Hi,

The only gull highlight I had at Doheny today was an adult Thayer's
Gull. Four Black Oystercatchers were feeding on the nearshore rocks. At
Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach, an obvious hybrid Black X American
Oystercatcher was feeding below the point at around 3pm. Well to the
south, I got shaky looks under windy conditions of the
relatively 'clean' American Oystercatcher. The only 'flaw' I could see
was a very narrow darkish strip down the center of the otherwise white
rump and uppertail coverts.

Jim Pike
Huntington Beach

birders,

I saw a "RED" FOX SPARROW yesterday in the shrubs surrounding the
parking lot at Harriet M. Wieder Regional Park in Huntington Beach.
This bird was first found by Brian Daniels in late December, I
believe. I did not see the Hammond's Flycatcher near the gulch, or
anything else unusual here.

At Bolsa Chica, I observed singles of PACIFIC-GOLDEN PLOVER and
REDDISH EGRET from the first overlook. I dipped on the Common
Goldeneyes that were reported on the Orange County RBA near the tide
gates. Earlier in the morning, I searched extensively for but did not
see the Tropical Kingbird on the west side of Huntington Central
Park.

In the afternoon, I had two RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS, one RED-NAPED
SAPSUCKER, and one RED-NAPED x RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER hybrid at
Irvine Regional Park in Orange.

cheers,

Neil Gilbert
Orange, CA
http://www.ocbirding.blogspot.com/

Sea & Sage Audubon
SJWS MONTHLY CENSUS REPORT for Feb. 2008
Below is a list of birds seen and/or heard on our February 1st census at
the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine.

NOTE OF SPECIAL INTEREST:
Due to the recent rains, all of the ponds were full of water and there
was very little habitat for wading shorebirds except around the very
edge of the ponds or on an island in the middle of a pond. Since most
shorebirds like to wade into the water when they feed, this really cut
down on the shorebird population. By pond 2, eleven Northern
Rough-winged Swallows were observed perched in a tree, which made
counting them much easier. In the open area by the boardwalk, beyond
pond C, a female Hooded Merganser was observed. Last month, we had an
American Bittern on the floating reeds in pond D. This month, there was
even more water in the pond and the Cinnamon Teals had “taken over”.
These ducks were swimming and walking and sitting all over the submerged
reeds along the sides of the pond. They and the Northern Shovelers
really seemed to like the “new duck ponds”. In another area of the
marsh, an Anna’s Hummingbird was found sitting on her nest. She was
discovered when our birders watched her flit around a leafless tree
picking insects off its twigs. See our chapter webpage for data on all
of our SJWS censuses:
http://www.seaandsageaudubon.org/BirdInfo/SJWScensus.htm

BIRDS SEEN AND/OR HEARD: (Birds observed in the San Diego Creek are
marked with parenthesis.)
Gadwall 7 (6)
American Wigeon 10
Mallard 55 (3)
Blue-winged Teal 4
Cinnamon Teal 70
Northern Shoveler 124
Green-winged Teal 42 (3)
Ring-necked Duck 3
Bufflehead 4
Hooded Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 75

Double-crested Cormorant 50 (1)
Great Blue Heron 3 (2)
Great Egret 2 (1)
Snowy Egret 6
Green Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 55 (1)
White-faced Ibis 1

Turkey Vulture 27
White-tailed Kite 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 4


Common Moorhen 2
American Coot 82 (16)

Black-necked Stilt 98

Spotted Sandpiper 1
Western Sandpiper 11

Ring-billed Gull 30
California Gull 8
Western Gull 1
Forster’s Tern 4

Mourning Dove 24
White-throated Swift 16
Anna’s Hummingbird 62
Allen's Hummingbird 1

Nuttall's Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1

Black Phoebe 18 (2)
Say’s Phoebe 3
Cassin’s Kingbird 16
Hutton’s Vireo 5

American Crow 33
Common Raven 1

Tree Swallow 36
N. Rough-winged Swallow 11
Cliff Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 6

Bushtit 91
Marsh Wren 22
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 20
Hermit Thrush 6
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 4
American Pipit 1
Cedar Waxwing 48
Phainopepla 1

Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 139
Common Yellowthroat 51 (4)

Spotted Towhee 18
Song Sparrow 128 (6)
White-crowned Sparrow 25

Red-winged Blackbird 19 (2)
Great-tailed Grackle 24
House Finch 73
Lesser Goldfinch 16
American Goldfinch 11



Nancy Kenyon
Irvine

Hey all,

Birded at Irvine Regional Park with my ornithology class this morning. We had
the Lewis'
woodpecker on dead snags in the creekbed. It was a good day for raptors too, we
had a
merlin, sharp-shinned hawk (which was cool because until now the class had only
seen
Cooper's) as well as a large red-tail, and some very vocal red-shoulders.

Otherwise, the park was generally birdy and many of the usual suspects for oak
woodlands
were present, like oak titmice, phainopeplas, and the omnipresent acorn
woodpeckers. Wood
ducks were a highlight species for the trip, but surprisingly, ring-necked ducks
were
missing, and in their place was a lone female lesser scaup.

Good birding!

Leigh Johnson
UC Irvine, CA

http://avidbirder.blogspot.com

birders,

Today I put in a long day, biking from my home in Orange to Upper
Newport Bay and back. I saw a single drake EURASIAN WIGEON about half-
way between San Joaquin Hills Road and Shellmaker Road along Back Bay
Drive. Other birds of note at UNB were at least twenty BLUE-WINGED
TEAL, one CLARK'S GREBE and three OSPREYS.

I had one GREATER ROADRUNNER at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in
Irvine, but I dipped on the Tropical Kingbird and the Hammond's
Flycatcher that were reported from there today. Also of interest was
the continuing Taveta Golden Weaver (escapee) in a small clump of
willows across the San Diego Creek from the Audubon House.

Farther up the San Diego Creek, near the Irvine Civic Center, I saw
three female COMMON MERGANSERS and several WILSON'S SNIPES.

good birding,

Neil Gilbert
Orange, CA
http://ocbirding.blogspot.com/

I'm pleased to announce that Sea and Sage Audubon Society has decided
to sponsor the phone line of the Orange County RBA.  Transfer of the
ownership of the phone line (and the billing) was accomplished today.
  In addition, some reimbursement for my recent costs was also approved
by the Society.

The phone number will not change, nor will the physical home of the
RBA answering machine (which is in my home office).

I will add wording to the phone announcements, as they are revised,
that the RBA is sponsored by Sea and Sage, and will add wording to the
Internet OrCoRBA Yahoo Group's messages that Sea and Sage is a sponsor
of this useful tool for county birders.

I thank Sea and Sage for making this possible.

Joel Weintraub
Dana Point, CA

Hi,

A belated message: Doug Willick and I refound the American Redstart in
Newport Beach that Marian Alter first found on the CBC. It was in
willows on the west side of the road at the intersection of Jamboree
and Santa Barbara. Later, I found a Hammond's Flycatcher in willows and
acacias below homes in the northeast end of the Big Canyon willows at
the Backbay. Counting the Hammond's that Brian Daniels and Leo Ohtsuki
found at San Joaquin Marsh over the weekend, this is the fifth one seen
this winter.

Jim Pike
Huntington Beach

This Friday evening, Feb. 15th, Hal Cohen will be presenting a program
on A CLOSER LOOK AT HAWKS for the Sea & Sage Audubon monthly meeting.

Borrego Springs is a stopover for thousands of hawks and vultures on
their journey from Argentina and Mexico to California, the plain states,
Canada and even Alaska. Join Hal Cohen to explore hawkwatching across
North America, especially the journey of Swainson's Hawks and several
other raptor species as they glide into Borrego Springs, roost for the
night, and continue their journey north. Learn to identify local hawk
species, their feeding behaviors and migration strategies. Finally take
a peek at the astounding hawk migration observed each fall and spring in
Veracruz, Mexico.

Hal Cohen honed his hawkwatching skills in the Midwest, establishing
hawkwatching sites in Illinois and Wisconsin. Hal is a retired professor
of biology, now a permanent resident of Borrego Springs, where he
discovered the bounty of hawks in 2003. Several volunteers assist Hal to
tabulate the migration of 11 species of hawks through the valley. Join
us for an evening of raptor ecology.

We hope you can join us for this special  program.  We meet at the
Irvine Ranch Water District Board Meeting Room at 15600 Sand Canyon
Avenue in Irvine.  The doors open at 7:00 and the meeting begins at 7:30
pm.

DIRECTIONS:
Our  meetings are held in the Board Meeting Room of the Irvine Ranch
Water District's main office on the east side of Sand Canyon Ave. at the
intersection of Water Works and Sand Canyon, in the city of Irvine.  If
you are coming by freeway, Sand Canyon may be accessed from either
Santa Ana Frwy (5) or San Diego Frwy (405);  there are ramps from both
the north and the south.  (The Irvine Ranch Water District neither
supports nor endorses the cause or activities of organizations which use
the district's meeting rooms, which are made available as a public service.)


Nancy Kenyon
Irvine

Hi all,

I'm a birder from WI and I was thinking of planning a birding trip to the
Orange county area from Jul 17 to sometime during the next week. I don't
know exactly how long yet. I only know that it would be hard for me to stay
more than a week.

I would be grateful if someone would inform me of any Pelagic trips that
might be running during that time, including who's running them and cost,
ect.

Thanks,
Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison, WI


On Feb 12, 2008 9:05 PM, vireos44 <jpike44@...> wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> A belated message: Doug Willick and I refound the American Redstart in
> Newport Beach that Marian Alter first found on the CBC. It was in
> willows on the west side of the road at the intersection of Jamboree
> and Santa Barbara. Later, I found a Hammond's Flycatcher in willows and
> acacias below homes in the northeast end of the Big Canyon willows at
> the Backbay. Counting the Hammond's that Brian Daniels and Leo Ohtsuki
> found at San Joaquin Marsh over the weekend, this is the fifth one seen
> this winter.
>
> Jim Pike
> Huntington Beach
>
>
>


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

While testing out a new camera lens this morning at Yorba Regional
Park, I spotted a pair of Canvasbacks among the usual suspects of
Mallards, Wigeons, Wood Ducks, Coots, Pied-billed grebes and Cinnamon
teal.

Sheri Peterson
Yorba Linda

The OC RBA reported earlier

PRAIRIE WARBLER, male, seen at the entrance of Crescent Bay Park in
north Laguna Beach last Sunday.

Does anyone have more information on this bird? has it been seen
again? Was this the first time it was reported?

Thanks,

Doug Aguillard
San Diego, CA
doug@...

I stopped by Bolsa Chica on Monday and Wednesday of this week, and saw
the REDDISH EGRET both times.  No Pacific Golden-Plover, however.
Also enjoyed my annual visit to the CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHERS of Crystal
Cove.

Good birding -

Jennifer Rycenga, Half Moon Bay, CA

Hi all,

Thanks to those who replied!  It seems there is a Jul 21 trip out of Santa
Barbara that I'll have to check out.

Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison WI


On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 9:51 PM, Chris West <swallowtailedkite@...>
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm a birder from WI and I was thinking of planning a birding trip to the
> Orange county area from Jul 17 to sometime during the next week. I don't
> know exactly how long yet. I only know that it would be hard for me to stay
> more than a week.
>
> I would be grateful if someone would inform me of any Pelagic trips that
> might be running during that time, including who's running them and cost,
> ect.
>
> Thanks,
> Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison, WI
>
>
> On Feb 12, 2008 9:05 PM, vireos44 <jpike44@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > A belated message: Doug Willick and I refound the American Redstart in
> > Newport Beach that Marian Alter first found on the CBC. It was in
> > willows on the west side of the road at the intersection of Jamboree
> > and Santa Barbara. Later, I found a Hammond's Flycatcher in willows and
> > acacias below homes in the northeast end of the Big Canyon willows at
> > the Backbay. Counting the Hammond's that Brian Daniels and Leo Ohtsuki
> > found at San Joaquin Marsh over the weekend, this is the fifth one seen
> > this winter.
> >
> > Jim Pike
> > Huntington Beach
> >
> >
> >
>
>


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

Hello all,

The Brown Creeper continues at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa. For a couple of
hours this
afternoon, it was working the pines on  the hill at the center of the park, and
was vocalizing
fairly regularly as it was doing this.

Glenn took numerous photos of the Creeper; if any turn out to his satisfaction,
I'll post them
at the link below.

Happy birding,

Felicia Lee
Costa Mesa, CA
http://yellowrump.blogspot.com

Hi everyone-

I want to thank Neil Gilbert for mentioning the Lewis's woodpecker at
Irvine Regional Park on multiple occasions.  Yesterday afternoon my
husband & I went to see if we could find him, and we did.  Another
new bird!  We went to parking lot 16 as Neil had mentioned, and
walked on the trail above the creek bed toward the east.  We saw the
bird in the distance in the tallest snag in the creek bed.  He flew
to two other trees while we were there, but stayed in the general
vicinity.  Amazing how pink his belly is.  I've cropped some photos
and posted them in a Lewis's woodpecker folder, in case anyone is
interested.

We also heard and saw parrots flying around the park, saw several
western bluebirds along with black phoebes and yellow rumps, and saw
one ring-necked duck among the mallards and wood ducks in the pond.

Good birding to all -

Joan Rubin
Mission Viejo

I was at the San Joaquin Wildlife Refuge in Irvine and noticed that a
Tropical Kingbird had been reported a few days ago so I looked for it in
the same location (between ponds 1 and 2) and almost immediately I
found, well, something. There were certainly a lot of Western Kingbirds
there, but one jumped out at me:

1. It appeared noticeably larger than all the other kingbirds around.

2. It seemed to have a notably longer bill, relative to its head size.

3. The bill appeared to have a small hook at the end, similar to that of
a Northern Shrike though not quite as pronounced. None of the other
kingbirds showed this. It was really the most distinguishing
characteristic. However I don't find this noted as a field mark in
Sibley or anywhere else I've consulted.

4. It did *not* have a greenish back. Maybe if you squinted your eyes in
the right light, you might call it green, but it's a stretch. How
pronounced is the green on the back of this bird?

5. I did not get a view from the front of the bird, so I was unable to
determine how far up the chest the yellow extended.

Thoughts? Was this a/the Tropical Kingbird, or just wishful birding?


--
Elliotte Rusty Harold  elharo@...
Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/

Over the last week I've noticed a number of Selasphorus Hummingbirds in
William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. One I would venture was a
definite Rufous (no obvious green on back at all). The rest were the
annoying "sps.": no easy way to tell whether they're Allen's or Rufous.

My question is whether time and location provide enough hints to ID
these. For instance, do we know that Rufous are likely here at this time
of year and Allen's are not? or vice versa?

--
Elliotte Rusty Harold  elharo@...
Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/

Hello,

I was at Village Pond Park in Lake Forest, which is off of Ridge Route
between Muirlands and Rockfield yesterday. In the pond, I noticed one
Eurasian wigeon with a number of American wigeons. I have seen a
Eurasian at this park a few times now in recent years.

Good luck,

Jeff Ahrens
Foothill Ranch

The quick and dirty answer is that Allen's Hummers are now resident in SoCal
year-round, thus can turn up nearly anywhere and anytime (making obvious
exceptions like the mountains in winter and the beach). Rufous H's are migrating
through SoCal right now and thus can turn up in numerous locations. For right
here and right now, that's not a lot of help.

Chuck Almdale
North Hills, CA

At 06:40 AM 2/18/2008, Elliotte Harold wrote:

>Over the last week I've noticed a number of Selasphorus Hummingbirds in
>William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. One I would venture was a
>definite Rufous (no obvious green on back at all). The rest were the
>annoying "sps.": no easy way to tell whether they're Allen's or Rufous.
>
>My question is whether time and location provide enough hints to ID
>these. For instance, do we know that Rufous are likely here at this time
>of year and Allen's are not? or vice versa?
>
>--
>Elliotte Rusty Harold <mailto:elharo%40metalab.unc.edu>elharo@...
>Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
><http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/>http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javai\
o2/
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/
>


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

A Northern Rough-winged Swallow was flying over the creek along
Forbes Road in Laguna Niguel yesterday. Perhaps an early migrant and
a sign of spring to come? No Hooded Mergansers, but several expected
duck species including Gadwall, American Widgeon, and even a Ring-
necked Duck and Bufflehead (both drakes).

For south county birders, a beautiful drake Blue-winged Teal was
together with 2 drake Cinnamon Teal and a drake Ring-necked Duck
yesterday at the east end of Avery Parkway, in a small pond next to
the driving range at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Course. Great photo ops for
someone with a nice telephoto lens.

The ultra-skittish Summer Tanager continues at my house in Laguna
Niguel eating mealworms whenever possible, and a Gray-headed Junco
remains at seed in my yard. My mealworm-eating list has added a new
species, a Common Yellowthroat, to the mix.

Good birding!

Robert McNab
Laguna Niguel

Hi All,
For the about the last couple weeks there has been an absolutely
beautiful dark morph Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the telephone poles
on the NE corner of El Toro MCAS alone Irvine Blvd. I didn't feel
this was enough of an unusual sighting to report but this morning
there were two dark morph Red-tailed Hawks sitting together! Since we
(Optics4Birding) are just down the street I ran back to my office and
got my camera and took a couple photos. I have posted a few of these
in a "Dark morph Red-tailed Hawk" folder in the photos section. Both
birds are a gorgeous chocolate brown and really quite a sight. I've
heard estimates of 10% of western RTHA (or more) are dark morph and I
intermittently see them around although I have never seen two
together. Quite a sight and both are very beautiful.
Just as a point of interest, most hawks have night time counterparts
(owls). The counterpart owl for a Red-tailed Hawk is a Great Horned.
Last night after leaving work (about 10:00 PM) I figured I would test
the theory and went down the street to check the telephone poles.
Sure enough there was a Great Horned Owl. So as expected, where you
see frequent hawks in the day generally leads to owls at night.
Dan Lockshaw
http://optics4birding.com

Robert,



You noted not seeing hooded mergansers in Laguna Niguel over the weekend.  I
saw some twice along Aliso Creek in Laguna Niguel.  I've been watching birds
along the bike trail there for a few years and hadn't hooded mergansers
there before.  On Friday I saw a male-female pair, and on Saturday two males
and a female.  The first sighting was from the bike trail along the creek,
next to Foxborough Park and above the small dam that curves away from the
bike path.  On Saturday the three were a bit further downstream, visible
from the bike trail across from the Aliso Niguel High School track and ball
field.



All the best,

Sarah Millspaugh

Aliso Viejo, CA





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

Hi Chris

For more pelagic trips, check out www.SoCalBirding.com


Terry

W. Terry Hunefeld
Life is short.
Bird often.

www.SoCalBirding.com
Pelagic Seabirding Trips from San Diego to:
9-mile Bank
Los Coronados Islands
Cortes & Tanner Banks
Channel Islands

please reply to:  thunefeld@...

Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

-----Original Message-----
From: "Chris West" <swallowtailedkite@...>

Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:42:17
To:OrangeCountyBirding@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] Re: RFI: Pelagic trips


Hi all,

Thanks to those who replied!  It seems there is a Jul 21 trip out of Santa
Barbara that I'll have to check out.

Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison WI


On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 9:51 PM, Chris West <swallowtailedkite@...>
wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm a birder from WI and I was thinking of planning a birding trip to the
> Orange county area from Jul 17 to sometime during the next week. I don't
> know exactly how long yet. I only know that it would be hard for me to stay
> more than a week.
>
> I would be grateful if someone would inform me of any Pelagic trips that
> might be running during that time, including who's running them and cost,
> ect.
>
> Thanks,
> Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison, WI
>
>
> On Feb 12, 2008 9:05 PM, vireos44 <jpike44@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > A belated message: Doug Willick and I refound the American Redstart in
> > Newport Beach that Marian Alter first found on the CBC. It was in
> > willows on the west side of the road at the intersection of Jamboree
> > and Santa Barbara. Later, I found a Hammond's Flycatcher in willows and
> > acacias below homes in the northeast end of the Big Canyon willows at
> > the Backbay. Counting the Hammond's that Brian Daniels and Leo Ohtsuki
> > found at San Joaquin Marsh over the weekend, this is the fifth one seen
> > this winter.
> >
> > Jim Pike
> > Huntington Beach
> >
> >
> >
>
>


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



Reports and bird identities are neither edited nor verified. Use at your own
risk. Please consult the standard reference books for proper bird identification
& currently accepted names. Please do not use abbreviations or acronyms in lieu
of names. Both scientific and/or common names of birds are acceptable.

All posts must be on-topic: about birds/birding in Orange County, California
(nowhere else!). Your posts must include both a clear subject line *and* your
name. Off-topic posts will be deleted and the sender put on moderated status.
Repeat offenders will be banned.

To search for a bird discussed in past messages, browse or search the archives
at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeCountyBirding/
To see photos of birds being discussed (if available) see:
http://members.cox.net/orcorba/
Yahoo! Groups Links

At the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine at noon today, the
Tropical Kingbird continues between Ponds 1 & 2 nearest San Diego
Creek. There are also about 5-10 Cassin's Kingbirds. All the K-birds
were very active and cooperative today, and the Tropical frequently
interacted with the CAKI, allowing for great comparative studies. The
Tropical was calling quite a lot as well - its rapid pip-pip-pip-pip.
The SJWS was quite birdy on this overcast Friday - Common
Yellowthroats are starting to sing and at least 2 Hutton's Vireos were
calling. Two Canvasbacks were floating on pond 1 and a couple of
Nutmeg Mannikins "tooted" before flying across to San Diego creek.
Lots of W-T Swifts and swallows cruising very low because of the
overcast weather.

Glad the word finally leaked out on this kingbird. I don't get over to
the SJWS much, so I don't read the Audubon House board very often....

Good birding,

Robert McNab

Hi Elliotte!



Yes, these birds can be pesky to ID, but Rufous Hummers are definitely
moving through the area.  Allen's also migrate through the area, but a
substantial population is now resident in both Orange and L. A. counties.
So, you will have to put up with this continued "annoyance" in the Spring
(like the rest of us :-)).



Regards,

Ed



Ed Stonick

Pasadena, CA

edstonick@... <mailto:stonicks@...>





   _____

From: OrangeCountyBirding@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:OrangeCountyBirding@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Elliotte Harold
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 6:41 AM
To: OrangeCountyBirding@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [OrangeCountyBirding] Local Selasphorus sps.



Over the last week I've noticed a number of Selasphorus Hummingbirds in
William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. One I would venture was a
definite Rufous (no obvious green on back at all). The rest were the
annoying "sps.": no easy way to tell whether they're Allen's or Rufous.

My question is whether time and location provide enough hints to ID
these. For instance, do we know that Rufous are likely here at this time
of year and Allen's are not? or vice versa?

--
Elliotte Rusty Harold elharo@metalab. <mailto:elharo%40metalab.unc.edu>
unc.edu
Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeaula <http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/>
it.org/books/javaio2/
http://www.amazon.
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/>
com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/





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

Hello all,

The adult male Redstart is still in the area where it had been previously
reported, in the area
by the outflow of the dam in the lower part of the park. We spent a couple of
hours on
Saturday morning watching him and other birds in the area.

Also in the park were a single Cattle Egret and an Osprey eating a very large
fish on top of
one of the light fixtures by the baseball diamond.

Happy birding,

Felicia Lee
Costa Mesa, CA
http://yellowrump.blogspot.com

I too birded the SJWS on Saturday morning and also found it to be very
birdy. I don't know if Robert had a chance to bird the parking lot but
I wanted to mention that the Pacific-slope Flycatcher continued there
as well as the Yellow Warbler. I also saw one of the two Fox Sparrows I
had last weekend along the Eastern edge of Pond 1. They are very
skiddish which may explain why I only saw one of them yesterday. Or,
possibly it had something to do with the very large dog I saw off leash
with it's owner. The man turned around when he saw us, (I was showing a
group from San Diego where the Tropical Kingbird could be found), so he
knew he wasn't supossed to be there. Don't imagine that was his first
time. It is truly a shame that people just don't know the impact they
are making when they break the rules.

Hi, it's Bettina, I wanted to apologize, I just posted the last message
re-the SJWS, however, I neglected to sign it! I added a signature to my
email so that I wouldn't forget, however, I that doesn't work if I am
not using email!!! Sorry for the mistake. Didn't want to neglect my
responsibility.
Take Care,
Bettina

Saturday I found two pairs of Hooded Mergansers down here in the
Laguna Niguel area. First was a nice male & female in Aliso Creek
behind Aliso Niguel High School (ball fields/bleacher area). This area
is really tough to get a look at the creek, but take every little
trail from the bike path and you finally get a few looks. It is really
thick with Giant Reed along the banks of the creek. Best to park at
Foxbourough Park and walk to the bike path. Thanks Sarah Millspaugh
for the HoMe location tip.

The second pair (both females) were on the western pond at San Juan
Hills Golf Course, San Juan Capistrano in the afternoon. Both were
snoozing. Not much else duck-wise to note on these ponds.

At Del Obispo Park in Dana Point, 7 Eurasion-Collared Doves + one
apparent Ringed Turtle Dove (aka African Collared Dove). A really pale
bird, slightly smaller and sandy colored instead of the darker gray of
the EUCD. This bird was very pale. Undertail coverts/vent was lighter
than the EUCD, but not as white as in the Nat. Geo field guide. Tail
seemed more narrow than EUCD. The only other notable birds at Del
Obispo were seven (7) Cedar Waxwings in the pines.

Today (2-24-07) I had a singing Lark Sparrow in Foothill Ranch at
Borrego Park. Seemed like a strange location for a Lark Sparrow. He
must have thought so too, because he took off south shortly after I
spotted him. Also, a very tame pair of California Thrashers walked by
me no more than 20 feet away in the open. I recall last time I was
here I saw two very tame CATH as well.

Good Birding!

Robert McNab
Laguna Niguel

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR APRIL DATE

HUNTINGTON BEACH WETLANDS CONSERVANCY BIRD SURVEY

BIRDERS NEEDED FOR 5th SATURATION SURVEY

The Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy is conducting a baseline bird
survey of ~100 acres in preparation for the September 2008 start of
restoration of an additional 66 acres of coastal wetland habitat along PCH
from the Santa Ana River to Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach. This is an
opportunity to bird marshes not yet open to the public.  It will be Spring
and the birds will be singing and nesting.



Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Time: 6:00 AM           Continental Breakfast

6:15 AM               Training and assignments (PLEASE BE ON TIME!)

           ~7:00-9:00 AM     Survey;

~9:00-10:00 AM    Wrap-up/refreshments


Place:          Meet at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care and Education Center


21900 Pacific Coast Hwy

Corner of PCH/Newland St, enter off of Newland St
(directly fronting the AES electric power plant)



Please feel free to email or contact other birders but, everyone:

        PLEASE RSVP to lenahayashi(at)socal.rr.com
<mailto:lenahayashi@...> , 714-963-3771









Lena Yee Hayashi
cell 714-321-1975











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