Caltech Birding

5/31/05

The bird walk for week 22 of the year was a pretty quiet one. Even the kids in Tournament Park weren't making much noise. We only spotted 13 species, which is about average for this time of year. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

The highlight bird was a hummingbird. It will go down as a Selasphorus Hummingbird because it was either an Allen's or a Rufous. I can't tell the difference as they both can have green backs, which this one did. Carolyn said she was glad to see a non-Anna's and so was I. The Mallards that were in the pond at 8 am were gone by lunch time. But we got most of the usual suspects.

The stats:
The date: 5/31/05
The week number: 22
The walk number: 786
The weather: 74 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Carolyn Ash
The birds (13):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Selasphorus Hummingbird
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Starling
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan
5/31/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

5/24/05

The stats:
The date: 5/24/05
The week number: 21
The walk number: 785
The weather: 76 F, sunny and clear
The walkers: Kent Potter, Glenn Hamell
The birds (14):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Mallard
Starling
Raven
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Kent
5/24/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

5/17/05

Caltech bird walk number 784 went off right in the midst of Ditch Day. I do not recall ever having a bird walk on a ditch day. And what a ditch day! This year's senior class seems to have gone all out recently on outstanding pranks and on a lot of gadgets all over campus for Ditch Day. There were lots of groups of undergrads formed into teams dressed in "uniforms", some quite elaborate, roaming around looking for clues to solve the puzzles left by the seniors. Some were being interviewed by television and radio reporters. I thought the reporters might notice that our little band of bird wathcers also had on a uniform of sorts -- binoculars hanging around our necks -- and that we might get interviewd, but alas no such luck.

I don't think the birds were all that affected by Ditch Day. The pond in front of Ramo was completely covered with a black plastic and wood structure, but we haven't seen an egret there in some time. The only other effect Ditch Day had was the general level of distraction that was wrought upon us. Good job by the seniors.

It was the 20th walk of the year. We did not set a record of any kind. We saw 14 species, a far cry from the all-time record of 28 and well short of the record for week 20 of a year, which was 22 in 2003, when we had the team of me, Glen Hamell, Kent Potter, Bill Schaefer, and Jon Feenstra on the walk. Jon is a grad student and an outstanding bird watcher and we usually do well when he comes along. The 14 we got today was more typical for a week 20 of a year. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

The highlight had to be the baby woodpeckers in a hole in a Eucalyptus tree on the south side of the track. They were making a lot of noise but we never saw an adult fly up to the tree to feed them. I did see a little one poke its head out and could see it was either a Downy or a Nuttall's but couldn't tell which it was. I will put it down as Woodpecker, sp. for now but I may correct the entry later if we see the adults.

The stats:
The date: 5/17/05
The week number: 20
The walk number: 784
The weather: 68 F, cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Carolyn Ash, Kent Potter
The birds (14):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Turkey Vulture
White-throated Swift
Starling
Woodpecker, sp.
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan
5/17/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

5/10/05

The 783rd Caltech bird walk in the series dating back to 1986 was held in fairly nice weather. It was sunny, about 70 F, and a little windy. The wind must have kicked up some unwelcome pollen as Kent sneezed three straight times comimg up Holliston towards the end of the walk. He recovered but we saw no more new bird species after that. The wind may have also held down the count as we recorded just 14 species, well short of the record of 26 for week 19 of the year, attained in 2002. Twenty-six is only two shy of the all-time record of 28. The walkers on that week back in 2002 were me, Jon Feenstra, Bill Schaefer, and Kent Potter. The record low for a week 19 was 10 seen in 1990 when Tom Garrard and I did the walk. Looking back through the records, 14 for week 19 is a bit sub par and we are going to blame it on the wind and not the walkers. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

It was surprising not to see a Raven, as we've been watching 4 chicks grow up in a nest above President Baltimore's office. (These then are our Baltimore Ravens). Last year, 3 juveniles left the nest but only two survived. The one fatality happened, apparently, when the bird fell out of the nest and broke its neck. This time, 4 juveniles left and one has been found dead. Two juveniles plus the two adults have been seen around the Parsons-Gates building in recent days but we did not see one on our walk. We're not sure what happened to the third juvenile. One of the birds that's hanging around is apparently injured. Getting all the little ones to survive seems to be a tough business in the Raven world.

The highlight bird of the day was a Spotted Towhee, which we heard but did not see when we were prowling around the maintenance yard.

The stats:
The date: 5/10/05
The week number: 19
The walk number: 783
The weather: 70 F, sunny, a bit windy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Kent Potter
The birds (14):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Starling
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
White-throated Swift
Spotted Towhee
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan
5/10/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

5/3/05

The stats:
The date: 5/3/05
The week number: 18
The walk number: 782
The weather: Upper 70's, sunny and clear
The walkers: Kent Potter
The birds (13):

Anna's Hummingbird
Starling
Bushtit
House Finch
Crow
House Sparrow
Raven
Mockingbird
Mourning Dove
Acorn Woodpecker
Band-tailed Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Black Phoebe

Respectfully submitted,
Kent
5/3/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu