May 2018 - Page 10 of 10 - San Diego Field Ornithologists

Re: Unusual kestral nesting site?

Paula,

I first noticed kestrels nesting in these marker balls about 8 years ago, but this nesting behavior is noted in the Bird Atlas so it had been going on for quite some time previous to that.

I’m very curious to know about the success rate of breeding attempts in these marker balls. They must get really hot, they swing around in the wind, and they are usually 200’ or so in the air so that first flight better go well! At least snakes aren’t
going to be a concern.

Brennan Mulrooney

Santee, CA

Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports

Orioles

just had what looked like a juveile orchard oriole fighting over my water with a hooded, darker back and smaller black spot on throat is what caught my attention. Fallowed the bird with the bins and caught a groupd of about eight orioles in a euc. One looks like a adult male baltimore…might be a orchard…but both are lifers for me so I need confirmation.

If your in the area, I’m looking at it now.

05/07/18 @6 pm
La Mesa, Ca near Grossmont High School

Anthony TooFly Fife
(619)549-8508
Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports

Re: Green Jay, best spot for Western Tanagers

Sue et al.,

I copy the email I wrote regarding the American Flamingo below and treatment by eBird reviewers of presumed escapees, and it's the same situation for the Green Jay.

—

All records submitted to eBird remain in the eBird database unless removed by the observer. Reviewers can only effectively hide them from public output, we do not removed anything, much in the same way that rarities without sufficient documentation are hidden (they still count on that observers list, should they stay the course, but the reviewers don't feel the evidence justifies the claim). Non-natives, whether established or not, remain in the eBird database, they just don't all show up in public output. There is a specific list of species that eBird HQ requests regional reviewers follow for invalidating (hiding) or validating (allowing to appear on maps and bar charts).

The list of species we eBird reviewers accept is available here:
http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1822748-ebird-review-standards

towards the bottom, click "Filter_taxa_recommendations_19Jan2016_CA.xlsx"

Things like Pin-tailed Whydah and Red-masked Parakeet, which may be established/establishing at locals levels, but don't yet fit the criteria for inclusion on the California state list, are validated in eBird. One-off, obvious escapees, regardless of how long they stick around, like, well, any flamingo in California, Burrowing Parakeet, or Gray-crowned Crane, are invalidated [or in this case Green Jay]. Somewhere in the middle of that spectrum are things like Mandarin Duck and European Goldfinch which probably aren't close to establishment, but show up with enough frequency that they are worth keeping more public tabs on, and are therefore validated.

Of course, as more birders are introduced to birding and listing through eBird, what is acceptable in eBird and what people choose to enter in eBird vs. what is actually on the official state list for California or the ABA Area, leads to apples-to-orange Top 100 listing games (some will enter the [Green Jay] in San Diego into eBird and some won't). However, I'm told this is on a long list of improvements that eBird is working on to make it more apples-to-apples for the Top 100.

Justyn Stahl

North Park/San Clemente Island

Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports

Unusual kestral nesting site?

As I drove to Buddy Todd Park this morning, I was stuck in slow moving traffic on westbound 76 near where electrical lines stretch over all lanes. There are large balls on the lines because of the airport. I saw a kestral go into the orange ball over my head. Starlings nest in traffic poles over roads sometime but has anyone heard of a nesting site like this? I guess cavity nesters are having problems finding good sites.

Buddy Todd still had some migrants and a red-breasted nuthatch that I thought would be gone by now. The only new migrant was a western wood peewee near the tennis courts.

Paula Theobald

Oceanside

It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy…Let’s go exploring!

Source: SanDiegoRegionBirding Latest Reports