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1 Sep Arctic Tern at Pyramid Lake [Martin Meyers ] 1 Sep Re: Oasis Valley migration [Carl Lundblad ] 1 Sep Oasis Valley migration [Laura Cunningham ] 1 Sep Lark Sparrow [Bob Goodman ] 1 Sep Reno area Townsend's Solitaire [ann murphy ] 1 Sep ARCTIC TERN @ Pyramid Lake [Greg Scyphers ] 31 Aug Ruddy Turnstone in the Las Vegas Wash, Clark Co. [] 31 Aug more Hermit Warblers (or maybe the same ones) [Alan de Queiroz ] 31 Aug Fwd: for ListServe [] 30 Aug Lincoln County birding, 8/29/10 [Martin Meyers ] 30 Aug zone-tailed hawk, Pahranagat NWR ["di_an AT juno.com" ] 30 Aug Backyard Birds in N. Reno [Jamie Trammell ] 30 Aug Great Horned Owl [David Worley ] 30 Aug Washoe Lake area and home feeders, Carson City, Sat., Aug. 28th [Rob Lowry ] 30 Aug Sandhill Cranes, Rte. 88, Gardnerville-Sun., Aug. 29th [Rob Lowry ] 29 Aug Black Terns, Virginia Lake; Reno (8/29/10) [Fred Petersen ] 29 Aug Oasis Valley [Laura Cunningham ] 29 Aug Willow Creek: August 29, 2010 (Pahrump, Nye County) [Darlene Feener ] 28 Aug Common Tern at Duck Creek, Black Terns at Duck Creek and Lake Mead (Clark County) [Martin Meyers ] 28 Aug Kennedy district, East Range, eastern Pershing County [Alan Wallace ] 28 Aug Hermit Warblers! [Rose Strickland ] 28 Aug Carson and Truckee River birds [David Worley ] 28 Aug Ruby Mountains Trip Report 23-27 Aug 2010 [bewickwren ] 28 Aug Painted Redstart [Alan Williams ] 28 Aug Galena Creek Park [John Anderson ] 28 Aug Greater Yellowlegs at Virginia Lake [STEPHEN WIEL ] 25 Aug Crystal Reservoir Loon, Etc. [Carl Lundblad ] 24 Aug Hermit Warbler in Douglas County [Greg Scyphers ] 24 Aug Flamingo Arroyo Trail Las Vegas [Gary Zachman ] 23 Aug Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Lake; Reno (8/23/10) [Fred Petersen ] 23 Aug North Canyon Trail, Lake Tahoe SP-Sun., Aug. 22nd [Rob Lowry ] 23 Aug Pectoral Sandpiper at Pyramid Lake [Rose Strickland ] 23 Aug Migrant warblers, NW Reno (8/22/10) [Fred Petersen ] 22 Aug Willow Creek: Pahrump: Nye County [Darlene Feener ] 22 Aug Whoops -- Wilson's Phalaropes, not Wilson's Plovers at Carson Lake! [Martin Meyers ] 21 Aug Semipalmated Sandpiper at Carson Lake (Churchill) [Martin Meyers ] 21 Aug Ash Meadows/Amargosa Happenings [Carl Lundblad ] 20 Aug Eurasin Collared-Doves [Bob Goodman ] 20 Aug Hunter Creek Trail, Reno [Alan de Queiroz ] 19 Aug RFI: Dusky Grouse & Gray Partridge Ruby Mtns area [John Green ] 18 Aug Shorebirds (etc.) at Pyramid Lake and Soda Lake [Martin Meyers ] 17 Aug doves [L/J Hiller ] 17 Aug more on collared-doves [Alan de Queiroz ] 18 Aug Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Mon. + Tues., Aug. 16th + 17th [Rob Lowry ] 17 Aug Eurasian collared doves [Laura Cunningham ] 17 Aug "Explosion" of Eurasian Collared-doves [Steve Ting ] 16 Aug Crystal Reservoir: 115 Red-necked Phalaropes [Carl Lundblad ] 16 Aug bird sightings in Reno [ann murphy ] 15 Aug Bristlecone Audubon [Lois Ports ] 15 Aug Willow Creek: Nye County [Darlene Feener ] 15 Aug Barn owls [Sue Marshall ] 14 Aug A day in northern Humboldt County [Martin Meyers ] 14 Aug Uh, make that previous message heading "NEWS from the Nevada Bird Record Committee" [Martin Meyers ] 14 Aug New from the Nevada Bird Records Committee [Martin Meyers ] 13 Aug Lemmon Valley sewage ponds (8/13/10) [Fred Petersen ] 13 Aug Pileated woodpecker, Chimney Beach [Rick/Meg Andrews ] 13 Aug Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Thurs., Aug. 12th [Rob Lowry ] 13 Aug Oasis Valley-migrant wave [Laura Cunningham ] 12 Aug Red Rock Audubon Society Events [Red Rock Audubon Society ] 12 Aug Washoe Lake wetlands area-Wed., Aug. 11th [Rob Lowry ] 11 Aug Lucky Boy Canyon - Pine Nut Mts. [Jim Diane ] 11 Aug Re: Cassin's Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatch in west Reno (Washoe Co.) [John Anderson ] 11 Aug Crystal Reservoir Black-bellied Plover/Caspian Terns [Carl Lundblad ] 11 Aug Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Tuesday, Aug. 10th [Rob Lowry ] 11 Aug Clark County Wetlands park 8-11-10 (Main Park) [Randall Michal ] 10 Aug Nighthawk at Somerset, Reno NV [Sue Marshall ] 10 Aug Reno area birds [ann murphy ] 9 Aug Black-backed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeaks on Tahoe east shore [Martin Meyers ] 9 Aug Fallon and Stillwater Wildlife Refuge [Darlene Feener ] 9 Aug Solitary Sandpipers & Black Tern [Greg Scyphers ] 8 Aug Another mountain bird out of season [Alan de Queiroz ] 8 Aug Cassin's indeed! [L/J Hiller ] 8 Aug Cassin's Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatch in west Reno (Washoe Co.) [Alan Wallace ] 7 Aug Today at Soda Lake and Carson Lake (Churchill County) [Martin Meyers ] 7 Aug Small Mystery Bird - Washoe County [M Robards ] 6 Aug Rancho San Rafael (8/6/10) [Fred Petersen ] Subject: Arctic Tern at Pyramid Lake From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 20:57:12 -0700 A juvenile ARCTIC TERN was at "The Willows" at Pyramid Lake (Washoe County) this morning. I saw a small tern fly up the lake when I was at the willow grove -- I thought it might possibly be a Common or Arctic in that flyby. Fortunately, when I walked down to the lake, the bird was sitting on the rocks that jut out into the water (used to be an island) and permitted me to get excellent views and photos. I have put a photo of the bird on my website -- it's the first thumbnail in the "Recent" list on the left-hand side of the screen. http://SierraBirdbum.com I'll submit photos and a write-up to the NBRC. There are only two previous NBRC-endorsed records for this species (one of which is also from Pyramid Lake, from September/2000.) There were many Western Grebes (many is an understatement -- probably more than a thousand covering the whole lake), with a very few Clark's Grebes mixed in. Several times I observed pairs of Westerns doing their wonderful surface running routine. There are still lots of Common Nighthawks around -- at least 65 were flying low over the lake. I managed to get some really nice flight shots. (I put one on my website -- it's the second thumbnail on the left.) Scanning the lake produced my first Common Loons of the season (two). The willows themselves had very few landbirds, but I did spot my first Willow Flycatcher of the season. After leaving The Willows, I worked my way down the shore, stopping at various vantage points in hopes of finding more terns, or maybe a jaeger, or (might as well dream), a murrelet. (Bob Goodman's incredible Ancient Murrelet sighting occurred in September (1996) at Pyramid Lake.) Alas, it was not to be, as nothing out of the ordinary showed up along the way. So I headed to the south end (which we typically call "The Delta".) It was full of shorebirds. Most were the expected Killdeer, Western and Least Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and Red-necked Phalaropes. (No Wilson's Phalaropes today.) But there were a few less regular visitors as well. One SANDERLING, my first PECTORAL SANDPIPER of the season, several Semipalmated Plovers, several Snowy Plovers, one Marbled Godwit, and three Long-billed Dowitchers. A Wilson's Snipe flushed from the mud and flew off squalking at me. I haven't seen one there in years. Complete lists follow. The Willows Common Loon Western Grebe Clark's Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Killdeer Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper California Gull Caspian Tern Arctic Tern Mourning Dove Common Nighthawk Willow Flycatcher Common Raven Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow American Robin Yellow Warbler South End/Delta Canada Goose Gadwall Mallard Green-winged Teal Western Grebe Clark's Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Snowy Egret White-faced Ibis Northern Harrier American Coot Snowy Plover Semipalmated Plover Killdeer American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Marbled Godwit Sanderling Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Red-necked Phalarope Ring-billed Gull California Gull Mourning Dove Horned Lark European Starling Brewer's Blackbird Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Re: Oasis Valley migration From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 19:19:13 -0700 Interesting observation about the Mourning Doves disappearing. 30 miles south on Ash Meadows we've been loaded with large flocks of doves for many weeks. Today (my first day on Ash Meadows in 6) was the first day of dove season and the doves were very suddenly gone here, too. It's like they know.....!!! A COMMON LOON continued at Crystal Reservoir this evening. Carl Lundblad Amargosa Valley, NV On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 7:09 PM, Laura Cunningham wrote: > Nye County north of Beatty, Highway 95, Parker Ranch: > > Orange-crowned warbler-2 > MacGillivray's warbler-1 > Gray flycatcher-1 > Western wood-pewee-1 > Red-breasted nuthatch-1 on cottonwoods. > Turkey vulture-group of 11 soaring high southbound and "kettling." > > Cold weather may have sent the Mourning doves and Lesser nighthawks south, > none present > suddenly. > > A group of about 15 Chukar came into my yard from the desert, wandering > around pecking at all > sorts of things on the ground, flying up to the roof and rapping loudly on > the tin of the patio awning, > generally being very noisy but not calling. Some Gambel's quail with chicks > also came by, not > bothered by the larger birds. > > Laura Cunningham > Subject: Oasis Valley migration From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 22:09:50 -0400 Nye County north of Beatty, Highway 95, Parker Ranch: Orange-crowned warbler-2 MacGillivray's warbler-1 Gray flycatcher-1 Western wood-pewee-1 Red-breasted nuthatch-1 on cottonwoods. Turkey vulture-group of 11 soaring high southbound and "kettling." Cold weather may have sent the Mourning doves and Lesser nighthawks south, none present suddenly. A group of about 15 Chukar came into my yard from the desert, wandering around pecking at all sorts of things on the ground, flying up to the roof and rapping loudly on the tin of the patio awning, generally being very noisy but not calling. Some Gambel's quail with chicks also came by, not bothered by the larger birds. Laura Cunningham Subject: Lark Sparrow From: Bob Goodman <Pandion36 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 17:45:41 EDT Lark Sparrow West Golden Valley, north Reno Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Today, Wednesday, September 1, 2010 is the second time in 35 years there was a Lark Sparrow at my feeders. The first to appear was three days ago, and both were loners. A nice surprise amongst the other sparrows and finches. At the feeder of sunflower seeds, the Lark Sparrow kept all others at bay while it fed. Cheers, Bob Goodman Subject: Reno area Townsend's Solitaire From: ann murphy <amurphy0607 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:55:40 -0700 Submitted on behalf of Ed Kurtz: On 8/30/10 at dusk I saw a Townsend's Solitaire perched on a wire on Sutro Street near the fairgrounds. I noticed that it had a big buffy patch on the wing. Posted for Ed Kurtz by Ann Murphy Subject: ARCTIC TERN @ Pyramid Lake From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 12:31:24 -0700 Martin Meyers just called to report that he has found a juvenile Arctic Tern flying around in Thunderbolt Bay which is best accessed from "The Willows". He will most likely post more details this evening. He was able to photograph the bird for submission to the NBRC. Greg Scyphers Subject: Ruddy Turnstone in the Las Vegas Wash, Clark Co. From: Debbie.VanDooremolen AT SNWA.COM Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:17:58 -0700 While conducting aquatic bird counts along the Las Vegas Wash today, I spotted a Ruddy Turnstone. The bird was either in winter plumage or was a juvenile; I couldn't confirm which before it flew off. It was feeding on the sandbars and in the rocky shallows below our DU Wetlands No. 2 Weir, which is located adjacent to the large ponds in the Duck Creek area of the Clark County Wetlands Park. It's bright orange legs were the first thing to capture my attention as it foraged with Least Sandpipers and Killdeer. Then I noticed black meeting white on the breast in the shape of an upside-down heart, the stocky appearance, and the short, black, wedge-shaped bill. I was also able to see the genesis of the species' name as it turned over rocks constantly while it foraged. When it flew off, it appeared to go towards the ponds. Another highlight for the day included two winter plumage Sanderlings on a sandbar near our Bostick Weir, located just downstream of where the C-1 Channel discharges to the Las Vegas Wash. Thanks, Debbie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie Van Dooremolen Environmental Biologist II Southern Nevada Water Authority Resource Management Biology Team P.O. Box 99956 Las Vegas, NV 89193-9956 (702) 822-3370 Subject: more Hermit Warblers (or maybe the same ones) From: Alan de Queiroz <alandqz AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:35:35 -0700 The messages from John Anderson and Rose Strickland got me out to Galena Creek Park this morning to look for Hermit Warblers. From the trailhead at the north entrance to the park I just walked the short distance along the Jones Creek-Whites Creek Loop trail to where it crosses Jones Creek (now dry) and then a very short way (hundred yards?) west along the creek. I saw 2-3 Hermit Warblers, my first ones in Nevada, and 3-4 Townsend's Warblers, along with quite a few other birds. Thanks for the tip, John and Rose. Alan de Queiroz Reno Subject: Fwd: for ListServe From: melsyurt AT WIRELESSBEEHIVE.COM Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:16:14 -0600 -------- Original Message -------- Subject: for ListServe Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:57:07 -0700 From: "John B. Free" To: "Melissa Renfro" Location: The Yurt feeders (1 mile below entrance to Great Basin N.P. on Hwy 488, Baker, NV Observation Dates: Aug 14 to 15/2010 Observer: John B. Free Conditions: PM sightings; Clear, 80 deg to 84 deg Number of species: 4 Wild Turkey 6 Usual Tom suspects plus one Mourning Dove 1 Rufous Hummingbird 20 Hummer wars! Pinyon Jay 7 feeding flock ********************* Location: The Yurt feeders Observation Dates: Aug 20 to 22/2010 Observers: Melissa Renfro and John B. Free Conditions: Ptly cloudy to clear, 70 deg to 80 deg (wind 4 to 5 on 22nd) Number of species: 14 Wild Turkey 8, Mom and daughter, and the usual Toms were begging. Eurasian Collared-Dove 3 Family group? Mourning Dove 1 Black-chinned Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 6 Females and juveniles have arrived Western Scrub-Jay 3 Possible family group Pinyon Jay 10 Feeding flock with juveniles; Family group Barn Swallow 3 Family group? Green-tailed Towhee 1 Lark Sparrow 1 on feeder Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Family group, confirmed breeding Lazuli Bunting 1 Cassin's Finch 1 Pine Siskin 3 feeding flock with immature; family group? confirmed breeding ************************** Location: The Yurt feeders Observation date: 8/23/10 Observer: Melissa Renfro and John B. Free Conditions clear, 75 deg AT 5 PM Great Blue Heron was circling over the Yurt, then moved West. Pair of Mourning Doves on driveway (pair?) Number of species: 2 Great Blue Heron 1 Mourning Dove 2 Also, on the 23rd, we hiked into Stella Lake up in Great Basin National Park, for our wedding anniversary and flushed at least three Blue Grouse about a 1/3 mile in from the trailhead. Melissa Subject: Lincoln County birding, 8/29/10 From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:41:39 -0700 I spent most of Sunday in Lincoln County, at Pahranagat NWR and Key Pittman NWR. It was a bit windy, but at least it wasn't too hot! (I hit very heavy rain on the drive home, particularly around Tonopah.) Highlights were four or five Black Terns and a Green Heron at Pahranagat Upper Lake, two Baird's Sandpipers at Pahranagat Lower Lake, and a Solitary Sandpiper at Key Pittman Frenchy Lake. Particularly interesting to me was the total absence of Least Sandpipers at Frenchy Lake, despite the presence of numerous Western Sandpipers, a Semipalmated Plover, the already mentioned Solitary Sandpiper, and Wilson's and Red-necked Phalaropes. Also quite enjoyable were an adult Clark's Grebe with two young and an adult Western Grebe with one young, both sightings at Pahranagat Upper Lake. White-faced Ibis were present at several areas -- I was able to study them at reasonably close range, but could find nothing suggesting a Glossy Ibis. Darn. Complete lists below. Key Pittman NWR (Frency Lake) Canada Goose Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail American White Pelican White-faced Ibis Turkey Vulture Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Bank Swallow Brewer's Sparrow Pahranagat NWR (Lower Lake) Gadwall Mallard Cinnamon Teal Redhead Ruddy Duck Black-crowned Night-heron White-faced Ibis American Coot Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Long-billed Curlew Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope California Gull Mourning Dove Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Western Kingbird Violet-green Swallow Northern Mockingbird Brewer's Sparrow Yellow-headed Blackbird Pahranagat NWR (Upper Lake) Gadwall Mallard Pied-billed Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Green Heron White-faced Ibis Turkey Vulture Osprey American Coot Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Black Tern Eurasian Collared-dove Mourning Dove Greater Roadrunner Olive-sided Flycatcher Gray Flycatcher Black Phoebe Say's Phoebe Western Kingbird Violet-green Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Mockingbird Yellow Warbler Common Yellowthroat Wilson's Warbler Lazuli Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Lesser Goldfinch Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: zone-tailed hawk, Pahranagat NWR From: "di_an AT juno.com" <di_an@JUNO.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:21:12 GMT Hello birders, Had an exciting sighting this morning! I was having a slow day at the banding station on the west side of the Upper Lake. There were a lot of TURKEY VULTURES kettling overhead (as well as SWALLOWS (mostly violet-greens). Someone (maybe Martin???) told me in the past to check the vulture flocks for a zone-tail, so I did this, but no luck...all vultures. Then I found a RED-TAILED HAWK, and thought, ok...found the hawk, back to banding. I had trapped only 1 bird that net run ( a WESTERN TANAGER), and was just finishing up banding it when I heard a hawk scream (NOT a redtail!) overhead. I quickly released the tanager, looked straight up, and saw a vulture. But, then...the 2nd bird I found had a black head, black terminal tail band adjacent to a white band, and black edging around the wings that otherwise looked like a turkey vulture pattern. The hawk was heading north with the group of turkey vultures. It flew through about 9:30am this morning. The weather here is relatively cool for Pahranagat...hints of fall coming. Pahranagat NWR is located near Alamo off Hwy 93 (~2 hour NE of Vegas). Diane Wong Pahranagat NWR ____________________________________________________________ Obama Urges Homeowners to Refinance If you owe under $729k you probably qualify for Obamas Refi Program http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4c7c12f76a212958b89st06vuc Subject: Backyard Birds in N. Reno From: Jamie Trammell <ejtrammell AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:01:22 -0400 Sorry for the late posting, but the storm this weekend blew some unusual birds into our yard in Stead this Saturday. First was a Western Wood Pewee (particularly unusual given the total lack of water for a couple of miles), followed by a female Pine Sisken. Then, two Red-breasted Nuthatches were found moving up and down our River Birch. The Pewee and Nuthatches are first ever backyard birds for us. Jamie Trammell Reno, NV Subject: Great Horned Owl From: David Worley <daveworl AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:52:59 -0400 Not quite a yard bird, but I heard a great horned owl calling near Comstock Drive north of UNR before dawn this morning. And the lesser goldfinches are having a great time with our sunflowers. Dave Worley Reno, Nevada Subject: Washoe Lake area and home feeders, Carson City, Sat., Aug. 28th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:19:09 -0400 Hello again! This past Saturday, Aug. 28th, I decided to stay close to home and bird the area around Washoe Lake, looking primarily for shorebirds. I first took the Bellevue exit off of Rte. 395 just north of Carson City and birded about two-thirds of the west shore of Washoe Lake, then went to Little Washoe Lake, followed by a visit to the pond/small lake in the Scripps Wildlife Management Area just south of Little Washoe Lake, and ending with a quick visit to the wetland area on the south shore of the lake. I observed the following birds during my visits: WEST SHORE WASHOE LAKE Snowy Plover American White Pelican-about 550 to 600 Willet-2 Western and Least Sandpipers-about 55-60 American Avocet Black-Necked Stilt-7 Northern Harrier Horned Lark-about 25 Barn Swallow-2 Ring-Billed Gull-a few California Gull-many Cinnamon Teal-6 Black-Billed Magpie American Kestrel-2 Mallard/Green-Winged Teal/Northern Shoveler-a mixed flock of about 100 Killdeer-53 LITTLE WASHOE LAKE Not much other than many Coots and Mallards, a Spotted Sandpiper, a Black-Necked Stilt, and some Barn Swallows SCRIPPS WMA POND/SMALL LAKE This pond/small lake and area was loaded with birds including: WIlson's Phalarope-14 Red-Necked Phalarope-25 Western and Least Sandpipers-160 -170 total Long-Billed Dowitcher-2 American Avocet-5 Black-Necked Stilt-63 White-Faced Ibis-22 Snowy Egret-10 Great Egret-2 Black-Crowned Night Heron-3 1st year birds Wilson's Snipe Sora-2 1st year birds Killdeer-35 to 40 Golden Eagle-an immature bird flew overhead near the pond Northern Harrier Savannah Sparrow-10 Yellow-Rumped Warbler Pied-Billed Grebe-2 1st year birds Ruddy Duck-2 1st year birds American Coot-numerous Barn Swallow-4 Violet-Green Swallow Black-Billed Magpie-a flock of about 50 down in the sagebrush along the road to the pond Ring-Billed Gull-2 California Gull-2 Western Kingbird Northern Mockingbird California Quail-several Mallard-several Red-Winged Blackbird-several Canada Goose-5 Mourning Dove-5 WETLAND AREA AND SOUTH SHORE WASHOE LAKE Snowy Plover (7) and Semipalmated Plover (1) along lake shore Nothing not already reported elsewhere except for a Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, a Brewer's Sparrow, and a few Marsh Wrens FEEDERS AT HOME (EAST CARSON CITY) At our hummingbird feeders, we had 7 hummingbirds including a Broad-Tailed, 2 Black-Chinned, and 3 Rufous. It is interesting how the Broad-Tailed and Black-Chinned can sit and feed together in peace but the Rufous are CONSTANTLY fighting and dive-bombing each other. However, my wife did catch a brief moment when 5 Hummingbirds were feeding on a feeder at the same time. At our seed feeders, we have a family of Western Scrub-Jays including 2 1st year birds, and up to 20 Eurasian Collared-Doves, which are mostly 1st year birds, feeding amongst the throngs of Yellow-Headed and Red-Winged Blackbirds, the large families of California Quails, the Starlings, the few Mourning Doves, and several House Finches. Directions to the stops around Washoe Lake can be found on the Lahontan Audubon Society web site at www.nevadaaudubon.org by clicking on Area #20 of the Area Birding Guide. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Sandhill Cranes, Rte. 88, Gardnerville-Sun., Aug. 29th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:37:31 -0400 Hello! At about 6 PM on our way home from a day of hiking in California, my wife and I saw 4 Sandhill Cranes feeding in a wet field along Rte. 88, northeast of the intersection of Centerville Road and Rte. 88 in Gardnerville. The 4 appeared to consist of a pair and their 2 colts. The field that the 4 were in looked to be a part of the Heise Ranch. There were also about 20-25 Ravens feeding in/near the field with them. I watched in amusement as a Raven tried to catch a small rodent scurrying along the gravel berm on the side of the road. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Black Terns, Virginia Lake; Reno (8/29/10) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:42:11 -0400 Virginia Lake, Reno, Washoe Co (8/29/10): 11:45am-12:45 Highlights at the lake this unseasonably cold & drizzly morning: Mute Swan--1 (continues) Redhead--1 male Spotted Sandpiper--1-2 Black Tern--2 juveniles Yellow Warbler--1 male (in elm tree on west side) Also, the first large hirundine passage of the "fall": mostly Barn Swallows (90%) with Cliffs coming next, then Trees. An unexpected sighting on my way back home was an Olive-sided Flycatcher at the top of a small tree in the Starbucks parking lot at Keystone & 7th St (NW Reno). I don't believe I've seen an OS Flycatcher in such an urban setting before. There's been a male Black-headed Grosbeak at my feeders for the last 3 days. Today there were 2 grosbeaks, a male & a female. Fred Petersen Subject: Oasis Valley From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:39:45 -0400 Beatty, Nye County, north along Highway 95. Slow for migrants. Wilson's warbler-1 Yellow warbler-2 Mourning dove Eurasian collared dove Turkey vulture-1 American kestrel Sora Great egret Spotted sandpiper-4 Black-headed grosbeak-1 immature Bullock's oriole-5-6 immature Western tanager-6-7, male, female, possible immature birds. Lazuli bunting-1 male Cedar waxwing Western kingbird-5 Say's phoebe-1 Willow flycatcher-1 Black-chinned hummingbird-2 immature/female Broad-tailed hummingbird- immature/female Gambel's quail Chukar House finch-eating creosote seeds. Savannah sparrow Red-winged blackbird Brown-headed cowbird Loggerhead shrike Blue-gray gnatcatcher Laura Cunningham Subject: Willow Creek: August 29, 2010 (Pahrump, Nye County) From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:45:22 -0400 A beautiful morning to bird with a cool breeze until 9 a.m. Lots of hummingbirds, lots that I could not identify. One of those magical days when it's great to be outside. While I was studying a metallic green fruit beetle (Cotinis Mutabills), two Warbling Vireo's popped out of the trees into plain view, before disappearing again into the tree's. At the same place there were 25 Monarch Butterflies feeding off milkweed. Birds seen this morning at Willow Creek: Canada Goose (1) Mallard's Great Blue Heron(1) Black-crowned Night Heron's (6) (three juveniles) Cooper's Hawk (1) Red-shouldered Hawk (1) American Kestrel (1) Gambel's Quail American Coots Rock Dove's Eurasian Collared-Dove's (5) Mourning Dove's Greater Roadrunner (1) Black-chinned Hummingbirds (4) Anna's Hummingbirds (1) Red-naped Sapsucker (1) who was disturbed by the crows Ladder-backed Woodpecker (1) Willow Flycatcher (1) Black Phoebe (2) Say's Phoebe (3) one juvenile Western Kingbird's (2) Northern Rough-winged Swallow's (3) American Crows (18) Common Raven's (5) Bushtit (1)(this bird was feeding off hummingbird feeders) Northern Mockingbird (1)(juvenile) Warbling Vireo's (2) Yellow Warbler's (3) one male and two females Lark Sparrow's (11) Yellow-headed Blackbirds (females) Great-tailed Grackle's House Finch (lots) Lesser Goldfinch (9) Submitted by Darlene Feener Pahrump,Nevada Subject: Common Tern at Duck Creek, Black Terns at Duck Creek and Lake Mead (Clark County) From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:28:50 -0700 Today, I had one Common Tern at the Duck Creek section of the Clark County Wetlands Park. This is only the second Common Tern I've seen in Clark County. Also at Duck Creek were 220 White-faced Ibis (well, all the ones I could see well enough to identify were White-faced, anyway.) There were also six or seven Black Terns at the same location, and 24 Long-billed Dowitchers. Late in the afternoon at Boulder Beach, Lake Mead, I counted 110 Black Terns! That's the most I've ever seen at any Nevada location. Here's the complete list from Duck Creek: Mallard Cinnamon Teal Green-winged Teal Redhead Common Merganser Ruddy Duck Gambel's Quail Pied-billed Grebe Western Grebe Clark's Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret White-faced Ibis Sora American Coot Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Black Tern Common Tern Mourning Dove Loggerhead Shrike Savannah Sparrow Brewer's Blackbird Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Kennedy district, East Range, eastern Pershing County From: Alan Wallace <wallacealan AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:25:16 -0700 I spent Monday, August 23, hiking in the Kennedy district, going from Kennedy Canyon over the ridge into Water Canyon to the north and back. Nice day, 65-80 degrees, light breeze, clear. I mostly was in sage-juniper, some of it having been burned in the late 1990s, with some riparian willows and rose thickets along Water Canyon. Overall, there were very few birds except for Juniper Titmouses (Titmice?) and nothing out of the ordinary. Still, it was nice to see what was there in late August. The following list is not directly comparable to the one that I posted in June because I was in a different part of the area. Turkey Vulture - 2 Red-tailed Hawk - 1 Golden Eagle - 1 immature, but not first year Prairie Falcon - 1 Mourning Dover - 3 Northern Flicker - 1 Western Kingbird - 1 possibly first-year, didn't have full adult plumage Black-billed Magpie - 1 Common Raven - 1 Rock Wren - 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2 Barn Swallow - 3 Cliff Swallow - 1 Juniper Titmouse - 7 (at least) Brewer's Sparrow - 4 Vesper Sparrow - 1 I also heard a few warbler-like chips in the willows along Water Canyon, but they never showed themselves. In the very late afternoon, I drove north through Pleasant and Grass Valleys to Winnemucca. Just north of Goldbanks Hills, which separate the two valleys, are some large alfalfa farms. In that area, and especially along the road, were at least 150 Common Ravens (I stopped counting at 150). From a distance, it looked like a typical large, loose aggregation of American Crows, but they all were ravens when I got close enough to really see them. They appeared to be feeding on something along and just off the road, but I couldn't see anything obvious when I stopped and got out of the truck to look. This is by far the largest "flock" of ravens that I've ever seen; they usually (to me) are seen in ones to threes. The online Birds of North America says that large groups of juveniles, from a few dozen up to thousands in number, are not unusual, so maybe that's what I was seeing. Winnemucca had an equal mix of Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared-Doves, a few Great-tailed Grackles, and several American Kestrels near Scott's Shady Court motel (they had a nest and newly fledged young near there in late July). Alan Wallace Reno NV ******************* Alan Wallace 1050 Sumac St. Reno NV 89509 (775) 786-5755 Home (775) 527-0983 Cell Subject: Hermit Warblers! From: Rose Strickland <rosenreno AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:36:22 -0700 birders, Dennis and I also visited Galena Creek Park today, walking around in the flatter area just past the trailhead and on the slopes up to the water tower. Despite the cool day with gusty winds, this lower area was very birdy. We saw dozens of W. Wood-Pewees which surrounded us as we walked through the woods, clacking their bills on tasty bugs. Other flycatchers included one Gray, a couple of Olive-sided, and a Dusky. The last two weeks of August are the best time to find Hermit Warblers there, as they begin to migrate south. The first one we saw was down in some brush - we had followed a Wilson's Warbler to the brushy area. We saw the other half-dozen or so Hermit Warblers much higher in the pine trees, singly or in mixed flocks of Yellow-rumps, along with several Townsend's Warblers. There were many Pygmy, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, several Brown Creepers, and many Mountain Chickadees working the trees. The forest regulars, Steller's Jays and Clark's Nutcrackers showed up singly. A single swallow flew over. And a single Cooper's Hawk was flying about. We followed hammering to find a juvenile Hairy Woodpecker and a Williamson's Sapsucker. On the same slope, we flushed a Common Poor-will. It flew a short distance and landed immediately, where we got great views. A great day of early Fall birding! Rose Strickland Subject: Carson and Truckee River birds From: David Worley <daveworl AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:05:00 -0400 Visited the Carson River in Fort Churchill State Park yesterday. Little in the way of song birds, but mourning doves were common, as were black-billed magpies. Several turkey vultures and a red-tailed hawk flew over cottonwoods along the river. The most interesting spot was a pond near Hercules Well. Both red-necked and Wilson's phalaropes were on the pond. Mallards flushed, but a female wood duck and a white-faced ibis flew in. In addition to killdeer, four sandpipers on the pond edge appeared to be semipalmated. A young coot foraged on the pond's shore. Rough-winged and barn swallows were overhead. Working on the Truckee below Glendale this morning, we had four snowy egrets, as many black-crowned night-herons, a kingfisher, black-billed magpies, eclipe plumage mallards, Canada geese, a number of robins, and a family of great-tailed grackles. I've seen the grackles in Battle Mountain and Winnemucca, but I think only once before in Reno. On the home front, north of UNR, we have black-chinned hummingbirds at our feeder, and a northern maockingbird as well as robins feeding on dogwood berries. Scrub jays are regulars, as are small family groups of quail - no big broods in our area this year. We see red-tails working the still-open are north of us. Dave Worley Reno, Nevada Subject: Ruby Mountains Trip Report 23-27 Aug 2010 From: bewickwren <bewickwren AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:58:26 -0700 NVBirders, I headed into the Rubies this week for two primary reasons: to climb a peak on my 50th birthday, and to see Himalayan Snowcock. Secondarily, I had hoped to find Dusky Grouse and Gray Partridge, but did not encounter those birds. This trip was originally planned with four others, but they all had to drop out by the end, so I went solo. Here is my trip report: I flew into Elko on Sunday, August 22nd, and headed up to the Island Lake trailhead in the early morning darkness on the 23rd. It was 32 degrees when I left the trailhead carrying a 50 pound pack. As I climbed, I noticed a disturbing sight on Lamoille Canyon Road below. An excavator had arrived and was tearing a huge piece of the road out at a culvert! My vehicle and all others in the parking lot were now trapped. Nothing could be done about it now, so I continued on. Two miles and 1000 feet higher I arrived in the early morning light at Island Lake, elevation ~9675 feet. I continued up to a campsite at just under 10,000 feet with a good view of the famed "black wall" and the other cliffs surrounding it. During this first full day at the base of Himalayan Snowcock habitat, I saw and heard no snowcocks. At least five Mountain goats scaling the cliffs were nice though, and at least one was seen every day. August 24th was the big Five Oh for me. Time to do a peak climb through prime snowcock habitat. I started at 11AM, ascending via a chute at the northeast end of the ridge complex here and then traveled west towards the peak of Thomas Mountain. Saw plenty of Pika on the way up and down. After reaching the ridge and heading west I reached a large, fairly dry meadow at about 11,000 feet. At that point I heard Himalayan Snowcock, but could not spot any. The meadow had much snowcock scat and feathers in it. It cannot be seen from below at all, so when snowcocks are there, a climb would be required to see them. I crossed the meadow and reached the peak at around 2:30PM. Note that this climb could be done in much less time. I had a lot of rest breaks and took it slow. This unnamed peak on Thomas Mountain is at about 11,325 feet and is above the north end of the black wall. It is taller than the named Thomas Peak which is about 1000 feet to the north. I descended via a different chute that leads directly into the valley at the base of the black wall. Despite walking directly through the area where most snowcock reports are from, I did not see or hear a single one as I descended past the black wall and on down to camp. Presumably because of the road closure, I had seen no other human being during my first two days in the Rubies. On my third day, August 25th, it was a surprise then to awake to voices at 4:30AM! Bill and Dick, two birders from PA, had hiked up around the closure and arrived in my camp to look for snowcock. I got up and joined them and two other birders from New Mexico arrived a bit later as well. Conventional wisdom is that snowcock will be seen and heard at the black wall between dawn and 10AM. Despite five pairs of eyes and ears though, we were disappointed. No sight or sound of a snowcock. All the other birders headed back down by about 10:30AM, but Bill and Dick promised to return the next day, also providing me hope of a ride out of the mountains and back to Elko for my flight early Friday morning. After everyone else left, I headed down to Island Lake at 11AM for a few hours of fishing. I got back to camp around 4:30PM with two Brook Trout for dinner. It was a very warm day, so I decided to scope the black wall from a shady spot. I didn't have much hope, but within five minutes I found a snowcock! I watched this bird intermittently for an hour while preparing dinner at the scope. When I finally lost it, I searched elsewhere on the wall and ended up seeing a minimum of five snowcocks. I had two full hours of snowcock viewing before I finally lost track of the last of them about 6:40PM. Even later than that though, I heard snowcocks vocalizing at 7:15PM. Success and joy, with a fresh fish dinner to boot! So, Thursday morning dawn arrived, as did Bill and Dick. We heard snowcocks right away, but then the hours ticked by with no sightings. The three of us maintained constant searching, taking shifts on the two scopes as I also prepared my backpack for departure. At about 10:30AM when all hope was nearly lost, I suddenly heard snowcocks and looked up to see a flock soaring south to north almost directly overhead. I got Bill and Dick on them, and that flock was followed by two more flocks, the three groups totaling about 20 birds. They all kept gliding around the ridge to the north and out of sight, never nearing the black wall. Wondering where they had launched from, I then scoped the ridge south of Island Lake. I found a snowcock on the skyline, and eventually three snowcocks turned up there. Those birds eventually did launch into the black wall area, but we could not relocate them after they landed. But Bill and Dick got their looks at both aerial and perched snowcocks and I had earned my ride back to Elko! Good thing too, because the giant hole in the road looked just about the same as it did on Monday. My rental car is still up there. I had three days of perfect weather under blue skies, but it clouded up Thursday morning and started to rain minutes after we got down. Would have been a major bummer up at my base camp, and would have canceled my peak climb if it happened that day (you don't want to be on a peak in a thunderstorm). I got lucky! Thanks to all of you who provided me information for this trip. If you'd like to see some of my pictures, go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=206235 &l=fb2e0b9f21&id=633844340 , but you'll only see one fuzzy snowcock picture. I'm not a bird photographer! John Green Riverside, CA Subject: Painted Redstart From: Alan Williams <ilovearches AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:31:08 -0400 Hey all, I was able to spot a Painted Redstart up Fletcher Canyon in Mt Charleston. I am not sure how rare this is, but it was my first for Nevada. Overall I saw the bird about 9:30 AM Friday (sorry about the late posting). I was about to leave because of the lack of birds, and this guy popped up. I observed a male (don't remember if the sexes differ), and possibly up to three different individuals, but never at once. If you would like a more in depth description and a photo here is a link, http://alancwilliams.com/2010/08/28/painted-redstart-mt-charleston-nevada/ I hope you enjoy! Alan Subject: Galena Creek Park From: John Anderson <jga.birding AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:39:58 -0700 A lot of small songbirds were active this morning at Galena Creek Park, particularly in the half mile from the trailhead towards the stream crossing (now dry). For me the highlight was five warbler species, including a Townsend's Warbler. Here is my complete list as submitted to eBird. Galena Creek Park is on the Mt. Rose Highway, heading west towards Lake Tahoe from south Reno. Location: Galena Creek SP (Jones Creek Trail) Observation date: 8/28/10 Number of species: 18 Hairy Woodpecker 1 White-headed Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 Western Wood-Pewee 2 Steller's Jay 10 Mountain Chickadee 10 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Brown Creeper 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10 Orange-crowned Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Townsend's Warbler 1 Hermit Warbler 1 Wilson's Warbler 1 Green-tailed Towhee 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- John Anderson Reno, Nevada Subject: Greater Yellowlegs at Virginia Lake From: STEPHEN WIEL <steve AT WIEL.COM> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:39:50 -0700 Virginia Lake, Reno, Washoe Co. Friday 5:30 PM, August 27, 2010 Nothing that Fred Peterson hasn't recently reported in his regular vigil of Virginia Lake except for an adult lesser yellowlegs in breeding plumage. It was walking in the water along the shoreline at the south end of the lake with constant nodding and, when it finally flew, it showed its distinctive white tail patch. There were also many female mergansers that Fred hadn't reported on the 23rd, probably red-breasted (but, without a spotting scope, couldn't tell for sure). Steve Wiel, Incline Village Subject: Crystal Reservoir Loon, Etc. From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:49:56 -0700 This afternoon at Crystal Reservoir (Ash Meadows NWR) there was a single COMMON LOON which did not look like the individual that spent most of June and July here (but could have been). Other birds of note included 64 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and only a few other common shorebirds. Working around the refuge this week an substantial increase in landbirds has been evident. I haven't had the luxury to stop and look at many, but what I've seen includes many Yellow and some Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Brewers and a Vesper Sparrow, Lazuli Buntings, and jsut a lot of birds conspicuously flying around as I travel around the refuge. A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was near Fairbanks Spring on Monday. Carl Lundblad Amargosa Valley, NV Subject: Hermit Warbler in Douglas County From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:03:21 -0700 This morning August 24th, 2010 I made a stop along HWY 50 about 2 miles south of Spooner Summit in the Lake Tahoe Basin. I hiked up a dense riparian corridor with a small running stream on the east side of the highway that climbed up the mountain. For anyone who doesn't know, right now (from about the 2nd week of August into the beginning of September), is the best time to find Hermit Warbler in Nevada. They move through the pine forests of the Sierra and the Spring Mountains (in southern Nevada) in small numbers during this period. Of course Hermit Warblers can also be seen in migration at some of the desert hotspots but not with any real reliability. But in mid to late August you stand a pretty good chance of finding one in a mixed flock of mountain birds in the Carson Range. Martin Meyers just mentioned to me last night that he had one a few days ago off Spooner Summit also in Douglas County. I looked on Sunday at the Chimney Beach trail area without any luck but I was successful today. The following birds were seen during my short 30 minute hike: -HERMIT WARBLER (imm.) -Golden-crowned Kinglet -Cassin's Vireo -Yellow-rumped Warbler (10) -Wilson's Warbler (4) -Nashville Warbler -Warbling Vireo (2) -Mountain Chickadee (10) -Red-breasted Nuthatch (6) -Stellar's Jay (2) -Clark's Nutcracker Greg Scyphers Sparks, NV Subject: Flamingo Arroyo Trail Las Vegas From: Gary Zachman <gmzachman AT EMBARQMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:58:17 -0400 Monday 8-23-2010 Christine and I biked the Flamingo Arroyo trail. From 8 am to 12:30 pm. Clear Skies winds 10-15 temp. 90-109. Location: Flamingo Arroyo Trail Observation date: 8/23/10 Number of species: 24 Snow Goose 1 Canada Goose 8 Mallard 6 Common Merganser 5 Gambel's Quail X Double-crested Cormorant X Great Blue Heron 5 Great Egret 2 Green Heron X White-faced Ibis X Turkey Vulture X Osprey X Northern Harrier X Red-tailed Hawk X American Kestrel X Killdeer X Black-necked Stilt X Least Sandpiper X Mourning Dove X Greater Roadrunner X Common Poorwill 1 Horned Lark 15 Verdin X Northern Mockingbird X This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Peregrine Falcon, Virginia Lake; Reno (8/23/10) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:11:13 -0400 Virginia Lake, Reno, Washoe Co (8/23/10): 10:30am-11:15 The best bird this morning was a Peregrine Falcon dashing across the S end of the lake shortly after I arrived. The pigeons went up en masse but it all happened too fast for any of the other birds to react. Otherwise, apart from a single Spotted Sandpiper--still in breeding plumage--& a female Bufflehead, the summer doldrums continue at the lake with nothing new. Other birds: Mute Swan—1 (continues) Hooded Merganser--1 (continues) Snowy Egret--5-6 (continue) Of the 4 or 5 Snowy Egret nests on the island earlier in the summer, only one remains--at the S end with 2 half-grown chicks. Fred Petersen Subject: North Canyon Trail, Lake Tahoe SP-Sun., Aug. 22nd From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:51:09 -0400 Hello! Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I hiked starting at the Spooner Summit parking lot on the north side of Rte. 50, continued down around the east side of Spooner Lake, picked up the North Canyon Trail (the hiking path, not he biking one), followed it to Marlette Lake, and returned to our car by the same route in reverse. During our hike, the following birds were observed: Black-Backed Woodpecker-2, we first heard a loud chattering as we were hiking and looked up to see a male not happy by our presence. We got great looks at him for a minute or so and then saw a second one with him, before they flew off. Sooty Grouse-2, as we started the descent to Marlette Lake, I saw a hen slowly walk across the path in front of us. Once on the other side of the trail, she perched on a log for a few minutes giving us fantastic looks. Wondering why she was being so bold, we then saw why as a chick ran across the path to her side. The hen stayed perched on the log looking at us for another couple of minutes, before they both slowly walked away, feeding the whole time. Pine Grosbeak-first heard one and then saw two in top of pine tree, not great looks, appeared to be first year and/or female Dusky Flycatcher-2 Olive-Sided Flycatcher Clark's Nutcracker-8 to 10 Western Wood-Pewee-10 or so White-Headed Woodpecker-2 Hummingbird-we could positively ID three as Rufous as each was perched close by when we saw them. We saw/heard at least another 8-10 Hummers that we couldn't positively ID, but suspect that most were Rufous. One was chasing a small bird for what seem to be a long time (pretty funny to watch) Hairy Woodpecker-4 Violet-Green Swallow-about 20-25 Northern Flicker-5 Brown Creeper-4 White-Breasted Nuthatch-3 Red-Breasted Nuthatch-7 Fox Sparrow-7 Green-Tailed Towhee-1 first-tyear Western Tanager Orange-Crowned Warbler-9 Wilson's Warbler-3 first year males Yellow-Rumped Warbler-about 10 to 12 Nashville Warbler-1 with the biggest eye-ring I've ever seen on one Warbling Vireo Cassin's Finch California Quail Steller's Jay-about 15 Turkey Vulture Brewer's Blackbird-2 American Robin-7 House Wren-3 Lesser Goldfinch-2 Mallard-20 to 25 Mountain Chickadee-numerous Junco-numerous Canada Goose-4, heard a few from across Spooner Lake Directions to Spooner Lake can be found on the Lahontan Audubon Society web site at www.nevadaaudubon.org, (Area #14). One can park at Spooner summit at lots on either the north or south side of Rte. 50, west of Carson City. There is a fee to park at Spooner Lake ($6 or so?). There is no parking fee if you park in the Rte. 50 lots. However, there is a $1 per person fee (at a self-serve kiosk) if you hike on the path that goes around Spooner Lake, if you access that trail from Spooner summit. The North Canyon Trail begins about a half-mile north from Spooner Lake. At first you follow a maintenance road north from the lake, and then you will see a sign on your left for the hiking trail. I believe that the maintenance road also goes to Marlette Lake, and is also used by mountain bikers. Rob Lowry Carson City, NV Subject: Pectoral Sandpiper at Pyramid Lake From: Rose Strickland <rosenreno AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:50:02 -0700 NV birders, among the dozens of Western and Least Sandpipers at the south end of Pyramid Lake, we found a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper yesterday morning. Initially, we thought it was a Baird's Sandpiper because of its overall brown appearance, despite the typical Pect streaked bib which extended almost to the legs and white belly. But this bird had yellowish legs, not black and did not have that horizontal appearance of the Baird's. It was also obviously much larger than the surrounding peeps. It was in the extreme southwest corner of Pyramid Lake, in a shallow lagoon, along with peeps and ducks. Rose Strickland Subject: Migrant warblers, NW Reno (8/22/10) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:39:49 -0400 NW Reno, Washoe Co (8/22/10) Had 2 warblers in my backyard this afternoon--an adult male Wilson's & a female/immature MacGillivray's, the FOS in both cases. Fred Petersen Subject: Willow Creek: Pahrump: Nye County From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:53:37 -0400 Birding report for 8-22-10 at Willow Creek. Canada Goose Mallards Cinnamon Teals (2) Pied-billed Grebe Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Cooper's Hawks (2) Red-shouldered Hawk (1) American Kestrel (1) Gambel's Quail American Coot Rock Dove's Eurasian Collared-Dove (3) Mourning Dove's Black-chinned Hummingbird Ladder-backed Woodpecker Dusky Flycatcher Say's Phoebe American Crow's Bushtit (1) Northern Mockingbird Phainopepla's Yellow Warbler (1) Lark Sparrows (8) Great-tailed Grackle's House Finch Lesser Goldfinch Submitted by Darlene Feener Pahrump, Nevada Subject: Whoops -- Wilson's Phalaropes, not Wilson's Plovers at Carson Lake! From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:53:55 -0700 Thanks to eagle-eyed editing by Carl Lundblad, I'd better issue a slight correction/retraction to my post yesterday on Carson Lake. We don't have Wilson's Plovers in Nevada. (We do have Wilson's Phalaropes.) The list at the end of the post was correct, but the paragraph describing "... other expected birds..." contained the erroneous reference to Wilson's Plovers. Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Semipalmated Sandpiper at Carson Lake (Churchill) From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:36:21 -0700 A juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper was at the first (really, the only) large open water along Lott Freeway today at Carson Lake. This is the second Semi Sandpiper I've seen in the past week (the other was at Soda Lake a few days ago) -- that's pretty good for this species in a season in western Nevada -- they tend to be more common in eastern Nevada. Some years I don't see any in western Nevada. Lots of dowitchers out there, several hundred at least. All the ones I got close looks at were adults and the ones I could identify (some were kind enough to call) were Long-billed. Based on past records for this time of year, I expect there were probably some Short-bills out there, but I never heard one. A couple of Semipalmated Plovers were present along with the Western and Least Sandpipers, Wilson's Plovers, and other expected birds. A complete list from Carson Lake is below. A stop at Soda Lake brought a Snowy Plover plus the expected collection. Nothing out of the ordinary. I'm pretty sure the Sanderling I saw there earlier this week is gone -- it really stood out in flight and I think I'd have seen it if it were still around. The Semi Sandpiper from earlier could still be around -- much easier to miss. Martin Carson Lake complete list: Canada Goose Gadwall Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Ruddy Duck American White Pelican Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Black-crowned Night-heron White-faced Ibis Turkey Vulture Red-tailed Hawk Virginia Rail American Coot Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Semipalmated Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Ring-billed Gull California Gull Mourning Dove Western Kingbird Loggerhead Shrike Common Raven Tree Swallow Barn Swallow European Starling Savannah Sparrow Yellow-headed Blackbird --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Ash Meadows/Amargosa Happenings From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:42:59 -0700 Thursday morning Sam Skalak and I surveyed most of the water sites on Ash Meadows NWR for aquatic birds: *LOWER CRYSTAL MARSH 6:38-8:21* Mallard 41 Gadwall 10 G.W. Teal 3 Cinnamon Teal 13 Redhead 7 Ruddy Dyck 9 Eared Grebe 9 Pied-billed Grebe 9 Double-crested Cormorant 1 LEAST BITTERN 2 AMERICAN BITTERN 2 Snowy Egret 4 Great Egret 4 Great Blue Heron 1 White-faced Ibis 144 Virginia Rail 7 Sora 1 American Coot 59 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER 1 SNOWY PLOVER 15 SEMIPALMATED PLOVER 1 Killdeer 9 American Avocet 8 Black-necked Stilt 24 Greater Yellowlegs 1 SOLITARY SANDPIPER 1 Western Sandpiper 63 Least Sandpiper 32 Long-billed Dowitcher 6 Red-necked Phalarope 2 California Gull 3 BLACK TERN 1 Pererine Falcon 1 *HORSESHOE RESERVOIR 8:39-9:08* AMERICAN BITTERN 2 *PETERSON RESERVOIR 9:39-10:42* Mallard 20 Cinnamon Teal 29 Ruddy Duck 5 LEAST BITTERN 1 Snowy Egret 3 Great Blue Heron 3 White-faced Ibis 240 Virginia Rail 2 American Coot 227 American Avocet 16 Black-necked Stilt 6 Greater Yellowlegs 5 LESSER YELLOWLEGS 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPER 1 Spotted Sandpiper 3 Western Sandpiper 3 Long-billed Dowitcher 14 Wilson's Phalarope 1 Red-necked Phalarope 8 BLACK TERN 12 On Friday (8/20) I checked some of the refuge's landbird hot spots for migrants. Point of Rocks had a Willow Flycatcher, 2 Wilson's Warblers, a Western Tanager, and probably more Yellow Warblers than just the breeders. Bradford Spring had an Anna's Hummingbird, a "Western" Flycatcher, a Warbling Vireo, and 2 Summer Tanagers (may have bred). Friday afternoon Sam and I visited the Ponderosa Dairy in Amargosa Valley which was loaded with many hundreds of shorebirds including: Killdeer ~150+ Black-necked Stilt 3 LESSER YELLOWLEGS 7+ SOLITARY SANDPIPER 1 Spotted Sandpiper 10+ Peep sp. 300+ western:least in ration of about 2:1, expected but could not find a semipalm. BAIRD'S SANDPIPER 8+ Long-billed Dowitcher ~5 Wilson's Phalarope ~100 Red-necked Phalarope ~10 Also, Lot of tree, bank, cliff, and northern rough-winged swallows. ~150 *Plegadis* ibis Carl Lundblad Amargosa Valley, NV Subject: Eurasin Collared-Doves From: Bob Goodman <Pandion36 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:41:57 EDT Friday, August 20, 2010 Golden Valley, North Reno To continue the saga of the Eurasion Collared-Doves.I live in western Golden Valley, north Reno, and after about a year of their first sighting in my yard, two returned this afternoon. They were with a flock of Mourning Doves, as they were a year ago. Cheers, Bob Goodman Subject: Hunter Creek Trail, Reno From: Alan de Queiroz <alandqz AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:59:49 -0700 Yesterday morning (Aug 19) I went for a short hike on the Hunter Creek Trail, starting from the Michael Thompson trailhead on Woodchuck Circle in Reno. I walked about a mile up the canyon, not seeing many birds and eventually stashing my binoculars in my daypack. On the way down I did hit one nice group of small birds among the willows and cottonwoods by the creek (and had to pull the binocs out), including Yellow, Macgillivray's and Townsend's Warblers, a Bewick's Wren, and a Green-tailed Towhee. Also saw about ten Black-billed Magpies that at one time were all perched on a set of powerline poles right near a Golden Eagle (one of the magpies was within a couple feet of the eagle) but didn't seem to be harassing the eagle at all. Complete list: Western Scrub-Jay (10-15, mostly immatures) Northern Flicker (2-3) Belted Kingfisher (1) Steller's Jay (~5) California Quail (~20, mostly young) Black-billed Magpie (~10, all in one group) Green-tailed Towhee (1) Macgillivray's Warbler (1-2) Western Wood-Pewee (1) Yellow Warbler (1) Townsend's Warbler (1) Golden Eagle (1) Bewick's Wren (1-2) Alan de Queiroz Reno Subject: RFI: Dusky Grouse & Gray Partridge Ruby Mtns area From: John Green <bewickwren AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:27:36 -0400 Hi, I hope to try for Himalayan Snowcock next week in the Ruby Mountains, but would also like to look for Dusky Grouse and Gray Partridge while in Nevada. Any tips on recent sightings or reliable spots in the general vicinity of the Ruby Mountains would be appreciated. And, of course, any recent Himalayan Snowcock information is also of interest. Thanks, John Green Riverside, CA bewickwren AT earthlink.net Subject: Shorebirds (etc.) at Pyramid Lake and Soda Lake From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:20:47 -0700 I spent a couple of hours at Pyramid Lake (Washoe County) this afternoon. An assemblage of 260 Double-crested Cormorants in a feeding frenzy at Rawhide Lookout was pretty cool. Lots of Western-type Grebes with them. The south end ("delta") had a good number of shorebirds (unlike my last visit there), but nothing out of the ordinary. I was a bit surprised not to encounter a Baird's Sandpiper, as I've had them there at this time of year previously. But all I could find in the shorebirds were Western and Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Wilson's Phalaropes, Greater Yellowlegs, Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets. Still, it was good to finally see large numbers of shorebirds this year at Pyramid. Because the population at Pyramid was good, I decided to drive on over to Soda Lake (Churchill County) and see what was happening there. Again, decent numbers of Western and Least Sandpipers, but a few uncommon birds present as well, one SANDERLING and one SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. The Semi Sand was behaving in a way I've sort of come to expect for this species, at least when alone amongst lots of Westerns and Leasts. It was very combative, chasing the other peeps whenever it had the chance. There were a few Wilson's Phalaropes and a pretty large group (actually, spread over three groups) of Red-necked Phalaropes. A somewhat casual count yielded about 350 of them. I searched in vain for a Red Phalarope in the flocks. Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: doves From: L/J Hiller <greenacres23 AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:43:50 -0700 Saw Steve's report on the eurasian collared dove "explosion" in Washoe Valley, and here in Jacks Valley, Carson City and Carson Valley, we're seeing the same. What a quick spike this species has acheived here! We had errant sightings of them back in the mid-1990s, my family even received what was then a mystery chick from a rehabber that we raised and turned out to be a eurasian (very nice caged bird), but this last few years they have truly, as Steve says, exploded. Through my 12-year-old birding e-newsletter, I get reports and inquiries for bird i.d's on them from all over the Carson City/Carson Valley/Lake Tahoe/Topaz Lake areas, and they seem to be definitely making an inroad. I agree with Laura on their minimal apparent impact to date ... they feed compatably alongside the mourning doves, Cal. quail and other ground feeders and so far, my unscientific observation is that they're just squeezing in, not yet usurping, but who knows what a food shortage could spawn ... these doves are large and bold and act like they've always been here! On a personal note, I love seeing evolution in action, the expansion of a home range, and their calls are quite charming, I say welcome! Wanted to respond also to Sue's inquiry about the strangely social behavior she saw in barn owls near a movie theater in the Sacramento area. I just finished a book about a woman researcher who raised a barn owl and it is ridiculous how social this bird was, the book is called "Wesley the Owl" by Stacey O'Brien and I'd be willing to loan it to anyone wanting to read it. Wow. Raptor rehabbers seem to put the barn owl in a separate category, I've seen this many times ... maybe their diurnal/nocturnal crossover behavior requires them to have some social adaptation with us? Anyone? Great questions and observations ... this is a listserve at its best! Good birding all, Linda Hiller in Jacks Valley greenacres23 AT charter.net (775) 267-3580 home office, 781-4916 cell www.savingmystories.com Subject: more on collared-doves From: Alan de Queiroz <alandqz AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:55:31 -0700 More on Eurasian Collared-Doves: Since moving to Reno in Spring 2007 I've seen Collared-Doves many times near the intersection of California and Hunter Lake (by Hunter Lake Elementary), which is a few blocks from our house, but we've only started seeing them and hearing them from our yard within the last few months. Alan de Queiroz Reno Subject: Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Mon. + Tues., Aug. 16th + 17th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:22:25 -0400 Hello! The past two evenings (Monday Aug. 16th and Tuesday, August 17th), I hiked along the Carson River from Carson River Park, along Silver Saddle Ranch, to upstream of the dam where the Mexican Ditch begins. The parking area for the Carson River Park is accessed from Carson River Road which runs south off of East Fifth Street in the eastern part of Carson City. I observed the following birds during my two hikes: Common Poorwill-this evening as I was walking back, there was a dark blob in the trail which flew up as I got close. It landed further up trail (about 60 feet), where I observed it through my binoculars jumping up from the trail and snatching bugs. It flew up again at which point I got a better look at it through my binoculars. I also heard 1 or 2 calling from across the river. Common Nighthawk-on Monday, as soon as I arrived in the parking area at 6:30 PM, I looked up to see a large flock of adults and 1st year birds flying generally to the south. I counted around 50 in the flock. As I hiked along the trail, I saw flocks of about 25 on 2 different occasions also heading to the south. I wasn't sure if either of these flocks had peeled off from the first flock, and flew back around. So anywhere from 50 to maybe 100 were observed on Monday, whereas only 2 were observed on Tuesday. American Dipper-I saw the first year bird below the dam on Monday that I first saw on Aug. 10th Pinyon Jay-about 75 on Mon. Osprey-1 and 2 Great-Horned Owl-1 perched on utility pole by bridge on Mon. Brewer's Sparrow-1 each evening Redhead-2 on Tues. White-Faced Ibis-1 overhead on Mon. Black Phoebe-2 each evening Barn Swallow-several in fields on Tues. Violet-Green Swallow-flock of 50+ on Tues. Belted Kingfisher-1 each evening Spotted Sandpiper-3 and 4 Spotted Towhee-4 each evening Black-Billed Magpie-7 and 1 Western Wood Pewee-7 and 2 California Quail-about 50 and 30 House Wren-4 and 1 Bushtit-heard a few on Mon. Black-Crowned Night Heron-1 and 2 Northern Flicker-3 and 1 Downy Woodpecker-1 on Tues. Killdeer-9 and 10 American Kestrel-3 and 4 Red-Tailed Hawk-2 and 1 American Robin-2 on Mon. House Finch-1 on Tues. Mallard-12 and 17 Mourning Dove-about 35-40 each evening Lesser Goldfinch-3 and 1 Canada Goose-1 on Tues. Rock Dove-4 and 3 The 3 Rufous and 2 Black-Chinned Hummingbirds are still battling it out over our feeders at home. The one young Bullock's Oriole again was feeding at the hummingbird feeders this morning. We have about 7 (including 5 immature) Eurasian-Collared Doves at our seed feeders. This past Sunday, we watched the pair carrying nest material into our neighbor's spruce tree that is adjacent to our yard. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Eurasian collared doves From: Laura Cunningham <Bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:38:36 -0400 In Beatty I noted the sudden arrival of collared doves in 2005 here. They have been abundant ever since. I am carefully watching if they are competing with Mounring doves or quail, and so far I have not noticed any negative impacts to native birds. Mourning doves are abundant this summer, with 40 to 50 around, while there are about 5 collared doves. Gambels' quail have had three successive broods this year. I wonder if during drought years the competition might be more apparent. Laura Cunningham Subject: "Explosion" of Eurasian Collared-doves From: Steve Ting <sctingdvm AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:28:06 -0700 Northern Nevada - Washoe Valley Hello all, This year has seen an "explosion" of Eurasian Collared-Doves in the area. I first noted this species in Washoe Valley 3 years ago. I would occasionally see a single bird or a pair. Early spring I had 4-5 birds coming to my feeder, then a single pair for most of the summer. Over the last 1-2 weeks I've noticed a fairly rapid influx of birds and just counted 21 in my backyard. From other peoples posts it seems like the species has really taken off in the Reno/Carson area this year. Does anyone know of any negative connotations of this introduced North American Species? A couple photos of the Doves in my yard - http://stingphotography.com/phlogs/2010/august/12-aug.html Regards, Steve Ting www.stingphotography.com Subject: Crystal Reservoir: 115 Red-necked Phalaropes From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:35:23 -0700 A flock of 115 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES was at Crystal Reservoir (Ash Meadows) this evening representing, I think, my largest flock ever of this species on the refuge if not in Nevada. Other notable shorebirds included a LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 2 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS. Waterfowl have suddenly increased in number and diversity with about 40 Northern Shovelers, 12 Northern Pintails, Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal joining the 4 resident species (Mallard, Gadwall, Redhead, Ruddy). Rounding out the uncommon waterbirds are continuing Snowy Plovers and Black Terns, both present daily for weeks. Landbird-wise 20+ BANK SWALLOW joined a few Cliff Swallows and the many Lesser Nighthawks hawking insects above the water surface. A small group of Great and Snowy Egrets could be visible from the dam at Lower Crystal Marsh along with numerous other birds, too distant to identify. Elsewhere on Ash Meadows, today I had a migrant Lark Sparrow along a newly restored portion of the Fairbanks Spring outflow in the Upper Carson Slough. In this same area last week I had 3 AMERICAN BITTERNS within a small area, colonizing a newly created wetland. Congregations of Blue Grosbeaks have been conspicuous around the office and other weedy areas. I don't know how many of these represent local breeders and how many are migrants. Carl Lundblad Amargosa Valley, NV Subject: bird sightings in Reno From: ann murphy <amurphy0607 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:33:14 -0700 Submitted on behalf of Ed Kurtz: On 8/12/10 there was 1 Redhead at Virginia Lake. On 8/13/10 there were 3 Monarch butterflies at Rancho San Rafael. On 8/15/10 at Wingfield Park there were 8 Brewer's Blackbirds (one male had a red patch around its left eye) On 8/15/10 in Idlewild Park I saw 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Lesser Goldfinch, 5 American Crows and 1 House Finch. Posted for Ed Kurtz by Ann Murphy Subject: Bristlecone Audubon From: Lois Ports <ports AT FRONTIERNET.NET> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:43:46 -0700 Our next evening Chapter Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 18 August 2010, 6:30 p.m. at the NDOW office, 60 Youth Center Road. Mr. Chad August, Graduate Researcher with the University of Nevada - Reno will provide an update of his ongoing study on Nesting Ecology of the Greater Sandhill Crane in Northeast Nevada. As with all Chapter events, expect some food and drink. Even bring a treat if you feel motivated. http://bristleconeaudubon.webnode.com/ Lois K. Ports ports AT frontiernet.net Subject: Willow Creek: Nye County From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:24:15 -0400 I could hear coyotes, howling as I started down the path to the first pond. Lesser Nighthawks were still active with their graceful quiet flight There were American Crows, active in the trees.A group of Mallard's swimming in the pond. Cooper's Hawks (2) moving from tree to tree. One of them came down to check out something by the pond. Black-chinned Hummingbirds, adult males in and out of the Willow trees. A number of juvenile hummingbirds were evident in the other Willow trees, but I could not identify them. Rock Dove's flew as a group overhead. Could see and hear 2 Eurasian Collared-Dove's calling. There were Phainopepla (8) hanging out at the top of the tree. I continued on the path to the next pond. Great-tailed Grackle's were all over the sidewalk and in the cattails. There were 3 Red-winged Blackbirds mixed up with them. There was a Pied billed Grebe swimming on the other end of the pond near the cattails. American Coots were in and out of the cattails. Three Lesser Goldfinch were feeding off the dried up parts of wild sunflowers. I crossed the road and Gambel's Quail were feeding off to the side in a open area with brush around it.A Say's Phoebe left the branch of a tree and flew to the ground. A Black Phoebe, flew in the other direction, landing on a branch of a tree and flipped it's tail up and down. Met Richard, who lives on Willow Creek and he asked me if I had seen the juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. I said yes, a couple of weeks ago. He pointed out two more juveniles at the top of the Willow Tree. One Juvenile was at the base of the tree. One adult Black-crowned Night Heron flew in to feed the juveniles at the top of the tree. Lots of active noisy interaction between the juveniles and the adult. Took pictures of the beautiful juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on the ground. As I was leaving this area, I saw two adult Black-crowned Night Heron's sitting in a tree together. One Red-shouldered Hawk was watching all this activity.Thank you Richard, for the information you shared with me about the birds in the area. Turned around to go back the way I came and a Northern Mockingbird, flew across the path. One Western Kingbird, was sitting quietly at the top of a tree. A Red-tailed Hawk, joined a Great Blue Heron sitting in a tree. It was great to see the Heron on one branch and Red-tailed Hawk on the other branch. They were almost side by side. I snapped a picture of the two of them together. A Violet-green Swallow, skimmed over the next pond. Three Spotted Sandpiper's were around the edge of the pond, bobbing as they ate. Two Cinnamon Teal, came flying in and landed on the pond. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, was in a Mesquite tree, going in and out with some kind of winged insect in it's mouth. An American Kestrel was in the tall tree above the Gnatcatcher. I ended my birding morning with a Turkey Vulture, soaring above me. 27 species seen on 8/15/2010 Submitted by Darlene Feener Pahrump, Nevada Submitted by Darlene Feener Pahrump, Nevada Subject: Barn owls From: Sue Marshall <samareno AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 08:57:06 -0700 Hi, Just a general barn owl question. I am wondering if anyone knows if the following is really as odd as it seems to me. Since we have them in Nevada, I hope it is ok to ask. I went to a movie with my sis at the Regal 14 in El Dorado Hills, between Sac and Placerville. The odd thing is several Barn Owls seemed to be very actively living at the mall. There were constant calls and fly overs from the stores to what seemed to be there "base" on the ledges of the theater building. There were tons of people at the many restaurants, a huge number going to/from the movies, and teenagers all over in general. A really busy place. It just didn't seem to bother the owls a bit. There was an incident where an owl had it's talon caught in a light fixture on a pole in the parking lot. It was flapping it's wings trying to get away. Then, it flopped into a thin little tree next to the pole. The thing is that if stayed there despite several people standing around it. I thought ok, it is just tired from flapping. But, it was still there an hour later after dinner and more than 2 hours again after the movie. People were still coming up to look at it. I thought of Barn Owls being at least partially secretive. These were everywhere, calling, landing, and flying around so many people. I hope the one in the tree was ok, just tired. But there were several more that did not semed bothered a bit. Odd or not? Any info appreciated. Happy birding! Susie Sent from my iPhone Subject: A day in northern Humboldt County From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:47:52 -0700 I spent Thursday (8/12) in northern Humboldt County. Can't say I found anything rare (hence no highlighted species in the report), but it was an interesting day. I spent most of the time in the eastern section of Sheldon NWR. The Dufurrena Ponds were the most productive area. Two flyby American Bitterns would have been a bigger surprise if I hadn't seen one at the same spot on January 31, 2007. (Now, THAT was a surprise -- area completely frozen, with some snow cover, and out flies a bittern.) Numbers of waterfowl were small, but pretty decent diversity: Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler (6), Northern Pintail (1), Redhead (female with three young), and Ruddy Duck. Pied-billed Grebes had young, as did the American Coots. There was very little shorebird habitat -- rather disappointing as that had been my main hope for the trip. A few small muddy areas at the ponds produced American Avocets (4), a few Spotted Sandpipers, several Killdeer, one Western Sandpiper, and one Least Sandpiper. A single Wilson's Phalarope spun around on one of the ponds. There were several Common Nighthawks, a few perched in very scenic locations (one nice photo resulted). The rest of the species were pretty much what you'd expect: Western Wood-pewee, Say's Phoebe, Violet-green, Cliff, and Barn Swallows, Marsh Wren, Sage Thrasher, Common Yellowthroat, Lazuli Bunting, Red-winged, Yellow-headed, and Brewer's Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbird. (Note the absence of Eurasian Collared-dove! Not true for Denio, though.) I next headed out to Big Springs Reservoir, a few miles west of the Dufurrena area. This is a location where a fine birder from Oregon reported a Red-necked Stint in August, 2008. Alas, the reservoir is bone dry this year! No water, no mud, no shorebirds. I spoke with a refuge law enforcement guy who told me the reservoir had become too dry for fish early in the decade, but had at least a little bit of water, and hence shorebird habitat, through last summer. But bone dry this year. He then suggested a lake outside the refuge (on the way back to Denio Junction), warning that he hadn't been there recently and it might also be dry. But he said that most years, it is a shallow lake with mudflats. I took his suggestion and headed for Gridley Lake. If you're looking for it, it's about ten miles south of highway 140 on Knott Creek Road (which is 10 miles west of Denio Junction.) When I got there, the whole lake looked very dry! But, scanning with my binoculars, I saw a tiny little patch of darker ground way out in the middle, which turned out to be a little mud. Standing in it were five Long-billed Curlews and one Marbled Godwit. Then, looking north, I saw water! Not much water, but water -- and surrounded by lots of mudflats, with lots of birds. This was at the extreme north end. (It was not visible as I drove to the lake, as it is under a bluff, so blocked from view.) Driving to the north end, I found a road that went directly to the mudflat area. But, alas, a barbed wire fence surrounded the entire area (the entire east side of the lake, actually.) Walking down to the fence (to the accompaniment of the most wild burros I've ever seen in one place), I found myself still a bit too far from the mud for great views, but with scope at forty power (heat shimmer prevented going all the way to 60 power), I could identify some of the birds. The view prevented confidently identifying any unusual peeps in the flock of Least and Western Sandpipers, but I was able to pick out two Baird's Sandpipers, at least twenty Snowy Plovers, lots of Wilson's Phalaropes, American Avocets, Spotted Sandpipers, and Killdeer. Two mid-sized shorebirds further out were just too far away and too poorly lit to identify, but they were interesting looking. Wish I could have gotten closer. Other birds at Gridlley Lake were Northern Harrier, Gray Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Horned Lark, and Brewer's Sparrow. The drive back toward highway 95 produced lots of Golden Eagles. All in all, a very enjoyable day at a little-visited part of the state. (And very productive for my Humboldt County list, which has now passed the 100 mark.) Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Uh, make that previous message heading "NEWS from the Nevada Bird Record Committee" From: Martin Meyers <nbrc AT GBBO.ORG> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:21:09 -0700 ... but I guess it is also "new" news. Sorry about that. Martin ---------------------------------------------- Martin Meyers Secretary, Nevada Bird Records Committee website: http://gbbo.org/nbrc email: nbrc AT gbbo.org Subject: New from the Nevada Bird Records Committee From: Martin Meyers <nbrc AT GBBO.ORG> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:17:47 -0700 The NBRC has completed its reviews on its third packet for 2010. This packet contained twenty-two records, of which one represented a new species for the state, and five were sightings that preceded the 1994 formation of the NBRC. As those of you who regularly read the posts on this listserv know, the committee lost long-term member and even longer-term good friend Mike San Miguel during the period when this review was in progress. Carl Lundblad has been elected to fill out Mike's term, and the decisions on this packet represent Carl's first reviews. Red-throated Pipit (record 2009-094) was unanimously endorsed by the committee, which adds this species to the official Nevada State Checklist. The sighting was on 9/24/2009 at the Duck Creek section of the Clark County Wetlands Park. This brings the total species on the checklist to 483. Common Ground-dove (record 2010-006), one of the five pre-committee records, was endorsed unanimously. The record consisted of photos and description of a specimen collected 2/25/1972 at the Mormon Farm area (Clark). This was one of a group of three Common Ground-doves found on the 1971 Christmas Bird Count. While Common Ground-doves were encountered somewhat regularly in the state prior to the mid-1980s, the species seemed to largely disappear from Nevada after that time. That makes the other two records for this species in the current packet really exciting. On 8/20/2009, a Common Ground-dove was found and carefully documented from the Virgin River not too far from Overton (Clark). Then, on 10/1/09, one was found at Pahranagat NWR (Lincoln), which was likewise convincingly documented. Both of these were also endorsed unanimously by the NBRC in the just-completed packet. Two booby species were present in the pre-committee documentation reviewed in this packet. Three Blue-footed Boobies were found at Lake Mead NRA (Las Vegas Bay) on 8/27/1971 (record 2010-007). All three remained into December, with at least one present until late January 1972. One Brown Booby was found at the same location on the same original date (8/27/71), with a second being sighted the next day (record 2010-009). Sightings of these two birds continued into early September. Both of these records were endorsed unanimously by the NBRC and represent the only endorsed records for either species for the state. The other two pre-committee records, Blue-winged Warbler (record 2010-008) and Little Blue Heron (record 2010-010) were also endorsed by the committee. Record 2010-008, a Blue-wing from May 27/28, 1991, from Indian Springs (Clark) was one of two Blue-winged Warblers endorsed in this packet. (The other is a recent record, found 9/19/09 at McCarren Ranch -- Washoe County). Record 2010-010, the Little Blue Heron, was found at Indian Springs Sewage Ponds (Clark) on 5/31/93. This record was endorsed on a vote of 5-1. Three Harris's Hawk sightings were endorsed by the committee -- in all three cases, there was no debate on identification (all had excellent photos). But Harris's Hawks are very popular with falconers and out-of-range sightings are always suspect on the origin issue. However, in all three of these records -- one from Rachel (Lincoln County), one from Overton WMA (Clark County), and one from Clark County Wetlands Park (Clark County) -- the committee felt that lack of jesses, lack of bands, feather condition, etc. all favored considering these birds to be of natural (wild) origin. The Rachel record (2009-054) was sighted 5/24/09, the Clark County Wetlands bird (2010-012) was observed 5/5/10, and the Overton bird (2010-028) was observed 5/5/10 and remained at least until 5/13/10. A Whip-poor-will (record 2009-092) was heard by several observers in Kyle Canyon on Mt. Charleston (Clark) in June of 2009. This species is a known breeder in the state and has been exempt from review in the Sheep Mountains. However, it was, at the time, still reviewable elsewhere in the state. Based both on this (endorsed) record and on other historic data, the species is now also exempt from review in the Spring Mountains (Mt. Charleston is in the Spring Mountains.) At the time this record was distributed for review, Whip-poor-will was considered to be a single species, Caprimulgus vociferus. However, because there was reason to believe that the species might be split by the American Ornithological Union (AOU) into two species, the committee was asked to consider not only the species sighting record but also the subspecies to which it belonged. The committee decided (unanimously) that the descriptions of the vocalizations heard, combined with the likelihood based on knowledge of the breeding distribution, were sufficient to endorse the record as belonging to the (then) subspecies known as Caprimulgus vociferus arizonae. During the time the packet was being reviewed by the NBRC, the AOU did indeed announce that Whip-poor-will actually consisted of two separate species, so the record is now ascribed to the newly named "Mexican Whip-poor-will" (Caprimulgus arizonae). Incidentally, the AOU also split the species Winter Wren into three separate species. Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus) is now split from Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), both of which are now considered separate from the Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). Pacific Wren is the regularly occurring bird in Nevada. However, there are a few records of the eastern species (still called just "Winter Wren") from various locations in the western U.S., and it is not entirely unlikely that a bird of that species might be encountered some day in Nevada. A voice recording would be the most convincing evidence for Winter Wren, although there are subtle plumage distinctions as well. One last note on recent AOU decisions. The four longspurs (Lapland, Chestnut-collared, McCown's, and Smith's), all of which are on the official Nevada State Checlist, along with the two "snow buntings" (Snow, which is on our checklist, and McKay's, which is not), have been moved rather dramatically in the taxonomic ordering. As you will see in the just-updated checklist available on the NBRC website. these species now show up between Olive Warbler (which is not really a warbler) and all the wood warblers, a long way from their previous location at the end of the sparrows. Other records endorsed in this packet included: Broad-winged Hawk (Dyer), Lawrence's Goldfinch (four records), Palm Warbler (Dyer), Swamp Sparrow (Miller's Rest Stop), and Broad-billed Hummingbird (Pahrump.) As always, data for all records appear on the NBRC website, and for those for which usable photos were submitted, a photo is linked to the web record. The NBRC website has been updated (this evening) -- checklist, review list, and records lists all are up-to-date. Martin ---------------------------------------------- Martin Meyers Secretary, Nevada Bird Records Committee website: http://gbbo.org/nbrc email: nbrc AT gbbo.org Subject: Lemmon Valley sewage ponds (8/13/10) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:17:02 -0400 Lemmon Valley, Washoe Co (8/13/10) We birded the sewage ponds this morning, walking along the dikes surrounding the individual ponds as usual. Beautiful weather--sunny & warm (but not too warm) & only the slightest of breezes. The ponds were full (& as smelly as ever) but the playa was dry--no water at all--and birdless. The birdlife in the ponds was as expected for the time of year with lots of ducklings (Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck), grebelets & cootlets among the adult waterfowl. The only obvious migrant shorebird was a flock of about 30 Red-necked Phalaropes in one of the ponds. Passerine migrants were also few & far between: Western Kingbirds (13-14 strung out along the power lines & fences) & a single Yellow Warbler. Here's the complete list (26 sps) Canada Goose—c.50 Gadwall--few Mallard—few (some with ducklings) Cinnamon Teal--few Canvasback—2 Redhead—1 Ruddy Duck—fair numbers (some with ducklings) California Quail Eared Grebe--?25 (including many with young) American Kestrel--pair American Coot—few (including well-grown young) Killdeer—4-5 Spotted Sandpiper--1 Black-necked Stilt—3-4 American Avocet--2-3 Red-necked Phalarope--c.30 Wilson’s Phalarope--c.10 California Gull--few Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Say's Phoebe--1 Western Kingbird--13-14(adults & young) Barn Swallow Marsh Wren—few (a little singing) Yellow Warbler--1 male Yellow-headed Blackbird—few http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/4889569822/in/photostream/ (Western Kingbird) Fred Petersen Subject: Pileated woodpecker, Chimney Beach From: Rick/Meg Andrews <andrews2727 AT ATT.NET> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:53:04 -0700 I had the afternoon off, so I thought I would check out the birds Martin saw at Chimney Beach, which I had never visited.  I found the parking lot ok, but I started off hiking in the wrong direction.  Good thing!  I followed the maintenance road at the north end of the parking lot.  After about 15 minutes, I stopped to admire a white-headed woodpecker that landed just a few feet away, when I heard what I thought was a very angry northern flicker, followed by an incredibly loud burst of drumming about 30' away.  I waited a few minutes, and a male pileated woodpecker came around the side of the tree I was watching, right at eye level.  He even managed to stop in a shaft of sunlight, so his crest was neon-bright, and I could easily see his red mustache.   He flew out of sight (uphill) after about 10 seconds, but I continued to hear him call every few minutes for about 1-1/2 hours.   After that, the hike was kind of a let down.  I may have seen a Williamson's sapsucker, flying off into the sun, but I didn't see the black-backed woodpecker.  It was too warm to hike all of the way to Marlette Lake--I think I will try again in the fall.   Meg Andrews Subject: Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Thurs., Aug. 12th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:56:40 -0400 Hello! Yesterday evening (Thursday, August 12th), I hiked along the Carson River from Carson River Park, along Silver Saddle Ranch, to upstream of the dam where the Mexican Ditch begins. The parking area for the Carson River Park is accessed from Carson River Road which runs south off of East Fifth Street in the eastern part of Carson City. I observed the following birds during my hike: Indigo Bunting-the male previously reported was again observed in the same area as this past Tuesday Black-Throated Sparrow-1 adult and 1 first-year bird in the same area as Indigo Bunting American Wigeon-one young male above the dam Pinyon Jay-heard a few calling Black Phoebe-2 Western Tanager-one male Belted Kingfisher-2 Spotted Sandpiper-3 Western Kingbird Common Nighthawk Spotted Towhee-2 Black-Billed Magpie-7 Western Wood Pewee-14 California Quail-about 80, mostly first-year birds Bewick's Wren House Wren-about 10 Bushtit-about 12 Black-Crowned Night Heron-2 Northern Flicker-4 Hairy Woodpecker Killdeer-7 Red-Tailed Hawk American Robin House Finch-2 Mallard-18 Mourning Dove-several Lesser Goldfinch-several Rock Dove-3 European Starling-several Last evening and early this morning at my home feeders, we've had "Hummingbird Wars" on-going as 3 Rufous and 2 Black-Chinned Hummingbirds battle it out over the feeders. The one young Bullock's Oriole again was feeding at one hummingbird feeder this morning. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Oasis Valley-migrant wave From: Laura Cunningham <bluerockiguana AT HUGHES.NET> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:56:14 -0400 Parker Ranch, Nye County, north of Beatty- August 12: Western tanager-3 plus Black-headed grosbeak-2 Yellow warbler-3 Orange-crowned warbler-2, very yellow. MacGillivray's warbler-1 Warbling vireo-1 "Western" flycatcher-1 Song sparrow-1 Savannah sparrow-5 Red-shouldered hawk-1 Black-chinned hummingbird-3 immature/female, 1 male. Broad-tailed hummingbird-1 female/immature Lazuli bunting-1 Lesser goldfinch-1 House finch-2 Bullock's oriole-1 Phainopepla-2 Northern mockingbird-2 Western kingbird-2 Cliff swallow-10 Northern rough-winged swallow-10 Marsh wren-1 singing. Mourning dove-20 Eurasian collared dove-4 Gambels' quail-40 European starling-10 Red-winged blackbird-6 Killdeer-7 Spotted sandpiper-1 Western sandpiper-3 Virginia rail-2 Sora-1 --Laura Cunningham Subject: Red Rock Audubon Society Events From: Red Rock Audubon Society <communications AT REDROCKAUDUBON.ORG> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:39:13 -0700 The hot, hot, summer is almost over and our cool Red Rock Audubon Society General Meetings start on *September 13th!* Download the current Rock Wren newsletter from here: http://bit.ly/Fall2010enews Check out the Shorebird Mapping Project! *Sunset Park: September 8th, 2010: Wednesday, 7:30 am - 10:30 am* We will have a memorial field trip in honor of *Hugh Hawkins *led by his birding buds Huston Shoopman, Je Anne Branca, and Rita Schlageter. Bring water and snacks. Call Je Anne for reservations and meeting place at 702-451-6843. *September 13th, 2010: "Artist in Africa: Wildlife and Landscapes of Kenya's Masai Mara" with Sharon K. Schafer* As a wildlife biologist and wildlife artist, Sharon had always dreamed of visiting the Masai Mara to photograph and sketch the wildlife. After a rewarding trip last June, she is anxious to share her experiences via a multimedia experience developed from the photography, video, and audio collected during her stay. Schafer's travels took her into Africa's Great Rift Valley and to a small, secluded, camp on the private Mara North Conservancy that flanks the Mara River and borders the Masai Mara National Reserve. *Mount Charleston: September 25th, 2010: Saturday, 7:00 am - Noon* Join us for two short, moderately strenuous, hikes and birding in the mountain area. Bring snacks, water, and lunch. Wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes. We will meet at McDonald's parking lot off of US 95 at Durango & Farm Road (SE corner) at 7:00 am. Call Christiana Manville at 702-672-1411 for reservations. *Tule Springs / Floyd Lamb City Park: September 29th, 2010: Wednesday* Join Rita on her fall walk through this beautiful park. Great trip for beginners and seniors. Bring snacks and water. Call Rita Schlageter for reservations, time, and meeting place at 702-382-3327. All Red Rock Audubon Society meetings are FREE and open to the public. When: The 2nd Monday of every month. We do not meet in Jun, Jul, Aug, and Dec. Social time begins at 6:30pm. Programs & presentations begin at 7:00pm. Where: NV Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV in the Wengert Room. 1 block west of Jones, on the north side of the street. Enter on Steve Rigazio Court (west side of building) and park in the North lot. The room entrance is located slightly NW of the drive up windows. -- Thank you, Maureen Kammerer Communications Chair Red Rock Audubon Society www.RedRockAudubon.org Subject: Washoe Lake wetlands area-Wed., Aug. 11th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:11:32 -0400 Hello! This evening (Wed., Aug. 11th), I hiked about 3.7 miles of the Washoe Lake wetlands area and along the south shore of the lake, just north of Carson City. I observed the following birds during my hike: Semipalmated Plover Phalaropes-a flock of 63 near the lake shore consisting of Wilson's with a few Red-Necked, 10 Wilson's in the wetland pond Western Kingbird Western Meadowlark-2 Barn Swallow-a few Mallard-many Cinnamon Teal-several Killdeer-many Northern Rough-Winged Swallow- a few Violet-Green Swallow-several Cliff Swallow-a few Bank Swallow-a few White-Faced Ibis Western Sandpiper American Avocet-7 Black-Necked Stilt-14 Least Sandpiper-50+ Spotted Sandpiper-several Marsh Wren-several California Quail-many American Coot-several Wilson's Snipe Common Nighthawk-20 Ring-Billed Gull American Kestrel Red-Tailed Hawk Yellow-Headed Blackbird-many Red-Winged Blackbird-several Turkey Vulture Canada Goose-5 European Starling-many The parking area for the wetland area is accessed off of Eastlake Blvd. Take the Eastlake Blvd. exit to the east off of Rte. 395 just north of Carson City. The parking area is on the left (north) side of Eastlake Blvd. around one mile east of Rte. 395. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Lucky Boy Canyon - Pine Nut Mts. From: Jim Diane <jim.woods AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:09:49 -0700 A couple of hrs of 4x over rough roads will get you up to Lucky Boy Canyon, approx 11 mi beyond the Douglas County Dump off Pine Nut Road. Read your map carefully and ask around. Lucky Boy Springs is full and the creek if running for at least 4 miles. The wildflowers are putting on a great showing this year, best it the last 5 yrs. The birds found: Black-billed Magpie -9, Bewick's Wren- 11, Spotted Towhee w/young 20+, Brewer's Sparrow - 12, Lark Sparrow - 7, Sage Sparrow -4, Chipping Sparrow w/young- 12, Vesper Sparrow - 5, Song Sparrow - 4, Dark-eyed Junco - 8, W. Meadowlark -5, RW Blackbird - 12, Brewer's Blackbird- 9, Brown-headed Cowbird - 10, House Finch w/young -10, Cassin's Finch - 6, Lesser Goldfinch -7, House Sparrow - 3, T. Solitaire w/young - 4, Band-tail pigeon w/young - 6, Eura. Collared Dove -2 , Red-Tailed Hawk- 6, W. Wood Peewee-7, Dusky Flycatcher - 3, Gray Flycatcher - 2, O-S Flycatcher - 4, Black Phoebe - 5, Belted Kingfisher - 1, W. Kingbird w/young - 7, Golden Eagle - 3, N. Harrier - 3, Turkey Vulture - 7, Plumbeous Vireo -2, Warbling Vireo W/young - 4, House Wren - 2. Other animals: 4 Deer w/fawns, Coyote-3, Calif. Ground Squirrels, Douglas G. Squirrels, Marmot, Calif. King Snake, Gopher Snake, Great Basin Rattlesnake, 3-Stripe Garter snake. Jim Woods 775-720-7009 Jim.woods AT charter.net www.birdingundernevadaskies.com Subject: Re: Cassin's Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatch in west Reno (Washoe Co.) From: John Anderson <jga.birding AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:10:38 -0700 Continuing on Alan's theme of unseasonal birds, this evening I heard a Mountain Chickadee in our Mogul neighborhood, west of Reno. John Anderson Reno, Nevada On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Alan Wallace wrote: > This morning, I've had an adult male and female Cassin's Finch ... > Subject: Crystal Reservoir Black-bellied Plover/Caspian Terns From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:10:02 -0700 Crystal Reservoir (Ash Meadows NWR) had a few new arrivals this evening including a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER and 2 CASPIAN TERNS, an adult and a cool looking juvenile. In genereral, we've seemed to be in a bit of a shorebird lull, though I haven't been down to Lower Crystal Marsh in the last week and a half. Snowy Plovers and Black Terns have been present daily for weeks. Expected early passerines still trickling in. Carl Lundblad Amargosa Valley, NV Subject: Carson River Park/Silver Saddle Ranch-Tuesday, Aug. 10th From: Rob Lowry <rlowry517 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:06:33 -0400 Hello! Yesterday evening (Tuesday, August 10th), I hiked along the Carson River from Carson River Park, along Silver Saddle Ranch, to upstream of the dam where the Mexican Ditch begins. The parking area for the Carson River Park is accessed from Carson River Road which runs south off of East Fifth Street in the eastern part of Carson City. I observed the following birds during my hike: INDIGO BUNTING-I observed a male in the same area that I saw one on July 22. This area is about a mile up the trail from the parking lot, about 200 feet after you cross over the 2 planks over the ditch. The Bunting was on the tip of a bush on the sIope on the opposite side of Mexican Ditch. He provided great views but flew off before I could try to get more photos of him. American Dipper-one was sitting on the end of a log just up from the dam. It appeared to be a first-year bird. It could not care less that I was within 10 yards of it. It sat there serenely for at least ten minutes occasionally preening and bobbing, and then flew down in the rocks below the dam. Osprey-one has been observed during every visit the past couple of weeks now that the river level is down Black Phoebe-2 Great Egret Belted Kingfisher Western Kingbird-3 Common Nighthawk-5 Spotted Towhee-3 Western Wood Pewee-7 California Quail-about 50, mostly first-year birds House Wren-about 6 Bushtit-heard a few American Kestrel-2 Spotted Sandpiper Black-Crowned Night Heron-2 Cliff Swallow-a few Violet-Green Swallow-a swirling mass of 40 to 50 Northern Flicker Killdeer-6 Red-Tailed Hawk-2 American Robin-5 House Finch-2 Mourning Dove-several Lesser Goldfinch-several Canada Goose From a mammalian standpoint, I observed two bats and one male Mule Deer that had one 2-point antler in velvet. At my feeders at home in the eastern part of Carson City, we've had Rufous and Black-Chinned Hummingbirds fighting over the feeders the past couple of weeks. We still have one young Bullock's Oriole feeding at the hummingbird feeders (as of yesterday). This summer, we've had as many as four or five Bullock's feeding every day. For the past month or so, we've also had several House Finches feeding from the hummingbird feeders. I have never heard of House Finches feeding from hummingbird feeders before. We also have a family of Eurasian Collared-Doves at our seed feeders along with numerous California Quail. Rob Lowry Carson City Subject: Clark County Wetlands park 8-11-10 (Main Park) From: Randall Michal <RMichai637 AT AOL.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:52:49 -0400 Hello all, This morning I took some time and walked around the main portion of the Clark County Wetlands Park to see what might be found. It was a beautiful morning, sunny, 80 degrees when I arrived at 7:40, 90 when I left at 10 AM. The highlights for me were two juvenile Least Bitterns, I found them on the pond at the SE most corner of the perimiter concrete path, looking west back into the pond at that location. I could see the tufts of downy feathers still on the top of the head of one of the Least Bitterns. A couple of quick notes on items I noticed in the main Wetlands park: The waters at the Upper Division Weir Bridge have been largely taken over by common reeds. There is open water but because of the reeds there is much less than there was three months ago. Also, despite a crew I saw three months ago removing reeds from the pond in front of the bird blind, it is pretty much choked off by the reeds again. The Clark County Wetlands Park (Main park) can be reached by taking Tropicana avenue eastbound, when it starts to veer right and becomes Broadbent, there is a left turn onto Wetlands Park Dr. From Broadbent North look for the sign for Wetlands Park Dr. just before Broadbent veers to the left and becomes Tropicana. Here is the complete list of observed birds in no particular order: Gambel's Quail (On the drive in near the park entrance was a family with babies roughly half the size of the parent birds) Verdin Black Phoebe Mallard Great Egret Snowy Egret Abert's Towhee (Many of them all around the park) Pied-billed Grebe Chipping Sparrow (1) Song Sparrow Mourning Dove (Many) Least Bittern (2 juveniles) American Kestrel Black-chinned Hummingbird House Finch Northern Mockingbird (Adults and juveniles) Green Heron Domestic Duck (Looks much like the ones resident at Sunset Park) Black Phoebe Marsh Wren Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Randy Michal Subject: Nighthawk at Somerset, Reno NV From: Sue Marshall <samareno AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:03:24 -0700 Sorry it is kate: Since there haven't been any mentioned, we saw a Nighthawk fly over the west Sommerset Clubhouse (Verdi) last Wed at 8:30 pm. Happy Birding! Sent from my iPhone Subject: Reno area birds From: ann murphy <amurphy0607 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:51:56 -0700 Submitted on behalf of Ed Kurtz: On August 5, 2010 I noticed a hybrid duck at Paradise Park which I thought could be a N.Shoveler x Mallard: it was riding low in the water, had a longish pink bill, white chest, brown sides, black tail. Other sightings within the last month were a male Common Merganser at Paradise Park on July 12; Lesser Goldfinch parent & juvenile in downtown Reno on July 29; N.Mockingbird at Nevada Historical Society area on July 31; Hooded Merganser & Gadwall at Virginia Lake on August 3. Posted for Ed Kurtz by Ann Murphy Subject: Black-backed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeaks on Tahoe east shore From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 18:36:36 -0700 Took a very enjoyable hike on the east shore of Lake Tahoe today. I started at the Chimney Beach parking lot (at the Washoe/Carson City line) and hiked up to Marlette Lake. Weather was very pleasant, warm but not hot, with a few clouds. Flowers were largely absent on the hike up, but there were some very nice displays once over the top and down to the Marlette Lake shore. (By the way, if it's flowers you're after, try the waterfall loop on the Tahoe Rim Trail on the north side of the Mt. Rose Highway. It was spectacular last week and should still be near its peak.) Best birds today were my first Black-backed Woodpecker of the year (a female three and a half miles up the trail) and three Pine Grosbeaks near Marlette Lake. One, a stunning adult male, was right along the Marlette Lake shore near the inlet stream. Two others were a short ways up the trail from there. Otherwise pretty much the usual suspects. Complete list below. Turkey Vulture Osprey Band-tailed Pigeon Hairy Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker Northern Flicker Olive-sided Flycatcher Western Wood-pewee Warbling Vireo Steller's Jay Clark's Nutcracker Mountain Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Townsend's Solitaire American Robin Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Macgillivray's Warbler Wilson's Warbler Dark-eyed Junco Western Tanager Pine Grosbeak Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Fallon and Stillwater Wildlife Refuge From: Darlene Feener <robertfeener AT ATT.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 19:43:07 -0400 My husband and I traveled to Fallon on 8/6/2010 so I could do some birding. I wish to thank Carol and Mike Amos of Fallon, Nv. (Churchill county) and their dog Angel for showing me their wonderful birding area on 8/7/2010. I got to see a beautiful female and male Blue Grosbeak. I had seen a male ten years ago, but the female Blue Grosbeak was a new sighting for me.American Robins were flying around us. Just a wonderful experience and I appreciate the time you took to show me around. On August 8, 2010, we visited Stillwater Wldlife Refuge in Lahontan Valley outide of Fallon, Nevada. We arrived at 7:30 a.m. My husband and I appreciate the beauty of the birds and quiet places. He drove so I could concentrate on the birds. It was a beautiful morning of flashing wings. We started birding on Tule Trail by Kent's Pond. Birds seen on Tule Trail: 1. Marbled Godwits (15)Quietly feeding amongst the Killdeer in the mud. 2. Barn Swallows 3. Killdeer 4. Yellow headed Blackbirds 5. Western Kingbirds 6. Song Sparrow 7. Tree Swallows 8. Western Meadowlarks 9. Great Blue Herons 10. Turkey Vultures 11. Canada Geese 12. Double-crested Cormorant 13. Mourning Doves 14. Rock Doves 15. Ladder backed Woodpecker 16. Common Ravens 17. Black chinned Hummingbirds Other wildlife: Bull snake crossing the road. A beautiful long snake. We followed Navy Cabin Road and Hunter road. 18. Great Egrets in abundance lifting their bodies above the marsh and flying ahead of us. 19. Snowy Egrets sitting on poles. At Nells Landing, we pulled out our camping chairs and watched as the birds moved about. Birds seen here. 20. Black-necked Stilts (lots of them) 21. Canvasbacks mixed in with the stilts. 22. Long Billed Dowitchers (3) feeding a short distance from the stilts. 23. Forsters Ten (1) soaring over the marsh grass. 24. California Gull (1) coming low to check us out we think. Passed over us several times. 25. Pied Billed Grebe came swimming out between the stilts. 26. Red-winged Blackbirds flying overhead, flashing their wings 27. Wilson's Phalarope (1) spinning around eating. 28. Black billed Magpies on the edge of the pond. 29. American Coots swimming in and out of the marsh edges. 30. Mallards mixed in with the coots 31. White-face Ibis feeding and taking flight. (lots of them) 32. Willets landing and taking off. 33. American Avocets walking amongst the White-face Ibis. We continued our journey to Lead Lake. Here we saw 34. Black crowned Night Herons (4 adults) (2) juveniles 35. American White Pelicans (3) 36. Ruddy Ducks 37. Western Grebe (1) 38. Rough winged Swallows 39. Common Loon (1) 40. Northern Harrier (1) 41. Sora (1)(Walking along edge of tall marsh grass) Other wildlife seen in this area was a Deer on the edge of the water. We went over to Swan Pond 42. At least 1500 plus Green-winged Teals were along the edges. When we approached, they lifted into the air in three separate groups. Flying in a circle they came back landing on the pond, the flash of green in their wings was stunning with the sun shinning on them. We left here and drove around to Nutgrass and Division roads. Saw 43. Horned Larks 44. Northern Mockingbird 45. Red-tailed Hawk resting on top of a bush before taking flight. Other wildlife seen in this area: Coyote (1) We spent 5 hours on the refuge and saw only one other vehicle when we were getting ready to leave. We ended our day with eating a delicious Mexican food dinner in Fallon. It was a great weekend! Submitted by Darlene Feener Pahrump, Nevada Subject: Solitary Sandpipers & Black Tern From: Greg Scyphers <scyph AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:26:28 -0700 On August 7th 2010 I made a few stops in Nevada on my way back from California. I had a few birds of note. Dyer Pond -Solitary Sandpiper - expected at this location (seen annually in fall here). -Spotted Sandpipers (2) -Willow Flycatcher Circle L Ranch, Dyer -Western Kingbirds (22) - obviously on the move -Lark Sparrow -Willow Flycatcher Arlemont Ranch, Dyer -Black Tern - flying around the north pond -Western Sandpipers (2) -Long-billed Dowitcher -Spotted Sandpipers (2) -Greater Yellowlegs -Wilson's Phalarope (5) -lots of Swallows Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (Storey County) -SOLITARY SANDPIPER - I would imagine this is a difficult bird in Storey County due to the lack of appropriate habitat. -Wilson's Phalarope - (15) Greg Scyphers Sparks, NV Subject: Another mountain bird out of season From: Alan de Queiroz <alandqz AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 23:38:59 -0700 Alan Wallace's post about montane birds in the lowlands reminded me that I saw a juvenile Williamson's Sapsucker, another bird of the mountains, on the bike trail just west of Crissie Caughlin Park in Reno on Thursday, August 5. It's an odd time of year to see that bird in the lowlands. Alan de Queiroz Reno Subject: Cassin's indeed! From: L/J Hiller <greenacres23 AT CHARTER.NET> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 23:06:40 -0700 Just saw Alan's post about the Cassin's finches in his yard ... he and I have traded Cassin's sightings over the years, being fans of these "raspberry-headed" finches. We, too, have Cassin's here in Jacks Valley right now, lots of them - they're outnumbering the House Finches, which is rare. We remember that about a decade ago Cassin's finches had disappeared from our Carson Valley yards (I think Alan's too ... Alan?), completely replaced by the previously scarce House Finches. The down-up-down clear whistle of the Cassin's young is everpresent in the yard these days, and this afternoon I heard the young neighbor kids whistling their call back to the fledglings ... it was a sweet moment of species' young communicating with each other in their own innocent ways. Good birding, all, Linda Hiller in Jacks Valley (south of Carson City) Subject: Cassin's Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatch in west Reno (Washoe Co.) From: Alan Wallace <wallacealan AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 09:56:37 -0700 This morning, I've had an adult male and female Cassin's Finch and two noisy, begging juveniles eating sunflower seeds in my yard in west Reno. In the 14 years that I've been in this location, the only other August appearance of Cassin's Finches in my yard was in 2007, when an adult male was accompanied by a single fledgling for a couple of weeks. On Friday morning, I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the backyard trees. This was the first August nuthatch in the yard in the same 14 years, but I did have one regularly in late July in 2007 (the same year as the Cassin's Finches), one briefly in July 2009, and heard one in the neighborhood in early August 2005. I tend to think of these as montane breeders (such as in the Carson Range just to the west), so their presence in the lowlands near the Truckee River in early August is interesting. Does this bespeak of poor food conditions in the Carson Range this year, leading to early dispersal? Alan Wallace Reno NV Subject: Today at Soda Lake and Carson Lake (Churchill County) From: Martin Meyers <martin AT SIERRABIRDBUM.COM> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 18:56:14 -0700 Spent the day out in Churchill County today, with stops at Soda Lake and Carson Lake. Soda Lake had several Black Terns, as noted by Don Molde earlier in the week. There was also one Semipalmated Plover. All of the rest of the birds were pretty much what one would expect. Soda Lake complete list: Gadwall Mallard Eared Grebe White-faced Ibis American Kestrel Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Black-necked Stilt Spotted Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Wilson's Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Ring-billed Gull California Gull Black Tern Western Kingbird Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird At Carson Lake, there was one Black-bellied Plover plus one Snowy Plover. These birds were along the Lott Freeway. As you start out on Lott, there is a fairly nice shallow, open body of water not too far along the road, and that's where most of the shorebirds were. The disappointment was that, as you continue out, you eventually reach what has, in some years, been a very large, shallow body of water (stretching all the way to the end of Lott.) That is completely dry this year. Oh well... The other shorebirds present were about as expected -- a few hundred Dowitchers (all the ones I could identify were Long-billed), Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, a few Semipalmated Plovers, Western and Least Sandpipers, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpipers, one Greater Yellowlegs, and several Wilson's Phalaropes. There were several Virginia Rails walking around on the mudflats like shorebirds, far from cover. Kind of odd. Soras were heard but not seen. One Black Tern flew by. A pleasant surprise was a Common Moorhen north of the second viewing tower. That's the first one I've ever seen at Carson Lake. Waders were well-represented, with one Cattle Egret, many Snowy and Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night-herons, and White-faced Ibis. Here's the complete list for Carson Lake: Canada Goose Gadwall Mallard Cinnamon Teal Northern Shoveler Ruddy Duck Pied-billed Grebe American White Pelican Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Black-crowned Night-heron White-faced Ibis Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Virginia Rail Sora Common Moorhen American Coot Black-bellied Plover Snowy Plover Semipalmated Plover Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Phalarope Ring-billed Gull Black Tern Western Kingbird Common Raven Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Marsh Wren Song Sparrow Martin --------------- Martin Meyers email: Martin (...AT...) SierraBirdbum.com Photo website: http://SierraBirdbum.com Truckee, CA Subject: Small Mystery Bird - Washoe County From: M Robards <pezealogy AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 08:29:30 -0700 I think my husband is trying to get me away from the computer today. He came in from the garden about an hour ago, swearing he saw a 'large fuzzy hummingbird'. No color as the sun was behind it. He claims he saw it lite on one of the garden trellises and then, in hummingbird fashion, fly and lite on another trellis. He said it was about the size of a little chickadee (which just sounds fishy as we've never seen a chickadee around here). So while I'm trying to understand his motives, is there any bird in our area that might resemble in any way the flight behavior of a hummingbird but be a bit bigger? melissa robards Spanish Springs Subject: Rancho San Rafael (8/6/10) From: Fred Petersen <fugle AT AOL.COM> Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 22:59:27 -0400 Rancho San Rafael, Reno, Washoe Co (8/6/10) Highlights at RSR today included a small flock (6+) of Eurasian Collared Doves focused on the private houses at the SW corner of the park, & 2 Black Phoebes (my FOS) at Herman’s Pond. A pair of Mourning Doves—I assume it’s the same pair—has built its third nest in a row this spring/summer on a rafter in my front porch (NW Reno). The present nest was built while we were on vacation & is in exactly the same place as the first two, both of which fledged young. Contents unknown, but there’s a sitting adultt so they’re likely to be either eggs or young chicks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugl/4764897961/ (Mourning Dove nest) Fred Petersen