Western Birds Journal

Volume 47, No. 2

Published April 1, 2016

Issue description

Volume 47, number 2 of Western Birds, published 2016

Articles

  1. Cover image V47(2)

    STEVEN G. MLODINOW, MATT BARTELS (Author)

    TENTH REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE (2010–2013)

    Since its ninth report (Merrill and Bartels 2015) the Washington Bird Records Committee has reviewed 352 reports representing 97 species and seven subspecies. A total of 280 reports were endorsed, an acceptance rate of 80%. Ten species were added to the Washington state list: the Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus), Wilson’s Plover (C. wilsonia), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Scripps’s Murrelet (Synthliboramphus scrippsi), Guadalupe Murrelet (S. hypoleucus), Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens), McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and Lawrence’s Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei); as well as four subspecies: the Vega Herring Gull (Larus argentatus vegae), Eastern Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla ruficapilla), Thick-billed Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca megarhyncha group), and Eastern Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus purpureus). The Washington state list now stands at 507 species.

  2. Cover image V47(2)

    MARTIN MEYERS (Author)

    NEVADA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE REPORT FOR 2014

    In 2014, the Nevada Bird Records Committee (NBRC) reviewed 96 reports covering the period 1 December 1929–19 September 2014 and endorsed 89 of them. There were no changes to the Nevada list or the Nevada review list in 2014. In this year, however, the NBRC endorsed records of five species that had been on the state list without specific records previously endorsed: the Least Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma microsoma), Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), and Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Nevada’s first successful nesting of the Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) was documented. The continuing increase in the Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) in the southwestern U.S. is reflected in Nevada, with the number of NBRC-endorsed records rising from two to seven in 2014.

  3. Cover image V47(2)

    SHARON N. KAHARA, WALTER G. DUFFY, RYAN DiGAUDIO, ROSEMARY RECORDS (Author)

    FACTORS INFLUENCING NONTARGET BIRD OCCUPANCY OF RESTORED WETLANDS IN CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL VALLEY

    Intensively managed restored wetlands and flooded croplands of California’s Central Valley support millions of wintering waterbirds. While the benefits to wintering waterfowl are well documented, the effect of intensive management on birds at other times of the year is less clear. Practices such as drainage, mowing, disking and burning may be a nuisance to these nontarget birds at best or life threatening at worst. Alternatively, irrigation over the summer may create habitat that might otherwise be lacking in the dry season. Our objective was to assess the influence of management, adjacent land use, and habitat characteristics on the richness, diversity, and occupancy of birds other than waterfowl in the spring and summer. We conducted 640 bird surveys on restored wetlands managed at varying levels in 2008 (4 April–30 July) and 2009 (19 April–16 July) and used likelihood-based modeling to evaluate occupancy and the relative importance of intensity of management and various environmental factors. Management was not the most important predictor of the richness, diversity, or occupancy of nontarget birds in the summer; rather, variables such as wetland size, vegetation composition, and landscape characteristics were more important for most bird guilds. Contrary to the commonly held view that restored wetlands in California’s Central Valley support only wintering waterfowl, they also support a diverse avifauna year round regardless of how they are managed. Bird occupancy and diversity in restored wetlands may be enhanced by creating and maintaining large, complex mosaics of vegetation.

  4. Cover image V47(2)

    RAYMOND A. MEYER, DEEANNE T. MELIOPOULOS,, GRANT M. BEAUPREZ, SARTOR O. WILLIAMS III (Author)

    BREEDING OF THE SHORT-EARED OWL IN NEW MEXICO

    We report four instances of breeding by the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in three areas of New Mexico in 2014, the first confirmed breeding for the state and southernmost known for interior North America. A nest and two pre-fledged juveniles plus a family group were at two sites in Otero County, a pair with one pre-fledged juvenile was found in Luna County, and a family group was observed in Roosevelt County. Each area had received substantial precipitation in September 2013, resulting in increased vegetative cover and growth of annual plants, presumably increasing small mammal prey for owls. Regurgitated pellets collected from the Otero County sites revealed that the Short-eared Owls preyed mainly on heteromyid rodents. Breeding should be considered possible for birds detected in March and later in areas south of the normal range when conditions are favorable.

  5. Cover image V47(2)

    RICHARD A. ERICKSON (Author)

    ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRD NESTS IN MEXICO: EXPANSION OF SELASPHORUS SASIN SEDENTARIUS INTO BAJA CALIFORNIA

    Subspecies Selasphorus sasin sedentarius of Allen’s Hummingbird has been expanding its range in southern California since the 1960s. Nesting near Tijuana, Baja California, in 2014 and 2015 established the first nesting records for Mexico. The species is likely to expand farther into Mexico, and some local displacement of Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna) may be expected.

  6. Cover image V47(2)

    THANE K. PRATT, REGINALD E. DAVID, EBEN H. PAXTON (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF THE COMMON SANDPIPER FOR THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

    With a breeding range spanning Eurasia and a winter range extending from Africa to Australasia, the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) is indeed the common and familiar sandpiper of the Old World. It is the Old World counterpart of the Spotted Sandpiper (A. macularius) of the Americas and its only congener. The Spotted Sandpiper is a vagrant to the Hawaiian Islands (David 1991, Pyle and Pyle 2009), but no Common Sandpiper had been reported until one spent the winter of 2010–2011 at Honuapo lagoon, Whittington Beach County Park, Hawaii Island. Previously, Pyle and Pyle (2009) summarized all records of Actitis for the islands and concluded that 21 of the 32 could be identified with certainty as Spotted Sandpipers. Among the remaining 11 records, the Common Sandpiper could not be ruled out. The Common Sandpiper is a possibility because it reaches Micronesia as a regular winter visitor (Baker 1951) and western Polynesia and Alaska as a vagrant (Kessel and Gibson 1978, Pratt et al. 1987, Gibson and Byrd 2007). There are no records elsewhere in North America (Howell et al. 2014).

  7. Cover image V47(2)

    DAVID VANDER PLUYM (Author)

    A KLEPTOPARASITIC CHASE BY BROWN PELICANS ON A WESTERN GULL

    Interspecific kleptoparasitism, or the stealing of food from other species, is fairly widespread among birds, most frequently reported for seabirds, especially among the Charadriiformes (Brockman and Barnard 1979, Furness 1987, Iyengar 2008). Though most kleptoparasitic species engage in this behavior facultatively, some (especially within the Charadriiformes) may be obligate kleptoparasites during a particular season and potentially throughout the year (Iyengar 2008). Within the family Pelecanidae it has been infrequently reported in the literature.

  8. Cover image V47(2)

    Lauren B. Harter (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Better Birding - Tips, Tools & Concepts for the Field

    Better Birding is an unusual book. Not quite a manual of tips for birders, not quite a photographic field guide, and not an in-depth guide to a single group of birds, this book falls somewhere in the intersection of these three styles. Its main goal is to foster better birding by instructing birders in learning the ins and outs of identification of select groups of birds, so that they can apply the practice of knowing a group intimately more broadly. This is accomplished by providing information not only on field marks but also on behavior, habitat, taxonomy, and other facets of identification that are not often covered in depth in other identification guides. At its heart, this is a guide to really getting to know the birds.

  9. Cover image V47(2)

    John Yerger (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Birding by Impression: A Different Approach to Knowing and Identifying Birds

    For bird observers keen to sharpen their identification skills, there is an ever-expanding selection of literature to aid in self-study. One of the newest is this reference guide. The title immediately piqued my interest. To bird by “impression,” one does not focus on obscure field marks, e.g., the apical spot on the 9th primary. In this respect, the book is quite different from the requisite field guide or advanced identification book. The most intriguing aspect of the title is Knowing and Identifying Birds. “Knowing” a bird indicates a depth of understanding beyond mere identification. What the authors have attempted here is to put this level of understanding into words and photographs.

  10. Cover image V47(2)

    ERIC B. CULBERTSON (Author)

    FEATURED PHOTO: FIRST DOCUMENTED RECORD OF THE GRAY HAWK IN CALIFORNIA

    During the afternoon of 25 November 2012, while driving northwest along Via Real in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County, California, I observed an immature hawk perched on a power line overhanging the road. It had a very distinctive face pattern, with a bold buffy-white throat, auricular, and supercillium contrasting with a dark brown malar, eyeline, and crown. The back and wings were dark brown, and the underparts were buffy white with distinct brown streaking throughout. Structurally, the hawk most resembled a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), appearing somewhat small and stocky but with a longer tail. I was able to approach on foot to within 30 yards and study the hawk more closely through 8 × 42 power binoculars, while also obtaining several photographs. Over the next half hour I continued my observation of the hawk as it foraged within ¼ mile of this area, crossing Highway 101 twice from Via Real to perch along Santa Claus Lane. During this observation I noted that the upper surface of the rectrices was brown with several dark bands. In contrast, the underside of the tail was light gray or buffy white with only a few indistinct brown bands. While the bird was perched the wingtips fell well short of the tail tip. The undertail coverts were white, and the tarsi and feet were orange-yellow. The bill was dark and hooked, set off from the face by a yellow cere. In flight, the underwing color matched the buffy-white color of the underparts but with only minimal, nearly indistinct dark streaking throughout. Its size, shape, foraging style (perch hunting), and tail length (shorter than in an Accipiter) made me confident in identifying this hawk to the genus Buteo.