Western Birds Journal

Volume 22, No. 2

Published April 1, 1991

Issue description

Volume 22, number 2 of Western Birds, published 1991

Articles

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    PETER PYLE, R. PHILIP HENDERSON (Author)

    THE BIRDS OF SOUTHEAST FARALLON ISLAND: OCCURRENCE AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF MIGRATORY SPECIES

    The small size and open terrain of Southeast Farallon Island, located 42 km west of San Francisco, provide ideal conditions for monitoring bird migration (DeSante and Ainley 1980, DeSante 1983). Recognizing this, ornithologists from the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) have conducted standardized censuses of all migrant bird species daily since 3 April 1968. DeSante and Ainley (1980) summarized the occurrence patterns of the 331 species recorded on the island from 1854 to 2 April 1976 and noted an additional 15 species observed through 2 October 1979. Here we update DeSante and Ainley, noting a total of 375 species recorded on Southeast Farallon Island through 31 December 1989, and summarizing the occurrence patterns of 359 migratory species, 20 intraspecific forms, and four interspecific hybrids recorded from 3 April 1968 through 31 December 1989. For each migratory species we provide seasonal arrival data for both spring and fall, which should reflect movement patterns along the adjacent California coast. This “22-year” data set will provide the basis for future analyses on the climatic factors that influence migrants’ arrival at the island and trends in the occurrence of species and biogeographical groups.

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    EVELYN L. BULL, HOWARD D. COOPER (Author)

    VAUX’S SWIFT NESTS IN HOLLOW TREES

    The Vaux’s Swift (Chaetura vauxi) is a little known and uncommon bird in northeastern Oregon. These migratory birds arrive there in early May and leave in September (Gabrielson and Jewett 1970) and are often seen in forests or towns during migration. Nests of this species most often have been reported to be in chimneys (Finley and Finley 1924, Davis 1937, Bent 1940, Griffee 1961, Baldwin and Hunter 1963, Thompson 1977), probably because such nests are more conspicuous and more easily located than those in hollow trees. Only four Vaux’s Swift nests in natural conditions in hollow trees have been reported in the literature (Taylor 1905, Baldwin and Zaczkowski 1963). Baldwin and Zaczkowski (1963) located three nests in hollow live Western Hemlocks (Tsuga heterophylla) with broken tops in Glacier National Park. Manuwal and Huff (1987) found Vaux’s Swifts in spring associated most strongly with old-growth stands in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of the Washington Cascade Range.

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    TIM MANOLIS (Author)

    ATLASING CALIFORNIA’S BREEDING BIRDS—COUNTY BY COUNTY

    Projects to map the distributions of breeding bird species in a given area by means of a grid-based system have grown in popularity worldwide since the first of these breeding bird atlases (as they have come to be known) began in Great Britain in the 1960s (e.g., see Laughlin et al., Am. Birds 36:6, 1982).

    In Europe and elsewhere atlas projects have often been national in scope. When atlasing hit North American shores, however, it fragmented into a state-by-state effort, and, as it made its way westward, into a county-by-county proposition.

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    MICHAEL A. PATTEN (Author)

    AN UPDATE FROM THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

    The California Bird Records Committee (CBRC) received 221 records in 1990. A similar number (213) of records was received in 1989, and this will probably be close to the annual average. The CBRC has reviewed about 2860 of the 3110 “published records” (as defined by Roberson, “News from the California Bird Records Committee,” W. Birds 20:269–271, 1989) through May 1990, which represents a review percentage of close to 92%.