Date: 6/12/25 10:33 am From: Chuck & Lillian via groups.io <misclists...> Subject: Re: [CALBIRDS] Cedar Waxwing question
Dominik, Ken, anyone:
I recently tried out Merlin in my back yard, north San Fernando Valley.
I picked up a few birds - House Sparrow, House
Finch, Bewick's Wren, Northern Cardinal - according to the Merlin app.
Northern Cardinal? No way.
I can't figure out how to de-identify NoCa from
that recording as an ID'd bird or from my
so-called list of identified backyard birds,
according to Merlin without deleting birds actually really, truly present.
Any help?
Yeah, I watched a 10-minute video on how to use
Merlin. No help for this problem.
Chuck Almdale
North Hills
At 07:44 AM 6/12/2025, Dominik Mosur via groups.io wrote:
>Ken,
> re: not entering breeding codes for birds that
> do not breed in the area. this is sound advice.
>
> Unfortunately, we are now in an era where many
> new birders are going into the field, equipped
> with eBird and Merlin, and just reporting
> whatever is “identified“ by the app
> without doing any sort of research into the
> status or distribution of the Birds they are “observing�
>
>By the way, breeding codes can be obtained from
>eBird for a given area as a spreadsheet output if you requested.
>
>I have been helping a colleague of mine create a
>document of the breeding birds of the Bay Area
>and one such spreadsheet has been one of the
>resources he’s been using to compile this
>list. Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck,
>Semipalmated Plover, Townsend’s Warbler is
>only a fraction of the list of erroneously reported Bay Area breeding birds.
>
>Dominik Mosur
>
>
>
>
>
>>On Jun 11, 2025, at 08:35, Ken Burton via
>>groups.io <shrikethree...> wrote:
>>
>>Your comment about searching Ebird for
>>breeding codes makes me think that it might be
>>worth a reminder that, as a rule, breeding
>>codes other than Confirmed should not be used
>>outside a species' breeding range.
>>
>>
>>>On Jun 10, 2025, at 1:36 PM, Ken Burton <shrikethree...> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>Short answer: Yes.
>>>
>>> From Birds of the World:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Pair Formation
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>May begin as early as mid-Apr, during spring
>>>migration
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32600>Feltes >>>1936 [California];
>>><https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32604>Putnam >>>1949 [Ohio]). Courtship-Hopping (see Behavior:
>>>sexual behavior, above) frequently occurs at
>>>least into mid-Jun in Ohio and Ontario;
>>>courtship activity is resumed by pairs that
>>>raise second broods, beginning when
>>>first-brood nestlings are about 7 d old
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32604>Putnam >>>1949, DJM).
>>>
>>>
>>>Pair Bond
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Typical courtship display in which mates
>>>alternately approach one another on a perch
>>>with hopping movements, sometimes touching
>>>bills. Usually initiated by the male;
>>>successful when the female reciprocates
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32604>Putnam >>>1949). This display is termed the Courtship
>>>Dance or Courtship-Hopping
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF59453>Silloway >>>1904,
>>><https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF6803>Crouch >>>1936,
>>><https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF17076>Lea >>>1942). Courtship-Hopping begins in migrant
>>>flocks, and has been noted as early as Apr in
>>>California
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32600>Feltes >>>1936) and in Ohio
>>>(<https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cedwax/cur/references#REF32604>Putnam >>>1949).
>>>
>>>On Tue, Jun 10, 2025 at 1:31 PM rfs_berkeley
>>>via <http://groups.io>groups.io >>><rscalf=<mailto:<sonic.net...><sonic.net...> wrote:
>>>
>>>On June 7 I saw a Cedar Waxwing just outside
>>>of Sierraville, CA. Sierra County. This
>>>seemed a bit surprising till I consulted eBird
>>>and see that Waxwings have been recorded in
>>>several places in the Sierra Valley region
>>>around this time. I know they are late migrants.
>>>
>>>June 8 I witnessed what looked like courtship
>>>feeding at basically the same location; an
>>>adult in classic wing-flapping begging posture
>>>being fed by another adult. This seems rather far south for breeding.
>>>
>>>My question: Do Cedar Waxwings engage in courtship behaviors on migration?
>>>
>>>As there the Central Sierra listserv no longer
>>>exists (and eBird cannot be searched for
>>>breeding codes) I'll ask the question to this larger audience.
>>>
>>>Thanks for reading.
>>>
>>> Rusty Scalf
>>> Berkeley, CA
>>>
>
