Western Birds Journal

Volume 30, No. 4

Published October 1, 1999

Issue description

Volume 30, number 4 of Western Birds, published 1999

Articles

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    ROY M. JONES (Author)

    SEABIRDS CARRIED INLAND BY TROPICAL STORM NORA

    Every year, about 15 cyclones form off the southwest coast of Mexico or regenerate there from Caribbean storms that have crossed Central America; about half of these become hurricanes. Prior to the 1970s, these storms were thought to have no effect on weather in the United States. However, Court (1980)brought a new perspective to eastern Pacific cyclones when he showed that 40 storms occurring between 1904 and 1980 had affected the western United States.

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    JOSEPH B. BUCHANAN (Author)

    RECENT CHANGES IN THE WINTER DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF ROCK SANDPIPERS IN NORTH AMERICA

    The North American population of the Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) winters along the Pacific Coast, from the Bering Sea to northern California (AOU 1998). In Alaska, where it is the most abundant winter resident shorebird (Gill and Tibbitts 1999), the species uses substrates of soft or coarse sediment (Gill and Tibbitts 1999), whereas rocky shorelines are the primary habitat in the southern part of its range (Paulson 1993).

    Rock Sandpipers are rarely encountered away from the coast (Campbell et al. 1990). Perhaps because of their close association with rugged or isolated coasts, little is known about their winter population status.

  3. SPENCER G. SEALY (Author)

    FURTHER DATA ON FOOD ITEMS OF NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS (AEGOLIUS ACADICUS BROOKSI) ON THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

    Mammals dominate the list of prey items taken by the widespread nominate subspecies of the Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus acadicus) throughout its range, including the Pacific Northwest (Forsman and Maser 1970; Boula 1982; Grove 1985). In contrast, Aegolius acadicus brooksi, the only other recognized subspecies, is endemic to the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), British Columbia (Cory 1918; AOU 1957; Sealy 1998). Although limited, available information shows that brooksi's diet includes invertebrates—primarily from the intertidal zone—as well as various vertebrate taxa, in addition to small mammals.

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    CARROLL D. LITTLEFIELD (Author)

    GREATER SANDHILL CRANE PRODUCTIVITY ON PRIVATELY OWNED WETLANDS IN EASTERN OREGON

    Except at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, data on the nesting and recruitment of the Greater Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis tabida) in eastern Oregon have not been documented. The objective of this paper is to assess the reproductive performance of the Central Valley population, which is classified as sensitive by the state of Oregon, on privately owned wetlands.

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    JAMES L. BOONE, PATRICK E. LEDERLE, STEVEN L. PETERSEN (Author)

    MORE ADDITIONS TO THE BIRDS OF THE NEVADA TEST SITE

    Observations of birds on the Nevada Test Site, an area of restricted access in southern Nye County administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, have been recorded since the 1960s (Hayward et al. 1963).

    Early surveys generally focused on the eastern and northern areas of the test site that were affected by nuclear testing and other human activities (Hayward et al. 1963; Richards 1962), or on southern portions near Mercury (Castetter and Hill 1979) and Rock Valley (Rundel and Gibson 1996). We report observations made in the southwestern portion of the test site near Yucca Mountain, an area of interest because the Department of Energy is studying the mountain as a potential site for storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste.

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    ALAN CONTRERAS (Author)

    NEW HISTORIC RECORDS ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD FROM OREGON

    The Anna’s Hummingbird has spread north along the West Coast of North America since the mid-20th century, and Zimmerman (1973) provided a useful overview of a principal period of this expansion.In his survey of published and unpublished records, Zimmerman noted that the first reports for Oregon were in 1964, in the Rogue Valley. He also stated that there was "evidently little or no range extension [north of California] between 1940 and 1960."

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    Colleen M. Handel (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW : Habitat Characteristics of Some Passerine Birds in Western North American Taiga

    This short monograph is a welcome contribution to the study of Alaska ornithology, particularly since so little information has been published on habitat use by passerines in the region. The title is misleading, though, as the book is not a comprehensive treatise on habitats across the western North American taiga. Rather, it primarily reports on the results of a two-summer study of a single drainage in central Alaska.

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    STEVE N. G. NOWELL (Author)

    FEATURED PHOTO: MOLT, AGEING, AND IDENTIFICATION OF IMMATURE LONG TAILED JAEGERS

    Immature jaegers pose a notorious identification problem. Here, I offer a synthesis of the issue and discuss molt, migration, and the immature plumage stages of the Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus). No study of immature jaeger plumages has been based on birds of known age, however, and current descriptions of differences in molt and plumage by age remain hypotheses that would benefit from testing.