Volume 17, No. 3

W. David Shuford (Author)

HAVE ORNITHOLOGISTS OR BREEDING RED- BREASTED SAPSUCKERS EXTENDED THEIR RANGE IN COASTAL CALIFORNIA?

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Grinnell and Miller (1944) mapped the breeding range of the Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) in coastal California as extending south in Mendocino County to just below the Big River on the west and to Mt. Sanhedrin on the east (Figure 1).

The recent discovery of Red-breasted Sapsuckers breeding in coastal Marin County—about 165 km south of this limit (Laymon and Shuford 1980; Shuford 1985)—along with the knowledge of a number of recent unpublished breeding records from northern Sonoma County (B.D. Parmeter, pers. comm.) prompted me to investigate the extent of this apparent range extension.

THOMAS A. GATZ, PAUL L. HEGDAL (Author)

LOCAL WINTER MOVEMENTS OF FOUR RAPTOR SPECIES IN CENTRAL COLORADO

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Although most North American raptors are migratory (Bent 1937, 1938), considerably less emphasis has been placed on studying wintering habitat than breeding habitat. Newton (1979) noted that relatively few raptor studies have been conducted during the winter.

Wilkinson and Debban (1980) stated that little is known about wintering habitat preferences for any raptor species (but see Southern 1963; Weller 1964; Schnell 1968; Edwards 1969; Koplin 1973; Page and Whitacre 1975; Parker and Campbell 1984; Fisher et al. 1984). Consequently, it is difficult to predict the effects of winter habitat alterations on raptor populations.

WILLIAM H. BALTOSSER (Author)

SEASONAL ANALYSIS OF A SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN BIRD COMMUNITY

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The lower Gila River Valley of southwestern New Mexico contains some of the finest riparian habitat and most diverse wildlife associations in the entire lower Colorado River drainage (Zimmerman 1970, 1975; Hubbard 1971; Johnson et al. 1974). Over two-thirds of New Mexico’s total of 449 bird species are known from the valley (Zimmerman 1975; Hubbard 1977).

In addition, the New Mexico portion of the Gila River Valley contains the greatest diversity of raptors in the lower Colorado River drainage, as well as the largest number of endangered, threatened, and peripheral bird species(Johnson et al. 1974).

JOSEPH R. JEHL (Author)

THE CASPIAN TERN AT MONO LAKE

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The largest of the tern species, the Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) breeds at both coastal and inland localities. The species was very localized in western North America until the 1940s, when a major expansion occurred. A second wave of colonization took place from the mid-1960s through the 1970s, and by the early 1980s, 20 colonies totaling approximately 6,000 pairs were known from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Baja California (Gill and Mewaldt 1983).

SCOTT L. FINDHOLT (Author)

NEW AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN NESTING COLONY IN WYOMING

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Five comprehensive surveys of American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) nesting colonies were conducted in the United States between 1931 and 1982 (Thompson 1933; Lies and Behle 1966; Sloan 1973a, 1982; Sidle et al. 1985). In 1979, Sloan (1982) found only 17 active breeding colonies in the United States. Although this represented an increase of three nesting colonies since 1972, the overall breeding population had declined (Sloan 1973a, 1973b, 1982). Therefore, Sloan (1982) recommended that the species be classified as threatened.

JAMES W. CORNETT (Author)

GILA WOODPECKER NESTING IN NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA

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The range of the Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) closely coincides with the distribution of the Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and Cardon (Pachycereus pringlei) cacti of the Sonoran Desert (Robbins et al. 1983). The woodpeckers’ nest cavities are usually excavated in the trunks and branches of these giant succulents and, to a lesser extent, in cottonwoods (Populus), mesquite (Prosopis), and willow (Salix) (Bent 1939).

The range of the Cardon extends to within 130 km of the U.S. border (Wiggins 1980), and presumably Gila Woodpeckers nest in this region. There is one record of a Gila Woodpecker from “Las Palmas Canyon” in extreme northern Baja, beyond the range of the Cardon (Grinnell 1928). Unfortunately, the precise location of “Las Palmas Canyon” is unknown and could be any of several canyons draining the eastern slopes of the Sierra Juarez that harbor palms.

JOHN W. WEBER (Author)

FIRST VERIFIED RECORD OF THE MEW GULL FOR IDAHO

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The first report of the Mew Gull (Larus canus) for Idaho was an unverified sighting I made of two adults on a gravel bar in the Clearwater River at Lewiston, Nez Perce County, on 23 April 1978 (Weber 1981).

To my knowledge, the first verified record is of a subadult bird I photographed at the public beach at Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, on 22 July 1982. This gull, which had several flecks of black on a white tail but was otherwise in adult plumage, was in a flock of about 50 Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis).

The original photograph (on file at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello) clearly shows the field marks of this species: unmarked, short greenish-yellow bill; greenish-yellow legs; and dark eyes. In addition, the Mew Gull was slightly smaller and had a darker mantle than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. The black and white print (Fig. 1) shows the short, unmarked bill and dark eyes.