe) migration season has wound down, waterfowl are increasing. Fourteen is the most Inca Doves in recent times; we're waiting for the Ruddies. Curtis quickly found our buddy at Chiriaco, along the west side of "town", just east of the museum. It seemed to favor the company of dogs and a goat, and strutted about with a date in it's curved bill. I understand it hasn't been found at the religious shrine/cafe where the herd of cats live. It crossed over to the tank graveyard behind the museum and I photographed it on the gun barrel of one of the vintage machines. Cactus City Rest Area, eastbound and westbound is now open. How close we (meaning Jennifer and Michelle Tobin) came to having never found the Curve-billed Thrasher, as the Rest Area was closed shortly after they found it (September 22?). I think we all mostly believe it is the same bird found ten miles away at Chiriaco Summit by Curtis and Mike San Miguel and seen by lots of folks through October. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Ruddy Ground-Dove in Imperial County From: "lehman.paul AT verizon.net" <lehman.paul@verizon.net> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 17:26:12 -0500 I birded a few hours on Tuesday, Nov 3, between Imperial Dam and El Centro. The clear highlight was a female or immature male RUDDY GROUND-DOVE about half way between Winterhaven and Bard, in extreme southeastern Imperial County. The bird is with about 7 Inca Doves in the yard (both front and back) at 1149 Picacho Road. Take S24 north from Winterhaven, and where S24 makes a 90-degree right turn but the road to Picacho State Recreation Area continues straight (north), continue straight, and #1149 will be about the third house on the left. In other news from that area, in a nearby flooded alfalfa field were 110 White-faced Ibis and 27 Long-billed Curlews--fairly large counts for those species in that part of the world in late fall. Along Flood Road on the west side of Bard, was a Golden-crowned Sparrow and Spotted Towhee. And in the Imperial Dam area there were continuing 2 Brown Pelicans, 1 Horned Grebe, 3 Common Loons, 9 Greater Scaup, a flock of 27 Red-breasted Mergansers, Vermilion Flycatcher, and Yellow Warbler. [On the AZ side of the dam was a group of 4 Western Bluebirds.] Farther west, at Gordon's Well along I-8 was a flock of 12 Western Bluebirds--if there was any doubt that bluebirds are pushing out on to the desert this year! In the mid-day heat, continuing Yellow-shafted Flicker(s) in Evergreen Cemetery, and a Plumbeous Vireo in sw. residential El Centro (West Main Street). --Paul Lehman, San Diego -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web LIVE – Free email based on Microsoft® Exchange technology - http://link.mail2web.com/LIVE Subject: Mira Loma: Continuing Gray Flycatcher From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:57:05 -0800 Gray Flycatcher seen at 7:30 am along 66th St on wire fence just west of William & 66th. Again no sign of the Golden-crowned Kinglets or Merlin(s). One Eared Grebe on the golf course pond ... new to this pond. Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: Re: Dead boobies at NESS From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:25:47 -0000 I am forwarding this for Wes Fritz Hi all, A short follow up on the Blue-footed Boobies that Howard posted on Friday 10/30/09. The two boobies that were seen alive seemed well and in great shape. They had no problems flying and while they were just hanging out on the rock, they appeared to be fine. The dead ones were killed by a predator. They were not shot by a hunter, there were no signs of gun shot wounds. I really do not think a hunter would go out shoot and then retrieve a dead booby, bring it to shore and eat the breast meat out of bird and leave it laying on the rocks. I did not detect any signs of cartridges or shotgun shells out there. I was curious after being met at the gate by a man with a badge on the side of his belt. He was telling me to leave a note on my dashboard of my car saying I was birding. I asked to see Steve as Dave's e-mail suggested, the badged man denied me that right. I started thinking that badged man had some powerful pull, he could have my car towed away from a spot that was not posted no parking. He proceeded to tell me that some hunters had been down there and had shot and killed some White Pelicans and other birds, this also did not sit well in my mind. I only found a few dead pelicans that have been dead for quit some time. I wonder if they went down there and cleaned up this mess of dead birds and all of the shotgun shells. I also wonder what did they do with all these dead pelicans. I would think that maybe that with Naomi Baucom's concern, that she could arrange a gate to be opened, for a few days month, one day a week or even a few hours a day. Possibly a key be issued to a few of the more active birders in the area. Making it easier to bird this area. A lot of great birding data is being lost due to that locked gate.That walk on a hot day can be brutal, making it difficult if you are not there first thing in morning. I am not in favor of leaving it unlocked, they have done a wonderful job of removing most of the trash from the random dumping. Bob McKernan is right, that these birds should have been collected. One would have made a nice skin mount, while the wings were only salvageable from the other two.What a waste of a great specimen, I am guessing that two of the boobies were killed the night before, their eyes were still moist and the meat was still fresh. I did not detect any bands, I would have defiantly collected that. I do not personally have a collectors permit and the thought of being caught carrying dead birds through an area that will have your car towed away for bird watching seems a little dicey. I birded my way down to New River, hitting all the stops I could make, I saw no other boobies. (yes, this is the short version) Good luck and good birding. Wes Fritz Solvang, Ca. (805) 895-0685 Subject: NESS/Palm Island Drive From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:59:57 -0000 I was in the Indio area late yesterday (Nov 1) and made a quick stop to the north edge of the sea. I stopped by Palm Island Drive and saw that it was closed to vehicular traffic, so I walked in. A few birds of interest were the continuing Inca Doves, a Townsend Solitaire, and a slate-colored Fox Sparrow. This a.m. at Glen Helen, I found the Mountain Bluebird that, (guess who?), Mike San Miguel had found earlier on the southeast fenceline of the musical amphitheater. As I was taking a picture of it, a Peregrine Falcon buzzed overhead. Brad Singer Subject: RE: Boobies Location? From: Naomi Baucom <wolfberry01 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:21:22 -0800 (PST) Thanks everyone,   I had been getting reports, which turned out to be inflated numbers.  Don't hesitate to call Fish and Game if you suspect there might be a serious issue.  Also, remember to be safe never handle any dead animals.   Naomi Baucom Biological Science Technician Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Salton Sea (South) CBC - 22nd December 2009 From: Oscar Johnson <henicorhina AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:18:40 -0800 (PST) The Salton Sea (South) CBC will be held the second Tuesday of the count period; Tuesday, December 22nd. We will be meeting at the Sony Bono Salton Sea NWR Headquarters at the intersection of Sinclair and Gentry Roads at 5:30 AM, and heading out from there. We will reconvene at the headquarters around 1:00 PM for the compilation. Anyone who wishes can head home from there, and the rest of us will head back out to clean up whatever species we miss in the morning. Also, we have tried to avoid overlap this year in count dates between the Salton Sea (South), Ensenada, and the two Colorado River counts, so please consider helping on these three other under-covered counts. Whomever is planning on coming to the Salton Sea (South) count, please let me know in advance. Thank you. Oscar Johnson Santa Cruz (805) 276-8878 henicorhina AT yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Mira Loma: Gray Flycatcher (0), Golden-crowned Kinglet (0), Merlin (0) From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:10:23 -0800 Well yesterday was fun while it lasted. No sign of the Golden-crowned Kinglets this am. Maybe they've moved to other trees around (they definitely have many choices). The tamarisks had few warblers (Yellow-rumped, Townsend's) and a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Just about back to normal. Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: Black Vulture From: Ronny Roa <gsxrronnie AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 17:45:39 -0800 (PST) Did anyone in the rancho cucamonga, Fontana area see a possible black vulture today? Couldn't make a positive id but thought I'd ask if anyone else saw something different in the skies today? Ronny Roa Subject: Brawley Sat and Imperial Dam Sun From: "lehman.paul AT verizon.net" <lehman.paul@verizon.net> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 20:26:34 -0500 Birded the Riverview Cemetery and Del Rio golf course in Brawley, Imperial Co., on Saturday afternoon. Highlights were 4 Western Bluebirds (2 at each site), an intergrade flicker (certainly been more than the usual number of Yellow-shafteds and intergrades around lately...), Plumbeous Vireo, and 3 Slate-col and 2 Pink-sided Juncos (those two subspecies continue in better-than-average numbers in the southern deserts). While there, Guy M. and Matt S. were seeing TWO Yellow-shafted Flickers (continuing male and a new female) at Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro. Then we all saw a Red-naped Sapsucker and the most-studied-in-the-world Gray Flycatcher back at Cattle Call Park in Brawley. On Sunday AM I poked around the Imperial Dam area and saw a "Slate-colored" Fox Sparrow, 2 Brown Pelicans (ad. and sub-ad.), 3 Common Loons, 1 Horned Grebe, 4 Bonaparte's Gulls, 3 Calif Gulls, and a Caspian Tern, plus more Slate-colored and Pink-sided Juncos... --Paul Lehman, San Diego -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting Subject: Boobies Location? From: Naomi Baucom <wolfberry01 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 13:13:25 -0800 (PST) Hello all,   Could someone who is in the loop let me know exactly where the boobies are and how many are dead?  If there is something going on it's important that we know about it.  You can also get in touch with Fish and Game in Bermuda Dunes if it is near the north end of the Salton Sea. DFG 78078 Country Club Drive, Suite 109, Bermuda Dunes, CA 92203 (760) 200-9158 FAX: (760) 200-9358   Thank you,   Naomi Baucom Biological Science Technician Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Calipatria, CA  92233 (760) 348-5278  ext 240 email: naomi_baucom AT fws.gov [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Merlins in Mira Loma and Continuing Gray Flycatcher (and Golden-crowned Kinglet) From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:23:58 -0800 Around 7 am (11-01-2009) John Green and Bill Hopson refound one of the Golden-crowned Kinglets. Ed Snyder, Barbara Iyer and I joined them and, after wonderful views of the confiding kinglet, decided to walk west along 66th to find the Gray Flycatcher, Before we spotted the flycatcher, we spotted a (?the) Merlin on the perch just west of where William intersects 66th Street. While we admiring it, a second (immature) raptor flew up to the same tree. The first Merlin stayed put and we were deciding whether the 2nd was a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned when we realized it was a 2nd Merlin. (In our defense, it WAS hidden behind the snag it was on.) The first Merlin put on its best "I'm boss around here" to the joy of the photographers! Then, to join in the parade, the Gray Flycatcher landed on the fence. Nice morning in Mira Loma, Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma