First year male Phainopepla

Birding was amazing along the Red Trail in Shoshone yesterday.. Nothing unusual but is was  wicked birdy.  Over 20 Phainopepla are holding individual  red trail territories containing ripe desert mistletoe berries.They defend the berries against relentless flocks of Western Bluebirds. American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, and Mockingbirds, and house finches, also compete for the precious berries.
  
No fewer than 32 Bushtits are patrolling the red trail, along with hundreds of White-crowned Sparrows,scores of Sage Sparrows, a few Song Sparrows,Savannah Sparrows, and a Lincoln's Sparrow. It was great fun trying to count the Bushtits, and I did it by hiding and waiting. Eventually the flock gathered in a shrub near me and used it as a staging area and the Bushtits took off one by one, sometimes two by two.

Hiding and waiting is an excellent way to get really close to birds They often come observe the
"hidden"  observer when the observer is still. The best close-up looks at Crissal Thrashers happen this way. Be patient. Try the 20 minute strategy.

    Crissal Thrashers are heard and seen daily, I counted 7 on red trail  alone today. Crissal Thrashers are often seen ,and heard along the Shoshone Village streets in shrubs and trees ,against buildings and in yards. There is a regular thrasher around  the Amargosa Conservancy, and another around the garden hose pond, and one around the Shoshone RV park.Their two note "dirty birdie" call is definitive.They have not begun singing yet ,but last year they began in early Jan.They are excellent mimics and their songs include imitations of Northern Flicker, Verdin, and Phainopepla.They begin nesting with first eggs in Feb.They lay beautiful blue eggs.

Black-tailed Gnatcatchers are in pairs and can be found in fields of Quailbaush , and groves of  Honey and Screwbean mesquite.They make hissing calls between the pair, and the males sing a little all year round.There are at least 3 pairs around the red trail.

In Tecopa,
   Northern Harrier defend Tecopa Marsh from other Raptors, and today I saw the male harrier escorting an adult Red-tail off the premises.The 2010 male had two females, and began mating with female # 1 as early as Dec 7th!
Harriers are not known for nest site fidelity, but this site has had a pair each of the three years that I have been here. The same site is currently held by a pair.Much of this pair behavior  by Northern Harrier isn't known in the winter. Last December, I observed the male harrier  moving coyotes from its territory by landing near the coyote, waiting for it to approach, then flying away but landing just close enough so that the coyote would keep up the chase. I watched this on several occasions

         Grimshaw Lake also holds year round Virginia Rails,and American Bitterns, right near the road.
There are 5 Snow Geese  and an American Kestrel there today.

The water treatment ponds west of the Tecopa Community Center, and the adjacent campground always have some waterfowl , this week 2 female Hooded Mergansers.



 

Anna's Hummingbird male

Finally a good photo of a Hummingbird. Although common year round in Shoshone,  Anna's Hummingbirds are extremely challenging to photograph.Their iridescence is elusive. The aerial battles between hummingbirds
are intense. The males occasionally put the loser in combat to death. I have observed  male Anna's Hummingbirds

 Caught a bug!

attacking formidable foes like Cooper's Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, and Loggerhead Shrikes.

Anna's Hummingbirds breed around Shoshone, and the fledglings come to the feeder and the garden hose pond in May and June. Only the female builds a nest. The males do not know where the nest even is. They defend good territories with flowers, nectar or feeders. During breeding season the females are charged admission to enter the territory!

A Varied Thrush appeared yesterday afternoon, in the Garden Hose Pond as if consolation for the missing Wood Thrush. Cousin's, both Thrush species  seem to find food and comfort in the shady  back yard  garden and the water drippers around the pond. I have sighted Varied Thrush around Shoshone Village 2 other times during October, and it's possible that this is the same individual. Varied Thrush have lovely pluage and they are rare in the desert even in the winter. They Breed from extreme Northern California to Northern Alaska, and normally winter in Western California.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher in Shoshone, CA 92384 - Birding near Death Valley

On Nov 5th while birding for Crissal Thrashers on the Blue-Trail in Shoshone, we spotted a small flycatcher with a light yellow belly and breast. My first impression was that of a miniature Ash-throated Flycatcher, that was vocalizing with a single not wheezy whistle slightly descending. The Myiarchus Flycatchers all look quite alike, so that when one sees an Ash-throated, Brown-crested, Great-crested(in the east) or Dusky-capped, one knows that it is a Myiarchus by it's orange brown coloring in the flight feathers and tail feathers, and yellow underparts and otherwise brown coloring with a crest that looks thick and brown, sometimes reminding me of an old fashioned shaving cream brush.

   In North America, the Dusky-capped Flycatcher normally breeds only in se Arizona and extreme sw New Mexico. Truly a tropical bird, it's natural range continues into Brazil, and Peru. There are 13 subspecies of Dusky-capped Flycatcher, and if anyone can tell by these photos or the video clip on my home blog page, I would be very grateful. The bird has not been spotted since Nov 6th.

What an Amazing Birding Month! in Shoshone, CA 92384 near Death Valley

Wood Thrush at the Garden Hose Pond

October in Shoshone, CA area has long been known for it's excellent birdwatching. October of 2011 was filled with regular sightings of uncommon and rare birds. It seemed like each day brought new surprises to the doorstep.The now world famous Garden Hose Pond, hosted a variety of birds that made it seem more like an Easter egg hunt than Halloween. The highlight of October was definitely the Wood Thrush. This eastern bird has only 26 previous California records. I first spotted it on the lawn across the street, and was congratulating myself for having a camera around my neck, when a juvenile Coopers Hawk appeared in the viewfinder and  almost ended the 27th California Wood Thrush record's life! The Wood Thrush sounded it's pit-pit-pit alarm call, a familiar sound to me, a birder from Maine.Although I'm a huge fan of avian  aerial combat, and birds of prey in general, I was thrilled to see the Wood Thrush escape to deep cover in my own yard. I resighted it later that evening and after a few phone calls to the top of the birding food chain, realized that this bird was kind of a big deal. It was first spotted on Oct 25 and was last seen Nov8. Many birdwatchers who came to Shoshone Village from all over California and Nevada  were able to get great looks an photos of this extremely rare (in the west) bird.  It stayed around the pond and readily ate meal worms and oranges, probably regaining critically needed body fat  necessary for traveling. Nocturnal migrants, they  usually spend the winter in Mexico and Central America..A Wood Thrush in California should really be called a rare occurrence than a rare bird. The correct word is Vagrant. A bird that isn't supposed to be here in the first place. In most of  eastern North America, their beautiful EE-O-LAY song can lift even the heaviest of hearts during a quiet dawn or dusk  walk in the Maine Woods.

It is pure speculation to guess where this lost songbird may have come from. It seemed so comfortable here in the little pond, I'd hoped it would winter here. I will miss this sweet little bird more than most.
        

Birding with Brownies on Mount Charleston

On Saturday October1st, the Red Rock Audubon Society, presented "Birding with Brownies" at Camp Foxtail.Camp Foxtail is in Lee Canyon on the Eastern side of Mount Charleston. We made our presentation to 14 Brownies and 8 Boy Scouts.The birding was very quiet, but we were able to call a Gray-headed Junco right up to the picnic table with an I-pod.All the kids leaned about birds, feathers, nests, and eggs, from a hands on close up perspective. These were  kids from  Las Vegas that came up the mountain to see what its like at 9000 feet. They also learned that there is a much different set of birds at the top of a mountain than down in the desert. Thank you to Richard Cantino of Red Rock Audubon West Branch for all the great photos, and for driving me all the way up and down the mountain and all the way back to Shoshone Village.What a thrill it was for me  to see the excitement of children and nature. When I look at the pictures of their faces, I think that they will remember this day too.

I need more feathers to gain any altitude.

Shoshone - Blue trail in the snow

The Kingstons in Snow from the Blue Trail

The Resting Springs,(right) and Nopah Ranges

 I took both of these pictures on the Blue Trail  on the same morning, Feb 17 , 2011. The snow covered  range, the Kingstons, are off to the south, off to the north showing the Resting Springs Range, and the Nopah (name means no water)Range. There are mountains all around us here. Shoshone is a  key part of the Amargosa River system . The Shoshone Spring feeds the Shoshone Wetlands, and joins the Amargosa River here, creating an isolated desert birding habitat. This area is relatively un-birded.(i have also been called an unbirder) many migrants pass through unnoticed.

A migration wave seems to be happening here today. This morning so
far, without leaving the yard!  RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-CHINNED
HUMMINGBIRD, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, NORTHERN PARULA , NORTHERN
WATERTHRUSH, NASHVILLE WARBLER, WILSON'S WARBLER, ORANGE CROWNED
WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, WESTERN TANAGER, LINCOLN'S SPARROW,

Northern Waterthrush at the garden hose pond

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, SAVANNAH SPARROW,  BREWER'S SPARROW, CHIPPING SPARROW, VERDIN,CRISSAL THRASHER,
BEWICK'S WREN, LAZULI BUNTING, PHAINOPEPLA, COOPER'S HAWK.

There are dozens of migrating  birds in the mesquites around the
garden hose pond, and all through Shoshone Village. I'm sure that the
Amargosa Canyon, and China Ranch are probably great today too. I hope
I may have to report again today!

Len Warren
Shoshone, CA
92384


I'd be happy to show you around Shoshone Wetlands

Free Bird Walk every Sunday 8AM- meet at Crowbar Restaurant