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13 Mar Cackling Goose at LL VAMC ["warblinmun" ] 12 Mar FOS as they say ["Chet McGaugh" ] 11 Mar Chino Hills Hermit Warbler continues [] 11 Mar Southeastern CA RBA: March 11, 2010 [Tom Benson ] 10 Mar FW: Final Bald Eagle Count - March 13 - This Saturday!!!! ["bewickwren" ] 10 Mar local, seasonal, March 10 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 10 Mar re: CV Wild Bird Center [] 9 Mar Jacumba to the Salton Sea, 6 Mar 2010 ["Detwiler, Henry D" ] 08 Mar South End Salton Sea Mountain Plovers, Gray Flycatcher, poss. Glossy Ibis [Rich Hoyer ] 09 Mar Imperial Valley ["brooks_hart" ] 07 Mar Blythe area Black-bellied Plovers [Rich Hoyer ] 07 Mar Re: Lake Perris, SJWA March 6 [Steve Sosensky ] 07 Mar Sdndhill Crsnes ["howardbking" ] 07 Mar more Swainson's Hawks [] 07 Mar Salton Sea March 6 [] 6 Mar Lake Perris, SJWA March 6 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 6 Mar Swainson's Hawks-Chino [Andrew Howe ] 6 Mar NAB reports for RIV - Winter 2009-2010 ["bewickwren" ] 05 Mar Ladder-backed/Nuttall's ["Brad" ] 05 Mar SBVA Field Trip/General Meeting ["Brad" ] 05 Mar Another Swainson's Hawk ["Jim" ] 05 Mar Interesting desert land sights ["jwbnav" ] 4 Mar Desert Center March 4 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 04 Mar Southeastern CA RBA: March 4, 2010 [Tom Benson ] 02 Mar Gulls and the Salton Sea (No Sightings) ["Amar" ] 01 Mar Little Gull at Lake Perris 01 March 2010 ["howardbking" ] 01 Mar Solitary Sandpiper ["Jim" ] 01 Mar NESS Sunday Morning ["howardbking" ] 28 Feb The good, the bad, and mostly ugly! ["kelleyal" ] 27 Feb NAB Winter reports for SBE County ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 27 Feb What day is it? ["Chet McGaugh" ] 26 Feb NESS Feb 25 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 26 Feb Prado Regional Park ["howardbking" ] 25 Feb Southeastern CA RBA: February 25, 2010 [Tom Benson ] 24 Feb Mira Loma: Black-throated Gray Warbler [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 24 Feb Swainson's Hawk ["Jim" ] 24 Feb Parker Strip correction [] 24 Feb Parker Strip, etc, this and that [] 23 Feb Mira Loma: Rufous-green Hummingbird building nest (parking) [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 23 Feb Mira Loma: Rufous-green Hummingbird building nest [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 22 Feb South Salton Sea and Imperial Valley, 20-21 Feb 2010 ["Detwiler, Henry D" ] 21 Feb Re: Lake Perris Feb 20 ["Tom Miko" ] 20 Feb Silver Lakes and Newberry Springs [] 21 Feb A $5 Varmilion Flycatcher @ Lake Skinner ["shaulius" ] 20 Feb Lake Perris Feb 20 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 20 Feb another hybrid flicker ["dgingt22" ] 20 Feb Parker Strip [] 19 Feb Chino Hills and Rancho Cucamonga birds [] 19 Feb Salton Area birding Thu 2/18 ["Greg" ] 19 Feb Lake Havasu area [] 18 Feb Southeastern CA RBA: February 18, 2010 [Tom Benson ] 18 Feb roadside raptor day ["thomasgezamiko" ] 17 Feb Mergansers ["Brad" ] 16 Feb Imperial Valley and Salton Sea ["Guy" ] 16 Feb Mystic Lake Feb 16 ["Chet McGaugh" ] 16 Feb Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Grackle Piute Road Dairy (Again) ["toddamcgrath" ] 16 Feb vermillions return ["dgingt22" ] 15 Feb Curve-billed thrasher continues [] 15 Feb Curve-billed Thrasher ["alazere" ] 15 Feb Turkey Vultures on the move [Matt Brady ] 15 Feb Re: Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, possible Common Grackle ["Jim" ] 14 Feb Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, possible Common Grackle [] 14 Feb Some NESS Spots [Ed Stonick ] 14 Feb SBVAS field trip, NESS ["dgingt22" ] 13 Feb Parker Strip birding [] 13 Feb Lesser Black-backed Gull at Mecca Beach [Daniel Williams ] 13 Feb Salton Sea highlights Saturday ["lehman.paul AT verizon.net" ] 13 Feb Hooded merganser, Hidden Valley [] 13 Feb Purple Finches in Redlands ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 13 Feb Re: North End of the Salton Sea access ["dgingt22" ] 12 Feb Confirmed sighting at Salt Creek, Salton Sea [] 12 Feb North End of the Salton Sea ["Ed Stonick" ] 12 Feb Red Crossbill at CSUSB [] 12 Feb Wildwood State Park, Yucaipa ["kelleyal" ] 11 Feb Sandhill Cranes [Ronny Roa ] 11 Feb Salt Creek, Salton Sea [] Subject: Cackling Goose at LL VAMC From: "warblinmun" <warblinmun AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:39:49 -0000 I have still been seeing the Cackling Goose at the Loma Linda VA hospital from time to time. I have been too busy to look for it when it has not been in its usual place, so I imagine it has probably just been on another side of the hospital. Yesterday evening (3/11) it was again beside the pond at the SW corner of the hospital -- the same area that I have seen it each time. Joel Mundall Loma Linda, CA Subject: FOS as they say From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:58:46 -0800 Had a couple of seasonal firsts around the north end of the Salton Sea today: including White-winged Dove - 81st, and a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake - Johnson Street. That's how warm it was. Missed the Barrow's Goldeneye at Salt Creek (again). Best bird was a Mew Gull at 84th. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Chino Hills Hermit Warbler continues From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:40:54 -0500 The wintering Hermit Warbler continued this afternoon (11 Mar) in the pines about 150 feet east of Astral Street along Bayberry Drive in Chino Hills. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: March 11, 2010 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:07:31 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * March 11, 2010 * CASE1003.11 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Tundra Swan Barrow's Goldeneye Bald Eagle Swainson's Hawk Sandhill Crane *LITTLE GULL* Heermann's Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Gray Flycatcher - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SWAINSON'S HAWKS were observed moving through the Prado Basin this week, with one on Mar 4, eight on Mar 5, and ten on Mar 7 (Jim Pike, Andrew Howe, Tom Benson). RIVERSIDE COUNTY The *LITTLE GULL* continued at Lake Perris through Mar 7. Two BALD EAGLES were seen at Lake Perris and on was also seen at Mystic Lake on Mar 6 (Steve Sosensky, Chet McGaugh). The female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE continued at the mouth of Salt Creek on Mar 6 (Tom Benson). Two SANDHILL CRANES continued in the fields along Wineville Avenue in Mira Loma through Mar 7 (Howard King). IMPERIAL COUNTY An adult HEERMANN'S GULL was seen at the intersection of Lack and Lindsey, a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was at Obsidian Butte, and 70 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 2 TUNDRA SWANS continued at the IID wetlands near the intersection of Hwy 111 and McDonald Road on Mar 6 (Henry Detweiler, Tom Benson). Forty-five SWAINSON'S HAWKS were seen near the intersection of Brandt and Webster and 3 more were seen at Unit 1 SSNWR on Mar 8 (Brooks Hart). The GRAY FLYCATCHER continued at Cattle Call Park through Mar 8 (Rich Hoyer). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and YOUR NAME = your real name). There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: FW: Final Bald Eagle Count - March 13 - This Saturday!!!! From: "bewickwren" <bewickwren AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:29:42 -0800 Forwarding for Marc Stamer: -----Original Message----- From: Marc Stamer Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:07 PM Subject: Final Bald Eagle Count - March 13 - This Saturday!!!! the press release for this season's fourth and final bald eagle count: "Volunteers Needed to Count Bald Eagles San Bernardino, Calif., March 10, 2010 - Volunteers are needed to help the Forest Service count bald eagles this winter in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains! Volunteers will be stationed at various vantage points around the mountain lakes, where they map and note any eagle observations during a 1-hour period on a Saturday morning. This is the 31st year that the San Bernardino National Forest has organized monthly winter bald eagle counts. The final bald eagle count for the 2009/2010 winter is scheduled for Saturday, March 13. Volunteers are needed for the last remaining census. Volunteers need not have experience--just bring binoculars, a watch, and dress warmly. Concurrent Bald Eagle counts are held at Big Bear Lake, Baldwin Lake, Little Green Valley Lake, Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Silverwood, and Lake Hemet. Observers are stationed around the mountain lakes for a simultaneous 1-hour census/mapping effort once a month December through March. Through this method, the Forest Service has aquired information about areas eagles use and fluctuations in population numbers. The San Bernardino Mountains support the largest wintering bald eagle population in Southern California. Eagles typically begin arriving in the area in late November and continue to stay in the area until early April. Numbers using the Big Bear Basin have fluctuated over the past 22 years, from lows of 6-7 to highs of 35-40 individuals. In the early 1990s, the Forest Service conducted a research project to learn more about what areas in the mountains are important for eagle foraging, perching, and night roosting. Fifteen eagles were caught and equipped with tiny radio-transmitters that allowed us to track their movements. Through radio-tracking, we learned that some of the same individual eagles return to the San Bernardino Mountains year after year. We also determined that there is a lot of movement of eagles between the different mountain lakes and that the lakes do not have distinctive separate populations-the eagles regularly move between Silverwood, Big Bear, and Arrowhead lakes. We have also learned that some of the San Bernardino Mountains' eagles travel to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Canada. Scientists at Lake Silverwood also equipped some bald eagles with transmitters tracked by satellites. Some of those eagles were tracked all the way to Alberta and the Northwest Territories in Canada where they probably nested. That is about 2,000 miles one-way! Information regarding bald eagle migratory routes for these and other California eagles can be viewed from the University of Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group's web site at http://www2.ucsc.edu/~scpbrg/migration.htm. Breeding populations of bald eagles in Southern California were extirpated by the late 1950s. Until reintroduction efforts began in the 1980s on Catalina Island, the southern-most nest site known in California was in Lake County. Since 2003, a pair of bald eagles has successfully fledged babies several times at Lake Hemet! Potential nesting habitat exists on National Forest lands near all of the lakes in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Forest Service will continue to monitor these areas in the spring for future nesting attempts. The bald eagle is a success story of the Endangered Species Act - through protection under that law, its populations have recovered from the brink of extinction. Bald Eagles are no longer considered an Endangered or Threatened species. They still have full protection under the Bald Eagle Protection Act. Captive breeding programs, reintroduction efforts, the banning of DDT, and public education have all helped in the recovery of this species. Catching a glimpse of our breath-taking national symbol is relatively easy during winter months in Big Bear. There are some fantastic opportunities for excellent close-up photographs too. Just look in the tallest trees around the lake near open water for perching eagles. Or, if the lake is partly frozen, look for eagles perched on the ice near small groups of ducks using the open water. Stop by the Forest Service's Big Bear Discovery Center (on North Shore Drive, 1-1/2 miles west of Stanfield Cutoff) and pick up a handout on eagles. Remember that human presence may distract or disturb the eagles - so, try to limit your movements and don't make loud noises when they're nearby. If possible, remain in your car while looking at eagles - the car may act as a blind. Bald Eagle count volunteers for the Big Bear Lake area should come to the Forest Service Big Bear Discovery Center on North Shore Drive at 8:00 a.m. for instructions. Volunteers for the Lake Arrowhead area should go to the Sky Forest Ranger Station at 8:00 a.m.. For more information, please call Meghan Pawlowski, Wildlife Biologist at the Big Bear Ranger Station 909-382-2600x4019, or Drew Farr, Wildlife Biologist at the Big Bear Ranger Station 909-382-2816. Volunteers for Silverwood Lake State Park should contact the park office for information during business hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at 760-389-2303, and plan to meet at the Visitor Center at 8:00 a.m. Volunteers for Lake Hemet should contact Matt McDonald at 909-382-2933 and plan on meeting at the Lake Hemet Grocery Store at 8:30 a.m. for intructions." .Remember you don't need to call in advance, just show up at one of the locations listed by 8:00am with binoculars/spotting scope, warm clothes, a watch and a writing utensil. The 1 hour census starts a 9:00am and ends at 10:00. Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers Marc Stamer, Biologist Mountaintop Ranger District Forest BAER Coordinator San Bernardino National Forest P.O. Box 290 42300 North Shore Drive Big Bear Ranger Station Fawnskin, CA 92333-0290 Office: (909)382-2828 Cell: (909)844-6683 Fax: (909)866-2867 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2734 - Release Date: 03/09/10 23:33:00 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: local, seasonal, March 10 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:28:40 -0800 In a short walk from home in the late afternoon I found a male Western Tanager in the UCR Botanic Gardens. It called persistently from a euc just up the gulch from the turtle pond for ten minutes before I saw it. Also, in Lot 13, I chatted with Jennifer and Michelle Tobin, who had seen a Brown Creeper and heard a Lawrence's Goldfinch during their academic day. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: re: CV Wild Bird Center From: CYGNETS2 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:21:02 -0500 Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center, Indio Saturday 6 March We had pleasant, calm weather for our March bird walk, with 49 species seen (list below). Next public bird walk will be on Saturday 3 April. Meet at the trailer office at 8am. Info (760) 347-2647 or www.coachellavalleywildbirdcenter.org Pied-billed Grebe Great Egret Green-winged Teal Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Gadwall American Wigeon Bufflehead Ruddy Duck Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Common Moorhen American Coot Killdeer Black-necked Stilt Spotted Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Ring-billed Gull California Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Eurasian Collared-dove Greater Roadrunner Ladder-backed Woodpecker Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Common Raven Verdin Marsh Wren Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Northern Mockingbird European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Common Yellowthroat Abert's Towhee Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird Great-tailed Grackle House Finch Lesser Goldfinch submitted by Sandy Swan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Jacumba to the Salton Sea, 6 Mar 2010 From: "Detwiler, Henry D" <HDetwiler AT usbr.gov> Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 08:14:39 -0700 Greetings Birders, Started out at Jacumba on Saturday morning with Ed & Debbie from Maine, and Al from Yuma. The cold was invigorating, but I prefer Yuma in the winter. We had good birds for Ed & Debbie right off the bat, including a flock of 100+ Tricolored Blackbirds in the small marsh south of the spa, one male and four female Lawrence's Goldfinches at one of the feeders in town, several singing California Thrashers to the nw, a covey of California Quail, Western Scrub-Jays scattered about town, and a pair of California Towhees north of the tracks. Then we drove back down to the warmth and the birds of the Imperial Valley. The Cackling and White-fronted Geese were feeding in the grass on the western edge of Sunbeam Lake Park with their noisy pals. Close to the corner of Lack & Lindsey an adult Heermann's Gull was sporting its white head and gray mantle. At the north end of Obsidian Butte the immature Glaucous-winged Gull stood on a rock just off shore. Feeling quite secure, it let us approach to within 20 feet for some fine photographs. No luck with any yellow-footed critters. Ed and Debbie were tickled to see the Barn Owl at the refuge headquarters-apparently Barn Owls are just about non-existent in Maine. The two Tundra Swans were still present in the new Imperial Irrigation District (IID) wetlands between McDonald & Hazard west of Hwy 111. As the sun started going down the clouds and rain moved into the valley. By the time we'd started to head back to Yuma on Hwy 115, we ran through some heavy showers. Still, the movement of lots of little brown jobs in the field at the corner of Yocum & 115 caught my eye, so we slowed down and pulled into the south side. Remarkably, a portion of the Mountain Plover flock flew towards us and landed within feet of the vehicle, affording us excellent looks in the rain. I see Rich was able to count them all on Monday. Good Birding! Henry Detwiler Yuma, AZ www.SouthwestBirders.com 928-210-6474 March 6, 2010: Jacumba - Salton Sea 1 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Eared Grebe 3 Western Grebe 4 Clark's Grebe 5 American White Pelican 6 Brown Pelican 7 Double-crested Cormorant 8 Great Blue Heron 9 Great Egret 10 Snowy Egret 11 Cattle Egret 12 Green Heron 13 Black-crowned Night Heron 14 White-faced Ibis 15 Sandhill Crane 16 Greater White-fronted Goose 17 Cackling Goose 18 Canada Goose 19 Tundra Swan 20 Gadwall 21 American Wigeon 22 Mallard 23 Blue-winged Teal 24 Cinnamon Teal 25 Northern Shoveler 26 Northern Pintail 27 Green-winged Teal 28 Redhead 29 Lesser Scaup 30 Common Goldeneye 31 Ruddy Duck 32 Osprey 33 Northern Harrier 34 Cooper's Hawk 35 Red-tailed Hawk 36 American Kestrel 37 Peregrine Falcon 38 California Quail 39 Gambel's Quail 40 Virginia Rail 41 Sora 42 Common Moorhen 43 American Coot 44 Black-bellied Plover 45 Killdeer 46 Mountain Plover 47 Black-necked Stilt 48 American Avocet 49 Greater Yellowlegs 50 Lesser Yellowlegs 51 Willet 52 Long-billed Curlew 53 Marbled Godwit 54 Western Sandpiper 55 Least Sandpiper 56 Dunlin 57 Long-billed Dowitcher 58 Wilson's Snipe 59 Turkey Vulture 60 Heermann's Gull 61 Ring-billed Gull 62 California Gull 63 Herring Gull 64 Glaucous-Winged Gull 65 Caspian Tern 66 Rock Pigeon 67 White-winged Dove 68 Mourning Dove 69 Common Ground-Dove 70 Eurasian Collared Dove 71 Greater Roadrunner 72 Barn Owl 73 Burrowing Owl 74 White-throated Swift 75 Anna's Hummingbird 76 Belted Kingfisher 77 Gila Woodpecker 78 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 79 Northern Flicker 80 Black Phoebe 81 Say's Phoebe 82 Loggerhead Shrike 83 Western Scrub Jay 84 Common Raven 85 Tree Swallow 86 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 87 Cliff Swallow 88 Barn Swallow 89 Verdin 90 Bushtit 91 Cactus Wren 92 Bewick's Wren 93 Marsh Wren 94 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 95 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 96 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 97 Western Bluebird 98 American Robin 99 Northern Mockingbird 100 California Thrasher 101 European Starling 102 American Pipit 103 Yellow-rumped Warbler 104 Common Yellowthroat 105 California Towhee 106 Abert's Towhee 107 Chipping Sparrow 108 Vesper Sparrow 109 Savannah Sparrow 110 Song Sparrow 111 White-crowned Sparrow 112 Dark-eyed Junco 113 Red-winged Blackbird 114 Tricolored Blackbird 115 Western Meadowlark 116 Brewer's Blackbird 117 Great-tailed Grackle 118 House Finch 119 Lesser Goldfinch 120 Lawrence's Goldfinch 121 House Sparrow [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: South End Salton Sea Mountain Plovers, Gray Flycatcher, poss. Glossy Ibis From: Rich Hoyer <birdernaturalist AT me.com> Date: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:08:14 -0700 Hi All, Today, March 8, 2010: The huge MOUNTAIN PLOVER flock numbering probably over 300 birds (I counted 295 and surely missed some) was still (again) in the field to the NW of Hwy 115 and Yocum Rd. a few miles SSE of Calipatria this morning. The GRAY FLYCATCHER was still at Cattle Call Park in Brawley (in the area enclosed by a fence just west of the rodeo arena). In the afternoon a bird that appeared to be a GLOSSY IBIS was with a small group of White-faced Ibis in the first impoundment on the left before you arrive at the observation platform at Unit 1 on Vendel Road. It had narrow whitish edges to the upper and lower part of the facial skin between the eye and the bill, and there was no red visible in the eye or facial skin. I tried to digiscope it, but the photos are horrible. I don't think White-faced Ibis could show those pale lines, and most of the other birds there had apparent red eyes and even some with red facial skin. But there always remains the bugaboo of hybrid birds, on which the red may not be so obvious. Good Birding, Rich --- Rich Hoyer Tucson, Arizona http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com/ Senior Leader for WINGS http://wingsbirds.com --- Subject: Imperial Valley From: "brooks_hart" <brooks_hart AT hotmail.com> Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:02:00 -0000 I've had limited internet access for the last week. March 2nd: Red-shouldered Hawk on Brandt Rd., just west of Brawley, south of hwy 86 (78) between the highway and Webster Rd. The bird was soaring and calling. There is a dirt field at this location (northwest corner of Brandt/ Webster) that had 45 Swainson's Hawks in it early this morning (until around 0830). A flock of 20 Cedar Waxwings was in the citrus orchard across the street. Three more Swainson's Hawks over Vendel Rd. on the way to Unit 1. Good birding, Brooks Hart Subject: Blythe area Black-bellied Plovers From: Rich Hoyer <birdernaturalist AT me.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:49:37 -0700 Hi All, While just passing through today, I spotted a field with 7 BLACK- BELLIED PLOVERS on Highway 78 south of Blythe, Riverside County. They were on the east side of Hwy 78 where it is called Rannells Blvd and about a half mile south of 28th Ave. There were also a couple GREATER YELLOWLEGS, a lone LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and several dozen KILLDEER in the same flock. I know BBPL is common in the Imperial Valley a short distance away, but at least on the AZ side of the river it's a rare bird. I also saw the continuing BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE in La Paz County, AZ. It did not leave its AZ perch while I watched it. Good Birding, Rich --- Rich Hoyer Tucson, Arizona http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com/ Senior Leader for WINGS http://wingsbirds.com --- Subject: Re: Lake Perris, SJWA March 6 From: Steve Sosensky <Steve AT Sosensky.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:30:46 -0800 Hi All, The Little Gull made a similar appearance this morning about 11:30. Best vantage point is the top of the concrete ramp at the end of parking lot 12. Violet-green Swallows were out in force. Near the rest rooms, there was a junco that originally appeared to be a Slate-colored, but a later look gave some pink coming through the slate, so this may have been a hybrid with Oregon. I also drove up to the Horse Camp area, hoping for Rock Wren and Bell's Sage Sparrow. The Rock Wren did not disappoint. The nice surprise was a flock of around a dozen Mountain Bluebirds. At 04:36 PM 3/6/2010, Chet McGaugh wrote: >On the north side of the Lake we scanned our way to Lot 11-12, per >Howard's directions. At 9:50am we saw the Little Gull flying with >Bonaparte's Gulls behind the east tip of the island. It disappeared >behind the island but a couple of minutes later came back into view. >Then it disappeared behind the island again. Our total viewing time >was less than 20 seconds. And far: a scope is mandatory, don't >figure on finding it on the water. > >Quite a frenzy at the surface of the lake, with hundreds of swallows >(mostly Violet-greens), White-throated Swifts, Forster's Tern, >Bonaparte's Gulls (and Little Gull) picking the surface and working >the few feet above the surface. Good birding, Steve Sosensky, SoCA Bird Guides www.sosensky.com/guides Nature Photos www.sosensky.com/nature_photos.htm Optics4Birding www.optics4birding.com Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 949-269-2161 33.56485 N, 117.72205 W Subject: Sdndhill Crsnes From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:27:41 -0000 The 2 SANDHILL CRANES that have been wintering in Mira Loma were present this morning on the west side of the 15 Freeway, north of Bellgrave. cheers..Howard King Subject: more Swainson's Hawks From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:16:10 -0500 Following up on recent posts, I drove to the Prado Basin this morning and had 10 Swainson's Hawks circling overhead around 10 AM. The location was between Edison Ave (north) and Eucalyptus Ave (south), and between Walker Ave (west) and Archibald Ave (east). Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Salton Sea March 6 From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:56:56 -0500 I birded the Salton Sea today with Doug Karalun and Brad Singer. We started the day in Coachella, where we were able to find two Crissal Thrashers along Tyler Street just north of 50th Avenue (I mistakenly turned left instead of right after exiting 86S, putting us on Tyler instead of 50th, but we found the birds anyway). We continued on to the Salton Sea SRA HQ, where we were unable to refind the White-winged Scoter. At Salt Creek we saw the continuing female Barrow's Goldeneye, but missed all the previously reported rare gulls here and at Mecca Beach. Further south in Imperial County we were able to find the continuing flock of 70 or so Greater White-fronted Geese and two Tundra Swans at the IID wetlands along McDonald Road. We spent the rest of the day birding in Calipatria, Obsidian Butte, Red Hill, Brawley, and Unit 1, seeing mostly the usual species, including 82 Sandhill Cranes and a White-tailed Kite at Unit 1. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Lake Perris, SJWA March 6 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 16:36:03 -0800 Bill Hopson and I spent the day until rain at 2:45pm at Lake Perris and the San Jacinto Wildlife Area. In search of the Little Gull, we started east on the bikepath from Bernasconi Beach to the rise. From there, we saw almost no gulls, but three Bald Eagles (one adult) were consolation. Back at the truck, Bill spotted a Townsend's Solitaire. On the north side of the Lake we scanned our way to Lot 11-12, per Howard's directions. At 9:50am we saw the Little Gull flying with Bonaparte's Gulls behind the east tip of the island. It disappeared behind the island but a couple of minutes later came back into view. Then it disappeared behind the island again. Our total viewing time was less than 20 seconds. And far: a scope is mandatory, don't figure on finding it on the water. Quite a frenzy at the surface of the lake, with hundreds of swallows (mostly Violet-greens), White-throated Swifts, Forster's Tern, Bonaparte's Gulls (and Little Gull) picking the surface and working the few feet above the surface. Three Snows and one Ross's Geese, and several hundred Northern Shovelers were on Mystic Lake. A mass of gulls flew away as we talked to the duck club owner. An immature Bald Eagle (perhaps not the same as either at Lake Perris), Peregrine Falcon, White-tailed Kite, and several Northern Harriers were along the SJWA/duck club boundary. As the rain started, we saw at least 200 Tricolored Blackbirds in the grass and on wires at the Davis Rd. entrance to the SJWA. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Swainson's Hawks-Chino From: Andrew Howe <howe395 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 12:45:00 -0800 (PST) Mid-morning, Vernon and Winona Howe and I had 8 Swainson's Hawks along Edison Rd. in Chino, about 200 yards east of Archibald. When we returned to the location an hour later, they had moved closer to the intersection with Archibald, but were still struggling mightily to find a thermal. Earlier in the morning, there were two male Lawrence's Goldfinches near the men's dorm on the campus of La Sierra University in western Riverside. Good birding, Andrew Howe howe395 AT yahoo.com Riverside, CA Subject: NAB reports for RIV - Winter 2009-2010 From: "bewickwren" <bewickwren AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:27:57 -0800 Birders, I am working on the "North American Birds" winter season report for Riverside County. If you have not yet sent me a report of your notable sightings (see guidelines below), please do so soon. Thank You, John Green Riverside, CA Riverside County coordinator -----Original Message----- From: Guy McCaskie Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 5:13 PM: The Winter Season (1 Dec 2009 through 28 Feb 2010) is ended, and we solicit reports for inclusion in the Southern California Region of NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Reports should be arranged with species in the taxonomic order followed by the American Ornithologists Union (Check-List of North American Birds 1998) and the American Birding Association (7th edition of the ABA Checklist, 2009). Reports of species included on the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC) review list (Field List of California Birds 2009, obtainable through Western Field Ornithologists at 1359 Solano Drive, Pacifica, CA 94044 or seen at http://www.californ iabirds.org iabirds.org/> ) must be accompanied by documentation (written description, photographs, etc.). Similar documentation should also accompany reports of species unusual for the location or season. Full names, with all initials, should be used in the reports (this reduces the potential for different observers having the same initials, and makes it simpler to acknowledge contributors). No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2714 - Release Date: 02/27/10 23:34:00 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Ladder-backed/Nuttall's From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:04:03 -0000 While staying in the lower Coachella Valley last weekend at a friend's condo, I awoke early Sunday morning to the sound of Ladder-backed's working three or four trees in the area. Their high peek call and descending whinny clued me in to their whereabouts. I took a few photos and did not think anything else of it. Upon observing the photos this a.m., I was surprised as to how close these Ladder-backed resembled Nuttall's. I am thinking that these may have been hybrids, but I really don't know the range of hybrids in the desert area. I realize they occur in Morongo Valley, and Nuttall's occur in the Mojave Narrows Regional Park and possibly other areas in the Mojave, but has anybody had experience with them in the Lower Coachella? Are Nuttall's expanding their range? Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead photo:http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/4408576955/sizes/l/ By the way, Desert Lilies were in full bloom at Anza-Borrego: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcsinger/4399194635/ Sorry Howard, not on task. Subject: SBVA Field Trip/General Meeting From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:46:58 -0000 San Bernardino Valley Audubon is partaking in only one field trip this month to Bolsa Chica in Orange County on March 13th, led by Dori Meyers. Everybody is welcome, and the trip will take place regardless of weather conditions. (This trip is not valid for credit for high school students). More information at: http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm#bolsa On Wednesday, March 17th, 7:30 P.M., at the San Bernardino County Museum, San Bernardino Valley Audubon will host well-known ornithologist and biologist Dan Cooper. His talk will be on "Bird and Forest Conservation on Coffee Farms in Central America." More information at: http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm#gmmar Subject: Another Swainson's Hawk From: "Jim" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:50:27 -0000 Hi, What Wheeler would call a light intermediate morph Swainson's Hawk flew over a recently mowed field west of Hellman Street in the Prado Basin (SBE CO) late this afternoon. Jim Pike Hunt Bch Subject: Interesting desert land sights From: "jwbnav" <jwbnav AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:35:40 -0000 Thursday, just past noon, 400+ California Gulls? ascended from the flowing Mojave River bank shallows, 1/4 mile north of where the river crosses Rock Springs Road in South Apple Valley. Flying NE, they soon mingled with appx 200 Common Ravens which approached from the west and were beginning to kettle. For several minutes this single mix of black and white birds circled the area, flew briefly to the east, then returned and descended along Deep Creek Road north of Rock Springs. As I observed them moving east through glasses, my surprise of the day was a large undulating spherical cloud of likely Starlings, too far away to id but close enough and large enough (1000 birds?) to make me smile. I've never seen such a large Starlings? flock in this desert area. Posting one Gull/Raven photo which does not quite capture the moments. Subject: Desert Center March 4 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 16:14:58 -0800 Daring the weather I drove through the drizzle in MoVal and the Badlands, and the gales of North Palm Springs, to a pleasant morning at Desert Center. Had a hunch about the weather, and the date, and the open water in the middle of the desert. Another silly hunch. Saw practically nothing on Lake Tamarisk but coots and a lone California Gull. Didn't expect migrant landbirds, so an early Warbling Vireo was nice. Sparrows were about (including singing Brewer's), but warblers, even Yellow-rumps (just five, and one Common Yellowthroat) weren't. An Osprey on the Chiriaco Summit off-ramp was a surprise, and a "Myrtle" Warbler at Cactus City was just that. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: March 4, 2010 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:47:03 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * March 4, 2010 * CASE1003.04 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan White-winged Scoter Barrow's Goldeneye Red-breasted Merganser Horned Grebe Bald Eagle Swainson's Hawk Sandhill Crane Solitary Sandpiper *LITTLE GULL* Laughing Gull Western Gull Yellow-footed Gull *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Vermilion Flycatcher Tricolored Blackbird - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A SWAINSON'S HAWK was seen and 3 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS continued at Prado Regional Park on Feb 26 (Howard King). At least a dozen TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS were seen in a blackbird and starling flock about a mile east of Cedar Springs spillway north of Lake Silverwood on Mar 2 (Dave Goodward). A RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and a HORNED GREBE continued at Lake Silverwood on Mar 2 (Tom Benson). RIVERSIDE COUNTY A LAUGHING GULL and an adult *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* were seen at Salt Creek, another *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* was at Mecca Beach, and a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL were at the State Recreation Area on Feb 26 (Chet McGaugh). Two SANDHILL CRANES continued along Wineville Avenue in Mira Loma on Feb 28 (Cathy Tobin). Two GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE were at Salt Creek, the *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* continued at Mecca Beach, and the WHITE-WINGED SCOTER continued at the State Recreation Area on Feb 28 (Howard King). A *LITTLE GULL*, a BALD EAGLE, and 10 HORNED GREBES were seen at Lake Perris on Mar 1 (Howard King). A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was seen on private property in the Prado Basin on Mar 1 (Jim Pike). IMPERIAL COUNTY The following birds were reported from the south end of the Salton Sea on Feb 26 and 28: a LAUGHING GULL, a *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL*, a GLAUCOUS GULL, a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, a YELLOW-FOOTED GULL, and 3 WESTERN GULLS at/near Obsidian Butte, a CACKLING GOOSE, 86 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, and 2 TUNDRA SWANS near the intersection of English and McDonald, and a RED_BREASTED MERGANSER at Young Reservoir (Bob Miller). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and YOUR NAME = your real name). There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Gulls and the Salton Sea (No Sightings) From: "Amar" <amarayyash AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:16:23 -0000 Hello folks, I'm looking for information on birding the Salton Sea, particularly for gulls, in early June or early August. I plan on coming down for a couple of days during the first week of June or the first week of August. My primary focus is Yellow-footed Gull. What time of year typically produces the greatest variety of ages? Any information would be appreciated. BTW, I would be very grateful if anyone was willing to have me tag along for even a few hours. I will have a car and buying lunch would be the least I could do to show my gratitude. If you're ever in Chicago, consider yourself having a chi-town connection. Good birdings, Amar Ayyash Frankfort IL Subject: Little Gull at Lake Perris 01 March 2010 From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:13:58 -0000 An adult LITTLE GULL was present at the east end of Lake Perris today. It is likely the same bird that has been wintering locally for many years. It was visible from parking lot 12 and a scope is needed. Also at the lake was a BALD EAGLE snd 10 HORNED GREBES. cheers..Howard King Subject: Solitary Sandpiper From: "Jim" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:06:48 -0000 Hi, A Solitary Sandpiper was on private property in the Prado Basin (RIV CO) today. This is the second time I've had a wintering Solitary in the Basin in the past twenty years, not counting the two times that birds have wintered at the Hellman Street crossing of Mill Creek. Also, I saw the first Variegated Meadowhawk that I've seen in a while. (I threw that last thing in for Doug). Jim Pike Hunt Bch Subject: NESS Sunday Morning From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:46:43 -0000 This morning I went looking for previously reported birds at the Salton Sea with mixed results. At Salt Creek, the only gulls of interest were 2 first year GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS. The female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was not seen on arrival, but about 8 a.m. it appeared in with the goldeneye flock. The LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was waiting for me at Mecca Beach, one of the first birds seen. Seven WESTERN BLUEBIRDS ssemed a bit out of place here. At the State Park Headquarters, the WHITE-WINGED SCOTER , found by Chet McGaugh was so close you really didn't need to get out of the car to observe it.. cheers..Howard King Subject: The good, the bad, and mostly ugly! From: "kelleyal" <kelleyal AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:25:22 -0000 Started morning at Central Ave. 'slough' in San Bernardino (park in Orange Show swap meet lot off Arrowhead, flooded) where several Bonaparte's Gulls, Yellowlegs, and peeps along with mixed flock of Mallard and Red-Breasted Merganser were feeding on detritus in flowing creek. Only hazards are loose pit-bull and C.H.U.D. wandering around, but harmless! Left for Etiwanda 'Preserve' and approx. 100 yds. before entrance 2 Shrike making an (early) nest in a whitethorn on east side of road. Nice! Then, chaos, hundred cars, loose dogs, paintbballers, mountain bikers 'cross-countrying', motorcycles (may have come in from Day Canyon), bi-plane buzzing 300'!!! church group on bluff). This was supposed to be mitigation 'for wildlife' when Rte. 210 was constructed; our fantastic San Bernardino County Supervisors have made it a park (where anything goes)instead. Al Kelley, Redlands Subject: NAB Winter reports for SBE County From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:07:22 -0800 Dear San Bernardino County birders: The winter season for North American Birds (1 December 2009 - 28 February 2010) is now almost over. I will shortly submit a list of significant San Bernardino County sightings to Kimball Garrett and Guy McCaskie, the regional editors for the Southern Pacific Coast report. I'd appreciate any reports of unusual species, arrival and departure dates for common and unusual species, notable numbers, and absences. Please also include a careful description (at least a written description; photographs are also welcome) for rare species. Please e-mail or post your sightings to me by 10 March. Thanks for your assistance! Sandy Koonce Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu Subject: What day is it? From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:43:39 -0800 If the LA Times is to be trusted, today is Feb 27 and yesterday was Feb 26, and the day I reported my Salton Sea excursion of the 26th as Feb 25. As expected, when you get up at 3:30am, don't read a newspaper, watch TV, or listen to radio, you don't know what day it is. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: NESS Feb 25 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:42:12 -0800 I was at the mouth of Salt Creek at dawn, looking for the adult Glaucous Gull found by Kimball Garrett and Kathy Molina last week. No luck with that, but I got to look at a lot of gulls, including a Laughing Gull and an almost adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (reported in the area earlier in the winter by?). Also hoped to see the female Barrow's Goldeneye reported by Sandy Remley. Nope, but lots of Common Goldeneyes, Blue-winged Teals, Redheads, and especially Northern Pintails. Mecca Beach is open now and the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, presumed to be the one found by Nick and Mary Freeman (year?) that has wintered for a few winters was easily seen on the beach by the campground. A Glaucous-winged Gull and some large young gulls of mixed parentage at the SRA completed the gulling. A male White-winged Scoter at the mouth of the marina at the SRA, two Hooded Merganser flushing from the Hayes channel, and the standard Peregrine Falcon at 72nd topped off the day. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Prado Regional Park From: "howardbking" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:06:20 -0000 There were a few birds this morning at Prado Regional Park. A SWAINSON'S HAWK follows Jim Pike's report of one somewhere in the Basin. There are now 2 ROSS'S GEESE present .One of these freeloaders had been missing for a couple months. 2 LEAST BITTERNS were calling at the north end of the lake. 3 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS were seen, one near the entrance, 2 in the campground. cheers..Howard King Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: February 25, 2010 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:12:40 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * February 25, 2010 * CASE1002.25 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Tundra Swan Pacific Loon Horned Grebe Bald Eagle Swainson's Hawk Black Rail Ruff Laughing Gull Heermann's Gull Western Gull Yellow-footed Gull *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Vermilion Flycatcher Red-breasted Nuthatch *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* Black-throated Gray Warbler Hermit Warbler Red Crossbill - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* continued at Black Meadow Landing on Feb 17 (Sandy Remley). A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continued at Quail Hollow (Parker Strip area) and a PACIFIC LOON was seen on Lake Havasu on Feb 18 (David Vander Pluym). A HERMIT WARBLER was found near the intersection of Bayberry Drive and Astral Street in Chino Hills on Feb 19 (Tom Benson). A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and 2 RED CROSSBILLS were seen in the clubhouse parking lot at Silver Lakes, and a juvenile BALD EAGLE was seen in Newberry Springs on Feb 20 (Tom Benson). RIVERSIDE COUNTY Forty-one HORNED GREBES were seen at Lake Perris on Feb 18, and 12 HORNED GREBES and a BALD EAGLE were seen there on Feb 20 (Chet McGaugh). A male VERMILION FLYCATCHER was seen at Lake Skinner near the camp store on Feb 20 (Shauli Rosen-Rager). A dark morph SWAINSON'S HAWK was seen in Corona on Feb 23 (Jim Pike). A BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER continued near the intersection of Etiwanda and 66th in Mira Loma on Feb 24 (Madeline Bauer). IMPERIAL COUNTY The following birds were reported from the Imperial Valley and south end of the Salton Sea Feb 20-21: 2 TUNDRA SWANS near the intersection of Hwy 111 and Hazard Road, a calling BLACK RAIL near the intersection of Schrimpf and Davis, a RUFF along Garst Road, and a HEERMANN's GULL, 2 WESTERN GULLS, a YELLOW-FOOTED GULL, a *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL*, and a LAUGHING GULL at various locations (Henry Detweiler). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and YOUR NAME = your real name). There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Mira Loma: Black-throated Gray Warbler From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:08:56 -0800 This am (2/24) I saw a 1st winter Black-throated Gray Warbler in the tamarisks along 66th Street west of Etiwanda just east of Lorena. This is in the general area where I have seen one intermittently, first seen on 1-05-2010, and most recently 2/07/2010. I finally saw the Gray Flycatcher on the 20th and I still see a Merlin intermittently, sometimes around 66th and William, and sometimes around the golf course parking lot. Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: Swainson's Hawk From: "Jim" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:56:02 -0000 Hi, A dark morph juvenile-plumaged Swainson's Hawk was on private property in the Prado Basin, Corona, yesterday afternoon. Jim Pike Huntington Beach Subject: Parker Strip correction From: raccoonhome AT aol.com Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:49:45 -0500 Hi I just noticed my reporting error. You know if I'm going to quote Guy M, I had better get it right, "noticeably longer legs" not "noticeably bigger feet", there is a BIG difference there don't you know. Sandy Remley Big Bear Lake [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Parker Strip, etc, this and that From: raccoonhome AT aol.com Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:10:44 -0500 Hi, Computer fixed!!!! Yellow-Headed Blackbird at Riverland RV Resort at site 13 feeders. American Avocet and Greater Scaup at Emerald Cove ponds. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker continues at Quail Hollow. Common Ground Doves continue at Rio Del Sol RV park. Harlan subspecies of the Red Tail Hawk(confirmed by Guy) seen on Rio Vista Road on the way to Big River. I wanted this bird to be a Common Black Hawk; for one thing, "feet would be noticeably bigger", per Guy. River Levee from Big River to Agnes Wilson Rd including Vidal Wash was a dead zone for me except for the expected ducks. See you out there, Sandy Remley aka: itchy birding feet Big Bear Lake/Earp [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Mira Loma: Rufous-green Hummingbird building nest (parking) From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:33:51 -0800 Just in case anyone is inclined to go look, there is no place to park on the east side of Lucretia so best to park on the wide shoulders south of the wash. Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: Mira Loma: Rufous-green Hummingbird building nest From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:23:59 -0800 This morning (2/23) I spotted a Rufous-green Hummingbird building a nest, so it is probably safe to say this is a female Allen's. The nest is in a silk-oak (grevillea) tree on the Goose Creek Golf Course, about 6-8 feet inside the fence at the white mail box (6633 Lucretia). Luckily, by standing on the edge of the street by the mail box, the bird and the white nesting material is visible (with binoculars) so there is no temptation to trespass. Good Birding, Madeline Footloose in Mira Loma Subject: South Salton Sea and Imperial Valley, 20-21 Feb 2010 From: "Detwiler, Henry D" <HDetwiler AT usbr.gov> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:52:03 -0700 Greetings Birders! Had a great weekend out at the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley--on Saturday with Megan & Sam from Bellevue and on Sunday with Ken from Sacramento. The weather was calm and beautiful on Saturday, but by mid-morning on Sunday the wind was howling out of the west and whipping the Sea into a green foamy froth. Highlights of the two days were: - 2 TUNDRA SWANS in the new IID wetlands between McDonald & Hazard west of Hwy 111 (thanks, Guy!) - a calling BLACK RAIL in the marshy area sw of Schrimpf & Davis - a RUFF in the first waterfowl pond on the east side of Garst - about 150 MOUNTAIN PLOVERS in a dirt field ne of Hwy 115 and Yocum - 1 HEERMANN’S, 2 WESTERN, 1 YELLOW-FOOTED, 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED, & 1 LAUGHING GULL - VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS in several locations on Sunday - SAGE THRASHER at nw corner of Cattle Call Park - a small flock of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES n. of Fig Lagoon (thanks, Guy!) Complete bird list is below. Good Birding! Henry Detwiler Yuma, AZ www.SouthwestBirders.com 928-210-6474 List from 20-21 Feb 2010 ------------------------ 1 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Western Grebe 3 Clark's Grebe 4 American White Pelican 5 Brown Pelican 6 Double-crested Cormorant 7 Least Bittern 8 Great Blue Heron 9 Great Egret 10 Snowy Egret 11 Cattle Egret 12 Green Heron 13 Black-crowned Night Heron 14 White-faced Ibis 15 Sandhill Crane 16 Greater White-fronted Goose 17 Snow Goose 18 Ross' s Goose 19 Canada Goose 20 Tundra Swan 21 Gadwall 22 American Wigeon 23 Mallard 24 Cinnamon Teal 25 Northern Shoveler 26 Northern Pintail 27 Green-winged Teal 28 Canvasback 29 Redhead 30 Ring-necked Duck 31 Greater Scaup 32 Lesser Scaup 33 Bufflehead 34 Common Goldeneye 35 Ruddy Duck 36 Osprey 37 Northern Harrier 38 Cooper's Hawk 39 Red-tailed Hawk 40 American Kestrel 41 Peregrine Falcon 42 Prairie Falcon 43 Gambel's Quail 44 Black Rail 45 Clapper Rail 46 Sora 47 Common Moorhen 48 American Coot 49 Black-bellied Plover 50 Killdeer 51 Mountain Plover 52 Black-necked Stilt 53 American Avocet 54 Greater Yellowlegs 55 Lesser Yellowlegs 56 Willet 57 Spotted Sandpiper 58 Long-billed Curlew 59 Marbled Godwit 60 Western Sandpiper 61 Least Sandpiper 62 Dunlin 63 Ruff 64 Long-billed Dowitcher 65 Turkey Vulture 66 Laughing Gull 67 Ring-billed Gull 68 California Gull 69 Herring Gull 70 Yellow-footed Gull 71 Lesser Black-backed Gull 72 Western Gull 73 Caspian Tern 74 Rock Pigeon 75 White-winged Dove 76 Mourning Dove 77 Inca Dove 78 Common Ground-Dove 79 Eurasian Collared Dove 80 Greater Roadrunner 81 Barn Owl 82 Burrowing Owl 83 White-throated Swift 84 Anna's Hummingbird 85 Belted Kingfisher 86 Gila Woodpecker 87 Northern Flicker 88 Gray Flycatcher 89 Black Phoebe 90 Say's Phoebe 91 Vermilion Flycatcher 92 Loggerhead Shrike 93 Common Raven 94 Horned Lark 95 Tree Swallow 96 Violet-green Swallow 97 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 98 Cliff Swallow 99 Barn Swallow 100 Verdin 101 Cactus Wren 102 Rock Wren 103 Marsh Wren 104 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 105 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 106 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 107 Western Bluebird 108 Mountain Bluebird 109 American Robin 110 Northern Mockingbird 111 Sage Thrasher 112 European Starling 113 American Pipit 114 Cedar Waxwing 115 Orange-crowned Warbler 116 Yellow-rumped Warbler 117 Common Yellowthroat 118 Abert's Towhee 119 Chipping Sparrow 120 Vesper Sparrow 121 Savannah Sparrow 122 Song Sparrow 123 White-crowned Sparrow 124 Dark-eyed Junco 125 Red-winged Blackbird 126 Western Meadowlark 127 Yellow-headed Blackbird 128 Brewer's Blackbird 129 Great-tailed Grackle 130 House Finch 131 Lesser Goldfinch 132 Lawrence's Goldfinch 133 House Sparrow 134 Heermann’s Gull [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Lake Perris Feb 20 From: "Tom Miko" <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:21:03 +0000 Chet and All I have stopped at Lake Matthews on many an occasion in winters past (and this Wednesday), and only saw one Bald Eagle on one occasion: a tagged Catalina Island bird that had jumped ship. Tom Miko Claremont, LA County (the San Pedro Kid) Thomas Geza Miko -----Original Message----- From: "Chet McGaugh" Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:33:41 To: Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Lake Perris Feb 20 Went out this afternoon for a look at Lake Perris, I'm hopeful after some weather. Western Grebes own the place, but 12 Horned Grebes today, and 41 Horned Grebes on the 18th indicate some migration happening, especially considering none on the CBC. I guess they could be hidden in the Westerns; it's a big lake. An immature Bald Eagle soaring way up over the east end could be one of those being seen consistently at the SJWA, or a "visitor" from Lake Mathews. And just when I felt finished I discovered 600-800 gulls near Lot 3, so I put some effort into determining that's it was a big flock of California Gulls -- found a few Ring-bills but no Herrings. Bonaparte's Gulls were abundant and active over the lake and in the shallows. Waterfowl is concentrated on the east, 25 Common Mergansers being scattered about. Two Common Loons. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links Subject: Silver Lakes and Newberry Springs From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:47:49 -0500 Doug Karalun and I birded Silver Lakes and Newberry Springs today (Feb 20). At Silver Lakes we were unable to find the Eurasian Wigeon, but we did see a Common Loon on the north lake and a Red-breasted Nuthatch and 2 Red Crossbills (dull male and bright female) in the pines around the clubhouse parking lot. We eventually made our way over to the Piute Road dairy in Newberry Springs, where we successfully staked out 10,000+ blackbirds and starlings for 3.5 hours (but alas, no Common Grackle). During this time we also had flyovers of a Prairie Falcon and a subadult Bald Eagle, and 6 Ross's Geese and 50+ Canada Geese foraging in the field beyond the dairy. Good birding, Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: A $5 Varmilion Flycatcher @ Lake Skinner From: "shaulius" <rosenrager AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:13:57 -0000 Single male seen this morning (and again around noon) near the Camp Store, working the edge of the lawns from the sycamores along the road towards the first campground, and also perching on the large store sign at the intersection, and the propane tanks near the building. Took a bath in a puddle on the road. And yes, it costs $5 (per vehicle) to enter the Recreation Area. Shauli Rosen-Rager Hemet Subject: Lake Perris Feb 20 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:33:41 -0800 Went out this afternoon for a look at Lake Perris, I'm hopeful after some weather. Western Grebes own the place, but 12 Horned Grebes today, and 41 Horned Grebes on the 18th indicate some migration happening, especially considering none on the CBC. I guess they could be hidden in the Westerns; it's a big lake. An immature Bald Eagle soaring way up over the east end could be one of those being seen consistently at the SJWA, or a "visitor" from Lake Mathews. And just when I felt finished I discovered 600-800 gulls near Lot 3, so I put some effort into determining that's it was a big flock of California Gulls -- found a few Ring-bills but no Herrings. Bonaparte's Gulls were abundant and active over the lake and in the shallows. Waterfowl is concentrated on the east, 25 Common Mergansers being scattered about. Two Common Loons. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: another hybrid flicker From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:55:16 -0000 Second hybrid flicker for my Grand Terrace yard, this one yellow-shafted below the neck, but with a mixed head. A female, with gray crown and throat, tawny face, no nape crescent. D Subject: Parker Strip From: raccoonhome AT aol.com Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:37:31 -0500 Hi birders, Arrived here on Monday but computer is sick so I am using the Parker Library computer. You have to be resourceful. Tues I traveled to Site 6 and saw the Black-legged Kittiwake. Wed traveled to Black Meadow Landing and saw the Curved-billed Thrasher. Friday at Quail Hollow I saw a Golden-crowned Sparrow mixed with the White-crowneds. No Yellow-bellied Sapsucker though. Canvasbacks were seen at Gene Wash Res and a pond west of the Headgate Rock Dam along with many Redheads at the last location. Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese across from Big River RV Park on AZ side. Many flocks of Canada Geese and White-faced Ibis flying up river(north). Can't believe I have only three more weeks until my birding adventure ends and I return home to Big Bear. Thanks to all who have been sending me emails of congrats and encourgement. Sorry I have not been able to respond as I wanted. Frustrated with computer and internet connection. Bad news as I lost my bird pod somewhere on 50th Ave in Indio. But I have my field guide and that is how it all began. Call me if you want to bird around the Parker Strip, 909-522-9419, and we'll see if something can be arranged. Suzuki running OK even though the check engine light is on. We choose to ignore this one problem which developed in El Centro, over a month ago. See you out there, Sandy Remley Big Bear Lake/Parker Strip [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Chino Hills and Rancho Cucamonga birds From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:45:56 -0500 Today I birded parts of Chino Hills and Rancho Cucamonga. After a brief stop at Prado Regional Park (nothing unexpected there), I headed up into Chino Hills and birded Hickory Creek, Strickling, Eucalyptus, and Hollow Run Parks, which are basically eucalyptus woodlands with some understory that follow two small creeks just west of Pipeline Avenue and south of Chino Hills Parkway. At Hickory Creek Park there was a flock/colony of about 50 Nutmeg Mannikins, and a Hermit Warbler was in some pines along Bayberry Drive just east of Astral Street. Also at Hickory Creek, Strickling, and Eucalyptus parks I counted a minimum of 7 Selasphorus hummingbirds: 3 adult male Allen's Hummingbirds performing courtship displays, as well as another adult male (non-displaying, green-backed), two females, and a heard-only bird that I presume were also Allen's Hummingbirds. Moving on to Rancho Cucamonga, I saw another displaying adult male Allen's Hummingbird at Red Hill Community Park, as well as a female (presumably) Allen's Hummingbird. My last stop was Central Park (on Base Line in RC), where there is a nice remnant patch of coastal sage scrub to the west of the main park. The eastern 2/3 of this patch is almost entirely buckwheat and deerweed, and harbored only a Say's Phoebe. The western 1/3 was more diverse and dominated by California sagebrush, making it look perfect for California Gnatcatchers. Of course there weren't any (a few Blue-grays though), but I did find two more adult male (territorial, non-displaying, green-backed, but presumably) Allen's Hummingbirds in the coastal sage scrub. Good birding, Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Salton Area birding Thu 2/18 From: "Greg" <gconigl3 AT rochester.rr.com> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:12:12 -0000 Hi everyone - I had a little time to bird today in the Salton area.... Finney Lake: Pretty sure I saw a few Crissal Thrashers flying away quickly .. but I was not able to confirm or snag a photo. I did not hear singing, also. On the West side of Finney lake had a few LAWRENCE GOLDFINCH. In beween Finney and Ramer a WILSONS SNIPE was right out in the open on the road, not moving for a long time - strange. Otherwise typical stuff I think, YR Warblers, WC Sparrows, BG Gnatcatchers, Aberts Towhees, Western/Clark Grebe, PB Grebe, a million Coots, etc. At the end of Bowles Road lots of pipers, maybe Dowitchers - I have to review my photos for a Stilt! An OSPREY was in the dead tree near Lack/Young where I have previously seen a Peregrine. Many many Eared Grebes here of course, but I could not relocate the Black Scoter Thanks again everyone for their hospitality and advice! Greg Coniglio Buffalo, NY Subject: Lake Havasu area From: scre AT aol.com Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:24:18 -0500 Lauren Harter and I checked the Lake Havasu area today (Feb 18). We had the adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Quail Hallow, 4 Greater Scaup below Parker Dam and 2 above the dam, and at Site 6 we had the continuing Black-legged Kittiwake, which unfortunately while we were there stayed well within Arizona and showed no desire to cross the river, we did however have a Pacific Loon on the California side and two other loon sp's well out in the heat haze. For those interested in birds on the AZ side at the Bill Williams Delta we had the continuing White-winged Scoter and Neotropic Cormorant (just a couple minute flight from California!), more Greater Scaup and 2 Common Loons. Good birding David Vander Pluym Ventura [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: February 18, 2010 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:08:57 -0800 RBA * California * Southeastern * February 18, 2010 * CASE1002.18 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are receiving this report only through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Cackling Goose Tundra Swan Black Scoter Barrow's Goldeneye White-tailed Kite Bald Eagle Swainson's Hawk Zone-tailed Hawk Merlin Peregrine Falcon Prairie Falcon Sandhill Crane Black-legged Kittiwake Western Gull Yellow-footed Gull Thayer's Gull *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL* Glaucous-winged Gull White-winged Dove Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Gray Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Vermilion Flycatcher Ash-throated Flycatcher Bank Swallow Gray Catbird *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* White-throated Sparrow Lapland Longspur Rose-breasted Grosbeak *COMMON GRACKLE* Purple Finch Red Crossbill Lawrence's Goldfinch - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A RED CROSSBILL was seen, and 3 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS continued at Cal State San Bernardino on Feb 12 (Tom Benson). A juvenile TUNDRA SWAN continued on the California side of the Colorado River at River Lodge Resort on Feb 12 (Andrew Howe). Three PURPLE FINCHES were seen at Prospect Park on Feb 13 (Sandy Koonce). Two *CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS* continued at Black Meadow Landing and an adult YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER continued at Quail Hollow on Feb 13, and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was seen on the California side of Lake Havasu from Site Six (in AZ) Feb 14-15 (Tom Benson). A *COMMON GRACKLE* was seen at the Piute Road dairy in Newberry Springs Feb 14-16 (Tom Benson). A male VERMILION FLYCATCHER was seen at Glen Helen Regional Park on Feb 15 (Dave Goodward). A SWAINSON'S HAWK was seen in Ontario on Feb 17 (Thomas Miko). RIVERSIDE COUNTY A BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was present at the mouth of Salt Creek (NESS) Feb 11-12 (Sandy Remley). Two SANDHILL CRANES continued in the agricultural fields along Wineville Avenue in Mira Loma on Feb 11 (Raul Roa). The following birds were reported from the north end of the Salton Sea on Feb 13: a PEREGRINE FALCON at 72nd Avenue, and a MERLIN, 5 LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES, and a WHITE-WINGED DOVE at 81st Avenue (Dave Goodward). The *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* continued at Chiriaco Summit through Feb 15 (Lauren Harter). A ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was seen on private property in the Hawarden Hills area of Riverside on Feb 17 (Roger Luebs). An immature BALD EAGLE was seen at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area on Feb 17 (Thomas Miko). IMPERIAL COUNTY The following species were reported from the Imperial Valley and south end of the Salton Sea Feb 13-14: 66 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, a CACKLING GOOSE, and 2 TUNDRA SWANS near the intersection of McDonald and English, a BLACK SCOTER at the west end of Young Road, 3 WHITE-TAILED KITES, a GRAY CATBIRD, and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW in Niland, a ZONE-TAILED HAWK, an ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and a *CURVE-BILLED THRASHER* in El Centro, 2 PRAIRIE FALCONS at different locations, a PEREGRINE FALCON, 3 YELLOW-FOOTED GULLS, 3 WESTERN GULLS, and a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL at Obsidian Butte, 2 *LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS* at Red Hill and another at Obsidian Butte, a THAYER'S GULL and a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL at the intersection of Lack and Lindsey, single WHITE-WINGED DOVES at Cattle Call Park and Niland, and the continuing GRAY FLYCATCHER at Cattle Call Park, an EASTERN PHOEBE at Fig Lagoon, 4 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS at various locations, a BANK SWALLOW near the intersection of Pound and Davis Road, and 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS near the intersection of McDonald and English (Guy McCaskie, BJ Stacey). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909) 648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC review species and birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY: Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932, guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY: Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513, tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY: Kelli Heindel-Levinson, 1819 Locust Ravine, Bakersfield CA 93306, kkheindel AT gmail.com RIVERSIDE COUNTY: John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507, bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373, sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ In addition the the Southeastern CA RBA, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and YOUR NAME = your real name). There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ Other birding listservs that include reports of birds in southern California are: Inyo County: http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Kern County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Los Angeles County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds Pasadena area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Orange County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS San Luis Obispo County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding Santa Barbara County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sbcobirding Ventura County: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturacobirding California (statewide): http://groups.yahoo.com/CALBIRDS ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/calendar.htm Maps/directions to local birding sites are available on the SBVAS website at http://www.sbvas.org/maps.htm Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: roadside raptor day From: "thomasgezamiko" <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:40:33 -0000 After a day of having the dentist whose x-ray equipment I was supposed to inspect keep putting me off all day long, I left in a huff, and jumped into the car, and headed for the wilds of San Jacinto. Drove as far inside the refuge as possible (the road is blocked due to flooding), and had a 1st year Bald Eagle sitting out in the open, posing. A male Red-winged Blackbird sat literally next to her (big female)left foot, and the icterid was the size of the eagle's foot. Most excellent. Also had Ferruginous Hawks, Harriers, and Kestrel. No Merlins, one dark RT Hawk that pretended to be a Golden Eagle (not). Is that Golden Eagle still in Loma Linda? Cow bells! I need more cowbell! No, wait...I need more eagles. Yeah, eagles, that's it. The whole San Jacinto Wildlife Area/ Mystic Lake area is green, wet, luscious, and gorgeous. On the way out there, while driving 85 on the 10 in Ontario, drinking coffee, talking on the cell phone, and trying to reach my sunglasses on the floor, I passed a flock of 15 Turkey Vultures across the road from Ontario Mills, and a light-morph Swainson's Hawk was at the top of the swirling kettle. They were spittin distance. Tom Miko Claremont (but 100 yards from SBdo County) Subject: Mergansers From: "Brad" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:19:06 -0000 With a little bit of warmth the past few days and the snows melting, the ice cap on Grass Valley Lake has disappeared with many ducks reappearing. I counted 26 Hooded Mergansers on the pond along with 25 Common Mergansers. Of the Commons, nearly 20 of them were males. Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead Subject: Imperial Valley and Salton Sea From: "Guy" <guymcc AT pacbell.net> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:51:27 -0800 I spent 13 and 14 February checking locations in the Imperial Valley and along the south shore of the Salton Sea. On 13 February I spent the early morning around Fig Lagoon and in El Centro then moved north to the area around the south end of the Salton Sea and Calipatria. On 14 February I was joined by Gary Graves, J. Van Remsen and his girlfriend Amy, and Curtis A. Marantz. We started the morning in Brawley then moved north to the area around Niland, then west to the area along part of the south shore of the Salton Sea, and ended the day near El Centro. It was clear with virtually no wind on both days with temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 degrees. Species seen included - Greater White-fronted Goose (67 - one continuing at Sunbeam Lake near Seeley with resident "domestic geese" on 13 February, and a flock of sixty-six at the wetlands located west of Highway 111 between McDonald and Hazard Roads on 14 February), Cackling Goose (2 - one leucopareia continuing at Sunbeam Lake near Seeley with resident "domestic geese" on 13 February, and one with White-fronted Geese at the wetlands located west of Highway 111 between McDonald and Hazard Roads on 14 February), Canada Goose (35 - a flock of twenty near the west end of Young Road and another flock of fifteen near the intersection of McDonald and Davis Roads on 13 February), Tundra Swan (2 - two immatures together at the wetlands located west of Highway 111 between McDonald and Hazard Roads on both days), Black Scoter (1 - one female at the west end of Young Road on 13 February was initially found and photographed here by Kelli Heindel-Levinson earlier in the day) Least Bittern (1 - one calling at Fig Lagoon on 12 February), Green Heron (1 - one at Fig Lagoon on 13 February), White-tailed Kite (3 - three at the southern edge of Niland on 14 February that included a pair in courtship flight), Zone-tailed Hawk (1 - one adult near the southeast corner of El Centro on both days was known present since 1 October), Ferruginous Hawk (2 - two adults near the southeast corner of El Centro on 14 February), Peregrine Falcon (1 - one adult near Obsidian Butte on 13 February), Prairie Falcon (2 - two at widely separate locations on 14 February), Sandhill Crane (5 - five near the intersection of Keystone and Dogwood Roads on 13 February), Mountain Plover (60 - sixty in a recently burnt field near the intersection of Rutherford Road and Highway 111 on 14 February), Western Gull (3 - two first-winter birds together at Obsidian Butte on 13 February were joined by a third-winter bird there on 14 February), Yellow-footed Gull (3 - three adults at Obsidian Butte on 13 February and two adults there on 14 February), Thayer's Gull (1 - one first-winter bird near the intersection of Lack and Lindsey Roads on 13 February), Lesser Black-backed Gull (3 - one adult at obsidian butte on 13 February was the same bird known here since 28 November, and two adults at Red Hill on 13 February included one known present here since 8 October), Glaucous-winged Gull (2 - one first-winter bird at Obsidian Butte on 13 February was the same bird first seen here on 2 February, and a second winter bird at the intersection of Lack and Lindsey Roads on 14 February was the same bird first seen here on 25 January), White-winged Dove (2 - one at Cattle Call Park in Brawley on both days, and one in Niland on 14 February were both no doubt wintering locally), Red-naped Sapsucker (1 - one at Cattle Call Park in Brawley on 14 February was known present since 01 October), Gray Flycatcher (1 - one at Cattle Call Park in Brawley on both days was known present since 13 August and present for its seventh winter), Eastern Phoebe (1 - one at Fig Lagoon on 13 February was known present since 21 December and present for its third winter), Vermilion Flycatcher (4 - one female at Sunbeam Lake on 13 February, then one adult male at Cattle Call Park in Brawley, one female at the intersection of Pound and International Roads in Niland and one female near the intersection of Pound and Davis Roads on 14 February), Ash-throated Flycatcher (1 - one near the southeast corner of El Centro on both days was known present since 16 January so clearly wintering locally), Bank Swallow (1 - one with Barn Swallows near the intersection of Pound and Davis Roads on 14 February), Cactus Wren (2 - two at Cattle Call Park in Brawley on 14 February), Rock Wren (1 - one at Obsidian Butte on both days), Western Bluebird (25 - ten at Cattle Call Park in Brawley on both days and fifteen around Niland on 14 February), Mountain Bluebird (15 - fifteen near the Calipatria State Prison on 13 February), American Robin (30), Gray Catbird (1 - one responding vocally to taped recordings of this species song and calls in west Niland on 14 February was the same bird found here on 21 December), Curve-billed Thrasher (1 - one near the southeast corner of El Centro on both days was known present since 03 January), Phainopepla (1 - one at the entrance road to Ramer Lake on 13 February), White-throated Sparrow (1 - one adult in west Niland on 14 February) and Lapland Longspur (2 - two together with American Pipits and Horned Larks on McDonald Road between Highway 111 and English Road on 14 February). Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue Imperial Beach, CA 91932 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Mystic Lake Feb 16 From: "Chet McGaugh" <chetmcgaugh AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:42:43 -0800 I set out to walk the Lake Perris dam this morning (been 26 years since the Yellow-billed Loon!), forgetting that Arnold has closed the state park on Tuesdays, so I drove over to the San Jacinto Wildlife Area to see which roads were open. The duck club road was open and the puddles mostly easy, I was quickly out at the corner parking area, with just one stop along the way for an immature Bald Eagle, one of two that have been around this winter. Walked east toward the snowy San Bernardino Mountains for 0.75 mile and I was on the shore of Mystic Lake. (Walking west from Gilman would be shorter but parking needs to be figured out. Early morning light would be great.) At Mystic: more Canada Geese than I've ever seen together in the valley (or anywhere?), 600-700 plus 200 that came in as I wondered 600 or 700; four white geese seeming from 0.5 mile across the lake to be three Snow Geese, one Ross's; approximately 800 gulls (Ring-bills, California, Bonaparte's) too far away to really study; assorted ducks; very few shorebirds (it's February) but a tremendous amount of mudflat, puddles, little ponds stretching south(?) toward Bridge Street -- March-May should be great, and August-September? With the SJWA , the duck clubs, the dairies, and Mystic Lake, and the rain, there's a tremendous amount of wetlands in the valley. Several hundred White-faced Ibis were in the duck club ponds that can be seen from the SJWA. Many dowitchers. I was attacked by two separate Tree Swallows, leaving perches to fly directly at my face. Territorial, I guess. Chet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Grackle Piute Road Dairy (Again) From: "toddamcgrath" <SKUA AT MSN.com> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:03:56 -0000 All, Inspired by Tom's good fortune yesterday, I decided to leave Calabasas at about 3:00AM and head to Havasu. The Kittiwake at site 6 spent most of its time in AZ, but did two trips to the CA side in the 3.5 hours I was there. After poking around in AZ for the rest of the morning, I decided to head back via the Piute Road Dairy in Newberry Springs to look for Tom's Common Grackle. It took a little under an hour to relocate the bird, as there were alot of Starlings, and blackbirds to look through. The Common Grackle was feeding north of the dairy entrance road, in the shaded area about 100 feet from the road. Thanks to Tom for his timely post and photo. Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Calabasas CA Subject: vermillions return From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:09:44 -0000 Bety Zeller at Big Morongo Preserve said a male Vermillion made it's first appearance of the spring yesterday. Today a male Vermillion was back at Glen Helen Regional Park. Good birding, Dave Subject: Curve-billed thrasher continues From: lbharter AT gmail.com Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:12:34 +0000 2/15/10 - David Vander Pluym and I just had the Curve-billed Thrasher at the Chiriaco Summit. The bird was just east of the Patton museum near the tanks, and down the alley that heads east from there. Good birding, Lauren Harter Ventura, CA Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry® ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Curve-billed Thrasher From: "alazere" <alazere1 AT cox.net> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:42:48 -0000 The Curve-billed Thrasher was present at Chiriaco Summit Sunday Feb 14 at noon. Turn left past the museum. It was vocalizing from the dense oleander in the yard with the two barking dogs. While I was looking for it I met Mr. Chiriaco, who formerly managed the property. It was his Dad who originally owned and built out the various structures at this location. He was aware of the thrasher and seemed birder friendly. Andy Lazere Laguna Niguel Subject: Turkey Vultures on the move From: Matt Brady <podoces AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:26:36 -0800 (PST) Hello All. Maggie MacPherson and I stopped by Chiriaco Summit briefly yesterday evening, and while we did not have the Curve-billed Thrasher, we did see a large kettle of TURKEY VULTURES, obviously in active migration. There were about 175 birds, clustered tightly together, rising high on a thermal and heading in a generally northward direction. I've never seen anything like this in California before, but was behavior I've seen in Costa Rica during spring migration. Good birding, Matt Brady Potter Valley, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, possible Common Grackle From: "Jim" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:45:58 -0000 Hey Tom, Looks to me like you had a Common Grackle. That has always seemed like a perfect spot to find one. Jim Pike Huntington Beach --- In inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com, Thomasabenson AT ... wrote: > > > Hi all, > > I continued birding today with the Howes and the Steeles. We started at Lake Havasu where shortly after arriving we had the Black-legged Kittiwake at Site Six in Arizona. After about 30 minutes of watching it, it flew out across the lake and landed about 50 feet from California shores -- San Bernardino County bird! After Site Six we headed up to the north end of the lake to scope for more birds there, but didn't see anything unusual. The Howes and I continued to Needles, where our best find was about a dozen Western Bluebirds at the Riverview Cemetery. I then split off from the Howes, stopping at the Piute Road dairy in Newberry Springs on my way home. I saw a bird that may be a Common Grackle, but I'm not well-versed in blackbird hybrids or molt patterns to rule everything else out. One mediocre photo is on my Flickr site (link below). Any feedback would be appreciated. > > Tom Benson > San Bernardino, CA > > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/40928097 AT N07/4357442477/ > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > Subject: Lake Havasu Black-legged Kittiwake, possible Common Grackle From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:02:15 -0500 Hi all, I continued birding today with the Howes and the Steeles. We started at Lake Havasu where shortly after arriving we had the Black-legged Kittiwake at Site Six in Arizona. After about 30 minutes of watching it, it flew out across the lake and landed about 50 feet from California shores -- San Bernardino County bird! After Site Six we headed up to the north end of the lake to scope for more birds there, but didn't see anything unusual. The Howes and I continued to Needles, where our best find was about a dozen Western Bluebirds at the Riverview Cemetery. I then split off from the Howes, stopping at the Piute Road dairy in Newberry Springs on my way home. I saw a bird that may be a Common Grackle, but I'm not well-versed in blackbird hybrids or molt patterns to rule everything else out. One mediocre photo is on my Flickr site (link below). Any feedback would be appreciated. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA http://www.flickr.com/photos/40928097 AT N07/4357442477/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Some NESS Spots From: Ed Stonick <edstonick AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:35:41 -0800 (GMT-08:00) Greetings! Beautiful weather out here by the Salton Sea! I birded Salt Creek and the end of Colfax St. early this morning. Nothing unusual, but nice groups of Redheads, Blue-winged Teal, and Common Goldeneye at Salt Creek (about one to two dozen of each). Eleven species of shorebirds at Colfax, including some Dunlins and a couple of Snowy Plovers. Corvina Beach and Mecca Beach campgrounds are closed. Ed Ed Stonick edstonikc AT earthlink.net Subject: SBVAS field trip, NESS From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:28:59 -0000 The last birders standing at dusk (Lois from Indiana, Sandy Remley and myself) brought the days total to 95. No rarities, but good looks at a variety of land and waterbirds. The Torres Martinez ponds were a little low in diversity, but great weather and great company and good looks at several species kept us happy. The Delta was packed with common species. Only 4 participants went out, as we figured the requirement to ferry us out 4 people at a time would just take too long to be worth it. Next stop was Mecca for Crissal Thrasher, which didn't disappoint. Mesquite "islands" .9 mile north of Mecca on Lincoln had one singing on top of a bush as soon as we got out of the cars. Palm Island Drive was slow slow slow, but 72nd St. had it's promised Peregrine, and we bumped into a few nice birds on 81st: a Merlin, 5 Lawrence's goldfinches and a White-winged dove. 84th St. in the late afternoon was a perfect place to end the day, totally surrounded by birds. No odd gulls to be seen, but we added some more of the expected shorebirds to our list, and reluctantly turned away when the sun went down. Subject: Parker Strip birding From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:55:13 -0500 I joined Andrew and Vernon Howe and Bob and Susan Steele today (13 Feb) to do some birding along the Colorado River. Birds of note today included the continuing 2 Curve-billed Thrashers at Black Meadow Landing, the continuing juvenile Tundra Swan on the AZ side of the Colorado River at River Lodge Resort (the Howes had it yesterday on the CA side), the continuing adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Quail Hollow, and about 6 Common Ground-doves at the Rio Del Sol RV Haven in Big River. Also at Big River at dusk we were able to see about 75 Sandhill Cranes foraging in the fields in AZ, but they did not come to their usual roosting spot opposite Big River RV Park, which is now mostly dry. Instead they roosted in the river bed well on the AZ side and quite a ways (about a half mile?) down stream. The Howes also had the continuing Curve-billed Thrasher at Chiriaco Summit yesterday (12 Feb). Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Lesser Black-backed Gull at Mecca Beach From: Daniel Williams <jaegermaestro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:29:06 -0800 (PST) Just wanted to mention that I also had an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Mecca Beach on Thursday afternoon. I thought it was already known about, but maybe I was just thinking of all the south end Less-backs. There were also two different gulls there that looked to me like first-year "Nelson's" (Glaucous x Herring) Gulls. They were very pale and their primary patterns were reminiscent of Thayer's, but they had the classic black-tipped pink bill of a Glaucous. Dan Williams Sacramento Subject: Salton Sea highlights Saturday From: "lehman.paul AT verizon.net" <lehman.paul@verizon.net> Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:29:00 -0500 Kelli Levinson and Guy McCaskie were birding at the Salton Sea on Saturday the 13th. Guy passes on the following species of interest: Black Scoter: female off Young Rd. 2 Tundra Swans: in flooded field on north side of McDonald, between English and 111 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 2 adults at Red Hill, 1 at Obsidian Butte; this is one more bird than usual this winter other gulls: several Yellow-footeds and Westerns, single Glaucous-winged and Thayer's Eastern Phoebe: continuing bird at Fig Lagoon Gray Flycatcher: usual bird at Cattle Call Park in Brawley --Paul Lehman, San Diego -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting Subject: Hooded merganser, Hidden Valley From: lflapre AT aol.com Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:51:18 -0500 An extremely bright male hooded merganser was at Hidden Valley Wildlife Area on the Santa Ana River in Riverside/Norco Saturday AM, in the third pond to the east of the parking lot. There is very ittle water; it may not stay. The mountain bluebirds that have been along the fenceline in the same locaation for the past three weeks were gone. Larry LaPre [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Purple Finches in Redlands From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:34:21 -0800 This morning there were three PURPLE FINCHES in Redlands, two males and a female. They were in Prospect Park, just below the Kimberley Crest mansion. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu Subject: Re: North End of the Salton Sea access From: "dgingt22" <davegoodward AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:48:04 -0000 In response to Ed Stonick's query about Whitewater Delta access, status is unchanged. Walk-in only, leave a note on your dash saying you are birding. This applies to the Whitewater Delta and Johnson Street, and wouldn't be a bad idea for 81st St as well. I heard Christmas Count participants were challenged by the tribe at 81st, but allowed to stay. The Coachella Valley Water District is liability paranoid at the Delta, and apparently has the final word, even over the Tribe. I don't pretend to understand the local politics. Lastly, San Bernardino Valley Audubon is touring the north end tomorrow - meeting at the Arco just west of Mecca at 8:30. We will be shuttled out to the Delta by tribal representatives. Cumbersome, but better than spending two hours walking. Subject: Confirmed sighting at Salt Creek, Salton Sea From: raccoonhome AT aol.com Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:35:56 -0500 I returned to Salt Creek this morning with camera and took some pictures which I forwarded for confirmation of my sighting of a Barrow's Goldeneye, female. It's a good call, 1 for 3. See you out there, Sandy Remley aka: itchy birding feet Big Bear Lake, Oasis [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: North End of the Salton Sea From: "Ed Stonick" <edstonick AT earthlink.net> Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:02:25 -0800 Greetings Inland Birders! What is the current status at the north end of the sea? The last info I recall about the Whitewater delta was that you could walk out to it but are supposed to leave a note on your car. Has anything changed? What other accessible areas have been most productive of late (84th St., Johnson Rd., Haynes, etc.? Thanks for any help you can give. Regards, Ed Ed Stonick Pasadena, CA edstonick AT earthlink.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Red Crossbill at CSUSB From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:17:00 -0500 Campus was closed today for a state budget closure (furlough) day, so I spent a couple hours birding Cal State San Bernardino this morning. The best bird was easily a female Red Crossbill calling from the top of a small pine near the restrooms on the athletic fields (about 20 feet away from me, in good light, with my camera at home). After a minute or two it flew off and was joined by a second bird that may or may not have been another crossbill. The only other birds of interest were continuing single Slate-colored and Gray-headed Juncos, and two male and one female Vermilion Flycatchers. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Wildwood State Park, Yucaipa From: "kelleyal" <kelleyal AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:44:37 -0000 Early nesting Red-tail Hawk in Meditteranean Pine up ranch road 1/2 mile, flock of vesper sparrow in burnt chaparral, and persistent phainopepla on mistletoe in oaks; there still patches of snow on ground and is 3200' elevation, so,things adapting to environmental changes.........Al Kelley/Redlands Subject: Sandhill Cranes From: Ronny Roa <gsxrronnie AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:58:43 -0800 (PST) Hello everyone, On the west side of the 15 just north of Bellgrave the 2 sandhill cranes were foraging in the dirt field. They were seen from the 15 not sure if there is access to the property. Ronny Roa Sent from my iPhone Subject: Salt Creek, Salton Sea From: raccoonhome AT aol.com Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:56:32 -0500 Chet McGaugh told me it was flowing again so I went over there and saw a few interesting birds. Blue-winged Teals, Redheads and Common Goldeneyes. One bird among the Redheads was a goldeneye but this bird had a steap forehead, very large head and HER bill was very short, stubby and YELLOW. Barrow's possible. Did not have camera again. FYI on birding the creek. Checked in with the camphost and ask if you can bird the creek mouth for an hour without paying the $8 fee. He said yes and added, take 2 hours if you need it. On another tip from Dave Goodward I traveled this morning north a bit to Ave 50, going east from 86, to a desert shurb area across from the sod field and found two Crissal Thrashers. This is Cabazon Reservation area and I had driven into the area near the cementery and was promptly showed out by a gun toting officer of the tribe. He was polite but firm about the bounderies around the reservation. Basically the south side of the dirt road from Ave 50 is the policed area. Anything north and to I10 is ok to bird. See you out there, Sandy Remley aka: itchy birding feet Big Bear Lake/Oasis [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]