Volume 11, number 1 of Western Birds, published 1980
I dedicate this paper to Shirley Wells. Without her untiring efforts and constant encouragement I might never have completed the checklist. Shirley had been carefully compiling records of bird abundance on the peninsula for many years. Her records, combined with my own extensive card file, formed the heart of the list. Shirley’s enthusiasm and expertise inspired all of us who had the pleasure of her acquaintance.
As slowly reproducing top carnivores, most raptors can be considered potentially endangered (Miller and Botkin 1974). Therefore, accurate data on population trends and their causes, such as pesticide accumulation or habitat alteration, are urgently needed. Olendorff and Kochert (unpublished manuscript) recently stressed the importance of preserving breeding habitat for successful raptor management and conservation. However, considerably less emphasis has been placed on wintering habitat, even though most North American raptors are migratory (Bent 1937, 1938). Relatively little is known about wintering habitat preferences for any raptor species (but see Weller 1964, Schnell 1968 and Koplin 1973); consequently, it is difficult to predict the effects of wintering habitat alterations on raptor populations.
Although the Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus) is found in western North America from Guatemala to Canada (AOU 1957), Reilly (1968) and Winter (1974) concur that little is known concerning the biology of this small, inconspicuous bird. Henry Henshaw suggested that the paucity of information regarding this small owl of montane forests may be due to its secretive behavior rather than actual rarity (Oberholser 1899). In fact, trained observers have recently discovered it to be locally common in some areas (Winter 1971).
During a study of the impact of pesticides on breeding birds in the Pike National Forest, Colorado, we located three Flammulated Owl nests. The nests were all found in 1971 within 6.4 km of each other, about 13 km north and northwest of Divide, Teller County, Colorado. One nest produced two young birds which were orphaned, removed from the nest and raised in captivity. Each of the other two nests fledged three young. Because they were obtained in research incidental to other work, our data on nesting, growth and development of wild and captive nestlings are not extensive.
On 20 April 1978 at 0900, a subadult Short-tailed Albatross (Diomedea albatrus) was observed and photographed (Figure 1) from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories' R/V Oconostota, approximately 80 km WNW of Monterey Bay, California (36°14.9’ N, 123°01.8’ W). The bird circled the stern of the boat a few times, once within 20 meters, and then departed.
Identification was based upon the characteristically large pink bill, blackish-brown hind neck, mottled belly (white to pale brown), and black tail feathers with a white base. The rest of the body was dark brown, but not as dark as a Black-footed Albatross (D. nigripes).
Observations at a bird-feeding station in southeastern Arizona over several winters indicate that, if food is provided, it is possible for the larger native hummingbirds—Rivoli's Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) and Blue-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis clemenciae)—to survive periods of subfreezing temperatures, even while spending considerable time and energy defending artificial nectar feeders.
Prior to the winter of 1973–74, there were few records of these two species wintering in southern Arizona, although Christmas Bird Counts at Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains included one or both species from 1969 through 1971. In 1973–74, a female Blue-throat spent the winter near Portal, in the Chiricahua Mountains, visiting several feeding stations. That was a relatively mild winter, with temperatures rarely going below freezing. Since that year, we have had one or two individuals of either or both species winter over each year, feeding on an artificial nectar mixture of 5 parts water to 1 part sugar. On cold nights, we brought nectar feeders indoors to prevent freezing, returning them to outdoor hangers at daybreak.
On 23 August 1978, Tom Lund found a lone gray-backed godwit (Limosa sp.), which he tentatively identified as a Hudsonian Godwit (L. haemastica), near the ponds at the base of the South Jetty of the Columbia River, Clatsop County, Oregon. However, he was unable to observe the coloration of the underwings and the extent of the white stripe on the upper wing surfaces—both features required to distinguish the Hudsonian Godwit from the similar Black-tailed Godwit(L. limosa) of Palaearctic distribution. Lund described the bird as being in full basic plumage, with a plain gray back (pers. comm.). Tad Finnell and Brian Egger obtained brief views of what appeared to be the same bird on 24 August, but they too were unable to note the critical field marks. The bird could not be located after that date.
The Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) has generally been considered a rare winter visitant in California, most frequently found in the northeastern portion of the state (Grinnell and Miller, Pac. Coast Avif. No. 27, 1944). McCaskie (Western Birds 4:65–70, 1973) summarized all California records and demonstrated that the Tree Sparrow was somewhat more abundant and wide-ranging than previously realized, listing five spring records (May and June) from the Farallon Islands and one on board a ship farther south. He suggested that a record for 14 June might be the latest south of the Canadian border. More recent spring records from the Farallon Islands (American Birds 29:906, 1975; 31:1045, 1977; 31:1187, 1977) extend the latest date to 26 June.
Nest-helpers and polyandric trios are known to occur in a few diurnal raptor species (de Vries 1973, Mader 1975, Wiley 1975, Wegner 1976). Among owls, polyandry has been reported in the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and in Tengmalm’s (Boreal) Owl (Aegolius funereus), while polygyny has been reported in the Common Scops Owl (Otus scops), Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca), Tawny Owl (Strix aluco), and Tengmalm’s Owl (references in Kondratzki and Altmüller 1976).
Because actual genetic investment in the clutch is almost never known in such cases, we use the term helper in the broad sense of another conspecific that assists in the reproductive effort. The helper may be a former offspring of the nesting pair with no direct genetic investment, or a polyandrous female’s or polygynous male’s mate with a variable amount of genetic investment.
Of the two major facets of helping behavior—feeding of young and defense of nest/young—the former would be exceptionally difficult to observe in strigiform birds. This paper reports circumstances, including nest defense, which suggest the presence of a helper at a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) nest.
At about 0930 on 19 June 1977, we observed a Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) on the north side of Castle Rock, located near the south end of Lopez Island, Puget Sound, San Juan County, Washington. The bird was hopping and flying along the rocks just above the water level. We were able to observe this bird for about 2 minutes before losing sight of it. We did not observe feeding behavior by this bird.
However, on 28 July 1977, we observed a Dipper feeding on beach hoppers (Orchestia traskiana) stirred up by construction activity along Rosario Beach, Fidalgo Island, in Skagit County. This bird appeared quite tame and approached human activity within a few meters.
Miller et al. (1935) did not include this species in their listing of the birds of the San Juan Islands. Dawson (1909) noted that the Dipper "retires to lower levels, even rarely, to sea coast in winter," and Jewett (1953) wrote that this bird is a resident in Washington "from near sea level to timberline." However, we can find no record of Dippers frequenting coastal areas during the summer months, or of shoreline feeding activities such as we observed (e.g., see also Kitchen 1934, Larrison 1942, Wahl and Paulson 1974).
Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) indicated that Dippers are found regularly from Unimak Island to Unalaska Island in the Aleutians, and on all the major islands of southeastern Alaska. But again, no mention is made of the presence of these birds in a marine habitat.
