Western Birds Journal

Volume 20, No. 2

Published April 1, 1989

Issue description

Volume 20, number 2 of Western Birds, published 1989

Articles

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    WILLIAM H. BALTOSSER (Author)

    COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD: ITS DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS

    Although Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae) is a common species of the arid Southwest, its status remains poorly understood or poorly documented in much of its range. This is due in part to the female and young of this species being frequently inseparable in the field by sight from those of Black-chinned (Archilochus alexandri), Ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris), and, to a certain extent, Anna’s (Calypte anna) hummingbirds. The problem is further compounded by recent range expansions and by apparent resurgence into some areas of historic occurrence where, until recently, there had been few records since the late 1800s. Aids to identification recently published by Baltosser (1987) and the references cited therein provide sufficient information to identify virtually any bird in the hand and even many seen at close distances. In addition, the call of Costa’s Hummingbird is diagnostic (Stiles 1971) and being learned by many observers. In time, therefore, some of the inherent mystery associated with this and similar species may dissipate.

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    ERIKA M. WILSON, BETTIE R. HARRIMAN (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF THE TEREK SANDPIPER IN CALIFORNIA

    On 28 August 1988, while birding at Carmel River State Beach, Monterey County, California (36°32' N, 121°57' W), we discovered an adult Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus). We watched this Eurasian vagrant between 1110 and 1135 PDT; we saw it again, along with local birders, between 1215 and 1240 as it foraged on the open beach. Wilson observed the bird a third time on 5 September 1988 between 1000 and 1130; others saw it regularly until 23 September 1988.

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    MARY D. HALTERMAN, STEPHEN A. LAYMON, MARY J. WHITFIELD (Author)

    STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELF OWL IN CALIFORNIA

    In California, the Elf Owl (Micrathene whitneyi) has been found only in riparian habitats and scattered stands of Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) along the lower Colorado River and at a few desert oases (Grinnell and Miller 1944). Although the species has never been numerous in California, there has apparently been a population decline. Surveys in 1978 and 1979 located 11 and 6 pairs of Elf Owls, respectively, at two locations along the lower Colorado River (Cardiff 1978, 1979). Cardiff’s (1978) complete record of the 28 Elf Owl sightings made in California prior to 1978 identified eight locations where the species has been found. We gathered 10 additional records made since 1979 (Table 1). All recent records were for either Soto Ranch or near Water Wheel Camp. Since 1979, habitat destruction has continued, resulting in the loss of much of the remaining cottonwood-willow and mesquite bosques (C. Hunter and B. Anderson pers. comm.). This loss is due to the proliferation of tamarisk (Tamarix chinensis), agricultural clearing, bank stabilization projects, urbanization, and recent sustained flooding (Laymon and Halterman 1987). This loss and its potential effect on Elf Owls prompted this survey during the spring of 1987.

    The objectives of this study were to (1) identify and survey areas where Elf Owls had been reported during and since the 1979 survey, (2) identify and survey other areas of potential Elf Owl habitat, (3) determine the size and distribution of the breeding population of Elf Owls in California, (4) describe the physiographic features and vegetation of the sites surveyed, (5) assess the condition of the sites, including potential threats, and (6) develop recommendations to halt and possibly reverse the decline of Elf Owls in California.

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    PHIL GORDON, JOSEPH MORLAN, DON ROBERSON (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF THE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL IN CALIFORNIA

    In the afternoon of 1 September 1978, Phil Gordon and his son Geoffrey were fishing near their camp at Mosquito Lake in the Salmon-Trinity Alps Wilderness Area, Trinity County, California. This area is at an elevation of 6600 feet (2010 m), about 7 miles west of the Scott Mountain summit on county highway 3. The 20-acre lake is in a small glacial cirque basin below a crest that divides Siskiyou and Trinity counties.

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    THOMAS A. OBERBAUER, CATHY CIBIT, ERIC LICHTWARDT (Author)

    NOTES FROM ISLA GUADALUPE

    In March of 1988, we visited Isla Guadalupe, Baja California, for three days. On the 28th, we camped under the Guadalupe Cypress (Cupressus guadalupensis) grove in the central highlands of the island and another group camped at the spring in the upper portion of the large crater in the northern part of the island. On the 29th, we visited the pines and palms in the northwestern part of the island. On the 30th, the group landed at the south end of the island. Visitation to the island is restricted by the Mexican government and allowed only with proper permits. A new graded but steep and rugged road extends from the northeast anchorage past the cypress grove and the newly surfaced airstrip to the village near Melpomene Cove at the southern end of the island. Feral goats, cats, and dogs are common. The goats and cats have decimated the biota of the island (Lindsay 1966; Howell and Cade 1954), especially in the northern parts.

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    CHARLES LECK (Author)

    NOTES: SUNBATHING IN THE BROWN CREEPER

    On 22 August 1988 at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz County, California, I observed a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) move into a sunlit portion of a trunk of a Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and subsequently go through a sunbathing sequence. During this period the creeper spread its wings and tail, maximizing exposure to the bright sunbeam (Figure 1). Previously the bird had been foraging on well-shaded areas of the trees; when sunbathing it frequently kept its eyes closed as if it had difficulty adapting to the intensity of the direct sunlight. After a few minutes of sunbathing it did some preening, and then resumed foraging on trunks nearby.

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    STEPHEN F. BAILEY (Author)

    NOTES: FIRST RECORD OF CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW IN CALIFORNIA

    On the evening of 16 October 1986 Mr. William Levett of 460 Fairway Drive, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, California, found a strange bird hopping and fluttering in the road on his block. He took it to the wildlife rehabilitation department of the Peninsula Humane Society in San Mateo on 17 October. There Sandi Stadler tentatively identified it as a Chuck-will’s-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis). That afternoon, I confirmed the identification and photographed the live bird in the hand, using direct sunlight and Ektachrome 400 film (Figures 1 and 2).

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    BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEES

    Please send detailed descriptions and photographs documenting rare bird sightings to the addresses below.

    Arizona: Janet Witzeman, 4619 E. Arcadia Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85018
    California: Don Roberson, 282 Grove Acre Ave., Pacific Grove, CA 93950
    Colorado: CFO Records Committee, Denver Museum of Natural History, City Park, Denver, CO 80205
    Idaho: Dr. C. H. Trost, Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 8007, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209
    New Mexico: John P. Hubbard, 2016 Valle Rio, Santa Fe, NM 87501
    Oregon: Oregon Bird Records Committee, P.O. Box 10373, Eugene, OR 97440
    Utah: Utah Ornithological Society, Ella D. Sorensen, 3868 Marsha Dr., West Valley City, UT 84120
    Vancouver, British Columbia: Wayne C. Weber, 303-9153 Saturna Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V3J 7K1
    Washington: Phil Mattocks, 915 E. Third Ave., Ellensburg, WA 98926