Western Birds Journal

Volume 53, No. 2

Published April 1, 2022

Issue description

Volume 53, number 2 of Western Birds, published 2022

Articles

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    BILL TWEIT, RYAN SHAW, MATT BARTELS (Author)

    TWELFTH REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE (2016–2018)

     Since its eleventh report (Merrill et al. 2019) the Washington Bird Records Committee has reviewed 219 new reports of 80 species and 9 subspecies. Of these, 163 were accepted, an acceptance rate of 74%. Seven species and two subspecies/subspecies-groups were added to the Washington state checklist: the Purple Ga linule (Porphyrio martinicus), Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus), Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus), Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), Painted Redstart (Myioborus pictus), and Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), plus an eastern subspecies of the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia melodia/atlantica group) and the White-winged Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis aikeni). In addition to the regular review of reports, the committee reconsidered species on the state list supported only by sight reports. After reviewing 25 reports of 17 species, it removed six species from the state list: the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), Little Curlew (Numenius minutus), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), Whiskered Auklet (Aethia pygmaea), Red-faced Cormorant (Urile urile), and Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus). The Washington state list now stands at 515 species.

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    THOMAS A. BENSON, DEBORAH J. HOUSE, GUY McCASKIE, ALEX M. RINKERT, RYAN S. TERRILL (Author)

    THE 46TH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE: 2020 RECORDS

     From its last report through 2020, the California Bird Records Committee reached decisions on 206 records involving 195 individuals of 67 species and two species groups, endorsing 180 records of 169 individuals. Especially notable records detailed in this report include those of California’s third Common Crane (Grus grus), third Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis), third Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatalis), third Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis), fourth Chuck-will’s-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis), and fourth Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savanna).

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    WILLIAM R. EVANS (Author)

    PRESUMED NOCTURNAL FLIGHT CALL OF THE GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE

     A large sample of nocturnal flight calls of warblers and sparrows recorded on the outskirts of Nogales, Arizona, from mid-August through October 2015 included an unknown call-type that has not been documented in extensive monitoring of nocturnal flight calls across the eastern United States. Though variable, it averages 213 milliseconds in duration and consists of two simultaneous sounds differing in pitch and whose frequency is often modulated at a rate about 59 hertz. The call-type occurred primarily during September with a peak in the middle of the month. This corresponds with the peak in migration of the Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus) near Nogales. That species affords the closest match to
    a diurnal contact call of a migratory species common in the area whose nocturnal flight call is as yet undescribed.

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    SCOTT E. DIETRICH (Author)

    DIET OF NESTLING WILLOW FLYCATCHERS IN MEADOWS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

     I used video observations to quantify the diet of nestling Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii) at six nests in two meadows (Middle Perazzo and Lacey) on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, california. Prey fed to the nestlings consisted primarily of Diptera (24%), odonata (22%), Ephemeroptera (16%), Lepidoptera (12%), and raphidioptera (12%). other less abundant taxa in the diet included orthoptera, coleoptera, and hymenoptera. Aquatic insects such as Ephemeroptera and odonata were fed more commonly at the five nests at Middle Perazzo Meadow, whereas terrestrial insects such as pollinating Diptera, hymenoptera, orthoptera, and raphidioptera predominated at the single nest observed at Lacey Meadow. At Middle Perazzo Meadow nestlings in nests situated closer to the meadow’s edge were fed more raphidioptera, whereas those in nests farther from the edge were fed more Ephemeroptera and odonata. raphidioptera were fed more frequently in the morning and evening, whereas Diptera, hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, hemiptera, and orthoptera were generally more frequently offered in the middle part of the day. Ephemeroptera were most often provided in the afternoon and evening while feedings with odonata fluctuated little through the day.

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    D. JULIAN TATTONI, KATIE LABARBERA, CHARLES HATHCOCK (Author)

    INCIDENCE AND EXTENT OF ECCENTRIC PREFORMATIVE MOLT IN THE CALIFORNIA AND CANYON TOWHEES

     Temperate-zone passerines undergo a preformative molt during their first cycle, typically within a few weeks or months after fledging (howell et al. 2003). For most species, this molt is partial, encompassing all body and head feathers plus a variable number of wing coverts but no remiges or rectrices (Pyle 1997a). in some species, however, the preformative molt also includes a variable number of flight feathers. one common pattern of such incomplete molt is an eccentric replacement in which the outermost primaries and the innermost secondaries are replaced (Pyle 1997a, 1998). These patterns are useful among researchers who capture and band wild birds as they distinguish individuals in their first plumage cycle from those in their definitive cycle, in which all remiges are replaced (Pyle 1997a).

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    JONATHAN G. HARDES (Author)

    AN INTRODUCTION TO PREY OF THE MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL IN WALNUT CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

     The Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida), one of the three subspecies of the Spotted Owl recognized within the United States, is designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Arizona’s Walnut Canyon National Monument has been designated as critical habitat for it. This continuing study focuses on composition of the species’ diet through the identification of prey items found in its regurgitated pellets. Similar research has taken place in surrounding areas (Ganey 1992, Block et al. 2005; J. Ganey pers. comm., 2020), but this is the first such study within the national monument. In my pilot study, in 2018, my collaborators and I gathered 48 pellets (comprising 1600+ individual bones), then in 2020 an additional 70 pellets (comprising 3100+ individual bones). In total they included the bones of rodents, small passerine birds, shrews, bats, and a single owl. Pellets gathered in 2020 were dissected and analyzed in early 2021. At that time five Spotted Owl territories were known in the canyon.

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    OSCAR JOHNSON (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF THE YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER FOR THE EL PASO REGION OF TEXAS

     The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) breeds across the boreal forest from eastern interior alaska to Newfoundland and migrates through the eastern United States, including eastern Texas, to winter in central america (Oberholser 1974, Gross and Lowther 2011). It is rare west of central Texas (Oberholser 1974), with records from Big Bend National Park, Brewster county (Oberholser 1974; two specimens, 3 September 1968 and 1 September 1969), the Davis Mountains (Peterson and Zimmer 1998; 1 September 1994), and Balmorhea State Park, reeves county (Lockwood 2015; fall record with no date). The species is rare in adjacent New Mexico, with 28 individuals reported to the New Mexico Bird records committee, all from the far eastern counties of Eddy, De Baca, and roosevelt in fall migration (29 august–6 October, Sandy O. Williams III, pers. comm.). Farther west in arizona, california, and Nevada the species is a vagrant, with all records from late august to mid-October (Phillips et al. 1964, hamilton et al. 2007, Sullivan et al. 2009, https://ebird.org/), except for an exceptional mid-winter and an early June record from arizona (rosenberg and Witzeman 1999, rosenberg et al. 2017). The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is unrecorded from the El Paso region comprising El Pasocounty, western hudspeth county, and southern Doña ana county (New Mexico) (Paton et al. 2012). although not a comprehensive source, the eBird citizen-science database contains no records for the Trans-Pecos region of Texas; its westernmost Texas record is from Midland county (Sullivan et al. 2009, https://ebird.org/).

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    Jill Leichter (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: ALL ABOUT BIRDS

     On 1 March 2022, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology published seven field guides covering different regions of North America. Targeting “new and developing birders,” the “All About Birds” series represents a cross-platforming of photos and information culled from the lab’s outstanding web pages. Promotional materials claim that these “definitive” guides “provide the most up-to-date resources and expert coverage on bird species throughout North America.” So, does All About Birds, California live up to the hype?

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    George C. West (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: NORTH AMERICAN HUMMINGBIRDS: AN IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

     The hummingbird family includes many of the most beautiful species in North America—but also some of the most difficult to identify. George C. West’s North American Hummingbirds: An Identification Guide has successfully captured the beauty of this family and provided helpful field marks for aging, sexing, and identifying hummingbirds.

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    Robin Geske Wahl, Megan Wahl, Bill Tweit (Author)

    IN MEMORIAM TERENCE R. WAHL, 1930–2022

    Terence R. Wahl, 91, ornithologist,environmentalist, and patriarch to many, died at home on Thursday 17 February 2022. Born in Bellingham on 18 March 1930 to Ralph Wahl and Jean Kennedy Wahl,
    Terry graduated from the University of Washington, earning a degree in business, and attended New York University in Manhattan. In 1951 he married Robin Geske and entered the long-lived family business, Wahl’s department store in Bellingham.