Volume 19, number 2 of Western Birds, published 1988
The Hammond's (Empidonax hammondii) and Western (E. difficilis) flycatchers are sympatric within portions of their breeding ranges in northwestern California. Westerns are common in a variety of habitats (Bent 1942:247, Johnson 1980:11–23); Hammond's are more abundant at higher elevations (Bent 1942:226, Johnson 1963:140–143).
On 31 August 1986, Stallcup was leading a pelagic trip for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. At about 0900, he was standing at the stern of the Sea Wolf, about 4 nautical miles due west of Point Pinos, Monterey County, when an unusual shearwater glided by, heading toward a large flock of gulls and shearwaters in the boat's wake.
The timing and magnitude of shorebird migration has been documented at several areas along the Pacific coast of North America, primarily in California (Recher 1966, Page et al. 1979) and Washington (Widrig 1979, Herman and Bulger 1981). Few studies in this region have been conducted away from the outer coast. In Washington, only Van Velzen (1973) has described shorebird migration at noncoastal sites.
The Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) is a common spring migrant along the northern California coast (Yocom and Harris 1975), where it commonly feeds along drift lines at sea and on sheltered coastal waters such as sewage oxidation ponds (Gerstenberg 1979) and rainwater ponds in coastal woodlands and fields.
On 6 May 1969, 103 dead Red-necked Phalaropes were recovered at Trinidad, Humboldt County, California, where they had struck power lines stretched between the shoreline and a coastal headland. The gizzards of these birds were stored in formalin until they could be examined.
On 21 October 1984, we observed a Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) in third-winter plumage at the north shore of American Falls Reservoir, Idaho. The bird was subsequently seen there through at least 27 October.
First observed in flight among about 300 Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), the bird was distinctly larger and had a darker mantle than any other gull present. From 15:30 to 16:30, we followed the bird as it moved from its initial location west to a boat mooring strip made of automobile tires. At this location, we were able to attract it by throwing bread toward it and the other gulls, enabling us to study the bird carefully at very close range.
Baja California, Mexico is the world's second longest peninsula—over 1200 kilometers long—and is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by the Sea of Cortez. Numerous islands dot both coasts, and the climate and vegetation types are generally arid. For the most part, the avifauna is similar to that of the Mediterranean, desert, and montane areas to the north in southern California.