Originally Published in the September – October 1991 Issue of the Albatross (Vol 37, No

Santa Cruz Birds © Larry Selman - MostlyBirds.com An Archive of Articles Published in the Albatross Volumes 37 to 55 1991-2011 David L. Suddjian & Steve Gerow Santa Cruz Bird Club July 2011 Index Introduction 2 Albatross Vol. 37 Reports from April 1991 to March 1992 3-14 Albatross Vol. 38 Reports from April 1992 to March 1993 15-27 Albatross Vol. 39 Reports from April 1993 to early April 1994 28-41 Albatross Vol. 40 Reports from April 1994 to March 1995 43-58 Albatross Vol. 41 Reports from April 1995 to early April 1996 59-76 Albatross Vol. 42 Reports from April 1996 to early April 1997 77-91 Albatross Vol. 43 Reports from mid-April 1997 to early April 1998 92-103 Albatross Vol. 44 Reports from mid-April 1998 to early April 1999 104-119 Albatross Vol. 45 Reports from mid-April 1999 to March 2000 120-137 Albatross Vol. 46 Reports from April 2000 to March 2001 138-155 Albatross Vol. 47 Reports from April 2001 to early April 2002 156-177 Albatross Vol. 48 Reports from mid-April 2002 to March 2003 178-201 Albatross Vol. 49 Reports from April 2003 to mid-March 2004 202-222 Albatross Vol. 49A Reports from mid-March 2004 to January 2005 223-242 Albatross Vol. 50 Reports from February 2005 to February 2006 243-263 Albatross Vol. 51 Reports from March 2006 to November 2006 264-279 Not published Reports from December 2006 – May 2007 280-287 in the Albatross Albatross Vol. 52 Reports from June 2007 to February 2008 288-302 Albatross Vol. 53 Reports from March 2008 to February 2009 303-325 Albatross Vol. 54 Reports from March 2009 to February 2010 326-349 Albatross Vol. 55 Reports from March 2010 to February 2011 350-370 1 Introduction For decades the Santa Cruz Bird Club has compiled records of birds in Santa Cruz County, California and published listings or summaries of interesting occurrences in its newsletter the Albatross. From 1986 to the present I (assisted by Steve Gerow since 2007) have prepared an article titled, ―Santa Cruz Birds‖ for each issue of the Albatross. The ―Santa Cruz Birds‖ articles were patterned after the regional reports published in the journal American Birds and its successors, seeking to distill the numerous reports of birds into a summary detailing the occurrence of rare birds and highlighting other ornithological events of note as recorded by birders in Santa Cruz County. This archive includes ―Santa Cruz Birds‖ articles published in Volumes 37 to 55 of the Albatross, spanning the period of April 1991 to February 2011. The source of the bird records was local birders and others reporting directly to the Bird Club‘s county records compiler, or more generally within the local birding network. Since 1999 reports to the Internet list ―Monterey Bay Birds‖ have been a principal source. The articles present a distillation of the significant aspects of avian status and distribution in Santa Cruz County as they have developed over the years, but they are not exhaustive. There has always been a focus on rare and uncommon species, but the articles also highlight changing seasonal patterns, species out of place, unusual numbers, important nesting records, early and late occurrences, and more. Each article summarized records from a period of two to four months, usually being published one to a few months after the fact. Two articles covering the period December 2006 to May 2007 were written two years after the fact. The articles are presented as they were published, except for some minor formatting. The status of reports of some very rare species may have changed since to the original publication, particularly where a given report may not have been accepted by the California Bird Records Committee. The organization of the articles and bird names followed the then-current taxonomy and nomenclature of the A.O.U.‘s Check-List of North American Birds. Abbreviations used for the names of some observers have varied over the years, but there is a list of cited observers at the conclusion of each article. This archive will be updated periodically, and is maintained at the Santa Cruz Bird Club‘s website – www.santacruzbirdclub.org David Suddjian Santa Cruz Bird Club 2 Originally published in the September – October 1991 issue of the Albatross (Vol 37, No. 1) Santa Cruz Birds By David Suddjian Including reports from April to August 1991 It was a slow breeding season for many species, with many arriving late and in smaller numbers than expected from observations made in previous years. I was particularly distressed by my observations along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where many species that should have been plentiful were scarce or even absent. For example, the Bird Club's trip to Loma Prieta on May 25 was a bust, in spite of good weather. We found zero Lazuli Buntings or House Wrens, and amazingly few California Quail, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Black-headed Grosbeaks or Dark-eyed Juncos. Even Scrub Jays and Wrentits were few and far between! These species were all expected to be numerous and easy to find. Similar absences were noted at Castle Rock and the Long Ridge area. Where were the birds? Some resident species may have been set back by the December freeze, and the late spring may have contributed to the apparently light passage of migrants. But when you have a hard time finding even the common birds, it seems like something must be wrong. Anyway, we did have several interesting observations this spring and summer, including a new species for the county and a new breeding bird. I wish to thank Bob Merrill and Doug George for their regular, monthly letters detailing their interesting observations. This sort of contribution is of great value to our county bird records, and I encourage everyone who is out birding to take a few minutes to write down the highlights for our records. * * * Our first Murphy's Petrel was seen on April 11, 21 nautical miles southwest of Davenport (DR). This bird was the last of 122 seen by Roberson while over deeper waters than usually visited on pelagic bird trips. The other 121 petrels were in Monterey County waters. Murphy's Petrel may be of regular occurrence well offshore, along with a few other little known species. This "unknown zone", beyond the reach of one-day pelagic trips, is receiving increased attention from ornithologists and birdwatchers. Brown Pelicans flocked in impressive numbers to Central California this spring and summer, producing record high counts for several spots. Flocks of several hundred were a regular feature at Waddell Creek in June and July (DG, RM, DS) and observations at various points recorded nearly continuous passage of flocks both north and south during July (DS). A feeding flock of over 425 pelicans upstaged the Fabulous Drifters‘ concert at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on August 29 (DS) It was encouraging to note that the great majority of birds after mid-June were young of the year, indicating breeding was quite successful somewhere. The situation looked more precarious early this spring for our Brandt's Cormorant colony in Davenport. The cormorants were off to a good start with 54 nests built by March 29, but all but two nests were gone by April 11 (RM). Fortunately they redoubled their efforts, with 117 nests counted May 17 (RM), and a record high of 151 nests (most with large young) on July 3 (DS). The spring setback may have been due to the March storms. A female Common Merganser with seven downy young was seen at Loch Lomond on 29 May, for our first breeding record away from the San Lorenzo River (RM). A Peregrine Falcon at Wilder Beach July 15 is one of only a 3 few recent mid-summer records for the county. Some of these breeding season birds have been known releases. The Sharp-shinned Hawk is thought to be an exceptionally rare breeding bird in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with only three recent nesting confirmations and few other observations. However, in the last three years I have received reports from a wide variety of areas, mostly in late June and July, with some sightings in unusual habitat for breeding birds (e.g., Watsonville). Most have been seen only briefly, and few have been reported to age. Are these hawks early migrants, non- breeders, local dispersants, or...? The Turkey Vulture has held its nesting secrets more closely than nearly all of our other breeding birds, but this year our Atlas project came through with three breeding confirmations. The first was a nest with downy chicks reported by Bonnie Bedzin on June 7, located just over the county line in Santa Clara County near Redwood Estates. The nest was in a cave, and the landowner had been aware of it from previous years. Two more nests were discovered on the precipitous east face of Pine Mountain on June 29, viewed from a distance in Scott Creek Canyon (DS). These nests were in caves on a large cliff; one had two downy chicks and the other had two large young ready to fledge. Two pairs of Spotted Sandpipers at Loch Lomond on May 29 indicated likely nesting there, although no follow-up trip could be made to be sure (RM). This is one of our rarest breeding birds in the county. A Franklin's Gull was reported from a boat 8.8 nautical miles off Santa Cruz on August 24 (fide DSh). A Least Tern was studied at Wilder Beach June 11, a typical date for this rare migrant (DG).

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