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20 Nov Red-necked Grebe in Henderson appears to have left. [Randall Michal ] 20 Nov EBird Shared link [Randall Michal ] 20 Nov Red-necked Grebe Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve 11-19-09 [Randall Michal ] 20 Nov Randall Michal has shared an eBird checklist with you from Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve on Nov 19, 2009 - 7:45 AM [Randall Michal ] 19 Nov Red-necked Grebe at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve [Randall Michal ] 18 Nov Ash Meadows CBC Announcement (no sightings) [Carl Lundblad ] 18 Nov Willow Creek Golf Course-Pahrump: 11/18/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 18 Nov Re: reporting color-banded goldfinches in Reno [Alan Wallace ] 18 Nov Mira Loma Park, Reno [Kirk Hardie ] 18 Nov Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks in west Reno [Kathy Oakes ] 18 Nov reporting color-banded goldfinches in Reno [Jessi Brown ] 18 Nov Raptors [David Worley ] 18 Nov Sparks Marina (11/17/09) [Fred Petersen ] 17 Nov Winter Wren in North Valleys [Jacque Lowery ] 17 Nov Sierra Meadows Birdless [Richard Carlson ] 17 Nov Lewis's Woodpeckers in Lovell Canyon [Jeff Johnson ] 16 Nov FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas [Bird Preserve ] 15 Nov Hunter and Hunted at Desert Wetlands Park [Scott Page ] 15 Nov Willow Creek Golf Course/Honeysuckle Park/Duck Pond Pahrump Nevada Nye County [Darlene Feener ] 14 Nov HBP and Cornerstone Park [Justin Streit ] 14 Nov Rancho San Rafael (11/14/09) [Fred Petersen ] 14 Nov Lovell Canyon - Lewis's Woodpeckers and more [Chris Gardner ] 14 Nov Lewis's Woodpeckers in Lovell Canyon [Jeff Johnson ] 13 Nov Fw: eBird Report - The Yurt feeders , 11/10/09 [Melissa Renfro ] 13 Nov Bonaparte’s Gull, Virginia Lake; Reno (11/13/09) [Fred Petersen ] 13 Nov Pahrump PLUMBEOUS VIREO, Etc. [Carl Lundblad ] 13 Nov Oasis Valley [Laura Cunningham ] 13 Nov Re: Lesser Scaup - Nasal Tagged/ Radio Antenna Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve [Chris Nicolai ] 11 Nov Snake Valley NV & UT Christmas Bird Count [] 11 Nov Lesser Scaup - Nasal Tagged/ Radio Antenna Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve [Randall Michal ] 11 Nov Oasis Valley [Laura Cunningham ] 10 Nov Baker, NV [Melissa Renfro ] 10 Nov Reno-Sparks [Dennis & Becca Serdehely ] 10 Nov Winter Birds / Gardnerville [Jim Diane ] 9 Nov First ever Minden - Audubon Christmas Bird Count [Jim Diane ] 9 Nov Elko Christmas Bird Count [Lois & Mark Ports ] 9 Nov About Willow Creek Golf Course grackle sightings [Darlene Feener ] 9 Nov Carson City Christmas Bird Count [Greg Scyphers ] 9 Nov Paradise Ponds - Sparks, NV 11/08/09 (Sunday) [SAMARENO ] 9 Nov Mira Loma Area Shorebirds - Reno, NV (Saturday) 11/07/09 [SAMARENO ] 9 Nov FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas [Bird Preserve ] 8 Nov Sparks Marina, Sparks, Washoe Co (11/8/09) ["Nancy A. Hoffman" ] 8 Nov Re: Willow Creek Golf Course/Pahrump/ Nye County [Chris Gardner ] 8 Nov Willow Creek Golf Course/Pahrump/ Nye County [Darlene Feener ] 7 Nov White-fronted Geese, Lake Park (11/7/09) [Fred Petersen ] 7 Nov Overton/Logandale: 11/7/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 6 Nov Amargosa Valley: 11/6/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 6 Nov Sparks Marina (11/6/09) [Fred Petersen ] 6 Nov Indian Springs [Bob Gotschall ] 6 Nov East Shore Lake Tahoe (Pacific Loon) [Greg Scyphers ] 5 Nov White-fronted Geese, Virginia Lake; Reno (11/5/09) [Fred Petersen ] 5 Nov Meeting of "Friends of Desert National Wildlife Refuge" [RRAS ] 5 Nov White-winged Scoter @ Lake Mead 11-5-09 [Randall Michal ] 4 Nov Topaz Lake [Steve Ting ] 4 Nov Slightly out of area Christmas Bird Count: Honey Lake [Martin Meyers ] 3 Nov Crystal Reservoir Waterfowl and Such: 11/3/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 3 Nov Volunteers to help plant native vegetation in the Moapa Wildlife Refuge [RRAS ] 2 Nov Virginia Lake Reno [ann murphy ] 2 Nov A few highlights from today's Pyramid Lake survey [Martin Meyers ] 2 Nov Oasis Valley [Laura Cunningham ] 2 Nov Eurasian Wigeons [Darlene Feener ] 2 Nov FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas [Bird Preserve ] 1 Nov Western Meadowlarks and other Yard birds [Steve Ting ] 1 Nov NV; Southern Tip: 11/2/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 1 Nov Floyd Lamb Park/Corn Creek: 10/31/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 1 Nov South Meadows Wetlands [Jim Diane ] 1 Nov Willow Creek Golf Course; Pahrump, Nv. (Nye) [Darlene Feener ] 31 Oct Pine Siskin [Nancy Santos ] 31 Oct Pahranagat Valley 10/25/09 (White-throated Sparrow) [Greg Scyphers ] 31 Oct White-fronted Geese, Wood Ducks, Lemmon Valley (10/31/09) [Fred Petersen ] 31 Oct Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve 10-30-09 [Randall Michal ] 30 Oct Reno bird sightings [ann murphy ] 30 Oct Las Vegas Area Miscellaneous: 10/30/09 [Carl Lundblad ] 30 Oct waterbird survey helpers needed, Pyramid, Walker, Topaz lakes [Elisabeth Ammon ] 28 Oct Mountain chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Ruby-crowned kinglet [David Worley ] 28 Oct White-throated Sparrow, NW Reno (10/28/09) [Fred Petersen ] Subject: Red-necked Grebe in Henderson appears to have left. From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:05:11 -0500 Hello all, I went out to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve this morning hoping to re- locate the Red-necked Grebe I located and photographed yesterday. Unfortunately I never did locate the bird on any of the 9 ponds, nor did the gentleman with whom I was birding. Also as far as I know none of the other birders looking to find said Grebe were able to locate it either. Thus appearances suggest it has left the Preserve, presumably heading south. Perhaps someone might see it somewhere like Lake Mead or Lake Mojave on it's journey. On another note, the tagged Lesser Scaup that is part of the Red Rock Lakes NWR study is still present, she was on Pond 1 this morning. Randy Michal Subject: EBird Shared link From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:27:36 -0500 Hello all, I apologize for sending a Shared link from eBird. I was asked to post my lists through there and not being very familiar with it I did not realize the shared list was not the correct way to do so. Randy Subject: Red-necked Grebe Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve 11-19-09 From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:26:25 -0500 Location: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Observation date: 11/19/09 Notes: Hello all, I birded the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve east of Las Vegas this morning from 7:45 to 11:15. The best bird by far was the RED-NECKED GREBE I found on Pond 7 at 10:30. I took many pictures and verified the species of the bird. I *think* it's a first winter bird but as this is my first sighting of a Red-necked Grebe someone with more experience can likely tell if it is indeed first winter better than can I. The birding onthe whole was good with a good variety of epscies including the first Sora I have seen in some time. The tagged Lesser Scaup is still present, on Pond 1 this morning. Randy Michal Number of species: 58 Wood Duck 2 Gadwall 100 American Wigeon 10 Mallard 200 Cinnamon Teal 60 Northern Shoveler 350 Northern Pintail 2 Green-winged Teal 200 Ring-necked Duck 20 Lesser Scaup 25 The tagged female Lesser Scaup first found by Je Anne is still present, I re-located it on Pond 1 this morning. Bufflehead 250 Ruddy Duck 300 Gambel's Quail 50 Pied-billed Grebe 150 Horned Grebe 1 Red-necked Grebe 1 I found this Red-necked Grebe at 10:30 this morning on Pond 7. From what I can see in the various pictures I took it appears to be a first winter bird. Hopefully it will hang around for a few days. Eared Grebe 100 Clark's Grebe 1 American White Pelican 2 Double-crested Cormorant 2 Least Bittern 2 Both Least Bittern were found on Pond 9. The first I found in the hummock of reeds closest to the large loafing island. She flew west to the small set of reeds immediately north of the loafing island. Just as she slowed to land a female Great-tailed grackle flew in to the same are and started screaming. The Grackles and Bitterns do not get along so well. The second Bittern was located in the southeast corner of the pond, being very vocal. Great Egret 1 Snowy Egret 14 Green Heron 8 Black-crowned Night-Heron 29 Northern Harrier 2 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Sora 1 I found the Sora on Pond 9, appx 50 feet west of the bench between ponds 6 and 9. There is an open area where brush at the edge of the pond has been cleared. The Sora flew between reeds on the left of the open area to reeds on the right. Common Moorhen 45 American Coot 200 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Ring-billed Gull 2 California Gull 24 Rock Pigeon 1 Mourning Dove 2 Greater Roadrunner 2 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Costa's Hummingbird 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Black Phoebe 1 Say's Phoebe 1 Loggerhead Shrike 1 Tree Swallow 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 Verdin 30 Marsh Wren 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 24 Crissal Thrasher 3 American Pipit 2 Orange-crowned Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 200 Abert's Towhee 30 Savannah Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow 20 Red-winged Blackbird 200 Great-tailed Grackle 100 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Randall Michal has shared an eBird checklist with you from Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve on Nov 19, 2009 - 7:45 AM From: Randall Michal <rmichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:56:00 -0500 To accept this checklist into your eBird account, click on the link below: http://ebird.org/ebird/shared?subID=UzU1NDY5NTI.&s=t Learn more about eBird's checklist sharing process at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/new-feature-ebird-checklist-sharing --------- Subject: Red-necked Grebe at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:57:21 -0500 Hello all, I will post a complete list of observed birds from my visit to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve via eBird later but for now I must get this sighting out in case anyone has time to get to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve today before close at 2 PM. At 10:30 on Pond 7 I found a bird that confused me at first because it looked like a Horned Grebe but was way too big. It was next to a Gadwall and it was almost as big as the Gadwall. Long looks in binoculars from 7 to 15 power showed a yellowish bill and all other signs of a RED-NECKED GREBE. I consulted the National Geographic field guide and the bird is definitely a Red-necked Grebe. I confirmed this with staff at the Preserve when I showed them the photos. I took several hundred photos now that my camera is working properly so I will be editing those later. If anyone wants to see them please email AT rmichai637 AT aol.com Randy Michal Subject: Ash Meadows CBC Announcement (no sightings) From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:35:05 -0800 This year's Ash Meadows CBC will be held on Friday, December 18th, one month from today. Participants can check in at the refuge visitor center between 6 and 7 am to receive packets including maps, forms, Etc. Hot beverages and light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to me no later than December 7 so that I can form teams and assign territories. You can call me at the refgue at (775) 372-5435 or, preferably, email carl_lundblad AT fws.gov. Ash Meadows NWR is located in the Amargosa Valley approximately 30 miles NW of Pahrump in SW Nye County. This is about a 90 minute drive from Las Vegas. Hope to see you there. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: Willow Creek Golf Course-Pahrump: 11/18/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:58:09 -0800 Waiting for a tire repair in Pahrump this afternoon afforded me the opportunity to take a nice long walk around the Willow Creek Golf Course across the street, including to areas on the "back 9" which I seldom visit. Most notable was a likely juvenile or female Eurasian Wigeon. The bird was much more brown overall with a uniform brown head which blended with a breast of the same color. The flanks were slightly more warmly colored but still much browner than other wigeons present. The mantle was much grayer than any other wigeon present. I did not see the dark gape line, but wasn't sure I was close enough to make it out. I did not see the underwings. The bird was hanging out alone rather than associating with the nearby large flock of wigeons. Assuming this bird was one of the ones reported by Darlene Feener, it has been present for several weeks and will, therefore likely remain, hopefully giving me additional opportunities to study, photograph, and solicit additoinal opinons about. Other notable stuff included 2 Red-shouldered Hawks, 2 Vermilion Flycatchers, the White-breasted Nuthatch, over 20 Western Bluebirds, an amazing 70 American Pipits, and an immature GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. The complete eBird-generated list is provided below. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Location: Willow Creek Golf Course-Pahrump Observation date: 11/18/09 Notes: Probable female eurasian wigeon Number of species: 39 Gadwall 6 American Wigeon 60 Mallard 30 Northern Shoveler 16 Green-winged Teal 2 Gambel's Quail 4 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Ferruginous Hawk 1 American Kestrel 1 American Coot 45 Rock Pigeon 10 Eurasian Collared-Dove 3 Mourning Dove 55 Greater Roadrunner 1 Anna's Hummingbird 3 Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 5 Black Phoebe 4 Say's Phoebe 7 Vermilion Flycatcher 2 Common Raven 6 Verdin 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Bewick's Wren 1 Western Bluebird 24 American Robin 1 American Pipit 70 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 35 Savannah Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 3 White-crowned Sparrow 80 Golden-crowned Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 18 Brewer's Blackbird 2 Great-tailed Grackle 11 House Finch 34 House Sparrow 40 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Re: reporting color-banded goldfinches in Reno From: Alan Wallace <wallacealan AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:28:38 -0800 Everyone, Jessi Brown expressed concern that her email about the ongoing UNR goldfinch banding study might not be appropriate for the listserve. Actually, it definitely is appropriate because it directly pertains to Nevada birds (the listserve being "a forum for birders to discuss all aspects of birds and birding in Nevada"), similar to Elisabeth Ammon's reports about ongoing statewide research activities at the Great Basin Bird Observatory. We just don't see many research-based postings simply because the vast majority of us aren't doing research per se. Cheers, Alan ******************* Alan Wallace Nevada bird listserve moderator Reno NV Subject: Mira Loma Park, Reno From: Kirk Hardie <krhardie AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:06:31 -0800 Hello birders, Please excuse the late posting. I birded the canal along Mira Loma Park towards Rosewood Lakes Golf Course on Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day to be out birding. The highlight was seeing two WILSON'S SNIPE out in the open for easy viewing. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS (confirmed with call) were out in force with well over 50 searching the mud. Three GREATER YELLOWLEGS were also there. We took quick trip over to University Farms to see what raptors were about. There was nothing unusual on the bird front. The typical RED-TAILED HAWKS, NOTHERN HARRIER, and AMERICAN KESTREL were present. However, we saw well over 100 deer in the fields. I have never seen so many deer congregate in one place in the area before. Here's the complete list: Canada Goose Gadwall Mallard Green-winged Teal Am. Coot Ring-billed Gull Greater Yellowlegs Wilson's Snipe Long-billed Dowitcher Least Sandpiper California Quail Red-tailed Hawk Northern Harrier Am. Kestrel Mourning Dove Rock Pigeon N. Flicker Am. Crow W. Scrub-jay Black-billed Magpie Am. Robin Eu. Starling Brewer's Blackbird White-crowned Sparrow Song Sparrow House Finch House Sparrow Kirk Hardie Reno, NV Subject: Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks in west Reno From: Kathy Oakes <oakesy AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:41:59 -0800 Over the last two days saw some interesting behaviour from both Coopers and Sharpies at our house in the Caughlin Ranch area of west Reno. Monday afternoon we watched a juvenile Sharpie bathing in the small lower pond of our water feature. The hawk was standing in a shallow shelf area and bathing with the same flapping and splashing motions that we see in songbirds. After several "immersion" sessions, the hawk flew off dripping. Our constructed water feature consists of a waterfall that goes into an upper pond, then flows down about 25 feet of "stream" into a shallower lower pond before being pumped back up. We keep it runnng year-round and it attracts an amazing number of birds, plus deer that come many days in the middle of the day to drink. This morning an adult Coopers hawk came down on top of our cat, Moose. From our vantage point it looked like the hawk touched Moose's back. The hawk flew up to about 6 feet above Moose and endured Moose's angry stare for a while. Then Moose strolled into the house. We couldn't find any cuts on his back, so the touch must have been gentle.  The Coopers is likely one of the two that frequent our house each day--an adult and a juvenile that often call to one another. I haven't seen the juvenile get any prey, but have watched an adult Coopers kill and devour a Rock pigeon, a California Quail and a Mourning Dove over the last two months Kathy Oakes  Subject: reporting color-banded goldfinches in Reno From: Jessi Brown <bibi_mwewe AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:31:40 -0500 Hi folks. I apologize for a post that does not report any exciting sightings, but if the list admin doesn’t mind, I’d like to instead inform Reno locals about a banding project in which we’d like their help. The Raptor Ecology Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno is branching out from our usual subject of hawks and falcons and moving into some work on passerines. This year we’ve initiated a fairly large-scale project investigating movements and survival rates of goldfinches during the winter in the Truckee Meadows. We are banding goldfinches, both American and Lesser, at feeders throughout Reno. Each bird receives a unique combination of three plastic color bands and one federal aluminum band. If you happen to see one of these color-marked birds, please report your sighting at our webpage linked to www.swainson.org. The website, although still rather basic, has some information about the project as well as photos showing the bands both on and off the birds. The order of the bands on the bird’s legs is just as important as the colors themselves, so be sure to try to ID all colors and keep track of which band is in which position. But even if you don’t see all of the bands, please fill out the form because we will be happy just to hear that one of our birds has been found elsewhere. Do make sure to fill in the location information, as it’s a critical part of the data that we hope to collect. Chris Briggs will be talking very briefly about this project before the start of his scheduled presentation on Swainson’s Hawks at next week’s meeting of the Lahontan Audubon Society in south Reno. I will likely be present too, and the two of us would be happy to discuss the project with interested folks. Thanks for putting up with this intrusion on the listserv, and we look forward to hearing reports from our local eagle-eyed birders. Jessi Brown University of Nevada, Reno Subject: Raptors From: David Worley <daveworl AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:19:46 -0500 A loud thump against a window on Saturday marked a subadult Cooper's hawk successfully capturing a California quail, which it flew off with. The Cooper's was back on Monday, perching on our back fence, this time without a quail. A male northern harrier has also been cruising the neighborhood of late. Other birds in the yard recently include many uncaptured California quial, a pair of scrub jays, a mountain chickadee, white crowned sparrows, lesser goldfinches, house finches and house sparrows. Working in the Steamboat Hotsprings area yesterday, a red-tailed hawk, then a subadult golden eagle soared past in the morning. The eagle continued north, toward town. Dave Worley Reno, Nevada Subject: Sparks Marina (11/17/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:17:00 -0500 Sparks Marina, Sparks, Washoe Co (11/17/09) Highlights included a Bald Eagle & a Prairie Falcon, but no loons or Horned Grebes. There were lots of gulls—1000 +-- but a combination of human disturbance & panic caused by the eagle kept them either milling about high in the air or rafted far out on the lake, & it was too windy to set up the scope. As a result, I wasn’t able to check the flocks out for Herring Gulls or other unusual species. Still not many ducks, though the species count had crept up a little since my last visit earlier in the month. Here’s the complete list (22 sps). Canada Goose—?75 Gadwall—3-4 Mallard—3-4 Shoveler--3 Common Merganser--1 Ruddy Duck—6-8 Pied-billed Grebe—10-12 Eared Grebe—1 Western Grebe—2 Double-crested Cormorant—8 Black-crowned Night Heron—1 Bald Eagle—1 adult Red-tailed Hawk—1 adult Prairie Falcon--1 American Coot—lots Killdeer—2 California Gull Ring-billed Gull Rock Dove Eurasian Starling Song Sparrow—1 (in one of the small patches of tules on the E side) Brewer’s Blackbird Both the Red-tailed Hawk & the Prairie Falcon turned up late in the morning & neither stayed around for more than a minute or two. They were ignored by the waterfowl & gulls. The eagle came to our attention while we were walking N along the E shore & every gull on the lake suddenly took to the air, & things never completely settled down again until it left about a half hour later (c.11:20). While at the lake, it mostly kept to the W side apparently harassing the coots & other waterfowl along the shore, though it was too far away for us to see much & we periodically lost track of it for short periods. After one of these hiatuses we picked it up again lumbering across the water towards us with a coot in its claws, landing with its prey first in the water for a few seconds & then on one of the boat moorings not far from where we were standing. It didn’t stay here long either, but flew off again still clutching the coot which, after flying about for another minute or so, it dropped in the water, apparently still alive & not much the worse for wear & swimming strongly for shore. After a few half-hearted swoops, the eagle abandoned any attempt at recapture & resumed flying about over the lake. A minute or two later it flew off to the E & that was the last we saw of it. Fred Petersen Subject: Winter Wren in North Valleys From: Jacque Lowery <wbureno AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:35:08 -0800 My sister in Lemmon Valley had a brief, but easily verified, visit from a Winter Wren yesterday. It was eating insects, flitting around in open areas of her yard for a half hour and then was gone. Subject: Sierra Meadows Birdless From: Richard Carlson <rccarl AT PACBELL.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:31:24 -0800 We had a pretty but nearly birdless afternoon at Sierra Meadows Nov. 16.  Only bird of notwas a Ferruginous hawk near the intersection of Heriot lane and hwy 49.  We also had oen Swan farther north on Heriot.  NO ducks at all and one lone Goose.  Never had so few birds there. RCC Richard Carlson Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian Part-time Economist Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA rccarl AT pacbell.net Tucson 520-760-4935 Tahoe 530-581-0624 Kirkland 425-828-3819 Cell 650-280-2965 Subject: Lewis's Woodpeckers in Lovell Canyon From: Jeff Johnson <jlgetsemail AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:37:48 -0500 For anyone still interested, a brief visit to Lovell Canyon on Monday shortly before noon turned up two Lewis's Woodpeckers (one adult, one juvenile coming into adult plumage) just up the gravel road from the trailhead parking lot. Of other species, many of the usual suspects were around, though not nearly in the numbers that Chris Gardner found early on Saturday. Jeff Johnson Las Vegas Subject: FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas From: Bird Preserve <Bird.Preserve AT CITYOFHENDERSON.COM> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:50:55 -0800 IMPORTANT FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER THE BIRD PRESERVES HOURS WILL BE FROM 6:00 AM TO 2:00 PM!!! STARTING DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH FEBRUARY 28TH THE HOURS WILL BE FROM 7:00 AM TO 2:00 PM. ________________________________ The following birds were seen this week by staff and visitors from November 9th thru November 15th, 2009. We had Sixty-eight (68) species recorded this week. Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup (female was tagged at Red Rock Lakes in SW Montana ) Bufflehead Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Gambel's Quail Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Eared Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant American Bittern (11/10 pond 8 seen by Jim and tour) Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned night Heron Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Peregrine Falcon Common Moorhen American Coot American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Ring-billed Gull Rock Pigeon White-winged Dove (11/13 VC) Mourning Dove Greater Roadrunner Anna's Hummingbird Costa's Hummingbird Red-shafted Flicker Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Cassin's Kingbird Loggerhead Shrike Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Verdin Bushtit (11/15 near 2 & 3) Bewick's Wren Marsh Wren Bewick's Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Crissal Thrasher American Pipit Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) Abert's Towhee Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird (11/15 pond 1 seen by Lupe) Great-tailed Grackle House Finch SIGN UP FOR THE HENDERSON CHRISTMAS COUNT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH CALL Je Anne AT 702-524-5645 TO SIGN UP. DON'T FORGET YOUR HAT, SUNSCREEN AND WATER!!!! It's still hot plan on coming early. Open 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, last entry is at 1:30 pm. You need about two hours to bird the Preserve. Directions from the I515 (US 93 & 95), take exit 64, Sunset Road east. Follow the signs (blue signs with white letters), turn left (north) on Moser. For more information call 702-267-4180. Best in birding, Je Anne Branca Subject: Hunter and Hunted at Desert Wetlands Park From: Scott Page <scottpage AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:49:12 -0500 The strong, cold winds held most everything down at Wetlands Park this morning. The ponds were mostly drained and an irrigation system under construction is spread across several dry acres, leaving only a few patches of standing water and emergent vegetation. But once this project is completed, the area should be an outstanding habitat and produce lots of great birds. Among the regulars I had the following: American Widgeon - female (20) Hooded Merganser - female (1) Osprey (1) Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Peregrine Falcon - adult (1) Lesser Yellowlegs (4) Least Sandpiper (40) Greater Yellowlegs (12) DUNLIN (3) Long-billed Dowitcher (3) White Pelican (2) I was perched at the edge of small patch of standing water, at eye level with a Greater Yellowlegs foraging amidst vegetation in about 6 inches of water. Suddenly, through my camera's viewfinder, I saw the bird flinch then freeze. As I glanced up, a lighting fast drama between an aerial predator and its prey before me unfolded. The yellowlegs survived and the predator moved on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/desertvu/sets/72157622686983277/show/with/4106958023/ Regards, Scott Page Henderson Subject: Willow Creek Golf Course/Honeysuckle Park/Duck Pond Pahrump Nevada Nye County From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:38:16 -0500 Birded from 7a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at three different places. At Honeysuckle Park in Pahrump, Nevada Bald Eagles 2 of them (took pictures) Also practiced taking pictures with my camera fitted to the front of my eyepiece on my scope. Gave me clearer pictures of the back of this bird.The Eagle I took pictures of was sitting at the top of a large electrical light pole at Honeysuckle Park while another Eagle flew around in circles. At Calvada Duck Pond; in Pahrump, Nevada Western Grebe 1 (took pictures)(first time I have seen a Western Grebe on a small pond instead of a lake. Got some nice pictures of this bird. At Willow Creek Golf Course; Vermillion Flycatcher 1 (male) Mallards 27 American Wigeons 46 American Coots 12 Western Meadowlarks 18 Pied billed Grebe 1 Red winged-blackbirds 7 "Accipiter sp" Song Sparrows 3 White crowned-sparrows 5 Black Phoebe 1 Says's Phoebes 2 Eurasian collared-Doves 2 Gambels Quail (too many to count) Northern Mockingbird 1 American Kestrel 1 Great-tailed Grackles 9 Great Blue Heron 1 Ring billed-duck 1 Ladder backed-Woodpecker 1 Red naped-Sapsucker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Western Bluebirds 5 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Subject: HBP and Cornerstone Park From: Justin Streit <northxclimber AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:48:09 -0500 Spent Saturday morning looking for newly arriving ducks and other rarities. Best bird was the previously detected HORNED GREBE at the Henderson Bird Preserve, in Henderson, NV. After the HBP, I went to check out the proposed location for Cornerstone Park, which has some good habitat and I've been meaning to check out for a while. The location of Cornerstone is on the north side of Wigwam, just west of Stephanie, in Henderson, NV. There are no trespassing signs up, which I totally missed on my way into the area. While I wouldn't condone trespassing, I'm not sure anyone would notice a birder down near the water's edge. Overall, duck numbers seemed to be pretty good in both places. A complete list for the two locations is as follows: HORNED GREBE (HBP) Eared Grebe (HBP) Pied-billed Grebe (both) Western Grebe (both) Clark's Grebe (HBP) Double-crested Cormorant (both) Great Blue Heron (both) Great Egret (HBP) Snowy Egret (HBP) Green Heron (HBP) Black-crowned Night-Heron (HBP) Canada Goose (HBP) Mallard (both) Gadwall (HBP) American Wigeon (both) Northern Shoveler (HBP) Cinnamon Teal (HBP) Green-winged Teal (both) Canvasback (both) Redhead (CP) Ring-necked Duck (both) Lesser Scaup (HBP)(the tagged female continues) Bufflehead (both) HOODED MERGANSER (HBP)(2 Females) Ruddy Duck (both) Northern Harrier (HBP) Red-tailed Hawk (HBP) American Kestrel (CP) Common Moorhen (HBP) American Coot (both) Greater Yellowlegs (HBP) Ring-billed Gull (both) California Gull (CP) Mourning Dove (CP) Rock Pigeon (HBP) Greater Roadrunner (HBP) Northern Flicker (both) Black Phoebe (both) Say's Phoebe (both) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (both) Tree Swallow (HBP) Barn Swallow (HBP) Verdin (HBP) Bewick's Wren (HBP) Marsh Wren (both) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (HBP) Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (HBP) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (HBP) Orange-crowned Warbler (HBP) Yellow-rumped Warbler (HBP)(most abundant songbird by far) Abert's Towhee (HBP) White-crowned Sparrow (HBP) Song Sparrow (CP) Red-winged Blackbird (HBP) Great-tailed Grackle (HBP) Subject: Rancho San Rafael (11/14/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:42:32 -0500 Rancho San Rafael, Reno, Washoe Co (11/14/09) Here are this morning’s highlights: Redhead—1 male (Herman’s Pond) Ring-necked Duck—15 (Herman’s Pond) Northern Harrier—1immature (wetlands restoration area) Great Horned Owl—pair Mountain Chickadee—1 Cedar Waxwing—small flock (E parking lot) Golden-crowned Sparrow—3-4 (with White-crowns N of McCarran) Western Meadowlark—2-3 (wetlands restoration area) When I first spotted it, the harrier appeared to have something in its claws, probably a vole. I wonder when the next good vole year is likely to be? The last time I saw voles in any numbers at RSR was the winter of 2006-07. http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=one_set72157602221622275 (GBHeron with vole) http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/405286100/in/set-72157602221155793/ (N Harrier dto) The owls were perched in adjoining trees just opposite the “owl/dove” sign a short distance upstream of the little wooden foot bridge & not far from last year’s nest. It looks like it didn’t take long for the dead owl found near the nest in October to be replaced, assuming that is that the latter was a member of the breeding pair rather than an interloper or one of the fledged young. Fred Petersen Subject: Lovell Canyon - Lewis's Woodpeckers and more From: Chris Gardner <ChrisGardner05 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:27:12 EST I went to see the Lewis's Woodpeckers in Lovell Canyon. There wasn't much in the burnt out area so I hiked up to the trail head and walked along there for about a mile from around 7 to 8 am. For about 30 minutes to an hour there were birds everywhere, from my counts over 300, tons of flickers including one Yellow-shafted, and lots of Towhees, Juncos, and Bushtits. I found at least 8 Lewis's Woodpeckers including two or three adult males, and I got some pictures but from far away since they were up the side of the mountain. Chris Ruiz-Gardner Las Vegas, NV Location: Lovell Canyon Observation date: 11/14/09 Number of species: 21 Cooper's Hawk 1 Lewis's Woodpecker 8 Northern Flicker 30 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Western Scrub-Jay 25 American Crow 2 Common Raven 1 Juniper Titmouse 5 Bushtit 50 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Pygmy Nuthatch 2 Brown Creeper 2 Townsend's Solitaire 12 American Robin 40 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Spotted Towhee 40 Savannah Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow 60 Dark-eyed Junco 80 Lesser Goldfinch 4 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Lewis's Woodpeckers in Lovell Canyon From: Jeff Johnson <jlgetsemail AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:16:04 -0500 Thursday, Nov.12, 3:00-4:00pm: At the end of pavement up Lovell Canyon Road, where the gravel surface continues to the left and uphill past the settlement and toward Lovell Summit, at least six Lewis's Woodpeckers were active on the burned-over hillside to the left of the road. A majority seemed to be juveniles, and most made passes across the road to the settlement area or the unburned hillsides nearby. Additional species in the same area included Northern Flickers (2), American Robins (12-15), Scrub Jay (1 seen, two heard), Spotted Towhee (unspotted), White-crowned Sparrows (6-10), Sharp- shinned Hawk (1). Jeff Johnson Las Vegas Subject: Fw: eBird Report - The Yurt feeders , 11/10/09 From: Melissa Renfro <melsyurt AT WIRELESSBEEHIVE.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:04:47 -0800 Subject: Fw: eBird Report - The Yurt feeders , 11/10/09 > Location: The Yurt feeders, White Pine County about a mile east of Great > Basin National Park main entrance. > Observation Dates: Nov 11 to 12th/09 > Observer: John B. Free > Conditions: Overcast, 55 deg > > Harris's Sparrow: First sighting at the Yurt feeders (photo at > http://www.flickr.com/photos/25197110 AT N04/4102190366/sizes/o/ ) > Pinon Jay (feeding flock of 100+ flying over feeder; 40 land at feeders. > Our walk-in cage is baited to capture Pinon Jays for GBBO project > White-throated Sparrow (still around the yurt - hanging with Harris's > Sparrow) (Photo at > http://www.flickr.com/photos/25197110 AT N04/4102151560/sizes/o/in/photostream/ > Reported on e-bird > >> Number of species: 10 >> >> Northern Flicker 1 >> Western Scrub-Jay 3 >> Pinyon Jay 100 >> Black-billed Magpie 1 >> White-throated Sparrow 1 >> Harris's Sparrow 1 >> White-crowned Sparrow 1 >> Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 20 >> Pine Siskin 2 >> American Goldfinch 4 Subject: Bonaparte’s Gull, Virginia Lake; Reno (11/13/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:32:00 -0500 Virginia Lake, Reno, Washoe Co (November 13th, 2009) A Bonaparte’s Gull paid a brief visit to VL this morning (11:00), flying W across the lake & out-of-sight. Of the 500 or so gulls along the shore or roosting in the water or on the island, all as far as I could tell were Ring-bills or Californias. The big flock of Redheads seen on previous visits is now gone, having disappeared sometime last week. Northern Shovelers--lots Lesser Scaup—1 male Common Goldeneye—1 immature Common Merganser—c.25 Hooded Merganser—2-3 Pied-billed Grebe—2-3 Eared Grebe—7-8 Western Grebe—3 Fred Petersen Subject: Pahrump PLUMBEOUS VIREO, Etc. From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:26:17 -0800 Late this morning I birded the Willow Creek Golf Course in Pahrump where the highlight was a very late PLUMBEOUS VIREO. Other birds included 1-2 RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS, an obvious hybrid male Red-naped X Red-breasted Sapsucker, 2 VERMILION FLYCATHERS, a/the White-breasted Nuthatch, and 2 PINK-SIDED JUNCOS. Yellow-rumped Warblers and Western Bluebirds were paticularly abundant. Incidentally, I saw zero grackles which is unusual. Poking around elsewhere in the Pahrump Valley was uninteresting. Not much to report from Ash Meadows NWR this week. Gull turnover is starting to pick-up at Crystal Reservoir with 3 BONAPARTE'S GULLS dropping in on Sunday 11/8. About one-tenth inch of rain overnight was very welcome, the first since mid July, and the second rain since mid April. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NWR Subject: Oasis Valley From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:37:05 -0500 Nov. 13, 2009- Parker Ranch: cottonwoods, willows, and Amargosa River meadows, north of Beatty, Nye County. Sage thrasher-1-in mesquite. Northern harrier-1 American robin-2 Cedar waxwing-calls Northern (Red-shafted) flicker-1 American pipit-2 in river meadows. House finch-1 Mourning dove-2 Marsh wren-1 Bewick's wren-1 Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco-1 Brewer's blackbird-big flock in cow pasture. Subject: Re: Lesser Scaup - Nasal Tagged/ Radio Antenna Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve From: Chris Nicolai <nicolai AT UNR.NEVADA.EDU> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:59:58 -0800 That is a bird most likely part of a lesser Scaup research project at Red Rock Lakes NWR in SW Montana. I would contact the biologist there with your sighting information. Good observation! Chris Nicolai Contract Waterfowl Biologist 1000 Valley Rd. Reno, NV 89512 Office :(775)784-6393 -----Original Message----- From: discussion about Nevada's bird life [mailto:NVBIRDS AT LIST.AUDUBON.ORG] On Behalf Of Randall Michal Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 11:21 AM To: NVBIRDS AT LIST.AUDUBON.ORG Subject: Lesser Scaup - Nasal Tagged/ Radio Antenna Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Hello all, This morning Babette and I went to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, east of Las Vegas. Near the end of the walk we saw a bird on Pond 2 that looked to be unusual. Further inspection revealed what appeared to be a small stick, sticking up vertically from the back of the bird near the tail. When we first viewed it in binoculars we notice the left side of the bill appeared orange. The first binocular views revealed the bird is a female Lesser Scaup. When the Scaup turned we saw the right side of the bill appeared blue. We took some pictures and worked our way to the south side of the pond where we got better looks and determined that the colors on the bill were due to nasal tage, oval in shape with a little "button" in the middle. The "stick" turned out to be an antenna presumably for a radio antenna. I have included a link to my Flickr page where I have posted 3 pictures of the bird. Later today I will post a full list of observed birds as well as this one to the Listserv and eBird. Randy Michal http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4095459239_a6c4b5f63e_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4096218596_20564455b5_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2778/4096218822_8b66553ce2_o.jpg Subject: Snake Valley NV & UT Christmas Bird Count From: melsyurt AT WIRELESSBEEHIVE.COM Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:10:55 -0700 17 December, Tuesday - Snake Valley, NV and UT Christmas Bird Count The Snake Valley Christmas Bird Count will be held on 17 Dec 2009. Description: It is located in White Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah. It includes the towns of Baker, NV and Garrison, UT; some of the eastern side of Great Basin National Park, and Pruess Reservoir. It has habitat from the desert floor - saltbrush, to sagebrush, to pinyon-juniper, to fir-spruce forests or mountain mahogany thickets. There are several creeks, stock ponds, irrigation ditches and a fish rearing station included. For information about the Park go to www.nps.gov/grba, for local businesses, www.greatbasinpark.com. Some free, warm, dry, floor camping may be available if needed. Meet: We will meet at the new Great Basin Visitor Center on the north end of Baker at 7:00 am. After dark, we will meet at a local restaurant for a hot meal and a quick talley. Bring a digital camera if you have one. If it snows, some snowshoeing or skiing could be available! Contact: Melissa Renfro -- Please leave a message at Great Basin National Park, (775) 234-7331 ext 207; or email me at Melissa_Renfro AT nps.gov or melsyurt AT gmail.com . Melissa Renfro Park Ranger Great Basin National Park Subject: Lesser Scaup - Nasal Tagged/ Radio Antenna Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:20:59 -0500 Hello all, This morning Babette and I went to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, east of Las Vegas. Near the end of the walk we saw a bird on Pond 2 that looked to be unusual. Further inspection revealed what appeared to be a small stick, sticking up vertically from the back of the bird near the tail. When we first viewed it in binoculars we notice the left side of the bill appeared orange. The first binocular views revealed the bird is a female Lesser Scaup. When the Scaup turned we saw the right side of the bill appeared blue. We took some pictures and worked our way to the south side of the pond where we got better looks and determined that the colors on the bill were due to nasal tage, oval in shape with a little "button" in the middle. The "stick" turned out to be an antenna presumably for a radio antenna. I have included a link to my Flickr page where I have posted 3 pictures of the bird. Later today I will post a full list of observed birds as well as this one to the Listserv and eBird. Randy Michal http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4095459239_a6c4b5f63e_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4096218596_20564455b5_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2778/4096218822_8b66553ce2_o.jpg Subject: Oasis Valley From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:03:36 -0500 Nov. 10-a few more winter arrivals at my yard and surroundings at Parker Ranch, north of Beatty, Nye County. Mountain bluebird-1 Cassin's finch-1 American goldfinch-1 Northern (red-shafted) flicker-1 Cooper's hawk-1 Song sparrow-1 White-crowned sparrow-15 Common raven-1 Loggerhead shrike-1 Ruby-crowned kinglet-1 Eurasian collared dove-4 Gambels' quail-5 (most hiding from the Cooper's hawk) Subject: Baker, NV From: Melissa Renfro <melsyurt AT WIRELESSBEEHIVE.COM> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:19:25 -0800 -------------------------------------------------- From: "John B. Free" Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:27 PM > Location: the Yurt feeders, 1 mile below entrance to Great Basin NP, White Pine County > > Observation Dates: Nov 1 to 3/09 Observer: John B. Free Conditions: 40 deg, clear > Wild Turkey: immatures > Pinyon Jay: Large feeding flock flying overhead; 50 land at feeders in P.M American Goldfinch: showing up at feeders for Fall > Number of species: 7 > > Wild Turkey 7 >> Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 >> Western Scrub-Jay 2 >> Pinyon Jay 100 >> Black-billed Magpie 1 >> Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 20 >> American Goldfinch 4 >> > *************** > > Location: The Yurt (feeder watch) > Dates: Nov 6 to 9/09 Observer: John B. Free & Melissa Renfro > Conditions: 40 to 56 deg, Clear > White-throated Sparrow: Unusual sighting at the Yurt > > Number of species: 6 > > Wild Turkey 3 > Western Scrub-Jay 3 > White-throated Sparrow 1 > Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 20 > Pine Siskin 3 > American Goldfinch 4 > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.60/2495 - Release Date: 11/10/09 19:56:00 Subject: Reno-Sparks From: Dennis & Becca Serdehely <birders AT ATT.NET> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:29:19 -0800 I was able to spend the morning birding the Reno area starting at Virginia Lake. The highlight here was excellent looks at 3 Golden-crowned Kinglets as they fed at just above eye level in some junipers in the vicinity of Lakeside Drive and Wild Rose Drive on the west side of the lake. In addition to all of the usual species on the lake there was a single Lesser Scaup and 3 Western Grebes. Intrigued by Sue Marshall's post the other day I headed over to the slough behind Mira Loma Park at the corner of McCarren and Mira Loma. I believe the official name for this slough is Boynton Slough. I followed it from the park to the fence at the golf course. There were quite a few shore birds on the slough. The water level was quite low providing some nice mud flats. Ducks included Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and Hooded and Common Mergansers. As far as shorebirds go there were 4 Killdeer, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, about 30 Least Sandpipers, 1 Dunlin and about 40 Long-billed Dowitchers. I assumed that all of the dowitchers were Long-billed because these were the only calls that I heard. I did not hear any Short-billed calls. There were also about 10 Ring-billed Gulls feeding in the mud and Marsh Wrens calling in the tules. A single Belted Kingfisher was foraging up and down the slough. There was nothing of note on any of the other ponds in the Rosewood-Hidden Valley area. A drive up Clean Water Way at the UNR Farms produced 15 Greater White-fronted Geese among the Canada's. My last stop was at the Sparks Marina which had the usual ducks, Ring-billed and California Gulls and a single Herring Gull. Dennis Serdehely Subject: Winter Birds / Gardnerville From: Jim Diane <woobib AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:49:55 -0800 A walk around the block revealed the following species: W. Scrub Jay - 5 Am. Robins -30 Calif. Quail 89+ Y.R. Warblers -4 Myrtles-2 Downey WP -3 Cedar Waxwings -16 Pine Siskin - 4 Eura. Collared Dove 14 N. Flicker -2 BB Magpies-6 Red Tailed Hawk -1 Merlin - 1 House Finch & Sparrows - many With the Starlings mobbing the feeder is guess winter is officially here. Jim Woods 775-720-7009 Jim AT birdingnevada.com Subject: First ever Minden - Audubon Christmas Bird Count From: Jim Diane <woobib AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 18:45:41 -0800 Greg Scyphers and I have found an old Audubon Christmas Bird Count Circle the was originally filed by Greg and Jack Walters. I will coordinate as the Lead Compiler the first ever Minden Christmas Bird Count on Saturday January 2nd. This CBC will cover a good portion of Douglas County centered on Minden and immediately south of the Carson City Circle and east of the South Lake Tahoe Circle. We need to staff the effort and invite all birders to join us in the effort. This date will allow the other CBC efforts to proceed without competing for birders with our new count effort. Please join us in this effort stated by Jack Walter and make this base line year a huge success. You can respond to the email address and phone # given below. The details of the count are still being worked out and will be forwarded to you as they are known. Approximate start time will be 7:00am and will include a special Owl crew and a Feeder Watches for those of you who may have limited mobility or are unable to travel. Jim Woods 775-720-7009 Jim AT birdingnevada.com Subject: Elko Christmas Bird Count From: Lois & Mark Ports <ports AT FRONTIERNET.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:36:27 -0800 The Elko Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday, Dec. 19th. The Elko meeting place will be in the main parking lot outside of Lundberg Hall at Great Basin College. We will meet at 7:00 a.m. to assign sections. The meeting place for the Spring Creek area will be at Jo and Lance Dean's home. For the address and details please contact Lois Ports. There will be a pot luck dinner at the end of the day, location to be announced later. Lois Ports 775-738-4270 Lois and Mark Ports ports AT frontiernet.net Subject: About Willow Creek Golf Course grackle sightings From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:04:01 -0500 I apologize to the birding community in not identifying the grackles properly on Sunday November 8, 2009. I thought they were Common Grackles and Boat-tailed Grackles. I have learned that they were Great-tailed Grackles. Mr. Meyers, Mr. Scyphers and Chris Gardner were kind enough to write and explain the difference to me. This experience has taught me to take more time identifying what is in front of me and not based on what I have seen in the past. I enjoy reading all the birding reports. Subject: Carson City Christmas Bird Count From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:46:13 -0800 Hello all, Once again it's almost time for Christmas Bird Counts. The Carson City Christmas Bird Count will be held on Sunday, December 20th. Information is provided below. Carson City CBC Sunday, December 20th, 2009 Contact: Greg Scyphers at 775.745.3156 or scyph AT sbcglobal.net We are meeting at 7:00am at the McDonald's located at 3344 N. Carson Street at the North end of Carson. The after count wrap-up location is still to be determined. Any changes and/or updates will be posted to the list serve. I hope everyone can join us and I look forward to another good year. Please contact me with any questions. Greg Scyphers Subject: Paradise Ponds - Sparks, NV 11/08/09 (Sunday) From: SAMARENO <samareno AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:46:10 -0800 A walk before dinner got some favorite birds.   Hooded Mergansers-15 (They and one Mallard female were tucked up to the island in the little pond by the senior housing)   Night Herons - 8 (We heard od noises coming from the back of the Hoodies' island.  We went to check it out and kept finding more BCNHs.  The ones deeper in the trees were hard to see.  There may have been more.)   Western Grebe - 1 (One bird on the entire south pond nearest the flea market.  But, it was this one.  One the way out, we saw it was joined by a coot or PB grebe.   Grackles - 6+ (scattered around the ponds.  I am wondering if they could be some that came from the now dry Sierra Vista Ponds?)   Brewers Blackbirds-12+ (ditto)   Juncos - 6+ (in willows by the night herons.  These were the extra nicely colored ones with the almost pink sides and really black heads.)   Yellow-rumpled Warblers - 2   The regular mallards, Canadas, Coots, Muskovy Ducks, domestics, pigeons and gulls were also present. Sue Anne Marshall a.k.a. samareno "at" yahoo.com Subject: Mira Loma Area Shorebirds - Reno, NV (Saturday) 11/07/09 From: SAMARENO <samareno AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:17:52 -0800 We went for a walk at Mira Loma after the LAS Field Trip (Thanks Dave!)   First we went to the "estuary-like" area that stretches from the soccer fields to the golf course.  We parked at the end of the last road that turns left, before the golf course.  It's too bad they put the fence in and we haven't been able to go all the way to the golf course anymore.  We couldn't find the Grackles I saw earlier.   Then we drove by the ponds.  The ponds on Mira Loma were pretty empty.  Hidden Valley had all the birds.   Estuary Area (entire length)   Solitary Sandpiper-2 Yellowlegs-3 Least Sandpipers-3 Sandpiper Species-4 Killdeer-4 LB Dowitchers-15+ Pied-billed Grebe-1 Ring-billed Gulls-12+ Canada Geese-20+ Gadwalls-8 Mallards-40+ No. Harrier-1 Red-tailed Hawk-1 No Flicker-1 Night Herons - 0 (usually we see several) Brewers Blackbirds-10+ White-crowned Sparrows-5 House Finch-3 House Sparrows-5 Yellow-rumped Warbler-1   The first pond going towards Hidden Valley was completely empty of birds though it had water.   The next pond had : Mallards Canada Geese Common Egrets-2 (flew in to the back side of the cattails as we drove up)   On the water by the HV-VFD, there were an abundant number of the common birds.  It was "wall-to-wall" on the water.  I was happy to see the Hooded Merganser.   Am Kestrel-1 Night Heron-1 juv Canada Geese-70+ California Gulls-20+ Ring-billed Gulls-20+ Mallards-40+ Gadwall-6+ Coots-12+ Hooded Mergansers-2 Common Mergansers-12+ Northern Shovelers-6 Pied-billed Grebes-3 Western Grebe.-1 Rock Pigeon-present White Crowned Sparrows-10+ House Sparrows-100+ (tons, someone is feeding and we stirred up 2 separate "clouds") Sue Anne Marshall a.k.a. samareno "at" yahoo.com Subject: FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas From: Bird Preserve <Bird.Preserve AT CITYOFHENDERSON.COM> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 06:57:01 -0800 IMPORTANT FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER THE BIRD PRESERVES HOURS WILL BE FROM 6:00 AM TO 2:00 PM!!! STARTING DECEMBER 1ST THROUGH FEBRUARY 28TH THE HOURS WILL BE FROM 7:00 AM TO 2:00 PM. ________________________________ The following birds were seen this week by staff and visitors from November 2nd thru November 8th, 2009. We had Eighty-one (81) species recorded this week. Greater White-fronted Goose (3 seen on 11/7 found by Lupe) Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall (numbers increasing) American Wigeon (numbers increasing) Mallard (breeding plumage) Cinnamon Teal (starting breeding plumage) Northern Shoveler (starting breeding plumage) Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal (breeding plumage and numbers increasing) Canvasback (11/7 pond 6 2 males & 1 female seen by Je Anne) Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup (1 female with a green dot on right side of bill and orange dot on left side, antenna on back) Surf Scoter (reported no other information received) Bufflehead (numbers increasing) Ruddy Duck Gambel's Quail PACIFIC LOON (11/6 pond 5 seen by Georganne-photos taken) Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe (11/5 pond 5 & 3, still here) Eared Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Least Bittern Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned night Heron White-faced Ibis Turkey Vulture Osprey (11/4) Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Virginia Rail Common Moorhen American Coot Killdeer American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Bonaparte's Gull Ring-billed Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Greater Roadrunner Black-chinned Hummingbird Anna's Hummingbird Costa's Hummingbird Red-shafted Flicker Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Cassin's Kingbird Loggerhead Shrike Western Scrub Jay (seen 11/3 by 3 birders from the U.K.) Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Verdin Bewick's Wren Marsh Wren Bewick's Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Crissal Thrasher American Pipit Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's & Myrtle) Northern Waterthrush (11/6 seen by T. Clarke from Wa) Summer Tanager (female 11/4 still here, found by Jim, Carol and Georganne) Abert's Towhee Savannah Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Great-tailed Grackle Orchard Oriole (11/7 female seen by L. Crossley from New Jersey) Hooded Oriole (11/8 seen by Lupe) House Finch SIGN UP FOR THE HENDERSON CHRISTMAS COUNT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH CALL Je Anne AT 702-524-5645 TO SIGN UP. DON'T FORGET YOUR HAT, SUNSCREEN AND WATER!!!! It's still hot plan on coming early. Open 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, last entry is at 1:30 pm. You need about two hours to bird the Preserve. Directions from the I515 (US 93 & 95), take exit 64, Sunset Road east. Follow the signs (blue signs with white letters), turn left (north) on Moser. For more information call 702-267-4180. Best in birding, Je Anne Branca Subject: Sparks Marina, Sparks, Washoe Co (11/8/09) From: "Nancy A. Hoffman" <nhoffman775 AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:42:39 -0800 I took a walk around the Sparks Marina this morning and found most of the same birds Fred P. listed 2 days ago. So, I'm going to use his list with amendments. (Thanks Fred!) The gulls were in two rafts out in the middle and on & near the pontoons in the cove. Not seen: Common Loon, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe, Gadwall. To add to Fred's list: 1 American Pipit on the south east shore and a small group of Northern Shovelers Canada Goose—many Northern Shoveler 6-7 (1 male) Mallard—6-7 Pied-billed Grebe—10-12 Eared Grebe—1 Double-crested Cormorant—8 Black-crowned Night Heron—2 American Coot—lots Killdeer—3 California Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull (maybe - I didn't look carefully) Rock Dove Eurasian Starling Brewer’s Blackbird -8 Nancy Hoffman Sparks Subject: Re: Willow Creek Golf Course/Pahrump/ Nye County From: Chris Gardner <ChrisGardner05 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 19:44:39 EST Common Grackles: many ? Boad-tailed Grackles: 9 ? In a message dated 11/8/2009 4:26:18 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, robertfeener AT ATT.NET writes: Birds seen this morning: Cooper's Hawk: 1 Rock Doves: many Dark-eyed Juncos: 10 (pink sided) White-crowned Sparrows: 2 House Finches: 3 Morning Doves: many American Kestrels: 3 Common Grackles: many Red-winged Blackbirds: 11 Western Meadowlarks: 13 American Wigeons: 17 Mallards: 19 Black Phoebe: 1 American Coots: 8 Eurasian-collared Doves: 7 Say's Phoebes: 3 Northern Harrier: 1 Gambels Quail: many Yellow-rumped Warblers: 8 Song Sparrows: 2 Great Blue Heron: 1 Pied-billed Grebe: 1 Ring-necked Ducks: 2 Boad-tailed Grackles: 9 Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 1 Vermillion Flycatcher: 2 females Northern Mockingbird: 1 Anna's Hummingbird: 1 Red-naped Sapsucker: 1 Prairie Falcon: 1 Northern Flicker: 2 White-breasted Nuthatch: 1 Subject: Willow Creek Golf Course/Pahrump/ Nye County From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2009 19:26:12 -0500 Birds seen this morning: Cooper's Hawk: 1 Rock Doves: many Dark-eyed Juncos: 10 (pink sided) White-crowned Sparrows: 2 House Finches: 3 Morning Doves: many American Kestrels: 3 Common Grackles: many Red-winged Blackbirds: 11 Western Meadowlarks: 13 American Wigeons: 17 Mallards: 19 Black Phoebe: 1 American Coots: 8 Eurasian-collared Doves: 7 Say's Phoebes: 3 Northern Harrier: 1 Gambels Quail: many Yellow-rumped Warblers: 8 Song Sparrows: 2 Great Blue Heron: 1 Pied-billed Grebe: 1 Ring-necked Ducks: 2 Boad-tailed Grackles: 9 Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 1 Vermillion Flycatcher: 2 females Northern Mockingbird: 1 Anna's Hummingbird: 1 Red-naped Sapsucker: 1 Prairie Falcon: 1 Northern Flicker: 2 White-breasted Nuthatch: 1 Subject: White-fronted Geese, Lake Park (11/7/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:23:40 -0500 Lake Park, NW Reno, Washoe Co (11/7/09) As I drove by Lake Park this noon, I spotted a couple of Greater White-fronted Geese feeding with the Canadas on the lawn. Both were juveniles. They were very tame, even by urban goose standards, & probably would have eaten from my hand if I had had anything to give them. How likely these birds are to be the same individuals as the 2 juvenile White-fronts I saw at Virginia Lake 2 days ago, I don’t know. Other birds at the park today included 35-40 Shovelers, 4 Killdeer, & a flock of about 30 Cedar Waxwings. Lake Park, for those who don’t know it, is a small neighborhood park at the corner of Keystone & Coleman in NW Reno—pond, grass, a few trees. Fred Petersen Subject: Overton/Logandale: 11/7/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:05:36 -0800 Martin Meyers and I today birded the Overton and Logandale areas at the north end of Lake Mead in Clark County. The most interesting sighting, to me, was also the last of the day involving a group of 3 CATTLE EGRETS foraging in a pasture in north Logandale near the intersection of Moapa Valley Blvd. and Wells Rd. These were the latest cattle egrets I've seen in NV and actually my first/only in the state in 2009. There were also 25+ White-faced Ibis in the area. Nearby Bowman Reservoir was dry. Overton WMA was not particularly birdy, but was enjoyable as always. Mildly interesting birds included 6+ Inca Doves, a female Vermilion Flycatcher, at least one Cedar Waxwing, and 3 Orange-crowned Warblers. Waterfowl and other water birds were very scarce. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: Amargosa Valley: 11/6/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 18:27:16 -0800 I birded today in the Amargosa Valley including Ash Meadows NWR and the Ponderosa Dairy (private) with Martin Meyers and, for a couple of hours, Richard Crossley. Minor highlights included: American Bittern: 1 at Horseshoe Reservoir, Ash Meadows Dunlin: 1 at the dairy Ferruginous Hawk: Dark morph at dairy Barn Swallow: 1 at the dairy spotted by Richard Chipping Sparrow: 1 in "residential" Amargosa Valley Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: Sparks Marina (11/6/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:40:27 -0500 Sparks Marina, Sparks, Washoe Co (11/6/09) Highlights at the marina this morning included the continuing presence of the Common Loon, a Horned Grebe, & at least 3 Herring Gulls. Still very few ducks. Here’s the complete list (19 species). Canada Goose—?75 Gadwall—4 Mallard—3-4 Common Loon—1 (big-billed adult in winter plumage) Pied-billed Grebe—10-12 Horned Grebe—1 Eared Grebe—1 Western Grebe—3 Double-crested Cormorant—8 Black-crowned Night Heron—1 American Coot—lots Killdeer—1 California Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull—at least 3 (2 adults + 1 first-year) Rock Dove Eurasian Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler—1 Brewer’s Blackbird There were many 100s of gulls in a large raft far out on the lake with smaller numbers in the cove & adjoining areas. The 3 Herring Gulls were all roosting with Californias on the pontoons in the cove. I didn’t scope the gulls on the water, but as far as I could see via cursory binocular sweep, they were mostly (or entirely) Californias. The majority of the gulls in the cove was also Californias with a few Ring-bills. Fred Petersen Subject: Indian Springs From: Bob Gotschall <gotschall_robert AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:24:04 -0500 Took a stroll around town. Warm, calm, trees are all turning yellow. They're flooding the pasture at the ranch 2 Killdear. 6 Meadow Larks 12 White Crowned Sparrows. 2 Mourning Dove 1 Rock Dove 1 Northern Flicker (heard) 1 Say's Pheobe Best bird today was 1 Mountain Bluebird Bob Gotschall Indian Springs NV Subject: East Shore Lake Tahoe (Pacific Loon) From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:55:04 -0800 On November 3, 2009, while traveling from a work project I made a couple brief stops along HWY 28 on the East side of Lake Tahoe. At the Chimney Beach Parking area (Washoe County) I had a large flock of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets (~4)(Nevada Year bird #318), a Red-breasted Sapsucker and two White-headed Woodpeckers. Just south of Sand Harbor I pulled off the road and observed a Common Loon, a PACIFIC LOON (my first for Lake Tahoe) and 3 Western Grebes. Martin Meyers informed me that he observed the Pacific Loon the following day so it may hang around. Greg Scyphers Subject: White-fronted Geese, Virginia Lake; Reno (11/5/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 23:04:00 -0500 Virginia Lake, Reno, Washoe Co (November 5th, 2009) New at VL today were a pair of White-fronted Geese—quite tame roosting at the water’s edge on the W side—& a single (female-plumaged) Common Goldeneye. Otherwise, nothing in particular, though still unusual numbers of Redheads. Here’s a partial list: White-fronted Goose—2 Common Goldeneye--1 Redhead—c.43 Hooded Merganser—2-3 Eared Grebe—3-4 Western Grebe—3 Also new the last few weeks (or at least I didn’t notice them before then) is a flock of 3 “Mulards” (or at any rate that’s what I think they are based on the few photos I was able to find on the net). Mulards are hybrids between domestic mallards & domestic Muscovy ducks & are normally infertile. Whenever I’ve seen the VL flock it’s been by itself on the W side of the lake away from the domestic Mallards congregated at the N end. Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/4078893783 (White-fronts) http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/4079656054/in/set-72157607703835448/ (2 of the 3 Mulards) http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/4079653456/in/set-72157607703835448/ (the third Mulard) Fred Petersen Subject: Meeting of "Friends of Desert National Wildlife Refuge" From: RRAS <communications AT REDROCKAUDUBON.ORG> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 18:39:54 -0800 *November 12th, 2009 - Meeting of "Friends of Desert National Wildlife Refuge"* The newly formed "Friends of Desert National Wildlife Refuge" group will meet Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Center's business office at Charleston & Rainbow. Address: 6755 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite D, Las Vegas, NV 89146. Please RSVP to Jennifer Vincent so she can make sure to reserve a large enough meeting room. -- Thank you, Maureen Kammerer Communications Chair Red Rock Audubon Society www.RedRockAudubon.org Subject: White-winged Scoter @ Lake Mead 11-5-09 From: Randall Michal <rmichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:27:43 -0500 Hello all, I drove out to Lake Mead early this morning, planning to bird and photograph from the Hemenway Marina area north. The photography went out the window when the camera failed completely, so no photography, just birding. I found nothing remarkable until I reached 33 Hole Overlook. I hiked down to the water from the parking area. (An easy hike downhill, somewhat more strenuous uphill). When I was standing on a little overlook about 30 feet above the water with one large cove to my left, a point of land directly in front and a small cove to the right I noticed a fairly large dark bird swimming generally north to south from the large cove on the left. I viewed it at 7 power in zoom binoculars and was not sure of what it was. I hiked down the rest of the way to the water where I was able to zoom in on the bird and realized it was a Scoter. A good deal of observing the bird and noting it's details enabled me to ID it as an adult female White-winged Scoter. This was quite a surprise and a new bird for me. I recall last year during the winter some Scoters were located at Lake Mohave, south of Lake Mead, I just never expected to run across one here. Made for a very worthwhile trip. Here is the complete list of observed birds and where located: Hemenway Harbor/Marina: Rock Wren (1) Great-tailed Grackle (Many) Muscovy Duck (3) - I Suspect these are domestic Muscovy Ducks that have interbred with Mallards. They were not quite right for a typical domestic Muscovy and were certainly not the wild Muscovy. American Coot (Many) Say's Phoebe (2) House Finch (2) House Sparrow (2) Common Merganser (16) Ring-billed Gull (Many) California Gull (Many) Double-crested Cormorant (2) Common Raven (1) Redhead (Many) Mallard (Many) 1 very beautiful Coyote ran across the boat launch ramp as I was observing at the end of the ramp. Boulder Beach: American Coot (Many) Ring-billed Gull (Many) California Gull (Many) Herring Gull (1) Great-tailed Grackle (Many) White-crowned Sparrow (4) American Pipit (1) Common Raven (2) Double-crested Cormorant (3) Common Merganser (5) Great Blue Heron (1) Great Egret (1) Western Grebe (1) 33 Hole Overlook: White-winged Scoter (1 adult female) Great Blue Heron (2) Rock Wren (Many) Say's Phoebe (2) White-crowned Sparrow (Many) Greater Roadrunner (1) Herring Gull (2) California Gull (Many) Ring-billed Gull (Many) Great-tailed Grackle (3) Verdin (1) Western Grebe (Many - probably hundreds scattered about) Clark's Grebe (Many - probably hundreds scattered about) Double-crested Cormorant (6) Mallard (2) Great Egret (1) American Coot (Many) Randy Michal Subject: Topaz Lake From: Steve Ting <sctingdvm AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:11:37 -0800 I took part in the GBBO survey at Topaz lake this morning. Highlights were 4 Bonaparte's Gulls "flycatching" near the North end and 64 Common Loons. Regards, Steve www.stingphotography.com Species list: Location: Topaz Lake Observation date: 11/4/09 Notes: Unknown Scaup Number of species: 25 Canada Goose - Branta canadensis X Gadwall - Anas strepera X Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos X Common Merganser - Mergus merganser X Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis X California Quail - Callipepla californica X Common Loon - Gavia immer 64 Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps 2 Eared Grebe - Podiceps nigricollis X Western Grebe - Aechmophorus occidentalis X Clark's Grebe - Aechmophorus clarkii X Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus X Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias X Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus X Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri X Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla X Bonaparte's Gull - Chroicocephalus philadelphia 4 Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis X California Gull - Larus californicus X Rock Pigeon - Columba livia X Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura X Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus 1 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 1 Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stelleri X European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Slightly out of area Christmas Bird Count: Honey Lake From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:37:06 -0700 The Honey Lake CBC is scheduled for December 15. If any northern Nevada birders are interested in participating in this count, contact Tim Manolis. His email is: Ylightfoot AT aol.com (It's a shorter drive from Reno than from any population centers in California except Susanville.) I expect many of you have birded up there, but for those who haven't, I'll point out that it is an exceptional area which has provided many really interesting sightings over the years. As part of the Great Basin, it has many similarities to the Lahontan Valley, but, being further north, seems to get the "northern" birds with greater regularity. For years, it was THE place to go in California for American Tree Sparrow. (I don't know if they are still showing up there -- I'm just using the species as an example.) The number of Bald Eagles is almost always great, and most of the other raptors are found as well. Depending on weather, waterbird numbers can be fantastic. And I've seen longspurs there several times. Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Crystal Reservoir Waterfowl and Such: 11/3/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 20:13:07 -0800 Waterfowl diversity finally got slightly more interesting at Crystal Reservoir (Ash Meaodws NWR) this evening with the arrival of 6 female HOODED MERGANSERS (largest group I've seen on Ash Meadows), 8 female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS (mostly a spring bird here), a flyover flock of ~24 white *Chen*geese, and continued good numbers of *Aythya* ducks: Redhead, Canvasback, Ring-necked, no Scaup still. Buffleheads arrived last week but were not seen this evening. 11 Western Grebes were new arrivals and a Greater Yellowlegs lingers. Bushtits arrived on the refuge in the last week with numbers of American Robins. We have a smattering of both Mountain and Western Bluebirds. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: Volunteers to help plant native vegetation in the Moapa Wildlife Refuge From: RRAS <communications AT REDROCKAUDUBON.ORG> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:48:24 -0800 I'm posting this on behalf of The Get Outdoors Nevada Team : The Red Rock Canyon Interpretative Association is looking for volunteers to help plant native vegetation in the Moapa Wildlife Refuge this Thursday (November 5th). The meeting time is at 8:00 AM with return estimated at 3:00 PM. Volunteers are asked to bring water, gloves, sunscreen, hat, and wear comfortable clothing. Please call 515-5367 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM to register for the event and obtain directions. Thank you for supporting Nevada's public Land Sincerely, The Get Outdoors Nevada Team Public Lands Institute Phone 702.895.5484 Email: getoutdoorsnevada AT unlv.edu Web: http://getoutdoorsnevada.org -- Thank you, Maureen Kammerer Communications Chair Red Rock Audubon Society www.RedRockAudubon.org Subject: Virginia Lake Reno From: ann murphy <amurphy0607 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:06:44 -0800 Submitted on behalf of Ed Kurtz: There was a female Northern Shelduck in eclipse plumage at Virginia Lake on Sunday 11/1/09 at about 2pm. I used the Steve Madge waterfowl book as reference for this identification. On 11/2/09 there were 3 Great-tailed Grackles and 2 Killdeer at Paradise Park, as well as 1 Black-crowned Night Heron , 2 DC Cormorants, and 5 Hooded Mergansers. Posted for Ed Kurtz by Ann Murphy Subject: A few highlights from today's Pyramid Lake survey From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 22:06:35 -0700 Perhaps Elisabeth Ammon will post a complete wrap-up for the series of waterbird surveys going on today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, so I'll just post a couple of highlights observed today on the survey. Probably the day's highlight was a stunning White-winged Scoter that flew past Pelican Point. More than 20 Greater Scaup in the vicinity of the Sutcliff hatchery were not surprising but very nice to see. One Common Goldeneye was my first for the season. Several Tundra Swans were at the south end (delta). There were seven Bonaparte's Gulls toward the north end of the west side. Gulls near Sutcliff included two adult Herring Gulls, one first-cycle Glaucous-winged Gull, and one first-cycle bird that looked right for "Olympic" Gull, the name sometimes used for a hybrid Glaucous-wing X Western Gull. A good time was had by all! Hopefully some of you will be participating in the surveys tomorrow (Walker Lake) or Wednesday (Topaz Lake and Lahontan Reservoir.) See Elisabeth's post from 10/30/09 for details. Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Oasis Valley From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:01:41 -0500 Parker Ranch (my house north of Beatty, Nye County)-Nov. 1-clear, high 80F American crow-pair hanging out, cawing. Common raven-1 Cooper's hawk-1 Gambels quail-5 American robin-6, feeding on Russian olive nutlets. Northern mockingbird-1 also feeding on Russian olive fruits. Hermit thrush-1 Cedar waxing-4 Bewick's wren-1 Northern flicker (Red-shafted)-2 Amercian pipit-3 Western meadowlark-1 Yellow-rumped warbler- Audubon's-3; Myrtle-1 White-crowned sparrow-20 Dark-eyed junco (Oregon)-2 or 3 Lincoln's sparrow-1 Song sparrow-1 Pine siskin-few Lesser goldfinch-1 American goldfinch-1 Say's phoebe-1 Loggerhead shrike-1 Brewer's blackbird-about 30 Red-winged blackbird-about 20 European starling-about 20 in flock flying around. Eurasian collared dove-6 duck-few flying, unidentified. Subject: Eurasian Wigeons From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:32:28 -0500 Update on Eurasian Wigeons seen on Sunday November 1, 2009 at Willow Creek Golf Course in Pahrump, Nevada. I returned on November 2, 2009 but did not find them. I noticed these three birds because of their behavior. A lady came to feed the ducks and the Eurasian Wigeons did not move with the American Wigeons toward the food. There were three females. They did not mix with the American Wigeons or the Mallards. They were brown overall. The color blended together with no sharp contrast from head to neck. There were no dark areas around their faces like the American Wigeons. There also was no black line at the bill where the bill attaches to the face of the bird like the American Wigeons. They stayed closer to the side of the pond than the American Wigeons did. They were very rich brown looking. Very beautiful.They also were not as comfortable with their surroundings. They startled easier than the American Wigeons did I was comfortable identifying them as Eurasian Wigeons because there were American Wigeon females to compare them with. Subject: FW: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve Located Near Las Vegas From: Bird Preserve <Bird.Preserve AT CITYOFHENDERSON.COM> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 08:30:34 -0800 IMPORTANT FOR THE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER THE BIRD PRESERVES HOURS WILL BE FROM 6:00 AM TO 2:00 PM!!! ________________________________ The following birds were seen this week by staff and visitors from October 26th thru November 1st, 2009. We had Seventy-five (75) species recorded this week. Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Hooded Merganser (female 10/28 pond 1) Ruddy Duck Gambel's Quail Pied-billed Grebe Eared Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Least Bittern Great Egret Snowy Egret Green Heron Black-crowned night Heron White-faced Ibis Northern Harrier Swainson's Hawk (10/27 Wisconsin visitor) Red-tailed Hawk American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon Sora Common Moorhen American Coot Killdeer Greater Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull (10/29 pond 3 seen by Je Anne and Steve from Australia) Ring-billed Gull Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Greater Roadrunner White-throated Swift (10/29 seen by Je Anne and Steve from Australia) Black-chinned Hummingbird Costa's Hummingbird Red-shafted Flicker Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Cassin's Kingbird Loggerhead Shrike Common Raven Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow (10/29 seen by Je Anne & Steve from Australia) Northern Rough-winged Swallow Barn Swallow Verdin Bewick's Wren Marsh Wren Bewick's Wren Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Crissal Thrasher American Pipit (10/26 pond 1) Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) Abert's Towhee Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird Great-tailed Grackle House Finch DON'T FORGET YOUR HAT, SUNSCREEN AND WATER!!!! It's still hot plan on coming early. Open 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, last entry is at 1:30 pm. You need about two hours to bird the Preserve. Directions from the I515 (US 93 & 95), take exit 64, Sunset Road east. Follow the signs (blue signs with white letters), turn left (north) on Moser. For more information call 702-267-4180. Best in birding, Je Anne Branca Subject: Western Meadowlarks and other Yard birds From: Steve Ting <sctingdvm AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 22:00:13 -0800 Northern Nevada - Washoe Valley Hello all, For the fourth year in a row I have Western Meadowlarks coming into my bird feeders. Nothing totally out of the ordinary but a little odd. They primarily feed off of the ground, though last year I had one taking peanuts from a platform. For Halloween I had a Cooper's Hawk butcher one of my young roosters. Sad day for the rooster, though it gave me a nice opportunity to get photos of this young accipiter. For those that remember the juvenile Sharpie that I posted photos of last year, this bird gave nice views showing some of the field markings to compare species. Especially the thicker legs, head shape and thin streaks on the breast. I posted some photos of the Cooper's Hawk and his victim at the following link. There are some graphic images, if those type of things bother you. - http://stingphotography.com/phlogs/2009/october/30-oct.html If you would like to compare these photos to a Juvenile Sharpie see this link - http://stingphotography.com/phlogs/2008/november/30-nov.html I also posted a few other yard birds including a Yellow variant House Finch if any one is interested - http://stingphotography.com/phlogs/2009/november/1-nov.html Regards, Steve http://stingphotography.com/index.html Birds seen around my yard the last week: Location: My Backyard Observation date: 10/30/09 Number of species: 15 California Quail - Callipepla californica 60 Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 1 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1 Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 100 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 1 Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica 8 Black-billed Magpie - Pica hudsonia 2 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 100 White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 12 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 30 Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta 1 Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus 20 House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus X Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria 11 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org Location: My Backyard Observation date: 11/1/09 Number of species: 16 Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos X California Quail - Callipepla californica 25 Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1 American Kestrel - Falco sparverius 1 Rock Pigeon - Columba livia 60 Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 1 Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica 8 European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris X White-crowned Sparrow - Zonotrichia leucophrys 6 Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus X Western Meadowlark - Sturnella neglecta 2 Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus X House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus X Lesser Goldfinch - Carduelis psaltria 8 American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis 2 House Sparrow - Passer domesticus X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: NV; Southern Tip: 11/2/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:45:46 -0800 Today I explored Nevada's "Lower Colorado River Valley" from Cottonwood Cove on Lake Mojave south to the Fort Mohave/Avi area east of Needles. The main word I would use to describe the birding was boring, but you don't know unless you go.... Waterfowl were practically non-existant at all sites. The only notable bird at Cottonwood Cove was a hen WOOD DUCK which looked out of place on the open water. The only duck visible from the Davis Dam area in Laughlin was a male HOODED MERGANSER. I checked out Big Bend State Park and walked south along the river bank a ways from here. Notable birds included a total of 11 Wilson's Snipe, 9 Least Sandpipers, 2 Red-naped Sapsuckers, a Common Yellowthroat, and a Pink-sided Junco. In the Fort Mohave/Avi area I found a large concentration of birds immediately outside the subdivision on the south side of the golf course (Spring something....). Birding from the public road I saw a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER eating fan palm fruit. In the parking lot of the course was a Red-naped Sapsucker. A course employee approached me and did not tell me to leave, but wanted to make sure I wasn't planning to step onto the course, which I was not, of course. A flock of ~40 Northern Rough-winged Swallows were in the area. The area around this course looks like *the* spot to find a ruddy ground-dove in NV this winter, though it will be hard given the lack of access. The nearby agricultural fields (at least those in NV) were planted in cotton and thus provided no suitable habitat for things like Mountain Plover, Sprague's Pipit, Etc. I heard from Greg that Darlene Feener had seen 3 Eurasian Wigeons in Pahrump, so I began a hasty retreat back towards home via the Willow Creek Golf Course. There, the only wigeons I could find were Americans, though I admit to not studying the females real closely (not sure I know how to separate the females accurately). I did see 2 different male VERMILION FLYCATHCERS. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: Floyd Lamb Park/Corn Creek: 10/31/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:29:10 -0800 Saturday afternoon I birded at Floyd Lamb Park in north Las Vegas. Numbers of both birds and humans were about as low as I've ever seen them there. Juncos were pretty numerous including up to 5 PINK-SIDED and 2 SLATE-COLORED. Also present were 3 American Goldfinches and 2 Red-naped Sapsuckers. Corn Creek in the evening was a little frustrating with most of the interesting birds evading conclusive identification. Perhaps most intriguing was a Thrasher which flew across the trail in front of me and was momentarily glimpsed in the brush. The overall color and bill shape suggested this was not the expected Crissal Thrahser. It was definately not bright enough for the brown thrasher reported recently though the structure was closer to this species. It struck me as a possible Curve-billed, though I didn't see enough to really know and it was probably the light and/or my imagination playing tricks on me. Something to consider if you're out there. I suppose Bendire's is also a possibility, although the bill looked too curved. Secondly,there was a *Catharus* thrush which I suspect was a Swainson's, though this is getting very late for that species. First look was of a moderately rufous tail which made me think Hermit Thrush (the most expected species). As the bird turned I noted that the spots on the breast were a warm brown color rather than the blackish color expected of a hermit. I never saw the face pattern and the bird promptly vanished following a *very*close call with a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Finally, a distantly-seen sapsucker certainly looked good for a pure Red-breasted. This species is making a good showing this year along the SE extent of its range, though I didn't see this bird well enough to rule out a hybrid. About the only thing I'm sure of was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE with a few faint spots remaining on it's upper breast suggesting a first fall bird. Saturday morning in Goldstrike Canyon near Hoover Dam I had about a dozen Black-throated Sparrows which will most certainly stay for the winter. I'm sure it's not news to birders in southern NV that this species winters in the state, though the major field guides don't show this on their range maps. Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: South Meadows Wetlands From: Jim Diane <woobib AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:58:29 -0800 I made a quick visit to the Veteran's pond (west) and the Bucephalus Pkwy pond (west- near gun club) at the South Meadows Wetlands. The waterfowl were well represented and the other types were few, the species observed were: (Veterans pond) Gadwall-a, Mallard-c, Green Wing Teal-a, Coot -a, Calif & Ring billed gull flock (35), Pied-billed grebe (8), Common Merganser (7), Bufflehead (7), Gr. Blue Heron (2), Eared Grebe (9),Ruddy Duck(6) N. Shoveler- o, Greater Yellow legs, W Crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Kestrel, Red Tailed Hawk, N. Harrier. Marsh Wren(?) (Bucephalus pond ) Green Wing Teal -a, Mallard - o, Gadwall - a, Common Merganser (8), Pied-billed Grebe(5), Common Loon (1), Least S.P. (3), Long Billed Dowitcher (5), N. Harrier (2), Kestrel (2), N. Flicker (2), Am Pipit (15), Eared Grebe (6), Sparrow sp. Jim Woods 775-720-7009 Jim AT birdingnevada.com Subject: Willow Creek Golf Course; Pahrump, Nv. (Nye) From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 14:23:19 -0500 Sharp shinned hawks (2) American Kestrels (3) Mourning Doves (15) Black Phoebes (2) Anna's Hummingbirds (6) in one tree American Coots (8) Red-winged Blackbirds (9) Mallards (42) Yellow-rumped Warblers (3) Common Grackles (many) Red-naped Sapsuckers (2) both males Say's Phoebe (1) Eruasian Collared Dove (1) American Pipits (27) Great Blue Heron (1) Western Meadowlarks (29) White crowned Sparrows (5) Lesser Goldfinches (8) Pied billed Grebes (2) Vermillion Flycatcher (2) one male and one female Western Bluebirds (9) Ruby crowned Kinglet (2) Gambel's Quail (6) Crissal Thrashers (2) American Wigeons (11) Eurasian Wigeon (3) Subject: Pine Siskin From: Nancy Santos <nancylas AT ATT.NET> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:28:23 -0700 Oct 30: Observed one pine siskin in my south Carson City backyard. Nancy Santos Subject: Pahranagat Valley 10/25/09 (White-throated Sparrow) From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:57:26 -0700 Last Sunday 10/25/09 I birded the Pahranagat Valley in Lincoln County. Sorry for the late post. Lower Pahranagat Lake, Pahranagat NWR -Bonaparte's Gull -Bufflehead -Sage Sparrow Roadside Rest, Pahranagat NWR -Dark-eyed Junkos (Gray-headed, Pink-sided, Oregon & Slate-colored) Middle Marsh, Pahranagat NWR -American Goldfinches -Pine Siskins Trees South of Upper Lake Dam -Winter Wren -Red-naped Sapsucker Alamo (of First South St.) -WHITE-THROATED SPARROW - tan-striped -Inca Dove -Great-tailed Grackles -Vermillion Flycatcher (male) Ash Springs -Orange-crowned Warbler -Black Phoebes (2) Nesbitt Lake, Key Pittman WMA -Orange-crowned Warbler -Pine Siskins (~6) Greg Scyphers Subject: White-fronted Geese, Wood Ducks, Lemmon Valley (10/31/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:23:57 -0400 Lemmon Valley, Washoe Co (10/31/09) We walked around the Lemmon Valley sewage ponds this morning. There were lots of waterfowl though diving duck numbers were still low & there were no goldeneyes as yet. Highlights included 2 White-fronted Geese & 2 Wood Ducks. Apart from a big marshy patch adjoining the ponds, the playa was dry with no birds except Horned Larks & a Northern Harrier or two. Here’s the complete list (27 sps) Greater White-fronted Goose—2 flying into the ponds with a big bunch of Canadas Canada Goose--160 Wood Duck—2 females Gadwall--some American Wigeon--some Mallard--lots Northern Shoveler—most abundant duck Northern Pintail--some Green-winged Teal--lots Redhead--2-3 Canvasback—2-3 Lesser Scaup--1 male Ruddy Duck--some Bufflehead—6-8 Eared Grebe--?15 Northern Harrier—1-2 Red-tailed Hawk--2 American Coot Killdeer—6-8 Ring-billed Gull California Gull Rock Pigeon Northern Flicker--1 Say's Phoebe—1 Horned Lark—big flocks far out on playa Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow The tan-striped White-throated Sparrow (which I first saw on the 28th) was at my feeders in NW Reno again this noon. Fred Petersen Subject: Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve 10-30-09 From: Randall Michal <rmichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:43:16 -0400 Hello all, This morning Babette and I went to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve to walk and see what birds were around. It was a very nice morning, the winds from the storm having died down. Here is the complete list of observed birds: Eared Grebe (Many) Pied-billed Grebe (Many) Clark's Grebe (1) Western Grebe (2) Double-crested Cormorant (2) Great Egret (2) Snowy Egret (8) Green Heron (Many) Black-crowned Night-heron (50+) Wood Duck (We saw 1 female, 2 males have also been reported) Mallard (Many) Gadwall (Many) American Wigeon (4) Northern Shoveler (Many) Cinnamon Teal (Many) Green-winged Teal (Many) Ring-necked Duck (Many) Lesser Scaup (3 on Pond 2, 2 F, 1 M) Bufflehead (20+) Ruddy Duck (Many) Red-tailed Hawk (2) Northern Harrier (1) Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Gambel's Quail (Many) Common Moorhen (Many) American Coot (Many) Killdeer (1) Greater Yellowlegs (2) Mourning Dove (2) Greater Roadrunner (1) Costa's Hummingbird (2) Anna's Hummingbird(3) Say's Phoebe (5) Loggerhead Shrike (1) Barn Swallow (Many) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (2) Bank Swallow (1) Tree Swallow (4) Violet-green Swallow (1) (We did not observe this bird initially, but saw it in a photograph taken by Babette) Verdin (Many) Marsh Wren (Many) Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Many) Crissal Thrasher (3) Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audobon's) (Many) Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle's) (1) Abert's Towhee (Many) White-crowned Sparrow (Many) Savannah Sparrow (2) Red-winged Blackbird (Many) Great-tailed Grackle (Many) Randy Michal Subject: Reno bird sightings From: ann murphy <amurphy0607 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:12:27 -0700 Submitted on behalf of Ed Kurtz: On Oct.28'09 there were 2 female Lawrence's Goldfinches on a Russian thistle on Galletti Way near the cement plant. They were a diffuse brown on the face with yellow on the belly. I got a good look at them. I looked through several field guides later that day & am certain that they were Lawrence's. On Oct.30'09 at Paradise Park there were 7 Hooded Mergansers, 1 Western Grebe, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Ruddy Duck & 3 DCCormorants. Posted for Ed Kurtz by Ann Murphy Subject: Las Vegas Area Miscellaneous: 10/30/09 From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:13:19 -0700 BLUE DIAMOND: Red-shouldered Hawk Vermilon Flycatcher male Mountain Bluebird 2 Chipping Sparrow 9 SPRING MOUNTAINS RANCH SP Long-eared Owl LOST CREEK TRAIL, Red Rock Canyon NCA Hermit Thrush 2 *I had gone mostly to check on the status of the netleaf hackberry grove, which I was disappointed to find was fruitless SUNSET PARK Not much BOULDER BEACH Horned Grebe 2 Hermit Thrush 1: Campground Costa's Hummingbird: RV Park 33 HOLE OVERLOOK, LAKE MEAD Horned Grebe 1 SUNSET OVERLOOK, LAKE MEAD Common Loon 1 Carl Lundblad Ash Meadows, NV Subject: waterbird survey helpers needed, Pyramid, Walker, Topaz lakes From: Elisabeth Ammon <ammon AT GBBO.ORG> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:44:52 -0700 Hi birders - to those of you in the greater Reno area: We are looking for some volunteers to help count migrating waterbirds in western terminal lakes next Monday through Wednesday (or only one of these days). We are primarily interested in fish-eating waterbirds (loons, grebes, etc.), but will look for whatever rarities we can find, as well. Here is the schedule: Nov 2 (Mon): Pyramid Lake, meet at 9 a.m. at Pelican Point (few miles past Sutcliff); need 2-3 people on boats, and 4-5 on shorelines Nov 3 (Tue): Walker Lake, meet at 9:30 a.m. at Sportsman's beach (few miles before town of Walker); need 1-2 people on boat, 3-4 on shorelines Nov 4 (Wed): Topaz Lake and Lahontan Reservoir; need 4-5 people each for shorelines (reply to me directly, and we'll set a meeting time/place) All of these should be over by mid-afternoon, but do bring lunch and water. If you have a scope, please bring it. We have funding for travel expenses. Please reply to me directly, not the list, if you'd like to join us. Or call my cell (below). Thanks a lot in advance! Elisabeth -- Elisabeth M. Ammon Executive Director Great Basin Bird Observatory 1755 E. Plumb Lane #256 Reno, NV 89502 ph/fx (775) 323-4226 cell (775) 722-9116 ammon AT gbbo.org Visit GBBO online at www.gbbo.org! Subject: Mountain chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Ruby-crowned kinglet From: David Worley <daveworl AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:43:08 -0400 After last Sunday's post, I had a mountain chickadee come in to suet I'd put out earlier in the morning. We don't see them a lot at our place north of UNR. A Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) warbler has been about (a winter regular), and this afternoon the first of the season ruby-crowned kinglet I've seen showed up in our pines. Dave Worley Reno, Nevada Subject: White-throated Sparrow, NW Reno (10/28/09) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:38:14 -0400 NW Reno, Washoe Co (10/28/09) There was a White-throated Sparrow (brown-striped morph) at my feeder just now, the first in 4 years. The last one—also brown-striped—was on October 31st, 2005, so late October appears to be a time to look out for them locally. Fred Petersen