mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (02/06/90)
Well, it seems as though another season of the Santa Clara County Breeding Bird Atlas has begun. I greatly enjoy doing the atlas. Not only do I get to go out birding, but I learn a lot about the local species and contribute information to a data base that will serve many people in the future. When one considers doing the atlas, one thinks about working on it during the spring and summer with a hiatus during the "off season". It seems that the distinction between the breeding season and the rest of the year is somewhat nebulous out here in the Bay Area. My last breeding observation of the last season occurred on the 30th of September (quite late in the year), when I found the nest of a Black-Shouldered Kite that contained two nearly- fledged young in the Palo Alto flood control basin. I observed an adult bring a small mammal (vole or rat) to the top of this tree and, suddenly, a juvenile bird flapped up a couple of feet from a concealed perch and took the prey from the adult, settling back down out of sight. The adult perched in the top of the tree, keeping an eye on me. As I approached, the adult started calling continuously. I stopped about 15 yards away from the tree (which was only about 20 feet tall). I had never gotten so close to a Black-Shouldered Kite before, and was elated at the beautiful view through my binoculars. In the past, the closest that I have been able to approach a perched kite has been about 50 yards, before they would fly off. I surmised that the adult wouldn't leave because of the juvenile, but wondered why they both just didn't fly away. It was when I moved to the side, to get a look at the juvenile where it had settled down into the foliage, that I discovered the nest. There in the nest sat the juvenile, tearing apart the prey and swallowing it in chunks, while a sibling sat calmly next to it. It was then that I realized why the birds didn't fly away and, after watching for a minute, I left them in peace. My first breeding observation this season (although it was outside of the atlas area) was on the 16th of December, during a Christmas Bird Count, when I watched a female Anna's Hummingbird tearing apart an old nest and carrying off the material to a new location in a eucalyptus grove, presumeably to build a new one. If one didn't know better, they would swear that Anna's Hummingbirds breed the year round. They start in December (I once observed a female sitting on a nest in December) and continue right through August. I have no doubts that they can easily raise 3 broods a year. This observation was quickly followed by another that was a total surprise. On the 13th of January, on Adobe Creek in the Palo Alto flood control basin, I saw a female Mallard with 4 downy young! I have to wonder if the drought had anything to do with this. Perhaps this bird was denied, by the drought, its opportunity on the breeding grounds and, after travelling to the Bay Area and finding a suitable habitat and climate, decided to fulfill its maternal instincts. I wonder. Well, next month some of the local residents will be breeding in earnest. The Bushtits should be pairing up and building their soft, elongated, oriole-like nests; and by the end of March the Hutton's Vireos should be sitting on eggs. I'm raring to go. Mike