I have not seen any hummingbirds here in southeastern Potter Valley for weeks
and I haven't filled my feeders in even longer.
Anyone else noticing this?  Any ideas as to why?
Jim Armstrong

>>I have not seen any hummingbirds here in southeastern Potter Valley for weeks
>>and I haven't filled my feeders in even longer.
>>Anyone else noticing this? Any ideas as to why?
>>Jim Armstrong

I'm noticing the same thing here, at least they're not using the
feeders.  I am seeing some taking advantage of the cotton I hung out
in the garden last year and never removed.  I even put out more.  Up
on the ridges, the manzanita is blooming like gangbusters, maybe
they're there.  Things are different this year... I have a growing
flock of Purple Finches, and already 3 Band-tailed Pigeons.

Becky Stenberg
GlenBlair

There were 2 GREAT-TAILED GRACKLES this morning at about 9:30 on the
Nice-Lucerne Cutoff Road at the Rodman Slough  Bridge.   Jerry White

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

Has anyone with an IPhone used the birdseye app?  I am curious how well it
works.  Could it replace carrying Sibley with you?  I imagine the biggest
drawback might be when your bird in areas with no signal.

Karin Wandrei, PhD, LCSW
Consulting for the 21st Century
www.pacificsites.com/~kwandrei/
707-272-4074

Slide presentation on Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m., Ukiah Civic Center

Roger Foote, retired biologist and former president of Peregrine
Audubon Society, spent nine weeks in Australia last fall traveling
from the tropics in the north to the temperate zone in the south. He
will give a slide presentation of his trip on Thursday, March 18 at 7
p.m. at the Ukiah Civic Center. The program, which will include some
video and audio features, will focus primarily on Australia's
interesting and beautiful birds, but will also include Australia's
three classes of mammals (monotremes, marsupials, and placentals) as
well as other forms of wildlife such as crocodiles and crayfish.

"It's an incredible country–biologically very different from ours,"
says Foote. "Everything there seems exotic, including the foliage and
the people. Their hospitality is amazing." Black Swans, Little Penguins, and
Megapodes are but a few of the many unusual birds Foote photographed.
His mammalian scores include Wallabies, Kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils
and Quolls (the last two are carnivorous marsupials).

This Peregrine Audubon Society presentation is free to the public,
though donations will be welcome. The Ukiah Civic Center is at 300
Seminary Avenue. To join Peregrine Audubon Society and receive a
newsletter with regular announcements about programs and field trips,
please send $15 to PAS, P.O. Box 311, Ukiah, CA 95482. For more
information please go to www.peregrineaudubon.org.

Thu Mar 4, 2010---I was able to hang around the Rose Memorial Cemetary (Fort
Bragg) this morning for about an hour. Easily found the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
in the Banksia(sp.) Trees as previously reported. Also found a male RUFUS
HUMMINGBIRD and an EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE gathering nesting material. The
Eurasian Collared Dove is listed as not observed nesting in Mendocino. It's
almost certain that they do. Let's find a nesting pair and fill in that box in
the checklist. Bob let us know if that's been done.

Richard Hubacek
Little River

They nest in the fan palm on Cromwell Drive (off Eastside Calpella Road) just
north of Ukiah. It is really obvious they nest all over Ukiah and Redwood
Valley. Jack Booth

--- In Mendobirds@yahoogroups.com, "richhubie" <richhubie@...> wrote:
>
> Thu Mar 4, 2010---I was able to hang around the Rose Memorial Cemetary (Fort
Bragg) this morning for about an hour. Easily found the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
in the Banksia(sp.) Trees as previously reported. Also found a male RUFUS
HUMMINGBIRD and an EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE gathering nesting material. The
Eurasian Collared Dove is listed as not observed nesting in Mendocino. It's
almost certain that they do. Let's find a nesting pair and fill in that box in
the checklist. Bob let us know if that's been done.
>
> Richard Hubacek
> Little River
>

3/3/10 Chris Skyhawk just sent me his sighting of a BALD EAGLE on Wednesday,
March 3rd. He wrote, "I saw one over the hills here in Albion. We were going to
town around 11 AM and about to drop down the hill towards the highway when I saw
a very large group of vultures, about 30-35 or so, flying together in a large
spiral. I noticed one bird that did  not quite have the typical shape of a
vulture. With binoculars I could clearly see its eagle body with the white head.
The eagle suddenly pulled away from the vultures and headed south toward Salmon
Creek."

3/5/10 And this morning an OSPREY landed on a tree at my place in Anchor Bay. It
was wonderful hearing its calls.
      Jeanne Jackson

Fri, 5 March 2010 -- Today there was a vagrant FOX SPARROW that
had characteristics of both the Eastern RED and the Canadian SLATE-
COLORED races.  It was NOT just a P.i. zaboria.

If you look in your Sibley guide, he shows an intergrade between Red and
Slate that hybridizes in the Canadian Rockies.  The spotting on the white
breast and belly was really RED!!!  The auriclulars had a wash of red over
gray/brown.  The mantle was very smooth gray, as was the crown and nape.
There was some reddish on the wings, the rump and dorsal side of the tail.
The bill showed very little difference between the upper and lower mandible,
DULL, not yellow/pink.

I sent two awful pics to Bob Keiffer.  It was very cloudy, and I had to take
the photos from my "low-e" tinted windows.  Neither Jim nor I saw it this
afternoon.  I'll look again in the morning.

Karen & Jim Havlena
North of Fort Bragg, MEN, CA




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Greetings Mendobirders-  This morning at 845 I saw a SWAMP SPARROW at the
Ukiah Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The bird was in the thick vegetation
along the cyclone fence which borders the south levee from the (former)
pear orchard to the south.  The bird was half way down the levee, easterly,
towards the Russian River.  It was in the company of Lincoln's and Song
Sparrows.  Other birds of local interest out there were 2 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and at least 3 CLIFF SWALLOWS, the first I have seen
this spring.

Chuck




*********************************
Chuck and Barbara Vaughn
Ukiah, CA  95482

cevaughn@...

John Luther, Nikki White and I tried this morning for the Swamp Sparrow at the
Ukiah Treatment Ponds with no success.

The best birds we  found were Cliff Swallows, Violet-green Swallows and a
Wilson's Snipe.

                                                                      Jerry White

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9 March 2010 - For over 40 years I have kept an eye on a Great Blue Heron
nesting colony that is located near the Old river Road near Hopland.  As a
youngster, from around 1968 to 1974 I spent time watching this colony, even
collecting egg shell fragments from the ground after the chicks hatched.
During that era I recall numerous nests, definitely in excess of 40 or 50
nests atop the high Cottonwood trees.  The Valley Oaks Ranch, which at the
time was owned by Fred Haas, is the location of this colony, and is now
owned by Browns Foreman Corp./Fetzer Winery.  I knew Fred Haas personally,
and Mr. Haas and I had a verbal agreement that the colony was important and
was to be protected.  After the Fetzer family purchased the Valley Oaks
Ranch, I again, using the Peregrine Audubon Chapter as a platform, brought
the nesting colony to the attention of John Fetzer and Paul Dolan.  Under
their direction, they agreed to protect the colony, and the Peregrine
Audubon gave them a "Conservation Recognition Award".   This important
riparian grove is still undisturbed and protected by the current managers of
the Browns Foreman Corp-Valley Oaks/Fetzer Winery.



In that early 1960s/1970s era I sadly visited the colony one time after
poachers had illegally shot numerous adults from the nests with shotguns and
the ground was littered with carcasses.



Over the years I have witnessed this nesting colony diminish in size,
gradually dropping to fewer than 15 nests in recent years.  What I saw today
is even more shocking.  I could find ZERO nests in the tall cottonwoods of
the traditional riparian grove . a first to my knowledge.  I did find two
nests very near the Old River Road in a tall Calif. Valley oak tree, and
another three nests that I could see at a distance to the east of the winery
itself . again atop oak trees.  Possible there are a few more that I could
not see.



I cannot even guess as to why this change has taken place.  I do know, that
for some reason, the resident population of Great Blue Herons in the Sanel
Valley has plummeted over the last 40 years.   I speculate that it might
have something to do with the change of waterflow and timing of waterflow in
the Russian River but I cannot say for certain. there may be other factors
like changes in ag land practices, changes in fish populations, a drop in
open pasture land (where they feed for rodents, etc.).  I do NOT think it
has anything directly to do with the Brown-Foreman/Fetzer vineyards
operation . as they are doing a great job of not disturbing this pristine
riparian grove.



I do not intend this to be a "blog-type" report, but I thought folks would
be interested in the background behind my current observations.  Good
birding.  Bob Keiffer











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Hello birders.  I made a quick stop by the pond just north of the cemetery along
West Road in Potter Valley.  I was pleased to see 23 HOODED MERGANSERS (6 males
and 17 females), as well as single pairs of CANADA GOOSE, RING-NECKED DUCK,
MALLARD and AMERICAN WIGEON, as well as three pairs of BUFFLEHEADS.  This is the
same pond that hosted two male Eurasian Wigeons earlier this year.  Good
birding,

Matt Brady
Potter Vallet





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Tuesday March 9th
I spent about an hour plus in the morning looking for and listening for Sooty
Grouse in the vicinity of  the second cattle guard on Low Gap Road with no
success. Then on the drive back down towards Ukiah there was a  male SOOTY
GROUSE on the road. It immediately took flight and disappeared into the forest
below. This was about 2.6 miles west of the intersection of Low Gap and Pine
Ridge Road and about .5 miles west of milepost 16.97.

At the Ukiah Treatment Ponds there were 6 to 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallows;
the first ones I had seen this year.      Jerry White

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

Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m., Ukiah Civic Center

by Kate Marianchild

Swans in Australia are black.  Some Australian mammals lay eggs. Australian
people invite virtual strangers to stay with them in their homes.

Roger Foote, retired biologist and former president of Peregrine Audubon
Society, will share fascinating facts and images from "Down Under" during a
slide presentation entitled "Journey through Australia: Birds, Mammals,
Landscapes, and People" on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m., at the Ukiah Civic
Center. Roger spent nine weeks in Australia last fall, traveling from the
tropics in the extreme north to the temperate southern tip of Tasmania. His talk
will focus on Australia's birds and mammals, and will touch on the evolutionary
history of Australia's flora and fauna. He will also include several photographs
of aboriginal art, including ancient pictographs, and will describe the warmth,
friendliness, and hospitality of modern-day Australians. Audio and video clips
will illustrate several of the more memorable aspects of the trip.

"Marsupials, the dominant class of mammal in Australia, sometimes resemble our
placental mammals," Roger explains," but they have evolved independently and are
actually extremely different." In addition to photographs of well-known
herbivorous marsupials such as Wallabies and Kangaroos, he will show slides of
carnivorous marsupials such as Quolls and Tasmanian Devils. He also photographed
the Spiny Anteater, a member of the egg-laying class of mammals known as
"monotremes," as well as several placental mammals such as dingos and water
rats.

Roger found Australia's foliage, which is dominated by numerous eucalyptus and
acacia species, to be exotic. But it was the strange and different birds that
captured most of his photographic time and attention. Australia boasts colorful
wild birds that are found mainly as cage birds in the United States: parrots,
lorikeets, cockatoos, galahs, and rosellas. The country is also home to
penguins, cranes, swans, kookaberras, honey-eaters, night jars, pardalotes, and
megapodes. Megapodes are birds with big feet that build mounds of compost and
leave their eggs in them to be incubated by the heat generated by decomposing
organic matter. The Spotted Pardalote, a tiny bird with contrasting black and
white spots and orange highlights, was the trip's "jewel among jewels." Spotted
Pardalotes were nesting in their bank-side burrows while Roger was there.

This Peregrine Audubon Society presentation is free to the public, though
donations will be welcome. The Ukiah Civic Center is at 300 Seminary Avenue. To
join Peregrine Audubon Society and receive a newsletter with regular
announcements about programs and field trips, please send $15 to PAS, P.O. Box
311, Ukiah, CA 95482. For more information please go to
www.peregrineaudubon.org.

Monday - 15 March 2010 - I was wondering if anyone has seen "AL" the Laysan
Albatross as Point Arena Cove since February 15th.  That was the last post
that I can find for the bird.  Based on the birds history over the last 16
years it usually leaves the area about this time of year (late Feb through
late March).  Please post if you have seen AL since Feb 15th.    Thanks &
Good birding.  Bob Keiffer



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

Monday 3/15/10 - I'm happy to report that Al, the Laysan Albatross, is still in
the waters of Point Arena Cove late this afternoon. After reading Bob's query I
asked Mel Smith to take a look and he called to let us know Al's still "in
town."
        Jeanne
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Robert J. Keiffer
   To: Mendobirds
   Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 12:05 PM
   Subject: [Mendobirds] status of "AL"



   Monday - 15 March 2010 - I was wondering if anyone has seen "AL" the Laysan
   Albatross as Point Arena Cove since February 15th. That was the last post
   that I can find for the bird. Based on the birds history over the last 16
   years it usually leaves the area about this time of year (late Feb through
   late March). Please post if you have seen AL since Feb 15th. Thanks &
   Good birding. Bob Keiffer

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





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Greetings!  I run a small organic farm in Elk, and as we have a very active bird
population I have started on the path of becoming a birder.  My father in law is
coming to visit this week, from Carmel.  He is serious about his list.  I saw
that there are Grey Jays in Van Damme, and would love to go with him to see
them.  Never have seen one here.  Any suggestions as to where to start?

Many thanks,
Kermit

Tue Mar 16, 2010--This morning I was able to easily find the COMMON MOORHEN that
has wintered at Lake Cleone. It was the only bird except for one coot visible at
the West end of the lake. Note that the parking lot is still closed. Best to
park at the visitor center. Also found 3 "singing" ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS. The
first I've heard this year. Also had 2 WOOD DUCKS which I haven't seen there in
some time.

At Virgin Creek Beach (Rocks, there's not much beach left)I was able to find a
ROCK SANDPIPER amongst a large flock of BLACK TURNSTONES (60+). Also had 2 (male
and female)HARLEQUIN DUCKS which I haven't seen much this winter. In fact I
finally found 2 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS which have been absent there since the
storms.

Richard Hubacek
Little River

"Journey through Australia: Birds, Mammals, Landscapes, People"
  Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m., Ukiah Civic Center

  To receive articles with photographs please email me with "list" in
  the subject line.

by Kate Marianchild

Swans in Australia are black.  Some Australian mammals lay eggs. Australian
people invite virtual strangers to stay with them in their homes.

Roger Foote, retired biologist and former president of Peregrine Audubon
Society, will share fascinating facts and images from "Down Under" during a
slide presentation entitled "Journey through Australia: Birds, Mammals,
Landscapes, and People" on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m., at the Ukiah Civic
Center. Roger spent nine weeks in Australia last fall, traveling from the
tropics in the extreme north to the temperate southern tip of Tasmania. His talk
will focus on Australia's birds and mammals, and will touch on the evolutionary
history of Australia's flora and fauna. He will also include several photographs
of aboriginal art, including ancient pictographs, and will describe the warmth,
friendliness, and hospitality of modern-day Australians. Audio and video clips
will illustrate several of the more memorable aspects of the trip.

"Marsupials, the dominant class of mammal in Australia, sometimes resemble our
placental mammals," Roger explains," but they have evolved independently and are
actually extremely different." In addition to photographs of well-known
herbivorous marsupials such as Wallabies and Kangaroos, he will show slides of
carnivorous marsupials such as Quolls and Tasmanian Devils. He also photographed
the Spiny Anteater, a member of the egg-laying class of mammals known as
"monotremes," as well as several placental mammals such as dingos and water
rats.

Roger found Australia's foliage, which is dominated by numerous eucalyptus and
acacia species, to be exotic. But it was the strange and different birds that
captured most of his photographic time and attention. Australia boasts colorful
wild birds that are found mainly as cage birds in the United States: parrots,
lorikeets, cockatoos, galahs, and rosellas. The country is also home to
penguins, cranes, swans, kookaberras, honey-eaters, night jars, pardalotes, and
megapodes. Megapodes are birds with big feet that build mounds of compost and
leave their eggs in them to be incubated by the heat generated by decomposing
organic matter. The Spotted Pardalote, a tiny bird with contrasting black and
white spots and orange highlights, was the trip's "jewel among jewels." Spotted
Pardalotes were nesting in their bank-side burrows while Roger was there.

This Peregrine Audubon Society presentation is free to the public, though
donations will be welcome. The Ukiah Civic Center is at 300 Seminary Avenue. To
join Peregrine Audubon Society and receive a newsletter with regular
announcements about programs and field trips, please send $15 to PAS, P.O. Box
311, Ukiah, CA 95482. For more information please go to
www.peregrineaudubon.org.

The next MCAS pelagic trip will be Sun, 16 May, 2010, from Fort Bragg.
We are happy to have Todd Easterla, Ron LeValley and Rob Fowler as
our leaders.
The meeting time is 7:30-am for an 8:00-am departure from Noyo harbor
aboard the Trek II.  There is plenty of free parking near the dock at the
Wharf Restaurant on NORTH Harbor Drive.

The cost will be $105* per person.  Pay by check or credit card.

[1]  To pay by CHECK, mail your check payable to MCAS with full names
and contact information of your party (email, phone and mailing addresses).
* MEN and LAK County residents ONLY cost is: $95-each.

MAIL your envelope addressed as follows:   C. McAllister - Pelagic
                                                               PO Box 332
                                                               Little River, CA 
95456

[2]  Payment by CREDIT CARD: Please contact Charlene by email with
your phone number and your availability, so she can call you.  NOTE:
credit card approval must be made several days before the trip. Cost
breakdown is the same: $95 (MEN & LAK residents) or $105 (all others).

Confirmations will be sent out later with directions, food to bring, attire,
and preventative measures for seasickness.

Thanks!




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While my Anna's numbers have increased a little, along with feeder use, I have
been seeing quite a few Allen's and Rufous hummers here in SE Potter.
These are not earliest records, but it is the first time I can remember the
Selasphorus guys' outnumbering the Anna's.
Jim Armstrong

20 March 2010 - Saturday -  At the Crofoot Ranch along Hwy 101 north of Hopland
there were 3 Greater White Fronted Geese, 5 Cackling Geese (Aleutians), and 1
female Hooded Merganser.   At the Talmage Beckstoffer Pond there was 1 Greater
White-fronted Goose.   At the Gielow Lane Pond, south of Talmage along Old River
Road, there were 2 female Hooded Mergansers, 4 Common Mergansers, 4 Bufflehead,
4 Ring-necked Ducks.  At Oak Manor neighborhood, there were still at least 3
Black-crowned Night-Herons in the redwood roost trees on Yosemite/Washo.   I
sure there were more there but I hesitate to stop and gawk with binocs since it
is in an urban subdivision.
  Good Birding.  Bob Keiffer

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Sat, 20 Mar 2010 -- This afternoon there was a group of at least 93
TRICOLORED BLACKBIRDS in the blackberry patch by the 10707 mailbox on East
Road in Potter Valley.  They have nested at this site for the last two
years.  Males outnumbered females 7:1, and they were chorusing and
displaying with their noisy caterwauling. There was no nest-building
activity today.  On the 17th I checked this spot and did not see a single
Tricolored. -- George Chaniot

Yesterday at the east end of Hunter's Lagoon in Manchester State Park I found
(heard only) an AMERICAN BITTERN.
It was first heard from the end of Barnegat Dr. To confirm I walked further east
from that location.
Later on the walk out to the Garcia River overlook, I came upon the 3 PACIFIC
GOLDEN-PLOVERS.
On the beach at the Garcia River there was a flock of 9 "Black" Brant with the
gull flock. Other birds of interest were first of the year arrivals (for me)
Allen's Hummingbird and Barn Swallow.   Jerry White

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22 March 2010 - The Mendocino County Bird Records Committee has reviewed Ron
LeValley's LEAST FLYCATCHER notes

and photographs and has ACCEPTED the observation as MEN's first county
record.  The bird was seen near Little River

on 17 October 2009.    Good birding.   Bob Keiffer.



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I have had no sighting of Al since Tuesday, March 16th. Several birders looked
long and hard yesterday, Sunday March 22, but there was no sign of our beloved
Albatross.
     Jeanne Jackson

Allen's Hummingbirds have been terrorizing my place since mid-February.
There was a big increase in numbers about 2 weeks ago.  It's hardly safe
to go outside right now.  Saturday one tried to drink from my shirt (red
patches in the plaid), then tried the (red fabric) wallet my wife was
holding, then tried the (orange) AWD letters on the side of my van.

Last Wednesday (March 17) there were Tree Swallows at MCBG, and the
Sunday before that (March 14) we saw Violet-Green Swallows (ID by Toby)
during the Van Damme birdwalk.

Cheers,
Tim Bray
Middle Ridge, Albion

Jerry White wrote:
>  Other birds of interest were first of the year arrivals (for me) Allen's
Hummingbird and Barn Swallow.   Jerry White
>
>
>

3/23/10 9:00 am Mel Smith checked at the Point Arena Cove and found Al, the
Laysan Albatross, peacefully floating on the water. He's still here.
       Jeanne Jackson

On Tuesday March 23rd I birded the two mountain roads M3 and Mendocino Pass
Road.

On M3 about .5 miles from the Eel River Station (thanks to George Chaniot and
Chuck Vaughn for information on this location)  there is a pullout/parking area
and a trail down to the Eel River. As I got close to the river I heard a CANYON
WREN calling from the north side of the Eel. I had tried this same location on
March 10th (in the snow) and was not successful. On that date I did see 2 Rock
Wrens (and a Bewick's Wren) on those same rock cliffs.
Later on March 23rd, about 8 miles up M3 I had a NORTHERN GOSHAWK.

Other birds of general interest on the day were; 2 Townsends Solitaires on M3
and 2 more on Mendocino Pass Rd. A Cassin's Finch on M3. A small flock of Mt.
Chickadees on each of the roads. Two Red-breasted Sapsuckers and 2 Pine Siskins
at snow line on Mendocino Pass Road.   Jerry White

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