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11 May UCR Extension Birding Trip to Southeast Arizona [Merlin_Mira_Loma ] 11 May Cave Swallow Continues ["Steve Sosensky" ] 10 May Whitewater Canyon, 10 May ["Stephen J. Myers" ] 10 May ovenbird in el centro [] 10 May Eastern Mojave - May 8 -9 , 2008, Bendire's, Lucy's, Gilded, & Hepatic [Richard J Norton ] 9 May Salton SeaBooby & Ruff [Richard Carlson ] 09 May Prado Regional Park ["Howard King" ] 09 May More on Western SB Mountains ["robertshaw_peter" ] 09 May Re: CAVE SWALLOW continues.... ["Don Roberson" ] 09 May Western S.B. Mtns. ["Brad Singer" ] 08 May Southeastern CA RBA: May 8, 2008 [Tom Benson ] 8 May Forest falls: Dippers and Bighorns ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 08 May blythe birds, birds ,birds I thought of it first . ["higson_roger" ] 08 May Bird Walk on the Santa Rosa Plateau [Charity Hagen ] 7 May Grasshopper Sparrows--CSUSB ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 7 May Prado Regional Park - Least Bittern [Joe Parker ] 7 May cave swallow continues [Oscar Johnson ] 7 May re: CV Wild Bird Center [] 06 May Cave Swallow Continues - Tuesday - May 6, 2008 ["Richard J. Norton" ] 6 May Scissor-tailed Flycatcher update ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 5 May Morongo Canyon & Luckie Park [Joe Parker ] 5 May Re: [CALBIRDS] Possible Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 29 Palms ["Jim Hardesty" ] 06 May Cave Swallow ["Andy Lazere" ] 05 May East Mojave springs ["vireos44" ] 5 May Vaux's swifts home invasion / Redlands ["Matthew Baker" ] 05 May Purple Martins, Lark Bunting [] 5 May Salton Sea [Joe Parker ] 05 May calliope hummingbird and Lawrence's goldfinches - highway 38 ["bdawson66" ] 04 May Cave Swallow Sunday Salton Sea [Thomas Miko ] 04 May Cave Swallow Sunday Salton Sea [Thomas Miko ] 4 May Common Loon [Oscar Johnson ] 04 May Cave Swallow Continues ["toddamcgrath" ] 4 May HY RS Hawk Pachappa ["Lidia Seebeck" ] 03 May Munchies ["alkelley36" ] 04 May SBVAS Morongo Trip ["Brad Singer" ] 03 May CAVE SWALLOW update Saturday ["barbarac2003" ] 3 May South end of the Salton Sea - 2 May 2008 ["Guy McCaskie" ] 2 May Cave Swallow update ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 2 May Cave Swallow update ["Koonce, Sandy" ] 02 May CAVE SWALLOW continues.... ["barbarac2003" ] 02 May Morongo (timing question) ["kyrifreeman" ] 02 May CAVE SWALLOW at south end of Salton Sea ["barbarac2003" ] 02 May Luckie Park this morning ["Ann and Eric Brooks" ] 01 May Harper Dry Lake, Mojave Narrows,Helendale Sewage ponds ["Bob and Susan Steele" ] 01 May Fwd: Virginia's Warbler and Franklin Gull [] 02 May blythe birds, good for furriners, but we loves our preshus inland birds, master ["higson_roger" ] 01 May Southeastern CA RBA: May 1, 2008 [Tom Benson ] 01 May Re: Piute Ponds confusion [] 30 Apr Re: High Desert Birding [Thomas Miko ] 01 May Swainson's hawks ["m.gurbada" ] 01 May High Desert Birding ["Bill Deppe" ] 01 May blythe birds, hopes continue, birds ["higson_roger" ] Subject: UCR Extension Birding Trip to Southeast Arizona From: Merlin_Mira_Loma <max_ab6ns AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 20:54:11 -0700 Kurt Leuschner is leading a birding class for UCR Extension to Southeast Arizona June 14 to June 22, 2008. For more information, go to www.extension.ucr.edu and type the course number in the search box: 074-SCF-F25. Good birding, Madeline Subject: Cave Swallow Continues From: "Steve Sosensky" <Steve AT Sosensky.com> Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 8:55:00 -0700 Hi All, The Cave Swallow continues at the hunt club on Pound Rd between Davis and English at the south end of the Salton Sea. Good birding, Steve Sosensky steve AT sosensky.com Aliso Viejo cell: 818-522-5261 Subject: Whitewater Canyon, 10 May From: "Stephen J. Myers" <stephenmyers AT earthlink.net> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:38:53 -0700 Sunny, warm weather greeted participants of the San Bernardino Valley Audubon / Mojave Desert Bird Club trip to Whitewater Canyon, Riverside Co., today. Migrants were scarce - only Wilson's Warblers and "Western" Flycatchers approached normal numbers for the date. Highlights were some of the nesting species: an estimated 5 territories of Brown-crested Flycatchers, 4 of Summer Tanagers, and 5 of Yellow Warblers. Lawrences's Goldfinches are also present, and probably nesting. Habitat restoration of the Whitewater Preserve (formerly the trout farm) is proceeding nicely, with cottonwoods, sycamores, willows, and alders growing like weeds. This place is going to be pretty special in a few years! Steve [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: ovenbird in el centro From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 19:04:30 -0400 Doug Willick reports the following: I managed to find an Ovenbird at the Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro on Tuesday, May 6.??The Ovenbird was working the row of Oleander along the southern edge of the cemetery, about 150 feet west of the small, fenced-in concrete lined pond.?? Also that day was a somewhat early Willow Flycatcher (also in the cemetery).?Did not see the Ovenbird on May 7th, but did not spend much time there. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Eastern Mojave - May 8 -9 , 2008, Bendire's, Lucy's, Gilded, & Hepatic From: Richard J Norton <richardjnorton AT verizon.net> Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:38:54 -0700 Leaving Los Angeles at noon on Thursday, took a hastily arranged trip to the Eastern Mojave with Jim Abernathy and Wanda Dameron. First stop was Zzyzx, where only a handful of migrants, mostly Wilson's Warblers, were seen. Most interesting sighting was a total of about 25 Rock Wrens found along the road leading in from Highway 15. Next a quick stop behind Denny's in Baker netted no non-introduced birds save two Killdeer. It appears that the Bendire's Thrashers have bred and a presumptive (note use of trendy word in bird report) family group of four was easily seen a mile or two south of the Powerline Road crossing along Kelbaker Road. The habitat contains seemingly dead tall bushes with some sort of parasitic plant growing on them. An expected Lucy's Warbler was found in the tamarisks just west of the Kelso Depot. Gilded Flicker was tough to find. We drove around for an hour and a half Thursday night along Cima Road and dirt roads sighting only two obvious hybrids. The hybrids show a reddish tinge to the underwings. After overnighting in Primm, NV, we resumed the search on Friday morning, driving through Joshua Tree habitat, looking and listening for flickers. Finally, on our way out from Powerline Road to Cima Road a female landed in a Joshua Tree and remained for an extended scope view. The bird was northwest of the Powerline Road - Cima Road junction. On Friday morning about 7 AM we were driving on a dirt road leading south from Cima when we found an unexpected (at least for me) male Hepatic Tanager in Joshua Tree habitat. The road can be thought of as somewhat of an extension of Cima Road, that is south of Kelso-Cima Road. It starts just to the east of the intersection, and you need to cross the train tracks to access it. I've found Gilded Flickers in the great Joshua Tree forest there previously, but none were seen on this trip. There was another Bendire's Thrasher seen however, not far south of the train tracks. Mid-Hills Campground yielded 20 or so common western migrants, but no sightings of titmouse. An attempt to convince a certain member of our party to drive the dirt roads along the north side of Clark Mountain was unfortunately unsuccessful, and we embarrassingly returned home with no titmouse sightings. Sigh. Dick Norton Topanga, CA Subject: Salton SeaBooby & Ruff From: Richard Carlson <rccarl AT pacbell.net> Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 20:51:22 -0700 (PDT) May 8 Blue-footed Booby did perfect profile flyby visible thru my scope from end of Garst. 100's of Black Terns + Phalaropes May 9 Ruff in flooded field SE of ref HQ Yellow-footed Gull + Gull billed Terns at Obsidian Point 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: Prado Regional Park From: "Howard King" <redhillbrd AT aol.com> Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 22:06:47 -0000 The VERMILION FLYCATCHER chick at Prado Regional Parkhas successfully fledged and was following it's parents around this morning. There were quite a few VAUX'S SWIFTS passing thru also. Other birds included continuing LEAST BITTERNS, BLUE GROSBEAKS, BELL'S VIREOS and YELLOW- BREASTED CHATS. Cheers..Howard King BTW..the gunfire heard from the park comes from the former 1984 Olympic shooting venue across Euclid. Now used to train right wing juntas Subject: More on Western SB Mountains From: "robertshaw_peter" <proberts AT csusb.edu> Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 20:25:16 -0000 Here in Crestline I also had my first warblers of the year yesterday - Townsend's and Wilson's, as well as my first Western Tanager. Last week a couple of Ash-Throated Flycatchers visited, while Bullock's Orioles and BH Grosbeaks have been around for quite some time. On the other hand, spring hummingbird migration seems to be just about finished. Peter Robertshaw Subject: Re: CAVE SWALLOW continues.... From: "Don Roberson" <creagrus AT montereybay.com> Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 17:19:13 -0000 The Cave Swallow was present again on Thursday morning, May 8, over the hunt club on Pound at the same location previously reported. Almost no swallows were present early (just one Tree, one Barn at 6:45) but numbers of Barn built to 9 by 8 a.m., with a few Tree & Rough-winged. The Cave Swallow and two Cliff Swallows arrived at 8 a.m., flew around the buildings (seemingly looking along the eves for nest sites?) and over the ponds for a short while, and then flew off at 8:10 a.m. The Cave and two Cliffs did not perch but permitting nice flight views. About the same time they left, all the other swallow also departed, altough some Barns came back by 8:30. Other birders arrived when I left, and may have further developments. D. Roberson Subject: Western S.B. Mtns. From: "Brad Singer" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 16:41:36 -0000 Birds are finally starting to show in the mountains. I received an email from Eric Tipton of Running Springs, and he had Wilson's, Townsend, Hermit, and Orange-crowned Warblers along with a Warbling Vireo in his backyard yesterday. In addition, he has a pair of possibly breeding Bullock's Orioles nearby. At Grass Valley Lake in Lake Arrowhead, I have seen during the week Bullock's Orioles, Yellow and Wilson's warblers, Red-breasted Sapsucker (photo), Black-headed grosbeaks, many Purple Finches and a lost and lonely male Gadwall (nothing really exciting but nice to know they are appearing). Finally, for those needing a Fox Sparrow for their yearly list, Keller Peak Road (out of Arrowbear) is open again, and they are in abundance 4 miles up the road at Children's Forest. Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: May 8, 2008 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 13:08:00 -0700 RBA * California * Southeastern * May 8, 2008 * CASE0805.08 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Greater White-fronted Goose Cackling Goose Surf Scoter Common Loon Least Bittern White-tailed Kite Swainson's Hawk Solitary Sandpiper Red Knot Sanderling Franklin's Gull Heermann's Gull Yellow-footed Gull Calliope Hummingbird Hammond's Flycatcher Dusky Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Purple Martin *CAVE SWALLOW* Virginia's Warbler Lark Bunting Grasshopper Sparrow Bronzed Cowbird Cassin's Finch Pine Siskin - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was at the Helendale sewage ponds on May 1 (Bob and Susan Steele). A SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER was seen at Luckie Park in 29 Palms May 1 through May 6 (fide Ann and Eric Brooks, m. obs.). A pair of PURPLE MARTINS was seen at Lost Lake on May 3 (Dave Goodward). Several HAMMOND's FLYCATCHERS, DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, PINE SISKINS, and CASSIN'S FINCHES and a couple CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS were reported from various springs (San Bernardino and Inyo Counties) in the Eastern Mojave Desert May 3-4 (Jim Pike) Two LEAST BITTERNS were seen at Prado Regional Park on May 6 (Kathy Parker). Two GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were singing in the hills behind Cal State San Bernardino on May 7 (Sandy Koonce). RIVERSIDE COUNTY A VIRGINIA'S WARBLER was reported from Red Coud Road west of Desert Center on May 1 (Sean Fitzgerald). A LARK BUNTING was seen at Mystic Lake on May (Dave Goodward). A COMMON LOON was at the mouth of Salt Creek on May 3 (Oscar Johnson). A FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen at the Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center on May 3 (Sandy Swan). IMPERIAL COUNTY A FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen south of Obsidian Butte on May 1 (Sean Fitzgerald). A *CAVE SWALLOW* was found on May 2 in the Hunt Club area at the south end of the Salton Sea and continues through May 6. The swallow was seen on the north side of Pound between Davis and English near several buildings, a metal tower and some ponds. The swallow was flying around the ponds or perched on nearby wires with Barn and Cliff Swallows. Early mornings seem to be the best time to observe this bird (Guy McCaskie, m. obs.). Also at the south end of the Salton Sea on May 2 were a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and a CACKLING GOOSE at Sunbeam Lake, 3 SURF SCOTERS at Red Hill Marina, a SWAINSONS's HAWK and a WHITE-TAILED KITE near the intersections of Pound and English, 15 RED KNOTS at the north end of Poe Road, 3 HEERMANN'S GULLS at Rock Hill and another 2 at Obsidian Butte, 2 YELLOW-FOOTED GULLS at Red Hill and 1 more at Obsidian Butte, 1 LEAST TERN near Wister, and 2 CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS near the southeast corner of El Centro (Guy McCaskie). A FRANKLIN's GULL and a SANDERLING were seen at Red Hill Marina, 3 YELLOW-FOOTED GULLS were south of Obsidian Butte, and a BRONZED COWBIRD was at Cattle Call Park on May 4 (Thomas Miko, Kathy Parker). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909)648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513 E: tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA 93305 E: jcwilson AT lightspeed.net RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507 E: bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ IMPORTANT: Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA are not reported to Inlandcountybirds. Sites and phone numbers where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below. If you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or phone number first, in addition to this RBA. Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and your name = YOUR real name). Orange County has an RBA update mailing list. To subscribe, write to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu There is also an Orange County Listserv. Messages can be viewed there at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County has its own Listserv. You can view messages at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS*** The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to: http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html*** Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports. To subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-subscribe AT yahoogroups.com*** Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Some Kern County reports are posted at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be viewed at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be viewed at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website: http://www.sbvas.org Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 *** Monterey Bay RBA (831)626-6605 Morro Bay RBA (805) 528-7182 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 *** Santa Barbara RBA (805) 964-8240 (report to (805)-964-1316) Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 Southern California BIRDBOX (818) 952-5502 + 5 *** CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Forest falls: Dippers and Bighorns From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 11:25:09 -0700 This morning at Forest Falls there was a pair of AMERICAN DIPPERS in the stream below Big Falls. A little later on, I saw six BIGHORN SHEEP browsing in the wash around Mill Creek, adjacent to the picnic area. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: blythe birds, birds ,birds I thought of it first . From: "higson_roger" <art.higson AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 01:48:53 -0000 greetings, thankyou inland county birders for your reports "With colour" ! Office windows, last walk of the season, enjoying the Least Bittern, and imaging the returning "Cow trampled springs", sadly I drop back in time in smell as well ! Most excellent, the smallest observation is not wasted. Read a Condor magazine from 1936, and see what I mean. Here, no GREAT happening over the weekend , but enough to keep me happy !Vaux swift shewed up, as did more W Tanagers in a tree than I saw all of last year, W Vireo, Assorted warblers in decent #s ie more than 3.This "am" singing Blue Grosbeaks at dawn.A bit here and a bit there, beggars can not be choosers.In the odd birding dpt,still a flock of 11 waxwings,a Red Tailed Hawk of no flavour I am used to. By this time of the year I have just my "Fuertes" type nesting, which they are, Still Goldeneyes on the river, and fish ponds. Osprey carrying a giant twig /branch up river. And in influx of Plegadis Ibii, which cost me half a day Sunday, as I followed them around (picture posted) No Glossies, then the other half regretting the action. WARNING. Never park at the low end of an Alfalfa field that is perfectly dry, and chase Ibis in surrounding flooded fields for 2 plus hours. Someone might innocently decide to flood that field while you are gone, assuming nobody would be stupid to park like that. Meet Mr stupid. We will leave the whole mess there. I was in the local book store.ie aisle 6a in K-mart, when I came across a rack of "Whatever" for Dummies. I am thinking "Reading for Dummies" A blank yellow cover and 60 pages of blank paper. You try to follow the tortured logic path!!!. Still figuring out how to market "Metric car jumper cables", "Designed for your Import car" regards rh and Russels chewing up my shoes, oh well it was time for a new pair I guess. I like to buy at least one pair of sneakers a year, that way when I have to go somewhere special, I only have to choose between the least chewed sneakers, the better of two pairs of jeans and assorted K Mart Hawaian shirts. Works for me. SWMBO won't take me anywhere,ie if "You are not coming to the 4H piano recital if you look like that !" Hurts sometimes ! Subject: Bird Walk on the Santa Rosa Plateau From: Charity Hagen <czy4brds AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 01:31:53 -0700 Hello, I just wanted to let everyone know that there is going to be a bird walk on the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve in Murrieta this Saturday, May 10. We will be looking for migrants and breeding birds. All are welcome to attend regardless of experience. The walk starts at 8AM, meet at the visitors center which is located on Clinton Keith Road 4 miles west of Interstate 15. If you need more details feel free to ask! Charity Hagen Subject: Grasshopper Sparrows--CSUSB From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 12:02:11 -0700 This morning two GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS were singing from the hills behind (east of) Cal State San Bernardino, in roughly the same place that Tom Benson discovered them last spring. I also checked out Lost Lake, but didn't see any Purple Martins. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Prado Regional Park - Least Bittern From: Joe Parker <jandkparker AT mindspring.com> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:21:16 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Yesterday morning I had an extremely cooperative male LEAST BITTERN at Prado Regional Park, San Bernardino Co. Thanks to Howard King's directions and tips, I took the Euclid Ave. exit off the 71. After paying my $5 entrance fee, I turned right into the first parking lot and positioned the car to peruse the various cattail clumps. One bittern flew from one clump to another, but fairly far away and it was more of a silouette than anything else. After about an hour, I looked straight across the arm of the lake and there was a LEAST BITTERN perched on a cattail leaf, out in the open on the edge of a clump. He was there for five minutes and I think he was singing. His throat would expand and contract, just like a frog when it is croaking. He then calmly turned around and made his way back into the cattails. FABULOUS!!!!! Driving around the park, there was a male BLUE GROSBEAK, WESTERN KINGBIRDS, 1 CLARK'S GREBE and (gasp) WILSON'S WARBLERS. Thanks again Howard, Kathy Parker Los Gatos PS Is there a shooting range somewhere around there? There was sure alot of shooting going on. The birds were not fazed, but I sure was when it started. Subject: cave swallow continues From: Oscar Johnson <henicorhina AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 08:29:24 -0700 (PDT) All, Just got a message from Matt Brady that he and John Sterling saw the Cave Swallow this morning (7 May) at its usual spot. Good birding, Oscar Johnson Santa Barbara ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: re: CV Wild Bird Center From: CYGNETS2 AT aol.com Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 11:11:04 EDT Saturday 3 May Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center - Indio We had a calm, sunny day for our last public bird walk of the season. 51 species were seen; list included Double-crested Cormorant, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Wilson's Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Franklin's Gull (just 1), Bonaparte's Gull, Black-throated Grey Warbler, and American Goldfinch. Public walks will resume in the fall. Thanks to all who came out for our bird walks this season, and to everyone who supports the rehabilitation work of the Wild Bird Center through their donations, membership, and volunteering. Good birding to all- Sandy Swan **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cave Swallow Continues - Tuesday - May 6, 2008 From: "Richard J. Norton" <richardjnorton AT verizon.net> Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 19:46:40 -0700 The Cave Swallow at the South Salton Sea was seen again around 8:25 am Tues, May 6. It continues to roost with Barn Swallows on the power lines connected to the Hunt Club on Pound Road. The birds come and go, evidently feeding on insects above the irrigation ditch under the main lines. There were good numbers of Western Tanagers ,Wilson's Warblers and Warbling Vireos among other migrants in the Tamarisks along Pound and Davis Road. For whatever it is worth no swallows there around midday Monday. We returned around 5 pm, staying thru dusk; while other birds came into the general area for the night, the swallows didn't! Glad to see lotsa Burrowing Owls and MANY Lesser Nighthawks, one on a fencepost south of the Club in daylight. Cheers, Wanda Dameron & Heather Medvitz Canoga Park, CA wanda.dameron AT sbcglobal.net Subject: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher update From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 14:09:31 -0700 The SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER continued today in Luckie Park in 29 Palms. It was in the extreme southwestern corner of the park, and occasionally flew to the south and west, out of the park and out of sight. It seemed that the bird was building a nest; at any rate, I saw it carrying nesting material to the same location several times. This location is on a telephone pole on the south side of the Recreation building that is along Joe David Drive, just west of the park. This pole has three large transformers on it. Below the transformers is the top of a pipe that shields electrical wires. It appeared that the bird was building the nest on top of this pipe. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Morongo Canyon & Luckie Park From: Joe Parker <jandkparker AT mindspring.com> Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 21:01:42 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Spent the morning at Morongo Canyon and Covington Park. Again, WILSON'S WARBLERs were EVERYWHERE. Other warblers were 2 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERs, 1 NASHVILLE WARBLER, 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERs, and 4 seen YELLOW-BREASTED CHATs. Met a man who had seen a TENNESSEE WARBLER and a lady in a birding group saw a VIRGINIA'S WARBLER - I didn't see either one. Between post 19 and 18, a VIRGINIA RAIL scurried through the marsh. Four BROWN-CRESTED FLYCATCHERs and 8 SUMMER TANAGERs were fun to see. Some of the other birds seen were VERMILION FLYCATCHERs, WESTERN BLUEBIRDs, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKs, WARBLING, BELL'S and CASSIN'S VIREOs, SWAINSON'S THRUSHes, a beautiful male HOODED ORIOLE, and BLACK-CHINNED & a female COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRDs. The afternoon was definitely not as birdy as the morning, unless you count all the GREAT-TAILED GRACKLEs. Went to Luckie Park in 29 Palms hoping to see the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER again. After about 4 1/2 hours of walking around the park, I finally got a quick look at her. She flew in from the neighborhood to the west of the park and landed on a soccer goal frame. After about 15 seconds, a munchkin baseball player let a hit get past him and ran to the goal to get the ball. The flycatcher flew back into the neighborhood. Andy Lazere had kept me company for part of the afternoon and he found the bed and breakfast with the GREAT HORNED OWL nest. He very kindly called me and I got to see the male in a palm tree and one big-eyed fluffy owlet in the nest. The location is at the Roughley Manor which is south of the park on Joe Davis road. The owner was very happy to show us the nest. He said the owls have been using it for the 14 years that they have owned the property. Also seen at Luckie Park were 2 WARBLING VIREOs, SWAINSON'S THRUSHes, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDs dancing in the sprinklers, 1 PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, 1 male MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER and lots of WILSON'S WARBLERS. Kathy Parker Los Gatos Subject: Re: [CALBIRDS] Possible Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 29 Palms From: "Jim Hardesty" <jnhardesty AT roadrunner.com> Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 20:59:12 -0700 The bird was observed this afternoon about 1:20-1:30 frequenting the area just outside the park fence in the southwest corner of the park. The terminal one inch of the left outer retrix appears to be bent upward about 20 degrees but did not seem to impair the birds flight. Also notable here was a lone Black-necked Stilt feeding on the soccer field lawn in the same corner of the park. The bird flew off to the northeast and was not refound. Jim Hardesty Woodland Hills ----- Original Message ----- From: motmots AT aol.com To: stephenmyers AT earthlink.net ; sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ; CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Cc: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 10:10 PM Subject: Re: [CALBIRDS] Possible Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 29 Palms And this morningat 9 am we found?it flying around the 29 Palms Parks and Recreation Building, frequently sitting on the utility cables.? Seemed to have only one W.Kingbird with it. Ann and Eric Brooks Los Angeles -----Original Message----- From: Stephen J. Myers To: 'Koonce, Sandy' ; CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Cc: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 6:01 pm Subject: RE: [CALBIRDS] Possible Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 29 Palms Yes, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher has returned to Luckie Park in 29 Palms. It was cavorting with Western Kingbirds this afternoon, mostly in the western portion of the park. It seems likely that it is the same bird that summered there in 2007. Steve Myers _____ From: CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Koonce, Sandy Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 7:59 AM To: CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [CALBIRDS] Possible Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 29 Palms There is a second-hand report on inlandcountybirds of a SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER at Luckie Park in 29 Palms. If confirmed, this might be a return of the same bird that attempted to nest (probably mating with a Western kingbird) in this locality last year. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cave Swallow From: "Andy Lazere" <alazere1 AT cox.net> Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 03:01:18 -0000 At the hunt club on Pound, from 0700 to 0800, there were barn swallows, tree swallows and a few roughwinged swallows. The CAVE SWALLOW arrived at 0800 and perched on the wires with barn swallows. It flew off at 0815. Someone left a scope at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. Please call Betty Zeller, Preserve Host, at 760-363-7190. Andy Lazere Laguna Niguel Subject: East Mojave springs From: "vireos44" <jpike44 AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 21:44:21 -0000 Hi, It was a good weekend to be in the east Mojave. The weather was great, lots of birds were moving through the springs, plants such as Palmer's Penstemon, Linear-leaved Goldenbush and Desert Cassia were blooming, and butterfly numbers (especially, Sleepy Oranges and Desert Black Swallowtail) were up. Notable numbers of Wilson's Warblers, Lazuli Buntings, and Pine Siskins were seen, along with decent numbers of Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers, Cassin's Vireos, and Cassin's Finches. I also had a couple Calliope Hummingbirds (First of Springs, for me). Smith and Crystal Springs looked as good as I've ever seen them. They appeared to have been little-visited by cattle in the recent weeks/months, and it shows. There is a resurgence of baccharis at Smith and of brickellia at Crystal. I even saw a couple cottonwood seedlings at Crystal. Who knew such things were possible there! I'm sure this is just a temporary lull before the beasts return to wreak their damage, but it is nonetheless nice to see the speed with which these springs can recover when given half a chance. Along those same lines, Horse Thief Springs was a welcome sight, as the relatively new cattle guards have been fairly effective at keeping the cattle out. There is now a meadow of sedges, monkeyflowers, watercress, and brooklime where there was recently only heavily-trampled mud. The drier areas, however, are infested with filaree, london rocket and melilotus, but its still a good start at recovery. On the negative side, I did have to persuade a bull to leave the meadow, and I later photographed it gingerly sidestepping along the inner edge of the cattle guard. I'm going to send the photo to the BLM, and hopefully they'll take corrective measures. It was also disturbing to find a backhoe and chainsaw being used in the willow/mesquite habitat at the upper end of China Ranch. This was where a cowbird trap was situated last year, and almost exactly where I also observed a pair of Bell's Vireos that season. No cowbird trap was operational yet (in May?!) at China Ranch or Shoshone, but cowbirds were one of the most common species observed (~15). By the way, for those concerned about issues related to these springs, contact Sterling White (blm.gov). I'll be sending him the photo of the 'trespassing' steer. Hopefully, something will eventually be done to protect and enhance all of the springs in the Kingston Mountains. Jim Pike Huntington Beach Subject: Vaux's swifts home invasion / Redlands From: "Matthew Baker" <mattbaker AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 10:42:48 -0700 This is the 2nd account I have heard of for an incident such as this in the last 8 months. If anyone needs documentation on the 1st incident (which did include casualties), please let me know. They article lists the species as chimney swifts... http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/ci_9146474 Birds invade Redlands homeJesse B. Gill, Staff Writer Article Launched: 05/03/2008 09:01:18 PM PDT REDLANDS - When the Andersons walked into their house after a neighborhood barbecue, they never expected to find 200 birds inside. On Saturday, April 19, the Andersons were enjoying the evening with friends when they saw a large flock of birds fly overhead. "We decided they were swallows," said Allison Anderson. "We began teasing about the Hitchcock movie." Shortly after seeing the birds fly by, Allison Anderson said she walked up to the front door of her home. Looking through a glass pane in the door, she saw three birds sitting on a dining room mirror. Wanting to get the birds out of her house, Allison brought her husband, Scott, from the barbecue. When Scott entered his home, he found many more than three birds. "There were more like 200!" Allison said. Anderson said the birds were everywhere, filling every room in the house. "People asked if I laughed when I saw them and I really didn't," Scott said. "I thought, `How am I going to get all of these birds out of my house?"' Anderson said he started trying to shoo the birds out of open doors and windows using a garden rake, but he wasn't having much luck. He said he donned a pair of gardening gloves and started picking up the birds and throwing them outside. "After I'd throw them, they'd just start flying again and they'd boomerang right back and come into the house," Scott said. According to Allison, the birds, being frightened, left behind droppings, covering all surfaces in the house. The Andersons' online research led them to believe the birds were a flock of migrating chimney swifts. "They were probably chimney swifts," said Redlands Animal Shelter Supervisor Bill Miller. Miller was not called to the Andersons' home. "They follow the leader," Miller said. "Where he goes, they go." Scott Anderson said he was finally able to start getting the birds to stay outside by closing all the doors and windows and throwing out one or two at a time. Even when the Andersons thought the ordeal was over, they realized that the birds were the gift that kept on giving. "We kept finding birds everywhere," Allison said. "My husband opened a drawer in my son's room and birds flew out!" Miller said the bird invasion was rare, but people can avoid similar incidents by keeping grates on their chimneys and by keeping their flues closed. Allison Anderson said her chimney will soon be covered by a grate. Scott said none of the birds died in the incident, despite being chased with a garden rake and being thrown out windows. "No birds were harmed in the process," Allison said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Purple Martins, Lark Bunting From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 10:48:42 -0400 Dave Goodward reports the following: A pair of Purple Martins at Lost Lake Sunday, 2:00 then a male again at 6:00.?Thursday, a male Lark Bunting at Mystic Lake near the entrance to Ramona Duck Club (west side of Lake). Lots of expected shorebirds, including a nice flock of 1,000 Long-billed Dowitchers in the flooded field east of Davis Road just past the powerline.?Yellow-headed blackbirds at various locations around the lake. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Salton Sea From: Joe Parker <jandkparker AT mindspring.com> Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 06:24:31 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Drove down to the Salton Sea on Saturday hoping to see the Cave Swallow. That evening only NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWs showed up on Pound St. Also seen among others were a male WESTERN TANAGER, female LAZULI BUNTING, 1 male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, WILSON'S WARBLER, 1 WARBLING VIREO, 3 GULL-BILLED TERNs and a pair of GREEN-WINGED TEAL. At dusk, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of LESSER NIGHTHAWKS. Wherever you looked, nighthawks were coursing - awesome. Sunday morning I was among the lucky who saw the CAVE SWALLOW at the hunt club on Pound St. The group spent quite abit of time trying to make an aberrant swallow (we never could figure what it was other than that it was strange) into the Cave Swallow, but when it finally did show at 7:25, it was a picture perfect bird. Other birds seen were the tanager, a male LAZULI BUNTING, and YELLOW WARBLERS. Cattle Call Park in Brawley had 1 male BRONZED COWBIRD. He was on the fences across the street from the picnic area. Drove around Finney and Ramer Lakes. The tamarisks were loaded with more Wilson's and Yellow Warblers, and I was able to pick out 1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and 1 very out-of-place-looking HERMIT WARBLER. There was also a flycatcher that I think was an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER - large, dark-headed, gray vest, no eyering and silent. South of Obsidian Butte, there were 3 2nd year YELLOW-FOOTED GULLS, hundreds of WILSON'S and RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and BLACK TERNS. The Red Hill Marina was shorebird central. New for me were DUNLIN and 1 SANDERLING. There were also stilts and avocets, dowitchers, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, Western Sandpipers (did not see a Least all day), more phalaropes, and Marbled Godwits. At the ponds at the north end of Garst Rd. I was shown STILT SANDPIPERS in almost alternate plumage and 1 immature LAUGHING GULL. The north end of the Salton Sea was also interesting. At the campgound at the Salton Sea SRA headquarters, there were more WILSON'S WARBLERS, an ABERT'S TOWHEE on the beach and another of the maybe OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERs. The end of Johnson St. was very birdy with WHIMBRELs, DUNLIN, WILSON'S and RED-NECKED PHALAROPEs among the many species present. There were also many GAMBEL'S QUAIL, all paired up. A drive up Lincoln St. added a male BLUE-GROSBEAK on overhead wires and the last bird of the day was a SPOTTED SANDPIPER bobbing in the Alamo River. Kathy Parker Los Gatos Subject: calliope hummingbird and Lawrence's goldfinches - highway 38 From: "bdawson66" <bdawson66 AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 04:32:15 -0000 While on an ecology class fieldtrip we found a male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD at Horse Meadow, about 1 mile up the South Fork Trail. The trailhead is on Jenks Lake Road, off Highway 38 in the Barton Flats area. There was at least one male bird that exhibited a brief mating display, but we didn't find a female. On the way back down to Mentone we stopped at Thurman Flats picnic area on Highway 38 and saw a pair of LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCHES, the male singing his brains out. They were in amongst the cottonwoods along the trail to the creek. Good birding, Brad Dawson Fullerton College Subject: Cave Swallow Sunday Salton Sea From: Thomas Miko <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 23:28:51 -0500 (CDT) The Cave Swallow continues at the Salton Sea. It was at the same location where Guy McCaskie found it 2 days ago: on power lines above the hunt club on Pound Road. Pound Road runs east to west from English to Davis Roads, northeast of Red Hill Marina, at the Salton Sea. It was seen by many this morning until close to 08:00 a.m., when it flew off, and everybody left. Looks like it's a "morning bird". A cursory check of Red Hill marina revealed one Franklin's Gull in breeding (alternate) plumage, and a small number of Black Terns. Cattle Call Park had one Bronzed Cowbird. Ramer Lake was literally devoid of water birds (terns, grebes, etc). Wister Unit had a few Western Tanagers and Wilson's Warblers, and ONE Warbling Vireo . Where in the world are the migrants??? There were numerous Lesser Nighthawks, and begging juvenile Verdins and BT Gnatcatchers, being fed. Thomas Miko (Mi'ko' Tama's) thomas.miko AT verizon.net thomas_miko AT hotmail.com 653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., #C Claremont, CA 91711 U.S.A. 34.109167 N, 117.718293 W home: (909) 445-1456 cell: (626) 390-1935 work: (213)923-3944 “We are not punished for our sins, but by them.”---Elbert Hubbard Subject: Cave Swallow Sunday Salton Sea From: Thomas Miko <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 23:28:51 -0500 (CDT) The Cave Swallow continues at the Salton Sea. It was at the same location where Guy McCaskie found it 2 days ago: on power lines above the hunt club on Pound Road. Pound Road runs east to west from English to Davis Roads, northeast of Red Hill Marina, at the Salton Sea. It was seen by many this morning until close to 08:00 a.m., when it flew off, and everybody left. Looks like it's a "morning bird". A cursory check of Red Hill marina revealed one Franklin's Gull in breeding (alternate) plumage, and a small number of Black Terns. Cattle Call Park had one Bronzed Cowbird. Ramer Lake was literally devoid of water birds (terns, grebes, etc). Wister Unit had a few Western Tanagers and Wilson's Warblers, and ONE Warbling Vireo . Where in the world are the migrants??? There were numerous Lesser Nighthawks, and begging juvenile Verdins and BT Gnatcatchers, being fed. Thomas Miko (Mi'ko' Tama's) thomas.miko AT verizon.net thomas_miko AT hotmail.com 653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., #C Claremont, CA 91711 U.S.A. 34.109167 N, 117.718293 W home: (909) 445-1456 cell: (626) 390-1935 work: (213)923-3944 “We are not punished for our sins, but by them.”---Elbert Hubbard Subject: Common Loon From: Oscar Johnson <henicorhina AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 20:22:15 -0700 (PDT) All, forgot to mention this in my last post, but Ryan Terrill and I had a basic plumaged Common Loon at the Salt Creek Mouth yesterday afternoon (3 May) in Riverside County. Seemed like it was getting on the late side for this species. Good birding, Oscar Johnson Santa Barbara ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cave Swallow Continues From: "toddamcgrath" <SKUA AT MSN.com> Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 16:14:40 -0000 Birders, Andrew Howe and others observed the Cave Swallow this morning from about 7:30 to 8:15 on Pound Rd, in the previously reported area. Todd McGrath SKUA AT MSN.COM Marina Del Rey CA Subject: HY RS Hawk Pachappa From: "Lidia Seebeck" <lidia AT seebeck.us> Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:09:10 -0700 Just a quick note to confirm that the Pachappa Hill Red-Shouldered Hawks did successfully reproduce and the juvenile was flying with the parents this morning. Lidia Seebeck Pachappa Hill, Riverside CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Munchies From: "alkelley36" <alkelley36 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 22:36:49 -0000 I'm in Redlands Hospital 4th floor watching ravens with 2 fledglings on ledge above 4th floor; there being hassled by pair of western kingbirds in shrub at emergency room; butterfly migration averages 25/hr. cabbage, admirals between 9-2. Loma Linda hills devoid of any chaparral. Subject: SBVAS Morongo Trip From: "Brad Singer" <bcsinger AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 04 May 2008 03:45:19 -0000 Howard King asked me to post for the trip (he's on his way down to Salton Sea to find the Cave Swallow). Of note was the spotting, excuse me, the viewing of a spotted sandpiper at the Reserve (Howard believes this is the first ever finding of the bird there). The bird was found staggering along the planks of the Marsh Trail. (Uploaded Photo). Other birds of interest were the brown-crested flycatcher, 7 warblers including many chats and a FOS McGils, blue grosbeak, summer tanager and the vermillions. The group then moved on to Luckie Park in 29 Palms where it viewed the Scissortail Flycatcher, (Steve Meyer's report), to the bed and breakfast across the street and saw nesting Great Horned Owls, and finally to Knott Park where it saw a possible Dusky Flycatcher (upon Steve Meyers confirmation). Whew, long sentence! Good Day for all, Brad Singer Lake Arrowhead Subject: CAVE SWALLOW update Saturday From: "barbarac2003" <barbarac2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 19:09:47 -0000 Jon Dunn called this morning (Saturday) to report that the Cave Swallow continues along Pound Road (see yesterday's post for directions) at the south end of the Salton Sea. It was present when he arrived arounbd 6:45AM and was still there when he (and Todd McGrath) departed at 8:30. It spent most of its time perched on the wires with a bunch of Barn Swallows--as yesterday. Seems like early morning is the time to look! --Paul Lehman/Barbara Carlson San Diego Subject: South end of the Salton Sea - 2 May 2008 From: "Guy McCaskie" <guymcc AT pacbell.net> Date: Sat, 3 May 2008 08:10:00 -0700 Managed to see 138 species including the continuing Greater White-fronted and Cackling Goose at Sunbeam Lake near Seeley, an immature male and two female Surf Scoters together at Red Hill, a dark-morph Swainson's Hawk being mobbed by a White-tailed Kite near the intersection of Pound and English Roads, twenty Ruddy Turnstones and fifteen Red Knots on the shore at the north end of Poe Road, twelve Laughing Gulls scattered along the shore between Obsidian Butte and the north end of Poe Road, five Heermann's Gulls with three together at Rock Hill and two together at Obsidian Butte (one of the latter may have been on a nest), three Yellow-footed Gulls with an adult at Red Hill and an adult and a first-summer bird at Obsidian Butte, one Least Tern near the southwest corner of the Wister Unit, two Calliope Hummingbirds near The southeast corner of El Centro, and a CAVE SWALLOW with Barn Swallows at the hunting club buildings on Pound Road between Davis and English Roads. Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue Imperial Beach, CA 91932 619-423-7524 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cave Swallow update From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 21:10:36 -0700 Andrew Howe and I were at the Cave Swallow spot from about 4 until dusk. The bird did not return. At dusk, there were about 200 or more swallows still feeding to the west of Davis a little north of Pound, but no swallows had (yet) gone to roost along Pound. As the light was fading, the feeding flock vanished off to the northwest. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cave Swallow update From: "Koonce, Sandy" <sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu> Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 21:10:36 -0700 Andrew Howe and I were at the Cave Swallow spot from about 4 until dusk. The bird did not return. At dusk, there were about 200 or more swallows still feeding to the west of Davis a little north of Pound, but no swallows had (yet) gone to roost along Pound. As the light was fading, the feeding flock vanished off to the northwest. Sandy Sandy Koonce Department of Mathematics University of Redlands, Redlands, CA 92373 sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: CAVE SWALLOW continues.... From: "barbarac2003" <barbarac2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 21:58:57 -0000 Paul Lehman called with an update. The CAVE SWALLOW disappeared for several hours. It reappeared at 1:55 pm and stayed for a half hour. It has left again. However, this site is a roosting area for swallows and the bird may well return this evening.... The street is POUND, not Powell.... Barbara Carlson San Diego Subject: Morongo (timing question) From: "kyrifreeman" <kyri AT icogitate.com> Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 20:47:33 -0000 I'm planning on going out to Morongo on Sunday. Do they *really* not let people in till 7:30 AM, even this time of year? It seems to me that last year about this time I arrived earlier but found the gates open and people already on the trails. I suspect I'll need all the time I can get because I'm determined to see (not just hear) a Chat this year. TIA Kyri Subject: CAVE SWALLOW at south end of Salton Sea From: "barbarac2003" <barbarac2003 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 16:12:35 -0000 Guy McCaskie found a CAVE SWALLOW this morning between 8-8:20 am in the Hunt Club area at the south end of the Salton Sea. The swallow is on the north side of Pound between Davis and English. There are several buildings here, a metal tower and ponds. The swallow is flying around the ponds or on nearby wires with Barn Swallows and a few Cliff. Barbara Carlson San Diego Subject: Luckie Park this morning From: "Ann and Eric Brooks" <motmots2 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 06:16:53 -0000 A friend who is a docent at Big Morongo and two of her colleagues scouted Luckie Park this morning and found: Luckie Park, 29 Palms Thursday May 1, 2008, 8:30 am to 10 am. Great-tailed Grackle, House Sparrow, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Starling, American Robin, White-winged Dove, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, House Finch, Western Tanager, Kildeer (with 3 babies), White- crowned Sparrow ( only 1), Spotted Sandpiper, White-faced Ibis, Red- winged Blackbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lesser Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Swainson's Thrush, Anna's Hummingbird, Wilson's Warbler, Western Wood Pewee, Verdin, Black- necked Stilt, Raven. Ann and Eric Brooks Los Angeles Subject: Harper Dry Lake, Mojave Narrows,Helendale Sewage ponds From: "Bob and Susan Steele" <steele7 AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 20:49:10 -0700 Greetings all, Bob and I had an apt. in Apple Valley, so we birded our way there. First stop Harper Dry Lake which had WF Ibis, cin teal, malard, rn phalarope, rb gull. Then to the intersection of Hinkley and National Trails where we had Lucy's warblers, bt gnatchers, ww dove, gt towhee (2- nice migrant), many Wilson's and Yellow warblers, warbling vireo. The Mojave Narrows which had a ton of migrating western tanagers, Warbling Vireos, wilson's warblers, a few cassin's vireos and Olive-sided flycatcher. Down at the river had singing Bell's Vireo, Chat, Brown crested flycatcher. As the sun was setting we stopped on the road and looked at the Helendale Sewage ponds. Good numbers of rn and Wilson's phlaropes. A solitary sandpiper, LB dowitcher, marbled godwit, rn duck, spotted sandpipers, avoctes, stilts, bw and cin teal, ibis, snowy egret, sora. Susan Steele Inyokern, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Fwd: Virginia's Warbler and Franklin Gull From: scre AT aol.com Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 23:28:34 -0400 Got a call from Sean Fitzgerald he had a Virginia's Warbler on Red Cloud Road (west of Desert Center) in Riverside County.? You take it South from I-10 to a V intersection near some railroad tracks.? There are two BLM signs take the one for Salt Creek.? It was in a random wash about 6 km down this road.? Its probably not re findable so this is just to let people know its out there. At the Salton Sea he had a Franklin's Gull on the sea just south of Obsidian Butte.? Good Birding David Vander Pluym Flagstaff, Az [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: blythe birds, good for furriners, but we loves our preshus inland birds, master From: "higson_roger" <art.higson AT verizon.net> Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 00:16:55 -0000 blythe birds, I like the new format, I like any format as long as I have inland county birds to read and relish. My only suggestion might be putting in a rider that says for further information see INlandco...etc birds and read the original report,for finer details, e-mail addresses are attached. Or something similar. Sparse is good, but we need to channel people into our wonderful autonomous collective, so "they" who are out there. Know that there are excellent birds, and birders in our areas, who are happy to share. Preaching over,( a discreet muttering of "Thank God" was heard) Birds. Winds have alternated from NE to SW, for the last week.Varied from, NOT good to GO HOME and watch things blow past the window.There have been lulls and sheltered areas are good.This rubbish is supposed to stop tomorrow,around noon. The weekend calm and pleasant. Collective prayer here by "inland" inland county birders!. "Please ,let there be bushes full of hanging on for dear life migrants , who pop out into sight Saturday, and spend the day feeding on the outside of bushes with the sun behind the person watching them !" Testing is over , idiocy, my hatred for "NCLB" is total now.I had to procter an exam today 2hrs, classified staff can not cover ,but can escort kids to bathroom. "Roger you have to see the little bird outside the principals window", this after I had taken my designated 10 min rest room run. You can get real close to it, its cute, a yellow head. Drag out bird book shewed verdin as expected. No it has black under the chin here and its white, and its head is yellow on top. This one, 4 out of four id's, the Mythical Hermit warbler !Sat looking at my camera bag, and bins for 2 more hours. Wind came up. Lunch break, gone. Went to sewage pond ,snapped a couple of nice pics. Will post.regards rh and JRT's hanging on to my ankle to prevent "GOING TOTO", we are still in CA Subject: Southeastern CA RBA: May 1, 2008 From: Tom Benson <tbenson AT csusb.edu> Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 14:32:56 -0700 RBA * California * Southeastern * May 1, 2008 * CASE0805.01 This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. California Bird Records Committee review species are denoted by asterisks. Names in the report are generally those of the reporting party and not necessarily the person claiming the first sighting. The bird alert phone line housed at the San Bernardino County Museum is no longer in service. If you have a rare bird to report and must use a phone line, please call 909-648-0899. Birds mentioned: Red-breasted Merganser Pacific Loon Common Loon Least Bittern *GLOSSY IBIS* Swainson's Hawk Zone-tailed Hawk Solitary Sandpiper Semipalmated Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Red-necked Phalarope Franklin's Gull *GREATER PEWEE* Vermilion Flycatcher Palm Warbler Northern Cardinal - Transcript SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY A ZONE-TAILED HAWK was observed flying over the Sidewinder Mountains in Apple Valley on April 24 (Bill Deppe). A *GLOSSY IBIS* was seen at the Piute Road dairy ponds in Newberry Springs on April 26 (John Sterling). A female NORTHERN CARDINAL was reported from Chemehuevi Wash approximately 4 km east of Highway 95 on April 26 (fide David Vander Pluym). At Lake Havasu on April 27 and 28 the following birds were reported: 4 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 2 PACIFIC LOONS, 7 COMMON LOONS, and 24 FRANKLIN'S GULLS (Paul Lehman and Barbara Carlson). Four LEAST BITTERNS and 3 VERMILION FLYCATCHERS (adult pair and nestling) were observed at Prado Regional Park on April 30 (Howard King). Three VERMILION FLYCATCHERS (2 adult females and an adult male) continued at Cal State San Bernardino on April 30 (Tom Benson). A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER were at the Daggett Ponds and another SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was at the Piute Road ponds on April 30. BLACK TERNS were present at the Daggett ponds on April 29 (Bill Deppe). A PALM WARBLER was reported from the Mojave River at Hinkley Road (west of Barstow) and a *GREATER PEWEE* was reported from the Calico Mountains (near Calico) earlier this week (date not given; Don Ryan). RIVERSIDE COUNTY A SOLITARY SANDPIPER and 3 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS were at the Blythe sewage plant April 29 and 3 STILT SANDPIPERS were there April 30 (Roger Higson). Two SWAINSON'S HAWKS were seen over Mount Rubidoux in Riverside on April 29 (Mike Gurbada). IMPERIAL COUNTY No reports. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In general, birds that are on this weekly summary are those that are classified as at least rare in “Birds of Southern California” by Garrett and Dunn, “Birds of the Salton Sea” by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt, or in “Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley” by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson. Rarity can be regional or seasonal. For example, a nuthatch reported at the Salton Sea, where it is rare, may be on the summary. That same bird reported from the San Bernardino Mountains, where it is common, would not be. A sparrow reported as a rarity in Riverside in July, may be common there in December. If you are only getting this report through Birdwest, you can get MORE FREQUENT AND COMPREHENSIVE UPDATES by subscribing to inlandcountybirds (see below). To report a bird POST TO INLANDCOUNTYBIRDS (see below)!!! If there is some reason that you cannot post there, or do not want to, e-mail Tom Benson at tbenson AT csusb.edu or call (909)648-0899. Note that the phone hotline is no longer available. Please submit your documentation of all California Bird Records Committee review species (denoted by asterisks) to: Guy McCaskie, Secretary, P.O. Box 275, Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0275, E-mail: guymcc AT pacbell.net Additionally, CBRC species AND birds of local or seasonal rarity should be reported to the "North American Birds" County Coordinators. They are: IMPERIAL COUNTY Guy McCaskie 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, CA 91932 E: guymcc AT pacbell.net INYO COUNTY Tom & Jo Heindel, P.O. Box 400, Big Pine CA 93513 E: tjheindel AT aol.com KERN COUNTY John Wilson 1425 Alta Vista, Bakersfield CA 93305 E: jcwilson AT lightspeed.net RIVERSIDE COUNTY John F. Green, 3120 Mount Vernon Ave., Riverside, CA 92507 E: bewickwren AT earthlink.net SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY Alexander E. Koonce, 1357 Paige Lane, Redlands, CA 92373 E: sandy_koonce AT redlands.edu ************ There is an Inland Counties (San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial) bird report & discussion group. You can view messages at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ IMPORTANT: Sometimes rare birds that are found in Southeastern CA are not reported to Inlandcountybirds. Sites and phone numbers where such reports sometimes appear are marked with *** below. If you are headed to one of those areas, be sure to check that site or phone number first, in addition to this RBA. Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and rarely San Diego County reports are posted on BIRDWEST. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU with SUBSCRIBE BIRDWEST YOUR NAME in the message (and your name = YOUR real name). Orange County has an RBA update mailing list. To subscribe, write to JWeintraub AT Fullerton.edu There is also an Orange County Listserv. Messages can be viewed there at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding San Diego County has its own Listserv. You can view messages at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SDBIRDS*** The San Diego phone RBA also posts reports to: http://homepage.mac.com/aves/SanDiego.html*** Sometimes Imperial County reports appear on these sources.Calbirds covers all of California, but often has SoCal bird reports. To subscribe, send a blank email to: calbirds-subscribe AT yahoogroups.com*** Sightings in Inyo County and beyond are posted at http://www.esaudubon.org/birds/ Some Kern County reports are posted at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kerncobirding Messages to the birding listserve for the Pasadena area can be viewed at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PasadenaAudubon Messages to the birding listserve for Los Angeles County can be viewed at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LACoBirds ************ A schedule of San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society field trips is available on the SBVAS website: http://www.sbvas.org Important Southern California Bird Alert and Wildlife Phone Numbers: Los Angeles RBA (323) 874-1318 *** Monterey Bay RBA (831)626-6605 Morro Bay RBA (805) 528-7182 Orange County RBA (949) 487-6869 San Diego RBA (619) 688-2473 *** Santa Barbara RBA (805) 964-8240 (report to (805)-964-1316) Southeastern CA Bird Alert report to (909) 648-0899 Southern California BIRDBOX (818) 952-5502 + 5 *** CalTip (CA Fish & Game) (800) 952-5400 (to report wildlife violations) -- For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inlandcountybirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:inlandcountybirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:inlandcountybirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Re: Piute Ponds confusion From: Thomasabenson AT aol.com Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 10:45:50 -0400 Hi Tom, The "Piute Ponds" to which Bill is referring are a few small ponds or flooded agricultural areas that are located on a private dairy on the northeast corner of the intersection of Piute Road and Silver Valley Road in Newberry Springs. The ponds are in the northwest corner of the dairy and are viewable from Piute Road and a dirt access road along the north side of the dairy. The dairy is private property, so be sure to use common sense (don't block the access road or any gates with your vehicle, don't trespass) if you decide to bird there. With the scarcity of shorebird habitat in San Bernardino County, it would be really unfortunate to lose one more. Tom Benson San Bernardino, CA -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Miko To: inlandcountybirds AT yahoogroups.com; Bill Deppe Sent: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 9:58 pm Subject: Re: [inlandcountybirds] High Desert Birding and we found one Semipalmated Sandpiper there (We also had one at the Piute Ponds). Hi Bill, Just checking: by "Piute Ponds" do you mean the Piute Ponds inside Edwards Air orce Base, in the desert portion of L.A. County? I have heard of (but have ever been to) some place called "Piute Road Ponds" a.k.a. the ponds on Piute oad, somewhere in S.Bdo. County... Confused in Claremont... Tom Thomas Miko (Mi'ko' Tama's) thomas.miko AT verizon.net homas_miko AT hotmail.com 653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., #C laremont, CA 91711 .S.A. 4.109167 N, 117.718293 W home: (909) 445-1456 ell: (626) 390-1935 ork: (213)923-3944 “We are not punished for our sins, but by them.”---Elbert Hubbard ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: inlandcountybirds AT eGroups.com o Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: inlandcountybirds-unsubscribe AT eGroups.comYahoo! roups Links Individual Email | Traditional http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: High Desert Birding From: Thomas Miko <thomas.miko AT verizon.net> Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:58:17 -0500 (CDT) and we found one Semipalmated >Sandpiper there (We also had one at the Piute Ponds). Hi Bill, Just checking: by "Piute Ponds" do you mean the Piute Ponds inside Edwards Air Force Base, in the desert portion of L.A. County? I have heard of (but have never been to) some place called "Piute Road Ponds" a.k.a. the ponds on Piute Road, somewhere in S.Bdo. County... Confused in Claremont... Tom Thomas Miko (Mi'ko' Tama's) thomas.miko AT verizon.net thomas_miko AT hotmail.com 653 S. Indian Hill Blvd., #C Claremont, CA 91711 U.S.A. 34.109167 N, 117.718293 W home: (909) 445-1456 cell: (626) 390-1935 work: (213)923-3944 “We are not punished for our sins, but by them.”---Elbert Hubbard Subject: Swainson's hawks From: "m.gurbada" <mgurbada909 AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 01:33:45 -0000 On Tuesday 04-29-08 at 12PM, I saw two Swainson's hawks soaring near the summit of Mt. Rubidoux. One was a light-phased adult (identical to one I'd seen the week before at Sycamore Cyn) The second was a light- phased juvenile. Mike Gurbada Subject: High Desert Birding From: "Bill Deppe" <bdeppe AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 01:28:39 -0000 Years ago Gene taught me to go looking for shorebirds when the weather was lousy. Today was confirmation of that advice. The Daggot ponds were full of shorebirds seeking shelter from the 40-45 mile and hour winds. Most notably, about 100-125 Dunlins were present--a pretty outrageous number for the High Desert. Beautifully plumaged Red- necked Phalaropes (25 ish) were there with the Wilson's. Western Sandpipers were there (200 plus), and we found one Semipalmated Sandpiper there (We also had one at the Piute Ponds). A variety of other shorebirds were there as well, including Solitary Sandpiper, 100's of Least Sandpipers and a Marbled Godwit. A couple of Forster's Terns were riding out the wind storm there. The Black Terns that were present yesterday had moved on. Don Ryan and I have been birding the riparian area where Hinkley Rd. crosses the Mojave River in the morning in recent days. A few days ago Don found a Palm Warbler there. There are also several Lucy's Warblers in the area. I surveyed the Newberry Springs area for Tri-colored Blackbirds last weekend and found their breeding site at a private residence and pond on Minneola. These trikes (1500--2000 birds) appear to be generating a lot of interest in the "trike" world. Saving the best for last, Don also reported seeing a Greater Pewee on a site he was surveying in the Calico Mountains. Bill Deppe Apple Valley Subject: blythe birds, hopes continue, birds From: "higson_roger" <art.higson AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 00:33:06 -0000 greetings, hope stirs eternal or something. Going to use a gallon of gas to hit the sewage Farm every night for a while. Tonight 3 Stilt Sands ,30 plus Wils Phals , a different red necked Ph, a Snipe, build up of peeps and stilts, an Avocet and a LBCurlew. Everything else was gone. Savage winds all day, hoping for a good weekend . Passerines forget it. regards rh and got out the shower, jrts enjoying pulling swmbos new "Horsey Magazine" to shreds.I don't see why I should check on where she left the damn thing. Most entertaining.