QL 671 . A9 1 6 BIRD American Birding SWITCH/121 IT’S THAT SIMPLE. , f ; - \ ■: - . ILIETUIPOILIO- AMERICA'S OPTICS AUTHORITY’ . 1-800-LEUPOLD » www.leupold.com ©2007 Leupold & Stevens, Inc. The Nesting Season: June through July 2006 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS • AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION • VOLUME 60 • NUMBER 4 • 2 0 0 7 Response of night-migrating songbirds in cloud to colored and flashing light William R. Evans, Yukio Akashi, Naomi S. Altman, and Albert M. Manville, II 490 The Changing Seasons: Business as usual Edward S. Brinkley 498 Editors’ Notebook The Regional Reports 500 Atlantic Provinces & St. Pierre et Miquelon Bruce Mactavish 502 Quebec Pierre Bannon, Olivier Barden, Normand David, Samuel Denault, and Yves Aubry 504 New England Wayne R. Petersen 508 Hudson-Delaware Robert 0. Paxton and Richard R. Veit 513 Middle Atlantic Todd M. Day 517 Southern Atlantic Ricky Davis 519 Florida Bill Pranty 52 Ontario Mark H. Cranford 525 Eastern Highlands & Upper Ohio River Valley Victor W. Fazio, III, and Rick Wiltraut 527 Illinois & Indiana James Hengeveld, Keith A. McMullen, and Geoffrey A. Williamson 530 Western Great Lakes PederH.Svingen 533 Iowa & Missouri James J. Dinsmore 535 Tennessee & Kentucky Chris Sloan and Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr. 537 Central Southern Robert D. Purrington 540 Northern Canada Cameron D. Eckert 542 Prairie Provinces Rudolf F. Koes and Peter Taylor 544 Northern Great Plains Ron Martin 546 Southern Great Plains W. Ross Silcock and Joseph A. Grzybowski 549 Texas Mark W. Lockwood, Randy Pinkston, and Ron Weeks 553 Colorado & Wyoming Tony Leukering, Bill Schmoker, and Christopher L. Wood 556 Waho & Western Montana David Trochlell 557 Great Basin Rick Fridell 558 New Mexico Sartor 0. Williams, III 562 Arizona Mark M. Stevenson and Gary H. Rosenberg 564 Alaska Thede Tobish 568 British Columbia Donald G. Cecile Oregon & Washington Steven Mlodinow, David Irons, and BillTweit 574 Northern California Michael M. Rogers, Steven A. Glover, Ed Pandolfino, and Scott B. Terrill 578 Southern California Guy McCaskie and Kimball L. Garrett 582 Baja California Peninsula Richard A. Erickson, Robert A. Hamilton, Roberto Carmona, and Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos 584 Mexico . Hector Gomez de Silva 587 Central America H. Lee Jones and Oliver Komar 589 West Indies & Bermuda Robert L. Norton, Anthony White, and Andrew Dobson 591 Hawaiian Islands Robert L. Pyle and Peter Donaldson 594 Pictorial Highlights On the cover: Kittlitz's Murreiet is a little-known species of Alaska and Siberia that is closely tied to tidewater glaciers and nests on steep, rocky mountainsides and talus slopes above timber- line, generally near glaciers and cirques. The recession of glaciers throughout Alaska means that this small seabird may be threatened with extinction in the near future. This nestling was located by the photographer on Kodiak island, Alaska, 6 August 2006. Please refer to the Special Attention item in the Alaskan regional report in this issue. Photograph by Stacy Studebaker. A American Birding® ASSOCIA TION CHAIR Bettie R. Harriman BOARD OF DIRECTORS Charles Bell David M. Bird Paul Bristow Donnie Dann John C. Kricher Bernard Master Father Tom Pincelli William R. Stott, Jr. Harry Tow Simon Walker Bob Warneke Anthony W. White Erika Wilson PRESIDENTS CEO Richard H. Payne SECRETARY OF THE ABA Carol Wallace FINANCE Christine James Debbie Linster BIRDERS' EXCHANGE Elissa La Voie Betty Petersen CONVENTIONS AND CONFERENCES Tanrie Bulow EDUCATION Lori Fujimoto MEMBERSHIP Rich Downing Brenda Gibb CONSERVATION Betty Petersen GENERAL COUNSEL Daniel T. Williams, Jr. PAST PRESIDENTS Richard H. Payne (1999-2006) Allan R. Keith (1997-1999) Daniel T. Williams, Jr. (1993-1997) Allan R. Keith (1989-1993) Lawrence G. Batch (1983-1989) Joseph W. Taylor (1979-1983) Arnold Small (1976-1979) G. Stuart Keith (1973-1976) G. 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PUBLISHER DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS PUBLICATIONS CHAIR American Birding Association Bryan Patrick John C. Kricher EDITOR COPY EDITOR Edward S. Brinkley Virginia Maynard (ensifera@aol.com) ASSOCIATE EDITORS Louis R. Bevier P. A. Buckley Stephen J. Dinsmore Alvaro Jaramillo Paul E. Lehman Bill Pranty Alan Wormington PHOTO EDITOR Brian Sullivan (heraldpetrel@gmail.com) REGIONAL EDITORS Bruce H. Anderson, Yves Aubry, Margaret J. C. Bain, Pierre Bannon, Olivier Barden, Adam M. Byrne, Roberto Carmona, Steven W. Cardiff, Eric Carpenter, Robert I. Cecil, Donald G. Cecile, C. Dwight Cooley, Brian Dalzell, Normand David, Ricky Davis, Todd M. Day, Samuel Denault, James J. Dinsmore, Andrew Dobson, Peter Donaldson, Cameron D. Eckert, Bill Eddleman, David H. Elder, Walter G. Ellison, Richard A. Erickson, Victor W. Fazio III, Rick Frideil, Kimball L. Garrett, Steven A. Glover, Hector Gomez de Silva, Joseph A. Grzybowski, Robert A. Hamilton, James Hengeveld, Pam Hunt, David Irons, Greg D. Jackson, H. Lee Jones, Rudolf E Koes, Oliver Komar, Tony Leukering, Mark Lockwood, Bruce Mactavish, Blake A. Mann, Nancy L. Martin, Ron E. Martin, Blake Maybank, Guy McCaskie, Steve McConnell, Keith A. McMullen, Steven G. Mlodinow, Robert L. Norton, Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr., Edward Pandolfino, Robert O. Paxton, Simon Perkins, Wayne R. Petersen, Randy Pinkston, Bill Pranty, Robert D. Purrington, Robert L. Pyle, Michael M. Rogers, Frank Rohrbacher, Gary H. Rosenberg, Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos, Willie Sekula, Larry Semo, W Ross Silcock, Chris Sloan, Mark M. Stevenson, Peder Svingen, Peter Taylor, Scott B. Terrill, Thede Tobish, David Trochlell, Bill Tweit, Richard R. Veit, Ron Weeks, Anthony W. White, Sartor O. Williams 111, Geoffrey A. Williamson, Rick Wiltraut SUBSCRIPTIONS GRAPHIC DESIGN ADVERTISING Brenda Gibb Jim Harris Ken Barron Ed Rother North American Birds (ISSN 1525-3708) (USPS 872-200) is published quarterly by the American Birding Associa- tion, Inc. 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Unbelievable •Home to 1,000,000 Fur Seals •Spectacular Seabird Colonies •Arctic Fox and Reindeer •Brilliant Showcase of Wildflowers •Historic Russian Church Looking for a Birding Adventure P Go offshore with Seabirding • Pelagic trips since 1986 • Departures from Virginia Beach, V A Oregon Inlet, NC Hatteras, NC aboard the best & fastest boats available • Friendly knowledgeable leaders with extensive offshore experience • Chum for bringing the birds close • Winter trips for Great Skua andalcids • Spring & summer trips for Gulf Stream specialties including rare Pterodromas and tropicbirds • Late summer trips for White-faced Storm-Petrel For more information contact Brian Patteson Seabirding P.O. Box 772 Hatteras NC 27943 (252) 986-1363 http://www.seabirding.com Pfjstoml from Ann: Wmcter> AttU: Birding on the Edge Contact ABA Sales to orderyour copy today! www.abasales.com 800/634-7736 American Birding y/owJeFdh O' A miscellany of personal essays, historical narratives, poems, maps, photos, and an extensive annotated checklist A chronicle of North America's finest destination for rarities ABA Member Price $28.00 (List price $35M) lierh #099 VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 475 I Response of night-migrating songbirds in doud to colored and flashing light WILLIAM R. EVANS • OLD BIRD, INC. • 605 WEST STATE STREET • ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850 • (CORRESPONDING AUTHOR; E-MAIL: WREVANS@CLARITYCONNECT.COM) YUKIO AKASHI • LIGHTING RESEARCH CENTER • RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE • 21 UNION STREET • TROY, NEW YORK 12180 NAOMI S. ALTMAN • DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS • PENN STATE UNIVERSITY • UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA 16802-2111 ALBERT M. MANVILLE, II • UNITED STATES FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE • 4401 NORTH FAIRFAX DRIVE, MBSP 4107 • ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22203 Abstract Night-migrating birds often accumulate near bright man-made light on nights with low cloud cover or rain. Mass avian mortality events associated with this phenomenon have been documented for more than 150 years. Understanding the mechanism that induces the aggregation of migrants in lighted air- space could lead to a reduction in such mor- tality. Toward this end, we subjected night- migrating birds flying in dense cloud cover to alternating short periods of different artificial light characteristics. Bird aggregation oc- curred during periods of white, blue, and green light but not in red light or flashing white light. We discuss these results with re- spect to visual and magnetoreception-based aggregation theories and the phenomenon of light-induced bird mortality at tall television towers in North America. Introduction The nocturnal migration of birds evolved with only starlight and moonlight as consis- tent photon sources. It is known that some species utilize this subtle light for navigation- al aid. They use point sources of light in stel- lar arrays around the North Star for orienta- tion on clear nights (Sauer 1957, Emlen 1967), and on cloudy nights they can orient by sensing the axial inclination of the earths magnetic held through a light-dependent mechanism, probably residing in their eye (Wiltschko et al. 1993, Ritz et al. 2000, Ritz et al. 2004, Mouritsen et al. 2004, Moller et al. 2004, Thalau et al. 2005). The groundswell of artificial lighting asso- ciated with modern human habitation has greatly altered the earths nocturnal photic en- vironment. Little is known about how this light affects migrants on clear nights, but birds have long been observed to aggregate in flight around isolated bright light sources during nights with low cloud ceiling or with light to moderate rain. The phenomenon was widely recognized at coastal lighthouses in western Europe and eastern North America in the nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, artificial lighting was known to be a principal agent for causing large bird kills at airport ceilometers, tall television (TV) tow- ers, smokestacks, and tall buildings in inland eastern North America (for a recent review, see Gauthreaux and Belser 2006). In North America, aviation obstruction lighting on tall TV towers was documented to cause bird aggregation behavior by Cochran and Graber (1958) and in a subsequent study by Avery et al. (1976). The towers in these studies had multiple tiers of slow flashing red beacons, each alternating with a tier of non- flashing red beacons in accordance with Unit- ed States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. By the 1970s, bird kills at such towers were widespread in eastern North America (Weir 1976, Avery et al. 1980), with annual mortality of more than 2000 birds per year at some towers (Banks 1979). One long-term study found more than 120,000 bird carcasses under a 300-m TV tower from 1957-1995 (Kemper 1996). This included 24 individual nights when more than 1000 birds were documented killed in the tower’s vicinity (Kemper, pers. comm.). Such large nocturnal tower kills appear to be exclusively associated with low cloud cover or rain; under such conditions, a towers avia- tion obstruction lights clearly induce aggrega- tions of migrating birds (primarily species in the order Passeriformes). Most of the kills are believed to result when birds collide with a tower’s supporting guy wires, the tower itself, or from mid-air collisions with other flying birds. 476 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Wavelength (nm) Figure 2. Spectral power distributions of radiation with and without filters used in this study. Measurements are for a single halogen lamp (750W; with UV filter). Filter codes: noF = no filter, wBF = blue filter, wRF = red filter, and wGF = green filter. More than 30 years ago, Avery et al. (1976) called for field studies on the reactions of night-migrating birds to lights of various in- tensities, wavelengths, and flash rates as a means for increasing our understanding of bird aggregation at tall lighted towers. We re- port here on the first direct investigation of these artificial light variables for causing bird aggregation. In October 2005, on five nights with steady bird migration and a cloud layer at ground level, we alternated periods of skyward-facing bright light of known spectrum and irradi- ance with periods of no light. Acoustic moni- toring of avian flight-calls was used to indi- cate the presence or absence of flying birds during all light and dark periods. Visual ob- servations of birds flying in the lighted space were made to verify bird aggregation during nonflashing light periods. We concluded that a specific light type in- duced bird aggregation if periods of that light corresponded with strong acoustic and visual evidence for the presence of birds in at least four consecutive alternating cycles with a pe- riod of a different light type and/or a period of no light in which bird presence was not strongly documented. Good correspondence between the acoustic and visual data during nonflashing light periods gave us confidence in relying on the acoustic data for evaluating flashing light tests when we could not verify the presence or absence of birds visually. We first documented that white light could be used to induce migrant bird aggregation. We then experimented with flashing white light, three different colors, and a combination of red incandescent beacons commonly used for marking aviation hazard on tall TV towers. Materials and methods Rationale for study method To document whether bird aggregation is oc- curring in a given airspace subject to artificial light alterations, one needs some means to as- sess the quantity of birds flying in that air- space. Since the visually based studies by Cochran and Graber (1958) and Avery et al. (1976), four studies of bird flight behavior in the vicinity of TV towers with aviation ob- struction lighting have been reported, each employing a different method. Larkin and Frase (1988) used tracking radar. Gauthreaux used a thermal imaging device, and Gau- threaux and Belser used an image intensifier (Gauthreaux and Belser 2006). Johnson (2005) used marine radar. The primary focus of these studies was on the flight behavior of birds, and whether it was linear, curved, or hovering. Though some documented passage rate, quantification of flying birds involved in actual aggregation events was not reported. Because these studies were all carried out at tall TV towers, the lights involved in altering avian flight behavior were well above ground level. The birds studied were generally well above ground level but under a low cloud ceiling, not flying within cloud. Our investigation aimed to study bird ag- gregation at a ground-based light source in dense cloud. This scenario presents unique challenges for trying to monitor systematical- ly the quantity of birds in the airspace near the light. Many nocturnal migration studies have used marine radar in the surveillance mode to attempt to quantify a passage rate for targets proceeding directionally in migration. But this technique can have problems with echoes from ground clutter and in detecting very low-flying birds. Quantifying masses of birds in aggregation around artificial lights would be difficult with marine radar in the surveillance mode, and there is a potential problem of validating that the targets are birds. The use of flight speed as a criterion for distinguishing birds from insects may not be reliable during aggregation events. When marine radar is used in the vertical mode, ground clutter can be eliminated, and low-flying birds can be detected. But in cases where birds are milling around in lighted air- space, quantitative resolution is greatly di- minished due to the inability to track individ- ual birds that may repeatedly pass through the radar beam. Counts are reduced to being merely target activity indicators. Thermal imaging, image intensifier, and vi- sual (in conjunction with a light source) tech- niques may allow one to distinguish more ac- curately between birds, bats, and large in- sects, but operation is impeded by cloud and rain conditions that often accompany aggre- gation events. Similar to vertical beam radar, target counts during artificial light aggrega- tion events can only be activity indicators due to individual birds flying in and out of the im- aging zone. Acoustic monitoring is notable for being capable of discerning strictly birds — and in many cases the species of birds — in nocturnal flight (Evans and O’Brien 2002), and this method is not impeded significantly by fog and light rain. But birds that do not call, and variable calling rates among individuals and species, confound quantitative estimates. Re- cent studies indicate that there is at least gross correlation between acoustic data from vocal birds and the density of targets in some loca- tions at some times (Larkin et al. 2002; Evans, in prep). Two previous bird aggregation stud- ies at TV towers found correspondence be- tween flight-calling and the gross number of birds in the vicinity of a tower. Avery et al (1976) used a ceilometer (spotlight) to count birds visually in aggregation around a tall TV tower in North Dakota. When skies began to clear, they noted that the number of birds seen and heard decreased sharply. In an all- night study of a tower kill phenomenon on 28 September 1960, Ogden and Munro noted gross correlation between flight-calling and birds dropping to the ground (Ogden I960). They noted that periods when there was rela- tively low or no flight-calling corresponded with no birds falling to the ground, whereas periods of high calling rate corresponded with a steady rain of birds falling to the ground (Ogden 1960). Simply stated, calling indi- V0LUME 60 (2007) * NUMBER 4 477 RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Wavelength (nm) Figure 3. Relative spectral power of a red-filtered halogen luminaire, the large red flashing aviation beacon (L-864), and small red beacon (L-810). cates the presence of birds; no calling may or may not indicate the absence of birds. In cas- es where the species composition of a flight involves many that are known to give regular vocalizations in night flight, then the lack of calling very likely corresponds to a lack of birds given consistent environmental vari- ables. In cases where the species composition is primarily of species that are not known to give regular vocalizations in night flight, then the lack of calling obviously would not corre- spond with a lack of birds. There is no demonstrated way to count with accuracy birds flying in cloud or light rain during ground-based aggregation events in artificial light. All the currently practical methods are activity indicators, which pro- vide only an index of abundance. In this study, we used acoustic and visual methods as coarse activity indicators because of their ability to detect birds down to ground level. It was known from previous acoustic monitoring in the region that many species moving through our site during our study time would be vocal during nocturnal migra- tion (Evans and O’Brien 2002; Bull 1998). In addition, both the acoustic and visual moni- toring methods are inexpensive, which facili- tates duplication and wider experimentation with this study technique. Study site Our study site was a lawn outside a rural res- idence 10 km south of Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York (42.335° N, 76.499° W). The site elevation was 503 m above sea level in hilly terrain near the northern edge of the Appalachian/Allegheny Plateau. The terrain to the north and northwest was generally at lower elevation for more than 200 km. Ter- rain to the northeast was roughly the same al- titude for 100 km except for several north- south running valleys. These specific geo- graphic characteristics are noted because, with the low cloud ceiling, they could have caused channeling of migration as south- bound migrants in the lower atmospheric stratum encountered an increase in terrain elevation (Evans, unpubl. data). Light from three 60W incandescent lamps within the residence emanated from the resi- dence windows to make a constant, weak light source throughout the study. Within a 5- km radius of the study site, there were sever- al dozen rural residences with various inter- nal lighting emanating from residence win- dows and some with outdoor lights typical of residences. There were no bright light sources associated with businesses, athletic fields, etc. within 5 km. Our study lights were the brightest source of skyward facing light with- in this radius. There was extensive brighter lighting associated with the city of Ithaca, 10 km to the north of our study site. Study period, weather, moon phase, and mag- netic environment The study was carried out on five nights from October 8 through October 14, 2005. This time period corresponded with an “omega- blocking” pattern in the jet stream across eastern North America. Such patterns are characterized by slow-moving frontal systems at the surface. In this case, a cold front had advanced slowly eastward during the first week of October and stalled as a weak frontal boundary along the Atlantic Coastal region during our study period. This weather pattern slowed bird migration in eastern-central North America in the first week of October, with no northerly winds to facilitate migra- tion. After the slowly moving front passed our study site in central New York State during the day on October 8th, winds became steady from the north to northeast and favorable for migration. For a detailed account of the weather and associated bird migration during our study period, see Dinsmore and Farnsworth (2006) and a subsequent corri- gendum (Brinkley 2006). Accompanying these favorable migration winds was a broad area of low-altitude, solid (100%) cloud cover associated with the weather front and low pressure on the At- lantic coast. Cloud cover observations were made at our study site, and regional weather data, including hourly cloud cover, cloud ceiling height, and wind direction were ob- tained from the Ithaca airport, 16 km to the north of our study site. These data concurred with our visual observations that 100% cloud cover with a cloud ceiling at or below our study site elevation coincided with most of our study periods. In the five nights of our study, artificial light experimentation was car- ried out in 29 hourly periods. Twenty-five of these 29 hourly periods had cloud height measurements at the Ithaca airport corre- sponding to a cloud ceiling height of between 45 and 135 m below our study site. This sug- gests that birds during most of our study were flying well within the cloud layer. The moon phase ranged from one day be- fore first quarter (half moon) to three days af- ter first quarter. Light from the moon was not visible to us during our study due to the dense cloud layer. Ambient light at ground level where the study lights were stationed was less than the measurement capability of our light meter (<0.01 lux) in all directions. This measurement included light emanating from the incandescent lamps within the resi- dence, the nearest of which was 20 m away from the site. Our study site was roughly 5 km west of the center of a 180-kin, NNW-SSE running transect of total magnetic field strength meas- urements made by Lednor (1982). Total mag- netic field strength in the region is around 56.0 microTesla with variations 9 km to the north and south of 50-300 nT. No major mag- netic anomalies are known from the Ithaca area (C. Walcott, pers. comm.). The K-index to fluctuation in the earths magnetic field for 478 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Time Period Time Period Time Period Time Period Time Period Figure 4. Acoustic and visual data from consecutive time periods on the five nights of the light study. Points connected by lines indicate the avian calling rate per minute in each time period. The numbers within the graphs indicate the maximum number of individual birds visually de- tected in a 5+ minute period of observation within nonflashing light periods (see Methods). (A) 1500W halogen light with red or green filter. All periods were 10 minutes in duration. (B) 1500W halogen light with red or blue filter. Lights-on periods ranged from 10-15 minutes; lights-off periods ranged from 4-5 minutes. (C) Flashing and nonflashing periods of 1500W halogen light. All periods were 10 minutes in duration. (D) 1 500W halogen light or one or more red aviation obstruction beacon lights. Lights-on periods ranged from 15-35 minutes. Lights- off periods ranged from 5-12 minutes. L-864 is the 1260W red incandescent aviation obstruc- tion beacon flashing 34 times per minute. L-810 is the 116W nonflashing red aviation ob- struction beacon. (E) 1500W halogen with red, blue, or no color filter. The first dark period was 44 minutes. The first red period was 19 minutes. All other periods were between 10-13 min- utes in duration. All the light and dark periods during the alternating white sequence were 10 minutes in duration. the period October 8-14 (as measured in Ot- tawa, Canada, 300 km to the north of our study site) was relatively quiet except for Oc- tober 8 — the first night of our light study — when it reached a value of 5 (L. Newitt, Ot- tawa Magnetic Observatory, pers. comm.). The artificial electromagnetic environment of our study site included most notably the WHCU (870 kHz) AM radio station, which was broadcasting at a power of 1.0 kW in di- rect line of sight from a series of towers 5 km to the northeast of our study site. Ritz et al. (2000) and Thalau et al. (2005) allude to the potential importance of documenting such mid-frequency radio wave parameters in noc- turnal migration studies. Study lights and light measurement Artificial light in this study was created using one pair of work-light luminaires, commer- cially available in the United States. Each work luminaire was composed of two double- ended tubular halogen lamps (250W and 500W), a reflector, a metal housing, and a glass pane that filtered out UV light. The pair of luminaires combined to form a 1500W light source. We used two different pairs of luminaires during the study (Figure 1). One of the two pairs was used in the flashing and nonflashing white light tests and with red fil- ters for the red light tests. The other pair was used with blue and green filters for the blue and green light tests. We used Roscolux gel VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 479 RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Figure SB. Figure S. This graphic shows the average calling rate for the first, second, third, etc. minute respectively for multiple ten-minute seg- ments at the two reference acoustic stations and in specific light conditions that were precisely ten minutes in duration. (A) Shows such data for all nights from September 1 through October 15 at the control acoustic stations in Alfred, New York, and Laurel Mountain, Pennsylvania, with more than 50 calls detected in nine hours. Each night was broken up into consecutive ten-minute periods. The yel- low line (Alfred) and the red line (Laurel Mountain) represent respective minute calling rates for 1080 and 1404 ten-minute periods. The green and blue lines represent respective minute calling rates for 36 ten-minute periods from Alfred and 180 ten-minute periods from Laurel Mountain that occurred during our light study on nights that had more than 50 calls detected in nine hours. (B) Shows re- spective minute calling rates for each minute in ten-minute periods during specific light periods in our light study (LS). The rising blue line indicates the calling rate detected for each respective minute during the 16 ten-minute periods of aggregation in green, blue, and white light shown in Figure 4A-D. The eleventh minute of the blue line indicates the calling rate in the first minute of lights-off after each of these 16 light periods. The red line indicates the calling rate per respective minute in the 13 ten-minute red light periods dur- ing the green and blue light tests (Figure 4A-B). The black line shows the calling rate per respective minute in 1 6 ten-minute periods of lights-off during the green and white flashing light tests. filters (Rosco Laboratories, gel filters #19, 69, 389, Stamford, Connecticut). Variable wattage white light periods were implemented using a single luminaire with only the 250W, 500W, or both tubular lamps in operation. In the flashing white light test, a custom-built flash rate controller was used to flash a 1500W halogen luminaire pair with no color filter at 24 times per minute. The on- time per flash was 0.2 second, and the time to peak output appeared nearly instantaneous. Additional light periods were carried out using a slow-flashing red beacon (FAA type L- 864; TWR Lighting, Houston, TX, USA) by it- self or in combination with a nonflashing red beacon (FAA type L-810; Galaxy Litebeams, Burbank, California). The L-864 consisted of two 620W incandescent lamps inside a red Fresnel lens, which focused the light on the horizontal plane to produce a peak intensity of about 2000 candela. This beacon was set to produce 34 one-second flashes per minute. Each flash increased in intensity for the first half-second and decreased in intensity for the latter half second. The L-810 contained a sin- gle 1 16W incandescent lamp inside a red Fres- nel lens that when mounted upright focused the light on the horizontal plane to produce a peak intensity of about 32 candela. Each pair of halogen luminaires was mount- ed approximately 1.5 m above ground level on a tripod. The lamps were angled 20 degrees from the zenith toward the northeast to direct light away from the residence structure and as- sociated trees so as to maximize the transmis- sion of light into the atmosphere. Each lamp pair radiated most light upward within ap- proximately a 75-degree cone (Figure 1). The red aviation obstruction beacons were laid on their sides and angled approximately 20 degrees from the zenith toward the north- east. This facilitated directing the maximum light intensity from these beacons into the at- mosphere. Spectral power distributions with and with- out filters were measured at a range of wave- length between 350 nm and 830 nm at 2-nm intervals. These measurements were made us- ing an integrating sphere system, which con- sisted of a sphere with a diameter of 1.65 m, a computerized double monochromator (Op- tronic Laboratories, Model 750-M-D, Orlan- do, Florida), and an enhanced silicone detec- tor (Optronic Laboratories, Model DSM-1D, Orlando, Florida). Each of the four luminaires was first measured with both halogen lamps on (250W+500W=750W). Table 1 summa- rizes the results of radiant power measure- ments for the four luminaires derived from the spectral power distribution measurements. These radiant power values were obtained by integrating measured spectral radiant power over a wavelength range visible to birds from 400 nm to 680 nm (Palacios and Goldsmith 1993; Goldsmith and Butler 2005). Since these measurements identified consistency in 480 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Table 1 . Results of halogen luminaire radiant power measurements. Each luminaire has an input power of 750W. Luminaire Radiant power (W) Pair! A1 26.9 A2 26.4 Pair 2 B1 26.6 B2 25.7 Mean 26.4 radiant power between two lu- minaires in each pair, only one luminaire from each pair was used for further color-filtered luminaire meas- urements. Figure 2 shows the results of spec- tral power distribution measurements with and without the colored filters. Spectral power distributions of the red avi- ation beacons were similar to the red-filtered halogen luminaire (Figure 3). Peak irradiance of the red beacons was determined based on the manufacturer specification for those lights. Peak irradiance of the red flashing bea- con (L-864) was about one-third that of the red- filtered halogen luminaire. Most birds in this study were estimated to be 50 m or more from the light source. In or- der to determine the highest irradiance birds might have encountered at this distance, we measured peak illuminance at 5 m from one of the luminaires (Luminaire A1 in Table 1) in a photometry laboratory at Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute. The peak illuminance was approximately 250 lx. At 50 m, this would be 2.5 lx. Using our previous measurement of lu- minous flux of 7880 1m for this luminaire, we calculated that in order to get an irradiance of 2.5 lx at 50 m, the solid angle of the beam — or the area projected on the 1-m diameter sphere — should be 1.26 sr, assuming uniform light distribution. This beam distribution is equivalent to a 78.6-degree conical beam. From this, we estimated irradiance of the col- ored light at 50 m, based on their previously measured spectral power distributions. Table 2 indicates estimated irradiance of the white and filtered lights for two luminaires. These estimated 50-m irradiance values do not ac- count for attenuation from water droplets (cloud; light rain) in the air and, therefore, the actual irradiances during our study would have been substantially lower than those indi- cated in Table 2. Table 2. Estimated peak irradiances of white and filtered lights at a wavelength range between 400 nm and 680 nm. Column 2 shows radiant power of our white and filtered lights (2 halogen luminaires; 1500W) over the 400-680 nm range as measured with an integrating sphere. Column 3 indicates the calcu- lated irradiance of our filtered lights at 50 m (values do not account for attenu- ation of irradiance from cloud). See Figure 2 for spectral energy distribution. Color Radiant power (400-680 nm) Peak irradiance at SOm Blue 7.7 W < 2.5 mW/m2 Green 13.6 W < 4.3 mW/m2 Red 24.0 W < 7.6 mW/m2 White 53.9 W < 17.1 mW/m2 This microphone was positioned 5 m from the light source and aimed 20 degrees from the zenith toward the northeast. The sensitiv- ity pattern of this microphone was hemi- spherical, with a region of enhanced sensitiv- ity expanding skyward in roughly a 60-degree cone. The audio signal was digitally recorded for the duration of the study periods. The ver- tical range of this system for detecting avian flight-calls has been estimated to be greater than 200 m for most small passerine (e.g., Parulidae and Emberizidae) flight-calls and beyond 500 m for mid-sized passerines in the family Turdidae. The precise range is not crit- ical for this study except to note that it cov- ered a much larger volume of space than that covered by the visual observations. W. Evans listened to the audio recordings using headphones, and calls heard were man- ually logged by the times of their occurrence. The temporal calling record was then associ- ated with the timing of the light experiments, and call totals were assessed for each light and dark period. For another mode of evaluation, respective minute totals were summed for all ten-minute periods during specific light tests and at two reference acoustic stations on sig- nificant migration nights. The calling rate in the first, second, third, etc. minutes were av- eraged for all ten-minute periods, and any trends in calling rate were assessed. Spectrographic analysis was carried out on calls that were loud enough to produce a co- herent spectrogram. The flight-call reference guide by Evans and O’Brien (2002) was used for species classification. A minimum number of individuals present during each light peri- od was determined by assessing the number of species present through spectrographic analysis. Acoustic monitoring and flight-call detection An acoustic transducer (EK-3029cx, Knowles Inc., Chicago, Illinois) was mounted to form a directional microphone with good sensitivi- ty between 3-8 kHz (for microphone design, see ). Visual observations To corroborate the acoustic data’s indication of whether or not bird aggregation was occur- ring, visual observations of birds flying in the lighted space were made during nonflashing light periods. Precise bird numbers were im- possible to determine because individuals typ- ically passed in and out of the visibly lighted space. All visual counts represent the maxi- mum number of birds that could be seen in the same field of view. The only exception is when an individual that had not been previ- ously noted was recognized by its profile. This occurred on several occasions when a thrush species was seen during the count period when only smaller warbler- and sparrow-sized passerines had been previously tallied. Visual observations began at least two minutes into the light period and lasted at least five min- utes. Once a visual count reached five birds, the observation period was considered suffi- cient to indicate the presence of birds and was usually discontinued. All visually observed flying birds were esti- mated to be within about 50 m of the study lights. Any gross variability in the bird obser- vation capability by a human observer over this range during the different colored-light periods was roughly assessed by whether a tree line approximately 50 m to the east of the study site was visible. Since it was visible in both the short and the long wavelength light periods, no gross differences in the range of human vision were evident during our short and long wavelength light periods. In addi- tion, several species of moths in the family Noctuidae were active and seen clearly at a distance in the red as well as other nonflash- ing light periods. No bats were seen during our October 2005 study period, but a repeat of this study during two cloud-grounded nights in September 2006 found that bats were distinctly visible in the red light periods. Given that the visual observations in both 2005 and 2006 took place in close proximity to the 1500W bright light source, it is likely that human cone cells were involved in the vi- sual observations and that the lower sensitiv- ity of human rod cells to red light versus blue or green was not a factor in assessing bird presence through visual observation. Light regimens One of the following light sequences was re- peated at least four times on one of the five study nights: White - Lights off White - Lights off - White flashing - Lights off Red - Lights off - Green - Lights off Red - Lights off - Blue - Lights off FAA beacon(s) - Lights off - White - Lights off - FAA beacon(s) - Lights off We separated all experimental light periods VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 481 RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT in this study by a period of no light before starting another light period. The purpose with this was to give the birds that had been exposed to a period of artificial light time to move on during the dark period and poten- tially allow new birds to be in the vicinity be- fore the next light period was imposed. The longer the dark period, the more likely this would be the case. However, this had to be balanced with the fact that as more time pass- es, weather conditions or the passage rate of migrants necessary to cause aggregation could change. By using conservative estimates for flight speeds (20 km/hr), birds could have been as far as 1400 m from our study site in 4 minutes if they flew straight. Since we could not confirm what birds did, and because we verified that some birds landed in the vicinity of our lights, we could not assume independ- ence between light periods. Analysis of species data within and between nights was our only evidence for different individuals be- coming involved in the aggregation events. Due to the experimental nature of this study, the length of the dark periods we used was somewhat arbitrary. Light and dark peri- ods were typically 10-15 minutes in duration. The alternating red and blue light test had 10-15 minute red and blue light periods but only 4-5 minute dark periods, in order to maximize the number of light study periods on that night. Some light periods with the red flashing beacon were 15-35 minutes in dura- tion, so as to see whether aggregation with that light system might be induced over a longer time period. We carried out the com- parison of calling rates between periods of different duration by presenting data in a calls/minute format. Control sites Two reference acoustic stations were in oper- ation during this light study. Both were locat- ed in rural areas with minor residential light- ing in their vicinity One station was located near Alfred, New York, 107 km to the west of the light study site. The other station was lo- cated 107 km to the southwest, 28 km north of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. While the same microphone design and recording equipment were used at these locations, the rates of calling between sites were anticipated to be different because of potentially variable migration patterns and environmental noise at the different sites. The purpose of assessing data from these acoustic stations was to pro- vide a reference for natural variation of flight- calling in the region, at sites without varying artificial light patterns. Determination of aggregation Calling rate data were not relied upon to indi- cate the density levels of migrants. We used acoustic monitoring only as an indicator for a strong or weak presence of birds. Similarly, data from visual observations were not ex- pected to indicate the number of birds pres- ent. We used visual observation data only as an indicator of whether or not flying birds were present in the lighted space. To rule out the possibility of misinterpret- ing discontinuities in the density of nocturnal bird passage as light-induced bird aggregation, we repeated the varying light regimens and noted consistency in bird presence or absence during specific light conditions. We deter- mined that a specific artificial light condition induced aggregation if that light condition showed strong acoustic and visual evidence for the presence of birds during at least four consecutive cycles with a different light type and/or a dark period in which bird presence was not strongly documented. To further sub- stantiate our light-induced calling patterns, we considered natural calling patterns from two reference acoustic stations in the region. Good correspondence between the acoustic and visual data gave us confidence in relying solely on the acoustic data for evaluat- ing the aggregation tendency of flashing light tests when we could not verify the presence of birds visually. In the hypothetical case in which no birds would be present, both the acoustic and visu- al indices would produce no detections. When a series of repeated light cycles that had been associated with aggregation ceased in- ducing acoustic and/or visual indication of aggregation, we interpreted this to mean that movements of migratory birds had dimin- ished or ceased in the vicinity of the study site, or that the weather conditions causing the aggregation phenomenon had changed. Results Aggregation appeared to be an on-off phe- nomenon associated with particular light characteristics. Periods of white, blue, and green light had calling rates an order of mag- nitude higher than dark period calling rates and corresponded with multiple birds seen in the lighted space. No visual observation of birds occurred in the red light periods, and this corresponded with very low overall call- ing rate during red light. These “no aggrega- tion” red periods occurred repeatedly be- tween alternating periods of green or blue light, in which strong acoustic and visual evi- dence for aggregation was detected. Figure 4, A and B, shows a sequence of four consecu- tive light cycles indicating that green and blue light repeatedly induced bird aggregation, whereas the red light did not. The red light had three times greater irradiance than the blue and nearly two times greater irradiance than the green (Table 2). The eight green and blue periods in Figure 4 (A and B) had a mean of 7.2 calls per minute (s.e. 1.7), whereas the eight red periods had a mean of only 0.45 calls per minute (s.e. 0.23) and the L8 dark periods had a mean of 0.48 calls per minute (s.e. 0.35). Birds were induced to aggregate with all energy levels of white light, the lowest tested being a 250W halogen lamp (in a reflector housing) with a peak irradiance at 50 m of less than 2.7 mW/m2. However, when a 1500W white halogen luminaire pair was flashed (24 flashes per minute; 0.2 sec on- time per flash), no acoustic aggregation be- havior was documented (Figure 4C). Over the five nights of study during se- quences when bird aggregation was docu- mented, the mean calling rate during dark pe- riods for any specific night never exceeded 0.6 calls per minute (s.e. of 0.14). The calling rate during the flashing red beacon (L-864), the flashing red beacon (L-864) with the con- stant-on red beacon (L-810), and the flashing white light periods was similar to the dark pe- riods. Figure 4D shows a sequence of four ad- jacent light cycles in which the flashing red beacon did not induce aggregation by itself or in combination with a low intensity, non- flashing, red beacon. The white light periods in this alternating light cycle had visual con- firmation of flying birds and recorded flight- calling an order of magnitude greater than both the dark and red beacon periods. The proximate calling rate variations shown in Figure 4 are unprecedented based on 19 fall seasons of monitoring natural avian flight-calling rates from more than 10 sites without substantial artificial light in central New York (W. Evans, unpubl. data). Similar patterns of calling rate variation were not found in adjacent ten-minute periods for our control acoustic stations at Alfred, New York, and Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania. We looked at nights with 50 or more flight-calls recorded from September through mid-October (at least 9 hours recording per night). The largest calling rate variation in 1404 adjacent ten- minute periods at Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania was 160%, with a mean of 42%. At Alfred, New York, the largest variation between 1080 adjacent ten-minute periods was 290%, with a mean of 53%. This contrasts with the data in Figure 4, which show eight consecutive vari- ations of 1000% or more in adjacent ten- 482 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT Table 3. Species composition of calling during each of the four periods of congregation in the flashing white light test, green light test, and blue light test (see Figure 4A-C). Numbers of flight calls of species or species' complexes with distinctive flight calls are indicated. Many calls in each period could not be classified because they were too weak to identify or could not be placed in a distinctive category. All classification is based on Evans and O'Brien (2002). SPECIES/ SPECIES COMPLEX White Green Blue 7 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus 6 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus 5 6 7 3 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 Northern Parula Parula americana 9 9 0 1 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Black-throated Blue Warbler* Dendroica caerulescens 29 40 36 2 30 20 36 20 6 2 16 0 Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata 0 1 0 3 0 1 1 2 5 3 29 0 Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum 0 8 0 12 0 0 2 9 2 2 1 1 American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 0 12 19 4 2 4 8 18 3 4 0 1 Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivaceous 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis 0 1 11 6 0 0 12 8 4 13 9 1 Swamp/Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza georgiana/lincolnii 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 12 5 6 Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 Zeep complex** 0 2 6 4 5 4 3 29 1 2 0 0 Species detected acoustically 3 9 6 9 6 6 6 12 8 7 5 6 *Note: An individual Black-throated Blue Warbler often gives two calls in succession, about a half-second apart. In our analysis, we counted such occurrences as two calls. **ln this case, most likely Blackpoll Warbler or Connecticut Warbler; see Evans and O'Brien (2002) for other possibilities. minute periods on five different nights. As would be expected, the average calling rate in the first, second, third, etc. minutes of all ten-minute periods on significant migra- tion nights at the two reference stations re- vealed consistent calling rates per minute (Figure 5A). In other words, in any random ten-minute period during a recording period, one would not expect any specific minute to consistently have more calling than another, and there would be no expected trend of call- ing increase or decrease over multiple min- utes. Data were considered during nights with at least 50 flight-calls per night from Septem- ber to mid-October (Figure 5A). Such a uni- form minute-to-minute calling pattern, though with greater variance due to a smaller sample size, was documented at the two ref- erence stations during the period of the light study (Figure 5A) and in 16 ten-minute dark periods in the green light and flashing white light tests (Figure 5B). But in 16 ten-minute light periods when aggregation occurred during the blue, green, and flashing white light tests (nonflashing white light periods), increased calling of birds typically occurred within the first few min- utes, and the calling rate tended to increase as a light period progressed. Calling terminated abruptly when lights were turned off (Figure 5B). No trend of increasing calling occurred within 13 ten-minute red light periods em- bedded within the blue and green light tests (Figure 5B). At our light study site, visual observations indicated birds were flying in all directions. Some flew past within a few meters of ground level, and some landed nearby. Most birds were seen passing overhead through the light- ed space, or were heard calling above the range of our vision in the cloud and/or driz- zle. The number of species detected acousti- cally in most aggregation events was greater than the maximum number of birds docu- mented visually (Table 3; Figure 4). Most birds heard in aggregation events were esti- mated to be greater than 50 m from the light source. Most birds that were seen did not ap- V0LUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 483 RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT pear to give vocalizations while in sight. Species compositions of the aggregation events were typical nocturnal migrant passer- ines for the region. Table 3 presents the acoustically determined species composition for the aggregation periods shown in Figure 4A-C. Two additional species, not known to give regular nocturnal flight calls, were visu- ally identified when individual birds landed in the vicinity of the light: Gray Catbird (Du- matella carolinensis) and the Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus). Figure 4E shows the results of the white light test night. A few blue and red light peri- ods were also tested on this night. The se- quence of light tests shown here illustrates what was likely a decline in migration passage rate during the course of the night. Toward the end of the night, a period of white and a period of blue light did not indicate either vi- sual or acoustic activity. Careful inspection of the dark period calling rates indicates a drop in calling rate during this time. Discussion Avian flight-calling during aggregation peri- ods ceased nearly instantly when lights were turned off. This indicates that the lights played a direct role in causing flight-calling during our aggregation phenomena. It also means that there were numbers of birds in the near vicinity of our light study site that were not calling when the light in the aggregation periods was first turned off. In this respect, the correspondence between calling rate and den- sity of flying birds is shown by our study to be highly variable, making call rate potentially unreliable as an indicator of bird density. But there was strong correspondence between the calling rate and visual observations of flying birds in nonflashing aggregation periods (Fig- ure A-E). This was not just the case in the no- aggregation periods of red light and during the aggregation periods in blue, green, and white light (Figure 4A-E); it was also true in the no- aggregation periods of blue and white light during a time when it appeared that active bird migration had ceased (Figure 4E). The avian flight-calling rate is influenced by the conjunction of the environmental variables of cloud cover and artificial lighting, but it ap- parently has elements of consistency when these variables remain constant. This is demonstrated by the shared pattern of increas- ing calling rate within periods of blue, green, and white light in four different nights of our study (Figure 5B). It is shown by the consis- tent patterns of calling rate variation in our two control stations (sec Results) and by other studies that reveal consistency in calling pat- terns across broad geographic regions (Evans and Mellinger 1999; Evans and Rosenberg 2000). It is indicated by radar studies that show target passage rate correlation with acoustic data (Larkin et al 2002; Evans, in prep.), as well as by other observations that show gross correspondence between the pres- ence of migrant birds and the flight-calling phenomenon (Odgen 1960; Avery et al. 1976). Figure 5B indicates unambiguously that, under certain weather conditions, acoustic monitoring can be an indication of whether birds are responding to artificial light. The fact that our visual observations of bird aggrega- tion correspond with the extremes in (light calling during the nonflashing light periods reveals that acoustic monitoring was a reliable index by itself for aggregation phenomenon in those light conditions. The weight of the evi- dence strongly suggests that the lack of the be- havioral response of increased flight calling during the flashing white light periods indi- cates a lack of bird aggregation. However, there is no substitute for an additional inde- pendent means of validating any single-source pattern. Certainly future work with this study method would benefit by the integration of an independent means for continuously assess- ing bird density during artificial lighting alter- ations. The challenges of employing such an independent means are considered above, in the Methods section. Unexpected response to nonflashing red light Several studies have reported pronounced avian flight-calling in association with appar- ent bird aggregation at TV towers with red avi- ation obstruction lighting (Cochran and Graber 1958; Ogden 1960; Taylor and Ander- son 1973; Avery et al. 1976). There are many such unpublished accounts, and we have also experienced this phenomenon (W. Evans, un- publ. data). We know without doubt that red lights can induce aggregation and that birds may call during such aggregation events. Yet the irradiance level and spectrum of our lights were very carefully measured, and the data from our study clearly indicate aggregation in blue, green, and white light — but not in red. The possible reasons for this finding are com- plex and dependent on unknown mecha- nism(s) for aggregation, which are discussed in more detail in the following sections. Our finding appears contrary to some pre- vailing beliefs that bird kills at tall towers with red aviation obstruction lighting are specifically induced by the red nature of the light. But our results may simply indicate that for birds migrating in cloud, blue, green, or white light cause aggregation at lower irradi- ance levels than red light. Our study is the first to systematically compare avian aggrega- tion tendency in artificial light of different wavelengths. Mechanism(s) of Aggregation Theories for why birds aggregate in artificial light have evolved with the paradigm of how birds navigate during nocturnal migration, as well as with progress in understanding avian sensory mechanisms. Current ideas can gen- erally be grouped into two categories. One in- volves the avian light-dependent geomagnetic sense, with artificial light causing aggregation either due to magnetoreception disruption or because it provides a magnetoreception re- source. The other involves avian vision, with artificial light causing aggregation by disrupt- ing a prior vision resource or by enabling a vi- sual refuge. We discuss our study results with respect to these basic ideas and the phenome- non of bird aggregation around tall towers with aviation obstruction lighting. Magnetoreception disruption theory After the reported confirmation of light-de- pendent magnetoreception in captive birds by Wiltschko et al. (1993), the theory emerged that bird aggregation in artificial light might be caused by a “disruption” in the light-de- pendent magnetoreception mechanism that birds use for orientation (e.g., Gauthreaux and Belser 2006). The Wiltschko et al. (1993) study found that after being kept in the dark, captive birds could not orient in the seasonal- ly appropriate direction when exposed solely to red light, whereas birds could orient well when exposed to constant white, green, or blue light. Further captive bird studies have revealed the complexity of the mechanism of light-in- duced magnetoreception. Tests using higher intensity levels of blue and green light showed unique, often seasonally inappropri- ate, “fixed-direction” responses (Wiltschko et al. 2000; Wiltschko and Wiltschko 2001; Wiltschko et al. 2003). Higher intensity levels of red and yellow light did not produce the fixed-direction responses but caused what ap- peared to be the same lack of orientation as lower intensity levels of these colored lights (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 2001; Wiltschko et al. 2004b). An additional study has shown that combi- nations of monochromatic short and long wavelength light at the lower intensity levels used in the earlier studies also elicit the fixed- direction response (Wiltschko et al. 2004a). This is interesting because white light, which has a broad spectrum of short and long wave- 484 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT lengths, enables functional orientation at the low and high intensity levels (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 1972; Moller et al. 2001). It has been theorized, therefore, that the unnatural condition of monochromatic light may cause an imbalance in the magnetoreception mech- anism and a dysfunction in the orientation system (Wiltschko et al. 2005). All the evidence from captive bird studies now suggests that natural magnetoreception is dependent not only on short wavelength light in the blue to green range but also on the intensity of those wavelengths and the com- position of other wavelengths that are pres- ent. Three types of responses to light have been demonstrated with captive birds: sea- sonally appropriate orientation, fixed-direc- tion responses, and no orientation. The latter two are generally grouped as disorientation or a disruption in normal magnetic orientation. There are still many questions about light-in- duced magnetoreception, and this presents a challenge for determining whether disruption of magnetoreception is responsible for bird aggregation in light and, if so, what the spe- cific mechanism is. With strict respect to the results of captive bird studies, our data do not support the the- ory that the cause of aggregation in our study was disorientation from a light-induced dis- ruption of magnetoreception. If so, we would not have expected aggregation to occur in the low light levels of our blue and green light, which captive bird studies suggest would en- able orientation (Wiltschko et al. 1993; Wiltschko and Wiltschko 1999, 2001). How- ever, we would have expected disorientation- based aggregation with our red light, because red light has not been shown to enable cap- tive birds to orient without a period for adapt- ing (Wiltschko et al. 1993, 2004b). Similarly, we would rule out the possibility that aggregation in our green and blue light was due to disorientation caused by the fixed- direction response. If this had been the case, then we would not have expected aggregation with our white light, because in captive bird studies white light has not been shown to in- duce either the fixed-direction response or the “no orientation” mode of disorientation (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 1972; Moller et al. 2001). A caveat in comparing our data with captive bird studies on light-induced magnetorecep- tion is that there are inherent environmental and contextual differences between field stud- ies and captive studies. These differences in- clude unknowns associated with ambient light in the field studies and the fact that there was no ambient light in the controlled photic en- vironment of the captive studies. There are also vectorial, spectral, and quantitative differ- ences that may be important variables as well as differences in motivation and behavior pri- or to light exposure (e.g., flying or not). Magnetoreception-seeking theory A more consistent explanation for our results with respect to the findings of captive bird studies arises if we assume that natural light levels during our study were too low to enable magnetoreception. The lower threshold of light levels necessary for magnetoreception in birds is unknown. While moonlight was po- tentially a factor during our study period, nat- ural light levels would have been very low near ground level due to a persistently thick cloud layer. Aggregation in our white, green, and blue light periods might have occurred because birds found the opportunity for reac- tivating light-dependent magnetoreception and then tended to remain in, or return to, the lighted area to continue geomagnetic engage- ment. Since captive bird studies indicate that red light does not readily enable orientation, this suggests it does not readily enable mag- netoreception and would explain the lack of aggregation in the red light periods. The utility of magnetoreception for orien- tation may be instantly available to birds once activated by light, but there could be a de- layed utilization if birds had been previously using another cue such as wind direction. Any delay during the process of cue transfer could be a factor contributing to aggregation. If such magnetoreception-seeking behavior is the cause for bird aggregation around lights in cloudy conditions, then the question re- mains why birds congregate around tall com- munications towers with red aviation ob- struction lighting? The red light results from our study do not correspond with the evi- dence from previous field studies in which red aviation obstruction lighting induced bird aggregation (Cochran and Graber 1958; Av- ery et al. 1976; Gauthreaux and Belser 2006). A possible explanation is that disorienta- tion in red light occurs only if birds are ac- tively using magnetoreception and the red light creates an imbalance in the magnetore- ception mechanism as suggested by Wiltschko et al. (2005). The red lights in our study might not have triggered this imbalance if, in fact, the birds were not actively using magnetoreception. Vision-induced aggregation As noted by Clarke (1912), the general idea in the early 1900s was that bird aggregation at lights was due to migrant birds that had lost their way because of weather and “made for the lights in absence of any other direct im- pulse.” However Clarke’s personal view, based on observations of bird aggregation at two lighthouses, was that migrants were actually “decoyed from or arrested on their course by the influence of the light itself.” In the USA during the 1960s, vision-based theories arose out of speculation about the cause of mass bird mortality events at TV tow- ers and other lighted structures. Kemper (1964) conveyed the theory that birds that had lost their stellar reference due to cloud cover might be attracted from afar by tower lights in some misguided mechanism related to their stellar navigation system. Herbert (1970) implied that bird aggregation could be due to spatial disorientation caused when ar- tificial light obliterates any previous reference birds have for the horizon. Graber (1968) proposed that birds are not attracted from afar by the lights. Instead, bird aggregation events are composed of birds whose trajectories hap- pen to intersect with the lighted space, which is created by the refraction of the tower lights off small water droplets of cloud or light driz- zle. Several later studies concurred with Graber’s idea (Avery et al. 1976; Larkin and Frase 1988). While there may be mechanisms of aggre- gation that involve bird attraction to distant light sources or from loss of horizon, our ex- periments were not geared to study such mechanisms. The aggregation mechanism in- volved in our study could not have involved bird attraction from afar to point sources of light nor could it have been due to spatial dis- orientation caused by loss of horizon. Due to the grounded cloud conditions and very lim- ited visibility, birds would not have had any visual reference to the landscape at our study site. Whatever aggregation mechanism was at work involved dark-adapted birds encounter- ing an anisotropically illuminated area. Why, then, did birds tend to remain in the vicinity of our white, green, and blue lighted space but not the red? One possibility for the lack of aggregation in the red light is that birds’ night (scotopic) vision, relying on rod cells, is much less sensitive to red wave- lengths as compared to blue or green. The red light we tested had three times the peak irra- diance of the blue light and two times the peak irradiance of the green light. However, when convolved with a spectral sensitivity curve for rhodopsin, avian scotopic sensitivi- ty in the red wavelength range of our test lights was roughly six times less sensitive than the blue and 15 times less sensitive than the green light. Therefore, the red light levels VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 485 RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT in our study could simply have been an insuf- ficient visual stimulus or resource for induc- ing aggregation behavior. This finding does not concur with the well- documented phenomenon of bird aggregation at tall towers with red aviation obstruction lights. The peak irradiance of our red work light was at least three times greater than that of the medium intensity red beacons typically used for marking tall towers in North Ameri- ca. A difference in our red study light versus such red aviation obstruction lighting on tall towers is that there are more sources of red light on towers. But these individual light sources are separated in space as they mark sequential tiers of a tower. The multiple lights create a larger field of irradiance but not greater irradiance. If the reason birds did not aggregate in our red light was solely due to lower scotopic sensitivity then more lights should not make a difference. The only way for birds to encounter greater irradiance from red aviation obstruction bea- cons than from our red study light is if they fly closer to such tower lights. This is a likely scenario because aviation obstruction bea- cons are mounted well above ground level on towers, they project their peak intensity hori- zontally, and some migrant birds would un- doubtedly be on a direct course toward the peak intensity vectors of the lights. That such birds would be the ones induced to aggregate is consistent with the theory of aggregation proposed by Graber (1968) and the radar ob- servations of Larkin and Frase (1988). The horizontal orientation of red obstruc- tion lights on towers versus the perpendicular orientation with our study lights brings up another potential vision aggregation mecha- nism involving vectorial differences (direc- tion and angular gradient) of light sources discussed by Verheijen (1978, 1985). Vector direction has been demonstrated to be impor- tant for sea turtle and amphibian orientation, and it has been shown to be important for birds in horizon glow studies. But the extent to which it impacts birds migrating in cloud is unknown. Historically, birds migrating in the middle of the night have been accustomed to a dorsal light source. The degree to which they can de- tect such natural anisotropic light conditions in cloud is unknown, and this would proba- bly depend on cloud layer thickness. We can- not rule out that bird aggregation may have been caused by the ventral nature and/or the unnatural angular gradient of our ground- based light sources. At intermediate (mesopic) light levels, both cones and rods in the avian retina con- tribute to visual performance. Since the peak sensitivity of rods is at shorter wavelengths than that of cones, it is expected that the peak sensitivity under such mesopic light condi- tions would be shifted to longer wavelengths as light levels increase. So as dark-adapted migrants encounter artificial light, at some level of increasing irradiance they would the- oretically become more sensitive to red light. The aggregation phenomenon may involve the physiological subtleties of this shift from rod-based to cone-based vision. To further in- vestigate vision-induced aggregation mecha- nisms, it will be important to identify how avian mesopic vision works as a function of light levels. No aggregation in flashing light We found that when flashed, a continuous light source that had just prior been induc- ing acoustic aggregation behavior now ceased to do so. Night-migrating birds may need a continuous source of light to achieve functional magnetoreception or to use the light as a visual resource. However, the Gau- threaux and Belser (2006) study indicates that white strobes may have some affect on flight behavior of night-migrating birds. Their study showed that birds flying in the vicinity of towers with multiple tiers of white strobe lighting had significantly more non- linear flight than birds flying at nearby con- trol sites without towers. But since the con- trol sites in their study did not have tower structures, it is not clear in the data present- ed in their study whether the more nonlinear flight was due to the white strobe lights or from some birds altering their flight path to avoid collision with the tower structure. In this regard, it is noteworthy that their study found that the rates of passage did not vary significantly between the control sites and white-strobed tower sites. Our study only involved one light source that flashed 24 times per minute, with a longer on-time per flash (0.2 sec) than the typical white strobe light used for aviation ob- struction marking. We do not know whether our light had any affect of bird flight behavior. All we know is that it did not lead to an acoustic indication of bird aggregation. Ex- perimentation is needed with faster flash rates and longer duration of individual flashes to see if bird aggregation behavior can be in- duced with other parameters of flashing light. This is especially important with regard to the pelagic migration of landbirds. Proposals for thousands of offshore wind energy turbines are in preparation for U.S. coastal waters. These structures will have a combination of flashing obstruction lighting for aviation and boating. For obvious reasons, migratory land- bird response to artificial lights may be differ- ent at sea than over land, and any behavioral response to lights at sea has potentially im- portant conservation implications for the species involved. Conclusion Our study shows that the color of light and whether it is steady-burning or flashing makes a significant difference in whether night-migrating birds exhibit aggregation be- havior. We find no evidence that bird aggre- gation occurs because a light is red. While red light has been blamed for bird mortality at tall TV towers, our study indicates that for birds migrating within cloud cover, blue, green, or white light would be more likely to induce bird aggregation and associated mortality. The acoustic data provide strong circum- stantial evidence that flashing white light does not induce bird aggregation. Our results in this regard correspond with the circumstantial evidence that no large kills have been docu- mented at tall broadcast towers with white strobe lighting at night (and with no other bright sources of lighting in their vicinity). While our study showed neither white nor red flashing light to induce bird aggregation, the fact that our nonflashing red also did not induce aggregation suggests that, with equal irradiance, flash on-time, and flash rate, a flashing red light would be less of a stimulus to migrant birds than a flashing white light. With regard to understanding the mecha- nism of bird aggregation in artificial light, in- terpretation of our study results is challenging because we lack information on what orienta- tion cues birds were using prior to intercept- ing the influence of our study light. There is also a lack of information on the threshold sensitivity for avian vision and for light-in- duced magnetoreception, and a lack of infor- mation on the quantal flux of our light as it dispersed through cloud. We do not know the light levels birds had available before encoun- tering our light. We do not know the light lev- els birds first encountered that triggered their aggregation behavior, and we do not know how the light level changed for birds as they flew repeatedly through the light field. Because of these unknowns, our study de- sign and resulting behavioral data do not allow us to distinguish between a visual or magneto- based cause of aggregation. With respect to captive bird studies, our data suggest that mag- netoreception disruption was not the aggrega- tion mechanism in our study. However, this could simply be because birds were not relying 486 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RESPONSE OF NIGHT-MIGRATING SONGBIRDS IN CLOUD TO COLORED AND FLASHING LIGHT on magnetoreception in our study conditions. It is likely that no matter to what extent birds were using magnetoreception or visual resources, both these light-dependent sensory systems would be impacted by our artificial light sources — at least in the blue, green, and white light periods. Aggregation behavior could be due to adaptations to the new stim- uli in both sensory systems. Sorting out the mechanism(s) of bird ag- gregation at artificial light sources will require additional laboratory and field studies. While the mechanism of inducing aggregation is still not known, field studies such as ours could lead to practical guidelines to reduce the bird impact of many artificial lighting applica- tions. With regard to aviation obstruction light- ing, two major variables appear to be involved with bird aggregation at such lights in dense cloud conditions: whether such light is flash- ing or not and light color. Our results suggest that any flashing parameters would cause less bird aggregation than continuous lighting. It is likely that the longer the dark duration be- tween flashes and the shorter the on-time of a flash, the less impact there would be on night migrating birds. With regard to color, night migrating birds migrating in cloud appear to be less responsive to the red spectrum cur- rently specified for use by the FAA in L-864 medium intensity obstruction lighting than light consisting of, or containing, substantial amounts of shorter wavelength light (e.g., white strobe lighting). Two types of red flashing lights are cur- rently in widespread operation for aviation obstruction marking: the L-864/865 incan- descent and xenon flashtube varieties. In two such lights we tested that were purchased from TWR Lighting (Houston, Texas), each had a one-second flash on-time. This con- trasts with the more instantaneous type flash of the FAA-approved white strobes. Our study suggests that the red flashing lights have a safer color for birds but a potentially less safe (longer) on-time per cycle. White strobe lighting, on the other hand, has a less safe col- or for birds but a potentially safer (shorter) flash on-time per cycle. Determining the rela- tive importance of these variables for causing bird aggregation will require additional study. We look forward to further research into the parameters of wavelength and flash rate of lights toward reducing impact to night-mi- grating birds. Acknowledgments We are in debt to Timothy Goldsmith for re- viewing our results, providing encourage- ment and many useful suggestions, and for the rhodopsin spectral sensitivity function. We extend special thanks to Robert Beason, Ronald Larkin, Jennifer Johnson, Louis R. Bevier, Alvaro Jaramillo, and four anony- mous reviewers for valuable comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. For edito- rial assistance we thank Miranda Strichartz, Anne Klingensmith, and Robert Kulik. An- drew Bierman and Martin Overington from the Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, made a valuable con- tribution to the light measurements. We would also like to thank Galaxy Litebeams for loan of the L-810 beacon and flash-rate control box. Finally, we would like to thank William Cochran and Richard Graber for their seminal research toward understanding the mechanism of bird aggregation around towers with aviation obstruction lighting. Our study was supported by the South Flori- da Water Management District and through a grant administered by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (NMBCA grant #NY- N3R1). Literature cited Avery, M. L., R F Springer, and j. 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Light-dependent magnetorecep- tion in birds: the behaviour of European robins, Erithacus rubecula, under mono- chromatic light of various wavelengths and intensities. Journal of Experimental Biology 204: 3295-3302. Wiltschko, W., U. Munro, H. Ford, and R. Wiltschko. 1993. Red light disrupts mag- netic orientation of migratory birds. Nature 364: 525-527. Wiltschko, W., R. Wiltschko, and U. Munro. 2000. Light-dependent magnetoreception in birds: the effect of intensity of 565-nm green light. Naturwissenschaften 87: 366- 369. Wiltschko, W., U. Munro, H. Ford, and R. Wiltschko. 2003. Magnetic orientation in birds: non-compass responses under monochromatic light of increased intensity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 270: 2133-2140. Wiltschko, W., M. Gesson, K. Stapput, and R. Wiltschko. 2004a. Light-dependent mag- netoreception in birds: interaction of at least two different receptors. Naturwis- senschaften 91: 130-134. Wiltschko, W., A. Moller, M. Gesson, C. Noll, and R. Wiltschko. 2004b. Light-dependent magnetoreception in birds: analysis of the behaviour under red light after pre-expo- sure to red light. Journal of Experimental Bi- ology 207: 1193-1202. © “This is an outstanding resource that belongs in every naturalist’s library.” — Dan R. Kunkle, Wildlife Activist New in paperback 2005 Best Butterfly Book to Date, WorldTwitch Butterflies of the East Coast An Observer’s Guide RICK CECH & GUY TUDOR “This volume is one of the best books on American natural history to appear in recent years. ... It needs to be read.” — American Butterflies “Wonderfully comprehensive.” — Scientific American 360 pages. 878 color illus. 234 maps. 8V2XII. Paper $29.95 978-0-691 -09056-6 Princeton University Press 800-777-4726 ■ Read excerpts at nathist.press.princeton.edu 488 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 2007 ABA International Conference rm ! J V-fb. I j r : pi j t i i-Jviu.'-- 1 -7 September 2007 Spectacular species and rare endemics See around 250 species • Small birding groups Top, dynamic leaders • World-famous speakers Luxury accommodations • Great food Non-birding tours available AmericanBirding' SPONSORED BY: SWAROVSKI HOSTUD DY: Tropical Birding 4945 N. 30th Street, Suite 200 • Colorado Springs, CO 80919 • 800-850-2473 ext. 230 www. ansp.org/vireo Lecture Slides and JPEG’s 45,000 photos on line VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 489 1 The Changing Seasons: Business as usual EDWARD S. BRINKLEY • 106 MONROE AVENUE • CAPE CHARLES, VIRGINIA 23310 During the second-largest flight of Aztec Thrushes recorded in the United States, this bird was one of three seen at Madera Canyon, Arizona 27 July 2006, and nine had been counted here the day before. Photograph by John Puschock. When colleagues and friends return from their Alaskan travels in late June, 1 relish hearing the tales of birding and socializing, of encounters with big mammals, of heavy low-pressure systems that bring bounties of Siberian birds. In recent years, weather tales have been less than leg- endary: warmer weather has been the norm, with few big lows moving over from Asia, open seas with little ice, and record-early ar- rival by nesting species. The signs of global warm-up have seemed to strengthen each spring, at least over the past six years. This year, however, the story was different: a cool, windy, even snowy June, with below- average temperatures that persisted well through the last part of July and rather late ar- rivals by shorebirds and waterbirds. Nome’s June was its coolest in 21 years, surely influ- enced both by snow pack and by the deep pack ice in the Bering Sea that extended well to the south of even long-term averages. Much of Canada also experienced a "moderate” summer, particularly after the intense heat of summer 2005. The Northwest Territories and Yukon Territories had a short warming trend in June but otherwise a cool or average sum- mer, whereas British Columbia was cool through much of June, like Alaska, but expe- rienced a warm July, and Quebec had temper- atures that were up 2-3° F or more from long- term averages, higher in the Ungava Peninsu- la. Climatologists tell us to expect “off’ peri- ods during the overall warming trend, and summer 2006 may well have been such a cool- er period, at least for northern areas. June was also cooler than normal across much of the East, but July was downright hot — the sixth warmest on record in Boston since 1872 — and markedly warmer than usu- al along the Atlantic coast south through the District of Columbia. Most of the Midwest (particularly Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky) was warmer than normal by July, but the Southeast reported “average” condi- tions all around. West of the Mississippi Riv- er in the Lower 48, however, most regions baked. The Great Plains recorded tempera- tures as high as 115° F from Texas to central North Dakota, and South Dakota tied its highest temperature ever on July 15, with 120° F at Usta. In Glasgow, Montana, July ran almost 10° F above average. The Rockies and remainder of the West were similarly scorched: Denver hit 100° F on June 14, ten days earlier than the previous record, and July was the second warmest on record in Idaho and western Montana. Temperatures were well above average in Wyoming, Utah, Col- orado, southern California, and Nevada, in many cases breaking records; temperatures in Oregon and Washington were among the top ten percent in 1 1 2 years of records. Although high temperatures must have had a negative effect on nesting success over large areas, regional editors singled out summer precipitation — either excesses or deficits — as having more profound (or at least more obvi- ous) impact on nesters this season. The 490 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS THE CHANGING SEASONS: BUSINESS AS USUAL U.S. Drought Monitor July 25, 2006 Valid 8 a m. EDT Intensity: I I DO Abnormally Dry ! D1 Drought - Moderate M 02 Drought - Severe ■ D3 Drought - Extreme ■ D4 Drought - Exceptional Drought Impact Types: r Delineates dominant impacts A = Agricultural (crops, pastures grasslands) H = Hydrological (water) USDA The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions Local conditions may vary See accompanying text summary for forecast statements ll:). Photograph by Stacy Studebaker. just of summer but of spring and au- tumn as well — and focus on less-familiar themes, on small incremental changes in range, and on the one big multi-regional story of the season: the movements of Dickcissels, Cassin’s Sparrows, and Henslow’s Sparrows at mid-continent. In a season that seemed, for lack of a sub- tler phrase, “business as usual,” com- ments are organized mostly by phyloge- netic sequence, which in the Americas now begins with waterfowl. Waterfowl Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, whose long-distance vagrancy in the Lower 48 states goes back only about 15 years, were detected in numbers similar to those of 2003, a year in which about 95 turned up out of range (Brinkley 2003). Singles visited Maryland, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico, with a more extreme outlier north to Lancaster County, Nebraska, plus six birds between Lancaster County, Pennsylva- nia and and adjacent Berks County. Not sur- prisingly, areas closer to core range had more records: Virginia (22 birds total), Georgia, northern Florida, central Louisiana, and cen- tral Texas — with breeding documented in most of these areas. The breadth of these re- cent flights is remarkable and suggests that multiple populations are in exodus, mostly as post-breeding wanderers, it appears, but range extensions have followed such flights in many areas, and more are to be expected. Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, by contrast, were scarcely mentioned: one found in New County, Missouri 3 June and two in Bosque, New Mexico 9 July were among the few re- ported out of range away from Texas, Califor- nia, and Florida. It is of interest that these Dendrocygna exhibit such differences in their dispersal patterns — perhaps related to Black- bellied’s ability to adapt well to human-modi- fied, even heavily urbanized environments and to its recent population growth in Gulf coast states. One has to wonder whether the declining Fulvous Whistling-Duck could soon be a candidate for federal listing as Threat- ened. It is not a numerous species in the Unit- ed States, and the recent sharp increase in U.S. waterfowl hunters visiting Mexico bodes poorly for this and many other anatids: bag limits are not well enforced in Mexico, and many lodges and outfitters advertise “liberal limits” to attract more business. It is some- times assumed that the recent irruptions of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck relate to cli- mate change, and that may be the case. But Fulvous has shown range-wide irruptive pat- terns for over a century (in the United States, most recently in the early 1960s), and these dispersals almost certainly relate to regional conditions and breeding success (or failure) rather than climate change in the recent sense. The impacts of hunting on this species are not well known. Several regional reports mentioned swans lingering outside of breeding areas or even breeding in new areas, particularly in western Canada. The state of Washington had two Trumpeter Swans in mid-July on Port Susan Bay, plus two singles elsewhere and 13 Tundra Swans between three sites. Trumpeters nested for the first time in Illinois (Carroll County), and two summered in Maryland. Eurasian swans turned up as well. Single Whooper Swans in the Yukon at Flerschel Island (a ter- ritory first) and in Nome, Alaska at Safety La- goon were both immature/subadult birds, which might be expected to linger into June, and two Bewick’s Swans were at St. Paul Is- land, Alaska, in the second week of June. Few other waterfowl made headlines: nesting Common Mergansers in North Dakota (first in nearly 100 years for the state); a Mottled Duck at Saylorville, Iowa (state first); a Mexi- can Duck in Colorado (state first); and a Cin- namon Teal in Pennsylvania. And what does one do with a Ruddy Shelduck at the Grand Forks Lagoons, North Dakota 27 June through 8 July? The species has turned up in summer and early autumn along the East Coast, as well as in Nunavut, a period that agrees with the peak of vagrancy in Europe (Sharp 2004). We should watch records of this species to see if the pat- tern persists. Seabirds & storks Seabirds were in the news chiefly in the coastal states, as is typical — but Wyoming’s Streaked Shearwater carcass (see Faulkner 2006) was a clear excep- tion. Summering Pacific Loons, a minor trend that seems to be increasing in re- cent years in interior areas, were found in Texas, Nebraska, and Indiana; a Red- throated Loon in Iowa and an ailing Arctic Loon in Newport Beach, Califor- nia were rarer still. Manx Shearwater may be breeding in Nova Scotia, though evidence is elusive (see the Special At- tention box in the Atlantic Provinces re- gional report), and is now regular in the northern Gulf of Alaska; and an Audubon’s Shearwater was seen near Punta Arena, Baja California Sur, a first for the entire Baja peninsula. Yellow-nosed Albatross has been reported almost annually in recent years in the East: following North Carolina’s spring bird, singles visited New Flampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts this summer. How many individuals are involved? Storm-petrels made few waves, by contrast, other than North Carolina’s second Black-bellied Storm- Petrel and Oregon’s much-awaited first Ashy Storm-Petrel (a species relatively common just across the line in California waters); Ore- gon also had a probable Murphy’s Petrel. Pelecaniforms seemed less prominent as wanderers this summer than last, perhaps to do with more “normal” weather patterns. Af- ter their strong spring showing in the East, Magnificent Frigatebirds were noted into late June in Virginia (two), into mid-July in the Carolinas (seven), with singles in New York, New Jersey, and at Victoria, British Columbia, where one was observed soaring with Turkey Vultures 27 June (the province’s ninth); this last record is particularly surprising in light of the sharp decline in frigatebird reports from California, mentioned by Guy McCaskie and Kimball Garrett. Maine’s second Red-billed Tropicbird followed last year’s first state record, but other pelecaniforms far out of range were few: New Brunswick and Nova Scotia enjoyed an American White Pelican, and Ohio had its first Anhinga (aside from an old specimen that cannot be located). Records of extralimital Wood Storks appear to be on the rise in the past 10 years or so, af- 492 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ter a relative hiatus in the 1970s and 1980s that corresponded with the tremendous de- cline in the Florida population. This season, the small colony in North Carolina, the northernmost nesters anywhere, increased to about 100 birds, and numbers reached 150 at Red Slough, Oklahoma, where the species is now expected. Wanderers were found in Vir- ginia (four), Indiana (three; only the third state record since 1945), eastern Tennessee (one), and Saunders County, Nebraska. Raptors, rails, & cranes Merlins continue to make mention, nesting in Pennsylvania for first time (on the heels of multiple nestings in upstate New York), es- tablishing the southernmost nest site in New England (at Keene, New Hampshire), and ap- pearing in Colorado and northern California at midseason, perhaps a prelude to nesting in those states. Wayne Petersen predicts nesting in southern New England by the end of the decade! White-tailed Hawks are also moving around, with a subadult documented in Jeff Davis County, Texas — a location in far west- ern Texas that, the regional editors note, is equally remote from the nearest points in the species’ regular range, in southern Chihuahua and southeastern Texas. This species has also been turning up in odd areas within Mexico. Other records of southern raptors northwest of usual areas included a Zone-tailed Hawk near Silver Reef, Utah 14 July and the contin- uing Common Black-Hawk in Sonoma Coun- ty, California. Crested Caracaras continue to explore the California coast; three were re- ported this season. Purple Gallinules out of range were found as far north as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Purple Swamphen, an exotic species in North America limited to Florida (aside from a problematic Delaware record) is now being “eradicated” in Florida, on behalf of other wetland species, some of which are al- ready beleaguered. Sandhill Crane shows no sign of slowing its reclamation of historic range, from areas as diverse as central Ontario, western Colorado, upstate New York, northern California, and Maine. Massachusetts had a few summering cranes (breeding is possible, though never documented in the past), and other reports of wanderers came from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and St. Pierre. In Ohio, the count of 15 nesting pairs tied record high — from 1875 — while Squaw Creek Na- tional Wildlife Refuge, Missouri had that states second nesting attempt ever. A few other cranes were seen around Iowa and Missouri through the season. In Nebraska, new nesting sites have been found annually in recent years, with Morrill County added to the list this sum- mer. Good news for Whooping Cranes came from Wisconsin, where for the first time in over a century, wild-hatched birds were docu- mented 22 June at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, part of the experimental flock that mi- grates to Florida. (Most unfortunately, a severe storm in Florida in 1-2 February 2007 would kill all 18 of the young birds hatched in 2006.) Charadriiforms Whitewater Lake, Manitoba, host to the province’s first nest of White-faced Ibis last summer, held two nesting pairs of Black- necked Stilts, also a provincial first nesting. The regional reports also have much news on Figure 3. This male Broad-billed Hummingbird, furnishing a first New York record, was present at the home of Dorothy and Harold Legg in the Town of Rose, Wayne County, New York 24 (here) and 25 July 2006. This species has shown a surprisingly varied pattern of vagrancy in recent years, one rather unlike the late-autumn pattern of other western hummers. Photograph by Harold Legg. nesting plovers (particularly Piping, Snowy, and Mountain), and Ohio turned in its third nesting record of Wilson’s Phalarope, But the regional reports carry little information on nesting of other shorebirds, which is difficult to gauge, even with intensive surveys in the Arctic nesting grounds (see the Northern Canada report), and even with regular, dutiful coverage by birders of traditional stopover sites, as in New England and Ontario (where “good” counts were tendered). A Wilson’s Plover in New York continues that species’ re- cent trend of extralimital wandering in spring and summer (Leukering and Gibbons 2005, Brinkley 2006), and other extralimital plovers were a Snowy in North Carolina and a Pacific Golden-Plover at Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. However, the plover of the season was surely Maryland’s Southern Lapwing, a well-documented individual of the subspecies cayennensis , which has shown a remarkable northward spread in central America and the southern Caribbean. It would be difficult to THE CHANGING SEASONS: BUSINESS AS USUAL improve on the Special Attention box in the Middle Atlantic regional report, which builds a case for legitimate vagrancy. Another South- ern Lapwing in Florida may have been in the same boat, but at least some Florida records do pertain to escaped aviary birds (subspecies lampronotus) . Summer is typically a good season for Eurasian shorebirds, including a few stints and godwits. Massachusetts had a popular Black-tailed Godwit, while Newfoundland enjoyed a Bar-tailed, but rarer still, “a small gray godwit with orange-buff underwing coverts” at Dungeness Bay, Clallam County Oregon in late July was thought to be a Bar- tailed Godwit x Marbled Godwit hybrid. Red- necked Stints were nicely documented in Connecticut, Montana, and the Yukon, and Little Stints appeared in British Columbia and California. Single Curlew Sandpipers were in Montana, California, and Texas, while Ruffs made it to Iowa, Illinois, Quebec (two), Mas- sachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and Kentucky; most of the latter were on the usu- al July dates (8-31 July), but the Massachu- setts bird was found on the odd date of 6 June, late for a spring bird, as Ruff is usually an early migrant at that season. Gulls are scrutinized year-round, not just in the cooler months, and though worn or sun-bleached plumages can present identifi- cation challenges in summer, birders made some surprising discoveries this season. Great Black-backed Gull continues to expand its breeding range (Pennsylvania recorded its first nesting) as well as to stray westward, with North Dakota’s fourth found at Grand Forks 30 June; when will Californians discov- er their first? Away from Alaska, Slaty-backed Gull is still a rarity but is also distinctly in- creasing, with singles this season at Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Another species of northeastern Siberia, Black-tailed Gull turned up at Churchill, Manitoba (that town’s twentieth gull species) and at Anchorage, Alaska, the latter only the third record from that section of the state. Utah and Colorado both had Sabine’s Gulls, the former a second-cycle bird on 26 July (early migrant?), the latter a rare basic-plumaged adult through 2 June — a late spring migrant (?) but in a plumage not pre- viously recorded in the state. If these species aren’t enough to motivate a birder to get out and look at gulls in summer, how about Quebec’s Ross’s Gull, found at Moisie 23 and 28 June? Even those who missed it could be consoled with decent counts of Little Gull, of which 22 were found in that province and a VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 493 THE CHANGING SEASONS: BUSINESS AS USUAL further 27 in Ontario this season, both high count for midyear in the southern reaches of both provinces. Arctic Tern, a pearl of interior reservoirs like the smaller gulls, was detected far more often this summer than typically: at Lake Mc- Conaughy, Nebraska 11 June (that state’s third); at Balmorhea Lake 1-11 June and Fort Hancock Reservoir, both Texas 9 June (the state’s sixth and seventh); and Lake Avalon 3 July and Elephant Butte Lake, both New Mex- ico 29-30 July (its tenth and eleventh). In Colorado, an unprecedented four Arctic Terns frequented John Martin Reservoir 20-22 June. These records generally fit well with the pat- tern of June migrants through the middle of the continent (Dinsmore and Jorgensen 2001). Coastal Arctics, other than wind-drift- ed early June migrants, included one at Fort Morgan, Alabama 5 July (a state first), seven in New York 2-9 July, and one at Spring Lake, New Jersey 19 July. Like the interior records, July records of Arctic Tern are also increasing in recent years, probably, as Bob Paxton and Dick Veit suggest, because observers are more prepared to identify them than in the past. Other extralimital terns included a Roseate Tern in Newfoundland (a long overdue first for the province), a Royal Tern in Quebec (first documented there), and a Least Tern near Calgary, Alberta. Texans recorded four Brown Noddies, and both Maine and Massa- chusetts had Bridled Terns. Alcid news was scant this season. Birders visiting Alaska found Black Guillemots at Nome in mid-June, and they are suspected of local nesting there. Their presence may be ephemeral, linked to the heavy sea-ice condi- tions of this spring and summer. Another species linked to ice, Kittlitz’s Murrelct (Fig- ure 2), was the subject of much study and dis- cussion this season. Often nicknamed the “Glacier Murrelet,” this enigmatic bird resem- bles its close relative, Marbled Murrelet, but forages almost solely around the face of gla- cial meltwaters and streams, nesting on the ground in nearby scree and alpine habitat. Surveys (see the Alaska regional report) over the past 15 years have found declines of al- most 90 per cent in populations of Kittlitz’s in Alaska, which appear to correspond to the re- cession of glaciers in the state. Despite this documented decline, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has declined to confer status as En- dangered or Threatened upon this disappear- ing species. Researchers John Piatt and Kathy Kuletz, in an overview of the species’ situa- tion entitled “Farewell to the Glacier Mur- relet?” (), write: “The fate of the Kittlitz’s Murrelet may hinge on the fate of Alaska’s glaciers, and therefore Kittlitz’s may be among the world’s first avian species to succumb to the effects of rising global temperatures.” Hummingbirds through Thrushes In past years, June and July seemed to be rather tranquil months for stray humming- birds, but Green Violet-ear began to break that pattern, often appearing far out of range in summer, and even more recently Broad- billed Hummingbird has started to break the summer doldrums, as one surely did in Rose, New York (Figure 3). Closer to the Mexican border, Berylline Hummingbirds numbered four or five in Arizona, a high count, and one in New Mexico, where rarer. On the French island of St. Pierre, an apparent Common Swift was photographed 2 June; images (not available as of press time) show an Apus swift, but it is difficult to say which one, as the bird is in silhouette. Along with many plains species, Greater Roadrunner continues its northward march, this season into four new counties of central Kansas; could one reach Nebraska? Increas- ing in recent seasons as a stray from core range. Lesser Nighthawks appeared at Iona, British Columbia 30 June (a dead bird) and Beverly Beach, Washington 21-22 June, a cluster of records that suggests displacement by weather. But on 5 June, a first-summer male Lesser Nighthawk was photographed 80 km off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, indicating that whatever brought these birds northward was not limited to the last part of the month. There are no previous records of this species for the Pacific Northwest and only one for Canada otherwise. Even for a post-invasion season, the large number of Snowy Owls — 12 — that attempted to summer in the Lower 48 was remarkable; all but one were in northern-tier states: New York (four), Michigan (three), Wisconsin (three), Min- nesota (one), and Massachusetts (one). Other owls of note included Burrowing Owls in Maine at Columbia Falls, Maine 15 July and later, and in Warren County, Illinois 28-29 June. A Mottled Owl at Frontera Audubon Sanctuary in Weslaco, Texas 5-11 July was a Texas (and U.S.) second. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher continued to con- solidate gains in breeding range along its mar- gins in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Ne- braska, and Alabama, and wanderers made it to Ohio, Nova Scotia (two), Quebec, Massa- chusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Gray Kingbird began re-coloniz- ing coastal Alabama, from which it disap- peared after Hurricane Danny of 1997. Al- though Fork-tailed Flycatcher is typically a coastal vagrant in autumn, it may appear al- most anywhere during summer, as this sea- son’s records from Pennsylvania, Quebec, and Newfoundland (its second) attest; the Penn- sylvania bird was identified as a second-year bird of the Mexican subspecies monachus. A Black-whiskered Vireo in North Carolina and a Brown-chested Martin in Connecticut raise interesting questions about subspecies as well: a Virginia record of the vireo apparently pertained to a West Indian (not North Amer- ican) taxon, while all records of the martin (from Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida) have been attributed to the South American subspecies fusca. The Connecticut martin lacked the spotted mid-breast of fusca and apparently more closely resembled sub- species tapera of northern South America, which is thought to be mostly sedentary. Alas, there was no happy news about Loggerhead Shrike; where it was mentioned, as in Ohio or Manitoba, it seemed almost as a ghost with a ghost’s chance. Even in Mexico, where once abundant, the species appears to be succumb- ing to intense development and the conver- sion of traditionally cultivated land to mod- ern agriculture or other uses. Almost all expanding species (other than in- troduced or “re-introduced” species) men- tioned in recent seasons have been southern species moving northward — Acadian Flycatch- er, Louisiana Waterthrush, Red-bellied Wood- pecker (nesting confirmed in Maine and Nova Scotia this season), Chuck-will’s-widow, Be- wick’s Wren, Great-tailed Grackle — but a few northern birds have been found south of usual range. Good recent examples, in addition to Merlin (above), are Red-breasted Nuthatch in the southeastern states, sometimes found in plantings of spruce or pine (Renfrew 2005), and, to a much lesser degree, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, two of which held territories in a cemetery in Hettinger, North Dakota this sea- son (the state has no nesting records of the species). Common Ravens inched coastward and southward in the East as well, with nest- ings documented in Raleigh and Southern Pines, North Carolina, and in Secaucus, New Jersey. At the other border of the United States, New Mexico at last recorded its first Black- capped Gnatcatcher — not surprisingly in Guadalupe Canyon, in habitat much like that of adjacent Arizona. The pair was found feed- ing young in late July, so that the state’s first record also became its first nesting record! 494 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS THE CHANGING SEASONS: BUSINESS AS USUAL Thrashes, thrashers, and relatives garner less comment in summer than at other sea- sons, but a few species made mention this season. Northern Wheatears nested for the first time at Churchill, Manitoba, and a Dusky Thrush turned up at Barrow in mid- June, only the second for Alaska’s North Slope. In Arizona, a strong flight of the enig- matic, peripatetic Aztec Thrush was well doc- umented in southeastern Arizona, where minimally 11 were noted 9 July through 1 August or so; the only larger invasion came in 1996, when 16 were found. New Mexico, which has just a fraction of the birding cover- age that Arizona does, turned up its very first Aztec Thrush at Santa Fe on 15 July. Mean- while, as Mexican birds move northward, so do southwestern birds: a Sage Thrasher on territory in Luce County Michigan for two weeks (28 June-13 July) and a female Phain- opepla near Beulah, Colorado (10-15 June) were equally unexpected. Warblers through Sparrows Extralimital warblers detected in early June are typically birds “left over” from spring mi- gration (which, for this journal’s purposes, “ends” on 31 May, the last day of meteorolog- ical spring), some of which linger to pioneer territories well out of range. A Prothonotary Warbler in Quebec 4 June and Swainson’s Warblers in Ontario 3 June and Pennsylvania 10 June were surely spring-season birds. However, a Virginia’s Warbler mist-netted and photographed in Kalamazoo County, Michi- gan 25 June, and identified as a second-year female, was a genuine anomaly. “Eastern: warblers in the West were relatively fewer than normal this June; a Magnolia Warbler in Nevada was a stand-out rarity there. Parulas were found well to the north and west of usu- al range: a male Tropical Parula was pho- tographed at Portal, Arizona 16-23 June, and a singing male Northern Parula at Victoria, British Columbia 13 June represented just the eighth provincial record; other single North- erns were in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon, and over a dozen were in California. Rarely reported, a Grace’s War- bler x Yellow-rumped Warbler hybrid was studied in the Sierra Prieta Mountains of Ari- zona 4 June. Thanks to conservation efforts on its behalf, Kirtland’s Warbler again enjoyed a banner nesting season: 1478 were found singing in Michigan, three in Wisconsin, and two in Ontario — breaking the previous sea- son’s all-time high count. Icterids inched ahead in some cases — Rhode Island’s first Boat-tailed Crackle is a good example — but some moved consider- able distances: Wisconsin and Colorado both recorded state-second Hooded Orioles (19 July and 18 June, respectively), Utah had an Orchard Oriole, and Northern Canada had multiple Yellow-headed Blackbirds (in the Yukon), a Brown-headed Cowbird, and a Bal- timore Oriole (both at Arviat, Nunavut!). Bronzed Cowbird was confirmed as a breed- ing species east of the Mississippi River for the first time: in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where record of the species have steadily in- creased in recent years. Buntings and gros- beaks showed less astonishing vagrancy than in most recent seasons, but there were a few colorful exceptions: Iowa’s first Painted Bunting, Montana’s fourth Blue Grosbeaks (a pair; seven in North Dakota was an all-time high), and a male Yellow Grosbeak near Bish- op, California. Tanagers likewise crept along: a male Flame-colored Tanager in Big Bend National Park, Texas 2 July would be only a state sixth, and nesting Summer Tanagers in Colorado and in Cook County, Illinois — where a male Scarlet Tanager served as nest helper, feeding the fledgling Summers! “It was the year of the Dickcissel,” writes Ron Martin, referring to the staggering high counts of the species in North Dakota and eastern Montana this season; “a banner year,” echo Joe Grzybowski and Ross Silcock, writ- ing of the influx into western Nebraska. Pre- sumably driven by the drought conditions over much of their core range, Dickcissels made movements that exceeded even the big exoduses of the 1970s. In North Dakota, counts over 100 were widespread, and birds nested as far north as J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, not far from the Canadian border. Montana had at least 37 Dickcissels — far fewer than North Dakota, but the state had only about 17 total reports before this season! To the west, Dickcissels were described as “more widespread and numerous than is typ- ical” on the eastern plains of Colorado, and one even reached the state’s West Slope at Paonia. Farther yet to the west, a Dickcissel made it all the way to Ashton, Idaho — a first for that state (Figure 4). Across the border in central-southern Canada, it was the “strongest Dickcissel irruption since 1973,” note Rudolf Koes and Peter Taylor. Most birds were observed just north of the North Dakota birds, in the prairies and farms of southeast- ern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manito- ba— counts of up to 37 birds, with the major- ity coming from alfalfa fields. Nebraskans saw nesting Dickcissels move unexpectedly west- Figure 4. Dickcissels strayed across the continent in June, as evidenced by unusually high numbers reported across the northern Great Plains, Midwest, and even Northeast. This male ended up in Ashton, eastern Idaho, where found by Doug Ervin 30 June 2006 (here), a first record for the state. Photograph by Darren Clark. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 495 Institute for Field Ornithology Register Early for this Year's Workshops Take your birding to another level! Raptors of the Rio Grande Valley 8-14 April 2007 Location: McAllen, TX Instructors: William Clark & N. John Schmitt Field Sketching and Illustration 7-12 May 2007 Location: Franklin, NC Instructor: John Sill am I ofA ,/■ :• ■ - Photo by Don Doolittle Girding by Ear 21-26 May 2007 Location: Concord, NH Instructor: Mark Suomala Neotropical Rird Ecology 23-30 May 2007 Location: Asa Wright Centre, Trinidad Instructor: John Kricher Owls & Trogons 27 May - 2 June 2007 Location: Portal, AZ Instructors: Sheri Williamson & Tom Wood Ornithology Field Camp 5-10 June 2007 Location: Great Falls, MT Instructor: Terry McEneaney Sparrows 23-28 June 2007 Location: Minot, ND Instructors: Jim Rising and David Beadle Flycatchers 23-29 July 2007 Location: Sierra Vista, AZ Instructor: Chris Benesh Hummingbirds 5-12 August 2007 Location: Bisbee, AZ Instructors: Sheri Williamson & Tom Wood East Coast Shorebirds 18-25 August 2007 Location: Newburyport, MA Instructor: Wayne Petersen Birds of the Tropical Deciduous Forest 5-11 October, 2007 Location: Alamos, Sonora, Mexico Instructors: Rick Wright & Denis Wright West Coast Pelagic Birds 22-27 October, 2007 Location: Monterey, CA Instructors: Debi Shearwater & Peter Pyle Field Study and Classroom Education • EMAIL: ifo@aba.org • WEBSITE: www.americanbirding.org/ifo • PHONE: 800-850-2473 Ext. 235 A S, S O C I A T- I O N , ft. New titles from the ^ American Birding Association! American Birding8 by Mel Cooksey and Ron Weeks Revised 2006 342 pages; paper (lay-flat) Stem #413 ABA Member Price: $1 9,96 (List $24.95) A Birder’s Guide to the Texas Coast C ompletely revised in 2006 by Mel Cooksey and Ron Weeks, A Birder’s Guide to the Texas Coast covers habitat diversity of the Texas coast ranges from the Pineywoods to the Gulf prairies, from the coastal wetlands to the subtropics. This revi- sion includes species accounts for 170 Texas special- ties, 48 maps for 200 birding sites, and seasonal and distributional abundance bar-graphs for 388 regularly occurring species. To order your copy, call 800/634-7736 • www. abasales.com 496 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS THE CHANGING SEASONS: BUSINESS AS USUAL ward, as far to the northwest as Valentine; normally, according to Grzybowski and Sil- cock, drought years see eastward shifts in Dickcissel range. In the East, only a minor in- cursion of Dickcissel was observed, in upstate New York (two sites), Ontario (six sites), Maryland (two sites), and Virginia (four sites), but 39 in one field near Newburg, Pennsylvania suggests that more may have been around. In the Midwest, Indiana logged its second highest single-day count (164) in Gibson County 1 July, while Illinois had mul- tiple counts over 120 per day. Although Cassin’s Sparrows do range as far from core range as Dickcissels, ranges of the two species are said to “shift harmoniously” in most drought years, according to editors from Oklahoma to Colorado. Such a shift was cer- tainly detected in 2006, and Cassin’s were heard delivering their heavenly melody in areas where often absent, from western New Mexico, to seven counties of central Texas, even to three counties of the San Luis Valley and to North Table Mountain, both in Colorado, where the species is both irregular and rare. Henslow’s Sparrow presents quite a differ- ent story, one that bears monitoring. For sev- eral years now, the species has shown declines on the eastern edges of its range but expan- sion on the western. This season, only New York reported a continued decline. The east- ernmost nesters in the range must be in Vir- ginia— which has had no confirmed territori- al Henslow’s in saltmarsh habitat for about 1 5 years but which turned in a report of a singing bird at Wallops Island 22-23 June. On the western edge of breeding range, up to 23 Henslow’s were tallied in southeastern Ne- braska, and six in Johnson County, Kansas made a good local count. In core range, “good nesting” was reported in Illinois, with counts as high as 58 per site. Jim Dinsmore reports a continued “amazing increase” in Iowa, where 24 counties had Henslows. Southeastern Mis- souri even turned in a count of ten. Likewise, on the southern edge of range, Brainard Palmer-Ball and Chris Sloan report a contin- ued increase in Tennessee, where three new colonies were found (counts up to 80 singing males), and in Kentucky, where five new colonies were detected. On the northern edge of range, Point Pelee, Ontario had a record- late spring migrant Henslow’s Sparrow 2 June, and an apparently unmated male sang at Car- den, Ontario for the first half of July. The species has become quite rare in Ontario in recent times. One near Huntingdon, Quebec 2-27 June furnished the first local record since 1989. Just as for Dickcissels, haying op- erations frequently occur when adult spar- rows are feeding young or on eggs, and so breeding success is often poor. Birders are sometimes able to persuade landowners to delay mowing, and a few such success stories are reported in this issue. Business as unusual How does one summarize a season in which bird stories, aside from a sprinkling of rarities, seemed “normal”? Perhaps our baselines have shifted so much from those of a decade ago that we think nothing of record-hot summers and tropical species visiting boreal climes. If we were to take this season’s records — sum- mering Slaty-backed Gulls not far from breed- ing Dickcissels, a Lesser Nighthawk flying around with Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, a Broad-billed Hummingbird on the shores of Lake Ontario — and move them back in time just ten years, this essay would have been filled with exclamation points, that dreaded form of punctuation reserved for only the most outlandish occurrences. While we should be mindful of how our perspectives change over time in this rapidly changing world, and how rapidly we grow accustomed to what were once avian anomalies, we should take a moment, too, to enjoy some of the good news in these pages: by and large, over much of the continent, the nesting season was quite successful for a great variety of birds. Literature cited Brinkley, E. S. 2003. The Changing Seasons: Displacements. North American Birds 57: 307-315. . 2006. The Changing Seasons: Far Fetched. North American Birds 60: 332-339. Dinsmore, S. J., and J. G. Jorgensen. 2001. Arctic Terns nesting in Montana: First modern interior breeding records for the Lower 48 United States. North American Birds 55: 127-131. Faulkner, D. 2006. A Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas ) record for Wyoming. North American Birds 60: 324- 326. Leukering, T., and B. Gibbons. 2005. The Changing Seasons: Spring 2005 — Early and late. North American Birds 59: 386-394. Renfrew, F 2005. Range expansion and habi- tat selection in breeding populations of Red-breasted Nuthatch ( Sitta canadensis ) in the southeastern United States. North American Birds 59: 516-523. Sharp, M. E 2002. The Changing Seasons: Drought, Fire, Plague, and a Penguin. North American Birds 56: 402-408. © GET DOWN AND DIRTY F 0 R AMERICA. And when you get you hands dirty in programs like National Public Lands Day, you help spruce up your beautiful lands. Last year, on this day, nearly 80,000 volunteers built trails, bridges, planted native trees and removed trash. To find out how you can help, go to www.npld.com or call 800-VOL-TEER (800-865-8337). HELPING HANDS FOR AMERICA’S LANDS Day © 2004 Muench Photography. Inc. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 497 Editors' Notebook This illustration by Miriam E. Clarke serves as frontispiece for her husband William Eagle Clarke's two-volume classic Studies in Bird Migration (191 2). The image depicts a bird aggregation event on the foggy night of 12 October 1901 at England's Eddystone Lighthouse. The Clarkes spent many nights studying such events at lighthouses around the British Isles in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their descriptions are still some of the best that exist of light-induced bird aggregation. In their day, most lighthouses were composed of one or more fixed, bright lanterns that radiated light in all directions, often causing massive bird mortality on nights with rain, fog, or low clouds. Today's lighthouses are typically lit with rotating, narrow-beamed lights that do not cause the great bird kills of the past, but one can still witness the chaos of bird aggregations in the Americas at many isolated, brightly lit locations on nights with low cloud ceiling or fog during bird migration. Breaking new ground: "Birds about the Light" In the first part of the first volume of the Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club (1886) — entitled “Bird Migration. Observa- tions on Nocturnal Bird Flights at the Light- house at Point Lepreaux, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick” — William Brewster recounts his experience of waves of nocturnal migrant birds striking the lighthouse that autumn: The first real “rush” occurred on the night of September 1, and, for the two weeks following the feathered tide flowed swiftly and more or less steadily, marking its course through the star-lit heavens by the incessant chirping of its passing legions, in thick weather surg- ing confusedly about the light, wrecking many a bird life against the fatal shaft, and at daybreak leaving hundreds of tired little travellers stranded in the scanty covers of the Point. With this date then begin my notes on “Birds about the Light.” Although the twelve decades since the ap- pearance of this tome have produced plenty of similar observations of bird mortality — particularly at tall, lighted, manmade objects such as lighthouses, TV towers, monuments, offshore oil-drilling platforms, and skyscrap- ers— the topic is one that has almost no ex- perimental history, despite the clear and compelling need to understand what factors conspire to draw birds to such deaths (see ). North American Birds is proud to present a fascinating paper by long-time contributor Bill Evans and col- leagues, “Response of night-migrating song- birds in cloud to colored and flashing light,” a study that begins to test how birds aggre- gate around lights, both white and colored, flashing and steady. The consequences of this study, and those that surely will follow it, are potentially tremendous. Each year, millions of song- birds, along with many nonpasserines, are killed when they strike lighted towers and their supports, especially communication towers, which are increasing around the world at an alarming rate. With global cli- mate change already producing changes in bird populations around the world, and very little political consensus on how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions among the worlds governments, we must consider carefully those human activities that negatively affect bird populations — and hopefully study and address, quickly, those that may lie within our power to remedy. The innovative aspects of this study are several. Foremost is the sheer simplicity of the field equipment used — primarily a pair of $70 halogen work lights, several $5 colored gel filters, and a homemade $35 microphone (see more on ). Instead of using the expensive technologies of radar and thermal imaging, the study employed largely the methods of the past — visual ob- servations and acoustic monitoring of noc- turnal migrants (Brewsters “incessant chirp- ing”)— to determine whether birds were in fact present during various light tests. In ad- dition, this paper combines pioneering scien- tific study with a welcome historical overview of the research and ideas on bird at- traction to light. In particular, don’t miss the fine summary of magneto-reception in birds, a topic under intensive study in Germany but nowhere so coherently digested for birders. And finally, for North American Birds , the paper breaks new ground: it is a technical pa- per, far more technical than our usual offer- ings, but with a careful reading, its approach to its subject is clear and circumspectful, its methods logical, and its conclusions offer rich food for thought for those of us who try, perennially, to understand why we witness fallouts of migratory birds under certain con- ditions but not others. Readers will recall the recent “Changing Seasons” essay that ana- lyzed the massive fallout of migrants at Itha- ca, New York, by Andrew Farnsworth and Steve Dinsmore in autumn 2005 ( North American Birds 60: 14-26) — the Evans et al. study was conducted just a few miles from that city, and during the same period, so that we have both a birder’s perspective on the phenomenon and an ornithologist’s. If you have never read an ornithological paper of this sort before, set aside an hour some time and peruse the opening and closing sections (don’t feel guilty about skimming the more technical parts!). You’ll find the hour was well invested. And if the spirit moves you, get involved in campaigns to keep Brewster’s “feathered tide” flowing swiftly. New regions & new editorships In keeping with recent changes to large, multi-state regions, the Central Southern re- gion, which in the past has included western Florida, most of Tennessee, and all of Ala- bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas, will be divided into the regions of “Louisiana & Arkansas” and “Alabama & Mississippi.” This change will take place be- ginning with the Fall Migration 2006 issue. 498 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Volume 61, No. 1. The reason for the change is simple: to allow greater depth and nuance in the reporting of avian news from these bird-rich states, particularly in light of the ecosystem-level changes occasioned by re- cent hurricanes and rising sea levels. The editorial teams for these new, smaller re- gions will be: ALABAMA & MISSISSIPPI Greg D. Jackson (Fall Migration) 2220 Baneberry Drive Birmingham, Alabama 35244 Email: g_d_jackson@bellsouth.net Steve McConnell (Spring Migration; Nesting Season) 29 Village Drive NE Email: swmavocet@aol.com C. Dwight Cooley (Winter Season) U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Complex 2700 Refuge Headquarters Road Decatur, Alabama 35603 Email: sabrewing@earthlink.net LOUISIANA & ARKANSAS Steven W. Cardiff (All seasons) Museum of Natural Science 119 Foster Hall Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803-3216 Email: scardif@lsu.edu Mark Cranford and Maris Apse, who did a thorough job composing the Winter Sea- son’s Ontario regional report in 2005-2006 (for which many thanks!) will turn over the reins to: Blake A. Mann 171 Margaret Avenue Wallaceburg, Ontario N8A 2A3 email: boatmann@kent.net The Hudson-Delaware region will have a new editor for the Winter Season, beginning with Winter 2006-2007: Frank Rohrbacher (email: rohrbaf@aol.com) of Delaware, a faithful contributor of many years and chair of the Delaware Bird Records Committee, will take over this duty from Joe Burgiel. The Fall Migration report for that region will be writ- ten by Richard R. Veit, who edits the Spring Migration for the region; our autumn editor, Brian Sullivan, has moved back to California and now serves as the journal’s Photo Editor. In other editorial news, Oliver Komar offi- cially joins H. Lee Jones as co-editor of the Central America region; Gorgonio Ruiz- Campos joins the team of editors for the Baja California Peninsula region, replacing Eduar- do Palacios; Larry Semo joins the Colorado & Wyoming region’s editors, replacing Chris Wood, and Edward Pandolfino joins the Northern California region’s editors, replac- ing Luke Cole. Thanks to Eduardo, Chris, and Luke for their years of service — now you’ll have a little more time in the field! Contact information for these new editors appears at the conclusion of those regional reports. Welcome aboard, Steve, Larry, Blake, Frank, Oliver, Gorgonio, and Edward — and welcome back Greg and Steven! We are indebted to so many retiring re- gional editors for their many years of service. Robert Purrington has edited the Central Southern regional report in some fashion since Volume 23, No. 1 — the Fall Migration season of 1968 — and is thus, with Robert O. Paxton and Guy McCaskie, one of our longest-serving regional editors. He will con- tinue to work with veteran regional editor Steven Cardiff to make sure Louisiana records get their due in the new Louisiana & Arkansas region, but we will miss direct cor- respondence with him tremendously. Bill Schmoker, one of Colorado’s most active birders, will likewise continue in an active role with the journal, as will Joe Burgiel in New jersey, Bob and Lucy Duncan in western Florida, and Phillip A. Wallace in Louisiana, though they have passed their duties on to new and returning editors. We thank them kindly for the years of hard work. There is little left on our Editors’ Wish List at the moment — although if someone knows a good resident birder in western Greenland, we would love to add that island to our cov- erage, even if just a report on annual high- lights! Errata In the article on the Social Flycatcher in Texas ( North American Birds 60: 180-181), the date for Figure 2 should be 8 (not 7) Jan- uary 2005. In the article on the Stonechat in California (North American Birds 60: 308- 309), the figure captions were dropped dur- ing printing; these indicated that the four im- ages (grouped as two figures) were of the in- dividual photographed 20 October 1995 on San Clemente Island, all taken by Robert T. Patton. We thank Dave Quady and Mark Lockwood for these corrections. ® STANDARD ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS USED IN THE REGIONAL REPORTS * specimen collected + bird(s) seen through end of period t written details on file A.F.B. Air Force Base acc. accepted by records committee A.R.C. Avian Records Committee b. banded B.B.S. Breeding Bird Survey B.O. Bird Observatory B.R.C. Bird Records Committee C.A. Conservation Area C.B.C. Christmas Bird Count C.P. County Park cm centimeter(s) Cr. Creek Ft. Fort G.C. Golf Course G.R Game Preserve Hwy. Highway I. (Is.) Isiand(s), lsie(s) imm. (imms.) immature(s) Jet. Junction juv. (juvs.) juvenal [plumage]; juveniie(s) km kilometer(s) L. Lake mm millimeter(s) m.ob. many (or multiple) observers Mt. (Mts.) Mount/Mountain (Mountains) N.A. Nature Area, Natural Area N.F. National Forest N.M. National Monument N.P. National Park N.S. National Seashore N.W.R. National Wildlife Refuge p.a. pending acceptance P.P. Provincial Park Pen. Peninsula ph. photographed (by + initials) Pt. Point (not Port) R. River R.A. Recreation(al) Area R.B.A. Rare Bird Alert R.P. Regional Park R.S. Regional Shoreline Res. Reservoir Rte. Route S.B. State Beach S.F. State Forest S.G.A. State Game Area S.P. State Park S.R.A. State Recreation Area S.R. State Reserve S.W.A. State Wildlife Area S.T.P. Sewage Treatment Plant/Pond subad. (subads.) subadult(s) Twp. Township v.r. voice recording (by + initials) vt videotape (by + initials) W.A. Wildlife Area W.M.A. Wildlife Management Area W.T.P. (Waste)water Treatment Plant/Pond Italics indicate name of county, parish, or municipality. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 499 Atlantic Provinces St. Pierre et Miquelon »Killinek I. B Torngat Mtns. N. P • Hebron • Nam LABRADOR LABRADOR SEA Cape Harrison Hopedale ^Cartwright * i ^ Gannet Island Mealy Smallwood . Mtns. Res. • mN.P Goose Bay Ecological Reserve ■Strait of Belle Isle •Churchill Falls Red Bay Labrador City ^ Wabush QUEBEC Sept-lles « ff-' / fS, A .L'Anse-aux-Meadows St. Anthony Gander NEWFOUNDLAND Gres * ■ • Bonavista ,-Mome SI. John's Anticosti I. St. • Corner N P Avalon Lawrence • Brook Peninsula Port-aux- ' *\^\Cape Basques « Saint-Pierre \ Race J/r^M /) hmn HEW town " p St. Mary's East ;■ Cape Breton Highlands N.P 1 p> • Sydney Cape Breton I, •Canso NOVA SCOTIA Saint ™ Fredericton# John ^ D Grand * Halifax-Dartmouth Mananl. > *Lunenberg Sabtel. “ •Yarmouth Brier I. Sea’l Cape Sable I. Lettered Nova Scotia Sites: A Pictou B Amherst C Truro D Wolfville E Digby Bruce Mactavish ported was a male was in sw. Newfoundland in the Grand Codroy R. estuary during the 2nd week of Jun (BMt et al.). A Tufted Duck stayed Apr-27 Jun at St. Rests Marsh, NB (m.ob.). An unseasonable female Harlequin Duck was in salt water at Peters River, Aval- on Pen., NL 16 Jul (J. Clarke et ah); another remained through 21 Jun along Crocks Pt. Rd., NB (m.ob.). As usual a pair of Red- throated Loons nested far s. of the main breeding range at the Isthmus, SPM; a nest containing two eggs was discovered 13 Jun (LJ). An American White Pelican was at Cat- alone Gut, Cape Breton I., NS 13 Jul (Jerry Sponagle); another was seen 13-16 Jul at Richibucto, NB (m.ob.) The popular bird of the season was un- questionably the dark-morph ad. Western Reef-Heron at Glace Bay, Cape Breton I., NS 26 Jun-2 Aug (Monique Vasallo et ah), well documented and seen by many visiting bird- HAWKS THROUGH SHOREBIRDS A pair of Rough-legged Hawks present at their s. breeding outpost at Colombier 1., SPM was presumed to have nested (LJ). A Purple Gallinule was at Windsor, NS on the unsea- sonable date of 22 Jun (fide 1M); a recently dead one was discovered 18 Jul at Bocabec, near St. Andrews, NB (Linda Hirtle). There was an odd influx of Common Moorhens in the first week of Jun, with at least 4 in Nova Scotia and one in n. Newfoundland at Plum Pt. 3 Jun (J. Gibbons). A pair arrived to breed for the 3rd consecutive year at Allisary Creek, Prince Edward I. 3 Jun (DS et ah). A Sandhill Crane at Miquelon, SPM 2-5 Jun was only the 3rd for the French archipelago (RE); others were at Salmon R., Digby , NS 10-19 Jul (fide UH) and White Beaver Brook, NB 1 Jul (Dwayne Sabine). A record-high five nests of Piping Plover were found on the Isthmus, SPM (RE et al.). Manx Shearwater was heard at night on St. Paul I., off Cape Breton I., NS 23-25 Jun ( fide EM); no evidence of breed- ing was detected during this time, but it is possible that the species is breeding in Nova Scotia. Manx has been heard at night and found in burrows on Columbier I., SPM for more than a decade, but evidence of breeding is still lacking there. At Middle Lawn I., Burin Pen., NL — the only established breeding colony of the species known in North America — the number of active nests (nests with an egg) has remained very low since the colony's discovery in 1977, despite the relatively high number (100-!-) of shearwater burrows. The species appears to be increasing every year in se. Newfoundland and around St. Pierre et Miquelon, the center of abundance in the Region — e.g., 200+ off St. Pierre and Colombier 1. 2 Jun (PB, LI). With more and more knowledgeable birders living in the Region, more extraordinary birds are being dis- covered. A Western Reef-Heron at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia was nearly passed off as a Little Blue Heron until a person with recent experi- ence with the species recognized the true identity. Digital photography is also assisting in the identification of major rarities that might have otherwise fallen through the cracks. A swift photographed at St. Pierre by a novice was clearly not a North American species — and was almost certainly a Common Swift from Europe! A hiker on the south coast of Newfoundland happened to be carrying a digital camera when he came upon an unfa- miliar bird in a somewhat ratty plumage. The next day, after looking at his pictures, he cor- rectly concluded that it was an immature Fork-tailed Flycatcher. However, the ease of communication facil- itated by the Internet and other new tech- nologies has also led to an increasing laxity in the timely reporting of bird sightings. Lets re- double our efforts to keep editors and records committees informed — posting to a local list- serv is just the beginning of documentation, not the end. WATERFOWL THROUGH VULTURES A lone Tundra Swan summered for the 2nd consecutive year at Cape Freels, NL; there are few summer records for the province (KB et al.). Gadwall is rare at any time in New- foundland & Labrador, but summer records are of particular interest. This year, there was a pair at Port au Port 11-12 Jun (G. Stroud) and a lone male at Long Harbour, Placentia Bay (BMt). The only Eurasian Wigeon re- ers. Common speculation was that this was the same individual present at Stephenville Crossing, NF Jun-Sep 2005. The only other record for the species in North America (n. of the Caribbean) comes from Nantucket L, MA in 1983. Other ardeids were well repre- sented. Nova Scotia had at least 8 Snowy Egrets, while Prince Edward I., St. Pierre et Miquelon, and Newfoundland each had one. Little Blue Herons were at Cape Sable I. 23 Jun and at Pickneys Pt. 2 Jul; Tricolored Herons were at Brooklyn 27 Jun-1 Jul and Martinique Beach; and a Cattle Egret was at Pubnico 9 Jun (/ideUH). Single Great Egrets turned up in New Brunswick on 2 Jun at St. Rests Marsh (Roger Burrows; plus 3 Snowy Egrets) and 7 Jun at lie Miscou (Bernise & Roland Robichaud). A Turkey Vulture at Mud L., Labrador 28 Jul was one of a slowly growing number of records for that area (Hollis Yetman). A Least Bittern at Bell Street Marsh, NB was observed 30 May-27 Jun (Richard Perron, Louis-Emile Cormier, m.ob.). Black Vulture remains an annual summer rarity in the Region: singles were at Dunee Richmond, NS 10-12 Jul (Berni Tho- rycroft), Carr’s Creek, Fredericton, NB 28- 29 Jun (ph. Georgie Manuel), and Poke- shaw, NB 9 Jul (Bernise & Roland Robichaud). Two pairs of American Oystercatcher pro- duced 5 young at Cape Sable L, NS, the only breeding site in the Region (JN, MN). Willets well e. of the known breeding range were at Trepassey, NL 9 Jul (Jeff Harrison) and Re- news, NL 16 Jul (BMt et al.). A bright male Bar-tailed Godwit was at Stephenville Cross- ing, NF 5 Jun; this was the 3rd consecutive year that the species has been recorded at this location (BMt et al.). Southbound shorebird migration got a jump start with 19 Lesser Yel- lowlegs, one Stilt Sandpiper, and a Short- billed Dowitcher at Three Fathom Harbour 25 Jun (SMe). Also early were 7 Whimbrels at Miquelon, SPM 24 Jun (fide RE), 2 Hudson- ian Godwits at Morien Bar, Cape Breton L, NS 25 Jun (CM, AM), and a Bairds Sandpiper at Three Fathom Harbour 7 Jul (IM). Cape Sable L, NS, famous for the largest concentrations of Short-billed Dowitchers in the Region, recorded 100 on 29 Jun (JN et al.), 3490 on 14 Jul (BS, SS), and 6500 on 25 Jul (BS, SS). A late spring Purple Sandpiper was at Port Morien, Cape Breton L, NS 3 Jun (CM, AM). A juv. Ruff was found at Schooner Pond, Cape Breton L, NS 18 Jul (CM, AM). JAEGERS THROUGH TERNS Subad. Long-tailed Jaegers are known to sum- mer in numbers in offshore areas of s. and e. 500 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ATLANTIC PROVINCES & ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON Newfoundland; one was seen 2 km offshore near Flint 1., Cape Breton I., NS 13 Jun (CM, AM). Laughing Gulls were seen in enormous numbers, mirroring the stark increase in coastal Maine to the southwest: Nova Scotia reported 16 and Newfoundland had at least 20, including 5 n. to LAnse-aux-Meadows 18 Jul (Dave Milson). Three were reported from St. Pierre et Miquelon (RE). One at East Pt., Prince Edward I. 28 Jun was only the 11th for the province (PLe et ah). A Little Gull was at Summerside, Prince Edward 1. 15 Jul (Eric Marcum). Nearly annual as a mid-summer va- grant in the Region, a Gull-billed Tern spent a week at Glace Bay, Cape Breton L, NS 2-8 Jul (CM, AM et al.). Newfoundlands overdue first Roseate Tern was found at Trepassey on the s. Avalon Pen. 11 Jun (Mike Parmenter et al.). The bird was banded — but as it turns out, more that half the Atlantic population of Roseate Tern is banded! Very encouraging was the record 67 Roseate Tern nests with chick on the Brothers L, Yarmouth , NS (TD). DOVES THROUGH WAX WINGS A White -winged Dove on Sable L, NS in late May was tallied as Nova Scotia's 35th record (fide IM) — more than most U.S. states on the East Coast n. of the Carolinas! Another was recorded 19-30 Jun at St. Leonard, Madawas- ka, NB (Roy & Charlotte LaPointe). Although a routine autumn vagrant, a window-killed Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Trenton, Pictou, NS 26 Jun (Dave MacLean) and another the same day at Chamcook L., NB (Jane & Richard Tarn) added to the very few summer records for the Region. A Boreal Owl calling at Cold- brook, Kings , NS 1 Jul was considered ex- traordinary (fide IM). Two nest boxes with eggs at St. Pierre, SPM were noteworthy (fide RE). Single Common Nighthawks outside the breeding range were at Miquelon, SPM 12 Jun (fide RE) and in St. John’s, NL 31 Jul (Todd Boland). Red-bellied Woodpecker has virtually in- vaded the Region since the 1980s. At first, the invasion was characterized by late-autumn in- fluxes and birds wintering at bird feeders. Spring and summer records remained rare but slowly increased over time. As expected. Red- bellied Woodpecker has been confirmed as a breeding species in the Region: a pair present through the summer at Jollimore, Halifax, NS was accompanied by a fledgling in mid-Aug (Fred Creig, fide IM). Several Eastern Phoebes singing under bridges in sw. Newfoundland in Jun could represent possible first breeding records in the province, but the sightings were not followed up later (JW et al.). Singing Wil- low Flycatchers were noted at Bell Street Marsh, NB 6 Jun, at Midgic, NB 8-21 Jun (both S. Tingley et al.), at Baker L., NB 21 Jun (J. Denys Bourque), and at St. Isidore, NB 10 Jul (Ivy Austin). Prince Edward I.s 2nd Great Crested Flycatcher was found by breeding bird atlasers at Lady Fane (SMa, DS). Two Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were reported at Phillip Harbour, Guysborough , NS 18 Jun (SB). An imm. Fork-tailed Flycatcher pho- tographed at Mistaken Pt., Avalon Pen., NL 8 Jul was the province’s 2nd record (Gene Herzberg). A Warbling Vireo nest found at Shube- nacadie, NS was one of the few actual nests found in the Region (Cheryl Davis). A Caroli- na Wren singing at Indian Village, Halifax, NS 25 Jun-3 Jul was apparently unmated (BMy); another singing at Edmonston, Madawaska, NB 1 1 Jul (Gisele Bourque) was a county first. A Gray Catbird at Goose Bay 5 Jul provided about the 4th sighting for Labrador (BMt). A Brown Thrasher with fledged young reported in early Aug at North Wallace, NS furnished one of perhaps three nesting records for the province (DS). WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES Cape May Warblers, including ads. carrying food, were surprisingly numerous at Birch I., Goose Bay, Labrador in early Jul (BMt). A singing Yellow-breasted Chat at Pennfield, NB 6-21 Jun was unusual there (Don Gibson et al.). A male Summer Tanager in early Jun at Mira, Cape Breton L, NS was probably a late spring vagrant (fide SMe). A male Scarlet Tanager found at Glencorradale, Prince Ed- ward 1. 28 Jun made a rare summer record for the province (PLe et al.). The only Indigo Buntings reported out of range were on Grand Manan I., NB 2 Jun (fide Durian In- gersoll) and at Chamcook, NB 26 Jun (Blaine & Jane Chamberlain). A rare summer East- ern Meadowlark was at West Cape, Prince Edward 1. 23 Jun (Eric Marcum). A male Brown-headed Cowbird was well out of range at Goose Bay, Labrador 27 Jun (HY). Others beyond the breeding range were at Cape Race, NF 9 Jul (Cliff Dorant) and St. Pierre, SPM 4 Jun (PA). Finches received little men- tion; White-winged Crossbills were moving through Labrador in small flocks in late Jun (BMt). Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): Pascal Asselin, Patrick Boez, Ted d’En- tremont, Roger Etcheberry, Laurent Jack- man, Ulli Hoger, Lance Laviolette, Paul Lehman, Paul Linegar, Bruce Mactavish (BMt), Scott Makepeace, Blake Maybank (BMy), lan McLaren, Susann Meyers, Eric Mills, Cathy Murrain, Alan Murrain, Murray Newell, Dwayne Sabine, Bettyjune Smith, Sid Smith, Hans Toom, Hollis Yetman. $ Bruce Mactavish, 37 Waterford Bridge Road, St.John's, Newfoundland A1E 1C5, (bruce.mactavish1@nf.sympatico.ca) This large Apus swift, photographed at St. Pierre 2 June 2006, appears to be a Common Swift, which is somewhat huskier in proportions than the similar Plain Swift; the bird apparently lacked the pale throat of Pallid Swift. Photographs by Patrick Boez. An all-dark Apus swift photographed in silhouette at St. Pierre, SPM 2 Jun (fide RE) was probably a Common Swift (A. . ’ I apus). The photographer, unaware of the significance of the sighting, did not know what field marks to look for. The three flight shots dearly show the very long, narrow based, swept-back wings and the very long, tapered tail typical of Common Swift. The shorter-tailed Black Swift, which has rather broader bases to the wings than Common, is ruled out by the photographs. The similar Pallid Swift (A. pallidus) and Plain Swift (A. unicolor), however, are difficult to rule out from the photographs. The bird lacked the white rump of Fork-tailed Swift (A. pacikus), casual in Alaska and a conceivable vagrant to the Region. The only confirmed records of Common Swift in e. North America come from Miquelon, SPM 23 Jun 1986 and Bermuda 16 Nov 1986, although there are also reports of this genus, in some cases disputed or unresolved, from Pennsylvania (10 May 1996), Massachusetts (14 Jul 1996), and New York (2 Aug 1971), as well as reports of large, dark swifts (not Chaetura) from Pennsylvania (15 Nov 1985), Illinois (5 Sep 1951), Ontario (26 Aug 1982; 21 May 2006), Texas (22 & 25 Dec 1987), and Flori- da (8-9 Jun 1966). Some of the latter are under review, but most are considered unresolvable and may refer to Black Swift or White-collared Swift. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 501 S® ' Quebec • Inukjuak Chibou- •gamau Natash- Slffie "ua.n ®Amos L Saint-JeanM # • Rouyn „ Tatassac.^ <5 Cap-Tourmenle • Mont-. Quebec Cit/. Laurier Berthierville# Montreal^ % #Victoriaville Gatineau f •Sl'8rtlra0ke L Champlain „ '' Baie-du-Febvre • Gaspb G"^°f • Perc6 Lawrence Pierre Bannon Olivier Barden Normand David Samuel Denault Yves Aubry Again, the trend toward increasing tem- peratures continued in the province, with a departure from the mean vary- ing from +1° C in almost all regions to near +2° C in the Ungava Peninsula. In the south, July was particularly warm and humid. Cen- tral Quebec was dry, but it was wetter than normal in the extreme southwestern parts of the province and in the Ungava Bay region. Once more, rare gulls and terns continued to amaze the birding community, especially in June, among them a Ross’s Gull and a Royal Tern. Out-of-range passerines were also well in evidence throughout June. Red-bellied Woodpecker and Louisiana Waterthrush were confirmed breeding for the first time in the Region. Abbreviations: C.W.S. (Canadian Wildlife Service), M.I.C.S. (Mingan Island Cetacean Study). WATERFOWL THROUGH RAPTORS The so-called “resident” Canada Goose is now well established in s. Quebec but not yet considered a nuisance. A local project con- ducted on a few islands in the Varennes/Re- pentigny area, e. of Montreal, has shown that from one in 1993, the number of nests has reached 230 this year (E Saint-Pierre). Up to 7 ad. Gadwall with up to 42 young at Grande-Riviere in Jul were more than needed to confirm a first breeding record for the Gaspe Pen. (PP, G. Roy). Although not as common as they used to be in extreme s. Quebec, Gray Partridges are still showing signs of expanding eastward, as evidenced by single pairs at Sainte-Luce 1-8 Jun (L. Lefeb- vre) and Riviere-Ouelle 18 Jun (L. Coulombe). An ad. Wild Turkey accompa- nied by 4 chicks at Mirabel 15 Jul represent- ed a noteworthy breeding record n. of the St. Lawrence R. (S. Auger). Unusual mid-summer concentrations of Common Loons included 104 on Res. Baska- tong 2 Jul (M. Tremblay) and 95 at Saint-Ful- gence 14 Jul (C. Cormier, GS). Several hun- dred Northern Fulmars were sighted in the Jacques-Cartier Strait in Jun; the fulmars were aggregating in large groups of up to 50 indi- viduals and were seen offshore as well as within the Mingan Archipelago (M.I.C.S. team). An American White Pelican continued at Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon 1-4 & 23-25 Jun (fide OB), while another turned up in the Sorel Is. 26 Jun (AM. Galancl et al.). Double- crested Cormorant continues to thrive in ex- treme s. Quebec; six nests at Hull 9 Jun con- firmed breeding on the Ottawa R. (B. Bracken, C. Lewis). A Least Bittern at Saint-Fulgence 10-18 Jun represented only the 2nd report of the species for the Saguenay region (F Gagnon et al.). Up to 4 Snowy Egrets spent the summer at Sainte-Catherine, near a mixed colony of Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night- Herons, and Great Egrets on nearby Heron I. (PB, RB, m.ob.); another was found at nearby Maple Grove 21 Jul (SD, DD). Single Little Blue Herons were reported at LaSalle 1 Jun (JC. Sorel et al.), Sherbrooke 5 Jun (JP. Pel- letier), Sept-Iles 23 Jun (BP, G. Breton), and Bassin 22 Jun (DGG, N. & R. Lapensee). The latter bird or another was seen at La Mar- tinique 26 Jul (DGG). Saint-Fulgence/LaBaie hosted an ad. Tricolored Heron 5-6 Jun (C. Cormier, GS). A concentration of 33 Turkey Vultures at Saint-Damase-de-LIslet 15 Jul was an interesting total for this locality (JG. Chouinard). A juv. Bald Eagle at Dundee 21 Jul (SD, DD) was perched where 2 ads. and a nest had been located last spring (SD, PB). This is strongly suggestive of local breeding, an event unheard of since early colonial times in extreme s. Quebec. SHOREBIRDS THROUGH OWLS A Willet at Sept-iles 10-11 Jun was the only one outside its limited breeding range in the Magdalen Is. (JFL, PD et ah)- An Upland Sandpiper at Sept-iles 31 May-2 Jun was out of range (BP, N. Chouinard et al.). Three Rud- dy Turnstones at Pointe Yatnachiche 19 Jun were possibly late migrants (JG, M. Bourassa). In view of the sharp decline of Red Knots in Atlantic coastal staging areas, their situation in Quebec bears monitoring. In addition to James Bay, it seems that the Mingan Archipel- ago could represent one of the most impor- tant fall stopover sites for this species in North America. This summer, groups of over 500 individuals were regularly encountered there, and a maximum of 1200 birds, all ads., was noted there 23 Jul during a C.W.S. survey (CB, YR, YA). A very early Bairds Sandpiper appeared at Riviere-Ouelle 11 Jul (JFR); an unseasonable Purple Sandpiper was at He Nue (Mingan) 29 Jul (YA, BD, CC). Two female Ruffs stopped briefly at Bridgeville 9 Jul (DJ). A juv. Wilson’s Phalarope at Paspebiac 24-28 Jul suggested local breeding (L. & P Simard, m.ob.). An ad. female Red Phalarope at Beau- port 27 Jul was a rare showing for this species (at least in fresh water) so early in the fall mi- gration (M. Tardif). At least 10 Laughing Gulls were reported, including 3 at Sainte-Catherine 13-23 Jun (RB, G. Zenaitis, PB), 3 at Gaspe 23 Jun-2 Jul (DJ et al.), 3 at La Malbaie/Saint-Irenee (AC), and finally one at Saint-Ulric 23 Jun (FR). Eight different Franklin’s Gulls showed up Regionwide ( fide PB). Little Gulls also attract- ed attention, with 6 (5 imms.) spending the summer at Sainte-Catherine (PB, m.ob.), 5-6 in the Gaspe Pen. in Jul (L. Simard et al.), 4 imms. at Riviere-Ouelle 3 Jun (CA, CG), up to 3 at Beauport 11 Jun (M. Raymond), 2 at Moisie 16 Jun (BD), and one at Pointe Ya- machiche 8 Jul (JG). A Black-headed Gull turned up at Moisie 28 Jun (BD, CC, JFL), the only one recorded away from the Magdalen Is. A Bonaparte’s Gull was sitting on a nest at Port-Cartier 26 Jun-15 Jul (M. Couette, L. Dube, m.ob.), which appears to be one of the easternmost nests ever found in the Region. An ad. Mew Gull of the nominate subspecies was discovered at La Malbaie/Pointe-au-Pic 4 Jun (JL et al.), while an ad. California Gull was well described at nearby Saint-Irenee 5 Jun (JR Ouellet, M. Lafleur). The maximum number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the Charlevoix coast reached 16 at Saint-Irenee and 2 at nearby La Malbaie 30 Jun (AC). A Black-legged Kittiwake was unusual at Sainte- Catherine 3 Jun (M. Dennis). A first-summer Ross’s Gull at Moisie 23 & 28 Jun was prob- ably one of the 2 that appeared there in late May (BD, CC, JFL, ph.). A pair of Black Terns was confirmed nest- ing at Tourville 16 Jun, apparently our east- ernmost Regional breeding record (CA, CG). An Arctic Tern at Sainte-Catherine 16 Jun (M. Bertrand et al.) and 3 Jul (PB, JPT, ph.) repre- sented a very rare summer record for extreme s. Quebec. A large tern at Sainte-Catherine 26 Jun (JPT, J. Luce), first thought to be a Caspi- an Tern, was identified as a Royal Tern from JPT’s photographs (PB), representing the first fully documented occurrence in the Region. Two imm. Long-tailed Jaegers were spotted at lie Nue 8 Jul (CB, YR), and one subad. was at 502 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS QUEBEC This Royal Tern was photographed at Sainte-Catherine 26 June 2006, providing the first fully documented occurrence in Quebec. Most Royal Terns seen in Canada are along the Atlantic coast, so it was quite unexpected to find the province's first bird so far inland near Montreal (and without hurricane "assistance"). Photograph byJ. P. Tousignant. the same site 17 Jul (YA, SP). A few birds were also seen by the M.I.C.S. team. Although not reported every year, this species appears to be regular in summer in this location. Late Snowy Owls were in singles at Baie- des-Sables 17-18 Jun (S. Verreault, Y. Emond, M. Leblanc) and at Tourelle, Gaspe Pen. 8 Jun (M. Castilloux), while one summered at Havre-aux-Basques 22 Jun+ (E Shaffer, fide DGG). Solitary Great Gray Owls were glimpsed at Sainte-Flavie 15 Jul (S. Brodeur) and lie Verte 26 jul (B. Fortin); such sightings are surprisingly regular in the Lower St. Lawrence in recent summers. Five ad. and 51 juv. Long-eared Owls were detected this sum- mer in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region; they were readily detectable in the 2nd half of Jul by the plaintive begging cries of the young- sters (fide B. Dumont). WOODPECKERS THROUGH WAXWINGS The season’s only Red-headed Woodpecker was at Adstock 22-23 Jun (D. McCutcheon). A much-anticipated first breeding record of Red-bellied Woodpecker for the Region was documented at Chateauguay 29 Jun, where a juv. was accompanied by a male (PB). A sin- gle Red-bellied Woodpecker was at Levis 24 Jul (C. Deschenes). Adding to a handful num- ber of Regional records, experienced ob- servers reported single Acadian Flycatchers at Saint-Jacques-de-Montcalm 23 Jun (R. Piche, S. Bonin) and Saint-Ignace-de-Stan- bridge 14 Jul (JG. Papineau). The North Shore region was superbly adorned with va- grant Tyrannus , starting with a Western King- bird at Forestville 15 Jun (R. Gilbert, A. Gos- selin), followed by a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Sept-Iles 24 Jun (A. Marcoux), and finally by a Fork-tailed Flycatcher at Port-Menier, Aitticosti I. 17 Jul (D. Ward and independent- ly R. Poulin, C. Germain). Interestingly, it represented the 3rd occurrence of the latter species at Port-Menier since 1988. Ad. Loggerhead Shrikes that bred in captiv- ity this summer were released, along with their offspring, in the latter part of summer at Breckenridge, for a total of 18 released birds (fide G. Desjardins). A total of 11 Warbling Vireos in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in Jun was unprecedented for that area (fide GS). A Carolina Wren at Rimouski 30 Jun (GG et al.) was the first summer record and only the 4th overall for the Lower St. Lawrence. A singing Sedge Wren recorded at Mont-Brun 7-9 Jul was only the 2nd ever for the Abitibi region (SG et al.). Targeted studies on Bicknell’s Thrush in the mts. of the North Shore this summer revealed an individual in the Manic-5 area and 5 in the Port-Cartier-Sept-iles wildlife reserve, adding to what little previous knowledge there is about the n. range limits of this species (YA, SP, JFR, S. Belleau). An American Robin in the rocky tundra n. of the 62nd parallel at Salluit, Ungava Pen. 6-7 Jun was well n. of its range and habitat (GC). Two Bohemian Waxwings were at Rene-Levasseur I., e. of their poorly known breeding range 11 Jun (SB, YA). WARBLERS THROUGH CROSSBILLS An Orange-crowned Warbler at Kuujjuaq 8 Jun was well n. of its range (GC). A male Pro- thonotary Warbler was heard singing and subsequently seen at Mont-Brun 4 Jun, a first record for Abitibi (SG). A Louisiana Wa- terthrush pair successfully raised 4 young in Gatineau Park in Jun, a first confirmed breed- ing record for the Region (FR, C. Savignac). A singing Connecticut Warbler in prime habitat n. of Forestville 1 Jul was markedly e. of its range 0- Piuze). The Yellow-breasted Chat at Neuville continued through at least 12 Jun (fide JL). A juv. with 2 ad. Clay-colored Sparrows at Saint-Jacques-de-Montcaim 14 Jul confirmed nesting for this locality (DJ. Leandri-Breton), while a single bird was far n. and e. of its range at the Daniel-Johnson hydroelectric dam in Jun (YA, JFR). A singing Henslow’s Sparrow near Huntingdon 2-27 Jun furnished the first local record since 1989 (A. Quen- neville, L. Goneau et al.). A Dark-eyed Junco at Salluit, Ungava Pen. 7 Jun was well n. of its range (GC), as was an Indigo Bunting at Sept- lles 1 Jul (JFL). Rarely straying from the St. Lawrence low- lands, an Eastern Meadowlark at Baie- Comeau 26 Jun was noteworthy (Y. Rouil- lard). A male Yellow-headed Blackbird fre- quented feeders at Rimouski 1-3 Jun (RS). In response to a phenomenal cone crops of spruce and fir throughout the Region, White- winged Crossbills were encountered virtually everywhere in the boreal forest in the e. half of the province, starting in early Jul. Addendum: A partial survey made by the C.W.S. in Lac Saint-Franpois N.W.R. between 25 May and 28 Jun 2005 established the pres- ence of 61 singing male Sedge Wrens (D. & G. Gervais, B. Jobin et al.). Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): C. Auchu, P. Bannon (Montreal), R. Belhumeur, C. Buidin, A. Cote, C. Couture, G. Cyr, D. Daigneault, B. Duchesne, R. Fortin (Lower-St. Lawrence), S. Gagnon, DG. Gaudet (Magdalen Is.), J. Gelinas, G. Gen- dron, C. Girard, L. Imbeau (Abitibi), D. Jal- bert, J. Lachance (Quebec City),JF Laporte, S. Paradis, B. Poulin, P. Poulin (Gaspesie), Y. Rochepault (North Shore), JF Rousseau, F Rousseu, C. Roy (Bois-Francs), R. Saint-Lau- rent (Lower-St. Lawrence), G. Savard (Sague- nay-Lac-Saint-Jean), JP. Tousignant, D. Tous- saint (Outaouais). © Pierre Bannon, 1517 Leprohon, Montreal, Quebec H4E 1P1, (pbannon@videotron.ca); Olivier Barden, 1652 rue de Bruyeres, Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1W 3H1, (whitephasegyrfalcon@hotmail.com); Normand David, 347 Donegani, Pointe-Claire, Quebec H9R 5M4, (normanddavid@videotron.ca); Samuel Denault, 75 Beauchemin, Saint-Basile-le- Grand, Quebec J3N 1J6, (samuel.denault@videotron.ca); Yves Aubry, Canadian Wildlife Service, P.0. Box 10100, Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1V 4H5, (yves.aubry@ec.gc.ca) VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 503 New England 1 L Champlain » Burtngton ►Charlotte Ml. Desert I. & Acadia NP Addison County~ VERMONT HAMPSHIRE f. Great Bayj Pawtuckaway SPM < •^Portland Scarborough •/Ogunquil y M Isles ot Shoals Herricks t Cove — Plum I. /Parker R NWR * Cape Ann BM*t / MASSACHUSETTS , (fuatth / Sprinqtieldg Ulchfiek County ' Bostone^V^Steftvagen Marsh\®an* Provinc«town — I neld*> ^)\Cape Cod Hartford* ? * ’it CONNECTICUT I I Milford A / f Hammonassett Block 1 1 _ I Beach SP Stamford Lighthouse Pi. Jamestown fl Chatham iMonomoy/South Beach • Nantucket I. Vineyard 1 1 a th i ^ — r ATLANTIC OCEAN Wayne R. Petersen une continued the pattern of wet weather established in mid-May, actually setting a record as the third wettest June on record in the Boston area. The total rainfall of 25.6 cm was 313% above normal, even though temperatures for the month were normal. July saw a sudden departure from the wet weather of late spring/early summer and temperatures that averaged nearly 80° F, made it the sixth warmest July in Boston since 1872. Although long-legged wading birds sus- tained some early-season nesting interruption due to the sustained wet weather in late May and early June, by census time most species seemed to fare pretty well. Similar to last year, high water or heavy rain adversely affected Common Loon and raptor nesting success in some areas, and aerial feeders such as Purple Martins and cavity nesters such as Eastern Bluebirds were all detectably hard hit by star- vation and exposure during the protracted rainy weather. Although few exceptional Regional nesting records were established, the season had a few first state occurrences: Eurasian Collared- Dove and Burrowing Owl in Maine, and Boat- tailed Grackle in Rhode Island. Other notable rarities were Yellow-nosed Albatrosses in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; Red-billed Tropicbird for the second year in a row in Maine; Bridled Terns in Maine and Massachusetts; Black-tailed Godwit and Cali- fornia Gull in Massachusetts; Red-necked Stints in Massachusetts and Connecticut; and a probable Brown-chested Martin in Con- necticut. Abbreviations: L. Josephine (Easton, Aroost- ook, ME), M.A.S. (Maine Audubon Society), M.D.EW. (Massachusetts Division of Fish- eries & Wildlife), N. & S. Monomoy 1. (Monomoy N.W.R., Chatham, Barnstable, MA), M.V. (Marthas Vineyard, Dukes, MA), Plum I. (Parker River N.W.R., Newbury/Row- ley, Essex, MA), South Beach (Chatham, Barn- stable, MA), Stellwagen Bank (Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, MA), Strat- ton I. (Saco, York, ME), T.N.C. (The Nature Conservancy), U.S.EW.S. (United States Fish & Wildlife Service). WATERFOWL THROUGH VULTURES Although a few migrating Brant typically linger into early summer, true summering birds were at Plum 1. 11-28 Jul (RH) and South Beach 11 Jul+ (m.ob.). As in recent past years, impounded freshwater marshes at Maine’s L. Josephine once again supported an interesting assortment of breeding waterfowl that included Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, and 7 summering Ruddy Ducks, a species first confirmed nesting in the Pine Tree State at this locality last year (BS). Late waterfowl included a Eurasian Wigeon at Dorchester (Suffolk), MA 3 Jun (RD); a Red- head at L. Josephine 25 Jun (BS); single King Eiders at Rockport, Essex, MA 5 Jun (JB) and Southwest Harbor, Hancock, ME 5 Jun-mid- Jul (R. MacDonald, m.ob.); single Harlequin Ducks at Biddeford, York, ME 11 Jun-27 Jul (EH et al.), Chilmark, M.V throughout Jun (AK), and E. Orleans, Barnstable 1 Jul+ (B.O.); and 6 Long-tailed Ducks at the Nor- walk Is., Fairfield, CT 16Jun (A. Gingert) and one inland at Nepaug Res., Burlington, Hart- ford, CT 17 Jun (PC). Once again, Vermont's Common Loon pop- ulation raised the bar, with 58 nesting pairs, 44 of which successfully raised 65 chicks. De- spite these numbers, 2006 witnessed the highest rate of nest failure in years, with five out of 14 nests ruined due to flooding; mor- tality due to encounters with fishing gear was also identified as a concern this season (fide E. Hanson). Pied-billed Grebes had notable breeding success at Brentwood, Rockingham, NH at a wetland mitigation area, where at least five broods were tallied in midsummer (T. Bronson, JB), and at Rochester, where two nests were located (D. Hubbard). A total of 4 summering Horned Grebes was recorded in New Hampshire (fide TV), Massachusetts (fide B.O.), and Connecticut (fide GH). Lin- gering Red-necked Grebes were present in Maine (fide JD) and Massachusetts (fide B.O.), and 4 were at Rye, Rockingham, NH 9 Jul (SM). For the first season in several years, the Re- gion supported some solid seabird concentra- tions, including several outstanding rarities. Reports of Yellow-nosed Albatross in New England are practically annual in recent years. so the appearance of what was likely the same ad. albatross at Andrews Pt., Rockport, Essex, MA 6 Jun (RH) and Hampton Beach, Rocking- ham, NH 6 Jun (fide TV), along with a possi- ble sighting at Yarmouth, Cumberland, ME 11 Jun (fide DL) and Maine’s definite 4th state record at Stratton I. 16-19 Jul (ph. S. Sanborn, m.ob.) collectively suggest that something re- ally interesting is going on, either with this species or an individual albatross. The alba- tross at Stratton 1. actually landed on the beach and was observed sitting among gulls concentrated at the same location! Stellwagen Bank, with its intensive coverage by whale- watching boats and plenty of vigilant birders, supported the apparent return of robust con- centrations of seabird food this year, especial- ly during late Jun and early Jul. In addition to some of the largest inshore baleen whale con- centrations in a number of years, tallies rang- ing from 1750-3000 Greater Shearwaters, 2000-3000 Sooty Shearwaters, 17-72 Manx Shearwaters, and 4700-10,000+ Wilson's Storm-Petrels (B.O.) suggested that both bait- fish and plankton were present in substantial abundance. In Long Island Sound, where tubenoses are generally scarce, a moribund Greater Shearwater beached at Stonington, New London, CT 28 Jun (ph. MS) was only the 3rd specimen ever for the Nutmeg State, and scattered reports of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels along the Connecticut coast continued a re- cent trend in those waters (fide GH). A Red-billed Tropicbird at Seal I., near Ma- tinicus I. in the n. Gulf of Maine in late Jul was not photographed (fide JD), but such a report is not without precedent: Good num- bers of Northern Gannets were still moving in late spring, as indicated by 800 at Wellfleet, Barnstable, MA 11 Jun (RH). Double-crested Cormorants continue to colonize Massachu- setts and are now nesting inland in Middlesex, at Spot Pond, Stoneham (1. Jewell) and at Foss Res., Framingham (J. Hines), the latter location a site where they apparently first nested in 2003 (fide B.O.). An imm. Great Cormorant at Colebrook, Litchfield, CT 9 Jun (P Carrier) was unusual by both date and in- land location. Five ad. Least Bitterns and several young at Plum I. in late Jun and earlyjul (RH, SMc) of- fered proof that this historic breeding site continues to contain the emergent freshwater marsh habitat needed to support this scarce Regional breeder. Managers at Plum 1. are be- ing strongly encouraged to manage impound- ed freshwater areas on the refuge to benefit breeding marsh birds at this premiere Massa- chusetts Important Bird Area. Long-legged wading bird census data for Narragansett Bay colonies in Rhode Island revealed the pres- 504 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NEW ENGLAND ence of 127 nests and 29 pairs of Great Egret, 14 nests and 27 pairs of Snowy Egret, two pairs of Little Blue Heron, 116 nests and 67 pairs of Black-crowned Night-Heron, and 98 pairs of Glossy Ibis (RF, CR). In the Bay State, Kettle I., Manchester, Essex contained 102 nests of Great Egret (new 17-year high), 231 nests of Snowy Egret, 17+ pairs of Little Blue Heron, 35 nests of Black-crowned Night- Heron, and 117 nests of Glossy Ibis (the last representing a new high for that colony) (SP). Nearby Eagle 1. supported 10 pairs of Snowy Egret, two pairs of Cattle Egret, 25 nests of Black-crowned Night-Heron, and four nests of Glossy Ibis (SP). At Sarah I., Hingham, Plymouth, MA, a survey pro- duced totals of 76 Great Egrets, 49 Snowy Egrets, and 343 Black-crowned Night- Herons ( fide K. Parsons). Particularly inter- esting was the discovery of two pairs of nesting Great Egrets amidst a Great Blue Heron colony inland at Framingham, Mid- dlesex, MA 0- Hines). With the dramatic in- crease in the number of Great Blue colonies in s. New England, one wonders if this phe- nomenon could occur with increasing fre- quency in the future? Unusual by its loca- tion was a Cattle Egret in Stockholm, Aroostook, ME in mid-Jun (fide BS), and a count of 4 at S. Thomaston, Knox in early Jul was the highest tally in the Pine Tree State since 1999 (fide JD). A putative hybrid Little Egret x Snowy Egret that was reported from Nantucket I. in May reappeared 29 Jul+ (ph. E. Ray). The increasing Regional spread of Black Vultures was indicated by singles n. to Center Ossipee, Carroll, NH 29 Jun ( fide TV) and the Kennebunk Plains, York, ME 27 Jun (RH). RAPTORS THROUGH CRANES Ospreys enjoyed a banner year in New Hamp- shire, with 45 active nests fledging 62 young statewide, matching the record set last year (fide C. Martin). With a Granite State total of only 10 pairs in 1981, it is possible that Os- prey could be the first species on the list of New Hampshire Threatened and Endangered Wildlife to be de-listed as a result of species recovery. In Massachusetts, the picture was less optimistic at the Westport R. colony, Bris- tol, where 73 nests fledged only 48 young, compared to 105 young in 2005 (fide D. Cole). The first Mississippi Kite report for the period was a juv. at Norwalk, Fairfield, CT 8 Jun (W. Haffey), followed by a subad. at East Granby, Hartford 16 Jun (J\V) and an ad. at Simsbury, Hartford 19-23 Jul (P. Cianfaglione et al). Other reports were one at N. Truro, Barnstable, MA 27 Jun (DM); an ad. at E. Matunuck, Washington, R1 4 Jul (ST); and one at Kensington, Rockingham, NH 9 Jul (G. Gavutis, Jr.). Ten Bald Eagle nests in New Hampshire fledged 21 young, twice the previ- ous high count (fide C. Martin). In Vermont, the species nested for the first time ever in a nest constructed on the Connecticut R. (fide Vermont eBird). In Massachusetts, 16 Bald Eagle nests fledged 33 young (fide TF), in- cluding a first-time nesting in Bristol (WP). A Sharp-shinned Hawk nest in Ipswich, Essex, MA successfully managed to fledge one A remarkable record anywhere in New England outside the context of a tropical cyclone, but especially so in Maine, this adult Bridled Tern was nicely documented on Outer Green Island on 6 July 2006. Photograph by Mike Fahay. young, 3 siblings apparently having suc- cumbed to exposure/rain (JB). While proba- bly more common as a breeding bird in s. New England than records would suggest, very few Sharp-shinned Hawks are confirmed nesting from one year to the next in s. New England. The continued Regional decline of American Kestrels was reflected this season by an all-time record low occupancy of 18 out of 66 nest boxes in a long-term study in se. Massachusetts (JM, M. Maurer). Many kestrels simply failed to return this spring, and combined with rainy weather early in the season, the nest box trail resulted in only a 27% occupancy rate. Despite the overall low numbers, the 52 young that were banded is consistent with the per-box ratio of young produced in past years. A Merlin nest that fledged 3 or 4 young at Keene, Cheshire, NH 14 Jul (K. Burgman, fide TV) was well s. of previous New England nesting attempts. With their current rate of range expansion, these feisty little falcons could be nesting in s. New England before the end of this decade! Heavy rain and poor productivity punctuated the Peregrine Falcon nesting season in New Hampshire, where there were 17 occupied territories (a new post-DDT high count) but where only six nests were successful in hedg- ing 14 young, the lowest total in the past decade (C. Martin). Of five New Hampshire sites specifically monitored under the U.S.F.W.S. monitoring plan in place since de-listing of the Peregrine, 80% (four out of five) of the monitored nests failed. Vermont Peregrines fared better, with 27 pairs fledging 59 young (SF), while in Massachusetts, nine nesting pairs fledged 22 chicks (TF). A Clapper Rail with 2 chicks at Chap- paquiddick I., M.V. 21-24 Jun (fide B.O.) pro- vided rare breeding confirmation in Massa- chusetts. At Plum I., a tally of 8-9 ad. Com- mon Moorhens May-mid-Jun (B.O.) was one of the highest Bay State concentrations in recent years. At Stratton I., both this species and American Coot were suspected to have nested this season, though confirmation was not obtained (fide JD). Sandhill Cranes once again nested in Maine; one pair raised a chick at Belgrade, Kennebec, and another pair raised 2 at Smithfield, Somerset. In Leeds, Androscoggin, there were another two probable pairs, along with singles at Biddeford, York, Scarborough, Cumberland, and Palmyra, Somerset, though none of these were suspected of breeding (fide D. Mairs). In Massachusetts, a pair of Sandhill Cranes continued from May through the period at New Marlboro, Berkshire (S. Mullen), and one was seen at Avon, Hart- ford, CT 9 Jun (A. Lurie). SH0REBIRDS Of the nesting shorebird species, Piping Plovers had an especially successful season this year. In Massachusetts, 480 pairs raised 557+ young (1.12-1.2 chicks/pair), compared to the dismal 1.02 fledged chicks/pair in 2005 (EJ, SM, MDFW). At Sampson’s I., Barnstable, the density of plovers was 26 pairs along 2 km of beach, possibly the highest density in New England (EJ). Despite these robust numbers, coyote and fox predation continues to be a sig- nificant problem at several Bay State sites. In Maine, 40 pairs of plovers produced approxi- mately 49 chicks (1.23/pair) (fide M.A.S.), and in Rhode Island, plovers generated 61 chicks (1.09/pair) (fide T.N.C., U.S.EW.S.). Less rosy news was the total of 180 pairs of American Oystercatchers that only produced 80 chicks (.62/pair) in Massachusetts, a clear reminder that this species continues to struggle, partic- ularly in the Bay State, where the breeding population is the largest in the Region (EJ, SM, M.D.FW.). A total of 18 pairs of oystercatchers was documented in Rhode Island (RF, CR), and a tally of 15 American Oystercatchers at Milford Pt., New Haven 15 Jul (P. Comins) was considered notably high for Connecticut. The only mentionable Upland Sandpiper count was 15 at Westover A.FB., Hampden, MA 10 Jun (R. Bieda). The sole American Golden-Plover report VOLUME 60 (2007) NUMBER 4 505 NEW ENGLAND came from Eastham, Barnstable , MA 20-23 Jul (M. Salett, D. Weintraub). At South Beach, 700 Black-bellied Plovers and 1600 Semi- palmated Plovers 30 Jul (BN) represented the Regional high totals for the period for these species. Single American Avocets were report- ed in Massachusetts at Falmouth, Barnstable 18 Jul (G. Hirth), Edgartown, M.V 23-25 Jul (L. Baldwin), and Ellisville, Plymouth 31 Jul (E. Cody); in Maine, one was at Scarborough, Cumberland 26 Jul+ (L. Seitz, LB). A total of 208 Willets at Plum 1. 11 Jul (RH) was slight- ly eclipsed by 225 at South Beach 30 Jul (BN), where a maximum of 20 inoma- tus was also present by Jul. The some- what paltry maximum count of 38 Whimbrels at South Beach 29 Jul (BN) was undoubtedly more a result of the reduced accessibility of Monomoy N.W.R. than of any drop in migrant numbers. Undoubtedly the flashiest shorebird of the season was the ad. Black-tailed Godwit that visited Plum I. 17-29 Jul (ph. P Brown et al.). Only the 4th record for Massachusetts and the 5th for the Region, this handsome and obliging shorebird pleased birders from far and wide who came to admire and photograph it. Despite the high quality of the photographs taken of this indi- vidual, controversy persists over whether the bird was of the nominate subspecies of w. Eu- rope or islandica, the subspecies breeding in Iceland and Scotland. The high count of Hud- sonian Godwits was 75 at South Beach 30 Jul (BN). A Marbled Godwit at Scarborough, Cumberland 19 Jul (DL) was an uncommon discovery on the Maine coast. Other notable shorebird sightings included Connecticut’s 2nd Red-necked Stint at Milford Pt., New Haven 16-23 Jul (N. Bonomo et al., ph. J. Hough), and other ads. at Eastham, Barnsta- ble, MA 20 Jul (C. Goodrich) and Dorchester, Suffolk , MA 30 Jul (RD); 2 Bairds Sandpipers at Stratford Great Meadows, Fairfield , CT 11 Jul (C. Barnard) and one at Sandy Pt., West Haven, New Haven, CT 18 Jul (J. Hough) were unusual for the Region in that they were ads.; and a Ruff at Plum I. 6 Jim (S. Haydock). An assortment of high shorebird tallies for the period includes 750 Red Knots, 2800 Sander- lings, and 5500 Semipalmated Sandpipers at South Beach 30 Jul (BN) and 1000 Least Sandpipers and 3000 Short-billed Dowitchers at the same location 14 Jul (BN). SKUAS THROUGH ALCIDS A South Polar Skua that was well pho- tographed on several whale-watching trips out of Bar Harbor, Hancock, ME 15-24 Jul (J. Busko) possibly represents the first photo- graphic documentation for the Pine Tree State. Two unidentified skuas were reported at Stellwagen Bank 22 Jul (G. Williams, P. Rusch, fide B.O.). Along with the tubenoses previously noted, small numbers of Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers were routinely recorded at Stellwagen Bank during Jul (fide B.O.). Considerably more unusual were 2 subad. Long-tailed Jaegers in the ocean off Truro, Barnstable, MA 11 Jun (WP et al.) and anoth- er at Great Cranberry 1., Cranberry Isles, Han- cock, ME 12 Jul (P. Polshek, fide JD). Stand- outs among the seasons gull reports were a tantalizing, but unconfirmed, report of a Black-tailed Gull at Machiasport, Washington, ME 26 Jun (R. Payne), an ad. California Gull at South Boston, Suffolk, MA 2 Jun (RD), and a slightly early ad. Sabine’s Gull at Stellwagen Bank 29 Jul (ML). A total of 1492 breeding Laughing Gulls at Monomoy N.W.R. was up 14% from last season (fide EJ, SM, M.D.EW.), and a single ad. at Salisbury, Addison, VT 18 Jun (C. Darmstadt, JrdeJN) was most unusu- al for the location and date. Approximately 10 Little Gulls were recorded from Maine to Massachusetts (fideJD, B.O., JV), and at least 4 Black-headed Gulls were tallied in New Hampshire and Massachusetts (fideJV, B.O.). Among a dozen reports of Lesser Black- backed Gull, there were 2 in Maine, where the species is still less frequent than it is in s. New England (fide JD), and 5 at Provincetown, Barnstable, MA 18 Jun (BN). Gull-billed Tern, always an unusual species in the Region, made quite a splash this year. The first one to appear was at Popham Beach, Phippsburg, Sagadohoc, ME 22 Jun (ph. E. Hynes et al.) for a 10th state record. This re- port was followed by the discovery of the first record in Connecticut since 1996 at Milford Pt., New Haven 24 Jun (N. Bonomo). In Mas- sachusetts, one was found at South Beach 10 Jul (M. Salett, ph. D. Weintraub), and 2 ap- peared at Plum 1.11 Jul (RH). Eight Caspian Terns were recorded Regionwide, and a dozen Royal Tern sightings included 4 as far n. as s. Maine (fide JD). More unusual was a Sand- wich Tern at Stratton 1. 21 Jun (fide DL) for only the 10th state record. Sandwich Tern re- ports in Massachusetts included singles at N. Monomoy I. 12 Jun-3 Jul (B. Harris); Provincetown 18 Jun-23 Jul (BN, Gd’E); Edgartown, M.V 24 Jun (V Laux); and Nan- tucket 1. 26 Jun (E. Ray). Tern nesting success was mixed. In Massachusetts, total pair counts of 1646 of Roseate Terns and 15,866 Common Terns showed increases of 10% and 3%, respectively, over 2005 (EJ, SM, MDFW). Two pairs of Arctic Terns, however, was down 67% and clearly reflects how this boreal species is barely holding on at its southernmost breeding station on the planet (EJ, SM, MDFW). The total of 2447 Least Terns (down 8%) provided evidence that these little guys continue to have breed- ing problems in the Bay State (EJ, SM, MDFW), despite the fact that Stratton 1. had a record 57 pairs this season (fide DL). In the Bay State, 11 Arctic Terns at Rockport, Essex (RH) and 13 at Dennis, Barnstable 7 Jun (BN) were wind-drift- ed migrants. For the 2nd year in a row, a Bridled Tern appeared briefly at Bird 1., Marion, Plymouth 14 Jun (I. Nisbet), and an- other (or the same?) bird that showed up at Outer Green I. in Casco Bay off Portland, Cumberland, ME 6 Jul (ph. M. Fahay et al.) represented only the 2nd record for Maine (fide JD). Five pairs of Black Skimmers nested in Massachusetts (EJ, SM, MDFW), and 2 at Fort Popham, Phippsburg, Sagadohoc 13 Jun represented only the 2nd Jun/Jul occurrence in Maine since 1995 (fide JD). Alcids out of season included 2 Razorbills at Martha’s Vine- yard 4 Jul (T. &J. Nickerson) and 2 Atlantic Puffins at Plum I. 23 Jul (RH). DOVES THROUGH PIPITS A Eurasian Collared-Dove at Kennebunk Beach, Kennebunk, York 4-5 Jun (J- Ficker, fide K. Gammons) will represent a first record for the Pine Tree State if accepted by the Maine records committee. Also in Maine, a White-winged Dove at Medomak, Lincoln 28 Jun (S. Weidensaul et al., fide JD) was the 10th state record. Another White-winged Dove appeared at Dover, Strafford, NH 2 Jul (ph. M. Suomala et al.). A single Barn Owl at Middletown, Middle- sex, CT 20 Jun 0- Maynard) was a bittersweet reminder that this was once the state’s strong- hold for this reclusive species. At Logan In- ternational Airport in Boston, the Region’s winter epicenter for Snowy Owls, a lingering A species often reported in the vicinity but rarely so well photographed, this South Polar Skua was found in the Gulf of Maine 24 July 2006. Photograph by Jonathan Busko. 506 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NEW ENGLAND bird 9 Jun (R. Chirello, N. Smith) was defi- nitely outside the usual seasonal period for this species. Even more outstanding was Maine’s first-ever Burrowing Owl that fre- quented a small blueberry barren at Columbia Falls, Washington 15 Jul+ (D. Cristol, m.ob., fide JD). The geographic origin of this bird is of interest, as both the Florida and the west- ern subspecies have been recorded in the Northeast. Although a systematic Whip-poor- will monitoring effort initiated by New Flampshire Audubon this year began gather- ing some much-needed data for this declining species, results this season were insufficient to obtain a meaningful a picture of the status of Regional populations (fide PH). An espe- cially encouraging single tally, however, was 38 at Arcadia W.M.A., Exeter, Washington , RI 11 Jun (G. Williams). Red-bellied Woodpeckers nested in at least two locations in Maine this season, a situation long suspected but apparently not previously confirmed (fide JD). Practically as notable was the discovery of an American Three-toed Woodpecker nest with 2 young at New Swe- den, Aroostook , ME 5 Jun (B. Crowley, BS) — surely one of New England’s rarest resident birds. A Willow Flycatcher at Ft. Fairfield, Aroostook, ME 7 jul (BS) was considerably n. of more traditional s. New England locations, while a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Lincoln, Middlesex, MA 4Jun (N. Levey, ph.) was note- worthy by its mere presence. Fish Crows, though regular enough as breeding birds in Massachusetts, have not been confirmed since the 1980s in well- worked Essex until a nest with young was dis- covered at Newburyport 11 Jun (JB). There seems to be no limit to where Common Ravens can appear these days, as indicated by single individuals observed in mid-Jun in se. Massachusetts at Yarmouthport and Dennis, Barnstable (B.O.) and at Halifax, Plymouth 8 Jul (D. Furbish). Despite early nesting failures of Purple Martins in Massachusetts (resulting from cool and rainy spring weather), great success was apparently attained at Grand I., Addison, VT (DH), and nine pairs at a new colony in Barrington, Bristol, RI fledged 32 young (R. Marr, fide RF). A tally of 2500+ Bank Swallows going to roost with an estimated 50,000+ Tree Swal- lows at Plum 1. 19 Jul (RH) has to represent one of the highest such concentrations in New England in many years. Nearly as no- table for the Bay State, 227 Cliff Swallow nests were counted at a single colony in Cheshire, Berkshire 8 Jul (ML). Nesting success for Eastern Bluebirds was hindered by inclement spring and early summer weather for the 2nd year in a row. In a long-standing bluebird trail maintained in se. Massachusetts, a disap- pointing 14 pairs occupied 112 boxes, and only 58 young were banded this season (JM), nearly an all-time seasonal low; 12 out of 28 nesting attempts failed due to weather or pre- dation. By contrast, in Rhode Island, 39 blue- bird pairs using a trail in Smithfield, Provi- dence fledged 221 young (R. Marr), a decided increase over the all-time low of 101 fledged in 2005. Very out of place geographically and seasonally was an American Pipit at Quick- sand Pt., Little Compton, Newport, RI 3 Jul (R. Emerson, fide RF). WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES A Blue-winged Warbler carrying food at the Kennebunk Plains, York, ME 27 Jul (RH), slightly n. of traditional breeding areas, was eclipsed by one feeding a fledgling at St. Al- bans, Franklin, VT 6 Jul (TM). A meager four reports of probable breeding Golden-winged Warblers were submitted, all from Connecti- cut (fide GH), and a Brewster’s Warbler at Conner Twp., Aroostook, ME 7 Jun (BS) was notable in this Canadian Zone comer of the Region. At Plum I., a Northern Parula 23-26 jun (TW) and a Blackpoll Warbler 11 Jul (RH) were deemed nonbreeding wanderers. In a state where it is a rare breeder, Palm War- blers feeding young 30 Jun at Lewis, North- east Kingdom, Essex, VT (two pairs) was noteworthy (TM, A. Strong). As proof of the rich breeding bird population at the giant 25,600-acre Little River Important Bird Area in Hampton, MA, counts of warblers during a one-day bird survey in early Jun included 98 Black-throated Blues, 70 Black-throated Greens, 58 Blackburnians, 135 American Redstarts, and 273 Ovenbirds (Allen Bird Club, fide B.O.). A migrant Louisiana Wa- terthrush at E. Gloucester, MA 29 Jul (RH) was on the late side for this scarce Essex nester. Four Mourning Warblers at October Mountain S.P, Berkshire, MA 18 Jun (Gd’E) made a notable count for this state-listed parulid at this location. An unmated male Hooded Warbler at Woinpatuck S.P, Hing- ham, Plymouth, MA present since May lin- gered until at least 13 Jun (fide B.O.). Clay-colored Sparrows continue to appear with increasing frequency during the nesting season at scattered locations throughout the Region, clearly suggesting that the species is continuing to consolidate its toehold breed- ing status in New England. Reports included 3 at the Kennebunk Plains, York, ME 6-8 Jun (DL) and singles at Moonstone Beach, Matunuck, Washington, RI 12 Jun (D. Coop- er) and at Concord, Hillsborough, NH 14 Jun+ (PH). Tardy or wandering Dark-eyed Juncos included singles at Lincoln, Middlesex 2 Jun 0- Kile) and S. Boston, Suffolk, MA 21 Jun (B. Zuzavich). Late -migrating Blue Grosbeaks ap- peared at Nahant, Essex, MA 6 Jun (L. Pi- vacek) and Monhegan L, ME 6 Jun (B. Boyn- ton, fide JD). An enigmatic male Painted Bunting was especially notable at W. Tremont, Hancock, ME 19 Jul (fide B. Hancock). A count of 20 Eastern Meadowlarks at a capped and restored landfill at Saugus, Essex, MA 27 Jun (JB) is proof of the value of such sites to grassland birds. A male Yellow-headed Black- bird at Baltic, New London, CT 17 Jul (ph. D. Smith, fide GH) was enigmatic, while a female Boat-tailed Grackle at the Charlestown Breachway, Washington 2 Jun (RV, C. Mostel- lo) represented a first record for Rhode Island. A pair of Red Crossbills bringing recently fledged young to a feeder at S. Plymouth, Ply- mouth, MA 7 Jun (S. Leslie, fide WP) repre- sented an unusual breeding record for this sporadic Bay State nester. \>Y* ‘""5 ' ,) C jp jW-X i 0 Uoe 7 ‘Witn -ili** $u.iVrvi I /}ry* Hvrvi' ^ A C A Unquestionably the most notable report of the season was a ,J n meticulously described Brown-chested Martin at Groton, New London, CT 1 Jul (MZ). The bird was well observed and carefully sketched in the field by a skilled observer who was aware at the time that the large brown martin with a broad brownish chest band that he was observing might well be this Neotropical hirundine. Although the bird was regrettably not seen by others, the summer date of the ob- servation is not inconsistent with two of the three previous sightings of this species in North America (i.e., Massachusetts and New Mexico). However, unlike two previously confirmed records from the Northeast (Massachusetts and New Jersey), both of which represented the race fused with a spotted mid-breast typical of the migratory population from s. South America, the Connecticut bird apparently lacked the spotted mid-breast and more closely resembled the unspotted-breasted and normally sedentary population tapera from n. South America. Brown-chested Martins ordinarily only migrate n. to Panama in varying numbers between Apr and Sep. If ac- cepted by the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut, this represents a first record for the Nutmeg State. A Brown-chested Martin was sketched from life 1 July 2006 at Bluff Point, Connecticut; previous reports of this South American species come from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arizona, and Florida, though only the first two are verified. Sketch by Mark S. Szantyr. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 507 NEW ENGLAND Subregional editors (boldface), contribu- tors (italics), and cited observers: Jim Berry, Bird Observer (B.O.), Lysle Brinker, Paul Carrier, Glenn d’Entremont, Jody De- spres, Ron Donovan, Steve Faccio, Rachel Farrell, Richard Ferren, Tom French, Greg Hanisek, Rick Heil, David Hoag , Pam Hunt, Ellen Jedrey, Allan Keith , Seth Kellogg, Derek Lovitch , Mark Lynch, Maine Audubon Soci- ety, Don Manchester, Joey Mason, Massachu- setts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, Scott Melvin, Sue McGrath, Scott Melvin, Ryan Merrill, Steve Mirick, Ted Murin, Julie Nicholson, Blair Nikula, Ian Nisbet, Simon Perkins, Chris Raithel, Marj Rines, Bill Sheehan, Bob Stymeist, Scott Tasagarkis, Richard Veit, Tony Vezzano, Tom Wetmore, Mark Zantyr. © Wayne R. Petersen, P.0. Box 686, Hanson, Massachu- setts 02341, (wpetersen@massaudubon.org) Hudson-Delaware Robert O. Paxton Richard R. Veit Summer 2006 was one of the wettest on record. Nearly 37 cm of rain fell in New York City during the two months, 17.5 cm above normal. Albany received about 23 cm of rain in June, an all-time record, and the Oneida Lake Basin received over 25 cm in July. Torrential rains beginning 25 June caused damaging floods in the Delaware and Mohawk River Valleys. Only northwestern New York escaped the downpours. The rains were considered responsible for the death by hypothermia of 1800 Common Tern chicks on Great Gull Island (HH); the swamping of loon nests in northern Herkimer County, New York (WP); mortality in early bluebird broods in northern Saratoga County, New York (RPY); and fewer Ruffed Grouse broods in the Saint Lawrence River Valley (JBo). A well-documented Broad-billed Hum- mingbird, the Region’s first, was the principal rarity of the season. Fundamental seasonal rhythms seemed to be going awry. Several Snowy Owls lingered bizarrely into midsum- mer. Northbound migrants that seemed to have abandoned their journey (see shore- birds, raptors, warblers, American Pipit) nearly met exceptionally early returnees. Sandhill Crane, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Merlin, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Dickcissel confirmed or extended their presence as breeders. An outbreak of type-B botulism in Lake Ontario killed numerous gulls, terns, and cormorants. Abbreviations: Bombay Hook (Bombay Hook N.W.R., Kent, DE); Braddock Bay (hawkwatch on L. Ontario w. of Rochester, NY); Brig (Brig- antine Unit, Forsythe N.W.R., Atlantic, NJ); Cupsogue (county park w. of Westhampton Beach, Suffolk, Long L, NY); D.N.R.E.C. (Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation); Fort Drum (Fort Drum Military Installation, Jeffer- son, NY); Great Gull I. (ternery off e. Long I., NY); Jamaica Bay (Jamaica hay Wildlife Refuge, New York City); Jones Beach (S.P., Nassau, Long I., NY); Little Galloo (island in e. Lake Ontario off Stony Pt., Jefferson, NY); Montezuma (Montezuma N.W.R. in Wayne/Seneca, NY); N.J.D.FG.W. (Newjersey Division of Fish, Game, & Wildlife); N.Y.D.E.C. (New York Department of Envi- ronmental Conservation). WATERFOWL THROUGH FRIGATEBIRD Introduced Trumpeter Swans were present again at last years nest site in Wayne, NY and also bred nearby in Savannah Twp., e. of Mon- tezuma. A few Surf and Black Scoters sum- mered off coastal points, as usual, but White- winged Scoters, which winter farthest n., are rare here in summer. One was off Caven Pt., Jersey City, NJ 2 Jun (MBr) and another in the Leipsic R. at Bombay Hook 26 Jul (Z. Loman). A Long-tailed Duck off Island Beach S.P., NJ 4 Jul (Steve Weis) was another less-expected summering diving duck. A Common Golden- eye hen with 3 chicks at Wiilsboro Bay, in L. Champlain, Essex, NY 30 Jul (MMe) was s. of atlas breeding sites. We now have final figures for the 5th Com- mon Loon survey conducted last summer by the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program. On 16 Jul 2005, 452 volunteers surveyed 221 Adirondack lakes, the most ever, and found a total of 540 loons: 461 ads., 67 chicks, and 12 juvs. Although absolute numbers increased slightly, corresponding to fuller coverage, only 24% of the lakes surveyed had chicks or juvs., a slight drop, possibly because of heavy rains in early summer 2005. Only two Pied- billed Grebe nesting sites remain in Delaware, both along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, New Castle. An Eared Grebe in breed- ing plumage discovered at Round Valley Res., Hunterdon, NJ 22 May (JDeM, ph. D. Beaton, FS, ph. A. Souto) lingered through 8 Jun, the first for nw. New Jersey. A Western Grebe This Western Grebe was photographed off Battery Park, New Castle, Delaware 28 May through 2 (here 1 ) June 2006. Photograph by Maurice Barnhill. found off New Castle, DE 28 May-3 Jun (Joe Francis, AH, m.ob.) was possibly the same as the one noted in the spring report at Reed’s Beach, NJ on 13 May. The commonest shearwaters visible from land, as usual, were Sooty Shearwaters, of which 30-40 were seen milling off Pike’s Beach, Westhampton, Long I., NY 4 Jun (TWB, GB) and 5+ were off Cape May 6-7 Jun (CV); alongside the usual few Greater and Cory’s Shearwaters, occasional Manx Shear- waters could also be found with diligent scop- 508 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS HUDSON-DELAWARE ing (TWB, CV). About 200 Wilson’s Storm- petrels enlivened the Cape-May-to-Lewes, DE ferry crossing 5 Jul (CS). Counts of Brown Pelican remained well below those of the 1990s. The maximum was 24 reported off Cape May 26 Jul, and most reports were in single digits. Northernmost were 3 off Cup- soque 8 Jul (SBl). Little Galloo held 2692 Double-crested Cormorant nests in mid-jun despite continuing control measures (JF), while 1175 cormorant nests on six islands in New York Harbor, censused in New York City Audubon’s Harbor Herons Project, were a bit below the highs of the past decade (ABe). Two probable frigatebirds were reported in a faint echo of the 2005 mini-invasion. Four fishing boat captains described convincingly an all-dark frigatebird, presumably an ad. male Magnificent, off Montauk Pt., Long I. 9 Jun (fide HMcG), and another unidentified frigatebird was spotted from a car from the Garden State Parkway near Cape May 29 Jun (Simon Lane). HERONS THROUGH RAPTORS Least Bitterns seem to be holding their own, with reports from seven sites in New Jersey and five in Delaware, several new this year: Giambacorda Marsh at New Castle (FR), Ap- poquinimink Creek (Steve Collins), and Lum’s Pond S.P. (AG), all in New Castle , DE. The Re- gion’s northernmost Great Egret colony at Mo- tor I. in the Niagara R. continues to prosper. Fifty ads. and young were counted 12 Jun (William Watson), and a further 15 nested at Times Beach in Buffalo, all unthinkable 20 years ago. Post-breeding Snowy Egrets wan- dered as far n. as Oneida, NY 21-31 Jul (Doug Linstruth) and the Chazy R. mouth on L. Champlain, Clinton, NY 31 Jul (BK). Cattle Egrets dwindled again at the great Pea Patch 1. heronry in Delaware Bay off Delaware City, New Castle (CB), their last important breeding colony in the Region. A good count of 50 along Compromise Rd. near Woodstown, Salem, NJ 23 Jul (D. Magpiong) probably came from there. The only n. reports were a one-day wonder at Montezuma 9 Jul (MV) and one at the Four Brothers 1. heronry in L. Champlain, off Willsboro Pt., Essex, NY 23 Jul (MMe), where some bred in 2002. An ad. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Perch River W.M.A., Jefferson, NY 12 Jul (JBo, D. Brouse, D. Prosser) was only the 2nd Saint Lawrence valley record. Near this species’ n. breeding limit, a 29-nest colony has occupied trees in the courtyard of Redfern Houses, a housing project at Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City since 2003 (DR, ABe), and small colonies flourish along suburban streets at nearby Cedarhurst and Valley Stream, Nas- sau, Long I., NY. An imm. White Ibis was photographed at the mouth of the Broadkill R., Sussex, DE 19-21 Jul (ES), and another or the same was at nearby Gordon’s Pond 30 Jul (FR), but there was no major influx. Glossy Ibis declined at the Pea Patch heronry (CB). White-faced Ibis seemed to be taking off in s. New Jersey, and there was even speculation about breeding. Up to 6 were found 12 May-1 jul at the Crest Haven ponds, near Cape May (ph. Richard Crossley, PL). More usual singles On the Brandywine Building in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, Peregrine Falcons successfully raised four chicks (here 1 June 2006). Photograph by Kim Steininger. were reported at Brig 6 Jul and at Summit Bridge, near Lum’s Pond S.P, New Castle, DE (AG). Mississippi Kites played their old tantaliz- ing games. Up to 2 surfaced periodically at Cape May through Jun, but evidence of breeding has not been seen in this Region. Elsewhere, an ad. was reported at Buck- shutem W.M.A., near Millville, Cumberland, NJ 29 Jun. A subad. explored all the way to Great Gull I. 19 Jun (Joe DiCostanzo, HH), and an imm. reached L. Ontario 6 Jul at Brad- dock Bay (DT). Bald Eagles continue their dizzying ascent. In New York, a record 101 breeding pairs, 84 of them successful, fledged a phenomenal 172 young, half again last year’s total. About 30% of the nests, about four times the previous average, raised 3 young. The resulting productivity of 2.05 young fledged per successful pair was un- precedented (Peter Nye, N.Y.D.E.C.). New Jersey had 57 territorial pairs, which pro- duced a record 82 young. Productivity here, too, was high at 1.49 per active pair (KC). Delaware’s active nests rose again to 41 that fledged 55 young (KH), remarkable for so densely developed a state. Three or 4 imm. Rough-legged Hawks at Fort Drum during jun (JBo, Ken Feustel) made a remarkable total. On 18 Jun, 75 very late migrant Broad-winged Hawks passed the Braddock Bay hawkwatch (DT). A Golden Eagle on the same day furnished only the 3rd Jun record there (DT). American Kestrels are down to two or possibly three sites in Delaware. At least six pairs and probably more are established in Manhattan (Phillip O'Brien). Merlins spread farther into the low- lands of cen. New York, from their initial 1992 beachhead in the Adirondacks. They nested a 2nd time in Buffalo and at Salaman- ca, Cattaraugus, and added new locations at Honoeye L., Ontario ; in Rochester (RGS, D. Daniel, et al.); and in Ithaca and Cayuga Heights, Tompkins (Paul Hurtado, Scott Haber et al.). Peregrine Falcon populations are ap- proximately stable in New Jersey (18 active pairs, 36 young fledged [KC]) and New York (47 successful pairs, one more than last year, and 96 young, below last year’s record 114 but tied for 2nd place [Barbara Loucks, N. Y.D.E.C.]). RAILS THROUGH SH0RERIRDS Following a good spring for King Rails, 4 called before dawn 4 Jun at Broadkill Beach, Sussex, DE (ES). A King Rail bred successful- ly with a Clapper Rail at the Marine Nature Study Area, Oceanside, Nassau, Long L; the chicks were photographed (Mike Farina). Sandhill Cranes nested again near Montezu- ma, site of the Regions first known nest in 2003. The two colts disappeared, one by one, during Jun, though the ads. remained. Coy- otes? Several other ads. summered at York (A. Schwan, P. Conklin) and nearby Cuylerville (JK), both Livingston, NY, the latter a new site. One remained all spring and summer at Beaver Swamp W.M.A. near Cape May. A Wilson’s Plover visited Pike’s Beach, Westhampton, Suffolk, NY 17 jun (JFr), keeping up an unusual pace since 2003 of several records annually. Piping Plovers showed a little progress at the only two re- maining Delaware sites: Cape Henlopen S.P and nearby Gordon’s Pond W.A. The nine nesting pairs made 14 nesting attempts and fledged 13 chicks. A fox successfully dug into one exclosure, and two nests were over- washed by high tides (CB, HN). New Jersey had a preliminary count of 116 nesting pairs of Piping Plovers, a little above last year’s 111 but far below the peak of 144 pairs in 2003. Productivity, though slightly improved at O. 84 chicks per pair, still remained below the 1.245 estimated necessary to maintain the population. Flooding caused less damage than in the past two years, but predation be- VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 509 HUDSON-DELAWARE More shorebirds than ever remained into midsummer, especially on Long I., apparently having abandoned north- Jlriward migration. An assemblage unprecedented in both size and variety gathered on the Cupsoque flats 17-18 Jun, mostly with some degree of alternate plumage: 40 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 2 Semipalmated Plovers, a Greater Yellowlegs, 30+ White-rumped Sandpipers, 150 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 90 Red Knots, 50 Sanderlings, 6 Dunlins, 20 Ruddy Turnstones, and 12 Short-billed Dowitchers (SM, PLi). By 28 Jun, the Black-bellied Plovers had increased to 56 (JFr). A Western Willet pho- tographed there 18 Jun (DF, Dave Klauber, SM) was one of very few May/Jun records of this subspecies. Smaller but similar collections of shorebirds were found in Delaware 1 7-1 8 Jun. Insufficient nourishment for the flight to the Arctic has been sug- gested as a reason for these abandoned migrations, but many of the Cupsoque shorebirds had deformed legs or tumors. It was not clear whether these infirmities prevented further migration, or whether remaining at an unaccustomed s. latitude induced the disabilities (SM). At the same time, fall returnees appeared ever earlier. A Lesser Yellowlegs thought to be a fall migrant was at Hogan Pt., Monroe, NY 23 Jun (RGS), and a Black-bellied Plover, likely a migrant, overflew Wantage Twp., Sus- sex, NJ 25 Jun (Andrew Sigerson). came the leading cause of nest failures (Todd Pover, N.J.D.FG.W.). Individual American Avocets wandered n. of their summer loafing ground at Bombay Hook as far as the Hackensack Meadow- lands 12 Jul and Cupsogue 30 Jul (]. Gluth). Upland Sandpipers were scarce and still de- clining in their recent strong- holds in the Saint Lawrence Valley (JBo). Their s. outpost remains Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, Ocean, NJ, where 8+ were seen 7 Jun (SB). New restrictions on the Horseshoe Crab harvest in Delaware Bay, outlined in the past two summer season re- ports, have not had time to benefit the Red Knot popula- tion, for the crabs, whose eggs are the principal food of shore- birds fattening up for the flight to the Arctic, require 10-11 years to reach sexual maturity. The peak aerial survey count was 13,455 Red Knots on 30 May, slightly down from last year but about the same as two years ago (KC). These counts reached 80,000 before the overhar- vest of crabs began. Crab protection meas- ures remain incomplete. New Jersey has closed the Horseshoe Crab harvest for the next two years, but Delaware has not done so. Two Curlew Sandpipers, both apparently southbound, were a bit above recent years: at Cape May 27-28 Jul (ph. MG, GM, Karl Lukens et al.) and at Bombay Hook 31 Jul (CB, Karen Bennett). There were also 2 Ruffs: a post-breeding male at Jamaica Bay 1 1 Jul (ph. SBl, Doug Gochfeld), and a Reeve that appeared to accompany the Curlew Sandpiper at Bombay Hook 31 Jul (CB). A male Red Phalarope at Raquette L. in the Adirondacks 8 Jun (Lynn Ballou, Kari Wes- sel) constituted the 2nd Hamilton, NY record; the first was in 1904 (JMCP). GULLS THROUGH SKIMMER A Franklin’s Gull at Kendall, Orleans, NY 18 Jun (DT) was a good find, though they are nearly annual in early summer on L. Ontario. Among 120 Bonaparte’s Gulls at the Niagara R. mouth 13-14 Jun (itself a remarkable num- ber for that date, when they are often absent) were a first-summer Little Gull and a first- summer Black-headed Gull, the latter a first Jun record for the Niagara Frontier region of New York (ph. J. Pawlicki et al.). Lesser Black-backed Gulls, until recently rare in midsummer, were at two sites on L. Ontario: Sodus Bay 1 Jun (Dominic Sherony) and Hamlin Beach 10 & 20 Jun (WS). Coastally, 2 visited Robert Moses S.P, Suffolk, Long 1. 25 Jun (TWB, GB, SM, PLi), and one or more first-year birds hung around Cape May. Five to 10 pairs of Gull-billed Terns and three pairs of Caspian Terns bred in s. Barnegat Bay, NJ. These numbers are unprece- dented in the past 31 years, though some sin- gle nests have been found (FL). The Region’s Caspian Tern colony at Little Galloo contained 1589 nests in mid-Jun, but botulism later killed about 800 birds (JF). One or 2 Sand- wich Terns frequented Cape May through the summer, one of them accompanied by a beg- ging juv. 22 Jul (CV). Such couples can travel long distances, however, and there is no evi- dence of breeding n. of Maryland. Additional singles were at Spring L., Monmouth, NJ 21 Jun (JC) and 19 jul (Anne Galli), Cupsogue 29 Jul (AB), and Gordon’s Pond, Sussex, DE 30 Jul (FR). Roseate Terns increased to at least 12 pairs at Gilgo Beach, Suffolk, LI (BZ), which is good news, as few alternative sites now back up the great colony at Great Gull I., NY — at 1200 pairs, still below historic highs (HH), this is the largest Roseate Tern colony in the Americas. Although most subad. Arctic Terns are thought to remain in the s. oceans during the n. summer, rare individuals appear here in spring and early summer. The number has been increasing, probably because of more careful scrutiny. Five at Cup- soque 9 Jul, plus a different in- dividual there 2 Jul, singles at Cupsogue 29 Jul (AB) and near- by Westhampton Beach 8 jul (JFr, DF), and one (age unspec- ified) at Spring L., Monmouth , NJ (JC) made an unprecedented seasonal total of 9. Forster’s Terns are doing well at their n. limit, with about 250 pairs in Joco Marsh, Jamaica Bay (DR) and about 312 pairs in Great South Bay in Hempstead Twp., Nassau, Long I., NY (JZ). Sever- al exploring Forster’s Terns (Rich Kane, MD, FS) and a Common Tern (FS, Peter Kwiatek, JDeM) were excep- tional inland in Jun at Merrill Creek Res., Warren and Spruce Run Res., Hun- terdon, NJ. Breeding Black Terns were not sur- veyed this summer in New York, where they have declined sharply in recent decades. In the n. Adirondacks, where they have not bred for years, 6-8 nested on a flotsam islet at the mouth of the Raquette R., in extreme nw. Franklin (Hollis White). Some returned very early, in breeding plumage, for reasons un- known, reaching Cape May, Prime Hook N.W.R., DE (ES), and Merrill Creek Res., War- ren, NJ (MD), all on 24 Jun. Black Skimmers continue to put their eggs in one basket. Megacolonies this season included 250 pairs at Nickerson Beach, Hempstead, Nassau, Long I., with over 200 fledglings in late summer (JZ). Over 650, with 275 nests, were in s. Barnegat Bay, Ocean, NJ (FL). Black-necked Stilts nested successfully this season (here 2 July 2006) at Bear Swamp, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware. Photograph by Kim Steininger. 510 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS HUDSON-DELAWARE Still a rarity in Delaware, though the species nests on the southern Delmarva Peninsula, this immature White Ibis was photographed at Oyster Rocks, Lewes 21 July 2006. Photograph by Ed Sigda. DOVES THROUGH PIPITS Eurasian Collared-Dove records are begin- ning to accumulate in s. New Jersey. An ob- servation at Atlantic City 27 May-1 Jun has been submitted to the New Jersey B.R.C. (Bob Paxson, ph. Alex Majewski, Alex Ton- gas). Spring sightings at Cape May contin- ued, with one 11 Jul (CV) and others in the fall. Injured Snowy Owls have occasionally lingered in the Region into summer; several apparently healthy ones in midsummer sug- gest something amiss. The first, noted in the spring season column in Genoa Twp., Cayu- ga, NY remained through 4 Jun. The same bird, or another, was found 14 Jun along a heavily used highway in a densely populated part of Syracuse, NY (Art Walker). It was identified as a young male. Both birds hunted actively. The Syracuse bird disappeared 28 Jun after the long grass in which it had been roosting was mowed. Two Snowies turned up 10 Jul at Point Peninsula, Jefferson , NY, one in need of rehabilitation. The other seemed healthy and was still present in Aug (JBo). The previous winter’s invasion had been only medium-sized (about 60 reports). Five young Northern Saw-whet Owls were banded from a nest hole in a deciduous tree close to a parking lot in Armonk, NY (James Vellozzi, Larry Fisher, Drew Panko. Trudy Battaly). This is believed to be Westchester's first known nest, although four have been docu- mented on Long I., NY. Over 5 Common Nighthawks summering in downtown Buffalo may indicate a surviving rooftop population, after we pronounced them defunct last summer. No positive proof of nesting was obtained. We received encour- aging reports of “many” Whip-poor-wills 3 Jul at Fort Drum, (MV) and of 15 calling at 4 a.m. at Bear Swamp, Cape May, NJ (CS). But they are missing altogether from the Rochester area and elsewhere. Common Ravens are invading the low- lands. A pair fledged 4 young on a cliff face in Secaucus, Hudson, NJ (Ken Witkowski), over- looking the New Jersey Meadowlands, proba- bly the first there since colonial times. One or 2 visited the shore of L. Ontario at Braddock Bay 17-18 Jun (DT). Cliff Swallows have es- tablished a new colony in Delaware, a state where they began nesting in 1993. The old one on the Appoquinimink R. bridges, n. of Bombay Hook, contained about 41 nests 8 Jun (FR), and the new colony on the Flem- ing’s Landing bridge over the Smyrna R., Kent had six nests (FR). Sedge Wrens persist at Bombay Hook and at the Ted Harvey W.A., near Kitts Hummock, Kent, DE (Maurice Barnhill), and, at the Region’s opposite end, at three locations near Rochester and at Fort Drum. At the latter site, only 6-8 males sang in early jun, but their number swelled to at least 14 in late Jun-early Jul (JBo). An Amer- ican Pipit with traces of alternate plumage was out of place at Robert Moses S.R, Long I., NY 28 Jun (TWB, GB, SM, PLi). WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES Many observers commented on the quantity of very late migrant warblers, some of which seemed unlikely to reach breeding habitat. Willie D’Anna and Betsy Potter found migrat- ing warblers in their yard on L. Ontario near Buffalo 13 Jun, and Peter Yoerg found them in Buffalo 19 Jun. Southbound movement was evident two weeks later, when a record-early Northern Waterthrush hit a window in West Cape May 2 Jul (E. Mathers, PL). The latest of several Jun Magnolia War- blers was in Westchester, NY 11 jun (fide TWB). A Bay-breasted Warbler at Prime Hook N.W.R. 7 Jun (Derek Stoner) made a first Jun record for Delaware. A convincingly described Audubon’s Warbler at Yorkshire, Cattaraugus, NY 11 Jun (Michael DeSha) would have been remarkable any time but in midsummer was astonishing. At their n. limit, Yellow- throated Warblers bred again in Allegany S.P, Cattaraugus, NY and prospected new terri- tory 1 Jul at Big Flats, Chemu- ng, NY (BO). A Swainsons Warbler was reported at Cape May 8 Jul (CV), following several spring observations, and another was heard and seen briefly at Hartshorne Woods Park, Monmouth, NJ 12 Jun (Mike Fahay). Al- though spring records have increased greatly in recent years, mid-summer reports remain rare. Clay-colored Sparrows were present not only at their half-dozen recently colonized sites in nw. New York but also farther e. at two locations in the Saint Lawrence Valley (JBo) and in the Adirondacks at Miner Flat Rock, Clinton, NY (Jtdie Hart, MMe). The Henslow’s Sparrow situation is not promising. Only two sites remain in the Niagara frontier area of New York: Grove, Allegany (Elizabeth Brooks) and a previously known field in Lan- caster, Erie (C. Adams, N.Y.D.E.C.), the latter slated for development. A good count of 9 comes from Fort Drum, but there is only one other site in Jefferson, near Perch River W.M.A. (JBo). In two fields near Geneseo,Jim Kimball talked the owner into not mowing until the birds had finished nesting, but he is C A ac*' ma'e Broad-biMed Hummingbird photographed at a feeder in Rose, Wayne, NY 24-25 Jun (Dorothy & Jn Harold Legg, Kevin McGowan) was breathtaking, but the species has a history of vagrancy. The species has also turned up Colorado, Ontario, Michigan (twice), Wisconsin, iliinois, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and North Carolina. Sedge Wren is a scarce nester in upstate New York; this male was found at Point Breeze, Orleans County 1 1 June 2006. Photograph by Wiilie D'Anna. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 511 HUDSON-DELAWARE This Dickcissel was one of three singing males noted 1 1 June 2006 in Porter, Niagara County, New York, during a Breeding Bird Survey. A nest with young was located here 1 6 July, but the field was mown shortly thereafter. Adults carrying food were noted here, however, as late as 29 July 2006, confirming only the second nesting in the Niagara Frontier Region. Photograph by Willie D'Anna. not optimistic about the species near Rochester. A site at Sharon Springs, Schoharie, NY (fide Barbara Putnam) rounds it out for New York and the Region. There were only passing glimpses of Dickcissels this summer in New Jersey and Delaware, but they made two breeding attempts in upstate New York. Three birds were present in Porter, Niagara into Jul. One nest with young was discovered, but mowing destroyed it (Willie D'Anna, Dean DiTommaso et al.). A pair was present 17-26 Jun at Oswego Airport, Syracuse, but breeding remained unproven (JBn). There is no breeding record for Oswego. A Yellow-headed Blackbird at Bombay Hook 21 Jul (AH) and a second-year female at the Pennsylvania Ave. landfill, Brooklyn, New York City 14 Jun (ph. ABe) were the only reports. Orchard Orioles now breed reg- ularly in the Saint Lawrence Valley (JBo). A European Goldfinch was reported from a feeder in Cape May 7 Jul (P Bechtel). Purple Finches had a good season in the Adirondack foothills of n. Saratoga, NY, following a mas- sive decline since 1992 (RPY). After almost no movement last winter, Red Crossbills bred away from the Adirondacks at Muller Hill, Madison and at Fabius, Onandaga, NY (JBn, Matt Young), and a secretive female was in the Summerhill area, Cayuga 5 Jul (MV). An imm. at West Long Branch, Monmouth, NJ 26 Jun (ph. Terri Sabados) was even farther out of place. Evening Grosbeaks did well in the Adirondacks, judging by the near-record 70 banded at Jenny L., n. Saratoga, NY, the most since 1998 (RPY). A female caught 18 Aug had been banded at Elizabethtown, Essex, NY by Mike Peterson in Oct 1997, and has been retrapped at Jenny L. three times in the past four summers. She is now over nine years old (RPY). Observers (subregional compilers in bold- face): Deborah Allen (Central Park, NYC), Robert Andrle (Niagara Frontier), Andy Baldelli, Scott Barnes (n. coastal NJ: scott.barnes@njaudubon.org; Sandy Hook Bird Observatory, P.O. Box 533, Fort Han- cock, NJ 07732.), Chris Bennett (D.N.R.E.C.), Gail Benson, Andrew Bernick (ABe), Shane Blodgett (SBl), Michael Bochnik (Lower Hudson Valley: BochnikM@cs.com; 86 Empire St., Yonkers, NY 10704), Jeff Bolsinger (JBo) (St. Lawrence, NY: cady- bols@gisco.net; 98 State St., Canton, NY 13617), Joe Brin (JBn) (Syracuse RBA), Michael Britt (MBr) (n.-.cen. NJ: mbritt78@hotmail.com; 47 Ave. B, Bayonne, NJ 07002), Joe Burgiel, T. W. Burke (New York Rare Bird Alert), Joe Carragher, Kathy Clark (N.J.D.EG.W), John DeMarrais, Matt Domanski, Paul Driver (sw. NJ: pjdeye@aol.com; 915 Melrose Ave., Elkins Park, PA 19027), A. P Ednie (Delaware: ecl- nieap@fcc.net; 59 Lawson Ave., Claymont, DE 19703), Vince Elia (s. coastal NJ: vje@njaudubon.org; 106 Carolina Ave., Villas, NJ 08251), Jim Farquhar (N.Y.D.E.C.), John Fritz (JFr), Doug Futuyma, Yigal Gelb (New York City Audubon), Mark Garland, Anthony Gonzon, K. C. Griffith (Genesee, NY: ck- grif@localnet.com; 61 Grandview Lane, Rochester, NY 14612), Helen Hays (Great Gull Island), Kitt Heckscher (D.N.R.E.C.), Armas Hill, Spencer Hunt (Susquehanna, NY: hunts493@clarityconnect.com; 493 Glen- mary Dr., Owego, NY 13827), Jim Kimball, Bill Krueger, R. J. Kurtz, Paul Lehman, Fred Lesser, Pat Lindsay (PLi) (Long Island: 28 Mystic Circle, Bay Shore, NY 11706), Hugh McGuinness (e. Long Island: hmcguin- ness@ross.org; 12 Round Pond La., Sag Har- bor, NY 11963), Matthew Mecller (MMe), Shaibal Mitra (Long Island: mitra@ mail.csi.cuny.edu; PO.Box 142, Brightwaters, NY 11718), Michael Morgante (Niagara Frontier: morgm@adelphia.net; 59 Briar Hill Rd., Orchard Park, NY 14127), George Myers, Holly Niederriter (D.N.R.E.C.), Bill Ostran- der (Finger Lakes: brown_creeper@sg23.com; 872 Harris Hill Rd., Elmira, NY 14903), J. M. C. Peterson (Adirondack — Champlain: 477 County Route 8, Elizabethtown, NY 12932), William Purcell (Oneida Lake Basin: wpur- cell@twcny.rr.com; 281 Baum Rd., Hastings, NY 13076), Barbara Putnam (Hudson-Mo- hawk Bird Club), Don Riepe (Jamaica Bay), Rochester Birding Association, Frank Rohrbacher (Delaware B.R.C.), Frank Sencher, Jr. (nw. NJ: fjsencher@aol.com; 43 Church Rd, Milford, NJ 08848); Ed Sigda; R. G. Spahn (Genesee Ornithological Society), Clay Sutton, Pat Sutton (Cape May B.O.), William Symonds, Dave Tetlow, Matt Victoria, Chris Vogel, R. T. Waterman Bird Club ( Dutchess , NY), Will Yandik (Hudson-Mo- hawk: wyandik@hotmail.com; 269 Schneider Rd., Hudson, NY 12534), R. P. Yunick, John Zarudski, Brian Zitani. © Robert 0. Paxton, 460 Riverside Drive, Apt. 72, New York, New York 10027, (ropl@columbia.edu); Richard R. Veit, Department of Biology, College of Stat- en Island, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten island, New York10314, (veitrr@hotmail.com) This portrait of Little (right), Black-headed (center), and Bonaparte's Gulls was taken on the Niagara River at Youngstown, New York, located near the river's outlet into Lake Ontario, 14 June 2006. There are no previous June records of Black-headed Gull in the New York portion of the Niagara Frontier Region and very few for Little Gull. Photograph by Jim Pawlicki. 512 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Middle Atlantic KipK^ke»Jf!iE Shore ol ng:nia mR I . / "■* Fisherman I, A= Huntley Meadows County Park if, Washington, DC ®= ^ ’ C= Patuxent R. Naval Air Station D= Pt. Lookout SP Rocky Gap SP MARVIAHD Stumpy Lr « 3 Todd M. Day The summer season was characterized by two predominant trends: an excep- tionally wet June and above-average temperatures in July. The coastal storm that struck the Region 24-27 June behaved rather like a tropical storm, with southeasterly winds of up to 35 knots and up to 36 cm of rain, with the result that June 2006 was the wettest June on record. July temperatures ranged from average to well above average throughout the Region. The seasons most exciting avian news was clearly a Southern Lapwing photographed in Worcester County, Maryland, found during a Breeding Bird Survey conducted by boat. Oth- er highlights included Black-bellied Whistling- Ducks, Wood Storks, and a rare June White-winged Dove. A Short-eared Owl in a coastal marsh recalls times long past, when the species was known to breed in the Region’s coastal marshes. An Anna’s Hummingbird photographed in Mary- land in November 2004 — but appearing in this journal for the first time — well illustrates the importance of photo- graphing out-of-season birds. I thank Marshall J. Iliff for contributing the Special Attention boxes for Anna’s Hummingbird and Southern Lapwing in this report. Abbreviations: Back Bay (Back Bay N.W.R., Vir- ginia Beach, VA); Bay (Chesapeake Bay); Chine. (Chincoteague N.W.R., Accomack, VA); Craney (Craney I., Portsmouth, VA); D.C. (District of Columbia); Hart (Hart Miller I., Baltimore, MD); K.A.G. (Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, D.C). WATERFOWL THROUGH STORK For the first time since 2003, birders in the Region enjoyed Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks that lingered at three different locations. A lone bird was found at the Washingtonian Center, Gaithersburg, Montgomery 4 Jun and was seen through 25 Jun (Michelle Scheele, ph. BH, ph. GMJ, HP, PO, m.ob.), furnishing Maryland’s 6th record. In Virginia, a flock ol 15 was noted 9 Jun at a farm pond on Lake Cahoon Rd., Suffolk (ph. DC1), with a dozen there the next day (DLH et ah). Another flock of 7 was seen 21-27 Jul at Back Bay (Dorie Stolley, RLAn, RLAk et al.). Virginia has seven previous records, all but two on the Coastal Plain. This year’s influx of the species into the Region fits nicely with a wider pattern of strong southerly winds following several days of northerly winds. Reports also surfaced from Georgia and Pennsylvania during rough- ly the same time-frame. The species has shown explosive growth in breeding colonies in Florida and Louisiana in recent years. The wing-tagged, sibling Trumpeter Swans from Ontario that were previously re- ported in spring at Prince George’s and Amie Arundel summered at their respective loca- tions (FS; MS). A pair of American Wigeons was at Centennial Park, Howard, MD 3-7 Jun (SL, fide JSo); a drake was at Manassas Na- tional Battlefield Park, Prince William, VA 3 Jun (SB). A drake Canvasback was at Clai- borne, Talbot, MD 9 Jul (EA, SA). A hen Red- head was at Centennial Park 3 Jun (SL, fide JSo). Two drake Ring-necked Ducks sum- mered at Airlie, Fauquier, VA (TMD); one drake and one hen summered at Piscataway W.T.P, Prince George’s (GMJ); 3 were on the Potomac R. off Riverbend Park, Montgomery 4 Jul (JK); and another was at L. of the Woods, Orange, VA 1 1 Jul (ICT). As many as 13 Less- er Scaup were seen intermittently during sum- mer at Belmont and Occoquan Bays, Fairfax and Prince William (SB, KG); more unusual was one at Bells Lane, Staunton 15-18 Jun (AL). Scoters of all three species were seen from Poplar I., Talbot on three visits to that site, 21 Jun, 7 & 24 Jul: 13 Surf Scoters made the high count 21 Jun, 6 Black Scoters 24 Jul, and a single White-winged was present on each visit; a Long-tailed Duck was there 21 Jun (JR, fide LR). Another Black Scoter was seen at Crocheron Harbor, Dorchester 11 Jul (HTA, JSpk). There were two re- ports of Common Mer- gansers on the Potomac R., Montgomery: an ad. hen with 6 young 3 Jun (DCz); and 10, all either ad. hens or imms., 18 Jun (Christie Huffman); also, 2 were seen at Bladens- burg Waterfront Park, Prince George’s in the first two weeks of Jun, and a drake was seen there 9 Jul (Mike Donovan, FS). A drake Ruddy Duck spent summer at Bells Lane, Staunton, VA, an unusual location (AL, m.ob.); sev- eral summered at Hart, with 8 present 29 Jul be- ing the high count (EJS); 4 were at Poplar 1. 7 Jul (JR, fide LR); and one was at Aquia Landing Park, Stafford, VA 16 Jul (KG, JK). Piney Run Park, Car- roll, MD hosted a Com- mon Loon 21-22Jul (Kei- Wood Stork is a rare and irregular visitor in the Region, observed in Virginia on just eight occasions since 1985. Its erratic occurrence has been linked to drought conditions in its typical range, but the absence of recent reports (despite sev- eral severe droughts) dovetails with its se- vere decline as a breeder in s. Florida and apparently elsewhere in the species' range. This season had two reports involving a minimum of 4 birds, with another report coming in Aug, all in Virginia. The first re- port was of 2 imms. at a wetlands mitiga- tion bank in New Kent, only a few km s. of the Pamunkey R., 8-24 Jul (ph. Vins Thorn- hill); the next report, also of 2 imms., was near Wake, Mathews 4-29 Jul (Lorraine Cuthbert; ph.). The Aug report was one imm. seen 1 4 Aug at the Gloucester Family Campground and reported to (ph. Steve Hams). Now that the species nests in s. North Carolina (the one colony in Columbus, NC topped 100 birds this year), observers should be mindful of the possibility, however remote it might seem, of nesting in the Region. These immature Wood Storks frequented Luck Stone's New Kent Wetlands Mitigation Bank in New Kent County, Virginia 8-24 (here date unknown) July 2006. Photograph by Vins Thornhill. At Wake, Middlesex County, Virginia, two immature Wood Storks took up residence in a backyard pond 4-29 (here date unknown) July 2006. Photograph by Lorraine Cuthbert. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 513 MIDDLE ATLANTIC Part of a widespread flight out of core range, this Black-bel- lied Whistling-Duck graced Montgomery County, Maryland 6 June 2006. Photograph by George Jett. th Eric Costley, RFR). Hart continues to show large numbers of Pied-billed Grebes in sum- mer, with 175 there 15 Jul representing a state high count; both nests and young were observed there throughout summer (EJS et al.). An American White Pelican was seen 3 & 6 Jul at Craney (fide Ruth Beck). A female and 5 male Anhingas were at Bellyache Swamp, Southampton, VA 3 Jun, in an area where breeding is possible — and where one was first noted 27 May (Mark T. Adams, Lau- ra Long); one was noted there 11 Jun (AD). An Anhinga at L. Robertson, Rockbridge, VA 1 Jul (tTad Finnell) was way out of place. Frigatebird reports in Virginia continued from late May into late Jun: an imm. Magnifi- cent was seen 27 Jun on the James R., James City (Terry Moeslein, fide BW), and a female Magnificent was noted at Virginia Beach 29 Jun (KR). An American Bittern was a nice find at Burkes Garden, Tazewell, VA 6 Jul (Jim & Judy Phillips); another spent the entire summer in Northampton at Riverview Farm (Bull’s Pond), a property newly acquired by The Nature Conservancy and soon to be ad- ministered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv- ice (fide HTA). Summering American Bitterns in the Coastal Plain are extremely rare. A Maryland high-count for Least Bitterns was established at Hart, with 30 seen in the s. cell 10 Jul (EJS, RFR); the species was present there throughout summer. A good count of 1 50 Cattle Egrets was reported from Wallops L, Accomack 29 Jul (FMS, JN). A Yellow- crowned Night-Heron was Banister River W.M.A., Halifax 4 Jun (Jeff Blalock). A Glossy Ibis at K’s Pond 26 Jul- 13 Aug was a first for Rockingham, VA (Pat Holloway, Kay Gibbons, John Irvine, CM, m.ob.). RAPTORS THROUGH TERNS A Swallow-tailed Kite was seen 8 Jun near Burke, Fairfax (Beverley Leeuwenburg). Mis- sissippi Kites again were confirmed breeding in previous nest sites at Annandale and the Waynewood area, both Fairfax , VA (Bob Au- gustine, PS). Still much less common in Maryland, a Mississippi Kite was in Mont- gomery 22 Jun (Jane & Dennis Coskren). Northern Harriers were reported from six Maryland Eastern Shore locations: a territori- al male at Muddy Hole Marsh, Wicomico 9 Jun (SHD); two pairs at Bloodsworth L, Dorch- ester 11 Jun (HTA, JSpk); 3, likely a family group, at South Marsh I., Somerset (HTA, JSpk); 3 along Elliott Island Rd., Dorchester 12 Jun (HTA et al.); an ad. male at Cedar I. Marsh, Somerset 13 Jun (SHD); and an ad. male at the Fishing I. area, Somerset 30 Jun (Ellen Lawler). The College of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology again monitored Peregrine Falcon nest productivity in Virginia. The number of breeding pairs in- creased to 22 from 20 in 2005. Of these, 73 eggs hatched 51 chicks that survived to fledg- ing age. Seventeen clutches were followed closely from egg-laying to fledging, and of them, 50 of 69 eggs (72.5%) hatched, similar to recent years. Notable was a shift in man- agement plans for the falcon, with more birds being translocated from the coast to the mts. than in previous efforts, with the objective of re-establishing a viable breeding population in Virginia’s west. (Thanks to Brian D. Watts at the Center for Conservation biology for in- formation summarized here.) Four Black Rails were heard singing 12-13 Jun along Elliott Island Rd., one of few places where observers can almost reliably find the species (HTA et al.). King Rails were reported throughout summer at Occoquan Bay N.W.R., Prince William, with an ad. and 10 fuzzy young noted 1 Jul (JK); another was at Black- water N.W.R. 4 Jul (HTA). Rare for Rocking- ham were up to 2 Soras 27 Jul-10 Aug at K’s Pond (Ken Ranck, ph. BT, GM). Common Moorhens were confirmed breeding at Hart 15 Jul; young were seen again there 29 Jul (EJS et al.). An American Coot was at Dyke Marsh, Fait/ax8Jul (SB). A Black-bellied Plover at Metompkin I., Ac- comack 7 Jul appeared during the narrow win- dow in which the species is quite rare in the state (AW). Five American Oystercatchers were at Dameron Marsh, Northumberland, VA 19 Jun (Tom Saunders). One was at Poplar I. A Southern Lapwing ( Zanellus chilensis) photographed by Hoffman at a barren area in salt marsh sw. of the confluence ofTurville Cr. with Herring Cr., just n. ofWest Ocean City, Worces- J liter, MD 17 Jun, ranks among the most shocking Regional surprises, it could not be relocated four hours later nor by a team of chasers 22 Jun. Alvaro Jaramillo identified it as being of the subspecies cayennensis, based on its brownish (not grayish) face, slender shape and long legs, long black crest, dull bill color, and (most importantly) the lack of a dark line connecting the bill and black breast patch. Southern Lapwing may comprise two species: the southerly chilensis group occurs from Chile and central Argentina s. to Tierra del Fuego, while the cayennensis group (including cayennensis and the more southerly iampronotus ) ranges throughout much of the remainder of South America and n. through Panama. Northern cayennensis has been expanding northward throughout the last century (due to forest clearing), and recent advances have been well reported in the pages of this journal: it has recently bred in Costa Rica and Aruba and has strayed n. to the Yucatan Penin- sula. It is to be expected on the Gulf of Mexico regions, and indeed a Southern Lapwing of subspecies cayennensis was seen at St. Mark's N.W.R., Florida in May-Jun 2006. However, 2 birds in Flori- da in 2003 involved banded iampronotus (escapees), and the five Florida records between 1 959 and 1 962 have likewise been considered escapees. Stevenson and Anderson (1 994. Birdlife of Flori- da) discussed those records and opined that "since this resident species is not prone to wandering great distances, it seems unlikely that any of these birds were natural vagrants." It now seems that the species may wander more than previously thought. The Maryland bird was of the expected subspecies, wary, and unbanded, and ties in well with the St. Mark's record. While the subspecies of most Florida records has not been reported, the Jun— Jul peak (five of seven potentially wild records) may correspond with movements in South America. Of about 26 sightings in Suriname, eight have been in Jun and four in Jul, and almost all from the n. coastal area (). This may suggest a northward movement during this period that could lead to overshooting much as in Fork-tailed Flycatcher, which predominates on the Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard and may fly directly (or nearly so) from South America. Some have mentioned that Maryland's record may tie in to Hurricane Alberto, but such a connection at this point seems tenuous, since the storm's point of origin was not an area of regular occurrence for the species. However, the Maryland record thus should not be dismissed as an escapee; a more thorough review of Southern Lapwing movements, especially seasonal movements in South and Central America, is very much needed and might shed more light on its potential vagrancy — even as far n. as the Mid-Atlantic. 514 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS MIDDLE ATLANTIC A flock of seven Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks roamed Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Beach, Virginia 21-27 (here 27) July 2006. Photograph by Robert L. Ake. 24 Jul (JR, fide LR), where they have become regular recently, but typically they breed only as far n. as Dorchester along the Bay; it is pos- sible that recent improvements to Poplar I. might result in a breeding population. Black- necked Stilts were reported from Craney 20 & 27 Jul; American Avocets were there the same two dates, with L6 noted 27 Jul (Elisa Enders; ESB). Both recurvirostrids were also at Poplar I. 7 & 24 Jul, with 16 avocets noted on the lat- ter date (JR, fide LR); 3 avocets were at Hart 3 Jun and 13 there 15 Jul (EJS, RFR et al.). The first migrant Solitary Sandpiper was noted 4 Jul at W. Regional Park, Howard ( fide JSo). Spotted Sandpipers were seen 30 Jun at Dyke Marsh (PS) and 4 Jul at Great Falls Park along the Potomac R., Fairfax and Montgomery (JK) — either early southbound migrants, failed breeders (or nonbreeders), or possibly local breeding birds. Upland Sandpipers were seen foraging on sod fields at Remington, Fauquier, a known breeding location, 25 Jun and 1 Jul (Phil Kenny; SAH); they were pres- ent 16-30 Jul at the Salisbury Airport, Wicomi- co, with a high-count of 11 there 19 Jul (SHD); as many as 6 were seen along Oak Grove Rd., Caroline along the Delaware bor- der 24-30 Jul, with at least 2 firmly in Mary- land (Glen Lovelace). A seawatch at Ocean City Inlet, Worcester 28 Jul netted 238 Whim- brels (SM); another was an early fall migrant (or less likely, a summering bird) 7 jul at Metompkin I. (AW). A Long-billed Curlew was seen 16 Jul at Outlet Bay, Northampton (Barry Truitt). Ten Red Knots were at Chine. 1 Jun (Wendy Ealding); 2 were at Blood- sworth I. 11 Jun (HTA, JSpk). Reese reports over 10,000 shorebirds at Poplar I. after a weak low-pressure system passed through the Region 22 Jul (fide LR). At Craney, roughly 7000 Semipalmated Sandpipers were with about 1000 Western and 400 Least Sand- pipers, along with 38 Stilt Sandpipers 27 Jul (ESB). There were two notable reports of White-rumped Sandpipers: 2-3 in the Shenandoah Valley 13-15 Jun at Leonard’s Pond, Rockingham (GM, Diana Pesek) and one at Poplar 1. 7 Jul (JR, jute LR). A Pectoral Sandpiper was unusual for Jun near Crimora, Saint Mary’s, MD 13 Jun (Jeff Shenot). Up to 5 Dunlins were at Huntley Meadows Park, Fair- fax 3-5 Jun (CO, m.ob.); a Wilson’s Phalarope was there 3 Jun (Bill & Julie Knight, ph. CO). A Wilson’s Snipe was quite a surprise at Bloodsworth I. 11 Jun (HTA, JSpk); the near- est known breeding area for snipe is several hundred km away. The season’s only Red- necked Phalarope report was from Craney 25 & 27 Jul (DCl; ESB). Good numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls continue to summer along the beach at Back Bay, with 39 tallied 3 Jul (SB). Two Roseate Terns were noted in flight from Hart 1 Jul; the species is decidedly rare in the up- per reaches of the Bay (EJS et al.). A Sandwich Tern at Ocean City Inlet, Worcester 28 jul (SM) provided the summer’s only report from Maryland. A Forster’s Tern was at Bells Lane, Staunton 23 Jul, only the 3rd local summer record (AL). Among several interesting re- ports of Least Tern, the most notable was Howard’s first, found 10 Jul over the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory pond (TKevin Heffernan); elsewhere, 6 were at Patuxent Oxbow L., Anne Arundel 21 jun (MS, Jay Sheppard) and 3 at Bladensburg Wa- terfront Park, Prince George’s 1 & 9 Jul (Rob Hilton; FS). DOVES THROUGH RAVEN The Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach has the Region’s first well-established population of Eurasian Collared-Dove; but the species still has little more than a foothold in a few Vir- ginia locales, including Isle of Wight, Northampton, Pulaski, and Radford. A new lo- cation was found at Spring Creek, Rocking- ham, where one was seen 17 Jul (Karen Shank, fide CM). A White -winged Dove made a three-day appearance in a Norfolk, VA yard 26-28 Jun near Ocean View (ph. Judy Sweet- land). There is only one previous Jun record for the species in the Region: a flyby 10 Jun 1970 at Marumsco, Somerset, Maryland’s first state record. A Short-eared Owl 7 Jul at Poplar 1. was difficult to explain (JR, fide LR); the species was formerly a rare summer resi- dent of coastal salt marshes of the Eastern Shore and along the Bay, but no breeding records since the 1920s are known. However, the species nested in ne. North Carolina in 2000, so summering birds should be moni- tored. Chuck-will’s-widows were reported from two locations at the n. edge of their range on Virginia’s Piedmont: 1-4 Jun along Waterloo Rd., near Warrenton, Fauquier (Don Schupp); and a singing bird near Prince William Forest Park, Prince William was heard from spring through 23 Jul (KG, RR) and may have nested. The 2006 breeding season was a success for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers at Surry’s Piney Grove Preserve, where for the first time in many years Virginia supported five breeding pairs. A total of 8 woodpeckers fledged, 4 male and 4 female, bringing the total of ad. and hatch-year birds to 34 at the preserve (BDW). Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were pres- ent all summer at Bear Mt. Lodge, Highland, VA, at ca. 1200 m elevation (PR); they were also noted 23-24 Jun at Grindstone Camp- ground near Mt. Rogers, Smyth, VA, at ca. 1128 m, with 4 found on the Mt. Roger’s trail during the two-day period (Peggy Spiegel, Dick Peake, JSp). A pair of Alder Flycatchers f A Another new bird for the Region was garnered two years after the fact and illustrates the importance of document- 3 Ming out-of-season birds. A greenish non-Selasphonis hummingbird at feeders nw. of Waldorf, Prince George's 9-15 Nov 2004 (ph. GM!, JLS) had been identified as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and had not previously been reported in this journal. Jett was uncomfortable with that identification and in Oct 2006 circulated photorgaphs for further review. Michael O'Brien then correctly identified the bird in the photographs as a female Anna's Hummingbird. The identification was based on: the thick inner primaries (typical of Calypte rather than Archilochus), the heavily marked throat, stocky shape, face pattern, bright green upperparts, and greenish markings on the flanks. A prior record of this species n. of the Carolinas was made at Binghamton, New York, mid-Oct— 18 Dec 1 998 (NAB. 53: 37, 1 1 7). Anna's thus became the 7th confirmed species of hummingbird for the Region and the 5th from fall 2004. Based on surrounding regions' records, we might next expect a Broad-tailed Hummingbird to turn up in the Region. VOLUME 60 (2007) NUMBER 4 515 MIDDLE ATLANTIC was at Highlands Dairy Farm, Washington, VA at ca. 610 m 0- Wallace Coffey). At least 4 ter- ritorial male Willow Flycatchers were heard singing at Wallops I. 6 & 20 Jun, and a pair was observed there on the latter date, but no nest was found (FMS); breeding is unknown from the barrier islands in Virginia but occurs sparingly in coastal Delaware in very similar habitat. The Western Kingbird that has re- turned to Ft. McHenry, Baltimore for the 5th year was seen 25 Apr-18 May and 11 Jun (Kye Jenkins). Loggerhead Shrikes were reported multiple times from each of three Virginia locations: 1, 15, & 26 Jun along Livick Rcl., Swoope, Augusta, with 3 recently fledged young noted 1 Jun (AL, Rebecka Brasso); 4 Jun-29 Jul at Sky Meadows S.R, Fauquier , where 2 fledged young were noted with one ad. 25 Jun (SB, ICT, Craig Turner, m.ob.,); and 2 along Grassdale Rd., at Reming- ton, Fauquier 23-26 Jul, where for the 2nd year they have been noted in late summer or fall, but with no hint of breeding (KG, RR, TMD). A Red-eyed Vireo was re-captured 6 May at Powhatan , VA, after having been first banded there as an ad. in May 1998; the longevity record for that species is 10 years (BR), and this bird is nip- ping at the heels of the record. Two Common Ravens were soaring in Howard over 1-70 be- tween Maryland Rte. 97 and 94 on 18 Jun, not far from the known Frederick nest site (MH). SWALLOWS THROUGH CROSSBILLS An entirely white Barn Swallow was along Norwood Rd., Montgomery , MD 8 Jul (Gail MacKiernan, Barry Cooper). A few Brown- headed Nuthatches were at the Hidden Valley G.C., Roanoke 21 Jun (Jeff Taylor). Two Brown Creeper reports were interesting: 8 Jul near Damascus, Montgomery , MD (Franz Hes- penheide) and at Clifton Farm, Fauquier 20 Jul (Rita Fenwick). A pair of Sedge Wrens was on territory at Blossom Pt., Charles, MD 28 Jul+ (GMJ). Veery is still unconfirmed as a breeder in the Fairfax and Arlington area of Virginia (nearly straddling the fall line); re- ports for summer were included single birds 9 Jun at Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington (Steve Young), 12-16 Jun at Holmes Run, Fairfax (Larry Cartwright), and 30 Jun-3 Jul at Fort C.F Smith Park, Arlington (Valerie Kitchens). Yellow-rumped Warblers continue their colonization of certain higher-elevation loca- tions in Virginia, with breeding evidence not- ed at three spots: 2 birds, one carrying food, at Briery Branch Rd. near Reddish Knob, Rockingham (CM); 5 birds, including at least one singing male, at Elliott Knob, Augusta (JSp, Lisa Hamilton); and 2 young among 6 total birds at Shenandoah Mt., Rockingham 9 Jul (JSp). Reilly’s Prothonotary Warbler band- ing program at Dutch Gap C.A., Chesterfield, VA had a banner breeding season, with a total of 620 birds banded in and around 131 nest boxes, including 514 nestlings, shattering previous records and a far cry from the 43 birds captured there in 2002. Additionally, 95 returning ads. were re-captured during the study. A Prothonotary Warbler and 2 Yellow- breasted Chats were at K.A.G., one of very few places in D.C. where the former can be found and the only location for the latter (PP). Atlassing efforts in Wicomico paid off 17 Jul when a Swainson’s Warbler was found in company with a begging juv. (Don & Carol Broderick); the species is a very local, rare breeder in Maryland. Henslows Sparrows were at typical haunts in Allegany and Garrett in w. Maryland throughout the reporting period (Nick Lund, William Leigh, m.ob.); unfortunately no re- ports of birds at the Radford Arsenal, Radford, VA came to light. A singing Henslows Spar- row 22-23 Jun at Wallops I., Accomack , VA (JN, FMS) provided a fascinating record: the species is unknown as a breeder on the barri- er islands and was formerly a rare, local sum- mer resident in salt marshes along the Bay, with no reliable reports in over a decade. A Nelsons Sharp-tailed Sparrow of the nomi- nate subspecies was at Oxon Hill Park, Prince George’s 3 Jun, unusual for the location if not the date (Fred Fallon). Notably late were a Sa- vannah Sparrow at Kenilworth Park, D.C. 3 Jun and a Swamp Sparrow at K.A.G. 24 Jun (both PP). Reports of Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrows (subspecies nigrescens ) were few this summer and did not include any from Virginia. Two each were singing at Sandy Hill 16 Jun and Tyaskin Bridge, Wicomico 3 Jul (SHD); as many as 15 were found at Hart 8-15 Jul (RFR, EJS et al.). A White- throated Spar- row was unexpected in a Charlottesville, VA yard 11-21 Jun (BT); a bigger surprise was one that was seemingly healthy and pulled from a mist net at Clifton Farm, Fauquier 1 Jul (SAH). In Maryland, a pair of Blue Grosbeaks was along Russell Rcl., Garrett, where rare, 30 Jul (John Hubbell). Dickcissel reports were far fewer this summer than in 2005. The bulk of the reports came from Virginia, with as many as 5 on various territories around Rem- ington, Fauquier 16 Jun (TMD). Others in- clude one at Latimer Siding, Northampton 1 Jun (ESB); 2 at Shirley Plantation, Charles City, VA 14 jun (AD et al); one at Mulberry Pt., Richmond, VA 19 Jun (FA); 2 near Grove Neck Sanctuary, Cecil, MD 22 Jun (Walter G. Ellison, Nancy L. Mar- tin); and 2 along Old Telegraph Rd., Ce- cil 22 Jul (SM). An Eastern Meadowlark was a good find for urban D.C. 3 Jun at K.A.G. (PP). In Maryland, a Rusty Blackbird was late 10 Jun at Rocky Gap S.R, Allegany (fide Taylor McLean). Red Crossbills frequented feeders at Bear Mt. Lodge, Highland 5-25 Jun, with as many as 8 present, among them 2 young (PR et al.). Exotics: An ad. male Great Tit was at Dan’s Mt., Allegany 11 Jun (Susan Sires). An Orange Bishop was at Edmonston, Prince Georges 24 Jun ( fide RFR). There are no prior reports of these species in this Region. Corrigendum: The Eared Grebe noted in the winter season report from Piney Run Park was listed as being in Caroline but was in fact in Carroll, MD. Observers (subregional editors in boldface): Robert L. Ake (RLAk), Robert L. Anderson (RLAn), Elaine Arnold, Stan Arnold, Scott Baron, Edward S. Brinkley, David Clark (DCl), Dave Czalpak (DCz), David G. Davis, Todd M. Day, Adam D’Onofrio (se. Virginia), Samuel H. Dyke, Kurt Gaskill, Matt Hafner, Bill Hubick, George M. Jett, Allen Lamer, YuLee Larner (Augusta, VA) Sashi Lengade, Sean McCandless, Clair Mellinger (Rocking- ham, VA), Greg Moyers, Josh Nemeth, Paul O’Brien, Cliff Otto, Helen Patton (Mont- gomery, MD) Paul Pisano, Elizabeth L. Pitney (Tri-County Bird Club, MD) Kyle Rambo, Jan Reese, Bob Reilly, Parry Reum, Rich Rieger, Robert E Ringler, Les Roslund, Fred Shaffer, Eugene J. Scarpula, Fletcher M. Smith, Jo Solem (JSo) (Howard, MD), John Spahr (JSp) (w. Virginia), Jared Sparks (JSpk), Marcy Stutzman, Paula Sullivan, Brenda Tekin (BT), Bryan D. Watts, Alex Wilke, Bill Williams (Coastal Virginia). © Todd M. Day, 5118 Beaver Dam Road, Jeffersonton, Virginia 22724, (blkvulture@aol.com) Furnishing a surprising twelfth record for the county, this adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was found by Tim Dixon at Townsend, Northampton County, Virginia on 25 April 2006. Photograph by Edward 5. Brinkley. 516 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Southern Atlantic Ricky Davis The weather this summer was termed “average” by many observers across the Region. This was especially true in many coastal areas, but there were still sever- al inland locations dealing with dry condi- tions from the localized long-standing drought. The only major storm system was Tropical Storm Alberto, which produced heavy rain in many central and eastern parts of the Region 12-14 June. Generally, the nesting season went well for most birds, although some observers mentioned late nesting by certain species. Abbreviations: C. Hatt. (Cape Hat- teras, Dare, NC); E.L.H. (E. L. Huie Land Application Facility, Clayton, GA); H.B.S.P. (Huntington Beach S.R, Georgetown, SC); Hoop. (Hooper Lane, Henderson, NC); Kennesaw Mt. (Kennesaw Mt. Na- tional Battlefield Park, Cobb, GA); Pea I. (Pea Island N.W.R., Dare, NC); S.S.S. (Savannah Spoil Site, Jasper, SC). WATERFOWL THROUGH STORK Black-bellied Whistling-Duck numbers in- creased at the Altamaha W.M.A., GA with a peak of 43 noted 1 Jul (PS). Many were paired, and copulation was observed, so breeding in the area was certainly likely. Lin- gering waterfowl included a summering Red- head at Currituck, NC 18 Jul (SJ), a female Ring-necked Duck at Bass L., Watauga, NC 22 Jun (JL), a male Greater Scaup on Jekyll I., GA 1-10 Jun (LT, JF, EH), all three scoters (2 Surf, a White-winged, and 12 Black) at Ft. Fisher, NC 11 Jun (RD), and a Red-breasted Merganser at Folly I., SC 7 Jul (JG). A few nonbreeding Common Loons are found in the Region each summer, and this year singles were noted at Clarks Hill Res. Dam, SC 11 Jul (PC) and at H.B.S.P 8 Jul (JP et al). Locally rare nesting by Pied-billed Grebes occurred at the E.L.H. , with two pairs with young in late Jun (CL), and at Arrowhead, Floyd, GA, where present from the spring season until at least 22 Jun, when 3 imms. were noted (MD). Pelagic trips off North Carolina’s Outer Banks produced several Pterodroma high- lights: a Fea’s Petrel off Hatteras 2 Jun and a Bermuda Petrel off Hatteras 4 Jun (BPI). Thankfully, there was not a major die-off of Greater Shearwaters again this summer; the only one noted was on the beach at jekyll 1., GA in early Jul (fide JFl). Summer Manx Shearwaters, always of interest in our Region, were seen off Hatteras, NC on four trips from early Jun-mid-Jul (BPI). North Carolina wa- ters hosted the 2nd Black-bellied Storm-Pe- trel in the w. North Atlantic off Hatteras 16 Jul (K. Sutherland et al, ph. Brian Patteson, ph. Scott Jenex, BPI). Elsewhere, a Band- rumped Storm-Petrel was a good find about 184 km e. of Ossabaw 1., GA 16 Jun (ND). White-tailed Tropicbird reports involved one out of Charleston, SC 16 Jun (ND) and 2- 3 off Hatteras, NC 1 Jul (BPI). Unidentified tropicbirds included one off Hatteras 10 Jun (BPI) and 3 about 96 km s. of Beaufort Inlet, NC 21 Jun (JFe). A Brown Booby was on the beach at Bald Head 1., NC 16 Jun (MDe). The bird, apparently sick, was quite possibly the same individual present on that island during May. The White Oak Cr., Chatham, NC An- hingas, first noted in May, were present all summer and attempted to nest, but the at- tempt apparently failed (ML). Magnificent Frigatebird reports in South Carolina includ- ed one at Edisto Beach 4 Jun (CW) and one at Bird I., Cape Remain N.W.R. 30 Jun (fide ND). In North Carolina, singles were at Ore- gon Inlet 1 Jun (ND), at Sneads Ferry 30 Jun (GG), at Wrightsville Beach in early Jul (WG), near Salvo the first week of Jul (GGi, RL), and near Roanoke I. 15 Jul (SJ). Very unusual for summer was the Ameri- can Bittern at the Altamaha W.M.A., GA 7 Jun (GK); this area also produced an excellent count of 15 Least Bitterns 10 Jun (JFl), no- table for a relatively hard-to-spot species. The nesting Great Blue Herons near Brevard, NC first noted in May fledged young by mid-Jun (TJ). Always noteworthy in our Region, a Great White Heron was at the Edenton, NC waterfront Jul+ (BB et al.). Individuals of this subspecies of Great Blue Heron often remain in our area for extended periods, and appar- ently this bird has been present for a year or so. Reddish Egrets are annual summer visitors to our area, and this seasons most interesting reports involved 3 at Jekyll I., GA 3 Jul (KB) and one in the sound near Hatteras, NC 27 Jul (BP). Noteworthy inland night-heron reports included an imm. Black-crowned at Berry College, Rome, GA 9 Jul (MD), an imm. Yel- low-crowned at Jackson Park, Henderson- ville, NC 15 Jul (RS), and up to 13 (2 ad., 11 juv.) Yellow-crowneds at New Hope Creek Impoundment, Chapel Hill, NC 19-30 Jul (TN, MJ, m.ob.). Roseate Spoonbills were noted away from the usual s. coastal Georgia area more than usual this summer. Very rare in- land sightings involved one at Warner Robins, Houston, GA 26 Jun (BS) and one along the Conga- ree R. in Richland, SC 30 Jul+ (MT). Less unusual coastal reports included up to 6 in the Bulls 1., SC area most of Jul (ND) and 2 in the Sunset Beach, NC area 7 Jul (SH), with one remaining the rest of the month (m.ob.). Wood Storks con- tinued to do well at the usual loca- tions this summer. Of particular note, the size of the nesting colony in s. Columbus, NC first noted last year, increased to over 1 00 birds this summer (fide HL). RAPTORS THROUGH TERNS Swallow-tailed Kites were once again present along the Cape Fear R., NC in the Bladen-Columbus border area this summer. Six were noted 11 Jun (RD), and at least 2 were still present 29 Jul (MM et al.). These birds were paired up, but again, no nesting evidence was noted; nests of this species are notoriously difficult to locate. A Northern Harrier near Columbia, SC 3 Jun (MT) was an extremely late bird for that state, especially at an inland locality. Noteworthy summer Sharp-shinned Hawk reports included singles at Chapel Hill, NC in Jun and in Durham, NC 1 1 Jul (WC), one near Winston-Salem, NC 1 Jul (JPi, JD), one carrying food at Roan Mt., NC 28 Jun (RK), and 3 in Bartow, GA 22 Jul (JS, BL). Cooper’s Hawks are much more This Black-bellied Storm-Petrel spotted by Kate Sutherland off Hatteras, North Carolina 16 July 2006 represents only the second record of the species for the western North Atlantic Ocean (the first was photographed off Hatteras in May 2004). Photograph by Scott Jenex. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 517 SOUTHERN ATLANTIC prevalent in summer, and this year there were numerous sightings spread across the Region. Extreme- ly rare for the mts. was the pres- ence of 2 American Kestrels near Clayton, Rabun , GA 24 Jun (JS et al). This species is almost never found in that area of the state dur- ing the summer. Interesting rail reports came from Georgia this season. A Sora seen at the Altamaha W.M.A. 10 Jun (B&DZ) was unusual in that the species is not known to nest in the state. A Virginia Rail with a chick was seen on Skidaway 1. 24 Jul (CM), providing one of only a few confirmed breeding reports for the coast of that state. American Coots summered at several sites through- out the Region again, with the best counts in- volving the 12 at the Altamaha W.M.A., GA 10 Jun (JFl, EH) and at least 11 on the Salt Pond at C. Hatt. all summer (P&NM, RD). Limpkins made news in Georgia this summer, with 2 at Reed Bingham S.P (DV et a\.,fide TM), one at the Altamaha W.M.A. 23 Jun (SD et al.), one at Blalock Res., Henry 6-11 Jul (CL et al.), and up to 4 at the Chickasawhatchee W.M.A., Dougherty 2 Jul+ (WS, TL). North Carolina’s 2nd Snowy Plover, first found at C. Hatt. in late May, was last noted 3 Jun (JF et al.). An American Avocet at H.B.S.P 8 Jul (JP et ah) was unusu- al for that locality that early in the season. Upland Sandpipers started their fall migration a little early, with 2 being at the Orangeburg, SC sod farm 7 Jul (ND). The best count later in the month was the 24 at the Marshallville, Macon , GA sod farm 30 Jul (EB, MB). Two Long-billed Curlews were good finds at H.B.S.P 30 Jul (RLi, fide JP). Three White-rumped Sand- pipers were rather late at the E.L.H. 13 Jun (EB). Not only late but very rare outside of the fall sea- son was the Bairds Sandpiper at the American Protein Plant ponds, Hall , GA 3-5 Jun (JC et ah, GS et ah, DM). A Wilsons Snipe at the rice fields near Roper, NC 29 Jul (JL) was some- what early as a returning fall migrant. Sum- mer sightings of American Woodcock are hard to come by; thus of note was one flushed near Charlotte, NC 20 Jul (AK). Only one Wilson’s Phalarope was mentioned this sum- mer, that being at Pea I. 18 Jul (SJ). South Polar Skuas have been hard to find recently; the only ones reported were singles This alternate-plumaged Franklin's Gull was photographed at Hooper Lane, Henderson County, North Carolina 26 June 2006. First found by John Lindfors, it provided the first June record for that state and only the second for the mountains of the Southern Atlantic Region. Photograph by Wayne Forsythe. 104 km ssw. of Beaufort Inlet, NC 1 Jun (JFe) and off Hatteras, NC 4 Jun (BPI). Jaeger num- bers have been down too; a Pomarinc was off Charleston, SC 16 Jun (ND), and single Long- taileds were off Hatteras 2 & 4 Jun (BPI). A Franklin’s Gull was a surprise at Hoop. 26 Jun (JLi, WF). This bird provided the first Jun sighting for that state and only the 2nd for the mountains. Lesser Black-backed Gulls once again summered at several sites this This Common Ground-Dove was present at a site in the Mills River Valley, Henderson County, North Carolina 25 June (here) through 9 July 2006, only the fourth reported for the North Carolina mountains and first since 1 984. Photograph by Wayne Forsythe. year. The best count was of 19 on the beach at Frisco, NC 29 Jul (SB). Sooty Tern reports this summer included 11 out of Charleston, SC 16 Jun (ND), 5 off Hatteras, NC 1 Jul (BPI), and one out of Murrell’s Inlet, SC 21 Jul (JP)- The peak Bridled Tern numbers included 27 out of Charleston, SC 16 Jun (ND) and 16 off Hat- teras, NC 1 Jul (BPI). Inland tern numbers of note included 23 Blacks over the pond on Taff Rd., Bartow , GA 28 Jul (KB) and 20 Com- mons and 4 Forster’s at L. Walter F George, GA 16 Jul (WCh). Also 2 Black Terns in Bryan, GA 14 Jun (GK) were con- sidered very unusual for the Geor- gia coast in that month. DOVES THROUGH CROSSBILLS Rare and locally unusual Common Ground-Doves were reported twice this summer. One in the Mills R. valley in Henderson, NC 25 Jun (MW, WF) provided only about the 3rd sighting for the mts. of that state. One was also a surprise at the E.L.H. 22 Jul (PB et al.), providing a very rare Atlanta area report. A migrant Black-billed Cuckoo was in the Bodie I., NC area 10 Jun (CD). Willow Flycatchers have been known to be very late spring migrants along the coast; thus of note was one singing at North R. Farms, Carteret, NC 18 Jun-9 Jul (JF et al.), a most unusual summer report. It should be noted that summering birds were found in coastal Virginia (at Wallops I.) for the first time in 2006, so nesting in the outer Coastal Plain of North Carolina is conceivable. The nearest confirmed coastal nesters are in Delaware, in marshside habitats. Eastern Phoebes are nor- mally absent from the outer Coastal Plain dur- ing summer. This year, one was very unusual on Hilton Head I., SC 6 Jun (JCo), and another was a sur- prise near Havelock, Craven, NC 27 Jul QF). Scissor-tailed Flycatch- ers made news in North Carolina this summer with two breeding at- tempts, unprecedented in that state. The male previously reported at Southern Pines, NC during the spring remained and was joined by a female by 7 Jun (MJ). Over the course of the summer, these birds attempted to nest three times, with the last time being successful: young were observed 30 Jul (CB). Also, the pair returned to the site s. of Monroe, Union 18 Jun-30 Jul+ (A&BO) and attempted to nest, al- though success of the nesting was not noted. Finally, the birds were present at the site near McDonough, GA for much of the early sum- mer (m.ob.). Other Scissor-taileds were ob- served along 1-75 n. of Macon GA 5 Jun ( fide TM) and s. of the Atlanta airport along 1-285 on 24 Jul (fide DF). Noteworthy summer Warbling Vireo re- ports involved one at Fletcher Park, Fletcher, NC 24 Jun (WF, RS), one ad. feeding young at Beaver L., Asheville, NC 1 Jul (ST), and one along Ivy Log Gap Rd., Rabun, GA 8 Jun (JC) 518 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS SOUTHERN ATLANTIC for a very rare and unusual report. The species is not known to nest in that state. North Carolina got its 7th Black-whiskered Vireo when one was photographed at Man- teo, NC 29 Jun (JL). The bird was present for a very brief time and was obviously on the move. Why has that state gotten substantially more Black-whiskered records than neighbor- ing states? And of what subspecies are these birds? Common Raven sightings continued in the cen. North Carolina region again, with one at Umstead Park, Raleigh 11 Jun (BM) and one at Southern Pines 19 Jul (Wl). A Swainson’s Thrush was very late at Miller Park, Winston-Salem, NC 8 Jun (AR et al). An American Pipit seen at close range on the Dortches B.B.S. route in extreme e. Nash, NC 22 Jun (MJs) was almost without precedent: there are perhaps two previous Regional re- ports of this species for Jun. Sixteen male Blue-winged Warblers on ter- ritory in Murray, GA late May-Jun (JSp) was a very impressive total for this uncommon, localized species at the edge of its breeding range. Three territorial Magnolia Warblers on Roan Mt., NC (RK) during the summer was a good number for this very localized summer warbler. This summer’s Yellow-rumped War- bler reports came from the usual North Car- olina locations, with a male at Grandfather Mt. 20 Jun (JL) and up to 2 at Roan Mt. 25-28 Jun (RB et al.; RK). Several late warblers in- cluded a Blackpoll at Riverbend Park, Cataw- ba, NC 3 Jun (DMa) and an American Red- start onjekyll T, GA 2 Jun (LT). Several lo- cally rare summer warblers for Congaree N.P, Richland, SC were a singing Worm-eating and 2 singing Ovenbirds 10 Jun (RC). This was a first Jun record for the Park for Ovenbird and one of only a handful of records for Worm- eating. A Swainson’s Warbler on territory near Charlotte, Mecklenburg, NC 20 Jul (AK) pro- vided the 3rd breeding season report for this species in that county. Locally rare were the 4 singing male Indigo Buntings in spruce-fir openings on Roan Mt., NC 19 Jul (RK). This species is unusual at that elevation. Painted Buntings also pushed their range somewhat inland and to the n. in North Carolina: 3 were found on the Merri- mon B.B.S., Carteret 11 Jun (JF). Dickcissel reports were down somewhat from last year, with the best counts being up to 17 at North R. Farms, Carteret, NC 11 Jun (JF et al.), 9 at two sites in Gordon, GA 24 Jun (JF1), 5 in the Taff-Brandon Farm Rd. area of Bartow, GA 23 Jul (KB), and 3-4 near Pettigrew S.P, NC 21 Jun-1 Jul (HL, JPi, WC; RD). Of note at the Carteret, NC site, a nest was discovered 25 Jun (JFe), with several juvs. being seen by the end of the period. This summer’s Red Cross- bill reports involved 2 in Blowing Rock, NC 21-23 Jun OF), 5 on Roan Mt., NC 28 Jun (RK), and 30 (3 females, 27 juvs.) along the road to the top of Mt. Mitchell, NC 7 Jul (MW). Obviously, there was excellent breed- ing success in the area this summer. Contributors: Scott Baron, Betsy Bennett, Eric Beohm, Michael Beohm, Rob Biller, Ken Blankenship, Carol Bowman, Patrick Brisse, Robin Carter, Jack Carusos, Walt Chambers (WCh), Paul Champlin, Jack Colcolough (JCo), Will Cook, Ricky Davis, Steve Davis, Maureen Dewire (MDe), Nathan Dias, Marion Dobbs, John Dole, Curtis Dykstra, Jack Fen- nell (JFe), Jim Flynn (lid!, Wayne Forsythe, Dot Freeman, John Fussell, Ginny Gillam (GGi), Jason Giovannone, Walker Golder, Gilbert Grant, Steve Holzman, Earl Horn, Wayne Irvin, Scottjennex, Markjohns (MJs), Mike Johnson, Tom Joyce, Gene Keferl, Alan Kneidel, Rick Knight, Carol Lambert, Todd Lanier, Russ Lay, Harry LeGrand, Jr., Jeff Lewis, John Lindfors (JLi), Ritch Lilly (RLi), Bill Lotz, Merrill Lynch, Dwayne Martin (DMa), Carol McClelland, Michael McCloy, Darlene Moore, Pat & Neal Moore (P&NM), Terry Moore, Brian Murphy, Toby Nathan, Anne & Blayne Olsen (A&rBO), Brian Patte- son, Inc. (BPI), Jack Peachey, Jeff Pippen (JPi), Ann Robertson, Bob Sargent, Wayne Schaffner, Georgann Schmalz, Ron Selvey, Jeff Sewell, Paul Sykes, Lydia Thompson, Simon Thompson, Mike Turner, Dan Vickers, Craig Watson, Marilyn Westphal, Bob 3 ih^ mm MA l ^iHeclTrop,cblrd,Ca,drnHg |j*fc American1 ’DERSOH Rufous Hummingbird (Card Code 00002) APPLY TODAY FOR THE AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION VISA® PLATINUM CARD • No Annual Fee • Low Introductory Rate • No balance transfer fee for six months It's the only card that ensures a percentage of every purchase you make will go toward the American Birding Association, to help support a variety of activities and programs designed to inspire all people to enjoy and protect wild birds. Choose from two distinct designs: Red-billed Tropicbird or Rufous Hummingbird. J American Birding To apply call 1-800-853-5576 ext. 8396 or apply online today www.americanbirding.org The creditor and issuer of the American Birding Association VISA Platinum Card is U.S. Bank National Association ND. and n. Ontario, the subspecies hypochrysea has a restricted breeding range in the province. A territorial male of this subspecies noted first on 2 Jun was observed carrying food to nestlings in Mer Bleue, Ottawa 8 Jul (m.ob.). Probable nonbreeding wanderers in- cluded single Cerulean Warblers at Thick- sons Woods, Durham 8 Jun (DJL) and Pt. Pelee N.P. 20 Jun (HTO). A female Prothono- tary Warbler was banded at the Tip of Long Pt., Norfolk 8 Jun, and another was at West- port, Leeds & Grenville 5 Jul (JJ et al.). Very rare in e. Ontario, a Worm-eating Warbler was at Voyageur PP, Prescott-Russell 23 Jul (GM). A Swainsons Warbler found singing at Long Sault C.A., Durham 3 Jun was remark- able (BH) — the 8th for the province and first in summer. A briefly territorial Kentucky Warbler was present at Pt. Pelee N.P 2-6 Jun (AW et al.). Rare away from sw. migrant traps during migration, a Connecticut Warbler in an industrial park in Brantford, Brant 1 Jun was a surprise (SM). Two singing male Yel- low-breasted Chats were at the Iroquois Heights C.A. in Ancaster 11-18 Jun (PT, m.ob.). An exciting vagrant was a Green-tailed Towhee caught, banded, and photographed at Thunder Cape, Thunder Bay 10 Jun (T.C.B.O.; JMW). A record-late spring mi- grant Henslow’s Sparrow was at the Tip of Pt. Pelee 2 Jun (AW). This sparrow has been practically non-existent as a breeding species in the province in recent years, but this year a cooperative bird sang on territory at Carden for two weeks, 30 Jun+ (DL, m.ob.), though no further evidence of breeding was reported. A late migrant White-crowned Sparrow was banded 10 Jun in High Park, furnishing one of a handful of records for the Greater Toron- to Area in the summer period (RJ). A minor Dickcissel invasion occurred this year, with multiple birds reported from Kingsville, Es- sex (MEC), the PPB.A. (DJW), Paisley, Bruce (MEC), Dyers’ Bay, Bruce (KM), near Uxbridge, Durham (BY), and Rainy River OH). Single Western Meadowlarks were reported from Strathroy, Middlesex 15 Jun (PAR, IP) and in Lindsay Twp., Bruce 8 Jul (NCM, FP). An Orchard Oriole was observed on Amherst I. 5 Jun (BER), where the species is at the edge of its provincial breeding range. Starting in early to mid-Jul, small groups of White- winged Crossbills became widespread across Algonquin PP. and are expected to nest in numbers in the upcoming months (fide RGT). The European Goldfinch at Niobe L., Rainy River in earlyjun (DHE) and the individual in Scarborough, Toronto in late Jun (LP) were both presumed to be escapees. Corrigenda: The 1130 Mallards reported at Hillman Marsh were observed 10 Jun, not 5 Jul. The Western Kingbird at Pt. Pelee was seen 5 Jun, not 4 Jun. The Sage Thrasher at Cabot Head was not seen 5 Jul; it was first found 31 May (Helen Penfold, Michael Pen- fold, Michael E. Carlson et al.) and seen again 10 Jun (all N.A.B. 59: 588-590). Observers (subregional contributors in bold- face): Ken Abraham, Robert E Andrle, Maris Apse (MAp), Marjory Armstrong, Margaret J. C. Bain, Don Barnett, Al Baxter, Jean Baxter, Tony E M. Beck, Michael Biro, Chris Bower, Bob A. Bracken, Chris T. Burris, Michael E. Carlson, Robert S. Carswell, John Catto, Mar- garet Catto, Peter Chapman, Terry Chapman, Barb N. Charlton, Glenn Coady, C. Cook, Dave Copeland, Mark H. Cranford, Dan Der- byshire, John Dickie, Bruce M. DiLabio, Rob Z. Dobos, Wade Dumoulin, Bruce W. Dun- can, Cheryl E. Edgecombe, Gavin R. Ed- mondstone, David H. Elder, Mary C. Elder, Joel H Ellis, Nicholas G. Escott, Steven Favier, Ron Fleming, Lynne Freeman, Peter J. Good, Susan Goods, Clive E. Goodwin, Jean Griffon, Adam J. Hall, Rosalee A. Hall, Sandra Hawkins, Fred M. Helleiner, K. Hennige, Bri- an Henshaw, James E. Heslop, Matthew L. Holder, James Holdsworth (JHo), Jean Hugh- es (JHu), Warren Hughes, Mark W. Jennings, J. Joe, Richard Joos, Judith King, Todd Kish, Karl R. Konze, Jim Koroscil, Bernie Ladouceur, Rick Lauzon, Christina Lewis, Douglas J. Lockrey, Stan Long, Dave Lord, Stuart A. Mackenzie, V. Paul Mackenzie, Blake A. Mann, Lou Marsh, Gillian Marston, David A. Martin, Chris Martin, Sheldon Mc- Gregor, Kim McGuire, Craig S.A. McLauch- lan, Kevin A. McLaughlin, Neil Meehan, John Miles, Dave Moore, Norman C. Murr, Peter Oakey, Mark Olsen, Henrietta T. O’Neill, Mar- tin Parker, Mark K. Peck, Lisa Pepperman, Don E. Perks, Stephen T. Pike, Adam C. Pinch, Frank Pinella, Ron J. Pittaway, lan Platt, Brian D. Ratcliffe, Pete A. Read, Ron Reid, Alfred H. Rider, Bruce E. Ripley, Rick Rolland (RRo), Bob Ross, Kayo J. Roy, Sarah E. Rupert, Vicki Ryder, Dan R. Salisbury, Michael A. Savino, Roy B.H. Smith, Jan Slumkoski, Brad Steinberg, Rick Stronks, Pe- ter Thoem, Eve D. Ticknor, Douglas C. Tozer, Ronald G. Tozer, lan Turner, G. Ure, Mike Van den Tillaart, Phil Waggett, Dean J. Ware, Ronald D. Weir, Mike Williamson, John M. Woodcock, Brett Woodman, Linda Wladaski, Alan Wormington, Peter Wukasch, Robert K. Yukich. O Mark H. Cranford, 2437 Hurontario Street, Apt. 206, Mississauga, Ontario L5A 2G4, (cranford@allstream.net) 524 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Eastern Highlands & Upper Ohio River Valley Victor W. Fazio, HI Rick Wiltraut Temperatures were above normal in summer 2006, as were rainfall amounts, with rainfall in June being particularly plentiful, causing flooding throughout the Region. Water levels at im- poundments remained high through July, se- verely reducing the amount of good shore- bird habitat. The northward movement of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks made it into the Region this season. Breeding Bird Atlas projects in both Ohio and Pennsylvania turned up a host of interesting records, in- cluding first state breeding records of Merlin and Great Black-backed Gull in Pennsylva- nia, plus the third successful breeding of Wil- son’s Phalarope in Ohio. This season saw the institution of a culling program for Double- crested Cormorants in the Western basin, the impact and efficacy of which remain to be seen. Abbreviations: Conneaut (Conneaut Harbor, Ashtabula , OH); Hoover (Hoover Res., Franklin/Delaware, OH); J.H.N.W.R. (J°hn Heinz N.W.R., Philadelphia, PA); L.E.I. (Lake Erie Is., Lucas/Ottawa, OH); M.C.W.A. (Mos- quito Creek W.A., Trumbull, OH); P.E.E.C. (Pocono Environmental Education Center, PA); S.R.C.F (Susquehanna R. at Conejohela Flats, Lancaster , PA). WATERFOWL THROUGH GULLS Four Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks discov- ered at a small farm pond in Oley Twp., Berks, PA 4 Jun provided the 3rd record for the state (P. O’Donnell, m.ob., ph.); at least one re- mained there through 18 Jun. Up to 2 more were present at Alcoa Marsh, Lancaster, PA 24 Jun-6 Jul (m.ob.); there is one previous record for the county. These birds were part of a widespread movement of this species in late May-early Jun in several se. states. Only the 4th summer record for Ohio, a Snow Goose was seen over O.N.W.R. 12 Jun (R. Hinckle). A pair of Green-winged Teal was at Longbrake wetlands, Hardin, OH much of the season (RC). An unbanded and wary male Cinna- mon Teal discovered at J.H.N.W.R. 25 Jun was present through 24 Jul (N. Pulcinella, m.ob., vt.). A drake Canvasback was off Kel- leys 1., Erie, OH 14 Jun for the 2nd summer in a row (TB). The species has been reported nesting on the mainland nearby in recent years but remains to be confirmed for the state. A late Bufllchead was at Nockamixon S.P., Bucks, PA 2 Jun (D. Farbotnik). Hooded Mergansers s. of their normal breeding range in Pennsylvania included females at J.H.N.W.R. 9 Jun and at Waterloo Mills, Chester 11-13 Jun ( fide DM). Another one was at Chambers L., Chester, PA 29 Jun (fide AH). Red-breasted Mergansers were unusual in summer at Yellow Creek S.P., Indiana, PA 29 Jul (one; T. Simmons) and J.H.N.W.R. 27 Jun (2; J. Horn, RW). Summering Common Loons were largely absent this season: one was on Cowan L., Clin- were also present. Away from the Western basin, 2 Cattle Egrets at Grand L., Mercer, OH 4 Jul (G. Dietz) were rare. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in Huntingdon, PA 3 Jun was un- usual for that area (C. Yohn). For the first time in more than a decade, the species was found breeding at a 2nd location in Ohio — a nest was noted in Wayne 12 Jun (D. Kline). Northern Harrier was considered a scarce breeder in sw. Pennsylvania this year due to a crash in vole populations (PH). A Swallow- tailed Kite glided over Canfield, Mahoning, OH 31 Jul (B. Jones). An ad. Mississippi Kite observed at RE.E.C., Pike, PA 13 Jul was a county first (E. Huner et al. , ph.). Still excep- tional in Ohio, an ad. was detected at Mantua Corners, Portage 3 Jun (JP). Ospreys nested in Delaware, PA for the first time since 1935 (DM). A Peregrine Falcon at Conneaut was This Fork-tailed Flycatcher stunned observers on 5-6 (here 5) June 2006 at Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania; the bird was identified as belonging to the subspecies monachus. Photograph by Geoff Malosh. ton, OH 10 Jun (LG). There was a conspicuous absence of American White Pelicans through- out the Region. Setting aside an 1885 specimen that is no longer extant, Ohio recorded its first Anhinga. The bird was satisfactorily pho- tographed 26 Jun at Singer L., Portage (ph. J. Sernroc) and seen there again 7 Jul (C. John- son). An ad. Little Blue Heron at Morrisville, Bucks, PA 5 Jun was unusual for that date (D. Farbotnik). The species continues within Ohio’s West Sister Island N.W.R. heronry, where an ad. was verified in early Jun (B. War- ber), and 6 Snowy Egrets and 7 Cattle Egrets unexpected 3 Jul (M. Vass). A first state nest- ing of Merlin, discovered in a Norway Spruce stand in downtown Bradford, McKean, PA 5 May, saw 2 young successfully fledge 25 Jul (fide JF). The only breeding locale for Com- mon Moorhen in sw. Pennsylvania is New Beaver Marsh, Lawrence, where 10 ads. and 13 juvs. were present 11 Jun (MV). A Semipalmated Plover was reported from Conneaut throughout Jun (M. Vass, m.ob.), apparently a summering bird. A banded Pip- ing Plover appeared at Conneaut 25 Jul (ph. L. Hays). A Black-bellied Plover in basic r I! Fifteen breeding pairs of Sandhill Cranes this summer ties the Ohio record previously set in 1875. Although several J f\ nests failed, most successful nests produced 2 colts, with 15 young in all. Nine nests were in Wayne, two in Holmes, and one nest each in Geauga, Williams, Ashtabula, and Lorain. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 525 EASTERN HIGHLANDS & UPPER OHIO RIVER VALLEY plumage at Magee 19 Jun was another conun- drum (JL). Killdeer populations remain healthy across the Region, with 200 already staging at Englewood Reserve, Montgomery, OH by 7 Jul (E. Neubauer). An American Av- ocet at Little Blue L., Beaver, PA was the only one reported in Pennsylvania during the sea- son (MV). The species was equally scarce in Ohio, with 4 at Conneaut 15-18 Jul (CH, JP). Two Willets were at S.R.C.E 22 Jul (fide AH). Three Willets had appeared at Conneaut by 9 Jul (A. Morrison), accompanied by 3 Marbled Godwits. The only Whimbrel was a single at Conneaut 18 Jul (CH). A Red Knot and juv. Ruff were reported from S.R.C.E 23 Jul (fide AH). The 250 Short-billed Dowitchers in Ot- tawa, OH 15 Jul (K. Overman) made the largest flock reported. One Long-billed Dow- itcher had returned to Conneaut by 25 Jul (ph. L. Hays, B. Coulter), as had 2 Western Sandpipers 23 Jul (JP) and a Bairds Sandpiper 29 Jul (G. Malosh). Ohio’s 3rd successful breeding record of Wilsons Phalarope came from Longbrake wetlands, Hardin (RC). A Wilsons Snipe in Pickaway, OH 10 Jun (B. Whan) was well s. of the known breeding range in the state. A rare late-season Franklin’s Gull appeared 4 Jun B.C.S.P (D. Overacker). The first state breeding record of Great Black-backed Gull in Pennsylvania was established on a pier along the Delaware R., Delaware, with 3 young hatching 16 Jun (R. Miller). A Lesser Black-backed Gull appeared at Conneaut 15 Jul (JP), followed by another 31 Jul (CH). DOVES THROUGH FINCHES A Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen and heard in Philadelphia 18 Jun (fide AH). The Chuck- will’s-widow at Bald Eagle Mt., Centre, PA was heard calling throughout the summer (D. Thomson), and one was heard n. to Millers- burg. Holmes, OH 31 May (B. Glick). Barn Owls fledged 13 young in three nesting boxes in Berks, PA, an encouraging number (R. Bon- nett). As with Northern Harriers, Short-eared Owls were considered scarce breeders in sw. Pennsylvania this year due to the scarcity of voles (PH). A juv. Northern Saw-whet Owl picked up in Huron 30 Jun (fide TB) estab- lished one of very few breeding records for the state. A Fork-tailed Flycatcher present at Mor- risville, Bucks, PA 5-6 Jun was the first con- firmed record for the state (B. Keim, m.ob., ph., vt.). Based on molt and plumage charac- teristics, it was determined to be a second-year bird of the Mexican subspecies monachus (M. Lanzone). A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher briefly appeared 10 Jul at Batelle-Darby Metropark, Franklin, OH (A. Boone). An Olive-sided Fly- catcher in Scioto, OH 4 Jun was a late spring migrant (L. Gardella), but one in Vinton 24-25 Jun (B. Simpson, G. Crippen) was only the 2nd mid-summer record for s. Ohio. A pair of Loggerhead Shrikes was discovered 15-24 Jun in Highland , OH (JL, LG); the species has been almost extirpated from the state. The pair of Bell’s Vireos on the Ohio State University cam- pus had three eggs (unparasitized) 14 Jun (B. Warner). The Darke, OH Bell's Vireo was on territory through 14 Jun (JL). A pair of Red- breasted Nuthatches with fledglings in Tinicum Twp., Bucks, PA 4 Jun furnished a first nesting record for the county (B. Scheib- ner). For this species, as well as for Hermit Thrush and Pine Warbler, Pitch Pine Trail in Wcis/iington, PA represents a disjunct breeding location at a low elevation in sw. Pennsylvania (PH). A count of 17 Veeries in a regenerating clearcut on the Kittatinny Ridge, Berks, PA 13 Jun was unusual away from their usual moist woods habitat (K. Grim), and a Swainson’s Thrush at Peace Valley Park 3 Jun was a new late date for Bucks, PA (AM). A Nashville Warbler in West Pike Run Twp., Washington, PAJun-Jul was unusual for such a low elevation (fide PH). A singing male Blackpoll Warbler with a broken wing near Al- bany, Berks, PA 22 Jun was unusual (D. We- ber), and a singing Yellow-throated Warbler at Hickory Run S.P., Carbon, PA 17 Jun was n. of the species’ usual range in e. Pennsylvania (M. Tanis). A male Prothonotary Warbler on terri- tory near Saylorsburg, Monroe, PA during Jun was unusual and near its n. limit in e. Penn- sylvania (S. Boyce) A singing Swainson’s War- bler was near Bolivar, Westmoreland, PA 10 Jun (JF). On three B.B.S. Routes, mainly in Huntingdon, PA 112 Ovenbirds was the lowest count ever recorded (GG, N. Bolgiano). A singing male Blue Grosbeak at Acker- manville, Northampton 5 Jun was at the n. edge of its range in e. Pennsylvania (RW). Both Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrows are barely hanging on at several locations in Bucks, PA, a county that is under constant pressure from development (C. Rutt, R. & V Smith). A White-throated Sparrow at Ambler, Montgomery , PA 31 Jul was unusual for that date and location (fide AH). A Dark-eyed Jun- co made a surprising appearance in a Colum- bus, OH yard 6 Jul (D. Snapp). An amazing 39 Dickcissels were reported in fields near Newburg, Cumberland, PA 17 Jul (fide AH), and a colony of 24 Bobolinks in Milford Twp., Bucks, PA 8 Jul was excellent count for that area (G. Franchois). The appearance of 2 Pine Siskins in Brown, OH 11 Jul (B. Stevenson) was unexpected. Initialed Observers (subregional editors in bold): Ohio: Rick Counts (RC), Larry Gara (LG), Craig Holt (CH), Jay Lehman (JL), John Pogacnik (JP). Pennsylvania: John Fedak (JF), Greg Grove (GG), Paul Hess (PH), Ar- mas Hill (Philadelphia Birdline; AH), Rudy Keller (RK), August Mirabella (AM), Doris McGovern (DM), Mark Vass (MV), Rick Wiltraut (RW). © Victor W. Fazio, III, 18722 Newell Street, Floor 2, Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122, (bcvireo@sbcglobal.net); Rick Wiltraut, P.0. Box 294, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania 18353, (whiskeyjack@netzero.net) The Friends of North American Since its inception, the fund has allowed for many improvements such Mailing in a protective wrapper to insure its delivery in one piece. Increase in page count, allowing the addition of artiMes and special sections lore color pages, allowing the addition of Photo Salons. All of this has been made possible with your generous contributions. There are more plans ip the works for future issues but the fund does need your continued support. ijb. Donations to the "friends of NAB" fund can be mailed to: !\ The Friends of NAB, 4945 N. 30th Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 8091 9-31 51 KBrl 526 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Illinois & Indiana INDIANA LAKEFRONT: James Hengeveld Keith A. McMullen Geoffrey A. Williamson Precipitation levels were a little above average for areas to the north, while many southern regions, especially in Illinois, were extremely dry and very warm, as in 2005. The scarce precipitation at these southern locales was as much as 25 cm below normal for the season. The rest of the Region did receive ample rainfall, which seemed to have a positive influence on the reproductive success of grassland species as well as of marsh-breeding species. Nearly a dozen rari- ties provided some excitement to the season, including Pacific Loon, Wood Stork, Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Purple Gallinule, Ruff, Bur- rowing Owl, Rufous Hummingbird, Bewick’s Wren, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Painted Bunting. Abbreviations: Bev. Sh. (Beverly Shores, Porter , IN); Carl. L. (Carlyle L., s. IL); Chau. (Chautauqua N.W.R., IL); Dunes (Dunes S.R, Porter, IN); EP. (Forest Preserve); EW.A. (Fish & Wildlife Area); G.P.EW.A. (Goose Pond F.W.A., Greene , IN); Hennepin (Hennepin-Hopper Lake Restoration Area, Putnam, IL); Horseshoe L. ( Madison , IL); L. Cal. (L. Calumet, Chicago); Miller (Miller Beach, Lake, IN); S.R. A. (State Recreation Area); Twin Swamps (Twin Swamps Nature Preserve, Posey, IN). WATERFOWL THROUGH QUAIL An imm. Mute Swan, very rare in s. Indiana in summer, was on L. Lemon 12 Jun (J&SH). A Greater White-fronted Goose lingered 23 Jun-1 Jul at Horseshoe L. (FRH). Not to be outdone was a single Cackling Goose seen at Beall Woods S.P, Wabash, IL 1-2 Jun (LH, ph. RES). Ad. Trumpeter Swans with young were documented near Savanna, Carroll, IL 21 Jun (RN, DWe, m.ob.). Though Trumpeters were assumed to have bred in the state prior to their extirpation in colonial times, this con- stitutes the first confirmed modern breeding record in Illinois. A brood of 3 Gadwalls was observed 4 Jul at Hennepin, and a pair of American Wigeons was noted there as well (DFS). A male American Wigeon in eclipse plumage at G.PEW.A. 18 (BF, DL) & 27 Jul (DW) was just the 6th recorded in Jul in the state. Dabblers thought to be nonbreeding summering birds included 2 and 5 Northern Shovelers at Hennepin 4 Jul (DFS) and Chau. 30 Jun (R&SB), respectively, and male North- ern Pintails 13 Jun at Rollins Savanna, Lake, IL (ph. JSo) and Horseshoe L. 25 Jun-21 Jul (FRH). Seven Green-winged Teal were dis- tributed among three Illinois locations. Lin- gering diving ducks included a Canvasback at Hennepin 14 Jun (DFS) and another in St. Clair, IL 8 Jul (DMK). Also at Hennepin were 8 Redheads 14 Jun (DFS) and one at Horse- shoe L. 3 Jun-30 Jul (FRH). An ad. male Ring-necked Duck was at Grand Kankakee Marsh, Lake, IN 17 Jun (KJB, SRB, JKC, LSH), and a male Common Goldeneye was seen in se. Livingston, IL at a quarry 8 Jul (DFS). An ad. Greater Prairie-Chicken with 11 young was seen 20 Jul at Prairie Ridge S.N.A., Jasper, IL (RES), and 9 males were detected on the booming grounds there 13 Jun (JWW et al.). Ruffed Grouse have been declining sig- nificantly throughout s. Indiana, so a report of an ad. with 2 young at Crane Naval Center, Martin 22 Jun was noteworthy (RLH, MH). Encouraging was a count of 112 Northern Bobwhite on 12 Jun at Prairie Ridge S.N.A. (JWW). LOONS THROUGH IBIS A Pacific Loon in alternate plumage, repre- senting Indiana’s 2nd summer record, was discovered at Raccoon S.R.A., Parke, in early Jun (JS, CCM, C&DM); it remained there un- til 8 Jul. A Common Loon was at the same lo- cation for much of that time period, and an- other was at Eagle Creek Park, Marion 4-11 Jun (TA). In addition, there were 4 Common Loons reported from Illinois. Pied-billed Grebes continued to have sporadic breeding success across the Region: an excellent total of 140 young was tallied at Chau. 21 Jul (R&SB), while 12 young were found in se. Chicago (WJM). A large number of American White Pelicans remained in the Region, as ev- idenced by a combined total of 1075 at Chau, and Clear L., Mason, IL 30 Jun (R&SB). Four thousand were noted 20-22 Jul at Two Rivers N.W.R., Calhoun, IL (DMK), a high count for Jul and well ahead of the normal Aug maxi- mum for the Region. On 12 Jun, an amazing 686 Double-crested Cormorant nests, more than double the previous high count, were tallied at the East Chicago, IN rookery (JSC). Two counts each of 3 American Bitterns were reported from G.PEW.A. 8 Jul (LWS, TG, VZ) and Kankakee Sands, Newton, IN 3 Jun (JKC, B&MB, LSH, JR, KJB). Least Bit- terns were reported from seven locations in Indiana and dozens of locations in Illinois, with by far the largest numbers coming from G.PEW.A. The highest count there (12) came on 15 Jul, including at least 4 juvs. (LWS). In Illinois, 4 were reported 12 Jun from Prairie Ridge S.N.A. (LH) and 3 the same day at Mer- met L., Massac. (KAM). Several observers in Illinois mentioned “lower numbers” of breed- ing herons and egrets from known rookeries; however, maximum counts of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets were normal. Nest totals reported at the Alorton, St. Clair, IL rookery 23 Jun (VMK) were much lower than those in the early part of the decade, with nest counts of 50 for Little Blue Heron, 50 for Cat- tle Egret, and 150 for Black-crowned Night- Heron, down from averages of 700, 1000, and 415, respectively, during the period 2001-2003. However, the 975 Great Egrets reported for the season in Indiana was more than four times the 20-year average for the species and included a count of 31 nests at the East Chicago rookery 12 Jun (JSC). Notable high counts in Illinois included 210 Snowy Egrets 14 Jul (FRH) and 425 Little Blue Herons 16 Jul (KAM) at Horseshoe L. At the East Chicago rookery, the 160 Black-crowned Night-Heron nests represented yet another in- crease over last year’s total (JSC), while ap- proximately 100 nests, a low total that was possibly related to the 2005 drought, were noted at the L. Cal. rookery 28 Jun (WJM). Yellow-crowned Night-Herons fared well lo- cally, as evidenced by a report of nine nests with 36 hums. 21 Jun in Granite City, Madi- son, IL (FRH); a total of 3 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons was reported in Indiana. A Black Vulture in Parke, IN 28 Jun (GO) was the first reported there in 52 years. One of the highlights of the season was provided by the appearance of 3 Wood Storks at Cane Ridge W.M.A., Gibson 24 Jun (MRB, G&LB, CM, BFz, KH, m.ob.). The birds lingered through 3 Jul and provided only the 3rd record in Indiana since 1945. Ibis were scarce throughout the Region this season, so a Glossy Ibis recorded 4 Jun at Horseshoe L. (FRH) and an imm. White Ibis seen in St. Clair, IL 8-16 Jul (TD, ph. DMK) deserve mention. HAWKS THROUGH CRANES Nesting Ospreys were evident in the Region again this summer; however, only two pairs were successful: 2 young fledged at Banner VOLUME 60 (2007) . NUMBER 4 527 ILLINOIS & INDIANA Marsh, Fulton, 1L in late Jul (MS fide R&SB), and a nest at Pigeon River EW.A., LaGrange, IN had 3 large nestlings 22 Jul (JAH, SS). In addition to several reports of Mississippi Kites at the traditional Lincoln S.R breeding area, 2 were discovered at Twin Swamps 17 Jun (B&MB), representing only the 2nd ever Posey, IN record. A Mississippi Kite was not- ed 20-22 Jul at Two Rivers N.W.R., Calhoun, 1L (DMK), at the n. limits of their current breeding range in the Region. Twelve loca- tions in Illinois reported nesting Bald Eagles, five having young or imm. birds present at the nest during the summer months. There were three reports of Northern Harrier in Illinois, with a high count of 5 made 13 Jun at Prairie Ridge S.N.A. (LH et al.). A Sharp-shinned Hawk seen 28 Jul in St. Clair, 1L may have been an early fall migrant (KAM). Breeding Cooper’s Hawks were reported from eight lo- cations, with 3 fledglings noted 15 Jul at Illi- nois Beach S.R, Lake, IL (EWW) and 24 Jun at Pine Hills, Union, IL (KAM). Illinois’s iso- lated Swainson’s Hawk population continues to survive, with the report of hve nesting pairs, three in McHcniy and two in Kane (VB fide EWW). It was an incredible summer for King Rails in Indiana, where they were reported at three different sites, the majority of the birds being seen at G.P.EW.A. There were at least four successful nesting pairs there, and the maxi- mum daily count was of 9 birds, including 2 downy chicks, on 15 Jul (LWS); 4 additional juvs. were seen there on the same day (JC), bringing the one-day total to 13 birds. This cluster of breeding King Rails may represent the largest such population on record for In- diana. An ad. and young King Rail were seen 17 Jun at Prairie Ridge S.N.A. (ph. RES), and an ad. and 3 young were witnessed 25 Jun at Rose Farms, Johnson, IL (KAM et al.). In Illi- nois at Rollins Savanna, Lake, 12 Virginia Rails, including 2 young, were seen 6 Jul (ph. JSo). Soras were reported from six Illi- nois and several Indiana locations but no known breeding occurred. Always elusive, a Purple Gallinule at Mermet L., Massac, IL was heard 2 & 26 Jun and photographed 3 Jun (DMK). This location hosted the only confirmed breeding record for Illinois. Com- mon Moorhens were widely reported, high- lighted by 6 ads. and 12 young at Rollins Sa- vanna, Lake, IL 6 Jul (JSo) and by four fami- ly groups at G.P.EW.A., where a high count of 15 birds, including 4 downy chicks, was made 15 Jul (LWS, JC). Small numbers of Sandhill Cranes breed in the ne. Illinois marshes; a pair with young noted 9 Jun at Lock and Dam 13, in nw. Illinois was note- worthy (VMK et al.). SHOREBIRDS THROUGH TERNS Two Piping Plovers (one banded) were at Miller 21 Jul (MT), and another banded bird was there 25-26 Jul (MT, JKC, KJB). Three were reported in Illinois, highlighted by a col- or-banded bird seen 1 Aug at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Lake (DRD). It was a spectacular season in Indiana for Black-necked Stilts, with nine nests recorded 13 Jun at Cane Ridge W.M.A., Gibson (WM, RD, KH, CM), where the single-day high count was of 20 birds 29 Jul (DG). At least four successful pairs were also noted at G.PEW.A. (LWS), where the high count was of 17 birds 30Jul (LWSJWL). The only Black-necked Stilts reported in llli- ' ^ iftmvi'.. „ ''T : ' > ►*>*•*.•** ..... - .• - - . - A rarity in Indiana at any season, this Pacific Loon remained at Raccoon State Recreation Area for close to a month, early June through 8 (here 1 ) July 2006, allowing scores of bird- ers to see it; there is only one previous summer record of the species for the state. Photograph by Michael R. Brown. nois were of 4 ads. at two nests in Alexander 3 Jun (DMK). It was also a record summer for American Avocets in Indiana, where 15 birds were reported, well above the seasonal 20-year average of 4. The high count was of 6 birds in Spencer 23 Jul (DA). Three American Avocets arrived 14 Jul at Chau. (R&SB), while 2 more were seen 23 Jul at Carl. L. (DMK, KAM). The Greater Yellowlegs seen 24 Jun at East Cape Girardeau, Alexander, IL (KAM et al.) might have been an early migrant or simply a non- breeding bird that never made the trip to the breeding grounds. A Willet at Carl. L. 10 Jul was early (DMK). An ad. and 2 young Upland Sandpipers were photographed at Prairie Ridge S.N.A. 6 Jun (RES), and the season’s only Whimbrel was seen at Miller 18 Jul (KJB, JKC). The 271 Sanderlings reported were well above average, the peak count being 65 at Miller 21 Jul (MT). Two tardy Dunlins re- mained through 5 Jun at Eagle Marsh, Allen, IN (RR). A Ruff excited birders on 18-19 Jul at Horseshoe L., Madison, IL (vt. JZ, ph. FRH, DMK, KAM, m.ob.), though there was some debate about the sex of the bird. A 20 Jul Wil- son's Snipe at Two Rivers N.W.R., Calhoun, IL was several weeks early (DMK), as were the 2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers reported 29 Jul at Horseshoe L. (DMK, TAM). The Wilson’s Phalarope on 30 Jul at Horseshoe L. was the only one reported for the season (KAM). The first summer record of a jaeger in more than a decade was provided by an ad. Parasitic at Miller 22 Jul (MT, JKC, LSH, EMH). Four Laughing Gulls were reported from the Re- gion, all in Illinois. Three Franklin’s Gulls were reported in the Region, including one at E. Fork L., Richland, IL 23 Jun (LH), an ad. at Clear L., Mason, IL 30 Jun (R&SB), and an in- land bird in Marshall, IN 3 Jun (MT). The ap- parent hybrid Laughing Gull x Ring-billed Gull that arrived in spring for its 3rd year in se. Chicago continued there through at least 12 Jun (WJM). Tern numbers were up slight- ly in the Region, led by a group of 39 Caspi- ans 31 Jul at L. Cal. (WJM) that included 7 juvs. The Common Tern nesting site at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, the only one in the Region, produced just 2 fledged young (DRD). At the end of Jun, 27 chicks died fol- lowing a severe thunderstorm and associated steep drop in temperature. Predation was sus- pected as the cause of failure for the remain- ing eggs. It was a good season for Least Terns in s. Illinois, with an ad. seen 10 Jul at Bald- win L., St. Clair (DMK) and 4 ads. reported from Grand Tower, Jackson 3 (DMK) & 24 Jun (KAM). Other sightings occurred 24 Jun at Rose Farms, Johnson (KAM) and 25 Jun at Mermet L. (KAM et al). Besides the tradi- tional Gibson, IN nesting sites, Least Terns were once again confirmed along the Ohio R. in Spencer 17 Jun (DA). Single Least Terns were also seen 17 Jun at Eagle Creek Park, Marion (RB) and on L. Monroe (JK). In cen. Indiana, where summer Black Terns are rare, 2 were seen in Hamilton 8 Jun (DG) and an- other in e. Franklin 21 Jun (WRB). DOVES THROUGH WOODPECKERS Another first county record was established for Eurasian Collared-Dove in Indiana with 2 in Madison 9 Jul (BKJ). Yellow-billed Cuckoos were reported in above-average numbers throughout the Region. Five Barn Owls were reported in Clinton, IL in mid-Jul (DWe, fide KAM). Excitement about a Burrowing Owl discovered in Warren, IL 28-29 Jun (tRJ) was short lived, as it was found dead and half-eat- en 29 Jun (PR, *JM). Goatsuckers were rather uncommon this summer, with only single- digit maxima for Common Nighthawk and Chuck-will’s-widow; however, a tally of 11 Whip-poor-wills 30 Jun at Lost Mound N.W.R., Jo Daviess, IL was noteworthy (EWW). An ad. male Rufous Hummingbird was reported from a feeder in Wabash, IL 21 Jul (tCS, tKD). Three Yellow-bellied Sap- suckers were tallied 8 Jun (SDB) at Lost Mound N.W.R.; this area of the Region has hosted a few breeding pairs in the past. 528 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ILLINOIS & INDIANA FLYCATCHERS THROUGH WAXWINGS A singing Olive-sided Flycatcher was found n. of Nashville, Brown , IN on the late date of 6 Jun (GAK, fide BKJ). There was a strong showing of Alder Flycatchers in the Region, including 7 on 1 Jun at Pigeon River FW.A., LaGrange , IN where they nest, and one at Chain O’Lakes S.P 24 Jun-13 Jul (JAH, SS). In Illinois, 4 Alder Flycatchers were located at three Lake locations, including 2 males 30 Jun at Lyons Woods FP. (EWW); breeding by the species has yet to be confirmed here. Least Flycatchers were recorded in four locations; a pair 20 Jun-15 Jul at Illinois Beach S.P fur- nished the only sighting of multiple birds (EWW). A maximum count of 12 Western Kingbirds was tallied 16 Jul in E. St. Louis, St. Clair , IL (DMK), and 4 others were reported in Illinois. The only Scissor- tailed Flycatcher reported was a male 19 jun near Thomson, Carroll, IL (AS). At a new site for the species, Fish Crows were reported at Twin Swamps, where an unspecified number were noted 3 Jun (CC), and 2 were recorded there 6 OK) & 17 Jun (B&MB). Four Loggerhead Shrikes seen 24 Jun at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Will, IL (AFS) were the only reported in the Region. Swallows displayed some large late-summer peaks, with 2000 Banks and 1500 Northern Rough-wingeds tallied 20 Jul at Two Rivers N.W.R., Calhoun , IL (DMK). A Brown Creep- er was seen 8 Jun at Lowden-Miller S.F carry- ing food for its young (DFS), while 6 were noted on a return trip there 23 Jun (DFS). Having been essentially extirpated from the state, a singing Bewick’s Wren near Greencas- tle, Putnam, IN 16-22 Jun was quite a surprise (C&DM, CCM, LP, m.ob.). Encouraging was the report of 25+ Sedge Wrens from three Illi- nois locations, and more than three times the average number of Sedge Wrens were report- ed in Indiana for the season, the maximum consisting of 14 at Kankakee Sands 8 Jul (JKC). An excellent count of 39 Veeries was made 8 Jun at Lowden-Miller S.F (DFS), while Wood Thrushes were reported in dou- ble-digits at five Illinois locations. WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES An ad. male Lawrence’s Warbler at Pigeon River FW.A., LaGrange 1 Jul (JAH, SS) repre- sented the first summer record for ne. Indi- ana. Two counts each of 3 Black-throated Green Warblers were made 24 Jun in Dunes (RJP) and in Furnessville, Porter, IN (SRB). Nice counts of 9 and 6 Chestnut-sided War- blers, respectively, were made 23 Jun at Low- den-Miller S.F (DFS) and 30 Jun at Lyons Woods FP. (EWW). This species also fared well in ne. Indiana, where it is a sparse breed- er (fide JAH). On 13 Jun, a Blackburnian Warbler was heard at Dunes (SRB), repre- senting the 11th consecutive summer the species was recorded at this location. This species also made an appearance at Lowden- Miller S.F, where 2 males 8 Jun and another 23 Jun (DFS) marked the 4th consecutive summer they have been tallied there. Yellow- throated Warblers had an unusually strong presence in n. Illinois this season, led by a maximum count of 28 Yellow-throated War- blers 8 Jun at Lowden-Miller S.F (DFS). A singing male Blackpoll Warbler was detected 21 Jul in Chicago’s Grant Park (tDFS). A Black-and-white Warbler was seen 29 Jul at Three Wood Storks, a species accidental in the Midwest, tarried 24 June (here) through 3 July 2006 at Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area in Gibson County, Indiana. Photograph by Michael It. Brown. Ramsey L., Fayette, IL (DMK, TAM), indicat- ing a possible breeding territory. Worm-eat- ing Warblers were present in good numbers, as evidenced by 15 seen 3 Jun in Jackson, IL (RRo), and a nice count of 77 Ovenbirds was made 8 Jun at Lowden-Miller S.F (DFS). A singing male Mourning Warbler was discov- ered at Pigeon River FW.A., LaGrange 28 jun (LAC) and was still singing there 5 Jul (BB, FW), providing Indiana’s 5th Jul record. A male Wilson’s Warbler at Fox Island Nature Preserve, Allen 4 Jun was ne. Indiana’s latest by three days. For the 2nd consecutive year, a singing Canada Warbler was found at Cowles Bog, Porter, IN 4 Jul (RJP). A pair of Summer Tanagers was pho- tographed at a nest at Swallow Cliff Woods FP. (ph. WSS, WJM et al.), documenting the first confirmed nesting for Cook, IL. Later, keen observers witnessed a male Scarlet Tan- ager attempting to feed the young Summer nestlings (ph. PD). Not to be outdone were 2 male Summer Tanagers, one carrying nesting material, in Dunes 27 Jun (D&PM). A male was also seen at Bev. Sh. 10 Jun and 1 Jul (m.ob.). The only reported Clay-colored Sparrows in the Region consisted of 2 males 10 Jun in Lake, IL (EWW). It was a good sea- son for Vesper Sparrows with double-digit counts at four Illinois locations. Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows fared well, too, with six counts of 15 or more Grasshoppers and a maximum count of 58 Henslow’s at Prairie Ridge S.N.A. 12 Jun (JWW et al.). A male White-throated Sparrow seen 25 Jun at Chicago’s Millenium Park was of interest (EWW), as were singles in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 6 Jun (RG), in Boone, IN 8 Jun (RLH), and a singing male at Pigeon River FW.A., LaGrange, IN 3 Jul (PM, DS et al.). Indiana’s 3rdjul White-crowned Sparrow was found on the 13th at the Marian College Ecocenter, Marion (JC, DM). A window-killed Black-headed Grosbeak was found 11 Jun in Chicago by Patrick Mal- lory, providing the first specimen record for Illinois. There are eight prior accepted records for the state. The first Lake, IL breed- ing record for Blue Grosbeak occurred at Illi- nois Beach S.P., with documentation of a pair and young (ph. EWW). For the 3rd consecu- tive year, a Blue Grosbeak was observed at Miller, a singing male noted there 15 Jun (JKC, EE, RJP). A first-year male Painted Bunting was seen 16 & 22 Jul at the regular E. St. Louis, St. Clair, IL nesting location (DMK). Part of a good year for the species, Indiana’s 2nd highest one-day count of Dick- cissels, 164, was logged in Gibson 1 Jul (JD). Three tallies of 120+ Dickcissels in Illinois was encouraging for this grassland species, as was the maximum count of 94 Bobolinks made 19 Jun in Fulton, IL (JWW). Yellow- headed Blackbirds raised young at three Illi- nois locations and were reported from four other marshes in the n. part of the state. A pair and 2 young Brewer’s Blackbirds were noted 30 jul at Illinois Beach S.P (EWW), a known nesting location for this uncommon species in the Region. Contributors cited (subregional editors in boldface): Timothy Avery, David Ayer, Susan R. Bagby, Steven D. Bailey, Vic Berardi, Richard 6? Sigurd Bjorklund, Gary & Lisa Bowman, Kenneth J. Brock (Indiana), Michael R. Brown, Brad Bumgardner, Robert Buskirk, William R. Buskirk, Byron & Maggie Butler, Lee A. Casebere, John K. Cassady, John S. Castrale, James Cole, Charles Crawford, Paul Dacko, Donald R. Dann, Tim Dever, Robert Dodd, Kevin Doty, Jerry Downs, Eric Enbody, Brad Feaster, Ben Fritz (BFz), Don Gorney, Terri Greene, Ralph Grundel, Leroy Harrison, Kara Hasenour, James A. Haw, Roger L. Hedge, James D. & Susan Hengeveld, Lynea S. Hinclunan, Frank R. Holmes, Michael Homoya, Edward M. Hop- kins, Rhetta Jack, Brad K. Jackson, Dan M. Kassebaum, Jeff Kiefer, Vernon M. Kleen (Illi- VOLUME 60 (2007) NUMBER 4 529 ILLINOIS & INDIANA nois), John W. Lawrence, Daniel Lucynski, Clint & Dana Maddox, Donna McCarty, Travis A. Mahan, Walter J. Marcisz, William McCoy, Keith A. McMullen, Perry Miller, Chuck Mills, Don & Peg Mohar, Jim Moun- tjoy, Clint C. Murray, Randy Nyboer, Greg Os- kay, Randy J. Pals, Larry Peavler, Rodger Rang, Phil Reyburn, Rhonda Rothrock (RRo), Jean Rudd, Sandy Schacht, Wesley S. Serafin, Robert E. Shelby, Cameron Shilling, Michele Simone, Jim Solum (JSo), Joseph Staigl, Lee W. Sterrenburg, Alan E Stokie, Dan Stoltzfus, Douglas E Stotz, Michael Topp, Jeffrey W. Walk, Eric W. Walters, Dan Wenny (DWe), Debbie Wesselmann (DWs), Fred Wooley, Dennis Workman, Vic Zerbi, Jim Ziebol. ^ James Hengeveld, 6354 Southshore Drive, Unionville, Indiana 47468, (jhengeve@indiana.edu); Keith A. McMullen, 1405 DeSoto, O'Fallon, Illinois 62269, (warbler7@sbcglobal.net); Geoffrey A. Williamson, 4046 North Clark Street, Unit K, Chicago, Illinois 60613, (geoffrey.williamson@comcast.net) Western Great Lakes Most of the Region received below- normal precipitation. Good habitat for shorebirds was found in western Minnesota and along the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Upper Peninsula. Abbreviations: Agassiz (Agassiz N.W.R., Mar- shall, MN); Big Stone (Big Stone N.W.R., Lac Qui Parle, MN); C.G.l. (Coast Guard Im- poundment, Milwaukee, Wl); L.P. (Lower Peninsula of Michigan); Pte. Mouillee (Pointe Mouillee State Game Area, Monroe, MI); Shi- awassee (Shiawassee N.W.R., Saginaw, MI); U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). WATERFOWL THROUGH CRANES Single Tundra Swans summered in each state. Wisconsin’s was healthy in Ashland (RB), but the others were injured or unable to fly. Michigan reported a male White-winged Scoter in Houghton 14 Jun (JK). A female Spruce Grouse with 3 downy young in Oge- maw (HB, fide CP) provided a rare breeding record for Michigan’s L.P Wisconsin’s only Spruce Grouse was in Vilas 21 Jun (JS). Un- seasonable were summer Horned Grebes in Baraga and Alger in the U.P, and Wisconsin had one in Ozaukee, Wl 29 Jul (JF). Red- necked Grebes nested in Delta, Ml (SH) for the 2nd consecutive year. Clark’s Grebe was found in four Minnesota locations, including one paired with a probable Western Grebe x Clark’s Grebe hybrid at Thielke L. (ph. PBB). Unusual for ne. Minnesota was a Snowy Egret at Duluth 1-3 Jun (LWM, SLF). In the U.P, a juv. Little Blue Heron was a rare find at Elmwood Wildlife Area, Menominee 22 Jul (ph. SH); Michigan also had Little Blues in Bcirien and Mason. In Minnesota, the ad. Lit- tle Blue at Lubenow W.M.A. pro- vided a first county record for Swift 27 Jul (BJU). Michigan re- ported a Tricolored Heron at Pte. Mouillee 12Jun+ TP (p.a., BMu, ST, AMB, m.ob.). Small numbers of Cattle Egrets were in two Michigan and six Minnesota counties. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron graced Jackson, MI for the 4th consecutive year 5-12 Jun (m.ob.). Minnesota had sin- gle ad. Yellow-crowneds in Mur- ray 11 Jun (KJB) and Nicollet 17 Jun (BJU). A Glossy Ibis visited Pte. Mouillee 4-12 Jun (p.a., ST, BMu, AMB). Wisconsin reported an ad. Mis- sissippi Kite soaring over the Rock River, Rock 4 Jun (QY). A Rough-legged Hawk lingered through 12 Jun on Manitou 1. in Keweenaw, MI (JY, ZG). A Yellow Rail at Thunder Lake W.M.A. , Oneida 15 Jun (RHo) inhabited a new Wisconsin location for this species; Michigan’s only reports were from the tradi- tional location at Seney N.W.R. King Rail was found in three Wisconsin locations: Columbia 13 Jun (TP), Door 5 Jul (CS), and Dodge 23 Jul (SCu). Common Moorhens in 12 Min- nesota counties made that state’s best showing in decades; unusually far n. was one in Wex- ford, MI 6 Jun (AVP). SHOREBIRDS Shorebird surveys in w. Minnesota (PCC, PHS) found good numbers and diversity at- tributable to scheduled drawdowns at Agassiz and at Big Stone N.W.R. The highlight was Chu and Svingen’s discovery of an ad. male Snowy Plover at Big Stone 1 Jul, which led to the discovery of an ad. female on the 3rd (ph. DWK, JLO) and 2 recently hatched chicks on the 8th (DBz, CCB, ph. RLE). The chicks were faithfully attended by the male through at least 29 Jul, when both apparently fledged; at least one lingered at the refuge through 27 Aug. Michigan had 50 breeding pairs of Pip- ing Plovers, down slightly from last year; an apparent migrant was in Berrien 23 Jul (TB). In Wisconsin, 5 nesting pairs on the Apostle Is. produced 5 chicks; 2 birds in Manitowoc 17 Jun (JH) showed no signs of nesting; and a loner lingered at Kohler Andrea S.P., Sheboy- gan 1-11 Jul (JF). In Minnesota, a Piping || For the first time in over 100 years, wild-hatched Whooping Cranes walked Wisconsin wetlands. Two Whooping 1 1 Cranes pecked out of their shells 22 Jun. The parents are captive born four-year-old birds hatched at Patuxent, MD, which were then released at Necedah N.W.R. as part of the experimental flock. This pair lost their first eggs but nested again and hatched these avian vanguards. Long anticipated in the state but not predicted to arrive in July was Minneso- ta's first Slaty-backed Gull at Grand Marais, Cook County. Discovered by Molly and Ken Hoffman 21 (here 22) July 2006, this adult was subsequently seen and photographed by many. Photograph by David A. Cahlander. 530 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS WESTERN GREAT LAKES This Sage Thrasher was discovered in Luce County, Michgan by Joyce Peterson on 28 June 2006 (here). It was seen by many during its 1 6-day stay as it sang persistently from a forest clearing growing up to young jack pines. This unexpected first summer record was Michigan's fifth overall. Photograph by Skye Haas. Plover nest with four eggs was found on Gar- den I., Lake of the Woods (JEB, RBJ), and sin- gles were at two Lac Qui Park locations (PCC, BJU, rn.ob.). Record high for Minnesota was the count of 1251 Killdeer in Lac Qui Parle 9 Jul (PCC, PHS). Michigan reported 2 Ameri- can Avocets in Berrien 4 Jul (TG, WMB) and one at Shiawassee 25 Jul (DJP). Most unusual of three Wisconsin reports was an avocet in Milwaukee 22 jun (JI). Another record-high count for Minnesota was of 57 Solitary Sandpipers at St. John’s University, Steams 31 Jul (PCC). Michigan welcomed a Willet in Wayne 13 Jun (WGP), followed by three reports from Berrien. Wis- consin’s only Willet was at C.G.I. 19-22 Jun (JI). Each state had at least one northbound Whimbrel: up to 8 in Cook , MN 2-5 Jun (RBJ, SC), plus singles at Milwaukee, WI 3 Jun (SL), Duluth, MN 22 Jun (KRE), and Alpena, MI 9 Jul (SS). Single Whimbrels in Sheboygan 15 Jul (GT) and Oconto 16 Jul (JS) were con- sidered record-early fall migrants for Wiscon- sin. Unusual for Michigan was a Hudsonian Godwit in Delta from 16-18 Jul (SH). Michi- gan also had single Marbled Godwits in Berrien 8 Jul (BA) and Menominee 22 jul (SH). Single Red Knots were at Milwaukee, WI 19- 24 Jun OF) and at Tawas Point S.P., MI 24 Jul OSo). In Lac Qui Parle, MN, Semipalmated Sandpipers peaked at 1919 on 29 Jul, and Least Sandpipers peaked at 2316 on 9 Jul (PCC, PHS). Breeding of Wilson’s Phalarope was confirmed at Portage Marsh, Delta, Ml 11 Jul (SH). Five Red-necked Phalaropes at Pte. Mouilee 6 Jun (ATC) furnished an unusual spring record for Michigan; fall migrants ap- peared in all three states in late Jul. GULLS THROUGH WOODPECKERS Michigan had the only Laughing Gull at St. Joseph, Berrien 4 Jul (TB). Wisconsin had three reports of Franklin’s Gull along L. Michi- gan between 18 Jun and 31 Jul. In Wisconsin, 3 ad. Little Gulls spent most of the summer in Sheboygan (KP), while an imm. was sporadic in Ashland (RB). Unzen photographed an ad. California Gull in Lac Qui Parle/Swift, MN 20 Jun. Long anticipated in Minnesota — but pre- dicted by no one to appear in late Jul — was an ad. Slaty-backed Gull found by Ken and Mol- ly Hoffman at Grand Marais 21 Jul (ph. DAC, TPCC, tKRE, TPHS, m.ob.). Its confiding be- havior allowed close observation until it was found dead 14 Aug (RF, *Bell Museum of Nat- ural History). Tardy was a third-cycle Glau- cous Gull in Winnebago, WI 2 Jun (JM). Single ad. Least Terns transited Nobles 4 Jun (DBz, COB, m.ob.) and Olmsted 24 Jun (JWH, ph. CCB, ph. RLE). A cacophonous 1500 breeding pairs of Caspian Terns were recorded at Grav- el and Pirate Is. in L. Michigan (SM). A new Wisconsin colony of Common Terns at a mit- igation site on Lake Butte des Morts produced 9 chicks (SM). Wisconsin’s only Eurasian Collared-Dove of the season was recorded in Grant 2 Jun (JR). In Michigan, one or 2 continued from spring at Three Oaks, Bctrien. Minnesota now has too many collared-doves to enumerate. Establishing the 3rd Wisconsin record was a White-winged Dove at Green Bay 23 Jun-4 Jul (EH, ph. DB). Minnesota’s 10th White- winged Dove vacationed at Nelson’s Resort on Crane L., St. Louis 2-24 Jun (ph. JBP, ph. DMK). Any Snowy Owl in the Region during summer is noteworthy and usually follows a significant irruption; this summer, each state reported this species! Michigan had 3 in the L.P.: Huron 10 Jun (ph. LH), Charlevoix 13-14 Jun (JA), and from spring through 17 Jun at Traverse City, Grand Traverse (DW, ph. EW). Wisconsin also had 3: Sheboygan 3-4 Jul (MBr), Brown 16-17 Jul (JG), and Ashland 28 Jul (RB), while Minnesota contributed one in Itasca through 2 Jun (SC). Although North- ern Hawk Owl breeding was not confirmed in Minnesota following the 2004-2005 irrup- tion, no fewer than nine nests were found this summer (DAG et al.). Also in Minnesota, a Burrowing Owl trumpeted at the Rochester airport through 24 Jun but was unable to at- tract a mate; a pair of owls mortgaged a badg- er hole in Stevens (ph. DO). The CTiuck-will’s- widow in Bcirien, Ml was last heard 13 Jul. Wisconsin’s Chuck-will’s-widow in Jackson was rediscovered 11 Jun (AP) and called through 4 Jul (m.ob.); another was heard about 16 km away at Wazee L. 29 Jul (RH). Black-backed Woodpecker was reported from four Michigan counties in the U.P. Wisconsin birders found Black-backeds at a new location in Iron 4 Jun (RB) and the usual Nicolet N.E location 13-26 Jun (TP, KK). FLYCATCHERS THROUGH FINCHES Far from its usual Minnesota haunts were Acadian Flycatchers in Lyon 4 Jun and Lin- coln 27 Jun (ph. KJB). Michigan’s first sum- mer Say’s Phoebe visited Manitou I., Ke- weenaw 1 1 Jun (ZG, JY). All three states host- ed Scissor-tailed Flycatcher this summer: Door, WI 13-15 Jun (SLe, GP), Yellow Medi- cine, MN 1 Jul (AF), and Alpena, Ml 6-7 Jul (KS). Except for 10 Minnesota counties, Log- C A For the 3rd consecutive year, record-high numbers of Kirtland's Warbler were tallied in Michigan; 1457 in 1 1 L.P. coun- , J f I ties and 21 in four U.P. counties made the highest total — 1478 — since monitoring began in 1951. In Wisconsin, 3 Kirtland's were discovered 2 Jun in Jackson (JPo) and observed through 19 Jun by multiple observers. Intriguing was a brief sighting of a single Kirtland's there after a passing thunderstorm 29 Jul (RH); another was recorded 9 Jun in Marinette (KK). VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 531 WESTERN GREAT LAKES This Virginia's Warbler was captured and banded at the Pitsfield Banding Station in Kalamazoo County, Michigan by Richard and Brenda Keith on 25 June 2006 (here) — a surprising third state record. One of the previous records was also of a bird cap- tured at a banding station, perhaps not surprising for a species whose subtle field marks make it easy to overlook. Photograph by Brenda Keith. gerhead Shrike was unreported in the Region. Minnesota reported a Rock Wren in Rock 7 Jun (ph. MS). Michi- gan had Carolina Wrens in 17 L.R counties, plus Marquette in the U.R 28-29 Jul (ZG) and another 3 km away 30 Jul (SH). This species also showed well in Wisconsin, with 25 reports from nine s. counties. North- ern Mockingbird was well represent- ed in 12 Michigan counties, includ- ing Keweenaw in the U.R, where a pair built a nest at Eagle Harbor but later abandoned it (LB); also unusu- ally far north were singles in Cook , MN 1 Jun (JW) and Bayfield , W1 7 Jun (TO). Another first summer oc- currence for Michigan was a Sage Thrasher singing from young jack pines in an open forest clearing in Luce 28Jun-13 Jul (JPe, m.ob.). Two singing male Blue-winged Warblers plus a Brewsters Warbler in Menominee 9 Jun (SH) suggest expansion into the sw. U.P. Pho- tographs documented a second-year female Virginia’s Warbler banded in Kalamazoo, Ml 25 Jun (RK), a remarkable occurrence at any season but truly extraordinary in midsum- mer. Spring stragglers in Wisconsin included a Northern Parula in Milwaukee 27 Jun (MB) and a Black-throated Blue Warbler in Kenosha 4 Jun (JD). Unusual for the s. L.R were Black- throated Blues in Oakland 22 Jun (ATC) and Berrien. Exceptionally early was a south- bound Blackburnian Warbler in Waukesha 29 Jul (TM). Wisconsin reported a Yellow- throated Warbler at Kettle Moraine S.E, Waukesha 1-2 Jun (DG, TP), in addition to the traditional location at Wyalusing S.P. Michigan’s only Yellow-throateds were in Bertien. Prairie Warbler surveys in Michigan found 8 males and one female at Warren Dunes S.P, Berrien (KM); at least six pairs were in Allegan (JP); and others were found in Luce, Mason , and Washtenaw. In Wisconsin, one sang at Kohler Andrea S.P, Sheboygan 3 Jun-11 Jul (MB, m.ob.). Prairie Warbler is still casual in Minnesota; a singing male in Nobles 4-5 Jun (DBz, COB) was unusually far sw. In Michi- gan, a total of 57 Cerulean Warblers at Alle- gan S.G.A., Allegan was fewer than last year’s record-high 80 (RS). Unexpected in the U.R was a Worm-eating Warbler at Peninsula Pt., Delta 23 Jul (ph. EE). Elsewhere in Michigan, a Worm-eating Warbler stayed at Warren Dunes S.P., Berrien 15 Jun-18 Jul (KM, m.ob.). Wisconsin also had an unusual report of Worm-eating Warbler from the Kettle Moraine S.E, Wtutheshu 30 Jun (TM); others were in traditional nesting areas in Sauk (CH). Northwesterly in Wisconsin was the Kentucky Warbler in Douglas 26 Jun (RJ). Significant for Michigan were singing male Wilsons Warblers near the Tahquamenon R. mouth, Chippewa 3-10 Jun (CP) and near Newberry, Luce 16 Jun (LD). Yellow-breasted Chat was found in four Michigan and four Wisconsin counties. A Say's Phoebe at Manitou Island, Keweenaw County, Michigan 1 1 June 2006 (here) was the first of its species to be recorded in the state in the summer season. Photograph by Joe Youngman. In Michigan, a pair of Summer Tanagers probably nested at Warren Dunes S.P (JTW, m.ob.); one was in Berrien 7 Jun (AV). Also noteworthy were single Summer Tanagers in Lincoln, MN 5 Jun (SPS), Milwaukee, WI 19 Jun (MB), and at Sherburne N.W.R., MN 4-11 Jul (HW, m.ob.). A male Lark Bunting sur- prised Beneke during a B.B.S. in Beltrami, MN 14 Jun (BAB); another male was pho- tographed at Seney N.W.R., MI 20-21 Jun (AG). Good numbers of Henslow’s Sparrows were found in all three states, including a high count of 25 at the Sharonville S.G.A., Ml (ATC). A Lazuli Bunting visited a feeder in Blue Earth, MN 10 Jun (SBP, ph. DWK, JLO). An irruption of Dickcissels was evident in all three states, especially in Wisconsin, where all but two of the state’s 72 counties hosted this species. Michigan had Dickcissels in 33 counties, with nest- ing confirmed in three U.R locations. Wisconsin’s 2nd Hooded Oriole ap- peared briefly at a feeder in Dodge 19 Jul (ph. JW). Addendum: Minnesota’s 3rd Brewer’s Sparrow sang in C.R.R near Herman, Grant 22 Jun 2005 (LDI). Cited observers (subregional editors in boldface): Brad Anderson, Jill An- derson, Tim Baerwald, Karl J. Bar- don, Patrick B. Beauzay, Dan Belter, Betsy A. Beneke, Chris C. Benson, Dedrick Benz (DBz), Laurie Binford, Jerry E. Bonkoski, Marilyn Bontly, Walter M. Booth, Ryan Brady, Mar- garet Brasser (MBr), Haley Breniser, Adam M. Byrne, David A. Cahlander, Allen T. Chartier, Philip C. Chu, Shawn Conrad, Seth Cutright (SCu), John Dixon, Louie Dom- broski (Michigan), Kim R. Eckert, Robert L. Ekblad, Erik Enbody, Steven L. Falkowski, Angie Farrell, Jim Frank, Richard Franta, Zach Gayck, Neil Gilbert, Thelma Gilbert, Aaron Given, Joan Grant, David A. Grosshuesch, Dennis Gustafson, Skye Haas, Lauri Halifax, Chuck Heikkinen, John W. Hockenra, Randy Hoffman (Wisconsin), Jim Holschbach, Ed Houston, Robert Howe (RHo), John Idzikowski, Lawrence D. Igl, Robert B. Janssen, Robbye Johnson, Joe Ka- plan, Kay Kavanagh, Richard Keith, Doug W. Kieser, Dee M. Kuder, Susan Leeder (SLe), Steve Lubahn, Sumner Matteson, James P. Mattsson, Tom Mertins, Kip Miller, Jon Motquin, Brad Murphy (BMu), Chris O’Byrne, Donna Oglesby, Tim Oksiuta, James L. Otto, Andy Paulios, Walter G. Pawloski, David J. Peters, Glenda Peters, Joyce Peter- son (JPe), Kurt Peterson, Sherry & Brian Pierson, Jerry & Brenda Pohlman, Janine Polk (JPo), James Ponshair, Annis V Pratt, Tom Prestby, Caleb Putnam, John Romano, Steve Santner, Keith Saylor, Jon Schafenbuel, Russ Schipper, Carl Schwartz, Joe Soehnel (JSo), Mark Stensaas, Steven R Stucker, Ped- er H. Svingen (Minnesota), Scott Terry, Gene Tiser, Bill J. Unzen, Alison Village, Helen Wang, Jan Wicklund, Doug Williams, Ellen Williams, JoAn Wolter, Jonathan T. Wuep- per, Quentin Yoerger, Joe Youngman. We ex- tend our sincere thanks to the hundreds of other contributors who could not be ac- knowledged individually. O Peder H. Svingen, 2602 East 4th Street, Duluth, Minnesota 55812, (psvingen@d.umn.edu) 532 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS James J. Dinsmore Iowa in June was somewhat warmer than normal and recorded its ninth driest June ever. July continued the warm and dry pattern. Habitat conditions seemed fairly normal, although severe drought affected parts of northwestern and south-central Iowa. In Missouri, temperatures were slightly above average in June and July, and precipita- tion was slightly below normal statewide. However, many areas, especially in western Missouri, had very hot and dry conditions, especially in July, which probably adversely affected nesting. Accidental species found in Iowa were Mottled Duck and Painted Bunting. Other rarities included a Red-throated Loon, Ruff, Laughing Gull, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Good finds in Missouri included Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and White-winged Doves, a Long-eared Owl brood, and the state’s second Sandhill Crane nesting attempt. Barn Owls, Bald Eagles, and Henslow’s Sparrows did well in both states. Shorebird migration was un- usually strong, with 33 species found. Abbreviations: B.K.L.C.A. (B. K. Leach C.A., Lincoln , MO); E.B.C.A. (Eagle Bluffs C.A., Boone , MO); L&D 25 (Lock and Dam 25, Lin- coln, MO); Red Rock (Red Rock Res., Marion, IA); R.M.B.S. (Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, St. Charles, MO); Saylorville (Say- lorville Res., Polk, IA); S.C.N.W.R. (Squaw Creek N.W.R., Holt, MO); U.S.N.W.R. (Union Slough N.W.R., Kossuth, IA). WATERFOWL THROUGH CRANES A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 26-30 Jun at E.B.C.A. (AF, m.ob.) and a Fulvous Whistling-Duck 3 Jun near Fort Crowder C.A., Newton (LH) add to the records for both in Missouri. A Greater White-fronted Goose was found 29 Jun at R.M.B.S. (ph. JU, m.ob.). Iowa Trumpeter Swans had 28 nesting at- tempts, 21 of which were successful, their best year yet (Ron Andrews). In Missouri, a pair returned to Livingston/Carroll, but their nest was not successful this year. A male Mot- tled Duck 7-8 Jul at Saylorville (ph., tSD, tAB, m.ob.) furnished Iowa’s first record. Un- usual summer waterfowl in Missouri includ- ed a male and possible female Cinnamon Teal 4 Jun at E.B.C.A. (BG, EW), a pair of Com- mon Goldeneyes summering at S.C.N.W.R. (refuge staff), and a Common Merganser 27 Jul near St. Joseph, Buchanan (LL). Prairie grouse did poorly in both states. A brood of Greater Prairie-Chickens 22 Jun at Hi-Lonesome Prairie C.A., Benton, MO (Bill Jensen) indicated that some are still hanging on there. In Iowa, no broods and only a few Greater Prairie-Chickens were found in Kellerton B.C.A., Ringgold (Chad Paup, fide JD), and no Sharp-tailed Grouse were report- ed (Ed Weiner, fide JD). A Red-throated Loon 16-17 Jun near Sioux City (ph. PR, BH) made Iowa’s 2nd summer record; the other was in 1999. Four Common Loons at Smithville L., Clay, MO (res. staff) and singles in Dickinson (LS) and Polk, IA (Bob Norris) probably were summering. An Eared Grebe 13 Jun in Dick- inson, IA (LS) provided the only report. Be- tween one and 5 Western Grebes were found each in Clay, Kossuth, Polk, Pottawattamie, and Story, IA (m.ob.); none appeared to be nesting. The usual small flocks of American White Pelicans remained in n. Iowa in Jun and early Jul. By late Jul, migrants arrived, with 730 at Saylorville and 2000 at Red Rock 23 Jul (SD). Small groups were also present in jul in Missouri (m.ob.). Young American Bitterns were seen in Sto- ry (Mike Meetz, fide HZ) and Marion, IA (Chuck Kakac, fide SD), s. of where the species normally nests. Mid-summer s. herons included one or 2 Snowy Egrets 30-31 Jul at Red Rock (JS, AB) and a Little Blue Heron 9 Jul at U.S.N.W.R. (MK). Little Blue Herons were seen at several locations in Mis- souri, with about 2000 at a heronry in Scott 16 Jun (JE). Black-crowned and Yellow- crowned Night-Herons were seen in more lo- cations in both states than in recent years (m.ob.). A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron nest in Chickasaw (Rachel Anderson) seems to be Iowa’s first since 1961. Four of six Osprey nests in Iowa were suc- cessful and produced 8 young, similar to 2005 production (PS). A nest in Randolph, MO produced 2 young (Anne Downing). Mis- sissippi Kites continued to expand their Mis- souri range, with a few in St. Louis (BR, Mike Rowe, MT) and Jasper (LH), and nests in Iowa & Missouri Boone (Denny Donnell) and Jackson (LR). A few were found in Polk, IA in Jul (JG, m.ob.). All reports in both states were in urban areas. Bald Eagle nests in Iowa totaled about 200, up from 190 in 2005. With six counties added this year, Bald Eagles have nested in 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties (BEh). Northern Harrier nests were found in Adams (Ryan Marquardt, fide SD) and Winneshiek, IA (Larry Reis , fide DC). Several others were seen in both states (m.ob.). Numerous reports were received for three woodland hawks in Iowa: Cooper’s Hawk (20 counties). Red-shouldered Hawk (eight counties), and Broad-winged Hawk (nine counties)(SP, KP, m.ob.). Most were probably nesting. Several Swainson’s Hawks in sw. Missouri (m.ob.) and one near St. Joseph, Buchanan (LL) indicate that a small population persists. As last summer, none were reported in Iowa. Five of 10 Peregrine Falcon nesting attempts in Iowa were suc- cessful, but two attempts on natural cliffs were not (PS). King Rails nested at S.C.N.W.R. (refuge staff) and B.K.L.C.A. (m.ob.). One at Red Rock QS) furnished Iowa’s only report of the season. Several Virginia Rails and Soras were heard 19 Jun near E.B.C.A. (BG, AF), sug- gesting that small breeding populations exist there. Soras were also found at two sites in Stoddard, MO (SS, JE). Common Moorhens were found a several locations in Missouri, with 9 near Otter Slough C.A., Stoddard (JE, JU, JM). Iowa’s only reports, including a brood, were from Winneshiek (Ellen Bell, DC). A Sandhill Crane nest found in May at S.C.N.W.R., Missouri’s 2nd nesting attempt, was found abandoned in Jun (Frank Dur- bian). Up to 4 cranes were also seen near B.K.L.C.A. (SS, m.ob.). In Iowa, a Sandhill Crane brood was in Winneshiek (DC, PH), but a pair in Poweshiek (SP, KP) was unexpected. SH0REBIRDS THROUGH TERNS Late spring migrants included a Black-bellied Plover 18 Jun in Greene (JD), Hudsonian Godwit 10 Jun in Clay (LS), Dunlin 11 Jun at Saylorville (BE), and 5 Stilt Sandpipers 9 Jun at Saylorville (AB), all in Iowa, and a Sander- ling 9 Jun at E.B.C.A. (EW). Black-necked Stilts continued to increase in Missouri. One was at E.B.C.A. 7 Jul (BG), and 40 were in Stoddard 8 Jul (JE. JU, JM). The only Ameri- can Avocets were one 1 Jun in Wright, IA (AB) and 4 on 27 Jul at U.S.N.W.R. (SD, MK). Pip- ing Plovers had at least two nests at Sioux City and one at Council Bluffs, IA, but nest success was poor (BH, PR, EB) Upland Sandpipers were found statewide in both states (m.ob.), with increased num- bers in e. Missouri (CM). Early southbound VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 533 IOWA & MISSOURI shorebirds in Iowa included a Bairds Sand- piper 2 Jul at U.S.N.W.R. (MK), Dunlin 26 Jul in Woodbury (BH), Buff-breasted Sand- piper 22 Jul in Cerro Gordo (RG), and 2 Red- necked Phalaropes 27 Jul at U.S.N.W.R. (SD). In Missouri, 2 Semipalmated Plovers 8 Jul in Mississippi (JE, JEJ, JM), 2 Solitary Sandpipers 30 Jun at E.B.C.A. (JU, JM, CM), and a Wilsons Snipe 23 Jul in Lincoln (SS) were early. Other good southbound bnds in- cluded a Marbled Godwit 2 & 28 Jul at Say- lorville (BE, SD); a Willet 4 Jul at R.M.B.S. (JEJ), plus as many as 5 in four Iowa coun- ties, all in Jul (m.ob.); a Sanderling 18 & 20 Jul at Saylorville (SD, RA, PA); a Western Sandpiper 23 Jul at Red Rock (SD, JG); and Iowa’s 13th Ruff 31 Jul at Red Rock (tPA, ph. RA, tAB, tAJ, ph. JG). In late Jul, water levels at U.S.N.W.R. were ideal for shore- birds, as evidenced by counts of 2032 Killdeer, 1148 Lesser Yellowlegs, 205 Soli- tary Sandpipers, 1446 Least Sandpipers, 6230 Pectoral Sandpipers, 273 Stilt Sand- pipers, and 30 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, all 27 Jul (SD). Ruddy Turnstones were found in both states, with singles on 20 Jul at Say- lorville (SD), 27 Jul at U.S.N.W.R. (MK, SD), and 23 Jul at L&D 25 (SS). The only Laughing Gull was one 25 Jul at Red Rock (ph., tSD). Lranklin’s Gulls were found in several places in Iowa in Jun, with a high count of 24 on 19 Jun at U.S.N.W.R. (MK). Missouri’s only report was one 21 Jul in Buchanan (LL). Migrant Ring-billed Gulls were evident by late Jul, with 224 at Say- lorville and 645 at Red Rock, both 25 Jul (SD), and 27 on 31 Jul at L&D 25 (SS). Sin- gle Herring Gulls 18 & 23 Jul at Saylorville (SD) and 31 Jul at Red Rock (DA) were the only reports. A few Caspian Terns were in both states; 5 on 9 Jun at R.M.B.R. (CM) and 16 on 7 Jul at Saylorville (JG) were the top counts. Uncommon in summer, single Com- mon Terns were at Saylorville 27 Jun-22 Jul (ph. SD, JG) and Red Rock 25 Jul (SD), and 4 were at L&D 25 on 23 Jul (SS). The only Lorster’s Terns that may have been nesting were 16 in Dickinson, IA 28 Jun (ET). In Mis- souri, 6 in Chariton 10 Jul (SK, LL) and 6 in Lincoln 27 Jul (SS) were migrants. Least Terns were at their usual Iowa nesting sites near Sioux City and Council Bluffs, with four nests at Council Bluffs (BH, PR, EB). Most surpris- ing was an unsuccessful nesting attempt at Saylorville (SD, AB). A pair courting at R.M.B.S. was thwarted by high water (CM). Lifteen 29 Jul in Pcniscot, MO (SS) were mi- grants. There were no reports of Black Terns nesting in Iowa. Migrants were present by late Jul, with 55 at L&D 25 on 26 Jul (SS) and 211 at U.S.N.W.R. 27 Jul (SD). DOVES THROUGH MIMIDS With reports from Hardin and Madison (SP, RA, PA), Eurasian Collared-Doves have been reported in 69 of Iowa’s counties. Northeast- ern Iowa has the fewest reports. A pair of White-winged Doves was seen at the same Mississippi, MO site where found in 2005. A probable juv. was seen there 8 Jul (JEJUJM). A White-winged Dove in Cerro Gordo 10 Jun (RG) was Iowa’s only report. Black-billed Cuckoos were found in 13 Iowa counties (m.ob.) and at E.B.C.A. and Harrison in Mis- souri (Robert Schnase, Doug Willis). Several Iowa observers commented on its scarcity. Greater Roadrunners were reported across Missouri’s Ozarks, including singles 17 Jun in Ozark (SS), 19 Jun in Greene (John Fussel- man), and 24 Jul in Webster (Andrew Kinslow). Barn Owls had a good year in both states, with scattered reports statewide in Missouri and a nest with 9 young in Henry. Iowa had eight nests, with at least six of those being successful (BEh, AB). At least 6 Long-eared Owls were seen 13 Jun near where a brood was found this spring in Livingston (SK). This seems to be Missouri’s first nest since 1983. Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will’s-widows were fairly common in Missouri, especially in the Ozarks (m.ob.). One in Holt 6 Jun was the northernmost (TR). Iowa’s only Chuck-will’s- widow was in Lucas 21-23 Jun (JL). Two Whip-poor-wills 23 Jul in Lyon, IA (SP) were n. of their usual range. Three Yellow-bellied Flycatchers 11 Jun in Kossuth, IA (MK, PH) were late. Reported from 27 counties in all but parts of w. Iowa (m.ob.), Acadian Flycatchers were more widespread than generally thought. Least Fly- catchers, whose Iowa breeding range is poor- ly known, were found in mid-Jun through Jul in Allamakee, Wapello, and Dubuque (AB, SP, DA). Both Western Kingbirds and Scissor- tailed Flycatchers were found in good num- bers in Missouri, with nesting reported from Livingston (SK) and at new locations in se. Missouri (m.ob.). Western Kingbirds contin- ued to nest at their ccn. Iowa outpost in Des Moines (RA, PA, m.ob.). A Scissor-tailed Fly- catcher on 29 Jul in Polk (ph. Matt Bass) was Iowa’s only report. One or 2 Loggerhead Shrikes were found in 18 counties in cen. and s. Iowa (m.ob.); nowhere were they common. White-eyed Vireos were reported from 11 counties (m.ob.), mostly in se. Iowa. Two Black-billed Magpie nests in Plymouth, IA apparently were successful (Scott Moats, JidcJJD). Fish Crows continue to expand their Missouri range. Eight were in Jasper 26 Jun (LH), and birds were seen throughout the season at E.B.C.A. (BG, AF). The only Red-breasted Nuthatch was one 20 Jun in St. Louis (Sherry McCow- an). A Bewick’s Wren again was present in Lee, IA (m.ob.). Carolina Wrens were fairly common in both states (m.ob.). The series of mild winters probably has helped their popu- lations. WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES Late warblers included a Tennessee Warbler 19 Jun in Clay (LS), a Magnolia Warbler 14 Jun in Hancock (RG, MK), a Black-and-white Warbler 3 Jun in Boone (WO), and a Wilson’s Warbler 8 Jun in Polk (Jane Clark, m.ob.), all in Iowa, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler 7 Jun in Greene, MO (DR). Several Chestnut-sided Warblers in Jun were mostly in n. Iowa (DK, NM, JL, PH), where they may nest. Two Yel- low-throated Warblers at St. Joseph, Buchanan, MO 8 Jun (DE, Jack Hilsabeck), where they were found in 2005, were nw. of their usual range. A Prairie Warbler found in Benton, IA in May remained at least through Jun (tDA, BS), and another was at Shimek S.E, Lee 7 & 15 Jun (tSP, MD). Cerulean War- blers were reported from 15 counties in e. Iowa (m.ob.). In Missouri, they were seen in St. Charles (MT), Christian (Greg Swick), and Putnam (Greg Gremaud). Most reports of Worm-eating and Hooded Warblers in Iowa were from the se. corner in Lee, with a few from nearby counties (m.ob.). Clay-colored Sparrows were found in four n. Iowa counties (m.ob.), including ads. feed- ing young at U.S.N.W.R. (SD), one of Iowa’s few recent verified nesting records. Grassland species such as Grasshopper Sparrow, Dick- cissel, and Boblink seemed to be common throughout Iowa (m.ob.). Henslow’s Sparrow continued its amazing increase, with reports from 24 Iowa counties. Up to 10 were found in Mingo N.W.R., Stoddard in se. Missouri (m.ob.), where it is not found regularly. White-throated Sparrows appeared in both states: singles 5 Jul in Marshall, IA (MP) and 6 Jul in Atchison, MO (TR). Blue Grosbeaks wandered from their usual range, with more reports than normal in n. Missouri (m.ob.) and reports from Dubuque, Lee, and Linn (DA, JG, RG), far from its usual w. Iowa range. The Painted Bunting found in May in Story, IA, remained through the end of Jul (SP, WO); it furnished the state’s 2nd record. A male and female Painted Bunting in Cole (Jim Rathert), several in St. Charles 30 Jul (MT), plus sever- al reports from sw. Missouri (m.ob.), attest to the continued presence of this species in Mis- souri. Reports of Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Donnellson, Lee (MP) and from Washington (MD, BS) add to the slow expansion of its Iowa range. 534 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS IOWA & MISSOURI Cited observers (subregional coordinators in boldface): Danny Akers, Pam Allen, Reid Allen, Elliott Bedow, John Bissell, Aaron Brees, Dennis Carter, James Dinsmore, Stephen Dinsmore, Michael Dooley, Joe Eades, David Easterla, Bruce Ehresman, Bery Engebretsen, Andrew Forbes, Jay Gilliam, Bill Goodge, Rita Goranson, Larry Elerbert, Paul Hertzel, Jack Elilsabeck, Bill Huser, Ann Johnson, Matthew Kenne, Steve Kinder, Dar- win Koenig, Larry Lade, Jeff Livingston, Charlene Malone, Jim Malone, Nathan Miller, Wolf Oesterreich, Katy Patterson, Shane Patterson, Mark Proescholdt, Dean Rising, Larry Rizzo, Tommy Rogers, Paul Rosien, Bill Rowe, Bill Scheible, Pat Schlar- baum, Lee Schoenewe, Scott Schuette, Jim Sinclair, Ed Thelen, Mike Thelen, Josh Uff- man, Edge Wade, Hank Zaletel. An addition- al 23 uncited individuals contributed to the report; all have our thanks. (© James J. Dinsmore, 646 Mallory Hill Drive, The Villages, Florida 32162, (oldcoot@iastate.edu) Tennessee & Kentucky A = Kentucky Dam B = Barkley Dam C = Kentucky Lake D = Barkley Lake E = Jonathan Creek Embayment F = Land Between Boone Cliffs Stales mm* Sauerheber Unit, Dam A Minor Clark Fish Sloughswm FalUof.hrOh^^ .FralMorl ■ i Hatchery/Cave Run L . ■ Daml * Red River Gorge-, Henderson Bmtmm Forest Boone.; ' Geological Area ■ LPrrwrr *£»»? m■/ Shady Valley „NickajackLakem_ Pickwick Landing SP Craven's House TENNESSEE Chris Sloan Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr. Weather conditions during the sum- mer season 2006 were relatively normal, although there was some variation across the Region. In general, pre- cipitation was higher (slightly above normal) in the northern portion, but lower (slightly below to below normal) in the southern and eastern portions. Temperatures were relative- ly consistent across the Region, with slightly cooler-than-normal readings in the northern portion in June but warmer-than-normal readings Regionwide during July. Rarity high- lights in the Region included a Brown Pelican, several White Ibis, and a Ruff. Nesting Least Terns experienced mixed results, with low water conditions on the Mississippi River re- sulting in relatively good success, while small rises on the lower Ohio River (where nesting sites are not as high above normal water lev- el) caused much failure in early nestings there. Abbreviations: Ensley (Ensley Bottoms, in- cluding the EARTH Complex, in sw. Shelby, TN); Heritage Marsh (White, TN); Kentucky Dam (at the n. end of Kentucky L., Liv- ingston/Marshall, KY); Lake No. 9 (Fulton, KY); Roan Mt. (Carter, TN); Standifer Gap (Standifer Gap Marsh, Hamilton, TN); White L. (White L. W.M.A., Dyer, TN). WATERFOWL THROUGH FALCONS As has become expected in recent summers, a few ducks — at least some likely injured during the pre- vious winter’s hunting season — lin- gered at White L.; this year’s reports included a Gadwall 11 Jun (WGC, KL), a Blue-winged Teal and a Green-winged Teal 14 & 25 Jun (WGC, KL, BL), 3 Northern Shovel- ers 14 Jun-26 Jul (WGC, KL, BL), and 2-3 Northern Pintails 6-26 Jul (WGC, KL, BL). Single male Green- winged and Blue-winged Teals summered in Washing- ton, TN (fide RK); a female Hooded Merganser was there 23 Jun (RK). The Region’s only breeding record for Blue-winged Teal during this season was represented by a family group of 5 in Union, KY 5 Jul (BPa,JB). A male Blue- winged Teal and a male Ruddy Duck at Cane Creek Park, Putnam , TN 28 Jun (SJS) fur- nished first summer records for that county. Single Ruddies were present at Lexington, KY during the first half of Jul (SM) and in Ballard, KY 29 Jul (ME). Single Common Loons turned up in Letch- er, KY in early Jun (fide BPa) and in Pulaski, KY in mid-Jul (fide SB). Several family groups of Pied-billed Grebes were again present in Union, KY this summer (BPa et al.). Four American White Pelicans were rather unusu- al in Muhlenberg, KY 21 Jul+ (DR et al.). A Brown Pelican observed flying up the Ohio R. at the Falls of the Ohio, Jefferson 3 Jun (tTB, MT) will provide Kentucky with its 3rd record if accepted by the Kentucky B.R.C. The discovery of 33 Double-crested Cormorant nests at Cherokee L., Grainger, TN 3 Jun (MS) added yet another breeding location for this expanding species; four Great Egret nests in the same colony furnished a first breeding record for that species there as well. Two ad. Anhingas were at White L. 1 1 Jun, with a juv. there 26 Jul (WGC, KL). Two Least Bitterns at Kyker Bottoms, Blount, TN 15 Jun (CM) were likely breeding; at Standifer Gap, 25 nests were located 2-4 Jul (DP), with at least 18 young fledging. Addi- tional reports of Least Bittern included one at Ensley 29 Jul (JRW) and one to 2 at single sites in Muhlenberg and Union, KY (BPa). An American Bittern at Shady Valley, Johnson, TN 8-12 Jun (RK, WC et al.) was a local first for summer; one in a hayfield in Jefferson, KY 17 Jul (BPa) must have been a post-breeding wanderer or early migrant. The species has been reported nesting in the Region only once (1976) since the mid-1940s. Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, and White Ibis were all reported in above-average num- bers from e. Tennessee. Fledgling Little Blue Herons were observed at Woods Res., Franklin, TN 12 Jul (tjl, D&JS), furnishing an extremely rare breeding record in recent years away from the w. portion of the Region. White L. hosted an exceptional 3 Tricolored Herons 23 Jul (WGC, KL, BL). Small num- bers of Snowy Egrets were again present this year at the heronry on n. L. Barkley, Lyon, KY (ME). The only reports of nesting Yellow- crowned Night-Herons in Kentucky, where it is a less common breeder than in Tennessee, came from Lexington (PD, fide JWi) and along Grays Branch, Hopkins/Christian line (BPa). A Wood Stork at Rankin Bottoms, Cocke, TN 30 Jul (RK, MS) furnished one of only a handful of records for e. Tennessee. A Northern Harrier nest with 5 young in Hopkins, KY in early Jun (ph. BPa) represent- ed a first confirmed breeding record for that county. The only extralimital Mississippi Kite in the Region was one at Lexington, KY 1 1 Jun (JB). An ad. female Peregrine Falcon at Roan Mt. 11 Jun (FA) was unexpected; at least 2 fledglings were still present at the reg- ular nest site on the railroad bridge below Chickamauga Dam, Hamilton, TN 13 Jun (HS). In Kentucky, four new nesting sites were discovered, doubling the state’s known tally of breeding pairs, all of which occur along the Ohio R. corridor (BV, SV, AS). VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 535 TENNESSEE & KENTUCKY RAILS THROUGH HUMMINGBIRDS An apparently window-killed King Rail in Knoxville, TN 5 Jun (KDE) was a rare find for e. Tennessee. No Virginia Rails were found at Standifer Gap (DP et al.), where the species has been a regular breeder in recent years. Two Virginias were at Shady Valley, Johnson, TN, where they have bred previously, through the season (RC, BSt); on the other hand, up to 4 Soras there 26 May-8 Jun (TM, WC, RK et al.) furnished the first local summer record; breeding was presumed but not confirmed. A Common Moorhen was at Kyker Bottoms, Blount, TN 10 Jun (RH); 11 ads. were present near Morganfield, Union, KY 20 Jun, with at least one family group present there 5 Jul (BPa). As is the norm, a few presumed north- bound shorebirds lingered later than normal and included a Lesser Yellowlegs and a Least Sandpiper in w. Fulton, KY 3 Jun (HC, ME) and 2 Semipalmated Sandpipers at Ensley through 10 Jun (JRW), plus one in Pulaski, KY through 12 Jun (RD). Unusually early re- turning fall shorebirds included 2 American Golden-Plovers in Union, KY 20 Jun (ph. BPa); a Lesser Yellowlegs 24 Jun and 2 Greaters 4 Jul at Ensley (JRW); single Semi- palmated and Least Sandpipers at Island 13, Lake, TN 25 Jun (WGC, KL, BL); a Semi- palmated and 2 Western Sandpipiers at Ens- ley 8 Jul (JRW); a Long-billed Dowitcher in Pulaski, KY 29 Jul (ph. RD); and a Wilson’s Phalarope at Lake No. 9 on 27 Jul (DR). A Solitary Sandpiper at White L. 14 Jun (WGC) was in between extreme late spring and early fall dates for the species. A few ad. Sander- lings passed through the Region in late Jul. Relatively impressive was an early-season count of 250 Pectoral Sandpipers at Lake No. 9 on 27 Jul (DR, HC). The shorebird of the season was a Ruff molting out of alternate plumage at Minor Clark Fish Hatchery, Rowan, KY 8 Jul (MG, ph. LH et al.). An impressive 1300 Ring-billed Gulls had returned to the Kentucky Dam vicinity by 28 Jul (DR). Three Caspian Terns were still at Kentucky Dam 3 Jun (BPa), with one on the Ohio R., McCracken, KY 24Jun (BPa, JB, GB). It was a good year for nesting Least Terns on the Mississippi R.; although low water levels allowed for some access by ATVs and canine predators, mid-season nesting surveys sug- gested much success (KJ, RR et al.). Most sites on the lower Ohio R. were inundated by a rise in the river during early Jul, but later nesting efforts were more successful (JB, GB). Sixty Black Terns at Mud L, Shelby, TN 29 Jul (JRW) was a noteworthy high count for that early in the season. A count of 3 Black-billed Cuckoos at Fish- trap Lake W.M.A., Pike 9 Jun (SF) was the only report for Kentucky. An ad. male Rufous Hummingbird was present at Corbin, Knox, KY 28 Jul (]P), in the same yard where an ad. male was present the previous winter; unfor- tunately, the bird was not seen again. FLYCATCHERS THROUGH FINCHES A singing Least Flycatcher in Pulaski, KY 1 Jun (RD) was likely a tardy migrant. Single Willow Flycatchers at Heritage Marsh 24 Jun (SJS, DD) and in Jackson, TN 29 Jun (SJS, BHS) were noteworthy for the Upper Cum- berland region. Four Western Kingbird nests were found in Memphis during the period This Northern Harrier nest (8 June 2006) represented a first breeding record for Hopkins County, Kentucky. The species is locally distributed as a breeder in the western- central part of the state, mostly on reclaimed mine land. Photograph by Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr. (JRW). Scissor-tailed Flycatchers nested again at their regular breeding locations in Marion and Bledsoe, TN, and in Livingston and Lyon, KY; a pair on President’s L, Shelby , TN had 3 fledglings 8 Jul (JRW). Bell’s Vireo nests in Christian, Livingston, and Union, KY (BPa) represented the first confirmed breeding records for those counties. At least one and possibly 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches along the Obed Wild and Scenic R., Morgan, TN 4 &r 10 Jun (BHS) and one heard in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Fentress, TN 14 Jun (SJS) were all in suitable breeding habitat and represented the first reports in summer for the respective counties. One Red-breasted Nuthatch was observed at the traditional Wolfe, KY breeding location 11 Jun (FR, VR). Two singing Sedge Wrens were at Heritage Marsh, where breeding has been previously confirmed, 22 (SJS, DD) & 27 Jul (SJS, SGS); small numbers of likely breeding birds were reported in Fulton, Henderson, Hopkins, Jes- samine, and Ohio, KY (m.ob.). Quite unusual was the observation of the use by Eastern Bluebirds of an abandoned American Robin nest on a drainpipe under the eave of a home in Calloway, KY (KCo). A singing Swainson’s Thrush lingered at Frankfort, KY through 4 Jun (BPa). Up to 4 singing Hermit Thrushes were at Roan Mt. through the season; 2 at Roger’s Ridge, Johnson, TN 16 Jun (JMc) es- tablished a new possible breeding location. Up to 3 singing Magnolia Warblers and a singing Yellow-rumped Warbler were also at Roan Mt. through Jun (RK et al.). A tardy Blackburnian Warbler was still in s e. Jefferson, KY 3 Jun (EH). Quite remarkable was a male Northern Waterthrush banded at Clarks Riv- er N.W.R., Marshall, KY 30 Jun (ph. HC). A tardy Connecticut Warbler was seen in w. Ful- ton, KY 3 Jun (HC). At least 6 singing male Savannah Sparrows were in Washington, TN, where they have bred previously, through the season (RK et al.). A Lark Sparrow in Rutheiford, TN 14 Jun (SC, GC) and 2 in Henry, TN 26 Jun (MT) were in traditional breeding areas; the only one reported in Kentucky was at Lake No. 9 on 27 Jul (DR). Henslow’s Sparrows continue to increase in Tennessee; 43 singing males were at Bark Camp Barrens W.M.A., Coffee 1 Jun (SC). Several new breeding colonies were reported in Tennessee: up to 3 birds in Lewis 10-19 Jun (BPu, SN, CR); at least 5 birds in DeKalb 27 Jun-1 Jul (SJS, CW, MH, JF), al- though that field was mowed 4 Jul (CW); and at least 80 singing males e. of Mayland, Cum- berland, during Jul (SJS, JMa, EL). In Ken- tucky, new colonies of Henslow’s Sparrows were located in Boyd, Christian, Hopkins, Jes- samine, and Todd (m. ob.). Again this summer, up to 2 White-throated Sparrows lingered in Jefferson, KY into Jun, with at least one still present 17 Jul (BW). Three male and 2 female Bobolinks were in Washington, TN 15 May-7 Jul (DH, RK); the species has been present there for five summers, and nesting is sus- pected but has yet to be confirmed. In Ken- tucky, small breeding colonies were docu- mented in n. Jessamine (JL), nw. Mercer (KD), and n. Shelby (BSm). Cited contributors (subregional editors in boldface): Fred Alsop, Steve Beam, Tom Beck- er, John Brunjes, Gerald Burnett, Kevin Cal- hoon (se. Tennessee), Phillip Casteel (middle Tennessee), Hap Chambers, Gail Clendenen, Steve Clendenen, Wallace Coffey, Kathy Co- hen (KCo), W. Glen Criswell, Rack Cross, Phyllis Deal; Roseanna Denton, Kurt Dor- 536 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS TENNESSEE & KENTUCKY man, Douglas Downs, Melissa Easley, K. Dean Edwards, Janie Finch, Scott Freidhof, Mike Griffith, Michael Hawkins, Lana Hays, Ron Hoff, Don Holt, Eddie Huber, Jerry Ingles, Rachel Jenkins, Kenneth Jones, Rick Knight (e. Tennessee), Joe Lacefield, Betty Leggett, Ken Leggett, Edmund LeGrand, Scott Marsh, Joseph Mast QMa), Joe McGuinness QMc), Tom McNeil, Charlie Muise, Shane Newbold, Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr. (BPa), David Patter- son, W. Rob Peeples (w. Tennessee), June Perkins, Bill Pulliam (BPu), Frank Renfrow, Veronica Renfrow, Rochelle Renken, David Roemer, Cynthia Rohrbach, Harold Sharp, Michael Sledjeski, Adam Smith, Brian Smith (BSm), Scott G. Somershoe, Barbara H. Sted- man (BHS), Stephen J. Stedman, Bryan Stevens (BSt), Dale & Jean Swant, Mark Tra- bue, Budd Veverka, Shawchyi Vorisek, Carol Williams, Jim Williams (JWi), Jeff R. Wilson, Barbara Woerner. Many thanks go to the nu- merous additional individuals who con- tributed information that was used in this re- port. @ Chris Sloan, 224 Hicks Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37221, (chris.sloan@comcast.net); Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr., Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, 801 Schenkel Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, (brainard.palmer-bail@ky.gov) Central Southern Robert D. Purrington Dominating all other issues this breed- ing season, especially along the Gulf coast, was the question of survival of resident landbirds in areas devastated by Hurri- canes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Anecdotal re- ports uniformly decried the paucity of such species as Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Cardinal, and other passer- ines, though hard data have been difficult to come by. Christie Riehl observed that cavity nesters were especially hard hit and noted, as others have, that Loggerhead Shrike numbers seem to have taken a dive. Last winter’s Christ- mas Bird Counts have provided much of the ac- tual data, which have been analyzed by Peter Yaukey. Although his summer transects in New Orleans have not yet been fully processed, he suggested that while the breeding season start- ed with many species at very low levels, repro- ductive success seemed to be high. Ned Boyajian (writing in the Mississippi Or- nithological Society newsletter) described the effect on breeding birds of a small woodland in coastal Hancock County, Mississippi, where the number of nesting species dropped after Katrina to 13 from 30 or more, and from 180 to 22 breeding pairs. Although his impression was that permanent residents suffered more that summer residents, as one would expect, the data did not bear this out. Common Grack- les and European Starlings seemed to benefit from the fragmented conditions. As if the hurricanes were not a sufficient blow, much of the Region suffered from pro- longed drought conditions immediately fol- lowing the departure of last summer’s storms. The drought persisted through August 2006, leaving New Orleans as much as 51 cm below normal precipitation by late summer. Al- though the normal subtropical rainfall patterns resumed in July and August along the coast, the drought can be assumed to have affected breeding in the spring and early summer, and water levels were very low in non-tidal areas. Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands were cut to ribbons by Katrina , and islands like Curlew and Grand Gosier that usually host huge Roy- al and Sandwich Tern colonies were reduced to shoals or worse. Some of the birds had moved to spoil islands near the mouth of Bap- tiste Collette Bayou in Plaquemines Parish. Michael Carloss of the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission reported that there was no nesting habitat left on the Chandeleurs, with the entire beach rim being gone, but that was under storm tide conditions. Richard De- May of Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program said that “not much of the chain was above water,” but that North Breton Island had 2625 pairs of Sandwich Terns, 350 pairs of Royal Terns, and 525 pairs of Gull-billed Terns. North Island in the Chandeleurs had 450 pairs of Sandwich Terns, and Bird Island, near Baptiste Collette, had 1900 pairs of Sandwich Terns. The good news, if there is any, is that after the devastating Hurricane Camille in 1969, which also washed away the islands, birds were back nesting on Curlew and Gosier by 1973 or 1974 — though Katri- na's effects seem considerably worse. This is the final column to countenance bird records across the mega-region called the “Central Southern,” which a decade ago in- cluded western Florida and most of Ten- nessee, in addition to the current four states. In subsequent issues of this journal, bird records from this area will be further divided into two-state regions, “Alabama & Mississip- pi” and “Louisiana & Arkansas.” (Please refer to the Editor’s Notebook in this issue for in- formation on new Regional Editors.) It has been a pleasure to edit this column in one form or another for nearly 40 years, and for North American Birds , along with my col- leagues Phillip Wallace and Bob and Lucy Duncan, for the past six years. We will contin- ue to work with new and returning veteran Regional Editors — Steve Cardiff (Louisiana & Arkansas) and Dwight Cooley, Greg Jackson, and Steve McConnell (Alabama & Mississip- pi)— and want to thank the many contributors of bird records for their hard work and gen- erosity. Your contributions have made our task in composing this column most enjoyable. WATERFOWL THROUGH STORK The eastward and northward range expansion of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck continues unabated, as evidenced by seven reports from cen. and se. Louisiana and one from Arkansas. They bred again on Bayou Sauvage N.W.R. in New Orleans (PW); there were 44 ads. with 19 young in the McElroy Swamp near Sorrento, LA 19 Jul (JH); 2 were seen in lower Plaquem- ines, LA 24 Jul (DLD,PC); and 2 in Sevier, AR 17 Jun (DA) were the first for that area. Three Snow Geese 16 Jun in Lee, AL (BKF) were un- usual, as was one 29 Jun in Sunflower, MS; a Ross’s Goose was at the latter location as well (both SJD). There were four reports of nesting VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 537 CENTRAL SOUTHERN or probably nesting Mottled Ducks from Chicot and Desha , AR involving 14 ads. and 20 ducklings. A female Blue-winged Teal with 5 volant juvs. in Dale , AL 4 Jul (DS) evidently had nested nearby. Among reports of summer- ing ducks that were clearly not cripples were a male Canvasback 2 Jun in St. Charles , LA (RJS), 2 male Ring-necked Ducks late May-21 Jul in Oktibbeha , MS (TS), and 2 Ruddy Ducks 9 Jun in Desha , AR (DB, SD). The only pelagic excursion reported was one out of Venice, LA 31 Jul that yielded 3 Audubon Shearwaters and 5 Wilson’s and 3-4 Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, most of these 80 km off the mouth of South Pass of the Missis- sippi R. (DLD, SWC, CS, JS, DM, MM). Neotropic Cormorants, rare in the Region away from sw. Louisiana, were seen 2 Jul in Humphrey and Sunflower. MS (SJD, PB, ph.). Anhingas nested at Noxubbee N.W.R., MS, where they have bred for the past several years (TS); one was seen away from the refuge in Lowndes, MS 27 Jun (TS); and a total of 43 came from Dcs/tti, AR 30 Jul (DB, SD). There was one Anhinga nest in the heronry in Audubon Park, New Orleans. An American Bit- tern, perhaps lingering but possibly summer- ing, was seen in Pike , AL 2 Jun (RW). There were four reports of Least Bittern from Ashley , Chicot , and Desha in se. Arkansas, including at least four nests (DB, SD, MB), and there were three records from Noxubee N.W.R., MS during the period (TS). They are uncommon to rare and local nesters in these areas. The same is true of a total of 7 imm. Black-crowned Night- Herons found in Desha and White, AR in Jun-Jul (DB, SD). A concentration of 450 White Ibis in Desha 30 Jul included only 3 ads., and on the same day there were 17 imm. Roseate Spoonbills in the county (DB, SD). One spoonbill was in Houston, AL 11 Jul (WE), and 2 were seen 15 Jul in Lowndes, AL (SER, LFG); a juv. was in the Audubon Park heronry in Jun (RDP), but whether it hatched there is unknown. Both Glossy and White- faced Ibises were present at Yazoo N.W.R. 2 Jul (SJD, PB). Reports of Wood Storks included 130 at Noxubee N.W.R., MS 31 Jul (TS) and 119 from scattered sites in Phillips, Chicot, and Howard, AR in late Jul (CM, NA, DB, SD). HAWKS THROUGH SH0REBIRDS An unsuccessful Osprey nest in Lowndes/ Clay, MS in earlyjun (JHo,TS) and a successful nesting 27 Jun in Lowndes (TS) furnished the first breeding records for the Starkville- Columbus area. Two young fledged from a nest at L. Millwood, AR in late Jun (CM). According to Jennifer Coulson, Swallow-tailed Kites re- turned to nest in the Pearl R. basin despite ex- tensive damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Over much of the nesting areas, 70% of the canopy trees were topped or felled by winds. Kites tended to nest in isolated trees instead of stands, and as these were more exposed to the elements, most failed due to high winds. Over- all nest success for 27 nests found in the Atchafalaya R. basin, L. Pontchartrain area, and Pearl R. basin was just 30%. A Swallow-tailed Kite 26 Jul in Winston, MS (DR) and another 29 Jul in Vernon/Rapides, LA (MR) were well away from nesting areas. Reports of Mississippi Kites from Arkansas included 20 in Pulaski 3 Jun (EL), a nest there 12 Jul (HC), and 13 in Ne- vada 16 Jul (KC). Up to 2 in Marion 23 Jun and 4 Jul (JJ) were n. of their normal breeding range in Alabama. Single ad. Bald Eagles near Sorren- to, LA 1 Jun (JH) and at Noxubee N.W.R. 20 Jun (TS) were rather late for this species, which nests in winter in the s. part of the Region; a nest in Benton in Jun-Jul, the 3rd in recent years for nw. Arkansas, fledged one young (fide JN). Eight records of Cooper’s Hawks were re- ceived from cen. and n. Arkansas, including four from White (KN, LN); a Coopers in New- ton 15 & 22 Jun (MM1) was suggestive of nest- ing, and nests found in Boone 18 Jul (JS, MM, SJG) and throughout the period in Pulaski (DSc) fledged 2 and 3 young, respectively. Sin- gle Swainson’s Hawks were noted 9 Jun in Ver- milion, LA (BV), 17 Jun in Benton, AR (MMl), and 13 Jul in Jefferson Davis, LA (JK). Purple Gallinules, which are not usually found far inland, nested for the 7th consecu- tive year at Noxubee N.W.R. (TS), and one was seen in Ouachita, LA 10 & 24 Jun (PS). A Common Moorhen in Benton 17 Jun (JN) was the first for the nw. Arkansas Ozarks since 1949; three nests of the species were found in Chicot, AR 8 Jun (MB); and there were other breeding records from n. Louisiana (Ouachita) and Mississippi ( Noxubee ) and s. Arkansas (Desha). American Coots sum- mered in Noxubee, MS (TS) and in Orleans (EW) and Ascension, LA (JH). Three alternate-plumaged American Avo- cets 10 Jun in Prairie, AR (DB) were late mi- grants, while singles in Leflore and Humphreys, AL 2 Jul (SJD, PB) may have been summering. Early southbound migrants in- cluded Spotted Sandpipers in Tupelo, MS 8 Jul (WP) and in Prairie, AR 11 Jul (KN, LN); a Solitary Sandpiper in Lee, MS 14 Jul (WP); a Greater Yellowlegs in Chickasaw, MS 8 Jul (WP); varying counts of Lesser Yellowlegs in Sunflower, MS 29 Jun (SJD, PB), Jefferson Davis, LA 3 Jul (JK, ES; 600 birds), Prairie, AR 11 Jul (KN, LN), and Chickasaw, MS 14 Jul (WP); an Upland Sandpiper in Coahoma, MS 1 Jul (SJD); a Sanderling in Lee, MS 29 Jul (WP); and Semipalmated, Western, Least, and Pectoral Sandpipers in Prairie, AR 1 1 Jul (KN, LN). Earlier Least Sandpipers showed up 2 Jul in Leflore and Humphrey, MS (SJD, PB) and 8 Jul in Marengo, AL (DS, JS), while earlier Pec- toral Sandpipers were noted 29 Jun in Sun- flower, MS (SJD) and 8 Jul in Chickasaw, MS (WP). The first Stilt Sandpiper and first Long- billed Dowitcher were reported in Leflore, MS 2 Jul (SJD, PB). A Long-billed Curlew in St. Charles, LA 17 Jun (RJS) represented the first local record of a species that is rare anytime in se. Louisiana, especially in summer. GULLS THROUGH FLYCATCHERS A first-summer Franklin’s Gull at Millwood L., AR 20 Jun (CM) was very late for a north- bound migrant. The 31 Jul pelagic trip out of Venice, LA found 5-6 Bridled Terns (SWC, DLD, CS, JS, DM, MM). Several reports of probably roof-nesting of Gull-billed Terns were received from the New Orleans area, with one confirmed nesting site near the river in Bywater (RDP). A carefully described ad. Arctic Tern at Ft. Morgan, AL 5 Jul (KM) would furnish the first record for Alabama; if accepted by the Alabama B.R.C., the sight record would be considered “hypothetical.” Three Forster’s Terns in Chicot, AR 10 Jun (DB) were locally late, and a Least Tern in Jef- ferson Davis, LA 3 Jul (JK, ES) was far from the coast or any other like breeding site. Up to 6 Inca Doves in Lonoke, AR in late Jul (AM, DSc et al.) reflect the continuing range expansion of this species. There were two un- usual summer records of Common Ground- Dove: in Noxubee, MS 4 Jun (TS, MS) and in St. Bernard, LA 23 Jul (GO, WPr). Two Greater Roadrunners in Independence, AR 4 Jun (KN, DN) were at the e. edge of their range. Whip-poor-wills in Lee and Perry 18- 19 Jun (LW, RW) and one in Hale 24 Jul (RLW) established new s. limits for breeding in Alabama. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker nesting season in Ouachita N.E, AR yielded 32 nesting attempts in 37 active territories by 88 ads. and produced 49 fledglings (JN). Two singing male Willow Flycatchers were found in Bossier, LA 1 Jun (TD), and in Boone, AR there were 4 birds on three territories 3 Jun (JS). A Western Kingbird in Boone 22 Jul (EP) was suggestive of nesting, while a pair of Gray Kingbirds May-1 Jul on Dauphin L, AL (MSV) continued the slow return of a species that was eliminated in Alabama by Hurricane Danny in 1997 (fide GDJ). Despite one spring record, there was no evidence that Gray Kingbirds nested on the New Orleans lakefront this year. Pairs of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in Jackson 8- 11 Jun (HH) and Colbert 9 Jul (JW, JP) estab- lished new probable breeding sites for Ala- bama, and two pairs were found in Craighead, AR 18 Jun (DB), including a female on the nest. 538 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS CENTRAL SOUTHERN SWALLOWS THROUGH FINCHES A juv. Tree Swallow accompanied by an ad. in Lee, MS 8 Jul (WP) represented the first nest- ing in the Tupelo area, and 2 juvs. were with 2 ads. in a family group in Washington, AR 11 Jul (MMl). Records from St. Clair 4 & 17 Jun (PHF, GJH, PAR, JG) and from Shelby 27 Jun (HHK) nicely documented the expanding breeding range of this species in Alabama. Bank Swallows were seen in Vermilion, LA 30 Jul (EJ), but the number, 137, was remarkable for this early date, and Bam Swallows seen 23-25 Jul over the Gulf 224 km off Fouchon, LA (NR) were early southbound migrants. The 3rd Jun record for Alabama of a Swain- sons Thrush was of one at Dauphin I. 10 Jun (HEH). Up to 2 Gray Catbirds seen on 10 oc- casions in the latter half of Jun near Coving- ton (JOC, TC) were probably nesting; there are few records for se. Louisiana. While a Yellow Warbler in Oktibbeha, MS 1 Jun (MS) tied the latest spring departure for the Starkville area, one there 17 Jul (TS) was earli- est ever in fall. One on a St. Clair, AL B.B.S. 4 Jun (PHF) could have been a migrant or a rare breeder. A singing male Chestnut-sided War- bler 24 & 26 Jun in Newton (MMl) was at the very sw. edge of its breeding range (which just reaches into n. Arkansas), and the same can be said of one 29 Jun in St. Clair, AL (RRS). A Magnolia Warbler in Jefferson, AL 27 Jul (RRS, MBS) was very early, and a female Black-throat- ed Green Warbler, a rare nester in Arkansas, with a juv. in Logan, AR 15 Jul (DSc, RH) was at the edge of its breeding range. A Yellow- throated Warbler near the coast in Plaquemines, LA 24 Jul (DLD, SWC) was an early south- bound migrant, but a singing male Cerulean Warbler in Franklin, nw. Alabama 20 Jun (SW, PN) represented a new probable breeding site. A female American Redstart some 224 km off Fourchon, LA 21 Jul (NR) was already well on its way across the Gulf. Probable breeding Worm-eating Warblers in Russell, Crenshaw, and Covington, AL 5-22 Jun (DMW, LW) were unusual that far south. Schiefer noted single Swainsons Warblers in three Oktibbeha, MS lo- cations in Jul; all had been present since Apr. Two Canada Warblers in Jefferson 29 Jun (RRS, MBS) were the earliest ever in fall for Alabama. The two reports of Bachman’s Sparrow re- ceived included 3 in Winston, MS (TS), noted on eight dates Mar-Aug and 6 in Fulton, AR 6 jul (DBMA). Three Lark Sparrows, locally rare nesters and near the e. edge of their breeding range, were found 4 Jun on the Macon B.B.S. route in Noxubee, MS (TS, MS), while single birds in Elmore/Autauga 11 Jun (LFG) and in Madison 19 Jun (NC) reflected increasing breeding in Alabama. Three in Washington, AR 30 Jul (MMl) were thought to be migrants. Grasshopper Sparrows were reported in Jul from two locations in Monroe, MS (WP; 4) and through the end of Jun in Clay, MS (TS; 2). Two singing Henslows Sparrows were record- ed in Fulton in extreme n. Arkansas 9 Jul (DB), where they are apparently a local breeder. Sev- eral Song Sparrows found in Jefferson and St. Clair 9 Jul (JG, HHW, LB, GJH) indicate the slowly expanding breeding of this species in Alabama. A White-throated Sparrow was seen 24 & 26 Jul in Cullman, AL (CL), and White- crowned Sparrows lingered into Jun in two Arkansas locations: 1 Jun in Fulton (DB, MA) and 18 Jun in White (DB). Great-tailed Grackles in Logan (KN, LN; 4) 3 Jun and in Benton 1 Jul (JN, MMl; 5), both in w. Arkansas, were at the e. edge of the species’ range. A lingering American Goldfinch was seen 6 Jun in Lafayette, LA (JM, RM), but a pair in Lee, MS 23 Jul (WP) was apparently nesting. Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): Nick Anich, David Arbour, Marcus Ash- er, Philllip Barbour, Dick Baxter, Lee Brewer, Michael Budd, Steve Cardiff, Kelly Chitwood, Paul Conover, Jennifer Coulson, Tom Coul- son, Hope Coulter, Neill Cowles, Terry Davis, Sarah DeViney, Stephen j. Dinsmore, Donna Dittmann (Louisiana), Wayne Eidson, Barry K. Fleming, Paul H. Franklin, Lawrence F Gardella, Jessica Germany, Sally Jo Gibson, Greg J. Harber, Hill Henry, Robert Herron, Howard E. Horne, Judy Howie (JH°), Jay Huner, Greg D. Jackson (Alabama), Jud John- son, Erik Johnson, Helen H. Kittinger, Joe Kleiman (Louisiana), Caila Lamont, Ed Laster, Martha Milburn, Kip Miller, Charles Mills, Mike Mlodinow, Allan Mueller, Jack Must, David Muth, Mac Myers, Joe Neal, Ken- ny Nichols, LaDonna Nichols, Phyllis Nofzinger, Glenn Ouset, Helen Parker (Arkansas), Max Parker (Arkansas), Wayne Patterson, John Phillips, Edwin Pinkston, Warren Preble (WPr), Shawn E. Reed, Nelson Reitm, Dave Richardson, P. A. Rowen, Mitsi Runyan, Martha B. Sargent, Robert R. Sargent, Dan Scheiman (DSc), Terrence Schiefer (Mis- sissippi), Marion Schiefer, Patricia Seager, Don Self, Judy Self, John Sevenair, Edna Sil- verman, James Smith, Curt Sorrels, Ronald J. Stein, Jack Stewart, Mark S. VanHoose, Bill Vermillion, Phillip Wallace, Ed Wallace, Don M. Ware, Shirley Wayland, Jimmie Wells, Rick West, L. West, Harriet H. Wright. ® Robert D. Purrington, Department of Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, (danny@tulane.edu) BIRDERS' EXCHANGE NEEDS YOU! Assist in bird conservation, research, and outreach in the Neotropics by donating your used but still functional birding equipment to Birders' Exchange. We collect binoculars, spotting scopes, neotropical field guides, and backpacks for distribution to research and education organizations in the Neotropics, we also accept financial contributions to support the program. Please send your donations to: Birders’ Exchange, American Birding Association, 4945 N. 30th Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 www.americanbirding.org/bex ■US! Mm VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 539 Northern Canada Cameron D. Eckert Northerners face the twin challenges of monitoring long-term trends while also responding to imminent threats to birdlife posed by development. This year, shorebird surveys across northern Yukon and Northwest Territories collected baseline population data for the Bird Conser- vation Region known as the Arctic Plains & Mountains. In the southwestern Northwest Territories, an intensive held study of the ef- fects of a pipeline corridor in the northern bo- real forest found surprisingly high diversity and productivity of songbirds in the Fort Simpson area. These are two very different studies, but hopefully both will help under- stand and relieve the spiraling pressures on northern bird populations. Birdwatchers also play an essential role in bird conservation in this vast Region: reports from a few new ob- servers can provide much-needed informa- tion. Despite the great distances between Re- gional outposts — for example, nearly 3500 km separate Herschel Island, Yukon from Akimiski Island, Nunavut — there is a shared passion that links people to the northern wilderness. If your summer travels take you to the North, please share your sightings and stories. In the Yukon, a brief spell of warm weath- er in June gave way to a relatively cool sum- mer. In Northwest Territories, June was slightly warmer and wetter than the norm for much of the Mackenzie Valley, while July was close to seasonal norms. WATERFOWL THROUGH SHOREBIRDS The increasing overlap in the breeding range of Trumpeter and Tundra Swans in the nw. corner of the Region means that careful held identification is essential. A pair of Trumpeter Swans on a nest at Tombstone Park, cen. Yukon established the first con- firmed breeding record for the Dempster Flwy. (CE). A pair of ad. Tundra Swans was at Tweed L., NWT 1 Jun (OB, SDe, CS); another was at Belot L„ NWT 27 Jun (OB, ph. SDe, CS). An imm. Whooper Swan, the first to be photographed in the Yukon, was at Herschel I. 26 Jun-6 Jul (ph. LJM, DA, ph. MB, WB, KM). A late report of a male Eurasian Wigeon at Henderson Cor- ner, cen. Yukon 4 May (CD) provid- ed one of the few Dawson area records. The arrival of Long-tailed Ducks at Iqaluit, Nunavut seemed a bit late this year, but some were ob- served in melting ponds by 11 Jun (MM). A count of 13 Red-throated Loons was recorded at Herschel I., Yukon 13 Jun (PS). Red-throated Loon numbers appear to be sta- ble at Nanisivik, Nunavut, with nesting pairs on most small lakes; a nest there had one egg 25 Jun and 2 chicks by 29 Jul (CK). Two Yel- low-billed Loons were seen at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 8 & 10 Jul (RK, EET). A high breed- ing density of Red-necked Grebes, about 50 pairs nesting in Equisetum marshes, was recorded on a survey of Little Atlin L., s. Yukon 14 Jun (CE, EN). A tally of 27 Double- crested Cormorant nests 31 May provided the first breeding record for Akimiski Strait is- lands, Nunavut (KA). A Turkey Vulture seen 1 Jun provided the first record for Akimiski I., Nunavut (RB, SH). A Pacific Golden-Plover, a first for North- west Territories, was at Tuktoyaktuk 1 1 Jun (ph. DM). Two ad. Common Ringed Plovers with a chick were noted at Nanisivik, Nunavut 21-29 Jul (TB; CK). Three pairs of Upland Sandpipers were at Duke Meadows, sw. Yukon 5 Jul (RF). A pair of copulating Hudsonian Godwits on Akimiski I., Nunavut 1 Jun suggested local breeding, but no subse- quent nest was found (SB). A count of 24 Marbled Godwits, including numerous pairs on territories, was made on Akimiski I. 3 Jun (KW). A late but noteworthy report was of 2 Ruddy Turnstones at Surfbird Mt., near km 100 on the Dempster Hwy., cen. Yukon 31 May (SF, BL). Surfbird reports, all from the Yukon, included a singing male at Surfbird Mt., near the Dempster Hwy. 31 May (SF BL), one at Blueberry Ridge along the Dempster Hwy. 7 Jun (BL), another singing in the Richardson Mts., 40 km n. of the Eagle R., 12 Jun (SF BL), 4 at Incline Mt. along the Demp- ster Hwy. 20 Jun (SF BL), and 4 at 2000-m el- evation in the Quill Cr. drainage, sw. Yukon 20Jul (ph. DD). The Yukon’s first Red-necked Stint, a bird in stunning breeding plumage, was a great midnight find at Herschel L, n. Yukon 10-11 Jun (ph. PS, SDa, IM, WN). Other scarce shorebirds recorded during Canadian Wildlife Service surveys on the Yukon’s North Slope were 2 Black-bellied Plovers seen w. of Komakuk 11 Jun (PS) and 3 White-rumped Sandpipers at Herschel I. 10-11 Jun (ph. PS). Baird’s Sandpiper was re- ported to be commonly nesting in tundra above Arctic Bay, Nunavut 20 Jul (TB). A number of species normally seen in Cam- bridge Bay, Nunavut but absent this year dur- ing 6-10 Jul were White-rumped Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Red Phalarope; as well, there were lower-than-normal num- bers of Pectoral Sandpipers and Ruddy Turn- stones (RK, EET). GULLS THROUGH FINCHES An amazing 57 Long-tailed Jaegers — a species not previously detected in the area — were loafing on the ice of Colville L., NWT on the morning of 5 Jun (OB, SDe, CS); this event was definitely related to weather, as a bitterly cold system had rolled in from the Beaufort Sea the previous day. Two ad. Little Gulls, ca- sual in s. Yukon, were spotted among a late flock of migrant Bonaparte’s Gulls at Twin Lakes 6 Jun (ph. DM). Two ad. Little Gulls were reported from Akimiski I., Nunavut 3 Jun (JI). A count of 23 Iceland and 38 Glau- cous Gulls was made at Arctic Bay, Nunavut 1 Jun (CK). An ad. Slaty-backed Gull greeted an Eagle-Eye tour at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 7-8 Jul (ph. RK, EET). Nesting of Glaucous and Thayer’s Gulls in Nunavut’s High Arctic was about a week late this season (MM). Sin- gle ad. Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen at Herschel !., n. Yukon 12 Jun (ph. PS) and at Whitehorse, s. Yukon 5 Jun (CE, DM) & 1 Jul (ph. CE). A high count of 25 Sabine’s Gulls was made at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut 9 Jul (RK, EET). Ivory Gull is exciting wherever it is encountered; 3 were seen on the ice of Ad- miralty Inlet, Nunavut 15Jun-lJul (PN),and one was seen with a flock of Glaucous and Thayer’s Gulls attracted by a Narwhal feeding on Arctic Cod at Victor Bay, Nunavut 31 Jul (CK); one must marvel at the beauty of such a scene. A Caspian Tern seen just along Klu- ane L., just s. of Congdon Cr., sw. Yukon 5 Jul, followed a sighting of 2 at Kelsall L., on the Haines Summit just s. of the Yukon border 3 Jul (RF). An impressive 300 Arctic Terns were at a colony at Colville L., NWT 29 Jun (OB, SDe, CS). A Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen briefly at Haines Junction, sw. Yukon 16 Jun (ph. WR); however, recent releases of this species in Petersburg, se. Alaska have mud- died the waters around the provenance of 540 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NORTHERN CANADA Herschel Island on the Yukon's north coast has a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding rarity hotspot. Following close on the heels of the Yukon's first Red-necked Stint was this first-year Whooper Swan, seen on the island 26 (here 29) June through about 6 July 2006. Photograph byMalkolm Boothroyd. this bird. A Mourning Dove at Tulita, NWT 6 Jul (ph. RD) provided the first local record. Short-eared Owl nests have become increas- ingly noteworthy as the species is now con- sidered of “special concern”; a nest with six eggs was recorded at Akimiski I., Nunavut 2 Jun (SB). A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher banded at Teslin L. 11 Jun was the first seen there through the “spring” banding season (ph. BS). The known range of Yellow-bellied Fly- catcher in cen. Yukon was fleshed out some- what with counts of 3 near Mayo 7 Jun (MOD), 8 on the Goldfield roads near Daw- son 24 Jun (PS, SDa), and 2 at Faro 27 Jun (PS, SDa). Three hatch-year Least Flycatch- ers, at the far nw. edge of their range in cen. Yukon, were banded at Shell Cr. along the Yukon R. 22 Jul (ph. TMK, BS). The Mount McIntyre B.B.S. in Whitehorse, s. Yukon on 16 Jun found Dusky Flycatchers well below their typical treeline breeding grounds this year (CE) — no doubt a result of heavy snow conditions in alpine areas late into the spring. An Eastern Phoebe, well beyond its range, was singing at Henderson Corner, cen. Yukon 6 Jun (DM). Rare on the Yukon’s North Coast were a Tree Swallow between the Firth R. and Bab- bage R. 13 Jun (PS) and a Bam Swallow at Herschel I. 29 Jun (MB). A flock of 80 Bank Swallows circling and drinking from Rab- bitkettle L., Nahanni National Park Reserve, NWT, then heading southeastward 30 Jul (DT), was a sure sign of fall migration under- way. A Blue-headed Vireo at Swan L., s. Yukon 9 Jun (v.r. BD) was a first record for the White- horse area; another singing in Deadmen Valley 13 Jun (DT) was the first for Nahanni Nation- al Park Reserve. Red-eyed Vireo is very rare in the Whitehorse area, s. Yukon; reports this year included singles in downtown White- horse 13 & 15 Jul (RP; DS, MS), at Little Atlin L. 14 Jun (CE) &r 16 Jun (BD), and on the Atlin Rd. 17 Jun (PS). Winter Wren, scarce in s. Yukon, was heard near Rancheria 17 Jun (HG). Two Golden-crowned Kinglets, rare n. of the s. edge of the Yukon, were at Little Salmon L. 26 Jun (CE, PS). A pair of Northern Wheatears was seen at a nest at Arctic Bay, Nunavut 20 Jul (TB). An American Robin nest (with four eggs) was re- ported from Arviat, Nunavut 12-16 Jun (ph. AU). A study around Ft. Simpson, NWT found Swainsons Thrush to be the most com- mon breeding bird, while Red Squirrel was identified as the predator responsible for most nest failures; significant nest predation by Sharp-shinned Hawks was also an unexpect- ed find (EB). Rare songbirds noted at Akimis- ki L, Nunavut included a Gray Catbird 1 Jun (NS) and a Northern Mockingbird the next day (ph. SB). Another Northern Mockingbird was in Ft. Simpson, NWT 27-28 jun (ph. DT); interestingly, it was in exactly the same place and time (within a week) as a mocking- bird seen two years earlier. Brown Thrasher reports from Nunavut included one at Arviat 3-14 Jun (ph. LJS, JS) and one singing at Akimiski 1. 9 Jun (SB). Cedar Waxwings staged one of their periodic mini-invasions in the Whitehorse area, s. Yukon this summer; a pair was confirmed nesting (five eggs) at Marsh L. in late Jun (ph. DP). Tennessee Warblers continue to be seen in high numbers in se. Yukon; a count of 22 was recorded on the Rancheria B.B.S. 17 Jun (HG). Reports of Cape May Warblers well w. of their range included males in Whitehorse 1-7 Jun (ph. PS; CE; MB), at Haines Junction, sw. Yukon 10 Jun (MOD), and on the s. side of Chilkat Pass just s. of the Yukon border 3 Jul (RF). Five Townsends Warblers were tal- lied along the Top-of-the-World Hwy., cen. Yukon 23 Jun (PS, SDa). A single Black-and- white Warbler was heard in Deadmen Valley, Nahanni National Park Reserve, NWT 13 Jun (DT). A female Western Tanager, w. of its range, was banded at Teslin L. 4 Jun (ph. BS). Lark Sparrows are known to wander north- ward in summer; one found at Colville L., NWT 29 Jun (OB, ph. SDe) may now mark our northernmost record. A high count of 8 Smith’s Longspurs was made at Tweed L., NWT 7 Jun; this species was later confirmed breeding there (OB, SDe). Yellow-headed Blackbirds breeding in the Yukon? Well, not yet — a distance of just 150 km separated a male near Carcross in late May (ph. BW) and a female near Haines Junction, sw. Yukon in early Jun (ph. JO). A male Brown-headed Cowbird was a surprise visitor to Arviat, Nunavut 3-8 Jun (ph. LJS, JS). There was no hiding for the brilliant male Baltimore Oriole that stood out like a fiery blaze against the brown spring vegetation at Arviat, Nunavut 3 & 6 Jun (ph. LJS). Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): Ken Abraham, Deon Arey, Olivier Bar- den, Timothy Barksdale, Erin Bayne, Steve Belfry, Malkolm Boothroyd, Wendy Boothroyd, Rod Brook, Sarah Davidson (SDa), Samuel Denault (SDe), Boris Do- browolsky, Ron Doctor, Christine Drinnan, Dan Drummond, Eagle-Eye Tours (EET), Cameron Eckert, Sylvie Frisch, Roger Foxall, Helmut Griinberg, Sarah Hagey, Jean Iron, Clare Kines, Richard Knapton, Berwyn Larsen, Ken Madsen, Mark Mallory, lan Mc- Donald, Doug McRae, Lee John Meeyok, Ted Murphy-Kelly, Erin Neufeld, Paul Nicklen, Wendy Nixon, Mark O’Donoghue, John Os- tashek, Doug Phillips, Rosamund Pojar, Wolf Riedl, Carl Savignac, Ben Schonewille, Debi & Mark Schwan, Jeff van den Scott, Lisa-Jo van den Scott, Nigel Sharp, Pamela Sinclair, Douglas Tate (Northwest Territories), Alexis Utatnaq, Blaine Walden, Katie Walker. ® Cameron D. Eckert, 1402 Elm Street, Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1 A 4B6, (cdeckert@northwestel.net) VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 541 Prairie Provinces Rudolf F. Koes Peter Taylor Some heavy mid-June rains tracked from southern Alberta across Saskatchewan to northern Manitoba. Otherwise the peri- od was generally hot and dry, interspersed with occasional violent thunderstorms. Fol- lowing last summer’s rains and substantial spring runoff, lake levels remained high from central and southwestern Manitoba across much of southern Saskatchewan to parts of southern Alberta. This provided excellent nesting conditions for many water and marsh birds but displaced or disrupted some colonies of Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, and Franklin’s Gulls. Lack of shoreline habitat re- duced Manitoba’s endangered Piping Plover population to four known pairs at one loca- tion, but the species apparently fared much better in Saskatchewan. Following an early spring migration and generally benign breed- ing season, fall passerine migration started one to two weeks early, with a July record to- tal of 2318 birds banded at the Delta Marsh Bird Observatory, Manitoba. Abbreviations: Oak Hammock (Oak Ham- mock Marsh W.M.A., MB); Whitewater (Whitewater Lake W.M.A., MB). WATERFOWL THROUGH CRANES A Tundra Swan pair hatched 3 young at Pa- tience L., SK, but only one cygnet survived by 18 Aug (PH). Wood Duck is now strongly es- tablished in w. Manitoba, as shown by 75 young at a Dauphin city park 26 Jul (CC). A male Eurasian Wigeon delighted many ob- servers at Oak Hammock 5-25 Jun (BR, m.ob.), while a male Harlequin Duck re- mained at Seven Sisters Falls, MB 2 Jun-3 Aug (TH, PP, m.ob., ph.). At Clear L., AB, 500 Buffleheads formed an unusually large mid- summer nock 24Jun-2 Jul (TK). Impressive concentrations at Churchill, MB 11 Jun in- cluded 3000+ Common Mergansers and near- ly 300 Red-throated Loons (CC, Birdquest). Eighty ad. Red-necked Grebes was a good count near Irricana, AB 23 Jul, and breeding success was apparently high (TK). Wandering American White Pelicans were noted at North Knife L. in n. Manitoba ( fide BC). Five Great Egrets were reported from three Alberta locations in Jul (LBe, SC, MK). It was another bumper year for waders at Whitewa- ter, with peak counts of 11 Great Egrets 10 Jun (WC, MW) and 4 Snowy Egrets 28 Jul (GH), plus an ad. Little Blue Heron 8 Jun+ (BDL et al., m.ob.). Several Saskatchewan re- ports of Cattle Egrets included 20+ near Ab- erdeen 26 Jun (NC, DC), and the Oak Lake, MB colony discovered last year was active again, albeit with reduced numbers (RBz). Eight small Cattle Egret colonies at Whitewa- ter totaled 47 nests, most in association with Black-crowned Night-Herons (RBz). A Yel- low-crowned Night-Heron visited Oak Ham- mock 13-14 Jul (AM). Three White-faced Ibis nests were found at Whitewater (RBz), where the highest ibis count was 16 White-faced and at least one Glossy in late Jul (GH, LV, CA et al.). Other high counts included 14+ White- faced Ibis at Chaplin L., SK 24 Jul (RE) and up to 10 at Lizard L., MB (CC), while one was This Least Tern at Calgary, Alberta 4 July 2006 provided the first confirmed record for the province. The Prairie Provinces have just a handful of records of this species. Photograph by Anne Elliott. seen intermittently farther e. at Oak Ham- mock (m.ob.). By a concerted effort, 84 Turkey Vultures were banded at 46 Saskatchewan nests (SH). A Sharp-shinned Hawk appeared at Churchill 17 Jun (BDL et al.). Ferruginous Hawk numbers slipped a little in sw. Manitoba for the 2nd consecutive year (KDS). Yellow Rails were again fairly prominent near Calgary, AB, in- cluding 2 birds e. of the city at Langdon 15 Jul (RB). Whooping Cranes were seen in all three provinces: 3 near Pierceland, AB 4 Jun (CM) and 2 near Saskatoon, SK 3-4 Jun (Mitzel fam- ily, SS et al.), while the St. Adolphe, MB bird was last reported 12 Jun (GH). PLOVERS THROUGH WOODPECKERS Snowy Plovers added spice to Piping Plover surveys at Chaplin L., SK: 2 on 20 Jun and 3 on 22 Jun (PG). At the n. tip of their range, three Mountain Plover pairs nested near One- four, AB (RKn et al.). Two successfully nest- ing pairs of Black-necked Stilts at Whitewa- ter furnished Manitoba’s first breeding record (KDS, m.ob.). Otherwise, shorebird high- lights were limited to an unseasonable Hud- sonian Godwit at East Shoal L., MB 28 Jun (KG), a Whimbrel at Silver Bay, L. Manitoba 7-8 Jun (LdM), 2 Western Sandpipers at Clear L., AB 22 Jul (TK), and a concentration of 600 Wilson’s Phalaropes near Strathmore, AB 23 Jul (TK). One of two Little Gull colonies at Churchill was predated by ravens, while 2 ad. and one subad. Ross’s Gulls were last seen there around 14 Jun (BC). Two rare larids made disappointingly brief appearances, but both were photographed for first confirmed provincial records: a second-year Black-tailed Gull at Churchill 29 Jun (BC et al, ph. JG) and a Least Tern at Policeman Flats near Cal- gary, AB 4 Jul (NS, ph. AE, m.ob.). Eurasian Collared-Dove is seemingly estab- lishing more slowly in Manitoba than in Saskatchewan, but a pair probably nested again at Lyleton (KDS), and there were re- ports of 3 near Winkler (JP, LBr) and 2 at Crystal City (MT). Black-billed Cuckoo made a strong showing in parts of s. and cen. Man- itoba, with several morning counts of 11-13 birds (m.ob.) and an exceptional total of 33 on the Whitemouth L. B.B.S. 24 Jun (CCs). A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was seen near Rat River W.M.A., MB 6 Jun (LV). Following last win- ter’s incursion, many Northern Hawk Owls remained to breed in se. Manitoba, with at least six broods observed in Jun (m.ob.). A pleasant surprise was the total of seven breed- ing pairs of Burrowing Owl in sw. Manitoba (plus two unconfirmed), though only two pairs were successful (KDS). Few Great Gray Owls were reported, except for at least 7 ads. and 6 iinms. near Water Valley, AB 10 Jun (MS et al.). A Common Poorwill was noted near Taber, AB 3 Jul (LBe). While Chimney Swift numbers remain low, outlying reports in Jun included 2 as far w. as Weyburn, SK 17-26 Jun (SW, MB, CB) and 2 well n. at The Pas, MB 23 Jun (DR). A Selas- phorus hummingbird, most likely Rufous, vis- ited a Hodgeville, SK feeder 31 jul— 1 Aug (MP). A Lewis’s Woodpecker highlighted a Sheep River Valley, AB field trip 25 Jun (BW et al.). Hairy Woodpeckers continue to push their range limit at Churchill, with a nesting pair again this year (BDL et al.). PASSERINES Well out of range were a Great Crested Fly- catcher at Calgary 18 Jun (MSw) and Western Kingbirds in n. Manitoba at McClintock 13 Jun and Churchill 14-15 Jun (BDL). Always exciting, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was near Meleb, MB 18 Jun (RBg). Though still quite numerous in a few spots, Loggerhead Shrike 542 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS PRAIRIE PROVINCES Tundra Swans have nested south of their normal range in Saskatchewan on a few occasions in recent years. An adult is shown here with its sole surviving cygnet at Patience Lake on 1 8 August 2006. Photograph by Peter Hardie. continues to decline; nest totals at a study area in extreme sw. Manitoba were down to about 40 (from 327 as recently as 1993), and predation losses were high (KDS). Clearly an escapee, a Hooded Crow came to light this season at Whitecourt, AB, where it has visited feeders for four years, accompanying Ameri- can Crows and departing with them each winter (DP, m.ob., ph., vt. ET). Northern Wheatears attended a nest, out- come unknown, at Churchill’s Ft. Prince of Wales 29 Jun-11 Jul, for a first Regional breeding record (ph. A&DW, BC et al., KH). Eastern Bluebirds raised 2 young near Anzac in ne. Alberta (DH, JE), probably the north- ernmost nest record for this species, which continues to displace Mountain Bluebird in sw. Manitoba. A Wood Thrush sang lustily during a B.B.S. stop near Hadashville, MB 17 Jun (WC, MW) but could not be found again. Four Northern Mockingbirds Regionwide, from Calgary to Winnipeg, was a typical summer tally. Sage Thrasher maintains a toehold in the Region; a nest near Wild Horse, AB contained five eggs 25 Jun (RKn, GHr, HT), and a sin- gle bird was well seen at the w. edge of the Great Sand Hills, SK 1 Jun (RW). An American Pipit lingered at Laurentia Beach, MB 7 Jun (DO). A Northern Parula visited Regina, SK 6 Jun (RL, m.ob.). Cape May Warblers made a good showing in sw. Al- berta forests, including 3 singing males at Brown-Lowery P.P into Jun (m.ob.) and one at Bragg Creek 25 Jun (KC). Tantalizing songsters, hinting at breeding in Manitoba, were a Western Tanager in Rid- ing Mountain N.R 9 Jun (Birdquest, fide CC) and a Spotted Towhee near Miniota 10-1 1 Jul (LV). Lark Buntings were numerous in parts of s. Saskatchewan, with about 60 in the Trib- une area 29 Jul (V&DT) and good numbers w. of Tompkins the same day (SW). Bairds Sparrow numbers in sw. Manitoba remained disturbingly low (KDS, m.ob.). Well out of range were a Northern Cardinal at Lumsden, SK 9 Jun (CP), a territorial Black-headed Grosbeak near Coulter, MB 30 May-Jul (KDS et ah, m.ob.), and a Lazuli Bunting at New- dale, MB 11 Jun (SSw, JB). Also noteworthy, an Eastern Meadowlark sang near Blumenort, MB 2 Jun (VR). An American Goldfinch fur- nished just a 2nd Churchill record 14 Jun (BDL), and an Eurasian Goldfinch visited a feeder near Minnedosa, MB 19 Jun (LBo). Northern Wheatears at Fort Prince of Wales, Churchill, Manitoba provided the Prairie Provinces Region with its first nesting record, well south of the known range. Here the male is seen carrying food 29 June 2006. Photograph by Allen and Della Wells. Observers (provincial compilers in boldface): C. Artuso, R. Austin, M. Bailey, R. Barclay, R. Bazin (RBz), L. Bennett (LBe), R. Berger (RBg), C. Bjorklund, L. Blanchette (LBl), L. Boys (LBo), J. Bradley, L. Braun (LBr), G. Budyk, N. Calkett, S. Cameron, B. Chartier, W. Christianson, L. Cocks, D. Cork, K. Cork- ery, C. Curtis (CCs), C. Cuthbert, L. de March (LdM), K. De Smet, H. den Haan, B. Di Labio, L. Dudragne, M. Dudragne, R. Dudragne, A. Elliott, J. Elser, R. Ewart, K. Gardner, P. Goossen, C. Gratto-Trevor, J. Gordon, D. Hall, K. Hannah, P Hardie, M. Harrison, A. Hartley, K. Hedegard, T. Hince, G. Holland, G. Holroyd (GHr), S. Houston, R. Knapton (RKn), M. Koivula, T. Korolyk, G. Kratzig, H. & B. Lane, T. Lawton, J. Luce, R. Luterbach, C. Manly, A. & S. McLeod, A. Mickey family Mitzel, D. Oakford, D. Pederson, J. Peters, C. Pollock, K. Porteous, R. Porteous, P. Pratt, M. Priebe, D. Raitt, V Refiner, B. Robinson, N. Seneviratne, J. Shadick, S. Shadick, A. Smith, M. Spitzer, M. Swingle (MSw), S. Switzer (SSw), V. & D. Thomas, M. Treble, H. Trefry, E. Tull, L. Veelma, M. Waldron, B. Walker, G. Walleyn (GWy), G. Wapple, R. Wapple, S. Weir, A. & D. Wells. & Rudolf F. Koes, 135 Rossmere Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2K0G1, (rkoes@mts.net); Peter Taylor, P.0. Box 597, Pinawa, Manitoba ROE 1 LO, (taylorp@granite.mb.ca) f* A Parts of the Region enjoyed the strongest Dickcissel irruption since 1973. Birds were concentrated mainly in se. 3 1\ Saskatchewan and sw. Manitoba, with scattered sightings w. to Maple Creek, SK (AH, AS, fide PG) and e. to the Red Riv- er valley, MB (LB, GH). Peak counts were 37 along roads se. of Oak Lake, MB 1 4-1 5 Jun (GB), 1 8 s. of Estevan, SK 16 Jun (KH), 18+ near Weyburn, SK 4 Jul (RL), and 14 near Lyleton, MB 1 1 Jul (LV). Reports extended from 6 Jun through 21 Jul. As usual, most were concentrated in alfalfa fields, and it is unknown whether any won the race to fledge young before the fields were mown. North American Birds A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD "The premier periodical dealing with status and distribution of North American birds." — Kenn Kaufman "Why should you subscribe? Quite simply, you should subscribe to become a bet- ter birder." —Jon Dunn American IBirding18 Subscriptions are available for $32 for US or $37 for Canandian. Renew or give a Gift Subscription, today • (800) 850-2473 VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 543 Northern Great Plains Lake Alice NWR NWR ' "Missouri R. Havre • BowdoinNWR V'H-K " C. M. Russell NWRg^^-M • G reat Falls Af,ss°»rr#Yy~ fon pcck l •Lewistown Miles City . ao's Billings v •/V ' SeV'0'' Medicine L. Lostwoodm Turf le Mins. NWR ■ Minot* Salyer NWR m Grandl Devils L Forks \ garrison Dam Arrowwood ' L Bismarck — NWF1 ^ DAKOTA o * n 7 Fargol * ' Long Lake" ,Tewaukon\ MM/D T - NWR \ Minot •Salyei tlL Sojiaicawf rnmWd DMTANA Hettinger NWR Aberdeen# 7 n Waubay L NWR £ierre ^ %\ Sioux Ron Martin The operative word for the summer was "hot.” Temperatures were well above average across the Region, and many areas suffered from serious drought. It was the third driest summer on record at Grand Forks, North Dakota. The most seriously af- fected drought areas were south-central North Dakota and central South Dakota, and those areas also suffered from the highest temperatures. Temperatures over 100° F were regular from Bismarck, North Dakota to Pierre, South Dakota. The all-time record for South Dakota was tied on July f5, when the temperature reached 120° F at Usta. In North Dakota, the temperature reached 1 14° in the south-central part of the state on July 30. The July temperature was 9.8° F above average in Glasgow, Montana. It was a good season for vagrants and rare breeding species. Dickcissel numbers were unprecedented in Montana. GEESE THROUGH HAWKS A Cackling Goose 14 Jun in Burleigh , ND pro- vided the first summer record for this recent- ly minted species (NC). Two Trumpeter Swans were at Kelly’s Slough N.W.R., ND 14 Jun (EEF); breeding is expected soon for this species in North Dakota. A Ruddy Shelduck at the Grand Forks Lagoons 27 Jun-8 Jul (EEF) was almost certainly an escapee, al- though natural vagrancy (documented as near as Nunavut) in this wide-wandering species shows a clear peak at this season. A brood of Common Mergansers was on the Missouri R. near Cross Ranch S.R, ND 9 Jul (p.a., DNS). This furnished the first breeding record on the Missouri R. in North Dakota and the first confirmed breeding for the state since early in the 20th century. Ring-necked Pheasant numbers continued at very high lev- els in most of the Region. Greater Sage- Grouse broods were described as abundant in s. Phillips, MT during Jul (DP). A Common Loon with two chicks 14 Jun at Nelson Res., MT provided the first nesting for the area (KT). Confirmed breeding of 30 pairs of Red- necked Grebes in four ne. South Dakota counties was several times the number con- firmed in the state in prior years. Colonial wa- terbird surveys in South Dakota turned up 8000 Double-crested Cor- morant nests (ND). Great Egrets continue to expand northward and westward. A nest in Grand Forks , ND provided the first record for the county (EEF), and 17 were at Lords L., Bottineau, ND 2 Jun (JPL). In Montana, singles were at Freezeout L. 4 Jun (BT) and near Bowdoin N.W.R. 6 Jun (DB). A Cat- tle Egret was far w. in Butte, SD 31 May (LD1). Casual in South Dakota, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was at Sand Lake N.W.R. 17 and 28 Jun (RDO, ND). A possible 3rd record for South Dakota, a Glossy Ibis was seen 17 Jun and 14 Jul in Brown (p.a., RDO, JSP, DS). Turkey Vultures continue to increase in n. North Dakota. Seven individuals at J. Clark A third state record for Montana, this Curlew Sandpiper was at Freezeout Lake 17 July 2006. Photograph by Mike Schwitters. Salyer N.W.R. 9 Jul led to speculation of nest- ing in the area (SDL). Young Broad-winged Hawks at Waubay N.W.R., SD 21 Jul provided the first nesting record for Day (MO). A Rough-legged Hawk was late 4 Jun in Fort Peck, MT (EH, CC). RAILS THROUGH GULLS Yellow Rails were heard at seven locations in the Sheyenne National Grassland in Richland and Ransom, ND in late May and early Jun (DOL). A Virginia Rail at Freezeout L., MT 3 Jul provided the first observation there in 10 years (MS). Casual in South Dakota, 3 Com- mon Moorhens were in Brown 3-4 Jun (p.a., NS, ND). Eight Long-billed Curlews near McKenzie Slough, Burleigh, ND 30 Jul-2 Aug provided the first sighting of multiple birds e. of the Missouri R. in North Dakota in decades (REM). A Red Knot 14 Jun at McKenzie Slough, Burleigh furnished the latest date for a spring migrant in North Dakota (NC). Ca- sual in South Dakota, a Western Sandpiper was in Sully 28-30 Jul (p.a., RDO). Distant photographs of a possible Red-necked Stint were taken at Freezeout L., MT 8 Jul (p.a., MS). If accepted, these would provide the first record for Montana. Providing a 3rd record for Montana, a Curlew Sandpiper was pho- tographed at Freezeout L. 17 Jul (p.a., MS). Early Buff-breasted Sandpipers were in Ward, ND 19 Jul (REM) and in Sully, SD 22 Jul (RDO). A new high count for the state, 202 Buff-breasted Sandpipers were in s.-cen. North Dakota 30 Jul, including 182 in a sin- gle field in Burleigh (REM). The 16th report for North Dakota, a Little Gull was at Devil’s L., Benson, ND 1 Jun (p.a., PB). A juv. Bonaparte’s Gull was seen on the early date of 18 Jul at the Minot Lagoons, Ward, ND (REM). The Glaucous Gull report- ed in the spring season in Grand Forks, ND remained through 2 Jun, providing the first summer record for the state (EEF). The 4th for North Dakota, a Great Black-backed Gull was videotaped at the Grand Forks Lagoons 30 Jun (p.a., EEF). DOVES THROUGH THRASHERS The 6th report for North Dakota, a White- winged Dove was in Hettinger 1-15 Jun (p.a., JS); and providing about the 8th report for Montana, another was photographed in Ft. Peck 27-28 Jun (p.a., JC). In South Dakota, a White-winged Dove 8 Jul in Beadle was thought to be the same individual seen there last summer (RDO). It was the best cuckoo season in many years in North Dakota and Montana. A new high count for North Dako- ta, 8 Yellow-billed Cuckoos were in the Sheyenne National Grasslands 12 Jun (REM, LEM). Eight Black-billed Cuckoos in the same area the same day tied the previous high count for North Dakota. Eight Black-billed Cuckoos were reported from e. Montana 4 Jun- 15 Jul. Perhaps spurred by the drier weather in the Region, Burrowing Owls con- tinued a bit of a comeback e. of the Missouri R. At least four pairs were noted in North Dakota, and the species was noted in four counties e. of the river in South Dakota. The 12th report for South Dakota, 3 Calliope Hummingbirds were in Pennington 30 Jul (p.a., JSP). Rare e. of the Missouri R. in the Region, a Western Wood-Pewee was singing 12 Jun in Linton, Emmons, ND (REM). A Cassin’s Kingbird on the Reedpoint, MT B.B.S. 8 Jun provided the first record for Latilong 40 (EH). About the 12th report for Montana, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was in Fallon 5 Jun (p.a., LD1). The largest number reported in North Dakota, 4 Bell's Vireos were in Emmons 8 Jul (CDE). Common Ravens feeding fledglings in Bottineau, ND in late Jun provided the long-expected first nesting confirmation for 544 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS This Blue Grosbeak southeast of Bridger, Montana 24 June 2006 was later joined by a female and the pair remained through July — only the fourth record for Montana. Photograph by Starr Stevens. the Turtle Mts. (TG). Two Common Ravens 23 Jun at Lostwood N.W.R. were unusual (SDL). On the increase in the Region, a Car- olina Wren was in Faulk, SD 5 Jul (MM). Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets were on territory in the Hettinger, ND Cemetery through the peri- od (DAG). There are no confirmed breeding records for the state. Casual in Montana, four Northern Mockingbird reports 3-19 Jun were unusual (SD, JC). Eight Sage Thrashers in Butte, SD 25 Jun was a notable count for the state (SW). PIPITS THROUGH FINCHES Another indication of the drying out of the Region, a single Sprague’s Pipit was in Brown, SD 24 Jul (CG). In North Dakota, the species was found 18 Jul in three locations in Grand Forks (DOL). Northern Waterthrushes feed- ing young 1 Jul in Eddy, ND provided the first record for the county and the southernmost breeding record for the state (p.a., CDE, REM). Casual in Montana, a Chestnut-sided Warbler was in Carbon 3 jun (AS). In Mon- tana, a Black-throated Blue Warbler was on territory 23 Jun-lOJul in the Pryor Mts. (p.a., JR). There are fewer than 15 records for the state. A Spotted Towhee 3 Jul in Pierce, ND was e. of the species’ known range (REM). Another dry weather bird, Lark Bunting made a small push into n.-cen. North Dakota. Henslow’s Sparrows were reported 18 Jul in Minnehaha, SD (p.a., DC) and at J. Clark Sal- yer N.W.R., McHenry, ND 9 Jul (p.a., REM). A Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow singing in n. Valley, MT 24 Jun was w. of typical range (p.a., JC). Providing the first Jul record for South Dakota, a White-crowned Sparrow was in Custer 1-12 Jul (MM). A 4th record for Montana, a pair of Blue Grosbeaks first seen 24 Jun in the Pryor Mts. remained through late Jul (p.a., SS, JM). In North Dakota, a new high count was estab- lished for Blue Grosbeaks with 7 in Emmons 30 Jul (REM). It was the year of the Dickcis- sel in North Dakota and Montana. In North Dakota, daily counts exceeding 100 were not uncommon in some areas, and birds were seen as far n. as the Canadian border. Nesting was confirmed as far n. as J. Clark Salyer N.W.R. in McHenry (REM). In Montana, there existed only about 17 total reports previous to 2006. At least 37 individuals were reported. In addition, they were described as not un- common in Fallon 3-5 Jun (LDI). Casual in North Dakota, Eastern Meadowlarks were in McKenzie 8 Jun (REM) and in Morton 12 Jul (HCT). About the 9th report for Montana, up to 3 male Lesser Goldfinches and at least one female were present in late Jun-Jul in Billings (p.a., GM, JM). Contributors (state editors in boldface): MONTANA: D. Bruce Barbour, Charles Carl- son, John Carlson, Steve Dinsmore, Ed Harp- er, Larry D. Igl, Jeff Marks, George Mowat, Duane Prellwitzjim Rogers, Mike Schwitters, Andrew Self, Starr Stevens, Bruce Tannehill, Kathy Tribby. NORTH DAKOTA: Patrick Beauzay, Noel Cutright, Corey D. Ellingson, Eve E. Freeberg, Todd Grant, Dave A. Grif- fiths, David O. Lambeth, Jack P Lefor, Sherry D. Leslie, Lincoln E. Martin, Ron E. Martin, Jan Sailer, Dan N. Svingen, H. Clark Talking- ton. SOUTH DAKOTA: Doug Chapman, Nan- cy Drilling, Chris Goldade, Larry D. Igl, Michael Melius, Ricky D. Olson, Mark Otnes, Jeffrey S. Palmer, Nancy Schaefer, Dave Swanson, Scott Weins. © Ron Martin, 16900 125th Street SE, Sawyer, North Dakota 58781-9284, (jrmartin@ndak.net) Mjew/tHunj am saw A Birder's Guide to Florida by Bill Pranty, published 2005; 672 pages; paper(lay-flat) item #175 ABA Member Price: $20.76 (List $25.95) North American birders savor Florida as the place to see species not found elsewhere in the US or Canada, such as Snail Kite, Short-tailed Hawk, Black-hooded Parakeet, Mangrove Cuckoo, Black- whiskered Vireo, or Florida Scrub-Jay. These are but a few of the Florida spe- cialties that make a trip to the Sunshine State such an exciting adventure for birders. More than 330 birding sites are described, and more than 400 species accounts are now included. A Birder s Guide to Michigan by Allen Chartier and Jerry Ziarno, published 2004; 672 pages; paper(lay-flat) Item #288 ABA Member Price: $23.1 6 (List $28.95) by Richard Cachor Taylor, revised 2005; 384 pages; paper (lay-flat) Item #102 ABA Member Price: $19.96 (List $24.95) 0 Call to Order AmericanBirding’ 800/6347730 VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 545 Southern Great Plains W. Ross Silcock Joseph A. Grzybowski The summer was intriguing in the num- ber of more northerly breeding species located in the Region, a phenomenon expected in waterbirds and shorebirds but also recently noted in other groups, from rails to passerines. Cassin’s Sparrows and Dickcis- sels, whose ranges normally shift harmo- niously in wet and dry years, may have bro- ken pattern this season, at least in parts of the Region: normally, drought years (such as 2006) result in eastward shifts of both species, but Dickcissels also moved westward, into western Nebraska, this season. Drought conditions continue to affect some waterbirds negatively, particularly Western, Clark’s, and Eared Grebes, Black-necked Stilts, and Cali- fornia Gulls in Nebraska, although stilts are still prospering at a few sites in Oklahoma. Southbound shorebird migration seemed somewhat tepid this season. Abbreviations: Hackberry Flat (Hackberry Flat W.M.A., Tillman , OK); Harvard Marsh (Harvard Marsh Waterfowl Production Area, Clay , NE); McConaughy (L. McConaughy, Keith , NE); Quivira (Quivira N.W.R., Stafford , KS); Rainwater Basin (playa wetlands s.-cen. Nebraska); Red Slough (Red Slough W.M.A., McCurtain , OK); Salt Plains (Salt Plains N.W.R., Alfalfa, OK); Valentine (Valentine N.W.R., Cherry, NE). WATERFOWL THROUGH RAILS Now expected at Red Slough, up to 15 Black- bellied Whistling-Ducks were present 6 Jun-31 Jul (DA, BH). Rarities elsewhere in the Region, one Black-bellied was n. to Lan- caster, NE 16 Jun (LE), one was in Johnson, KS 29 Jun (BW), and 2 were at Quivira 26 Jul (RG). A Greater White-fronted Goose tarried at Quivira 4 Jul (MG, AM), while a Cackling Goose in Sarpy, NE through the period (L&BP) appears to have become resident there. At least nine pairs of Trumpeter Swans with cygnets were noted in the w. Sandhills of Nebraska (CNK, TH, BFH); unexpected s. of the breeding range was an ad. at North Platte 20 Jun (TJW). Southerly ducks included 2-4 Gadwalls at Red Slough 6 Jun-31 Jul (DA), several American Wigeons in Cimarron, OK 4 Jun (M&MP), and another wigeon in Lan- caster, NE 28 Jun (LE). A male American Black Duck paired with a Mallard was flushed at Valentine 12 Jul, but no brood was evident (TH). Rare anywhere in the Region, up to 3 Mottled Ducks were at Red Slough 2-27 Jun (BH, DA). Usually mere migrants in Oklaho- ma, a Cinnamon Teal was in Cimarron 4 Jun (M&MP), and 2 were in Texas 14 Jul (JWA), while up to 2 at Quivira 30 Jun-4 Jul were un- expected (SS, TC, DB, MG, AM). Green- winged Teal summering s. of usual quarters included 3 at Red Slough 6 Jun-15 Jul (DA, BH) and one in Cimarron 4 Jun (M&MP). Also lingering were a Ring-necked Duck at Red Slough 25 Jul (DA) and a Bufflehead in Calliope Hummingbirds were photographed twice in summer 2006 in the Southern Great Plains: on 27 July in Pratt County, Kansas (top image) and on 31 July in Comanche County, Oklahoma. Photographs by Lee Quell and Kurt Meisenzahl, respectively. Scotts Bluff, NE 1 1 Jun (SJD). A female Hood- ed Merganser with 3 young at Red Slough 5- 13 Jun (DA) provided rare confirmation of breeding there. A Pacific Loon in breeding plumage at Mc- Conaughy 7 Jun (KSk) was a good find, only the 9th summer record for Nebraska. Sum- mering Common Loons were found as far s. as McCurtain, OK 30 Jun (BHe, BH), with others in Riley, KS (TC, LJ) and northward (fide WRS). Western and Clarks Grebes ap- pear to have suffered from dry conditions in the w. Sandhills of Nebraska; the only breed- ing reported for either species was for Clark’s at Valentine (TH). Although Valentine is a new breeding site for Clark’s, a record count of 44 at McConaughy by 30 Jul included no juvs. (SJD, WRS, KN) and suggests complete breeding failure. A Western Grebe at Quivira 4 Jul (MG, AM) was unexpected. Red Slough is the only regular Regional site for Anhinga; up to 6 were there 6 Jun-26 Jul (DA, BH). Observations of Least Bittern, al- though expected in most of the Region, are still noteworthy; up to 3 were found at Red Slough 7-15 Jun (BH), 2 each at Quivira 28 Jul (T&SM) and in Sumner, KS 30 Jul (MT, GY), and singles were found as far to the nw. as Cherry, NE 13 (JED) & 20 Jun (TH). West- erly were Green Herons in Morrill, NE 1 1 Jun (SJD) and near North Platte, NE 8-9 Jul (TJW). Despite amazing numbers of White Ibis at Red Slough (e.g., 1800 on 6 Jun and 1000 there 5 Jul [DA, BH]), the only report elsewhere was of one in Douglas, KS 30 Jul (MRo, nr.ob.). The dry conditions in the w. Sandhills of Nebraska may not have affected White-faced Ibis, as 122, many of them juvs., were in Garden 29 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). Good numbers were also reported elsewhere in the Sandhills (WM, TH). As far s. as Red Slough, one or 2 White-faced Ibis 28 Jun and 31 Jul (DA) were somewhat extralimital. A Glossy Ibis x White-faced Ibis hybrid was found in Alfalfa, OK 1 Jun (SM). Roseate Spoonbills were found only at Red Slough, as expected, with up to 5 present 8-31 Jul (BH, DA). A Wood Stork was in Saunders, NE 2-3 Aug (JC, SSc, ph. JGJ, JS, B&GC); possibly the same bird was found 16 km away on 15 Jun — in- cluded here by virtue of a good drawing made by a six-year-old birder (ADG, fide RW). Wood Stork is expected in the Region only at Red Slough, where 10 juvs. appeared 4 Jun and numbers increased to 150 by 31 Jul (DA, BH, m. ob ). An Osprey was in Hitchcock , NE 18 Jun (BFH). Breeding Mississippi Kites continue at Ogallala, the only regular breeding site in Ne- braska; up to 6 were there 25 Jun (CWH), with a nest noted 29 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). One in Crawford, KS 30 Jun (RM) was e. of the usual range. Coopers Hawks continue to be reported more commonly throughout the Re- gion, even in Oklahoma, where summer ob- 546 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS servations were scarce only a few years ago. Merlins appear in the n. parts of the Region in Aug and later in the s.; thus one at Red Slough 31 Jul (DA, MD) was very early for the locale. Also early were single Peregrine Falcons at McConaughy 29 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN) and in Pawnee, KS 23 Jul, the latter a very dark indi- vidual (SS). Reports of Black Rail in Oklahoma and Ne- braska are few, with status of the species in the Region perhaps best considered enigmat- ic. Two reports added to the database: one was “calling incessantly” at Valentine, Cherry 24 Jun (TH), and another was in Beaver , OK 11 May and 7-13 Jun (EB). King Rails were found as far n. as Valentine, where one was calling 20 Jun (TH); others were at Quivi- ra, including an ad. and a chick 23 Jul (RG, PJ), and in Sumner, KS 30 Jul (MT, GY), with singles at Red Slough 4 Jun (BH) and 30 Jul (M&MP). Virginia Rail nested at Quivira also, with a downy chick seen there 23 Jul (PJ, T&SM). Rare in most of Oklahoma during summer, single Virginia Rails were found in Texas 6 Jun (GK) and Harper 13 Jun (EB, BuH, BH). Unusual in Kansas during summer, a Sora was in Crawford 26 Jun (RM), and 2 were in John- son 29 jul (ML, MG). Purple Gallinules ap- pear regularly, albeit rarely, at Red Slough, where one was present 5-7 Jun (DA, BH). Common Moorhen reports included up to 5 at Red Slough during the period (BH, DA) and 2 ads. with 5 juvs. in Sumner, KS 30 Jul (MT, GY). Sandhill Cranes continue to add new breeding sites in Nebraska; very exciting was the discovery of a pair with 2 chicks in Morrill 18 Jul (EM, BG; ph.). One flew over Dixon, NE 7 Jun (JJ). SHOREBIRDS THROUGH TERNS The summer period provides the puzzles of late and early shorebirds. Late, lingering, or early was a Black-bellied Plover at Valentine 8 Jul (TH). Oddball American Golden-Plovers were located at Red Slough 2-7 Jun (BH) and at McConaughy 29 jul (SJD, WRS, KN). Snowy Plovers thin out as far n. as Mc- Conaughy, where only an ad. and 2 juvs. were noted 29-30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). Mc- Conaughy again hosted excellent numbers of Piping Plovers, the best count being of 132, including many juvs., 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). Others were reported from regular Nebraska locations (fide WRS), but one at Quivira 4 Jul (MG, AM) was unexpected. Mountain Plover observations in the s. Nebraska Panhandle re- ported by the Nebraska Prairie Partners per- sonnel included 84 nests, at least 37 success- ful and most of the others still under incuba- tion 16 Jun (fide JGJ). Dry conditions reduced SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS the numbers of Black-necked Stilts reported in Nebraska, both in the Sandhills and Rain- water Basin (fide WRS). A pair with young in Seward, NE 1 1 Jul (JGJ) constituted the east- ernmost breeding record for the state. An ex- cellent count of 20 stilts came from Hackber- ry Flat 11 Jun (M<). Very early Solitary Sandpipers appeared 26 Jun in Lancaster, NE (JGJ) and at Red Slough the next day (DA). The 8 Greater Yellowlegs at Hackberry Flat 11 Jun (M<) may have been fall migrants; another was in Grant, NE 13 Jun (JED). Also southbound early were the 40 Willets in Grant, NE 18 Jun (EBd) and one in Morton, KS 22 Jun (SP, KH). A Hudsonian V This pair of Mottled Ducks was at Red Slough Wildlife Management Area, McCurtain County, Oklahoma 2 June 2006; the species is now found annually, if sparingly, in the state. Photograph by Berlin Heck. Godwit in Lancaster, NE 23 Jun (MU) was record late for the state. Marbled Godwit breeds in low numbers in the w. Sandhills of Nebraska; this year, four pairs were found at three locations (BFH, JED, WM). Fall flock- ing of Marbled Godwits occurs early; 26-28 were at a pond in Grant, NE 22-26 Jun (GG, WM), and early migrants were singles in Ai- falfa, OK 19 Jun (LMa) and in Washington, OK 3 Jul (BGa). Late-spring Sanderlings in- cluded one in Texas, OK 8 Jun (GK) and 2 at McConaughy 11 Jun (SJD). A Bairds Sand- piper was at McConaughy 18 Jun (WRS); 2 in Garden, NE 22 Jun (GG) may have tarried there rather than migrate northward. A Pec- toral Sandpiper 12 Jun at Red Slough (DA) and a Stilt Sandpiper at Hackberry Flat 11 Jun (M<) were likely tardy spring migrants. The first Buff-breasted Sandpipers moving southward are ads.; an excellent count of 281 came from sod farms in Wagoner, OK, and 37 were in Tulsa 29 Jul (JWA). A Buff-breasted at McConaughy 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN) provid- ed a rare westerly record. Ad. Short-billed Dowitchers, as expected, arrived early, with 10 in Nebraska, 8 of these 11-12 Jul (JGJ, CNK) and only one other, at Quivira 23 Jul (PJ). Late or lingering Long-billed Dowitchers were singles at Hackberry Flat 11 Jun (M<) and in Grant, NE 22 Jun (GG). A Wilsons Snipe was equally late in Alfalfa, OK 13 Jul (JWA, SM), while 2 in Texas, OK the next day (JWA, SM) were puzzling, possibly very early southbound migrants. Somewhat nw. of the expected summer range was an American Woodcock in ne. Cherry, NE 22 Jun (JED). Rather late for spring in Oklahoma were 10 Wilson’s Phalaropes in Cimarron 4 Jun (M&MP) and another at Hackberry Flat 11 Jun (M<), while the 200+ in Texas, OK 14 Jul (J\VA, SM) were fall migrants. The only Laughing Gull reported was a first-summer bird in Geary, KS 8 Jul (C&JO). A surprising count of returning Franklin’s Gulls was the 2835 at McConaughy 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). An ad. Bonaparte’s Gull at McConaughy 29-30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN) provided only the 3rd Jul record for Ne- braska. California Gulls returned to Mc- Conaughy in good numbers, although the 80 there 30 Jul, including 70 ads. (SJD, WRS, KN), was suggestive of low breeding success. Other Californias were at Valen- tine 8 (3 birds) & 26 Jul (one; TH), and a third-summer bird was in Reno, KS 18 Jun (PJ, KG). Ad. Herring Gulls are rare before Oct in the Region; one was at Mc- Conaughy 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). The only Lesser Black-backed Gull was a first- summer bird, quite early at McConaughy 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). Nebraska’s 3rd Arctic Tern was an ad. at McConaughy 1 1 Jun (SJD). DOVES THROUGH THRASHERS A Band-tailed Pigeon that appeared in Texas, OK 28 Jun (KS) was a real surprise. Norther- ly reports of White-winged Dove are becom- ing routine; this summer, Nebraska had five (fide WRS). Encouraging were reports of 9 Black-billed Cuckoos from Nebraska (fide WRS). Greater Roadrunners keep expanding northward into Kiowa, Barber, Pratt, and Cowley, s.-cen. Kansas (GF, EF, MB, MT). Bur- rowing Owls nested far e. of the normal range, with an ad. and juv. in Dixon, NE 1 Jul (BFH, JJ) and a first county nesting in Geary, KS, where 2 ads. and 4 young were seen 18 Jun (C&JO). Regular but hard to find in ex- treme sw. Kansas, a Western Screech-Owl was reported in Morton 13 Jun (TC). Calliope Hummingbird, more recently of regular oc- currence, was reported in all three states: an imm. in Scotts Bluff, NE 31 Jul (KD), an ad. male in Pratt, KS 27 Jul (L&JQ), and a male in Comanche, OK 31 Jul (D&CS, S&KM). The only Broad-tailed Hummingbirds report- ed were singles at a Scotts Bluff, NE feeder 19 & 31 Jul (KD), where the species occurs reg- ularly. Most common of the w. hummers in VOLUME 60 (2007) . NUMBER 4 547 SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS Documentation of birds can be a habit acquired early in life, as demonstrated by this drawing of a Wood Stork near Greenwood, Saunders County, Nebraska 15 June 2006 made by a six-year-old birder — and representing one of only three documented records for the state. Sketch by Alex DeGarmo. the Region, a total of 9 Rufous was reported, 6 from Nebraska ( fide WRS), 2 in Pawnee , KS 24 Jul (DK, fide LM), and one in Comanche, OK 31 Jul (S&KM). The only Lewis’s Wood- pecker reported was in Dawes, NE 1 Jul (RHu). Rather late Olive-sided Flycatchers were in Morton, KS 14 Jun (TC) and Lancaster, NE 16 Jun (LE). The 4 Western Wood-Pewees in Cimairon, OK 15 Jul (JWA, SM) were sugges- tive of local breeding. Both this species and Eastern Wood-Pewee were found breeding at Valentine (TH); a singing Eastern as far w. as Lincoln, NE 1 Jun (TJW) was almost certainly a migrant. An Alder Flycatcher banded and measured in Washington, NE 30 Jul (RS) pro- vided rare confirmation of this migrant in the state. Least Flycatcher was noted w. to Mor- ton, KS 22 Jun (SP, KH). Cimairon, OK re- mains a viable outpost for Vermilion Fly- catchers, with several broods noted in the nw. corner of the county at Black Mesa S.P. 4-7 Jun (M&MP, GK), 14 Jun (BuH, BH), and 14 Jul (JWA, SM). A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher pair returned to Kearney, NE, feeding 2 fledg- lings 8 Jul (JM, KSk), with other pairs noted in Lancaster 16 & 28 Jun (LE) and in Gage 27 Jul (L&BP). Westerly Yellow-throated Vireos were in Cedar, NE 23 Jun (JJ) and Cowley, KS 22 Jun (MT, DS, GY), and 2 Red-eyed Vireos were in Sioux, NE 28 Jul (HKH). Common Raven has a restricted range in the Region; 2 were in Morton, KS 14 Jun (TC). Usually only a migrant in Alfalfa, OK, a Tree Swallow there 19 Jun (LMa) may have indi- cated incipient breeding. Red-breasted Nuthatches showed unexpectedly in Lincoln, NE 24 Jun (MU) and Omaha, NE 26Jun (RS), with 2 at Valentine 8 Jul (TH) and another in Sedgwick, KS 23 Jul (HG). Unexpected was a Rock Wren as far e. as Manhattan, KS 24 Jul (LJ). Continuing a recent trend of northwest- erly expansion, Carolina Wrens appeared in Nebraska at North Platte 8 Jul (MB) and Kear- ney 11 Jul (LR, RH). An errant Ruby-crowned Kinglet was in Tulsa, OK 13 Jun (BGe). Blue- gray Gnatcatcher reached the nw. and ne. cor- ners of Nebraska; the first nesting for Dakota, NE was documented 11 Jun (BFH), and one was in Sowbelly Canyon, Sioux, NE 19 Jun (GG). A Swainsons Thrush in Comanche, OK 12 Jun (JK) was late. Sage Thrashers appeared early in the w. Nebraska Panhandle, with 4 re- ported 19-25 Jul in Kimball (WM, JGJ). The resident (since Oct 2002!) Curve-billed Thrasher is still at its se. Sioux, NE ranch, where it now follows the rancher around (fide AK). Another, alas too far away for the 2 to find each other, was at Valentine 8-10 Jul (TH), only the 6th for Nebraska. WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES A Blue-winged Warbler was noted in Chero- kee, OK 3 Jun (MRe). An incubating North- ern Parula in Thurston 13 Jun (BFH, JP) was Nebraska’s northernmost. Westerly Northern Parulas were in Alfalfa, OK 19 Jun (LMa), Co- manche, OK 11 Jun (KM), and at Valentine 11-12 Jul (TH). A Chestnut-sided Warbler in Thomas, KS 4 Jun (PM) was a laggard but out- done by 2 Bay-breasted Warblers in Johnson, KS 13 Jun (MC). Present only in low numbers on the e. edge of the Region, Cerulean War- blers were reported from Cass, NE 27 Jul (SD) and Cherokee, OK 11 Jul (DC), with 6 sum- mering birds noted in LeFlore, OK OH). A Prothonotary Warbler in Comanche, OK 10- 22 Jun (KM) was westerly. Definitely out of place for the date was a singing Ovenbird in Morton, KS 22 Jun (SP, KH). Northerly was a Louisiana Waterthrush in Thurston, NE 13 Jun (BFH). Apparently tarrying s. were single Wilson’s Warblers at McConaughy 7 Jun (KSk) and at Valentine 8 Jul (TH). Certainly a mid-summer surprise was a MacGillivray’s Warbler 22 Jun in Morton, KS (SP, KH). A Summer Tanager in Cimairon, OK 15 Jul (JWA, SM) was likely lonely, while a Canyon Towhee in Texas, OK 24 May (MH) was e. of its usual limits. A Spotted Towhee, usually a winter visitor to Oklahoma, was in Cimarron 15 Jul (JWA, SM). Eight Cassin’s Sparrows in Canadian, OK 2-10 Jun (RS, DWJW, MF.JVB) were e. of usual range, as expected in a drought cycle; reports were more numerous than usual in Comanche, OK (VF) and wide- spread in Nebraska also, including a count of 37 in Chase 10 Jul (MB) and ads. with a fledg- ling in Keith 30 Jul (SJD, WRS, KN). The only Bachman’s Sparrow reported was at Red Slough 6 Jun (DA). A Vesper Sparrow in Pot- tawatomie, KS 7 Jun (DR) was tardy. A Cimar- ron, OK specialty (though absent in recent years), 2 Black-throated Sparrows were there 15 Jul (JWA, SM). Savannah Sparrow breeds rarely in n. Nebraska; confirmation was pro- vided at Valentine 20 Jun (TH). Henslow’s Sparrow clearly moves in response to habitat changes; 23 were counted in se. Nebraska 3 Jun (WRS), and as many as 6 were in Johnson, KS 5-7 Jun (MG, ML, DS). A nest of Swamp Sparrows found at McConaughy 11 Jun (SJD) was westerly. This year’s champ laggard may have been the Harris’s Sparrow in Butler, KS 27 Jun (RB). Northern Cardinal is only rarely reported from extreme nw. Nebraska; one was in Dawes 14 Jun (TJW). Similarly, Rose-breast- ed Grosbeaks were far from their usual e. lim- its in n. Sheridan, NE 10-15 Jun (SJ) and Mor- ton, KS 22 Jun (SP, KH). South of where they should have been were a Black-headed Gros- beak in Pawnee, KS 23 Jul (SS) and a Lazuli Bunting in Morton , KS 22 Jun (SP, KH). West- erly, a Painted Bunting in Russell, KS 13 Jun (MR) was a good find. This was a banner year for Dickcissels in w. Nebraska; they appeared early and stayed late; two broods were found as far nw. as Valentine 15 Jun (TH). A pair of Bobolinks on reclaimed mine land 548 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS in Linn , KS 7 Jul (MG, ML) was encouraging, as well as providing the first record for that area (fide LM). This species was also conspic- uous farther se. than usual in Nebraska (fide WRS). A pure-looking Baltimore Oriole in n. Sheridan, NE 14 Jun (SJ) was somewhat w. of the usual summer range. Ad. Red Crossbills feeding young were noted at three locations in nw. Nebraska 10-14Jun (CNK, WM, TJW). A Pine Siskin in Comanche, OK 11 Jun (KM) was unexpected, as was a black-backed male Lesser Goldfinch in Cheyenne, NE 16 Jun (AS), the 10th Nebraska record for the species. Cited observers (area editors in boldface): NEBRASKA: Elliot Bedows (EBd), Bev & George Canterbury, John Carlini, Alex De- Garmo, Kathy DeLara. Stephen J. Dinsmore, Scott Downs, James E. Ducey, Larry Eine- mann, Bob Grier, Greg Grove, Robin Harding, Helen K. Hughson, C.W. Huntley, Bill F. Huser, Jan Johnson, Stephen Jones, Joel G. Jorgensen, Alice Kenitz, Clem N. Klaphake, Wayne Mollhoff, Emily Munter, John Mur- phy, Kay Niyo, Loren & Babs Padelford, Jerry Probst, Lanny Randolph, Shari Schwartz (SSc), W. Ross Silcock, Kent Skaggs (KSk), Audrey Sterkel, Jon Strong, Moni Usasz, T.J. Walker, Rick Wright. KANSAS: Mike Blair, Robert Broyles, Doris Burnett, Ted Cable, Mike Cooper, Gregg Friesen, Eric Friesen, Matt Gearheart, Rob Graham, Harry Gregory, Kevin Groeneweg, Kellye Hart, Pete Janzen, Lowell Johnson, Don Kazmaier, Mark Land, Robert Mangile, Terry & Sam Mannell (T&rSM), Paula McDaniel, Aaron Mitchell, Lloyd Moore, Chuck & Jaye Otte, Sebastian Patti, Lee & Jane Queal, Mike Rader, Dave Rintoul, Mark Robbins (MRo), David Seibel, Scott Seltman, Max Thompson, Don Vannoy, Brad Williamson, Gene Young. OKLAHOMA: David Arbour, James W. Arterburn, Eric Beck, David Chaffin, Mike Dillon, Vic Fazio, Max Fuller, Bonnie Gall (BGa), Bob Germany (BGe), Joseph A. Grzybowski, Berlin Heck, Berlin Heck III (BHe), Buck Heck (BuH), Ja- son Heinen, Mark Howery, George Kampjeff Kelly, Jo Loyd, Larry Mays (LMa), Kurt Meisenzahl, Sharon & Kurt Meisenzahl, Steve Metz, Mark & Mary Peterson, Mia Revels (MRe), Kurt Schaefer, Richard Snow, Dennis & Carol Stayer, Mary & Lou Truex, Pat Velte, Jerry Van Bebber, Anne Wilbur, Donald Winslow, Jimmy Woodard. O W. Ross Silcock, P.0. Box 57, Tabor, Iowa 51653, (silcock@rosssilcock.com); Joseph A. Grzybowski, 715 Elmwood Drive, Norman, Oklahoma 72072, (j_grzybowski@sbcglobal.net) Texas Mark W. Lockwood | Randy Pinkston Ron Weeks The summer was a season of extremes. For most of the central portion of Texas, the summer was characterized by above-normal temperatures and virtually no precipitation. This resulted in low produc- tivity in the avian communities and also a drop in water levels in reservoirs and other water impoundments. The same pattern held in the High Plains and the Trans-Pecos until widespread monsoonal moisture finally arriv- ing in late July. These rains were virtually the first of the year in some areas. For example, a storm on 27 July in Big Bend National Park dropped nearly a third of the year-to-date rainfall. El Paso also received heavy rainfall in late July, culminating in astonishing rainfall totals on 1 August, in excess of 25.4 cm in parts of the area. This resulted in an amazing green-up of the landscape and the onset of nesting activities. It also resulted in wide- spread flooding and extensive property dam- age. The eastern third of the state and Coastal Prairies seemed to be the wet areas for the state, with a drenching 39.9 cm at Houston or 18 cm above normal. These rains alleviated the drought conditions that had exposed bot- toms of bayous not seen in recent memory. WATERFOWL THROUGH ANHINGA Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks continued their northward expansion into cen. and e. Texas, as evidenced by records from Mason, Bell, Williamson, Hunt, Rains, and Camp. Ful- vous Whistling-Ducks are tough to find well inland, so 2 in Gonzales 3 Jun (BFr) and up to 5 at Mitchell L., Bexar through Jun (AG et al.) were notable. A pair of Greater White-fronted Geese at Dallas, Dallas 29 Jul (BGi, RR, BoS) and 5 Snow Geese at Cactus Playa, Moore 1 7 Jun (BPi) apparently never migrated. Linger- ing American Wigeons were evident along the cen. coast, with groups of 3 at Pollywog Pond, Corpus Christi, Nueces 3 Jun, at Flour Bluff, Nueces 11 Jun (MC), and near Alamo Beach, Calhoun 11 Jun (PHo). A Gadwall, several Northern Shovelers, and a Redhead at L. Iowa Park, Wichita 18 Jul provided the first-ever Jul records for that area (T&JK). Also unexpect- ed in summer was a drake Green-winged Teal at Santa Ana, Hidalgo 17 Jun (MG). Six pairs of Redheads found in a rice field near Alamo Beach, Calhoun 1 1 Jun were presumed to be lingering nonbreeders (PHo). Greater Scaup are extremely rare anywhere in Texas in sum- mer, so singles at Balmorhea L., Reeves 5 Jun (MG) and Magnolia Beach, Calhoun 27 Jun (PHo, BFr) were of interest. Lesser Scaup reg- ularly summer along the coast in small num- bers, but 16, all paired, in a rice field near Alamo Beach, Calhoun 11 Jun (PHo) were surprising. A beached Surf Scoter along the Bolivar Pen., Galveston 23 Jun (ph. JKe) was the first-ever summer record for the Upper Texas Coast. Two ad. and 5 young Hooded Mergansers at L. Charlotte, Chambers 15 Jun (JKe) represent the first documented nesting for the Upper Texas Coast. One at Greenbelt L., Donley 10 Jun (BPi, m.ob.) furnished the 5th summer record for the Panhandle, while a flightless female at Belton L., Bell through 1 Jul (RKo, GE) was also notable. A Pacific Loon photographed at Balmorhea L., Reeves 19 Jun (R&rCG) was a seasonal first for the Region. Very large numbers of sum- mering Aechinophonis grebes were noted at McNary Res., Hudspeth, with a high count of 260 on 9 Jun and two pairs of Clark’s Grebes on nests 23 Jul (JPa). An imm. Masked Booby was seen along the surf at South Padre 1., Cameron 1 5 Jun and 6 Jul (BMc). Rare but not unprecedented were beached Northern Gan- nets recovered from Galveston’s Stewart VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 549 TEXAS Beach 2 & 10 Jul (BH). A Neotropic Cor- morant at Terlingua, Brewster 24 Jun (KBe, MF) was believed to be a summer first for the Big Bend area. A count of 65 Double-crested Cormorants at 11 active nests at Palo Duro L., Hansford 1 Jul (BPi, rn.ob.) constituted an ex- traordinary breeding effort for the Panhandle. An out-of-range male Anhinga was seen at Fort Inge, Uvalde 8 Jul (MH). HERONS THROUGH RAPTORS An American Bittern at Greenbelt L., Donley 10 Jun (BPi, m.ob.) and 2 at L. Tanglewood, Randall 3 Jul (TLJ) represented very rare sum- mer reports from the Panhandle. A juv. Least Bittern 8 Jul and an ad. 16 Jul at McNary Res. were the first for Hudspeth and strongly sug- gested local breeding (JPa). One was also found at Balmorhea S.R, Reeves 30 Jul (SCo, MR). A nestling Great White Heron was pho- tographed with typical Great Blue Herons in Aransas Bay, Aransas 3 Jun (ToM). Extralimi- tal Tricolored Herons reported included one from Balmorhea L., Reeves 8 Jul (SCo, MR) and 5 at Dallas, Dallas 29 Jul (BGi, RR, BoS). Wayward Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in- cluded one in Randall 22 Jul (JaH, BiM) and an ad. at McNary Res., Hudspeth 16 Jul (ph. JPa). Thirty-five Roseate Spoonbills, with sev- eral ads. present among the many juvs., at Dallas, Dallas 29 Jul made an unprecedented number locally (BGi, RR, BoS). The banded Greater Flamingo present since the fall was relocated 25 Jul+ near Bayside, Refugio (TR&RH, m.ob.). This bird was banded at the Ria Lagartos Reserve in Yucatan, Mexico in Aug 2005. An Osprey at Greenbelt L., Donley 22 Jul (BPi) made just the 3rd summer record for the Panhandle. Repeated summer sightings of multiple Swallow-tailed Kites in Tomball (AW, JSc) and in Baytown, both Harris (J>), suggest that this species may be pio- neering new breeding areas. A White-tailed Kite near Ceta Canyon, Randall 7 Jun (RM, NM) and 2 near L. Meredith, Moore 22 Jun (DB, SBr) represented just the 2nd and 3rd records for the Panhandle, respectively. Mis- sissippi Kites continue to expand their breed- ing range in cen. Texas, with reports of new nesting sites at Bryan (P&MVD) and College Station (JHu) in Brazos, Round Rock, Williamson (TFe), Woodway, McLennan (FG), and Bastrop (m.ob.). Summering birds in Bowie, Paris (AN), Pinhood, Lamar (MW), and Addielou, Red River (MW) suggest the species is also expanding in East Texas. A Sharp-shinned Hawk at L. Meredith, Moore 1 7 Jun (BPi) represented a very rare summer record for the Panhandle. After only a hand- ful of summer records in the past few decades, there were no fewer than eight Coopers Hawk sightings from the Greater Houston area this season. Breeding was confirmed by 2 young seen with ads. from 7 Jul+ along Houston’s Buffalo Bayou, Harris, where birds had been heard cackling earlier in the year (JKe). For the 2nd consecutive year, a Cooper’s Hawk was near Afton, Dickens 10 Jun (BB). This species has not been confirmed as nesting on the South Plains. An imm. Gray Hawk in the Davis Mountains Preserve, Jeff Davis 12 Jun (ML, RPi) was at a higher elevation than the species’ regular Davis Mts. haunts along Lintpia Cr. near Ft. Davis. A second-year White-tailed Hawk near Valentine, Jeff Davis 2 Jul (ph. ML) represented the first docu- White-tailed Hawk has been reported in the Trans-Pecos re- gion of Texas on previous occasions, but this second-year bird near Valentine, Jeff Davis County 2 July 2006 is the first to be fully documented. Photograph by Mark W. Lockwood. mented record for the Trans-Pecos. This site is about equidistant from possible source popu- lations in s. Texas and s. Chihuahua. A single Ferruginous Hawk in Ochiltree 10 Jun (BPi) and 3 in Ochiltree 1 Jul (BPi, ph. LS) were far e. of their usual breeding range in the Pan- handle. Summering or early migrant Pere- grine Falcons were noted in e. Bexar 17 Jun (RLo), Tawakoni Rains 10 Jul (RKi), and Mc- Nary Res. 29 Jul (JPa). An ad. atop Mt. Liver- more in the Davis Mts. 11 Jun (ML, JPa, RPi) was at a location where not seen in recent years. RAILS THROUGH TERNS A Virginia Rail flushed by an airboat at San Bernard N.W.R., Brazoria 21 Jun (JW) repre- sented the first Jun record for the Upper Texas Coast. Out-of-season Soras were reported from a golf course in San Antonio, Bexar 7 Jun (BPI) and from San Bernard N.W.R., Brazoria 21 Jun (JW), the first ever Jun record for the Upper Texas Coast. Lowered water levels at Steinhagen L., Tyler/Jasper were apparently re- sponsible for the first records of Common Moorhen in the cen. Pineywoods in 20 years (DW). First county breeding records of Snowy Plover were established with 11 ads. and 4 chicks at Greenbelt L., Donley 10 Jun-22 Jul, 11 ads. with 7 chicks by 25 Jul at L. Meredith, Moore 17 Jun, and 3 ads. with 2 chicks at Cactus Playa, Moore 17 Jun (BPi et al.). Banded Piping Plovers were pho- tographed at East Beach, Galveston 7 Jul and Bolivar Flats, Galveston 9 Jul (TE). The East Beach bird had nested on the Missouri R. near Vermillion, SD in 2005, and the Bolivar bird was a female banded 10 Jun 2006 at Big Quill L., SD, which apparently did not nest success- fully this season. Migrant Piping Plovers are rarely detected in Texas, so one at L. Tawakoni, Rains 4 Jul (TR, CR) was notable. A count of 87 Lesser Yellowlegs and 10 Greater Yellowlegs at Freeport, Brazoria 25 Jun (RWe) was early for such a concentration. A Spotted Sandpiper at the Bolivar Pen. ferry landing, Galveston 17 Jun (JG et al.) was the first ever Upper Texas Coast record for mid- Jun. Out-of-season Long-billed Curlews were found near Cedar Hill, Floyd 3 Jun (AHe) and at Big Bend’s Hot Springs, Brewster 12 Jun (BSu). The largest concentration found was 200 at Balmorhea L., Reeves 30 Jul (SCo, MR). Six to 7 Hudsonian Godwits near Alamo Beach, Calhoun 11 Jun-9Jul (BFr, GH, PHo) and 2 at Brazoria N.W.R., Brazoria 18 Jun (CTL) were totally unexpected, as the species is only very rarely encountered after the first few days of Jun. A Sanderling at Cactus Playa, Moore 25 Jul (BPi) represented a very rare fall record for the Panhandle. A count of 80 alter- nate-plumaged Semipalmated Sandpipers 17 Jun at Galveston’s Pelican 1. was unprecedent- ed for mid-Jun, when spring migrants have normally departed and fall birds have not yet arrived (CTL). Tardy White-rumped Sand- pipers included 2 at Freeport’s Bryan Beach, Brazoria 29 Jun (RWe) and another at Bolivar Flats, Galveston 6 Jul (JKe). Tardy Pectoral Sandpipers records included counts of 20 and 49 at Greenbelt L., Donley 10 & 11 Jun — the first Jun records ever for the Panhandle (BPi, m.ob.). One at Freeport, Brazoria 25 Jun (RWe) provided just the 2nd Jun record for the Upper Texas Coast. A basic-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper photographed at Bolivar Flats, Galveston 3 Jun (TCTL, CA) made the 2nd Jun record for Texas. An alternate- plumaged Stilt Sandpiper at Freeport, Brazo- ria 25 Jun (RWe) was likely an early fall mi- grant. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper with an in- jured leg at Freeport, Brazoria 25 Jun (RWe) provided just the 2nd Jun record for the Up- per Texas Coast. Rare to accidental in summer in the Trans- Pecos, a few Franklin’s Gulls popped up here and there, including 3 at McNary Res., Hud- speth 9 Jun (JPa), another near Tornillo Res., El 550 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS TEXAS Paso 1 Jul (JPa), and 2 at Presidio, Presidio 21 Jul (ML). One near Amarillo, Potter 17 Jun QL) was considered very rare for the Panhan- dle, while another at Muleshoe N.W.R., Bailey 15 Jul (BB) was only the 2nd Jul record for the South Plains. A single Franklin’s Gull appeared at Hornsby Bend 17 Jun (RKa), while 17 at Granger L., Williamson the next day was a record local summer count (TFe). Rare in summer, 3 Caspian Terns were at L. Tawakoni, Rains 11 & 27 Jun (RKi, MW). Two Common Terns over Lubbock, Lubbock 18 Jun (AHe, RLe) provided a 4th Jun record for the South Plains. Gustafson located an Arctic Tern at Balmorhea L., Reeves 1 Jun. This alternate- plumaged ad. was seen and photographed by many observers through 11 Jun. Another was photographed at Ft. Hancock Res. and McNary Res., Hudspeth 9 Jun (tJPa) for a 2nd county record. The Balmorhea bird was a Reeves first, and these birds were just the 3rd and 4th for the area, and 6th and 7th for the state, respec- tively. Three Least Terns were reported from McNary Res. 9 Jun (JPa). Up to 9 Least Terns and two nests at Greenbelt L., Donley 10-11 Jun (BPi, m.ob.) represented a first county breeding record. Ninety-eight Black Terns at the El Paso area reservoirs 29 Jul (JPa) repre- sented a very high count for that region. Single ad. Brown Noddies were found at the Packery Channel jetty 20 Jun (tDT) and on Padre Is- land N.S., Kleberg 13 Jul (tPHa), and 2 ads. were resting on a petroleum platform 72 km. se. of Port Aransas, Nueces 16 Jul (tSW). OWLS THROUGH WOODPECKERS A Burrowing Owl near Charlie, Wichita 17 Jun was a good find (PM). A Burrowing Owl was still present 23 Jun on the King Ranch, Kleberg (TLa, BW), providing a rare recent Jun record within its historical breeding range. A Mottled Owl was well described from the Frontera Audubon Sanctuary in Weslaco, Hidalgo 5-11 jul (tSP, tSK), provid- ing the 2nd record for the state. A Green Vio- let-ear in Liverpool, Brazoria 16-25 Jun was just the 2nd Upper Texas Coast record (ph. MB, tRWe); one in the Davis Mts. from the spring stayed through 3 Jul (M&ME). Closer to traditional haunts, Green Violet-ears ap- peared in w. San Antonio, Bexar 10-11 Jun (tRBo), s. of San Antonio 15-17 Jun (tC&TS, et al.), and w. of Austin, Travis 3-4 Jul (tAA). An irnm. Green-breasted Mango was found in San Benito, Cameron 8-9 Jul (tTFu) in the same yard that has produced two previous records. Broad-billed Hummingbirds ap- peared all over the place in the Davis Mts. this summer: from 8 Jun+, up to 4 (2 males, 2 fe- males) frequented the Eastman’s feeders, an- other female was nearby 14 Jun (RPi), a male was 16 km w. of Fort Davis 18 Jun (LHe), and yet another was reported from Ft. Davis (fide ML). The Broad-billed in the Christmas Mts., Brewster from the previous season remained through at least 10 Jul (COJ). The male White-eared Hummingbird that appeared in the Davis Mts. in Apr was joined by a female 3 Jun+ (tML). A different female elsewhere in the Davis Mts., present since 28 May, was last seen 22 Jul (M&ME), and another female was noted in the Chisos Mts., Brewster 25 Jun (tJMi). A remarkable 30 Buff-bellied Hum- mingbirds were counted 22 Jul at Frontera Audubon Sanctuary, Hidalgo (MG). A Buff- bellied from the spring near Sweeney, Brazo- ria remained into Jun (PHu). A possible Curlew Sandpiper is a very rare visitor to Texas, particularly in summer. This individual at Bolivar Flats, Galveston Coun- ty 3 June 2006 provided the second summer record for the state. Photograph by Cin-Ty Lee. Amethyst-throated Hummingbird (Lampomis amethystinus) was photographed in San Beni- to, Cameron 4 Jul (tTFu), but the photo- graphs do not provide an unequivocal identi- fication. West of their usual range, a pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds remained through early Jun near Utopia, Uvalde (MH), while a possible juv. was reported from the same yard 10-22 Jun. East of its usual range, a Black-chinned Hummingbird visited a Col- lege Station feeder for three weeks beginning 15 Jul (JPh) for a first Brazos summer record. Lucifer Hummingbird x Black-chinned Hummingbird hybrids were photographed twice, with one in the Christmas Mts., Brew- ster 7 Jun (COJ) and another in the Davis Mts. 22 Jul+ (ML, M&ME). An imm. Anna’s Hummingbird in El Paso 30 Jun-1 Jul (BZ) was a seasonal first for the local area and one of very few summer records for the entire state. A female Broad-tailed Hummingbird in El Paso 5 Jun (BZ) was also late. Extralimital Green Kingfishers included one in Salado, Bell 19 Jun-1 1 Jul (RPi) and one near Bay City, Matagorda 8 Jul (RWa). Single Red-headed Woodpeckers were note- worthy in Brazos 7 Jun and Washington 7 Jul, where the species has been scarce in summer since 1990 (DVo, AM). A Ladder-backed Woodpecker in Milam 15 Jul was a county first (DDC, DL), while another in Waller 2 Jul (KC) provided a rare summer record for that county. Breeding Downy Woodpeckers were discovered in the South Plains near Afton, Dickens 17 Jun (AHe, RKo) for the 2nd year in a row. Hairy Woodpecker was rediscovered 12 Jun on the Oak Grove B.B.S. (Madison/ Grimes/Walker) after a 20-year absence from the list (DVo). Hairy Woodpeckers were also reported 17 Jun from the n. edge of the Upper Texas Coast at Jesse Jones Park, Harris (LO), and 8 Jul at Cullinan Park, Fort Bend (BGr). The latter is most interesting, as this park is well s. of the pine woodlands. Fledgling Northern Flickers 2 Jun along Houston’s Buf- falo Bayou, Hands provided evidence of local breeding (JKe). FLYCATCHERS THROUGH SWALLOWS An Olive-sided Flycatcher at Buffalo Lake N.W.R., Randall 24 Jul (KS) furnished the ear- liest fall record for the Panhandle. A Western Wood-Pewee in Lubbock 3 Jun (BB) repre- sented a late spring report for the South Plains, while another at Palo Duro S.P., Ran- dall 22 Jul (LS, m.ob.) represented an early fall report for the Panhandle. An Eastern Wood-Pewee at Sea Rim S.P., Jefferson 2 Jun (DVe) was apparently a very late migrant. An early Alder Flycatcher was observed 1 Jul at Tawakoni, Van Zandt (RKi). A Least Flycatch- er mist-netted in Coryell 7 Jul (DC, RKo) was unusually early. Early migrant Least Flycatch- ers were found 23 Jul at Sabine Woods, Jeffer- son and High L, Galveston (DVe). A Cordiller- an Flycatcher was reported from Midland 29 Jul (m.ob.). Buff-breasted Flycatchers were found at four locations in the Davis Moun- tains Preserve. A male singing 12 Jun in El- bow Canyon represented a new location (KBr, ML, JPa, RPi). The other locations had a lone male, a pair that failed to fledge young, and another pair that ultimately hedged 2 young (ML). A Black Phoebe found 3 Jun at Hous- ton’s Bear Creek Park, Harris was the first- ever Upper Texas Coast record for the sum- mer season (MA) and was possibly the same individual that wintered a few km away. An Eastern Phoebe at L. Meredith, Moore 17 Jun (BPi) was far w. of its usual haunts within the Panhandle. Scattered Eastern Phoebes were reported in Jun and early Jul from the cen. Brazos valley, where the species’ breeding range is expanding (DVo). A Vermilion Fly- catcher photographed in Donley 12 Jul (fide RM) was a 2nd county record. Two vocal pairs of Dusky-capped Flycatchers were in the Davis Mts. 8 Jul; although nesting was sus- pected, no young were noted (tML). East of its normal summer range was an Ash-throat- V0LUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 551 TEXAS ed Flycatcher photographed 7 Jun in Brazos (DVo, ph. AM). Five Great Crested Flycatch- ers near Afton, Dickens 17 Jun (AHe, RKo) were evidence of continued breeding only re- cently documented in the South Plains. Two Couch’s Kingbirds were reported 3 Jun at Austin, Travis (LF), while ad. and fledgling Couch’s were observed 15 Jun-19 Jul in w. Bastrop (BFr). Yet another Couch’s was note- worthy at a separate Austin location 13 Jul (CSc). A female Rose-throated Becard present at Santa Ana N.W.R. since late May remained unpaired as she continued to build a nest through 17 Jun and was not reported there- after (MG, GL). A nesting pair of Bell’s Vireos in Motley 3 Jun (AHe, AvH) represented a very rare breed- ing attempt for the South Plains. Another Bell’s was reported from Wise 3 Jul (CC). Up to 6 Black-capped Vireos comprising two fam- ily groups were observed 19 Jun in Mason (DF, MM). Breeding by Warbling Vireos at Webberville County Park, Travis was con- firmed by Freeman when he observed a fledg- ling 5 Jul. This remains the southernmost confirmed breeding location in the state. A family of 4 Warbling Vireos at Palo Duro Canyon S.P, Randall 14 Jul (LS) represented a first county breeding record. Early migrant Red-eyed Vireos were noted at Sabine Woods, Jefferson 23 Jul (DVe) and at the Quintana, Brazoria 29 Jul (GLa). A vireo photographed 19 Jul at Eisenhower Park, Harris showed plumage and vocal features intermediate be- tween Red-eyed and Black-whiskered (MR). A pair of Yellow-green Vireos was present 3 Jun-22 Jul at Sabal Palm Sanctuary, Cameron (ph. CB). Seven ad. Tree Swallows with 3 fledglings at Greenbelt L., Donley 10-11 Jun (BPi, m.ob.) provided the 3rd nesting record for the Panhandle. A Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Jesse Jones Park, Harris 3 Jun (LO) was likely a late migrant. Cave Swallows continue to be found in new places on the South Plains. This season a colony of 26 ads., attending 1 5 nests, was found near Wellman, Terry 11 Jun (AnH). WRENS THROUGH WARBLERS A surprising find considering the season and the location was a House Wren in Midland, Midland 5 Jul (RMS). Very early migrant Blue- gray Gnatcatchers were noted on the Upper Texas Coast, with 2 at Bear Creek Park, Har- ris 21 Jul (JG) and one at High I., Galveston 23 Jul (DVe). A lingering Wood Thrush was in Bellaire, Harris 30 May-5 Jun, and possibly the same individual was heard singing there 27-30 Jun (DVe). The long-staying Clay-col- ored Robin in Lake Jackson, Brazoria was present through the period (TMo). Two Brown Thrashers made their way to Sabine Woods, Jefferson 23 Jul (DVe). A very early migrant Virginia's Warbler was found in El Paso, El Paso 23 Jul (JSp). North- ern Parula, a very local breeder in n.-cen. Texas, was noted throughout the period at White Rock L., Dallas (m.ob.) and in Plano, Collin (PA), where nesting was confirmed, of interest. A late migrating Yellow Warbler was in Lubbock, Lubbock 1 Jun (KD), while a very early migrant was noted at Anahuac N.W.R. , Chambers 6 Jul (JKe)- Another lingering mi- grant was a Cape May Warbler at South Padre L, Cameron Jun 6 (ScC). A silent male Black- throated Gray Warbler was located in the up- per Davis Mts., Jeff Davis 13 Jun (ML, RPi); this species is not known to nest in the range, and its occurrence in summer in the state is not well understood. A lingering Black- throated Green Warbler at High L, Galveston 2 Jun (DVe) represented just the 2nd Jun record for the Upper Texas Coast. The Yellow- throated Warbler noted in the spring from the Davis Mts. was last seen 10 Jun (KB, ML, JP, RPi). A pair of Yellow-throated Warblers suc- cessfully nested near Franklin, Robertson (RS), providing the first nesting record for the county, while an early migrant was at Lafitte’s Cove, Galveston 29 Jul (DVe). Very unexpect- ed was a female Palm Warbler in Midland, Midland 12 Jun (D&JM); likewise very odd was a Prairie Warbler at L. Tawakoni S.P., Hunt 8 Jul (VW), while one at Quintana, Bra- zoria 29 Jul (ph. GLa) was an early migrant. A late American Redstart was in Midland 17 Jun (D&JM). Long suspected of being a breeding species in Brazo s, this season nest- ing Prothonotary Warblers were discovered in the Navasota R. bottoms (DVo, AM). Follow- ing last year’s discovery of a breeding popula- tion of Swainson’s Warblers in se. Van Zandt, 4 were present in the same area 4 Jul (TR, CR). An Ovenbird along the Medina R. in s. Bexar 14 Jun (DEn) was definitely late. A Louisiana Waterthrush was a great find at Boot Spring, Brewster 23 Jul (DEI, RWo); a pair was at the L.B.J. National Grasslands, Wise 23 Jul (CC), suggesting local breeding. A Common Yellowthroat singing at College Sta- tion, Brazos 15 Jul (ER) provided a very rare local summer record. At least one of the spring Rufous-capped Warblers lingered at Concan, Uvalde through the season (MH). An amazing count of 59 Yellow-breasted Chats was made at White River L., Crosby 17 Jun (AnH, RK). TANAGERS THROUGH FINCHES Providing a rare Hill Country sighting, a male Hepatic Tanager was near Spring Branch, Co- mal 26 Jul (BD). A very early Western Tanag- er was noted at Muleshoe N.W.R., Bailey 15 Jul (BB). A male Flame-colored Tanager was reported from Big Bend’s Juniper Flat, Brew- ster 2 Jul (tTLu); if accepted, it would be the 6th record for the state. Continuing the un- usual influx of Cassin’s Sparrows into cen. Texas this spring, numerous summer reports were received from Brown, Bumet, Coleman, Lampasas, Williamson (m.ob.), juvs. were ob- served in Travis 11 Jun (BSt), and this species also appeared to have nested around Granger L., Williamson (TFe). A count of 7 Field Spar- rows at White River L., Crosby 2 Jul (AHe, RK) marked the 3rd consecutive summer the species has been present here and the highest number recorded thus far. Also of interest were 2 streaky juvs. among several singing ad. Field Sparrows at the L.B.J. National Grass- lands, Wise 3 Jul (CC), providing a good breeding record where the species is of very local occurrence. A Vesper Sparrow in El Paso 7 Jun (JSp) was three weeks late and a sum- mer first for the Trans-Pecos. Indigo Buntings continue to increase as a breeding species on the South Plains; this sea- son, a pair was discovered tending a nest along Turkey Cr., Motley 3 Jun (AHe, AvH), and 23 ads. and 3 fledglings were at White River L., Crosby 17 Jun (AHe, RK). A Dickcis- sel in the Davis Mts. 26 Jul (M&ME) was ear- ly. The continued expansion of Great-tailed Grackles into ne. Texas included two nests at the Gregg airport 2-17 Jun (DW, MHW), one in Henderson 3 Jul (MD), and several dozen resident birds in Tyler, Smith (PB). Bronzed Cowbirds continue to expand northward; new county records for Floyd were estab- lished this season, with 3 males near Floyda- da 3 Jun (AHe, AvH) and 3 others near Dougherty 4 Jun (AHe, AvH). What a sight it must have been to see 155+ post-breeding Or- chard Orioles concentrated in a blueberry field in Nacogdoches 7 Jul (fide DW), 60+ of which were there already on 2 Jul. A second- year Bullock’s Oriole 7 Jul (BFr) was a rare find for Hornsby Bend in Travis. Audubon’s Orioles continue to be seen in the s.-cen. Hill Country. Heindel observed at least 3 during the period around Utopia, Uvalde, and a pair near Bandera, Bandera (LHi) raised young, providing the first nesting record for that re- gion. Two House Finches in Galveston 14 Jun hinted that this species may yet colonize all the way to the immediate coast (SBa). Though breeding was not documented or indeed sus- pected, a few Pine Siskins hung around all pe- riod in the Davis Mts., with 3 in Ft. Davis (KBr) and a few at the Davis Mountains Re- sort (M&ME). In addition, one was in El Paso on 21 Jul 0K0, furnishing a very rare summer record there. 552 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS TEXAS Cited observers (subregional editors in bold- face): Amber Ahrns, Caitlin Andrews, Peter Assmann, Mike Austin, Peter Barnes, Steve Bateman (SBa), Kym Beckwith (KBe), Bran- don Best, Deborah Blackburn, Ralph Boor (RBo), Michelle Bradford, Susan Broderick (SBr), Kelly Bryan (KBr), Chris Butler, David Cimprich, Sheridan Coffey (SCo), Scarlet Colley (ScC), Kassie Collins, Mel Cooksey (South Texas: 16 Townhouse Lane, Corpus Christi, TX 78412. email: ssi@stx.rr.com), D.D. Currie, Claire Curry, Mike Dillon, Ken Dixon, Bob Doe, Marc & Maryann Eastman, Gil Eckrich, David Elkowitz (DEI), Dodge Engleman (DEn), Ted Eubanks, Tim Fennell (TFe), Dixie Feuerbacher, Mark Flippo, Lau- rie Foss, Brush Freeman (BFr), Bert Frenz (BeF) (East Texas: 221 Rainbow Dr., #12190, Livingston, TX 77399-2021. email: bert2@ bafrenz.com), Terry Fuller (TFu), Andy Gar- cia, Fred Gehlbach, Brian Gibbons (BGi), Bernd Gravenstein (BGr), Johnnie Greene, Mary Gustafson, Ron & Carol Gutberlet, Paul Hare jr. (PHa), Linda Hedges (LHe), Mitch Heindel, Anthony Hewetson (AHe) (Northwest Texas: 4407 36th St., Lubbock TX 79414. email:terrverts@yahoo.com), Ave- line Hewetson (AvH), Derek Hill (North- central Texas: 1508 Linden Drive, Denton, TX 76201. email: kinglet32@yahoo.com), Lee Hill (LHi), Petra Hockey (PHo), Gary Hodne, Ray & Roz Hodson, Barbara House, Jim Hughes (JHu), Janelle Hutchison (JaH), Phil Huxford (PHu), Thomas L. Johnson, Tim &Jan Kasparjoe Kennedy QKe), Selena King, Richard Kaskan (RKa), Richard Kinney (RKi), John Kiseda (JKi), Rich Kostecke (RKo), Tom Langschied (TLa), Greg Lasley (GL), Greg Lavaty (GLa), Cin-Ty Lee, Rich- mond Lee (RLe), Del Little, Mark Lockwood, Roel Loera (RLo), Jim Luce, Tim Ludwick (TLu), Ray Matlack, Mark McClelland, Bill McKinney (BiM), Brad McKinney (BMc), John Mittermeier (JMi), Don & Joann Mer- ritt, Penny Miller, Naima Montcer, Tommy Moore (ToM), Tom Morris (TMo), Alan Mur- phy, A1 Nelson, Lacey Ogburn, Carolyn Ohl- Johnson,Jim Paton (JPa) (Trans-Pecos: 4325 Boy Scout Lane, El Paso, TX 79922. email: patonjn@netzero.net), James Phelps (JPhX Barrett Pierce (BPi), Randy Pinkston (RPi), Ben Plummer (BPl), Sumita Prasad, Ross Ras- mussen, Ellen Ratoosh, Martin Reid, Thomas Riecke, Chris Runk, Billy Sandifer (BSa), Laura Sare, Cliff Schackelford (CSc), John Schneider (JSc), Willie Sekula (Central Texas: 7063 Co. Rcl. 228, Falls City, TX 78113-2627. email: wsekula@evl.net), Ken Seyffert, Rachel Smith, John Sproul (JSpX Bob Stone (BoS), Byron Stone (BSt), Carla & Tim Stone, Rose Marie Stortz, Brady Surber (BSu), Dean Thomas, John & Gloria Tveten, Paul & Marguerite Van Dyke, Don Verser (DVe), Darrell Vollert (DVo), Ro Wauer (RWa), Ron Weeks (RWe) (UTC: 110 Indian Warrior, Lake Jackson, TX 77566. email: em- pidonax@sbcglobal.net), Steve Welborn, Matt White, Brian Williams, Jennifer Wilson, Vance Wittie, David Wolf, Mirni Hoppe Wolf, Reine Womite (RWo), Adam Wood, Barry Zimmer. O Mark W. Lockwood, 402 East Harriet Avenue. Alpine, Texas 79830, (mark.lockwood@tpwd.state.tx.us); Randy Pinkston, 3505 Hemlock Court, Temple, Texas 76502, (dpinkston@swmail.sw.org); Ron Weeks, 110 Indian Warrior, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566, (empidonax@sbcglobal.net) Colorado & Wyoming Tony Leukering Bill Schmoker Christopher L Wood Continuing an often-reported trend, the Region experienced warmer-than- average temperatures throughout the season. Using NOAAs climatic monitoring terms, Colorado experienced temperature conditions rated above normal to much above normal in June and July. Denver set a new record for the earliest 100° F + temperature on 14 June, some 10 days earlier than the pre- vious mark. Wyoming had mostly much above-normal temperatures in June, and about half of the state saw record-high tem- peratures in July. The Regions precipitation levels were mostly below normal in June, with most of Colorado relieved by above-nor- mal precipitation in July. Wyoming’s July pre- cipitation was patchy, with some drainages climbing above normal while others remained near, below, or even much below normal. Wyoming contributed the Region’s first tubenose, an astounding specimen record of a species rarely seen anywhere in North Ameri- ca and almost unprecedented in the interi- or— Streaked Shearwater (see article in North American Birds 60: 324-326). A few rarities re- warded patient chasers, including Magnifi- cent Hummingbird, Phainopepla, and Hood- ed Oriole. Cassin’s Sparrow and Dickcissel seem closely linked in irruption years, and this season was no exception, as unusually high numbers of both were recorded outside of their core ranges. Several species appear to be continuing their breeding range expansion in the Region, including Hooded Merganser, Mississippi Kite, Sandhill Crane, White- winged Dove, Short-eared Owl, and Eastern Bluebird. Four immature Purple Martins of the eastern (nominate) subspecies loitered for nearly a month at a martin house in south- eastern Colorado, not breeding this year but perhaps the vanguard for future colonization of this subspecies in the state. Several Merlin sightings in Colorado this summer also fueled speculation that the species may be coloniz- ing the area. The theme of breeding status will be more actively explored next year as Col- orado’s second Breeding Bird Atlas begins field work. Abbreviations: Barr (Barr Lake S.E, Adams)', Crow Valley (Crow Valley Campground, Pawnee National Grassland, Weld );. “West Slope” denotes locations w. of the Rockies. Due to reporting biases, all locations can be assumed to be in Colorado except that each Wyoming location is noted as such the first time it appears in the text. WATERFOWL THROUGH SHOREBIRDS Summer reports of large, white waterfowl in- cluded single Snow Geese in each of two e. Colorado counties and a Trumpeter Swan at the unlikely high-elevation location of Crest- VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 553 COLORADO & WYOMING ed Butte, Gunnison 27 Jun (FL). A Canvas- back brood was of note near Jackson Res., Morgan 9 Jul (NK, CW), and seven summer reports of Hooded Merganser were well more than typical for the region. The oddest duck report of the season, however, was of a fe- male-plumaged Red-breasted Merganser lin- gering at Pueblo Res., Pueblo 5 Jul (BKP). The waterbird highlight of the summer (or of the year, or century?) was a Streaked Shearwater carcass recovered from a playa ne. of Laramie, Albany , WY in mid-Jun (fide D. McDonald) — the Region’s first procellariid record. A first- cycle Brown Pelican was noted at Fossil Creek Res., Larimer 16 Jul (CW, NK) sporad- ically into Sep. A Brown Pelican at not-too- distant Loveland 31 Jul 0- LaFleur) was probably the same bird, but the age was un- reported. Pending submission and acceptance, a re- port of a calling Least Bittern below Jumbo Res., Logan 8 Jul (CW, NK) would provide a very rare ne. Colorado record. Single Great Egrets were out of place in the mts. 24 Jun at L. DeWeese, Custer (BKP, MP) and to the ne. 21 Jul at Prewitt Res., Washington (LS). An imm. Tricolored Heron visited Verhoeff Res., Bent 25 Jul+ (DN) for a rare summer report. All Green Heron reports originated from e. Colorado, most in typical Front Range edge riparian locales. An ad. White Ibis pho- tographed at Pueblo Res. 22-23 Jul (BKP) would provide only Colorado’s 7th, all but one since 1999. Kites provided some summer news. An un- documented Swallow-tailed Kite over Long- mont, Boulder 7 Jul (R Piombino) was of great interest, while a “few” Mississippi Kites sum- mering in Ft. Morgan, Morgan (R Walker, J. Rigli), and another in Arapahoe 27 Jun (L. Crowley) provided data on expanding popu- lations in ne. Colorado; apparently the species has conslidated its hold on recently- colonized Sterling, Logan , with numerous sightings there throughout the summer (m.ob.). Are Merlins colonizing Colorado from the opposite direction? The recent trend of summer observations took a swing up- ward, with single birds found at Big Johnson Res., El Paso 16 Jul (MP) and in Boulder 25 Jul (M. Freiburg). Sandhill Crane continued its slow expan- sion as a breeder on Colorado’s West Slope this summer, as single pairs nested in two sites in Montrose and near Unaweep, Mesa (CD, B. Wright). Two Piping Plovers graced Jumbo Res., Logan 8 Jul (NK, CW); whether these were undetected local breeders (2 were seen at nearby Red Lion S.W.A. in May) or migrants from elsewhere is unknown. The first fall migrant shorebirds, singles of Greater Confirming the first record of breeding for Pueblo County, Colorado, this Eastern Meadowlark sang through the season (here 8 July 2006) at Colorado City. Photograph by Brandon Percival. Yellowlegs and Semipalmated Sandpiper at Pueblo Res., were detected on schedule 22 Jun (BKP), as fall for the Region’s birders starts right around the summer solstice! How- ever, a Willet at Big Johnson Res. 2 Jun (BM) was either a late spring migrant or a very ear- ly fall migrant. Upland Sandpipers were noted widely in migration through the e. plains throughout Jul, with the high count of 15 oc- curring in s. P rowers 15 Jul 0- Stulp). Long- billed Curlews were locally rare at L. De- Weese 1 (RM) & 30 Jun (BKP, MP) and at Barr, Adams 28 Jul (TL; 5 birds). An ad. fe- male Red-necked Phalarope 15-30 Jul at Dove Cr. (AS et al.) was a bit early and a nice find in water-poor Dolores. GULLS THROUGH FLYCATCHERS Odd summer gulls included a subad. Herring Gull at Pueblo Res. 22 Jun (BKP) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Big Johnson Res. 25 May-2 Jun (TL; up to 2 first-cycle birds) and an ad. at Jackson Res. 21 Jul (LS), the last be- ing, presumably, the same bird that has been kicking around the area in summer for the past few years, and which was first found as a second-cycle bird. However, the oddest gull report was of a basic-plumaged Sabine’s Gull that spent 23 May-2 Jun at Big Johnson (ph. MP) — the first one ever found in this plumage in Colorado. The single Caspian Terns at Pueblo Res. 18 Jun (BKP) and Big Johnson Res. 16 Jul (MP) were almost regular, but the one at L. Estes, Larimer 9 Jul (S. Roed- erer) was in the mts., where anything but. The 4 Arctic Terns (3 ads., one imm.) at John Martin Res., Bent 20-22 Jun (DN) were near- ly unprecedented as such late spring migrants and decidedly unprecedented in number. doubling the previous high count. Least Terns put on a good extralimital showing this sum- mer, with 2 at Big Johnson Res. 1-2 Jun (J. Webster), a single first-cycle bird at L. De- Weese 9 Jun (RM), and one in e. Logan 4 Jul (H. Armknecht). The 12 reports of White-winged Dove were topped by the 4 or 5 near Colorado Springs, El Paso 6 Jul (C. Lee); the invasion continues un- abated. Conversely, Inca Doves were reported only from “traditional” locales along the low- er Arkansas R. (m.ob.). A Black-billed Cuckoo was a nearly unprecedented surprise at Chat- field Res., Jefferson 18-25 Jun (C. Lawrence). A Flammulated Owl singing about 200 m n. of the New Mexico border in Lake Dorothey S.W.A. , Las Animas 31 May (TL) extends the known range of that species about as far e. in the Region as habitat allows; a nest was found later (C. Hundertmark). Eastern Screech-Owls bred this summer at well-birded Crow Valley (ph. DAL et al.) for a first local breeding record. A Snowy Owl was reported from near Buffalo, Johnson , WY 11 Jun (fide DF) for a very rare summer report. As the West Slope population of Burrowing Owls has declined precipitously, encouraging were reports of breeding owls in Moffat (FL) and Dolores (AS). After last summer’s good showing. Short-eared Owls continued in high numbers and expand- ed range, with reports from Montezuma (S. Allerton), Moffat (two sites; D. DiTomasso, D. Hilkey), Jefferson (E Plage), and, in the mts., Chaffee (K. Nelson, J. Scheig). The species was also found in numerous locations in se. Col- orado (S. Moss,J. Drummond). A female Magnificent Hummingbird glad- dened hearts at the Durango Mountain Re- sort, La Plata 20 Jul+ (S. Beck-Brown, ph. AS), as many Colorado birders finally caught up with the species. Also providing some excite- ment, a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird graced a Lamar, Prowers feeder 2-9 Jul (J. Thompson); Colorado still has fewer than 10 accepted records. An Eastern Wood-Pewee first found 2 Jun sang through the period at Boulder, Boulder (S. Severs); another at Soap- stone Ranch, Larimer 1 Jun (CW, S. Nicely) was a one-day wonder. Black Phoebes nested for the 2nd consecutive year at Salida (S. York), which at 2111 m is currently the high- est elevation from which the species has been recorded in its recent and rapid breeding ex- pansion into the state. A Scissor-tailed Fly- catcher was a bit n. and w. of normal at Las Animas, Bent 5 Jun (DN). WRENS THROUGH THRUSHES Three reports of 4 birds suggest that, yes, Carolina Wrens are getting to be ho-hum in e. Colorado. As Marsh Wren breeding distri- 554 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS COLORADO & WYOMING A The Purple Martins breeding in the Region, virtually restricted to west of 106° W longitude, are referable to the w. 3 #1 subspecies arboricola. This taxon is not known to use martin houses for nesting, at least in this region, but rather is restricted to natural sites (i.e., tree cavities). However, because the species is increasing as a spring and fall migrant on the e. plains of Colorado and because Purple Martins of the nominate subspecies breed as close as Garden City, Kansas, the state's birders have started looking to the possibility that e. birds may soon begin breeding in Colorado. On 20 May 2006, Leatherman found 4 imm. Purple Martins in a Lamar neighborhood that were eventually found to be attending a martin house there. These bi rds, all of the nominate subspecies, were present through at least 1 1 Jun but were not seen later in the month, despite searches by a few birders. Though the martins did not breed locally, they certainly pro- vided evidence that e. Colorado breeding is probably not very far into the future. To round out the summer Purple Martin story, single females of the nominate subspecies were found e. of Stonington, Boca 17 Jun (SL) and at Chatfield, Douglas 25 Jun (W. Szeliga). bution on the e. Colorado plains is inexpli- cably more patchy than the presence of suit- able habitat would suggest, a report of 3 singing birds below Jumbo Res., Logan 22 Jul (LS) fills a gap in available data. Despite the fact that Eastern Bluebirds have recently be- come much more widespread in e. Colorado than past references suggest, nesting by the species in Colorado City, Pueblo this summer (D. Silverman) was unprecedented. The county listing craze is quickly making all Colorado range maps obsolete. New Veery locations found this summer include Golden Gate Canyon, Jefferson (P. Hansley), Pass Creek Rd., Chaffee (V Truan), Fox Creek, Conejos (BKP, MP), and Lime Cr. at US 550, San Juan (JB). A Wood Thrush at Crow Val- ley 2-3 Jun (DAL) was only a few days later than the only other spring record of the species. MIMIDS THROUGH FINCHES Single Curve-billed Thrashers were far n. of normal in Larimer 2 Jun (G. Luger) and Boul- der 28 Jun 0- Fischer, C. Lowrie). The occur- rence of a female Phainopepla near Beulah, Pueblo 10-15 Jun (M. Ackley) provided the best passerine find of the season. Truly out-of- place parulids included a male Northern Parula summering in the mts. at Salida 30 Jun+ (RM), a wandering Black-throated Blue Warbler singing at Boulder 11 Jun (D. Sparn), a single Grace’s Warbler out on the plains at Last Chance, Washington 2 Jun (JK et al.), a montane singing Prairie Warbler above Wet- more, Custer 1 Jun (DN), and Hooded War- blers in two locations: a female at Burchfield S.W.A., Baca 17 Jun (SL) and, incredibly, a pair at Canon City that produced fledglings by 13 Jul (RM). That last provides nesting confirmation for a 2nd Colorado county (first found nesting in Boulder in the late 1990s). Not quite as interesting, 2 Grace’s Warblers in Custer 18 Jun (K. Lewantowicz, BM) were part of the very-low-density population in the se. Colorado mountains. As many as 5 Hepatic Tanagers were pres- ent at Bader’s Ranch, Las Animas this summer, first found there 3 Jun (MP); a nest was pho- tographed there 18 Jul (AS). Though this species is probably of regular occurrence as a breeder in the county, nearly all appropriate habitat is in private hands, hampering efforts to document the population. A laggard imm. male Summer Tanager brightened Temple Canyon, Fremont 9 Jun (J. Webster). This summer saw a great influx of Cassin’s Sparrows, with the species being found in much larger numbers to the n. and w. than is typical. The flight sent individuals to the San Luis Valley, where quite rare and where recorded in three counties: Alamosa and Cos- tilla (MP, BKP) and Conejos 0- Rawinski). Additionally, the species was found in some numbers (8-10) on North Table Mt., Jefferson during a bird inventory of that locale (DH); the species is certainly not a regular compo- nent of the local breeding avifauna. A Black- throated Sparrow in Boulder 1 Jun (E. Zo- rarowicz) was certainly a surprise, as the species usually breeds in e. Colorado no far- ther n. than s. Otero, and spring overshoots usually occur much earlier in the year. Along with the Cassin’s Sparrows, field workers found territorial Grasshopper Sparrows on North Table Mt. this summer (N. Gobris, DH). Northern Cardinals were well w. of nor- mal on the Front Range edge in Larimer 3 Jul (fide A. Cringan), in Jefferson 4 Jul (R. Woodward, B. Harwood), and in Douglas 29 Jul QK)- Though visited infrequently, Cot- tonwood Canyon, Baca/Las Animas contin- ues to support what is probably the very n. limit of Painted Bunting breeding range, as at least 2 males and a female were present this summer (JK, MP). As usually happens during “good” Cassin’s Sparrows years, Dickcissels were more widespread and nu- merous on the e. plains this year than is typ- ical. The most surprising occurrence was of a singing male on the West Slope at Paonia, Delta 23-24 Jun (ph.J. Beason). Bobolinks at unusual locales were singles along the S. Platte R. in easternmost Weld 9 Jul (NK, CW) and near La Veta, Huerfano 29 Jul (BKP). Baltimore Orioles were found w. of usual a bit more often this summer than is typical, with single males in Jefferson 20 Jun (B. Arnold) and at Cherry Creek S.P., Arapa- hoe 26 Jun (M. A. Bonnell) and single fe- males visiting Barr 23 Jun (TL) and at Pre- witt Res., Washington 8 Jul (NK, CW). And, to round out the oriole story, a Scott’s Oriole was found singing at Grape Canyon, Las An- imas (a site previously unknown to host the species) on 3 Jun (LS). Lesser Goldfinch is not a known breeder in Prowers, so birds present at three or four locations in and near Lamar this summer are of more-than-pass- ing interest. Corrigendum: In the Winter 2005-2006 re- port, the third report of Purple Finch had its location (Lamar) omitted. A Lucy's Warblers were present in Yellowjacket Canyon, Mon- *jt\tezuma again this summer (3rd year in a row). Though their breeding presence is notable in itself (fledged young seen 23 Jun [BKP, MP]), the ancillary sightings by Lucy's chasers in the area made for even bigger headlines. It all started with a pair of Summer Tanagers in the canyon, with the singing male first found 7 May (L. Arnold); the birds were present at least into early Jul and may well have nested, but no cer- tain evidence was obtained. We await proof of nesting by the species in the state. Then, other observers on the way back e. from the canyon on 18 Jun stopped to look for hummers at a large Trumpet Creeper hedge along McElmo Cr. and what should they find but an ad. male Hooded Oriole (N. Erthal, J. Roller). Unlike the spring bird in Mesa (the bird providing the first Colorado record), this bird was apparently referable to the southwestern race, nelsoni, as it was much more yellow than orange. It was seen by numerous Colorado birders. This male Hooded Oriole west of Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado 19 June 2006 furnished just the second state record; the first was found in May in Mesa County. Photograph by Brandon Percival. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 555 COLORADO & WYOMING Cited observers (subregional editors in bold- face): Jim Beatty (sw. Colorado), Coen Dexter (w.-cen. Colorado), Doug Faulkner (Wyoming), Derek Hill, Joey Kellner, Nick Komar, Steve Lar- son, Gloria & Jim Lawrence (statewide Rare Bird Alert/Wyoming), David A. Leatherntan, Tony Leukering, Forrest Luke (nw. Colorado), Bill Maynard, Terry McEneaney (Yellowstone), Chris Michelson (Casper, WY), Rich Miller, Du- ane Nelson, Susan Patla (Jackson, WY), Bran- don K. Percival (se. Colorado), Mark Peterson, Bert Raynes (Jackson, WY), Bill Schmoker (Colorado Front Range), Larry Semo (ne. Col- orado), Andrew Spencer, Glenn Walbek (n.-cen. Colorado), Cole Wild. Many other individuals contributed information to this report but could not be acknowledged here. They all have our thanks and appreciation. ® Tony Leukering, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, Colorado 80603, (tony.leukering@rmbo.org); Bill Schmoker, 3381 Larkspur Drive, Longmont, Colorado 80503, (bill@schmoker.org); Christopher L. Wood, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850, (clw37@cornell.edu) Idaho & Western Montana David Trochlell The Regions cool, wet spring gradually gave way to a very warm and dr)' sum- mer. The last two weeks of the season were especially torrid, making it the second warmest July ever recorded. The wet spring may have played a role in speculations about delayed or even absent breeding birds, but for the most part observers witnessed a very suc- cessful nesting season. Abbreviation: Camas (Camas N.W.R., Jeffer- son, ID); latilong (area encompassed by one degree latitude and one degree longitude used in mapping bird distribution in both Idaho and Montana). CORMORANT THROUGH DICKCISSEL Two pairs of Double-crested Cormorants with nestlings at Coeur d’Alene L., Kootenai 8 Jul (DJ) furnished n. Idaho’s 3rd breeding record. A Great Egret wandered to Ravalli , MT L4 Jun (WT), where they are increasingly reported. Representing the first latilong record in a decade was a Snowy Egret in Lake, MT 5 Jun (JG). A flurry of spring Glossy Ibis reports in e. Idaho ended with singles in Jefferson 3 Jun (CW) and Bingham 27 Jun (SK). Only one previous report of Glossy Ibis existed for Ida- ho before 2006. Well documented were 2 White-nnnped Sandpipers in Fremont 1 Jun (JC, tph. CW), Idaho’s 4th record. Both geo- graphically and seasonally unusual was a Stilt Sandpiper in Nez Perce, ID 4 Jun (CS). Ap- parently high water levels at four s. Idaho reservoirs created exceptional conditions for Caspian Tern breeding, with 85 nests tallied 25 Jun-5 Jul (CT). A White-winged Dove was near Rexburg, ID 4 Jun (ph. DC1, tCW); there are about five previous reports for the state. Eurasian Col- lared-Doves at new Idaho locations included 2 in Nampa 4 Jun (JH), one in Kootenai 7 Jun (SJ), and 3 in Hailey 16 Jun (PWP). Montana's share included a pair in Manhattan 11-19 Jun and one at Gallatin Gateway 26 Jun (EH). A Black-billed Cuckoo near Harrison, MT 24 Jun (SB) furnished just the 3rd local record in 15 years. Exciting news anywhere in the low- er 48 states was a tally of six nesting pairs of Northern Hawk Owl with young in Glacier N.P., MT 12 Jun (GM); they were first discov- ered breeding there just last year. The discov- ery of a Black Swift with a nestling in Glacier N.R 27 Jul (DC) represented Montanas first confirmed nesting in 44 years. A wayward White-throated Swift near Post Falls Dam 17 Jun (MH) was only the 2nd county record. A Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Silver Gate, MT 15 Jun (EH) provided a new location for this species and was only the 2nd report in Lati- long 40C. Alder Flycatchers were noted in Glacier N.P. 10-13 Jun (GM) and w. of Kalispell 13 Jun (DC). With only about three previous Idaho reports, Eastern Phoebes in Bonner 28 May-2 Jun (RB, m.ob.) and Blaine 10 Jun (JC) were significant. Especially notable in sum- mer was a Blue Jay in Manhattan, MT 16 Jun (EH). Single Idaho Northern Mockingbirds were noted in Fremont 8 Jun (CW), at Craters of the Moon N.M. 9 Jun (MM), and in Blaine 13 Jun (KC). An Ovenbird was at Camas 3 Jun (JC, CW), the most consistent location for this rare-but-annual migrant. If accepted by the Idaho B.R.C., a Scarlet Tanager at Ca- mas 3 Jun (JC, tCW) will likely provide a 3rd state record. The only reported Rose-breasted Grosbeak was in Dillon, MT 1 Jun (SSh). Black-throated Sparrows strayed n. of their traditional range in Idaho: singles were noted in Idaho 13 Jun (ph. LL) and Jefferson 25 Jun (SK). The only Great-tailed Grackle reports were from Idaho’s Oneida 3 Jul and Twin Fall s 10 Jul (BO). If accepted, a Dickcissel in Ash- ton 30 Jun-1 Jul (DE, ph., DCl, tCW) will furnish Idaho’s first record. Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): IDAHO: Robert Bond, Kathleen Cameron, Jay Carlisle, Darren Clark (DCl), Kas Dumroese, Doug Ervin, Mike Haldeman, Jim Holcomb, Don Johnson, Stephen John- son, Sasha Keyel, Leanne Loyd-Fairey, Mike Munts, Bruce Ostyn, Hadley Roberts, Shirley Sturts, Charles Swift, Chuck Trost, Cliff Weisse, Poo Wright-Pulliam. MONTANA: Stephanie Becker, Dan Casey, John Grant, Ed Harper, Garrett MacDonald, John Parker, Steve Sherman (SSh) , Don Skaar, Terry Top- pins, Wayne Tree. O David Trochlell, 2409 East North Avenue, La Grande, Oregon 97850, (dtrochlell@verizon.net) 556 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Great Basin There is typically a lull in activity during June and July in the Great Basin, with few birds and even fewer birders on the move. This season was particularly uneventful in the Region, with continuing low rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures. Wild- fires continued throughout much of the Re- gion this summer, following on last years record-setting fire season. The cycle of wild- fires, followed by the spread of invasive exotic grasses leading to more and larger fires, is re- sulting in landscape-level habitat changes, particularly in the Mojave Desert portions of Utah and Nevada. Avian highlights were few and far between this summer, with the notable exception of Utah’s first Glossy Ibis records. Abbreviations: Antelope I. (Antelope Island S.R and Causeway, Davis, UT); Bear R. (Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder, UT); Corn Cr. (Corn Creek Unit, Desert N.W.R., Clark, NV); H.B.V.P. (Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Clark, NV); L. Mead (Lake Mead N.R.A., Clark, NV); Lytle (Lytle Ranch Pre- serve, Washington, UT); Miller’s R.A. (Miller’s Rest Area, Esmeralda, NV); Ouray (Ouray N.W.R., Uintah, UT); Red Hills (Red Hills G.C., St. George, Washington, UT); Zion (Zion N.P., Washington, UT). WATERFOWL THROUGH IBIS Reports of unexpected waterfowl species spending the summer season at strange lo- cales were more than usual this year. A Ross’s Goose spent a hot summer on a pond at the St. George G.C., Washington, UT (1 Jun+; RF). Lone Common Goldeneyes lingered at L. Mo- jave, Clark, NV (SP et al.) and the Springdale Pond, Washington, UT (CS et al.) throughout the season. Even more surprising was a male Barrow’s Goldeneye that spent the summer at Lemmon Valley, Washoe, NV (J&GA, SM et al.). An ad. male Red-breasted Merganser was photographed 25 Jun at Willard Bay S.R, Box Elder, UT (SB). Following a rise in sightings in recent years throughout the West, Utah’s first Glossy Ibis were documented this peri- od. At least 3 were observed in Jun; the first 2 were found near Benson, Cache Valley, Cache, UT 5-18 Jun (acc., tRR, TJ&KB, tDW, LW et al.), with another photographed at Bear R. 24- 25 Jun (acc.; ph., tJB, DG et al.). The species is spreading westward rapidly, with most w. states now boasting multiple records. HAWKS THROUGH WOODPECKERS The only significant raptor sighting was a Zone- tailed Hawk observed 14 Jul near Silver Reef, Washington, UT (SCa). Although there were fewer shorebird sightings than normal, there were a few notable observations, including a Whimbrel photographed 24 Jul at Antelope I. (PH), a Hudsonian Godwit reported with limit- ed details 3 Jul at Logan, Cache, UT (p.a., BR, CR, JR), and early Semipalmated Sandpipers 25 Jul at Glover Ponds, Davis, UT (KP, SCo) and 31 Jul at H.B.V.P (JBr). A second-year Sabine’s Gull observed 26 Jul at Farmington Bay W.M.A., Davis, UT (SCo, BHu) was also much earlier than expected. Least Terns were found at J.W. Fitzgerald W.M.A., Tooele, UT (11 Jun; TJ&KB) and H.B.VP. (15 Jun; TL). Unusually high owl counts included 44 Burrowing Owls 29 Jul at Antelope I. (S&CS) and an incredible 63 Short-eared Owls along a 29-km stretch of road through Curlew Val- ley, Box Elder, UT (1-17 Jun; KP, A&LS). Anna’s Hummingbirds continue to expand their range northward in the Region; an ad. male was observed in nw. Reno, Washoe, NV 26 Jul (FP). A Pileated Woodpecker, a species with very limited range in the Region, was ob- served 23 Jun along the e. shore of L. Tahoe, Washoe, NV (RSt, DGh). FLYCATCHERS THROUGH WARBLERS An Eastern Kingbird was a nice find at Porter Springs, Pershing, NV 4 Jun (F&GP, DM) and furnished the only flycatcher report of note. Purple Martins are rarely reported migrants through the s. portion of the Region, so a fe- male observed 2 Jun at H.B.VP. (JBr) was note- worthy. An intriguing report of a singing Win- ter Wren 8 Jul came from Millcreek Canyon, Salt Lake, UT (CN). Although nesting by this species has not been documented in Utah, there are increasing numbers of summer records that may warrant investigation. A fe- male Varied Thrush along Snake Cr. Pass Trail, Brighton, Salt Lake, UT 23 Jul (J&KB) was unexpected. A wayward Gray Catbird was at Porter Springs, Pershing, NV 10 Jun (FP et al.), and a suspected nesting pair of Gray Cat- birds near Great Basin N.P., White Pine, NV (22 Jun-8 Jul) was observed displaying and carrying nesting material (MR, JF). Northern Mockingbirds are seldom reported in n. Ne- vada, so an individual observed 1 Jul in Pleas- ant Valley, Humboldt was somewhat unexpect- ed (HP). A pair of Northern Mockingbirds nested twice in a nw. Reno, Washoe, NV neigh- borhood this summer (fide BA). Fewer vagrant warblers than usual were also reported this summer. Warbler highlights included a singing male Northern Parula in Fallon, Churchill, NV 11 Jun (BH) and a Mag- nolia Warbler photographed at Com Cr. 10 Jun (ph. RS). Up to 5 Grace’s Warblers, in- cluding fledglings, were found n. of expected breeding areas at Price Canyon R.A, Carbon, UT 29 Jun-2 Jul (EH, MMo, J&KB et al). Fe- male American Redstarts were observed 3 Jun at Miller’s R.A. (GS) and 7 Jun at Parker Ranch Preserve, Nye, NV (LC). A Northern Waterthrush was at Wah Wah Valley Ranch, Beaver, UT 1 Jun (RF). SPARROWS THROUGH FINCHES The only sparrow sighting of note was a White-throated Sparrow found 17 Jun at Corn Cr. (RS). A Common Grackle was pho- tographed 1 Jun at the Wah Wah Valley Ranch, Beaver, UT (RF). One of the high- lights of the period was a female Orchard Ori- ole photographed at a Central, Washington, UT residence (ph. LT). A male Hooded Oriole was observed n. of expected range in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, UT 16 Jun (PF). Two pairs of White-winged Crossbills were ob- served at Beaver Mt., Cache, UT 14 Jul (RR et al), and another pair was at Little Cotton- wood Canyon, Salt Lake, UT 15-21 Jul (D&IM et al.). Higher-than-normal numbers of Evening Grosbeaks were reported from w.- cen. Nevada, with a high count of 50 individ- uals near Spooner L., Douglas 31 Jul (MMe). Contributors and cited observers: Brian Adams, John & Gisele Anderson, Scott Baxter, Joel and Kathy Beyer, Jack Binch (JBi) , Je Anne Branca (JBr), Stephen Carlile (SCa), Steve Coleman (SCo), James & Marian Cressman, Laura Cunningham, John Free, Rick Fridell, Pomera France, Dennis Ghiglieri (DGh), Dana Green (DGr), Jim Healy, Bill Henry (BHe), Paul Higgins, Eric Huish, Bob Huntington (BHu), Reinhard Jockel, Tiffany Lance, Sueann Mar- shall, David & Ingra McCoy, Martin Meyers (MMe), Don Molde, Milton Moody (MMo), Colby Neuman, Fred Petersen, Gail Petersen, Harold Peterson, Kristin Purdy, Melissa Renfro, Buck Russell, Cindy Russell, Ron Ryel, Rick Saval (RSa), Greg Scyphers, Charlie Sheard, Arnold & Linda Smith, Steve & Cindy Som- merfeld, Rose Strickland (RSt), Larry Tripp, Larene Weiss, David Wheeler. @ Rick Fridell, 3505 West 290 North, Hurricane, Utah 84737, (rfridell@redrock.net) VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 557 New Mexico Sartor O. Williams III Summer 2006 opened dry, but generous rains began in late June and spread gen- erally statewide by late July, improving habitat for nesting and migrant species. Nu- merous rarities were found, including state- first Black-capped Gnatcatcher (found nest- ing) and Aztec Thrush, the state’s second Green Kingfisher, and the state’s third Berylline Hummingbird. Abbreviations: B.L.N.W.R. (Bitter Lake N.W.R.); Bosque (Bosque del Apache N.W.R.); E.B.L. (Elephant Butte L.); Maxwell (Maxwell N.W.R and vicinity); N.R.T. (n. Roo- sevelt migrant trap w. of Melrose); RO. Canyon (Post Office Canyon, Peloncillo Mts.); R.G.V. (Rio Grande Valley). WATERFOWL THROUGH RAILS Hard-traveling whistling-ducks were in the news, with a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at Deming 14 Jun (ph. LM) and 2 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks at Bosque 9Jul (ph. MB, JP, NP, CR). Unseasonable waterfowl included a Lesser Scaup pair at Maxwell 9 Jun (WH) and a Bufflehead at French L., Colfax 22-29 Jul (DC). Up to 3 nonvolant juv. Hooded Mer- gansers at Bosque 6 Jul (ph. J. Vradenberg) documented another successful nesting there. The marsh at the Belen Taco Bell hosted a fe- male Ruddy Duck with 3 young 11 Jun (CR). Partial surveys for White-tailed Ptarmigan in the Pecos Wilderness located 6 at several lo- cales along the Santa Barbara Divide 12-14 Jun (C. Braun). Noteworthy for Union was a Northern Bobwhite on Perico Cr. w. of Texline 26 Jun (HS). Montezuma Quail were in evi- dence in Catron, Grant, and Hidalgo, includ- ing a pair with 8 chicks at Mogollon 22 Jul (CGL). High count for Eared Grebe nests was 225 at Horse L., Rio Arriba 13 Jul (DS); 16 nests were at Stubblefield L. 19 Jul, where a pair was tending a chick 21 Jul (ph. DC). Both Aechmophonis grebes nested successfully at Stubblefield L., where there were one Western and three Clark’s broods 27 Jun (DC) and two nests of each 13 Jul (ph. DC); elsewhere, 3 ad. Clark’s were each tending chicks at Sumner L. 4 Jun (WH), and a large mixed-species colony was reported at E.B.L. 5 Jun (WW). Two Great Blue Heron nests on the Navajo R. near Dulce each had 3 large young 13 Jun (DS); three nests at Gila Hot Springs Hedged 7 by late Jun (P Yoder). Far-flung Great Egrets in- cluded 2 at Navajo Dam 20 Jun (J. Groves), 3 at three Albuquerque sites 8-13 Jun (DH), 3 at Peralta 6 Jul (E. Nunez), and one at Lords- burg 6 & 23 Jun (JO, JP). An ad. Little Blue Heron near Radium Springs 4 Jun (MS, ph. JZ) provided the lone report. Ad. Black- crowned Night-Herons were carrying sticks at Springer L. 12 & 16 Jun, where a small colony was established 1 Jul (DC). An ad. Yellow- crowned Night-Heron visited Bosque 10-11 Jun (L. Gorbet, CR). An ad. Glossy Ibis was among several transient White-faceds at Stub- blefield L. 1-7 Jun (ph. DC). In spite of a massive fish kill at Ramah L. 27 Jun, the Osprey nest there fledged at least one young by late Jul (DS); in Rio Aniba, 17 territories fledged 17 young from eight suc- cessful nests (DS). Single White-tailed Kites were s. of Rodeo 8 Jul (JP) and at Rodeo 23- 31 Jul (RW), and 2 were in the San Simon Val- ley n. of Rodeo 23-31 Jul (RW). Mississippi Kites continued to increase in the middle R.G.V., including up to eight pairs in the Los Lunas area Jun-Jul (DH); n. to the upper R.G.V. was one at San Juan Pueblo 14 Jul (SF). Unusual in drought years, single Northern Harriers were near B.L.N.W.R. 5 Jun (WH) and Carlsbad 2 Jun (fide SW). A Common Black-Hawk was n. to Santa Rosa 14 Jul (ph. JO); 2 in a Silver City riparian area through the period were unusual (D. Beatty). Gray Hawks continued to populate Hidalgo, with one at Rodeo 16 Jul and later (RW), one in the middle Animas Valley 21 Jul OP), and up to 2 in Guadalupe Canyon Jun-Jul (rn.ob.). A Fer- ruginous Hawk nest n. of Roy 29 Jun (HS) contained both dark- and light-morph nestlings. Productivity counts at active Gold- en Eagle nests in ne. New Mexico found 26 of 46 were successful, producing 36 young (DS); searches in Rio Aniba determined five nests successfully fledged 6 young by Jun (DS). At least one ad. Aplomado Falcon was in s. Luna 6 Jun and 7 Jul (RM), where the species has been resident since 2000. A Common Moorhen with 2 chicks was at a marsh near the Camino Real Heritage Center, cen. Socor- ro 5 Jun (WW); elsewhere, 2 ads. were tend- ing chicks at B.L.N.W.R. 21 Jun (GW), and one to 2 were at four Dona Ana sites 5 Jun- 15 Jul (rn.ob.). PLOVERS THROUGH DOVES Surprisingly late was an American Golden- Plover near Farmington 22 Jun (ph. J. Rees). Peripheral Snowy Plovers were singles at Stubblefield L. 9 Jun (DC) and Springer L. 12 Jun (ph. DC); high count was 295 at B.L.N.W.R. 21 Jun (GW), and 8 ads. were at Brantley L. 8 Jun (RD). Noteworthy Moun- tain Plovers were one on the North Plains, Ci- bola 2 Jun (DK) and up to 7 n. of Tres Piedras, Taos 4 & 1 1 Jul OR WW); 18 on the Grenville B B S. 25 Jun (CR) was the largest number there in several years. Scarce n. to Colfax in summer, 2 Black-necked Stilts were at Stub- blefield L. 14Jun (DC); w. were 2 at Bill Evans L. 13 Jun (RS). Noteworthy for the lower Pecos Valley in summer were one to 3 Spotted Sandpipers at B.L.N.W.R. 7 Jun-19 Jul (GW) and 5 at L. Avalon 3 Jul (SW). Early fall Soli- tary Sandpipers were singles at Vermejo Ranch, Colfax 5 & 8 Jul (DC) and Bosque 6 Jul OP) and 2 at Holloman L. 7 Jul (CB); un- usual was one at 2440 m w. of Datil 30 Jul (ph. JH). The 34 Lesser Yellowlegs at B.L.N.W.R. 5 Jul (GW) and the 22 at Bosque 9 Jul (CR) were large numbers for so early in the season. Unusual along the Mexican bor- der in summer, 8 Long-billed Curlews were in wheat fields w. of Columbus 7 Jul (RM). Ear- liest Marbled Godwits were 15 at Springer L. 16 Jun (ph. DC); singles reached L. Avalon 3 Jul (SW) and B.L.N.W.R. 5 Jul (GW). Always a treat, a Red Knot at E.B.L. 29 Jul OP ph. JO) provided an early fall record. Also early were single Sanderlings at Vermejo Ranch 8 Jul (DC) and L. Avalon 10 Jul (SW). Impressive numbers of White-rumped Sandpipers passed through in early Jun, including a record 54 at B.L.N.W.R. 5 Jun (GW, J. Howland) and 52 at Stubblefield L. 5 Jun (DC), where there were 43 on 9 Jun (ph. DC); far w., and a Rio Arriba first, were 2 at Stone L. 10 Jun OP)- Stilt Sand- pipers were more numerous than usual in the R.G.V., including 5 at Bosque 9 Jul OP et al.) and 20 at E.B.L. 29 Jul 0p); farther e., high count at B.L.N.W.R. was 88 on 19 Jul (GW). Five vocal Short-billed Dowitchers were ear- ly at Stubblefield L. 19 Jul (v.r., DC). Sum- mering Wilson’s Snipe were one near Vadito, Taos 9 Jun OP) and 2 each w. of Taos 2 Jul OP) and at French L. 7 & 21 Jun (DC). Returning female Wilson’s Phalaropes were 15 at E.B.L. 0O) and 170 at Holloman L. (CGL) 20 Jun. An ad. Laughing Gull at Brantley L. 3 Jun (SW) continued the recent proliferation of records. High count for California Gulls sum- 558 NORTH AMERICAN BIROS NEW MEXICO impressive numbers of White-rumped Sandpipers passed through New Mexico in early June 2006, including these, part of a flock of 43 at Stubblefield Lake, Colfax County 9 June. Photograph by David J. Geary. Far north of historic New Mexico breeding range, this Dusky-capped Flycatcher was found lining its nest at Cherry Creek Campground, Grant County 17 June 2006 (here). Photograph by Dale A. Zimmerman. mering at Eagle Nest L. was 20 on 21 Jun and 1 Jul (DC). Surprising for the early date was a juv. Sabine’s Gull at Stubblefield L. 31 Jul (DC). Least Terns experienced their worst breeding season in recent history — at the B.L.N.W.R. colony, 13 pairs made 21 nest at- tempts but fledged only 2 young (JM), while at the new Brantley L. colony, where seven pairs were present, four pairs initiated nests, but rising water inundated them all by 12 Jun (JM, RD). Least Terns w. to the R.G.V. were singles on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque’s South Valley 15 Jun (DH) and at Bosque 1 Jun (ph. BZ). Southbound Black Terns arrived at multiple locales 27-28 Jul; noteworthy were 14 at Quemado L. 28 Jul (JH), 10 at Denting 30 Jul (LM), and a high 50 at Stubblefield L. 31 Jul (DC). Single ad. Arctic Terns at L. Aval- on 3 Jul (SW) and E.B.L. 29-30 Jul (JP.JO, NP, MB,JB) provided New Mexico’s 10th and 11th records. A determined Rock Pigeon was nest- ing atop the moving robotic arm inside a car wash at Los Lunas 13 Jul (DH). Continuing to expand their horizons within New Mexico, White-winged Doves in new locales included singles at Embudo in Jun (fide RT), Bluewater 23 Jun (HS), Bear Mts., Socorro 2 Jun (HS), and upper Nogal Canyon 6 Jun (HS). The fe- male Common Ground-Dove that wintered at Las Cruces was last seen 13 Jul (DG); one vo- cal in the middle Animas Valley 25 Jun (JP) provided the only additional report. CUCKOOS THROUGH WOODPECKERS Yellow-billed Cuckoos are relatively scarce in n. New Mexico, so noteworthy were 2 at Ve- larde 6 Jun (RT), one near Folsom 24 Jun (CR), and, in the upper R.G.V., singles at Dixon 8 Jun ( fide RT) and San Juan Pueblo 14 Jul (MM); in the se., single cuckoos were in saltcedar at Brantley L. 22 Jun (RD) and for- mer L. McMillan 6 Jul (RD), but none was in the Six Mile Dam area, where saltcedar has been killed (SW). A Northern Pygmy-Owl in the PO. Canyon area was giving single-note calls 5 Jun (CDL). Elf Owls have only recently colonized Eddy , where one was entering a nest cavity in Last Chance Canyon 7 Jun (SW). Un- expected away from the low desert, Lesser Nighthawks were found to invade upper PO. Canyon on evening foraging flights, including 3 there 15 Jun (CDL); similarly unusual was one in upper Guadalupe Canyon 24 Jun (JP). At least five Black Swift nests were being incu- bated at Jemez Falls 1 Jul (JP). A Berylline Hummingbird banded in the Mimbres Valley 25 Jul (ph. JD-M) furnished New Mexico’s 3rd record and the first away from Hidalgo. A Blue- throated Hummingbird at L. Roberts 24 Ju! (JD-M) provided the lone report; n. was a Mag- nificent w. of Datil 5 Jun (JH). Efforts to count Lucifer Hummingbirds at P.O. Canyon feeders yielded 31 males 1 Jul and 8 females 21 Jun and 7 Jul; first fledglings were 2 there 26 Jul (CDL). A hapless female Black-chinned Hum- mingbird became a Green Heron’s meal near Radium Springs 4 Jun (MS, ph. JZ). An ad. male Anna’s Hummingbird visited a Santa Fe feeder 7 May-8 Jul (L. Herrmann), the same feeder where one spent last fall. Earliest Cal- liope Hummingbirds were single males at Ra- dium Springs 5 Jul (MS), Maxwell 7 Jul (DC), and Las Cruces 8 Jul (DG); earliest Rufous were males at El Rito 24 Jun (JO) and Grey Feathers Lodge, Grant 26 Jun (L. Galloway). The status of Allen’s Hummingbird became clearer with 2 banded at L. Roberts 16 Jul (JD- M, JP, ph. DZ), where the capture ratio of Ru- fous to Allen’s was 40 to one; one to 2 appar- ent Allen’s were there 27 Jul (NP, MB, ph. JO), and another was in Cottonwood Canyon, Pel- oncillo Mts. 28 Jul (NP, MB). Discovery of a pair of Elegant Trogons in a Peloncillo Mts. canyon s. of Skeleton Canyon 21 Jul (RV et al.) provided the first evidence of apparent breeding away from Skeleton. A Belted Kingfisher entering a streambank hole VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 559 NEW MEXICO below Jemez Falls 17Jun (JP) suggested local nesting. Well described was an ad. male Green Kingfisher on the Gila R. near Cliff 5 Jul (K. Broclhead), but no photographs were obtained; this is the 2nd state report in less than a year for this unverified species. A small Lewis’s Woodpecker colony at Sugarite S.P, where at least one nest was active 20 Jun (CH), was found abandoned by Lewis’s 30 Jun and in their place were up to 4 Acorn Wood- peckers (CH), which were actively nesting there by 12-13 Jul (CH, ph. DC). Other Acorns of interest were 2 or more in the Gal- linas Mts. near Corona Jun-Jul (DL) and one far e. to N.R.T. 1 Jun (R. Floyd), where it was severely harassed by the local nesting Red- headed Woodpeckers. Additional Red-head- eds of note were 2 near Romeroville 23 Jun (JS, MW) and up to 7, including imms., in e. San Miguel s. of Mosquero 19-20 Jul (MM). Encouraging for the Cliff— Gila Valley were one to 2 Gila Woodpeckers near Cliff 23 Jun (LM) and 23 Jul (CGL) and a nest at Gila Bird Area 7 Jun (RS), the first there in a decade. Al- though resident s. to the Mogollon Mts., American Three-toed Woodpeckers are rarely reported there; this season, 2 were near Wil- low Creek Campground 2 1 -22 J ul (ph. CGL). FLYCATCHERS THROUGH RAVENS Up to 6 vocal Greater Pewees were n. in the Black Range to Dark Canyon 9 Jul (CGL, CB). Willow Flycatchers in recently established summering areas were one on Ponil Cr. e. of Cimarron 3 Jun-1 Jul (DC) and a pair on the Mimbres R. s. of San Lorenzo 25 May-14 Jul (R. Rasmussen). An ad. Dusky Flycatcher car- rying food at Sugarite S.P. 22 Jun (CH) and two pairs carrying food on the e. edge of John- son Mesa 24 Jun (CR) strongly suggested nesting in those two areas; elsewhere in Col- fax, summering Duskies were in Dean Canyon w. of Cimarron 28 Jun (v.r., DC), at Raton Pass 5 Jul (CH), and Bartlett Mesa e. of Raton Pass 4 Jul (CH). A silent Cordilleran/Pacific-slope Flycatcher lingered in Guadalupe Canyon 5 & 14 Jun (NP, MB, JO), a time and place when Pacific-slope Flycatcher is a possibility. For the 3rd consecutive year. Black Phoebes nest- ed near Cimarron Jun-Jul (ph. DC). Up to 7 Vermilion Flycatchers were n. to Trigg Ranch s. of Mosquero 17 Jun and 19-20 Jul (SF, MM), and a male was displaying at B.L.N.W.R. 4 Jun (WH). A pair of Dusky-capped Flycatchers found at Cherry Creek Campground 1 6 Jun (MF) was observed nest-building in a tree cav- ity there 17 Jun (ph. DZ) and continued there into mid-Jul (m.ob.); one or more were n. to the Jack’s Peak area, Burro Mts. 20 Jun (RS) and 7 Jul (CGL), where first found in 2005. Maintaining their presence e. to Sierra, three pairs of Brown-crested Flycatchers were along Las Animas Cr., Ladder Ranch 5 Jun (WW). Following several years of declining numbers, multiple Jun-Jul visits to Guadalupe Canyon found no Thick-billed Kingbirds in the New Mexico portion of the canyon. Noteworthy Scissor-tailed Flycatchers included a local first single near Lakewood 3 Jun (SW), one to 2 on the Delaware R. 4 Jun and 9 Jul (RM), and a nest at Waldrop Park, e. Chaves 2 Jun (SOW); beyond expected range were one at Raton 14 Jun ( fide DC), one near Sabinoso 19 Jun (CR), 2 s. of Mosquero 17 Jun (SF), 5 at San Jon 16 Jul (MW), one near Melrose 15 Jul (CR), and 2 near Portales 1 Jun (SOW). Bell’s Vireos where seldom reported includ- ed 2 each at Rodeo 8 Jul (JP) and in Dona Ana e. of San Augustin Pass 2 & 14 Jun (CGL) and singles in the middle Animas Valley 25 Jun and 21 Jul (JP), Lakewood 3 Jun (SW), and Jal 6 Jun (SW). Gray Vireos again summered in the Oscura Mts., where there was a pair with a fledgling 20 Jul (CGL, CB); in the San Andres Mts. were singles in Buckhorn Canyon and Cottonwood Canyon, both Sier- ra 11 Jul (CB, CGL) and San Andres Canyon, Doha Ana 15 Jun (WH). Unexpected in mid- dle R.G.V. riparian habitat, a successful Plumbeous Vireo nest was at Bosque Village, Valencia 30Jun-14Jul (DH). An ad. Red-eyed Vireo with a begging young at Raton Pass 16 Jul (CH) provided the best evidence yet that the species nests in New Mexico; interesting were 2 on the Delaware R. 4 Jun, where a male was singing 9 Jul (RM). Noteworthy for the Black Range, a Clark’s Nutcracker was just n. of Emory Pass 4 Jun (CGL). Often over- looked, small groups of American Crows breed widely in New Mexico’s mts.; this sea- son found an ad. feeding young on Bartlett Mesa 4 Jul (CH), several near Gila Hot Springs 28 Jun (SOW), 6 at Mayhill 16 Jun (SW), and 2 at Pinon 13 Jun (WH). Far w. was a Chihuahuan Raven e. of Fence L. 2 Jun (DK). Noteworthy for the Guadalupe Mts. was an active Common Raven nest near Queen 5 Jun (SW). SWALLOWS THROUGH TANAGERS A Purple Martin pair tending nestlings in the Gallinas Mts. near Corona 26 Jul (DL) pro- vided a local first. A pair of Tree Swallows was nesting in a Wood Duck box at Sugarite S.P 21 Jun-7 Jul (CH, ph. DC). Six Bank Swal- lows were at San Juan Pueblo 14 Jul (MM), where the species nested in past years. A Red- breasted Nuthatch was in the Burro Mts. 27 Jun (LM), where not known to breed. A Brown Creeper pair produced fledglings in Ponderosa Pine habitat at Sugarite S.P. 19 Jun (CH). The 27 Cactus Wrens on the Pastura B.B.S. 4 Jun (WH) represented a large number for Guadalupe. Two family groups of Golden- crowned Kinglets were on seldom-visited Lit- tle Costilla Peak, Colfax 17 Jun (DC). Previ- ously unreported, Black-capped Gnatcatcher finally arrived in New Mexico when 2 were found in Guadalupe Canyon 4 Jun (RV et al.), a male was tape-recorded there 9 Jul (v.r., R. Hoyer), and an ad. pair was feeding nestlings 22 (ph. Peg Abbott, ph. JO, JP et al.) & 24 Jul (RW); the intact nest was empty 28 Jul (JO, NP, MB). Two more pairs of Eastern Bluebirds were found breeding in the middle R.G.V. — a pair with fledglings in a burned area at Bernardo 20 Jun (DH) and a pair with fledglings in an area cleared of exotic vegetation at Bosque Farms, Valencia 18 Jul (DH). Veery was found at two dependable locales: one e. of Vadito 10 Jun (CR) and 2 at Chama 9 Jun (JP) and 11 Jul (WW). New Mexico’s first Aztec Thrush was an ad. male described along Santa Fes Bishop’s Lodge Rd. 15 Jul (D. Doeppers); ef- forts to relocate it for photographic confirma- tion were unsuccessful. Noteworthy for sum- mer in the lower R.G.V was a Gray Catbird at Mesilla 8 Jun (JD). Summering Brown Thrashers were one singing in upper Mills Canyon, Harding 30 Jun (HS), one at Bosque Redondo 4 Jun (WH), and a vocal one in Wal- nut Canyon, Eddy 19 Jun (DG). A Curve- billed Thrasher nest with eggs was in the Caja del Rio area near Santa Fe 29 Jun (MR); a nest with eggs in the Bear Mts. 2 Jun (HS) provid- ed a local first. A new breeding locale for Cedar Waxwing was established with the dis- covery of ads. feeding nestlings s. of Jemez Springs 19 & 21 Jul (GG, WH). Phainopeplas were first found nesting at Quarai in 1996; this year, an ad. was feeding nestlings 23 Jul (HS); farther n., a pair was near Cerrillos 21 Jul (LS). Far from known range, an Olive Warbler was in Philadelphia Canyon n. of Ruidoso 24 Jul (SW), apparently a first for the Sacramen- to Mts. Lucy’s Warbler only recently colo- nized Eddy; this season, a pair was on the Black R. near Rattlesnake Springs 3 Jun (RM). Noteworthy for Union were ad. Yellow War- blers feeding fledglings w. of Folsom 24 Jun (CR). Certainly unexpected on a New Mexico B.B.S. was a singing male Cape May Warbler at Sipapu Lodge 9 Jun (JP), die state’s 11th record and first for Taos. A migrant Grace’s Warbler traveling with Bushtits provided a P.O. Canyon first 31 Jul (CDL). An ad. male Prairie Warbler was singing at Albuquerque's Tingley Beach 2 Jun (T. Fetz). A Black-and- white Warbler near Cliff 6-7 Jun (DZ) provid- ed the lone report, as did a young male Amer- ican Redstart at Ladder Ranch 5 Jun (WW). 560 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Intriguing was a probable Ovenbird heard (but not seen) singing at Sugarite S.P. 9 Jul (CR); although not known to nest in New Mexico, the species breeds just across the Colorado line. Late Northern Waterthrushes were singles near Radium Springs 4 Jun (MS, JZ) and at Riley Spring, Socono 7 jun (N. Cox). A singing Mourning Warbler was de- tailed at Sugarite S.R 2 jul (D. Elwonger); subsequent observers described a bird seen in that area as a possible Mourning Warbler x MacGillivray’s Warbler hybrid 9 (CR) & 13 Jul (CH). Wilsons Warbler summered at the Taos Ski Village, where 4, including singing males, were present 9 Jun (JP), and 3 were there 3 Jul (JP)- North were 5 Summer Tan- agers on Trigg Ranch s. of Mosquero 16-17 Jun (SF) and one in upper Mills Canyon 28 Jul (HS); one was on the upper Gila R. at Gila Hot Springs 27 Jun (SOW). A male Western Tanager returned to Las Cruces by 3 Jul (DG). SPARROWS THROUGH FINCHES Cassin’s Sparrows appeared in numerous un- expected locales w. of usual, including 2 on Rowe Mesa s. of Pecos 3 Jun (CR), singles singing at El Rito 24 Jun (JO) and Taos 3 Jul OP), and 35 singing at Caja del Rio near San- ta Fe 29 Jun (MR). Brewer’s Sparrows again nested e. to Stubblefield L., where three nests contained eggs 5 Jun (DC). Dry conditions in Jun resulted in no known Lark Bunting nest- ing activity in ne. New Mexico; early fall mi- grants reached s. Luna 7 Jul (RM) and Radium Springs 12 Jul (MS, JZ). One to 2 male Grasshopper Sparrows were singing in alfalfa near Cliff throughout Jun (Mp ph. DZ, JO), and at least one persisted there 8 (ph. CGL) & 23 jul (CGL); a female was suspected, but no nesting was confirmed. Intriguing was a Fox Sparrow singing at Chama 11 Jul (WW). Five Song Sparrows were along upper Bluewater Cr. 20 Jun (HS), at the s. edge of the breeding range. Yellow-eyed Juncos summering in the Burro Mts. included up to 5 on 20 Jun (RS), an ad. with a juv. 23 Jun (JP), and others seen 27 Jun (LM) and 7 Jul (ph. CGL); dorsalis Gray- headeds were also present (JP, LM). A male Northern Cardinal persisted in Al- buquerque’s South ValleyJun-Jul (DH). Note- worthy for Chaves were 2 singing Pyrrhuloxi- as in the Salt Cr. area 5 Jun (WH) and one singing at Waldrop Park 2 Jun (SOW); in the middle R.G.V, a pair n. to Luis Lopez pro- duced fledglings by early Jul (D. Perry). A Rose-breasted Grosbeak pair was observed mating and carrying nest material at Mesilla 2 Jun, and a 2nd male was in the same area 2 & 8 Jun (JD); a pair, possibly the same, was seen nearby 16 Jun (JD), but no confirmation of nesting was obtained; other Rose-breasteds NEW MEXICO were a female at Maxwell 12 Jun (ph. DC) and a male at Cedar Crest 4-17 Jul (DL). Ap- parent Lazuli Bunting x Indigo Bunting hy- brids were single males at Cimarron 3 Jun (DC) and Sugarite S.P 13 Jul (CH). Up to 5 Varied Buntings were in Guadalupe Canyon 24 Jun (JP), and one was singing in San An- dres Canyon, Dona Ana 15 Jun (WH). Four Painted Buntings were w. to Rodeo 23 Jul, where there were 3 on 30 Jul (RW). Unusual w. to Grant , a singing Dickcissel seemed at home in alfalfa near Cliff 13-21 Jun (MF, ph. JO, ph. DZ). Bronzed Cowbirds n. in the R.G.V were one at E.B.L. Dam 28 Jun (JS) and 4 at Truth or Consequences 20 Jun (JO); 5 were e. tojal 6 Jun (SW). A male Scott’s Oriole was ne. to Burro Hill, Harding 20 Jun (CR); another was s. of Mosquero, e. San Miguel 19 Jul (MM). A pair of Pine Grosbeaks was on Little Costilla Peak 17 Jun (DC). Noteworthy for the Sacra- mento Mts. was a Cassin’s Finch singing near Sunspot 14 Jun (WH). Small numbers of Red Crossbills summered in the San Juan, Sangre de Cristo, andjemez ranges, including 10-15 in the Jemez Mts. 2 Jun (BZ) and 1 Jul (JP); farther s., 2 were near Hummingbird Saddle, Mogollon Mts. 22 jul (CGL), and one was s. of Cloudcroft 13 Jun (WH). Breeding in the lower R.G.V. were 2 ad. Pine Siskins with beg- ging fledglings near Radium Springs 3 Jun (MS, JZ); the ads. had been in the area since May. A male American Goldfinch was singing/displaying s. of Jemez Springs 15 & 21 Jul (GG, WH), but no females were seen; multiple singing males were at two known breeding locales near Cimarron in jul (ph. DC). Initialed observers: Jonathan Batkin, Matt Baumann, Charles Britt, David Cleary, Joan Day-Martin, Robert Doster, John Douglas, Stacey Fradkin, Mike Fugagli, Gail Garber, David Griffin, Joan Hardie, David Hawksworth, William Howe, Charles Hun- dertmark, David Krueper, David Ligon, Car- roll D. Littlefield, Carl G. Lundblad, Martin MacRoberts, Larry Malone, Raymond Meyer, James Montgomery, Jerry Oldenettel, John Parmeter, Nick Pederson, Mary Ristow, Christopher Rustay, Lawry Sager, Hart Schwarz, Marcy Scott, Roland Shook, Dale Stahlecker, James Stuart, Robert Templeton, Raymond VanBuskirk, Gordon Warrick, Mark Watson, Richard Webster, Steve West, William West, S. O. Williams, James Zabriskie, Barry Zimmer, Dale Zimmerman. © Sartor 0, Williams 111, Southwest Natural History Institute, 1819 Meadowview Drive NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104-2511, (sunbittern@earthiink.net) vVmcncanBiixlinq The ABA's online birder resource to travel companies and destinations as well as birding products and equipment. For rates and information, go to the ABA website at www.aba.org/netconnections VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 561 [Arizona Mark M. Stevenson (Non-Passerines) Gary H. Rosenberg (Passerines) Drought conditions persisted through a hot and dryjune. Observers noted a related lack of nesting success among pine-oak woodland species. Relief arrived with ample rainfall in July, setting the stage for a productive “second spring.” Highlights included nesting Ruddy Ground-Doves and an influx of Aztec Thrushes. Abbreviations: A.VS.T.R (Avra Valley S.T.R), G.W.R. (Gilbert Water Ranch), H.R.P. (Has- sayampa River Preserve), N.l.R. (Navajo Indian Reservation), P.L.S.P. (Patagonia Lake S.P.), S.P.R. (San Pedro R.), Sweetwater (Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson), Whitewater (Whitewater Draw W.A.) GEESE THROUGH TERNS Out-of-place summer waterfowl highlights included: a Ross’s Goose at Pinetop 4Jul (T. Godfrey) and another at Green Valley S.T.P 11 Jul+ (R. Palmer, m.ob.) that was literally in hot water; single Buffleheads at Benson S.T.P. 9 Jul (DS) and Sierra Vista S.T.P 16 Jul (EW); and the Common Merganser at P.L.S.P. through 6 Jun (SH). The Tucson Least Grebe saga continued, with the bird at Sam Lena Park reported through 17 Jun (AC), the Sweetwater bird reported through 1 Jul (A. Robertson), and one at A.V.S.T.P 27 Jun-14 Jul (ph. DS). A Western Grebe at Willcox 29 Jul (BM, D. Battaglia) and a Clark’s Grebe there 3 Jul (R. Eastman) were casual away from nesting areas. Wandering Brown Pelican numbers were moderate this summer, with fewer than 20 reported statewide, though one made it as far n. as Becker L. 24 Jul (DT). Ca- sual along the S.ER., a Neotropic Cormorant was near Hereford 17-21 Jun (MM, ph. M. Taylor). Up to 27 were at G.W.R. in Jul (MMo), but only a paltry 2 were reported from P.L.S.P. (SH, M. J. lliff). The 2 Little Blue Herons found at Rio Salado, Phoenix in the spring were present all summer, but nesting was not detected (TG). The seemingly resi- dent White Ibis was seen again in Palo Verde 23 Jul (TC). All three California Condor nests in the Grand Canyon region failed this year (Pere- grine Fund). An imm. White-tailed Kite along the upper S.RR. near Hwy 90 on 22 Jul likely fledged from a nest there (M. Guest, fide EW). Statewide, 42 Bald Eagles fledged, tying the high record (Arizona Game & Fish). In the Toroweap Valley, three or four pairs of Northern Harriers were seen 2 Jun (TC, CL); nesting had not occurred in the area in 10 years. Gray Hawks continued to be found at higher-than-usual elevations in se. Arizona, with 2 seen separately at the mouth of Madera Canyon (RW, MMS), one in Miller Canyon 27 Jun (P. Santinello), and a nest with young on the lower e. slope of the Chir- icahua Mts. 28 Jun (DJ). Also at high eleva- tion was a Common Black-Hawk at Rose Canyon L. in the Catalina Mts. 25 Jul— 17 Sep (tDJe, ph. E Simpson). The only report of the resident Red-shouldered Hawk at H.R.R was on 3 Jun (EL). The pair of Short-tailed Hawks around Barfoot Park was reported sporadical- ly through the summer (DJ, m.ob.). North of the Chiricahuas, a single Short-tailed Hawk was reported from the Treasure Park area of the Pinaleno Mts. 4 Jun (tDJe, KK); there were no previous reports from that range. Casual late-summer visitors, an ad. Purple Gallinule was at Sweetwater 30 Jul— 12 Aug (D. & R Pallette, ph. MMS), and another was well described at a pond in St. David 5-24 Jul 0- White) but went unconfirmed. The lone Sandhill Crane spent the summer at Luna L. again (SH). A Snowy Plover at G.W.R. 25 Jul (S. Ganley) was an early migrant. Nesting of Mountain Plovers was first confirmed in Ari- zona near Springerville in 1996. Of three nesting pairs of Mountain Plovers found near there in Jun, at least one fledged young (T. Bayless). Rare breeders in n. Arizona, 7 American Avocets at Little Ortega L. 12 Jun (J. Videle) were suspected of nesting. A Red Knot at Willcox 29 Jul— 1 Aug (BM, ph. D. Battaglia, JLD) makes the earliest record of this casual fall migrant for se. Arizona. A Sanderling and a Semipalmated Sandpiper there 30 Jul (ph. JLD) were also casual. Up to 4 Western Sandpipers at Willcox 3 Jun were apparently very late spring migrants (RH, SH). Three White-rumped Sandpipers were reported at Willcox 6 Jun (JEW); there are fewer than 10 records for se. Arizona, all from late May-Jun. Six Long-billed Dowitch- ers at G.W.R. 13 Jul were early. The first southbound Wilson’s Phalaropes appeared at Willcox 9 Jun (P. Salomon), and the first southbound Red-necked Phalarope was at A.V.S.T.P 27 Jul (GB); both were within the expected date range. A Laughing Gull was a good find at Willcox 29 Jun-3 Jul (RT, ph. E. Bustya), whence a large percentage of Ari- zona records come. An Elegant Tern at G.W.R. 14 Jun (ph. B. Grice) made just the 2nd Maricopa record. Single Least Terns at Tucson 2 Jun 0- Higgins) and Willcox 4 Jun (DJe) fit the pattern for northbound mi- grants. However, a Black Tern at Willcox 29 Jun (DS) was between typical migration periods. DOVES THROUGH SAPSUCKERS Ruddy Ground-Doves made news when a nest was photographed near the Santa Cruz R. at Red Rock 1 Jul (ph. PD). Although breed- ing had previously been confirmed in Arizona and California, this is the first actual nest to be documented n. of Mexico. A few Ruddy Ground-Doves were also seen sporadically at Kino Springs this summer (SH, M. Victoria). A Groove-billed Ani was at Arivaca Cienega 9-10 Jun (T. Godfrey, tR. & R Pearson, ph. MMS); although records come mainly from the fall, there are also several from Jun. A Flammulated Owl found dead in a Tempe yard 4 Jun (B. Burger, fide TC) was far from nesting areas. Reports of poor nesting success for the species in the Chiricahua Mts. (DJ) suggest that prey was limited. Conversely, a Long-eared Owl nest with 5 nestlings in Toroweap Valley 1 Jun (TC, CL) suggests am- ple prey there. Buff-collared Nightjar reports continued from the Oro Blanco Mine site through late Jul (m.ob.). At Proctor Rd., be- low Madera Canyon, a nightjar was heard 9 Jun (M. Kehl); they have been found irregu- larly at this location. Though the drought again adversely affect- ed hummingbird nesting, some of the less- common hummers were seen in good num- bers. Three or more White-eared Humming- birds summered in Miller Canyon (TB, GB, S. Williamson), the individual in Madera Canyon was last reported 7 Jun (D. Bauman), and at Portal, singles were at a private feeder 27 Jun-7 Jul (RAR, REW) and at the South- west Research Station 2 Jul (D. Estabrooks. S. Wethington). Berylline Hummingbirds were especially numerous for a casual species. At Ramsey Canyon Preserve, a male was present 12 Jun-23 Jul (R. Romea, ph. JWo, O. Niehuis) and a female seen 15 Jul+ (GB, ph. D. Nelson). At Portal, one visited a feeder 25 Jun+ (RAR, t, ph. REW). Another was pho- 562 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ARIZONA tographed in Miller Canyon 27-28 Jun (P Santinello, ph. JWo, T. Heinrich) and report- ed again in late Jul (TB). Violet-crowned Hummingbirds at Tumacacori National His- torical Park 17 Jun (L. Norris), E. Whitetail Canyon 1 Jul (RT), the e. end of Aravaipa Canyon 2 Jul (S. Wethington, fide TC), and the S.ER. Inn 28 Jul (MM) were away from nesting areas. Others were seen in Portal and in eastside Huachuca Mts. canyons, where they are sparse (m.ob.) After several years of low numbers in the Portal area, Lucifer Hum- mingbirds were seen at multiple locations there this summer (m.ob.). Several sum- mered in eastside Huachuca Mts. canyons (TB, M. J. Ballator), and in Madera Canyon, a male was present 25 Jun (ph. K. & C. Radamaker), and a female was banded 17 Jul (G. West). Seen between migration periods, a female Calliope Hummingbird was at Portal 4-5 Jun (RAR, REW), and a male was in Ara- vaipa Canyon 5 Jun (S. Wethington, fide TC). An early migrant was reported in Miller Canyon 28 Jun-7 Jul (TB). Rare early fall mi- grants, 9 Allen’s Hummingbirds were report- ed beginning 9 Jul, all in se. Arizona (M. J. Iliff, GB, JLD, G. West, RAR, REW, M. Victo- ria, P Santinello, TB). No fewer than 8 Elegant Trogons were de- tected in the Patagonia Mts. (M. Brown, J. Stewart), but again, no evidence of nesting was found. One heard calling at Pena Blanca L. 8 Jun (RW) was well away from the nearest nesting locality in Sycamore Canyon. Jasper reports that trogons arrived late on territory and had half or less of the usual nesting suc- cess in the Chiricahua Mts. The only Green Kingfisher reported was one along the upper S.P.R. 21 Jul (A. Miller). A female William- son’s Sapsucker was an extremely late migrant in Portal 5 Jun (ph. REW), and a Red-naped Sapsucker in Huachuca Canyon 7 Jun (R. Behrstock) was also very late. FLYCATCHERS THROUGH THRASHERS A Willow Flycatcher in Yuma 4 Jun (HD) was likely a late migrant, not of the more-rare lo- cal breeding subspecies. A Gray Flycatcher at Pena Blanca L. 8 Jun (RW) was very late for se. Arizona; most have moved north by early May. Several Pacific-slope Flycatchers were detected by voice in early Jun, including 3 in the Kofa Mts. 8 Jun (HD), at least one (and possibly 5) at Pena Blanca L. 8 Jun (RW), and 3 in Sycamore Canyon 8-17 Jun (MK, JB, P. Santinello); small numbers of this migrant are usually found through May. A single Sul- phur-bellied Flycatcher was located in the Sierra Prieta Mts., sw. of Prescott, 4 Jun (CST) and later found nesting there in early Jul (CST, ph. S. Burk); it established a first nesting occurrence for Yavapai. The only Tropical Kingbird found away from known nesting locations was one at Whitewater 3 Jul (DT). After the spring excitement of a few Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (a casual spring and fall migrant), singles were reported from Yuma 28 Jun (C. Shaumberg), at Cibola N.W.R. 17 Jul (I. Samuels), and at Willcox 17 Jul (B. Feltner). Only one male Rose-throated Becard was present this summer at the long- standing Patagonia site; it was last reported 6 Jul (m.ob.). Elsewhere, males were found in Huachuca Canyon 24 Jun (ph. K. Heinlein) and Madera Canyon 17 Jul (RH), both loca- tions where this species is not known to nest. Always a nice find in se. Arizona, a singing male White-eyed Vireo was present at Patago- nia 17 Jul+ (A. Chartier, tMMS, v.r., PD); there were only about 20 previous records for Arizona. Continuing this spring’s increased reports of Gray Vireo away from known breeding areas, one was reported from Ram- sey Canyon 5 Jun (R. Romea, J. Woodley). A Yellow-throated Vireo, casual in summer, was reported from South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon 10 Jun (R. Greenspun). A Cassin’s Vireo in Leslie Canyon 17 Jun (REW) was ex- tremely late for a spring migrant. A Red-eyed Vireo, casual during summer in Arizona, was reported from Garden Canyon 24 Jun (tS. Schuette et al.). Tree Swallows appeared early as south- bound migrants at Benson 23 Jun (DS), at Sierra Vista 2 Jul (EW), and at Portal 3 Jul (P. D. Hulce); normal timing of their arrival in se. Arizona is from mid-Jul through early Aug. The Carolina Wren that has been pres- ent near Portal since fall of 2005 was last re- ported 30 Jun. A Marsh Wren at Cameron 31 Jul (CL) provided the earliest known fall record for the N.I.R. A pair of Black-capped Gnatcatchers found in Guadalupe Canyon provided a first record for New Mexico and was later found in the Arizona portion of the canyon on 5 Jun (ph. J. Oldenettel; fj. Parmeter, B. Wittman), providing a first local record. Elsewhere, a pair nested in Leslie Canyon 17 Jun+ (REW), at least one pair nested again at P.L.S.P., with fledged young present 9 Jul (M. J. Iliff), another pair was in Montosa Canyon, with young 23 Jun-11 Jul (M. Kehl), with yet another active nest there 31 Jul (L. Sansone), and finally at least one was present near Proctor Rd. below Madera Canyon 28Jul+ (MPo, MMS). A Townsend’s Solitaire near Barfoot Park, Chiricahua Mts. 10 Jun (G. Levin) followed a few recent summer reports from the range. A Swainson’s Thrush in E. Whitetail Canyon 1- 2 jul (RT; ph. R. Shantz) was very out of place, as this species is not known to breed in se. Arizona. A Wood Thrush made a brief ap- pearance at Sweetwater 2 Jul (ph. T. Leona, MMS, MPo), providing one of only a few mid- summer records for the state. A Gray Catbird at Whitewater 3 Jul (DT) was well away from the closest breeding areas in the White Mts. A Brown Thrasher in Cave Creek Canyon 21 Jun (DJ) provided the latest Jun record for se. Arizona. WARBLERS THROUGH GOLDFINCHES A female Northern Parula was at Sipe White Mountain W.A. near Springerville 3 Jul (KR, C. Radamaker), where this species is casual in summer. The warbler of the season was a Tropical Parula found at Portal 16-23 Jun (T. & L. Gates; ph. REW), establishing only a 3rd Arizona record. Another reported from Sycamore Canyon 15 Jul (IT. Johnson) was not seen again. Both will be evaluated by the A.B.C. A singing male Chestnut-sided War- bler along the S. Fork of the Little Colorado R. near Springerville 1-5 Jun (ph. DR, GC) provided one of the few summer reports of this species in Arizona. Late Townsend’s War- blers included one near Portal 4 Jun (H. Sny- der), one at Rio Salado, Phoenix 17 Jun (EL), and one at Madera Canyon 22 Jun (JB, DS); there are very few Jun records of this species in s. Arizona. A Grace’s Warbler in the desert at San Bernardino N.W.R. near Douglas 1 Jun (REW) was just plain lost! An apparent Grace’s Warbler x Yellow-rumped Warbler hybrid, a combination seldom reported, was at the Sierra Prieta Mts. 4Jun (CST). Summer Black-and-white Warblers are casual in Ari- zona; singles were at Flagstaff 6 Jun (W. Fair) and in Madera Canyon 15 Jun 0- Ayres). Six American Redstarts were found statewide, a few more than usual. Amazingly, 2 different r ft On 9 Jul, Karen LeMay looked out her kitchen window in Ash Canyon and noticed a strange bird — an Aztec Thrush 3 n (ph. K. LeMay, J. Woodley), little did we realize that this was just the start of what was to be the 2nd largest invasion of this Mexican species into se. Arizona (and the United States), the largest occurring in Aug-Sep 1 996, when no fewer than 16 were found. On 21 Jul, another Aztec Thrush was located in upper Garden Canyon (T. Will, B. Altman, C. Beardmore et al.; ph. K. Rosenberg), but the true action began on 24 Jul in Madera Canyon, with first one individual located (G. Lillie), then 7 there later that day (MPo, B. Massey, T. Staudt; ph. A. Tozier, D. Nelson). The invasion peaked at 9 individuals in Madera 26 Jul, with numbers dropping to one or 2 per day by 1 Aug. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 563 ARIZONA Prothonotary Warblers showed up in a Portal yard, a female 2 Jun and a male there 5 Jun (ph. REW, RAR), with one moving to a dif- ferent Portal yard 9-12 Jun (ph. M. Decker). Yet another excellent bird showed up in a Tolleson yard, this time a Kentucky Warbler 22 jun (ph. BG), providing only a 6th Mari- copa record. Late MacGillivray’s Warblers were reported from Tucson 3 Jun (fide R. Yak- sich) and Portal 22 Jun (M. Decker). Hooded Warblers have become somewhat expected in midsummer; this year, singles were at Com- fort Spring 17 Jun (RH, KK, J. Mohlman), in Miller Canyon 22 Jun (J\Vo), and at Rio Sal- ado, Phoenix 26 Jul+ (EL; ph. D. Burba). The Rufous-capped Warbler found in Sycamore Canyon during the winter and spring contin- ued through the summer (m.ob.) and was ap- parently joined by a 2nd bird (female?) 24 Jul-10 Aug (J. Hutchison). One was seen gathering nesting material near Hank & Yank’s 25 jul (BM), but there were no further indications of nesting. An out-of-place Western Tanager was at San Bernardino N.W.R. 27 Jun (REW). The male Flame-colored Tanager at Madera Canyon remained on territory into Aug (m.ob). It is unclear whether there was suc- cessful fledging this year, but the bird report- edly paired with a female Western Tanager and was seen attending a nest with young 16 0- Drummond) & 21 Jun (RH). A very late Green-tailed Towhee was reported from Madera Canyon 15 Jun (j- Ayers); one in a Portal Yard 3 Jul (RAR, REW) may have sum- mered locally. A late Brewer’s Sparrow was in Cave Creek Canyon 3-6 Jun (P. D. Hulce, B. Clough). A summering Lark Sparrow at G.W.R. 21 Jun-19 Jul (C. Ross, M. Moore) provided perhaps the first Jun record for Maricopa. Yellow Grosbeak is a casual late spring and summer visitor to se. Arizona, with virtually all of the fewer than 15 accepted records falling between late May and late Jul; there- fore an ad. male reported in Sycamore Canyon 10 (tZ. Holderby) & 12-13 Jun (M. Brown, RW et al.) is of great interest and will be evaluated by the A.B.C. No fewer than 14 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, mostly males, were reported during Jun and Jul, consistent with recent patterns. A late Lazuli Bunting was in Madera Canyon 22 Jun (DS). No fewer than 12 different Painted Buntings were reported in se. Arizona during the last 10 days of Jul — certainly the time of year to look for this scarce species. A singing Eastern Meadowlark s. of Col- orado City 1 Jun (TC, CL) was n. of this species’ normal breeding range in Arizona, which (rarely) extends w. to the s. Grand Canyon region. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are casual in se. Arizona in Jul; a hock of 40-50 at a cattle tank near Portal during most of the summer (DJ) was unusual. Six Bronzed Cow- birds at Yuma 22 Jul (HD) were w. of their normal nesting areas in s. Arizona. A male Lawrence’s Goldfinch at a feeder in Ash Canyon 13 Jul (ph. JLD) provided one of only a few summer reports for se. Arizona. Simi- larly, an American Goldfinch at a feeder in Portal 18 Jul (RAR, REW) was out of place, as this species does not breed in the state. Contributors: Tom Beatty, Gavin Bieber, Jerry Bock, Andrew Core, Troy Corman, Gary Crandall, Henry Detwiler, Pierre Deviche, Jon L. Dunn, Tom Gaskill, Bill Grossi, Stuart Healy, Rich Hoyer, Dave Jasper (Portal), Doug Jeness, Keith Kamper (Tucson Rare Bird Alert), Chuck LaRue, Eric Latturner, Michael Marsden, Michael Moore, Brennan Mulrooney, Molly Pollock, Kurt Radamaker, Donna Roten, Rose Ann Rowlett, Dave Ste- jskal, Mark M Stevenson, Rick Taylor, Carl S. Tomoff, Diane Touret, Erika Wilson, Richard E. Webster, Janet Witzeman (Maricopa), Joe Woodley, Rick Wright. t& Mark M. Stevenson, 4201 East Monte Vista Drive, #J207, Tucson, Arizona 85712-5554, (drbrdr@att.net); Gary H. Rosenberg, P. 0. Box 91856, Tucson, Arizona 85752-1856, (ghrosenberg@comcast.net) Alaska CHUKCHI SEA BEAUFORT SEA -^Prudhoe Bay BERING SEA Attu I. /Shemya I. «/ R Buldir I. * ■ vfr5 ■"**" Amchitka I. Adak k ThedeTobish *St. Paul Pribilof Is. . Dutch Harbor While there were sporadic periods of fine weather, most of the Region was cool and washed with overcast windy conditions and quite a few coastal and alpine June snow storms throughout the sum- mer. June and July temperatures were below long-term averages, and late July saw serious rains. The season advanced incredibly slowly, especially compared to the past five or six years. For instance, the Nome area had plenty of lingering ice and snow and its coolest June in 21 years. No doubt influ- enced by persistent win- Ketchikan ter snowpacks and a very deep Bering Sea pack-ice position that ex- tended far s. of long-term averages, north- bound migration was protracted, extending well into mid-June. Biologists with the U.S. Geological Survey noted tardy waterbird ar- rivals and delayed occupation of territories in shorebirds across most of the coastal tundra in the vast Yukon-Kuskokwim River Deltas. Southbound shorebirds were weakly distrib- uted in low volumes at the standard first-tier staging sites, for instance at Homer, Kodiak, and Upper Cook Inlet. It was another good season for June-staging waterfowl in the Nome area, where heavy snowpack, persistent cool conditions, and several snow storms delayed northbound migrants and Seward Peninsula breeders from normal early breeding. GEESE THROUGH HAWKS Very late and locally unusual at this season were single Greater White-fronted Geese at Hyder 5-7 Jun (AWP, SCH) and Ketchikan 15 Jun (DW). Another Jun Cackling Goose (sub- species minima) was located at Hyder 6-7 Jun (AWP, ph. SCH); the species is a rare early- spring migrant in the s. Southeast. Fulva Canada Geese, the taxon introduced in the 1980s at nearby Shuyak I., showed up on the Kodiak I. road system for the first time in summer, with dozens found scattered at sev- eral locales 2-25 Jun (fide RAM). Two Be- 564 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ALASKA wick’s Swans were at St. Paul I. 7-14 Jun (VENT, Wings, ph. GHR); there are a few Alaska sight reports from the Pri- bilofs and cen. Aleutians of this sub- species. In a flock of 2000 Tundra Swans, a subad. Whooper Swan was at Nome’s Safety Lagoon 16-17 Jun (VENT, ph. BRZ); there are still few records of Bering Strait Whoopers, including two previous spring birds from Safety La- goon. The Safety Lagoon/Nome area was again fruitful for rarities and overshoot- ing waterfowl, highlighted by 2 Gad- walls 1-10 Jun (Wings, AL), up to 5 Canvasbacks 10 Jun (Wings), a drake Redhead 1 Jun (AL), 3 Ring-necked Ducks 15-17 Jun (VENT), and 2 Lesser Scaup 16-17 Jun (VENT). All of these are rare to casual and not annual on the Seward Pen. Other notable waterfowl sightings were wide- spread, including 10 Northern Shovelers around Kodiak 22 Jul (RAM), where they are distinctly rare in summer; several Eurasian Teal, including one in Barrow 23 Jun (DK, FL); 2 rare summer Tufted Ducks at St. Paul 1. 3-4 Jul (AL); a nice eider assortment at the e. end of their winter range from e. Kodiak, where all but Commons are rare in summer, with 6 Steller’s 30 jun and 18 Kings 26 Jun-22 Jul (RAM); a female-type Smew from St. Paul I. 10-12 Jun (Wings, ph. GE1R); and continu- ing Ruddy Ducks at the s. end of the Interior from Kenny L., where 8 were noted 14 Jun (JLD) and 6 on 9 Jul (AL). Juneau birders located a White-tailed Ptarmigan nest 22 Jun at 900-m elevation above Lemon Cr. (ph. ND), and other ads. were found then and 1 Jul (MB). These data build on only occasional new information for White-taileds from this area of the Mainland Southeast, where Gabrielson and Lincoln’s 1959 Birds of Alaska described them mainly in late winter from Juneau. An average season for Arctic Loon accounts included a basic- plumaged bird at St. Paul 1. 4 Jun (Field Guides) and 2 in the Nome area 12-19 Jun (Field Guides, VENT). Very unusual for the e. Interior and for summer was likely a late mi- grant ad. Yellow-billed Loon on Deadman L., e. of Tok, 13-14 Jun (ph. RAM, MAM). Tubenose highlights included a single Pink- footed Shearwater e. of Kodiak 24 Jul (JBA), from which there are many such summer records, and single Manx Shearwaters off the Chiswell Is. 15 Jun (VENT, tKJZ) and to the s. off Coronation 1. 29 Jun (tBT). The latter species continues to be reported regularly, mostly as singles in the North Gulf each sum- mer. A second-year Double-crested Cor- morant was located at the productive mouth of Safety Lagoon 12 Jun (Field Guides), only Of two Bramblings at Finger Bay, Adak Island, Alaska 31 May through 2 June, this male was photographed on the latter date. Photograph by John Puschock. the 2nd ever for the Seward Pen. An Ardea heron observation from Barrow 17-18 Jun was thought to be probably a Great Blue rather than a Gray; photographs are inconclu- sive but suggest Great Blue (Field Guides, ph. GA, VENT); any heron on the North Slope is This Common Sandpiper was at Salt Lagoon, St. Paul Island, Alaska on 7 June 2006; the species is almost annual here in spring. Photograph by John Puschock. rare. Of the few raptor highlights, single Os- preys were n. of known regular sites, on the Canning R. 14 Jun (AL) and on the coast at Barrow 18 Jun (DK, FL), where casual. RAILS THROUGH ALCIDS Only one Sora was found this season, at Hy- der 5-8 Jun (AWP, SCH), a 2nd local record. American Coot was hard to find; 2 were on Yarger L. in the e. Interior, where they have bred, 18+ Jun (PWS), and one was seen briefly in Anchorage 3 Jun (DW, BW). As is typical for an Alaskan summer, both late and early northbound migrant shorebirds made highlights, whereas southbound shorebirds were in low numbers at the standard coastal staging areas, probably because of poor breed- ing conditions. A mid-season survey in the alpine on the s. side of the Talkeetna Mts. af- firmed an earlier report for nesting American Golden-Plovers, with 16 total ads. and juvs. there 2 Jul (CF, PF). We still lack a complete picture of this species’ s. breeding limits, which probably extend farther southward in the Alaska Range and the Talkeenta/Chugach front ranges than currently documented. Lesser Sand-Plovers made summer news, with late migrant singles at St. Paul 1. 4-9 Jun (VENT) and at Barrow 15-20 Jun (Field Guides, VENT, DK, FL), where casual. A territorial pair of Lessers first seen at Gambell 19 Jun+ (DJ, SJ) actually nested on gravel flats there, noted on eggs 11 Jul (fide PEL, ph. GK); there are a few known or sus- pected nest records from w. Alaska, but this is the first such record for St. Lawrence I., following several occasional intriguing late Jun-early Jul reports in the Gambell vicinity. With dwindling reports from the past decade, only one Eurasian Dotterel report was sub- mitted, from Prudhoe Bay 22 Jun (tAS). Five Wood Sandpipers in the Barrow area 10 Jun-early jul (tBK, FL) were noted in dis- play and copulation; there are few North Slope Wood Sandpiper records. Other Palearctic shorebird notables included a Com- mon Sandpiper at St. Paul 1. 7 Jun (VENT); a Red-necked Stint at Barrow 20 Jun (DK); and quite a few late Ruffs, on the heels of a strong spring showing, with singles in the Nome area on the Teller Rd. 3 Jun (AL) and Safety Lagoon 16 Jun (Wings), “several” in Barrow into early Jun ( fide DK), and possibly a pair near Gambell 16 Jun (fide PEL, GK). A snow- driven day count of 30+ Baird’s Sandpipers on the Teller Rd. out of Nome 5 Jun (Field Guides) was of interest. Other noteworthy Nearctic shorebirds were mainly interesting southbound migrants, including 2 Upland Sandpipers in the alpine above Juneau 29 Jul (GW), where occasional; a great Southeast tally of 16 Hudsonian Godwits in Juneau 14- lb Jul (ND, MS); Kodiak’s first-ever jun northbound Marbled Godwit 3 Jun (RAM); a near-record early Stilt Sandpiper in Juneau 16 Jul (GW et al.); a Short-billed Dowitcher in Nome 10 Jun (Wings); 4 Red Phalaropes at Fairbanks 4-5 Jun (A.B.O., NH); and a single and a pair of Wilsons Phalaropes from Juneau 7 Jun (GW) and Barrow 21 Jun (DM, fide DK), respectively. Wilson’s are occasional late spring finds in Juneau but casual on the North Slope. Wide-ranging Buff-breasted Sandpipers followed their spring showing to unusual sites, with Jun reports of singles and small groups from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Deltas and points northward: 13 along the coast at Nome 10 Jun (Wings), one inland in the alpine e. of Nome 15 Jun (VENT, ph. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 565 ALASKA MJI), and at least 2 at Barrow 17-18 Jun (VENT). Buff-breasteds occasionally push w. of their normal spring migration corri- dor to the Bering Sea coast. Six Long-tailed Jaegers on the s side of the Talkeetna Mts. 2 Jul (CF, PF) were at the s. margins of their known breeding range. A waif Franklin’s Gull wandered to the Bering Sea coast at Nome 3 Jun (VENT, tKJZ); this spring overshoot, presumably from e. British Columbia nesting areas, has reached the Bering Sea more often than elsewhere in the state, usually in the first half of Jun. An ad. Black-headed Gull was notable around Dutch Harbor 9-10 Jun (DW, BW); there are few e. Aleutian or se. Bering Sea reports. A subad. Black-tailed Gull in Anchorage 23 Jun (DWS, GT) rep- resents the first local record and just 3rd record from South-central Alaska; mid- summer records are especially few. Two Ring-billed and 28 California Gulls near Gustavus 26 Jun (BP) were the best of the seasons reports of these rare annual visi- tors. Although both vegae and smithsoni- anus Herring Gulls are known from the Se- ward Pen., where their ranges overlap, few observers document the Nearctic form. At least 2 second-cycle smithsonianus were pho- to-documented in the Nome area 13-14 & 17 Jun (VENT, ph. MJI), and most other birds present were vegae, as is typical. In Nome, 16 Slaty-backed Gulls 17 Jun (VENT) and up to 30 through 12 Jun (Field Guides) appeared to be the summer’s high counts. Slaty-backeds otherwise were reasonably represented, in- cluding one in Homer 17 Jun (ph. RAM) and one in Anchorage 23 Jun (VENT, ph. MJI), where there are few summer reports. Seven ad. Sabine’s Gulls inshore near Gustavus 18 Jun (ND, PV) were anomalous for the date but likely just very late migrants. It was an- other good summer for Caspian Terns, in- cluding peak counts of 20 from Juneau 29 Jun (MS), 6 in Ketchikan 3 Jun (CF) and Homer 21 Jul (Wings), and 17 around Glacier Bay 30 Jun (BP). An extralimital single on the Bering This male Spotted Towhee, possibly of subspecies curtatus, sang on territory in Anchorage 11-13 (here 1 3) June 2006, a first summer record of a species that is otherwise a casual autumn visitor to southeastern Alaska. Photograph by Thede Tobish. Sea coast at Nome 10 Jun (Wings) constitut- ed a first Seward Pen. record. Caspian Tern was only first documented in the Bering Sea at Cape Romanzoff in Jun 1994. Only one Com- mon Tern surfaced in the Bering Sea at St. Paul 1. 9 Jun (fide VENT, KJZ), of the expected subspecies here, longipennis. Single Black Guille- mots were identified off the Nome beaches 15 (VENT, tMJI) & 16 (Wings) Jun. Observers felt that onshore ice con- ditions and the late sea- son may have con- tributed to these reports, which follow the first Nome area records from summer 2005, when the same observers located up to 10 birds be- tween the Nome breakwater and Cape Nome. It would not be surprising to find Black Guillemots, which are known to take ad- vantage of ephemeral breeding sites (e.g., in debris on islands off Barrow), nesting in the Nome area. WOODPECKERS THROUGH PIPITS On the heels of the first Upper Cook In- let/Anchorage Yellow-bellied Sapsucker from a few years ago, another bird set up a short-lived territory near Eagle R. 8-17 Jun (DWS, PP); there were no other summer reports of this rare spring overshoot to e. Interior. Casual in summer from the South- east Mainland was a glacialis Downy Woodpecker in Juneau 18 Jul (GW, MM), where the species is occasional in winter. Gambell birders turned up St. Lawrence I.’s first Northern Flicker in the middens 9-11 Jun (JH, tHI, fide PEL), one of few spring Bering Sea reports. An extralimital Olive- sided Flycatcher made it to the Arctic Coast, where it is casual in summer, at Bar- row 16-18 Jun (Field Guides, VENT). The cen. Interior “colony” of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, found in the past few summers near Eureka, nw. of Fairbanks (see Western Birds 37: 8-22), was again visited and at least 2 detected 17 Jun (EC et al.). Out-of-range C A Ten nests of Kittlitz's Murrelets, involving at least nine pairs, were discovered and monitored in alpine sections of «J n Agattu I. this season ( fide LS, per GW) — which nearly doubles the total of known Alaskan nests. Numerous summer sightings of Kittlitz's from large bays in the cen. and w. Aleutians have led many to believe that this cryptic species breeds where there are appropriate alpine or glacier remnants, and this speculation was also recently supported by a nest located at Kiska in 2005. This season, another Kittlitz's nest was found, with a half-grown chick on post-glaciated ridges (elev. 900 m) in the Mount Glottof Research Natural Area in the Kodiak N.W.R. 6 Aug (ph. SS) — a first nest record for the Kodiak Archipel- ago. Ad. Kittlitz's were heard vocalizing and seen coming and going to these ridges in late Jul-early Aug, so obviously this cirque habitat provides what may be extensive suitable nesting substrate for the species. Unusual inshore in the Nome area was a Kittlitz's Murrelet off Safety Lagoon 15 Jun (VENT), while 3 at the mouth of Tra- cy Arm 27 Jun (BT) were in their most regular southerly location in the Southeast. Clearly, there is more to be learned about this species, which is currently listed as Critically Endangered by BirdLife International. At Safety Lagoon in Nome, Alaska, this subadult Whooper Swan accompanied thousands of Tundra Swans 16-17 (here 16) June 2006; it provided a third record from this location for this species, quite rare in the Bering Strait. Photograph by Barry R. Zimmer. Alder Flycatchers wandered to the immediate coast at Nome 16 Jun (Wings, ph. GHR, VENT, ph. MJI) and n. to Barrow 23 Jun (DK, FL), where casual in summer. Least Flycatch- ers were heard and documented in Nome 25 Jun (TKLG), the Seward Pen.’s first, and in Hyder 5-8 Jun (AWP, SCH). Leasts are annual or nearly so, mostly along the Regions e. pe- riphery. Eastern Kingbird again appeared at Barrow 22-26 Jun (NC, fide DK), where there are, surprisingly, several records of likely summer overshoots. The season’s only Red- eyed Vireo report came from Juneau 20-22 Jun (MB, ph. PS et al.), a local 4th of this rare visitor, which is found mostly in the larger Southeast Mainland riparian corridors. Staggering numbers of swallows were tal- 566 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ALASKA lied across the North Slope from Kuparuk to Barrow through the season, mostly 16 Jun-3 Jul; all Alaskan species except Violet-greens are casual there. On 20 Jun at Barrow, 4 Trees, 2 Banks, and 5 Cliff Swallows were tallied (BPG, DK). A Tree Swallow pair nested at Bar- row 17-25 Jun (BPG), a first for the North Slope. Both Nearctic and Palearctic subspecies of Barn Swallows were described from Barrow 24 & 22-23 Jun (BPG, DK). Three Arctic Warblers were detected in the Upper Nome Cr. drainage of the White Mts. some 85 km ne. of Fairbanks 24 Jun (DS, fide A.B.O.). These may be the first White Mt. records for Arctics, which are casual so far e. within the Alaska Range. Arctic Warblers were reported- ly as having been hard hit by a 22 jun snow- storm along the e. half of the Denali Hwy., and all nests under observation were abandoned as a result (fide A.B.O.). The North Slope’s 2nd Dusky Thrush was reported from Barrow 12-14 Jun (NS, TDK et al.); the only previous summer report was also from early Jun at Bar- row. European Starlings continued to show signs of local expansion in the Anchorage area, where several nests allowed monitoring and a local new high summer count of 75 was noted 28 Jun (DWS). On 13 Jul, another nest and clutch was located in the phone pole that had successfully produced a Jun clutch in An- chorage (TT); this is the first documented 2nd clutch for the species in the area. A single Red-throated Pipit was a good North Slope find from Barrow 16 Jun (DM), where there are few records. WAXWINGS THROUGH FINCHES Never common and irregular mostly only from the Southeast Mainland, Cedar Waxwings were nearly ubiquitous. Up to 8 at Sitka 22 Jul (MLW, MET) and several in Ketchikan all sea- son (AWP, SCH) were unusual offshore num- bers, while 24 in Hyder 8 Jun (AWP, SCH) were nesters and/or migrants. Cedars even reached n. to Kodiak, with a single 22-23 Jun and up to 3 over the period 3-31 Jul (]W RAM, ph. JBA) — the first summer records of any waxwing in the Kodiak Archipelago. At least 6 Cedars were also sighted along Ship Cr. in An- chorage 30 Jul (fide PP), where they are casual in fall only. Summer Tennessee Warbler over- shoots, presumably from their closest Yukon breeding populations, are nearly annual in the e. Interior, so singles s. of Fairbanks 6-18 Jun (fide A.B.O.) and near Delta Jet. 1 Jul (SD) were typical. Two in Juneau 12 & 16 Jul (GW, ND) were more unusual for Juneau, where they are more often detected in early Jun. The season’s only extralimital warbler otherwise was a rare North Slope Blackpoll Warbler at Barrow 16-17 Jun (Field Guides). Most unex- This female or immature male Smew was seen at St. Paul Is- land, Alaska 10-12 (here 12) June 2006, the only one report- ed in the state after May. Photograph by Gary H. Rosenberg. pected was the Spotted Towhee that set up a territory in Anchorage 11-13 jun (CA, DWS, DFD, TT, ph. GHR, JLD). Vocalizations and plumage traits suggested it was possibly of subspecies curtatus. This represents Alaska’s first summer record of this casual fall visitor to the Southeast. More breeding evidence for Chipping Spar- rows in the alpine Southeast Mainland came in from Taku Inlet with a singing bird at 540 m 26-30 Jun (ND) and a juv. at the same ele- vation above Juneau 29 Jul (GW). Chipping Sparrow is known to nest with certainty in Southeast only from the larger Mainland river Two Bewick's Swans visited St. Paul Island, Alaska 7-14 (here 13) June 200; this subspecies of Tundra Swan is known from a few sight records in the Bering Sea otherwise. Photograph by Gary H. Rosenberg. corridors. A Lincoln’s Sparrow was at Barrow, where casual, 16-17 Jun (Field Guides). Ad- ditional Southeast nesting evidence was also submitted for Golden-crowned Sparrow above Juneau, including up to 6 singing 22 Jun and 13 & 29 Jul (ND, MS, GW). A male Golden-crowned Sparrow, first heard in Bethel in May, was seen with a fledgling 15 Jul (BJM); this bird was beyond previously docu- mented nesting areas, which are presumably to the se. on the w. flanks of the Alaska Range. Up to four Dark-eyed Junco broods in the Bethel area, also in early Jul (BJM), confirmed local nesting there for the first time. The clos- est known nests have been identified about 20 km upstream in denser taiga forest. A single Black-headed Grosbeak was an ear- ly arrival in Hyder 6 Jun, where it was fol- lowed by 3 in song in the same area 8 Jun (AWP, SCH); singles have been casual at this Southeast Mainland hotspot since the early 1990s. Extralimital Red-winged Blackbirds made news in South-coastal Alaska away from the few known local breeding sites, including a male in Seward 18-19 Jun (VENT, CG) and a female described farther w. from Seldovia 1 Jul (GL). The female Common Rosefincli re- ported in the Gambell middens in early Jun was relocated 19 Jun (DJ, SJ). Crossbills were scarce and scattered. Reds resurfaced in late Jun at Kodiak after an Oct 2005 departure, and the first broods were noted 5 Jul (RAM, SB), while White-wingeds became more wide- spread across the Kenai Pen. and in to Upper Cook Inlet by late Jul (TT, m.ob.). Contributors and observers: Alaska Bird Ob- servatory (A.B.O.; N. DeWitt et al.), B. Alger, J. B. Allen, R. Armstrong, C. Ash, G. Baluss, K. Bell, B. Benter, S. Berns, A. Berry, G. V Byrd, E. Clarke, N. Coutsobous, L. Craig, J. Dearborn, D. E Delap, A. DeMartini, B. Dittrick, W. E. Donaldson, N. Drumheller, J. L. Dunn, L. Ed- felt, P. Eldridge, D. Erickson, B. P Gibbons, Field Guides, Inc. (D. Stejskal, G. L. Armis- tead), C. & P. Fritz, C. Fultz, K. L. Garrett, B. R Gibbons, D. D. Gibson, R. j. Gordon, T. L. Goucher, N. Haydukovich, K. Hart, S. C. Heinl, P. Hunt, B. Hunter, M. J. lliff, H. Irrigoo, D. & S. jue, R. Knight, J. F. Koerner, C. Koonooka, D. Krueper, A. Lang, F LeBouard, P E. Lehman, J. Levison, M. Litzow, R. Lowell, G. Lyon, I., B. J. MacAfferey, M. & R. A. Macin- tosh, D. MacKay, D. MacPhail, J. Mason, J. R Metzler, D. & M. Miller, N. Mollett, R. Neter- er, L. J. Oakley, B. Paige, C. Palmer, W. Pawuk, S. Peterson, A. W. Piston, R Pourchot, G. H. Rosenberg, D. Rudis, K. Russell, J. Sauer, S. Savage, L. Scharf R. L. Scher, M. A. Schultz, W. Schuster, M. Schwan, C. & M. Schwitters, D., N., P, & S. Senner, D. Shaw, D. W. Sonnebom, A. Stickney, S. Studebaker, P. Suchanek, A. Swingley, E W. Sykes, G. Tans, M. E. Tedin, T. Tobish, B. Tweit, R. Uhl, L. Vallie, VENT (Vic- tor Emanuel Nature Tours; B. R. Zimmer, M. J. Iliff, K. J. Zimmer, D. Wolf et al.), G. Van Vliet, R Vanselow, M. L. Ward, D. Westlund, E. White, Wilderness Bird Tours (B. Dittrick, A. Lang et al.), B. & D. Williams, R. Winckler, Wings, Inc. 0- L. Dunn, R E. Lehman, G. H. Rosenberg et al.), B. Wittington, M. A. Wood, S. Wright, K. Zervos, S. Zimmerman. Refer- enced details (t), photographs (ph.), and videotape (vt.) are on file at the University of Alaska Museum. O Thede Tobish, 2510 Foraker Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99517, (tgt@alaska.net) VOLUME 60 (2007) . NUMBER 4 567 British Columbia YUKON Atlin Dease Lake* Fort® Nelson Ml Masset • • Queen „ Charlotte Islands Mackenzie Prince Rupert * \ Queen Charlotte City Tofino* Vancouver Island ® Prince George Williams Lake • Revelstoke • Kamloops* • Vernon Vancouver • Kelowna Victoria Penticton Cranbrook Donald G. Cecile June started unsettled and cool, but this changed by the third week of the month, as high pressure built in over the Region. There were occasional showers and thun- dershowers during the period, but precipita- tion deficits occurred over large areas, and temperatures were above normal everywhere. It was frequently breezy in many areas, in- cluding the coast. These winds were likely the trigger for a significant algal bloom off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Lesser Nighthawk was recorded in the province for the first time ever — with two photographic records during the period. SWANS THROUGH SHOREBIRDS Accidental in summer in the s. interior, a Trumpeter Swan was on Vaseux L. 26 Jul (RuC). The only Yellow-billed Loon reported involved a single on Tameka L. 13 Jun (CD). Two Clarks Grebes were off Haynes Pt. in Osoyoos 24Jun (RuC); this species is known to breed farther n., in Salmon Arm. Brown Pelicans continued their northward flight that began in spring, with many more birds involved. As usual, most reports came from the outer coast: 32 birds at Cleland 1. 2 Jun (RP); 35 at Long Beach 7 Jun (AD); 50 at Plover Reef 7 Jun (MM); and 30 at Vargas I. 17 Jun (GA). The northward movement of pelicans ended in Jul, with only two reports; 18 off Carmanah Pt. 14 Jul (JE)l and one at Cleland 29 Jul (RP). Most of these pelican records were gratefully received from the Strawberry Island Research Foundation, based in Tofino. A Double-crested Cor- morant was seen 14 Jun in Salmon Arm (AB, DM), where casual. Talk about a wonderful addition to a yard list: an ad. male Magnifi- cent Frigatebird was soaring over Sooke with Turkey Vultures 27 Jun (tRTo) — likely a first confirmed record for the Victoria area and only the 9th provincial record. Swainson’s Hawks were well n. of usual ar- eas, with 3 e. of Dease L. in mid-Jun (GLM). Accidental in Jun, especially in the s. interior, a Rough-legged Hawk was near Anarchist Summit, Osoyoos 6 Jun (ph. Bob McKay). A late push for Semipalmated Plovers furnished Jun records for Chesterman Beach, where 11 were present 5-6 Jun (AD), plus 2 in the Highland Valley near Kamloops 3 Jun (RH, CC). A pair of Black-necked Stilts was seen mating just n. of Osoyoos in a flooded field 21 Jun (RuC); these birds were later thought to be incubating. There was one prior failed nesting attempt in the Okanagan in 2001 at Alki L., Kelowna. Whitnbrels are often found lingering along the outer coast in early Jun, but this season, they remained longer and in larger numbers, almost to the point of over- During a pelagic trip off the west coast of Van- couver 1., a photographer was taking shots of pelagic birds when a strange brown bird came bobbing along. Ihe bird was photographed and thought to be a Common Nighthawk. Upon posting photographs to the Internet, observers began to wonder if indeed this was the correct identification. After some scrutiny, the bird was identified as a first-summer male Lesser Nighthawk, a provincial first! This individual was 80 km offshore 5 Jun (ph MY). Then oddly enough, birders dis- covered a freshly dead nighthawk, photographed it, and — mild! — another Lesser Nighthawk! This latter individual was found dead at Iona S.T.P. 30 Jun (IP, ph. Just weeks after a live Lesser Nighthawk was found 80 km off the British Columbia coast, a second one for the province was discovered dead at Iona Sewage Treatment Plant 30 June 2006 (here). There is one previous record for Canada of the species, from Point Pelee in 1974. Photograph by Peter Candido. PC) and was subsequently donated to the Cowan Verte- brate Museum at the University of British Columbia. One can only wonder how many birds were involved in this northward push. There is a previous Canadian record, of a female from Point Pelee N.P., 29 Apr 1974 (fide Alan Wormington). lapping with southbound birds, with 12 pres- ent as late as 21 Jun (AD). An ad. Little Stint in worn alternate plumage was discovered at Iona S.T.P. 19-21 Jul (tTP, tMT, m.ob.); it fur- nished a 13th provincial record. Rare in the province away from the Peace R. area, an ad. White-rumped Sandpiper was at Boundary Bay 2 Jul (IP et al.). JAEGERS THR0UH FINCHES Three Long-tailed Jaegers inland on Atlin L. 4 Jul (MC) were most unusual. Franklin’s Gulls occasionally wander as far as the coast, usual- ly in autumn; 2 were early at White Rock Beach 1 Jul (IP). Sabine’s Gulls, although reg- ular in the fall in the interior, are rare spring vagrants; an ad. in Salmon Arm 14 Jun (AB, DM) was most unexpected there. Horned Puffins are very rarely encountered away from the few suspected nesting sites on the outer coast, and a single at Cleland I. 4-6 Jul (RCh, MM) was well s. of usual areas. Single Eurasian Collared-Doves continue to appear along the coast: in Gibson’s 1 Jun (GP, LP), and at Iona 11 Jul (MT) — a bird that landed on the mud among the shorebirds! Casual in the province, a White-winged Dove visited a Castlegar feeder 23-25 Jun (ph. VJ), a 10th provincial record. Also casual in the province, a Black-billed Cuckoo was at the Corn Creek Marsh, Creston 20 Jun (MAB et al.). A Barn Owl feather was retrieved from a swallow nestbox on Anarchist Mt., indicating the Barn Owl may well have been at the high elevation of 1200 m (RJC). Snowy Owls lin- gered very late, with 2 in the Knutsford area s. of Kamloops in early Jun (fide RH). Evidence of Northern Hawk Owls breeding in Koote- nay N.P came with the observation of 2 ads. and 4 young together 29 Jun (TDN,VH). Alder Flycatchers are thought to be very rare along the coast, but one was audio-taped near Surrey L. 14-15 Jun (v.r., RF, CG). Fur- nishing a first for the Okanagan, a Black Phoebe was in Osoyoos 4 Jul (DB), while an Eastern Phoebe, rare away from the Peace R., was at Surrey L. 15-19 Jun (ph. CG, IP et al.). Rare in the Lower Mainland, a Rock Wren was at Pit L. 4 Jun (MT). The only report of Northern Mockingbird was of one in Surrey 2 Jun (CG). Sage Thrashers returned to the s. Okanagan, with 3 at White L. 20 Jun (CC et al.) and a vocal male at Chopaka 21 Jun (RuC). A singing male Northern Panda was at Royal Roads University, Victoria 13 Jun (DA), providing the 8th provincial record. This species has been annual in the province since 2002. Another “eastern” warbler, a male Chestnut-sided Warbler, singing and in full breeding plumage, was at the s. end of Long Beach and observed in pursuit of a Yel- 568 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS BRITISH COLUMBIA A species found annually in recent years in the lower mainland of British Columbia, this molting adult Little Stint was at Iona Sewage Treatment Plant 19 (here) through 22 July 2006. Photograph by 1 C. Wong. low Warbler 7 Jun (AD); this constitutes the 2nd record for the w. coast region. Another male Chestnut-sided Warbler was a surprise in Kelowna 17Jul (CC et al). Sparse- ly scattered across the n. spruce forests, a Cape May Warbler was a treat at Chilkat Pass 4 Jul (RF). A bird study conducted in the Bell-Irv- ing R. area produced 700 Wilsons Warblers during a four-hour survey in early Jun (GLM). Casual in the province, a Black-throated Sparrow was at Colony Farm 10-13 Jun (II, DJ). Very rare on the coast, a Lark Sparrow was at Long Beach 2 Jun (GB). Casual in the province, a male Lark Bunting was at Miracle Beach, just n. of Courtenay, 2 Jun (TB, TBB). A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak visit- ed a feeder in Sayward at a very suspicious time of year, 15 Jul (PR); there are no known coastal breeding records. Contributors (subregional editors in bold- face): David Allinson (Victoria), Cathy Anto- niazzi (cen. interior), Graham Ashby, Marc- Andre Beaucher, Tom Black, Jack Bowling (weather summary), George Bradd, Betty Brooks, Doug Brown, Alan Butler, Peter Can- dido, Richard J. Cannings, Russell Cannings, Richard Chiovitti, Mark Connor, Adrian Dorst (Tohno-Ucluelet), Christine Drinnan, Roger Foxall, Carlo Giovanni, Valerie Harris, Rick Howie, Istvan lorosi, Dale Jensen, Vanes- sa Johnson, Guy L. Monty, Michael Mullen, David Miller, Dean Nicholson, Gerrie Patter- son, Lloyd Patterson, Tom Plath, Ilya Po- valyaev, Peter Rarnbo, Phil Ranson (Cariboo), Miechel Tabak, Mike Yip. £ Donald G. Cecile, 7995 Wilson— Jackson Road, Vernon, British Columbia VI B 3N5, (dcedle@telus.net) Oregon & Washington Steven G. Mlodinow David Irons BillTweit The Region baked again this summer, with temperatures among the top ten percent since records were first kept, beginning 112 years ago. June provided nor- mal precipitation, but July was somewhat dri- er than average. Offshore, this summers con- sistent northwesterly winds constituted a re- turn to normal, generally producing up- wellings and cool ocean temperatures. As for birds, large-scale trends were few. Perhaps most noticeable was an increase in eastside passerines, from kingbirds to buntings, on the westside. Records of rarer seabirds were unusually numerous, including some seen from land and, indeed, some from the “wrong” side of the mountains. Abbreviations: Ankeny (Ankeny N.W.R., Mar- ion, OR); FR.R. (Fern Ridge Res., Lane, OR); Malheur (Malheur N.W.R., Harney, OR); N.S.C.B. (N. Spit Coos Bay, Coos, OR); O.S. (Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor, WA); RS.B. (Port Susan Bay, Snohomish, WA); PT. (Puget Trough, WA); S.R.M. (Sandy R. mouth, Multnomah, OR); W.V (Willamette Valley); W.W.R.D. (Wal- la Walla R. delta, Walla Walla, WA). “Eastside” and “westside” indicate locations e. and w. of the Cascade crest, respectively. WATERFOWL THROUGH CRANES A Ross’s Goose that arrived at Keyport, Kitsap with Snow Geese in late Sep 1997 survived the season (BSW, G. Gerdts); Washington has no other summer records. Three Cackling Geese of subspecies taverneri lingered at F.R.R. through 25 Jun (DI), and another Cackling Goose of unknown subspecies fre- quented Ankeny 13 Jun-11 Jul (WDR); there appear to be no previously published summer records of Cackling Goose from the Region, though one (subspecies minima) summered in Everett in 1997 (SM, DD). Brant numbers were quite low, with 4 at O.S. 7 Jul (P&RS) and 9 at Seal Rock, Lincoln 24-27 Jun (K. Brigham) furnishing the only sightings. Gadwall continues to increase on the west- side. Still a rather uncommon breeder in w. Oregon, five broods were at N.S.C.B. (TR), two broods graced Tualitin N.W.R., Washing- ton (HN), and multiple pairs bred at Ankeny (WDR). In w. Washington, a summer-record 430 ads. inhabited Stanwood, Snohomish 17 Jun (SM). A well-described American Black Duck at Ankeny 11-13 Jul is of questionable provenance (+WDR, RM); Oregon has just two accepted records. Green-winged Teal, a rare westside breeder, produced young at Sea- side, Clatsop (S. Warner) and near Swantown, Island (SM). A Canvasback, very rare on the westside during summer, was at Fernhill Wet- C A During a summer unremarkable for lingering waterfowl, swans popped up all across Washington. A Trumpeter Swan lingering from spring until mid-Jul at P.S.B. was joined briefly by another 12-15 Jun (K. Morgan, SM). Singles were also on San Juan 1. 12 Jun (B. Jensen) and Chehaiis W.M.A., Grays Harbor 8 Jun+ (T. O'Brien). Single Tundra Swans graced S. Prairie, Pierce 1 Jun (CW) and Sheep L., Whitman 8 Jul+ (MW, GS, JA), and an unprecedented 1 1 adorned Ridgefield 10 Jun (JE). Finally, an unidentified Trumpeter/Tundra Swan flew past Wilson Cr., Grant 19 Jun (J. Stephens). Washington had but four prior summer records of Trumpeter Swan and not many more of Tundra. One must wonder why, among the spectrum of waterfowl, these two species with different breeding ranges and habitats would appear in unprecedented numbers during the same summer. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 569 OREGON & WASHINGTON lands, Washington 26 Jul (HN). Several pairs of Redheads summered at FR.R., the westside’s only known breeding location, with multiple broods noted (D. Heyerly); rare elsewhere on the westside during summer, 9 Redheads adorned Ridgefield 24 Jun (SM, CW). A scarce westside breeder, Ring-necked Ducks produced two broods each at N.S.C.B. (TR) and at Anke- ny (WDR). Two Greater Scaup were on the eastside below Priest Rapids Dam 2 Jun (SM), while on the westside, a near-record 31 inhabited Drayton Harbor, Whatcom 29 Jun (SM, MB). A decade ago, this species was considered accidental on the eastside and rare on the westside at this season; the apparent change is likely due to increased observer effort. Notably, most summer birds are found at favored wintering sites. Lesser Scaup, another scarce westside breeder, produced three broods at Deer Lagoon, Is- land, two at Sunlight Beach, Island , and one at Stanwood (SM). A Long-tailed Duck, a species not annual during summer, was at Newport 1 Jul (GG). Common Goldeneye, a rare breeder anywhere in the Region, raised young at Big Meadow L., Pend Oreille (AS). Two Red-breasted Mergansers at Paterson Slough, Benton 7 Jun added to four prior east- side records, two of which were from this lo- cation during the past three years (BW, NL). A tally of 44 Pacific Loons off Ruby Beach, Clallam 25-26 Jun was quite high for summer (S. Mirrick). A Yellow-billed Loon, now almost annual during summer, visited Newport 24-27 Jul (L. Norgren, R. Hoyer). The return of a full pool at ER.R. led to a very successful breeding season for Aechmophorus grebes, with counts reaching 300+ birds (10-20% Clarks) by late Jul (DI). Very rare elsewhere on the westside during summer, a Clark’s at Finley N.W.R. 24 Jun was quite unexpected (WDR). Tubenose numbers remained largely unremarkable, con- tinuing the spring trend. Pelagic trips posted below-average numbers of Black-footed Alba- trosses, Northern Fulmars, and Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwaters. Conversely, storm-pe- trel numbers were average or above. A dark gadfly petrel (genus Pterodroma ) arced high just beyond the surf at Ocean Park, Pacific 24 Jun (SM, tCW); Washington has about eight antecedent sightings, late Apr-late Sep, with only Murphy’s having been definitively identi- fied. The season’s Flesh-footed Shearwater was approximately 40 km off Ocean Park 6 Jun (TG). An unprecedented summer flight of 150,000 Sooty Shearwaters passed along the Long Beach Pen., Pacific 24 Jun (SM, CW); tal- lies of this magnitude are mostly encountered Aug-Sep. Two Short-tailed Shearwaters passed Ft. Canby, Pacific 24 Jun, providing only the Washington's third Alder Flycatcher was found singing at Muskrat Lake, Okanogan County 18-19 (here 19) June 2006. Notably, the state's first was at the same location four years prior. Note this bird's prominent eyering and relatively long primary extension, both of which would be aberrant in a Willow Flycatcher of one of the western taxa. Photograph by Michael Woodruff. 3rd Regional Jun record (SM, CW). Continu- ing recent trends, a Manx Shearwater was off La Push, Clallam 21 Jun (S. Mills), another flew past Tillamook Bay 26 Jun (tF Schrock), and 2 Manx/Black-vented Shearwaters passed Cape Flattery, Clallam 29 Jul (tBSW, tSM). The Region’s first Ashy Storm-Petrel was over Grays Canyon, off Westport, 24 Jun (tBLB, TB. Shelmerdine, ph. T. Anderson, ph. S. Mirrick,). Amazingly, this species is recorded somewhat regularly as close as Humboldt , CA, including several counts above 100, but peak occurrence in nw. California is Sep-Oct, with very few records before Aug (Northwestern California Birds, Harris 1996). Fifty-four American White Pelicans sum- mered in the W.V, where they have been an- nual since 2000 (LM, B. Tice). Along the coast and in the RT., where decidedly rarer, 27 more were detected at five locations 15-26 Jun. Al- ways a stunner away from salt water, a Brown Pelican at Sauvie I. along the Columbia R. 20 Jun was at least 120 km inland (M. Turner). Approximately 10-15 Brown Pelicans from this spring’s irruption into the P.T. lingered through Jun; the maximum was 5 at Olympia 29 Jun (D. Noviello). Though Snowy Egrets winter n. to Coos, they generally vacate the westside during summer. This season, single Snowies graced Bandon, Coos 25 Jun (RN, L. Miller), Brookings, Curry 11 Jul (TR), and Cutler City Lincoln 12 Jul (RN). Oregon’s 4th Little Blue Heron visited Tualatin N.W.R., Washington 11- 12 Jun (ph. T. Shreve); previous Regional records have been May-Jun or in winter. A Cattle Egret, not annual during summer, visit- ed Ladd Marsh, Union 16 Jun (C. Nowak). At least 30 imm. White-faced Ibis arrived at Fern Ridge 19 Jul, with at least 2 remaining into Aug (DF, DI); extralimital records of this species are extremely rare after mid-Jun, espe- cially of this magnitude, and usually involve ads. A White-faced Ibis along Dodson Rd., Grant 3 Jun (S. Downes) and 5 at Royal L., Grant 6 Jun (J. Grant) were more expected. Though nearly annual in se. and e.-cen. Oregon during fall, a Red-shouldered Hawk at Redmond, Deschutes 28 Jul (K. Owen) was perhaps the first summer record in e. Oregon, where this species was all but unknown 15 years ago. Merlins again bred in suburban nw. Washington, with four nests in Bellingham 0- Mackie) and a pair in Burlington, Skagit (MB); most westside breeders have been Black Merlin (subspecies suckleyi), but the latter pair appeared to involve a male suckleyi and a female of the nominate subspecies. Rare anywhere in Oregon during summer, a Merlin visited Sisters, Deschutes 16 Jun (B. Combs). A Prairie Falcon at FR.R. 28 Jun was likely the W.V’s first for summer (A. Prigge). A Lesser Sandhill Crane near Royal City, Grant 3 Jun was a month late (BF, SM); a bit less unusual, though still not annual, were 12 at Sauvie 1. 27 Jun+ (B. Scott, HN). SH0REBIRDS THROUGH WOODPECKERS Across Washington, shorebirds seemed scarce; most affected were Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitchers, the numbers of which were only about 20% of normal. Lesser Yel- lowlegs and Western Sandpiper numbers also seemed subpar. Extremely rare in Jun, 2 Pacific Golden-Plovers graced Bandon, Coos 10 Jun (DL, KC), and singles visited Ankeny 13 Jun (WDR), N.S.C.B. 15 Jun (DL, KC), and FR.R. 30 Jun (R. Robb); more expected were individ- uals at Bayocean Spit, Tillamook 14 Jul (J- Gilli- gan) and Dungeness Bay, Clallam 29 Jul (SM, BSW, D&PW). A Semipalmated Plover at New R., Coos 10 Jun (TR), one at RS.B. 14 Jun (TA), and 4 at Crockett L., Island 17 Jun (SM) were either very late northbound or very early southbound birds. A Solitary Sandpiper at Hat- field L., Deschutes 2 Jul was about three weeks early, tying the Oregon record-early date (H. Horvath); 23 more, 9 Jul+, was quintuple the norm and included 10 near Cheney, Spokane 27 Jul (MW). The last apparent northbound Greater Yellowlegs stopped at New R., Coos 10 Jun (TR), while the first likely southbound birds were on Whidbey I., Island 17 Jun (SM). Single Lesser Yellowlegs at P.S.B. 11-14 Jun (SM, TA) and Malheur 12 Jun (R. Korpi) were highly unusual; northbound birds typically de- part by 20 May, and southbound birds do not usually arrive until 20 Jun+. This summer’s Bar-tailed Godwit appeared at Tokeland, Pacif- ic 31 Jul (KA). A small gray godwit with or- ange-buff underwing coverts at Dungeness Bay, Clallam 29 Jul seemed to fit the bill for a 570 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OREGON & WASHINGTON Bar-tailed Godwit x Marbled Godwit hy- brid, though its true identity remains un- known (tSM, BSW, D&PW). A Marbled Godwit at Seaside, Clatsop 4 Jun was about two weeks late (D. Bailey). Two Marbleds at N. Richland, Benton 9 Jul (J. Abel) and one at the Deschutes R. mouth, Wasco 3 Jul (M&MLD) were on the eastside, where not annual during summer. A Black Turnstone on Bainbridge !.. Kitsap 27 Jun was among the earliest ever for Washington (BSW). The eastside’s first summer Red Knot stopped at Potholes Res., Grant 18 Jul (ph. DSc). Three Sanderlings visited Soap L., Grant 3 Jun (DSc); there appears to be only one prior eastside Jun record. Five Sander- lings at Philomath, Benton 14Jul provided a very rare W.V. summer record (WDR). Southbound eastside Sanderlings included one at W. Medical L., Spokane 22-23 Jul (E Haywood, GS), 2 at Potholes Res. 28 Jul (DSc), and one at Soap L. 29 Jul (GS); the eastside av- erages about one every other Jul. A total of 60 Semipalmated Sandpipers was near normal; the season’s first, at Portland 27 Jun, furnished Oregon’s earliest “fall” record (IT). The first apparent southbound Western and Least Sand- pipers visited P.S.B. 14 jun (TA). Eight Bairds Sandpipers, 12 Jul+, was fairly typical for sum- mer. The only Pectoral Sandpipers were at P.S.B. 15 & 23 Jul (MB, SM); the Region aver- ages about 6 per summer. A Dunlin at N.S.C.B. 6 Jun was about two weeks late (TR), while 3 summering at PS.B. may have been a first for the P.T. (SM). A Dunlin at Crockett L. 1 Jul was about two months early (BSW); every year, a small number of Dunlins appear late Jun-mid- Jul, with none found again until mid- or late Aug. A Short-billed Dowitcher, not annual during summer on the eastside, visited Othel- lo, Adams 15 Jul (BF). Ad. Short-billeds made an excellent showing in the W.V., where typi- cally scarce, with 61 recorded at Baskett Slough and Ankeny 11 Jul (WDR, RM). Five male Wilson’s Phalaropes defended territories through jun at PS.B., w. Washington’s only known nesting location, but their breeding success remained unknown (SM, TA). Eleven South Polar Skuas represented an- other good summer for this species and in- cluded 2 early birds off La Push, Clallam 21 Jun (S. Mills) and one off Westport 24 Jun (BT). It would be interesting to have more age data for these birds, as many of the Region’s spring/early summer reports are of ads. or sub- ads., whereas later records are almost entirely of imms. Jaegers were noted in their usual small summer numbers, with the four West- port pelagic trips tallying 7 Pomarines, 12 Par- asitics, and 4 Long-taileds. The eastside’s 3rd Parasitic Jaeger graced Eloika L., Pend Oreille Both Tundra and Trumpeter Swans made multiple appearances in Washington, where casual during summer. Some birds lingered from spring, while others simply seemed to materialize in midsummer. This Trumpeter, first found in May 2006 (here 28 May), remained at Port Su- san Bay, Snohomish County, until mid-July; it was briefly joined by a second bird 12-15 June. Photograph by Steven Mlodinow. 28 Jul (T. Little); most eastside records are late Aug-late Sep. Eastern Washington’s only Franklin’s Gulls were singles at W.W.R.D. 3-5 Jun (SM, BW) and 1 Jul (P&RS); first record- ed in e. Washington during the 1960s, nearly 10 Franklin’s per summer have been recorded since 2000. A gathering of 355 Bonaparte’s Gulls at Birch Bay, Whatcom 29 jun was quite large for an apparent summering flock (SM, MB). Not annual during Jun, 6 Mew Gulls were recorded this year, including 4 at Deer Lagoon, Island 17 Jun+ (SM); all were first- summer birds, as expected. A congregation of 13,000 California Gulls in Dungeness Bay, Clallam 29 Jul was exceptional (BSW, SM, D&PW). A Herring Gull, not annual during summer, was at W.W.R.D. 3 Jun (SM). The 1000+ Caspian Terns tallied at Dunge- ness Spit, Clallam 16 Jul were likely nesting and may well consist of birds displaced from Everett several years ago (G. Gerdts). Arctic Terns were again found on Dungeness Spit, with 3 there 16 Jul (G. Gerdts); it is not known if they bred. Black Terns enjoyed unprecedent- ed breeding success at their only consistent westside nesting location, FR.R., with counts of 200+ in late Jul (D. & A. Heyerly). A Long- billed/Marbled Murrelet appeared near Van- tage 2 Jul (tP&RS); to date, only Long-billeds have been definitively identified e. of the Cas- cades/Sierras, with one prior Regional eastside record of Long-billed and one of an unidenti- fied Brachyramphus murrelet. Veteran mur- relet surveyors located 2 Long-billed Mur- relets 6 km off Brookings, Cuny 28 Jul (R. Ter- rill, C. Strong). Xantus’s Murrelets were found for the 4th consecutive summer, compared to just four records prior to 2003; most Regional records have come mid-Aug-Oct. This year, 2 Xantus’s passed Cape Flattery, Clallam 29 Jul, furnishing Washington’s first from-shore record (tBSW, tSM), while trips off West- port found one on 8 Jul and 2 on 15 Jul (BLB). The eastside’s first summer Ancient Murrelet enlivened Malheur 29-30 Jun (K. Zufelt, L. Hammond); virtually all interior North American records are from late fall/early winter, though there is one e. Washington record from mid-Aug. The Re- gion’s first summer Parakeet Auklet was approximately 40 km off Ocean Park, Pa- cific 6 jun (TG); this spring had seen an un- precedented irruption of this species into our waters. Cassin’s Auklets (6 per trip) and Tufted Puffins (3 per trip) were disap- pointingly low, suggesting poor breeding success. Single Band-tailed Pigeons were near Hardman, Morrow 28 Jun (MD), Mead, Spokane 4-11 Jun (R. Dexter), and We- natchee Guard Station, Asotin 4 Jun (W. & K. Walker); summer Band-taileds are extreme- ly rare in far e. Washington and ne. Oregon and rare there at any season. Eurasian Col- lared-Doves continued to appear in numbers, with 16 in Oregon and 9 in e. Washington; westside sightings included 3 in N. Bend, Coos 1 Jun+ 0- Thomas, RN), 2 in Newport in early jun (C. Ashy), and one in Brookings, Curry 11 Jul (TR, S. Chambers). A Eurasian Collared- Dove x African Collared-Dove (formerly Ringed Turtle-Dove) hybrid/mix in Seattle dur- ing early Jun illustrated that one cannot as- sume all Streptopelia doves are Eurasian Col- lared-Doves (J. Sheirbon). Oregon’s 11th White-winged Dove adorned Cape Blanco 18 jul (vt. TJW); 6 of the 11 have been since 2000. A stunning 19 Flammulated Owls de- tected along a 12-km survey route in the Umatilla N.E 1 Jun demonstrated the amazing densities this species reaches in e. Oregon’s pine forests (MD). A Northern Pygmy-Owl near Auburn, King 21 Jul was well away from known breeding areas (M. Vernon); stray sum- mer pygmy-owls are almost unknown in the Region. Potentially a first for the Region, a Lesser Nighthawk was heard at Beverly Beach, Lincoln 21-22 Jun (R. Terrill, C. Strong); 2 Lesser Nighthawks were also found in British Columbia this summer, suggesting a small ir- ruption into the Pacific Northwest, where this species was previously unknown. A Common Poorwill in se. Clackamas 14 Jul was in nw. Oregon, where not annual (Ron Escano). An Anna’s Hummingbird near Cle Elum, Kittitas 22 Jul continued a recent string of records from that area, suggesting possible lo- cal colonization (C. Caviezel). Single Costa’s Hummingbirds brightened feeders in Port Or- ford, Cuny 30 Jun+ (L. Miller) and Bend 10 Jul 0- Moodie); Oregon averages one Costa’s every other summer, though the frequency seems to V01UME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 571 OREGON & WASHINGTON be increasing. A Calliope Hummingbird in Port Townsend 19 Jul yielded Washingtons first summer record w. of the Cascades (t R. Sikes). A Broad-tailed Hummingbird enlivened Malheur 2 Jun (D. Tracy). A swarm of approx- imately 50 Rufous Hummingbirds at feeders near Rockport, Skagit 8 Jun tied the Washing- ton record (SM, DD). A Lewis’s Woodpecker inhabited S.R.M. 28 Jun (K. Tran); Lewis’s for- merly bred in the W.V. but are now rare there during summer. An Acorn Woodpecker at Ft. Simcoe 13 Jun+ was Yakima’s 3rd and one of but a very few found in Washington away from the small sw. Klickitat population (R. Repp, B. Drenguis, ph. DG). Rare on the westside, a Black-backed Woodpecker adorned Govern- ment Meadows, King 18 Jun (M. Bartels). A Yellow-shafted Flicker x Red-shafted Flicker intergrade was at Admiralty Cove, Island 1 Jul (SM, DD); such birds are being found with in- creasing frequency during summer in the P.T., where they are common during winter. PASSERINES Washington’s 3rd Alder Flycatcher was at Muskrat L., Okanogan 18-19 Jun (ph. P&RS, ph. MW), the same location (and the same bird?) as Washingtons first in Jun 2002. The conquest of Washington by Least Flycatchers continued, with no fewer than 18 detected; most were singing males on the eastside dur- ing early and mid-Jun from Yakima and Spokane northward. Particularly notable were 4, including a female with a brood patch, dur- ing early Jun at Turnbull N.W.R., Spokane (M. Frobe) and more southerly individuals at Bennington L., Walla Walla 3 Jun (M&MLD) and Coppei Cr., Walla Walla 10 Jun (K. Kem- per). This range expansion may be extending into Oregon, with territorial males at Ankeny 1 Jun+ (D. Berg) and at Summer L. 20 Jun+ (KS). Black Phoebes continue their push northward, with singles n. to Clatsop on the coast (N. Maine, MP) and Lane in the W.V. (DF). Western Washington’s 19th Ash-throat- ed Flycatcher inhabited Marymoor Park, King 7-9 Jun (M. Flint, M. Hobbs); most have been mid-May-late Jul. In Oregon, stray Ash- throateds visited Cape Blanco, Curry 18 Jun (L. Miller) and FR.R. 26 Jun (MP). Wayward Western and Eastern Kingbirds were unusual- ly prevalent on the westside this summer. The most notable Western was at O.S. 26 Jun (P&RS); this species is not annual on Wash- ington’s outer coast. Equally rare were Eastern Kingbirds at Sequim, Clallam 5 Jun (G. Kri- dler). Port Townsend 6 Jun (K. Ashera), and Seaside, Clatsop 7 Jun (N. Maine). A Loggerhead/Northern Shrike visited O.S. 6 Jul (ph. P&RS); w. Washington has but one summer record for Loggerhead Shrike, and the Three Baltimore Orioles were reported in Washington in May/June 2006, potentially doubling the state's total number of records. This first-year male at Marymoor Park, King County, 4-10 (here 5) June was exceptionally cooperative, providing many birders with their state first. Photograph by Ollie Oliver. state has no summer records for Northern. A Plumbeous Vireo enlivened Malheur 2 Jun (AC); this species is reported annually in se. Oregon late May-mid-Jun. Two Red-eyed Vireos at Rook’s Park, Walla Walla 8 Jul (M&MLD) and at Kennewick, Benton 17 Jul were seemingly exceptionally early migrants (DR); the first obvious migrants are usually not noted until mid-Aug+. Extralimital West- ern Scrub-Jays included 5 at coastal sites be- tween Newport and Tillamook 22-29 Jun (fide HN), one at Wenas, Yakima 4 Jun (K. Brown), and one at Corkindale, Skagit in earlyjun (fide B. Kuntz); this species is approaching annual- occurrence status at these locations, where until recently considered casual. Researchers studying Streaked Horned Larks (subspecies strigata) in the W.V identified 75 territories at the Corvallis Airport during the period, mak- ing this the largest known breeding concen- tration for this endangered subspecies (WDR, RM). A Bank Swallow colony of 100+ active nests at Buckley, Pierce 2 Jun (MB) and one of 30+ birds at Barton Park, Clackamas 2 Jul+ (J. Hayes) added to the rapidly growing list of known westside breeding locations; as recent- ly as 1991, there was only one known westside breeding colony, consisting of seven pairs (American Birds 45: 1154). Rare at any season in the Coast Range, a Mountain Chickadee on Mary’s Peak, Benton 4 Jul was at same location where one was detected in Aug 2004 (WDR). Rock Wrens are known to be scarce summer residents on the w. slope of the Cascades from Clark and Skamania southward. A concerted effort in King , however, found up to 6 ads. plus young at Kelly Butte 15 Jun+ (EH) and 2 near Windy Gap 15 Jun (EH), suggesting that this species may be of regular, albeit local, oc- currence along the entirety of the Cascade’s w. slope. A Rock Wren at Sequim, Clallam 10 Jul was a genuine vagrant, providing an excep- tionally rare westside lowland summer record (R. Rogers). A Veery, rarely seen during migration, en- livened Washtucna, Adams 3 Jun (SM). For the first time in many years, Veeries were un- reported from their traditional location along the Skagit R. (m.ob.). A Varied Thrush at Sun Lakes, Grant 3 Jun was at least six weeks late for the eastside lowlands (DSc). Two Gray Catbirds visited Malheur 1 Jun, where they are rare-but-annual spring migrants (S. Wright). Another catbird w. of Crescent L., Klamath 28 Jun (B. Bender) continued a pat- tern of increasing mid-summer reports from cen. Oregon, suggesting a southwestward ex- tension of their breeding range. Five North- ern Mockingbirds in Oregon was typical, while 12 in Washington far exceeded the state’s 2-per-summer average. A pair of mock- ingbirds at Vantage 17 Jul (K. Turley, AS) and another pair summering at Horn Rapids, Ben- ton (NL, BW) were particularly noteworthy, as Washington has just four confirmed nesting records. A mockingbird near Camden, Pend Oreille 12 Jun (GS) was exceptionally far northeast. A Brown Thrasher enlivened Kla- math Falls 14 Jun (KS), fitting the normal pattern of occurrence for Oregon (May-Jul), where this species has been annual in recent years. An American Pipit at Turnbull N.W.R., Spokane 26 Jul was about three weeks early (fide CC). This spring’s only Northern Parula adorned Malheur 2 Jun (AC). Four Myrtle Warblers 1- 7 Jun added to six antecedent Washington summer records; eight of Washington’s 10 summer records come from the past five years — a reflection of increased observer awareness, or a real change in status? Not an- The range expansion of Bewick's Wren continued this season in e. Washington. In 1950, this species' e. Washington 1 range was limited to Yakima. By the mid-1980s, it had become common e. to Benton and w. Walla Walla, and by the 1990s it was established in Spokane. Pend Oreille recorded its first Bewick's near Blueside and on the Kalispell Indian Reser- vation during Jun 2002 (M. Moskwik), and subsequently they have been noted at several locations n. to Colville in Stevens since 2003 (M. Houston). This year, one along the Sanpoil R. 18 Jun (DSc) and 2 along the little Sanpoil R. 20 Jun (GS, DSc) furnished Ferry1 s first records. Also, another appeared in Stevens at little Pend Oreille N.W.R. 9 Jun (GS). Why a similar colo- nization has not occurred along the e. slope of the Cascades remains mysterious. 572 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS OREGON & WASHINGTON nual e. of the Washington Cascades during spring migration, a Black-throated Gray War- bler was near Vantage 2 Jun (S. Downes). A Hermit Warbler, less expected than many e. vagrants, enlivened Malheur 2 Jun (AC). In Washington, Hermits are rare even a short distance n. of their usual range, which ex- tends to cen. Pierce, so one near Greenwater, King 7 Jun was noteworthy (MB). Similarly unusual were Hermit Warbler x Townsend’s Warbler hybrids near Greenwater 15 Jun (EH) and near Washtucna 3 Jun (M&MLD). Oregon’s 13th Blackburnian Warbler graced Malheur 2 Jun (AC); all but two records of the species have been late May-mid-Jun or mid- Sep-late Oct, and seven come from Hamey. Washington’s 2nd Bay-breasted Warbler sang indefatigably in Lewis near Kidd Valley 5 Jun-8 Jul (R. Koppendrayer, ph. m.ob.); in- terestingly, a credible but inadequately docu- mented singing Bay-breasted was reported from Snohomish 27 Jun 2002 in similar habi- tat. The summer’s only Black-and-white War- bler was n. of Sisters, Deschutes 22 Jun (J- Rodecap). American Redstart’s core breeding range in the Region is ne. Washington. An isolated well-established colony of redstarts continued at County Line Ponds, Whatcom/ Skagit, with 4+ ads. present this summer (B. Kuntz). Additionally, 4 males inhabited a more distant breeding site at Trout L., Klicki- tat (SJ). Elsewhere, lone redstarts were scat- tered across the Region, the most interesting of which were singles on the coast at S. Beach, Lincoln 22 Jun (E. Horvath), in the W.V. at Ankeny 6 Jul (WDR), and in suburban Feder- al Way, King 23 Jun-14Jul (T. Bock). North- ern Waterthrushes were again on territory at several sites sw. of Gilchrist, Klamath along the Little Deschutes R., their only known Oregon breeding area (J. Carlson, T. Janzen). Singing males also inhabited Camp Polk, De- schutes 16-28 Jun (B. Combs) and Lost L., Linn 6 Jul (DI, D. Pettey). A tally of 60 Com- mon Yellowthroats at Shillapoo Bottoms, Clark 24 Jun likely constituted a Washington summer record (SM, CW). Western Tanager movement into the eastside lowlands was noted as early as mid-Jul (fide BL). A Green-tailed Towhee at Robinette Mt., Columbia 6 Jun was at a new Washington lo- cation for this locally occurring species (M&MLD). It was a boon summer for Clay- colored Sparrows, with 5 in ne. Washington and singles at Steptoe Butte, Whitman 25 Jun-5 Jul (T&D Weber) and near Tenino, Thurston 4 Jun-11 Jul (R Hicks); the latter was only w. Washington’s 5th in summer. An early Brewer’s Sparrow appeared at Spring- held, Lane 2 Jul (R. Robb); small numbers of Brewer’s typically disperse into w. Oregon's lowlands late Jul-early Aug. A Lark Sparrow, barely annual in the W.V, visited Sheridan, Yamhill 10 Jun (Q. Nice). Approximately 4 Black-throated Sparrows were between Van- tage and Wanapum Dam, Kittitas through 13 Jul (m.ob.), while a pair remained at Steptoe Butte, Whitman through 13 Jul (T. & D. We- ber, GS). As is often the case, increased num- bers of Black-throateds in e. Washington were associated with sightings on the westside, where not annual; this year, one was at Carv- er, Clackamas 16 Jun (R. McDow). Multnom- ah's first Grasshopper Sparrow graced S.R.M. throughout Jun (IT). A White-throated Spar- row near Port Townsend 5 Jun was about three weeks late and provided Washington’s 4th summer record (ph. B Kinchen). A singing Golden-crowned Sparrow summered at Cascade Head, Tillamook (PP); there are fewer than 10 Oregon summer records. Less unusual, but still quite late, was a Golden- crowned along Foothills Trail, Pierce 1 Jun (CW). An imm. Dark-eyed Junco at Wallula, Walla Walla 26 Jul provided a first Jul record for the heavily birded Lower Columbia Basin (NL). Undoubtedly escapees, a female Northern Cardinal plus a faded male inhabited Port Or- chard, Kitsap 12-16 Jun (R. & J. Willette), and a female visited Seattle 11 Jul (P. Oates); the recent rash of sightings from the PT. re- mains unexplained. Two Rose-breasted Gros- beaks in Washington and 5 in Oregon was subpar for recent years but normal for the long-term. Washington sightings included singles at Sekiu, Clallam 14 Jun (B. Wootton, ph. T. Wootton) and one in Walla Walla 16 Jun (fide MD). Grassy openings created by the 2004 wildfire near Santiam Pass (elev. 1600 m) have proven a boon for opportunistic Lazuli Buntings. During early Jul, visits to multiple Linn and Jefferson sites produced double-digit counts of territorial birds in areas where this species was absent prior to the fire (DI, D. Pettey, S. Shunk). Interestingly, num- bers in w. lowlands of both states were also supranormal. An Indigo Bunting inhabited Riddle Ranch on Steens Mt. 10-24 Jul (J. Cooney, S. Dowlan). Western Washington’s 4th spring Bobolink adorned Duvall, King 5 Jun (tM. Harenda). Washington’s only Tricol- ored Blackbird sighting was of 6, including a juv., at Othello, Adams 15 Jul (BF). A Com- mon Grackle, not quite annual in Oregon, visited S. Beach, Lincoln 21 Jul (R. Cheek). Great-tailed Grackles are increasing in w. Ore- gon; 4 were at Agate L., Josephine 5 Jul (R. Robb), one summered at N.S.C.B. (DL, TR), and another inhabited ER.R. 21 Jun+ (M. Scholaas). A Western Meadowlark in a clearcut on Mt. Ranier at 1100 m 9 Jul was clearly lost (D. Swayne). The Seattle Hooded Oriole, one of 3 this spring in Washington, lingered through 14Jul (M. Hobbs). Bullock’s Oriole numbers seemed unusually high in w. Washington, highlighted by a w. Washington record of 24 at Shillapoo Bottoms, Clark 24 Jun (SM, CW). A Baltimore Oriole at Mary- moor Park, King 4-10 Jun (ph., tD. White, ph. m.ob.) provided a 4th accepted record for Washington. Oregon’s 8th Lawrence’s Gold- finch was a one-day wonder at a Newport feeder 6 Jun (C. Philo); prior records have shown no clear pattern. Corrigenda: The Sep 2005 sighting of Wild Turkey at Lyons Ferry was not the first for that location (N.A.B. 60: 127); they had been seen there as early as May 1993 (R. Muskat) but had not been reported subsequent to that year. Also, we had stated imprecisely that Black-capped Chickadees are “extremely rare in the lower Columbia Basin” (N.A.B. 60: 131). They are in fact locally fairly common in the lower Columbia Basin (the Walla Wal- la valley and near the Tri-Cities) but extreme- ly rare elsewhere in the lower and cen. Co- lumbia Basin. Initialed observers (subregional editors in boldface): Kevin Aanerud, Jim Acton, Tom Aversa (Washington state), Trent Bray (Union), Marv Breece, Kathy Castelein, Alan Contreras, Craig Corder (Spokane), Judy Corder, Mike and MerryLynn Denny (M&MLD), Dennis Duffy, Joe Engler, Dan Farrar, Bob Flores, Chuck Gates (Crook), Roy Gerig (Marion, Polk), Greg Gillson, Denny Granstrand (Yakima), Troy Guy, Randy Hill, Eugene Hunn, Stuart Johnston (Klickitat), Bruce LaBar (BLB), Bill LaFramboise (lower Columbia Basin), Nancy LaFramboise, David Lauten, Larry McQueen, Tom Mickel (Lane), Randy Moore, Harry Nehls (OR), Russell Na- mitz, Bob Norton (Olympic Pen.), Michael Patterson (Clatsop), Phil Pickering, W. Dou- glas Robinson (Benton, OR), Dennis Rock- well, Tim Rodenkirk (Coos, Curry), Doug Schonewald (DSc), Gina Sheridan, Kevin Spencer (Klamath), Andy Stepniewski, Patrick & Ruth Sullivan (P&RS), Iain Tom- linson, Dennis Vroman (Josephine ), Terry J. Wahl, Brad S. Waggoner (BSW), Doug & Pip Watkins (D&PW), Bob Woodley, Michael Woodruff, Charlie Wright. ® Steven G. Mlodinow, 4819 Gardner Avenue, Everett, Washington 98203, SGMIod@aol.com; David Irons, 2690 Adams Street, Eugene, Oregon 97405, llsdirons@msn.com; Bill Tweit, P.0. Box 1271, Olympia, Washington 98507, Sebnabgill@aol.com VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 573 Northern California George ■5L Klamath Basin % Refuges ~ ^Areata a Eureka • Redding Lute ^ Almanor Honey 1 !, Lake \ Tg •Chico ” Fort Bragg* ^ •Sacramento \ t Valley Point Arena* ^ *** - - sa •Sacramento Pt^>/,.WK#slock,on San Francisco* •Oakland # Mod( S E Farallon Is m » »,San Joaquin ban jose^ 'Valley Refuges Bodega Bay* Santa Cruz Monterey Bay Monterey' Big Sur % Salinas‘S Fresno1 Kings , Canyon ) NP Sequoia ... NP Tulare Lake Ba§m Davidson Seamount Michael M. Rogers (Waterfowl to Quail, Herons to Shorebirds) Steven A. Glover (Doves to Wrentit) Ed Pandolfino (Thrashers to Finches) Scott B. Terrill (Loons to Frigatebirds, Larids to Alcids) Reports of eastern vagrants from coastal areas were limited, with observers in Marin County and Humboldt County commenting on the unproductive conditions. A Common Black-Hawk once again spent the summer in our Region, apparently surviving on crayfish. Reports of coastal Crested Caracaras continued, although the actual number of birds involved is a matter of spec- ulation. A Little Stint provided further evi- dence that July is a good time of year to look for vagrant adult stints, and an Eastern Wood- Pewee continued a string of inland reports ol that species. Abbreviations: B.S.O.L. (Big Sur Ornithology Lab); C.B.R.C. (California B.R.C.); C.R.P. (Cosumnes River Preserve, Sacramento)', C.V. (Central Valley); El. (Southeast Farallon 1., San Francisco ); PR.B.O. (Pt. Reyes B.O.); S.E (San Francisco, not State Forest). Reports of exceptional vagrants submitted without doc- umentation are not published. Documenta- tion for C.B.R.C. review species will be for- warded to Guy McCaskie, Secretary, RO. Box 275, Imperial Beach, California 91933. Birds banded on FI. should be credited to Point Reyes B.O. (PR.B.O.) and those banded at Big Sur R. mouth to the Big Sur Ornithology Lab (B.S.O.L.) of the Ventana Wilderness Society. SWANS THROUGH STORM-PETRELS An ad. Trumpeter Swan with neck band 8Y7 was present at Alkali L. in Long Valley, Mono at least 17 Jun-19 Jul (ph., tjerry Zatorski, nt.ob.). Presumably this bird is from a translo- cated population. Pairs of Blue-winged Teal were found in Humboldt and Santa Clara, but no breeding was confirmed in the Region. Following last season’s report of breeding Northern Shovelers at the Gilroy W.T.P, San- ta Clara, 2 more broods were found there 9 Jun (SCR); two broods were also found in the Napa R. floodplain, Napa 18 Jun (MBe). A fe- male Green-winged Teal with 7 ducklings at Hayward R.S., Alameda 17 Jul (RJR) was the first breeding occurrence at this location in eight years and one of few for S.E Bay and the Region. Redheads enjoyed good breeding suc- cess this season, with five broods at Mare 1. 16 Jun (RLCL, WNe) being the first ever con- firmed in Solano' the heavy spring rains may have been responsible, because this pond nor- mally dries up before Jun. Two broods at Hay- ward R.S. 9 & 16 Jul (RJR, Peter Drainer, Sheila Junge) were the 2nd and 3rd breeding records for Alameda since 1916. At least two pairs summered in Santa Clara 3 Jun-2 Jul (MMR, MJM, FV), but no breeding was con- firmed. Up to 2 males at Watsonville Slough and the Pajaro R. mouth 3- 10 Jun constituted the first Jun records for Santa Cruz (RgW, LGo, MSc). Lesser Scaup broods were report- ed from Hayward R.S., Alameda 4 Jul (three broods; RJR) and Palo Alto, Santa Clara 29 Jul (two broods; SCR). A male Harlequin Duck spent its 4th summer at Coyote Pt., San Mateo (RSTh). A raft of 800 White-winged Scoters off the Klamath R. mouth, Del Norte 19 Jul, with 300 Surf and 2 Black Scoters among them (KGR, Adam Brown), was a surprising- ly large summer concentration of this declin- ing species. The male Long-tailed Duck off the Ten Mile R. mouth, Mendocino spent the period there, molting from “winter” to “spring” plumage in mid-Jul (KHv, JHv, DT, rn.ob.). Four ad. Buffleheads at the Napa W.T.P, Napa 14 Jul were accompanied by a fledgling, indicating nearby breeding, al- though no obvious nest sites were located (MBe). A female Common Goldeneye at the Ukiah S.T.P. 8Jun-7Jul was the first summer record for Mendocino (CEV). For the 3rd summer in a row, a male Hooded Merganser was found in Foster City, San Mateo (2 Jun; RSTh). Common Mergansers experienced “easily the poorest nesting season for this species in Santa Cruz in over 10 years,” with the first broods not appearing until five to seven weeks later than normal and in smaller numbers (fide DLSu). A flock of 60 at the con- fluence of the Van Duzen R. and Eel R., Hum- boldt on the early date of 13 Jun may also have been related to delayed or failed early nesting (DFx). Apparently, the heavy spring rains did not help this species. A female Ruddy Duck with 2 young at the Ukiah S.T.P. 30 Jun was only the 3rd successful nesting attempt in Mendocino (CEV). An alternate-plumaged Red-throated Loon at Grant L., Mono 16-17 Jun (JM, m.ob.) fur- nished a rare inland Jun record. Scarce in summer, a Red-necked Grebe at MacKerrich- er S.P., Mendocino 6 Jun (DT) was the only one reported. A Laysan Albatross was seen from FI. 3 Jun (PR.B.O.). An Ashy Storm-Pe- trel mist-netted on Ano Nuevo I., San Mateo 24 Jul (Julie Thayer) had a brood patch. Nest- ing has been suspected here in previous breeding seasons but not confirmed. HERONS THROUGH CRANES Little Blue Herons turned up in good num- bers around south S.E Bay, with 3 ads. found over a two-day period in Santa Clara : in Alvi- so 9-11 Jun (WGB, MDo, Kelly Dodder, DvWb), at Almaden L. 9-17 Jun (MJM, RWR, rn.ob.), and at Coyote Ranch marsh 10 Jun (MJM). These birds, or additional individuals, were later found farther n. at Hayward R.S., Alameda 18 Jun (RJR), in Menlo Park 24 Jun Crested Caracara reports were received from the length of the northern California coast this season. This bird at outer Point Reyes, Marin County 1 7 (here) through 20 June 2006 was thought to be the same as one present at the same lo- cation 3-6 May 2005, but tracking individual caracaras as they move up and down the coast is turning out to involve more speculation than logic. Photograph by Joe Devine. (4th San Mateo record; RSTh), and in San Ma- teo (5th San Mateo record; ADeM). Addition- ally, a “calico” (transitional) individual was seen at C.R.P 2 Jul (JTr). Coastal Cattle Egrets included alternate-plumaged ads. at the Al- maden L. heronry, Santa Clara 8-15 Jun (Gor- don & Jeannie Barrett, tKirsten Holmquist et al.) and one at Moore Creek Preserve, Santa Cruz 23 Jun (fide KAr). Rare in Modoc, a Green Heron was at Tule L. 2 Jul (Mary Beth Stowe). Black-crowned Night-Herons had perhaps their “best year for nesting” at Hay- 574 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ward R.S., Alameda (RJR); likewise, the colony at the Palo Alto Baylands, Santa Clara continued to expand, with 47+ active nests 1 Jul (WGB). Four wandering White-faced Ibis were at Paicines Res., San Benito 23 Jul (LLu, CLu). Ospreys continue to expand their breeding range, with a nest with 3 young atop a red- wood snag along the North Fork of Butano Cr. through at least 1 Aug providing the hrst confirmed nesting in San Mateo (John Bulger, fide DLSu). A nest at a new location in Santa Cruz , at the n. end of Loch Lomond, success- fully fledged young in Aug (Judie Cole, fide Chris Berry). Bald Eagles continue to be found breeding in new locations. A nest at San Pablo Res. 6-22 Jun produced 2 chicks for the first nesting confirmation in Contra Costa (Wade Chambers, Roger Hartwell et al). The first nesting confirmation for Santa Clara came with the discovery of a nest with 2 dead nestlings at Calaveras Res. 20 Jul (Hans J. Peters). Based on the nest construc- tion and another nest 20 m away, this pair may have been nesting here undetected for three to five years. Five eaglets fledged from three nests at Ft. Hunter Liggett and L. San Antonio (both Monterey ) this season (fide DR). The Sonoma Common Black-Hawk at Laguna de Santa Rosa continued through at least 9 Jul (ph. Stan Moore). The rash of Crested Caracara reports continued, with an ad. moving around Monterey in the vicinity of the Carmel R. mouth through the period (m.ob.), a bird at outer Pt. Reyes, Marin 17-20 Jun (ph. Joe Devine et al.), and one at Hum- boldt Bay, Humboldt 13-14 Jul (Bryan Atkin- son, ph. SMcA, PAH, Justin Ward). Incredibly, four Merlin reports came from the vicinity of Areata, Humboldt 19-25 Jul (KBu, Lisa LeV- elle, Alexandra Lamb, Tim McKay, GSL). Our notebooks include a few previous Jul records from the n. parts of the Region, but all such records are poorly documented. However, in- creasing May and Aug reports suggest that perhaps some Merlins are summering in or close to our Region. Peregrine Falcons were well reported from locations where previous- ly unknown in summer, including new nest- ing areas. No reports of Yellow Rails were re- ceived for the first summer in five years. An ad. Sandhill Crane with a chick at Battle Cr. Meadow 3 Jul (CLu, LLu) was the first nest- ing record for Tehama. SHOREBIRDS Breeding bird atlas field work led to the dis- covery of Solano's first nesting Snowy Plovers, e. of Montezuma Slough, with families found 9-30 Jul (EPi). Black Oystercatchers bred again on San Mateo’s bayside, with a pair nest- ing at the Oyster Pt. Marina 2 Jul (RSTh). Solitary Sandpipers included an early fall bird 8 Jul at Martis L., Placer (CCo); others were at C.R.P. 26 Jul (JTr) and at Gilroy W.T.R, Santa Clara 28 Jul (RWR, FV). Wandering Tattlers were reported from Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz 28 May-7 Jun (SGe) and Shelter Cove, Humboldt 15 Jun (RBS). Five Red Knots at Bayfront Park, San Mateo 25 Jun were unseasonable (LLu, CLu). Nine Semipahnated Sandpipers were found in Monterey, Santa Clara, and Alameda, with the first ad. reported 7 Jul and the first juv. 29 Jul (m.ob.). An ad. Little Stint frequented New Chicago Marsh in Alviso lb- 20 Jul (tMtB, ph. tOsJ, tMJM et al, tAV, tSCR). This constitutes the 8th record for Not a rare species, but certainly a bird in a rare plumage, this albino Cliff Swallow was photographed 25 June 2006 along Marble Hot Springs Road in Sierra Valley, Plumas County, California. Photograph by Tom Grey. California, 4th for the Region, and the first for Santa Clara (an additional record of a juv. in Del Norte 27 Sep 2005 is also currently under review). The only Bairds Sandpipers reported were 2 at Hayward R.S., Alameda 23-30 Jul (RJR). The only Pectoral Sandpiper was an early bird in South S.F, San Mateo 18 Jul (Donald Pendelton). An early Stilt Sandpiper was found at Hayward R.S., Alameda 17 Jul (RJR). A female Ruff was at the Pajaro R. mouth, Monterey & Santa Cruz 1 Jul (RgW). Three Red Phalaropes at Crowley L., Mono 17 Jun were unprecedented in Jun (tjerry Za- torski). SKUAS THROUGH ALCIDS A South Polar Skua off Pt. Pinos, Monterey 28 Jul (RgW, RT) was the first of the fall. Rarely seen from shore, 4 Long-tailed Jaegers were heading southward off Pt. Pinos, Monterey 31 Jul (BLS). A Sabines Gull at Rush Cr. delta, Mono 19 Jun (JM) was noteworthy, as this species is rare inland, especially outside fall. More typical fall arrivals included 6 off Mon- terey 28 Jul (ShJ). Inland spring/summer Common Terns are noteworthy: one was at Rush Cr. delta, Mono 19 Jun (JM). The only known inland location regularly used for nesting by (California) Least Terns, near Ket- tlemen City, Kings, hosted two pairs (JSy). In Solano, a major new breeding location was discovered at Montezuma Wetlands, a project restoring farmland to tidal wetlands in Suisun Bay, where over 110 Least Terns were present 9 Jul (EPi). The colony successfully produced young. The only other major colony in the Region has been in S.E Bay, in Alameda. Else- where, noteworthy Least Tern observations included singles in S.F. at India Basin 10-18 Jun (PSar, HuC, EWP) and L. Merced 18 Jun (DPM); in Monterey at Zmudowski S.B. 27 Jun (2 birds; Jeff Wall), the Salinas R. mouth 30 Jun (2 birds; BJW), and Moss Landing 16 Jul (2 birds; TAm); and in Napa at Huichica Creek W.A. 30 Jul (2 birds; MBe). Black Skim- mer numbers and locations continue to in- crease in coastal areas of the Region. A Black Skimmer flying from Contra Costa into Alameda at Albany Crescent 11 Jul (BFi) fur- nished a rare record for Contra Costa. Alcids are rare well inside S.E Bay. Thus, noteworthy was a Pigeon Guillemot at the San Mateo Bridge, San Mateo 29 Jun (RSTh). Fifty Pigeon Guillemots off Bodega Head, Sonoma 25 Jun was a large number for a single loca- tion (CLu, LLu). Scarce in summer. Ancient Murrelets were off Trinidad, Humboldt 12 Jun (Michael Morris) and Moss Landing S.B., Monterey 1 Jul (BLS); another continued from the previous season through 28 Jul at Pt. Pinos, Monterey (RT, RgW, RJA et al.). Con- tinuing the influx from the first half of the year, Horned Puffins were at Santa Cruz, San- ta Cruz 16-18 Jun (Jeff Wall, vt. Cindy Cum- mings, Rick Herder); Moss Beach, San Mateo 17 Jun (found dead; Steve Durkin); MacKer- richer S.P., Mendocino 2-3 Jul (DAJ, MMtt, GEC, SAbb); and Mendocino Headlands S.P., Mendocino 7 Jul (MtB, OsJ). DOVES THROUGH SOLITAIRES Notable Eurasian Collared-Dove sightings in- cluded a first for Sutter 27 Jun at Yuba City (Ray Hasey) and first breeding records for Mono at Lee Vining (KNN) and Sonoma at Petaluma (RS). The colonization of nw. Cali- fornia has been particularly abrupt, including the presence of up to 6 birds at Smith River, Del Norte 29 May-29 Jun (ADB, Eileen Coop- er, Joe Gartland) and reports from 17 sites in Humboldt, including a first breeding record near Ferndale 5 Jun (COg). For the 5th time in seven years, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was de- tected at Cock Robin I., Humboldt 2-4 Jun (Joe Ceriani, Laurie Lawrence et al.). Likely the same bird was refound 10 Jul, when it was said to be counter-singing with a 2nd bird on adja- cent Roper 1. (EE et al.). An unidentified cuckoo, presumably a Yellow-billed, 4 Jul at V01UME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 575 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Monterey, Monterey was a mid-summer sur- prise (Louis R. Bevier). Unidentified nighlhawks reached the coast at Arana Gulch, Santa Cruz 7 Jun (RDiG) and Hwy. 280, n. San Mateo 14 Jun (2; Jack Cole). An ad. Black Swift on a nest 2 Jul and two active nests at Ano Nuevo S.R., San Mateo 5 Jul confirmed breeding at this once reliable location (GJS). Santa Cruz' s 5th and 6th Chimney Swifts were at Big Basin Redwoods S.R 2 Jun (2 birds; DLSu) and Rancho Del Oso 31 Jul (DLSu); as many as 4, including an apparent pair, were at Big Sur R. mouth, Monterey 27 Jul— 9 Aug (ph. OsJ, tMtB). Single Pileated Woodpeckers in Modoc , where thought to be rare, were near Soup Springs 2 Jul (Mary Beth Stowe) and Day 8 Jul (Tristan Howard), the former represent- ing just the 2nd record for the Warner Mts. An Eastern Wood-Pewee 4 Jun at Putah Cr., Solano would represent just the 7th for the Region if accepted by the C.B.R.C. (RMu, TJCS, ph. TEa). A singing Least Flycatcher 8- 12 Jul near Davis L., Plumas (TBDW, Dawn Garcia) may have been prospecting for a suit- able nest-site; Leasts have been confirmed breeding on a handful of occasions in ne. Cal- ifornia. Late lowland Empidonax included Hammond’s Flycatchers s. of Windsor, Sono- ma 5-7 Jun (Daniel Edelstein) and near the confluence of the Van Duzen R. and Eel R., Humboldt 1 1 Jun (RbF), a late Dusky at Big Basin Redwoods S.P., Santa Cruz 4 Jun (KAr), and a Gray at EL 13 Jun (RR.B.O.). Says Phoebes 13-14 Jun at Hopland (first Mendoci- no summer record; CEV) and on the Valensin Ranch, C.R.R 25 Jun (JTr) were well away from known breeding locations. Ash-throated Flycatchers are not known to breed in coastal Humboldt , so no fewer than six sightings 2 Jun-5 Jul (m.ob.) are difficult to categorize. A vagrant Eastern Kingbird 8 Jun was noted high atop the 2500-m Conway Summit, Mono (SaH). Loggerhead Shrikes on unexpected dates included a first summer record for Hum- boldt at Eel River W.A. 13 Jul (RbF, Bryan Charles) and a juv. at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz 17 Jul (SGe). No shrikes were found this summer in San Mateo , where they are feared extirpated. A singing Bell’s Vireo 20 Jun along Coyote Cr. was just the 3rd found in Santa Clara (tMJM). Of 7 Red-eyed Vireos 2-24 Jun, 3 were inland: 11 Jun at Simis Ranch, Mono (KNN), 23 Jun at C.R.R (JTr), and 24 Jun near the Kaweah R. Dam (first for Tulare ; tRH). A Horned Lark at Coyote Pt. 18 Jun (RSTh) was either a very late migrant or a wanderer, as they do not breed at that site and may be ex- tirpated from San Mateo , the last breeding record being in 1997. A Purple Martin near the Fremont Weir 19 Jun (OsJ, MtB) was the first found in Sutter since 1975. Bank Swal- lows well away from known breeding stations were at Big Sur R. mouth, Monterey 9-10 Jun (MtB, RyT, OsJ, DR et al.). Half Moon Bay, San Mateo 15 Jun (AJ), and Alviso, Santa Clara 16 Jul (MJM, MtB, OsJ). Tulare's nesting pair at Yokohl Valley was noted again 5-16 Jun (KiK, Tony Kurz). A Black-capped Chickadee 20 Jun at Lowden Ranch was a long-awaited first for Trinity (EE); at least one Black-capped near the confluence of the Van Duzen R. and Eel R., Humboldt 28 Jun-28Jul was at the cur- rent s. extent of the species known range (DFx). A Red-breasted Nuthatch 31 Jul at Modesto, Stanislaus was a rare Jul find for the C.V. floor (HMR). An unseasonable Winter Wren was on EL 24 Jul (RR.B.O.). Very late This Summer Tanager singing on territory in pine-oak forest from early May through 1 6 (here 1 ) July 2006 in the Sierra Nevada furnished the second documented record for Placer County as well as the second record of the eastern sub- species for the Sierra Nevada. Photograph by John Sterling. lowland Townsends Solitaires were at outer Pt. Reyes, Marin 13 Jun (RS) and Monte Bello Open Space Preserve and nearby San Mateo 19 Jun (GrH). THRASHERS THROUGH WARBLERS A Gray Catbird in Susanville 1-17 Jul (Mark Miller, m.ob.) was Lassen's first. Gray Catbirds were also reported at Rush Cr., Mono 23 Jun-4 Jul (CMc) and at Pt. Reyes, Marin 13 Jun (RS, KH). A Sage Thrasher on Monte Bel- lo Ridge, Santa Clara 3 Jun (SCR) was the first summer record for that county. An ad. Cedar Waxwing carrying food and feeding young at Pt. Reyes provided Marin's first breeding record 3-15 Jun (RS). A Tennessee Warbler 9 Jul near Rio Dell along the Eel R. (KGR) was the first Humboldt record between 19 Jun and 27 Aug ( fide DFx). Northern Parulas were found in coastal coun- ties from Monterey (5) to Humboldt (2), with one in Santa Rosa, Sonoma 4-18 Jun (Rhio Rcigh, RAR, Anthony Cermack, ph. WGB, ph. AWgh, m.ob.). Single Northern Parulas were found in Butte 20-23 Jun (DR, RC, JHS) and Mono 6 Jul (CMc). Madera’s first Northern Parula record was an ad. male at San Joaquin Experimental Range 14 Jun (Doug Drynan, Kathryn Purcell, ph. JND, m.ob.), and Placer’s first was a female found dead at Tahoe City 9 Jun (*John Moore, fide WRi). Unusual breed- ing locations for Yellow Warblers included an unsuccessful nest at C.R.R 20-25 Jun (JTr), four pairs in the foothills of Madera 7 Jul (JND, Brian Gibson), and a female carrying food 8 Jul in Pescadero, San Mateo (RSTh). Chestnut-sided Warblers were at Rush Cr., Mono 6 Jun (Queresh Latif) and Big Sur R. mouth, Monterey 20 Jun (b.; B.S.O.L.). Mag- nolia Warblers included a singing male at Big Sur R. mouth, Monterey 10 Jun (C1H, DCo, ph. OsJ) and a bird banded on F.l. 12 Jun (RR.B.O.). The season’s only Black-throated Blue Warbler was on EL 30 Jun (RR.B.O.). Numerous Yellow-rumped Warblers singing and carrying food at Corona Mine Forest in Napa 20-27 Jun (MBe) confirmed a new breeding location for that county. There were 2 Black-and-white Warblers in Humboldt 9 & 14 Jun (Kl, KBu) and one in Contra Costa 1 1 Jun (ES). Besides the 3 Amer- ican Redstarts in Monterey 13 Jun-2 Jul (b.; B.S.O.L., RyT, OsJ et al.) were singles in El Dorado 29 Jun (Kevin Spencer), Marin 23 Jun (RS), Mono 21 Jun-11 Jul (CMc), Sonoma 5 Jul (DgSh), and EI. 10-12 Jun (RR.B.O.). The season’s only Prothonotary Warbler was a singing male in San Gregorio, San Mateo 17 Jun (RSTh). An Ovenbird was at the Pt. Reyes lighthouse, Marin 13 Jun (RS), and a singing male was along Skyline Blvd. in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz 5 Jun (DLSu). Of the 6 Hooded Warblers reported, 2 were inland: singing males at C.R.R 15 Jul (JTr, m.ob.) and in Santa Rosa, Sonoma 4 Jun+ (DgSh, ph. Len Blumin, m.ob.). Others were in San Mateo along Gazos Creek Rd. 8 Jun (singing male; RSTh), at Butano S.R (female; DLSu), and in Monterey at the Big Sur R. mouth 3 Jun (fe- male, b.; B.S.O.L.) and the Carmel R. mouth 13 Jul (male; MtB, Bret Tryon). A Yellow- breasted Chat at Finegold Cr. ne. of O’Neals 7 Jul was the first breeding season record for Madera (JND, Brjan Gibson). TANAGERS THROUGH FINCHES A singing male Summer Tanager in Colfax early May-16 Jul furnished a first Placer record (Larry & Pam Risser, m.ob., ph. JCS, vt. C1H). This bird was apparently of the nom- inate subspecies. Summer Tanagers were also found at Rush Cr., Mono 5 & 24 Jul (CMc). A Black-chinned Sparrow was on Pine Flat Rd., Sonoma 20 Jun (FrO, JLx). At least 2 singing Black-throated Sparrows on Airport Rd. above Diamond Valley, Alpine 15 Jun-28 Jul (ES, CLu, LLu, m.ob.) and another e. of Foresthill, Placer 9 Jul (FrO, Liz West) represent scarce 576 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS breeding-season records for both counties. Another unusual sparrow for the Airport Rd. area of Alpine was a male Sage Sparrow 1-28 Jul (John Lewis, Mike Skram, m.ob.). The only prior Alpine records for this species were near Monitor Pass on the e. edge of the coun- ty. A singing ad. Grasshopper Sparrow and a fresh juv. near Mendota provided the 2nd county occurrence and the first evidence of breeding for Madera 18 Jul (ph. GaW). A Grasshopper Sparrow was singing s. of Dixon in Solano mid-May-18 Jun (EP, C1H, RMu). Several sparrows were notable for their pres- ence on wintering grounds into summer. These included a Lincoln’s Sparrow at Big Sur R., Monterey 7-9 Jun (B.S.O.L., RyT, OsJ); Butte’s first Jun record for White-crowned Sparrow 27 Jun OHS); Santa Cruz’s first Fox Sparrow for the month of Jun ( unalaschcensis or schistacea subspecies) 8 Jun (Scott Smith- son); 2 Golden-crowned Sparrows in Monterey 2 Jun and mid-Jul (RF, Laura Rodriguez); and another Golden-crowned Sparrow in Palo Alto, Santa Clara 9 Jul (Joe Greenberg, TAC). Of the 23 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks report- ed, all but one were in coastal or bayside coun- ties, with 9 in Santa Cruz , 4 in Humboldt, 3 in Monterey, 2 in San Mateo, 2 in S.F. (one at EL and one in the city), and one each in Contra Costa and Marin. The lone inland county record was an ad. male at C.R.P. 21 Jun (JTr). An apparent Rose-breasted Grosbeak x Black- headed Grosbeak hybrid was in McKinleyville, Humboldt 11 Jul (GSL, LPL). Blue Grosbeaks in the Red Hills area of Tuolumne 6- 14 Jul rep- resent the 2nd occurrence in that county (JCS, Roy Carlson). A pair of Indigo Buntings was at Fremont Weir 9-20 Jun and was seen in both Sutter and Yolo (MP, m.ob.). Indigo Buntings were also reported from Mono, S.F., and Sacra- mento. A Common Grackle at outer Pt. Reyes, Marin 19 Jun (RS), if accepted by the C.B.R.C, would be the 3rd Pt. Reyes record. Great-tailed Grackles continued to consolidate their occu- pation of n. California, with Humboldt and Modoc each reporting their 6th records and Tehama its 5th. A Great-tailed Grackle at Indi- an Creek Res. 3 Jun was Alpine’s first (JSL, JLx). A singing second-year male Baltimore Oriole near Junction City 19-29 Jun (EE, PAH) was the first record for Trinity. Lawrences Goldfinches at the Presidio 21-30 Jul (MWE, m.ob.) were a rare treat for S.F. Cited observers (county coordinators in boldface): Steve Abbott, R. J. Adams, Tim Amaral, Kumaran Arul, Alan D. Barron (Del Norte), Murray Berner (Napa), Matthew Brady, William G. Bousman (Santa Clara), Adam Brown (EL), Ken Burton, Rita Car- ratello, Theodore A. Chandik, George E. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Chaniot, Daryl Coldren, Luke W. Cole (Kings), Chris Conard (Sacramento & Yolo), Hugh Cotter, Jeff N. Davis (Madera), A1 De- Martini, Bruce E. Deuel (n. C.V. counties), Ryan DiGuadio, Matthew Dodder, Mark W. Eaton (San Francisco ), Ray Ekstrom (Siskiy- ou), Elias Elias, Brian Fitch, David Fix (Hum- boldt), Rick Fournier, Rob Fowler (RbF), James H. Gain (Stanislaus), Steve Gerow, Steve A. Glover (Contra Costa), Lois Gold- frank, Keith Hansen, Rob Hansen, Garth Har- wood, Jim Havlena, Karen Havlena, Cliff Hawley, Sacha Heath, Pablo A. Herrera, John E. Hunter (Trinity), Ken Irwin, Alvaro Jaramillo, David A. Jensen, Oscar Johnson, Robert J. Keiffer (Mendocino), Kim Kuska, Robin L. C. Leong (Solano), Gary S. Lester, Lauren P. Lester, Cindy Lieurance, Leslie Lieurance, Jim Lomax, John S. Luther, Michael J. Mammoser, J. Mac McCormick (Plumas & Siena), Matthew A. Matthiessen, Sean McAllister, Chris McCreedy, Peter J. Metropulos (San Mateo), Joseph Morlan, Dan R Murphy, Roger Muskat, Kristie N. Nelson (Mono), Wally NeVille, Chet Ogan, Francis Oliver, Ed Pandolfino (Placer), Michael Per- rone, Eric Pilotte (EPi),Jude C. Power (Hum- boldt), Eric W. Preston, Harold M. Reeve, Robert W. Reiling, Will Richardson, Robert J. Richmond (Alameda), Don Roberson ( Mon- terey), Michael M. Rogers, Kerry G. Ross, Stephen C. Rottenborn, Ruth A. Rudesill (Sonotna), Paul Saraceni, Michelle Scott, Jeff Seay, Doug Shaw, Shearwater Journeys, Jim H. Snowden, Rich Stallcup, John C. Sterling (Modoc, Alpine, & Calaveras), Tim Steurer (Amador & El Dorado), Gary J. Strachan, Em- ilie Strauss, David L. Suddjian (Santa Cruz), Brian L. Sullivan, Steven D. Summers (Tu- lare), Robert B. Sutherland, Richard Ternullo, Ryan Terrill (RyT), Ronald S. Thorn, Dorothy Tobkin, John Trochet, Steve Umland (Tuolumne), Chuck E. Vaughn, Kent Van Vuren (Merced & San Benito), David Vander Pluym (Mariposa), Frank Vanslager, Ann Ver- di, Dave Weber, BrianJ. Weed, Jerry R. White (Lake), Alan Wight, Brian D. C. Williams, Roger Wolfe, Gary Woods, Bob & Carol Yutzy (Shasta). Many more observers are not specifically cited; all are appreciated. © Michael M. Rogers, 499 Novato Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94086, (m.m.rogers@comcast.net); Steven A. Glover, 6526 Conestoga Lane, Dublin, California 94568, (countylines@sbcglobal.net); Ed Pandolfino, 5530 Delrose Court, Carmichael, California 95608, (erpfromca@aol.com); Scott B. Terrill, HI. Harvey & Associates, 3150 Almaden Expressway, Suite 145, San Jose, California 95118, (sterrill@harveyecology.com) 800/634-1736 • www. abasales.co © American Birdi rig’ New titles trom the American Birding Association! A Birder's Guide to Southern California Item #123 ? ABA Member Price: $19.96 (List $24.95) VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 577 Southern California Guy McCaskie Kimball L. Garrett Heat was the hallmark of this summer, with temperatures through the month of July breaking records for many parts of the Region. The attendant wildfires and, locally, monsoon rains added punctua- tion to the hot summer period. Seasonal high- lights included the first documented nesting of Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in California and a potential first state record of Yellow Grosbeak. An Arctic Loon that died at a rehabilitation facili- ty established the first specimen of this primarily Old World species for California. Abbreviations: C.L. (China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, ex- treme ne. Kern); G.H.P. (Galileo Hill Park in extreme e. Kern); N.E.S.S. (n. end of the Salton Sea, Riverside); PP. (Piute Ponds on Ed- wards A.F.B., ne. Los Angeles ); S.C.R.E. (Santa Clara R. Estuary near Ventura, Ventura ); S.E.S.S. (s. end of the Salton Sea, Imperial ); S.EK.R.P (South Fork Kern River Preserve near Weldon, Kent). Mu- seum collections abbreviated in the text are: LACM (Natural Histo- ry Museum of Los Angeles Coun- ty) and SDNHM (San Diego Natu- ral History Museum). Because vir- tually all rarities in s. California are seen by many observers, only the observer(s) initially finding and identifying the bird are included. Documentation for species on the California B.R.C. (C.B.R.C.) re- view list is forwarded to the Secre- tary and archived at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Camarillo. WATERFOWL THROUGH HAWKS Three Fulvous Whistling-Ducks at S.E.S.S. 13 Jul (GMcC) were probably post-breeding wanderers, as this species now appears extir- pated from California as a nesting bird. A flock of 35 Brant flying northward off Imperi- al Beach, San Diego 6 Jun (MJB) was excep- tionally late. The presence of a female Gad- wall with one duckling at S.E.S.S. 1 Jul (GMcC) provides the first evidence of breed- ing at the Salton Sink. A Surf Scoter at S.E.S.S. 14-17 Jun (GMcC) was probably attempting to summer at this inland location. A Common Merganser, a rare breeder on the coast of s. California, was seen with 6 ducklings on Pico Creek near San Simeon, Sun Luis Obispo 1 Jul (MLS). An emaciated Arctic Loon captured in Newport Beach, Orange 5 Jul (KLG; *LACM) provides the 5th record for California. A Common Loon at S.E.S.S. 17 Jun (GMcC) and another at N.E.S.S. 30 Jun-1 Jul (SB) were either very late spring migrants or at- tempting to summer locally. An exciting con- centration of “pelagics” visible from the New- port Beach pier in late Jul produced counts of 300 Pink-footed, 560 Sooty, and 400 Black- This adult male Tricolored Blackbird was one of six found with other blackbirds at a dairy near Seeley, Imperial County, California in July (here 30 July) 2006, well outside the species' known range. Photograph by Kenneth Z. Kurland. vented Shearwaters, along with 3 Black Storm-Petrels, on 28 Jul (MJI). Five Red- billed Tropicbirds at West Cove on San Clemente 1. 29 Jul (SWS) and another 16 km s. of there 30 Jul (HBK) suggested an influx to the area. A Brown Booby foraging off Imperi- al Beach 8 jul (GMcC) adds another record to the ever-increasing number from the coast of California. For the first time since 1939, Brown Pelicans nested (43 nests counted on 16 May) on Prince I. off San Miguel I. (Cali- fornia Dept, of Fish & Game). A frigatebird over Pt. Fermin, Los Angeles 8 Aug (fide BA) was presumably a Magnificent; occurrences of this species in the Region have steeply de- clined in the past 10 years. Away from coastal San Diego, the only Lit- tle Blue Heron reported was an ad. in the Pra- do Basin, Riverside 8 Jun (JEP). A Tricolored Heron, a species much rarer in California to- day than 30 years ago, was at San Elijo La- goon, Sat i Diego 10 Jul (RTP). On the other hand, numbers of Reddish Egrets continue to increase, with at least 4 in coastal San Diego and Orange during the period; farther n., one at S.C.R.E. 26 Jul (DD) was believed to be the same bird present off and on at Catpinteria, Santa Barbara 4 Jul-5 Aug (LM). The pair of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in Imperial Beach fledged 3 young in Jul (GMcC), estab- lishing the first record for nesting in California; a subad. in the Riverside portion of the Prado Basin 3 Jul (JEP) was only the 2nd to be found inland in Califor- nia. Single Glossy Ibis, a species expanding its range westward into California, were in the Prado Basin 8 Jun (JEP) and near Cali- patria 26-31 Jul (GMcC). The first Wood Stork of the summer was at S.E.S.S. 11 Jun (JM), and numbers built up to a high count of 27 on 22 Jul (KLG). Ospreys have become estab- lished and increasing as a breed- ing bird on the s. coast in recent years, with at least 10 nests known in San Diego this year and the first in Orange in over 100 years on Upper Newport Bay (DRW). A pair of White-tailed Kites successfully fledged young from a nest near Calexico, Imperi- al in early May (DRW), an area only recently colonized by this species. Bald Eagles successfully fledged young at L. Henshaw, San Diego (PU) and Lopez L., San Luis Obispo (MLS). Single Sharp- shinned Hawks, unexpected in s. California in summer, were at Big Pine, Inyo 27 Jun (T&rJH) and near Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo 4 Jul (AFS). A Zone-tailed Hawk near Sheep Camp in the Sierra Madre Mts., Santa Barbara 30 Jun (TM, VH) was in suitable breeding habitat, but a subad. at Corona, 578 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA This Yellow-crowned Night-Heron in an inundated part of the Prado Basin, Riverside County, California 3 July 2006 is only the second to be found away from the coast in the state. Photograph by James E. Pike. Riverside 19 Jim (JEP) was unexpected, as most recorded in the lowlands are during fall and winter. RAILS THROUGH ALCIDS Vocalizing Black Rails were present and prob- ably nesting at three locations at the S.E.S.S./Imperial Valley during the summer. The presence of a young Sora in the Cholame Valley, San Luis Obispo 7 Jul (TME) and 3 young near Temecula, Riverside 23 Jun (RAE) establish two of a very few nesting records in s. California in the modern era; one at S.E.S.S. 8 Jul (JM) was an early fall migrant. Two pairs of Common Moorhens successfully bred at C.L. this summer (SLS), the first time ever for that area. Single Pacific Golden-Plovers at Carpinteria 14-16 Jul (PAG) and in Long Beach, Los Ange- les 8-13 Jul (KGL) were early migrants. An American Oystercatcher x Black Oystercatcher hybrid was in Ventura, Ventura 26 Jun (MBra, OJ). The earliest migrant Solitary Sandpiper this year was one at S.E.S.S. 7 Jul (GMcC), fol- lowed by at least 4 more scattered throughout the Region by the end of the month. The pres- ence of 7 Black Turnstones at S.E.S.S. 14 Jun (GMcC) suggested they were summering lo- cally. A Surfbird in Coronado, San Diego 12-19 Jul (MS) was suspected to have summered lo- cally, while another at Playa del Rey, Los Ange- les 23 Jun (RB) was considered an early fall migrant. Up to 2 Red Knots at C.L. 7-12 Jul (SLS) were the only ones reported inland away from the Salton Sea. Single ad. Semipalmated Sandpipers were at S.C.R.E. 26 Jul-5 Aug (DD), Long Beach 23- 25 Jul (KGL), and inland at S.E.S.S. 7 Jul (GMcC), and the earliest juv. was one in Goleta, Santa Barbara 24 Jul (WTF). The earliest Bairds Sandpipers this fall were single ads. in Long Beach 16-18 Jul (KGL), Santa Maria, Santa Barbara 21 Jul (MBro), at Owens L., Inyo 23 Jul (SLS), and near Imperial, Imperi- al 26 Jul (GMcC). A Curlew Sandpiper, a casual straggler to California, made a brief stop at San Elijo Lagoon 9 Jul (SES). Single Stilt Sandpipers in Blythe, Riverside 22 Jul (RH) and Long Beach 25-26 Jul (RB) were the only ones found away from S.E.S.S. Two Wilson’s Snipe at S.E.S.S. 29 Jul (GMcC) were ear- ly fall migrants. A Long-tailed Jaeger off San Diego 9 Jul (MJB) was either a very early fall migrant or more likely summering locally, while the date of an- other at S.C.R.E. 29 Jul (BJ) coincides with the arrival of the first of the fall migrants off- These three young Yellow-crowned Night-Herons with one of the adults (partly visible; upper right) left this nest in Imperial Beach, San Diego County, in July 2006 (here 1 4 June), establishing the first record for nesting in California. Photograph by Vie Murayama. shore. Single Laughing Gulls at Morro Bay 22 Jun (TME), Cabrillo Beach, Los Angeles 6 Jun (BA), Eluntington Beach, Orange 1 Jul (LO), San Diego 18 Jun (SES) and 19 Jun-22 Jul (EA), and near Imperial Beach 23 Jul (GMcC) were on the coast, where rare; two pairs nest- ed at S.E.S.S. during the period, along with several dozen pairs of California Gulls (KCM). Two or 3 Franklin’s Gulls were pres- ent at S.E.S.S. through the summer, and an- other was in Santa Barbara 26 Jun (KKa); an ad. at C.L. 10 Jul (SLS) and a juv. at S.E.S.S. 13 Jul (GMcC) were the first of the fall mi- grants. The Little Gull found at S.E.S.S. 12 Apr remained through 26 Jul (GMcC), at which time it had molted into second-winter plumage. A pair of Heermann’s Gulls attempt- ed unsuccessfully to nest in Shell Beach, San Luis Obispo in Jun (BKS), and single birds at S.E.S.S. 12 Jun (MBS) and 26 Jul (GMcC) were inland, where rare. A worn first-summer Mew Gull in Cayucos, San Luis Obispo 17 Jun-1 Jul (DML) was evidently summering locally. An ad. Yellow-footed Gull near Impe- rial Beach 23 Jul (TS) was one of a very few to be found on the coast of California. Worn Glaucous-winged Gulls were inland at S.E.S.S. 27-31 May (JM) and at N.E.S.S. 10 Jun (CMcG). A Sabine’s Gull was visible from shore at S.C.R.E. 27 Jul (KKr). Over 170 pairs of Gull-billed Terns enjoyed a moderately successful breeding season at S.E.S.S. this year, with up to 90 young fledged; some 700 pairs of Caspian Terns also nested with good success there (KCM). Officials are investigating the deliberate destruction of a colony of several hundred pairs of Caspian and Elegant Terns, along with at least one pair each of Royal Terns and Black Skimmers, on two barges moored within Long Beach Harbor at the end of Jun (TA); the young were washed into the water, where most drowned. A count of 75 Elegant Terns on San Clemente 1. 29 Jul (SWS) is the largest number recorded on that island. A group of over 100 Common Terns off San Diego 9 Jun (MJB) was probably summer- ing locally. At least 8 Least Terns were present at S.E.S.S. during the summer (GMcC), but breeding at this inland locality has yet to be established. Black Skimmer nesting efforts at the Salton Sea were erratic and late; up to 1200 ads. were present, but nesting attempts (which continued into Sep) yielded few young by the end of Aug (KCM). A Pigeon Guillemot at Newport Beach 26-27 Jul (MJI) was unusu- ally far south. PIGEONS THROUGH JAYS Single Band-tailed Pigeons on San Clemente 1. 8 & 25 Jul QEB) were far outside the species’ normal range. At a time when numbers of the This summering immature Mew Gull, photographed at Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, California 17 June 2006, shows the worn and bleached flight feathers on the wings typically present on northern gulls summering in southern California. Photograph by Davis M. Lawrence. V01UME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 579 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA One of at least eight Least Terns present around the south end of the Salton Sea, Imperial County, California through the summer, this individual was photographed on 22 June 2006. Photograph by Kenneth Z. Kurland. introduced Spotted Dove are crashing, it was a surprise to find a pair with 2 recently fledged young in Niland 21 May (GMcC), establishing the first breeding record for Imperial. Single White-winged Doves were found along the coast on Point Loma, San Diego 17 Jul (PU) and in Carson, Los Angeles 30 Jul (KGL), where rare, and another in Independence, Inyo 20 Jul (RAH) was n. of the species’ normal range. A Ruddy Ground-Dove near El Centro, Imperial 30 Jul+ (KZK) was the only one found away from the small resident population near Calipatria, Imperial. Single Yellow-billed Cuck- oos along San Felipe Cr. in e. San Diego 24 Jun-8 Jul (PJ) and on the San Luis Rey R. near Oceanside, San Diego 3 Aug (KF) were in suit- able breeding habitat, but one in El Centro 18 Jun (BK) was a late spring migrant in an area where few have been recorded. A Short-eared Owl at PR 25 Jun (MvanN) was in an area where breeding is unknown. A Lesser Nighthawk, rare on the coast of San Luis Obispo , was in Los Osos 19 Jun (GPS). The only Chimney Swifts reported were 2 near El Capitan State Beach, Santa Barbara 26 Jun (WTF). Two Vaux’s Swifts, a species not known to nest in s. California, were at Ragged Pt. in nw. San Luis Obispo 15 Jul (TME). A male Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Heart Bar campground in the San Bernardino Mts. 24 Jun-8 Jul (JEP) was w- °f the species’ normal range. A Downy Woodpecker on Pt. Loma, San Diego 16-23 Jul (CGE) was far from typi- cal habitat. A Red-naped Sapsucker on Mt. Palomar, San Diego 8 Jul (PU) was outside the species’ known breeding range. A truly lost Northern Flicker was at C.L. 18-21 Jul (SLS). A singing Olive-sided Flycatcher was in Upper Trabuco Canyon, Orange 23 Jun (DV); breeding was last recorded in the Santa Ana Mts. in 1941. A Greater Pewee on Clark Mt., San Bernardino 27 May-3 Jun (SBT, DHu) was the first for this locality and established only the 2nd late-spring/summer record for Cali- fornia. A tardy Western Wood-Pewee at G.H.P. 28 Jun (K&BK) was the lat- est ever found on the e. Kern deserts. Willow Fly- catchers of the endan- gered subspecies extimus barely bang on in the Re- gion; at least 16 males and 15 females were found at S.FK.R.P (MW), and a pair fledged 2 young in Fillmore, Ventu- ra (JG). Two fledgling Say’s Phoebes in Playa del Rey 17 Jul (JC) estab- lished the first nesting record for that coastal region of Los Angeles. Vagrant Eastern Kingbirds were noted at L. Cachuma, Santa Barbara 22 Jun (CP) and in Irvine, Orange 17 Jul (MTH). The presence of 3 singing male Hutton’s Vireos on San Clemente I. 13 Jul (SWS) sug- gests the possible establishment of a small population there. A pair of Warbling Vireos along the Santa Clara R. in Santa Paula, Ventu- This male Northern Cardinal in Blythe, Riverside County, California, photographed on the second day of its known 6-8 June 2006 stay, was at the extreme western edge of the species' range in the Southwest, and possibly the only one on the California side of the Colorado River. Photograph by Roger Higson. ra 28 May-15 Jun (JG) was the first to be con- firmed nesting there in 17 years of survey work. A Red-eyed Vireo was singing in Long Beach 18 Jun (KGL), and another was at S.FK.R.P. 6 Jul (BB). A Pinyon Jay found dead in Inyokern 24 Jul (LK) was the first to be found in summer in the Kent desert lowlands. SWALLOWS THROUGH FINCHES Several pairs of Purple Martins successfully nested near Atascadero, San Luis Obispo in Jun (MLS), and the presence of up to 35 birds at Lost L. in Cajon Pass, San Bernardino 16 Jul-7 Aug (DG) suggests a nearby breeding colony. A Mountain Chickadee in Santa Bar- bara 27 Jun (KB) was the first to be found in summer in coastal Santa Barbara- one in West Covina, Los Angeles 27 Jun (AL) was well be- low breeding habitat. Two Bushtits, rare in the Salton Sink, were at N.E.S.S. 10 Jun (MSanM). Five singing Winter Wrens at Montana de Oro S.P, San Luis Obispo 9 Jul (AFS) were at the s. end of the species’ breeding range. Re- cent breeding records miles from the nearest known populations have suggested that at least some California Gnatcatchers are capable of substantial dispersal, but it was still a shock to receive a well-documented report of a sin- gle bird just s. of Gorman, Los Angeles 12 Jul (BED); this is some 50 km n. of the nearest possible remnant population in the Santa Clarita area and much farther from any known significant population. A Townsends Solitaire on Pt. Loma 1 1 Jun (MJB) was well away from breeding areas. A Swainson’s Thrush at G.H.P 29 Jun (K&BK) was exceptionally late for the desert lowlands. A Hermit Thrush at Lower Bear Campground in the San Rafael Mts., San- ta Barbara 18Jun (WTF) was the 3rd found in this area in summer; 2 singing birds in the Big- cone Douglas-fir belt of the San Gabriel Mts. in Jun (LB, MSanM) were far below known breeding habitat in this range. A Brown Thrasher was at Deep Springs, Inyo 4 Jun (C&RH). At least two pairs of American Pip- its nested at an elevation of 3450 m at High L. in the Cottonwood Lakes Basin, Inyo (LRB); a nest with 5 chicks was photographed on 29 Jun, establishing one of the few documented nestings for the Region. Lucy’s Warblers may have nested near Brawley, Imperial (GMcC), with an ad. and at least 2 imms. noted together 26 Jul, an early coastal vagrant was in Del Mar, San Diego 3 1 Jul (RAF). Late Northern Parulas, not cited in the spring report, were in Goleta 19 Jun (NAL) and near El Centro 28 Jun (KZK). A Hermit Warbler in Long Beach 30 Jul (KGL) was an exceptionally early coastal migrant. Five American Redstarts were noted during the period; the most exceptional of these was a female paired with a male Yellow Warbler and attending a nest with (presumed hybrid) young in Bel Air, Los Angeles in late Jun and Jul (JMD). Black-and-white Warblers were nw. of Calipatria 5 Jun (JM), in Ridgecrest, Kent 13 Jun (SLS), and in Huntington Beach 24 Jun-5 Aug (BED). A nesting pair of Paint- ed Redstarts returned to Agua Duke Cr. in the Laguna Mts., San Diego 17 Jun-8 Jul (DWA). A male Hepatic Tanager returned to Agua Duke Cr., Laguna Mts. 1-8 Jul (BM, MJB, 580 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA This lost female Rose-breasted Grosbeak joined House Finches at a feeder near El Centro, Imperial County, California on 8 July 2006 but was gone the following day. Photograph by Kenneth Z. Kurland. MTH); a pair was also at the traditional site at Arrastre Cr. in the San Bernardino Mts. (AEK). A nesting pair of Summer Tanagers in Jacumba through the period (EK, MUE) ex- tended this species’ limited breeding range in San Diego. A singing male Western Tanager in Eluntington Beach 16-20 Jun (DC, BED) was well away from nesting habitat. Black-chinned Sparrows were found singing in two canyons on San Clemente I. 3 Jun-7 Jul, with nesting confirmed for the first time on the island (SWS). A Black-throated Sparrow on Otay Mt., San Diego 22 Jun (MBS) was well away from breeding areas. The earli- est Large-billed Savannah Sparrow on the coast was at Oceanside, San Diego 22 jul (KW). A Golden-crowned Sparrow at G.H.P. 13 Jun (K&BK) was exceptionally late but was overshadowed by a bird at a feeder s. of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo 2-20 Jul (AFS). A nesting pair of Dark-eyed Juncos in Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles 20 Jul (KGL) estab- lished the first breeding record for the Palos Verdes Peninsula. A male Northern Cardinal in Blythe, River- side 6-8 Jun (RH) was one of the few recently found on the lower Colorado River. The sea- sons outstanding rarity was a male Yellow Grosbeak at Keough’s Plot Springs, s. of Bish- op, Inyo 31 Jul-2 Aug (EP-G, CK). Although plumage and bill anomalies recalled the indi- vidual that frequented an Albuquerque, New Mexico feeder in 2005-2006, there were demonstrable differences; the C.B.R.C. is re- viewing this record, which would be a first for California if accepted. The late spring push of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks continued through the summer period; a dozen birds were re- ported in the coastal counties 1 Jun-24 Jul, with others s. of Big Pine, Inyo 3 Jul (RG) and near El Centro 8 Jul (KZK). Eight singing male Indigo Buntings in the Region 4 Jun-30 Jul were as expected. Single male Bobolinks were on San Clemente I. 8-9 Jun (SCH) and near West- morland, Imperial 2 Jul (JM). Up to 6 male Tricolored Blackbirds at a dairy near Seeley 16 jul+ (MJB) were exceptional for the Imperial Valley. Up to 20 Bronzed Cowbirds in the Im- perial Valley through the period (GMcC) point to this species’ increase in that area. Lawrence’s Goldfinches nesting at Glacier Lodge, Inyo 10 Jun-23 Jul (DHo, RAH, T&JH) were at an exceptionally high eleva- tion and in a portion of the Region where rare. Six Evening Grosbeaks on Big Pine Mt., Santa Barbara 17 Jun (WTF) and 2 on Mt. Pinos, Ventura 1 Jul (LC) were apparently remnants of the late-spring irruption in these areas. Guy McCaskie, 954 Grove Avenue, Imperial Beach, California 91932, (guymcc@pacbell.net); Kimball L. Garrett, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007. (kgarrett@nhm.org) Corrigendum: In the summer is- sue ( North American Birds 60: 436), the Mississippi Kite was photographed by Daryl Coldren, not Edward R. Pandolfino. Cited observers (county coordi- nators in boldface): Bernardo Alps, Ethan Altman, Tim Ander- son, Bob Barnes, Richard Barth, Lance Benner, Louis R. Bevier, Steve Bier, Mark J. Billings, James E. Bradley, Matt Brady (MBra), Kyle Braunger, Mark Brown (MBro), Dick Cabe, Jonathan Cof- fin, David M. Compton ( Santa Barbara ), Lori Conrad, Brian E. Daniels, Don Desjardin, Jared M. Diamond, Tom M. Edell (San Luis Obispo ), Claude G. Edwards, Richard A. Erickson, Michael U. Evans, Kimberly Ferree, Wes T. Fritz, Peter A. Gaede, Kimball L. Garrett (Los Angeles) , Dave Good- ward, Ros Gorham, James Greaves, John F. Green (River- side), Susan C. Hammerly, Matthew T. Heindel, Tom & Jo Heindel (Inyo), Roger Higson, Dave Holway (DHo), Valerie Hub- bart, Robert A. Hudson, Darrell Hutchinson (DHu), Marshall J. Iliff, Barbara Johnson, Oscar Johnson (Ventura), Paul Jor- gensen, Eric Kallen, Cindy Kamler, Kim Kathol (KKa), Howard B. King, Louise Knecht, Alexander E. Koonce (San Bernardi- no), Barbara Krause, Karl Krause (KKr), Ken- neth Z. Kurland, Ken and Brenda Kyle (K&BK), Kevin G. Larson, Dave M. Lawrence, Andrew Lee, Nick A. Lethaby, Liz Mason, Guy McCaskie (Imperial), Chet McGaugh, Bill Mittendorf, Jake Mohlmann, Kathy C. Molina, Tom Murphy, Leo Ohtsuki, Robert T. Patton, Cruz Phillips, James E. Pike, Eva Poole- Gilson, Matt Sadowski, Mike San Miguel, Alan F. Schmierer, Brad K. Schram, Gregory P. Smith, Maggie L. Smith, Susan E. Smith, Trent Stanley, Susan L. Steele, Mary B. Stowe, Sam W. Stuart, Scott B. Terrill, Philip Unitt, David Vander Pluym, Michael van Norman, Mary Whitfield, Ken Weaver, Douglas R. Willick (Orange), John C. Wilson (Kent). An addi- tional 25+ observers who could not be indi- vidually acknowledged submitted reports this season; all have our thanks. © VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 581 Baja California Peninsula Ensenada /s/as Tijuana ^ Mexicali Todos \Ti ^ 'em Prieto Santos , &-Leyes de Reforms tower Rio/r\] % , San Felipe Santo Tomas / 1 San Maneadero Plain ^Quintin El Rosarii Istas San Benitos, Isla Cedrosii Vizcaino Peninsula Bahia de Los Angeles BAJA CALIFORNIA BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR San Jose del Cabo Richard A. Erickson Robert A. Hamilton Roberto Carmona Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos Many more pelagic reports than usual were submitted this season, with several potentially representing first Regional “summer” records. The highlights were the Region’s first Audubon’s Shearwater and third Wilson’s Storm-Petrel and Baja Cal- ifornia’s second Sooty Tern. Baja California Sur was well represented again, with a con- tinuing Wood Duck, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Parula, and first nesting records for Redhead and Brown-headed Cowbird. Recall that there were three new nest- ings in the spring report. Abbreviations: E.S.J. (Estero San Jose, San Jose del Cabo); S.S.P.M. (Sierra San Pedro Martir). GEESE THROUGH ALCIDS The Greater White-fronted Goose at Tijuana’s Parque Morelos continuous- ly since Feb 2005 was seen again 30 Jul (MJB), and the male Wood Duck found at E.S.J. 23 May was seen again 13-14 Jul (ph. SGM). Gadwall, Mal- lard, and Ruddy Duck were found nesting from Ensenada northward, but the only Redhead in Baja California was a female at Estero Punta Banda 10 Jul (RAE). To the s., Ruddy Ducks nested at E.S.J., and five broods of Redheads there 13 Jul (ph. SGM) estab- lished the first nesting record for Baja Califor- nia Sur. Unseasonable ducks included a male Blue-winged Teal at the Rio Guadalupe estu- ary 6 Jun (RAE); male Northern Pintails at Lagunita El Cipres, Estero Punta Banda, and E.S.J.; and up to 2 Surf Scoters at Guerrero Negro 27 Jun-1 Aug (AC et al.). California Quail were found up to 2400 m in the S.S.P.M., with 4 near La Corona 9 May (REW) and 30, including chicks, at Vallecitos 25 Jul (MJI, RAE, TM). The only loon report- ed this season was a northbound Common near Is. Los Coronados 15 Jun (DWP). A Clark’s Grebe on a nest at the Cerro Prieto ge- othermal ponds 29 Jun (ph. ESM) established nesting there for the 4th consecutive year. Sixteen species of tubenoses seen this sea- son surely made a Regional record. The latest Northern Fulmar seen was a light bird on Bahia de Todos Santos 5 Jul (TMcG et ah). Cook’s Petrel was reported off the Pacific coast of Baja California on seven dates, with a maximum of 100+ associated with schools of bait fish in 66° F water e. of the Sixty Mile Bank (wnw. of Ensenada) 22 Jun (AT). Begin- ning in Mar 2003, the Punta Arena/Punta Colorada area near the se. tip of the peninsu- la has provided impressive seabirding. Pre- sumably, birds moving southward in the Gulf of California are concentrated as the peninsu- la trends southeastward. Seven species of shearwaters seen there by Mlodinow included a Flesh-footed Shearwater and 2 dark Wedge-taileds 14 Jul and 2 Townsend’s and an Audubon’s Shearwater 16 Jul (all tSGM). Al- though regular just to the s., Audubon’s Shearwater had never before been reported in Marking another southerly record for Wood Duck, this male at Estero San Jose 23 May through 14 July (here) 2006 represented the first confirmed record for Baja California Sur. Photograph by Steven G. Mlodinow. the Region. A 15 Jul Wilson’s Storm-Petrel at -28° 34’ N 115° 54’ W (approximately 48 km nw. of Is. San Benitos; tRAE), was only the 3rd to be found in the Region, or in the Pacific off Mexico (Monographs in Field Ornithology 3:117). At opposite ends of the peninsula, a near-ad. Masked Booby was at Punta Arena 16 Jul (SGM) and an imm. Masked/Nazca Booby was at 31' 42’ N, 1 17° 00’ W (sw. of Ensenada) 5 Jul (TMcG, ph. MS et al.). An ad. female Brown Booby landed on a research vessel sw. of Ense- nada late on 11 Jul and rode overnight toward I. Guadalupe from ~31°14’ N, 117° 06’W to -30° 10’ N, 117° 45’ W (CM et al.). Alas, the species remains unrecorded at the island ( Western Birds 37: 23-36). The movements of American White Pelicans in the Region are not well known. Four on the w. coast of Baja Cali- fornia Sur at San Juanico 25 Jul were moving ahead of Tropical Storm Emilia (JAM). Eighty Magnificent Frigatebirds at the same location 26 Jul 0AM) also may have been related to the storm. Elsewhere on the Pacific coast, one was at Guerrero Negro 31 Jul (VA, RC), up to 4 per day were along the s. Baja California coast 17 Jul-28 Aug (BRS et al.), and 2 were far n. at Ensenada 27 Jul (EDZH). Two White Ibis at the Guerrero Negro salt- works 30 Jul (RC, AC) and 2 at Guerrero Ne- gro 1 Aug (VA, AC) were n. of their usual range. A pair of Zone-tailed Hawks in the S.S.PM. 25 Jul (TM, RAE, MJI) was in the Re- gion’s only known nesting area. Two in the Cape District 14 Jul were unexpected; an ad. at Caduano and an imm. at Miraflores (SGM). A Sora at the Rio Guadalupe estuary 10 Jul (RAE) hinted at possible nesting there. Inter- breeding between American and Black Oyster- catchers is widespread and long known in the Region. An apparent first-generation hybrid was at the Guerrero Negro saltworks 30 Jul-3 Aug (ph. RC, NA, AC). At the same location, the discovery of four Amer- ican Avocet nests 3 Jun (VA, PV) was especially noteworthy, as the species had not been found nesting previous- ly on the cen. peninsula. A number of late shorebirds were seen in the nw. on 6 Jun: Greater Yellowlegs at La Salina (MJI, MJB), Wandering Tattler at Is. Los Coronados (DWP et al), Least Sandpiper at the Rio Guadalupe estuary (RAE), and Short-billed Dowitcher at Real del Mar (MJI, MJB, RAE). Toward the end of the season, a Wilson’s Snipe on the Maneadero Plain 25 Jul (MJI, TM) appears to be the Region’s earliest fall migrant ever. Unexpectedly, all of the Region’s stercorariids were seen this season. A South Polar Skua was at Punta Arena 16 Jul (tSGM; a Jun bird was included in the spring report); single Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers were nw. of Is. San Benitios 15 Jul (RAE); a Parasitic Jaeger was at El Centenario 15 Jul (SGM); and single Long- tailed Jaegers were sw. of Ensenada 5 Jul (ph. MS et al.) and w. of Punta San Antonio 18 Jul (RAE). Yellow-foot- ed and Western Gulls are regularly seen in low numbers on the “wrong” side of the 582 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA peninsula, respectively, but 52 Yellow-footeds at San Juanico 27 Jul (ph. tJAM) and 12 Westerns at Santa Rosalia 29 Jul QAM) were exceptional. A summering Glaucous-winged Gull was well s. at the Guerrero Negro salt- works 3 Jun (ph. RC). Sabine’s Gulls were sw. of Is. Los Coronados 6 Jun (4; ph. MJI et al.) and 40 km sw. of Ensenada 5 Jul (MJB et al.). An ad. Sooty Tern at -28° 35’ N, 114° 38’ W, approximately 32 km wsw. of Punta Rocosa, 17 Jul (tRAE, CM) was only the 2nd to be found in/off Baja California, although the species nests off s. Baja California Sur at Ro- cas Alijos. In addition to many scripps i Xan- tus’s Murrelets (nests at Is. Los Coronados and elsewhere) seen in the nw., 2 hypoleucus Xantus’s Murrelets (nests at I. Guadalupe) were nw. of Punta Rocosa 17 Jul (RAE), and 2 Craveri’s Murrelets were sw. of Ensenada 5 Jul (TMcG, MSM et al.). DOVES THROUGH FINCHES Mourning Doves are now common residents on I. Guadalupe, as evidenced by a count of 200+ on 13 Jul; a White-winged Dove on the same date was unexpected (RAE, LLM). The description of an Inca Dove seen without binoculars at San Juanico 28 Jul warrants se- rious consideration, but Baja California Sur awaits its first thoroughly documented record. Between 14 and 17 Jul, 8 Yellow-billed Cuckoos were found at Miraflores, and sin- gles were at Caduano and Agua Caliente (ph. SGM). A Dusky-capped Flycatcher at La La- guna on 20 Jul (tMDC et al.) was the 2nd for Baja California Sur, precedent having been set by a 24 Jun 1896 specimen from the same mountainous area ( Auk 66: 92). Among 19 Thick-billed Kingbirds at three Cape District sites 14-17 Jul was a food-carrying pair at Mi- raflores that provided the Region’s 2nd con- firmed nesting record (SGM). Among the season’s most surprising finds was a Red-eyed Vireo — Baja California Sur’s 4th and the Region’s first in summer — at Mi- raflores 14 Jul (ph. TSGM). The 6 Jun record of 9 singing House Wrens on Is. Los Corona- dos suggests that the species breeds there (MJI et al.). Following the 24 May record of an American Robin at 2400 m in the S.S.PM. (REW), an ad. with 2 fledglings was found at Vallecitos on 25 Jun (ph. MJI, RAE, TM), pro- viding the first confirmation of nesting in that range. First evidence of breeding by Northern Mockingbirds on I. Guadalupe was provided on 14 Jul by a food-carrying ad. that was fol- lowed about by a juv. presumed to be from a previous brood (RAE). Although some Tropical Parulas are known to show a broken white eye-ring, we consider the details of a Northern Panda at Miraflores This photograph of a juvenile American Robin at Vallecitos 25 July 2006 documents the first confirmed nesting of the species in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California. Photograph by Marshall i. Iliff. on 14 Jul (TSGM) — especially the limited ex- tent of yellow on the underparts — to be ade- quate to substantiate this exceptional mid- summer record. A Wilson’s Warbler at Todos Santos 18 Jul (MDC et al.) was probably an early migrant. A Yellow-breasted Chat was at Santiago 16 Jul (SGM), where 4 had been Cook's Petrel was well represented off the northern Pacifc coast of Baja California this season. This one was photographed southwest of Ensenada on 5 July 2006. Photograph by Matt Sadowski. recorded on 21 May (MJI, vt./v.r. MJB, RAE), and another chat gave a flight-display at Cad- uano 17 Jul (SGM). Western Tanagers often move on from their montane breeding territo- ries during Jul, and birds fitting this profile were at E.S.J. 18 Jul (MDC et al.), La Laguna 20 Jul (MDC et al.), and Mision Santo Domin- go 24 Jul (RAE, MJI, TM). A male Northern Cardinal singing on both sides of the Rio Colorado near Algodones 28 Jun (JMM) raised hopes that this species may one day be found breeding in the area. Rose- breasted Grosbeak x Black-headed Grosbeak hybrids are recorded occasionally on the peninsula, and a second-year male at Todos Santos on 15 Jul (TSGM) furnished the Re- gion’s first mid-summer record of this combi- nation. Black-headed Grosbeaks are not known to breed in Baja California Sur, so records of 2 each at Miraflores and Caduano on 17 Jul, including another possible Rose- breasted hybrid at the latter site, presumably refer to early fall migrants. A second-year male Yellow-headed Blackbird at E.S.J. 19-23 May (RAE, ph. MJB) and an ad. male there 13 Jul (SGM) provided the first Baja California Sur records for late spring and summer. A male Bronzed Cowbird at San Jose del Cabo 18 Jul (MDC et al.) was also unprecedented in the state during summer, and a juv. Brown- headed Cowbird being fed by Blue-gray Gnatcatchers at Caduano 17 Jul (SGM) served as the first confirmation of breeding by this species in Baja California Sur. A few days earlier, on 13 Jul, a flock of 22 cowbirds that included one juv. was recorded at E.S.J. (SGM). Six House Finches at I. San Benito del Oeste 16 Jul (RAE) were presumably recent colonists, as the subspecies mcgregori — for- merly resident in that island chain — is be- lieved to be extinct. Contributors: Nallely Arce, Victor Ayala, MarkJ. Billings, Barbara L. Carlson, Michael D. Carmody, Roberto Carmona, Harry R. Carter, Andrea Cuellar, Horacio de la Cueva, Richard A. Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, An- tonio Gutierrez-Aguilar, Philip Hansbro, W. Terry Hunefeld, Marshall J. Iliff, Howard B. King, Luciana Luna Mendoza, Tim Manolis, Ivan Manriquez, Israel Martinez, Michelle A. Matson, Todd McGrath, Jimmy M. McMor- ran, Steven G. Mlodinow, Kathy C. Molina, Charles Moore, John A. Morgan, Thomas J. Myers, David W. Povey, Matt Sadowski, Mike San Miguel, Brooks R. Smith, Eduardo Soto Montoya, Art Taylor, Michael B. Trotta, Rosal- ba Vazquez, Richard E. Webster, Enrique D. Zamora-Hernandez. © Richard A. Erickson, LSA Associates, 20 Executive Park, Suite 200, Irvine, California 92614, (richard.erickson@lsa-assoc.com); Robert A. Hamilton, 7203 Stearns Street, Long Beach, California 90815, (robb@rahamilton.com); Roberto Carmona, Departamento de Biologia Marina, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, Apartado Postal 19-B, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, (beauty@uabcs.mx); Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universi- dad Autonoma de Baja California, Apartado Postal 1653, Ensenada, Baja California, 22800, Mexico, U. S. mailing address: PMB 064, P.0. Box 189003, Coronado, California 92178-9003, (gruiz@uabc.mx) VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 583 Mexico Hector Gomez de Silva NORTHERN MEXICO DUCKS THROUGH TROGONS Wood Ducks were seen in good numbers on the Nazas R., Dgo. throughout the period, in- cluding several ducklings (FVP et al.). A vo- calizing male Singing Quail was on the road to El Cuarenteno, Nay. 28 Jul (MC); this species was not mapped in this state by How- ell and Webb (1995). A Pinnated Bittern was in a large marsh at Altamira, Tamps. 9 Jul (MC), probably a first state record and north- ernmost anywhere. A White-tailed Hawk was around 10 km n. of Durango, Dgo. 28 Jun (AP). Up to 2 White-tailed Kites were at Quinta Graciela, Coah. 4-22 Jun (AD). An ad. Ornate Hawk-Eagle was at Mirador del Aguila, Nay. 28Jul 2005 (CP). A Limpkin was heard on the lower Singayta rd. near San Bias, Nay. 28 Jul (MC), adding evidence that this species is resident in this area. Two Black-necked Stilts were seen near the Chihuahua, Chih. airport 30 Jun (AP). An ad. Snowy Plover was with a chick was 2 km n. of at El Faro de Punta Borrascosa, Son. 17 Jun, where around 100 Teast Terns were nest- ing (ESM, MG). Eurasian Collared-Dove records from Chih. 24-25 Jun include 5 at Buenaventura, 5-6 on roadside wires between there and Galeana, 2-3 in Nuevo Casas Grandes, one in Janos, one in Ricardo Flores Magon, and one in Chihuahua (AP); up to 8 were at Quinta Graciela, Coah. through Jun (AD). A pair of Military Macaws was at 2600 m elevation in the mts. just n. of Valparaiso, Zac. 18 Jul (RB). A pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos in Canon de Fernandez S.P. on the Nazas R. 15 Jul were the first for the season, more than two months later than usual (FVP et al.). Two or 3 Spotted Owls were heard at Cuevecillas, Dgo. 12 Jul (HGdS). A vocaliz- ing Eared Poorwill was at La Noria, Nay. 30 Jul (MC). Around 15 White-naped Swifts were at Salto del Agua Llovida, Dgo. 11 Jul (HGdS, MAM). A Violaceous Trogon was seen and audio-recorded near Gomez Farias, Tamps. 22 Jun (EB, EPS). An Elegant Trogon was at 1 620 m elevation in Canon Prieto, just above the village of Ojo Frio, Chih. 12 Jun (MW et al.). Three Eared Quetzals were at Mesa de Guacanrayas, Chih. 11-12 Jun (MW et al.). Mountain and Elegant Trogons and Eared Quetzals were all found in Arroyo las Playas and Bajio de Aguinaldos, Dgo. 12-14 Jul (HGdS, MAM). W00DCREERERS THROUGH SPARROWS An Olivaceous Woodcreeper was on El Cuar- enteno road 29 Jul (MC). Records of White- throated Flycatcher from Dgo. include one in a stand of small cypresses in Rancho Tepal- cates, Dgo. 10 Jul, a pair in a bunchgrass meadow at Bajio de Aguinaldos 14 Jul, and one at Paraiso de la Sierra 14 Jul (HGdS, MAM). A nest of Social Flycatchers at Hualahuises, near Linares, NL in the first week of Jun provided a first state record (AM, AH, MG, RS, ph. IG). Two Western Kingbirds were at a small wetland near Manuel, Tamps. 9 Jul (MC). A Plumbeous Vireo was at El Palmito, Sin. 22 Jun (MAGB). Two Red- breasted Nuthatches were seen in different locations at Mesa de Guacamayas 11-12 Jun (MW et al., JNM). A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was heard in the dry oak zone at Cumbres de Majalca N.R near Chihuahua 29 Jun (AP). Singing Hermit Thrushes were numerous at Mesa de Guacamayas, Chih. 11-12 Jun (MW et al.). A flock of 15 Aztec Thrushes was at Ye- cora, Son. 16 Jul (MC). Three European Star- lings were at Presa de las Golondrinas near Madera, Chih. 15 Jul (MC). A male Hooded Warbler was at Mesa de Guacamayas 12 Jun (MW et al.). At least one Orange-crowned and 2 Virginias Warblers were at Mesa de Guacamayas 1 1-12 Jun (MW et al.). A pair of Blue-gray Tanagers attended a nest in Hualahuises in the first week of Jun (AM, AH, MG, RS, ph. IG). A Lark Sparrow was in the plateau above El Naranjo, SLP 10 Jul (MC). A singing Botteri’s Sparrow was recorded at Canon de Fernandez S.P 15 Jul in the same two-acre plot where six of the seven sightings for the subregion have been made, the most recent sighting being no more than 500 m distant (WB, AVJ, RLL, RV, AV, FVP). A male Sierra Madre Sparrow was being ha- rassed by Striped Sparrows at Bajio de Aguinaldos, Dgo. 14 Jul (HGdS, MAM), and at least 11 Sierra Madre Sparrows were at Eji- do Ojo de Agua del Cazador 15 Jul (HGdS, MAM, WBi). Contributors (area compilers in boldface): William Beaty, Esteban Berrones, Walter Bishop, Rob Bryson, Michael Carmody, Ale- jandro Duff, Marta Gomez, Marco Antonio Gonzalez Bernal, Hector Gomez de Silva, Manuel Grosselet, Antonio Hidalgo, Refugio Loya Loya, Marco Antonio Mancinas, Alan Monroy, Jim Nelson-Moore, Eduardo Padron Serrano, Arvind Panjabi, Chuck Probst, Rene Sada, Eduardo Soto Montoya, Ricardo Valdes, AlejandroValdez, Francisco Valdes Peresgas- ga, Alfredo Villalobos Jauregui, Mark Watson et al. (MW, Jim Nelson-Moore, Bill West). CENTRAL MEXICO Records are from Veracruz unless otherwise stated. 584 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS MEXICO This Hooded Warbler was photographed 12 June 2006 at Mesa de Guacamayas, providing the first record for the state of Chihuahua. Photograph by Mark L. Watson. HERONS THROUGH ORIOLES Two Muscovy Ducks were at San Julian 25 Jun (AM). A pair of Black-bellied Whistling- Duck at Miradores 4 Jul was above normal el- evation (AM); 8 were at Granja El Destierro, Jal. through the period (ARG). Two Black- crowned Night-Herons were at Bosque de Aragon, D.E 1 Jul (HGdS, MPV), and at least 12, including a leucistic imm., were at Presa San Joaquin, D.E/Mex. 23 Jul (JGdS, ]HG, HGdS). An ad. White-tailed Hawk was seen 8 Jun near the Isla exit on the La Tinaja-Acayu- can toll rd., outside of mapped range (AM, JM). Four Sungrebes were at San Julian 25 Jun (AM, JM). A Semipalmated Plover near La Huerta, Socorro 1. 20 Jul (LH, AM, JM) was early. Several Black Skimmers were discov- ered at Boca del Rio 24 Jun (JMG, AM). A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was at San Julian 25 Jun (AM, JM). Up to 2 Mangrove Cuckoos were seen in the first week of Jun in Sumidero Canyon N.R, Chicoasen, and on the rd. to Rabasa, Chis. (AM, JM). A White-throated Swift at Viboras 5 Jul was well e. of mapped range (AM). Single Mexican Sheartails were at 6 de Enero 11-12 Jul, and 5 were at Miradores 4 Jul (AM, JM). Many Wedge-tailed Sabrew- ings were near Viboras 5 Jul, well e. of mapped range (AM). Single American Pygmy Kingfishers were at Arroyo Moreno and San Julian 24-25 Jun (AM, JM). A Fork-tailed Flycatcher was at Miradores 4 Jul (AM). Several Black-crested Titmice at Miradores 4 Jul and Viboras 5 Jul were well outside of known range (AM). Five Northern Rough-winged Swallows circling above Mount Evermann, Socorro 1. 20 Jul were out of normal range (LH, AM, JM). Many Rufous- naped Wrens at Miradores 4 Jul and Viboras 5 Jul were above normal elevation (AM), as were several White-bellied Wrens at Mi- radores 4Jul, Viboras 5 Jul, and 6 de Enero 11 Jul (AM). A pair of Canyon Wrens near Vib- oras 5 Jul was well e. of mapped range (AM). A Chipping Sparrow near La Huerta, Socorro I. 20 Jul was a local vagrant (LH, JMG, AM, JM). Several singing Blue Grosbeaks at Mi- radores 4 Jul, Viboras 5 Jul, and 6 de Enero 11-12 Jul were well e. of mapped breeding range (AM). A Cinnamon-bellied Flower- piercer was singing at Xola and Bajio in downtown Mexico City, where rare, 25 Jul (HGdS, MPV). Two Audubon’s Orioles were at 6 de Enero 6 Jun (AM, JM). Erratum: The White-collared Swifts reported at UNAM Botanical Gardens, D.E 30 Apr in the spring 2006 issue were in fact White- naped Swifts. Sierra Madre Sparrow was recently (2004) rediscovered in the state of Durango, Mexico after a 50-year absence. This bird was located in Bajio de Aguinaldos, Durango 14 July 2006, about 40 km from the nearest prior record; it likely represents a dispersant from the known population or a still-undiscovered one. Photograph by Hector Gomez de Silva. Contributors (area compilers in boldface): Hector Gomez de Silva, Jaime Gomez de Sil- va, Manuel Grosselet, Irela Hernandez Garcia, Leonel Herrera, Juan Martinez Gomez, Amy McAndrews, Jorge Montejo, Monica Perez Villafana, Adrian Romo Garda. SOUTHERN MEXICO GUANS THROUGH BUNTINGS A Highland Guan was heard 8 Jun near Ejido Armando Zebadua, Chis. (AM, JM). Many Brown Pelicans were observed inland at Chicoasen and near Malpaso, Chis. 3 & 7 Jun (AM, JM). Around 12 pairs of Black-crowned Night-Herons were building nests in a single tree in Parque Papagayo, Acapulco, Gro. 9 Jun (JPC). A White-faced Ibis was discovered near Chicoasen 3 Jun (AM, JM, ph.). Three Roseate Spoonbills were seen 7 Jun near Mal- paso (AM, JM). A subad. and 2 ad. King Vul- tures were seen in Sendero Santa Isabel on the new hwy. between Arriaga and Tuxtla Gutier- rez, Chis. 12 Jul (CRR). Another King Vul- ture was at Cerro del Sapo, Chis. 7 Jun (AM, JM). A Snail Kite was at Chicoasen 3 Jun (AM, JM). Two Yellow-billed Cuckoos were at Chicoasen 3 Jun (AM, JM). Up to 2 Man- grove Cuckoos were seen in the first week of Jun in Sumidero Canyon N.R, Chicoasen, and on the rd. to Rabasa, Chis. (AM, JM). Many Orange-fronted Parakeets were en- countered nw. of Ocozocoautla 6 Jun, well n. of mapped range (AM, JM, ph.). Four Green Parakeets were at San Cristobal de las Casas, Chis. 22 Jun (FA). A pair of Yellow-naped Parrots was at the edge of Finca Guadalupe Zaju, Chis., located e. of Huixtla and n. of Tapachula, 6 Jul (HGdS). A male Magnifi- cent and a pair of Beautiful Hummingbirds were at flowers of a mistletoe near the Oaxa- ca airport 3 Jun; the latter is rarely reported in the Valley of Oaxaca in summer. A Yellow- bellied Flycatcher near Malpaso 4 Jun was a late migrant (AM, JM). A Greater Pewee was at Finca Guadalupe Zaju 4 Jul (HGdS). A Fork-tailed Flycatcher in downtown San Cristobal de las Casas 12 Jun (FA) was well out of normal range and elevation. Three American Dippers were at Finca Guadalupe Zaju 5 Jul (HGdS). Three pairs of Azure- rumped Tanagers were at a remnant forest patch at Finca Guadalupe Zaju 3-4 Jul (HGdS). A Blue-gray Tanager was in down- town Acapulco 5 Jun, possibly an escapee. Several Lesser Greenlets were at Sumidero Canyon near km 18 on 1 Jun (AM, JM). Whistled imitations of Ferruginous Pygrny- Owl at km 10.5 of Sumidero Canyon N.P, Chis. 15 Jul attracted Banded Wrens, White- lored Gnatcatchers, Varied Buntings, and a male Rose-bellied Bunting (DJ). Contributors (area compilers in boldface): Francesca Albini, Juan Pablo Ceyca, Hector Gomez de Silva, Manuel Grosselet, Dan Jones, Amy McAndrews, Jorge Montejo, Car- los Raida Reyes. VOLUME 60 (2007) NUMBER 4 585 MEXICO YUCATAN PENINSULA A conservation project to produce two inter- active CDs with photos, songs, and informa- tion on 200 mostly resident bird species of the Yucatan Peninsula made all involved more aware of nesting activity this season while tap- ing and photographing the birds. During this period, a change of wind direction one night in Jul resulted in the early arrival of migrant Yellow Warblers. Summer sightings of Eastern Meadowlarks in southern Quintana Roo pro- vided evidence of the northward expansion of the Central American population. DUCKS THROUGH TERNS Four Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, a penin- sula resident that is reported with more fre- quency throughout the year, were seen in a roadside pond at Dzilam Gonzalez, Yuc. 17 Jun (BM, RM, SO). Although Blue-winged Teal have been seen in the past as late as the first week of Jun on Banco Chinchorro, it was surprising that 6 were still around 25 Jun at a ranch near San Felipe, Ria Fagartos Biosphere Reserve, Yuc. (RM). Ocellated Turkey is showing up more often on land dedicated to ecotourism projects where protection is as- sured; several were heard and 2 seen at San Antonio Chel, Hunucma, Yuc. during the last two weeks of Jul (AM). And, as the number of birdwatchers in the subregion grows, there are more reports of Black-throated Bobwhite at the base of the peninsula, as evidenced by a pair at Villas Ecotucan, 5 km n. of Bacalar, Q. Roo 24 Jul (AH). A Bare-throated Tiger- Heron, normally a coastal species, was seen 28 Jul in a roadside wetland leading to the Mayan site of Dzibanchen, Q. Roo (DB). A King Vulture flew in a northwesterly di- rection over the field station at San Felipe Ba- calar Reserve, Q. Roo 28 Jul (AH, BM); an- other or the same was seen circling over Chacchoben, Q. Roo 12 km farther n. the next afternoon (AH, BM). A flock of 15 mi- grating Swallow-tailed Kites was reported fly- ing northward toward Tulum from Felipe Carrillo Puerto 2 Aug (GT). The species feeds and rests in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Q. Roo, before continuing south- ward through Belize en route to South Amer- ica. A White-tailed Hawk was on the coast at Dzilam Bravo, Yuc. 17 Jun (BM, RM, SO). A Purple Gallinule, of which a small population is resident in the subregion, was seen 28 Jul on the rcl. leading to Dzibanchen (DB). Sev- eral plover species are likewise both migrato- ry and resident, as evidenced by 2 Snowy and 10 Wilson’s Plovers, including a juv. of the latter species, seen at Dzilam Bravo 17 Jun (BM, RM, SO). Single Willets were seen on the coast 17 Jun at both Dzilam Bravo and at Chabihau, Yuc. (BM, RM, SO). Ten Feast Terns were nesting at Dzilam Bravo 17 Jun (BM, RM, SO); and 10 Black Terns were still migrating through the area 4 Jun at Chicxu- lub, Yuc. (DB). PARROTS THROUGH CATBIRDS Six White-crowned Parrots were feeding fledgings in treetops at Bacalar, Q. Roo 25 Jul (BM), and a pair of Red-lored Parrots was in corn field near Bacalar 8 Jul (BM, AS). Al- though most Yellow-billed Cuckoo are tran- sients through the peninsula, some nest, as did up to four pairs at San Antonio Chel, where one pair was observed making multiple trips to a nest with food in their bills 23 Jun (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT). A locally rare Pheas- ant Cuckoo was seen at Fabna, Yuc. 18 Jun (GT). A Keel-billed Toucan was observed guarding its nest hole in a coconut palm at the San Felipe Bacalar Reserve, Q. Roo station 8 Jul (BM, AS); chicks fledged prior to 28 Jul, when an ad. was observed still in the area (AH, BM). A Yellow-olive Flycatcher was observed collecting nesting material at San Antonio Chel 22 Jun, and a fledgling with an ad. were seen 23 Jun at same site (AC, FG, BM, MT); another was constructing a new nest in the area 2 Jul (BM, AS). A male Royal Flycatcher was observed 2 Aug at Muyil, Sian Ka’an Bios- phere Reserve, Q. Roo, where it is known to nest (DB). A pair of Great Kiskadees, along with a pair of Social Flycatchers, both had young still in nest at San Antonio Chel 22 Jun (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT). Two of the latter species were feeding 2 fledglings berries in the Bacalar area 22 Jul (BM). A rare summer report of one ad. and 2 imm. Fork-tailed Fly- catchers came from the road to Dzibanchen, n. of known breeding areas, 28 Jul (DB). A pair of Rose-throated Becards was feeding fledglings at San Antonio Chel 22 Jun (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT); a pair of Green Jays at- tended 3 chicks in a nest at Hotel Chicanna Ecovillage, Camp. 7 Jul (FF, BM). The earliest flock of Purple Martins noted this summer was of 40 seen flying southward over the coast of Laguna Bacalar 22 Jul (AH, BM). A pair of Long-billed Gnatwrens was ob- served feeding 2 young in nest located 15 cm off the ground 3 km n. of Bacalar 27-28 Jul (AH, BM). At least three pairs of White-lored Gnatcatchers were seen at San Antonio Chel 22 Jun (AC, FG, BM, MT); this species is usu- ally associated with the coastal dune vegeta- tion here, but in recent years it has been found to inhabit secondary forest in the interior of the state of Yucatan. Another predominately This Blue-gray Tanager was one of a nesting pair found this summer in Hualahuises, Nuevo Leon (here 3 July 2006), apparently the first documented record for the state. Photographs by Jose Ignacio Granados. 586 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS MEXICO This pair of Social Flycatchers nested in Hualahuises, Nuevo Leon (here 3 July 2006), a first documented record for the state. Photograph by Jose Ignacio Granados. coastal species, Black Catbird — which had been reported as individuals or pairs scattered throughout the interior of Yucatan — has been documented in recent years in small nesting colonies in the spring and summer. One such site is San Antonio Chel, where 15-20 active nests in close proximity were observed 22 Jun, most containing chicks (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT). A nearby colony of a similar number had been active several weeks earlier in Jun (AM). WARBLERS THROUGH EUPHONIAS A notable change of wind direction from east- erly to north-northeasterly in the predawn hours of 25 Jul was likely responsible for the observations, 30 hours later (26 Jul), of a Yel- low Warbler 14 km n. of Bacalar and another 1 1 km to the s. (BM) ; most begin to arrive in early Aug. A flock of 16 Yellow-winged Tan- agers were feeding on Cecropia fruit at Chac- choben 29 Jul (AH, BM), while 4 Red-legged Honeycreepers were seen at Muyil, Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Q. Roo, where they are known to nest, 27 Jul (DB). A female White- collared Seedeater was busy feeding fledglings in Bacalar 25 Jul (AH, BM). The count of 12 Eastern Meadowlarks 28 Jul along the rd. to Dzibanchen extends the known distribution of this species n. into s. Q. Roo from Belize (DB). Three chicks of Hooded Oriole were still in their nest woven into the overhang of a thatched roof over an entranceway at San Antonio Chel 22 Jun (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT), where single pairs of Orange Oriole, Altamira Oriole, and Yellow-throated Euphonia were feeding fledglings on the same day (AC, FG, BM, AM, MT). Contributors: (subregional editor in bold- face): David Bacab, Antonio Celis, Luis Fer- nandez, Fernando Gonzalez, Antonio Hidal- go, Barbara MacKinnon, Alberto Mezquita, Rodrigo Migoya, Susana Ojeda, Ann Snook, Melgar Tabasco, Guilmer Tun. © Hector Gomez de Silva, Xola 314-E, 03100 Mexico, D.F., Mexico, (hgomez@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx) Central America H. Lee Jones Oliver Komar Without the inclusion of a number of late-arriving reports from the past winter and spring, this col- umn would be very short indeed. While the contributions for the other three seasons have increased significantly over the last several years, the Summer Season report continues to be quite spare. Nevertheless, the number of species recorded breeding in the countries that make up the Region continues to grow. Bridled and Roseate Terns were documented breeding in Honduras, and Red-footed Booby was documented breeding near mainland Costa Rica for the first time. But not all birds found in Central America in the short sum- mer season breed there. July, of course, marks the beginning of fall migration for most shorebird species, and a few species, mostly charadriiforms, occasionally or regularly summer on their wintering grounds (e.g., 3 Parasitic Jaegers in Guatemala in mid-June). One shorebird that rarely summers south of its Canadian and Alaskan breeding grounds is Solitary Sandpiper, so one in Nicaragua in early June was quite unexpected. The Caribbean lowlands of eastern Hon- duras are still relatively unexplored. An expe- dition to the headwaters of the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve this summer by Robert Gallardo and Andrew Vallely produced a number of birds previously unrecorded in the area. Those they recorded in late July are re- ported here; those recorded in August will be reported in the Fall Migration issue. Abbreviations: N.R. (Nature Reserve), R.RB.R. (Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras). GREBES THROUGH TERNS Eight pairs of Least Grebes on I. Contadora 8 Jul (VW et al.) were the first of this species reported in Panama’s Pearl Is. Received late was an account of a pelagic trip off the s. Pa- cific coast of Costa Rica on 1 Mar (SW et al); noteworthy were about 1000 Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and an unconfirmed Mottled Pe- trel. The latter, if confirmed, would be the first reported from Costa Rica and Central America. Also too late for inclusion in the Spring issue was documentation of Red-foot- ed Boobies breeding on an islet near the mouth of the Sierpe R. (1. Violines) along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. On 22 Apr, three nests with nestlings were noted (NU) and on 12 May, six active nests with nestlings were found. This colony first came to light in late spring 2005, but it was not confirmed at the time, and the source of the report was never accurately determined. A Cattle Egret on 1. Contadora 8 Jul (VW et al.), perhaps an early fall migrant or local dis- perser, was the first reported from the Pearl Is. Even though the species is well known for its remarkable dispersal capabilities, the Pearl Is. offer little in the way of suitable habitat and few, if any, cattle. Nevertheless, a few un- doubtedly reach these islands periodically, if not annually. A Wilson’s Plover sighted on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast in Padre Ramos Estu- ary N.R., Chinandega 25 Jul (JM, ND, UMA) was apparently the first reported for the de- partment. The species is probably more com- mon on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua than in- ferred from the lack of reports. An unseason- able Solitary Sandpiper was on the se. shore of L. Managua 4 Jun (LL, JM, WA, DK), and im- pressive numbers of southbound Greater Yel- lowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs (250 and 400, respectively) were counted in a single flooded rice field near Sebaco, Matagalpa 22 Jul (JM). DA and DS reported on three species of terns found in the vicinity of Honduras’ Bay Is. In eight days of seabird monitoring off the Caribbean coast in 2005 and 2006, they had only four observations (8 individuals) of Brown Noddy, the latest of which was one VOLUME 60 (2007) . NUMBER 4 587 CENTRAL AMERICA seen in the Cayos Cochinos, Is las de la Bahia 24 Jul. Although there are a few previous sight records, there are only two published reports of the species in Honduras. Also in Is las de la Bahia, Bridled Terns were confirmed nesting on three cays in the Bay Is. and Cayos Cochi- nos 11, 15, & 24 Jul (DA, ph. DS), thus pro- viding the first verifiable reports of the species in Honduras and the first documented report of breeding. Nesting was suspected on three additional cays based on the presence of terri- torial birds. DS observed Bridled Tern last year in some of the same sites but did not find nests. Roseate Tern colonies were also found in the Bay Is. this summer, with about 159 and 17 ad. terns seen and about 40 and three nests en- countered, respectively, at separate locations on 15 &r 24 Jul (DA, DS). There were likely more than 40 nests in the first colony, but obser- vations were restricted to an offshore site to avoid distur- bance. The two colonies were on cays other than the one on which DS found a single colony last year, indi- cating the ephemeral nature of nest-site fidelity. Given the threatened status of the species in the Caribbean, any reports of Roseate Tern colonies are important. Main threats to breed- ing colonies in the Bay Is. appear to be distur- bance from tourism and egging. JAEGERS THROUGH ORIOLES Three Parasitic Jaegers were found near Puer- to Barrios, Izabal 18-20 Jun (ph. NK). The species has been reported in the Puerto Bar- rios area on several occasions previously, as well as in the Bahia de Amatique between Guatemala and Belize (KE, LJ), but these in- dividuals provided the first photographically documented evidence of their occurrence in Guatemala. Providing only the 3rd record for Costa Rica, a White-crowned Pigeon was about 3 km n. of the R. Tortuguero estuary 6 Feb (AM et ah); both previous records have been from Tortuguero. A White-faced Quail- Dove was seen 25 Jul at 250 m elevation in Pico Bonito N.P. between El Naranjo and Las Mangas, Atlantida (DA). There have been sev- eral other reports this year in the same area, some as low as 100 m. Typically in Honduras, the species is found above 1000 m in the in- terior. Observations this year provided the first reports for Atlantida and extend the doves known range into the coastal lowlands. In Costa Rica, a Rufous-vented Ground- Cuckoo 20 Feb at Heliconias Lodge at 800 m in Bijagua, Alajuela, just over the divide on the Caribbean slope of Tenorio Volcano (JK), was at a new location, but one with good habitat similar to that of another recent sighting near a pass on Rincon de la Vieja, a volcano in Gua- nacaste. A pair of Whiskered Screech-Owls was seen and heard 20-22 Jul (JM, CL, JC, FG) in Cerro Tisey N.R., Esteli, Nicaragua. These birds apparently provided the first report of the species in this reserve, although the habi- tat, pine-oak woodland at 1350 m, is appro- priate. Rare on the Pacific slope of Guatemala, a Black-and-white Owl was seen at Los Tar- rales Reserve, Suchitepequez in the last week of Jul (]LL), and 2 were there 1 Aug (EG, ph. AB). These observations were the first con- firmed for Los Tarrales Reserve. Rare any- where in Guatemala, a Strong-billed Wood- creeper was heard in oak-cypress forest at an elevation of 2200 nr in Montana de Carmona near Antigua, Sacatepequez 18 Jun (KE). New to the R.PB.R. in ne. Honduras were Russet Antshrike and Ruddy-tailed Flycatch- er recorded near the headwaters of the R. Pla- tano 31 Jul (RG, AV). In Panama, another first for the Pearl Is. was a Cattle Tyrant at I. Con- tadora 8 Jul (VW et al.). This species is rare in Panama. A Gray Kingbird on South Water Caye 16 Jun (ph. CC, KL) was the first recorded in Jun in Belize. All of the 15 or so previous records have been from Jul-May, with most occurring in spring. A Brown- chested Martin at San Vito in an interior val- ley at 1000 m on the s. Pacific slope near the Panama border 12 Apr (ph., tAS) furnished another spring record in Costa Rica for this rare S.A. migrant. A flock of 25 Cliff Swallows migrating over Playa Salamar, Jucuaran, Usu- lutan, El Salvador 25 Jul (JF) was exception- ally early, as this species is not normally seen in Central America before mid-Aug. Until recently, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo was only reported in Guatemala in the mts. on the Pacific slope. Two were heard calling in the oak-dominated cloud forest of the Montana Yalijux on the border between the Chelemha and K’anti Shul Reserves, Alta Verapaz 21 Jul, and a male and a female were seen there 22 Jul (KE, CA) — the first Guatemalan records from the Atlantic slope. Also new to the R.PB.R. were Rufous- browed Peppershrike and Orange-billed Nightingale- Thrush found at the head- waters of the Rio Platano on 30 & 31 Jul, respectively (RG, AV). Several migratory warbler species begin to ar- rive in Central America in Jul. One, possibly 2, ad. male Yellow-throated War- blers, perhaps the earliest arriving fall migrant warbler in the Region, were seen on an artificial cay in the Bay Is. 11 Jul (DA, DS), and an ear- ly female Black-and-white Warbler reached El Salvador 26 Jul, when it was captured in a mist net in Izalco, Sonsonate (ph. VG). A Yellow-backed Oriole seen at the headwaters of the Rio Pla- tano 30 Jul (RG, AV) was new for the R.PB.R. Contributors: Uciel Martin Alvarado, David Anderson (Honduras), George Angehr (Panama), Wayne Arendt, Claudio Avendano, Andy Burge, Jairo Cerrato, Chris Conard, Nestor Diaz, Knut Eisermann (Guatemala), Jesse Fagan, Victoria Galan, Robert Gallardo, Everilda Garcia, Fredy Garcia, Lee Jones (Be- lize), John Keep, Douglas Knapp, Nicholas Komar, Oliver Komar (El Salvador), Kimya Lambert, Carlos Lopez, Lorenzo Lopez, Joshue de Leon Lux, Jeffrey McCrary (Nicaragua), Andrew Metcalfe, Ariadna Sanchez, David Shoch, Noel Urena, Andrew Vallely, Soo Whiting, Venicio Wilson, Jim Zook (Costa Rica). H. Lee Jones, 4810 Park Newport, #317, Newport Beach, California 92660, (hleejones@adelphia.net); Oliver Komar, SalvaNATURA Conservation Science Program, 33 Avenida Sur #640, San Salvador, El Salvador, (okomar@salvanatura.org) Although both Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers are seen periodically at Puerto Barrios, Guatemala's only Caribbean port, these subadult Parasitic Jaegers photographed 18 June 2006 provided the first documentation of this species in Guatemala. Photograph by Nicholas Komar. 588 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS West Indies & Bermuda SO. CAROLINA GEORGIA FLORIDA Grand THE BAHAMAS \^Abacol. New Providence. ^ I . ivtnv riuvnJciK rt /^Eleulhera I. v \ Long I . Exuma V Rooked I. TURKS & V Ackli™ /• . CAICOS IS. VIRGIN JAMAIC?^9S,on HAITI CARIBBEAN SEA ■Providence I. ^ PUERTO Jft y IS. *&y.x UAITI v rinminun " "“•tf LES ^ _ «— ■ Colombia /C VEseMDrO^K'J Tobago '33 Trinidad Robert L. Norton Andrew Dobson Anthony White Summer 2006 was a slow season in the Region, but surveys of American Flamingo and Bahama Parrot provided encouraging results. Anhinga and Yellow- billed Cuckoo may have nested in the Ba- hamas, and an American Robin provided pos- sibly the first summer record for the country. Several species of shorebird showed early on Vieques, Puerto Rico, where Daphne Gem- mill, who has monitored birds here for many years and is working on a mono- graph and database on the island’s avi- fauna, found a good variety of uncom- mon visitors. Conditions at salinas at Inagua, Bahamas were quite wet, lead- ing to a marvelous nesting season for flamingos, but ponds in Puerto Rico, in- cluding Vieques, were very dry until the arrival of late-summer rains. Anyone who thinks summer birding in the West Indies is dull should try a seawatch: Levesque is turning up some remark- able pelagic species with relatively modest effort. WATERFOWL THROUGH TERNS Vieques, Puerto Rico remains an impor- tant location for White-cheeked Pintail; Gemmill found 21 here at Puerto Ferro Lagoon 15 Jul. Gaschet Res., Guade- loupe had a peak count of 30 Ruddy Ducks 4 Jul (AL). A Crested Bobwhite was seen in a flock of Northern Bob- white near Stanniard Creek, Andros 31 Jul (WP). During 16 hours of seawatch- ing at Petite-Terre Nature Reserve during Jun, Levesque tallied a Bulwer’s Petrel, an uniden- tified gadfly petrel, 58 Cory’s Shearwaters, 379 Greater Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwa- ters, 10 Audubon’s Shearwaters, a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel. In 13 hours’ seawatching in Jul here, a Cory’s Shearwater, 134 Greater Shear- waters, and a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel were not- ed (AL). On 9 Jul, 65 Brown Pelicans were present at Ste. Anne, Guadeloupe (AL). At least six pairs of White-tailed Tropicbirds were nesting on Shroud Cay, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park in early Jun (LG). Two pairs of Red-footed Boobies were observed nesting on Catto Cay, San Salvador 20 Jun, and 77 Magnificent Frigatebird chicks were also there; about 300 Brown Boobies were in the area, but most Brown Booby chicks had already fledged by that time (WH). Brown Boobies were seen from El Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico 8 Jul (KS). Anhinga may nest in the Bahamas: a pair that summered at Lake- view Pond, Paradise I. (CW) was observed gathering nesting material 1 Jul (PD), and an- other pair summered at Cable Beach Pond, New Providence (PD). Bermuda’s first live Gray Heron, initially discovered 22 Apr, was present through year’s end (AD). Two Great Egrets and 2 Little Blue Herons also summered in Bermuda (EA). A Tricolored Heron was seen in the East End, Bermuda 24 Jul (PW). On 17 Jun, an ad. Black-crowned Night-Heron and 3 juvs. were found at Le Gosier, a first record of breeding for Guadeloupe (AL, AM, FD). Two Glossy rains finally returned to Great Inagua L, Ba- hamas, creating ideal nesting conditions for American (Greater) Flamingos. Aerial photos showed 8654 nests (NC), and the preponder- ance of young fledged successfully. There were few flamingos on other islands, e.g., the high count on Andros 19-28 Jun was just 107 birds (MB). A late Swallow-tailed Kite was seen at various locations in Bermuda 12-23 Jun (BL, PH). A Purple Gallinule at Reef G.C., Grand Bahama I., Bahamas 3 Jun (EG et al.) was an unusual find. At Gaschet Res., Guade- loupe 4 Jul, Levesque had counts that includ- ed 495 Common Moorhens, 18 Caribbean Coots, 5 American Coots, and 5 apparent hy- brid coots. In Bermuda, returning shorebirds were at least one week later than usual, appearing in the 3rd week of Jul (EA, AD). Five Black-bel- lied Plovers summered in Bermuda (PW). At Sombe Lagoon, Vieques, a Black-bellied and 16 Semipalmated Plovers were noted 14 Jul (DG). Wilson’s Plovers were common at Sombe Lagoon, Vieques 14 Jul (DG). A Semi- palmated Plover at Long I., Bermuda 25 Jun (PW) provided an unusual summer record. On 31 Jul, 2 Piping Plovers, 5 Sanderlings, a On Mount Pirata, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, Oscar Diaz and team banded a Ruddy Quail-Dove 18 July 2006. The only previous documented record of the species here was of a dead bird. Photograph by Daphne Gemmill. Ibis were still present on Jubilee Rd., Bermu- da 5 Jun (DBW). An airboat tour around Flamingo Cay, Andros I., Bahamas 25 Jun yielded 6 White Ibis (5 hums.), 7 Roseate Spoonbills, and a Black-crowned Night- Heron (MB). Two irnrn. Roseate Spoonbills were at Stanniard Creek, Andros in mid-Jun (WP, MB). After five years of drought, the Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Semipalmated Sand- pipers, and 5 Ruddy Turnstones were at Sandy Pt., Abaco (EB, J&DH). Some 23 Black- necked Stilts were at Sombe Lagoon, Vieques, Puerto Rico 14 Jul (DG). An ad. Spotted Sandpiper was noted at North Pond, Bermuda 9 Jun (DBW). Two Solitary Sandpipers at St. Francois, Guadeloupe 21 Jul (AL) were the V01UME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 589 WEST INDIES & BERMUDA first southbound birds of the season recorded there. On 16 Jul, 2 Whimbrels were foraging in Boca Quebrada on the w. end of Vieques, and on 17 Jul, a Whimbrel was at Playa Grande, Vieques (DG). A Whimbrel sum- mered in Bermuda as well (PW). At Sombe Lagoon, Vieques, 6 Western Sandpipers, a Least Sandpiper, and 4 Short-billed Dowitch- ers were seen 14 Jul, and at nearby Puerto Ferro Lagoon the next day, 2 Lesser Yel- lowlegs were present; at Boca Quebrada, Vieques, a Willet appeared 3 Jul (all DG). On Leaf Cay, at the s. end of Andros, 2 Willets were observed 27 Jun (MB). A South Polar Skua was seen in Bermuda at Cooper’s Point 31 May and 6 & 10 Jun (PW, AD), at Elbow Beach 2 Jun (GA), and off Horseshoe Bay 21 Jun (PW), possibly all dif- ferent birds. At Guadeloupe, 4 Pomarine Jaegers and a Parasitic Jaeger were noted on the Jun seawatch, plus one Pomarine Jaeger in Jul (AL). A Caspian Tern at Jubal Pt. Sali- na, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Is. 23-24 Jun was unexpected (ph. SW). A Sandwich Tern was considered unusual at Reef G.C., Grand Bahama 3 Jun (EG et al.). In Bermuda, a Sandwich Tern was off Spanish Pt. and a Roseate Tern off North Shore 20 Jun (PW). Two Roseate Terns were noted at Guadeloupe 4 Jun (AL). Leaf Cay off Andros held six pairs of nesting Least Terns 27 Jun (MB). The species is an uncommon breeding resident at Vieques, Puerto Rico, but 46 were in the Sombe Lagoon area 14 Jul (DG). Least Terns were noted at a lagoon in the Condado dis- trict, San Juan, Puerto Rico 8 Jul (KS). Ap- proximately 200 Bridled Terns were counted 1 Jun at Peterson Cay N.P., Grand Bahama. Nests were well hidden, and only 13 were found (EG, BR). In three visits during the summer, 15 Bridled Tern nests were located on Goulding Cay, w. of New Providence (CW, O.G.B.N.T.). A Sooty Tern was seen at Boca Quebrada, Vieques, Puerto Rico 13 Jul (DG), and a Brown Noddy was in the Hog Fish Channel, Bermuda 15-17 Jun (BL). PIGEONS THROUGH ORIOLES “Thousands” of White-crowned Pigeons were roosting on cays in Fernandez Bay, Cat I., Ba- hamas in Jul (MR); 12 were counted at Prov- idenciales, Turks & Caicos, where they are not considered common, 9 Jun (EGi). On Mt. Pirata, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 3 Bridled Quail- Doves were photographed 16 Jul (DG, OD) — the first firm records on that island since about 1975. A Bridled-Quail Dove was subse- quently banded at Mt. Pirata 20 Jul (OD). Also on Mt. Pirata, a Ruddy Quail-Dove was banded and photographed 18 Jul (DG, OD); the only previous documented record from Vieques was of a dead bird. On the w. end of Vieques, 3 Key West Quail-Doves were heard at Puerto Mosquito 19 Jul (DG). Several oth- ers have reported hearing birds from this area. Puerto Rico is the only place where these three Geotrygon species coexist, with Bridled being scarce and little known there. The population of Bahama Parrots on Great Inagua was estimated in Jul at 6353 birds (FRM). If one adds to this the estimate from the spring survey on Abaco, the total popula- tion of this taxon stands at about 9552. Three Bahama Parrots also summered on New Prov- idence, observed through the season (PM, JB). On Grand Bahama, single Mangrove Cuckoos were seen at Bahamas Beach 4 Jul and North Riding Pt. Club 6 Jul (WH), and a Yellow- billed Cuckoo was seen and heard at Lucayan Estates 4 Jul (WH). Antillean Nighthawks were nesting on the Camp Garcia runway, Vieques, Puerto Rico in late Jun (DG), with 2 photographed 14 Jul (DG, OD). At Leaf Cay, a pair of Antillean Nighthawks nested (MB), and on 21 Jul, one was seen at St. Francois, Guadeloupe (AL). The Chuck-wills-widow at Coral Harbour, New Providence was last heard on 11 Jul (CW), and another was heard at Stanniard Creek, Andros 15 Jun (MB). A Belted Kingfisher at Abaco N.P. 31 Jul was ear- ly (EB.J&DH). Six West Indian Woodpeckers were seen along Jake Jones Rd. and 2 along Linepole Rd., San Salvador 28 Jun (WH). A Black- whiskered Vireo, the 2nd for San Salvador, was singing at Gerace Research Center 21-24 Jun (WH). A Black- whiskered Vireo at Mt. Pi- rata, Vieques 16 Jul (DG) seemed a low tally there. On 25 Jul, 724 Caribbean Martins were counted at Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe (AL). An early Bank Swallow was at East End Dairy, Bermuda 31 Jul (PW); a Barn Swallow at Ger- ace Research Center, San Salvador 1 Jul (WH) was likewise somewhat early. An American Robin was at Warderick Wells, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park ca. 1-20 Jul (JEB, LD), ap- parently furnishing the first summer record for the Bahamas. Late spring migrants at Stan- niard Creek, Andros included a Cape May Warbler 16-20 Jun, a Black-throated Blue Warbler 21 Jun, a Black-and-white Warbler 22 Jun, and an American Redstart 16-17 Jun (WP). An early American Redstart was in downtown Nassau 31 Jul (SB, MK). A Louisi- ana Waterthrush at Pitmans Pond, Bermuda 23 Jul (DW) was the first migrant warbler of the season there. A female Common Yel- lowthroat at Petite-Terre Nature Reserve 6-7 Jun (b. AL) provided an exceptional summer record for Guadeloupe. Common Grackle is very rare in Bermuda, so one seen on Nelly’s I. 31 Jul (PW) may have summered. The w. coast of Andros is predominately salt lake/dwarf mangrove habi- tat; the only Greater Antillean Orioles seen in a ten-day survey there were a pair nesting in ornamental palms at the Flamingo Cay Rod & Gun Club 18 Jun (MB). Addenda: A Lesser Antillean Bullfinch 30 Jan was photographed on the e. end of St. Thomas, nicely documenting a westward ex- pansion from St. John, U.S. Virgin Is. (SC-L, LM). Two Anhingas were photographed 1 Feb at Graeme Hall Swamp, Barbados (SC-L, LM). On Dominica, a rare spring Chimney Swift was seen 29 Apr at Rosalie; Masked Duck and Little Egret were recorded at Antigua 2 Apr (both NL). A tour of the Dominican Republic in late Mar yielded Hispaniolan Parakeets at a hotel in Santo Domingo 25 Mar; Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo and Black-crowned Palm Tan- ager in the Botanic Gardens of the capital 25 Mar; Plain Pigeon, Ashy-faced Owl, Ridgway’s Hawk, and White-necked Crow at Los Haitis- es N.P 26 Mar; Hispaniolan Parrot at Rabojo Gato 27 Mar; Gray-headed Quail-Dove, His- paniolan Emerald, and Hispaniolan Trogon about 5 km above Zapoten 27 Mar; Golden Swallow, La Selle Thrush, Palm Crow, Flat- billed Vireo, Green-tailed Ground Warbler, White-winged Warbler, and Western Chat- Tanager at Sierra de Bahoruco 28 Mar; East- ern Chat-Tanager at Cachote 29 Mar; and His- paniolan Crossbills and the 3rd country record of Wilson’s Warbler along Alcoa Rd. 30 Mar (DG, KW et al.). Observers: Gary Allport, Eric Amos, Michael Baltz, Judy Estep Barbernitz (JEB), Johnny Bethell, Elwood Bracey, Sylvia Brown, Nancy Clum, Sergio Colon-Lopez, Paul Dean, Oscar Diaz, Andrew Dobson, Larry Dougan, Frantz Duzont, Lynn Gape, Erika Gates, Daphne Gemmill, Ethlyn Gibbs (EGi), Jan & Dick Hartley, William Hayes, Tony Hepburn, Peter Holmes, Maxine Kerr, Niels Larsen, Anthony Levesque, Bruce Lorhan, Alain Mathurin, Ly- dia Medina, Paulette Mortimer, Ornithology Group of the Bahamas National Trust (O.G.B.N.T.), William Pinder, Frank Rivera- Milan (FRM), Macgregor Robertson, Bernie Russell, Kit Strathers, Ann Sorensen, David Wallace (DW), Kate Wallace, Carolyn War- dle, Paul Watson, Stu Wilson, David B. Wingate (DBW). © Robert L. Norton, 8960 NE Waldo Road, Gainesville, Florida 32609, (corvus0486@aol.com); Anthony White, 6540 Walhonding Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20816, (spindalis@verizon.net); Andrew Dobson, Warwick Academy, 117 Middle Road, Warwick PG 01 Bermuda, (ADobson@warwickacad.bm) 590 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Hawaiian Islands Robert L. Pyle Peter Donaldson Summer 2006 was a rather quiet season in the Hawaiian Islands — in terms of weath- er and also in terms of birds. We did get some interesting seabird observations from Kauai, both from boats and from onshore, as well as interesting waterfowl observations from Maui County, but the number of reports received was rather low. Most of our reports, in recent years, have come through a listserv, which did not function smoothly over the summer, so some observers may have been dis- couraged from submitting observations, and some observations may have been lost. Abbreviations: H. (Hawaii I.); HRBP (Hawaii Rare Bird Documentary Photograph; used with image catalog number from the HRBP file at Bishop Museum, Honolulu); Hakalau (Hakalau N.W.R., Hawaii I.); Hanalei (Hanalei N.W.R., Kauai I.); Honouliuli (Hon- ouliuli Unit of Pearl Harbor N.W.R., O'ahu I.); K. (Kauai I.); Kanaha (Kanaha Pond, Maui I.); Kealia (Kealia Pond N.W.R., Maui 1.); Kii (Ki'i Unit of James Campbell N.W.R., 0‘ahu I.); Kokee (Koke‘e S.R, Kauai I.); K.R (Ki- lauea Pt. N.W.R., Kauai I.); M. (Maui I.); Midway (Midway Atoll N.W.R.); O. (0‘ahu I.); Ohiapilo ('Ohi'apilo Pond, Molokai I.); Pouhala (Pouhala Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, 0‘ahu I.); Waiawa (Waiawa Unit of Pearl Har- bor N.W.R., 0‘ahu I.); Waikamoi (Waikamoi Preserve, Maui I.). WATERFOWL THROUGH IBIS A Greater White-fronted Goose and a Cack- ling Goose remained with the resident flock of Hawaiian Geese at K.R Jun+ (BZ). The Greater White-fronted appeared in Nov 2005, while the Cackling has been at K.R since Feb 2005 (BZ). A pair of Hawaiian Geese nested there 23 Aug — a very early date (BZ). Migrant ducks are very rare in summer in the Region, so it was quite a surprise when 2 Northern Shovelers were observed at Kealia 10 Jul (MN). A single Northern Shoveler was seen about 65 km away at Kaunakakai S.T.P., Molokai I. 20 Jul (ADY) Hawaiian Petrels (Endangered) were re- ported on three pelagic trips w. of Kaua'i I.: one on 7 Jul and 2 each 13 & 17 Jul (DK). Twenty-three Bulwer’s Petrels were spotted w. of Kaua'i I. 7 Jul, 4 were counted 13 Jul, and one was seen 17 Jul (all DK). There are too few records of this species to be able to tell much about the significance of these counts. Laysan Albatross had a good nesting season on Kaua'i, with 100 chicks fledging 21 Jun-30 the new nests was abandoned, but the other three pairs were busy raising chicks mid-Jul+ (BZ). One Newell’s was seen on a pelagic trip w. of Kauai I. 17 Jul (DK). Thirteen Band- rurnped Storm-Petrels were observed 13 Jul on a pelagic trip w. of Kaua'i I., including 8 in one flock (DK). The total count and the flock of 8 are both unusual, as most reports are of single birds. One Band-rumped Storm-Petrel was observed w. of Kaua'i I. 17 Jul (DK). Fif- teen Red-tailed Tropicbirds seen over Lehua I. (n. of Ni'iahu 1.) 7 Jul (DK) was a good count. Even more unusual was a count of 20 Red- taileds at Upolu Airport, H. during windy weather 13 Jul (RP). Three White-faced Ibis, probably second-year birds, were seen at Kii 4 Jul (MS) and 29 Jul (PD). Historically, this species has been rare in the Region, but small numbers have been reported quite regularly in the past few years. SH0REBIRDS THROUGH PASSERINES Migrant shorebirds were typically scarce most of the summer. Two Semipalmated Plovers summering at Kii Jun+ were unusual (MS). At Newell's Shearwater is a Threatened species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its populations are declining, largely due to predation by introduced mammals. This lucky Newell's chick (here 19 July 2006) hatched in an artificial nest burrow at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, where mammalian predators are controlled by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. Photograph by Brenda Zaun (U.S.F.W.S.)/HRBP 5304. Jul (BZ). A large percentage of the chicks were afflicted with avian pox (possibly due to the wet spring weather), but all survived. Two pairs of Newell’s Shearwaters (Threatened) that have nested in artificial burrows at K.R for several years returned again, and both pairs laid single eggs that hatched mid-Jul (BZ). This year, two additional pairs of Newell’s were discovered nesting on the refuge. One of least 11 Bristle-thighed Curlews at Kii 10 Jun (PD) and up to 7 at Duke Park on Moloka'i I. (ADY) made good counts for summering birds. A check of O'ahu wetlands including Kii, Honouliuli, Waiawa and Pouhala on 29 Jul yielded total counts of: 68 Pacific Golden- Plovers, 36 Wandering Tattlers, 94 Ruddy Turnstones, and a Sanderling (PD); this is a typical date for good numbers of migrant VOLUME 60 (2007) NUMBER 4 591 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Migrant geese are uncommon in the Hawaiian Islands at any time of year and are especially rare in summer. This Cackling Goose (left) has remained with a flock of native Hawaiian Geese (right) at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge since au- tumn 2004, while the Greater White-fronted Goose (center) has been with the flock since autumn 2005. These geese were photographed 24 August 2006, when the two migrants were molting. Photograph by Brenda Zaun (U.S.F.W.S.)/HRBP 5303. shorebirds to be counted. A count of 41 Pa- cific Golden-Plovers at Kealia 20 Jun (MN) would be unusually high for summering birds but very early for returning migrants. The heavy spring rains seemed to adversely affect Hawaiian Stilt (Endangered) nesting on O'ahu (PD, MS). On the other hand, the rain seemed to provide favorable conditions for stilt nesting on Moloka'i I., where 20 fledg- lings were counted at Ohiapilo and 4 were seen at Kaunakakai S.T.P. 1 7 Jul (ADY) Useful reports on passerines are often sparse during the summer season, and this summer was no exception. Two Yellow-fronted Ca- naries were observed at Punamano N.W.R., O. 1 1 Jul (MN). This is the first report from this area of n. O'ahu I. We did get regular reports from birding tours on Hawaii 1. Jun+ (H.ET.). Palila were seen on nine tours to Pu'u La'au; ‘Akiapola'au were found on ten tours to Pu'u ‘O'o Ranch and three tours to Hakalau; Hawaii Creepers were reported on thee Hakalau tours and two tours to Pu'u ‘O'o Ranch; and ‘Akepa were found on three tours to Hakalau. These species are all Endangered. Unfortunately, we received no information on the numbers of in- dividuals or other details. Contributors: David Bremer. Les Chibana, Arleone Dibben- Young (ADY), Peter Donald- son, Hawaii Forest & Trail (H.ET.), Nick Kalodimos, David Kuhn, Mike Nishimoto, Rob Pacheco, Sharon Reilly, John Riggins, Mike Silbernagle, E & K. Starr, Eric Svetin, Lindsay Young, Brenda Zaun. O Robert L Pyle, 1314 Kalakaua Avenue, #1010, Honolulu, Hawaii 96826, (rlpyle@hawaii.rr.com); Peter Donaldson, 2375 Ahakapu Street, Pearl City, Hawaii 96782, (pdnldsn.bird@mac.com) www.ansp.org/ vireo ' ; • • . 3 tk. Lecture Slides and JPEG’s 40,000 photos on line ABA-Endorsed Tours Enjoy Very Special B i r d i n g ■ * 1 ■; FEATURED ENDORSED TOUR Sept 16-28 - Birding in Spain Take in the fabulous fall migration at one of the premier birding spots in Europe! Spanish birding leader Santiago Villa will share his homeland with you, the spectacle of raptor flights (including the possibility of the rare Ruppell's Vulture), and flocks of gulls and terns waiting to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. Visit coastal forests full of feeding passerines before their southward cross. Siemer & Hand Travel, (800) 451-4321 x309 (Carla White). May 12-26 - The Avian Riches of Asia Minor This is an excellent opportunity to explore avian- rich Turkey with local birding expert Soner Bekir with 275 trip birds likely. Wide variety of habitats for maximum birds, coast to cliff. Pre-trip (May 8- 13) to see 12,000 pairs of flamingos! Sierner & Hand, www.siemerhand.com, (800) 451-4321. May 21-23 and May 25-June 2 - Pribilofs - St. Paul Island - Gambell & Nome (2 segments) Thrill to thousands of migrating gulls, shorebirds, seabirds, ducks and passerines, with mingling Asian specialties always a possibility. Target nest- ing specialties with leader Aaron Lang. Wilderness Birding Adventures, www.wildernessbirding.com, (907) 694-7442. June 2-15 - Islands of the Russian Far East Cruise the many islands and cliff faces aboard the Clipper Odyssey, to share close encounters with nesting seabirds. Clipper Cruise Lines, www.clippercmise.com, (800) 456-0020. June 16-28 - Peru & Manu Wildlife Center Join featured birder Barry Walker to see over 300 species in one of the richest biological areas in the world. Sierner & Hand Travel, www.siemer- hand.com, (800) 451-4321. July 1-14 - Birding Bonanza in Northern Argentina Target species: Giant Coot, Lyre-tailed Nightjar, Rufous-throated Dipper, Red-ruffed Fruitcrow; in- cludes Iguazu Falls. On My Mountain, www.OnMyMountain.com/aba, (707) 864-8279. July 7-16 - Hyacinth Valley (Brazil) Parrots, toucans, macaws, and monkeys! An eco- tourism trip using local guides for birding, fauna i.d., and conservation efforts of the area. Tropical Nature Travel, www.tropicalnaturetravel.com, (877) 888-1770. July 10-23 - Pantanal Wildlife Safari and the Iguacu Falls Birds, butterflies, fish, mammals, and reptiles abound in the Pantanal. This wildlife journey provides for photography, observation, boat trip, and sunrise walk - an ecological safari. Tropical Nature Travel, www.tropicalnaturetravel.com, (877) 888-1770. July 22-Aug 7 - Beyond the Arctic Circle Magnificent scenery and pelagic birds aboard the Clipper Adventurer, includes flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo. Clipper Cruise Lines, www.clippercmise.com, (800) 456-0020. Aug 20- Sept 20 - Pre-trips and Post-trips for Quito Conference Call for space available in ABA-endorsed exten- sion trips in Ecuador by Tropical Birding, www.tropicalbirding.com, (800) 348-5941 and Neblina Forest, (800) 538-2149. Aug 27 - Sept 9 - Melbourne to Cairns (Australia) Travel from the bushy arid terrain to the wet hill forests and coastal heathlands and beaches of Vic- toria; fly to Queensland for sub-tropical jungle and coastal habitats, and Great Barrier Reef. Pere- grine Bird Tours, birding@peregrinebirdtours.com, +61.3.9726.8471. Sept 19-22 - North Norfolk Bush Bash Visit the premier birding county in the UK during this exciting time with Neil Donaghy and Steve Cale to find migrants, vagrants, and seasonal resi- dents. Explore RSPB reserves and coastlines. Celtic Tours, birds@celtictours.org.uk, 044.01656.645709. Dec 2-21 - Antarctica and the Falkland Islands Sail aboard the Clipper Adventurer to thrill at the sights of one of the last tmly pristine regions on Earth. The Antarctic Peninsula's ethereal icescapes and prolific wildlife make it a photographer's utopia and a naturalist's wonderland. Enjoy pass- ing scenery and birds from the open decks or the covered promenade deck, after your prepared-to- order dinner in the spacious dining room. Shore- side explorations and landings aboard Zodiacs. Clipper Cmise Lines, www.dippercmise.com, (800) 456-0020. Please contact tour company directly for information and reservations, and identify yourself as an ABA member. Tour companies pay ABA a commission for each ABA participant. American Birding® ASSOCIATION Pictorial Highlights 1 • Illustrating the merits of photographing all late-fall and wintering hummingbirds is this bird, which was originally identified as a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. That identification never sat well with the photogra- pher, and the image was re-circulated to experts and eventually identified correctly as the first Anna's Hum- mingbird for Maryland. The bird was at a feeder northwest of Waldorf, Prince George's County 9-15 (here 10) November 2004. Photograph by George M. Jett. 2 • This Eyebrowed Thrush was near Zeto Point, Adak Island, Alaska 2-3 (here 3) June 2006. Photograph by John Puschock. 3 • A bright male Bar-tailed Godwit at Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland 5 June 2006, possibly grounded by heavy rains, may have been the same bird present at this locality in July 2004 and July 2005. Photograph by Bruce Mactavish. 4 • This Lesser Sand-Plover nest was photographed at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska on 1 1 July 2006 by an active resident birder. Photograph by Gerard Koonooka. 5 • This Black-bellied Whistling-Duck was photographed 5 June 2006 near Pleasantville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, furnishing a third state record and part of an irruption that extended as far north as Pennsylvania and Missouri. Photograph by Geoff Malosh. 6 • Arizona's third Tropical Parula, presumably of the subspecies pulchra, appeared in the Portal backyard of Larry & Terrie Gates 1 6-23 (here 1 6) June 2006. Photograph by Richard E. Webster. 594 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 • In recent years, Cook's Petrels have been found more readily close to shore off Baja California than farther north on the Pacific coast. This bird was one of 54 seen as close as 37.6 km off Ensenada on 5 July 2006. Photograph by Matt Sadowski. 2 • This male Flame-colored Tanager summered again in Madera Canyon, Arizona, where it apparently mated with a female Western Tanager. Photograph by Kenneth V. Rosenberg. 3 • This immature Masked/Nazca Booby off Ensenada, Baja California was photographed 5 July 2006; field identification of these species in nonadult plumages is challenging. Photograph by Jodd McGrath. 4 • Quite rare in British Columbia in summer, this Rough-legged Hawk was near Anarchist Summit, Osoyoos 6 June 2006. Photograph by Rob McKay. 5 • This Lesser Nighthawk furnished a first provincial and second Canadian record when photographed 80 km west of Tofino during a pelagic trip 5 June 2006. Photograph by Mike Yip. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 595 PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 & 2 • This Southern Lapwing was found near West Ocean City, Worcester County, Maryland 1 7 June 2006 but could not be relocated. It is identifiable as subspecies cayennensis, the "expected" vagrant subspecies — although no one predicted that such a bird would appear in Maryland. Refer to the Special Attention item in the Middle Atlantic regional report for a discussion of this record and other North American records of this species. Photograph by Mark L. Hoffmann. 3 • These two Bridled Terns photographed near their nest on Ragged Cay, Utila (Bay Islands) on 1 1 July 2006 provided the first photographic evidence of breeding in Honduras. The species was first recorded nesting in Honduras in July 2004. Photograph by David Shoch. 4 • In the midst of a Colorado "chicken run," tour leaders Brian Gibbons and Marshall lliff and crew studied this Mexican Duck (at right; with female Mallard of the nominate subspecies) near Walden, Jackson County 20-21 (here 21) April 2006. Photograph by Carl Sheely. 5 • Utah's first Glossy Ibis records were documented in June 2006: two near Benson, Cache County, 5-18 June, and this one, 24 June at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County. Glossy Ibis reports have been on the rise in recent years throughout the western United States. Photograph by Jack Binch. 6 • Iowa's first Mottled Duck, a male photographed here at Saylorville Reservoir on 7 July 2006, remained only until 8 July. Photograph by Stephen J. Dinsmore. 596 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 • Well north of its range was this Brown Thrasher frequenting a feeder at Arviat, Nunavut on the northwestern shore of Hudson Bay on 3-14 (here 5) June 2006. Photograph by Lisa-Jo van den Scott. 2 • Two Red-necked Stints were present at Dune Lake, St. Paul Island, Alaska on 6 June 2006; the species is not annual here in spring. Photograph by John Puschock. 3 • This breeding-plumaged Red-necked Stint, a beautiful Yukon first, was discovered at Pauline Cove on Herschel Island just minutes before midnight on 1 0 June 2006 and stayed through the following day (here). Photograph by Pamela Sinclair. 4 • Washington's second Bay-breasted Warbler, a first-year male, resided near Kidd Val- ley in Lewis County, where it sang persistently from 5 June through 8 July 2006 (here 10 June). The state's only accepted record is from September 2002 in Grant County. Photograph by Joseph Higbee. 5 • Lengthening the list of hummingbird predators was this Green Heron, here pic- tured 4 June 2006 shortly after capturing a female Black-chinned near Radium Springs, Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Photograph by James E. Zabriskie. 6 • A male Scarlet Tanager helped feed fledgling Summer Tanagers in Cook County, Illi- nois 13 July 2006 — the first documented nesting of the latter species in the county. The male Summer Tanager (not pictured) was nearby. Photograph by Paul Dacko. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 597 PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 • Adding to the handful of Lark Sparrow records for Northwest Territories was this nicely documented bird at Colville Lake on 29 June 2006. Photograph by Samuel Denault. 2 • This Black-tailed Godwit was studied and photographed by many at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts 17-29 (here 24) July 2006; there are at least three other state records for the species, but some East Coast states have yet to record one. The subspecies of this individual has not been determined with certainty. Photograph by Phil Brown. 3 • New Mexico's third Berylline Hummingbird was north to the Mimbres River Valley, Grant County, where captured and banded 25 July 2006 (here). Photograph by Joan E. Day-Martin. 4 • This adult Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross spent 16-19 (here 1 9) July 2006 on Stratton Island, Maine. Photograph by Derek Lovltch. 5 • This male Yellow Grosbeak was photographed on the second day of its 31 July-2 August 2006 stay at Keough's Hot Springs near Bishop, Inyo County, and is the first to be so documented in California. Photograph by Bob Steele. 6 * Churchill, Manitoba tallied its twentieth species of gull on 29 June 2006 with this well- documented immature Black-tailed Gull. There was one previous single-observer sighting in the province. Photograph by Jeffrey A. Gordon. 598 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 • Providing a New Mexico first was a pair of Black-capped Gnatcatchers in Guadalupe Canyon, Hidalgo County, where discovered 4 June 2006 and found feeding nestlings 22 July (the male, here) and 24 July 2006. Photograph by Peg Abbott. 2 • An exceptional vagrant anywhere in the province, this Green-tailed Towhee banded at Thunder Cape Bird Observatory on Lake Superior 1 0 June 2006 was a first for northern Ontario. Photograph by John Woodcock. 3 • A Little Gull, found and photographed on 22 June 2006 at the south end of the Salton Sea, Imperial County, California, remained through the season, during which time it molted from first- summer to second-winter plumage. Photograph by Kenneth l. Kurland. 4 • This Henslow's Sparrow was very dependable during its stay 2-27 (here 13) June 2006 near Huntingdon, Quebec. It sang frequently from a perch very close to the road. Interestingly, the two previous records of this species in Quebec were from the same area in July 1985 ( American Birds 39: 890), and June 1989 ( American Birds 43: 1293). This sparrow possibly nested at Montreal and Aylmer in the 1940s and 1960s, respectively, but there has been no evidence of breeding afterward. Photograph by Pierre Bannon. 5 • Mount Pirata, on Vieques Island, has recently produced several records of the obscure Bridled Quail-Dove, a little-known resident species of Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. On 1 6 July 2006, three were heard, and two photographed, for the first documented record of this species on Vieques. The species is not well represented in most field guides, even photographic ones, and several misidentified photographs have added to the confusion. Photograph by Daphne Gemmill. 6 • Though recorded numerous times as far north as Humboldt County, California, Ashy Storm- Petrel had never been recorded in the Oregon & Washington Region until the appearance of this bird (on right) over Grays Canyon, off Westport, Washington on 24 June 2006, with a Leach's Storm-Petrel. Photograph by Truis Andersen. 7 • This adult Arctic Tern was one of two documented in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas this season. It lingered at Balmorhea Lake, Reeves County, from 1-1 1 (here 2) June 2006, making it the longest-staying individual of its species ever found in Texas. Photograph by Mark W. Lockwood. VOLUME 60 (2007) • NUMBER 4 599 PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 • This molting male Ruff was present in Rowan County, Kentucky 8 July 2006. It represented a seventh state record and first for a fall migrant adult. Photograph by Lana Hays. 2 • Several hundred Elegant Terns, some of which are shown here on 1 5 June 2006 with numerous eggs and chicks, nested on two barges in Long Beach Harbor, Los Angeles County, along with a few hundred Caspian Terns and a handful of Royal Terns and Black Skimmers. Tragically, the nesting efforts were wiped out when all of the birds were forced off the barge in late June, pre- sumably by the barge owners. Photograph by Tim P. Anderson. 3 • Lucifer Hummingbird x Black-chinned Hummingbird hybrids have been reported in southwestern Texas on at least four occasions. This male was present in the Davis Mountains, Jeff Davis County, from 22 July (here) 2006 through the end of the month. This was the third such occurrence at this location. Photograph by Mark VJ. Lockwood. 4 • Antillean Nighthawks nested on the Camp Garcia runway, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, in late June 2006 (here 14 July 2006). Photograph by Daphne Gemmili. 600 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Atlas of the Breeding Bird s of Nevada GOOD BIRDERS OON'T WEAR WHITE AMERICA'S TOP BIRDERS PERSON RHFErrst^c GU/DRs 50 TIPS •«* NORTH SUTTON David Slblav- Tim GfE yn l LMIftn Stohw. e a, juitt zicfc*»«>0*». A *o«o av Pete Dui lOlTCO OT LIM wwt*| Roger Tory Peterson Birds Shotebird "«<»0tMsiutw,lm WiH> mm Check out these exciting titles as well as hundreds of other birding books, optics, CDs, DVDs, and birding accessories from ABA Sales. Order online or call Customer Service for more information. 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