Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from Kern County > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Wednesday, July 1 at 08:47 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Fiery Aracari,©Jan Wilczur

02 Jul re:re: hummingbird ["Mark Brown" ] 30 Jun UPDATE: Blue-throated Hummingbird [Bob Barnes ] 30 Jun Kern Preserve Open on Holidays & Directions [Bob Barnes ] 30 Jun Blue-throated Hummingbird Parking [Bob Barnes ] 30 Jun Kern Preserve Blue-throated Hummingbird [Bob Barnes ] 30 Jun re hummingbird ["Mark Brown" ] 30 Jun KRP Feeders & Blue-throated Hummingbird [Bob Barnes ] 30 Jun RE: FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS ["Steve & Priscilla Summers" ] 30 Jun RE: FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS ["John Sterling" ] 30 Jun FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS ["Steve & Priscilla Summers" ] 25 Jun 25 Jun 09 Inyokern AZ Plumage Bell's Vireo [Bob Barnes ] 24 Jun 2 HOODED WARBLERS & a NORTHERN PARULA at Galileo 6/23/09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 24 Jun Greenhorn Mountains: North from 6102' Greenhorn Summit [Bob Barnes ] 23 Jun Yellow-Billed Cuckoo? ["enoluvr" ] 21 Jun Owls of Breckenridge ["macbirder1" ] 20 Jun 20 Jun 09: South Fork Kern River Valley, Kern County, Southern Sierra Nevada [Bob Barnes ] 19 Jun RFI from Ohio birders [Jeffrey Cullen ] 18 Jun Costa's in Bakersfield ["macbirder1" ] 18 Jun Black-throated Blue Warbler and American Redstart at Galileo Hill 6-17-09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 16 Jun Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway - Kern Co. , 6/16/09 [Bob Barnes ] 14 Jun Kern - America's Birdiest Inland County for 2009 [Bob Barnes ] 14 Jun 14 Jun 09: COMMON NIGHTHAWK, Kern River Preserve, Fay Ranch Road, Weldon [Bob Barnes ] 14 Jun 13 Jun 09: Kern River Valley-Canebrake Ecological Reserve [Bob Barnes ] 14 Jun Northern Goshawk in Pine Mountain; condors over Mt. Abel ["kwpenland" ] 12 Jun Greater White-fronted Goose and Cackling Goose at Hart Park in Bakersfield ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 12 Jun Flams, Spotted, Saw-whets; Breckenridge Mtn ["macbirder1" ] 11 Jun eBird Report - Walker Pass: Pacific Crest Trail-South , 6/11/09 [Bob Barnes ] 11 Jun Galileo June 10, 2009 ["wildlife_biologist" ] 07 Jun Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Cerro Coso ["Bob and Susan Steele" ] 07 Jun Butterbredt and Galileo - SAT June 6, 2009 SLOW, but Kentucky Warbler ["Robert McNab" ] 4 Jun Butterbredt 6/4 [Jimmy McMorran ] 04 Jun Galileo/Silver Saddle Beat Goes On: Kentucky Warbler+ [Bob Barnes ] 04 Jun Vermilion Flycatcher at Tule Elk State Reserve ["rogercoley" ] 3 Jun RE: Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle-6/3 [Jimmy McMorran ] 3 Jun Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle-6/3 [Andrew Howe ] 03 Jun Kern County Black Swifts [Bob Barnes ] 03 Jun male vermilion flycatcher at Tule Elk Reserve [Alison Sheehey ] 03 Jun Painted Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler(s), Summer Tanager -Galileo 6-2-09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 03 Jun Painted Redstart-Black-throated Blue Warbler- Summer Tanager at Galileo 6/2/09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 02 Jun Galileo 6-02-09 A.M. ["Brad Singer" ] 2 Jun Butterbredt Spring 6/2/09 [Jimmy McMorran ] 01 Jun Galileo/Silver Saddle: 06/01/09 - Yellow-throated Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler [Bob Barnes ] 01 Jun Galileo Redux 31 May 09 ["wurstertom" ] 30 May Kern Desert - PRedstart, YTVireo [Andrew Howe ] 28 May Galileo Report - Thursday, May 28, 2009 ["richardjnorton AT dslextreme.com" ] 28 May eBird Report - Kern River Preserve - Headquarters , 5/28/09 [Bob Barnes ] 28 May Birding Galileo Hill 5/26 thru 5/28/09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 28 May Re: Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. [Alison Sheehey ] 28 May Re: Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. ["Todd Easterla" ] 28 May Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. [] 27 May Galileo Report - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 ["richardjnorton AT dslextreme.com" ] 27 May White-winged Dove in Ridgecrest [Bob Barnes ] 26 May Galileo addenda: Re: Galileo Tuesday [] 26 May Kelso Valley Rd. (3850'-4300'), 14.5-18 mi. s. of Weldon, Kern Co., CA [Bob Barnes ] 26 May Galileo Tuesday [] 26 May Butterbredt Spring 25 May 09 ["wurstertom" ] 25 May Galileo-5/24 [Andrew Howe ] 24 May Galileo Hills and Zzyzx 5/24 [Steve Glover ] 24 May Galileo Hills and Zzyzx 5/24 [Steve Glover ] 25 May Butterbredt & Silver Saddle- 24 May 2009 ["Cindy Lieurance" ] 25 May Vagrant birds at Galileo and Butterbredt Springs 5/24/09 ["svillebirder" ] 24 May Walker Pass & Inyokern [Bob Barnes ] 23 May Rose-breasted Grosbeak(s) at Galileo Hills - May 22nd ["Bob" ] 23 May Bendire's Thrasher? ["enoluvr" ] 22 May Birding Galileo Hill 5/20 thru 5/22/09 ["Ken and Brenda Kyle" ] 21 May Common Nighthawk status and distribution question ["Bob and Susan Steele" ] 22 May re Cuckoo ["Mark Brown" ] 21 May red-eyed vireos and band-tailed pigeon at Cerro Coso ["Bob and Susan Steele" ] 21 May May 2nd Yellow-billed Cuckoo Report [Bob Barnes ] 21 May FYI: How to learn bird songs (Virtually guaranteed!) [Bob Barnes ] 21 May End thread, please ["macbirder1" ] 21 May re: failure to post the Acadian ["thomasgezamiko" ] 19 May Plumbeous Vireo at Cerro Coso Community College ["Bob and Susan Steele" ] 18 May Re: (Probable) Acadian Flycatcher photos [] 19 May Re: Galileo empid-5/18 ["vireos44" ] 18 May Galileo empid-5/18 [Andrew Howe ] Subject: re:re: hummingbird From: "Mark Brown" <lawoffmarkbrown AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:47:20 -0000 All: Sorry folks, people are talking about the Kern hummingbird and they do not think it is a Blue-anything. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CALBIRDS . Mark Brown Santa Maria Subject: UPDATE: Blue-throated Hummingbird From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:28:02 -0700 Hi, Steve Summers started checking the Kern River Preserve hummingbird feeders at 5:20pm. Bob Steele, Susan Steele, and I started checking them at 5:35pm. The Steeles kept a constant watch on the front yard feeders. Barnes and Summers kept a constant watch on the side yard feeders. We left the feeder watch at 8:10pm. We had no observations of a female Blue-throated Hummingbird during our observation period. There may be some birders who will check out the feeders tomorrow morning. If so, we are hopeful they will share a report on the presence or absence of Blue-throated Hummingbird at the Kern River Preserve. We are hopeful others who visit the Preserve in the next several days to few weeks will also check for Blue-throated Hummingbird. What else can we all do? FYI: Parking/entrance to the Kern River Preserve is free. Donations are accepted and appreciated. May at least one Blue-throated Hummingbird be in your California birding future, Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Kern Preserve Open on Holidays & Directions From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:57:56 -0700 Hi, Based on a question with generic applicability. The Kern River Preserve (Wledon, Kern County) is open every day f the year including holidays (such as this coming Saturday, July 4th). The entrance is on the north side of CA Hwy 178 at Milepost 57.00 (57 miles east from CA 99 in Bakersfield and c. 31 miles west from CA Hwy 14). Drive down the dirt entrance road through the trees to Headquarters. Park in the parking lot to the left ... by the porta-potties. Thank you, Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Blue-throated Hummingbird Parking From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:18:56 -0700 Hi, Bob Steele, Susan Steele, and I are going up later this afternoon to the Kern River Preserve to try for this hummingbird. Of course, Bob will go for photos, too. We'll report back this evening for those of you interested. CAUTION: People live/sleep at Preserve Headquarters ... less than 50' from the front yard feeders! Be aware! Enough said! HOURS: Dawn to dusk PARKING: Park in the Kern River Preserve Headquarters parking lot to the left at the end of the entrance road! It is way less than a minute's walk to the front feeders from there. Do NOT park in the handicapped parking area near the hummingbird feeders unless you are officially qualified. WHY? I have told Preserve staff that it should be ok if the Preserve has an influx of visitors as there is good parking (IN THE PARKING LOT!), benches, picnic tables, etc. I ask that you validate my statement which infers, largely correctly, that birders are among the most considerate people in the world! :) Yo may wish to bring your own portable stool. Thank you for reading the lines above and between the lines above. BOTTOM LINE: After your visit, the goal is that Preserve staff will think you are the most amazing person or people in the world and invite you back any time you wish! Thank you, Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Kern Preserve Blue-throated Hummingbird From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:55:14 -0700 Hi, Denise La Berteaux just phoned me to report she saw the reported Blue-throated Hummingbird at the FRONT YARD FEEDERS of the Kern River Preserve in Weldon, Kern County just a bit earlier this afternoon. Denise is currently unable to access her Internet service. But, she signed-off on my sending out this e-mail and her confidence with her ID. Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: re hummingbird From: "Mark Brown" <lawoffmarkbrown AT verizon.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:37:35 -0000 All: This hummingbird sure looks like this bird: (http://www.macro-photo.org/photo-gallery/images-of-birds/wildlife_birding.php?photography=birds035 ) But unlike the female adult one at Three Rivers in Tulare County. The only accepted record from California. http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/wb/v14n01/p0017-p0030.pdf . So, what plumage is this a young male? Or young female? http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/NABB/v025n04/p0134-p0138.pdf . People of Kern put up more hummingbird feeders the twitchers are coming to help the economy! Mark Brown Santa Maria Subject: KRP Feeders & Blue-throated Hummingbird From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:28:48 -0700 Hi, Regarding Gary Lundquist's Sa, 27 Jun 09 photo of the assumed Kern River Preserve Blue-throated Hummingbird, be aware that there are two hummingbird feeding stations at Kern River Preserve Headquarters in Weldon ... one in the front yard and the other in the side yard just beyond the visitor center. Since Gary did not mention which feeding station hosted the hummingbird he photographed, it will be necessary to cover both feeding stations to attempt to determine absence or continuing presence. In case observers decide to go for the hummingbird and then look for other things to go for, an e-mail is coming a bit later today with an update on other noteworthy observations in the area this past weekend including: Sooty Grouse Yellow-billed Cuckoo Flammulated Owl Pileated Woodpecker Bendire's Thrasher Le Conte's Thrasher Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Subject: RE: FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS From: "Steve & Priscilla Summers" <summers AT ocsnet.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:56 -0700 I KNOW! I hope someone down there can re-find the bird, its been three days since the photo was taken. Steve _____ From: John Sterling [mailto:jsterling AT wavecable.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 10:44 AM To: 'Steve & Priscilla Summers'; kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [kerncobirding] FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS Holy crap!!!! This is a Blue-throated Hummingbird. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com From: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve & Priscilla Summers Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 10:09 AM To: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [kerncobirding] FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS I'm forwarding this message just posted on the Tularekingsbirds. The photos are on the Tularekings groups photos under the Birds_I_Vue folder. They do look very interesting! I think someone close by ought to check this out. I believe the bird was photgraphed on Sat.(June 27). Steve Summers Porterville, CA -----Original Message----- From: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of birds_i_vue Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:40 AM To: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS This past weekend the TCAS visited Kern River Preserve. While at the hummingbird feeder. I caugt these photos of the larger than the Anna's and Blackchinned Hummingbirds at the same feeder. Note white undertail and large size. I have the same feeder at home so tried to approximat comparative size to Anna's and Blackchinned hummers. This individual is definitley larger. Bird was at feeder for only a few seconds before being chased away by Anna's male. First picture was out of focus since I was focusing on closer individual. Pictures are posted under Birds_I_Vue since I knew John wouldn't want them in Tulare Kings file. Please help ID. I believe it to be a Blue-throated Hummingbird. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:44:14 -0700 Holy crap!!!! This is a Blue-throated Hummingbird. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com From: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Steve & Priscilla Summers Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 10:09 AM To: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [kerncobirding] FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS I'm forwarding this message just posted on the Tularekingsbirds. The photos are on the Tularekings groups photos under the Birds_I_Vue folder. They do look very interesting! I think someone close by ought to check this out. I believe the bird was photgraphed on Sat.(June 27). Steve Summers Porterville, CA -----Original Message----- From: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of birds_i_vue Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:40 AM To: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS This past weekend the TCAS visited Kern River Preserve. While at the hummingbird feeder. I caugt these photos of the larger than the Anna's and Blackchinned Hummingbirds at the same feeder. Note white undertail and large size. I have the same feeder at home so tried to approximat comparative size to Anna's and Blackchinned hummers. This individual is definitley larger. Bird was at feeder for only a few seconds before being chased away by Anna's male. First picture was out of focus since I was focusing on closer individual. Pictures are posted under Birds_I_Vue since I knew John wouldn't want them in Tulare Kings file. Please help ID. I believe it to be a Blue-throated Hummingbird. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: FW: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS From: "Steve & Priscilla Summers" <summers AT ocsnet.net> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:08:56 -0700 I'm forwarding this message just posted on the Tularekingsbirds. The photos are on the Tularekings groups photos under the Birds_I_Vue folder. They do look very interesting! I think someone close by ought to check this out. I believe the bird was photgraphed on Sat.(June 27). Steve Summers Porterville, CA -----Original Message----- From: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of birds_i_vue Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:40 AM To: tularekingsbirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [tularekingsbirds] Unknown Hummingbird at KRP with TCAS This past weekend the TCAS visited Kern River Preserve. While at the hummingbird feeder. I caugt these photos of the larger than the Anna's and Blackchinned Hummingbirds at the same feeder. Note white undertail and large size. I have the same feeder at home so tried to approximat comparative size to Anna's and Blackchinned hummers. This individual is definitley larger. Bird was at feeder for only a few seconds before being chased away by Anna's male. First picture was out of focus since I was focusing on closer individual. Pictures are posted under Birds_I_Vue since I knew John wouldn't want them in Tulare Kings file. Please help ID. I believe it to be a Blue-throated Hummingbird. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links Subject: 25 Jun 09 Inyokern AZ Plumage Bell's Vireo From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:11:28 -0700 Location: Ed & Terri Middlemiss property north of Inyokern, Indian Wells Valley Observation time/day/date: 7am-7:05am+, Th, 25 Jun 09 Observer: Bob Barnes (entire 3.5 hours); joined by Terri Middlemiss just as vireo was detected Notes: 5:15am-8:45am, Th, 25 Jun 09 - Middlemiss property north of Inyokern. 69.8F-84.6F; 26%-22% humidity; 0 kph winds; 2340' elevation; N 35 42' 24.8", W 117 50' 53.6" at junction of Avenida del Sol and Lorene (AKA Desert Holly);... Number of species: 17 HIGHLIGHTS: BELL'S VIREO (AZ SUBSPECIES PLUMAGE), Le Conte's Thrasher, Phainopepla (2 females) California Quail 4 American Kestrel 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove 6 Mourning Dove 4 Costa's Hummingbird 4 Western Kingbird 1 BELL'S VIREO 1 7am-7:05am+...BELL'S VIREO (ARIZONA subspecies plumage) 7am-7:05am+, Thursday, June 25, 2009 Middlemiss Property, north of Inyokern, Kern County Primary Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, CA Secondary Observer: Terri Middlemiss, Inyokern, CA AZ Bell's Vireo plumage ... Not only was this species totally unexpected, the plumage was fully compliant with the unexpected AZ subspecies and the time of year was unexpected (mid-April makes more sense). Looks over fairly lengthy time from 7am-7:05am+. Foraging fairly quickly in mesquite, eucalyptus, and pine trees at SW corner of developed portion of 10 acre property. Bird significantly smaller than nearby House Finches was noted first. Finches flew allowing concentration on remaining bird. General vireo bill (dark bill) and general vireo ID stood out next. As it moved into light on several occasions the following was noted: dark vireo bill (not narrow pointed like warbler, not tapered/triangular/conical like sparrow/finch/tanager; light gray to grayer (in shadows) head with faint/light eye-line (not a strong eye-line) from base of bill to behind eye - hard to see except in good light; one faint wingbar stood out only in good light; whitish throat had some gray cast to it making it not as white as the lower breast and belly (both of which were clearly seen as white), clear yellow wash on upper sides of each side ... not bright ... but, definitely clear and prominent; dull white to dull yellowish undertail coverts depending on light; behavior was different from most vireos in that this individual was moving a bit faster than the typical vireo and was moving its tail frequently (flicking, almost contorted when done on several observations); the tail itself was what I would describe as "ratty." The rest of the bird's plumage appeared to be "neat" to my eye. The gray on the head was in contrast to the color of the rest of the upperparts which I can not say I noted well ... except that the gray did not reach down onto the upper back as I remember the contrast. No vocalizations. After this bird flew into the heart of the developed portion of the property, two more trips around the yard were made without successfully relocating this bird. All of the preceding noted by Bob Barnes. Terri observed this bird from the opposite side of the clump of trees. She independently noted the grayish head, dull yellowish undertail coverts, yellowish upper sides, vireo bill (this stood out prominently to Terri, too) and rattiness of the bird. Common Raven 4 Verdin 3 Northern Mockingbird 2 Le Conte's Thrasher 1 Phainopepla 2 females Black-throated Sparrow 3 2 adults and one immature Hooded Oriole 3 Bullock's Oriole 1 House Finch 19 House Sparrow 4 Bob Barnes 1009 Las Cruces Avenue Ridgecrest, CA 93555 E: bbarnes AT lightspeed.net P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 2 HOODED WARBLERS & a NORTHERN PARULA at Galileo 6/23/09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:56:28 -0000 We just returned from birding Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Resort which is on the eastern Kern Desert. We birded Tuesday 6/23/09, and we saw a male HOODED WARBLER and a female HOODED WARBLER. We first saw the male Hooded Warbler in the morning in the canes that are next to the road that goes by the petting zoo. It was seen behind the blue sign that reads Kiowa Tepee Village. It frequently came out to the bare ground. In the late afternoon, we saw it on the bare ground next to the canes which are next to the smallest pond by the petting zoo. We also saw a Spotted Sandpiper. Also in the morning,6/23/09, we saw the female Hooded Warbler going across the bare ground to go under a small green bush south of the building that has Trading Post written on the building. This building is near the Pavilion. She later flew into the trees in front of the Trading Post building and watched us! In the late afternoon of Tuesday, 6/23/09, we saw a NORTHERN PARULA in a tree next to the creek that is across from the main hotel. It only stayed a short time and then flew toward the stables. We did not relocate it. Today, Wednesday, 6/24/09, we were unable to relocate either of the warblers. We did not see anything unusual today. Tomorrow, we will place photos of the male and female Hooded Warbler and the Northern Parula into the kerncobirding photo section in the album labeled 01 Birds. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Greenhorn Mountains: North from 6102' Greenhorn Summit From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:41:42 -0700 Hi, Tu, 23 Jun 09, Greenhorn Mountains North from 6102' Greenhorn Summit to 8300' high Sunday Peak, Sequoia National Forest, Southern Sierra Nevada, Kern County, California. Yesterday (Tu, 23 Jun 09), my objective was to search for SOOTY GROUSE at this species' currently known southern limit of its range on and around Sunday Peak in the Kern County portion of the Greenhorn Mountains in Sequoia National Forest within a mile of the Tulare County line. Even though I have found Sooty Grouse to go silent for large parts of June, I thought it would be worth a try. BOTTOM LINE: NO DETECTIONS. So, a try again in July when, in my experience, consistent calling on the part of males starts again. This report combines species and numbers observed at three adjacent locations ... total elevation range 6102'-8300': 1. 6am-6:30am, the 6 miles of dirt Sequoia National Forest road FS 24S15 north from Greenhorn Summit to the Tulare County line (on the way to Sunday Peak Trail). GPS Reading (at 6102' Greenhorn Summit junction of CA Hwy 155 and Sequoia National Forest road FS 24S15): N 35 44' 19.8", W 118 33' 22.6". Driving slowly with windows down with very brief stops at a few locations to further pin down calls and/or songs (e.g.: Olive-sided Flycatcher, Hermit Warbler). A 6 mile drive using an 09 Toyota Corolla. 2. 6:30am-11:30am, 1.5 mile long Sunday Peak Trail, Greenhorn Mountains, Sequoia National Forest, from FS 24S15 at 7250' to the summit of 8300' Sunday Peak. GPS Readings: N 35 46' 56.0"; W 118 35' 05.7"; weather at 9am at summit: 57.5F, 28% humidity, winds to 9.3kph, clear skies. A three mile round trip hike. 3. 12:15pm-12:30pm, Tiger Flat, 4.1 miles north along FS 24S15 from Greenhorn Summit, Greenhorn Mountains, Sequoia National Forest, during a brief 15 minute stop to get GPS Readings: N 35 46' 38.1", W 118 34' 07.2"; 6600' elevation. Virtually a standing single point count. HIGHLIGHT: From along Sunday Peak Trail just below Sunday Peak - looking down on an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER with an OUTSTANDING SHOWING of its STRIKING & EXTENSIVE ORANGE CROWN. SPECIES & NUMBERS in (TOTAL, then FS 25S16, Sunday Peak Trail, Tiger Flat order in parentheses): Band-tailed Pigeon 2 (0,2,0) Mourning Dove 1 (1,0,0) Red-breasted Sapsucker 3 (0,3,0) Hairy Woodpecker 4 (1,2,1) White-headed Woodpecker 3 (1,1,1) Northern Flicker 3 (1,2,0) Olive-sided Flycatcher 2 (1,0,1) Western Wood-Pewee 11 (8,3,0) Dusky Flycatcher 11 (1,9,1) Warbling Vireo 2 (2,0.0) Steller's Jay 17 (6,11,0) Common Raven 2 (1,1,0) Mountain Chickadee 15 (2,13,0) Red-breasted Nuthatch 20 (3,17,0) Brown Creeper 1 (0,1,0) House Wren 2 (0,2,0) Golden-crowned Kinglet 8 (2,6,0) Western Bluebird 13 (5,8,0) Townsend's Solitaire 1 (0,1,0) Hermit Thrush 2 (0,2,0) American Robin 3 (1,1,1) Orange-crowned Warbler 1 (0,1,0) Nashville Warbler 1 (0,1,0) Yellow Warbler 2 (1,0,1) Yellow-rumped Warbler 11 (1,9,1) Hermit Warbler 1 (1,0,0) MacGillivray's Warbler 3 (1,2,0) Western Tanager 10 (5,4,1) Fox Sparrow 42 (12,29,1) Dark-eyed Junco 12 (3,8,1) Purple Finch 7 (5,0,2) Cassin's Finch 2 (0,2,0) Pine Siskin 3 (1,1,1) Lesser Goldfinch 4 (3,0,1) Lawrence's Goldfinch 4 (2,0,2) TOTAL SPECIES: 35 Observer: Bob Barnes 1009 Las Cruces Avenue Ridgecrest, California 93555 E: bbarnes AT lightspeed.net P: 760.382.1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Yellow-Billed Cuckoo? From: "enoluvr" <enoluvr AT ca.rr.com> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:46:59 -0000 In the next week or so I plan on going up to the Kern River Preserve to look for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo for my state list? I have been living and birding in SoCal for 23 years so I guess its time. Has anyone been up there yet this year and seen them? Also, my experience with cuckoos outside of California is that they are active all day, is that true with this population? One more thing, anyone know of a good locaton for Bendire's Thrasher in Kern Co.? Thanks, Gary Edelman Santa Clarita, CA gary.edelman AT ca.rr.com Subject: Owls of Breckenridge From: "macbirder1" <macbirder1 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:06:38 -0000 Out last night with Gary File to survey owls on Breckenridge Mountain, east of Bakersfield. We had five species: NORTHERN SAW-WHET, WESTERN SCREECH-, SPOTTED, FLAMMULATED, AND GREAT HORNED. Except for the Wester Screech-Owl, all the others occured beyond the 25-mile mark on Breckenridge Rd. before reaching Breckenridge Mountain capmground. Low temperature was about 42 degrees, but light winds made it bearable for these two flatlanders. Michael McQuerrey Bakersfield, California Subject: 20 Jun 09: South Fork Kern River Valley, Kern County, Southern Sierra Nevada From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:11:32 -0700 Sites checked (all between 2500' and 2750' in elevation): Kern River Preserve (Fay Ranch Road, Sierra Way, Headquarters); South Fork Wildlife Area - South (includes east end of Isabella Reservoir), Scodie Park in Onyx. The foundation of these reports was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Observer (for all locations): Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County 4:15am-5:25am (80 minutes), Location: Kern River Preserve - FAY RANCH ROAD; Observation day, date: Sa, 20 Jun 09 Number of species: 25 Mallard 2, California Quail 2, Great Blue Heron 1, Killdeer 1, Mourning Dove 3, Great Horned Owl 2 (not heard, only seen), Western Wood-Pewee 2, Black Phoebe 6 (3 pairs), Ash-throated Flycatcher 6, Western Kingbird 8, Common Raven 2, Tree Swallow 11, American Robin 1m, Yellow Warbler 6m, Common Yellowthroat 6m, Summer Tanager 1m, Spotted Towhee 2, Savannah Sparrow 3, Song Sparrow 13, Blue Grosbeak 5 (4m, 1f), Lazuli Bunting 2m, Red-winged Blackbird 4, Bullock's Oriole 2, House Finch 10, House Sparrow 10,... 5:30am-6:10am (40 minutes), Location: Kern River Preserve - SIERRA WAY; Observation day, date: 5:30am-6:10am, 20 Jun 09 Number of species: 26 Mallard 12, Ring-necked Pheasant 1, Pied-billed Grebe 1, Red-shouldered Hawk 1, Mourning Dove 3, Western Wood-Pewee 5, Ash-throated Flycatcher 1, Common Raven 6, Tree Swallow 2, Bewick's Wren 1, House Wren 3, American Robin 1, Yellow Warbler 7m, Common Yellowthroat 6m, Summer Tanager 1m, California Towhee 1, Savannah Sparrow 3, Song Sparrow 4, Blue Grosbeak 1m, Lazuli Bunting 1m, Red-winged Blackbird 9, Tricolored Blackbird 21, Brewer's Blackbird 3, Great-tailed Grackle 2, Bullock's Oriole 2, Lesser Goldfinch 2,... 6:15am-7:05am (50 minutes), Location: Kern River Preserve--HEADQUARTERS; Observation day, date: Sa, 20 Jun 08 Number of species: 41 California Quail 48 (14 adults, 34 chicks counted on Kern River Preserve Headquarters lawn and driveways), Turkey Vulture 1, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Eurasian Collared-Dove 1, Mourning Dove 4, Black-chinned Hummingbird 5, Anna's Hummingbird 10, Costa's Hummingbird 1, Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird 1, Nuttall's Woodpecker 4, Downy Woodpecker 2, Hairy Woodpecker 1m, Northern Flicker 3, Western Wood-Pewee 3, Willow Flycatcher 2, Black Phoebe 2, Ash-throated Flycatcher 4, Common Raven 2, Tree Swallow 19, Bushtit 8, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Bewick's Wren 3, House Wren 9, Western Bluebird 14, American Robin 1m, European Starling 3, Yellow Warbler 6m, Common Yellowthroat 5m, Summer Tanager 1m, Western Tanager 1 (late migrant), Spotted Towhee 1, Song Sparrow 6, Black-headed Grosbeak 1, Blue Grosbeak 1m, Lazuli Bunting 1m, Red-winged Blackbird 6, Tricolored Blackbird 2, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, Bullock's Oriole 4 (1m, 1ym, 1f, 1u), House Finch 3, Lesser Goldfinch 5,... 7:15am-8:05am (50 minutes), Location: SOUTH FORK WILDLIFE AREA - South, N 35 39' 08.6", W 118 21' 11.3" at CA Hwy 178 milepost 54.00 at South Fork Wildlife Area entrance road (Patterson Lane) just west of the sand & gravel plant; 2630'... Observation day, date: Sa, 20 Jun 09 Number of species: 26 Western/Clark's Grebe 400 (partial count to 200, then conservative estimate for total), American White Pelican 71, Great Blue Heron 1, Turkey Vulture 9, Osprey 2 (on nest), American Coot 3, California Gull 1, Eurasian Collared-Dove 1, Mourning Dove 1, Nuttall's Woodpecker 1, Black Phoebe 1, Western Kingbird 1, Common Raven 3, Horned Lark 29, Tree Swallow 1, Northern Mockingbird 1, Yellow Warbler 3m, Savannah Sparrow 1, Red-winged Blackbird 3, Tricolored Blackbird 76, Western Meadowlark 3, Great-tailed Grackle 2, Bullock's Oriole 1, House Finch 4, Lesser Goldfinch 1, Lawrence's Goldfinch 3 (2m, 1f),... 8:20am-8:35am (15 minutes), Location: South Fork Valley - SCODIE PARK; Observation day, date: Sa, 20 Jun 09 Number of species: 11 Mourning Dove 1, Nuttall's Woodpecker 1, Western Scrub-Jay 1, Common Raven 28, Oak Titmouse 2, Bewick's Wren 1, European Starling 2, Brewer's Blackbird 1, Hooded Oriole 1, House Finch 1, House Sparrow 6,... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RFI from Ohio birders From: Jeffrey Cullen <cullen_jeffrey AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:54:38 -0700 (PDT) Can you help us find these birds?  We will be heading toward Ventura from the Kern Valley over the 4th of July weekend as part of a two week birding trip to California.  This is only our second California trip but we have been doing a lot of research.   Please reply to my yahoo adrress or my primary email below.  Thanks in advance.  Lawrence's Goldfinch Spotted Dove California Gnatcatcher LeConte's Trasher Yellow-billed Magpie (we've read that their numbers are declining) Jeff & Becky Cullen Bowling Green, Ohio members of the Toledo Naturalists' Association www.toledonaturalist.org jcullen at bgcs.k12.oh.us [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Costa's in Bakersfield From: "macbirder1" <macbirder1 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:31:04 -0000 After the sensational posting by the Kyle's, I hesitate to post what may seem mundane, to some. I have a young male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD coming to my feeders, on the 12th fairway of the Rio Bravo Golf Course, just east of Bakersfield. I've not seen one in Bako in summer, and it looks to be a post-nesting dispersal bird. I'm sure someone out there will have a hyphenated proper description of what I should call it, but most of you will get the idea, I hope. Michael McQuerrey Bakersfield Subject: Black-throated Blue Warbler and American Redstart at Galileo Hill 6-17-09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:42:34 -0000 Today, Wednesday, 6/17/09, we saw a female BLACK THROATED-BLUE WARBLER and a femalish AMERICAN REDSTART at Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Ranch. They were both seen directly across from the main parking lot. They were seen in the trees next to the small green bridge at 4:00PM. At times they were in the same tree. Earlier in the day, we saw a female ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK in the Eucalyptus tree in the bungalow area. We will place photos of these birds into the kerncobirding photo section in a few days. We will place the photos in the album labeled 01 Birds. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway - Kern Co. , 6/16/09 From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:24:55 -0700 Hi, The foundation for this report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway - Kern Co. Observation day/date: Tu, 6/16/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Notes: 4:15am-9:15am; 58F-57F, 58%-63% humidity, wind: 0-8.1 kph; 3285'-5530'; Start: junction of CA Hwy 178 and Chimney Creek National Back Country Byway, End: Kern County/Tulare County line at pass at Lamont Peak Trail trailhead; 6.3 mile long transect by vehicle with frequent stops for birding next to vehicle and up and down Chimney Peak NBCB;... All species observed considered to be local nesting species with the possible/likely exception of Sage Sparrow Number of species: 31 Chukar 2 California Quail 16 6 adults, 10 chicks Mourning Dove 34 All elevations Greater Roadrunner 2 Lower elevations Western Screech-Owl 2 New location; Calling simultaneously and in close proximity White-throated Swift 8 hummingbird sp. 1 Hairy Woodpecker 3 Northern Flicker 2 Western Wood-Pewee 2 Say's Phoebe 1 Lowest elevation Ash-throated Flycatcher 17 All elevations Western Kingbird 5 Lower elevations Steller's Jay 1 Highest elevation Western Scrub-Jay 29 All elevations Oak Titmouse 15 Higher elevations only Cactus Wren 12 Lower elevations only Rock Wren 14 All elevations Canyon Wren 2 Both singing long, descending song Bewick's Wren 18 16 singing, 2 calling only Wrentit 1 known location Northern Mockingbird 3 1 pair, plus 1 individual Spotted Towhee 12 All elevations California Towhee 27 All elevations Black-chinned Sparrow 1 singing; new location Black-throated Sparrow 23 All 23 were singing individuals; lower elevations Sage Sparrow 53 All manner of plumage, none singing; higher elevations Black-headed Grosbeak 1 singing male Bullock's Oriole 4 Scott's Oriole 8 All singing males; All elevations House Finch 14 All elevations [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Kern - America's Birdiest Inland County for 2009 From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:08:55 -0700 Hi, With 246 species reported for May 1-3, 2009, Kern County has once again earned recognition as America's Birdiest Inland County. This is the 6th year in a row for Kern (see table below). Coverage for the first time of the Tejon Ranch (their first spring birding blitz was held Sa, 2 May 09) and the private evaporation ponds just north of Kern NWR (by a Central Valley Birding Club field trip) added several species to the overall list ... tieing Kern's all time high of 246 species first reached in 2006. America's Birdiest Inland County: 2003 - Cochise County, AZ - 226 species (individuals allowed 24 hrs. out of 48) 2004 - Kern County, CA - 232 species (24/48) 2005 - Kern County, CA - 226 species (24/48) 2006 - Kern County, CA - 246 species (72 hrs. out of 72 allowed by all individuals) 2007 - Kern County, CA -235 species (72 hrs. out of 72 by all individuals) 2008 - Kern County, CA - 241 species (72 hrs. out of 72 by all individuals) 2009 - Kern County, CA - 246 species (72 hrs. out of 72 by all individuals) Thanks again to all of you who participated in the May 1-3, 2009 Kern County America's Birdiest Inland County effort. FYI: Los Angeles County earned America's Birdiest County recognition overall with 264 species. San Diego County was second with 260 species. Corpus Christi, Texas, earned America's Birdiest City recognition overall with 217 species. San Diego was second with 198 species. Others earning recognition: Coastal County, Gulf Coast: Nueces County, TX - 238 Coastal County, Atlantic: Washington County, ME - 152 Inland County, Central: Bexar County, TX - 198; Sedgwick County, KS - 193 Large Inland City - San Antonio, TX - 170 Small Coastal City - Dauphin Island, AL - 189 Bob Barnes, Coordinator & Compiler Kern County America's Birdiest Inland County effort Ridgecrest, Kern County, California [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 14 Jun 09: COMMON NIGHTHAWK, Kern River Preserve, Fay Ranch Road, Weldon From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:27:14 -0700 Hi, The foundation for this report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Kern River Preserve - Fay Ranch Road Observation date: Su, 6/14/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Notes: Fay Ranch Road in Weldon from Hwy. 178 north 1.75 miles to edge of valley floor - All first covered by car for pre-dawn and dawn chorus ("dawn" chorus essentially complete by 5:15am ... well before sunrise), walked route afterward from south to north and return;4:45am-7am, 8:30am-8:45am; 51F-61F, 83%-63%, 0-5.8kph Number of species: 55 Highlight: COMMON NIGHTHAWK (See note after species listing following) Wild Turkey 1 California Quail 8 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Great Blue Heron 5 Green Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 3 Osprey 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 3 Sora 1 Long call Killdeer 2 Wilson's Snipe 1 Mourning Dove 10 Barn Owl 2 Great Horned Owl 2 Common Nighthawk 1 C. 5am ... repeatedly giving nasal "mrent" call over fields and marsh east of Fay Ranch Road north of the South Fork Kern River. Not too late to be a migrant. Possibly foraging from known breeding season areas up the North Fork Kern River or South Fork Kern River watersheds. The latter assumes foraging up to 25-35 air miles from nesting territories. Sora and Wilson's Snipe were heard from this same location. hummingbird sp. 1 Nuttall's Woodpecker 5 Downy Woodpecker 2 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 5 Western Wood-Pewee 4 Black Phoebe 4 Say's Phoebe 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher 8 Western Kingbird 10 Loggerhead Shrike 1 Western Scrub-Jay 2 Common Raven 8 Tree Swallow 31 Cliff Swallow 2 Oak Titmouse 2 Bushtit 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 House Wren 11 Western Bluebird 13 American Robin 2 European Starling 4 Yellow Warbler 8 Common Yellowthroat 15 Yellow-breasted Chat 1 Summer Tanager 3 (all singing only well before sunrise) Spotted Towhee 3 Savannah Sparrow 10 Song Sparrow 13 Blue Grosbeak 5 Lazuli Bunting 2 Red-winged Blackbird 16 Western Meadowlark 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Bullock's Oriole 3 House Finch 13 Lesser Goldfinch 7 Lawrence's Goldfinch 1 House Sparrow 3 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 13 Jun 09: Kern River Valley-Canebrake Ecological Reserve From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:46:56 -0700 Hi, The foundation for this report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Canebrake Ecological Reserve Observation date: Sa, 6/13/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Notes: 4:45am-7:45am; elevation: 2850'; 58F-65F, 70%-46%, breezes to 5 kph at start, gusts to 16.7 kph at end; all individuals recorded considered to be breeding/nesting season species;... Number of species: 42 California Quail 14 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 American Kestrel 1 Mourning Dove 14 Great Horned Owl 1 Common Poorwill 1 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Nuttall's Woodpecker 5 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Western Wood-Pewee 3 Black Phoebe 2 Say's Phoebe 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher 4 Western Kingbird 6 Western Scrub-Jay 3 Common Raven 2 Tree Swallow 4 Oak Titmouse 3 Bushtit 22 Rock Wren 2 Canyon Wren 1 Bewick's Wren 7 House Wren 5 Western Bluebird 15 Wrentit 2 Only location in Kern River Valley where this species is found in willow habitat. At all other locations this species is found in concentrated live oak woodland or chaparral. European Starling 3 Yellow Warbler 6 Common Yellowthroat 5 Summer Tanager 1 male Spotted Towhee 1 California Towhee 5 Song Sparrow 16 Black-headed Grosbeak 1 Blue Grosbeak 4 Lazuli Bunting 3 Red-winged Blackbird 12 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 Bullock's Oriole 4 House Finch 15 Lesser Goldfinch 1 House Sparrow 2 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Northern Goshawk in Pine Mountain; condors over Mt. Abel From: "kwpenland" <kwpenland AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:29:35 -0000 Sorry for the late post but wanted to report that an adult Northern Goshawk flew into the Woodland greenbelt behind my house in Pine Mountain late afternoon on Friday, June 12. It perched first on the top of a Jeffrey pine, then flew to the top of the tallest snag in the greenbelt. Too far away and getting too dark for my 300mm lens, but the dark gray back, lighter gray underside, and distinctive horizontal black and white striping on the face were unmistakable. Saturday, June 13, on an LA Audubon field trip to Bittercreek NWR led by Jesse Grantham to learn about the California Condor recovery program and to view (from a distance) the release/feeding pen, the group ended the day birding part of Mt. Abel (or as we locals prefer to call it, Cerro Noroeste). One ravine pointed out by Grantham is used as a roosting area by condors, and almost on cue, a few minutes apart, two magnificently soaring condors appeared above the ravine's ridgeline. One can only hope this is a sight that will be increasingly frequent in the years ahead above all the ridgelines of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Katy Penland Pine Mountain, CA Subject: Greater White-fronted Goose and Cackling Goose at Hart Park in Bakersfield From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:43:25 -0000 Today, 6/12/09 at 12:30PM, we saw a Greater White-fronted Goose and a Cackling Goose at Hart Park in Bakersfield. They were seen with a group of Canada Geese on the grass north of the larger lake. There are two groups of Canada Geese at the park today. Later today, we will place a photo of the Greater White-fronted Goose and the Cackling Goose in the kerncobirding photo section in the album labeled 01Birds. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Flams, Spotted, Saw-whets; Breckenridge Mtn From: "macbirder1" <macbirder1 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:25:22 -0000 Spent the day and night, yesterday, on Breckenridge Mountain, east of Bakersfield. For June, it was downright cold - 44 degrees. But the wind cooperated. The day brought typical birds for the high country. My highlights included a singing MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, a unique experience for me. The bird de jour was "large-billed" FOX SPARROWS. I was trolling in a new area, for me, above Breckenridge Campground, near the lookout. It is the highest area, nearing 8000 feet in elevation. Literally dozens of Fox Sparrows were singing, everywhere. GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE'S were common, and singing, as well. The real reason for being up there was owls. This new area didn't extend the know area of Flammulated Owls. The only owl in the area was a GREAT HORNED, fairly unusual on the mountain. Three FLAMMULATED, 5 SAW-WHETS, and 2 SPOTTED OWLS were located. Michael McQuerrey Bakersfield, California Subject: eBird Report - Walker Pass: Pacific Crest Trail-South , 6/11/09 From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:00:45 -0700 Hi, This foundation for this report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Walker Pass: Pacific Crest Trail-South (c. 4 mi. walk south along Pacific Crest Trail - 5225'-6440'), Kern County, southern Sierra Nevada Observation day/date: Th, 6/11/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Notes: START: Trailhead parking area next to outhouse in BLM's Walker Pass Campground. N 35 39' 52'6", W 118 02' 13.3"; Elevation: 5225'; 47.6F, 54% humidity, no wind, just a few clouds. END: c. 4 Pacific Crest Trail miles south at N 35 38' 22.2"; 118 02' 59.6"; Elevation: 6440'; 59F, 50% humidity, wind to 5.4 kph, scattered clouds & building. Comments: Extensive pinyon pine forest along entire route with gray pine and live oak joining in at higher elevations. Plumbeous Vireo, found on one past trip several years ago, was a target species. It was not detected. Nor was it detected the last visit a few years ago. No recorded vocalizations used; no pishing used or other self-generated vocalizations used (Neither are recommendations ... just the way it is every day unless otherwise noted ... which thus far has not happened ...) Number of species: 34 Mountain Quail 4 California Quail 1 Mourning Dove 11 Costa's Hummingbird 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 1 Western Wood-Pewee 1 Gray Flycatcher 2 Say's Phoebe 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher 2 Steller's Jay 9 Western Scrub-Jay 20 Common Raven 2 Mountain Chickadee 1 Oak Titmouse 7 Bushtit 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 6 All calling ... based on call all were aculeata (no tenuissima calls were detected) Rock Wren 1 Bewick's Wren 11 (10 singing, 1 calling only) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Wrentit 2 Black-throated Gray Warbler 1 singing male Western Tanager 7 males Spotted Towhee 8 California Towhee 5 Chipping Sparrow 2 singing males Lark Sparrow 2 Black-throated Sparrow 2 singing males Sage Sparrow 31 Virtually all were juveniles (brown heads and backs, heavily streaked)/immatures (various stage of gray, lighter plumage, and less streaking) showing variable plumage. Only one silent adult observed. Two individuals heard singing, but not seen. Black-headed Grosbeak 4 singing males Western Meadowlark 1 Scott's Oriole 2 singing males House Finch 6 Lesser Goldfinch 3 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Galileo June 10, 2009 From: "wildlife_biologist" <wildlife_biologist AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:03:33 -0000 Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, Kern County (7:30am-12:00pm) Thursday, June 10, 2009 Observers: Jeff Ahrens, Tony Bomkamp, and Paul Schwartz We completed a couple loops of the ranch. Willow flycatchers and olive-sided flycatchers were numerous, with a few western wood-pewees. We had a probable rose-breasted grosbeak singing briefly from cottonwoods near the rooms adjacent to the restraunt, but we did not observe it. I also briefly (few seconds) observed a female grosbeak in the cottonwoods above the white fence at the horse stables, but it flew off and did not vocalize. We ran into Ken and Brenda Kyle about 10:00 am, but they had not seen anything at that time. The complete bird list includes: willow flycatcher olive-sided flycatcher "western" flycatcher ash-throated flycatcher western wood-pewee black phoebe western kingbird Cassin's kingbird Brewer's blackbird red-winged blackbird great-tailed grackle brown-headed cowbird Swainson's thrush American robin horned lark house finch house sparrow American crow common raven mourning dove turkey vulture mallard European starling Wilson's warbler orange-crowned warbler common yellowthroat white-throated swift cliff swallow northern mockingbird California quail Bullock's oriole (female) black-chinned hummingbird verdin (pair building nest on property) unidentified grosbeaks Jeff Ahrens Irvine Subject: Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Cerro Coso From: "Bob and Susan Steele" <steele7 AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:49:25 -0700 Highlites at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest include a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female Wilson's Warbler, 4 Warbling Vireo, and 5 Western Tanager. Susan Inyokern [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Butterbredt and Galileo - SAT June 6, 2009 SLOW, but Kentucky Warbler From: "Robert McNab" <wahooking AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:16:51 -0000 Hi birders, This morning at Butterbredt Springs (6:30A-8:45A Saturday 6/06/09) was very slow with few migrants. A handful of Willow Flycatchers, "Western" Flycatchers and Western Wood-Pewees made up the bulk of migrants seen, and a single Wilson's Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler and Warbling Vireo. A pair of Lawrence's Goldfinches was a nice surprise. Four (4) Western Tanagers came through and at least one grosbeak was reported that I did not see personally. Weather was breezy with scattered clouds – cool ~ 60F. Best bird was a KENTUCKY WARBLER seen for about five minutes around 7:45A skulking in the undergrowth near the base of the "greeting tree". The bird would not cooperate for photos, but was also seen by birder Jeff Seay. Jeff spotted a first summer AMERICAN REDSTART. At Silver Saddle it was breezy and SLOW. I saw one warbler – a female Wilson's Warbler, and one Warbling Vireo in three hours. A single White-winged Dove was at the equestrian stables. Lots of Willow and western Flyctachers like at Butterbedt. A large covey of Chukar were near the pavilion, and included several 1-2 week old chicks and some maybe 3-4 weeks. Maybe 25 birds total, including at least 3 pairs of adults. Robert McNab Laguna Niguel, CA Subject: Butterbredt 6/4 From: Jimmy McMorran <bigshell53 AT msn.com> Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2009 20:20:45 -0500 Hi Birders, Andrew fisher and I birded around Butterbredt from about 0715-0900. It was very slow. It was also very quiet except for the Loggerhead Shrike family flying throughout the area. A handful of Willow and Western Flycatchers, and a couple Western Wood-Pewee's was pretty much it. A Le Conte's Thrasher actually flew up and perched in a cottonwood above us and then flew down to the ground near the boulders where the owls hang out. An American Redstart was in the first willow clump just down canyon and eventually made its up to the spring later on. Good Birding, Jimmy McMorran Cardiff, CA _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To post a message to the group, email: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and files can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirdingYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:kerncobirding-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:kerncobirding-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: kerncobirding-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Galileo/Silver Saddle Beat Goes On: Kentucky Warbler+ From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:33:42 -0700 Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Ranch & Club, Kern County Thursday, June 4, 2009 Observers: 11 HIGHLIGHTS: BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (female) - Richard Barth, et. al. (all who wanted to see it) OVENBIRD (singing) - Jim Lomax, Diane Rose, Steve Rose, et. al. (all) KENTUCKY WARBLER - Jim Moore, et. al. (at least one person still going for this bird at 10:30am) B Barnes' Complete 5:15am-10:30am List:: Chukar, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Lesser Nighthawk, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, "Western" Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Verdin, Rock Wren, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, OVENBIRD, KENTUCKY WARBLER, Wilson's Warbler, Lark Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak (adult male), Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch, Lawrence's Goldfinch, House Sparrow,... Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Vermilion Flycatcher at Tule Elk State Reserve From: "rogercoley" <rcoley AT bak.rr.com> Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:06:00 -0000 I just received a call from Bill Moffat at Tule Elk State Reserve stating that a male vermilion flycatcher was seen this afternoon at approximately 5:30 p.m., at the west side of the day use area, on the fence and flying down to the pond in front of the visitors' platform. Subject: RE: Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle-6/3 From: Jimmy McMorran <bigshell53 AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 22:39:45 -0500 Hi Birders, I'm on a roll with low quality images it seems, so true to form, an image of the Blackpoll Warbler from today at Galileo Hill is at the site below. Between low light conditions, focusing issues, and lack of time with the bird, this is what I got. Pretty cool to hear a blackpoll singing as your driving up! Great to meet a few of you this morning! http://www.flickr.com/photos/35283997 AT N07/ Good Birding, Jimmy McMorran, Cardiff, CA If your having problems accessing this site, make sure AT is in front of N07 instead of AT in the address. To: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com From: howe395 AT yahoo.com Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 18:10:11 -0700 Subject: [kerncobirding] Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle-6/3 Today (Wed, June 3) at Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle: BLACKPOLL WARBLER (gorgeous singing male first discovered in the pines at the corner of the bungalow lawn; easily refound along the road that splits the bungalows from the hotel throughout the morning; I understand that it was also refound this afternoon as well) OVENBIRD (singing bird first discovered by the Roses up by the petting zoo; later, sang from both the stable lawn and bungalow lawn areas; an infuriating bird-very hard to see) CHATEURA SWIFT (seen briefly over the main lake and former large corral area; probable Chimney, based on late date and perceived size/structure) ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (SY male in the eucs on the bungalow lawn) Andrew Howe Riverside, CA howe395 AT yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_QuickAdd_062009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle-6/3 From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2009 18:10:11 -0700 (PDT) Today (Wed, June 3) at Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle: BLACKPOLL WARBLER (gorgeous singing male first discovered in the pines at the corner of the bungalow lawn; easily refound along the road that splits the bungalows from the hotel throughout the morning; I understand that it was also refound this afternoon as well) OVENBIRD (singing bird first discovered by the Roses up by the petting zoo; later, sang from both the stable lawn and bungalow lawn areas; an infuriating bird-very hard to see) CHATEURA SWIFT (seen briefly over the main lake and former large corral area; probable Chimney, based on late date and perceived size/structure) ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (SY male in the eucs on the bungalow lawn) Andrew Howe Riverside, CA howe395 AT yahoo.com Subject: Kern County Black Swifts From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:00:52 -0700 The foundation of this report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Wofford Heights - Live Oak Campground Observation time/date: 6:45am-8:15am, 6/3/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Notes: Live Oak Campground is a Sierra Nevada foothill campground in a disjunct portion of Sequoia National Forest. This portion of the forest is inside the community limits of Wofford Heights on the west side of Isabella Reservoir. Tillie Creek is on the east (Isabella Reservoir) side of CA Hwy 155 and Live Oak Campground is across the street on the west side of CA Hwy 155. Coverage: 6:45am-8:15am; Distance: 1.25 mi. on foot; Temperature: 64.6F-69.1F; Humidity: 37%-35%; Wind: None; Elevation: 2675'; GPS at Live Oak Campground entrance: N 35 42' 08.3", W 118 27' 38.7" Number of species: 24 California Quail 1 Turkey Vulture 2 Cooper's Hawk 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 Mourning Dove 3 BLACK SWIFT 3 Foraging low over campground on total cloud filled sky day. Although rarely seen over Kern River Valley, this species nests in this (Kern River) watershed above Kernville and is sometimes observed during spring migration. These three individuals could be either migrants (a late spring migrant in the interior ... not expected before May 15th) or individuals foraging south from nesting areas to the north c. 25-30 miles. Anna's Hummingbird 1 Acorn Woodpecker 4 Nuttall's Woodpecker 1 Ash-throated Flycatcher 6 Western Scrub-Jay 9 Common Raven 4 Oak Titmouse 10 Bushtit 6 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Western Bluebird 1 Northern Mockingbird 1 European Starling 2 Phainopepla 1 California Towhee 6 House Finch 14 Lesser Goldfinch 6 Lawrence's Goldfinch 2 House Sparrow 4 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: male vermilion flycatcher at Tule Elk Reserve From: Alison Sheehey <natureali AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:46:12 -0700 Hi All, Bill Moffat the Ranger at the Tule Elk Reserve (Station Road and Morris in Buttonwillow) reports a male Vermilion Flycatcher in the picnic area of the TER. He also reports Burrowing Owlets are up and hanging out near their burrows behind the fence easily visible from the picnic area. Alison Sheehey Subject: Painted Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler(s), Summer Tanager -Galileo 6-2-09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:44:21 -0000 The first message we posted did not appear,therefore, we are posting a second message. Today, Tuesday, 6/2/09, we saw a PAINTED REDSTART, male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER(S) in the trees near the small bridge across from the main entrance to the hotel. One was seen across from the trailers and west of the restroom. We also saw a male Summer Tanager on the grass near the teepees. Tomorrow, we will place photos of these birds into the photo section of kercobirding in the album labled 01 BIRDS. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Painted Redstart-Black-throated Blue Warbler- Summer Tanager at Galileo 6/2/09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:52:59 -0000 Today, Tuesday, 6/2/09, we observed a PAINTED REDSTART at Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Ranch. We saw the Painted Redstart at 12:00PM in the trees next to the small bridge which is directly across from the main entrance to the hotel. Earlier in the morning, we saw a male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER in the trees next to the bridge across from the main entrance to the hotel. Later, we saw a male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER across from the trailers and in the trees west of the restroom. There may have been two male Black-throated Blue Warblers at Galileo today. Maybe our photos will show if we saw two different Black-throated Blue Warblers. A male Summer Tanager was seen earlier in the morning on the grass near the petting zoo. Tomorrow, we will place photos of the Painted Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler(s),and Summer Tanager into the kerncobirding photo section in the album labeled 01BIRDS. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Galileo 6-02-09 A.M. From: "Brad Singer" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:05:03 -0000 I had the opportunity to take a long detour to work this morning and bird Galileo with a small, nice group of birders. Of interest was: Continuing: Yellow-throated Vireo (singing loudly this morning) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (near the stables) Northern Parula (female) (near the stables) spotted by John Ivanoff Summer Tanager (male) spotted by the Kyle's Black and White Warbler (between stables and parking lot) Black-throated Blue Warbler (between stables and parking lot) spotted by Brenda Kyle Still many Swainson's Thrushes and empids including Western-wood Peewee and Western Flycatcher. I left early (10:00 a.m. so I am sure more birds are to come today) Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead photo: Black-throated Blue Warbler (not a good pic, tough bird to photo) http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/3589610577/ photo: Yellow-throated Vireo http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/3589611165/ photo: Black and White Warbler http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/3590416166/ Subject: Butterbredt Spring 6/2/09 From: Jimmy McMorran <bigshell53 AT msn.com> Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2009 19:07:17 -0500 Hi Birders, This morning (6/2), Andrew Fisher and I made it to Butterbredt Spring at approximately 0715 and left about 0930. It was pretty quiet when we first arrived with only a couple of Yellow Warblers buzzing overhead making their way up canyon. A couple of Swainson's thrush were foraging on the ground inside and then a Yellow-throated Vireo started sounding off and continued for the duration of our stay. Shortly after that, a first year male American Redstart stopped by for about five minutes to forage and briefly sing before taking off. There was a handful of Willow and Western Flycatcher's (some vocalizing), a single Gray Flycatcher, Western Wood Pewee's and a female Great-tailed Grackle. I am hesitant to write, but I heard what sounded really good for Blue-winged Warbler, but only heard it once and no sight or sound of it after that. So be it. The highlight for me was hearing a Kentucky Warbler chip a few times and then find it hidden behind a brush pile preening after a bath. I watched it preen (with no clear views) for about two minutes and then it flew to a higher branch and was not seen or heard again. Attached is a link to view some low quality "docu-shots" of the YTVI and KEWA. The vireo stayed very high the whole time and this is the only shot of the warbler I could get in the clear. http://www.flickr.com/photos/35283997 AT N07/ Good Birding, Jimmy McMorran Cardiff, CA _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™ SkyDrive™: Get 25 GB of free online storage. http://windowslive.com/online/skydrive?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_SD_25GB_062009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To post a message to the group, email: kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and files can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirdingYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:kerncobirding-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:kerncobirding-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: kerncobirding-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Galileo/Silver Saddle: 06/01/09 - Yellow-throated Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:51:57 -0700 Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Resort Monday, June 1, 2009 Observer: Bob Barnes (joined by Jean Brandt at 8am) 7am: AMERICAN REDSTART - Singing 1st spring male in trees between the creek and stables. NOTE: Presumably continuing from the weekend... 7am: YELLOW-THROATED VIREO - Singing male in the trees between the creek and stables. Refound by Jean Brandt at 8am. NOTE: Presumably continuing from the weekend... 8am: CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER - Singing, adult breeding-plumaged male in the trees between the creek and stables. Also observed by Jean Brandt during the same observation period. NOTE: Based on prior Kerncobirding postings, this is the first Chestnut-sided Warbler to join the cornucopia of warblers found at Galileo and in Kern County this spring. Despite thorough coverage of the entire grounds at Silver Saddle Resort (some areas twice), no other continuing vagrants from the weekend or additions were detected other than the Chestnut-sided Warbler this morning. Grosbeaks were heard at a distance, but none were observed close at hand. However, another birder arrive at Galileo sometime after 10am. Perhaps he will have something to add if he posts to Kerncobirding. Complete list of species observed by BB this morning at Galileo Hill/Silver Saddle Resort: Mallard, Chukar, California Quail (two pairs with large coveys of chicks - c. 15 each), Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, White-throated Swift, hummingbird species, NUTTALL'S WOODPECKER (heard only ... four times ... first three were typical ti-dik calls, fourth was typical rolling call), Western Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, "Western" Flycatcher (including at least three giving Pacific-slope "see-ip" call), Say's Phoebe, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, Warbling Vireo, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Verdin, Rock Wren, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow Warbler, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, AMERICAN REDSTART, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's Warbler, Western Tanager, Sage Sparrow, Rose-breasted or Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch, Lawrence's Goldfinch, House Sparrow,... Bob Barnes Ridgecrest, Kern County, California E: bbarnes AT lightspeed.net P: 760-382-1260 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Galileo Redux 31 May 09 From: "wurstertom" <wurster AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:18:04 -0000 Hi all, May 31st birds and weather were much the same as yesterday, though slightly warmer and slightly lowner numbers of western migrants. Birders outnumbered offical guests which made for good birding. Liga and I started the day alone but met and mixed with a cadre of other birders as the day progressed. They included Jeff Seay, Mark and Janet Scheel, Tom Edell, Maggie Smith, Alan Schmierer, Keith Kwan (sp?), Dan Guthrie, and others. Fortunately, highlight birds were cooperative and readily refound by each arriving group. 1 male Acorn Woodpecker continued, prsent for at least 2 weeks the silent Yellow-throated Vireo that Liga found yesterday sang frequently today, and was readily findable yesterday's Red-eyed Vireo continued to be elusive and was seen by only Tom and Dan today there were 2 Northern Parulas - a singing male and a female - Liga and I found the female in the blooming ocotillo at the main entry kiosk as we were leaving this afternoon. Shortly thereafter Mark and Janet checked the ocotillo and observed both the female and a male (the male had been seen/heard singing briefly by others earlier in the day, but was generally very elusive). we saw 3 Black-and-white Warblers today - two continuing SY males each distinguisable by plumage, and a new female. We encountered the males constantly as they moved widely throughout the park, singing incessantly. 2 male American Redstarts continued, both SY males distinguiable by plumage marks, both sang frequently. a female Hooded Warbler was reported by Dan Guthrie only. at least 2, but likely 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks continued from earlier in the week - 1 or 2 SY males, and a female. we saw 2 Indigo Buntings - a tailess but otherwise gorgeous male (with a white patch medially on the lower belly), and a female - both likely continued from earlier in the week. Elsewhere, in Cal City, the SLO Co contingent showed Liga and I a female Black-throated Blue Warbler in Central Park (found by Keith and photographed by Alan). It was working the "piney knolls," north the the lake (abandoned hotel side), near the wooden arch bridge. Tom Wurster and Liga Auzins Monrovia, Ca Subject: Kern Desert - PRedstart, YTVireo From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 30 May 2009 17:58:39 -0700 (PDT) It was a very nice day on the Kern desert; balmy and with an increasing threat of a thunderstorm, but the birds were very good. I have done my best at attributions below; apologies if I have anything wrong, as there were so many birds to run after it was difficult to keep track of who had first spotted what. At Butterbredt Springs: Painted Redstart (Kelli Heindel) American Redstart (Tom Wurster) Northern Parula (Stan Gray) Indigo Bunting (Kelli Heindel) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Vernon Howe, Johnny Wilson) The Painted Redstart came into the overlook, worked its way up canyon as far as the main willow clump, and was not seen again. At Galileo Hills/Silver Saddle: Acorn Woodpecker (continuing) Red-eyed Vireo (Vernon Howe and Kelli Heindel) Yellow-throated Vireo (Liga Auzins) 2 Black-and-White Warblers (Andrew Howe, Vernon Howe) 2 Ovenbirds (Johnny Wilson, Vernon Howe) Magnolia Warbler (Robert McNabb) American Redstart (Stan Gray) Northern Parula (Kelli Heindel and Sandy Koonce) Summer Tanager (continuing) 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (Tom Wurster, Robert McNabb) Bobolink (Johnny Wilson) Indigo Bunting (?) Liga found the Yellow-throated Vireo by the archery range, but it quickly disappeared. Quite a while later, Robert re-found it on the bungalow lawn, where it was very accommodating. The Summer Tanager is a VERY interesting bird, with some features consistent with Hepatic. However, the prevailing consensus was that this bird is, in fact, an unusual Summer Tanager. Definitely worth a look if you are near the skeet/archery ranges. Good birding, Andrew Howe Riverside, CA howe395 AT yahoo.com Subject: Galileo Report - Thursday, May 28, 2009 From: "richardjnorton AT dslextreme.com" <richardjnorton@dslextreme.com> Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 20:53:33 -0700 Information relayed from Wanda Dameron at Galileo - morning White-eyed Vireo Canada Warbler Northern Parula late afternoon - early evening Least Flycatcher Kentucky Warbler female Indigo Bunting Dick Norton Topanga, CA > Subject: eBird Report - Kern River Preserve - Headquarters , 5/28/09 From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 19:10:49 -0700 Location: Kern River Preserve - Headquarters, Weldon, Kern County, Southern Sierra Nevada, California Observation time/date: 4:45am-8:45am, 5/28/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, California Weather: Clear; Temp: 42.3F-74.2F; Humidity: 61%-36% Notes: This site (Kern River Preserve - Headquarters) covers the 0.2 mi. long road into Kern River Preserve Headquarters, the Headquarters compounnd itself, the Nature Trail, and the 0.75 mi. long ranch road leading west to its end from the Headquarters parking lot. Coverage consisted of a walk of about 3 miles. Number of species: 47 Wood Duck 1 Mallard 3 California Quail 34 (includes adult female with 17 chicks) Great Blue Heron 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Sora 1 Mourning Dove 16 Black-chinned Hummingbird 3 Anna's Hummingbird 8 Nuttall's Woodpecker 9 Downy Woodpecker 4 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 6 Western Wood-Pewee 8 Willow Flycatcher 2 Federally Endangered Southwestern race (Extimus) Black Phoebe 7 Ash-throated Flycatcher 22 Western Kingbird 4 Western Scrub-Jay 9 Common Raven 7 Tree Swallow 32 Barn Swallow 1 Oak Titmouse 6 Bushtit 18 Bewick's Wren 6 House Wren 47 Western Bluebird 13 Swainson's Thrush 2 American Robin 7 Yellow Warbler 25 All 25 detections were of singing individuals. Common Yellowthroat 28 (20 detections were of singing individuals ... many of which were seen) Summer Tanager 2 Both singing. Low number. Western Tanager 1 Spotted Towhee 11 California Towhee 2 Song Sparrow 59 Black-headed Grosbeak 9 Blue Grosbeak 4 Lazuli Bunting 1 Low number Red-winged Blackbird 41 Tricolored Blackbird 65 All in mugwort along irrigation ditch just inside the entrance to Kern River Preserve Headquarters from CA Hwy 178. This is a use location the past few years including use as a nesting site in April 2008. Brown-headed Cowbird 8 Bullock's Oriole 10 House Finch 9 Lesser Goldfinch 23 Lawrence's Goldfinch 33 Includes at least 15 adult males ... one adult male feeding a juvenile. This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Birding Galileo Hill 5/26 thru 5/28/09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 23:07:07 -0000 We just returned home from birding Galileo Hill. We were happy to see some of the birds previously reported on kerncobirding. As for the birds we missed, we figure it gives us a good reason to bird another day. After counting five Rose-breasted Grosbeaks on Wednesday, 5/27/09, we felt we had spent a wonderful day at Galileo. Then at 5:30PM a Hooded Warbler appeared in the Rosemary by the Pavilion. This is probably the Hooded Warbler reported earlier. The Hooded Warbler put on quite a show of flicking the tail and showing white in the tail feathers. This morning, 5/28/09, a Black-and-white Warbler was singing in trees near the creek across from the main parking lot. There were Rose-breasted Grosbeaks near the Pavilion. The Acorn Woodpecker found by another birder earlier in the week is still at Galileo. Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Re: Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. From: Alison Sheehey <natureali AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 13:02:34 -0700 Susan Steele reported a Canada Warbler and Northern Parula at Galileo this morning as well. Good birding, Ali Sheehey Subject: Re: Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. From: "Todd Easterla" <teasterla AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 12:58:15 -0700 At Galileo, Parula was present on Tuesday. The White-eyed Vireo was looked for with out success on Tues and Weds by my self and others. Probably same birds though? Female Black-throated Blue Warbler was the only real significant addition by my self and Al demartini. Todd Easterla ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:25 AM Subject: [kerncobirding] Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. > Stan Gray just called from Galileo, reporting a Parula and a White-eyed > Vireo. He had no idea if these were the same ones from earlier, this week. > Tom > Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T > > > ------------------------------------ > > To post a message to the group, email: > kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com > > Message archives and files can be found at: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirdingYahoo! Groups Links > > > Subject: Galileo Thursday 11:00 a.m. From: thomas.miko AT verizon.net Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 18:25:53 +0000 Stan Gray just called from Galileo, reporting a Parula and a White-eyed Vireo. He had no idea if these were the same ones from earlier, this week. Tom Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T Subject: Galileo Report - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 From: "richardjnorton AT dslextreme.com" <richardjnorton@dslextreme.com> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 20:54:41 -0700 Information relayed from Wanda Dameron at Galileo - 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks continue 2 Summer Tanagers 1 probable female Indigo Bunting Dick Norton Topanga, CA Subject: White-winged Dove in Ridgecrest From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 18:43:17 -0700 Hi, A WHITE-WINGED DOVE I just (6pmish) found calling from the back yard of the neighbor's house at 1008 Las Cruces Ave in Ridgecrest (across the street from my house at 1009 Las Cruces Ave), is not as rare to Ridgecrest as I thought. A quick phone call to Susan Steele, keeper of Indian Wells Valley (Inyoken, Ridgecrest) bird records, revealed that this most recent record of White-winged Dove is the 87th!!!!! for the Indian Wells Valley. A species for my yard list none-the-less, Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Galileo addenda: Re: Galileo Tuesday From: thomas.miko AT verizon.net Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 23:50:43 +0000 Femalish Hooded Warbler Female Black-thr Blue Warbler found by Todd Easterle et al Never saw the WE Vireo, or Parula. Tom Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: thomas.miko AT verizon.net Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 19:32:44 To: Subject: [kerncobirding] Galileo Tuesday Butterbredt: I ran into Bill, at the entrance to Jawbone Canyon. He, and many others had been at Butterbredt all morning, and the best they had was a Summer Tanager. So far Galileo has a slew of adult male: R (Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Summer Tanager. B&W Warbler is female. Brooks showed me his photo, taken today (5/26) of the White-eyed Vireo. I' wandering around, looking for it, and the Parula. Tom Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Kelso Valley Rd. (3850'-4300'), 14.5-18 mi. s. of Weldon, Kern Co., CA From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 15:12:38 -0700 Location: Mile 14.5 to Mile 18 (3850'-4300'), Kelso Valley Rd., south of Weldon, Kern County, Southern Sierra Nevada, California Specific Sites (in order birded): Tunnel Spring, Kelso Valley Road/Piute Mtn Rd junction, Frog Spring, Audubon-California's Kelso Creek Sanctuary, Tunnel Spring (a 2nd time), plus brief stints (1-2 minutes) outside the car en route... Observation date: 5:15am-10am, 5/26/09 Observer: Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County Number of species: 37 Weather - Sky: Clear; Temperature: 47.6F-70.1F; Humidity: 56%-33%; Wind: Mostly windless with periodic gusts to 10.7 kph NOTE: No vagrants, very few migrants, awesome dawn chorus from 5:15am-5:30am at Tunnel Spring, fairly to quite quiet from 5:30am-10am except for very few species ... especially Bewick's Wren which sang profusely throughout the morning. Sage Sparrows (including numerous juveniles) were on the move into Frog Spring. Butterbedt Spring was reportedly quite slow this morning, too, ... following yesterday's certified celebrated cornucopia of seven vagrant warbler species, seven western warbler species, Summer Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak found by the "Gang of Nine" (see Tom Wurster's e-mail posted to kerncobirding Sunday evening). None of that following below ... different day, different sites, different world (actually less than 10 air miles away!). Regardless, for the record... Mountain Quail 1 California Quail 15 American Kestrel 2 Killdeer 3 Mourning Dove 18 Greater Roadrunner 1 White-throated Swift 3 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 3 Nuttall's Woodpecker 4 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 4 Ash-throated Flycatcher 7 Western Scrub-Jay (Coastal) 12 Common Raven 2 Oak Titmouse 2 Rock Wren 2 Bewick's Wren 37 Western Bluebird 1 Swainson's Thrush 4 American Robin 1 California Thrasher 5 European Starling 2 Phainopepla 1 Yellow Warbler 1 Wilson's Warbler 2 Western Tanager 8 Spotted Towhee 5 California Towhee 13 Black-throated Sparrow 11 Sage Sparrow 35 Black-headed Grosbeak 2 Red-winged Blackbird 4 Brewer's Blackbird 3 Bullock's Oriole 4 Scott's Oriole 4 House Finch 20 Lawrence's Goldfinch 2 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Galileo Tuesday From: thomas.miko AT verizon.net Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 19:32:44 +0000 Butterbredt: I ran into Bill, at the entrance to Jawbone Canyon. He, and many others had been at Butterbredt all morning, and the best they had was a Summer Tanager. So far Galileo has a slew of adult male: R (Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Summer Tanager. B&W Warbler is female. Brooks showed me his photo, taken today (5/26) of the White-eyed Vireo. I' wandering around, looking for it, and the Parula. Tom Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T Subject: Butterbredt Spring 25 May 09 From: "wurstertom" <wurster AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 02:07:21 -0000 Hi all, On Memorial Day, 25 May 2009, nine avid birders, John Fenstra, Mark Shields, Jeff Seay, Scott and Linda Terrill, Cindy and Les Lieurance, and Liga Auzins and I, met at Butterbredt Spring at dawn, all with high expectations for a late migrant wave. We were not disappointed. Over the the next four hours a sputtering stream of western migrants moved up the canyon, including the following Eastern vagrants. Blue-winged Warbler, male, a stunning bird well seen by all; singing but often hard to locate thru our departure at 10:30. Tennessee Warbler, female, observed by Scott Terrill (and others?) Magnolia Warbler, male, another stunning bird seen by all. Blackpoll Warbler, stunning male, observed by only Cindy, Liga, and me. Ovenbird, observed foraging by the cars in the parking area by latecomers Jon and Mark. Canada Warbler, another stunning male, well seen by all. Hooded Warbler, a female continued from yesterday, repeated circled the main spring area and was well seen by all. Western warblers included Orange-crowns (some/all were hatch year birds), Nashville, Yellow-rumped (Audubon's), Townsend's, MacGillvray's, Common Yellowthroat, and Wilson's. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, second year male. Summer Tanager, male. Tom Wurster and Liga Auzins Monrovia, CA Subject: Galileo-5/24 From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 14:56:43 -0700 (PDT) This morning at Silver Saddle/Galileo Hill: a female ACORN WOODPECKER ranging over the western edge of the park. a WHITE-EYED VIREO in the juniper clump up by the pavilion. at least two male BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS ranging widely over the western edge of the park. Both birds sang frequently. a female HOODED WARBLER near where the stream runs into the lake. Mid-morning, word came in regarding a veritable cornucopia of eastern warblers from Butterbredt. I'm not sure of the precise details, but I gather that a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER headed the playlist. Andrew Howe Riverside, CA howe395 AT yahoo.com Subject: Galileo Hills and Zzyzx 5/24 From: Steve Glover <countylines AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Sun, 24 May 2009 21:29:39 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, This morning we birded Galileo Hills first thing in the morning. Frances Oliver found a Gray Catbird near the pavilion. It was first seen near a small pond mostly choked with reeds and then flew to some trees around the tee-pees. A White-winged Dove was on the wires behind the pavilion and two Green-tailed Towhees were in the scrub along the road near the pavilion. An Acorn Woodpecker was near the pond across the park. The ponds at Daggett had very little other than a few Bonaparte's Gull and a Red-necked Phalarope. The "other" Piute Pond was dry, though there were many Tricolored Blackbirds in the area. We then continued on to Zzyzx. The Least Tern continued to fish at the large pond but, as has been the case, it disappears at times for nearly an hour. Where it could go I can't imagine. We were also able to refind the Yellow-throated Vireo found previously by Tony Kurz. It was out on the east side of the buildings. We saw it for a short time when it came into the tiny pond with the yellow tape around it. Others spent a lot of time yesterday afternoon and this morning looking for it to no avail so apparently we got lucky. A Black-and-white Warbler was also on the east side by the building with the little sign that says no entry. In addition, John Sterling and John Luther had a Virginia's Warbler and female Hooded Warbler in the same general areas. A fun day in the desert! Steve Glover Dublin, CA Subject: Galileo Hills and Zzyzx 5/24 From: Steve Glover <countylines AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Sun, 24 May 2009 21:29:39 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, This morning we birded Galileo Hills first thing in the morning. Frances Oliver found a Gray Catbird near the pavilion. It was first seen near a small pond mostly choked with reeds and then flew to some trees around the tee-pees. A White-winged Dove was on the wires behind the pavilion and two Green-tailed Towhees were in the scrub along the road near the pavilion. An Acorn Woodpecker was near the pond across the park. The ponds at Daggett had very little other than a few Bonaparte's Gull and a Red-necked Phalarope. The "other" Piute Pond was dry, though there were many Tricolored Blackbirds in the area. We then continued on to Zzyzx. The Least Tern continued to fish at the large pond but, as has been the case, it disappears at times for nearly an hour. Where it could go I can't imagine. We were also able to refind the Yellow-throated Vireo found previously by Tony Kurz. It was out on the east side of the buildings. We saw it for a short time when it came into the tiny pond with the yellow tape around it. Others spent a lot of time yesterday afternoon and this morning looking for it to no avail so apparently we got lucky. A Black-and-white Warbler was also on the east side by the building with the little sign that says no entry. In addition, John Sterling and John Luther had a Virginia's Warbler and female Hooded Warbler in the same general areas. A fun day in the desert! Steve Glover Dublin, CA Subject: Butterbredt & Silver Saddle- 24 May 2009 From: "Cindy Lieurance" <cindy AT petrels.com> Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 01:17:13 -0000 Today, 24 May 2009, Les Lieurance and I started the day at Butterbredt Spring. In addition to the female HOODED WARBLER that I found around 7:00 AM (she remained loyal to the dark area of the spring until at least noon), many western migrants were flowing through in good numbers. YELLOW WARBLERs, WILSON'S WARBLERs, WESTERN TANAGERs, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKs, SWAINSON'S THRUSHes, WILLOW FLYCATCHERs, WESTERN WOOD-PEEWEEs predominated. We also saw BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, MacGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, the BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER found by Tony Kurz, several WARBLING VIREOs, and LAZULI BUNTINGs. We also saw a beautiful California Kingsnake in the leaf litter at the spring, and several MOUNTAIN QUAIL with their many tiny chicks. At Galileo Hills/Silver Saddle in the afternoon, we missed all the species reported by others, but we did see 2 SUMMER TANAGERS between the bungalows and the mini-golf area. Cindy & Les Lieurance San Francisco CA U.S.A. Subject: Vagrant birds at Galileo and Butterbredt Springs 5/24/09 From: "svillebirder" <tonyk_71220 AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 00:45:39 -0000 Butterbredt This morning at Butterbredt Springs there was a female HOODED WARBLER hanging around the dark seep area where shy birds usually bath. In the same spot but along the trail I had a Male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER actively feeding low to the ground with a bunch of wilson's warblers. There was good numbers of warblers moving up the canyon keeping us quite busy. I also had a PLUMBEOUS VIREO moving through the tree-tops. Galileo Lots of birds around the whole park, but the highlights has got to be a SPRAGUE'S PIPIT and male KENTUCKY WARBLER. The pipit was first seen near the soccer field, actually right at the pond edge between the archory range and soccer field. Then we later saw the pipit again near the enterance of the park. The Kentucky warbler was near the middle of the park at the mouth of the creek that flows into main pond. I will post pictures! Tony Kurz Springville Tulare County Subject: Walker Pass & Inyokern From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Sun, 24 May 2009 13:08:58 -0700 5:30am-10:30am, Sunday, May 24, 2009 Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, California Highlights: 48 Pinyon Jays & Le Conte's Thrasher This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Walker Pass East - 81.5 Observation date: 5/24/09 (5:30am-8am) Notes: Temp: 56.2F-65.9F; Humidity: 56%-37%; Wind: Gusts to 12.8kph at start, gusts to 14.5kph at end. 3.5 mile walk (1.75 miles up and 1.75 miles back) along abandoned road in Kiavah Wilderness to its end at 5420' (620' above starting point at Hwy 178). Number of species: 20 California Quail 2 Mourning Dove 2 Ash-throated Flycatcher 2 Western Kingbird 4 Western Scrub-Jay (Coastal) 5 Pinyon Jay 48 2 at starting point, 46 in pinyon pine woodland (and interface with Joshua tree woodland) Common Raven 1 Cactus Wren 1 Singing Bewick's Wren 6 4 singing, 2 calling (both near singing individuals) Northern Mockingbird 1 Singing Wilson's Warbler 1 Western Tanager 3 Spotted Towhee 3 Both calling Lark Sparrow 2 One singing Black-throated Sparrow 5 All singing Sage Sparrow 11 All running around and perching in low bushes Black-headed Grosbeak 1 Singing Bullock's Oriole 1 Scott's Oriole 1 Singing House Finch 5 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Inyokern - Middlemiss Observation date: 5/24/09 (8:30am-10:30am) Number of species: 23 California Quail 3 American Kestrel 3 Eurasian Collared-Dove 6 Mourning Dove 4 Black-chinned Hummingbird 1 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Costa's Hummingbird 2 Willow Flycatcher 1 Western Kingbird 2 Warbling Vireo 1 Common Raven 2 Verdin 2 Le Conte's Thrasher 1 Wilson's Warbler 1 Western Tanager 6 Black-throated Sparrow 3 Black-headed Grosbeak 2 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Hooded Oriole 3 Bullock's Oriole 1 House Finch 6 Lesser Goldfinch 5 House Sparrow 5 Bob Barnes Ridgecrest, Kern County, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Rose-breasted Grosbeak(s) at Galileo Hills - May 22nd From: "Bob" <oryzivora2000 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 21:41:04 -0000 Thanks to Ken and Brenda Kyle we found the immature male Blue Grosbeak by the right side of the Pavillion. There was alaso a female seen at the tall tree on the right side of the orchard between the parking lot and the stables. A short video of the male can be seen at: http://exposureroom.com/members/bobkaufman.aspx/assets/507cd53d2d84405fae76a5ed11f79c9f/ Photos of both male and female are at: http://www.pbase.com/ornithographyplus/galileo_052209 Bob & Cynthia Kaufman South Pasadena, CA Subject: Bendire's Thrasher? From: "enoluvr" <enoluvr AT ca.rr.com> Date: Sat, 23 May 2009 17:11:59 -0000 Does anyone have a fairly reliable location for Bendire's Thrasher in Kern County? More detailed the directions or location the better. Thanks, Gary Edelman Santa CLarita, CA Subject: Birding Galileo Hill 5/20 thru 5/22/09 From: "Ken and Brenda Kyle" <kbgoldennugget2 AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 21:49:45 -0000 We just returned home from birding Galileo Hill for three days. We saw the following birds at Galileo Hill on Wednesday 5/20/09: Spotted Sandpipers, Olive-sided Flycatcher(1), Western Wood Pewee, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler(Audubon's), Wilson's Warblers, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER -male (west of the main parking lot), and a Black-headed Grosbeak. On Thursday 5/21/09 the following birds were seen at Galileo Hill: Osprey, Chukars, Spotted Sandpiper, Western Wood Pewee, Western Kingbird, Swainson's Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warblers, Hermit Warbler (1), BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBlER-male, MacGillivray's Warbler, Wilson's Warblers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and Western Tanagers. This morning, Friday, 5/22/09 the following birds were seen at Galileo Hill: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK-male(north of the Pavilion), Osprey, Spotted Sandpipers, Acorn Woodpecker-seen earlier in the morning by another birder, Western Wood Pewee, Swainson's Thrush, Yellow Warblers, and a MacGillivray's Warbler(1). Ken and Brenda Kyle Bakersfield Subject: Common Nighthawk status and distribution question From: "Bob and Susan Steele" <steele7 AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 19:26:23 -0700 Hi, I have received a report of a Common Nighthawk at Ridgecrest on May 15, 2009. This seems a couple weeks early to me. What is the earliest spring record for Common Nighthawk in California? What is the earliest spring record for Common Nighthawk in Kern County? In other words, is this report unprecedented in terms of date? Please respond off line. Thank you in advance for your comments, Susan Inyokern, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: re Cuckoo From: "Mark Brown" <lawoffmarkbrown AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 01:43:42 -0000 All: I am posting online because it could be of interest to many: The earliest spring arrival date for California is 23 April; this is the only April record for the state. There are regularly, though not every year, a few arrivals in May, but the majority of breeding pairs arrive in June and some breeders may arrive as late as early July (Gaines and Laymon 1984). Yellow-billed Cuckoos are rarely detected in spring migration in California away from the breeding grounds. California Partners in Flight Riparian Bird Conservation Plan Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccycus americanus) http://books.google.com/books?id=-K0CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA991&dq=Yauayacu&lr=&client=firefox-a . Subject: red-eyed vireos and band-tailed pigeon at Cerro Coso From: "Bob and Susan Steele" <steele7 AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 18:05:48 -0700 Today at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest there were 2 red-eyed vireos, a band-tailed pigeon (found by Joyce) and a pair of Lawrence's goldfinch. Susan Inyokern, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: May 2nd Yellow-billed Cuckoo Report From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 17:36:51 -0700 Hi, I have received a report of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Galileo Hill on Saturday, May 2, 2009. Did any kerncobirding subscribers observe this bird? What is the earliest spring record for Yellow-billed Cuckoo in California? What is the earliest spring record for Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Kern County? In other words, is this report unprecedented in terms of date? Please respond off line. Thank you in advance for your comments, Bob Barnes Ridgecrest, Kern County, CA Subject: FYI: How to learn bird songs (Virtually guaranteed!) From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 16:22:55 -0700 Hi, Following are links to some Los Angeles Audubon Society Western Tanager newsletter articles which may be of interest to you (and, which some of you have already requested). The primary article that many of you asked to have passed on is the lead article in the May/June 2009 Western Tanager written by Tom Stephenson and entitled "HOW TO LEARN BIRD SONGS." The link to the PDF file spills over onto a second line so one may have to go to the Los Angeles Audubon Society home page to follow links starting with the newsletter icon which is the third icon listed in the right hand column of the home page. Linda Oberholtzer's "My Patch" article on the Kern River Valley on pp. 14 & 15 of the March/April 2009 Western Tanager is also accessible via newsletter PDF file. Here are the links: LAAS Home Page: http://www.losangelesaudubon.org/ Direct link to links to all past Western Tanager PDF files http://losangelesaudubon.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48&Itemid=98 May/June 2009 Western Tanager PDF file with lead HOW TO LEARN BIRD SONGS article: http://losangelesaudubon.org/images/stories/pdf/WesternTanager_pdfs/westerntanager,v75n5,mayjune2009_webversion.pdf March/April Western Tanager with Linda Oberholtzer's pp. 14-15 "My Patch" article on the Kern River Valley: http://losangelesaudubon.org/images/stories/pdf/WesternTanager_pdfs/westerntanagermarchapril2009.pdf That's it, Bob Barnes Ridgecrest, Kern County [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: End thread, please From: "macbirder1" <macbirder1 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 04:21:58 -0000 Kerncobirders: I intrude only because we are moving away from the purpose of kerncobirding. As you may know, civility is one of my favorite things. We all have wounds from one birding/birder encounter or another. That's not about the birds, and although I may sympathize, I don't want all our readers to feel this site is about venting. It's not and shouldn't be. Let it go. Michael McQuerrey moderator, kerncobirding Subject: re: failure to post the Acadian From: "thomasgezamiko" <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 01:58:46 -0000 Hi Folks, I agree to a certain degree with Doug, even though I am one of the guilty persons. I am going to attach an arbitrary number: I agree 66.6 percent. The reason that I do not agree 100% is that we faced the usual situation when reporting a rare bird that is a member of a genus containing several similar species. Not to appoint myself as counsel for the others who were here, but I would guess that nobody wanted to post the bird, and become the target of birders' ire--birders who weren't there with us. It has happened before. In my own case, I found an immature Common Black Hawk in SBDo Co, and someone who went to that location *24* hours later found an immature RT Hawk, and the "subtle" implication was that I had identified a RT as a Common BH. Ouch. Then of course, there's the old dead horse of the Lake Perris YB Loon that Bill Myers and I found, studied at our leisure, but didn't photograph (forgot my camera that day--of all days!. Lucky for me it showed up at Havasu 6 days later, and parked it for the winter. On the other hand, had the bird at Galileo been something ridiculously easy to identify--say a Red-faced Warbler (please, God, please send me a Red-faced Warbler! I really need one in California--on a day that I can chase it), then we would have immediately started calling and emailing. Onemore thought: The one person in Kern County who I know personally is Bob Barnes, and I haven't been able to get my hands on him, lately (I was looking for him for non-birding reasons), so I have assumed that he is out of town. Tom Miko If your not into my ranting----then delete now-- you've been fairly warned Having just returned from South Texas where I saw several Acadian Flycatchers, I would say that the bird in the pictures is a Western-type Flycatcher, but I think most people are missing a VERY IMPORTANT point! Whether this bird is, or is not an Acadian Flycatcher, it will probably never be proven, but what is important is this. The Observers (ALL 5-6 of them) thought that it was an Acadian Flycatcher. I am probably the biggest whiner in the State, when I find out that an extreme rarity was seen, and not reported to the general birding public for whatever reason other than restricted or private property. With all of the communication tools available to us (and the original finder of this bird is a communication tech whiz), There was absolutely no reason why these observers did not notify others as to the presence of the bird, so that others could run out to Kern and attempt to see the bird. It was found around mid-day, but not reported for almost 6 hours. I recognized several of the observer's names (as some of them are my friends), and realized that most of them are also some of the biggest complainers when it comes to others not reporting rare sightings, and then they pull this stunt? Most of these observers also should be fairly knowledgeable in the Status and Distribution of the State's birds, but yet- not one of them knew that Acadian Flycatcher was not on the State's list? I have tried to communicate with one of the observers, but so far I have received no response from that person. Those that know me, or know of me, know that, I call it like I see it, and I know I'll get flamed for this message by some, but come on folks, the only reason your on any of these listservs is to share information and to GET information. There's no excuse for what happen at Galileo last weekend. I guess we'll just be thankful that the bird in question will remain a question, and we did not miss a 1st State Record. Doug Aguillard San Diego, CA doug AT basiclink.com Subject: Plumbeous Vireo at Cerro Coso Community College From: "Bob and Susan Steele" <steele7 AT verizon.net> Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 17:51:00 -0700 Greetings Birders, this morning at Cerro Coso in Ridgecrest there was a Plumbeous Vireo and not much else -- Cassin's Vireo, Hermit and Swainson's Thrush, 2 Wilson's and a Mac Warbler, and a few Larry's goldfinches. Susan Inyokern, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: (Probable) Acadian Flycatcher photos From: scre AT aol.com Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 21:03:15 -0400 Though I don't have much experience with Acadian Flycatcher, this bird doesn't strike me as one.? As others have said its hard to get a feel for the primary projection in the photos, but they don't seem to be long enough.? My main concern is the eye ring which seems to be pretty typical of a Western and what appears to be a yellow throat.? Acadians typically have very rounded eye rings and a whitish throat.? While the dark, contrasty wings gives me pause, recent dark, contrasty winged empids from Kern have made me wonder about this.? David Vander Pluym Netarts Oregon for the summer field season [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Galileo empid-5/18 From: "vireos44" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 00:19:37 -0000 Hi, As Andrew said, I too have a hard time getting a feel for the primary projection in the photo of the "probable Acadian Flycatcher". Although I'm unsure what the primary spacing would look like on an Acadian, the spacing does looks good for 'Western' in the pic. Further, the peaked eyering and what appears to be a yellowish throat (contrasting with the whitishness of the eyering and the paleness of the tree trunk) also look good for Western. Jim Pike Huntington Beach --- In kerncobirding AT yahoogroups.com, Andrew Howe wrote: > > > I birded Galileo this morning (5/18), looking for the reported ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. I did find an interesting empid in the tree nursery (just south of the soccer field in the southeastern corner of the park) that may have been the same bird that was photographed yesterday, although some of the features I noted in the field seem a bit different from those shown in the two photographs. > > I only observed the bird for about 30-45 seconds, at slightly below eye level (it had been bathing at the nursery seep, and flew into the adjacent creosote to preen). My attention was first drawn to the bird's long bill, which really got my juices flowing. The entirety of the lower mandible appeared yellow-orange. However, I quickly noted the strong teardrop effect, which did not seem right for Acadian. I continued to note features inconsistent with Acadian: wing bars that looked dingy, and weren't exactly crisply defined (the fact that this bird was not in direct sunlight perhaps played a role in my observation); lack of a white throat; and, a primary tip projection that I would classify as "shortish" (indeed, the tail looked longer in comparison to the body, in part I would surmise due to the short pt projection). Really, other than the bill, the only other mark in favor of Acadian was the dark wings, but the bird was not in direct sunlight, and > I'm not sure what effect that had on my perception of wing color. > > I had the bird in view for less than a minute, and thus other important features were not noted (including the breadth of the bill). The bird flew out of the bush, and I could not relocate it at the time or an hour later, when I revisited the area. > > Ultimately, my look at this bird was too brief too identify it to a species. Furthermore, most empid candidates seem to be eliminated by at least one noted feature. The long bill and dark wings differentiated this bird from the 2-3 Westerns I saw this morning; however, by the same token, the eye-ring, wing-bar color, and throat color seem to rule out Acadian, Alder, etc. So, I'm not 100% sure what I saw, or even if it is the same bird that was photographed yesterday (for instance, I have a tough time telling exactly how long the primary tip projection is in Steve's second photograph; it looks longer than what I recall seeing on today's bird, but there is enough blurriness I just cannot be sure). > > In other Galileo news, a BELL'S VIREO near the administration building (along the entry road) was a first for this well worked location; ironically, a second was heard singing by a group of birders as they rushed across the park to see the first vireo. With one in the central valley several weeks ago and another at Butterbredt nine days ago, there have been four of these very rare migrants in Kern this spring. When it rains, it pours! > > Andrew Howe > Riverside, CA > howe395 AT ... > Subject: Galileo empid-5/18 From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 16:44:34 -0700 (PDT) I birded Galileo this morning (5/18), looking for the reported ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. I did find an interesting empid in the tree nursery (just south of the soccer field in the southeastern corner of the park) that may have been the same bird that was photographed yesterday, although some of the features I noted in the field seem a bit different from those shown in the two photographs. I only observed the bird for about 30-45 seconds, at slightly below eye level (it had been bathing at the nursery seep, and flew into the adjacent creosote to preen). My attention was first drawn to the bird's long bill, which really got my juices flowing. The entirety of the lower mandible appeared yellow-orange. However, I quickly noted the strong teardrop effect, which did not seem right for Acadian. I continued to note features inconsistent with Acadian: wing bars that looked dingy, and weren't exactly crisply defined (the fact that this bird was not in direct sunlight perhaps played a role in my observation); lack of a white throat; and, a primary tip projection that I would classify as "shortish" (indeed, the tail looked longer in comparison to the body, in part I would surmise due to the short pt projection). Really, other than the bill, the only other mark in favor of Acadian was the dark wings, but the bird was not in direct sunlight, and I'm not sure what effect that had on my perception of wing color. I had the bird in view for less than a minute, and thus other important features were not noted (including the breadth of the bill). The bird flew out of the bush, and I could not relocate it at the time or an hour later, when I revisited the area. Ultimately, my look at this bird was too brief too identify it to a species. Furthermore, most empid candidates seem to be eliminated by at least one noted feature. The long bill and dark wings differentiated this bird from the 2-3 Westerns I saw this morning; however, by the same token, the eye-ring, wing-bar color, and throat color seem to rule out Acadian, Alder, etc. So, I'm not 100% sure what I saw, or even if it is the same bird that was photographed yesterday (for instance, I have a tough time telling exactly how long the primary tip projection is in Steve's second photograph; it looks longer than what I recall seeing on today's bird, but there is enough blurriness I just cannot be sure). In other Galileo news, a BELL'S VIREO near the administration building (along the entry road) was a first for this well worked location; ironically, a second was heard singing by a group of birders as they rushed across the park to see the first vireo. With one in the central valley several weeks ago and another at Butterbredt nine days ago, there have been four of these very rare migrants in Kern this spring. When it rains, it pours! Andrew Howe Riverside, CA howe395 AT yahoo.com