Western Birds Journal

Volume 56, No. 2

Published April 1, 2025

Issue description

Volume 56, number 2 of Western Birds, published 2025

Articles

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    ROBERTO CARMONA, GERARDO MARRÓN, SERGIO ÁGUILA, ISABELLA MATA, SOFIA PÉREZ, SERGIO ALCALÁ, SELMA ÁVALOS, ARANZA MENDOZA, ENRIQUE FLORES, DAMIAN GONZÁLEZ, SERGIO FLORES RAMÍREZ (Author)

    UPDATE ON THE BREEDING DISTRIBUTION OF BELDING’S YELLOWTHROAT (GEOTHLYPIS BELDINGI)

    We update the list of locations occupied by Belding’s Yellowthroat (Geothlypis beldingi), a species endemic to Baja California Sur, on the basis of surveys in June/July 2024, during which we visited most of the oases in the state. A total of 69 sites were surveyed: 25 in the north (San Ignacio to San Javier; G. b. goldmani), 30 in the south (La Paz to Cabo San Lucas; G. b. beldingi), and 14 in the central region. Of these, 13 oases lacked both suitable habitat and yellowthroats, while 14 had suitable habitat but no detection of the species. We documented both habitat and yellowthroats at 42 sites, grouped into 31 distinct locations. Among these, 17 had previous records, six had older records but no recent sightings, and eight had no previous records. Of the previously occupied locations where we found no yellowthroats in 2024, one was in the northern region, two were in the central region (the only central localities reported in the literature), and three were in the southern region. Of the newly identified locations, three were in the north, five were in the south, and none were in the central region. It is possible that other small oases, unmapped and difficult of access, were not included in this study. The lack of records in the central region suggests that the northern (G. b. goldmani) and southern (G. b. beldingi) populations remain isolated or were so in 2024.

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    GARY FALXA (Author)

    THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO IN NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA

    Prior to 2000, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) had been recorded in northwestern California (defined here as Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, northern Mendocino, and western Siskiyou counties) on six occasions, all in Humboldt County. To better understand the species’ status within this region, we surveyed for it during the breeding season in 20 of the 24 years from 2000 to 2023, primarily along the lower Eel River in Humboldt County and in suitable habitat elsewhere in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. We found the species to occur more frequently than previously known, detecting 1–3 individuals in 9 of the survey’s 20 years. Also, we evaluated the 23 incidental Yellow-billed Cuckoo observations during the same period; these include the first known records for Del Norte County. Most detections were within riparian scrub or riparian forest dominated by willows (Salix spp.) and Red Alders (Alnus rubra), often with scattered Black Cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa). Although no nests have been confirmed to date, observations imply occasional breeding in Humboldt County.

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    THOMAS A BENSON, JONATHAN S. FEENSTRA, DEBORAH J. HOUSE, JUSTYN T STAHL, RYAN S. TERRILL (Author)

    THE 48TH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE: 2022 RECORDS

    From its last report through 2022, the California Bird Records Committee reached decisions on 161 records of 70 species, endorsing 129 records. The first accepted records for California of Ainley's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates cheimonastes), Small-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris), Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), Wood Warbler (P. sibilatrix), and Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope) are outlined in this report. These additions bring California’s total list of accepted bird species to 685, of which 17 represent established introductions. Other notable records in this report include California’s second Gray-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes) and fourth Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), and Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus).

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    GUY McCASKIE (Author)

    RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE AVIFAUNA OF THE SALTON SINK

    In spite of many environmental changes that disfavor birds, from 2002 through 2024 the list of bird species recorded within the Salton Sink in southeastern California and adjacent Baja California increased from 413 to 459 species. Four additions are the result of taxonomic changes in which one species was split into two, but the others are the addition of 40 native and two non-native species, the result of continued coverage of the Salton Sink by professional biologists and knowledgeable birders.

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    SCOTT G. SOMERSHOE (Author)

    SPOTTED TOWHEE MIMICRY OF A BLUE JAY

    On 27 March 2024 I video- and audio-recorded a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) mimicking the “jay” call of the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) at Centennial, Colorado. Although the closely related Eastern Towhee (P. erythrophthalmus) has been noted imitating other birds a few times, the only previous report of the Spotted Towhee mimicking dates to the 19th century.

     

     

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    PAUL HENDRICKS (Author)

    LOGS USED AS NEST SITES BY THE AMERICAN DIPPER

    During spring and summer 2024 I followed activities at an American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) nest built in an exposed site on the end of a horizontal log overhanging Rattlesnake Creek, Missoula County, Montana—the first log reported as a dipper nest site on this creek, which has been the focus of prior studies of the American Dipper’s breeding biology. Logs are rarely reported as nest sites in interior western North America (1% of 452 dipper nests) but are used more frequently near the coast (13% of 319 nests); use of logs also varies among sites within the coastal region. Reasons for regional differences in log use are not clear but could include the abundance of logs in surveyed streams, specific attributes of available logs or log jams, the availability of other nest substrates, and differences in the sizes of dipper territories, which could preclude occupancy of otherwise suitable nest sites.