Western Birds Journal

Volume 55, No. 2

Published April 1, 2024

Issue description

Volume 55, number 2 of Western Birds, published 2024

Articles

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    JENNIFER BALLARD, ELISABETH M. AMMON, DEBORAH M. VAN DOOREMOLEN (Author)

    BIRD COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO RESTORATION ALONG LAS VEGAS WASH, NEVADA

     in a 12-year study of seasonal bird use along las Vegas Wash (Clark County, nevada), an area undergoing intensive channel stabilization and riparian and wetland restoration, we found that total bird abundance and species richness significantly increased. in the late phase of the project, total bird abundance was greatest during the nonbreeding season and winter transition, and species richness was greatest during the fall transition. species associated with riparian shrubs decreased, likely as a response to large-scale removal of non-native shrubs and the lag in recovery of a native shrub understory. species associated with trees and the mid-story had a mixed response, with detections of those species previously most closely associated with non-native trees showing a negative trend, while those associated with native overstory plants showing an increasing or mixed trend. detections of wetland and aquatic species increased significantly throughout the project. this study shows differential restoration responses of species based on their natural history, seasons of primary use of the site, and the lag time in recovery of particular vegetation elements that are used by various species assemblages.

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    W. DAVID SHUFORD (Author)

    REVISITING THE PAST: HISTORICAL STATUS OF BREEDING RING-BILLED AND CALIFORNIA GULLS IN THE KLAMATH BASIN, OREGON

     Three summaries of the historical and recent status of breeding Ring-billed (Larus delawarensis) and California (L. californicus) gulls in Oregon mention just two colony sites in the Klamath Basin—Upper Klamath Lake and Spring Lake—and lack numerical data for individual colonies. Nevertheless, nesting of gulls at Lower Klamath Lake before its water source was cut off in 1917 is well documented. Egg-set records, published literature, and archived field notes attest to nesting of both species before 1954 at two additional sites in the Klamath Basin, the Link and Klamath rivers. The largest known colonies up to that time were at Lower Klamath Lake (~2000 pairs, perhaps many more) and along the Klamath River below
    the town of Klamath Falls (~2000 pairs). Gulls no longer nest at these five sites, but, since at least 2000, they have nested intermittently at Swan Lake and Gerber Reservoir. Though Gabrielson and Jewett (1940) considered the California Gull moreabundant in southeastern Oregon than the Ring-billed, egg-collectors’ data from 1926 to 1953 suggest the opposite, as in northeastern California. The California Gull may have been the more numerous of the two in the Klamath Basin when nesting and foraging habitat was dominated by wetlands, but the drying of Lower Klamath Lake and the great expansion of irrigated agriculture starting in the 1920s may have favored the Ring-billed. Trends in the Klamath Basin’s gull populations are unclear, but much nesting habitat has been lost. Documentation of the historical record of nesting gulls and other waterbirds is critical, as conservation efforts typically aim at restoring populations to some historical baseline, which can gradually shift lower with further declines and successive generations accepting a new status quo.

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    SHANE E. JORDAN, RICHARD RACHMAN (Author)

    RESPONSE OF AN AVIFAUNAL COMMUNITY TO THE LA TUNA FIRE IN THE VERDUGO MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

    In California’s coastal sage scrub and chaparral, fire reshapes the distribution of vegetation and the composition of bird communities, although the direction of the response in various habitats remains unclear. We investigated changes in the bird community at one site following the 2017 La Tuna Fire in the Verdugo mountains of southern California. We found that the community’s diversity and evenness did not change, but the structure of foraging guilds did. Counts of omnivores and aerial and generalist foragers increased significantly, whereas counts of granivores and shrub foragers decreased. The number of insectivores decreased slightly, and ground foragers appeared unaffected. Principal components analysis suggests positive, neutral, and negative responses of birds associated with these guilds were driving differences in their abundances after the fire. We show how post-fire bird distributions may be related to fire severity, vegetation structure, and interspecific interactions. however, differences between our results and those of other studies suggest that patterns of bird community response to wildfire may be dictated by factors both related and unrelated to the fire over broader time scales.

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    FLOYD E. HAYES, DRIELLY N. MARTINS, CHRISTIAN X. NUNEZ (Author)

    SOCIAL AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OF INTERSEX MALLARDS: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND A NEW CASE STUDY

     Spontaneous sex reversal is a form of intersexuality in which one sex, usually a female, acquires traits of the other sex. We reviewed previously published accounts of intersex Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) resulting from sex reversal, of which four individuals behaved as females and four behaved as males, and two of the latter mounted other females. Video analyses of an intersex Mallard in Napa, Napa County, California, revealed that it was less social, spending much more time alone than either sex of normal Mallards during the breeding season, and behaved like a female by spending much more time with males than with females. It is unknown why some intersex Mallards behave as females and others as males.

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    MASON W MARON, CARA BORRE (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF BREEDING BEHAVIOR BY THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER IN WASHINGTON

     The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) typically breeds in early successional deciduous forests of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. In recent decades, however, the species has become increasingly regular as a vagrant in the western U.S. and Canada. Over several weeks in June and July 2023, near Gig Harbor, Pierce County, we observed the first documented breeding behavior of the Chestnut-sided Warbler in Washington State, including territorial singing by the male and nest-building by the female. The increase in early successional vegetation following logging or wildfires could favor the Chestnut-sided Warbler becoming a regular breeding species in the Pacific Northwest.

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    STEVE YONGE, MARGARET WIDDOWSON, LAWRENCE WISE (Author)

    WIND EFFECTS ON AECHMOPHORUS GREBE NESTING COLONIES, LAKE ALMANOR, CALIFORNIA

     In late July and early August 2022, sustained winds of 13–42 km/hr and winds gusts of 19–79 km/hr disrupted the colonies of the Western (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s (A. clarkii) grebes nesting at Lake Almanor, Plumas Co., California. Many nests washed up on shore downwind of two nesting colonies. At this time, the decrease in the lake level from drawdown and evaporation did not threaten the colonies, so the colonies’ nearly complete failure in 2022 was due to windstorms.

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    NICHOLAS T. VINCIGUERRA (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF THE CONNECTICUT WARBLER IN NEW MEXICO

     A Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) photographed and recorded calling at Percha Dam State Park, Sierra Co., New Mexico, on 9 September 2023 represented a first confirmed record for the state of New Mexico. Of the relatively few Connecticut Warblers found inland in western North America, this individual was a fall migrant, and the date is typical for other occurrences in the West.

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    DANIEL S. COOPER (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Empidonax and Pewees

     In this meticulously illustrated guide, Lee and Birch synthesize decades of birding, their own identification articles, and specimen research to demystify a supremely puzzling group of smallish flycatchers mostly of the genera Empidonax and Contopus, known as “empids” and “pewees,” respectively. They describe their approach as holistic, and it is, de-emphasizing plumage and what might be called a “field mark approach” in favor of gestalt plus a generous helping of seasonal status and geographical distribution. Once thought to be reliably distinguishable only in the hand—plucked from nets, or, before that, shot out of trees—flycatchers lend themselves well to identification that is strongly comparative and multi-dimensional. This book thus serves as an alternative to regional field guides or, especially, websites, both of which attempt to summarize and reduce the collective knowledge of birders, rather than leveraging and amplifying it as these authors have done.

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    Andrew Birch (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Bird: Exploring The Winged World

     This hefty, lushly illustrated coffee-table book is a set of more than 300 images curated by Phaidon staff and notable ornithological consultants. It is intended to celebrate the beauty and appeal of birds and illustrate the human relationship with birds and the narrative of the place of birds in art and culture throughout human history. There is an insightful introduction by author and fine artist katrina van Grouw (The Unfeathered Bird, Princeton University Press, 2013) describing how the symbolism of birds has been featured throughout human history, from a fossilized Archaeopteryx to the Bald Eagle symbol of the United States. All forms of imagery are covered in this educational, illustrated encyclopedia, ranging from a petroglyph quail dating from 8000 BC (p. 276) to Doug Bowman’s Twitter logo Twitter Bird (p. 196). The images portray a range of media from physical art such as sculptures and jewelry, detailed oil paintings from 17th and 18th century masters, modern-day photographers, and the evolution of scientific bird art.

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    Diana Herron (Author)

    IN MEMORIAM VIRGINIA P. JOHNSON, 1930–2024

     Virginia Phillips Coughran Johnson (Ginger to her family and friends) died on 4- March 2024 at her San Diego home of more than 40 years. She was 93.  Ginger was born on 29 October 1930 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Palos Verdes, California. She received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Pomona College, Claremont, California, in 1952.