Thanks Abram - the Eastern Phoebe has now been seen in all three of the
meadows in your photograph. Marshall Field, the small one you indicate with
the small arrow and the large meadow at the "parking" and large arrow.
Today (sunday) it was seen at Marshall field and the third large meadow
with just 30 minutes between the sightings. So, I moves around.
Mike
On Sat, Jan 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM Abram Fleishman <abfleishman...>
wrote:
> I have had a bunch of people asking where to find the Eastern Phoebe at
> the UCSC upper campus.
> It is a little tricky as it is not in Marshall Field and the trail from
> Twin Gates/Marshall Field is closed due to wet trail conditions and damage
> to endangered plants.
>
> Attached is a map of how to avoid trail closures. Little arrow on left is
> the trail that isn’t too wet and closed. The bird is a the arrow in the
> middle The trail is tricky to find I think. It is not into the meadow where
> you park. It’s at the edge of the woods a little ways back toward twin
> gates.
>
> It was in a little side meadow.
>
> Good luck and stay on the trails to keep from trampling the endangered
> plants!
>
>
>
>
> -Abram
>
> Sent from my phone
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<CAH5dYziR3JOg9c-105_A5VCcH7FV6CY8Vd1trfwqt4PHtFO-aQ...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<CAH5dYziR3JOg9c-105_A5VCcH7FV6CY8Vd1trfwqt4PHtFO-aQ...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
Just a heads up. On Saturday at about 3:30 the Eastern Phoebe was spotted in the side meadow as Abram describes. But it then disappeared and showed up just after 5:00 on the northern edge of Marshall Field near where the closed connecting trail between the two fields comes out.
37.01856240526146, -122.07847880006497
From: <mbbirds...> on behalf of Abram Fleishman <abfleishman...>
Date: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
To: mbbirds <mbbirds...>
Subject: [MBBIRDS] Eastern Phoebe
I have had a bunch of people asking where to find the Eastern Phoebe at the UCSC upper campus.
It is a little tricky as it is not in Marshall Field and the trail from Twin Gates/Marshall Field is closed due to wet trail conditions and damage to endangered plants.
Attached is a map of how to avoid trail closures. Little arrow on left is the trail that isn’t too wet and closed. The bird is a the arrow in the middle The trail is tricky to find I think. It is not into the meadow where you park. It’s at the edge of the woods a little ways back toward twin gates.
It was in a little side meadow.
Good luck and stay on the trails to keep from trampling the endangered plants!
I have had a bunch of people asking where to find the Eastern Phoebe at the
UCSC upper campus.
It is a little tricky as it is not in Marshall Field and the trail from
Twin Gates/Marshall Field is closed due to wet trail conditions and damage
to endangered plants.
Attached is a map of how to avoid trail closures. Little arrow on left is
the trail that isn’t too wet and closed. The bird is a the arrow in the
middle The trail is tricky to find I think. It is not into the meadow where
you park. It’s at the edge of the woods a little ways back toward twin
gates.
It was in a little side meadow.
Good luck and stay on the trails to keep from trampling the endangered
plants!
Date: 1/8/25 7:11 pm From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] possible Arctic Loon (belated report)
As Emily Litella would say, Never mind! (To those who got that dated
cultural reference, don't forget to renew your AARP membership.)
I have been advised by the authorities that the loon is neither Arctic
nor Pacific, but is actually a Red-throated Loon. I had considered
RTLO, but thought that species would show a straighter, less curved
culmen (top edge of the bill), more white around the eyes and side of
the neck, less white at the top of the flanks, and lighter gray plumage
in the back and wings. We saw another RTLO on the count that fit that
description, and the bird in question looked quite different to me, but
apparently it is within the range of variation for all of those
characteristics, and the white spotting on the back and wings is more
consistent with RTLO. Oh well, live and learn. Thanks to Alex Rinkert,
Brian Sullivan and Don Roberson for the educational experience.
Good birding,
Glen Tepke
On 1/8/2025 1:39 PM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds wrote:
> On New Year's Day I participated in the "pelagic" section of the Moss
> Landing Christmas Bird Count, which covers a slender crescent of
> inshore Monterey Bay from La Selva Beach to Moss Landing. At 9:58
> a.m. I photographed a loon as it flew in front of the boat roughly a
> mile west of Moss Landing in Monterey Co. waters. My first
> impression, based solely on size, was a Common Loon, but when I
> noticed the moderately-sized dagger-shaped bill and the fairly clean
> straight border between black and white on the neck, I recorded it as
> a Pacific Loon and gave it no more thought. I've been pretty busy
> since then, including doing two more CBCs, and didn't get around to
> looking at the photos until last night.
>
> After studying the Sibley, Nat Geo and Harrison, Perrow & Larsson
> Seabirds field guides, the species accounts in Birds of the World, and
> hundreds of photos in the Macaulay Library, several features of the
> bird have me wondering if it could be an Arctic Loon (in definitive
> basic plumage per the plumage descriptions in Birds of the World):
>
> - The white on the flanks wraps up toward the rump, with the highest
> white above the base of the wings. I did not see the bird sitting on
> the water, but the white appears to be high enough for a white patch
> to appear above the waterline if it was sitting, which is the key
> field mark for separating Arctic from Pacific. I looked at many
> flight shots of both species in the Macaulay Library and didn't see
> any Pacific Loons with white wrapping that high.
>
> - No dark chin strap. Most, but not all, Pacific Loons have a thin
> dark stripe running around the throat. My sources provide conflicting
> information on how often Arctic Loon shows a chinstrap, but the
> consensus seems to be that it is less often than in Pacific.
>
> - No dark vent strap. Most Pacific Loons have a dark stripe running
> between the bases of the legs; in Arctic Loon the vent strap is often
> incomplete or absent.
>
> - Dark gray nape and hindneck, just a little lighter the rest of the
> upperparts. Pacific Loon usually has a contrasting lighter gray nape
> and hindneck.
>
> - Clean white cheeks. Pacific Loons generally have duskier cheeks,
> but the difference can be subtle.
>
> - Arctic Loon is generally larger than Pacific, but there is overlap.
> As I mentioned above, my impression was of a large loon, but that is
> very subjective and there were no other loons present for comparison,
> so I am not putting any weight on size.
>
> On the other hand:
>
> - This bird does not show the steeper forehead and slightly peaked
> crown of Arctic compared to the more rounded head of Pacific, but that
> feature seems to be more noticeable on birds sitting on the water than
> on birds in flight.
>
> - Arctic Loon generally has a longer and stouter bill than Pacific,
> but the bill on this bird seems to be within the range of variation
> for both species.
>
> Three of the best photos are in this checklist -
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S207504339 - under Arctic/Pacific Loon. I
> have several more photos, but I don't think they show anything different.
>
> Note that we also saw what I think is an adult Glaucous Gull in the
> same area, but my photos are horribly out of focus, so best not to
> look at those.
>
> Looking forward to your comments.
>
> Good birding,
>
> Glen Tepke
> Santa Cruz
>
>
>
>
>
Date: 1/8/25 7:03 pm From: Matthew Coale <matthewcoale02...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
We had 5 bedrooms/bitterns on the ML CBC at Struve Slough and another at
Ford St. So great to see these wonderful birds in numbers !
Matthew Coale
On 1/8/2025 12:03 PM, Brian Scanlon wrote:
> Oops. There were 4 bitterns today at 11:30. Three in the pickle weed,
> and one on the opposite shore of the slough.
>
> On Tue, Jan 7, 2025, 12:25 PM larry corridon
> <larry961357...> wrote:
>
> Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on
> Struve Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine
> parking lot and start talking the trail walking till you come
> around a fairly sharp curve and you should see the bedrooms in the
> two pickleweed patches on the side of the water
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
> send an email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> <mailto:mbbirds%<2Bunsubscribe...>.
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<1BE5F98E-7F3C-44A6-B02E-609A92173C09...> >
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CALu_7fgNPogDeWNX36gpVABL%2Bw8UMPvmR20_%<2B8Ej-a3Usp66RA...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CALu_7fgNPogDeWNX36gpVABL%2Bw8UMPvmR20_%<2B8Ej-a3Usp66RA...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
Date: 1/8/25 2:41 pm From: David Apgar <d_apgar...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
A little closer to our theme, bird bedrooms can't be very far off. A Northern mockingbird pair checked out our passion flower vines for a nest this morning (to the consternation of our Australian shepherd whom they scolded all last spring).
David
________________________________
From: <mbbirds...> <mbbirds...> on behalf of Paul Miller <paulbug.2876...>
Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 2:37 PM
To: MBB <mbbirds...>
Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
Since we're a bit off topic, I hope you'll pardon the additional non-bird message.
Get off your futon and come join one of my Mushroom classes/forays! It's ok to look up at birds while we're looking down for shrooms.
Send me an email at <paulbug...><mailto:<paulbug...> to get more information.
That's it for now.
Back to the couch.
Paul Miller
Mount Hermon
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025, 2:32 PM Lisa Larson <lisafaylarson...><mailto:<lisafaylarson...>> wrote:
I swear I saw a flotilla of futon the other day at a pond. Also what looked to be a feral barrel chair prowling the outskirts of the water. In case of emergency, the seat bottom can be used as a floatation device.
- Lisa
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 1:40 PM larry corridon <larry961357...><mailto:<larry961357...>> wrote:
Any Bedrooms spotted? Also watch out for the Hybrid: A Sofa Bed.😁
Oops. There were 4 bitterns today at 11:30. Three in the pickle weed, and one on the opposite shore of the slough.
On Tue, Jan 7, 2025, 12:25 PM larry corridon <larry961357...><mailto:<larry961357...>> wrote:
Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on Struve Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine parking lot and start talking the trail walking till you come around a fairly sharp curve and you should see the bedrooms in the two pickleweed patches on the side of the water
Date: 1/8/25 2:38 pm From: Paul Miller <paulbug.2876...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
Since we're a bit off topic, I hope you'll pardon the additional non-bird
message.
Get off your futon and come join one of my Mushroom classes/forays! It's
ok to look up at birds while we're looking down for shrooms.
Send me an email at <paulbug...> to get more information.
That's it for now.
Back to the couch.
Paul Miller
Mount Hermon
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025, 2:32 PM Lisa Larson <lisafaylarson...> wrote:
Date: 1/8/25 2:32 pm From: Lisa Larson <lisafaylarson...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
I swear I saw a flotilla of futon the other day at a pond. Also what looked
to be a feral barrel chair prowling the outskirts of the water. In case of
emergency, the seat bottom can be used as a floatation device.
- Lisa
On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 1:40 PM larry corridon <larry961357...>
wrote:
Date: 1/8/25 2:25 pm From: 'Francis Honey' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Bald Eagle
Just watched a Bald Eagle circling over the general area of the Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant and then headed north up the San Lorenzo valley. Francis Honey
Date: 1/8/25 1:40 pm From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] possible Arctic Loon (belated report)
On New Year's Day I participated in the "pelagic" section of the Moss
Landing Christmas Bird Count, which covers a slender crescent of inshore
Monterey Bay from La Selva Beach to Moss Landing. At 9:58 a.m. I
photographed a loon as it flew in front of the boat roughly a mile west
of Moss Landing in Monterey Co. waters. My first impression, based
solely on size, was a Common Loon, but when I noticed the
moderately-sized dagger-shaped bill and the fairly clean straight border
between black and white on the neck, I recorded it as a Pacific Loon and
gave it no more thought. I've been pretty busy since then, including
doing two more CBCs, and didn't get around to looking at the photos
until last night.
After studying the Sibley, Nat Geo and Harrison, Perrow & Larsson
Seabirds field guides, the species accounts in Birds of the World, and
hundreds of photos in the Macaulay Library, several features of the bird
have me wondering if it could be an Arctic Loon (in definitive basic
plumage per the plumage descriptions in Birds of the World):
- The white on the flanks wraps up toward the rump, with the highest
white above the base of the wings. I did not see the bird sitting on
the water, but the white appears to be high enough for a white patch to
appear above the waterline if it was sitting, which is the key field
mark for separating Arctic from Pacific. I looked at many flight shots
of both species in the Macaulay Library and didn't see any Pacific Loons
with white wrapping that high.
- No dark chin strap. Most, but not all, Pacific Loons have a thin dark
stripe running around the throat. My sources provide conflicting
information on how often Arctic Loon shows a chinstrap, but the
consensus seems to be that it is less often than in Pacific.
- No dark vent strap. Most Pacific Loons have a dark stripe running
between the bases of the legs; in Arctic Loon the vent strap is often
incomplete or absent.
- Dark gray nape and hindneck, just a little lighter the rest of the
upperparts. Pacific Loon usually has a contrasting lighter gray nape
and hindneck.
- Clean white cheeks. Pacific Loons generally have duskier cheeks, but
the difference can be subtle.
- Arctic Loon is generally larger than Pacific, but there is overlap.
As I mentioned above, my impression was of a large loon, but that is
very subjective and there were no other loons present for comparison, so
I am not putting any weight on size.
On the other hand:
- This bird does not show the steeper forehead and slightly peaked crown
of Arctic compared to the more rounded head of Pacific, but that feature
seems to be more noticeable on birds sitting on the water than on birds
in flight.
- Arctic Loon generally has a longer and stouter bill than Pacific, but
the bill on this bird seems to be within the range of variation for both
species.
Three of the best photos are in this checklist -
https://ebird.org/checklist/S207504339 - under Arctic/Pacific Loon. I
have several more photos, but I don't think they show anything different.
Note that we also saw what I think is an adult Glaucous Gull in the same
area, but my photos are horribly out of focus, so best not to look at those.
There is a brant at the mouth of the Sna Lorenzo River, a person accidentally spooked it and it flew by the railroad trestle. Blurry pics to be on eBird later. https://maps.app.goo.gl/uc3NJCq1K628yFbx8?g_st=ac
Date: 1/8/25 12:03 pm From: Brian Scanlon <briancscanlon...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
Oops. There were 4 bitterns today at 11:30. Three in the pickle weed, and
one on the opposite shore of the slough.
On Tue, Jan 7, 2025, 12:25 PM larry corridon <larry961357...>
wrote:
> Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on Struve
> Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine parking lot and
> start talking the trail walking till you come around a fairly sharp curve
> and you should see the bedrooms in the two pickleweed patches on the side
> of the water
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<1BE5F98E-7F3C-44A6-B02E-609A92173C09...> > .
>
Date: 1/8/25 11:58 am From: Brian Scanlon <briancscanlon...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
On Tue, Jan 7, 2025, 12:25 PM larry corridon <larry961357...>
wrote:
> Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on Struve
> Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine parking lot and
> start talking the trail walking till you come around a fairly sharp curve
> and you should see the bedrooms in the two pickleweed patches on the side
> of the water
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<1BE5F98E-7F3C-44A6-B02E-609A92173C09...> > .
>
Date: 1/7/25 12:31 pm From: larry corridon <larry961357...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Re: returns at Struve Slough
BITTERNS! curse you spell check
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jan 7, 2025, at 12:25, larry corridon <larry961357...> wrote:
>
> Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on Struve Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine parking lot and start talking the trail walking till you come around a fairly sharp curve and you should see the bedrooms in the two pickleweed patches on the side of the water
>
> Sent from my iPhone
Date: 1/7/25 12:25 pm From: larry corridon <larry961357...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] returns at Struve Slough
Two bedrooms visible now in two separate patches of pickleweed on Struve Slough. If you walk from the back end of the West Marine parking lot and start talking the trail walking till you come around a fairly sharp curve and you should see the bedrooms in the two pickleweed patches on the side of the water
Date: 1/6/25 9:40 am From: Joe Paquin <paquin.joe...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Magnolia Warbler
Still here in the younger group of trees. It's pretty active right now.
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025, 12:26 PM Randy Wardle <wrwardle...> wrote:
> The Magnolia Warbler is present at noon at College Lake several hundred
> yards left of the church down in the large swale in the big clump of
> cottonwood trees. It likes to stay low, within 8 feet of the ground.
>
> Randy Wardle
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<SN6PR02MB551760F35991166F15F19935C3172...> > .
>
Date: 1/5/25 9:57 pm From: Kent Johnson <kentjohnson...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Re: Mourning warbler
We have all made these kinds of mistakes. I would rather have people post something that turns out to be wrong than for them to not post something they think is interesting just because it might be wrong. In this particular case, note also that the tail on the bird is much longer relative to the undertail coverts than would be true for a Mourning Warbler.
Kent Johnson
________________________________
From: <mbbirds...> <mbbirds...> on behalf of Chris Soriano <soriano151...>
Sent: Sunday, January 5, 2025 9:01 PM
To: BIRD MTY Monterey Audubon BIRD-box <mbbirds...>
Subject: [MBBIRDS] Re: Mourning warbler
Hi y'all, it has been very kindly explained to me how to tell the difference, and it seems like it was a female common yellowthroat based on the sides being a more olive color. It feels like one of the true faults of using illustrated Sibley field guides, but I want to send appreciation to the people that helped figure it out. Sorry to get people excited, but not sorry that I made you go out and look at birds.
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025, 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...><mailto:<soriano151...>> wrote:
I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath, yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
Hi y'all, it has been very kindly explained to me how to tell the
difference, and it seems like it was a female common yellowthroat based on
the sides being a more olive color. It feels like one of the true faults of
using illustrated Sibley field guides, but I want to send appreciation to
the people that helped figure it out. Sorry to get people excited, but not
sorry that I made you go out and look at birds.
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025, 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
> I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on
> the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID
> it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath,
> yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
>
> https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqZKYPaMCvV9ws2GA?g_st=ac >
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 18:07 Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
> Here is a blurry head on pick, this is what I was comparing to this photo
> online. One person has told me that they think it is a female yellowthroat,
> I am open to hearing more peoples' thoughts, and I appreciate that person
> for telling me nicely what they think the visible differences between them
> are. Also, people asked, and it was just flitting and hopping through the
> coyote bush and lizard tail plants directly next to the path behind the
> building. Just remember, everyone makes mistakes and learns from them.
>
> On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 5:42 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
>
>> I have some pics, I compared them to what I found online and they look to
>> be the same bird to me, but I am open to being wrong, and if that is the
>> case I apologize for getting anyone's hopes up.[image: Mystery bird best
>> 3.JPG]
>> .[image: Mystery bird 1.JPG][image: Mystery bird 2.JPG][image: Mystery
>> bird 3.JPG][image: Mystery bird 4.JPG]
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center
>>> on the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me
>>> ID it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath,
>>> yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
>>>
>>> https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqZKYPaMCvV9ws2GA?g_st=ac >>>
>> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<CAHCdUzXnEb3QdvUPWhHa0-WAuSvHdqN_mCohmPUyhwbtx5uT8A...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<CAHCdUzXnEb3QdvUPWhHa0-WAuSvHdqN_mCohmPUyhwbtx5uT8A...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
Here is a blurry head on pick, this is what I was comparing to this photo
online. One person has told me that they think it is a female yellowthroat,
I am open to hearing more peoples' thoughts, and I appreciate that person
for telling me nicely what they think the visible differences between them
are. Also, people asked, and it was just flitting and hopping through the
coyote bush and lizard tail plants directly next to the path behind the
building. Just remember, everyone makes mistakes and learns from them.
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 5:42 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
> I have some pics, I compared them to what I found online and they look to
> be the same bird to me, but I am open to being wrong, and if that is the
> case I apologize for getting anyone's hopes up.[image: Mystery bird best
> 3.JPG]
> .[image: Mystery bird 1.JPG][image: Mystery bird 2.JPG][image: Mystery
> bird 3.JPG][image: Mystery bird 4.JPG]
>
> On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
>
>> I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on
>> the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID
>> it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath,
>> yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
>>
>> https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqZKYPaMCvV9ws2GA?g_st=ac >>
>
I have some pics, I compared them to what I found online and they look to
be the same bird to me, but I am open to being wrong, and if that is the
case I apologize for getting anyone's hopes up.[image: Mystery bird best
3.JPG]
.[image: Mystery bird 1.JPG][image: Mystery bird 2.JPG][image: Mystery bird
3.JPG][image: Mystery bird 4.JPG]
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
> I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on
> the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID
> it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath,
> yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
>
> https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqZKYPaMCvV9ws2GA?g_st=ac >
On Sun, Jan 5, 2025, 2:51 PM Chris Soriano <soriano151...> wrote:
> I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on
> the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID
> it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath,
> yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
>
> https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqZKYPaMCvV9ws2GA?g_st=ac >
I just found a mourning warbler in the scrub behind the Seymour Center on the Westside. Pics to be uploaded to eBird, I got a few that helped me ID it. 99% positive it is a first winter. Dusky back, yellow underneath, yellow supralorals. Bold and unafraid of my presence.
The Magnolia Warbler is present at noon at College Lake several hundred yards left of the church down in the large swale in the big clump of cottonwood trees. It likes to stay low, within 8 feet of the ground.
Date: 1/1/25 11:02 pm From: David Philleo <dphilleo...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Fwd: [pen-bird] Help with ID-ing hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk has a one -striped tail ftom below but 2 grey from sbove.
and flies and soars much closer appearing to a larger TV. I think there
was a local record over a decade ago.
And hangs out with TVs. I saw it singly in the Hauchuca mtns. up above
Ramsey canyon.
On Wed, Jan 1, 2025, 5:19 PM 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <
<mbbirds...> wrote:
> Forwarding this post from the Pen-Bird list to the Monterey Bay Birds list
> because the location of this interesting hawk seems to be in Santa Cruz
> Co. Just the messenger.
> Glen Tepke
> Santa Cruz
> -------- Forwarded Message --------
> Subject: [pen-bird] Help with ID-ing hawk
> Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 16:57:19 -0800
> From: Karen Moody - Santa Cruz Mts via groups.io
> <moodykmz3...> <moodykmz3...>
> Reply-To: <moodykmz3...>
> To: <peninsula-birding...>
>
> In the Santa Cruz mountains, a few miles south of Castle Rock SP.
>
> I've seen this hawk 4 times in the last 2 days. All Black Buteo shaped,
> with broad wings. Overall it was somewhat smaller than the Turkey Vultures.
> It had a very clear and well defined single white band on tail. Band was
> near the Middle of the tail, with black on either side. Viewed from below
> the wing flight feathers were lighter shade of gray, similar to TV and when
> observed through binoculars faint banding was visible on them, similar to a
> juvenile Red Tailed Hawk but much more muddy shades of grey. It had very
> bright yellow legs with no feathers on them, and bill was also very bright
> yellow. Legs and bill were so bright they were visible without binoculars
> similar in color to fresh yellow road lines. I heard it call once,
> screeching high pitch repeated several times, but not as high pitched or
> whiney sounding as Peregrine Falcon. Hoping to get photos.it has been
> hanging out with our local TVs.
>
> Thanks for any ideas, thoughts and what else I should be looking for if I
> see it again.
> _._,_._,_
> ------------------------------
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>
Date: 1/1/25 5:19 pm From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Fwd: [pen-bird] Help with ID-ing hawk
Forwarding this post from the Pen-Bird list to the Monterey Bay Birds
list because the location of this interesting hawk seems to be in Santa
Cruz Co. Just the messenger.
Glen Tepke
Santa Cruz
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: [pen-bird] Help with ID-ing hawk
Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 16:57:19 -0800
From: Karen Moody - Santa Cruz Mts via groups.io
<moodykmz3...>
Reply-To: <moodykmz3...>
To: <peninsula-birding...>
In the Santa Cruz mountains, a few miles south of Castle Rock SP.
I've seen this hawk 4 times in the last 2 days. All Black Buteo shaped,
with broad wings. Overall it was somewhat smaller than the Turkey
Vultures. It had a very clear and well defined single white band on
tail. Band was near the Middle of the tail, with black on either side.
Viewed from below the wing flight feathers were lighter shade of gray,
similar to TV and when observed through binoculars faint banding was
visible on them, similar to a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk but much more
muddy shades of grey. It had very bright yellow legs with no feathers on
them, and bill was also very bright yellow. Legs and bill were so bright
they were visible without binoculars similar in color to fresh yellow
road lines. I heard it call once, screeching high pitch repeated several
times, but not as high pitched or whiney sounding as Peregrine Falcon.
Hoping to get photos.it has been hanging out with our local TVs.
Thanks for any ideas, thoughts and what else I should be looking for if
I see it again.
_._,_._,_
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Groups.io Links:
Date: 12/30/24 6:25 pm From: Arthur Macmillan <grrrrrrrrrr8...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] I don’t know what but at the river mouth now
Thanks, Breck! I suspected what it was, but I've never seen one up close.
It is pretty awesome! I guess it is not rare, and I have photographed
flocks, and very distant ones (think Watsonville Slough). And there is no
list for "Not rare, but really cool when seen up close!". I regret fumbling
with the MBBIRDS messages. I am not used to using email on my phone and
including a photo. I am a pretty basic keyboard/mouse emailer. And, somehow
I did not know it was there. So much for red alert!
Arthur Macmillan
Santa Cruz
On Mon, Dec 30, 2024 at 5:13 PM Breck Tyler <ospr...> wrote:
> A Brant (goose) has been there the last few days.
>
>
>
> > On Dec 30, 2024, at 4:54 PM, Jg Deva <grrrrrrrrrr8...> wrote:
> >
> > Black waterbird white jagged color
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "mbbirds" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> > To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<3844C12D-C47A-489E-9736-80A5BB00EA72...> > .
>
>
Date: 12/30/24 12:54 pm From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] White Wagtail, Wilder Ranch SP
Thanks to Erik, Alex and Per Alström for the research and analysis. I
was hoping it would be ocularis, as that would be a new subspecies for
me. Oh well, maybe next time.
I thought I recalled some discussion about lugens being less common on
the west coast when the lugens White Wagtail was found by Sharon Hull in
Santa Cruz in November 2020, but I might be misremembering, or maybe the
balance has changed as more records have accumulated.
Hopefully better photos can be obtained. My own photos would have been
better if I had not inadvertently bumped my aperture down to f/25! I
was focused, so to speak, on keeping the hyperactive little bugger in
the frame and in focus, and didn't notice until it was too late.
Aiiieee! Chalk it up to wagtail fever.
Good birding,
Glen
On 12/30/2024 11:00 AM, Alex Rinkert wrote:
> There are a few additional field marks worth mentioning that can be
> important for subspecific identification of a White Wagtail with this
> appearance. At least one of the tertials is replaced, so this is
> probably a first winter bird. In my flight photos, the primary coverts
> show a good amount of white, as do the median coverts and primaries,
> with the white broadening toward the base of the latter feathers. In
> one photo of the spread tail, the right outermost tail feather appears
> solid white. I'm certainly no wagtail authority, but with the age of
> this bird in mind, it seems that these field marks and others point to
> the Black-backed (lugens) subspecies. I hope that Per Alström will
> weigh in again as more photos are obtained during its stay at Wilder
> Beach.
>
> On a side note, both the lugens and ocularis subspecies have occurred
> in SCZ, and a substantial number of records for both of these
> subspecies have accumulated in California, so one is not necessarily
> much more likely to occur here than the other.
>
> Alex
>
> On Mon, Dec 30, 2024 at 8:37 AM Erik Enbody <erik.enbody...> wrote:
>
> Hey Glen et al,
>
> I’ve also been curious about the subspecies on this excellent find
> by Emma Arul on the CBC and have been looking through yours and
> others photos of the bird. The identification of first winter or
> adult winter female lugens (black backed) and ocularis is not
> always possible in the field and this individual seems to be along
> this gradient somewhere. However, if the bird is a first winter,
> which I think it likely is, the white greater coverts with dark
> centers (visible in the highest resolution photos) are more
> consistent with lugens, whereas ocularis tends to retain their
> juvenile coverts into the winter (which would appear as two white
> wing bars). The thicker and messier eye stripe behind the eye is
> also closer to lugens. In some angles of photos I’ve seen, it
> looks like a few dark centers on feathers on the back, but this
> isn’t always apparent and could be a photographic artifact.
>
> I asked Per Alström, the author of the wagtail book, who agrees it
> is likely a lugens. However, he wasn’t sure it was identifiable
> from the photos available yet. If anyone can get a clear flight
> shot that shows the spread wing clearly, this would help get a
> little closer.
>
> Best,
>
> Erik
>
> --
> Erik Enbody
> Postdoctoral Scholar
> UC Santa Cruz / California Conservation Genomics Project
>
> January 2025:
> Susan E. Lynch Assistant Professor
> Department of Computational Biology
> Cornell University
> erikenbody.github.io <http://erikenbody.github.io> >
>> On Dec 30, 2024, at 1:09 AM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds
>> <mbbirds...> wrote:
>>
>> PS: I understand that this bird has been identified as ocularis,
>> which is the most likely subspecies here, but I am curious about
>> how the subspecies ID was determined. To my eye, the extensive
>> white wing panel, thick black post-ocular line connecting to a
>> prominent triangular post-ocular spot, and medium gray (not
>> black) crown fit Sibley's illustration of 1st winter female
>> lugens (Black-backed) just as well as any of the other plumages
>> illustrated in Sibley or Nat Geo. Several photos are in this
>> checklist:
>>
>> https://ebird.org/checklist/S207155378 >>
>> Glen Tepke
>>
>> On 12/29/2024 3:12 PM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds wrote:
>>> The White Wagtail on Wilder Beach continues today. Jake Gifford
>>> spotted it around 2:00 and we had it in view for about 10
>>> minutes before it disappeared. It was fairly close to the
>>> overlook, roughly between a fifth and a quarter of the way down
>>> the beach, foraging around the driftwood logs and wrack.
>>>
>>> Glen Tepke
>>> Santa Cruz
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the
>> Google Groups "mbbirds" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it,
>> send an email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
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>> To view this discussion
>> visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<c08ad25c-9ce7-4681-a14e-0f1a4c1e1cfa...>
>
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>
>
>
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> this Gmail address for all future correspondence.*
Date: 12/30/24 11:00 am From: Alex Rinkert <arinkert...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] White Wagtail, Wilder Ranch SP
There are a few additional field marks worth mentioning that can be
important for subspecific identification of a White Wagtail with this
appearance. At least one of the tertials is replaced, so this is probably a
first winter bird. In my flight photos, the primary coverts show a good
amount of white, as do the median coverts and primaries, with the white
broadening toward the base of the latter feathers. In one photo of the
spread tail, the right outermost tail feather appears solid white. I'm
certainly no wagtail authority, but with the age of this bird in mind, it
seems that these field marks and others point to the Black-backed (lugens)
subspecies. I hope that Per Alström will weigh in again as more photos are
obtained during its stay at Wilder Beach.
On a side note, both the lugens and ocularis subspecies have occurred in
SCZ, and a substantial number of records for both of these subspecies have
accumulated in California, so one is not necessarily much more likely to
occur here than the other.
Alex
On Mon, Dec 30, 2024 at 8:37 AM Erik Enbody <erik.enbody...> wrote:
> Hey Glen et al,
>
> I’ve also been curious about the subspecies on this excellent find by Emma
> Arul on the CBC and have been looking through yours and others photos of
> the bird. The identification of first winter or adult winter female lugens
> (black backed) and ocularis is not always possible in the field and this
> individual seems to be along this gradient somewhere. However, if the bird
> is a first winter, which I think it likely is, the white greater coverts
> with dark centers (visible in the highest resolution photos) are more
> consistent with lugens, whereas ocularis tends to retain their juvenile
> coverts into the winter (which would appear as two white wing bars). The
> thicker and messier eye stripe behind the eye is also closer to lugens. In
> some angles of photos I’ve seen, it looks like a few dark centers on
> feathers on the back, but this isn’t always apparent and could be a
> photographic artifact.
>
> I asked Per Alström, the author of the wagtail book, who agrees it is
> likely a lugens. However, he wasn’t sure it was identifiable from the
> photos available yet. If anyone can get a clear flight shot that shows the
> spread wing clearly, this would help get a little closer.
>
> Best,
>
> Erik
>
> --
> Erik Enbody
> Postdoctoral Scholar
> UC Santa Cruz / California Conservation Genomics Project
>
> January 2025:
> Susan E. Lynch Assistant Professor
> Department of Computational Biology
> Cornell University
> erikenbody.github.io
>
> On Dec 30, 2024, at 1:09 AM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <
> <mbbirds...> wrote:
>
> PS: I understand that this bird has been identified as ocularis, which is
> the most likely subspecies here, but I am curious about how the subspecies
> ID was determined. To my eye, the extensive white wing panel, thick black
> post-ocular line connecting to a prominent triangular post-ocular spot, and
> medium gray (not black) crown fit Sibley's illustration of 1st winter
> female lugens (Black-backed) just as well as any of the other plumages
> illustrated in Sibley or Nat Geo. Several photos are in this checklist:
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S207155378 >
> Glen Tepke
>
> On 12/29/2024 3:12 PM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds wrote:
>
> The White Wagtail on Wilder Beach continues today. Jake Gifford spotted
> it around 2:00 and we had it in view for about 10 minutes before it
> disappeared. It was fairly close to the overlook, roughly between a fifth
> and a quarter of the way down the beach, foraging around the driftwood logs
> and wrack.
>
> Glen Tepke
> Santa Cruz
>
>
>
> --
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> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<c08ad25c-9ce7-4681-a14e-0f1a4c1e1cfa...> > .
>
>
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> To view this discussion visit
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>
--
*My Comcast email is deactivated as of December 10, 2023. Please use this
Gmail address for all future correspondence.*
Date: 12/30/24 8:37 am From: Erik Enbody <erik.enbody...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] White Wagtail, Wilder Ranch SP
Hey Glen et al,
I’ve also been curious about the subspecies on this excellent find by Emma Arul on the CBC and have been looking through yours and others photos of the bird. The identification of first winter or adult winter female lugens (black backed) and ocularis is not always possible in the field and this individual seems to be along this gradient somewhere. However, if the bird is a first winter, which I think it likely is, the white greater coverts with dark centers (visible in the highest resolution photos) are more consistent with lugens, whereas ocularis tends to retain their juvenile coverts into the winter (which would appear as two white wing bars). The thicker and messier eye stripe behind the eye is also closer to lugens. In some angles of photos I’ve seen, it looks like a few dark centers on feathers on the back, but this isn’t always apparent and could be a photographic artifact.
I asked Per Alström, the author of the wagtail book, who agrees it is likely a lugens. However, he wasn’t sure it was identifiable from the photos available yet. If anyone can get a clear flight shot that shows the spread wing clearly, this would help get a little closer.
Best,
Erik
--
Erik Enbody
Postdoctoral Scholar
UC Santa Cruz / California Conservation Genomics Project
January 2025:
Susan E. Lynch Assistant Professor
Department of Computational Biology
Cornell University
erikenbody.github.io
> On Dec 30, 2024, at 1:09 AM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> wrote:
>
> PS: I understand that this bird has been identified as ocularis, which is the most likely subspecies here, but I am curious about how the subspecies ID was determined. To my eye, the extensive white wing panel, thick black post-ocular line connecting to a prominent triangular post-ocular spot, and medium gray (not black) crown fit Sibley's illustration of 1st winter female lugens (Black-backed) just as well as any of the other plumages illustrated in Sibley or Nat Geo. Several photos are in this checklist:
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S207155378 >
> Glen Tepke
>
> On 12/29/2024 3:12 PM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds wrote:
>> The White Wagtail on Wilder Beach continues today. Jake Gifford spotted it around 2:00 and we had it in view for about 10 minutes before it disappeared. It was fairly close to the overlook, roughly between a fifth and a quarter of the way down the beach, foraging around the driftwood logs and wrack.
>>
>> Glen Tepke
>> Santa Cruz
>>
>>
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<c08ad25c-9ce7-4681-a14e-0f1a4c1e1cfa...>
Date: 12/30/24 1:10 am From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] White Wagtail, Wilder Ranch SP
PS: I understand that this bird has been identified as ocularis, which
is the most likely subspecies here, but I am curious about how the
subspecies ID was determined. To my eye, the extensive white wing panel,
thick black post-ocular line connecting to a prominent triangular
post-ocular spot, and medium gray (not black) crown fit Sibley's
illustration of 1st winter female lugens (Black-backed) just as well as
any of the other plumages illustrated in Sibley or Nat Geo. Several
photos are in this checklist:
On 12/29/2024 3:12 PM, 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds wrote:
> The White Wagtail on Wilder Beach continues today. Jake Gifford
> spotted it around 2:00 and we had it in view for about 10 minutes
> before it disappeared. It was fairly close to the overlook, roughly
> between a fifth and a quarter of the way down the beach, foraging
> around the driftwood logs and wrack.
>
> Glen Tepke
> Santa Cruz
>
>
I am considering installing a nest box for W. Screech Owls on my porperty. I have heard them calling nearby over the years, and would like to provide an appropriate box/home. Does anyone in SC Bird Club have experience in this field ? Native trees on the property are Coast Live Oak, Madrone, Big Leaf Maple, and Redwoods. Thanks for the help and information. Heidi Sandkuhle
-- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software. www.avg.com
Date: 12/29/24 3:12 pm From: 'Glen Tepke' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] White Wagtail, Wilder Ranch SP
The White Wagtail on Wilder Beach continues today. Jake Gifford spotted
it around 2:00 and we had it in view for about 10 minutes before it
disappeared. It was fairly close to the overlook, roughly between a
fifth and a quarter of the way down the beach, foraging around the
driftwood logs and wrack.
Date: 12/27/24 7:12 pm From: Phil Brown <pdpbrown...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Santa Cruz CBC - preliminary results
And Black-Throated Grey Warbler, Phil Brown
On Fri, Dec 27, 2024, 13:19 Alex Rinkert <arinkert...> wrote:
> The Santa Cruz Christmas Bird Count was held last Saturday, December 21. > Despite some light showers in the morning and evening, we ended up having > an excellent count. The preliminary species tally for the day stands at 183 > species, the highest total since 2005! The recent 10-year average on this > count is 167 species, so we did quite well this year in that respect. On > top of that, the army of at least 120 birders who participated in the count > was the second-best turnout ever. As usual, how the total numbers of birds > fared will only be known after we have received and compiled all the data; > keep an eye out for the final results of the count in the spring issue of > the Albatross. > > Leading a long list of highlights on count day was the WHITE WAGTAIL (2nd > count record, 6th SCZ record) found by Emma Arul and group at Wilder Beach. > Additional highlights are listed below. > > Magnolia Warbler (Davenport, 2nd count record) > Black-footed Albatross (Wilder Ranch, 1st count record) > Short-eared Owl (Wilder Ranch, first on count since 1999) > Dunlin (DeAnza Mobile Home Park seawatch, first on count since 2003) > > Continuing rarities included the following: > Lark Bunting (westside Santa Cruz, 1st count record) > Clay-colored Sparrow (westside Santa Cruz, 2nd count record) > Barrow's Goldeneye (lower San Lorenzo River, 3rd count record) > Pacific Golden-Plover (three at Wilder Ranch, 3rd count record) > Summer Tanager, Bullock's Oriole, and Yellow Warbler > > In spite of the weather, our mountain and coastal teams managed to find > just about all the species that are expected. A few species we normally > have a good chance at finding but missed this year include White-winged > Scoter, Red Phalarope, and Scaly-breasted Munia. > > Thanks to all the participants, and especially the section leaders, for > enduring the rainy weather and making this one of the better counts in > recent memory! Also, we appreciate the Santa Cruz Bird Club (specifically > Ann Chandler and Larry Corridon) for organizing a countdown dinner with hot > food and drinks at the end of a long, fun day of birding. > > Have a safe and merry rest of the holiday season, > > Alex, Nick, Phil > *Co-compilers* > > -- > *My Comcast email is deactivated as of December 10, 2023. Please use this > Gmail address for all future correspondence.* > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "mbbirds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...> > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CABLSEopnZjsuJs7OwoOGcX%3DOC30dQDcPS17a9q%<3D68ketix7OEQ...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CABLSEopnZjsuJs7OwoOGcX%3DOC30dQDcPS17a9q%<3D68ketix7OEQ...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . >
Date: 12/27/24 1:19 pm From: Alex Rinkert <arinkert...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Santa Cruz CBC - preliminary results
The Santa Cruz Christmas Bird Count was held last Saturday, December 21. Despite some light showers in the morning and evening, we ended up having an excellent count. The preliminary species tally for the day stands at 183 species, the highest total since 2005! The recent 10-year average on this count is 167 species, so we did quite well this year in that respect. On top of that, the army of at least 120 birders who participated in the count was the second-best turnout ever. As usual, how the total numbers of birds fared will only be known after we have received and compiled all the data; keep an eye out for the final results of the count in the spring issue of the Albatross.
Leading a long list of highlights on count day was the WHITE WAGTAIL (2nd count record, 6th SCZ record) found by Emma Arul and group at Wilder Beach. Additional highlights are listed below.
Magnolia Warbler (Davenport, 2nd count record) Black-footed Albatross (Wilder Ranch, 1st count record) Short-eared Owl (Wilder Ranch, first on count since 1999) Dunlin (DeAnza Mobile Home Park seawatch, first on count since 2003)
Continuing rarities included the following: Lark Bunting (westside Santa Cruz, 1st count record) Clay-colored Sparrow (westside Santa Cruz, 2nd count record) Barrow's Goldeneye (lower San Lorenzo River, 3rd count record) Pacific Golden-Plover (three at Wilder Ranch, 3rd count record) Summer Tanager, Bullock's Oriole, and Yellow Warbler
In spite of the weather, our mountain and coastal teams managed to find just about all the species that are expected. A few species we normally have a good chance at finding but missed this year include White-winged Scoter, Red Phalarope, and Scaly-breasted Munia.
Thanks to all the participants, and especially the section leaders, for enduring the rainy weather and making this one of the better counts in recent memory! Also, we appreciate the Santa Cruz Bird Club (specifically Ann Chandler and Larry Corridon) for organizing a countdown dinner with hot food and drinks at the end of a long, fun day of birding.
Have a safe and merry rest of the holiday season,
Alex, Nick, Phil *Co-compilers*
-- *My Comcast email is deactivated as of December 10, 2023. Please use this Gmail address for all future correspondence.*
Date: 12/25/24 2:14 pm From: Kent Johnson <kentjohnson...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Wag Tail at overlook
The White Wagtail was at the far end of the Wilder Beach midday today, on and around the biggest log down there. It was visible from the overlook, but you will need a scope to identify it at that distance.
Kent Johnson ________________________________ From: <mbbirds...> <mbbirds...> on behalf of Matthew Coale <matthewcoale02...> Sent: Monday, December 23, 2024 12:08 PM To: Birds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Wag Tail at overlook
Possible wag tail at Wilder beach over look Sent from my iPhone please excuse any spelling or typing errors. Matthew
The Eastern Phoebe is still being seen this morning though seems to be
disappearing for long stretches. If you go careful parking as people drive
fast on empire grade! Best parking is just south of the fields.
-Abram
Sent from my phone
On Tue, Dec 24, 2024 at 17:36 Phoebe Jasper Barnes <jasper.barnes...>
wrote:
> Should have clarified, it was at Marshall Field on the upper campus
> trails! It was going back and forth all over the place but I got a look at
> it around here: (37.018750, -122.077250).
>
> --Phoebe
>
> On Tue, Dec 24, 2024 at 4:52 PM Phoebe Jasper Barnes <
> <jasper.barnes...> wrote:
>
>> Almost certainly an EASTERN PHOEBE right now up at UCSC upper campus in
>> big field just off empire grade. Singing, which is what tipped me off. Got
>> poor looks and recordings.
>>
>> —Phoebe (yes, I know!)
>>
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>
Should have clarified, it was at Marshall Field on the upper campus trails!
It was going back and forth all over the place but I got a look at it
around here: (37.018750, -122.077250).
--Phoebe
On Tue, Dec 24, 2024 at 4:52 PM Phoebe Jasper Barnes <
<jasper.barnes...> wrote:
> Almost certainly an EASTERN PHOEBE right now up at UCSC upper campus in
> big field just off empire grade. Singing, which is what tipped me off. Got
> poor looks and recordings.
>
> —Phoebe (yes, I know!)
>
Almost certainly an EASTERN PHOEBE right now up at UCSC upper campus in big
field just off empire grade. Singing, which is what tipped me off. Got poor
looks and recordings.
Date: 12/23/24 9:19 pm From: Alexander Gaguine <alexandergaguine...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Shrike at Wilder
A Loggerhead Shrike was at the top of the field along the Cowboy Loop trail at Wilder Ranch SP this afternoon. I don’t know if this was one of the places from which a shrike was reported Saturday for the CBC. It was on a strand of barbed wire.
Alexander
Date: 12/22/24 10:55 am From: <keitt.brad...> <keitt.brad...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] chat at fern grotto
No wagtail this morning but Alex found a yellow breasted chat at fern
grotto wilder ranch alongside the yellow warbler
Also a loggerhead shrike on the powerlines up the road toward town from the
farmhouse
Brad and Alex
(1234)
On Sun, Dec 22, 2024 at 10:17 AM 'William Tyler' via mbbirds <
<mbbirds...> wrote:
> Currently swimming between trestle and pipe.
>
> Breck Tyler
> Santa Cruz
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<0B07086C-C4E1-447F-A5BA-6CF6CA6F5FE6...> > .
>
Just a quick note from the Santa Cruz CBC today (as our count ebird lists are running behind…)….a WHITE WAGTAIL was found by Emma Arul on Wilder Beach today. It was seen from the overlook on Old Cove Landing trail, and was actively foraging on the beach, occasionally resting closer to the dunes.
Kumaran Arul
Santa Cruz
Date: 12/20/24 4:26 pm From: Paul Miller <paulbug.2876...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Bald Eagle
Besides the usuals on our Zayante Trail walk this morning, we had a BALD EAGLE fly over the Henry Cowell entrance bridge/ San Lorenzo River at around 930AM. It flew upstream, toward Graham Hill Rd. and out of sight. Later, some of the group had their best sightings ever of Pine Siskin --this was a new species for some of the group. Honorable mention to Belted Kingfisher and Green Heron at Roaring Camp. Later, I scoured the Mount Hermon creeks for American Dipper, with nothing to report. Paul Miller
Date: 12/19/24 4:13 pm From: 'Steven Rovell' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Santa Cruz CBC Question
Thanks, Phoebe -
This helps a lot. Was wondering if Swanton Pond was in or out, but I see out.
If anyone else has some more insight, I’d appreciate it.
Steve
> On Dec 19, 2024, at 4:03 PM, Phoebe Jasper Barnes <jasper.barnes...> wrote:
>
> From the map I was given, it looks like the Santa Cruz CBC circle extends almost to Davenport, though I could be wrong. You should find the circle attached here as a PDF.
>
> --Phoebe Barnes
>
> On Thu, Dec 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM 'Steven Rovell' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> <mailto:<mbbirds...>> wrote:
>> Hi All -
>>
>> I’ll be participating in this Saturday’s Santa Cruz CBC and have a simple question. What are the boundaries of the North Coast territory that includes Davenport? I’m trying to see if there are any rarities I should be keeping an eye out for.
>>
>> Steve Rovell
>> Marina (yeah, Monterey County)
>>
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>
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> <Santa-Cruz_CBC_Circle_Map.pdf>
From the map I was given, it looks like the Santa Cruz CBC circle extends
almost to Davenport, though I could be wrong. You should find the circle
attached here as a PDF.
--Phoebe Barnes
On Thu, Dec 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM 'Steven Rovell' via mbbirds <
<mbbirds...> wrote:
> Hi All -
>
> I’ll be participating in this Saturday’s Santa Cruz CBC and have a simple
> question. What are the boundaries of the North Coast territory that
> includes Davenport? I’m trying to see if there are any rarities I should
> be keeping an eye out for.
>
> Steve Rovell
> Marina (yeah, Monterey County)
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
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> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/<EBC4C1EF-71DE-4753-907F-5F97EB41DC87...> > .
>
Date: 12/19/24 4:00 pm From: 'Steven Rovell' via mbbirds <mbbirds...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Santa Cruz CBC Question
Hi All -
I’ll be participating in this Saturday’s Santa Cruz CBC and have a simple question. What are the boundaries of the North Coast territory that includes Davenport? I’m trying to see if there are any rarities I should be keeping an eye out for.
The handsome male ORCHARD ORIOLE continues at Tyrrell Park. Seen today around noon in the triangular patch of motley shrubs (ribes, coyote bush, rose hips) next to the museum. Excellent views.
Female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE also continues at the mouth of the San Lorenzo.
Date: 12/16/24 7:20 pm From: Arthur Macmillan <grrrrrrrrrr8...> Subject: Re: [MBBIRDS] Gulls + Octopuses at Capitola Beach at low tide
I was at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf yesterday and I saw a gull with a
small octopus on a joist that sticks out beyond the railing by a foot or
two. It is quite common for gulls and other birds to dine on these little
overhangs. See: https://www.flickr.com/photos/handsoff/54207765200/
I was pretty excited because I don't think I've ever seen a bird with an
octopus. You can see it was pretty small, and you would think that the gull
should have been able to eat it easily. However, you can see many possible
inky tentacle tracks on the gulls head. I have other pictures showing
tentacles around the bottom half of the bill, pinning its tongue, or the
top half of the bill. I would have thought the tentacles would be severed,
but maybe that's easier said than done! At least three times the entire
octopus was almost completely swallowed, only to be spat back up.
@ Sam, I think you photos are great! Sometimes the comment, and the
conditions make the photo. And yours conveyed the panic, and frenzy of this
strange episode. Thanks to Sam, Abram, Eric, and MBBirds! What an
interesting post!
Arthur Macmillan
Santa Cruz
On Mon, Dec 16, 2024 at 4:37 PM 'ERIC MILLER' via mbbirds <
<mbbirds...> wrote:
> A few weeks ago there were somee whalewatch boats reporting octos at the
> surface and the theory was the anchovies had sucked up all the o2 and they
> were looking for places to breath. Not sure but that was a few weeks ago we
> had all the die offs in monterey harbor- not just anchovy either.
> Eric
>
>
> On Dec 16, 2024, at 2:04 PM, Abram Fleishman <abfleishman...>
> wrote:
>
>
> Hi PSG, I am forwarding this email from a local birder here in Santa Cruz,
> CA as I think the observation is phenomenal and it I am curious if any of
> the seabird folks in PSG might have thoughts on Sam’s observation below?
>
> -Abram
>
> Sent from my phone
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 16, 2024 at 12:10 Sam Rawlins <sam.rawlins...> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I witnessed something super new, to me, on Saturday evening at low tide:
>> I went to Capitola Beach (at Britannia Arms, walking East along the coast
>> towards New Brighton), at ~4pm, for some low tide tide-pooling. However,
>> because of the storm surge (I assume), the water was completely opaque,
>> muddy brown. There wasn't a prayer of being able to see anything under the
>> surface. However, the gulls were going nuts!
>>
>> There were several dozen gulls present; I've never seen so many gulls in
>> the tide pool area, and they were all actively poking around, feeding. As I
>> watched for 45 minutes, they pulled octopus after octopus after octopus out
>> of the water.
>>
>> I* made an iNat observation for the octopuses with the best photos I
>> could manage: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255137963 >> <https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255137963>* >>
>> Typically one gull would pull an octopus fully out of the water, an
>> octopus maybe the size of my hand, sometimes half that size, and
>> immediately 5-8 nearby gulls would jump in and start fighting over the
>> octopus. They would fight over the thing for up to a minute. I think
>> sometimes between them they managed to eat it all, and sometimes they would
>> lose the octopus in the muddy water; they were in deep-ish water (6-18
>> inches) and so each incoming wave would interrupt the frenzy. Sometimes the
>> octopus would be so small that the first gull would just take flight and
>> manage to swallow it whole within a few seconds of being pursued by the
>> others.
>>
>> *I think I saw the gulls pull out more than 20 octopuses out of the
>> water!* I've never seen anything remotely like this, and a Google search
>> didn't reveal much to me outside of a few sensationalized videos and photos
>> of "gull attacking octopus" and "octopus attacking gull", so *I'm very
>> curious to know how common this is?*
>>
>> *And why/how did it start?* There are never gulls like this at the tide
>> pools that I've seen. Is it a combination of King Tide + storm surge? Were
>> these dead octopuses? Were they dazed octopuses, knocked around by an
>> unusual surf + low tide? Do the gulls know ahead of time or can they see /
>> smell them? Or does one gull just happen upon an octopus, and then another
>> gull finds one, and then "word spreads", so to speak?
>>
>> I'd like to know because it was killing me that I only had my underwater
>> Olympus TG-6 camera, and my smartphone. If this type of event is
>> predictable, I'd love to go out there with my mirrorless camera, and get
>> some better, sharper, zoomier shots.
>>
>> (I'm not a great gull identifier, but here's what I can tell you: 4/5 of
>> them had juvenile plumage (is that weird?). Of the few adults, I think I
>> only saw Western Gulls in the melee. On the outskirts of the activity (not
>> fighting with the others) were two Ring-billed Gulls and a Great Egret.)
>>
>> *Thanks for any info!*
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sam Rawlins
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "mbbirds" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
>> To view this discussion visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CAP%2BE9jif40cVEx%<2BSH66y2O47FRUGB2UwdZ6m359A-CqOrFb7KQ...> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CAP%2BE9jif40cVEx%<2BSH66y2O47FRUGB2UwdZ6m359A-CqOrFb7KQ...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> .
>>
> --
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>
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>
Date: 12/16/24 2:04 pm From: Abram Fleishman <abfleishman...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Gulls + Octopuses at Capitola Beach at low tide
Hi PSG, I am forwarding this email from a local birder here in Santa Cruz,
CA as I think the observation is phenomenal and it I am curious if any of
the seabird folks in PSG might have thoughts on Sam’s observation below?
-Abram
Sent from my phone
On Mon, Dec 16, 2024 at 12:10 Sam Rawlins <sam.rawlins...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I witnessed something super new, to me, on Saturday evening at low tide: I
> went to Capitola Beach (at Britannia Arms, walking East along the coast
> towards New Brighton), at ~4pm, for some low tide tide-pooling. However,
> because of the storm surge (I assume), the water was completely opaque,
> muddy brown. There wasn't a prayer of being able to see anything under the
> surface. However, the gulls were going nuts!
>
> There were several dozen gulls present; I've never seen so many gulls in
> the tide pool area, and they were all actively poking around, feeding. As I
> watched for 45 minutes, they pulled octopus after octopus after octopus out
> of the water.
>
> I* made an iNat observation for the octopuses with the best photos I
> could manage: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255137963 > <https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/255137963>* >
> Typically one gull would pull an octopus fully out of the water, an
> octopus maybe the size of my hand, sometimes half that size, and
> immediately 5-8 nearby gulls would jump in and start fighting over the
> octopus. They would fight over the thing for up to a minute. I think
> sometimes between them they managed to eat it all, and sometimes they would
> lose the octopus in the muddy water; they were in deep-ish water (6-18
> inches) and so each incoming wave would interrupt the frenzy. Sometimes the
> octopus would be so small that the first gull would just take flight and
> manage to swallow it whole within a few seconds of being pursued by the
> others.
>
> *I think I saw the gulls pull out more than 20 octopuses out of the water!*
> I've never seen anything remotely like this, and a Google search didn't
> reveal much to me outside of a few sensationalized videos and photos of
> "gull attacking octopus" and "octopus attacking gull", so *I'm very
> curious to know how common this is?*
>
> *And why/how did it start?* There are never gulls like this at the tide
> pools that I've seen. Is it a combination of King Tide + storm surge? Were
> these dead octopuses? Were they dazed octopuses, knocked around by an
> unusual surf + low tide? Do the gulls know ahead of time or can they see /
> smell them? Or does one gull just happen upon an octopus, and then another
> gull finds one, and then "word spreads", so to speak?
>
> I'd like to know because it was killing me that I only had my underwater
> Olympus TG-6 camera, and my smartphone. If this type of event is
> predictable, I'd love to go out there with my mirrorless camera, and get
> some better, sharper, zoomier shots.
>
> (I'm not a great gull identifier, but here's what I can tell you: 4/5 of
> them had juvenile plumage (is that weird?). Of the few adults, I think I
> only saw Western Gulls in the melee. On the outskirts of the activity (not
> fighting with the others) were two Ring-billed Gulls and a Great Egret.)
>
> *Thanks for any info!*
>
>
> --
> Sam Rawlins
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "mbbirds" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to mbbirds+<unsubscribe...>
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CAP%2BE9jif40cVEx%<2BSH66y2O47FRUGB2UwdZ6m359A-CqOrFb7KQ...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mbbirds/CAP%2BE9jif40cVEx%<2BSH66y2O47FRUGB2UwdZ6m359A-CqOrFb7KQ...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
Date: 12/16/24 12:10 pm From: Sam Rawlins <sam.rawlins...> Subject: [MBBIRDS] Gulls + Octopuses at Capitola Beach at low tide
Hi all,
I witnessed something super new, to me, on Saturday evening at low tide: I went to Capitola Beach (at Britannia Arms, walking East along the coast towards New Brighton), at ~4pm, for some low tide tide-pooling. However, because of the storm surge (I assume), the water was completely opaque, muddy brown. There wasn't a prayer of being able to see anything under the surface. However, the gulls were going nuts!
There were several dozen gulls present; I've never seen so many gulls in the tide pool area, and they were all actively poking around, feeding. As I watched for 45 minutes, they pulled octopus after octopus after octopus out of the water.
Typically one gull would pull an octopus fully out of the water, an octopus maybe the size of my hand, sometimes half that size, and immediately 5-8 nearby gulls would jump in and start fighting over the octopus. They would fight over the thing for up to a minute. I think sometimes between them they managed to eat it all, and sometimes they would lose the octopus in the muddy water; they were in deep-ish water (6-18 inches) and so each incoming wave would interrupt the frenzy. Sometimes the octopus would be so small that the first gull would just take flight and manage to swallow it whole within a few seconds of being pursued by the others.
*I think I saw the gulls pull out more than 20 octopuses out of the water!* I've never seen anything remotely like this, and a Google search didn't reveal much to me outside of a few sensationalized videos and photos of "gull attacking octopus" and "octopus attacking gull", so *I'm very curious to know how common this is?*
*And why/how did it start?* There are never gulls like this at the tide pools that I've seen. Is it a combination of King Tide + storm surge? Were these dead octopuses? Were they dazed octopuses, knocked around by an unusual surf + low tide? Do the gulls know ahead of time or can they see / smell them? Or does one gull just happen upon an octopus, and then another gull finds one, and then "word spreads", so to speak?
I'd like to know because it was killing me that I only had my underwater Olympus TG-6 camera, and my smartphone. If this type of event is predictable, I'd love to go out there with my mirrorless camera, and get some better, sharper, zoomier shots.
(I'm not a great gull identifier, but here's what I can tell you: 4/5 of them had juvenile plumage (is that weird?). Of the few adults, I think I only saw Western Gulls in the melee. On the outskirts of the activity (not fighting with the others) were two Ring-billed Gulls and a Great Egret.)
