Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from Sierra Nevada > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Wednesday, September 1 at 05:19 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Torrent Ducks,©BirdQuest

1 Sep Black Turnstone, El Dorado Co 8/30 [Frances Oliver ] 30 Aug Plumas County - Lake Almanor [Scott Edwards ] 30 Aug Tahoe Long-tailed Jaeger, etc. [Will Richardson ] 30 Aug Re: immature Long-tailed Jaeger, Lake Forest, North Lake Tahoe [] 30 Aug immature Long-tailed Jaeger, Lake Forest, North Lake Tahoe ["Bruce" ] 30 Aug Female Pine Grosbeak vic Woods Lake Campground Sunday 8.29 ["Eugenia Larson" ] 30 Aug Another Mono sighting ["marinbirder" ] 29 Aug East-side Nevada County ["Rudy Darling" ] 29 Aug Plumas County - Almanor Shorebirds [] 28 Aug Upper Truckee Marsh Updated Post ["Kirk Hardie" ] 28 Aug new Ruddy Turnstone ["marinbirder" ] 28 Aug Upper Truckee Marsh ["Kirk Hardie" ] 27 Aug Re: July 30 Common Loons [Dan Airola ] 27 Aug July 30 Common Loons ["Craig Swolgaard" ] 27 Aug Ruddy Turnstone still at south Lake Tahoe ["John Sterling" ] 25 Aug Tahoe - Upper Truckee River Delta/Cove East [Will Richardson ] 25 Aug Spotted Owl elevation range in central Sierra ["Kawika" ] 25 Aug turnstone still at South Lake Tahoe ["John Sterling" ] 24 Aug turnstone still at s. Lake Tahoe ["John Sterling" ] 24 Aug Fwd: [CB] ruddy turnstone in El Dorado -- Tahoe Marshes [Will Richardson ] 24 Aug YB Cuckoo Still Present; Greenhorn Mtns. Warblers [Bob Barnes ] 21 Aug Upper Truckee River Mouth shorebirds ["Dan" ] 20 Aug ruddy turnstone at south Lake Tahoe yesterday ["John Sterling" ] 18 Aug Cove East bird banding [Will Richardson ] 15 Aug Sierra County Red-naped Sapsucker ["Russell S" ] 13 Aug Re: South Lake Tahoe Shorebirding (and a few sapsuckers) [Will Richardson ] 13 Aug South Lake Tahoe Shorebirding (and a few sapsuckers) ["thunefeld" ] 11 Aug Greenhorn Mountains, Kern County [Bob Barnes ] 05 Aug Plumas County - Yellow Rail continues ["Stephen" ] 05 Aug Plumas County ["Stephen" ] 5 Aug Amador County [Kathryn Parker ] 30 Jul Sierra Nighthawks [] 31 Jul Common Loons remain at Bridgeport Reservoir ["Craig Swolgaard" ] 31 Jul Rufous Hummingbird on my feeder ["brasuel" ] 30 Jul Spectacular Nighthawk Show at Yuba Gap (Placer Co.) ["rossierran" ] 21 Jul Green-winged Teal (TEH) and Yellow Rail (PLU) ["brdnrd" ] 19 Jul Tahoe Keys today ["tiffymm2003" ] 20 Jul Tahoe shorebirds [Will Richardson ] 18 Jul A few Butte County targets . . . and Mike San Miguel [Dave Quady ] 15 Jul RFI-Fallen Leaf Lake ["tiffymm2003" ] 11 Jul Bald Eagle at Winnemucca Lake ["jaegermaestro" ] 11 Jul Sierra Valley and Yuba Pass, Flatlander's Visit [Bill Bousman ] 11 Jul Lake Tahoe Birds (PLA) ["rossierran" ] 11 Jul Bald Eagle at Winnemucca Lake ["jaegermaestro" ] 9 Jul Great-tailed Grackles - Plumas Co [] 6 Jul Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches on Mt Dana ["Bob Hislop" ] 06 Jul 6 Jul 10: Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway--Kern Co. [Bob Barnes ] 06 Jul 3 & 4 Jul 10: Kern River Valley Area Birds & Butterflies [Bob Barnes ] 5 Jul Yellow Rail [] 04 Jul Swainson's Thrush General Creek Sugar Pine Point SP Lake Tahoe ["carolspencer" ] 03 Jul Singing Swainson's Thrushes at Blackwood Canyon, Lake Tahoe (PLA) ["rossierran" ] 1 Jul Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley 6/27 - 6/30 ["Frances Oliver" ] 1 Jul Yuba Pass & Sierra Valley ["Frances Oliver" ] 1 Jul Red Crossbill at Perazzo Meadows [Walter Carnahan ] 2 Jul Re: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Placer) [] 02 Jul Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Placer) ["Ron Pozzi" ] 29 Jun Sierra Tricoloreds [Richard Carlson ] 27 Jun White-headed Woodpeckers [] 27 Jun Clark's Grebe along Heriot Lane [Mark Eaton ] 26 Jun Info needed on Tri-colored blackbirds in Carson Valley ["breteg" ] 27 Jun whip poor will call on website ["John Sterling" ] 27 Jun FW: [CB] Whip-poor-will Butte Co. (updated directions) ["John Sterling" ] 26 Jun Re: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! [] 26 Jun Re: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! [] 26 Jun Yellow Rail in Plumas County! ["John Sterling" ] 26 Jun Yellow Rail in Plumas County! ["John Sterling" ] 25 Jun Tahoe Pelicans [Richard Carlson ] 24 Jun Nightjar surveys [Will Richardson ] 24 Jun RE: Glossy Ibis - Plumas County - Sierra Valley ["John Sterling" ] 24 Jun Glossy Ibis - Plumas County - Sierra Valley ["RLewis0727" ] 23 Jun RE: Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday ["Terry Colborn" ] 23 Jun RE: Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday ["wildlightphoto AT earthlink.net" ] 23 Jun Re: Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) ["rossierran" ] 23 Jun Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday ["rosita94598" ] 22 Jun RE: Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) ["Jon Winter" ] 22 Jun Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) [Will Richardson ] Subject: Black Turnstone, El Dorado Co 8/30 From: Frances Oliver <hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 15:19:10 -0700 (PDT)   Posting for a friend:   On Monday evening August 30, 2010, I found a BLACK TURNSTONE at the Upper Truckee River Delta, East Cove area.   I was able to scope the Black Turnstone from about 50 feet.  Also had Semipalmated Plover, Spotted, Western and Least Sandpipers and a dowitcher that I couldn't get close enough to ID.   I went back there first thing Tuesday morning and the Black Turnstone was  gone.   From US 50 in South Lake Tahoe heading towards Stateline, turn left onto Tahoe Keys Blvd.  Make a right turn at the first stopsign (I think it's the first)  and go all the way to the end of the road.  Park and take the East Cove Trail.  I kept right at all the trail forks until I got past all the trees because I wanted to keep the sun behind me as I walked the shoreline towards the pier.  You can't get all the way to the pier because of the channel that the boats enter the little harbor.   Bob Dunn San Leandro Subject: Plumas County - Lake Almanor From: Scott Edwards <grnheron AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:37:20 -0700 (PDT) Hi Birders, Today we birded south of the Feather River mouth at Lake Almanor. Highlights included- 2 CASPIAN TERNS 3 BLACK TERNS, 2 FORSTER'S TERNS, 3 COMMON TERNS and 4 BONAPARTE'S GULLS amongst a flock of RING-BILLED GULLS. Nearby we also found 2 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, 3 WILSON’S PHALAROPES and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER! GREAT BIRDING! Amber & Scott Edwards Quincy [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Tahoe Long-tailed Jaeger, etc. From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:44:02 -0700 Migration is ON, and weather like we had yesterday tends to knock a lot of stuff out of the sky. Lake Forest Beach was crawling with warblers and flycatchers this morning. These comprised the usual suspects for this time of year, but it was neat to see 4-5 Olive-sided Flycatchers out on the flats, hunting from the tops of mullein. Fun birds included Laz. Bunting, gray-headed V. c. orestera Orange-crowned Warblers, Bullock's Oriole (pretty good bird for Tahoe, actually), a young Bald Eagle, Caspian Terns, a single Marbled Godwit, young of both species of accipiters chasing each other around, and quite a few swifts periodically materializing (and then dematerializing). But the bird of the day was an immature Long-tailed Jaeger, feeding on parts of a dead hen Mallard (which I'd assumed was a fish carcass). I've posted some photos in the list's Tahoe folder. The bill actually looked reasonable to me for a Parasitic, but note the cool tones, and the two white feather shafts on the outer primaries. Plus, he was absolutely dinky. Far and away the most cooperative jaeger I've had at Tahoe, a testament to the holding power of easy meat. Hopefully, he'll stick around long enough for other folks to get a look. Pomin Park was fairly birdy, but you had to find the flocks. Nothing unusual. They are doing some major restoration work on the creek channels. It's a mess right now, but it'll be interesting to see what it looks like next spring. Commons Beach was fairly quiet. Will Richardson Truckee, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: immature Long-tailed Jaeger, Lake Forest, North Lake Tahoe From: rccarl AT pacbell.net Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:26:04 -0700 (PDT) Wow!!!! Anyone figure out the route these inland pelagics must take?  Pyramid Lake is likely, but where before that??/ RCC Richard Carlson Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian Part-time Economist Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA rccarl AT pacbell.net Tucson 520-760-4935 Tahoe 530-581-0624 Kirkland 425-828-3819 Cell 650-280-2965 --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Bruce wrote: From: Bruce Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] immature Long-tailed Jaeger, Lake Forest, North Lake Tahoe To: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 12:17 PM   Will Richardson called me to say he is phographing an immature Long-tailed Jaeger that is picking at a fish on the long spit that is between Lake Forest point and thr Coast Guard Station. Will plans to elaborate and post photos later today, Bruce Webb Granite Bay, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: immature Long-tailed Jaeger, Lake Forest, North Lake Tahoe From: "Bruce" <Birder1 AT surewest.net> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:17:48 -0000 Will Richardson called me to say he is phographing an immature Long-tailed Jaeger that is picking at a fish on the long spit that is between Lake Forest point and thr Coast Guard Station. Will plans to elaborate and post photos later today, Bruce Webb Granite Bay, CA Subject: Female Pine Grosbeak vic Woods Lake Campground Sunday 8.29 From: "Eugenia Larson" <eklarson AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:43:51 -0700 Birders: Early this afternoon around 2:45 p.m., my husband and I saw a female Pine Grosbeak poking around the ground just above the Woods Lake Campground. She was seen from the trail leading from the trailhead parking lot to Round Top Lake just as it skirts above the campground. This was about the time the snow was beginning to fall. Unfortunately, the snow continued and became heavier as we neared Round Top Lake, so rather than camp there, we headed back down the trail and returned home. Eugenia K. Larson San Ramon, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Another Mono sighting From: "marinbirder" <david AT sierranaturalist.com> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:08:03 -0000 During our Mono Lake Committee bird class today we found an American Redstart at the Dechambeau Ranch on the north side of Mono Lake. It was a distinctive bird with a very short tail, and we refound it three different times over the period of an hour or so. Also lots of warbler activity everywhere, particularly in Lundy Canyon, despite the unseasonably cold weather. David Lukas Subject: East-side Nevada County From: "Rudy Darling" <rdarling AT sbbmail.com> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:48:30 -0700 Hello all, Today (Sunday), Barney Kroeger and I braved the rain and went up to the Truckee area to see what the cold spell might have dropped out of the sky. We were not disappointed. Highlights for me were two county birds - a Semipalmated Plover at Boca Reservoir and a Willet at Prosser Reservoir. Other shorebirds included Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, and many Killdeer. Bald Eagles and Osprey at both places, Kestrels at Prosser, and an Accipiter sp. at Boca. The rain must have driven the insects down low. There were hundreds of swallows at both reservoirs feeding right above the water - mostly Violet-greens, but also Barn Swallows and N. Rough-wings. Also drawn to the shore were Western Bluebirds, Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers, and dozens of juvenile Western Wood-Pewees. The latter would perch on rocks and logs at the shore and fly out over the water to catch prey. One even occasionally returned to land on a submerged rock - a most interesting sight. Rudy Darling Nevada City [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Plumas County - Almanor Shorebirds From: dillingham7 AT digitalpath.net Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:17:19 -0700 (PDT) Today Ryan Burnett and I birded around the mouth of the North Fork Feather River at Lake Almanor and the meadows between Chester and Lake Almanor. Migration was in full swing and we found 81 species in about 4 hours including the following highlights: 1 ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER 1 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER 2 WESTERN SANDPIPER 15 LEAST SANDPIPER 1 TOWNSEND'S WARBLER 12 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER 40 WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE 1 WESTERN KINGBIRD The warblers were thick, we had about 150 warblers of 7 species. Colin Dillingham, Quincy On Fri, August 27, 2010 4:52 pm, Ryan Burnett wrote: > Tim Guida and I saw 9 PECTORAL SANDPIPERs just south of the Feather River > mouth on Lake Almanor Wednesday evening as well as 1 LONG-BILLED > DOWITCHER, 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and 30+ Peeps (all we identified were > Least). Being that I had never seen a Pectoral Sandpiper on Almanor > before, 9 seemed rather remarkable. Grebes have started nesting in several > different spots with at least 75 nests scattered around the river mouth up > towards the causeway. Additional species of interest included some early > arriving ducks we counted 12 species: > Pintail > Am. Wigeon > Bufflehead > Gadwall > Shoveler > Wooduck > All 3 species of teal > Mallard > C. Merganser > Ruddy duck > > Ryan Burnett > Sierra Nevada Program Director > PRBO Conservation Science > PO BOX 634 > Chester, CA 96020 > 530.258.2869 > > From: David Arsenault [mailto:david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com] > Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 6:41 AM > To: david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com; anthonyehall AT sbcglobal.net; > raymond_gipson AT digitalpath.net; Linda.blum AT att.net; dderuiter AT frc.edu; > djury AT frc.edu; jmenge AT centurytel.net; grnheron AT earthlink.net; Ryan > Burnett; pashaklee AT fs.fed.us; macmc94123 AT earthlink.net; > bigfootbob AT sbcglobal.net; phardy AT frlt.org; ccccollins AT yahoo.com; > cdillingham AT fs.fed.us; suzi AT plumascounty.org; pcvb AT psln.com; > PAGPEG AT aol.com; kmerriam AT fs.fed.us; acomyns AT prodigy.net; > theshowers AT frontiernet.net; hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net; melloadobe AT yahoo.com; > mba53 AT yahoo.com; jtajax AT sbcglobal.net; hoffman04 AT sbcglobal.net; > jsterling AT wavecable.com; adillingham AT fs.fed.us; jahoffman AT fs.fed.us; > nfrancine AT fs.fed.us; pgustafson AT fs.fed.us; tsimonjackson AT fs.fed.us; > aplomado-falcon AT att.net; quinston AT sbcglobal.net; caicedoj AT hotmail.com; > arconssi AT comcast.net; davelind AT frontiernet.net; mikeskram AT hotmail.com; > zsotrab5 AT psln.com; hgreeves AT att.net; deweysage AT verizon.net; > dpvroman AT budget.net; wray313 AT yahoo.com; mfulton AT frc.edu; mszig AT mac.com; > tlwilliams AT digitalpath.net; jerrywilliams AT digitalpath.net; > jrockholm AT hotmail.com; robinson2 AT psln.com; ralphmartinez AT fs.fed.us; > birds AT violet-shrike.net; tootswallah AT hotmail.com; drgoose77 AT sbcglobal.net; > 2wildwomen AT sbcglobal.net; salomon_1941 AT yahoo.com; paultaillie AT gmail.com; > tag2 AT lehigh.edu; rust AT gotsky.com; Jeff4949 AT att.net; > markserumgard AT yahoo.com; dbumpus AT fs.fed.us; marie-watson AT live.com; > camp4 AT citlink.net; firehoo AT citlink.net; jeffrey_watson AT live.com; > kararockett AT gmail.com; 5mlou5 AT sbcglobal.net; drsusan AT charter.net; > jillmarten AT yahoo.com; 1morcast AT psln.com; LucindaWood AT att.net; > spruter AT charter.net; jean.gilbert AT att.net; hmena AT ebmud.com; > darwin333 AT aol.com; dillingham7 AT digitalpath.net; chickensand AT comcast.net; > clysta AT igc.org; terryhart333 AT yahoo.com > Subject: [Plumas Birds] Mountain Quail, list update > > Hi Birders, > I saw some young Mountain Quail in my East Quincy yard yesterday. I > haven't seen them in my yard for four years and I have seen young quail > all over the place this year. I was impressed with how well they could > fly into the trees. > > The e-mail list has been updated so please respond to all recipients of > this message for your next posting. > > Good birding, > > David > -- Colin Dillingham 530-283-1133 Subject: Upper Truckee Marsh Updated Post From: "Kirk Hardie" <krhardie AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:52:59 -0700 Hello, Here is a correction to my post from earlier. I saw a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER yesterday, not a Semipalmated Sandpiper. Kirk Hardie "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." - From a sign in Albert Einstein's office at Princeton [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: new Ruddy Turnstone From: "marinbirder" <david AT sierranaturalist.com> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:29:36 -0000 I was leading a Mono Lake Committee birding class today and we had a ruddy turnstone at Crowley Lake this morning. It was on the beach by the Owens River delta at the northeast corner of the lake. We had close looks for as long as we wanted, and someone in the group took some good photos if they're needed. Wonder if this is the Tahoe bird, or another one? David Lukas Subject: Upper Truckee Marsh From: "Kirk Hardie" <krhardie AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:20:06 -0700 Hello, I checked out the Upper Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe yesterday afternoon in hopes of the Ruddy Turnstone and Common Tern. I found neither. I did find a SEMIPLAMATED SANDPIPER, and WESTERN, LEAST, and BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS. Kirk Hardie "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." - From a sign in Albert Einstein's office at Princeton [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: July 30 Common Loons From: Dan Airola <d.airola AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:21:48 -0700 (PDT) Craig's finding of adult and young-of-the-year Common Loons is quite remarkable. The information I gave him regarding history of breeding was from memory, while I was on vacation. I reviewed my old version of Grinnell, Dixon, and Lindsdale's(1930) Vertebrate Natural History...of the Lassen Peak Region and they reported calls of loons in at Eagle Lake, Lassen Co. in mid June 1929, and a pair there May 18-23 1925, and several second-had records from other lakes, but no conclusive evidence of breeding The only breeding records summarized by G,D&L and by Grinnell and Miller (1944, The distribution of the birds of California) include records from 1878 and 1905 at Eagle Lake and 1884 from lakes in the Lassen Peak region. I am less familiar with summer records of the species over the last 20 years than in the 1980s when I worked at Lassen National Forest and spent time looking unsuccessfully for breeding loons. I see some recent summer records on ebird from Bridgeport and other eastern Sierran reservoirs. Given the current official extirpated status of the species as a breeder, it seems warranted to query observers for any additional details, including the other sighting at Bridgeport this year, and to document this apparent breeding in Western Birds or another appropriate journal. Then maybe more people will be alerted to acquire further evidence in future years. Dan Airola 2700 6th Avenue Sacramento, CA 95818 916/454-3073 d.airola AT sbcglobal.net ________________________________ From: Craig Swolgaard To: Sierra Nevada Birds Sent: Fri, August 27, 2010 4:56:37 PM Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] July 30 Common Loons Birders- On July 30 I saw an adult and a young common loon at Bridgeport Reservoir and loaded photographs for the listserv. It had been noted by another birder earlier in the summer. Last week I told John Trochet about the sighting and sent him photographs. He has extensive experience with loons. He thinks it is a "near certainty" that loons nested at the reservoir this year. According to Dan Airola, the last recorded nestng he knows of was back in the 1920s or 302 up by Lassen NP. Pretty cool. Craig Swolgaard Folsom, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: July 30 Common Loons From: "Craig Swolgaard" <cswol AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:56:37 -0700 Birders- On July 30 I saw an adult and a young common loon at Bridgeport Reservoir and loaded photographs for the listserv. It had been noted by another birder earlier in the summer. Last week I told John Trochet about the sighting and sent him photographs. He has extensive experience with loons. He thinks it is a "near certainty" that loons nested at the reservoir this year. According to Dan Airola, the last recorded nestng he knows of was back in the 1920s or 302 up by Lassen NP. Pretty cool. Craig Swolgaard Folsom, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Ruddy Turnstone still at south Lake Tahoe From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:44:14 -0700 Ed Pandolfino just call me to report the continuing presence of the Ruddy Turnstone on the east side of the upper Truckee River marshes, along the beach at South Lake Tahoe. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Tahoe - Upper Truckee River Delta/Cove East From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:06:53 -0700 I went searching for the turnstone after we banded at the Cove East site today. I didn't get out to where Tim had the bird until 2:00 or so, and I had no luck. I did, however, have a very cooperative juv. Baird's Sandpiper, all day, off the Cove East side. Also present at the Upper Truckee River Delta today, were singles of Northern Harrier, Common Tern (first found by Tim Steurer), Semipalmated Plover, and Short-billed Dowitcher, seven ibis, about a half dozen Caspian Terns, a couple of Western Kingbird, and lots of Least and Western Sandpipers spread out all over. Tiger beetles were as thick on the sand as I've ever seen them, at least in a few places. The bird of the day, however, was a Black-chinned Hummingbird, caught earlier in the day. With Black-chinned Hummingbirds breeding at the foot of the east slope of the Carson Range, it has always been assumed that the species regularly wanders into Tahoe. Yet there have been no adequately documented examples to date (so far as I'm aware). I've been hoping for photos of a male at a feeder for years, but so far...nothing concrete. And personally, I've never seen anything prior to today that ever suggested Black-chinned - and I've been out there looking!! I also banded in the Carson Range for several summers, and never had one turn up at any of those sites, despite lots and lots of hummers. Today, as a few of us were taking a lap checking our mist-nets, we saw an interesting-looking hummer dart across a clearing and nectar on some thistle. It definitely looked small, and there didn't appear to be ANY color in the tail (which was too long for a Calliope anyway), and it was way too small for an Anna's, but to me it seemed a little too dingy for a Black-chinned. Guess I hadn't seen one in a while. Thankfully, it promptly flew into one our nets, and the mystery was solved!!! Incidentally, this bird had 2-3 violet gorget feathers, but also 1 iridescent green gorget feather. I can't recall ever seeing green in the gorget of a Black-chinned Hummingbird. A photo showing the gorget feathers can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5024436&fbid=423047930027&id=173935990027 We also had the first Cedar Waxwings of the year, which are a few days earlier than prior earliest date. A hatch-year Willow Flycatcher was also nice to catch. Will Richardson Truckee, CA Subject: Spotted Owl elevation range in central Sierra From: "Kawika" <dkuhn AT rare-dear.com> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:58:50 -0000 Hi folks, For some years I have been collecting Sierra sounds, for fun and to include in an 80 min soundscape compilation, depicting a full day in mid-elevation (7000 to 9000 feet) mid-Sierra forest--mainly Yosemite and South through the drainage of the N Fork San Joaquin R. Though I grew up in Central CA I have lived in Hawaii for 20+ years, working as a bird guide and nature recordist. Recently I was privileged to accompany owl researcher Claudia Funari in the Eldorado NF to record the Spotted Owl--got some great sounds and now want to find out the elevational range of the species in the C Sierra, so as to include it or not in my soundscape. Can anyone help here? Aloha, David >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> David Kuhn www.SoundsHawaiian.com email:david AT soundshawaiian.com 808 335 0398 cell 808 651 8247 Mail to: PO Box 1018 Waimea, Kauai, HI 96796 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Subject: turnstone still at South Lake Tahoe From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:29:14 -0700 The Ruddy Turnstone was refound this morning by Tim Steurer at South Lake Tahoe. He found it on the east side of the Truckee River mouth-near the pier towards the Nevada State line. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: turnstone still at s. Lake Tahoe From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:30:31 -0700 Just heard that the Ruddy Turnstone was seen again this morning at the Truckee River mouth in South Lake Tahoe John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Fwd: [CB] ruddy turnstone in El Dorado -- Tahoe Marshes From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:33:18 -0700 Begin forwarded message: From: "John Sterling" Date: August 24, 2010 9:42:38 AM PDT To: "'County Birders'" Subject: [CB] ruddy turnstone in El Dorado -- Tahoe Marshes The Ruddy Turnstone was refound yesterday at the upper Truckee River mouth (South Lake Tahoe marshes) near the Tahoe Keys Marina. I just reviewed the photos. Nice record! John Sterling [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: YB Cuckoo Still Present; Greenhorn Mtns. Warblers From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:29:35 -0700 Hi, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO Has a few inquiries as to whether or not Yellow-billed Cuckoo is still present in the South Fork Wildlife area along the South Fork Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada of Kern County. So, I checked early yesterday morning (6am-6:25am). The species was still present as of then. Drove to CA Hwy. 178 mile marker 54.50 in Weldon to park at the outside west end of the KOA campground front wall. Went through the walk through gate along the outside west edge of the KOA toward the riparian forest to the north. Halfway between the NW end of the KOA chain link boundary fence and the forest, a very short distance, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was heard repeatedly giving the "coo, coo, coo, coo, coo" (with a little bit of a long "u" quality mixed into the "oo"). No "kalp" calls were given. This bird was a quarter mile or less from Hwy. 178 along the path. It was in a single large willow to the right of the path in the meadow just beyond the first strip of trees. Upon approaching the tree, the cooing stopped ... at about 50'75' fro the tree. When I turned and walked away, the cooing began again as soon as I re-entered the tree line out of the meadow. The cuckoo could be heard giving the five note cooing sound until my ears could no longer hear it - near the KOA campground NW corner. eBird list below. GREENHORN MOUNTAINS: EVANS FLAT STATIONARY COUNT WARBLERS An 8:25am-9:25am stop at Evans Flat Meadow (4040') in the Greenhorn Mountains to check for the continued presence of Lincoln's Sparrow yielded a bonus of surrounding nearby trees being alive with two Cassin's Vireos, eight species of Warbler, and numerous other species observed over a period of an hour ... and from with 50' of a single point! An exhilarating hour of birding! eBird list below. Location: South Fork Wildlife Area--KOA Access Observation date: 6am-6:25am, 8/23/10 Observer: Bob Barnes Notes: Elevation of 2600'+. Number of species: 18 * Mallard 9 * California Quail 2 * Red-shouldered Hawk 1 * Red-tailed Hawk 2 * Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 * Mourning Dove 1 * Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 Repeatedly giving coo, coo, coo, coo, coo call. No kalp calls. * Great Horned Owl 1 * Northern Flicker 1 * Loggerhead Shrike 1 * Common Raven 3 * Bewick's Wren 3 * European Starling 6 * Yellow Warbler 2 Still singing... * Brewer's Blackbird 6 * House Finch 3 * Lesser Goldfinch 3 * House Sparrow 2 Location: Greenhorn Mtns.--Evans Flat Observation time/date: 8:25am-9:25am, 8/23/10 Observer: Bob Barnes Notes: One hour stationary count (observation within 50' of single point involving walking around single tree to get 360 degree views). Drove up to "Lincoln's Sparrow" pull-off at edge of Evans Flat Meadow (6040'). Upon approaching there was a small flock of Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos foraging on the ground right at the pull-off. The trees all around with pull-off were alive with birds including a diverse flock of eight warbler species and two Cassin's Vireos. Number of species: 26 * Acorn Woodpecker 1 * Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 * Hairy Woodpecker 1 * Northern Flicker 1 * Western Wood-Pewee 1 * Cassin's Vireo 2 * Steller's Jay 5 * Mountain Chickadee 2 * Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 * White-breasted Nuthatch 1 * Brown Creeper 1 * House Wren 6 * Western Bluebird 2 * Orange-crowned Warbler 2 * Nashville Warbler (Western) 5 * Yellow Warbler 1 * Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2 * Townsend's Warbler 1 Adult female. In with mixed warbler flock. Observed at close range (20'-30') in closest tree. * Hermit Warbler 1 * MacGillivray's Warbler 2 * Wilson's Warbler 2 * Chipping Sparrow 8 * Fox Sparrow (Thick-billed) 1 * Lincoln's Sparrow 2 * Dark-eyed Junco 6 * Black-headed Grosbeak 1 The above reports were generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, California [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Upper Truckee River Mouth shorebirds From: "Dan" <ropepushercuz AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:00:27 -0000 Elizabeth Ames found a snowy plover yesterday morning on the beach at the mouth of the Upper Truckee. The bird was out on the beach at the shoreline, and she had to wade accross the river to see it (it's only about knee high). A red-necked phalarope was about 100 meters onshore from the beach in the normal wet shorebirdy spot. The ruddy turnstone from thursday evening was not seen. Cheers. Dan Maxwell Calaveras County. Subject: ruddy turnstone at south Lake Tahoe yesterday From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:24:22 -0700 I received word from Matt Brady that yesterday evening Dan Maxwell found a Ruddy Turnstone at the upper Truckee River mouth at South Lake Tahoe. I neglected to send this last night. My apologies. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Cove East bird banding From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:52:35 -0700 Hey folks, The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science has initiated a fall bird- banding program, starting this year with one site at Cove East. We hope to expand this to include in 1-2 additional sites on US Forest Service land in 2011. We have many goals with this program, principal of which is to track meadow and wetland use by post-breeding dispersers and migrants in August and September, but it's also a fantastic opportunity for outreach and education. Any and all are welcome to stop by during mist-netting operations and see what we're up to, learn about bird-banding, see birds in the hand, etc. If you'd like to bring a larger group, we can accommodate, but would need to coordinate that in advance, to ensure 1) we have enough folks on hand to deal with both the birds and the public, and 2) we don't have multiple large groups converge at the same time. We've banded the last two Tuesdays, and now that we have our feet under us, I'd like to advertise a tentative schedule for the rest of this season: Week 4: Wednesday, 25 August Week 5: Wednesday, 1 September Week 6: Tuesday, 7 September Week 7: Sunday, 12 September Week 8: Wednesday, 22 September Week 9: Sunday, 26 September These dates are definitely tentative, as we'll be watching the weather, and hoping to coordinate with some school groups and such. We'll have our nets open for five hours, weather permitting, opening about 30 minutes after sunrise. Feel free to stop by! Will Richardson Truckee, CA Subject: Sierra County Red-naped Sapsucker From: "Russell S" <rfs_berkeley AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:16:35 -0000 Thursday August 12 I was surprised to see a Red-naped Sapsucker in Church Meadows not far from Salmon Lake, Sierra County. For August, this seems rather extra-limital. Rusty Scalf Berkeley, CA Subject: Re: South Lake Tahoe Shorebirding (and a few sapsuckers) From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:47:49 -0700 I should add that Don Harriman reported two Solitary Sandpipers at the Upper Truckee River Delta (from the San Francisco side) today, along with: 12 Avocets 7 Marbled Godwit 5 White-faced Ibis Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper all about, plenty of Western Sandpipers, a few Least, Semipalmated Plover. "Very busy out there," says Don. Also some interesting waterfowl, including an eclipse Wood Duck, and some bizarre, partially- amelanistic (or hybrid) Canada Goose. I may have to swing by after our Carson Pass hike tomorrow... Will Subject: South Lake Tahoe Shorebirding (and a few sapsuckers) From: "thunefeld" <thunefeld AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:14:43 -0000 Greetings After birding some of the mountains around Lake Tahoe this week, I spent some time shorebirding yesterday (12 Aug), beginning the day at 0630 hours on the beach between the Tahoe Queen and Lakewood Resort in South Lake Tahoe, counting 24 Common Mergansers. A Spotted Sandpiper and 3 Killdeer were the only shorebirds at Regan Beach. At the San Francisco street entrance to the Upper Truckee Marsh, a male Williamson's Sapsucker foraged the big pine inside the entrance. Shorebird numbers at the beach were significantly lower than Will Richardson's 18 July report: 4 Spotted Sandpipers, 6 Killdeer, 2 Willet, 3 Least and 4 Western Sandpipers and 2 White-faced Ibis. By the time I arrived at Fallen Leaf Lake at 10 a.m., it was full of motor craft, but my short hike was rewarded with a male and female Williamson's Sapsucker. A trip to the Echo Lake overlook to check the burn area on the other side of the ridge for BB woodpeckers yielded none, but the burn area was sporting 4 Evening Grosbeaks. This morning (Friday) the shorebirds at Cove East Trail at Tahoe Keys included 2 Spotted Sandpipers on the pond and two more on the beach with 8 Westerns, a Semi-palmated Plover and a Killdeer. A Bald Eagle was foraging 100 yards off the beach. Terry Hunefeld Zephyr Cove until tomorrow Then back to San Diego Life is short. Seabird often. In memory of Luke Cole and Mike San Miguel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aW8-13p-IE "Come on out with us to see what's out there." Southern California Seabirding Trips by: Buena Vista Audubon Society http://www.SoCalBirding.com Los Coronados Islands & Nine Mile Bank all the way to the edge of the Continental Shelf Subject: Greenhorn Mountains, Kern County From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:54:32 -0700 Hi, This morning, August 11, 2010, I observed an unexpected First of Fall Townsend's Warbler in a small, mixed flock of Orange-crowned, Nashville, and Hermit Warblers between Greenhorn Summit on the south and the Tulare County line located about 6 miles to the north along FS 24S15. Matt Heindel's East Kern book shows an early date of September 2nd for east Kern desert oases. eBird shows a Townsend's Warbler from along FS 24S15 which I observed and reported for August 29, 2009. Unless someone else has an earlier record, which I welcome, this moves the early FOF date for Townsend's Warbler in Kern County up by a eighteen days. Complete list of bird species and numbers observed during four hours and ten minutes of birding FS 24S15 (Sequoia National Forest road all above 6000' elevation) this morning follows next: Location: Greenhorn Mountains--FS 24S15 (Greenhorn Summit to Tulare Co) Observation time/date: 6:55am-11:05am, 8/11/10 Observer: Bob Barnes Notes: Six miles of FS 24S15 from Greenhorn Summit north to the Tulare County line. Number of species: 41 * Mountain Quail 2 * Anna's Hummingbird 1 * Rufous Hummingbird 2 * Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird 5 * hummingbird sp. 10 * Acorn Woodpecker 4 * Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 * Nuttall's Woodpecker 1 * Hairy Woodpecker 1 * White-headed Woodpecker 2 * Northern Flicker 2 * Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 * Western Wood-Pewee 12 * Dusky Flycatcher 6 * Steller's Jay 14 * Western Scrub-Jay 2 * Common Raven 2 * Violet-green Swallow 9 * Mountain Chickadee 19 * Red-breasted Nuthatch 11 * White-breasted Nuthatch 4 * House Wren 11 * Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 * Western Bluebird 8 * Townsend's Solitaire 5 * American Robin 1 * Wrentit 6 * Orange-crowned Warbler 6 * Nashville Warbler (Western) 4 * Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 4 * Townsend's Warbler 1 * Hermit Warbler 2 * MacGillivray's Warbler 1 * Green-tailed Towhee 1 * Spotted Towhee 2 * Fox Sparrow 4 * Dark-eyed Junco 27 * Western Tanager 6 * Black-headed Grosbeak 3 * Lazuli Bunting 1 * Purple Finch 2 * Pine Siskin 2 * Lesser Goldfinch 1 The above report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, California [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Plumas County - Yellow Rail continues From: "Stephen" <diomedea.stephen AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:00:41 -0000 County Birders, Wednesday, 04 August: The second day of working on my Plumas list began at the Domingo Springs Campground at 0600 (civil twilight at 0534). First bird of the day was a heard only WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. Several STELLER'S JAYs were already working the campground, but alas, no Gray Jays. I thought I might have heard the Black-backed Woodpecker(s), but didn't want to intrude on the occupants of campsite #10. So it was off to Willow Lake again. Many of the same species encountered yesterday were also seen today, either along the road or at the lake: American Robin, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Thick-billed Fox Sparrow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Raven, Osprey (flushed from a perch along the trail, flying out over lake), Song Sparrow, Mountain Quail, Western Tanager (very common), Red-tailed Hawk and Dark-eyed Junco. I arrived at the spot I believed the Yellow Rail to have been discovered and immediately heard a SORA futher north. As though dueting, the YELLOW RAIL started a long period of calling from almost directly in front of me. So, folks, it's still there. It called from about 0710-0730 while I was there. No chance of seeing it, of course; in fact, I would be surprised if anyone has actually seen the bird. I leave it to others to debate the issue of heard-only birds. From across the far side of the marsh, a SANDHILL CRANE gave its croaking call, but it added a "stop-wringing-my-neck" element to the call – a bit of a screech. On the way back along the trail, near where the open water meets the reedy marsh, I heard some tapping, and since I needed almost all woodpeckers except for the rather common RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERs, I tried to track it down. No success. So I started back, again, toward the parking lot. A few seconds later, I heard a very annoyed PILEATED WOODPECKER, and was able to see the bird, a female; meanwhile, from across the lake came several drumming sessions, presumably from the male. Time to head back to the Bay Area – with several birding stops along the way. At the Plumas National Forest boat launch area near Canyon Dam, I saw yet another woodpecker I needed, WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER (NCB #132). COMMON MERGANSERs were here, all females one of which had 6 chicks. A flotilla of WESTERN GREBES numbering in excess of 100, were vigorously fishing near the water intake structure. Three OSPREY circled around this part of the lake. CANADA GOOSE was common on the West Shore of the lake. A CASSIN'S VIREO was still singing a full song at the boat launch picnic area, and a family of HERMIT WARBLERs responded to my pishing there. BREWER'S BLACKBIRD and SPOTTED SANDPIPER rounded out the birds seen here. Down in Greenville, I stopped at a feeder along Main Street. Nothing exciting, but when I looked up, a single BAND-TAILED PIGEON flew over. Main Street ultimately becomes North Valley Road. The feeders at 6230 North Valley Road have been mentioned often, and I was hoping for Rufous Hummingbird here, but had to settle for BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, male and female. I spoke with the woman at the house, and she indicated that she maintained the seed feeders throughout the year, so this might be worthwhile in the winter for some good sparrows and finches. Other birds here included HOUSE SPARROW, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, and LESSER GOLDFINCH. Stamplfi Road failed to present the sought-after Acorn Woodpecker, but the habitat east of the creek must clearly support them. I wanted to see the new Maddalena Ranch set-up by the Feather River Land Trust. This property is on the north side of Sierra Valley, and recently provided some birders with Common Moorhen. I didn't see that species, but did add for the trip VESPER SPARROW (common at the parking lot), and SAGE THRASHER (3 taking the shade under the observation platform). This area will be worth revisiting in the winter. It is accessed along CR-A24 about 1.75-miles south of SR-70 on the east side of Beckwourth. Nearby is Marble Hot Springs Road which might have had some new county birds, but didn't, despite my efforts to make a juvenile TREE SWALLOW into a Bank Swallow. There was a family group of 2 adult & 2 hatch-year SANDHILL CRANEs, so its nice to see a modest rebound in Sierra Valley breeding of this species. New trip birds included: AMERICAN KESTREL (female), WESTERN KINGBIRD, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, HOUSE FINCH, RUDDY DUCK (female with a single chick), BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, HORNED LARK, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. Finished the 2-day trip with 64 birds in Plumas County so far this year. Good birding, Stephen Long Museum of Vertebrate Zoology University of California Berkeley, CA diomedea at berkeley dot edu Subject: Plumas County From: "Stephen" <diomedea.stephen AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:07:54 -0000 County Birders, Tuesday, 03 August: Decided to work on my Plumas list a little this week, so got up at 0400 and was on the road in a half-hour, or so. There are several ways to access Plumas County from the Bay Area; I opted for SR-32 out of Chico, crossing the county line, which is actually on SR-36 east of the junction of SR-32, at 0954. I was three away from a color change, and was pretty confident. My first stop was at the Chester Water Treatment Ponds. The Public Utilities District is accommodating to birders, but they ask that you come into the office and announce your intention to bird the WTP. Problem is, the office is nowhere near the ponds. Fortunately, a district worker was at the ponds, and he directed me to 251 Chester Airport Road – which is a half block from SR-36 just east of the airport. [NOTE: This is a change from Helen Green's "Northern Plumas County Guide to Birding" (which puts the office on Main Street next to Ayoob's Store.] Bill Turner, the General Manager of the CPUD (as well as Fire Chief) was quite positive about allowing me to bird. In turn, I agreed to advise birders that they do want you to check in; although we didn't discuss it, you might be able to "check in" by phone (530-258-3456). Weekdays, only. I got to the ponds themselves (on First Avenue, not to be confused with First Street) in time to see an OSPREY head off toward the open water of Lake Almanor. COMMON RAVENs were true to their namesake – common. I saw numerous KILLDEER on the gravel berms, perhaps 25 or so, suggesting a premigratory convocation. A female WESTERN TANAGER was the first of many I would see during the day. There were lots of WOOD DUCKs, many of the females with chicks, and most of the males already transitioning to eclipse plumage (NCB #123). MALLARDs were also common, likewise hearding chicks. CALIFORNIA GULLs were sparse at the treatment ponds. At least 2 (probably more) SPOTTED SANDPIPERs were busily feeding on the flies at the water's edge (NCB #124). The bird that would turn out to be the best of the day was also my color-changer: PECTORAL SANDPIPER (NCB #125). It was immediately adjacent to the pump house, so I was able to get my scope on it for several minutes. The plumage was a bit scruffy, but sharp demarcation of streaking on the breast, bicolored bill, yellowish legs, almost non-existent white wing-stripe, and not a lot of white in the rump were telltale signs. SONG SPARROWs and a couple of WESTERN WOOD-PEWEEs were around the fresh water pond southeast of the pump house, and LESSER GOLDFINCHes were feeding on the thistles around the pond (NCB #126). An adult BALD EAGLE was west of the treatment ponds. After lunch (Knotbumper on Main Street, mediocre I thought), I went out to the causeway over Lake Almanor. No new county birds here, but I did see: CANADA GOOSE, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, WHITE-FACED IBIS, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, COMMON MERGANSER, GREAT EGRET, SANDHILL CRANE (3 juvenals), and TURKEY VULTURE. Back in the town of Chester, I tried to find the road (path, whatever) to the mouth of the Feather River. I really needed to get some shorebirds, and believed this should be the time. Couldn't find it. Anyone have directions on how to get to the mouth? Probably wouldn't have matter, however, since the lake is high and I never did see any shorebird habitat. However, I did see a single EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE on telephone wires at 3rd Avenue/Cedar St. Didn't know they had gotten to Plumas. Along CR-312 (the road to Warner Valley), I saw a RED-TAILED HAWK. My planned destination for the night was the Domingo Springs USFS Campground, with the hope of getting Gray Jay and Black-backed Woodpecker. The former is often seen here, and the latter has been posted as having a nest near campsite #10. That campsite was occupied by a gaggle of people & vehicles, so I opted for campsite #13. From Chester, take Feather River Drive northeast; this becomes Chester-Warner Valley Rd, although I never saw a sign; at the signed junction for Drakesbad, stay left onto CR-311. The campground is about 8-miles from Chester. While setting up camp, I saw MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, heard RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, then saw HERMIT WARBLER (NCB #127), and a male WESTERN TANAGER. Willow Lake was the destination for the mid-afternoon. This is accessed from the road to Domingo Springs campground, although it is poorly signed. The first road you come to after (west of) the Drakesbad junction is Willow Lake Road (per MapQuest) and Forest Service Road 29N14. It is 0.4-miles west of the Drakesbad junction. Chris Conard observed in his post of 10 July that the road is a little rough in places, but can be taken by a passenger car. Perhaps it has detioriated since then; I would be a little nervous with my passenger car (a Prius), but my 4-wheel Highlander took it in stride – albeit bumpily. Willow Lake is, of course, now famous for the Yellow Rail, first discovered by Peter Gaede in late June. Numerous people have since gone for it, most getting it. Along the road to the Willow Lake "campground", I saw DARK-EYED JUNCO, STELLER'S JAY, a beautiful male MOUNTAIN QUAIL that responded to pishing and came within ten feet of the car, THICK-BILLED FOX SPARROW, a male GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, and an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. At Willow Lake, I hiked out to beyond the end of the open water, then another 200-300 yards, never encountering the trail marking of a wooden arrow supposedly pointing to the rail. And, I didn't hear the rail. But I resolved to come back in the morning for another try. Driving along Forest Service Road 29N33, I encountered a COMMON POORWILL (NCB #128) at 2100 hours (civil twilight at 2048, moonless). Good birding, Stephen Long Museum of Vertebrate Zoology University of California Berkeley, CA diomedea at berkeley dot edu Subject: Amador County From: Kathryn Parker <jandkparker AT mindspring.com> Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 10:14:55 -0700 I birded in Amador Co. yesterday. Spent the morning around Kirkwood and the afternoon along Ellis Rd. and Salt Spring Reservoir. Dawn found me at Kirkwood. Thanks to John Luther and Jim Lomax for helping with places to bird and the county boundary with Alpine County. The first bird I saw was a beautiful male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. Not a bad way to start the day. Also seen at the end of Dangberg were PINE GROSBEAK, HERMIT WARBLER, and WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. NASHVILLE WARBLERS were here and almost everywhere else I birded. I also saw an American Marten here. It was in a tall hollow stump. It poked its head out, looked at me, wuffed at me and tucked back in the stump. It did this about 4 times before I took pity and moved on. Very cute. Kirkwood Meadow on the Amador County side was full of DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS. I also found 1 WILLOW FLYCATCHER, 1 female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD and 1 singing WARBLING VIREO. On the Alpine County side of the meadow there were 2 WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and another male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER. Of course, I couldn't find a NASHVILLE WARBLER here where I needed it. A female Williamson's Sapsucker was along the entrance road as I was leaving. Easy to see why they were thought to be different species. Spent the afternoon birding along Ellis Rd. down to Salt Spring Reservoir. Had almost 40 species along this road - very good for a hot afternoon. New for me were a calling OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL being mobbed by a flock of LESSER GOLDFINCHES and 2 CANYON WRENS at Salt Spring Reservoir. I saw 6 species of warblers and 2 families of MOUNTAIN QUAIL along here. Struck out on nightjars, but while waiting for dusk, there were 2 BLACK-SHOULDERED KITES flying above the Eagles Nest airport. After dark a BARN OWL was sitting on a fence post along Maxwell Rd. Kathy Parker Los Gatos Subject: Sierra Nighthawks From: rccarl AT pacbell.net Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:31:41 -0700 (PDT) I'm wondering if your west slope Nighthawks are partly my lost east slope Nighthawks??  One of the thrills of Tahoe area birding for the last 20 years has been the large number of Common Nighthawks easily seen even in daylight in early June at such locations as Squaw Valley , Sagehen Creek or the east end of Henness Pass rd.  In this unusually cold spring I didn't see a one.  Richard Carlson Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian Part-time Economist Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA rccarl AT pacbell.net Tucson 520-760-4935 Tahoe 530-581-0624 Kirkland 425-828-3819 Cell 650-280-2965 --- On Fri, 7/30/10, rossierran wrote: From: rossierran Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] Spectacular Nighthawk Show at Yuba Gap (Placer Co.) To: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, July 30, 2010, 1:23 AM   Hello Birders, This evening, Ron Pozzi and I went to see the COMMON NIGHTHAWKS at Yuba Gap. We arrived at approximately 7:40 PM and heard our first nighthawks as we drove down Lake Valley Road and just passed the old Eagle Mountain lodge and x-c ski area. This is approximately 1 mile from Interstate 80. In my personal experience, I have found this area to be one of the best sites in the county for viewing Common Nighthawks and tonight was spectacular. On the short drive in, we had a conservative estimate of 30 nighthawks and, as we scanned the surrounding mountain tops in the near distance, numerous other birds were seen winging about. There were easily 50 nighthawks in the visible area but what made this visit so amazing was the fact the birds were flying right down to the ground with many birds coming within 10-15 feet of us. The birds were all around....high, low, and coming down the road directly at us. It was a major birding rush. At approximately 5700-6000 ft. elevation, the numerous small lakes located on the open, rocky mountain tops to the north east (Sun Flower Lake, SP Lakes, Kelly Lake, Hidden Lake, and others) and the after effects from a recent major fire just down slope make for some prime Bull Bat habitat. It's well worth a stop. The best viewing is from 7:15 to 8:15 pm. Sometime in August the "Burnt Land-bird" show begins to leave town so don't miss it. It's also a great opportunity for photographs. I have two mediocre photos that I'll post in the appropriate album. Bird is the Word, Deren Ross Auburn, Ca [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Common Loons remain at Bridgeport Reservoir From: "Craig Swolgaard" <cswol AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:05:09 -0700 Hi Birders- This is my first entry for this group. I was at Bridgeport Reservoir yesterday and saw two Common Loons about 1/4 west of the boat ramp. I remember someone had reported these a while back (June?). One was an adult in breeding plummage and the other I assume was a juvenile. I have some photographs, but need some instruction on where to put it. Also had a red-breasted sapsucker, yellow warbler, Townsend's solitaire, sage thrasher, etc. just below the dam. A nice place to bird. I watched a wren feeding a couple fledgling western kingbirds, which was strange. Have a photo of that too. Good birding, Craig Swolgaard Folsom, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Rufous Hummingbird on my feeder From: "brasuel" <Delphinus AT starband.net> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:59:17 -0000 Is migration starting already? One Rufous Hummingbird visited one of my feeders yesterday. I had very few this past spring. It will be interesting to see how many come through this time. The past 2 years I have had a pair of Calliope's, too, but I have not see any this year. No Olive-sided Flycatcher's this year. I haven't heard any in the area at all. For awhile I blamed it on some nearby construction. I usually find them on my neighbors property, but not this year. Just a couple of Bullocks Oriole's, way too many Cowbirds, just a few Western Tanager. The Western Bluebird's did not nest in my boxes this year. I do blame that on the nearby construction. They were here all winter and I know they checked out the boxes, but they did not nest in them. I have a Pileated Woodpecker feeding in the area. A remarkably un-birdie spring and summer on my home patch. On that note, I was up in the John Muir Wilderness earlier this month and expected lots of nesting birds, but was very disappointed. My guess is summer came very late up there and the birds nested at lower elevations this year. But that is just my theory. I did see a few fledglings, but not near the numbers and varieties of species that I usually see. Summer Brasuel Somerset, CA El Dorado Co. el. 3150ft. Subject: Spectacular Nighthawk Show at Yuba Gap (Placer Co.) From: "rossierran" <derenross AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:23:43 -0000 Hello Birders, This evening, Ron Pozzi and I went to see the COMMON NIGHTHAWKS at Yuba Gap. We arrived at approximately 7:40 PM and heard our first nighthawks as we drove down Lake Valley Road and just passed the old Eagle Mountain lodge and x-c ski area. This is approximately 1 mile from Interstate 80. In my personal experience, I have found this area to be one of the best sites in the county for viewing Common Nighthawks and tonight was spectacular. On the short drive in, we had a conservative estimate of 30 nighthawks and, as we scanned the surrounding mountain tops in the near distance, numerous other birds were seen winging about. There were easily 50 nighthawks in the visible area but what made this visit so amazing was the fact the birds were flying right down to the ground with many birds coming within 10-15 feet of us. The birds were all around....high, low, and coming down the road directly at us. It was a major birding rush. At approximately 5700-6000 ft. elevation, the numerous small lakes located on the open, rocky mountain tops to the north east (Sun Flower Lake, SP Lakes, Kelly Lake, Hidden Lake, and others) and the after effects from a recent major fire just down slope make for some prime Bull Bat habitat. It's well worth a stop. The best viewing is from 7:15 to 8:15 pm. Sometime in August the "Burnt Land-bird" show begins to leave town so don't miss it. It's also a great opportunity for photographs. I have two mediocre photos that I'll post in the appropriate album. Bird is the Word, Deren Ross Auburn, Ca Subject: Green-winged Teal (TEH) and Yellow Rail (PLU) From: "brdnrd" <shrikethree AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:46:35 -0000 On the 19th, Chet Ogan and I saw three GREEN-WINGED TEAL on Wilson Lake (Tehama County) and heard two YELLOW RAILS calling simultaneously at Willow Lake (Plumas County). Ken Burton Arcata Subject: Tahoe Keys today From: "tiffymm2003" <tiffymm AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:21:23 -0000 Not sure if it is unusual but we saw a Black billed Magpie and Yellow headed blackbirds at Tahoe Keys today. Tiffany Erickson Windsor, Ca Subject: Tahoe shorebirds From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:15:59 -0700 Sorry for the somewhat late report, but late in the afternoon on Sunday (after our first North American Butterfly Association "4th of July" butterfly count in Tahoe!!), I went down to the Upper Truckee River Delta to see what was happening with shorebird migration. I hadn't been down there in a while, and the biggest surprise, I suppose, was that Trout Creek is still flowing pretty good and pouring straight out from the marsh. Thus, if you're coming from the east, as I did and recommend (mind the Yellow Cress), you can expect to take off your shoes and roll up your pants to get anywhere near the best shorebird habitat. But it was worth it, as there was a lot stuff to sift through, including: ~ 105 Marbled Godwit ~ 60 Long-billed Curlew ~ 50 Least Sandpiper ~ 35 Western Sandpiper (a few really colorful individuals in the mix) 4 Willet 2 Snowy Plovers and singles of Semipalmated Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, and Dowitcher sp. (silent fly-by!) Are folks planning on going out there on Wed. morning? Cove East side? I might join this week. Will Richardson Truckee, CA Subject: A few Butte County targets . . . and Mike San Miguel From: Dave Quady <davequady AT att.net> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:44:40 -0700 Birders: Last Monday-Tuesday I spent 19 hours in Butte County chasing a few birds of interest. First up was the Whip-poor-will, clucking and singing beginning at 9:15 pm Monday night at the spot where Scott Huber found it (as Kathy Parker also two nights later). Sandwiched around that bird were four owl species within a mile of that spot. First was a Northern Pygmy- Owl before dusk, along the logged over area on Lower Forbestown Road, followed after the whip by a Western Screech-Owl that was driven into a frenzy by my tape's Northern Saw-whet Owl 'wail' call. Nearby a pair of Spotted Owls (probably the same ones Kathy heard) voiced displeasure at my presence, and I finished up with a real Northern Saw-whet Owl along Lower Forbestown Road. Happily, I was able to see all except the saw-whet. Next I tried for the owls that Scott reported from a forest service road above American House, but came up empty. And tired, too, so I slept a couple of hours in my car. All that so that I could be on the trail to Feather Falls on Tuesday morning early enough -- I hoped -- to see the Black Swifts that John Lewis (with Mike Skram) reported a few days before. I just made it ... arriving at the viewing platform at 7:20 am, I enjoyed five (maybe more) swifts for the next ten minutes. Then they dispersed, and soon afterward I did, too. It was a fine, and a tiring, trip. Friday evening, after returning home from northeast California, I learned of Mike San Miguel's death. I can only second all that others have written about the pleasure of Mike's company, in any setting: in the field, on a boat, over dinner, in a WFO meeting, watching hummingbird feeders, anywhere. I will miss him. I want to share an anecdote about Mike's and my search for my first California Whip-poor-will, in May 1992. We'd planned this trip for awhile, intending it to begin with me meeting Mike at his home in the afternoon, followed by a couple of nights camping at Heart Bar campground to search for a whip and other mountain birds. After dark we drove around, heard a whip, pursued it for a half-mile, and eventually got good looks at it on the ground. Very nice. Before returning to camp, we called up a saw-whet, and Mike got it into his light. That was nice, too. Then we sat around our camp to talk, fending raccoons away from our potato chips as we enjoyed a couple of beers before sleep. The next day an incoming storm cut short our mountain birding, so I drove back home a day earlier than planned. Still, a wonderful trip. And an occasion to enjoy Mike's impish streak. On my way down to Mike's home, I called to tell him when I'd arrive, and to report that I'd neglected to pack a cap, so could Mike please dig one out for me to use? Sure, he said. So after I greeted Mike and met Gayle, Mike disappeared down the hall. A minute later he came back to their living room with a smile on his face and a cap in his hand. A faded . . . . blue . . . . . Dodgers cap. And he handed it to me, laughing. Or tried to hand it to me. And then he kindly offered a different cap, one that didn't offend this Giants fan. Adios, mi amigo. Dave Quady Berkeley, California davequady AT att.net Subject: RFI-Fallen Leaf Lake From: "tiffymm2003" <tiffymm AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:19:32 -0000 Hello birders, We will be camping at FLL this weekend and are hoping to see Evening Grosbeaks. Have there been any sightings in the area this summer? Anything else of interest? Thanks, Tiffany Erickson Windsor, CA Subject: Bald Eagle at Winnemucca Lake From: "jaegermaestro" <jaegermaestro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:59:45 -0000 My wife Theresa and I spent yesterday (7/10) birding and botanizing the Carson Pass area on the Woods Lake Loop to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes. We didn't find anything unusual and we struck out on rosy-finches, but it was a gorgeous day in Alpine County. Highlights for us were an adult BALD EAGLE at Winnemucca Lake, an OSPREY at Caples Lake, several WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, and a few returning RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS enjoying the monkeyflowers. Osprey Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Rufous Hummingbird Williamson's Sapsucker White-headed Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Western Wood-Pewee Dusky Flycatcher Violet-green Swallow Cliff Swallow Steller's Jay Clark's Nutcracker Mountain Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Hermit Thrush American Robin Nashville Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Hermit Warbler Lazuli Bunting Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Oregon Junco Brewer's Blackbird Cassin's Finch Pine Siskin Dan Williams Sacramento Subject: Sierra Valley and Yuba Pass, Flatlander's Visit From: Bill Bousman <barlowi AT earthlink.net> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:59:56 -0700 Folks: I try to make a summer visit somewhere in the Sierra each year, to re-acquaint myself with its lovely birds. This past week, 7/7 and 7/8/10, I visited Sierra Valley and Yuba Pass. It is hard to choose between the raucous "song" of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS in the valley, simply because it is so bizarre and heartfelt, and the ethereal chorus of HERMIT THRUSHES in the cathedral of the red fir forests north of Yuba Pass. So I need to get my fix of both. I started out in the valley on Wednesday, driving to Marble Hot Springs Road. While admiring the Yellow-headed Blackbirds from the bridge (and a nest with young birds very visible from that spot), I heard a raptor calling overhead and all the blackbirds became agitated. It was an adult PEREGRINE FALCON. Later I wandered to Frenchman Lake and Loyalton. Along Smithneck Road, a pair of LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS is still feeding young in the nest, but very agitated, even though I was parked in the Rotary picnic area. I finished up my valley tour driving along Heriot/Harriet Lane. In Plumas, the nearest WILSON'S PHALAROPE I could see was a juvenile, so soon to go, I suppose. Two AM. AVOCETS were nearby. In Sierra, I saw an adult dark phase SWAINSON'S HAWK (or slightly intermediate, as it had a white throat) along the road. I then drove to Yuba Pass and walked the forest road north about a mile as the afternoon thunderstorms started to clear. There I enjoyed my beloved Hermit Thrushes singing, but also found a PILEATED WOODPECKER, which was new for my visits there. Later, I got takeout in Sierra City and then enjoyed my dinner in the campground. While the sun was still out, a silent COMMON NIGHTHAWK foraged over the meadow there. After sunset, I drove down to the vista point and heard a COMMON POORWILL call about 2050 hr (but no nighthawks). The next morning, I took a longer walk north of the pass and I got to see many old favorites, including CASSIN'S FINCHES and EVENING GROSBEAKS. Again a PILEATED was in the first half mile, and then a pair were calling about 1.5 mi. north of the pass. I did fairly well on woodpeckers, with all of the regulars there except Black-backed (and a female Williamson's, if you wish to imagine it as a separate species as the early ornithologists did). Not so well with flycatchers, just a few DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, only one of which was singing. "Best birds" for Yuba Pass were mammals, including a lovely golden BLACK BEAR two miles north and that comic genius of the animal world, the SNOWSHOE HARE with its clown feet. I've posted pictures in a folder "Yuba Pass Mammals," if the moderator approves. Now back to the flatlands. Bill Bousman Menlo Park Subject: Lake Tahoe Birds (PLA) From: "rossierran" <derenross AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:36:00 -0000 Hello Birders, On Saturday, July 10th, 16 members of the Sierra Foothill Audubon Society went birding at Page Meadows and Blackwood Canyon (Barker Pass). Two bird species of note at Page Meadows were BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER and WILLOW FLYCATCHER. At upper Barker Pass Road and Blackwood Creek, we saw SWAINSON'S THRUSH, PINE GROSBEAK, and TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. Wildflowers were nice with Camas Lilies in bloom at Page Meadows. Deren Ross Auburn, Ca Subject: Bald Eagle at Winnemucca Lake From: "jaegermaestro" <jaegermaestro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:58:21 -0000 My wife Theresa and I spent yesterday (7/10) birding and botanizing the Carson Pass area on the Woods Lake Loop to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes. We didn't find anything unusual and we struck out on rosy-finches, but it was a gorgeous day in Alpine County. Highlights for us were an adult BALD EAGLE at Winnemucca Lake, an OSPREY at Caples Lake, several WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS, and a few returning RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS enjoying the monkeyflowers. Osprey Bald Eagle Red-tailed Hawk Rufous Hummingbird Williamson's Sapsucker White-headed Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Western Wood-Pewee Dusky Flycatcher Violet-green Swallow Cliff Swallow Steller's Jay Clark's Nutcracker Mountain Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire Hermit Thrush American Robin Nashville Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Hermit Warbler Lazuli Bunting Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Oregon Junco Brewer's Blackbird Cassin's Finch Pine Siskin Subject: Great-tailed Grackles - Plumas Co From: dillingham7 AT digitalpath.net Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 08:48:41 -0700 (PDT) The Great-tailed Grackle group at Hansen's pond (Quincy, American Valley at Quincy Junction Rd and Chandler Rd intersection) is still present. Angie Dillingham and I saw 1 male and at least 3 females last evening. We were attempting to verify breeding (young), but were unable to confirm adults feeding young. Also see trailing message about Flammulated Owls that David Arsenault and I visited on July 5. > Colin Dillingham, Quincy > > _____ > > From: David Arsenault [mailto:david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com] > Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 2:12 PM > To: david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com; anthonyehall AT sbcglobal.net; > raymond_gipson AT digitalpath.net; Linda.blum AT att.net; dderuiter AT frc.edu; > djury AT frc.edu; jmenge AT centurytel.net; grnheron AT earthlink.net; > rburnett AT prbo.org; pashaklee AT fs.fed.us; macmc94123 AT earthlink.net; > bigfootbob AT sbcglobal.net; phardy AT frlt.org; ccccollins AT yahoo.com; > cdillingham AT fs.fed.us; suzi AT plumascounty.org; pcvb AT psln.com; > PAGPEG AT aol.com; > kmerriam AT fs.fed.us; acomyns AT prodigy.net; theshowers AT frontiernet.net; > hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net; melloadobe AT yahoo.com; mba53 AT yahoo.com; > jtajax AT sbcglobal.net; hoffman04 AT sbcglobal.net; jsterling AT wavecable.com; > adillingham AT fs.fed.us; jahoffman AT fs.fed.us; nfrancine AT fs.fed.us; > pgustafson AT fs.fed.us; tsimonjackson AT fs.fed.us; aplomado-falcon AT att.net; > quinston AT sbcglobal.net; caicedoj AT hotmail.com; arconssi AT comcast.net; > davelind AT frontiernet.net; mikeskram AT hotmail.com; zsotrab5 AT psln.com; > hgreeves AT att.net; deweysage AT verizon.net; dpvroman AT budget.net; > wray313 AT yahoo.com; mfulton AT frc.edu; mszig AT mac.com; > tlwilliams AT digitalpath.net; jerrywilliams AT digitalpath.net; > jrockholm AT hotmail.com; robinson2 AT psln.com; ralphmartinez AT fs.fed.us; > birds AT violet-shrike.net; tootswallah AT hotmail.com; drgoose77 AT sbcglobal.net; > 2wildwomen AT sbcglobal.net; salomon_1941 AT yahoo.com; paultaillie AT gmail.com; > tag2 AT lehigh.edu; bronwyn AT psln.com; rust AT gotsky.com; Jeff4949 AT att.net; > markserumgard AT yahoo.com; dbumpus AT fs.fed.us; marie-watson AT live.com; > camp4 AT citlink.net; firehoo AT citlink.net; jeffrey_watson AT live.com; > kararockett AT gmail.com; 5mlou5 AT sbcglobal.net; drsusan AT charter.net; > jillmarten AT yahoo.com; 1morcast AT psln.com; LucindaWood AT att.net; > spruter AT charter.net; jean.gilbert AT att.net; hmena AT ebmud.com; > darwin333 AT aol.com; dillingham7 AT digitalpath.net > Subject: Flammulated and Burrowing Owls > > > > Hi Birders, > > > > I wanted to let you know about a Flammulated Owl mother lode near Lake > Davis. It's along the west side of Crocker Mountain, mostly along forest > road 24N76Y, which starts across from Grasshopper Flat campground. The > population is a bit of work to get to because the road has been > decommissioned so you have to hike about 1.5 miles on the road to get to > the > owls. You can also get there from above by taking forest road 24N53YA, > which starts across from Lighting Tree Point. Along about a mile stretch > of > road 24N76Y between 6,400 and 7,000 feet elevation you can hear 2-4 > Flammulated Owls from any given point. There are probably at least 10 > territories in a 1 square km area. This is the largest, most concentrated > population I have found in Plumas or Lassen counties. > > > > I also wanted to report on the Burrowing Owls in Sierra Valley. Several > people have reported on the owls along Heriot Lane at the county line and > on > A-24 at the corner with the railroad cars just down from the Maddalena > Ranch. On June 11, my son River and I checked these two locations and > found > active nesting burrows at each. The nests were in old badger burrows. > The > attached pictures show the nesting burrow found along A-24 just on the > other > side of the railroad cars. If you can't see it well, River is pointing it > out in the second picture! On June 20, Bob Battagin reported 2 fledgling > burrowing owls at the Heriot Lane nest, so they started coming out of the > burrow sometime between June 11 and 20. On June 11, River and I also > checked other locations where burrowing owls have been seen earlier this > year and in historic years around Sierra Valley including Maddalena Road > north of 70, Hwy 49 south of Dyson, and Hwy 49/89 west of Sierraville. We > didn't find any owls in those locations. > > > > Please note that the list has been updated so please respond to all > recipients of this message for your next posting. > > > > Good birding, > > > > David > > -- Colin Dillingham 530-283-1133 Subject: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches on Mt Dana From: "Bob Hislop" <rhislop AT astound.net> Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 23:15:44 -0700 Hi everyone, Today my son and I climbed Mt Dana in Yosemite and observed 4 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches foraging around areas that have had recent snow-melt (around 11,000 ft elevation). We also noted a few Purple Finches, some White-Crowned Sparrows, and 2 Clark's Nutcrackers (and lots of Marmots and a Pika!) along the way. Bob Hislop Walnut Creek [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 6 Jul 10: Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway--Kern Co. From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:58:54 -0700 Hi, A nice mix of Southern Sierra Nevada species including Chukar, Greater Roadrunner, Cactus Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, and Scott's Oriole was observed during a visit to the Kern County portion of the Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway which was abbreviated in distance and time by a nail entering the right rear tire. Location: Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway--Kern Co. Observation date: 4:50am-6:33am, 7/6/10 Observer: Bob Barnes Notes: First 3.2 miles of Chimney Peak National Back Country Byway. Number of species: 19 * California Quail 2 * Chukar 5 * Mourning Dove 11 * Greater Roadrunner 2 * Ash-throated Flycatcher 9 * Western Kingbird 4 * Loggerhead Shrike 2 * Western Scrub-Jay 10 * Cactus Wren 7 * Rock Wren 2 * Canyon Wren 1 Singing... * Bewick's Wren 1 * Wrentit 3 * California Thrasher 1 * Spotted Towhee 2 * California Towhee 5 * Black-throated Sparrow 1 Singing... * Scott's Oriole 1 Singing... * House Finch 2 The above report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 3 & 4 Jul 10: Kern River Valley Area Birds & Butterflies From: Bob Barnes <bbarnes AT lightspeed.net> Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:51:53 -0700 Hi, BUTTERFLIES: For the list of the 77-79 butterfly species observed on the 3 Jul 10 Giant Sequoia National Monument- South Butterfly Count and comments go to Ken Davenport's 5 Jul 10 postings at: http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/SOWL.html For the list of the 45 butterfly species observed by Bob Barnes, Lori Conrad, Mark Conrad, Fred Heath (count party leader), and Paul Levine in Wofford Heights and Greenhorn Mountains during the 4 Jul 10 North Fork Ken River Valley Butterfly Count contact me off list via bbarnes AT lightspeed.net. FYI: Twelve additional species were observed among the 41 species tallied by the count party consisting of Paul Johnson, Kim Kuska, Jim Murphy, and Liam O'Brien. The overall count total was 57 species. BIRDS: Bird species and numbers observed in Kern County by Bob Barnes, Lori Conad, and Mark Conrad during the 4 Jul 10 butterfly count follows here: The following reports were generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/california/) Location: Lake Isabella--North Fork (riparian area at edge of Isabella Reservoir below Wofford Heights Park) Observation date: 7/4/10 Notes: 8:45am-9:45am. Observers: Bob Barnes, Lori Conrad, Mark Conrad. Number of species: 29 * Mallard 1 * California Quail 2 * Red-shouldered Hawk 1 * Mourning Dove 2 * Anna's Hummingbird 4 * Nuttall's Woodpecker 1 * Downy Woodpecker 1 * Northern Flicker 1 * Western Wood-Pewee 6 * Black Phoebe 2 * Say's Phoebe 1 * Ash-throated Flycatcher 1 * Western Scrub-Jay 1 * Common Raven 1 * Oak Titmouse 2 * Bewick's Wren 1 * House Wren 1 * Western Bluebird 1 * Northern Mockingbird 1 * Yellow Warbler 1 * Yellow-breasted Chat 1 * Lark Sparrow 2 * Blue Grosbeak 1 * Lazuli Bunting 8 * Red-winged Blackbird 1 * Great-tailed Grackle 1 * Bullock's Oriole 1 * House Finch 23 * House Sparrow 7 Location: Greenhorn Mtns.--Old State Rd. Observation date: 7/4/10 Notes: 9:58am-2:33pm. Old State Road from Wofford Blvd. westward and up mountain to CA Hwy. 178 just below Greenhorn Summit. Observers: Bob Barnes, Lori Conrad, Mark Conrad. Number of species: 37 * Mountain Quail 2 * California Quail 22 * Mourning Dove 4 * Acorn Woodpecker 4 * Downy Woodpecker 1 * Hairy Woodpecker 3 * Northern Flicker 3 * Western Wood-Pewee 5 * Dusky Flycatcher 1 * Ash-throated Flycatcher 5 * Western Kingbird 1 * Steller's Jay 5 * Western Scrub-Jay 5 * Common Raven 15 * Mountain Chickadee 1 * Oak Titmouse 5 * Bushtit 3 * Bewick's Wren 1 * House Wren 3 * Townsend's Solitaire 1 * Wrentit 7 * Northern Mockingbird 1 * Phainopepla 3 * Orange-crowned Warbler 1 * MacGillivray's Warbler 1 * Spotted Towhee 5 * California Towhee 4 * Rufous-crowned Sparrow 1 * Fox Sparrow 2 * Dark-eyed Junco 1 * Western Tanager 3 * Black-headed Grosbeak 4 * Brown-headed Cowbird 1 * Purple Finch (Western) 1 * House Finch 1 * Lesser Goldfinch 5 * House Sparrow 2 Location: Greenhorn Mtns.--Rancheria Rd. (FS 25S15) Observation date: 7/4/10 Notes: 2:35pm-4:35pm. Rancheria Rd. from 6102' Greenhorn Summit south to Alta Sierra Ski Resort/7100' Shirley Peak. Observers: Bob Barnes, Lori Conad, Mark Conrad. Number of species: 20 * Band-tailed Pigeon 1 * White-headed Woodpecker 1 * Northern Flicker 1 * Warbling Vireo 1 * Common Raven 1 * Mountain Chickadee 5 * Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 * Brown Creeper 1 * House Wren 1 * Western Bluebird 1 * Townsend's Solitaire 1 * American Robin 1 * Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2 * Green-tailed Towhee 1 * Fox Sparrow 2 * Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 3 * Western Tanager 1 * Purple Finch (Western) 2 * Cassin's Finch 1 * Pine Siskin 1 Location: Greenhorn Mountains--FS 24S15 (Greenhorn Summit to Tulare Co) Observation date: 7/4/10 Notes: 4:35pm-5:05pm. Observer: Bob Barnes. Number of species: 8 * Northern Flicker 1 * Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 * Western Wood-Pewee 3 * Dusky Flycatcher 1 * Western Bluebird 2 * Townsend's Solitaire 1 * Fox Sparrow 5 * Western Tanager 1 Continued Happy & Productive Birding (& Butterflying), Bob Barnes, Ridgecrest, Kern County, California [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Yellow Rail From: dillingham7 AT digitalpath.net Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 07:47:25 -0700 (PDT) I relocated the Plumas County Yellow Rail at Willow Lake yesterday evening. My wife, Angie, and I hiked WNW along the trail towards Terminal Geyser towards the Southern edge of Lassen National Park from the Willow Lake Trailhead. Go about 500 yards along the trail, which is about 200 yards past the end of the open water along the margin of the marsh. There is a wooden X and an arrow pointing into the marsh where the rail has been calling. We heard the bird at 5:45-6:00 yesterday evening. The bird was not calling when we first arrived, but started up about 10 minutes after we arrived. On July 1, when I was there at 6:00 AM, it was calling more constantly. -- Colin Dillingham 530-283-1133 Subject: Swainson's Thrush General Creek Sugar Pine Point SP Lake Tahoe From: "carolspencer" <rriparia AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:26:39 -0000 Hello, While at Sugar Pine Point SP, 28 June to July 2, 2010, 1-2 Swainson's Thrush were heard singing along General Creek, just upstream from second bridge on the loop road above the campgrounds. This is the same that location that I have heard them on previous years' visits. Kevin Spencer rriparia AT charter.net Klamath Falls, OR Subject: Singing Swainson's Thrushes at Blackwood Canyon, Lake Tahoe (PLA) From: "rossierran" <derenross AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:07:49 -0000 Hello Birders, I had piggy-backed my first report of Swainson's Thrushes found in Blackwood Canyon, Lake Tahoe,onto an earlier post and, since this is a species of interest to biologists (PRBO and TINS), I thought I should make a specific post here in addition to sending the observation form to Will Richardson. On Thursday, July 1, at 9PM, I found at least two Swainson's Thrushes singing along Barker Pass Road where it crosses Blackwood Creek. The location is approximatley 4.0 miles up the road from Hwy. 89. There is a large gravel area to pullout. On the edge of darkness, the thrushes continued to sing for approximately 15 more minutes then closed with call and flight notes. Since I had come up 0 for nightjars and owls, I decided to sleep at the Swainson's Thrush location so that I could hear their first song in the morning. With just a few hours sleep, I heard the first Swainson's song at 5:12 AM then promptly fell back to sleep. Later in the morning, I called one up to get a good view of the bird of interest. Good birding, Deren Ross Auburn,Ca Subject: Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley 6/27 - 6/30 From: "Frances Oliver" <hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 21:48:22 -0700 From Denise and David Hamilton of Napa: Hi all, Following previous postings, we birded at Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley. Birding highlights: Continuing nesting White-headed Woodpeckers and Red-breasted Sapsuckers at the Sno-Park sign at Yuba Pass. In and around the campground and driving up the gravel Yuba Pass Rd. had Evening Grosbeak, Olive-sided, Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers; Nashville, MacGillvary's & Wilson's Warblers; Townsend's Solitaire; a female Williamson's Sapsucker; Cassin's Finch, and a BEAR!! Mountain Quail were heard all over and had a brief look at one along the road. There were only a few Calliope & Anna's hummers at Bassett's Station. The Dipper continues at the bridge by the Wild Plum campground. At the Yuba Pass Scenic View around 9:00 pm, we heard the Common Nighthawks and Common Poorwills. In Sierra Valley: A pair of Wood Ducks in the stream across from the Sleepy Pines, At the new Maddalena Ranch, Feather River Land Trust (South on A24 from Hwy 70, crossing 2 train tracks, you will see what look like a cattle loading area on the right/west side of the road. park in the lot, and then enter the gates and head down to the observation "wagon") From here you can scan the surrounding wetlands and really see a long distance! We saw the Common Moorhen, previously observed. Great close-up views of Sage Thrashers and Brewer's Sparrow walking out on the path. Clark's Grebe & American Avocets were still out on Heriot Lane and in the early AM, Common Snipe were winnowing. At least 8 Redheads were still on the Marble Hot Springs Rd.near the bridge, along with an American Bittern. A hunting Short-eared Owl was seen after 9:00 pm on A23 heading back to Portola. At Lake Davis, north of Portola, there was a White-headed Woodpecker and a pair of nesting Mountain Bluebirds (From the parking lot with the Brown Bin Sign) - along the lake edge, looking to the left is a some large dead tree trunks lying down. Bluebirds nesting in a hole on the HUGE stump. Common Nighthawks overhead PM. Frenchman Lake: Rock Wren at the entrance road around the lake. Heading around the lake to the left, there is the Cottonwood Family and Group Campground. Since we were there on a weekday (last year, also) there is hardly a soul around (Probably could not go in like we do on a weekend.) Both years in Loop C, we've had Williamson's Sapsuckers. Also Cassin's Finches, and White-breasted Nuthatches and others. As you continue along the long, dusty road around the lake, Green-tailed Towhees are everywhere. (Last year, Brewer's Sparrows were ALL over, this year none.) There was also a pair of Mt. Bluebirds. White Pelicans and Caspian Terns on the lake. The canyon road to the lake has some nice riparian areas to stop at. Red Rock Rd: A bit out of the valley (take 395 north from Hallelujah Junction, ~ 10 mi. to Red Rock Rd.) Stop along the first couple of miles - many tracks, just pull off and drive or walk. Highlights: Gray Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Black-billed Magpies, Barn Owl, Green-tailed Towhee, Western Kingbird, and a pair of Cooper's Hawks. The hawks were nesting there last year and were very vocal. Did not see them this year until all of a sudden one started to call. We looked up just in time to see the bird swoop directly at us- we ducked!! and moved away quickly. Be sure to look at the great rocks! Rotary picnic area: Southeast of Loyalton on Smithneck Rd. (outside of Sierra Brooks - go through the "town" a ways and the picnic grounds are on the right) Lewis's Woodpeckers on the power poles across the road; Bullock's Oriole, Lazuli Bunting, BB Magpie, W. Scrub Jay, and GT Towhee. Antelope Valley Road, from Sierra Brooks: First time ever on this road. We suggest driving the first 3 - 4 miles. (Drivable in a car, but a bit rutted, after the 3-4 miles, a car would not do well!! and really not worth the dust and ruts after that) Highlights: BB Magpie, Lewis's W.; Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Cassin's Finches, Fox Sparrow and more. A highlight was finding a roosting Common Nighthawk! Best birding, Denise and David Hamilton Napa Napabirders AT att.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Yuba Pass & Sierra Valley From: "Frances Oliver" <hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 21:41:16 -0700 From Denise and David Hamilton of Napa: Hi all, Following previous postings, we birded at Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley. Birding highlights: Continuing nesting White-headed Woodpeckers and Red-breasted Sapsuckers at the Sno-Park sign at Yuba Pass. In and around the campground and driving up the gravel Yuba Pass Rd. had Evening Grosbeak, Olive-sided, Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers; Nashville, MacGillvary's & Wilson's Warblers; Townsend's Solitaire; a female Williamson's Sapsucker; Cassin's Finch, and a BEAR!! Mountain Quail were heard all over and had a brief look at one along the road. There were only a few Calliope & Anna's hummers at Bassett's Station. The Dipper continues at the bridge by the Wild Plum campground. At the Yuba Pass Scenic View around 9:00 pm, we heard the Common Nighthawks and Common Poorwills. In Sierra Valley: A pair of Wood Ducks in the stream across from the Sleepy Pines, At the new Maddalena Ranch, Feather River Land Trust (South on A24 from Hwy 70, crossing 2 train tracks, you will see what look like a cattle loading area on the right/west side of the road. park in the lot, and then enter the gates and head down to the observation "wagon") From here you can scan the surrounding wetlands and really see a long distance! We saw the Common Moorhen, previously observed. Great close-up views of Sage Thrashers and Brewer's Sparrow walking out on the path. Clark's Grebe & American Avocets were still out on Heriot Lane and in the early AM, Common Snipe were winnowing. At least 8 Redheads were still on the Marble Hot Springs Rd.near the bridge, along with an American Bittern. A hunting Short-eared Owl was seen after 9:00 pm on A23 heading back to Portola. At Lake Davis, north of Portola, there was a White-headed Woodpecker and a pair of nesting Mountain Bluebirds (From the parking lot with the Brown Bin Sign) - along the lake edge, looking to the left is a some large dead tree trunks lying down. Bluebirds nesting in a hole on the HUGE stump. Common Nighthawks overhead PM. Frenchman Lake: Rock Wren at the entrance road around the lake. Heading around the lake to the left, there is the Cottonwood Family and Group Campground. Since we were there on a weekday (last year, also) there is hardly a soul around (Probably could not go in like we do on a weekend.) Both years in Loop C, we've had Williamson's Sapsuckers. Also Cassin's Finches, and White-breasted Nuthatches and others. As you continue along the long, dusty road around the lake, Green-tailed Towhees are everywhere. (Last year, Brewer's Sparrows were ALL over, this year none.) There was also a pair of Mt. Bluebirds. White Pelicans and Caspian Terns on the lake. The canyon road to the lake has some nice riparian areas to stop at. Red Rock Rd: A bit out of the valley (take 395 north from Hallelujah Junction, ~ 10 mi. to Red Rock Rd.) Stop along the first couple of miles - many tracks, just pull off and drive or walk. Highlights: Gray Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Black-billed Magpies, Barn Owl, Green-tailed Towhee, Western Kingbird, and a pair of Cooper's Hawks. The hawks were nesting there last year and were very vocal. Did not see them this year until all of a sudden one started to call. We looked up just in time to see the bird swoop directly at us- we ducked!! and moved away quickly. Be sure to look at the great rocks! Rotary picnic area: Southeast of Loyalton on Smithneck Rd. (outside of Sierra Brooks - go through the "town" a ways and the picnic grounds are on the right) Lewis's Woodpeckers on the power poles across the road; Bullock's Oriole, Lazuli Bunting, BB Magpie, W. Scrub Jay, and GT Towhee. Antelope Valley Road, from Sierra Brooks: First time ever on this road. We suggest driving the first 3 - 4 miles. (Drivable in a car, but a bit rutted, after the 3-4 miles, a car would not do well!! and really not worth the dust and ruts after that) Highlights: BB Magpie, Lewis's W.; Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Cassin's Finches, Fox Sparrow and more. A highlight was finding a roosting Common Nighthawk! Best birding, Denise and David Hamilton Napa Napabirders AT att.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Red Crossbill at Perazzo Meadows From: Walter Carnahan <w_carnahan AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2010 21:33:01 -0700 (PDT) Hi, Today I had a juvenile Red Crossbill at the big campground at Perazzo Meadows. Other birds of interest scattered throughout the meadow were several Willow Flycatchers, a Hammonds Flycatcher, Spotted Sandpipers, several Common Snipe winnowing, Lincoln and Fox Sparrows and I heard a Williamson's Sapsucker. Walt Carnahan Grass Valley [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Placer) From: derenross AT sbcglobal.net Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 04:06:28 +0000 Ron and All, I'm out there!!.......multiple Swainson's Thrushes singing right now on Barker Pass Road near the top. Large gravel turn out on right-approx. 4.5 miles up the road. Lots of short whistle notes after singing. Great bird in Placer! I'll be out there all night....owls, nightjars, bird in am. Deren Ross Tahoe, Ca Tahoe Inst. Natural Science In the Milkyway Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: "Ron Pozzi" Sender: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:40:43 To: Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Placer) 6-30-2010 Greetings Birders, Deren Ross and I made our annual pilgrimage to High Camp at Squaw Valley to find Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches and whatever else might turn up. Even at the end of June there was still a lot of snow on top. After nearly 4 hours of searching we located four GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES! The only tougher thing to find that day was the camera case I dropped 200 feet down a snow-covered cliff while fumbling to get a picture of these elusive, but glorious birds. Other highlights included a flyby PRAIRE FALCON and a BALD EAGLE. Get out there! Ron Pozzi Granite Bay, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Placer) From: "Ron Pozzi" <gbbirder AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:40:43 -0000 6-30-2010 Greetings Birders, Deren Ross and I made our annual pilgrimage to High Camp at Squaw Valley to find Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches and whatever else might turn up. Even at the end of June there was still a lot of snow on top. After nearly 4 hours of searching we located four GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES! The only tougher thing to find that day was the camera case I dropped 200 feet down a snow-covered cliff while fumbling to get a picture of these elusive, but glorious birds. Other highlights included a flyby PRAIRE FALCON and a BALD EAGLE. Get out there! Ron Pozzi Granite Bay, CA Subject: Sierra Tricoloreds From: Richard Carlson <rccarl AT pacbell.net> Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:24:22 -0700 (PDT) Tricoloreds occur in small numbers in Sierra Valley N of Tahoe. We saw several along Marble Hot Springs road last weekend. Great birding in the area ncluding Sage Thrasher & Cranes. Richard Carlson Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian Part-time Economist Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA rccarl AT pacbell.net Tucson 520-760-4935 Tahoe 530-581-0624 Kirkland 425-828-3819 Cell 650-280-2965 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: White-headed Woodpeckers From: rhallen AT sbcglobal.net Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:24:55 -0700 (PDT) Hey Birders,   I saw 3 or 4 White-headed Woodpeckers near the parking area at Lower Sardine Lake near the Buttes at Lakes Basin Recreation Area (Highway 49 east, turn north at Bassetts).  Follow the signs to Sardine Lake, park and then walk the loop down to the Lake.  They were near the exit of the loop, marked as "Do Not Enter".  At least one of them was a male, and I believe at least 2 females.  They all moved around alot, but stayed in the same general area, near the exit of the loop.  The Buttes themselves are worth a trip up there if you've never been, or if it's been awhile.  There's about a mile walk to Upper Sardine which is gorgeous, and you can rent a boat at Lower Sardine as well.   Enjoy, Randy Allen Truckee, CA The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Clark's Grebe along Heriot Lane From: Mark Eaton <marksffo AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:25:19 -0700 There was a CLARK'S GREBE quite close to the road along Heriot Lane in Sierra Valley today. It was at the first bridge as you head south from Dyson Lane. Mark --- Mark Eaton mark AT markeaton.org Subject: Info needed on Tri-colored blackbirds in Carson Valley From: "breteg" <breteg AT yahoo.ca> Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:16:53 -0000 Hi all, I'll be visiting Lake Tahoe with my family on July 5th for about a week. I've been monitoring this and other birding websites of that area for several weeks now and have not noticed any mention of Tri-colored Blackbirds, perhaps they are so easy to get that no one bothers? Are they still found in the Carson Valley south of Reno? If not, is there a place close-by on the California side to get them? Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Brete P.S. My birding website(near Toronto) is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PBC/ Brete Griffin Toronto, Ontario Subject: whip poor will call on website From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:27:20 -0700 Just added my recording of the flight call of the Butte County Whip-poor-will to my website. See under "News" section on homepage. www.sterlingbirds.com John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: FW: [CB] Whip-poor-will Butte Co. (updated directions) From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2010 09:11:23 -0700 The whip-poor-will was still there last night. It was silent from dusk to 11 pm until we played a tape when the bird responded immediately from 20 feet away. Also there was a Spotted Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com From: countybirders AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:countybirders AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of tim.ruckle Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2010 9:50 AM To: countybirders AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [CB] Whip-poor-will Butte Co. (updated directions) Folks: Scott Huber just provided me with updated directions to the Whip-poor- will site. From the Forbestown General Store head northwest 1.3 miles to Lower Forbestown Rd. Take Lower Forbestown Rd. 1.5 miles to right on Ponderosa Way. Go .7 of a mile to dirt road on right with pink- striped flagging. Go to the end of the road. Begin walking overgrown road with pink-striped flagging approximately 400 meters to small clearing with pink-striped flagging. Bird was here. for Scott Huber Tim Ruckle Chico [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! From: hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:30:31 -0700 (PDT) Since I am not familiar with the area, how do you get there?   Thanks! Frances --- On Sat, 6/26/10, John Sterling wrote: From: John Sterling Subject: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! To: david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com, anthonyehall AT sbcglobal.net, raymond_gipson AT digitalpath.net, Linda.blum AT att.net, dderuiter AT frc.edu, djury AT frc.edu, jmenge AT centurytel.net, grnheron AT earthlink.net, rburnett AT prbo.org, pashaklee AT fs.fed.us, macmc94123 AT earthlink.net, bigfootbob AT sbcglobal.net, phardy AT frlt.org, ccccollins AT yahoo.com, cdillingham AT fs.fed.us, suzi AT plumascounty.org, pcvb AT psln.com, PAGPEG AT aol.com, kmerriam AT fs.fed.us, acomyns AT prodigy.net, theshowers AT frontiernet.net, hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net, melloadobe AT yahoo.com, mba53 AT yahoo.com, jtajax AT sbcglobal.net, hoffman04 AT sbcglobal.net, jsterling AT wavecable.com, adillingham AT fs.fed.us, jahoffman AT fs.fed.us, nfrancine AT fs.fed.us, pgustafson AT fs.fed.us, tsimonjackson AT fs.fed.us, aplomado-falcon AT att.net, quinston AT sbcglobal.net, caicedoj AT hotmail.com, arconssi AT comcast.net, davelind AT frontiernet.net, mikeskram AT hotmail.com, zsotrab5 AT psln.com, hgreeves AT att.net, deweysage AT verizon.net, dpvroman AT budget.net, wray313 AT yahoo.com, mfulton AT frc.edu, mszig AT mac.com, tlwilliams AT digitalpath.net, jerrywilliams AT digitalpath.net, jrockholm AT hotmail.com, robinson2 AT psln.com, ralphmartinez AT fs.fed.us, birds AT violet-shrike.net, tootswallah AT hotmail.com, drgoose77 AT sbcglobal.net, 2wildwomen AT sbcglobal.net, salomon_1941 AT yahoo.com, paultaillie AT gmail.com, tag2 AT lehigh.edu, bronwyn AT psln.com, rust AT gotsky.com, Jeff4949 AT att.net, markserumgard AT yahoo.com, dbumpus AT fs.fed.us, marie-watson AT live.com, camp4 AT citlink.net, firehoo AT citlink.net, jeffrey_watson AT live.com, kararockett AT gmail.com, 5mlou5 AT sbcglobal.net, drsusan AT charter.net, jillmarten AT yahoo.com, 1morcast AT psln.com, "'countybirders'" , sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com, CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Cc: "'Guy'" Date: Saturday, June 26, 2010, 4:36 PM Peter Gaede just called me.  At noon today he heard a Yellow Rail at the back side of Willow Lake in Plumas County.  This is just outside of the southern border of Lassen National Park and accessed via Chester.  Be very careful not to trampled the sensitive marsh vegetation.  This is one of only two locations for Sedge Sprite in CA (a damselfly).  Probably no need to use a tape either.  The bird was calling spontaneously as is often the case in Modoc and Siskiyou locations.   Peter will be there tomorrow morning at 6:45 in case you want to meet him at the spot.   There are very, very old records Quincy, so this is the first record for the county in over 100 years.   John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV   26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA  95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com     [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! From: hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:30:31 -0700 (PDT) Since I am not familiar with the area, how do you get there?   Thanks! Frances --- On Sat, 6/26/10, John Sterling wrote: From: John Sterling Subject: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! To: david.arsenault1 AT gmail.com, anthonyehall AT sbcglobal.net, raymond_gipson AT digitalpath.net, Linda.blum AT att.net, dderuiter AT frc.edu, djury AT frc.edu, jmenge AT centurytel.net, grnheron AT earthlink.net, rburnett AT prbo.org, pashaklee AT fs.fed.us, macmc94123 AT earthlink.net, bigfootbob AT sbcglobal.net, phardy AT frlt.org, ccccollins AT yahoo.com, cdillingham AT fs.fed.us, suzi AT plumascounty.org, pcvb AT psln.com, PAGPEG AT aol.com, kmerriam AT fs.fed.us, acomyns AT prodigy.net, theshowers AT frontiernet.net, hummer52 AT sbcglobal.net, melloadobe AT yahoo.com, mba53 AT yahoo.com, jtajax AT sbcglobal.net, hoffman04 AT sbcglobal.net, jsterling AT wavecable.com, adillingham AT fs.fed.us, jahoffman AT fs.fed.us, nfrancine AT fs.fed.us, pgustafson AT fs.fed.us, tsimonjackson AT fs.fed.us, aplomado-falcon AT att.net, quinston AT sbcglobal.net, caicedoj AT hotmail.com, arconssi AT comcast.net, davelind AT frontiernet.net, mikeskram AT hotmail.com, zsotrab5 AT psln.com, hgreeves AT att.net, deweysage AT verizon.net, dpvroman AT budget.net, wray313 AT yahoo.com, mfulton AT frc.edu, mszig AT mac.com, tlwilliams AT digitalpath.net, jerrywilliams AT digitalpath.net, jrockholm AT hotmail.com, robinson2 AT psln.com, ralphmartinez AT fs.fed.us, birds AT violet-shrike.net, tootswallah AT hotmail.com, drgoose77 AT sbcglobal.net, 2wildwomen AT sbcglobal.net, salomon_1941 AT yahoo.com, paultaillie AT gmail.com, tag2 AT lehigh.edu, bronwyn AT psln.com, rust AT gotsky.com, Jeff4949 AT att.net, markserumgard AT yahoo.com, dbumpus AT fs.fed.us, marie-watson AT live.com, camp4 AT citlink.net, firehoo AT citlink.net, jeffrey_watson AT live.com, kararockett AT gmail.com, 5mlou5 AT sbcglobal.net, drsusan AT charter.net, jillmarten AT yahoo.com, 1morcast AT psln.com, "'countybirders'" , sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com, CALBIRDS AT yahoogroups.com Cc: "'Guy'" Date: Saturday, June 26, 2010, 4:36 PM Peter Gaede just called me.  At noon today he heard a Yellow Rail at the back side of Willow Lake in Plumas County.  This is just outside of the southern border of Lassen National Park and accessed via Chester.  Be very careful not to trampled the sensitive marsh vegetation.  This is one of only two locations for Sedge Sprite in CA (a damselfly).  Probably no need to use a tape either.  The bird was calling spontaneously as is often the case in Modoc and Siskiyou locations.   Peter will be there tomorrow morning at 6:45 in case you want to meet him at the spot.   There are very, very old records Quincy, so this is the first record for the county in over 100 years.   John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV   26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA  95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com     [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:36:48 -0700 Peter Gaede just called me. At noon today he heard a Yellow Rail at the back side of Willow Lake in Plumas County. This is just outside of the southern border of Lassen National Park and accessed via Chester. Be very careful not to trampled the sensitive marsh vegetation. This is one of only two locations for Sedge Sprite in CA (a damselfly). Probably no need to use a tape either. The bird was calling spontaneously as is often the case in Modoc and Siskiyou locations. Peter will be there tomorrow morning at 6:45 in case you want to meet him at the spot. There are very, very old records Quincy, so this is the first record for the county in over 100 years. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Yellow Rail in Plumas County! From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:36:48 -0700 Peter Gaede just called me. At noon today he heard a Yellow Rail at the back side of Willow Lake in Plumas County. This is just outside of the southern border of Lassen National Park and accessed via Chester. Be very careful not to trampled the sensitive marsh vegetation. This is one of only two locations for Sedge Sprite in CA (a damselfly). Probably no need to use a tape either. The bird was calling spontaneously as is often the case in Modoc and Siskiyou locations. Peter will be there tomorrow morning at 6:45 in case you want to meet him at the spot. There are very, very old records Quincy, so this is the first record for the county in over 100 years. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Tahoe Pelicans From: Richard Carlson <rccarl AT pacbell.net> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:40:06 -0700 (PDT) A huge flock of White Pelicans flew by us on the NW corner of the lake a few hours ago. I've never seen so many at Tahoe . RCC Richard Carlson Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian Part-time Economist Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA rccarl AT pacbell.net Tucson 520-760-4935 Tahoe 530-581-0624 Kirkland 425-828-3819 Cell 650-280-2965 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Nightjar surveys From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:14:41 -0700 Hey folks, My new non-profit (Tahoe Institute for Natural Science) is coordinating four nightjar surveys as part of the U.S. Nightjar Survey network, and we could use a few volunteers to conduct two of the surveys that are still vacant. It's an exceedingly simple protocol: you listen for nightjars for 6 minutes at each of 10 stops along a 9 mile stretch of road. There are a few other constraints regarding timing the moonrise, etc., but that's pretty much the gist of it. The actual survey only takes an hour and and a half or so, starting a half- hour after sunset, and then you can owl your way back to the starting point if you're so inclined. Vacant routes at this point are Barker Pass Road (Blackwood Canyon), and Genoa Peak Road (Carson Range, a vehicle with decent clearance is recommended). These need to happen at some point between now and July 4, but Barker Pass may not be clear yet by that point!! I haven't been up Genoa Peak Road yet this season, but I imagine it's open. I'll be able to double-check this weekend. If anybody's interested, please shoot me an email. There's a little more info here, too: http://www.tinsweb.org/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=157 http://www.ccb-wm.org/nightjars.htm Thanks!! Will Richardson Truckee, CA Subject: RE: Glossy Ibis - Plumas County - Sierra Valley From: "John Sterling" <jsterling AT wavecable.com> Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:38:41 -0700 This may be hard to believe but Todd Easterla thought he saw a Glossy Ibis flying by the same location on Monday, but didn't get a second look. I saw it in similar circumstances on Tuesday. Saw the bird briefly at the same location, thought it was a Glossy, but it hid in tall grass, then flew away before I could get a better look. So, in all likelihood, the bird was there on Monday and Tuesday and it probably is still there! Get out there and look! Good luck. John Sterling VVVVVVVVVV 26 Palm Ave Woodland, CA 95695 cell 530 908-3836 jsterling AT wavecable.com Birding Classes, photos etc www.sterlingbirds.com From: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of RLewis0727 Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 9:43 PM To: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] Glossy Ibis - Plumas County - Sierra Valley After leading a couple of birding groups in the valley and surrounds, and photographing with a group of friends, I finally returned home to process images, and am embarassed to say I didn't realize this was a Glossy Ibis until looking at the image. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boblewis/4728927637/ The picture was taken near the Steel Bridge in Sierra Valley on June 10, 2010. Bob Lewis Berkeley, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Glossy Ibis - Plumas County - Sierra Valley From: "RLewis0727" <RLewis0727 AT aol.com> Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:42:57 -0000 After leading a couple of birding groups in the valley and surrounds, and photographing with a group of friends, I finally returned home to process images, and am embarassed to say I didn't realize this was a Glossy Ibis until looking at the image. http://www.flickr.com/photos/boblewis/4728927637/ The picture was taken near the Steel Bridge in Sierra Valley on June 10, 2010. Bob Lewis Berkeley, CA [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday From: "Terry Colborn" <terryc AT myeasterseals.org> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:05:57 -0700 After spending over a week birding the Yuba Pass/Sierra Valley areas, a friend and I located a male Williamson's Sapsucker on 06.18.10 at the end of the fire road, which begins on the north side of Yuba Pass just across the road from the large parking area. While working our way up to the end of the road, we also had a male Pileated Woodpecker, a Northern Flicker and a Red-breasted Sapsucker. We never saw nor heard a Black-backed Woodpecker all week. Terry Colborn Davis, CA From: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rosita94598 Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 8:03 AM To: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday Spent 8 days in the Yuba Pass Area last week and saw most of the birds mentioned in earlier posts by Tom Gray, and others. There is a lack of Williamson's Sapsuckers it would seem, nobody was finding them. A report Friday morning indicated there was a pair feeding young at the Donner Camp area off Hwy 89, just a couple of miles north of I-80. I stopped there Monday about midday while returning to the Bay Area and easily found them in the picnic area. While walking the boardwalk I saw a White-crowned Sparrow low in some bushes. That was unexpected. The Pygmy Nuthatches were feeding young in the Donner tree as expected. Hugh B. Harvey Walnut Creek [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday From: "wildlightphoto AT earthlink.net" <wildlightphoto@earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:33:29 -0400 Hugh B. Harvey wrote: >>> There is a lack of Williamson's Sapsuckers it would seem, nobody was finding them. A report Friday morning indicated there was a pair feeding young at the Donner Camp area off Hwy 89, just a couple of miles north of I-80. I stopped there Monday about midday while returning to the Bay Area and easily found them in the picnic area. <<< A pair at mile 4 on Henness Pass Road a.k.a. Sierra County Route S450 is using the same nest hole used last year: http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/wisa02.jpg http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/wisaps05.html Doug Herr Orangevale, Sacramento County http://www.wildlightphoto.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting Subject: Re: Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) From: "rossierran" <derenross AT sbcglobal.net> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:28:41 -0000 Hello Birders, My apologies for the late post. Yesterday evening, I could not re-find the Northern Waterthrush. Hopefully, it's still around and will re-surface for birders today. Some other birds included Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Song Sparrow, Spotted Sandpipers, Mountain Chickadee, Steller's Jay, Warbling Vireo, and Common Merganser. It was a very active area with many birds singing. Nice little birding stop. Also seen were many Western Sagebrush Lizards in the parking and sand area. Deren Ross Auburn, Ca --- In sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com, Will Richardson wrote: > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "Greg Scyphers" > Date: June 22, 2010 2:14:30 PM PDT > To: > Subject: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH AT Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) > > Hello Will, > > Can you please post a sighting to Sierra Nevada birds for me? > > This morning at around 8:00 AM, I found a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at > Cisco Grove Gould Park. This small park is located just off > Interstate 80 at the Cisco Grove exit. The park is on the north side > of the highway on the bank of the South Yuba River. I had just got > done looking at a fuel spill clean-up job on the shoulder of the > highway and drove to the next exit which was Cisco Grove. As I got > off the highway I saw the park and decided to pull in and let my dog > out for a drink. As my dog waded into the river I pished near the > dense underbrush along the river bank. That is when the Waterthrush > popped up. I saw the bird well as it pumped it's tail and tried to > determine what I was. The bird dropped down out of sight and began > singing. The bird flew across the river and sang some more. The bird > went silent and I returned to my car. I got my binoculars and ipod > and relocated the bird further west near the bridge. The bird once > again popped up in response to the tape (which I played once). This > time I had very good looks at the bird. The bird began singing again > and disappeared into the dense brush along the river bank. I heard it > give it's sharp call note a few times as well. I last saw the bird at > about 8:45 AM. I believe this date is very late for a Northern > Waterthrush this far south. The late date and the behavior of singing > from different locations along the river makes me think that maybe it > has set up a territory and will hang out. Incidentally, I have never > seen a Northern Waterthrush in adjacent Nevada past the end of May in > spring migration. > > Thanks, > Greg Scyphers > Sparks, NV > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > Subject: Donner Camp/Alder Creek--Monday From: "rosita94598" <rosita94598 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:02:33 -0000 Spent 8 days in the Yuba Pass Area last week and saw most of the birds mentioned in earlier posts by Tom Gray, and others. There is a lack of Williamson's Sapsuckers it would seem, nobody was finding them. A report Friday morning indicated there was a pair feeding young at the Donner Camp area off Hwy 89, just a couple of miles north of I-80. I stopped there Monday about midday while returning to the Bay Area and easily found them in the picnic area. While walking the boardwalk I saw a White-crowned Sparrow low in some bushes. That was unexpected. The Pygmy Nuthatches were feeding young in the Donner tree as expected. Hugh B. Harvey Walnut Creek Subject: RE: Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) From: "Jon Winter" <wint AT tdl.com> Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:33:21 -0700 If Greg saw it, it is good. JW -----Original Message----- From: sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Will Richardson Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 2:24 PM To: Sierra Nevada Birds Subject: [SierraNevadaBirds] Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH AT Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) Begin forwarded message: From: "Greg Scyphers" Date: June 22, 2010 2:14:30 PM PDT To: Subject: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH AT Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) Hello Will, Can you please post a sighting to Sierra Nevada birds for me? This morning at around 8:00 AM, I found a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at Cisco Grove Gould Park. This small park is located just off Interstate 80 at the Cisco Grove exit. The park is on the north side of the highway on the bank of the South Yuba River. I had just got done looking at a fuel spill clean-up job on the shoulder of the highway and drove to the next exit which was Cisco Grove. As I got off the highway I saw the park and decided to pull in and let my dog out for a drink. As my dog waded into the river I pished near the dense underbrush along the river bank. That is when the Waterthrush popped up. I saw the bird well as it pumped it's tail and tried to determine what I was. The bird dropped down out of sight and began singing. The bird flew across the river and sang some more. The bird went silent and I returned to my car. I got my binoculars and ipod and relocated the bird further west near the bridge. The bird once again popped up in response to the tape (which I played once). This time I had very good looks at the bird. The bird began singing again and disappeared into the dense brush along the river bank. I heard it give it's sharp call note a few times as well. I last saw the bird at about 8:45 AM. I believe this date is very late for a Northern Waterthrush this far south. The late date and the behavior of singing from different locations along the river makes me think that maybe it has set up a territory and will hang out. Incidentally, I have never seen a Northern Waterthrush in adjacent Nevada past the end of May in spring migration. Thanks, Greg Scyphers Sparks, NV [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ to post a message to the group, email to sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.comYahoo! Groups Links __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 3832 (20090206) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 3832 (20090206) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com Subject: Fwd: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH @ Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) From: Will Richardson <t.will.richardson AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:23:30 -0700 Begin forwarded message: From: "Greg Scyphers" Date: June 22, 2010 2:14:30 PM PDT To: Subject: NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH AT Cisco Grove Gould Park (Placer Co.) Hello Will, Can you please post a sighting to Sierra Nevada birds for me? This morning at around 8:00 AM, I found a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at Cisco Grove Gould Park. This small park is located just off Interstate 80 at the Cisco Grove exit. The park is on the north side of the highway on the bank of the South Yuba River. I had just got done looking at a fuel spill clean-up job on the shoulder of the highway and drove to the next exit which was Cisco Grove. As I got off the highway I saw the park and decided to pull in and let my dog out for a drink. As my dog waded into the river I pished near the dense underbrush along the river bank. That is when the Waterthrush popped up. I saw the bird well as it pumped it’s tail and tried to determine what I was. The bird dropped down out of sight and began singing. The bird flew across the river and sang some more. The bird went silent and I returned to my car. I got my binoculars and ipod and relocated the bird further west near the bridge. The bird once again popped up in response to the tape (which I played once). This time I had very good looks at the bird. The bird began singing again and disappeared into the dense brush along the river bank. I heard it give it’s sharp call note a few times as well. I last saw the bird at about 8:45 AM. I believe this date is very late for a Northern Waterthrush this far south. The late date and the behavior of singing from different locations along the river makes me think that maybe it has set up a territory and will hang out. Incidentally, I have never seen a Northern Waterthrush in adjacent Nevada past the end of May in spring migration. Thanks, Greg Scyphers Sparks, NV [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ to post a message to the group, email to sierra-nevadabirds AT yahoogroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sierra-nevadabirds/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sierra-nevadabirds/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: sierra-nevadabirds-digest AT yahoogroups.com sierra-nevadabirds-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: sierra-nevadabirds-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/