Tue, 20 Jan 2004 -- At about 11:15 today I had a BURROWING OWL visible from
the knoll above the pond on Burris Lane, Potter Valley. In 25+ years of
visiting this spot this is only the second time I've seen one here. Other
people have reported them occasionally in the Burris Lane/Pine Avenue area
through the years. This bird was sunning itself atop a clump of rocks on a
hillside to the NE. As I was watching it through the scope, it stretched up
tall looking at something and then hopped down quickly behind the rocks.
Immediately a PRAIRIE FALCON flew through the field of view low over the
rocks. The owl did not reappear during the next 45 min. Maybe there is a
secure burrow back there. To the list of raptors seen recently from this
spot add Red-shouldered Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Burrowing Owl.
         At 11:00 the AMERICAN DIPPER was singing again under the old bridge
on Potter Valley Road. To the list of birds which have begun singing in the
last week add White-breasted Nuthatch and Oak Titmouse.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA

The Lake County Burrowing Owl was seen today by at least 3 people (at different
times during the day) at its location near the Hidden Valley Treatment Plant.
Jerry White


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

Add three Black-shouldered Kites (with white tails) to the growing
list of recent raptor sightings (9?) on Burris Lane.  They were about
a mile west of the pond (my house) and were soaring quite high for
their normal hunting routine.

Hoping to be in Mendecino this weekend or next, to search for the Barred Owls,
Rock Sandpiper and other rocky shorebirds, and to pay a visit to the Laysan
Albatross.  While we are there, are there any locations for Gray Jay locally? 
Thanks -

Jennifer Rycenga
Half Moon Bay

Greetings Mendobirders:  There was a Snow Goose on the south pond at the
Ukiah Sewage Treatment Plant this morning.  It flew over to the middle pond
while I was walking along the S levee.  Despite all the water out there,
there is a miserable assortment of waterfowl present (MALL, BUFF, NOSH,
GWTE).  Neither those ponds nor Lake Mendocino have attracted any
assortment of ducks this winter.  Maybe they just didn't get here?

Chuck

Dear Mendobirders - Peggy and I had a fine, fun day along the Mendocino
coast on Sunday January 25.  Thanks to all who gave fine directions to the
GRAY JAYS - we had three right at the Visitor's Center of Van Damme park,
albeit they scorned the bread we offered from our subs.  Otherwise a solid
day of 65 species.  We had the LAYSAN ALBATROSS at Point Arena (3rd year
I've visited Al), plus a PEREGRINE FALCON at the Point, who flew leisurely
for a while, then made a fast pass at the ocean, coming up empty (we think
maybe he was just washing his feet!).  At the Mendocino Botanical Gardens,
we had a two VARIED THRUSH.  We were surprised, generally, at how little
activity there was on the ocean, and how few shorebirds were around in the
Ft. Bragg area.  On previous trips, I had seen a good mix of rocky
shorebirds at McKerricher, but this time, except for a very large flock of
BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS (circa 40) and a few BLACK TURNSTONES, high tide did
not yield anything more unusual - is this a weekend problem?

We came for shorebirds and seabirds, we got raptors!  RED-TAILED HAWK,
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, COOPER'S HAWK, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, WHITE-TAILED KITE,
the aforementioned PEREGRINE FALCON, AMERICAN KESTREL, and a FERRUGINOUS
HAWK along SR1 about 8 miles north of Point Arena.  It seems it is quite a
good year for FERRUGINOUS HAWKS throughout northern California - my county
lists are all looking the finer for it!

Thanks also to the staff at the Audubon center, who were very helpful -

Jennifer Rycenga and Peggy Macres
Half Moon Bay

FYI  PLEASE FORWARD THIS INFO TO THOSE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED,
   THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE GEESE,
   Rick Hiser~Festival Coordinator




   6th Annual ALEUTIAN GOOSE FESTIVAL


   Spring 2004 ~ March 26-28


   Join us for great birding on the extreme Northcoast of California and
   celebrate Spring with the return of the once endangered Aleutian Canada
   Goose. Back from the brink of extinction, this little goose now numbers
   over 50,000. Delisted in 2001, this bird is an Endangered Species Act
   success story.


   Our three day festival offers 65 workshops and field trips highlighting
   the birds, animals and awesome natural beauty found here in the home of
   Redwood National & State Parks.


   We ask for your assistance in sharing this information with your friends
   and associates. Please forward this notice to those that you know who
   would find this of particular personal interest.


   HIGHLIGHTS from this year's festival.
         Keynote Speaker, Peter Pyle formerly with the Point Reyes Bird
         Observatory," Trans-Pacific Migrations".
         A look at the Klamath River, A Yurok Way of Life from the Yurok
         American Indian cultural perspective, where the salmon is regarded
         as a sacred gift.
         Examine the "Biscuit Fire" for an on the ground look at what two
         years of natural recovery has done.
         Pelagic Trip during Spring offshore migration, Albatross.
         Shearwaters, etc.
         River Drift Boat Trips on the Wild & Scenic Smith River for
         birding, redwood ecology, geology.
         Del Norte "Big Day" ~ Gulls ~ Spotted Owls ~ Wood Ducks
         Klamath Basin 2 day post -festival trip for inland birds.

   Visit our web site for complete info and online registration


   www.aleutiangoosefestival.org


   Call to receive our program booklet or for more information:
   800-343-8300 ~ 707-465-0888

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   GODWIT DAYS - APRIL 16-18, 2004
   Godwit Days, Spring Migration Bird Festival ~ April 16-18, Arcata, CA.
         Keynote by Donald Janssen,"Captive Breeding Programs and
         Conservation."
         100+ Fieldtrips & Workshops
         Bird Fair/Art Show
         Live Birds of Prey
         800-908-WING
   www.godwitdays.com


  Also WFO/WBBA meetings Ashland  OR,  9-12 September 2004
TWS Western Section, inc SNPL (25th)  26-29 February 2004, Rohnert Park
Field Trip to Marin Sunday 29th Feb


Robert W. Hewitt
Director, LBJ Enterprises   www.birdjobs.com
1707 E Street #5, Eureka, CA 95501

(707) 442-0339, fax (707) 260-0632, cell (707) 845-3189
lbjent@...

Godwit Days Steering Committee  www.godwitdays.com
April 16-19, 2004  9th Annual, 232 species cumulative.

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

Wed, 28 Jan 2004 -- This afternoon at 2:45 at the end of Burris Lane,
Potter Valley, I saw the BURROWING OWL sitting on the same rock as I
reported on Jan 20. The rock in question is in an isolated clump of
rocks half-way up the distant grassy slope to the NE. You are not
going to get a satisfying look at this fellow without a scope since
it is maybe 400 m off.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA

At Clam Beach just north of Arcata I saw a red gull yesterday.  The
gull was brown and looked just like the other gulls it was hanging
out with, except it had large patches of red on it.  There was a
patch on the back of its head and along its wings and tail.  All the
coloring was symmetrical, so it wasn't blood or paint.  Has anyone
seen a gull like this or know why it was colored that way?
Also, at Clam Beach last weekend I saw a burrowing owl near the
mouth of the Little River.

Greetings Mendobirders-  There were 6 Tree Swallows over the permanent
pasture at HREC earlier today.  Those were the first I've seen this
year.  It was nice to hear their excited bubbling.  Time to dust off your
optics!!

Chuck




***********************************
Chuck and Barbara Vaughn
1550 Deerwood Drive
Ukiah, CA  95482

cevaughn@...

ARCTIC EXPLORER PRESENTS SLIDE SHOW AT MENDOCINO AUDUBON MEETING


Record-breaking arctic explorer Pam Flowers will share slides and
stories from her solo 2,500-mile dog mushing expedition across the
arctic from Barrow, Alaska to Repulse Bay, Canada. Flowers is a
registered respiratory therapist who currently earns her living by
public speaking and writing.  In 1996 Pam became the 14th recipient of
the "Gold Medal from the Society of Woman Geographers," following in the
footsteps of Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead, and Jane Goodall. In 1991,
Pam was named an "Outsider of the Year" by Outside magazine. She has
participated in nine Arctic expeditions, seven by dog team, two by
snowmachine. Pam has completed the 1049 mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race,
reached the Magnetic North Pole three times, traveled north over the
frozen Arctic Ocean farther north than any other solo woman and
completed the longest solo dog sled journey on record by a woman.


Audiences will hear about intense blizzards that kept her stranded for
days, melting pack ice literally breaking up beneath her and the team, a
terrifying run-in with polar bears and more. Learn about dog mushing and
the arctic, how she prepared for this amazing expedition and met the
generous people who helped her when all hope was lost.  The presentation
is open to the public and will be held Monday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m.
at the Caspar Community Center.  For further information call 937-1742
or 962-9413.


Charlene McAllister
P.O. Box 332
Little River, CA 95456
707-937-4463
email: charmac@...



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

Mendocino Coast Audubon has scheduled a spring Pelagic Trip for Sunday,
May 16, 2004.  To register now, send your check for $70.00 ($60.00 for
MCAS members) to MCAS 18214 N. Highway1 Fort Bragg, CA  95437.
Confirmations with instructions will be sent out two weeks before the
trip.  For further information call  Dorothy "Toby" Tobkin at
(707)964-6216 or email charmac@....



Charlene McAllister, MCAS
P.O. Box 332
Little River, CA 95456
707-937-4463
email: charmac@...



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

Hello,

We are flying out from Washington DC to look for the "AL" the Laysan
Albatross in Point Arena Cove from Feb 12-15.  After hopefully
seeing the Albatross, we would like to devote our attention to
trying to find Mountain Quail.  Does anyone have any suggestions on
how and were to look?  We have tried for Mountain Quail 4-5 times so
far and always seem to come up empty handed.  Any thoughts would be
appreciated.  You can email me directly at jk@...

Thanks in advance for any help.

JK

Yesterday (Sun Feb 28) I spent a little time birding the south Mendo
coast.  At 0900 "Al" the LAYSAN ALBATROSS in the harbor at Arena Cove.
Scoping from the Point Arena lighthouse produced only two NORTHERN
FULMARS.  At Brushy Creek were a couple hundred TUNDRA SWANS as well as
six SNOW GEESE and one ROSS'S GOOSE.  The FERRUGINOUS HAWK at mm 26.92
on Hwy 1 was ready and waiting when I drove by.  Finally, one
BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was among the large group of gulls roosting at
Navarro Beach.

Good Birding
Matthew Matthiessen
Ukiah, CA


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

Greetings Mendobirders,
So far this year I've been up to Lake Mendocino three times and have yet
to see a single LESSER SCAUP.  GREATER SCAUP are easy to find though
numbers seem to be significantly lower than normal (actually the numbers
of ducks in general seems to be very low).  It's been my experience that
the split between LESC and GRSC on the lake is fairly even.  Has anyone
seen a LESC on the lake this year and if so from where?  How many were
seen on the CBC and what was the ratio between scaup species?  Any
theories on where they are?

Matthew Matthiessen
Ukiah, CA


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

Humboldt County bird summary Friday January 30 - Friday February 6 2004



Here is what's been reported over the last week. We are trying to get our
local information out at least during this Spring in the lead up to both
Godwit Days, and the Aleutian Canada Goose Festival (see below) Our
apologies for any errors in this general bird information.



At the Mad River Slough Wildlife Area Rob Fowler reported 2 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE flying east on February 6.



At Iverson Ave in Arcata, Steve Tucker had a MERLIN on February 5.



In Rio Dell Gary Lester reported a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.  It was at the end
of Davis Road in the riparian next to the Eel River.



At King Salmon Jim Tietz reported a RED-NECKED GREBE, CASPIAN TERN, 2 COMMON
MERGANSWERS, HARLEQUIN DUCK and PEREGRINE FALCON.  At Humboldt Bay National
Wildlife Refuge there was a EURASIAN WIGEON, BALD EAGLE, GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, 2 CASPIAN TERNS and ~100 TUNDRA SWANS.



At the Mad River Slough Jim Tietz and Rebecca Greene had 12 SHORT-EARED
OWLS, 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS on January 31.

On February 1 they had 9 SHORT-EARED OWLS, 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS, MERLIN, BALD
EAGLE and an OSPREY.



At the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, Frank Anderson had a SWAMP SPARROW
down in the adjacent salt marsh on February 3.



At South G Street Elias Elias saw 2 BARN SWALLOWS at his residence, adjacent
to the Arcata Marsh.



At 2nd and H in old town Eureka, Gary Lester reported a male RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRD on February 3.



At the North Jetty of Humboldt Bay, Paul Rousch had a female HARLEQUIN DUCK
on the south side and a ROCK SANDPIPER out towards the head on February 1.



On Jacoby Creek Road Pablo Herrera heard a singing CALIFORNIA TOWHEE on
January 31. The bird was at a residence 3/4 of a mile past the junction with
Myrtle Ave/Old Arcata Road. at a house with a small pond that has red white
and blue herons and a giant bald eagle statue.  God bless America.



At HSU Rob Fowler saw a BALD EAGLE on February 1.  It was seen from the
walkway that goes over the 101, flying north.



At the Arcata Marsh Jeremy Kellerman reported the continuing COMMON MOORHEN.
On Klopp Lake there was a COMMON GOLDENEYE and a RED KNOT.  An OSPREY was
out in the bay.



Near the gun club in Manila Ron Ward reported a pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS on
January 31 calling from the spruce forest.



At the Arcata Marsh Frank Anderson reported the COMMON MOORHEN on January
30.  The bird was on Allen Marsh.



In the Arcata bottoms (Jackson Ranch and Lanphere roads) Kerry Ross reported
10000+ ALEUTIAN CANADA GEESE, 2 ROSS' GEESE and BARN SWALLOW on January 30.



Yours Rob Hewitt and Steve Tucker



LBJ Enterprises, Eureka, CA (707) 442-0339



www.godwitdays.com <http://www.godwitdays.com/>
www.aleutiangoosefestival.org <http://www.aleutiangoosefestival.org/>



April 16-18th      and     March 26-28th  2004









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

>So far this year I've been up to Lake Mendocino three times and have yet
>to see a single LESSER SCAUP.  GREATER SCAUP are easy to find though
>numbers seem to be significantly lower than normal (actually the numbers
>of ducks in general seems to be very low).  It's been my experience that
>the split between LESC and GRSC on the lake is fairly even.  Has anyone
>seen a LESC on the lake this year and if so from where?  How many were
>seen on the CBC and what was the ratio between scaup species?  Any
>theories on where they are?
>
>Matthew Matthiessen
>Ukiah, CA

         Matthew is on to something here. Lesser Scaup are very hard to find
at Lake Mendocino. In past years the numbers of scaup overwintering on Lake
Mendocino has been in the 1000-4000 range. This year the number is in the
150-300 range, and Lesser Scaup is almost absent. Unbeknownst to anyone but
myself, I have begun doing a weekly survey of the waterfowl on Lake
Mendocino, weather permitting, starting in Sep 2003. I had become concerned
with the low numbers of ducks in the 2002/03 winter and decided to start
documenting numbers. I have found a few Lesser Scaup, but it is difficult.
In the last two weeks the ratio of GRSC:LESC has been 124:3. The scaups
have been mainly in the north end in the Pomo A area and up in the inlet
almost to the Hwy 20 bridge.
         As for the low numbers of diving ducks, I am sticking to my
hypothesis that it is due to the draw-down of Lake Mendocino in the fall of
2002 causing destruction of the bottom fauna, principally the
fingernail-sized clams which the diving ducks and some dabbling ducks can
be seen to be eating. If this is true, I predict the numbers will begin to
increase in the coming years as the bottom fauna recovers.  In the fall of
2002 scaup arrived in usual numbers, but they did not remain even when the
water level came back up (Remember that Christmas Count?!). In the fall of
2003, the numbers never built up.
         In addition there has been a long-term decline in numbers of both
scaup since the 1960's becoming serious in the late 1990's. See
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/blubill/blubill.htm for a 1998
discussion.  I have heard that Ducks Unlimited has recently declared Lesser
Scaup a species of concern, but I don't know anything particular about
that.
         The Ukiah Christmas count numbers up to 2002 can be found at the
Peregrine Chapter Website.
http://www.pacificsites.com/~chaniot/peregrine.html
I am also concerned about the future of wintering waterfowl at Lake
Mendocino if the lake level is raised by 40 feet.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA

Thanks for the response and the numbers George.  One thing I was finding
curious was that although diving duck populations in general are
extremely low, COMMON MERGANSER numbers seem to be fairly consistent
with past years.  Maybe it's not so curious given your hypothesis that
the decrease in diving ducks is due to destruction of lake bottom fauna.
  Of the divers I would expect they would be least impacted by bottom
fauna changes therefore resulting in more stable numbers.

Matthew Matthiessen
Ukiah, CA

>>> <chaniot@...> 02/10/04 04:50PM >>>

>So far this year I've been up to Lake Mendocino three times and have
yet
>to see a single LESSER SCAUP. GREATER SCAUP are easy to find though
>numbers seem to be significantly lower than normal (actually the
numbers
>of ducks in general seems to be very low). It's been my experience that

>the split between LESC and GRSC on the lake is fairly even. Has anyone
>seen a LESC on the lake this year and if so from where? How many were
>seen on the CBC and what was the ratio between scaup species? Any
>theories on where they are?
>
>Matthew Matthiessen
>Ukiah, CA

Matthew is on to something here. Lesser Scaup are very hard to find
at Lake Mendocino. In past years the numbers of scaup overwintering on
Lake
Mendocino has been in the 1000-4000 range. This year the number is in
the
150-300 range, and Lesser Scaup is almost absent. Unbeknownst to anyone
but
myself, I have begun doing a weekly survey of the waterfowl on Lake
Mendocino, weather permitting, starting in Sep 2003. I had become
concerned
with the low numbers of ducks in the 2002/03 winter and decided to start

documenting numbers. I have found a few Lesser Scaup, but it is
difficult.
In the last two weeks the ratio of GRSC:LESC has been 124:3. The scaups
have been mainly in the north end in the Pomo A area and up in the inlet

almost to the Hwy 20 bridge.
As for the low numbers of diving ducks, I am sticking to my
hypothesis that it is due to the draw-down of Lake Mendocino in the fall
of
2002 causing destruction of the bottom fauna, principally the
fingernail-sized clams which the diving ducks and some dabbling ducks
can
be seen to be eating. If this is true, I predict the numbers will begin
to
increase in the coming years as the bottom fauna recovers. In the fall
of
2002 scaup arrived in usual numbers, but they did not remain even when
the
water level came back up (Remember that Christmas Count?!). In the fall
of
2003, the numbers never built up.
In addition there has been a long-term decline in numbers of both
scaup since the 1960's becoming serious in the late 1990's. See
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/blubill/blubill.htm for a 1998
discussion. I have heard that Ducks Unlimited has recently declared
Lesser
Scaup a species of concern, but I don't know anything particular about
that.
The Ukiah Christmas count numbers up to 2002 can be found at the
Peregrine Chapter Website.
http://www.pacificsites.com/~chaniot/peregrine.html
I am also concerned about the future of wintering waterfowl at Lake
Mendocino if the lake level is raised by 40 feet.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA






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

Sunday, February 15, 2004
A suspected Northern Shrike was seen at the mouth of Ten Mile River during
yesterday's MCAS field trip, but the bird flew before we could approach near
enough to confirm.  This morning I found the bird further south on the east side
of the haul road at Inglenook Creek. It is definitely a Northern Shrike.
Dave Jensen

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

Hi - anyone be able to help Don with this? - Thanks - Demian

>X-Sender: birdpix@...@pop.pacbell.yahoo.com
>Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 19:05:49 -0800
>To: vireos.man@...
>From: Don DesJardin <birdpix@...>
>Subject: Photo Needed
>
>Jim,
>I'm looking for a good photo of a Costa's x Anna's. Any good photo
>(35mm slide) including one taken in hand would work. It is needed
>for inclusion into a hummingbird ID video currently in progress. If
>you don't have one, could you do me a favor and put this request on
>the banding listserve if you are still subscribed and if this would
>be something that could be posted. The person wanting this is
>willing to pay for it. Thanks in advance....Don
>
>San Buenaventura, California, USA
>http://jabiru.org/birdsdesjardin/index.jsp

Humboldt Birds for Week Two February, 2004

At the Arcata Marsh Rob Fowler had a adult BALD EAGLE fly over on February
13.

At the base of Chezm Road Frank Anderson had a male NORTHERN
"YELLOW-SHAFTED" FLICKER along Redwood Creek on February 12.

In Eureka at Louise Bacon-Ogden's residence the female ORCHARD ORIOLE
continued on February 11 .

At Azalea (?) Hill Gary Lester had a BALD EAGLE fly over on February 8.

On Jackson Ranch Road, Arcata Bottoms, Brian Accord had a 35 TUNDRA SWANS on
February 8.

By the mouth of Jacoby Creek Brian Accord had a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on
February 7.

At the Arcata Marsh by the entrance sign on I Street Rob Fowler and Jen
Curtis had a YELLOW WARBLER in the Stika Spruce on February 8.  3 COMMON
YELLOWTHROATS were also at the marsh.

On Mad River Road in the Arcata Bottoms, where the road first meets the Mad
River Paul Springer had
a PALM WARBLER on February 8.

From the train tracks between the Simpson mill and Eureka, Jim Tietz had a
CLARK'S GREBE, CASPIAN TERN and 3 EURASIAN WIGEON on February 8.

On Monument Road Pablo Herrera and the RRAS field trip had 2 FERRUGINOUS
HAWKS going towards Bear River Ridge at the first large meadow on February
7.  On the ridge itself were HORNED LARKS, 2 GOLDEN EAGLES, 20+ WILSON'S
SNIPE, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL on the
descent into Ferndale.

At the Arcata Oxidation Ponds on February 6 Jim Tietz and Rebecca Greene had
an OSPREY, 3 BARN SWALLOWS and a "EURASIAN" GREEN-WINGED TEAL on the
mudflats south of the ponds.

In Willow Creek Abe Walston had a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at the intersection
of highways 96 and 299 at the kiosk and bigfoot statue.

At the intersection of 9th and F in Arcata Jim Tietz had a THAYER'S GULL (by
the baseball field) on February 4.

Jim Tietz and the HSU Ornithology class had 2 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 1 CASPIAN
TERN and 2 RED-NECKED GREBES at King Salmon on February 5.  At Humboldt Bay
NWR they had 2 EURASIAN WIGEON, 2 BALD EAGLES, 2 CASPIAN TERNS, GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, MERLIN and PEREGRINE FALCON.

All the best

Steve J. Tucker
Field Operations
Robert W. Hewitt
Director, LBJ Enterprises   www.birdjobs.com
1707 E Street #5, Eureka, CA 95501

(707) 442-0339, fax (707) 260-0632, cell (707) 845-3189
lbjent@...

Godwit Days Steering Committee  www.godwitdays.com
April 16-19, 2004  9th Annual, 232 species cumulative.

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

Wednesday, February 18, 2004,  As I drove south on Highway 101, south of
Hopland, I observed two adult Peregrine Falcons power-diving a Red-tailed
Hawk that was flying in front of the face of the large rock historically
known as Squaw Rock.    From the position of the birds  and their activity
I am guessing that the resident pair of Peregrines is once again nesting on
the ledge on the vertical face of the rock.   This ledge is about
three-quarters the way up the rock on the east-south-east facing side of
the rock ..... not the alternate nesting ledge on the northeast "mossy"
face of the rock.   Bob Keiffer

Robert J. Keiffer
Principal Supt. of Agriculture
UC Hopland Research & Extension Center
4070 University Road
Hopland, CA  95449
(707) 744-1424   FAX (707) 744-1040
HREC website:   http://danrrec.ucdavis.edu/hopland/home_page.html

"It is not the critic who counts... not the one who points out how the
strong person stumbles... or where the doer of deeds could have done
better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena."
Theodore Roosevelt

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

Saturday, Feb 21, I relocated the NORTHERN SHRIKE reported on the 15th
from the Ten Mile River area by David Jensen.  The bird was along the
Haul Rd about a half mile north of Inglenook Creek (about 1.5 miles
south of Ten Mile River) at 10:00.  At this location a small inlet from
the ocean comes in next to the road and there are trees and bushes on
the east side of the road.  The shrike was perched in the only tree on
the west side of the road (a small dead pine tree maybe four feet tall).
  I spotted the perched bird from about 100 yds away.  Unfortunately it
flew seconds later.  It disappeared to the southwest behind a mound and
even though I searched for another 90 minutes I was unable to relocate
it.

Also of interest were three BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and one ROCK
SANDPIPER at Laguna Point.

Matthew Matthiessen
Ukiah, CA


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

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 -- This evening just before sunset I saw a single MOUNTAIN
BLUEBIRD male with a flock of 10 Western Bluebirds on Pine Avenue in Potter
Valley. This was in the same area where Mountain Bluebirds appeared in 2001
and 2003 - along the road near the broad pullout on the right just before
the Pine Ave. crosses the creek about 3/4 mi. from East Road. A passing car
put the flock up, and they flew together to the oaks to the south. In past
years they have roamed widely throughout the whole area you can see from
the pullout and from the Pine Ave. Association sign a little further up the
road. The range of dates when they have been seen here before is 1 Feb - 6
Mar.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA

Tues, Feb 24, 2004 — This morning I went up to Pine Ave in Potter Valley to try
and photograph the Mountain Bluebird George reported yesterday.  Didn't find the
bluebird but did find a BURROWING OWL.  The bird was visible from the Pine Ave
Assoc. sign.  At the sign face to the southwest.  There is a fence running due
south about 50 m beyond the sign.  Locate the two wooden fenceposts with the
wooden cross beam joining them at the top.  Look over this crossbeam and into
the field beyond.  There is a dirt scrape in the field and the BUOW was sitting
in this small dirt patch.  I couldn't tell if there was a burrow here or just a
bare patch.

Matthew Matthiessen
Ukiah, CA


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Tue, 24 Feb 2004 -- As soon as I got Matthew's post, I went right back to
Pine Ave., having been there less than an hour earlier. Following his good
directions I found the BURROWING OWL sitting in the scrape just beyond the
pi-shaped fence posts. Only the top of its crown was visible from the Pine
Ave. Assoc. sign, but I walked up the road to the yellow 'SLOW' sign where
I could scope into the hole and see the owl's whole head. Hopefully this
bird will find the hole to its liking because it is less than 100 m from
the road and a nice view for this difficult Mendobird.
         No bluebirds of any species today, but the AMERICAN DIPPER was
singing somewhere near the old bridge on Potter Valley Road. Its favorite
rocks were covered by waters from last night's rains, but it could be heard
singing from some hidden location.
         Matthew's directions are copied below. For those unfamiliar with
Potter Valley, turn onto Potter Valley Road from Hwy 20 about six miles
east of Hwy 101. Follow  this road for 2.25 miles and continue straight on
East Road about 2 miles further. Turn right onto Pine Ave. and follow it
about one mile to the sign where the paved county road ends.

George Chaniot
Potter Valley, MEN, CA

The bird was visible from the Pine Ave Assoc. sign.  At the sign face to
the southwest.  There is a fence running due south about 50 m beyond the
sign.  Locate the two wooden fenceposts with the wooden cross beam joining
them at the top.  Look over this crossbeam and into the field beyond.
There is a dirt scrape in the field and the BUOW was sitting in this small
dirt patch.

Howdy Birdheads,
I am hoping that some of you can review these photos....especially Mr. Dunn,
Mr. Morlan, Mr. Singer, Mr. Webb and anyone else with more experience with
Iceland Gulls than I.  I photographed what I believe is an Iceland Gull at
McKerricher S.P. in Mendocino last Saturday.  Is this correct or is it
impossible to make a positive ID?  I anxiously await your feedback.

I have much better photos that I can send to you upon request (~1.2 mb), but
I only placed low resolution photos on my website.

I completely forgot about it until now when I put the images on my computer
because it was my first time using my digiscoping setup and I didn't think
that I had good results.  Also...I am ashamed to admit that I had casually
forgotten due to the general lack of CA birder's interest in Iceland Gull
because of its close taxonomic relationship to Thayer's Gull and I left the
bird as a "mystery gull" ID at the time.  A severe and uncharacteristic
lapse of judgement on my part.  Hope that some of you can refind the bird.
It was sitting on the beach at the parking lot to Laguna Point.

see the photos at http://www.cal.net/~ani/photos.htm

John

**********************************
John Sterling
26 Palm Ave
Woodland, CA 95695
530 668-8694 (home office)
530 668-1985 (home)
916 737-3000 ext 3593 (Sacramento office)
916 752-0899 (cell phone)

Wed, 25 Feb 2004 -- I don't want to wear out your interest in this bird,
but the BURROWING OWL on Pine Ave. was sitting outside the same hole in the
drizzle this afternoon. It dived down the hole when pelted by a spurt of
rain but came out shortly when it died down. It can disappear completely
from view down the hole.

George Chaniot

Thursday, February 26, 2004,  -   Greetings Mendocino county birders.   I
have just been contacted by Rickie Breaux, Volunteer Chairman of the
California Wood Duck Program (California Waterfowl Association), concerning
the need for a volunteer "district manager" for the wood duck program in
the North Coast area.   Many of you remember the late Malcolm King, who
held this volunteer position with much enthusiasm for several years before
his tragic accidental death.   Malcolm cooperated with a number of agencies
and landowners throughout the region and established many wood duck nest
box locations.   These nest boxes need routine checking and maintenance for
them to be successful to the wood ducks and to the program.   Malcolm also
spent time educating the public and especially our youth about the program.

If there is anyone out there with the desire to volunteer their time to
head up this program locally I'm sure you will be well rewarded with
gratitude and a sense of accomplishment for seeing results in the wood duck
population.   Mr. Breaux said that there are some resources available to
help the volunteer out ... but I am uncertain as to what these resources
are.   CWA will provide training... even to the point of allowing the
volunteer to leg band the ducks.

If anyone is interested please contact:  Rickie J.
Breaux   rickbro@...

Thanks,   Bob Keiffer

Robert J. Keiffer
Principal Supt. of Agriculture
UC Hopland Research & Extension Center
4070 University Road
Hopland, CA  95449
(707) 744-1424   FAX (707) 744-1040
HREC website:   http://danrrec.ucdavis.edu/hopland/home_page.html

"It is not the critic who counts... not the one who points out how the
strong person stumbles... or where the doer of deeds could have done
better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena."
Theodore Roosevelt

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I'm Hank Roberts, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I've been doing some restoration on a 40 acre inholding in the Mendocino
N.F., on Boardman Ridge, south of the peak of Hull Mtn. at 4600-5000' --
have got some grasp now of the botany and am starting to educate myself a
bit better on the birds.

I'd like to ask any advice about what I might be doing better to keep the
site friendly for birds, and invite any birders to visit or camp there.
It's behind a locked gate, dead-end access road; not fenced, but
relatively quiet.  There's a spring on the site, a mix of pine and oak and
open space, and way more living up there than I'll ever get to know, but
I'm looking to document what I can, leave a good record and make some
longterm provision for keeping the place in wildlife habitat, with hopes
someone will come back and study it in 50 years and see if we did anything
to help.

I live in Berkeley; got to know the area as a hang glider pilot, bought the
parcel shortly after the 1987 Mendenhall fire and then found I"d begun a
200 year project (grin) once I talked to the forest service experts about
what the place had been and had lost (a foot of topsoil gone in the past
century, maybe 2/3 of an inch left).

About half the area burned in Sept. 2003 -- very gracefully, about as well
as I had hoped and tried to prepare.  So it should be very interesting the
next spring to see what comes back -- the flickers were moving in last
October.

Of course there's not much left big enough for cavity nesters on the
mountain.  One question I have, if it's not already too late this spring,
is whether I should be trying to make some nest boxes.   I'd had five bird
boxes up there til the last fire, courtesy of a friend who makes them,
that got some use, but I think only one (screech owl sized) survived, and
I need a better idea of how to make a bird box that won't also become a
torch and do undue damage to a tree -- maybe a few layers of waterproof
gypsum board backing don't know.

The road up Hull may be open by now or may be snowed in for months yet, I
am not sure