RBA
* California
* Southeastern
* April 26, 2006
* CASE0604.26
This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial,
Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Birds mentioned
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Brant
Wood Duck
Cinnamon Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Western Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Long-Billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Black Tern
Elegant Tern
Eurasian Collared Dove
Short-eared Owl
White-throated Swift
Vaux’s Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
“Western” Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin’s Kingbird
Bell’s Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Cactus Wren
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Phainopepla
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Blue Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
Black-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole
Tricolored Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
- Transcript
Reports summarized this week are from San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial
Counties.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
Wednesday, April 19, Sandy Koonce spotted two PHAINOPEPLAS, a male and a
female, at his property in Redlands.
Sam Haskins reported from his private property near Flag Hill Park in
Yucaipa on April 20. He had 2 LAZULI BUNTINGS, 5 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, a
few BULLOCK’S ORIOLES, and two HOODED ORIOLES drinking from his hummingbird
feeders.
Tom Benson reported on birding around CSU San Bernardino on April 20.
Highlights included a male WESTERN TANAGER, 8 CINNAMON TEAL and a
RING-NECKED DUCK in a flooded retention basin just east of the campus, and a
pair of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, presumably returning for their fourth year.
There were also abundant WESTERN KINGBIRDS, BULLOCK’S ORIOLES, and
LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES.
Kyri Freeman reported from Black Rock Canyon in Joshua Tree National Park on
April 23. There were SCOTT’S ORIOLES, CACTUS WREN, LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES,
and a pair of CHIPPING SPARROWS. Kyri also heard a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW
singing, and saw a WESTERN TANAGER as well as a MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER and a
TOWNSEND’S WARBLER. The Townsend’s was foraging in a pine along the Panorama
Loop.
Stephen Myers reported on a field trip to Mojave Narrows Regional Park in
Victorville. The group saw 103 species including 10 species of
warblers—approximately 100 WILSON’S WARBLERS, many ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS,
YELLOW WARBLERS, TOWNSEND’S WARBLERS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, BLACK-THROATED
GRAY WARBLERS, and one HERMIT WARBLER. They also saw a number of Empids
including 15 HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHERS, 3 “WESTERN” FLYCATCHERS, 3 GRAY
FLYCATCHERS and an early WILLOW FLYCATCHER. Many shorebirds were also seen
including: SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, LEAST SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, SPOTTED
SANDPIPER, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
and WILSON’S SNIPE. A pair of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS is still near the old
silos, and another male was in the picnic area near the north end of
Horseshoe Lake. A small GREAT BLUE HERON rookery near Pelican Lake has some
fairly large nestlings visible.
Some interesting birds are coming in as yard and feeder sightings. Curtis
Croulet noted CHIPPING SPARROW and LARK SPARROW, as well as LAWRENCE’S
GOLDFINCH. Sandy Koonce and numerous others have reported a virtual invasion
of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and numerous LAZULI BUNTING at bird
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Larry LaPre found a pair of LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCH in Bautista Canyon, south
of Hemet on April 19. To reach the canyon, take Fairview off Highway 74 and
keep going. Bird the area along Hickson Trail. Later in the week, on April
22, he reported on a trip to the Coachella Valley Preserve. Birds included:
WILSON’S, NASHVILLE, and TENNESSEE WARBLER, WARBLING VIREO, PACIFIC SLOPE
FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER,
and COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD.
Madeline Bauer reported from Mira Loma on April 20. She spotted a
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER foraging in the trees along 66th west of
Etiwanda, on the border of the Goose Creek Golf Course. She also noted
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, and a late CASSIN’S
KINGBIRD. She also saw WESTERN TANAGER, HOODED ORIOLE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD,
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and WESTERN WOOD PEWEE in the same area later in
the week.
Sandy Koonce filed a report from Hidden Valley on April 20. Highlights
included: 5+ BELL’S VIREO, BLUE GROSBEAKS, lots of WOOD DUCKS, LAZULI
BUNTING, BULLOCK’S ORIOLE, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, GRAY FLYCATCHER,
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and VAUX’S SWIFT.
Jennifer and Michelle Tobin saw two male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS on Box
Springs Mountain on April 21. The birds were both just down from where the
top of the Spring Trail meets the dirt road.
Howard King posted a report on April 24 from San Jacinto Wildlife Area.
Highlights there included: 8 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 50+ SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 2
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES, a breeding colony of TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD at pond
1, and lots of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS at ponds B and E.
John Green echoed the report of a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK invasion at home
feeders. He had over 20 feeding at one station at one time, and approximated
50 birds present on his property. Sandee Kostoff, from the north end of Palm
Springs, also noted a lot of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS (about 50) and WESTERN
TANAGERS (35) in his yard during migration. He also felt he had seen a
larger number of LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES at his feeders than in past years.
IMPERIAL COUNTY
Guy McCaskie posted a report from the Imperial Valley, where he saw more
than 140 species on April 24. Interesting birds included: VAUX’S SWIFT,
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (a female near El Centro), WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,
HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER, “WESTERN” FLYCATCHER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER,
CASSIN’S VIREO, WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON’S THRUSH (2 near El Centro), HERMIT
THRUSH, WESTERN TANAGER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, LAZULI BUNTING, as well as
five species of swallow, ten species of wood warbler, and two species of
oriole. Guy also saw small numbers of BLACK TERN. His most noteworthy birds
included 2 BRANT and an adult male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER on Sheldon
Reservoir, 2 COMMON LOONS at Fig Lagoon, a WANDERING TATTLER near Rock Hill,
2 RUDDY TURNSTONE at Red Hill, and ELEGANT TERN at Fig Lagoon and 6 more at
the Rock Hill ponds.
Rachel Taylor reported seeing 3 BLACK TERNS flying over the pond near the
end of Rock Hill Trail at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Headquarters on
April 19. On April 21, she and Scott Quayle spotted a SHORT-EARED OWL on
Obsidian Butte near the boar dock and geological testing station.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's it for today. This summary is done weekly, usually on Thursday.
GOOD BIRDING!
Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba@earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
RBA phone (909)793-5599
For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have information on
any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in this report, PLEASE LET
US KNOW. We can't update reports if we don't hear from you.
* California
* Southeastern
* April 26, 2006
* CASE0604.26
This is the Southeastern CA weekly RBA summary. We cover Imperial,
Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Birds mentioned
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Brant
Wood Duck
Cinnamon Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Wandering Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Western Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Long-Billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Black Tern
Elegant Tern
Eurasian Collared Dove
Short-eared Owl
White-throated Swift
Vaux’s Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
“Western” Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin’s Kingbird
Bell’s Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Cactus Wren
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Phainopepla
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Blue Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
Black-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Hooded Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole
Tricolored Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
- Transcript
Reports summarized this week are from San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial
Counties.
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
Wednesday, April 19, Sandy Koonce spotted two PHAINOPEPLAS, a male and a
female, at his property in Redlands.
Sam Haskins reported from his private property near Flag Hill Park in
Yucaipa on April 20. He had 2 LAZULI BUNTINGS, 5 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS, a
few BULLOCK’S ORIOLES, and two HOODED ORIOLES drinking from his hummingbird
feeders.
Tom Benson reported on birding around CSU San Bernardino on April 20.
Highlights included a male WESTERN TANAGER, 8 CINNAMON TEAL and a
RING-NECKED DUCK in a flooded retention basin just east of the campus, and a
pair of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS, presumably returning for their fourth year.
There were also abundant WESTERN KINGBIRDS, BULLOCK’S ORIOLES, and
LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES.
Kyri Freeman reported from Black Rock Canyon in Joshua Tree National Park on
April 23. There were SCOTT’S ORIOLES, CACTUS WREN, LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES,
and a pair of CHIPPING SPARROWS. Kyri also heard a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW
singing, and saw a WESTERN TANAGER as well as a MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER and a
TOWNSEND’S WARBLER. The Townsend’s was foraging in a pine along the Panorama
Loop.
Stephen Myers reported on a field trip to Mojave Narrows Regional Park in
Victorville. The group saw 103 species including 10 species of
warblers—approximately 100 WILSON’S WARBLERS, many ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS,
YELLOW WARBLERS, TOWNSEND’S WARBLERS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, BLACK-THROATED
GRAY WARBLERS, and one HERMIT WARBLER. They also saw a number of Empids
including 15 HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHERS, 3 “WESTERN” FLYCATCHERS, 3 GRAY
FLYCATCHERS and an early WILLOW FLYCATCHER. Many shorebirds were also seen
including: SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, LEAST SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, SPOTTED
SANDPIPER, SOLITARY SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
and WILSON’S SNIPE. A pair of VERMILION FLYCATCHERS is still near the old
silos, and another male was in the picnic area near the north end of
Horseshoe Lake. A small GREAT BLUE HERON rookery near Pelican Lake has some
fairly large nestlings visible.
Some interesting birds are coming in as yard and feeder sightings. Curtis
Croulet noted CHIPPING SPARROW and LARK SPARROW, as well as LAWRENCE’S
GOLDFINCH. Sandy Koonce and numerous others have reported a virtual invasion
of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and numerous LAZULI BUNTING at bird
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Larry LaPre found a pair of LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCH in Bautista Canyon, south
of Hemet on April 19. To reach the canyon, take Fairview off Highway 74 and
keep going. Bird the area along Hickson Trail. Later in the week, on April
22, he reported on a trip to the Coachella Valley Preserve. Birds included:
WILSON’S, NASHVILLE, and TENNESSEE WARBLER, WARBLING VIREO, PACIFIC SLOPE
FLYCATCHER, WESTERN TANAGER, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER,
and COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD.
Madeline Bauer reported from Mira Loma on April 20. She spotted a
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER foraging in the trees along 66th west of
Etiwanda, on the border of the Goose Creek Golf Course. She also noted
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, and a late CASSIN’S
KINGBIRD. She also saw WESTERN TANAGER, HOODED ORIOLE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD,
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and WESTERN WOOD PEWEE in the same area later in
the week.
Sandy Koonce filed a report from Hidden Valley on April 20. Highlights
included: 5+ BELL’S VIREO, BLUE GROSBEAKS, lots of WOOD DUCKS, LAZULI
BUNTING, BULLOCK’S ORIOLE, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, GRAY FLYCATCHER,
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, and VAUX’S SWIFT.
Jennifer and Michelle Tobin saw two male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS on Box
Springs Mountain on April 21. The birds were both just down from where the
top of the Spring Trail meets the dirt road.
Howard King posted a report on April 24 from San Jacinto Wildlife Area.
Highlights there included: 8 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 50+ SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 2
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES, a breeding colony of TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD at pond
1, and lots of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS at ponds B and E.
John Green echoed the report of a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK invasion at home
feeders. He had over 20 feeding at one station at one time, and approximated
50 birds present on his property. Sandee Kostoff, from the north end of Palm
Springs, also noted a lot of BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS (about 50) and WESTERN
TANAGERS (35) in his yard during migration. He also felt he had seen a
larger number of LAWRENCE’S GOLDFINCHES at his feeders than in past years.
IMPERIAL COUNTY
Guy McCaskie posted a report from the Imperial Valley, where he saw more
than 140 species on April 24. Interesting birds included: VAUX’S SWIFT,
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (a female near El Centro), WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,
HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER, “WESTERN” FLYCATCHER, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER,
CASSIN’S VIREO, WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON’S THRUSH (2 near El Centro), HERMIT
THRUSH, WESTERN TANAGER, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, LAZULI BUNTING, as well as
five species of swallow, ten species of wood warbler, and two species of
oriole. Guy also saw small numbers of BLACK TERN. His most noteworthy birds
included 2 BRANT and an adult male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER on Sheldon
Reservoir, 2 COMMON LOONS at Fig Lagoon, a WANDERING TATTLER near Rock Hill,
2 RUDDY TURNSTONE at Red Hill, and ELEGANT TERN at Fig Lagoon and 6 more at
the Rock Hill ponds.
Rachel Taylor reported seeing 3 BLACK TERNS flying over the pond near the
end of Rock Hill Trail at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Headquarters on
April 19. On April 21, she and Scott Quayle spotted a SHORT-EARED OWL on
Obsidian Butte near the boar dock and geological testing station.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's it for today. This summary is done weekly, usually on Thursday.
GOOD BIRDING!
Kirk and Linda Stitt
secalrba@earthlink.net
San Bernardino, CA
RBA phone (909)793-5599
For more frequent updates, see the note below. If you have information on
any new rare birds or updates on any of the birds in this report, PLEASE LET
US KNOW. We can't update reports if we don't hear from you.