Western Birds Journal

Volume 8, No. 4

Published October 1, 1977

Issue description

Volume 8, number 4 of Western Birds, published 1977

Articles

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    G. SCOTT MILLS (Author)

    NEW LOCATIONS FOR THE FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW IN THE UNITED STATES

    The Five-striped Sparrow (Aimophila quinquestriata) was first reported in the United States in 1957 just west of Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains of southeastern Arizona (Binford 1958). The species was not observed in the United States again until 1969 when at least two were found southwest of Patagonia, Arizona, where it has appeared every year since (Snider 1969, 1970, 1971; Monson 1973; Bill Harrison pers. comm.). The 1957 bird was considered an accidental (Phillips et al. 1964) and, because the area had been worked by numerous ornithologists before 1969, the population at Patagonia was considered by many to have just been established. No real effort was made to look for other populations in the United States except for limited explorations in the vicinity of the Patagonia population and in areas to the west by Jim Silliman, Kathy Groschupf and myself in 1975 and 1976. But on 12 June 1977 a Five-striped Sparrow was seen in lower Sycamore Canyon south of the Atascosa Mountains, Santa Cruz Co., Arizona (Bill Harrison pers. comm.). That report instigated a thorough search of Sycamore Canyon and, ultimately, an extensive search in the vicinity of the Atascosa and Santa Rita mountains. This paper reports the results of those searches.

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    GORDON I. GOULD, JR. (Author)

    DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPOTTED OWL IN CALIFORNIA

    The Fish and Wildlife Service (Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 1973) listed the Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) as a species whose status needed to be determined. Until recently the status of this secretive woodland raptor was unknown by government wildlife agencies and considered to be rare. Furthermore, land practices were reducing the habitat of the Spotted Owl. For these reasons, the California Department of Fish and Game and the United States Forest Service cooperatively initiated and financed this study in July 1973. In 1974 the National Park Service became involved.

    In 1973 I conducted surveys in the forested mountains in northwestern California. From March to September 1974 surveys were conducted throughout the remaining areas of coniferous forest in California. During the 1975, 1976 and 1977 breeding seasons, voids in the range were checked and known sites monitored by the author and other agency biologists.

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    KENNETH KERTELL (Author)

    THE SPOTTED OWL AT ZION NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

    The first sighting of the Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) at Zion National Park was on 9 November 1963 (Wauer and Carter 1965). Although a pair was closely observed by Theron Twogood on 29 August of the following year, there were no more reports of this uncommon western owl for several years. Then, between 1974 and 1976, employees at Zion carefully identified this species at six different locations. In 1974 a total of six Spotted Owls was observed at three locations. In 1975 one of the 1974 sites was found inactive but a new one was discovered; a total of five owls was at three locations. In 1976 two new locations were found and, although two previously active sites were not investigated, five owls were seen at four locations. In light of the scarcity of information on the Spotted Owl in Utah (Behle and Perry 1975), these sightings are certainly heartening.

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    PHILIP UNITT (Author)

    NOTES: THE LITTLE BLUE HERON IN CALIFORNIA

    On 4 July 1976 William T. Everett, Curtis Stuteville and I discovered an adult Little Blue Heron (Egretta {=Florida} caerulea) near the mouth of the New River at the south end of the Salton Sea, Imperial County. This bird was perching in an area of drowned trees along the shore of the Sea. The Little Blue Heron was similar in size and shape to the several Snowy Egrets (E. thula) available for comparison nearby, but without any bushiness to the head, so the head appeared smaller and the neck narrower. The neck was held tightly against the body when the bird was perching. The entire body posterior to the neck was bluish-gray, darker than the body color of nearby Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias). The head and neck were deep purplish-gray, contrastingly darker than the rest of the body. The bill was distinctly bicolored; medium gray basally, blackish distally. The legs and feet were dark.

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    ROLAND H. WAUER, JOHN EGBERT (Author)

    NOTES: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN A HARRIS’ HAWK AND A BADGER

    On 15 June 1976 the authors observed interactions between a Harris’ Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) and a Badger (Taxidea taxus) that have not previously been reported. The incident occurred along State Highway 385, 51 km south of Marathon, Brewster County, Texas, at 0745 on a clear calm day. The area is open ranchland dominated by scattered Honey Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) and Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata). A metal watering trough and windmill are situated 25 m off the west side of the highway. Although no cows were present at the time, the ground was trampled and bare, except for the numerous dung piles within a radius of approximately 20 m of the trough.

    Initially we were attracted to the scene when the Harris’ Hawk flew from the road shoulder to the area of the watering trough as our car approached. We stopped and got out of the car to view the hawk through binoculars. It was then that we saw the Badger.

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    STEVEN D. SUMMERS (Author)

    NOTES: A COMMON GRACKLE RECORD FOR OREGON

    On 28 May 1977 Priscilla Summers and I observed a Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) at the headquarters of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Harney County, Oregon. We watched it through binoculars within 9 m for about 5 minutes as it fed on the lawn of one of the refuge residences. We also observed it in flight on two occasions. The following description was noted.

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    J. V. REMSEN, JR., JOHN R. COOPER (Author)

    NOTES: FIRST RECORD OF SCOTT’S ORIOLE FROM COLORADO

    On 1 May 1975 John and Joyce Cooper found a Scott’s Oriole (Icterus parisorum) in Red Rocks Park, near Morrison, Jefferson Co., Colorado (Cooper 1975). On 2 May Robert Andrews and Remsen relocated the bird and studied it for 20 minutes as it foraged in flowering and budding cottonwoods in a brushy gully surrounded by large rock formations, foothill grassland, and scattered junipers. This location is on the eastern slope of the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Remsen obtained five photographs of the bird, from which the identification was confirmed by Laurence C. Binford, Curator of Birds, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California. Binford (pers. comm.) noted that the age and sex of the bird could not be determined due to the difficulty in distinguishing immature males from dark-throated adult females and that the only thing which could be said with certainty was that it was not an adult male. Copies of the photographs have been deposited in the files of the Official Records Committee (O.R.C.) of the Colorado Field Ornithologists. Although the record has already been accepted as the first for Colorado on the basis of written descriptions submitted by John Cooper, Andrews and Remsen (record N-54-53; Reddall 1976), this note is the first report of the existence of the photographs to confirm the identification.

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    ANTHONY H. JAMES (Author)

    NOTES: SANDHILL CRANES BREEDING IN SIERRA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

    The number of Greater Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) breeding in California has greatly decreased since the turn of the century. This subspecies was given “fully protected” status by the California Legislature in 1970. The current breeding range in the state is believed to be restricted to the northeastern plateau region, in Siskiyou, Modoc, Shasta and Lassen counties (Grinnell and Miller 1944, McCaskie and DeBenedictis 1966, Naylor et al. 1954). Carroll D. Littlefield of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, has records of 109 pairs breeding in northeastern California, but was unaware of any nesting south of Lassen Co. (pers. comm.). I observed a small breeding population south of the plateau region in Sierra Valley, Sierra and Plumas counties. This is the southernmost breeding locality for the state.

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    Bylaws of the Western Field Ornithologists’ CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

    I. Name and Affiliation

    A. Name. The official name of this organization shall be the “Western Field Ornithologists’ California Bird Records Committee,” which may be shortened to the “California Bird Records Committee” and is hereafter referred to as the “Committee.”

    B. Affiliation. This is a committee of the Society known as the “Western Field Ornithologists.”