There has been a similar Mockingbird discussion on both the Louisiana and
Texas bird lists this month. It seems most of the comments support the
theory that, "The Mockingbirds remember these birds' calls from previous
springs and begin to mimic their calls in anticipation of the coming
season."



See links:

http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/LOUI.html

http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/TEXS.html#1236744443



Jim Holmes

Yesterday in the ship turning basin (also called Lake Washington) at the
Port of Sacramento in Yolo County was a mixed flock of 28 western and
Clark's grebes. This is probably a normal number for this time of year,
but is the first time I have checked there in many years.



Michael Perrone

Department of Water Resources

Division of Environmental Services

3500 Industrial Blvd.

West Sacramento CA 95691

(916) 376-9788

mperrone@...

Today a Eurasian Collared Dove perched and called on the power line in
front of my place along Putah Creek between Winters and Davis. It
brought back memories of a day more than 50 years ago when as a
teenager I discovered the first "Türkentaube" (Turkish dove) in my
county in Northern Germany during the dove's remarkably rapid
expansion from the Near East and South Eastern Europe into all corners
of Western Europe. As I migrated West to California the dove now seems
to have caught up with me. If their success in Europe is any
indication we can expect that residents of Winters and Davis and
indeed all towns will soon hear their sharper Coo coos and rasping
flight calls mixed in with the melancholy notes of the Mourning Doves.


Manfred Kusch
Davis/Winters
makusch@...
707-678-1027



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I second that. Good job, Alison. Maybe a note to the Enterprise--is Jean Jackman still running a column? If so she might be able to put it in a short paragraph.




Roger Adamson

Davis, California

________________________________
From: David Stoebel [mailto:dave@...]
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 9:24 AM
To: 'Alison Kent'; 'Robin Leong'
Cc: MCTanner-Linne@...; DRSykes@...; 'CV Birds'; 'Mary Schiedt ((E-mail))'; 'Carl Schwedler'; 'Sami LaRocca'; 'Mel Bolinder'; 'Sid England'; 'Kevin Guse'; 'Ken Ealy ((E-mail))'; 'Allan Hollander ((E-mail))'; 'Chad Roberts'; Adamson, Roger; 'Mike Rushton'; 'Rick Meredith ((E-mail))'
Subject: RE: tree removal, Old Davis Road

Alison:

Well done! This is a great example of the kind of thing YAS does on a regular basis that few people ever learn about. How about putting a short note in the newsletter letting our members, and the politicians who receive (and actually read) it just to document this kind of important work.

Dave


From: Alison Kent [mailto:alkent@...]
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 9:04 AM
To: Robin Leong
Cc: MCTanner-Linne@...; DRSykes@...; CV Birds; Mary Schiedt ((E-mail)); Carl Schwedler; Sami LaRocca; Mel Bolinder; Sid England; Kevin Guse; Ken Ealy ((E-mail)); Allan Hollander ((E-mail)); Chad Roberts; Roger Adamson; Alison Kent; Dave Stoebel; Mike Rushton; Rick Meredith ((E-mail))
Subject: Re: tree removal, Old Davis Road

Dear all,

Thank you for your responses to my queries about tree work and nest disturbance.

I just got off the phone with Rick O'Neill of Solano Public Works. He has agreed to move his crew to work on trees elsewhere in the county. i explained that in this part of the country birds get started nesting very early, and that tree work might best be completed by the end of November if possible--not just on Old Davis Road. Legally we can't complain about the removal of dead trees that were being heavily used by Swainson's hawks for foraging up until this year, though I know there were bluebirds prospecting for nests in those trees earlier this year. But Rick did agree that power tools lower down in a tree in which a magpie is nesting up top constitutes "disturbance."

He was very grateful for the info and responsive and he wanted to know if he could contact me again to check on the status of things. I would like to encourage everyone to be alert to this kind of thing (which is almost always done in good faith with no knowledge of nesting habits of birds) and to contact the people responsible sooner rather than later when they run into this kind of issue.

Alison Kent


*************************************

Alison Kent

President

Yolo Audubon Society

alkent@...<mailto:alkent@...>

ali@...<mailto:ali@...>

http://www.yoloaudubon.org


It is the mission of Yolo Audubon Society to foster an appreciation of birds and other wildlife through educational programs and field trips, bring conservation issues to public awareness, and act to preserve Yolo County bird life and habitat.

Dear all,

Thank you for your responses to my queries about tree work and nest
disturbance.

I just got off the phone with Rick O'Neill of Solano Public Works. He
has agreed to move his crew to work on trees elsewhere in the county.
i explained that in this part of the country birds get started nesting
very early, and that tree work might best be completed by the end of
November if possible--not just on Old Davis Road. Legally we can't
complain about the removal of dead trees that were being heavily used
by Swainson's hawks for foraging up until this year, though I know
there were bluebirds prospecting for nests in those trees earlier this
year. But Rick did agree that power tools lower down in a tree in
which a magpie is nesting up top constitutes "disturbance."

He was very grateful for the info and responsive and he wanted to know
if he could contact me again to check on the status of things. I would
like to encourage everyone to be alert to this kind of thing (which is
almost always done in good faith with no knowledge of nesting habits
of birds) and to contact the people responsible sooner rather than
later when they run into this kind of issue.

Alison Kent

*************************************
Alison Kent
President
Yolo Audubon Society
alkent@...
ali@...
http://www.yoloaudubon.org

It is the mission of Yolo Audubon Society to foster an appreciation of
birds and other wildlife through educational programs and field trips,
bring conservation issues to public awareness, and act to preserve
Yolo County bird life and habitat.

Hi All. I had the good fortune to be out at the Davis waste water treatment ponds last wednesday while the sun was shining and Todd Easterla was standing next to me.
Todd had a group of us struggling gull watchers looking at the Slaty-backed Gull on one of the dikes when he spotted a 1st cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull right in front of us on one of the dikes very near the main road!
I took a few photos of these two species along with 1st cycle Glaucous Gull and a bird that Todd thought might be a 1st cycle Vega Gull?
I have posted the images (most of which are heavily cropped)in a gallery on my Smugmug site. Below is a link that I hope works. You might have to copy and paste it to your internet browser.

http://naturestoc.smugmug.com/gallery/7567830_cy8ct/1/489135796_GhdAj

Dan Brown,
Sacramento

PS. the preview of this post does not have a right side margin set properly and I can't seem to be able to correct it? Dan

Are you sure you want to send this message?

While accompanying a friend on a wildflower shoot on the S. Shore Lake Tulloch spur road I found a few White-throated Swifts over the cliffs to the East of the road just at the point where the road drops down into the river canyon. About 11:30 AM on Tuesday.

Bill Zachman
Groveland, CA
Tuolumne County

Hi all,

OK, I am not in the Central Valley, but am noticing a lot of reports from others. Today was the first day our resident mocker was imitating a Western Kingbird. I have not seen one here yet this year.

Best birding,
Denise Hamilton
Napa
napabirders@...

Dear Birders,

This morning I visited the Tall Forest and environs at the Cosumnes River
Preserve in Sacramento County. In hip boots I was still unable to wade out
to the Accidental Forest. There were lots of Wilson's snipe out that way.
If current water conditions persist for a while, perhaps they will breed
there again as they did in 2005. Water is still draining shallowly across
the road alongside Wood Duck Slough from the woodland into the slough. The
understory birds seem to have reclaimed those portions of the woods I could
reach- water racing over and around the berm at the pump station kept me on
the west side of the slough. There were still about 8- 10 golden-crowned
kinglets and 16-18 varied thrushes, the latter overdispersed and mostly
singing. One Audubon's warbler was giving this nasal, sneezy call that
reminded me more of magnolia warbler than anything else I could think of.

Waterfowl numbers on the county property were pretty good. Most were
American wigeon. There were some diving ducks out there, too. Best among
these were two redhead. Two scaup looked like greaters when the heads were
viewed from the side, but from the front the heads and bills looked too
narrow. When I retrieved my scope for a better look they were gone. There
were still two snow goose among the white-fronts this morning. I saw only
about 35 sandhill cranes.

I flushed a bald eagle from the trees west of the Equipment Pad on the way
out. It flew to the snag southeast of the TNC Barn. I think this is the
same bird, probably in its third cycle, that has been seen off and on for
more than a month now.

Sometimes sex is more important than safety. I should know this from human
behavior. Anyway, I came upon two raccoons in copulo along Wood Duck
Slough. Stopping briefly but not uncoupling, they watched me walk only part
way by before resuming. It's that time of year, I guess.

Best,
John Trochet

--
John Trochet
Sacramento, California
trochetj@...

Robin: Any idea who I'd call in Solano County to complain about the
tree work that's going on right now on walnuts in which YB magpies are
already nesting??

Thanks,
Alison


**************************
Alison Kent
Publications Coordinator
Wildlife Health Center
University of California, Davis
(530) 752-3809
alkent@...

Even though it's not Central Valley related, I can't resist my own favorite Northern Mockingbird story.  I was out recording around my home near Biloxi, MS, very early in the spring, still dark, and a Northern Mockingbird was doing his thing.  He got to Northern Cardinal, and immediately a nearby NC answered him.  The Mockingbird and Cardinal exchanged calls five or six times (I've still got the recording!) and then the Mockingbird went on in his reportoire, as if bored with a bird that could sing only one phrase!

 Lew Proudfoot
The Wind in My Face
Vancleave, MS




________________________________
From: Helen George <calliopehummingbird@...>
To: central_valley_birds@...; mrmcc1255 <mrmcc1255@...>
Sent: Monday, March 9, 2009 1:04:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CVBirds] More Mockingbird Mimicry


In the valley it is pulsating sprinklers and frogs on the tops of trees! 
 
Helen George
(when I lived in Fresno)

--- On Thu, 3/5/09, mrmcc1255 <mrmcc1255@yahoo. com> wrote:

From: mrmcc1255 <mrmcc1255@yahoo. com>
Subject: [CVBirds] More Mockingbird Mimicry
To: central_valley_ birds@yahoogroup s.com
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 9:51 PM

Hi everyone. I am enjoying all these wonderful observations of the diverse range of Mockingbird mimicry.

This is my most memorable Mockingbird observation: A few years ago I lived in Hayward, CA, 25 miles east of San Francisco for those of you not familiar with Hayward. One afternoon I heard a cat meowing from up high above me. Thinking there couldn't possibly be a cat high up on the utility poles, I decided to check anyway. That is right. A Mockingbitd was perched on the wire doing its finest feline interpretation. One of those things in life you soon don't forget.

Murray Cherkas
Pacifica

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Saturday, March 7, 2009.


I went birding to the Sierra Foothills and ended up at Bass Lake in
Mariposa County. I got out of the car to walk along the edge of the lake and birdwatch through my binoculars. I exited the car near the west side at Wishon Point, where I could hear light drumming. I looked up to track the sound and spotted slight movement in a tall Lodgepole Pine. I looked into my binoculars at a beautiful brown head. Brown? (I said to myself) What kind of woodpecker has a brown head? Hmmm... I continued watching and listening then went back to my car to consult my Sibley's field guide and grab my camera. How beautiful she was! I showed three photos I took of her to a local expert and he confirmed it was a Williamson's Sapsucker female, a National Audubon Watchlist Bird - and a new species to my life list.

"Watch the birdie" ~ Jill Rucker a.k.a. luv2bird,
Fresno, CA
www.luv2bird.blogspot.com

Hi all,

We spent some time checking out all the gulls on the levees of the sewage ponds late this morning, and returned in the afternoon around 2 pm. Checked out the levees again and then drove down the gravel road and stopped to scope at the dump and the pond below. The Glaucous Gull was quite visible, but we could not find any of the others. Trash was coming in continuously and the gulls were in a massive mob- a lot on the pond and many in the air. We tried to scan, but there was no way we could have found a rarity in those flocks. The freezing cold wind in the face wasn't helpful either!

Nothing unusual to report at the Davis Wetlands or Yolo Bypass (except one nice Bittern out in the open.) The clear air and the beautiful snow-covered mountains were spectacular!

Best birding,
Denise & David Hamilton
Napa
napabirders@...

Greetings CVBirders,

Sorry for the belated nature of this report, I was just recently added to the group.

In between stints at the Yolo County landfill studying gulls on Saturday 3/7/09, Elisabeth Koster of Burlingame and I made a stop at the UC Davis Arboretum.

The highlight was refinding the wintering male BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER that had been reported on the Davis xmas county. Elisabeth spotted the bird as it moved through a deciduous tree of some sort, west of Lake S-omething-or-other (sorry forgot the name). It was associating loosely with a flock of a half-dozen Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers.

East of the lake we came upon two WOOD DUCKS (m,f) hanging out in a wooded area at the edge of the artificial stream. Does anyone know if these are wild or feral?

Also seen was a flock of 150+ CEDAR WAXWINGS and a calling ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.


Good birding,
Dominik Mosur
San Francisco

Folks,

On Friday, 3/6, there were three Swainson's Hawks near the SRCSD Bufferlands
(one near one of last year's nests, which is now occupied by a Great Horned
Owl, and two just west of I-5). Today, 3/9, there were five (two apparent
pairs and one third wheel). For more info on the Bufferlands, visit
www.bufferlands.com

Yesterday mid-afternoon at the Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant, there were
two adult Glaucous Gulls in addition to at least one first winter bird.

In other news, singing Varied Thrushes continue in Folsom between the rodeo
grounds and upper Lake Natoma. In a group of seven Horned Grebes at Folsom
Lake near the Mormon Island access, one was molting into breeding plumage.
There were two Common Loons nearer Folsom Point.

All the best,

Chris Conard
Sacramento

In the valley it is pulsating sprinklers and frogs on the tops of trees! 
 
Helen George
(when I lived in Fresno)

but don't give up hope on continuing rarities. Gull numbers are always down 2/3 to 3/4 on Sundays, as there's no garbage delivery.



Steve Hampton
________________
Resource Economist
Office of Spill Prevention and Response
California Dept of Fish and Game
PO Box 944209
Sacramento, CA 94244-2090
-----------------------------------
(916) 323-4724 phone
(916) 324-8829 fax

Gil Ewing <gewing1@...> 3/8/2009 10:47 PM >>>

I arrived at the Davis Dump--Sewer Ponds area (Yolo Co.) late in the
afternoon and ran into several of our finest local birders, who told
me they had been there since 11AM without seeing any of the rare
gulls other than a single 1st-yr Glaucous gull.
My experience there was the same. The gull flock was smaller by
2/3--3/4 than previously. There were no gulls in any of the nearby
pastures. Looks like most of the gulls took advantage of the nice
weather to move on elsewhere.

There were two Rough-legged hawks (with 6 N. harriers and 2 Red-
tailed hawks) flying around the fields on the north side of Rd 28H
west of Rd 103, and a male Great-tailed grackle "singing" atop a
telephone pole across from the landfill.

Gil Ewing
Fair Oaks, Sacramento Co., CA


------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

The 300 Club rules see http://www.cvbirds.org/300%20Club.htm or below.



The "300 Club" members have seen 300 or more native bird species within the
CVBC's "official boundary" of the Central Valley. Also, our rules state
that for any California Bird Records Committee reviewed species, you can
only include records accepted by that committee. If you have reached this
300 goal, then send your list total and name to John Sterling
(jsterling@...). We hope that this will inspire more birders to
actively search the region for rare birds. Have fun! For a map of the
Central Valley's boundary, see Map
<file:///C:&#92;Users&#92;John%20Sterling&#92;Documents&#92;My%20Web%20Sites&#92;CVBC%20WEB&#92;Cali
Map.htm> . For more detailed maps, see the site produced by Jim Gain at:
http://www.stanislausbirds.org/BY2004/index.htm



John Sterling

VVVVVVVVVV



26 Palm Ave

Woodland, CA 95695

cell 530 908-3836

jsterling@...

I arrived at the Davis Dump--Sewer Ponds area (Yolo Co.) late in the afternoon and ran into several of our finest local birders, who told me they had been there since 11AM without seeing any of the rare gulls other than a single 1st-yr Glaucous gull.
My experience there was the same. The gull flock was smaller by 2/3--3/4 than previously. There were no gulls in any of the nearby pastures. Looks like most of the gulls took advantage of the nice weather to move on elsewhere.

There were two Rough-legged hawks (with 6 N. harriers and 2 Red- tailed hawks) flying around the fields on the north side of Rd 28H west of Rd 103, and a male Great-tailed grackle "singing" atop a telephone pole across from the landfill.

Gil Ewing
Fair Oaks, Sacramento Co., CA

Tuesday night is the rescheduled (from February) Guatemala program by Ted Beedy.
 
TUESDAY, March 10, 2009, 7:30 pm, 3700 Pacific Avenue, Central United Methodist Church in Stockton 
 
Ted Beedy, “ Guatemala ”
 
     Please join San Joaquin Audubon for this beautiful cultural and birding experience from Guatemala .  Ted participated in a two-week trip to Guatemala in February 2008 that was led by Keith Hansen and his wife, Patricia.  Keith and Patricia have their own tour group,“Sacred Monkey Tours ,” and they have guided many birding groups to Central America .  This was advertised to be both a birding and cultural trip, since Patricia grew up in Yucatan and is an expert on Mayan culture, textiles, and art.  During the trip they visited a variety of habitats from lowland tropical rainforest at Tikal , to the highest cloud forests at the top of Volcan San Pedro.  The group saw a total of almost 300 bird species.  Ted’s photos will show many of the birds and cultural experiences the group shared on this amazing trip.
     Ted Beedy has almost 30 years of experience as a professional wildlife biologist.  Prior to starting his own firm “Beedy Environmental Consulting” in May 2006, he worked for more than 20 years as a Senior Biologist at Jones & Stokes in Sacramento .  Ted has studied wildlife throughout California , with an emphasis on special-status birds including Harlequin Ducks, California Gnatcatchers, Willow Flycatchers, and Tricolored Blackbirds.  He has a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of California , Davis .  He is currently co-authoring a new book with David Lukas, A Guide to Birds of the Sierra Nevada, that will have color illustrations of more than 320 species of Sierra birds prepared by Keith Hansen. 
 
Plenty of parking and everyone is invited.
 
Kasey Foley, Program Chair
San Joaquin Audubon Society
Stockton, CA

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