n contrastto mostseasons, coverage wasbest away from the northwest this spring.Generally unsuccessful efforts to find springvagrants at migranttraps, combinedwith a geographymore con- BajaCalifornia duciveto findingfall strays,make vagrant- huntinga largelyautumnal activity for Re- gional observers.Several successes this Peninsula seasonby activeobservers in the Vizcaino Desert20 May-5 June shouldprompt re- consideration. Ensenada Tijuana/ Mexicali Islas . '-"• • Abbreviations:C.EG.P. (Cerro Prieto geo- Todos'"•.• • •.,Cerro Prieto thermal ponds, Mexicali Valley); M.F.O. (Monographsin Field Ornithology). Santos"""•-.••,•L•.. eyes deReforma IowerRio,• 0 • .•anFelipe ALBATROSSESTHROU6H TERNS SantoTomgs •.;•n ) Observations from two offshore cruises in- M•eademPl•in• Qui•in cluded2 LaysanAlbatrosses and a dark- ElRosari• •Catavifia Bahia de morphWedge-tailed Shearwater s. of the VizcainoPeninsula 9 Apr (KAR,CR) anda '• • LosAngeles juv.Masked/Nazca Booby 10 km s. of theIs. IslasS• Benito• SanBenitos 1 Apr (tDW). Highibis counts IslaCedros •L in the La Paz area 22 Mar included 87 Vizmino./'• Gue•o• --_=: White on the flats n. of town and 209 Peninsula White-facedat Lagunasde Chametla(DVP, MB, OJ). A male EurasianWigeon x American Wigeonat Lagunasde Chameda26 Jan (ph. SGM)was seen again 23 Mar (ph. OJ,MB, • La DVP).All otherwaterfowl highlights were in -' . • Paz the northeast: 14 Brant at the Colonia Zaragozasewage ponds 4 Apr (MJI)were the firstto be foundin theMexicali Valley away from C.P.G.P.;a femaleMallard with 3 half- San Jos• del'Cabo grownyoung at theColonia Zaragoza ponds 15 Apr (RAE)represented the firstnesting record[or that part of the Region;7000+ RichardA. Erickson EduardoPalacios Surf Scoters were concentrated at the head of the Gulf at CampoDon Abel 26 Mar, in- LSAAssociates Ecologia,Centro deInvestigaci6n Cientifica cludingsome flying overland to the nnw. (MS, LN); and a total of 16 Red-breasted 20Executive Park, Suite 200 y Educaci6nSuperior deEnsenada Mergansersvisited C.P.G.P. 21 Apr-20 May (RAE, DSC, MJI). Irvine,California 92614 Miraflores334, Fracc. Bella Vista We still havemuch to learn concerning the phenologyof migrationin the Region, ([email protected]) LaPaz, Baja California Sur23050, Mexico especiallyin thesouth; in the s. halfof Baja California Sur this season,Northern Harrier, U.S.mailing address: P.O.Box 434844 Sharp-shinnedHawk, Zone-tailedHawk, MarshallJ. Iliff and Merlin (and Sora) were still present SanDiego, California 92143-4844 21-25 Mar (MB, OJ, DVP). At least 100 246East 16th Street, Unit B ([email protected]) SwainsoffsHawks roosting at AlianzaCam- po, just s. of CiudadConstituci6n, 24-25 CostaMesa, California 92627 Mar (DVP, MB, OJ) was far more than ever reportedin the Regionpreviously. We as- ([email protected]) Roberto Carmona sumethese birds all winteredon the penin- sulaand may have been staging prior to mi- DepartamentodeBiologia Marina gration,but a singlebird over Iijuana 16 Apr (ph. MJB)is theonly report of an obvi- UniversidadAut6noma deBaja California Sur ousmigrant that we areaware of in recent decades. ApartadoPostal 19-B A Wilson's Plover chick at the mouth of theRio Colorado on I. Montague6 May(MR LaPaz, Baja California Sur,Mexico et al.) wasat a locationwhere nesting had not been confirmedpreviously (M. EO. 3: ([email protected]) 41). In the interior northeast,a total of iI

VOLUME 59 (2005) NUMBER 3 497 Sanderlingswas recordedat C.EG.E 4 Apr-20 May (MJI,RAE, DSC), and 5 Short- billed Dowitchers were there and at the ColoniaZaragoza sewage ponds 4-15 Apr (MJI, RAE). Ad. Franklin'sGulls were reported from both ends of the Region:4-5 were at C.EG.E4 Apr (ph. MJI), and one was at GordaBank the nextday (?DW). One or 2 ad. Heermann'sGulls at C.EG.E 15 Apr (RAE) and one there 10 May (DSC) were the first to be foundin the MexicaliValley. The latest reportedHerring and Thayer's Gulls were at C.EG.E 15 Apr (RAE) and Playasde Tijuana3 Apr (MJB),respectively. Rare on the Pacific coast were 2 Yellow-foot- ed Gullsat GuerreroNegro 26 May (AC, VA). OneSabine's Gull was off Pt. Eugenia 9 Apr (KAR,CR), andan ad.was at C.EG.E6 May (RAE). Gull-billed Terns provided much to comment on: 7 at El Centenario, BCS 22 ThisEastern Kingbird was at SanBorja, Baja California 20May 2005. Photograph byRoberto Carmona. Mar (DVP, MB, OJ) was the most ever re- portedthere; 4 wereforaging at Playasde Apr (MJ1,RAE); 2 wereat CampoMosque- viduals on the Rio Coloradonear Ejido Tijuana3 & 17 Apr (MJB);up to 5 wereat da 5 May (RAE); 200+ nestedat C.P.G.E ChiapasNo. 3 (3) andabove Colonia Car- the ColoniaZaragoza sewage ponds 4-21 (KCM, KLG et al.); and some of the indi- ranza(6) 20 Maywere carwing fish down- stream(DSC, RAE, MJI), presumablyto an • Themest'intdguing •eportsofthe winter andspring involved multipledairus of Mang roveSwallow. Becauseit is res- unknownnesting colony. Ten, 8, and6 ad. _ idtm•n•:ti• cen?$onOra andhas recently •ayed t0FI0dda, it'has been ctmsidered alikely vagrant t0occur inthe Cape ElegantTerns respectivdy were at C.EG.E District,Reports thisyear came fn•ru the Gulf coast ofBaja California atSaffRafae127 Feb(RC, JAC) and 21 May (AC, Rœ),the on 4 Apr, 6 May, and 2 Jun (MJI; RAE; Guerrero•Negrosal•works25•Feb (RC, AG-A), andLagonas deCharuotla :•2Mar (vt. OJ, tDVP, MB).The 5anRafael andGuer- KLG, KCM); we do not know to what ex- reroNegro reports areundocumented, andthere isconcern overpossible confusion. withViolet-green Swallow,which can ap- tent birds such as these and the aforemen- tionedHeermann's Gulls revisitthe ponds pearentirely white-rumped without excellent views. The report from Lagun•s deChametla wasprobably correct, however, in the courseof their wanderings.Other astheidentifications, wassupported byan impressive sequence.of videoshowing asmallish swallow with dark extending to notableterns were early:one or 2 Com- belowth*e eye, a•faifly Sort, slightly notched tail(eliminating Common House,Martin), andan entirely white rurup well monsat Playasde Tijuana 3 Apr (MJB)and showninmultiple •ieWs. Unfortunately thepatterns ofthe forehead andtertials were not noted inthe field and thus the an Arctic Tern n. of Pt. Eugenia9 Apr identificationasUangruve Swallow restsentirely onthe white rump• Asighting ofawhite-rumped BarnSwallow inVirginia (KAR, CR). (UJI)raises thequest• of whether ananomalous white-romped TreeSwallow couldoccur andwhether suchan individual DOVESTHROUGH SPARROWS couldbeeliruinated inthis'case. Given that it would represent aRegionai first,and one of few vagrant records forthe species, wechoose toawait more s•lid documentation beforeadding Mangrove Swalfow tothe Regional list. SeparateCommon Ground-Doves on I. San Jose31 Mayand 2Jun (RC, CS)apparently representthe first recordsthere. Cody and Velvarde(appendices 10.5-10.10 in T. J. Caseet al., eds.2002. A NewIsland Biogeog- raphyof theSea of Cortes. Oxford University Press)provided complete bird lists for all of the Gulf islands.While we do not question theirtreatment of thisspecies, there is much I to be skepticalof therein.Although the speciespresumably breeds regularly in the CapeDistrict, a femaleRuddy Ground-Dove carryingnesting material at SanJose dd Cabo24 Mar (DVP,MB, OJ) providedthe firstbreeding evidence since a pair wasob- servedcopulating at the samelocation in 1997 (M.EO. 3: 108). Xantus'sHumming- birdsare rarely reported from Baja Califor- nia, so 12 at SantaGertrudis 22 May (RC, AC) werenoteworthy. Two DuskyFlycatchers provided first recordsfor the ColoradoDesert subregion: onenear the Mexicali Airport 9 May (DSC) Thispossible Mangrove Swallow was videotaped near La Paz, Baja California Sur22 March 2005. Photograp/• fromvideotape byOscarJohnson. and oneat Ejido ChiapasNo. 3 on 20 May (?MJI, RAE). A Thick-billedKingbird at

498 NORTH AMERICAN BIRD bird(t) anda maleScarlet Tanager, the lat- PuntaBanda, anarrow peninsula thatjuts 8 kmnw. into the Pacific onthe s. side of Bahia de TodOs Santos, isa well- ter representingthe first springrecord for •known vagrant trap. The dry slopes aremostly vegetated withcoastal sage scrub, accented bylarge agaves, buta 380- theRegion. A WesternPalm Warbler 16 Apr mhillnear the tip provides some relief and some roDisLet drainages thathost chaparral onthe peninsula's morem esic n.side. (ph. MJB)and 2 YellowWarblers 12 Mar-2 Theinteresting combination ofhabitats hosts anunusua! mixof breeding landbirds. Apr (ph. MJB,MJI) wereat ParqueMorelos, It hasbeen known since the early 1990s that Ladder-backed Woodpeckers occurhere, the species' northernmost station Tijuana,where both specieswintered last onthe Pacific coast (A•.œO. 3:130). Other spedes ofnote include Cactus, Canyon, andRock Wrens (all scarce breeders along year. A Yellow-breastedChat at Cation de theimmediate coast northward), California Gnatcatcher (surprisingly scarcealong the coast northward andin the greater Guadalupe4 Apr (MJI) was nearly two weeksearlier than any migrant recorded in BahiadeTodos Santos area), and both Bell's Sage and Rufous•crowned Sparrows (both uncommon andlocal breeders). lilt the Salton Sink but matched extreme arrival visitedthe area 30 Mar-2 Apr and in addition tothose species, reported territorial behavior byat least 5singing Black- datesin SanDiego. Notable sparrows in the chinnedSparrows, which isa local breeder inland but is not known tobreed along the immediate coast anywhere inthe Re- desertw. of LagunaSalada 1 Apr includeda gionorin s. California. EightViolet-green Swallows wereseen investigating cliffsatthe point; thespecie• breec•s onlyrarel)• Black-throated and an oriantha White- onthe coast. Other species tobe watched foras breeders include Costa• Hummingbird, Orange-½rowned Warb!er,:Scott:s OtL crowned (RAE), while a Brewer'sat La Bu- oie.(breedsalongRio San Telmo 24km s.)• and possibly even Black-throated Sparrow. fadora2 Apr (MJI) wasa noteworthyspring migranton the coast. SanJos• del Cabo13 May (JM) wasthree recordsfrom San Diego.Scarce breeding dayslater than any everrecorded in Cali- speciesfound in the SierraJufirez 19 May Observers:Victor Ayala,Mark J. Billings, fornia, sustainingspeculation that the included2 territorialGray Vireosand 5 Matt Brady,Roberto Carmona, Jos• Alfredo speciesmay breed in the CapeDistrict. An PurpleMartins at two locations,including Castillo,Daniel S. Cooper,Andrea Cueliar, EasternKingbird banded at SanBorja, BC two pairs at an apparentnest tree (DSC, Gustavo Danemann, Richard A. Erickson, 20 May (ph. RC, AC) and anotherat Guer- RAE, MJI). An American Robin at La Bu- MarcelaGaray, Kimball L. Garrett,Antonio rero Negro 5 Jun (tAG-A) providedrare fadora 31 Mar (MJI) was the first one re- Gutierrez-Aguilar,Marshall J. Iliff, Oscar springrecords--the only prior Regional portedin BajaCalifornia in overa year. Johnson,Joe Mackie, StevenG. Mlodinow, recordbefore Aug wasone at LagunaSala- The winteringBlack-and-white Warbler KathyC. Molina,Lea Norton, Eduardo Pala- da 22 Jun 1997 (M.EO. 3: 133). A in GuerreroNegro was last seen 5 Apr (AG- cids,Cindy Radamaker, Kurt A. Radamaker, PlumbeDusVireo at Cationde Guadalupe4 A). Easternvagrants seem to havearrived in Martha Romfin, Matt Sadowski, Carmina Apr (tMJI) was earlierthan most records GuerreroNegro 24 May (AG-A): on that Salinas,Luis Sauma,David VanderPluym, from the California deserts but fit in with date the smallpark therehosted an Oven- DavidWimpfheimer. •

GulfStream Birds 6-11July 2006 Location:ManteD, NC Instructors:Alvaro Jaramillo RegisterNow 1or 2006] andGeorge Armistead Callnow [or raor½ information on the workshops bdow Ornithelegy Flycatchers andto ensure your spot in theworkshop o[your choice. fer Birders 24-30July 2006 16-20May 2006 Location:Sierra Vista. AZ Location:Montreal, Canada Instructors:Chris Benesh WinteringDiurnal TropicalBird Instructors:David Bird and & NocturnalRapters Ecelegy RodgerTitman Hummlnghirds 16-23 March 2006 2-7January 2006 Birdinghy Ear 30 July-6August 2006 Location:Charlo, MT Location:Chan Chich, Belize Location:Sierra Vista, AZ Instructors:Terry McEneaney Instructor:Iohn Kricher 5-10June 2006 Instructors:Sheri Williamson and DenverHoll Location:White Mountains, NH and Tom Wood Owls ef the Instructor:Mark Suomala PacificNerthwest EastCeast Shereldrds ReckyMountains CarihheanSeahirds Seahlrds 19-26August 2006 1-6 May2006 18-24June 2006 2-8 February2006 Location:Newburyport, M^ Location:Charlo, MT Location:San Salvador, Bahamas Location:Coastal Washington State Instructors:Denver Holt Instructors:Wa•e Petersen Instructor:Dennis Paulson and'ferryMcEneaney Instructors:Bill Hayes and Bet•,Anne Schreiber Fall Warhlers FieldSketching Sparrows and Illustratien 4-10September 2006 26-30 June 2006 Location:Point Pelee, Ontario .8-13 May2006 Location:For[ Collins, CO Instructors:IonOunnand Tom Schultz Location:Franklin, NC Instructors:JimRising and Instructors:Iohn and Cathryn Sill David Beadle

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