WESTERN 'B'IRD BANDER,t~ A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE WESTERN BIRD, BANDING ASSOCIATION,~

THE DAY THE SHEARWATPRS LANDED, Dorothy B. Hunt.HEAD NETS FOR HOIDING BIRDS, Don Bleitz. •DISPLACEMENT OF WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS,

L. Richard Mewaldt. .THE RARE BIRD, Richard C. Banks ..••••THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE OREGON TOWHEE, Donald E. Payne •P.I.C. MEETING - SEPTEMBER 30, 1961 ••••NEWS FROM THE BANDERS. • • • • • • • •MAP OF STARLING RECOVERIES • • • • •NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER MEETING. •NATURE CONSERVATION AND BIRD BANDING IN MALAYA •

In the early morning hours of Friday, August 18, 1961, the pro-montory from Capitola to Cliffside, in Santa Cruz, was almost"inundated", as one observer put it, with Sooty Shearwaters, pelagicbirds which were surely as unhappy about being grounded as residentswere about having them. Perhaps no one can say with certainty whatall the factors were that combined to cause this tragic mishap, but weknow there was a low, heavy fog at 2:30 a.m. when the first birds camehurtling in, that there were large schools of anchovies off Rio del Mar,and that the area where most of the birds were concentrated not onlyprojected into the bay but in many places ended in cliffs well abovethe level of the water. It is quite plausible that the low-flyingstream of shearwaters, becoming disoriented, blundered into the landmass or were drawn to the illuminated area of Capitola. It is soplausible that one wonders why this tragedy has not occurred before.The combination of circumstances is not uncommon.

Dr. Glenn Bradt and his wife, Kay, live at Pleasure Point, whichwas right in the midst of the so-called "invas:i,on.II RealiZing theopportunity the windfall offered bird banders, and knowing any birderworth his Peterson gUide would jump at the chance to see what was goingon, Kay, called me at 6:30 a.m. to get the name of banders in our area.As she began telephoning them, I started for her home at once.

Even in Soquel there were a few birds on the road, but they appearedto be dead and I hurried on. Approaching Pleasure Point on East CliffDrive the victims were so thick the little car staggered its way throughas I twisted and turned to avoid them. Some had obviously been killedby the impact of landing unexpectedly, but others just huddled there,stunned or too perplexed by the alien surroundings to move out of the wayof traffic. A few tried to waddle off to comparative safety, and nonetoo soon. Some motorists whizzed through without compassion and truckswere coming along to pick up the dead and "diseased" birds. (It waslater reported by the Health Dept. that the birds were not found to bediseased, though they recommended tetanus shots for anyone who had beenbitten, as a ·'Pl'~lc~.tionl)

The Bradts gave me details when I arrived and opened a rear windowso I could hear the IIcryingll of the many shearwaters thClt had soughtshelter between two garages in back. A fence connected the buildings,providing what later proved to be ~n excellent collecting pen. Kay saidthey had been allover at first, on roofs, yards and streets, but asdawn approached and it grew light the survivors had sought the shelter offences, ground cover, shrubs, structure--any place they could hide. Thenwe went outside to the garage alleyway where a number of birds whimperedand huddled together in a disconsolate mass of soft, sooty-gray feathers.As we approached they scrambled on top of each other, biting and lashingout with their long, thin wing~ as they maneuvered for a place further tothe rear. I expected half of them would be killed in the mele~, but theyproved to be surprisingly tough throughout the collecting, banding andrescue operations. ..

Dr. Bradt, a retired mammalogist, wanted to determine first whetherthe survivors could fly. He took one down to the cliff and launched it.Once in its natural habitat the bird seemed quite all right and flew offover the water with strong wingbeats. Then began the arduous task ofsaving as many more as we could, for they apparently needed only to beput within sight of the water. Some flew long before they reached water,perhaps taking off into a wind we did not notice. One had the feelingthat they suddenly sensed where they were and responded to the familiarwith regained confidence.

Kay, handicapped with bad grease burns on both hands, neverthelesscontributed enormously. It was she who organized the rescue work and sug-gested using large boxes to collect the birds, and cars to transport mostof the loaded cartons to the edge of the cliffs. Neighborhood childrenand some of their parents joined in the task, and the boys nearly worethemselves out lugging cartons and trash cans full of birds down to thebeach or cliff where they were released. The experience of r~storingthese Wild creatures to their proper environment was an inspi'ring:oneand more than one lad looked up at me with shining eyes and a new com-prehension as a bird he had rescued flew off over the waves.

Meanwhile, there was the banding project to set up. Kay found thatHarry Smith was the only bander available, and though he was sufferingwith a painful trick back, he simply couldn't stay away at such a time.A chair was placed near the collecting pen and he managed to band birds

as they were brought one by one and held for him. He soon ran out ofbands, for one hardly expects to get large birds in such numbers, so Kaycalled Elaine Reine It to obtain additional bands of thepr~per size. 'Although Elaine's mother was critically ill and she was un~asy aboutleaving even briefly, she rushed the bands she had on hand to Harry andeven stayed, when she saw what a strain he was under, to help finish thejob. Altogether 83 birds werebanded--all there were bands for·. Theywere all released-on the beach below, ,aridwe have reason to believe mostof them survived the experience. They certainly headed out to seapurposefully enough.

The Sooty Shearwater is aImost as large as the California Gull andhas a wingspread of about 33 inches. It is indeed "sooty" in color,with light wing linings. The species breeds from November to March inthe southern hemisphere (New Zealand, islands off the coast of Chile,subantarctic islands). In summer they migrate along our Pacific Coastas far north as the Aleutians, feeding on squid, small fish and crustaceanear the surface. .They form the masses of dark, low~flying birds seenoffshore in an undulating ribbon estimated to comprise at t.imes sevf?t'alhundred thousand individuals. Occasionally there are some Pink-footedShearwatersamong them, larger birds with a slower wingbeat and whiteunderparts. Though we looked for Pink-footed among the victims that day,'we saw not one.

HEAD NETS FOR HOLDING BIRDSDon Bleitz

Some while ago, I wrote a little memo for the NEWS, telling of theuse of the Mosquito Head Net for storing birds temporarily whenrreIllovingthem from the net.

This has the advantage of being able to be looped around onets neckby the draw-strings, leaVing both hands free to remove birds and drop theminto the bag which is airy and considerably superior toa collecting cagefor subsequent banding; data recording, and release.

In most of :my work, I make measurements, write up plumage character-istics, in my notes, etc. I usually carry ;2 or J such bags looped aroundmy neck and use these to separate species so that those.that might injureeach other can be kept apart. Also this allows me to separate those whichI want to measure or study-more" closely before release.

These head nets can be easily hung on a·convenient ,.hook in the shadeto provide much greater convenience and accuracy while bands are opened andr€ladied,and positive identifications made prior· to release. I have boughta large number of these on surplus, so that their cost is extremely low.We have been offering them to members of the WBBA a cost of $2.00 per 10of them. They can be laundered quite easily and prior to use I trim offthe surplus canvas shield. and shorten the draw-'strings to a mbre convenient

length. The' bags improve with use and laundering, beaoming very-softand pliable and can be neatly rolled up for easy carrying in thepocket.

The little funnel tip is tied closed to prevent the escape of verysmall warblers or wrens' which might get out via this route. I alwaystie a couple of slip knots around the mouth of the bag for safety afterplacing birds inside.

The ability of migratory races of the White-crowned Sparrow (Zono-trichia leucophrys) to return year after year to the same familiar cl~pof bushes on the wintering ground after migrations of hundreds or eventhousands of miles is well known. In efforts to better understand thisability, several workers have used wintering populations which are trappedand retrapped repeatedly at bird-banding stations, in "homing" investi-gations. White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichiaatricapilla) return within several days after being taken several to morethan 100 miles from the banding stations in the San Jose, California area(unpublished data). Sumner (Condor 40:127-128), having released about100 Golden-crowned Sparrows from 1 to more than 300 miles from theirwinter home banding station reported that many were recaptured at thepoint of release. Some, in fact, "remained for many weeks at the locationwhere they were released and were repeatedly trapped there, but never,with one exception, after the first northerly migration." All other birdsknown to survive returned the next year to the original banding station.Of some interest is the report of accidental escape of transshipped birdsby Mewaldt and Farner (Condor 59:268-269). Several Golden-crowned Sparrowswere shipped by commercial 'aircraft in February of 1956 from .san·Jose,California toWSU at Pullman, WashingtOn for studies in the physiology ofmigration. Of three which made, good an escape the following month, two·were recaptured the next December in San Jose. Pullman is more than 700'miles north of San Jose and is about 200 miles east of the traditionalmigratoryrol,lte to, the species breeding grounds in'Canada and Alaska.Some extensive studies have been made in Europe with·several speciesincluding Starlings.

We have underway a project to further' investigate the displacement ofZonotrichia. These studies are being aided by Contract Nonr NR 301-658between. the Office of Naval Research, Department of .the Nav;y, and SanJose State College. Cooperating with us are Dr. Robert L. Newman and Mr.Stuart 1. Warter of the Museum of Zoology, Louisiana State University atBaton Rouge.

Each season since 1954 we have banded about 250 wintering White-crowned Sparrows in the yard of our San Jose home. We are located in themidst of ideal winter habitat for the spec~es. About 25 percent of all

the sparrows newly banded ~ach year return the following year. Of birdswhich return at least one year after original banding about 50 percentreturn in following years. Thus each year we also trap about 100 birdsbanded in previous years. More than 90 percent of all birds which l!Iur-vivefromone winter to the next are probably retrapped. Most of ourwintering birds belong to the race pugetensisl a few to the race gambe1ii.Several recoveries suggest that at lea~~ some, and perhaps most of ourwintering population (ofpugetensis) breed north of Seattle, Washington,perhaps up to Vancouver Island and on the southern coastal mainland ofBritish Columbia.

On October 23, 1961 we shipped 50 White-crowns by commercial air-craft from San Francisco to New Orleans. They were taken by automobileto an area with suitable habitat along River Road south of Baton Rougeand released about noon the next day. They are all banded with U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service numbered bands on their left leg. Each birdwas also marked with a rose-red ~e on its crown, breast and wingcoverts. (The necessary clearance for displacement of and color-markingof the birds was obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Service.) A secondshipment of fifty birds was made on December 4, 1961. These birds weresimilarly marked with a bright red dye. After some delay en route theyreached Baton Rouge by air and were released in the same area as theOctober group on the morning of December 6. Some birds in each shipmentare adults which'lfave already returned to San Jose from one to as many asfour or five winters.

Communications from Newman andWartet reveal that many of the birdsfrom both releases are flocked in the vicinity of the release area.Flocks have been seen by both investigators from LSU and by some localresidents. None is known to have returned to San Jose as of Januar,y 10,1962. None has been reported from any intermediate points. Baton Rougeis about 1800 miles ESE of San Jose. Any birds attempting to 'return, andI believe a few may have already attempted return, may find the snow-covered Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada rather formidable barriers,unless they skirtCthe southern edge of each.

An additional 50 birds will be shipped to Baton Rouge in early Febru-ary, and about 150 about April 1. The April shipment will be made immedi-ate~ after the pre-nuptial molt and just prior to the normal time fordeparture on migration to the Pacific Northwest. The fresh nuptialplumage of these birds will be marked with conspicuous dyes which shouldpersist through the month of June. It is hoped that some of these birdswill be seen on their way north and/or northwest through the Midwest andMountain States. To assist us in tracing these birds, we will seek thehelp of the press and of ornithologists (professional and amateur) andthe general public in these areas.

Of great significance may be observations by ornithologists (includ"-ing especially members of the PaCific International Chapter of theWestern Bird Banding Association) and the general public in the breedingareas in the Pacific Northwest. Details of bird markings, and methods ofreporting sightings will be made available about the time of release inLouisiana in early April.

/ L

Will these birds find their way back to the Pacific Northwestbreeding areas? What route will they take when, and if, they leaveLouisiana? Will adults perform differently than first-year birds? Wi~lsome return to Baton Rouge next winter? How many will find their wayback to our yard in San Jose in the fall of 1962?

This is a pilot stuqy. If results are encouraging and suggest thatmore may be learned by more extensive and/or somewhat different procedures,we plan to continue the project.

One who is not a particularly active bander of birds, but who isinterested in them from other viewpoints, is sometimes given cause towonder whether all banding that is done really adds to the fund of know-ledge of birds. In other words, does all banding serve the science ofwhich it is a part? In citing the following examples, I intend no dis-credit of the persons involved. These are merely the most recent of anumber of examples which could be cited. They serve as a stimulus for aplea to all conscientious banders to think twice before releasing a rareor unusu~catch.

The October, 1961, issue of the WESTERN BIRD BANDER reports thebanding, in Benicia, California, of a bird identified as a female OrchardOriole. The bird is described only as "a full-grown, sparrow-sized~male oriole, yellow below ins tead of whitish, 5 -7/8 inches long ••.."There are but two previous records of the Orchard Oriole in California(Grinnell and Miller, Pacific Coast Avifauna no. 27, 1944:430; M. E.Johnson, Condor, 61, 1959:437-438). Although listed by Peterson as"casual" in the state, the status of the Orchard Oriole is better des-c.ribed by the 1957 A.O.U. check list as "accidentall! in California. AnyOrchard Oriole found here must be considered a vagrant, a wanderer, farout of its normal range.

The July, 1960, News from the Bird Banders carried a report of thebanding of several hybrid LaZUli X Indigo Buntings in Colorado. Thesebirds were different in appearance from other such hybrids seen previ-ously, a fact that was acknowledged by a brief description. If thesebirds are recovered, some valuable information will be gained; if not,ornithology will have lost, not gained, by their banding. Did these"different" birds perhaps represent a second generation of hybridization,or the results of a back-cross with one of the parentaltypes1 Or werethey within the normal range of variation of buntinghybr:l,c;ll!!?Thiscannot now be determined.

Let us realize first that the banding of a bird does not provide anyuseful information; only the recovery of the banded bird yields the data.

Information on sex, age, weight, molt, parasites, breeding condition,etc., recorded from a trapped bird is independent of the subsequentbanding of the individual. Similarly, the specific identification of abird is made regardless of whether one intends to band it, and consti-tutes what is commonly referred to as a "sight record". Especially whenthe extralimital occurrence of a species is concerned, or in groupswhere identification is difficult, professional ornithologists interestedin bird distribution usually do not consider sight records as valid; theywant evidence, in the form of a museum specimen whose identity can beverified.

Two questions, then, arise for the bander. What constitutes a"rare or unus.,ualcatch?", and What should be done wi th it? Both qUesti~nsare difficult to answer, for each case must be considered individually.

In answer to the first of these questions, I would suggest (a) anyhybrid between two species (but usually not between subspecies); (b) thefirst five records or first verifiable records for a country, state, orgeographic area, and subsequent records in some instances; (c) a speciesnot recorded in the country, state, or geographic area in the previousten years (or in some instances, 20, or 25, or 50 years); any bird aboutwhich there is the least uncertainty as to identification. Obviously, itmay be necessary to delay releasing a bird until its status can bedetermined.

The following steps are suggested as an answer to the question ofwhat to do with a bird in one of these categories: (1) First, verify theidentification. This might be done by taking the live bird to a nearbymuseum, where it can be compared to specimens, to a nearby college oruniversity where there is a professional ornithologist, or to otherbanders or bird watchers in the area. An identification is much morereadily accepted if confirmed by several persons. Ask for advice on therecording of data, and on disposition of the bird. Consider carefully howthe bird will best serve science. It should be pointed out that adviceoffered by professional ornithologists will vary according to the fieldin which they are especially interested. A systematist will want a speci-men; a behaviorist will want the bird released; a physiologist may want tomake experiments; some may want the bird placed in a zoo. The final choiceis yours, however, so consider carefully. (2) If the bird is to besacrificed, give it to a person who is qualified to prepare a specimen andwho has the necessary state and federal permits. If necessary, the birdmay be f~ozen (in an airtight plastic bag) until delivery is possible.(3) If the bird is to be released, obtain a series of close-up colorphotographs of it, to provide a ,permanent record. Write your name, thedate, and the exact locality of capture on a piece of paper and includeit in the photographs. It is helpful to include, also, something by whichsize can be judged.

As a museum worker and systematist, I personally feel that such birdsshould be prepared as specimens and deposited in a museum. In my opinion,the certainty of information to be gained from a specimen outweighs thepossibility of information to be gained by a band recovery. Even arecovery may not yield as much significant information as a specimen.

Admittedly, it may yield more; but is the chance worth the risk? Infor-mation from specimens and information from recoveries are of differenttypes. It is not possible to say which type is more important. Thus Ibelieve we must give great concern to the certainty versus the possi-bility of getting the information.

I list the following benefits to be derived from a properly pre-pared specimen deposited in a museum: A documented record of occurrence;A positive identification based on direct comparison with other specimens,and one which can be verified at any time; An accurate determination ofsex, by examinttion of the gonads; A determination of age by skullcharacters; A specimen from which meaningful plumage and size characterscan be determined; A specimen available for future studies of molt, geo-graphic variation, etc.

In the first paragraph I asked banders to think twice beforereleasing a rare or unusual catch. The thought might be something likethis--Do I better serve the science of ornithology by releasing this birdwith a hope of recovery or by making it available for detailed study,now and for years to come? The answer is up to you--but please ask thequestion.

There are three reasons for my writing this 'report on a very commonsubject. First of all, in order to keep old truths alive we must reviewand rethink them from time to time, to see if they have altered in our~erience. Even these facts need to be re-recorded at intervals. Secondly,it is the rediscovery of the distribution of the Oregon Towhee, as given byGabrielson and Jewett in "Birds of Oregon", that prompts me to report myfindings. Thirdly, Mr. Kirsher has pointed out that we as banders, with ourgolden;opportunity of handling birds, should vindicate our position bygiving the record some of our observations.

My banding station at Hood River overlooked the Columbia River and wassituated in an urban wooded lot of some 15 acres that had been harvested ofits Pin~and Fir several years earlier. There were fruit orchards on foursides. Undergrowth consisted of Snowberry thickets, a willow and flag bog,and a new growth of evergreen and oak association that seemed to provide agood cover. There were four feeders and two waterbaths, an area for twomist nets, with a string of a dozen traps of Potter, Mason and circledesign. The water was activated by a drip and the baits used consisted of'chicken scratch, sunflower seed, crushed oats, and table scraps as cookedcereal, etc. Another very acceptable tidbit that these and other birdsenjoyed was the sawdust that is obtained at the butcher shop. It seemsthat some birds will even brave cats to get at this meat-saw sawdust.

My bandings over a 7-yearperiod gives a ratio of 3.5 to 2 for maleto female Towhees. A ratio of 4 immatures could be included also. Therewere better than 70 birds of this species banded in my best year. Alto-gether I had returns on. a dozen of these birds , most of them local. Therewere two birds that were taken at a distance, one taken from the radiatorof a car 5 miles southeast of The Dalles, in the Deschutes River basin;the other recovered dead south of Portland in the Willamette River basin.This information impressed me as significant, as The Dalles is given asthe eastern front of the range for P.m. oregonus and also from the summitof the Cascades to the coast. The southern range isgLven as far as theRogue River basin. There are other Towhees in the state, but I believethat these findings, 20 years after "Birds of Oregon" was written arewell worth recording.

Towhees are nice birds to handle and while the male is belligerentin the spring, he is also most beautiful at that time of year. Too, Ifound that they tend to squeal more in the springthan'at other times.In my experience, the parents seem to develop a trap-happy attitude afternesting season is under way in early summer. The chicks follow in theirfootsteps and my notes reveal that one male spent the greater part of aday in the Mason trap where he had coaxed his small-fry to get a freemeal. I took him out eleven times, though I failed to record the numberof times the little ones repeated.

Perhaps the wooded area tended to concentrate the nesting of theseTowhees as shown by the ratio of parents to young. Yet I found the birdsthat frequented the station with broods in the early summer are the onesthat had been banded in late winter and early spring. The question is,Where did the other birds go? Our answer may be in the wide travelingthat is evident in my recoveries to the east and west.

The Pacific International Chapter of the W.B.B.A. met in the officeof the Skagit Valley Game Range at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Therewere 13 members present, and four guests. President Channing called themeeting to order and the secretary read the minutes of '.the last meeting.The minutes were corrected, then approved as corrected, the correctionbeing that the loon killed by the bald eagle was an Arctic loon, not acommon loon as reported.

Under old business the secretary read the amendment to the Consti-tution on raising the annual dues to $1.00 a year. It will be voted onat the January 6 meeting. Mr. Hughes reported for himself and Mrs.MacKay on the points to look for when trapping and banding birds. Theyhad an outlined form for us to follow, which was passed among the mem-bers for their approval. The form was adopted by the banders, and thepresident said he would report at the next meeting on the cost of paperand printing.

A letter was read from Wm. Kirsher explaining the reasons andapologizing for the deletions in the article sent by Mr. Oldaker toWestern Bird Banders. Also a note was read from Mrs. Webster Ransomin appreciation of the condolences sent her by the chapter.

Mr. Sarles reported on three publications obtainable in BritishQolumbia, on the twelve nesting seabirds of British Columbia, and oneon starlings, both published by the Provincial Museum at Victoria, andthe third was a beautifully illustrated book on "Thick-billed andCommon Murres". They were passed around for us to see. Mrs. Schultzreported that the new check list on Washington State birds in processof publication by the Seattle Audubon Society would be ready aboutFebruary 1962. She is doing the illustrations.

The president appointed Mr. and Mrs. Kline, Mr. George Galiez,and Mr. John Sarles as a nominating committee to bring in a slate ofofficers at the next meeting.

President Channing reported on his banding of predators; and exhi-bited.some traps for trapping them. Mr. Hughes reported on a trip toSummerland, B. C. over Labor Day, where he trapped 35 sparrow hawks intwo days. Mr. Oldaker reported on his gull sightings, of which he has1,300, and on the commuting of adult gulls from their nesting sites toVancouver for food.

The meeting adjourned to meet at the Skagit Valley College onJanuary 6, 1962 at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Jeffries, of the Game Range, was anexcellent host providing us with coffee, sugar and cream, and a deliciouschocolate cake, to go with our sack lunches. At 1 o'clock we went withthe game men to one of their traps and watched them take ducks from thetrap, band and release them. There were a number of repeats, and theybanded pintails, mallards, green-winged teal, and coots.

Returning to the Game Range office some of the members remained towork on their gull reports, the others going home.

Mr. R. F. OldakerMr. Wm. HughesMr. John SarlesMr. and Mrs. BradleyMr. and Mrs. KlineMr. Allister Muir

Mr. Geol. GaliczDr. Meribeth MitchellC. Howard ChanningMrs. ZelIa SchultzDennis DeCourcy

Miss Gwen Wright,Vancouver, B.C.

Mr. Muir, Sr.,from Scotland

Two student from thecollege

DON PAYNE, 2232 Greenbrier St., Springfield, Oregon, writes that heis tooling up to produce some chickadee traps of the type described byMcCarney in ~ Banding, January 1961. He will sell them to WBBA membersfor about $5.00 f.o.b. Springfield.

Two recovery reports on WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. One, banded byEMERSON STONER at his home, 285 E. L St., Benicia, Calif., was recoveredat Richmond, British Columbia. The other, banded by VIOLA WASHBURN,1013 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, Calif., was banded as an immature at SeaCliff, Calif., January 1960, and killed by a cat at Skamakaway, Washington,May 1961.

From the Ma1heur National Wildlife Refug~, Box 113, Burns, Oregon,GENE KRIDIER has a story of some golden swans:

"During the period October 20 through November 7, 1961, we trappedand banded 115 whistling swans, of which 102 were dyed yellow so thattheir migration from Malheur Refuge to their w~ntering grouhds could betraced. The dye will be retained until next summer when they moult, sowe should be able to trace their spring migration route also by sightobservations. We hope that we are able to trap, band, and dye red anothersizeable number in March for an additional sample. To date we have sightrecords from·the Warner Valley near Lakeview, the Klamath Basin, and theSacramento Valley and Delta near Stockton. Reports are still coming in.Banders and birdwatchers who sight any of the yellow swans would contri-bute if they would notify us here or any wildlife official. Althoughtrumpeters were dyed here a few years ago to trace local movements, thisis the first time, we believe, that whistling swans, or swans in anynumber, have been dyed to trace migration route, etc.

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Each star represents the recovery of a starling banded atMonmouth, Oregon (banding site no. 2). Similarly each blackcircle shows the recovery of a starling banded at Caldwell,Idaho (banding site no. ij. All banding was done during winter.

The typical north-east south-west direction of migrationis evident, with the mean flight direction of the birds fromMonmouth, Oregon being a more westerly parallel of the migrationline from Caldwell, Idaho.

The December meeting of the NorthernCalifo!'nia Chapte!', WEBA, washeld December 17th at the Californip Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.ThEl··firstpart of the, prQgramwas ato'UI', condu,cted by :pr•.William J •

.Hamilton, III, to see the birds and research facilities that he andDr. E.G.F. Sa1.lerhaye been using in their studies of migrational orient-ation. In these studies Bobolinks and Golden plovers are being observedand photographed as they respond to the migration urge, and orient theiractivity in relation to the natural sky as seen from the roof of theAcademy of Sciences Building, and to the imaged sky in the Planetarium.

The seqond part of the program was a talk by Ade Zajanc, ResearchBi.ologist of the U.S •.Fish and Wildl.ife Service, who is presently study-ing the starling menace. We'll e:x:cerptsome highlights from Ade's talk:

That the starlings are now established in g!'eat n~bers in theWestern United States is a painful fact to which the holly growers ofOregon can attest. The birds r09~tin the holly groves in tremendousflocks"fouling the green leaves with their whitewash, and making themunsaleable. And the guano piles up on the ground, overfertilizing thetrees. and causing the branches to grow long and spindly, with sparseleaves. Finally, the excessive stimulation may cause the tree to die.'To relieve the starling pressure against one holly farmer the Servicebiologists set up a funnel trap with flood lights (see News from theBird Banders, January 1958) and caught and destroyed some 72,000 star~.lings over a period of two years. And this from only three acres.

Similarly in Idaho. the starlings winter in flocks of alarming size.At one cattle feed lot near Caldwell., the stock was being fed on cullsfrom a potato processing plant, a food that also appealed to the star-lings. One truckload of six tons of culled french-fried potatoesstanding near the feed lot was entirely consumed in one day by the birds.

Dur.ing the past two years the. Service biologists have banded 15,453starlings in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California for the purpose .of studying their migration patterns. Recoveries from two of the bandingstations, one in Oregon, the other in Idaho, are mapped on the oppositepage.

This appeal is addressed to all the readers of the WEBA News and asksfor cooperation. As editor of THE RING I am interested in all interestingnews, achievements, technical improvements, etc. Especially the records oflongevity and record flight are urgently wanted as a special list of recordsof longevity shown by banded birds is being prepared.

THE RING'S editorial address is:University, Sienkiewicza 21, Poland.

Laboratory of Ornithology, WroclawAnnual Subscription is $1.50.

14 (January 1962)

NATURE CONSERVATION AND BIRD BANDING IN MALAYA

From Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, comes a book, Nature Conservation inWestern Malaysia, published by the Malayan Nature Society. It contains260 pages, consisting of 45 paperS by 41 authors. The subject matter isvaried, including limestone caves, coral reefs,birds, reptiles, mammals,and butterflies, among others. Each author speaks with authority on hissubject, emphasizing the pressures that are working towardfue destructionof the things of nature, and pointing out whatever conservation counter-measures are being taken.

Two of the papers are authored by our own distinguishedWBBA member,Dr. H. Elliott McClure. One, ~ Caves, Kuala Lumpur, is a descriptionof the animal life in some extraordinary limestone caves. The other,~ Ringing in Asia, considers the present status of bird banding inAsia (practically nil) and offers encouragement to other naturalists toparticipate. It is said that some fftflJl1J'lu8 to banding has come recentlyfrom the World Health Organization which is interested in the migrationof birds because they, as well as other animals, are sometimes the hostsfor arthropod-borne viruses which cause diseases in man. Banding inMalaya requires a permit from the Bird Ringing Commit tee of the British I

Museum at London.

The reader may be surprised and gratified to learn that in thisremote part of the world there is some awareness of values in wildlifeand natural things, and he will be saddened by the prospect of the seem-ingly inevitable extinction of some of the animals. What chance does arhinoderos have, for example, while there is a price on its fresh bloodof $30 per pound; and while its horn, valued as an aphrodisiac andsnakebite nullifier, brings from $105 to $210 per incht

Much of the book makes fascinating reading about the exotic animalsof Malaysia; elephants, tigers, leathery turtles, the swiftlets ofbird1s-nest-soup-fame, among many others. It is available in paperbackat $2.00 and in hard covers for $3.00 from Dr. H. Elliot McClure, U.S.Army Medical Research Unit, Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur,Malaya.

WESTERN BIRD BANDERA QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE WESTERN BIRD· BANDING ASSOCIATION

ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNUAL MEET ING •.• • • • •.• • • • • • • • • •ANNUAL REPORT • • • •.• • • • •.• • • • • • • • • • • •COMMENTARY ON ANNUAL REPORT, by Eugene Kridler •••••••NEWS FROM THE BJRD BANDERS. •.• • •.• •.• • • • • • • • • • • • •SUMMARY REPORT OF INDIV'mUAL BANDERS. • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • •DISPLACEMENT OF CROWNED SPARROWS, by L. Richard Mewaldt • •SCME RETURNS AND RECOVERlES DURING 1961, by Emerson A. Stoner ••

Address correspondence for the Western Bird Bander to William K. Kirsher,Editor, 1167 I;ynbrookWay, San Jose 29, Calif. Membership correspondenceshould go to Tom Balch, Business Manager, Box 9, Glenn, California.

The annual meeting of the Western Bird Banders Association will be heldSaturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20 at the Diablo Country Club, Diablo, Califor-nia, Mrs. Lillian Henningsen, hostess. (Diablo is at the foot of Mt. Diablo,about 16 miles east of Oakland).

Saturdayls program will be headquartered at the Henningsen1s home. Therewill be a field trip in the afternoon, a potluck or barbecue dinner and anevening program. Sunday morning there will be a program of papers in the DiabloCountry Clubhouse. (Meeting room downstairs off main lobby). Lunch, at $2.25per person, will be at 1:00 p.m. The Business Meeting will be at 2:00 p.m •.

To reach the Henningsen home from Highway 21 (the Dublin to Walnut Creekroad) turn east onto Diablo Road. Continue to Diablo Country Club entrance;continue on El Camino Tassejaro to first fork, then bear left onto Alameda Diablo.Continue on Alameda Diablo to right fork, Calle Los Calladoa; continue on CalleLos Calladoa to third house on left, grey with a fence around it. There is a goodmotel--Alamo Gardens--in Alamo, about 5 miles away, with single room from $6.00 •.The Club has some rooms in the Chalet at $10.00 for two. There are campingfacilities in Mt. Diablo State Park.. .

Papers are invited for the Sunday morning session. If you can present apaper, please give title and other information when you respond to the hostess,so that the program can be organized. In any ease, if you are planning to attendthe meeting, PLEASE RESPOND to Lillian Henningsen, Box 554, Diablo, Calif.

An analysis of Bird-Banding report for the year 1961within the area of the West~rri~ird-~~nd1ng Association

,Cmnpiled by

Emerson A. Stoner, Enid K. Austin and Eugene Kridler

YukonBri t·Col: Wash. Idaho

Alaska Alberta Orep;. Mont •

Hawaii,Nevada Wyoming Arizona Paci1'1c

Calif. utah Colo. New Mex. Mexico Islands Total~on Loon ------

Arctic Loon ---- ---

Red-necked Grebe ~7 C'7

Horned Grebe "" , ~,~Eared Grebe "" ~ , ~?~Western Grebe , -,-- ]

Pied-billed Grebe I:. , 7Leach's Petrel I, ---_. - LAshy Petrel I.). ---- LLRed-tailed Tropic-Bird --White Pelican I:. , 7 !Brown PelicanDouble-crested Cormorant' 7~ " 66Brandt's Cormorant 79 79PelWl:ic CormorantFrip:ate BirdGreat Blue Heron 3 3Green HeronLittle Blue HeronCommon Egret ,1:. 16Snowy Ep:ret c:: c::Black-ern. Nip;ht Heron , , 'ILeast BitternAmerican Bittern , ,White-faced IbisWhi stlinp; Swan 18] 1 182Trumpeter Swan I, '19 1'1Canada Goo se 11 ]e::9e:: 918 lle::O 1)1 1727Black BrantWhite-fronted Goose I, LSnow Goose I, ),

Ross' GooseFulvous Tree DuckMallard f" 1107'1 LLL7 188e:: e::21 1638 3LO 1296e::Mexican Duck c:: e::Black Duck 2 2Gadwall 1 1 122 h 163 22 7' '51:J9Pintail 79'1 '" '530 h'537 19J.7 1018 1002 120 33Green-winP:ed Teal 173 2' 361 238h 3'53 308 6 39J2Blue-winP:ed Teal . 22 h6 3'50 hi·9Cinnamon Teal h2h 6hl '10 10 8Blue-wp:d.&/or Cinn.Teal '1 )'0 6LAmerican WidP:eon "79 111' 229 1807 e::3 200 61 5962Euronean WidP:eonShovele.r "9 , , e:: 3 211Wood Duck '80 8 288Redhead 8 7L 8e::l 168 h93 9 'i2 1731Rinp;-necked Duck Ie:: 6 lL 39Canvasback 7' 22 9 'i'i 3 3 817

~ter Scaup '" 66Lesser Scaup 83L7 30 187 2 91 h 93 8754Tufted DuckCommon Goldeneye 3 6 2h 1 34Barrow's Goldeneye 1'521 1521Bufflehead 1807 'I h9 3 3 1865Oldsouaw '5 5Harleouin DuckWhite-winp;ed Scoter f,AA 1 689Surf Scoter 1 1Ruddy Duck 'i 3 22 2 32Hooded Merganser 1 1Common Merganser lL 17 31Red-breasted Merganser 18 18Turkey Vulture 2 2Black VultureWhite-tailed Kite 2 2Goshawk , ,Sham-shinned Hawk. , 1 2Cooner's Hawk. , , . ?l 1 , 26

YukonBri t·Col: Wash. Idaho

Alaska Alberta Orep;. Mont.

Hawaii,Nevada Wyoming Arizona Pacific

Calif. utah Colo. New Mex. Mexico Tslands TotalRed-tailed Hawk t:; 1t; 2t; l,t;Red-shouldered Hawk ] --r:-Swainson' s Hawk 2 .,Rou.<:h-leP:lI:edHawk. -

Ferru,<tinousHawk 2 --- --- -+-jGolden Eall:le 1 f, 1 1 ----- - ~,Bald Eap;le 26 ~6Marsh HawkOsprey t; ±Prairie Falcon 1Peregrine Falcon , 3Pill:eonHawk -

Sparrow Hawk it:; 7., 90 2 ,I 1 231Blue GrouseSpruce Grouse JRuffed Grouse --=l~~ ptarmip;an ~-_ ... _- ---- -Rock ptarmill:an ---- -- -- - ~~Sharp-tailed Grouse - --- ---SaP:e GrouseBobwhiteScaled QuailCalifornia Quail J,1 110 -l!.L --- 194Gambel's Quail 9h 217 311Mt. QuailRinP:-necked Pheasant 11 1 4 16Chukar 30 30Gray Partridi>:eSandhill Crane h 1 ,0 35Clapoer RailVirll:iniaRail --- - -~ ---Sora .,Common Gallinule ,American Coot ,06 210 290 1 154 205 1196Black OYstercatcherSeminalJnated Plover 2 2Snowy Plover 1 1Killdeer .." '1'\ ,., 4,American Golden Plover 71 71Black-bellied PloverRuddy Turnstone ., 2Black Turnstone -~

~mmon Snipe , ., ., , J, 10LOnP:-billed Curlew , ., f, 9WhimbrelUpland PloverSpotted Sandoiper t; :;> _..LSoli tary Sandpiper ., 2Willet ., 7 :;> ] 12Greater Yellow-lep;sLesser Yellow-lep;s 2 2Pectoral SandpiperBaird's Sandpiper 1 1 4Least Sandpiper 1 1Dunlin 7 7Short-billed Dowitcher .,

~-LonP:-billed Dowitcher iSemipalmated Sandpiper i 3Western Sandpiper i ., 19 24Marbled Godwit -----SanderlinP: 2 2American Avocet t; 9 14Black-necked Stilt 6 1 7Red Phalarope

-~Wilson's Phalarope 2 3Northern Phalarone ., 1

-,-,.,-1 6

Glaucous-winP:ed Gull , .0 7..,0 7f,P. ~Western Gull 1f,t:; ______ 16~_HerrinP: Gull nf, 136California Gull ,I,P' ),m Doh t;9 269 ---1981..Rinp;-billed Gull 1J,o hB , 200Mew Gull .,'7 -~Franklin's Gull 1 :;>t;l 252Bonaparte's Gull

t31Heermann's GullForster's Tern ..,1'\Common Tern ,i

YukonBrit·Col: Wash. Idaho

Alaska Alberta OreEl:. Mont.

Hawaii,Nevada Wyoming Arizona Pacific

Calif. utah Colo. New ~x. Mexico Islands TotalArctic TernSooty TernLeast Tern ')

- ?Caspian Tern An"l AmBlack Tern , ,Common Murre ,n ,nPilleon Guillemot ') 7 Q

Cassin's Auklet ,A7 -_. - 1A7 1Rhinoceros Auklet - .- -~L"B1Band-tailed Pi~eon «Q Q --White-wi~ed Dove -'-,276- ] .?7/ IMourni~ Dove ),7 nl, ~B] 1.2~'; 17 ';:200 7,01 I

Spotted Dove f,7 67--jRi~ed Turtle DoveGround Dove <A I,

1~Inca Dove 1mYellow-billed Cuckoo ,

~Roadrunner ,Barn Owl 7A ._-18...1Screech Owl ') ,), < ~_.- ~12~Horned Owl 1 ), Q 7 B

'ESnowy OwlPygmy Owl 1Elf.Owl 2Burrowi~ Owl Q

~Lo~-eared Owl , , 1Short-eared OwlSaw-whet Owl ~ 1 9-jPoor-will 1 2Common Ni~hthawk f------ - 8 12Lesser Ni~hthaWk ------2 ? --4 JBlack Swift , _---.lVallie'sSwift -- ') - ----- --tWhite-throated Swift <Lucifer Hummi~birdBlack-chnd.Hummi~bird , --}Costa's Hummi~bird "Anna's Hummi~bird ),7 1,7Broad-tailed Hummi~bird t:n t:nRufous Hummi~bird "I A ), I, J,AAllen's Hummi~bird 7 7Callione Hummi~bird

LBelted Ki~fisher 1 , 1Yellow-shafted Flicker 1 1 . ..-2...Red-shafted Flicker " "II. 1A 17 ,B 105-Hvbrid Flicker 1 12 BGilded FlickerPileated Woodpecker ] 1Gila Wooduecker ? 2Acorn Woodpecker ,? 12Lewis' Woodpecker ') 1 3Yellow-beld. Sapsucker I, I, t: , ]

Williamson's Sapsucker ?Hairy Woodpecker "I , 1< < ), 2Downy Woodpecker 17 7 11 ~Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2 2Nuttall's Woodpecker 10 10White-headed Woodpecker 1J, l1.Eastern Kinllbird I, ')n f, ~OWestern Ki~bird 7 r; r; B -~Ash-throated FlYcatcher '0 1 ~-Black Phoebe \ 6 6Say's Phoebe ~ < ? ~ 11Traill's Flycatcher , I,R ,t: < I, 71Hammond's Flycatcher 7 -~~Dusky Flycatcher <A ? ? f, ,Gray Flycatcher 7 J, ll.Western Flycatcher t: '1 ,f, 7 1 70Empidonax sp.1 , , 12 7 23Western Wood Pewee 7n 12 Q 1 92Olive-sid. Flycatcher <: 1 6Vermilion FlycatcherHorned Lark , , ?t:l, 18 < 277Violet-green Swallow '7 7), ?1 66 , 18QjTree Swallow ? t:, A 1 <

~Bank Swallow ), ,1Rough-winged Swallow A , '0 , --

(April 1962) 19

Yukon Hawaii,Brit'Col: Wash. Idaho Nevada Wyoming Arizona Pacific

Species Alaska Alberta Orep;. Mont. Calif. Utah Colo. New Mex. Mexico Islands TotalBarn Swallow '0 I.? ~ ?? 7 ? ",.,Cliff Swallow '0 71'. ,r:: 10m , ?I.~~ R~,.,Purple Martin , ,Gray Jay R '1, ~ "r::Blue Jay R ASteller's Jay ,r:: ~ ~ r::~' " "r:: ~I, '71'.Scrub Jay , ,),1'. " ? r:: ,1.1'.Mexican JayBlack-billed Magpie , 1 ,~ A ,~Yellow-billed Magpie ? . ~ ....-..-.-2.-Common Raven , 7 7 ~ _liLCommon Crow , ~ ~J~:Pinon Jay r:: B ,I,? 1r:;c;Clark's Nutcracker 1'~ 1 " ,1,0Black-capped Chickadee 111 lr:: I, 1 Ro """Mountain Chickadee ,h 27' R' ':lR,Boreal Chickadee I.

"

, '-----0- ~Chestnut-bkd.Chickadee ,1. P./. '0'Plain Titmouse 10 I. 1111VerdinCommon Bushti t ,1. l l I>lWhite-breasted Nuthatch r:: r:; 1 I>lRed-breasted Nuthatch r::' 1 I.f.pygmy Nuthatch 11n l' , nlBrown Creeper 1 1 r:; r:: '1Wrentit l, l'Dipper ,, , "House Wren " 0 r:: ? ?7\\TinterWren " ? nBewick's Wren '0 1I, «Cactus Wren I> I. 1?Lo~-billed Marsh WrenCenyan Wren , ,Rock Wren 1 16 17Mockiruzbird 211 l 8 .; *Catbird " 'I '1'1

• Brown Thrasher 7 0 ,1.Bendire 's ThrasherCUrve-billed Thrasher 7 7California Thrasher In ~oLe Conte's ThrasherCrissal ThrasherSai>;eThrasher , , , ,Robin r:: 'II, 1,,1. r::I, r::r::7 'I? ??7 'II. , '11.,Varied Thrush 'r:: ?':l '1'.7 ,'I , ,r::oHemit Thrush ~ 'I 70 ~r::l 10 'I ),),'1Swainson' s Thrush ? ,i:; ~ , ,,;? J,? , ?I.oVeery ,1'. I, ??Western Bluebird '1 10n , I, ,?r::Mountain Bluebird ? 10 1 I> ?I'.Townsend's Solitaire 1.0 ~ 1 , I, 70Blue-Il:rayGnatcatcher , ~ J,Blk.-tald.GnatcatcherGolden-crowned Kinglet ':lR ? hoRuby-crowned Kinglet " 'I r::3- ~,-~

,1. ,I'.?Water Pipit ~ 'I I.Bohemian Waxwing ~ 1,0 ~,-,-42-Cedar Waxwing ,~ r::, 1 , ,~r::7

~"

,r:: ~1,43~Phainopepla r:;Northern Shrike 1 10 0 '0Loggerhead Shrike 1 ]8 ~~I> , ~ ~oStarling ,1'., r::,~O' 7,J,OQ 107 '77 lO' 1';' , l, 01 0Hutton's Vireo ] 1 ,Bell's Vireo , ,Soli tan Vireo 1 ?':l ? , ?7Red-eYed Vireo I'. 7 ~ ,1'.Warblinll:Vireo 'I , ~o J•. , ,~ A loATennessee warbler , ,Orange-crowned Warbler , 70 JoJ '7 I. ,1,0Nashville Warbler ? '0 1 ),nVirginia's Warbler ,J, 7 l'Yellow Warbler , I. "r:: I, 61 l1 , l'lMYrtle Warbler ~ ), " " 7 J,8Audubon's Warbler 7 11,1> , J.m nJ, 7l 71>l IBlk.-thro.GraY Warbler ~ ''1 ]1> ITownsend's Warbler . '1' ,,, , "'1 I

YukonBri t· Col: Wash. Idaho

Alaska Alberta' Ore!,:• Mont.

Hawaii,Nevada WyomingArizona Pacific

Calif. utah Colo. New Mex. Mexico Islands Total

Hermi t Warbler • ,'Northern Waterthrush <: f. 1MacGilliVray's Warbler 7e: ?l, 1 11 • 1YeilClVthroat ;~ • " <:Yellow-breast,ed Chat .n h "Wilson's Warbler • 1 1An h ]08 89 2 3~erican Redstart 1 <: 1 1 8-HouseSparrow 9J, <; 21 17 , h 116BobolinkWestern-Meadowlark , 16 , 18 .9-Yellow-head .Blackbird Ml 11 7h 61) ':\ ,,]~dwinged Blackbird 1,1, I, h6 17 8<:7 1A':\ ]"1<;1Tricolored BlackbirdHooded Oriole 1<: 1<;

-Scoj;~s Oriole 1? 12Bullock's Oriole .,), , J,o h, h 113Rullt;y BlackbirdBrewer's Blackbird J, f.9 21, 112 , h61ColIllllonGrackle 7 <; 12Brown-headed Cowbird 1 l' 16 21)3 9 13 304Bronzed Cowbird 1 1western Ta.rniger' .,? ,J,o 1<:9 ':\ 101 " 'i'i6CardinaI-- - 1 1 2

=~liuloxia "

Black-headed Grosbeak ,<: 11' 11 21 16 218BlUe Grosbeak !.L 8 12

_L!l.zt!..l,iBunting 19 <:, 11 8!.L 13 179Dickcissel !.L 4jvjp.!...~ Grosbreak <;h 1 h L 178 I) 2h6t-fUr.Ele Finch ]M <;21) 685

Cassin' 5 Finch 7 2 82 l,I,f.9 11' 1 672House Finch 7 <;17 2.661 20 6h3 20 3.868Pine Grosbeak ] 6 I) 12g~a1:-~ro~ed Rosy Finch ., '29 260Bl~~~-.!!osy Fin~_ , 3.Hoar;LBedpoll -COlIllllonRedpOll <:<: 55Pi.ne Siskin 7A 70 '7 1 117 27 379American Goldfinch 1nA ] ,['f :7 L II) 1 183'Lesser Goldfinch AA hi 12 2 10 16 1)98Lawrence's Goldfinch 17 87

~eA C.!Qssbil-l- J, 6 , 10'!hi te~..!~~d CrossbillGreen-tailed Towhee 2' 1 2 1!2 3 50'Rufous- Sided Towhee '1"1 .,/;1, 228 6 <:1 <; <;6!.LBrown Towhee ,AA l' 218-Abert's Towhee 3 3-Lark Bunting

- ,

I) 22 , 30jiavanIJ.lih-=- ?parrOW--- .......L 1 f.n 1f.':\ 8 1 234Grasshopper SparrowBaird's Sparrow •Vesper Sparrow , 1 , 8 ll!Lark Sparrow 20 1 10 31

~fous-winged Sparrow ,Rufous-crowned Sparrow 2 2'.~lack-throated Sparrow 3 6Sage Sparrow 11 11

'W!lite -wilUl:ed Junco [., 2 8Slate-colored Junco ?no ., 11"1 3 1 8 1 234'Oregon Junco .,70 '.Me: I! 1.165 59 1!06 101 !.L039-Grlly~~eaded .J"unco __

- 2 85 271 35tlTree Sparrow 1 190 191Chipping Sparrow 1<: f.1 ':\ [.,1 11 293 32 476Clay-colored Sparrow 13 13Brewer I 5 Sparrow 1 <; 11 1 21Black-chinned SparrowHarris' §£arrow ? 7 9White-crowned Sparrow JoI, 11 99] 19 3.798 79 31)5 121 5 418

~901~en-crowned Sparrow <; <; 2<;6 2.12. 2 388~ite-throated Sparrow I, 15 26Fo~Sparrow , t, I, 77 ':\<:: L 443Lincoln's. Sparrow .,n .,/; I" 1 h<; 11 l!.L9So~§£arrow -- --,1"11

,., },e:I, , " ]L hI 744L!1-pl8.!1~~pur * ] 102

_SIlo~,Bunti~~, I, * 2 6

YukonBrit· Col: Wash. Idaho

Alaska Alberta Orep;• Mont:

Hawaii,Nevada WyomingArizona Pacific

Calif. utah Colo. NewMex. Mexico Islands Total

'Cl~~"' •• AI. AI.l;\.'~-;'_ ,- ,'A' ••~\, "D4"'_4' ... ...

-.: n••~\' 0

'1'••••, 'O~ ,n,

T.••••.•••• ,., '1'4'" ,.,,,1. •.•nl, •• "Wool"••.•• ~RR ~AI

~nmmn,., "Wo'l"••.•• .'0 '0H'••.••.••-1•• H'••wlr ,~ ,~

, ,Wh.•t.••_'"••-11 ••" , ,

•• Y-I,.,~ "D••-I1 I, I;, ,~-1"' ••_-~ ••" , ,'"~... .- ;.~." .

-,--;- , ~ I'1'••.••,., ,~ , :

1'I'h.•;;lr_'h"" ••" 101".••.•••• ~ " 11M".••.••• 7~

, 7,, .. . , i'T •••••• t. A •• \,' ••••• 1 , I

""' ••• ~\'_~."," , •• W-I,,~~ , , !'~T-I~'.•.•._ " ,."1Wh-l.•.••_••••.••••" . , , ,

~.•"_h.•••"••,, ,., ,.,1~ ••••• -1,." ••

. "' ", i

- 1 , I

Phn ••'h•• -, ,y••11nw_" ••"-1 ••" 1i'lv,,~h;; , 0 ,,,T•••••• t. " "a V.•.•.••n 1 ,BJIl"k- 'A, •••• 1 1· , ~'1llll"k- Gr"An W••.••h1 ..,. ; 1

Wa.••'h' ••.•• 1 1Grlll'!e, sW ••.,.'h1 ••.•• ? ", 1'PA1m 1 ,

1 ,_••.•tI••tI 1 ,

Pa"nt.AtlR.AtlRt••...+. 1 1Grav-"h ••"k"tI 'l'hr"ah To I.Henatic Tana"'er 1 1SUI1IIIIerTana"'er 1 ,Baltimore Oriole 7 7IndiRo Buntirur 1 1Orchard Oriole 2 ?'Orchard Oriole 1 ,Brown-canned Rosv Finch :2 ?Field Stiarrow 6 I.McCowan'a OOn",,",,].,. 2 2McCowan'a oon",snur 1 1

"--~-".•._ ... ~, ',n r\L ••• , 7R,.,1,.,1, 7R7 '7 .·~.e;0 ~<:nRR 7 R~, ,,, 7~' , n <:J:~ n<: 1?0.1,,,,,

*--Exner1mental. Shinned rom oth r state and b mded an releas d in Ca ifornia

--Firat recorded bandin'" in WBBAerritoI"-c-

Eugene KridlerActive banders in WBBA territory who reported totaled 185

since the 191 who operated in 1957. They banded 129,442 birdscompared to the 133,590 birds of 365 species banded last year.banding data for the years 1954-61, inclusive.

in 1961, the mostof 352 speciesTable 1 summarizes

1954 1955 1956 1957 I 1958 1959 ' 1960 l 1961ActiveReporting 129 157 186 191 169 167 170 185BandersNumber ofSpecies 228 251 276 305 309 373 371 352BandedTotalBirds 72,099 105,759 116,469 125,318 131,159 112,844 133,590 129,422Banded

Excluding governmental projects, two persons banded over 3,000 birds lastyear. They were Collister with 3,252 and Kridler with 3,038. Gallup banded 2,363.Nine persons ringed over 1,000 birds: Stoner (1,892), Mewaldt (1,817), Bleitz(1,721), Feltes (1,246), Rea (1,426), Travis (1,253), Balch (1,168), Coppersmith(1,019), and Felt (1,003). Another 17 banders handled over 500 birds. Bandingmore than 50 species were Bleitz (147--including 17 experimentals shipped to him),Collister (138), Kridler (108), Travis (72), Coopersmith (69), Rea (63), andSullivan (50).

Sevent~en government agencies banded over 1,000 birds. Leading the way wereHansen and his Fish and Wildlife Service associated in Alaska who banded animpressive 18,037 birds, some of which were species rarely, if ever before, bandedin WBBA territory. Most agencies and wildlife refuges concentrate on waterfowl;however, several, notably New Mexico and Arizona game departments, have done con-siderable work with doves and other forms of upland game. Numbers banded couldbe considerably larger; however, because of the usually high rate of recoveries andthe desire for specific information, banding is held down to samples of pre-determined sizes. Large-scale banding of problem birds, especially starlings herein the West, by Fish and Wildlife Service biologists is becoming more prevalent asthey attempt to cope with a number of knotty problems. The banding phase of thealbatross problem on Midway and other islands in the Hawaiian chain has apparentlybeen terminated for awhile so numbers of sea birds banded experienced a sharp dropthe past yean.

The more heaVily populated Pacific Coast states lead in numbers banded.California was first with Washington and Oregon second. Alaska, mainly because ofF&WS work there, has replaced Idaho and Nevada in third place. A review of the

data in the files shows that with the exception of federal and state projects,the load in the interior states is carried by relatively few persons. Interestshould be stimulated among competent birders and ornithologists in all WBBAterritory, but especially the latter states, to become banders. Quality, ofcourse, should not be sacrificed, but certainly quantity is now lacking. Bandersare few.and far between in huge, and in some cases, heavily populated areas, i.e.eastern Washington, eastern Idaho, northern Utah, Denver, Portland, etc.

A total of 520 species has been recorded as banded in WBBA annual reportsin the past 38 years. The past year there were 12 new species added, and 9 ofthese were experimentals banded by Don Bleitz as he continues his photographicwork with North American Birds. These new birds are indicated in the tabularpresentation of species by daggers.

Seventeen orders of birds were represented in the 1961 bandings as comparedto the eighteen in 1960. Not represented this year is the order Gaviiformes(Loons). As usual neither the parrot or trogonorders had any of the speciesfound in them banded. One of these years someone in the Southwest will reportringing trogons. Ducks, geese, and swans (Anserifonnes) were as usual banded inthe largest numbers (57,976), but numbers of perching birds (Passeriformes)almost equalled that number, having jumped from 34,914 in 1960 to 53,110 lastyear. A sharp reduction in the order Procellariformes (albatrosses and petrels)was caused by the cessation of the work on Midway Island. A thousand fewergrebes (Podicipediformes) were banded largely as a result of approximately 800fewer Horned Grebes being banded in Alaska. Approximately 3,700 fewer sandpipers,gull, and terns (Charardriiformes) were ringed in 1961 as compared to 1960. Sothis most interesting order still does not receive the attention it deserves.Numbers of birds banded in the remaining orders remained relatively the same.

Podici:pediformes.--The 57 Red-necked grebes banded in Alaska by Hansen etal is almost double the 33 banded in all years previous to 1961. Less than athird Horned Grebes were banded in Alaska than in 1960, but such total is stillsecond-high. Perhaps there wasn't as much time left for them as desired, con-sidering the great work done there last year. The number of Eared Grebesdropped from 303 in 1960 to 26. Large numbers of grebes in the bull pen of adrive trap is quite an experience because they jump at the face and peckviciously.

Procellariformes.--The hectic banding of 83 Sooty Shearwaters by Harry Smithand Elaine Reinelt accounted for all but one banded last year. Unfortunatelythe supply of bands ran out before the supply of birds, otherwise the numberwould have been much larger. Only 3 of this species had ever been banded in theWest. The 79 Brandt Cormorants by Bleitz on the Farallones is the most sincethe 72 of 1939. The huge colonies on these islands off the central Californiacoast would lend themselves readily to a group banding effort.

Anseriformes.--Hansen, et aI, were extremely active in banding large numbersof ducks rarely banded before. In the Aleutians-Izembeck area of Alaska theyhandled 195 Aleutian Teal, 388 Steller's Eiders, and 19 Common Eiders, birds mostof us rarely see, let alone band. During all previous years, numbers of thesebirds banded totaled 45, 9, and 10, respectively. Their 8,347 of the total 8,754

Lesser Scaup banded in our region denotes a lot of hard work. This is more thantwice the previous high of 3,620 reported last year. The 688 White-wingedScoters is three times the previous high in 1958. Only 434 birds of this specieswere banded in years previous. Hanson's team accounted for 1,807 of the 1,865Buffleheads banded, a new high, and 1,521 of 1,521 Barrow's Goldeneyes banded,only 170 less than the previous high of 1959.· Dave Woodside in Hawaii ringed 204Laysan Teal. The only other record for the WBBA for this bird was the total of58 in 1958. Kridler banded 182 Whistling Swans on the Malheur Refuge and dyed102 yellow for tracing their migration routes. The 182 is six times the totalbanded for all previous years. Unknown is the number of waterfowl hunters whotook the pledge after seeing one of these birds. The 3,727 Canada geese bandedis a third of the total for 1960 and the last since 1953. Some agencies feelthat they have enough data for these birds and will confine banding to ever,v otheryear and devote their energies to other species. Substantial changes in waterfowlbanded this year as compared to last are as follows (figures for last year beingin parentheses): Snow Goose 4 (1,017); Ross' Goose 0 (81); Gadwall 509 (133);Pintail 12,033 (17,141); and Canvasback 817 (416), a new high. Emphasis is nowbeing placed on banding young and breeders on known breeding grounds. Many arebanded during the summer by F&WS crews in Alberta during the summer and are notincluded in our annual report.

Falconiformes.--Levyts 13 Harris' Hawks constituted all that were banded inour territory, and can be added to the two each banded in 1959 and 1960. The 26Bald Eagles banded by Hansen et al in Alaska also are a high and are evidence ofthe considerable interest now being taken in our national bird. Klimes con-tinues to keep up his good work with species of this order, having a total of 53individuals of 5 species. Channing (50), Flavin (33), and Klimes (30) accountedfor over half of the Sparrow Hawks banded last year. Levy, with 25 Red-tailedHawks, was high for this species.

Charardriifor.mes.--Notable banding of birds in this order include the 71Golden Plover by Woodside in Hawaii, 217 Mew Gulls by Peyton in Alaska (50being banded in all previous years), the 252 Franklin's Gulls by Moos in Montana,and the 136 Herring Gulls by Peyton in Alaska (15 were banded in all previousyears in WBBA territory). Peyton also banded the first Least Auklet everreported. Gallup continues to devote much of his time to the gulls and terns,having 1,104 California Gulls and 625 Caspian Terns to his credit. Fast footworkis sometimes called for in this type of work.

Apodiformes.--Fewer hU1llIllingbirdsare banded than should be. Collister with49 Brosd-tailed Hummingbirds established a new high since only 31 had ever beenbanded up to that time. The 38 Rufous Hummingbirds banded by Kridler alsohelped establish a new high of 46. Bleitz banded the first Violet-crowned andWhite-eared Hummingbirds~ both experimental birds.

PasseriformeB.--Table 4 summarizes data by families of this order. Thegreat increase in the total birds banded is attributed principally to the13,910 Starlings, mainly by Zajanc and his co-workers. The continued spread oflarge· numbers of these birds bodes little good for the West as they bring avariety of problema e.g., damage to holly orchards, consumption of food incattle feed lots, usurpation of nest holes from more desirable species, anddefacing public buildings. Collister's 26 Catbirds, Felt's 204 Mountain Chicka-dees (net clutching imps), Stefen's 208 Slate-colored Juncos, Killpackts 254

Horned Larks, and Moldenhauer's 17 Eastern Kingbirds all contributed materiallyto new highs for these species as did Kridler's 105 Ruby~crowned Kinglets, 112Warbling Vireos, 204 Yellow Warblers, and 231 Western Tanagers. Although totalsfor some other species did not exceed those for other years, many cooperatorsbanded substantial numbers of one individual species, thus indicating thatlarge enough samples can be captured for research projects other than banding.Travis banded 142 Pinon Jays, Collister 257 Chipping and 106 Tree Sparrows,Berrey 206Gr~-crowned Rosy Finches, Rea 145 Savannah Sparrows, Balch 974AmeI'ican Goldfinches (generally high man on the totem pole with these birds),Coopersmith 69 Black-headed Grosbeaks, Felt 97 Pigmy Nuthatches, Stoner 633Cedar Waxwings and 294 Robins, Feltes 602 Cedar Waxwings and 204 Audubon War-blers, and Travis 268 Gray-headed Juncos, to name a few. Numbers of White-crowned Sparrows declined slightly from last year. Banding more than 200 wereMewaldt, the w.c. sparrow man (1,082), Kridler (386) Kitteridge (258), andCollister (225). Another 11 persons banded over 100. Accounting for over 100Golden-crowned Sparrows were Mewaldt (460), Harr-y Smith (258), Reinelt (163),Woodburns (119), Haas (104), and Elmore (102). The 1,672 Cassin's Finchesringed were more than double the previous high and can be attributed mainly tothe efforts of Thome (403), Collister (388), Neff (317), Justice (246 ), andTravis (112). Contributing to the highest number of House Finches banded since1934 were stoner (454), Rea (392), Coopersmith (235), Collister (226), andKlingenberg (220). Another 7 persons banded over 100 each. The Orchard Oriolesbanded in california by Stoner and Anna M. Smith are of considerable interest.If two were banded, how many others might there have been? Also unusual were theBlack-throated Blue Warblers captured by Bleitz in California and Kridler inOregon. The Chestnut-sided Warbler taken by Reinelt in California is the onlyother one reported for the WBBA since the one banded in 1946.

Time and space do not permit more detailed comments, and the failure toinclude any of the many other interesting records does not mean they have nosignificance. A study of individual records indicates that more than a fewbanders might be able to write about their methods of trapping birds, the researchprojects they may have in progress, or of any significant recover-y reports theymight have received.

ARTHUR C. FELT, 617 N. Newlin Ave., Whittier, Calif., reports on someSPARROW HAWKS:

"Onemorning in late May 1958 I was working in our rear garden. A pair ofSparrow Hawks were feeding four large young, two each on power pole crossarms,just back of our home in the alley. For four hours they never missed bringingin a young gopher or field mouse ever-y fifteen minutes to one of these young.They seemed to rotate around 80 that each immature hawk got his share. TheWhittier-Puente foothills are just 300 yards from our place, and a constantsupply of proper prey seemed available."

"On February 22, 1956 I banded at Hastings Reservation a Rufous-sidedTowhee (Band No. 502-44378). It was retrapped about thirty times at the sametrapping site between February 22 and April 10, 1956.

This bird was killed by a cat on Apri~ 14, 1961 at Haines, Baker County,Oregon, and reported by Rae O. Sjostrom, Regional Supervisor, Branch ofManagement and Enforcement, Portland, Oregon. I would be glad to have this men-tioned in the News since this must be the northern race that lives as far southas Humboldt County, California, and had migrated out of home range."

J. C. FINLAY, 6710 102 A-Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, solicitsinformation and correspondence from banders working on PURPIE MARTINS. "\

"I would like to ask WBBA members for any banding information accrued onrepeats or returns of Red-eyed vireos. I would like to gather information onthis species for the next several years in conjunction with a life history stuqyI am making."

ADE ZAJANC, USFWS Research Biologist, reports a total of 12,698 Starlingsbanded by the Service in Idaho, Washington and Oregon during 1961. New bandingsites are now established in Nevada and California.

DON BIEITZ, 1001 North McCadden Place, Los Angeles 38, has been travellingto some interesting places, as usual:

l~e had several interesting island trips, even though they were of shortduration, and a little too late in the season to do the volume of banding we hadanticipated there. On Prince Islet (off San Miguel in the Santa Barbara Islandgroup) where we spent some time banding, we found a Brown Booby nearly fulladult plumage. This bird was observed on numerous occasions over a two-dayperiod, sometimes as close as within fifteen feet of us.

On three other visits, each in different years but all about this same timeof the year each time (June and July), I have observed a Brown Booby on PrinceIslet.

During August we visited the Farallon Islands and noted beside the normalcompliment of nesting seabirds, a group of migrant.s in the only two little treeson the islands. We banded a group of resident Rock Wren, and a few of themigrants including Hermit Warblers. The migrants consisted of: Yellow Warblers,Yellowthroats, Orange-crowned Warblers~ Wilson's Warblers, Brewer's Sparrows,

Chipping Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, House Wrens, and one bird which appeared tobe a Black-throated Green Warbler which I was unable to capture.1f

FRED EVENDEN, 1336 Fitch Way, Sacramento 25, Calif., sends in a correction tolast year's report which credited him with 7 American Redstarts instead of thePAINTED REDSTARTS that he actually banded.

Summer Lake, Oregon~ is the focal point through which the majority of snowgeese in the Pacific Flyway funnel enroute to their wintering grounds in California.Large concentrations are to be found from earlY October until the advent of coldweather about mid-November. Most of the marsh in which the geese feed and rest .isoperated as a public hunting area, with hunters taking several thousand of thesebirds annually.

During the 1960 hunting season hunters bagged three immature geese wearingRussian bands, the first Russian bands ever recovered on the North American con-tinent. Subsequent reports from Moscow stated these birds were banded on WrangelIsland on July 18, 1960.

ApparentlY the banding work was continued in 1961, as 41 RUBsian bands wererecovered at Summer Lake and one near Adel during the 1961 Oregon hunting season.Six of these bands were dyed red, four blue, five green, twelve yellow and fifteenwere uncolored.

A letter reporting these recoveries has been submitted to Moscow, along witha request for information on their banding program, the size of the breedingcolony, where these geese were banded, and the significance of these colored bands.

A reply, if one is forthcoming, should be interesting.

PARTICIPATION WANTED:The B.C. Nest Record Scheme was initiated in 1954 to record information of

the avian species nesting on the west coast of North America. Since it began, over12,000 cards representing over 15,000 nests has been recorded.

From this information a species range, breeding period, incubation period,clutch size and ecological site preference can be calculated.

The B.C. Scheme is interested in all species and at present maintains files ofthe species nesting in British Columbia, Washington-Oregon, California, and theInterior Northwest states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming).

The Nest Record Scheme realizes that many other interested parties would liketo participate in this program. This is your invitationl Our mailing address is:

B. C. Nest Record Schemec/o Dept. of ZoologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouver 8, B.C.

for those who desire further information. Wm. J. Merilees,Nick Verbeek Compilers

SUMMARY REPORT OF INDIVIDUAL BANDERS(If no state is named, California is understood)

Adamson, H. & B.Anderson, Anders H.Argante, Mrs. A. J.Ariz. G~ (D. Belinski)Armitage, James H.Baile, Mr. ArthurBailey, Mr. BernardBalch, T. E.Baldwin, Dr. Paul H.Banks, Richard C.Baumann, Rev. SeverinBechtel, William A.Bear Riv. MoB. RefugeBerlinski, DonBitter Lakes NW RefugeBerrey, C. R.Birchett, Mrs. J.T.Bleitz, Donald L.Bosque del Apache Ref.BowdoinN.W.L. Ref.Bradley, Dorothy M.B.C. Game CommissionButtery Robert F.Cady, Walter G.Calif. F&G (F. Koslick)Camas Nat'1. WL RefugeCarver, Mona J.Channing, C 0 H.Channing, Edward C.Clark, Ruth S.Cogswell, Dr. H. L.Coleman, Philip R.Coloo G.&F. .Collister, Mrs. CarlCQPpersmith, Michael N.Crenshaw, Dr. FredCurtis; Mrs. V. K.Cutler, Mrs. Betsey D.Deer Flat NW RefugeDelong, Richard A.DeWolfe, Mrs. R. H.Diem, Kenneth L.Dixon, Ralph E.DuBois, H. M.Duffield, Mrs. John W.Elmore, M.M. & D.T.Erickson, Dr. MaryFelt, Arthur C.Fe.ltes,Charles H.Ferris; Reed W.FlaVin, John W.

995 Carol Lane3221 E. Kleindale Rd.4970 Walnut Ave.Ariz. State Bldg.23122 Carlow Rd.P.O. Box 248146 E. 6th Ave.P.O. Box 95Colo. State Univ.Nat. Hist. MuseumSt. Anthony's Sem.2203 Yori Ave.Box 603Ariz. State Bldg.Box 7125 S. Durbin St.202 E. 7th St.2047 Castilian Dr.Box 1Box J (B.H. Cater)1848 Mathers Ave.567 Burrard St.729 Pioneer St.3300 Calvert Rd.722 Capital Ave.

LafayetteTucson, Ariz.Sacramento, 21Phoenix, Ariz.TorraneeEureka, Nev.EscondidoGlennFort Collins, Colo.San Diego, 12Santa BarbaraReno, Nev.Brigham City, UtahPhoenix, Ariz.Roswell, N.M.Caspar, Wyo.Tempe, Ariz.Los Angeles, 28San Antonio, N.M.Malta, Mont.W. Vancouver, B.C.Vancouver 1, B.C.YrekaPasadena, 8SacramentoHamer, Idaho

Granite Station BakersfieldBox 666 Clear Lake, Wash.1101 Sierra Dr. Turlock28 So. Third St. Rexburg, IdahoBox 9486, Mills College Oakland2845 Edison Ave. Sacramento, 21P.O. Box 513 Ft. Collins, Colo.706 Hover Road Longmont, Colo.Camp Alpine School Blue Jay5151 N.W. Cornell Rd. Portland, 10, Ore.2412 Cohasset Rd. Chico2128 Great Highway San Francisco, 16Route 1 Nampa, IdahoGraceland College Lamoni, IowaUniv. Calif., S.B. GoletaUniv. of Wyo. Laramie, Wyo.128 - 11th St. Del MarRt. 1, Box 370 Clackamas, Ore.1472 Eskridge Way Olympia, Wash.1022 Bille Road Paradjae3505 Foothill Rd. Santa Barbara617 N. Newlin Ave. Whittier437 Myrtle Ave. Mo.desto941 S. 13th East Salt Lake City,6868 Sabado Tarde Rd. Goleta

No.13

52

427447

790510

1168912

9397

347356

3151463

1721131491251277

240

6063513

231225928262319

355432521019

42984

1122131

1371

2794

496129579

710031426

Utah 18489

~214

13122615262

1113

882

2116

14716142179

104

111

10281115

138692718105

19144

3816414

45342916

Foree, Dr. .liYnnGalicz, GeorgeGallup, Fred N., Sr.Genelly, Richard E.Graham, HatchGray, Alice G.Greipentrog, E.L.Haas, Mrs. Florence E.Hansen, Henry A.Hanson, W. C.Harrington, Robert F.Hatton, Mrs. Louise M.Henderson,'Mrs. R.N.Henningsen, Lillian K.Holmes, Richard T.Holyoke, Dr. JohnHudson, George E.Hughes, William M.Hunter, Dr. William F.Hyde, A. SidneyIdaho F & GJustice, FrankKaminsky, MurielKebbe, Chester E.Killpack, Merlin L.Kilpatrick, Mrs. HelenKing, Dr~ James R.Kinghorn, Robert G.Kinsey, Eric C.Kittredge, JosephKlimes, Robert N.Kline, Mrs. Lucille H.Klingenberg, Gerald E.Kridler, EugeneKullrich, Mrs. WalterLancaster, Gary R.Larson, Gunnar J.Legg, KenLevy, Seymour H.Linsdale, J. and M.Low, Seth H.Lyon, Jack L.Macgregor, Wallace, Jr.Mack, William E.Mackay, Mrs. J. R.Martin, Niel S.Malheur NWL RefugeMayhew, Wilbur W., Dr.McCarty, John D., Jr.McCaskie, R. GuyMcKenzie, Donald S.

6260 Castle Drive13281 - 60th Ave.142 W. 6th Ave.Humboldt State CollegeMad River Ranger Sta.6645 Heartwood Dr.1208 - 42nd St.Box 621P.O. Box 2021 BBiol. Lab. G.E. Co.P.O. Box 532200 Calera Canyon Rd.6000 Sacramento Blvd.Box 554M.V.Z. Univ. of Calif.3805 Hunts pt. Rd.Box 75, Rte. 18755 S.W. Marine Dr.164 Orchard St.Weston State College518 Front St.1917 S. Quitman St.1213 Robertson Way5414 N .E. Emerson1726 - 24th St.1889 Orchard St.Washington State u.P.O. Box 130617 Southwood Ave.2663 Tallant Rd.14940 otsego St.Rt. 1, Box 4112901 Boron Ave.Nat'1. Wildlife Ref.Rt. 3, Box 440-BBox 114512 Balra Dr.Patricks Pt. St. ParkRte. 9, Box 960657 Kirkwood Ave.P.O. Box 185Box 6334509 Marble Way1140 Riebli Rd.4014 W. 37th Ave.819 W. BabcockBox 1136727 Mt. Whitney Ave.1043 Stuart St.P.O. Box 2411 McKenzie Lane

Oakland, 5N. Surrey, B.C. Can.EscondidoArcataBridgevilleOakland, 11Milwaukie, are.SoquelJuneau, AlaskaRichland, Wash.Kaslo, B.C., Can.SalinasSacramento, 24DiabloBerkeley, 4Bellevue, Wash.Pullman, Wash.Vancouver 14, B.C.Chelsea, MichGunnison, Colo.Boise, IdahoDenver, Colo.Sacramento 18Portland 18Ogden, UtahEugene, are.Pullman, Wash.Albuquerque, N.M.RossSanta BarbaraSherman OaksBlaine, Wash.BoronBurns, Ore.Shelton, Wash.Liberty Lake, Wash.El CerritoTrinidadTucson, Ariz.SalinasRonav, Mont.Ft. Collins, Colo.CarmichaelSanta RosaVancouver 13, B.C.Bozeman, Mont.Burns, Ore.RiversideLafayetteTahoe CityStayton, Ore.

2886

2363130

39810

39712042

29652250

3515927

1496

3941

893759

415135165920

14988

53844363

821332

3038230149110

7552822552158481

28635

1086729

86

3972

121

22312

3684

108

162219

1913111534121

29187

3319

10811125567

113191

131949

196

Medicine Lake NW Ref.Merrick, George G., Jr.Mewaldt, Dr. R. L.Minidoka W L Ref.Moldenhauer, R. R.Montana F.&G. Dept.Montevista N W Ref.Moos, Louis M.Nattl. Bison RangeNattl. Elk RefugeN. M. Dept. of F & GMorton, Martin L.Muir, A.Nealey, Miss VeeNeff, Johnson A.Oakland-Park Dept.Oglesby, C.V.Ore. State Game Comm.Orians, Gordon H.Orr, Dr. Robert T.Parratt, Lloyd P.Parsons, WilliamPayne, Donald E.Petersen, P.C., Jr.Payton, Leonard J.Payton, Sidney B.Pinkas, LeoPogue, William H. ""Rea, Fr. Amadeo M.Recher, HarryRed Rock Lake M.W. Ref.Reinelt, Mrs. FrankRichardson, CarlRogers, ThomasRomig, Mrs. AgnesRoot, Richard B.Ruby Lakes N.W. Ref.Ryder, Dr. Ronald A.Sacramento N..W. R£fugeSalton Sea NoW ..R fugeSarles, John G ..Schultz, Mrs" Zella N.Schumacher, Mrs. DellaSmedley, Constance M.Smith, Anna MargaretSmith, Emily D.Smith, Harry R ••Smith, Walton A ..Sowls, Igle Ko

Stabler, Robert Mo

Stallcup, L & R

Medicine Lake, Mont.Klamath Falls, Ore.San Jose 14Rupert, IdahoPullman, Wash.Helena, Mont.Montevista, Colo.Billings, Mont.Moiese, Mont.

Box C Jackson, Wyo.Box 2060 State C. Bldg. Santa Fe, N. M.52 C No. Fairway Pullman, Wash.4386 Ledger Ave. Burnaby 2, B.C., Can.Rt. 2 Colbert, Wash.Fed. Center Bldg. Denver, Colo.634 - 14th St. (Stallcup) OaklandP.O. Box 678 Reno, Nev.P.O. Box 4137 Portland 8, Ore.Zo~l. Dept. U. of W. Seattle 5, Wash.Cal. Acad. of Sciences San Francisco500 W. 14th St. UplandBox 1109 (Pintar) Ely, Nev.2232 Greenbrier St. Springfield, Ore.620 E. 30th St. Davenport, IowaArctic H. Research Cen. Ancho~age, AlaskaR.D. 2, Box 260 Fillmore3127 Volk Ave. Long Beach 8Box 768 Winnemucca, Nev.San Luis Rey College San Luis ReyStanford University Stanford

Monida, Mont.Santa CruzAshland, Ore.Spokane 62, Wash.Pacific PalisadesBerkeley 4Nev.Ft. Collins, Colo.WillowsCalipatriaS. Burnaby, B.C.,Can.Mountlake Terr.,Wash.Seattle, Wash.Colbert, Wash.LarkspurSaratogaSanta CruzGridleyTucson, Ariz.Colorado Springs,Oakland

725165

1817153463674

1302749

14571

365753

136110

213073

5235947

164

121591

8647

530661

701436

647

74156

13223

:.101392

1914094060

1129844185109

72500215217

Colo 1074

4500 Bisbee St.4150 Golf DriveRt. 4Apt. 6D, S.Fairway WSUP.O. Box 566Box 1342

344 Arroyo Seco647 Clawson Rd.E. 10820 Maxwell351 Alma Real Dr.MVZ U.C.Ruby ValleyColo. State Univ.Rt. 1, Box 311Box 2473490 Smith Ave.22809 W. 53rd Ave.7027 Sycamore Ave.Rt. 2207 Alexander Ave.19651 Glen Una Dr.1549 Escalona Dr.P.O. Box 65Umv. of Ariz.Colorado College6227 Buenaventura Ave.

1318385

4233

16101

1937

24244615121

11112023151

1063

46

398155549442

28152015122942425

Steel, Paul E.Stef'un,R. M.Stillwater W. M. AreaStock, "Albert DeanStockton, Mrs. FrancisStokeley, John M.Stoner, Emerson A.Storm, Dr. Robert M.Sturges, Dr. FranklinSullivan, Mrs. BereneSwartz, L~ G.SWinehart, D.B., Jr.Taylor, Mr. & Mrs. W.Thompson, Charles G.Thorne, Dr. Oakleigh IITravis, J. & M.Turnbull N.W. Ref'ugeTwining, Wilbur E.UnknownUtah F. & G.Washburn, Viola E.Ward, Walter P.Weston, Dr. Henry, Jr.Willapa N.W. Ref'ugeWilliams, LaidlawWilliams, R. & M.Wilson; Dr. Howard E.Winter, Frank C.Woodside, DavidWoody, Jack D.Wooli'olk,E. J.Wyo. G. & F. Comm.Yocom, Charles F.Zajanc, AdolphZWickel, Fred & R.Bauer

Columbia NW Ref'ugeBox 4015, Star Rt. ABox 592305 Douglas St.Granite Station45 Marinita Ave.285 East LOre.Stage College1556 Windsor St.Rte. 3, Box 280Univ. of'Alaska5512 Valhalla Dr.Box 360, Rte. 1587 Arlington1225 University Ave.4258 FairwayRte. 3, Box 107Pinecrest Mt. SchoolUnknown1596 W. North Temple1013 Walnut Ave.148 Euclid Ave.San Jose Stage CollegeIlwacoRte. 1.•Box 1281051 OVerlook Rd.2205 - 74th St.904 N. Rexi'ordDr.St. Dept. L. & N.R.P.O. Box 481392 Colorado Ct.P.O;;Box 2931666 Charles Ave.U.C., Davis2170 W. 44th St.

Othello, Wash. 208Spenard, Alaska 366Fallon, Nevada 2Salt Lake City, Utah 75Bakersfield 54San Rafael 176Benicia 1892Corvallis, Ore. 160Ashland, Ore. 94Boulder, Colo. 646College, Alaska 102Carmichael 445Escabanaba, Mich 941Berkeley 7 511Boulder, Colo. 596Los Alamos, N .M. 1253Cheney, Wash. 238Pinecrest 2(Ore. and Wash.) 157Salt Lake City, Utah 1620Santa Cruz 266Los Gatos 4San Jose, 14 113Wash. 157Carmel 20Berkeley 8 18Mercer Island, Wash. 349Beverly Hills 399Hilo, Hawaii 275Wells, Nev. 220Lafayette 229Laramie, Wyo. 25Arcata 21Davis 197Vancouver, B.C.,Can. 140

4161615

114814

850328

3420IT72519

1028

27514

22222

11221411

Early in April we will transport by commercial aircraf'tabout 150 White-crowned and 100 Golden-crowned Sparrows (genus Zonotrichia) f'romSan Jose, Cali-f'orniato Louisiana. They will be released in suitable habitat along the Missis-sippi River just south of'Baton Rouge. This site is where three earlier releasesof'50 birds each were made in October and December of'1961 and February 1962(Western Bird Bander 37(1):4-6). None of'the birds f'romthese early releases hasyet been sighted outside of'Louisiana. Each bird carries a regular U.S. Fish and

The fresh nuptial plumage of each White-crowned Sparrow will be marked withbright dyes to facilitate identification of birds being used in this investigation.They will be marked as follows. (1) The white central strip on the head will bebright red and will extend from the bill to the back of the head. On either sideof this red stripe, the natural black, white and black strips will remain unaltered.(2) The white wing bars will be dyed red. (3) Below the white throat will beplaced first a 1-inch band of blue and second a 1-inch band of bright red dye.Each Golden-crowned Sparrow will be unmarked except for a bright green spot in themiddle of the upper breast. The birds will carry these markings until they undergothe post-nuptial molt in July.

Immediately following the release at Baton Rouge, we will ask that localnewspapers in the States and Provinces of middle and western North America makeappropriate announcements. It is our hope that some of these birds on their waynorth or northwest (?) will be seen and reported to us by ornithologists and bythe general public. Letters to us should include as many details as possibleincluding time and place of sighting, a detailed description of the bird(s), andnames and addresses of any persons able to corroborate the observation. If thebirds are found dead or captured alive, we would appreciate the band number (andband from a dead bird). Communications regarding sightings of these marked birdsshould be addressed to Prof. L. Richard Mewa1dt, Department of Biological Sciences,San Jose State College, San Jose 14, California or to Prof. Robert J. Newman,Museum of Zoology, Louisiana State University, Baton ROuge, LOuisiana.

Report of a recovered band should always be made to the Banding Office, Fishand Wildlife Service in Washington, D. C.

It is hoped that some individuals will be sighted on their nesting groundsin Washington, British Cq1umbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories or Alaska.Four recent (1959-61) recoveries of birds of one of the subspecies (Zonotrichia1euco s u etensis) from the same flock have come from extreme northern Wash-ington Blaine and extreme southern British Columbia (Vancouver and Cassidy).Although we have no northern recoveries of the other two groups (~. 1. gambe1iiand~. atricapi11a), they are both known to nest from. the Cascades of northernWashington, through all Canada and well into Alaska.

SOME; RETURNS AND RECOVERIES DURING 1961

Many banders reported their returns and recoveries on the reverse side of theWBBA annual reports of birds banded during 1961. This is the first time that areport of this kind has been requested by WBBA, and was in response to frequentsuggestions from banders that reporting and publication of the more importantreturns and recoveries be made on an annual basis.

Some of the returns and recoveries reported by banders were necessarilyomitted from the following tabulation due to lack of space.

Mountain ChickadeeChestnut-backed "Plain TitmouseMockingbird

Idyllwild, Calif.Oakland, Calif.

" "

9-13-577-22-573-23-579-22-56

Calaveras Big Trees,Calif.. 8-10-57

Hermit Thrush Berkeley, Ca1if~ 12-24-57Brewer's Blackbird Benicia, Calif. 3-15-54Western Tanager" Idyllwild, Calif. 5-7-58Brown-headed

CowbirdHouse Finch

" "

Rufous-sidedTowhee" "

Brown TowheeII IIII II

11 "

Oregon JuncoChipping SparrowWhite-crowned

SparrowII IIII IIII "

II IIII IIII II

Golden-crownedSparrowII IIII II

II "

" "" "II II

Lincoln's SparrowSong Sparrow

Oakland, Calif.Beverly Hills, Ca1.Benicia, Calif.

" "Modesto, Calif.Beverly Hills, Cal.Salinas, Calif.

Vancouver, B.C." "

Oakland, Calif." II

"Berkeley, Calif.Olympia, Wash.Escondido, Calif.

Modesto, Calif.""San Jose, Cal.

Benicia, Calif."

5-11-609-2-572-23~552-28-542-7-538-23-511-27-61

10-13-5610-10-56

1-21-568-28-55

12-25-543-20-52

12-27-5412-3-5910-24-572-20-552-20-5512-16-5510-10-54

2-23-543-12-54

San Rafael, Calif. Jan. '57" Nov. '56

Oakland, Calif. 10-20-56" 11-20-55

Modesto, Ca1. 10-30-54" 11-15-53

Berkeley, Calif. 11-30-52Santa Barbara, Ca1. 3-3-59Oakland, Calif. 1-12-57

samesamesamesame

samesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesame

samesamesamesamesarnesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesamesame

Bander (or reporter)10-26-61 ArthurC. Felt

1-18-61 Howard L. Cogswell10-10-61" ""seen through-out 1961"Emi1y D. Smith7-1-61

12-7-616-9-617-21-614-15-617-17-611-11-611-10-61

12-13-612-6-611-23-62

1-19-612-12-614-20-611-14-614-15-613-6-613-12-612-14-61

D.B. SWinehart, Jr.C. G. ThompsonEmerson A. StonerArthur C. FeltHoward L. CogswellFrank C. WinterEmerson A. Stoner

" "Charles H. FeltesFrank C. WinterJean M. & Mary Ann

Linsda1eDorothy M. Bradley

" "Lynn Foree, M.D.Howard L. Cogswell

II "

C. G. ThompsonMrs. J.W. DuffieldFred N. Gallup

2-7-61" "11-22-60 Chas. H. Feltes3-26-61" "3-24-61" "12~31-61 L. Richard Mewa1dt1-10-61 Emerson A. Stoner4-3-61" "Dec. '61Dec. '614-15-613-11-6111-4-6111-5-612-19-611-28-614-2-61

John M. Stokely" "Howard L. Cogswell" "Chas. H. Feltes" "C.G. Thompson

Jos. KittredgeHoward L. Cogswell

Great Blue Heron Golconda, Nev.Blk. cr. Night Heron II II

Blue-winged Teal Othello, Wash.

" " " "" " " "Pintail Othello, Wash.II Ruby Lake, Nev.II Cheney, Wash.

Long-eared OwlAsh-throated

FlycatcherMockingbirdRobin

"

Starling"

Cape Thompson,Alaska

Recovered at: Bander (or reporter)6-1-61 Fallon, Nev. 11-11-61 Wm. H. Pogue7-9-61" 1-2-62 II II

8-31-60 Costa Rica 3-2-61 Columbia Nat.Wildlife Refuge,Wash.

8-31-60 " 1-9-618-31-60 El Salvador 4-10-619-30-60 Guatemala 10-13-619-3-61 Crescent Lake

Ariz.9-25-59 British

Honduras

9-10-59 Creole, La.5-2-56 Littleton,

Colo.

12-27-59 Turnbull Nat.Wildlife Refuge,

Wash."1960 duckseason"

7~13-60 Point Hope, 9-27-60 L. G. SwartzAlaska

7-5-60 San BIas,Nayarit, Mex. 3-7-61 Richard E. GenellyPonoka, Alberta 4-1-61 Johnson A. Neff

Humboldt Bay,.Calif.

Littleton, Colo. 6-2-59Placerville, Cal.6-l8-60 Colima, Mex. 2-18-61 Fr. Amadeo M. ReaBenicia, Cal. 9-2-56 Benicia, Cal. 1-18-61 Emerson A. StonerSpokane, Wash. 6-27-60 Trail, B.C. 10-10-60 Thos. H. RogersBerkeley, Cal. 2-27-61 Port Coquitlam,

B.C. 7-2-61 C. G. ThompsonWhittier, Cal. 4-18-60 Shell Lake,

Saskatchewan 9-10-60 Arthur C. FeltSacramento, Cal. 3-14-61 Battle Ground,

Wash. 6-10-61 Flo. A. Henderson3-24-60 Tiburon, Cal. 1-7-61 Emerson A. Stoner2-28-61 Vancouver,B.C. 8-23-61" I!

3-7-61 Sweet Home,Ore. 8-18-61 I! I!

Derby, Colo. 1-4-61 Gimli, Manitoba 4-15-61 Johnson.A. NeffRoosevelt, Utah 3-16-58 Saratoga, Wyo. 4-16-61 Merlin L.

KillpackBrown-headed

Cowbird Mercury, Nev.Rufous-sided Towhee Hastings

Reservation,Cal. 2-22-56 Haines, Ore.

Benicia, Cal.I!

11-14-54 Oakland, Cal.3-4-61 Richmond, B.C.

11-20-54 Oakland, Cal.

4-14-61 Jean M. ~ MaryAnn Linsdale

May 1961 Howard L.Cogswell

5-25-61 Emerson A. Stoner12-2-60 How. L. Cogswell

White-crowned Sparrow Benicia, Cal.Golden I! I! Oakland, Cal.

WESTERN BIRD BANDERA QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE WESTERN BIRD· BANDING ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF ANNUAL MEETING. • • • ••••••••••BIRD-BANDING ON THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Robert 1. Bowman •HISTOPLASMOSIS AND STARLINGS, James Kieran, M. D.REPORT OF GULL BANDING IN MONTANA, Louis M. Moos ••PHOTOGRAPHING THE ESKJMO CURIEW, Don Bleitz • • • • .A WAY TO "GET WITH IT", Howard E. Wilson, M. D ••••••THE REVISED CONSTITUTION •••••••••••••

Address correspondence for the Western Bird Bander to William K. Kirsher,Editor, 1167 Lynbrook Way, San Jose 29, Calif. Membership correspondenceshould go to Tom Balch, Business Manager, Box 9, Glenn, California

PRESIDENT Don Bleitz, 1001 No. McCadden Place, Los Angeles 38, Calif.1ST VICE PRESIDENT Eugene Kridler, Box 113, Burns, Oregon2ND VICE PRESIDENT Lillian Henningsen, Box 554, Diablo, CaliforniaSECRETARY Dr. Robert I. Bowman, 1069 Sterling Ave., Berkeley, Calif.BUSINESS MANAGER Tom Balch, Box 9, Glenn, California

The 37th Annual Meeting of the WBBA was held May 19 and 20 at Diablo, Cali-fornia, Mr. and Mrs. Harold P. Henningsen were hosts. Saturday afternoon wastaken up with getting acquainted and with informal discussions on matterspertaining to banding. In the evening there was a barbecue supper followedby a program of talks, slides and movies of banding activities. On thisprogram were Dr. James Kieran who talked on HistoplasmoSs(see published paperthis issue), Mr. Charles H. Feltes who, in addition to talking about hismany years experience with Cedar waxwings, had a most interesting display oftraps and accessories. Arthur C. Felt of Whittier offered some further

observations on his studies of Bush-tits, and John McCarty narrated a film ofhis quest of the Harpy eagle in Mexico.

BANDING IN THE GAIAPAGOS ISLANDS, by Dr. Robert 1. Bowman (see paperthis issue)

CIRCADIAN ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF A ROBIN, by Angelo CortopassiLONGEVITY OF BANDED BIRDS, by Dr. L. Richard MewaldtA DURABLE JAY, by Dr. Howard CogswellMIGRAT ION PATTERNS OF WHITE-CRCWNED SPARROWS, by Dr. L. Richard

Mewaldt and Angelo CortopassiPHOTOGRAPHING THE ESKlMO CURLEW, by Don Bleitz (see paper this issue)PLUMAGE CHANGES IN GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, by Dr. Howard Cogswell

The business meeting was called to order at 2:00 in the afternoon by WilliamKirsher, acting in the absence of the president, Mrs. otis H. Smith. Aresolution of thanks to Mrs. Smith for her services to the WBBA was unanimouslypassed. In another action Mrs. Smith was appointed official WBBA delegate tothe XIII International Ornithological Congress.

Dr. Mewaldt presented the revised Constitution which, after two minorchanges from the floor, was adopted (see revised Constitution-this issue).Tom Balch, Business Manager, presented his Annual Financial Report for theyear ending March 31, 1962. The report showed a balance in the checkingaccount of $656.97. Savings account, $500.00 (Life Memberships). Combinedtotal, $1,156.97, for a net increase of $25.30. The report was accepted withappreciation.

The chairman of the Membership Committee, Mrs. Enid Austin, reported 539active banders in the area. Two hundred and sixteen are either active or sus-taining members of the WBBA. Twenty-eight are associate members, for a totalof 244 paid members. The report was accepted with commendation.

A vote of thanks was offered to Emerson Stoner for his tremendous work incompiling the Annual Report, and to Bill Kirsher for his work as Editor ofthe Western Bird Bander.

A new slate of officers was elected (see above) and the meeting adjournedat 3:45 p.m.

Robert I. BowmanAssociate Professor of Biology, Department of Biology

San Francisco State CollegeThe Galapagos Islands are well known to biologists because they harbor a

curious lot of plants and animals which greatly influenced the thinking ofCharles Darwin when he visited the archipelago in 1835. Some of the most

noteworthy of the biological curiosities occuring in Galapagos are the birds,including a flightless cormorant (largest member of its tribe), a "tropical"penguin, a unique albatross, hordes of boobies of three species, two speciesof indigenous gull, a large shearwater (Pterodroma phaeopygia) known only tobreed in Hawaii and Galapagos, the American flamingo (occuring naturally inno other area in the Pacific region), and a plethora of drab-colored fin.ches,called Darwin's Finches, in which there is a seeming~ endless range ofvariation in size and shape of bill •

. Studies on the population ecology of Galapagos birds have been initiatedby the young Swiss ornithologist, Raymond ~~que, past Director of the newlyestablished Charles Darwin Research Station on Indefatigable Island. Mr.L{v€que started his banding of sea-birds in 1960, concentrating on thealbatross, cormorant, gulls, and boobies. Using "rings" provided by theBritish Museum of Natural History, L(veque has numbered over 1,000 albatrossand many hundreds of· the other species. By such marking methods it will bepossible to follow the breeding cycle of individual birds, to estimate thesize of breeding populations, to determine the duration of the pair-bond andindividual longevity, to trace migratory movements, plus numerous otherimportant aspects of avian biology. Alreaqy Mr. Leveque has shown that somespecies of sea-birds breed more than once a year, that the population sizeof the Galapagos albatross may be in excess of 4,000 individuals, and thatthe flightless cormorants remain paired for more than one breeding season.

In November, 1961, this writer started to band individuals of severalspecies of Darwin's finches at Academy Bay. Using sand-colored mist netsprovided by Mr. Don Bleitz, and metal bands prOVided by the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, over 150 finches of 6 species, were numbered. The finch-banding project was initiated primari~ to follow the movements of the birdsfrom one vegetation zone to another, and to trace the succession of plumagesin individual birds.

In future the banding program will be continued and expanded. It isplanned to use American bands on the terrestrial birds and British bands onthe sea-birds.

Occasionally we get reports from people whof1nd pigeon bands and don'tknow what they are or what to do with them. As far as we know there is nocentral clearing house for such information, but word has come to us thatMr. Leon Babbett, 649 58th Ave., Oakland, California, is interested incooperating .with pigeon band finders.

Hist.oplasmosis is a pulmonary disease ,somewhat similar to tuberculosis.The etiological agent is a fungus, histoplasma capstilatum, which is inhaledfrom infected soil, giving rise to an inflammation wi,thin the lung tissue,causing symptoms of' cough, sputum, and fever. In 95% of the patients, thesymptoms soon subside, and the episode is finished, although·occasionallypermanent pulmonary scars remain. Five percent of the patients develop achronic disease, which may necessitate surgery, and occasionally progresses todeath.

The fungus grows in moist, cool, fertile soils. Epidemics have beenfrequently associated with soil contaminated with chicken and pigeon droppings,as well as by bat droppings, and, on one report, oilbird droppings.

In the past several years, for the first time, starlings have been impli-cated. The largest such epidemic has been reported by M. L. Furcolow, M. D.,and collaborators, discussing an epidemic in Mexico, Missouri, in the June 15,1961 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The outbreak occurredin April 1959, at which time 64 Boy Scouts had been at work together clearinga large city park. The main activity had been raking leaves and debris intopiles. Of the 64 Scouts who were exposed here, 62 developed one or more ofthe signs of histoplasmosis.

The site in which they worked was heaVily overgrown with brush and smalltrees, and had been a favorite roosting place for starlings for eight years.The park was inhabited by thousands of these birds, and their droppings almostcompletely covered the ground in this area. Soil samples taken from the areaof the starling droppings showed large numbers of histoplasma capsulatum.Soil samples taken outside of this area, did not reveal this fung'llB. Soilsamples taken from around the park, where no starling droppings were foundwere negative for histoplasma capsulatum.

It appears quite obvious that the boys were infected with fungus from thecontaminated soil. It is known that the birds themselves were not the carriersof the disease, but that their droppings created an ideal medium for the multi-plication of this pathologic fungus. Since this initial report by Dr. Furcolow,several other well documented cases of histoplasmosis have been reported inindividuals working in soils in the area of starling roosts.

The significance to ornithologists is quite clear. For those who work inareas which are shaded, and have been contaminated Qy droppings from starlings,respiratory protection from infection by histoplasma capsulatum should bemaintained. The wearing of a simple gauze or paper mask will suffice. Inaddition, those individuals who are likely to be exposed to this type of workshould probably have a histoplasmin skin test in order to determine whether ornot they have already been infected. If the test is negative, it can berepeated in the future and used to determine whether infection has occurred,should the individual again become exposed.

In summary, an epidemic of histoplasmosis ,a pulmonary disease inhumans, caused by exposure to soil contaminated by the droppings of starlings,is discussed. The significance to ornithologists is outlined.

The gull banding program was started in July, 1954, when Warden RaySomers advised that he knew where there were a large number of birds thatcould be banded. On July 13, Warden Somers and I visited Aarod Lake, wherethere was a colony of California Gulls nesting on an island. The island isabout an acre and a half in size. Aarod Lake is located in Teton Coun~, southof Conrad, and west .of Brady, Montana.

We banded the young gulls on the 13th of July. All of the birds were hatchedby this time. Many were large enough so that they went out on the water whenwe arrived. Additional banding was done by Mr. Somers on the 19th of July.A total of 166 gulls were banded.

California Gulls nest close together on the ground and banding is simple ifyou are at the colony at the right time. Birds are easily picked up from theground or in the vegetation, banded, and released .•

On June· 25, 1955, we banded on the same island, and 375 gulls were banded. In1956, Qanding was done on June 27, and 381 gulls were banded. In 1957, therewere no gulls nesting on Aarod Lake. We think the colony had moved to Freeze-out Lake, also called Greenfields Lake.

Freezeout Lake is located about 25 miles south. of Aarod Lake. Freezeout is anatural lake in which the water level was raised by drainage from an irrigationproject. The excess water from drainage ditches emptied into Freezeout Lake,continually raising the water level. In 1956, the water level reached thehighway, and it became necessary to do something to reduce the water level.The Montana Fish and Game Department started work on Freezeout project, whichhas 3,000 to 4,000 acres of water and marshland and developed it as a water-fowl project. A large drainage ditch was constructed to lower the waterlevel and manage the area. This created some islands in the lake and thegulls were nesting on the islands. In 1957 we banded 289 California gullsand 200 Ring-billed Gulls at Freezeout Lake. No banding was done at AarodLake.

In 1958, gulls were still nesting at Freezeout but not at Aarod Lake. Webanded 108 Ring-billed Gulls, 400 California Gulls, and 55 Franklin gulls atFreezeout that year.

The nesting habit.s of the Franklin Gulls are different from those of theCalifornia or Ring-billed Gulls. Franklin Gull nests are some distance apartand are scattered around in the shallow-water areas. The nest is built up

of vegetation in water about 6 to 8 fuches deep. The nest is built 6 to 10inches above the water level. Young birds leave the nest when they areapproached. It is therefore necessary to band them while they are still verysmall or thftbirds will all take off over the water. Banding Franklin Gullsis much more time·consuming than banding California or Ring-billed Gulls.

In 1959, a biologist was making a study of gull-waterfowl relations andwas collecting gulls and trapping adults at Freezeout Lake. We believe thatthe disturbance may have caused some of the gulls to return to Aarod Lake,where two colonies nested. One part of the island was used by California Gullsand the other end was used by Ring-billed Gulls. The colonies were contingent,but we could see no intermingling of California and Ring-billed Gulls nests.

In 1960, the gUll colony at Aarod Lake was very large. We banded 630California Gulls and 104 Ring-billed Gulls. Also, 60 Franklin Gulls were bandedat Freezeout Lake.

In 1961, the number of gulls at Aarod Lake was reduced and only 316 Cali-fornia Gulla and 48 Ring-billed Gulls were banded. Some banding was also doneat Freezeout Lake, where 91 California Gulls were banded on a man-made island.Also, 251 Franklin Gulls were banded.

Franklin Gulls have not nested at Aarod Lake since there is no shallowwater. Another observation at Aarod is that there are two islands in thelake and only one is u~ed by the nesting gulls. During the banding operation,many of the young gulls leave the nesting island and go out onto the water. Assoon as we leave the area, the gulls return to the island. At times when ayoung gull gets into the wrong territory, it may be driven off by adult gulls.Some of the gulls never live long enough to get off the island. The loss ofyoung is terrific. There are many young gulls dead on the island at the timeof banding. Some of the bands from dead birds are recovered in the fall orthe following year.

Following is a summary of some of the unusual band returns which havebeen obtained from the banding operation at Aarod and Freezeout Lakes.

BandedDate PlaceCalifornia Gulls7/13/54 Aarod Lake6/25/55 "

" 11

" "" "6/27/56 11

" 11

6/17/58 Freezeout Lake6/18/58 (7) 11

6/19/60 (6) Aarod Lake" "6/25/55 "6/28/59 "

RecoveredDate Place

10/18/54 White Rock, B. c.6/13/58 Sauvie Island, B. C.4/1/59 San Jose del Cabo, Mexico8/19/60 Vancouver, B. c.7/55 Sand Beach State Park, Oregon11/30/56 Redondo Beach, California11/16/56 Cabo San Lucas, Baj a Calif., Mexico3/9/59 LaPaz, Baja California, Mexico4/5/59 Freezeout Lake, Montana8/60 Vancouver, B. C.10/25/60 Lake Cowitchen, B. C.6/60 Duchess, Alberta, Canada7/7/61 Fort Bragg, California

BandedDate Place

RecoveredDate Place

Ring-billed Gulls

6/15/57 Freezeout LaketI "

6/28/59 Aarod Lake" "6/19/60 "

6/11/59 Freezeout Lake, Montana3/26/58 Colonia Ria Mayo, Sonora, Mexico3/21/60 Mexicala, Baja California, Mexico8/29/60 Vancouver, B. C.9/16/60 Big Bear Lake, California

Of the total of 3,038 California Gulls banded, there have been 132 returns-84 of these were made at Vancouver, B. C., by Mr. R. F. Oldaker, who made theobservations and read the band numbers with a homemade telescope.

Of the 566 Ring-billed Gulls banded, there have been only six returns--one of which was observed by Mr. Oldaker.

1954 7/13-191955 6/251956 6/271957 6/22

6/151958 6/18-7/10

6/17-181959 6/281960 6/91961 6/17

6/18

California GullsRing-billed GullsFranklin Gulls

Montana Gull Banding SummaryCalifornia Ring-Billed Franklin

Aarod Lake Freezeout Lake Aarod Lake Freezeout Lake Freezeout Lake" ------ .--166375381

289200108 55

400490 100630 104 60316 48

91 251Banded Returns

3,038 132560 6366

From Chandler S. Robbins comes a report of birds he banded on Midway andK~e during 1961. These birds were not included in the Annual Report in theApril issue: Blue-faced Booby, 50; Great Frigate-bird, 10; Laysan Albatross,4,078; Black-footed Albatross, 2,681; Bonin Island Petrel, 192.

Each fall there was a great gathering of Eskimo curlews. They came from their nesting grounds on the far-flungtundra all the way from Hudson Bay to Alaska, and funneled into a narrow strip along the coast of Labrador. Herethey paused to fatten on "Curlew berries" before taking off on their long over-water migration in company with theGolden plovers to the Argentine pampas. Audubon noted that, in 1833, they made their first appearance in Labradornear the harbor of Bras d'Or on the 29th of July during a thick fog. "They evidently arrived from the north. andarrived in such dense flocks as to remind me of the passenger pigeons."

The abundance of the birds was confirmed by F. C. Berteau, a government official on Labrador: "Up to 1889Dough birds, or Eskimo curlews, were very numerous in Labrador from late August to the end of September. The HudsonBay people at Cartwright annually put up large numbers in hermetically sealed tins for the use of the company'sofficials in London and Montreal. I have seen as many as 2,000 birds hung up in their store as the result of oneday's shooting by some 25 or 30 guns."

Nova Scotia was the principal take-off stage for their southern migration, but some stopped over, especiallyduring storms, at Nantucket and the New England coast. Forbush speaks of a great flight which occurred on Nantucketon August 29, 1863, ".••when Golden plovers and Eskimo curlews landed on the island in such numbers as to almostdarken the sun. Between seven and eight thousand birds were killed on the island and on Tuckernuck .••"

Thus they were killed as they gathered to fly south. They were hunted on their wintering grounds in SouthAmerica; but it was on the spring migration while passing through the United States up the Mississippi Valley,particularly in Nebraska, that they suffered their greatest losses. A Professor Swenk describes it: "During theflights the slaughter of these poor birds was appalling and almost unbelievable. Hunters would drive out fromOmaha and shoot the birds without mercy until they had literally slaughtered a wagonload of them. the wagons beingactually filled, and often with the sideboards on at that. Sometimes when the flight was unusually heavy and thehunters were well supplied with ammunition their wagons were too quickly and easily filled, so whole loads of thebirds would~ dumped on the prairie, their bodies forming piles as large as a couple of tons of coal, where they wouldbe allowed to rot while the hunters proceeded to refill their wagons with fresh victims, and thus further gratifytheir lust of killing. In one instance a single shot from an old muzzle-loading shotgun into a flock of thesecurlews as they veered by, the hunter brought down 28 birds at once, while for the next half mile every now and thena fatally wounded bird would drop to the ground, dead."

The commercial killing of Eskimo curlews was stimulated by the failing supply of Passenger pigeons. In 1890alone two Boston firms received from the West 40 barrels closely packed with curlew and (Golden) plover, with 25dozen curlew and 60 dozen plovers to the barrel.

But the species dies hard. In 1926 there was a sight observation in Nebraska, another in Argentina in 1939,and one in Galveston, Texas in 1945. And now here is a 1962 picture of one bird of the pitifully small but persis-tent remnant of that once marvelous population that could "almost darken the sun."

During the latter part of March 1962, through the courtesy of Mr. VictorEmanuel, I was introduced to Jerry and Nancy Strickling of Houston, Texas.

They informed me that a bird which they believed to be an Eskimo Curlewhad been sighted on Galveston Island. A similar bird had been sighted aboutthe same time of the year on two p~evious seasons. .

I flew down to Houston and met the Strick1ings along with several of theirfriends, who devoted several days toward helping me observe and photograph thisbird. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Ellis, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Deshayes also spent atremendous amount of time in the field, assisting in my effort to successfullyphotograph it.

This small Curlew (which we hesitated to identif,y conclusively) stayedin the exact same field and within the same general area for a number of days.Although the field was large and nicely cropped (a cattle range), we couldalmost always find the bird within a few minutes after arriving at this field.

This particular bird was quite solitary in its habits, and considerablysmaller than the Whimbre1s and Long-billed Curlews which were also feeding inthe same field, often within a foot or so of the small Curlew.

I set up a blind in the field, and succeeded in making a few photographsof the bird in company with the other two species that were present. Whilestuqying the bird, we noted carefully its comparative size with the GoldenPlovers and Black-bellied Plovers which frequented the field, as well as theWhimbre1s and Long-billed Curlews.

Further, using a spotting scope, we were able to see the bird for a con-siderable period of time against a particular plant of the area, and stuqy itat length so that we were able to determine the exact proportions. Regardingthe bird1s normal perched length - in comparison with the length of the plantand later by actually measuring this plant, leaving the spotting scope righton the spot, I came up with the accurate average perched length of the birdof lei inches from tip of bill to tip of tail. This is not to be confusedwith the stretched length of mu;:seumskins. The actual interception at tip ofthe bill to the tip of the tail of the bird in its normal perching position.

The weather was very uncertain during my six-day stay. However, I madesome photographs which were usable. The wind was blowing very hard, andgusts waved the material of my blind so that the.bird was a little wary ofcoming c1Qse, although it was not particularly wary of us. On a number ofoccasions, I approached to within forty feet of this particular bird.

While we were there, Dr. George Lowry of Louisiana State University camedown to see this bird and stuqy it closely. Everyone was a little reluctantto determine for sure that it was an Eskimo Curlew. While we were allexamining this one bird, and I was attempting to photograph it, Robert Deshayesstarted searching in a nearby field and discovered ano.ther bird similar inshape and size to the one we had all been observing except that the bill was

The one that we had beeI\ observing first had a bill appro:ximately 1.45times the distance from the base of the bill to the back of the'head. Thenew one that Bob Deshayes found had a bill length approximately fro~, 1.,2 to1.25 t;tmes the distance from the base of the bill to the back of the head.

Both birds were jU$t about 25 percent larger than a Golden Plover.Dr. Lowry, after observiI\g the first bird thoroughly, left to continue onhis trip •. Nancy Strickling went after him, and succeeded in overtaking himsome 20 miles away, so he was able to return and have a good lQokat thissecond bird trom only a few feet away. He and his group were abl.~,to observefrom only 35 feet away and here, definitely, all of us agreed was atypicalEskimo Curlew. '

It is mY belief that the first bird we observed is a female, and that thislater bird is a male.

I set up a blind in the field where the male bird was, and spent a con-siderable amount of time here. I finally succeeded in making usable photo-graphs. I set nets for both birds, and even though the cattl~ cooperated andstayed away from the birds, the incessant wind and openness of the'situationmade it a difficult area in which to work.

On several occasions we flushed the bird a1lnost d.1rectly into the net, butthe high wind frustrated all our efforts. Finally after securing same photo-graphs of both th~ male and the female, I was again photographing a male whenI suddenly became aware of another Eskimo Curlew standing almost beside theone I was photographing. Immediately the first bird, which had been usingthis feeding territory, ran at the new arrival and continued to jab at him withits bill until he was able to flush the new individual which apparently wasalso a male.

About fifteen feet further on, I discovered another'similar bird,undoubtedly also a male. The bird I had been photographing again immediatelyran at this second bird and drove it away as well. It was indeed a thrill tosee three Eskimo C't'lrlewBaltogether in one field, fighting with each other.

On several occasions the male bird hovered just above my blind, perhaps15 feet over my head, calling in a tremulous whistle somewhat reminiscent ofthe call of the Long-billed Dowitchers on their nesting grounds. It also hada "tee dee dee" note, usually either two or three syllables.

In the six days that I spent there, part of them in a "blind" in a fieldwith the bird, I was able to observe both the female and the males very closelyand transcribed and dictated my notes about them into my portable tape recorder.

We were able to drive the bird very well, and the male in particular wewere able to drive nicely. However, something always seemed to happen justwhen we were getting the bird within 10 or 15 feet of the blind in good sun,so that it was flushed away. On one occasion, a car stopped on the highwaysome distance away, and two curious people came walking out into the privatefield right up to the blind to see what we were doing, and thus frightenedaway the bird which at that time was just walking into range with full sun,

On another occasion, just as my friend Ward Beebe was ready to drive thebird right within 10 or 15 feet of me in front of the blind, a truck droveinto the ranch and frightened the bird away again. The same truck returnedand did the exact thing again about 20 minutes later.

However, I was able to get some very nice, interesting shots of thislittle known species. I had hoped to band the bird, but guess that will haveto wait for another Year. I returned to Los Angeles since the weather fore-cast was for even worse storms. I went back down to Houston a few days laterto the Galveston Island coast for a better look and more photography, but thebirds had departed.

Incidentally, the legs of this species which have been described asgreenish, are in actuality dark brown, even appearing black at a distance. Iwas able to observe all of the field marks very closely, usually withiri ashort distance from inside my blind, with binoculars.

An editorial in the OctobeD Western Bird Bander called attention to thelack of purpose in much of west coast banding. Good general guides and evenspecific projects were suggested, but the burden of the development of asuitable undertaking was left 'with the individual.

A program does exist, however, with objectives ~nd methods alreadyestablished. It needs no extensive organization, only good Consistentbanding. Those of you who are netters and who would like a solid project withFish and Wildlife backing, readonl

Operation Recovery began in the fall of 1955 with a string of nettingstations along t:he east coast of the United States. The more northern oper-ations were functioning earlier and the southern sites later in order to maketheir activities coincide with the peak of the fall song-bird migration. Theintent was to obtain recoveries from one station to another. After the firstyear it was obvious that this aim was not realized, but it did become apparentthat the program was an ideal approach to learning about bird migrationespecially as it is affected by changing weather conditions.

Gradually the project has been spreading westward and despite a rela-tive scarcity of banders and certainly netters in the mountain west, theeastern slope of the Rockies has participated for the past three years. Thewest coast which offers such wonderful netting opportunities, with so manybanders available, has Yet to enter in. This area is needed to round outthe team.

The official OR period of intensive activity is the month of September,although results of August and October bandings are evaluated too. The

important qualification is that, to be of value, the netting must be done indai~ continuity, preferably with nets up during all the daylight hours. Atthe minimum, the nets should be in operation each consecutived~ forapproximately the same amount of tilne, for a period of at least a week.Anything leBs does not allow for a meaningful interpretation of results.Once having found a favorable site, the nets should not be changed much inposition. The major aim is to keep all variables at a minimum so thatchanges in the catch will vary on~ with the fluctuations in migratory move-ment and not with changes produced by the operator.

In the east, stations may be quite large and the amount of data to begathered is limited on~ by the amount of help available. Birds are weighedand their fat deposition evaluated in an effort to decide whether they havejust arrived, lean after a long flight, or are fattened up before a newdeparture. Many measurements of bird proportions can be obtained to help inthe compilation of data on birds in the hand.. Moon watches may be establis'hedto further correlate bird catches with observed movement, and daylight obser-vations of bird actions are encouraged. L:>calweather conditions - temperature,wind direction, cloud cover, etc., are vital.

This project has been presented to the Pacific International Chapter ofthe WBBA and they have undertaken to participate on a trial basis for thenext few years. While the members will try to net during the entire month ofSeptember, the group officially has accepted the first two weeks as their peakof intensity. Therefore, if others are inerested in joining the program andcan spend on~ limited tilne, this should probab~ center in the initial weeksof September.

To those who are interested, I will be happy to furnish additionaldetails. I am preparing for the Pacific International Chapter some mimeo-graphed material outlining the basic approaches to the OPeration Recoverystudy and the factors which are essential to control. This I can make avail-able through the WBBA office to those who desire more information.

More significant perhaps even than individual banding projects is theparticipation in a mass effort such as Operation Recovery. So much liesready to be learned about bird migration and so little can the individual doalone in this regard. If you want a worthy reactw"-madefascinating project,here it is.

The need tor a revise:d constitut.ionfor tbeWDBA h;I$ been etlIJStaaslzea by ourformal separation tJ."ClII1 the Cooper Ornithological Society .•, The.present draft. will beplaced before the Association for possible adoption at the 1962 Annual Meeting. The /Executive CoUncil aakl that 111~' c01JI'(Iunicate suggestions for fUl'th~rrevisions toL. Richant Mcwaldt, 4150 Golf Drive" San Jose 27:>Calif~ia, or to the President

. Mrs. Otis Sr1ith, 207 Alexander Avenue, Larkspur~ california. !bi. ~c.ltqlceD1ent isofficial notice that revision of the constitution will be amongthe agenda tor the1962 annual l'leeting. .. . .

For the Council,

L. Richard PI~ldt, ChatmanConstit~ti9nRevisionC~i~tee

CONSn1UnON OF nIB WESTER.~BIRD SANDHu ASSOCIAnON{As adopted in 1926 •..•.,.revlse.d in 1962) ---r:r-

AATICl...E IName, Purpos~ and lerritory

See.. I. This AssociatiOn shall be known as the Western Bird Ba:'lding Association.

Sec. 2. '1hepurpose of this Association shall bit the advancaent of ornithology bystudies wblch employ the banding of birds. "Sec. 3•.. 'l'he t:.c.rritory of this AssQciati9nsball includt ·tn_e S\.t,~ o.f t.heUnltedStates which He wholly vest of thelOOth meridian (including Alaska, Arizona, CQU-fornia~ Coloradol Haw! i" Idaho,. r-tontana, Nevada, New Mexico, Or~9on> Utah, Washing...ton, and lfYomingJ, those' Provinces of Canada which 11e wholly w.~t of the llOthmeridian (including Alberta, British ColUAb!a, and Yukan)~ and that portion of Mexicowhich lies west of the sum!t of the Sierra MadreOriental.. This geographic areashall be knownas the Western Province.

ARTICLE IIMembership

Sec" 1. Any person, irrespective of his place of residence, whois interested inth~ purposes of the organization, llIay become a mabel' upon approval of the ExecutiveCouncil and the payment of d~es.. ,-':'I,U'''Y _ /"I.IP- perr,,;;/~e-'

.. ,.. "_( - . ...( ) ~"l "".,' ,.," 11'

Sec•. 2.. There shall be \.{.m) classes of tlSembers: Active, Associate, Sust.aining, ,I •

Life and Honorary. . .' A /'

~e~.. 3;.".~t:~ve1l1e!l1berPrs.shall be those holding banding pemits, as required bye era",,~:,. e and oVlncial authorities. The aIl10unt of their annual dues shall

bes

d~tel'Jll1ne~lJ:)' the Executive Council.I!'C T'

Sec.•'..4~5:Associate mePlbers shall be those not holding bird banding permit Theirdues shall be the saIlle as th<:·seof Active ll1embers.. . s~

/ . {he. tlrtlOiLht··v ';'1c.f!, ~.f .,he,

Sec. -5: Sustaining mmbers may be either active or associate and shall pay ~ A'~I:'~ dWfS.per year.. . "ty1unlnn; )'),4// be I;b,..••,.i~. .f"".1 o';j.,,r IYts.;.;fetli;)?s n07i?rJrmtlllj hol"/1I11 .•..Sec. 7. .z:n$-fb/~':/b'''''~:' "',,((!lit .7J,e{y aut's sha/I;~ p(:rIYrY'il~t!'d by f1,~ ':;)1; ~,-.~rt·ye C:IJI"i",:: /

('"''' . f('~"" 4"4'1", ,'"Sec. 06.6 Life metT!bersmay be either active or associate and shall pay ~ for such )membership. Life members shall be relieved of all further dues.. Monies fr~ Lifer~ernberships shall l;e placed in the EndoWJT!entFund. #1()"o7

Sec. -1.•9 Honorary Il'lembersJI1ay be elected by the Executive council for merit in bandingwork upon nonination of four or More members. Honorary meMbers shall be relieved ofall dues ••

l.,)Secy~: All dues should be paid prior to January 1st of each year for the followingcalendar year .•

'Sec.•.>J. Members agree to transMit to WBlm officers reports, as specified by the'Executive Council~ of banding activities sent to or received from the Federal Bird

Banding Offices .•AHTICLE III

Officers and DutiesSeco l~ The Officers of the Association shall consist of a President, one to sixVice~Presidents, a Secretar,y, and a Business Manager. The Business Manager shall actas Treasurer and shall have charge of the finances of the Associationu The duties ofth~ other officers shall be those usually assigned to such officers.. Vacancies occur:r-~ing in key offices shall be filled by the Executive Council to serve until the neA~Annual Meeting of the J~sociation.Seco 20 Th~e shall be an Executive Council, which shall'consist of the Officers ofthe Association, the Presidents of any local chapters organized in accordance withArticle VII, the Chairmen of standing cCX!IlIl.ittees,the Editor of the Association'sofficial publication; the Regional Directors, the WBBA Representative to the CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game and the past-presidents. The President, Vice-Presidents,the Secretary and the Business Manager shall serve as officers of the Council.. TheCouncil shall elect committees, adopt its own rules of procedure, determine the timeand place of its meetings, pass on applications for membership in the ~ssociation, anddirect the policies of the Association. Four members of the Council shall constitutea quorum.Seco 3~ The Executive Council may appoint a Regional Director for each State andProvince in the Western Province where no local chapter exists,_ The Directors shaHfurther the purposes and activi ties of the Associat.ion in their respective dis'tricts,especially by acting as liaison bet.een individual banders and the Executive Council

ARTICLE IVMeetings and Records

See" 1~ There shall be an annual meeting of .the Association at a tiMe and place d{~tel'-min~d by the Executive Council~ In addition to the business session and the: electionof officers, the annual meeting shall promote the display of work accomplished by m~1-bel'S and others, including papers, embOdying the results of their work. Notice ofannual fleeting shall be nailed to each MeMber at least 30 days in advance¥

St~C !-\t ("ne '~,ir}~ ~').f' ~ 2-.'lf·!·1.1.~;:} ~ I. "r;1 ,;" ~.lshall al:::.o '1"iold its al1r:,'~L}.~ <;1··\~~8.n zdt· Dna.1 S(·":.:~:)i(l

'-- See" 3" C01"1111ttee l1eetLws sh,;11 ta:--e place at 5tlCh times ,:.rId places as their respec"tive chainnen nay directo Thev shall }teep a record of their proceer.:ings in pemanentforr~, to be part of the ;Jcrr'!anent record of the ,.issociation,

Sec., 4. Each officer and COfllllittee chainnan shall r.endel~ a renort of his or her res-pective activities for review l:y the Executive Council and the J.ssociation,~at-large atthe annual "eeti ng~ and cOl"lt'li ttee chairnen shall r:ake a working report at :any Meet ingwhen the President may so direcL

5ec< 5. Special rleetin~ls of tlH? assoc iation l'1uy be held at any tine upon two weeksnotice, either at the co:111 of the President; or at the call of the Secretary uponlprritten applicatIon of ten re,el!lbers"

l~nCLE VElections

Sec" L At the annual i'1el(;~ting a slate of officers for the ensuing year shall beplaced in nomination by a cOI'l1llittee appointed by the Presidento lIIomination may bemade frOf!1the: flOaT; if th~ consent of the nominee has been obtainedo

ARTICLE VIPublications

Sec" L The official publication shall be called the Western Bird Bander, The Edi tcz'shall be 21ected by the Executive Council~

AHTlCLE VIILocal Chapters

S~C" L Members of any locality in the rJestern Province shall be encouraged to fo:,"1'''local organizations to hnovn as chapters and to be afii Hated with the ~Iestern Birdt)lmdirlg i\ssociationc Such chapters shall elect their own officers: do their own fin;;ncing and hold meetings at their own pleastlre~ Menbership in one chapter shall notprev~nt membership in other chnpters~ Only Members of the Western Bird Banding Associc'tion shall ~e eligible for membership in the chapters~

ARTICLE VI11Endovment and Special funds

Sec,. 1 There shall be an Endowment fund created by life memberships and directcontributions to the fund., The Endowment fund shall be separately invested, frOMg\r;neral funds, and the incol''l€ th,~refrOIll shall be used in furthering the purposes ofthe Association under the direction of the Executive CouDe iL

.)ecu 2 Special funds may be solicited and developed for special purposes and as suchshall be kept separate fron the Endo~"llj(.mt Fund ",nd used for the purposes specifi ed"

See: 1~ itIlY In eZ1w;:£ I' ·tj'tlC)~: loll\. ::,;'.....::.1'.•'<. ::'

birds 'which he handles, :;:,;h,:;.11b~~ ~'UbjeGt tc ::'..;.,:'~;31'Y cu s: ",XIlajot'ity vote of th2 Executive Council, Le;;,vi~'lt; trc~p:':; or n:e::tspt~riods of time shall be cJnsidtr'~d cruelty 'dithL' tbe

ARTICLE XAmendrnq:nts

See,.L tlI'1endments to th(~~constitution Hay be Plane at. neeting of the 1':.591)(:;;d.10runder the SaIi'le rules that gove;rn €lectiQns.~ provided that a copy of the PI'oposeJchanges ~n the constitution be induded in th(~ jO-dc\Y notice of such n~!;;Ling,

WESTERN BIRD BANDERA QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE WESTERN BIRD BANDING ASSOCIATION

CONTENTS PAGEOPERATION RECOvERY--THE RESPONSE by Dr. Howard E. Wi;Lson. • 48THE UNVSUAL 'BIRD by Don 'Bleitz.'"'~ •••• ~.• ••• 49BANDING ACTIVITIES IN ,COLORADO by Ronald A. Ryder • • • • 50scmNEW IDEAS IN NETS by Don:Bleitz ~ ~ • • • • • • • • • • • • 51OPERATION RECOVERY IN CENTRAL' VAIJ,EY by Howard 1. Cogswell. • 52TRANSLOCATIONS OF WHITE-CROWNED AND GOIDEN-CRClVNED SPARROWS

by Robert' Roadcap •.~ •••••••••••••••• ; • • 55ROOTER' OF,'WBM MEr1BERS. • • • •. If: • • • -. '. • • • a. • .• • • • • •• 57SHORE:SIRI)'BANDING AT GARl>{E,L,CALIFORNIA by.Richard Stallcup ,63

Addres's all correspon<ience for the WesternBirdBande~ to William K. Kirsher,Editor, 340 Elm Street, Menlo Park, Calif. Membership correspondence Shouldgo to Tom Balch,'Business Manager, Box 9, Glenn, Calif.

In the July iS~lUe of the Western Bird. Bander the possibility of westcoast participation in the Operation Recover,y Program was considered. Follow-ing theappearanc~ of that article a number of banders requested additionalinrorrriation~ Since the period of concentrated netting act.ivity has jl.1stcon=-'eluded, no results are in, but it was feU that a comment regarding theinterest shown would be in order.

In JUly there were, .already committed to the project',a number of peoplein the NorthwestJ the Pacific International Chapter haVing agreed 'to partici-pate. It 1s therefore anticipated that the Washington - British, Columbia areah8s~be~n involved in the program at least to the extent of five or sixstations. 'In addition, an enthusiastic group gathered from the San Franciscoarea(thena~8 I have are:' Mewsldt, Stallcu.p, Austin, Cogswell, and Kirsher)to net'slong the San ,Joaquin River. This 'site was selected after considerableprel1m1naryscou.til1g, and mimeographed notification of the proposed activitywas distributed to members" of the Central California WBBA. Mrs ~ Otis Srnithof Larkspur, California independently req~Bted(iata and~perhaps setupanother station in the San Francisco region .. Np word was 'received from~o,uthern Californi,a, but hope f1l.lly there was some participation' aI)yWay.

'?~'"

49 (Oct~b~r·1%2 rB~n4ers Iltl{'1J,0the Iic>cq Mountai·n :Cii program.who::requested irU'ormation

were Dr. Ronald Ryder from· Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado,and Dr. and Mrs. Carnes WeekEl of Nogales, Arizona. The Weeks reported thatthey had been operating mist nets continuously since Marchand enclosed aninteresting list of their totals thuB far. When these two groups add theirmaterial to that of the "old timers" of ,Rocky Mountain OR (James and MaryTravis of l.osAlamo'S, N. M •.; William Huey of Tesque, N •..M.; Mrs. Berene Sulli-van from Boulder, Colorado; ~nd Mrs. Carl N. Collister of Longmont, Colorado),an inipressive coverage will haye been accomplished. Mrs. Collister, 7e;t,HoYer Rd., Longmont, Colorado, has taken over as coordinator for Uhe RockyMountain west and participators in that area should submit their data to her.

Those who have taken part in the OR program in preV'ious years automaticallyreceive yearly descriptive information and forms from the band.ing office. Onbehalf of those who have und~rtaken the project for the first time this year,I have requested from the banding office copies of both this aridlast year'sinstructions plus appropriate forms on which the results of the ourrentactivi-ties can be submitted. I would appreoiate hearing from any who have notindicated to·iIletheir participation so that I oan haye the material sent to·them. also. My address on th19 Patuxent material is now incorrect, and should be:14045 NE 6th St., Bellevue, Washington. .

First-year projeots more often serve to point out "ways to do it betternext year" than to produce gratifyingoatches. I hope that if results were notas impressive as you had expected that you will not be discouraged and thatyou' 11 give it a try again next year .••••I hope moat of all that you had a goodtime •

THE UNUSUAL BIRDby Don B1eitz

SlI'l811,'partiallydry water courses to generally semi-arid or arid sectionsof the western United States prOVide excellent netting and trapping areas form1grants.

This year I had the opportunity to do some netting and banding in TopangaCanyon where a small stream runs along a willow bottom just a short distanoenorth of the Pacific Ocean. In company :withMr. William Lasky and my aSllistantMichel Desfay-es, we oaptured. in Jlm8 an adult male Hooded .Warbler which wasbanded and released in the.ameare&; a Tennessee Warbler on July 20, 1962; andon Sep.tember 5, 1962 we capt.ured a NorthernWaterthrush. None of us had identi-fied any of these three birds of unusual occurrence until we captured them inthem1~t net. Very likely, as netting is more extensively done along similarwater courses which are fo1+owed. by m1gra~ts, a number of species which havebeen considered to be stragglers will be round to be of regular, though un-common, occurrence. It is h~hly probable that a number of new records for theState of California may be gained in this manner.

Whenever I oapture soxnethingllhioh i. unusual for an area, I make a numberof close-up photographs in color of the bird held in the hand, and reoordmeasurements and other exact descriptive data which usually will be sufficient tosub-specifically identifY it. This information is desirable so that the recordwill be of signifioance to future workers. For such records indicating anextension of range or an increase in number of individuals in an area where thespecies is normally of unusual occurrence, it is advisable to write it up forone of the national publications such as the "Condor"whioh is regularly cross-indexed so that these records can be used by other workers in the field.

During the past few months several bandings of possible interest haveoocurred in Colorado, including the first bandings of White Pelican for thestate and first bandings of Mountain Plover in North America since the 1930's.

On May 29, 1962, White Pelicans were found nesting on an island in River-side Reservoir ne,ar Fort Margan in northeastern Colorado by Norman L.Hughesand William H. Rutherford of the Colorado Game and Fish Department. Dr. RonaldA. Ryder of Colorado State University banded 45 flightless but near~ full-grown young on July 24. He was assisted by Jack R. Grieb and other members ofthe Colorado Game and Fish Department as well as students from Colorado StateCollege at Greeley.

Although White Pelicans have been previously listed as probable nesters inColorado, this apparent~ is the first authenticated record for the state.

Six Mbuntain Plover fledglings were banded by the author and Dr. Terry A.Vaughan of CSU, five during early May and one in mid-July at the Central PlainsExperimental Range near Nunn, Colorado.

Forty-five Broad..,tailed and six Rufous Hummingbirds were banded west ofFort Co.llins with the assistance of Alice Dickerson of Masonville. Additionalindividuals of these species were caught in mist-nets as well as a pair ofCalliope Hummingbirds which unfortunataw couldn't be banded as the author'ssupp~ofX-bands was exhausted. Twelve Common Nighthawks were also caught inmist-nets in the same area. Strangely enough they have been coming regularly thelast few years to apparently "feed" on weathered plaster board. It was notdetermined whether thiswaB used for grit or to satisfy some mineral need. Afew miles away at our Forestry Summer Camp, Violet-green Swallows eagerlysought Plaster-of-Paris used to make field-castings of mammal tracks. Theswallows may have used the plaster as nest material. Any comments readers mayhave regarding similar behavior in these or other species liould be appreciated.

We are currently trying to trap, band, and color-mark a v,ariety of water-birds as part of a study of the part these birds play in the dispersal ofaquatic plants. So far,42Ring-billed and three California Gulls have beencaptured using a cannon-net. (Five Turkey Vultures were also banded in thismanner). The Ring-billed Gulls were sprayed yellow with a pi.cric acid solutionand also marked with colored leg bands and plastic neck tags. To date severalsight records have been reported within 10 miles of the banding site near FortCollins.

Two "second records" for the state were captured in banding operations atthe above site--a male Mottled Duck in full nuptial plumage and a Knot. TheMottled Duck was taken in a portable Colorado duck trap with Mallards and atfirst banded but held for photographs. When it was learned there was only oneother record for the state, the duck .W8:S donated to the Denver Museum ofNatural History as was the Knot, a mi:st-netting casualty.

I have been experimenting for some while with many types of.special netsin order tc)design and have,manufactured those that will capture 'the mostbirbin a given 'time.

All nets up until this time have been of woven material. Some are ofsilk, but moJit are now mSI\ufactured of nylon, and come in various types anddimensions of webbing. The webbing, or net itself, is designated by thestrength indicated in denier so that, as an example, a 30 - :2would indicatethat :2 strands of )O-denier material are twisted togeth~r to form the materialused for weaving the netting. 110 - 4 would mean that 4 strands of 1l0-deniermaterial are twisted together into a single thread. (Denier is a unit of weightequal to.o5 gram per 450 :meters).

The mesh size is indicated by 1 inch, li inch, It inch, :2iinch, up to4 inches. This indicates the stretched mesh. As an example, It-inch stretchedmesh would mean that each segment of the squares formed by the net would bethree-quarters of an inch on a side, and when this is stretched out, it wouldstretch out to two times the three-quarters of an inch or li inches. I mightmore eal5ily explain it by saying that It-inch stretched mesh forms a three-quarter inch square when the net is set.

In order to lower the visibility of a net to afford maximum catching, theycan be ~ed to match the area where they are used. Nets in green, sand color(beige), dark brown, and black are available, as well as white which can inturn either be used in snow or dyed to any other desired color using any dyesuitable for nylon.

Net manufacturers are reluctant to use webbing of finer than 50-denier -:2-ply, usually, because the thinner material will occasionally break in theautoIllllticknot-tying machines which produce the webbing. Then it is necessaryto completely restring the machine at considerable loss of time; therefore,I have found it difficult to keep on hand a stock of the finer denier material.

In order to further lqwer visibility, and yet maintain strength enough tooperate properly on the mac;hines, we have been experimenting for !S0mewhilewith mono-filament nylon. Mono-filament, a8 most people are aware, is extremely!Strong .nd yet its visibility is very low. We have finally solved most of theproble~ attendant to the ~roduction of mono-filament nylon nets and our firstcommercial order is now in production. These nets are practically invisiblewhen properly set and can be used in very open situations.

Our first shipment will consist 0.£ natural clear (which in shady areasblends into almost any colored background satisfactorily), sand color (whichis perfect for beach areas or open dry grass areas, etc.) a pal-e green, aquacolor (8 imilar in 8hade to the fishing leader used in fresh water which blendsvery well into water backgrounds or marsh backgrounds), dark'brown (for openfields), and black (Which would be used much as conventional nets have beenused).

These nets will be somewhat more expensive than the regular wovenmaterial, but they are also considerably more durable and extremely lessvisible. We have not as yet published a price list on these, and our firstshipment will consist only of Ii-inch mesh and Ii-inch mesh since the largerdiameters of mono-filament tend to be somewhat stiff and we have some pro-blems yet to work out before we start producing the 2!-inch and 4-inch meshnets.

As a result of the timely "prodding" given W.B.B.A. members qy Dr. Howard O.Wilson's article in the July WESTERN BIRD BANDER, a number of members of theNorthern California chapter engaged in a joint effort in Operation Recoverynetting the first week in September. Discussions among the active students ofmigration in central California tended to indicate that we could expect greatermovement of small land birds inland than near the coast, at least at thisseason. After scouting possible areas from east of Woodland to near Ver.nalisfor locations where the vegetation along rivers would tend to funn~l toward ournets any southbound migrants moving along the rivers, the area on the northside of the Stanislaus River mouth, 2i miles northeast of Vernalis, wa,sselected. On the 70-acre property of Aden's Resort here we had access toriparian woodland and brush of various densities, including some areas wheretrees were sparse enough that we expected birds to be moving through the lowervegetation. Insect food seemed abundant. There was a good flow of water inboth the San Joaquin River and in the Stanislaus, and migrants were noted infair numbers on August 17 moving along these rivers. Yellow-billed CUCkoos,lots of Magpies, numerous woodpeckers, wrens, etc., gave added interest. With-out previous experience with the details of how migrant birds progress alongthese lanes in daytime movement, we had no assurance of a large catch butthe area seemed the most worthwhile and wa.s certainly the most accessible ofany seen in the survey.

Despite the short notice, enough banders responded to the ditto'd appealto keep some nets in operation almost all the daylight hours from September 1through September 7 for a total of 261 "net-hours", a unit we decided to defineas "about 30 feet of net operated for one hour during the daytime." As thuJ3measured, the intensity of our effort was necessarily quite small, because ofthe still stringent regulations imposed by the California Fish and Game Depart-ment on the possession and use of nets for scientific purposes.

Our nets were set in different places on different days at Aden's, butmost of the sites used were in or near the edge of a patch of den.se, tallriparian woods between the resort and the Stanislaus River. On the first dayI began at a site between tall, sparse willows on the nearly treeless flatoutside and a little away from these woods but caught very few birds due,I think, to the sunlight which was here unavoidably on the black net. Aftershifting to a site in the midst of dense willows by a pool at the edge of thewoods, results were better even though many birds went over the top of thenet into the taller trees. Participants following me continued to use this

spot or others very close to it and found them usually good. Other siteswere also established as the number of netters permitted. The most pro-ductive of all were two of Mew~ldt' s,with the net placed in willows alongthe river's edge and perpendieular to the shore down the steep bank.

The daily summary of new banded birds at the Stanislaus River mouthstation, as reported to the U.S. Fish and wildlife Service via Dr. Wilsonis as follows: ---

Species. No. of birdsSpecies Date: Sel't. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 totals wei~hedGreen Heron 1 1Greater Yellow-legs 1 1 *Downy Woodpecker 1 1 1Nuttall's Woodpecker 1 2 3Hammond's Flycatcher 1 1 * 1Western Flycatcher :2 1 5 8 * 5Empidonax sp.? 6 1 7 7E- 7Plain Titmouse 3 3 3COIllITlO~Bushtit 1 1Bewick's Wren 2 1 1 4 1California Thrasher 1 1Warbling Vireo 1 1 *Orange-crowned Warbler 1 1 2 4 2 10* 6Nashville Warbler 1 1 * 1Yellow Warbler 2 4 11 4 21 * 15MacGillivray's Warbler 1 1 * 1Wilson's Warbler 4 1 8 10 1 24 * 11Western Tanager 1 1 1 3 * 1Black~headed Grosbeak 1 1Lazuli Bunting 1 1 * 1House Finch 1 1 1Rufous-sided Towhee 1 1 2 4 1Lark Sparrow 1 1 1------ -TotalS, daily & grand: 11. 4 7 1 ~> 48 11 100Total net-hours: 2b E""" 23 17 30 92 ~ 261

The species marked with ~n asterisk in the above tabulation seemed to bemigrants here, or included fat birds that were apparently ready to migrate.There was a definite lull in the numbers present on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, andWEilcan hardly blame Richard Stallcup for being discouraged after working allday on the 4th for the one bird caught--even tho-ugh it was a Green Heron.Some other disappointment was expressed over the supposedly low total numberof birds we ca-ught. However, when this is.converted to the standard OperationRecovery unit ,of,"birds per 1,000 net-hours" our take becomes a very respec-table 383 pEilr1,000 net-hour.st

All of the East Coast stations averaged only about 375 birds per 1,000net-hours in August and September 1957, and 278 in 1958, the first two yearsof widespread participation in the project there (Bird-Banding, 30:147). Oursample is small, but it is still ve~y definitely "in the running II on thisscore. It is also perhaps justifiabl~ to compare the numbers of our fourconnnonest species with the frequency of capture of the commonest ones at theeastern stations. They averaged, for example, only 63 Catbirds (the commonestspecies) per 1,000 net-hoUrS in 1957 and only 30 in 1958, while our 24Wilson's Warblers were caught at the rate of 92 per 1,000 net-hours, the YellowWa rbJ.er13 at 80, Orange-crowns at 38, and Western Flycatchers at 31. The singleeastern station that caught the most Catbirds in 1958, Island Beach, N. J.,obtained their 864 indiviiuals through a massive effort that involved 16,827net-hqurs (or, at a rate of only 51 per 1,000 net-hours). A far superiorcatch was the 490 Slate-colored Juncos at Tiana Beach, N. Y., in only 966total net-hours (Bird-Banding, 30: 147 -148). Our results are indeed encouragingfor a first year, one-week effqrt, I would say.

The banders participating in the netting effort included: Enid Austin,Lillian Henningsen, William Kirsher, L •.R. Mewaldt, Richard Stallcup, andHoward Cogswell. In addition, Mr. Charles Feltes came as an observer and setout traps on September 2nd, catching one Bewick's Wren. Several otherssurveyed the general bird life o.fthe vicinity on September 1 and 3. Mr.Stoner netted on various dates from August 25 through Septembe;r'19 at his homein Benicia, his best date for migrants being the 8th, when he caught 3 YellowWarblers, 1 Townsen'd Warbler, 2 Warbling Vireos, and 1 Black-headed Grosbeak.Donald Payne operated for "32 net-hours" the first week of September atEugene, Oregon, taking 16 species among his 33 birds. Ten of these were §Au:ncoBbut the others included such diverse types as 2 MacGillivray' s Warblers, 3Black-capped Chickadees, a Swainson's Thrush, a Red-breasted and 3 White-breasted Nuthatcnes, a Lincoln's Sparrow and a Vesper Sparrow. It is ho-pedthat the full reports of these and others who netted in the OR period willprovide some meaningful data for analysis by the regional coordinator.

The cooperation of all who participated at Stanislaus or elsewhere ismost reassuring and we should look forward to a repetition next year. Withbetter planning and more participants we can demonstrate that there are realwaves of migrants here 1 -

Matthews (1955, Bird Navigation, London, England. Cambridge UniversityPress) reports homing experiments using wild breeding birds as early as 1907and using wild wintering birds since 1925. Distances involved were as greatas 3,050 miles and the numbers of returns were so large that there can be littledoubt that many species of birds have highly developed homing abilities. Pierce(1925. Condor 27:120-1) at Claremont, California translocated 12 winteringWhite-crowned Sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 11 miles and 4 returned and were

Figure l.--Release points of translocated birds (approximate scale:1 inch = 32 miles)

retrapped although trapping was continued for only 13 days after the trans-locations were made. He assumed that more of the birds would have been retrappedhad the trapping been continued for a longer period of time. Sumner and Cobb

(October 1962) 56(1928. Condor 30:317-9) at Claremont, California displaced 175 winteringZono.trichia about 4_Ddles. The numbers of White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Zonotrichia atricapilla, returning the same season lfas41-Of considerable interest is the report of Mewaldt and Farner (1957. Condor59:268~9) of the escape of three Golden-crowned Sparrows which had been shippedin February 1956 from San Jose, California to Pullman, Washington. Two ofthree birds that escaped in March and April were retrapped in San Jose onDecember 1, 1956. SOll'l8navigational ability must be indicated by this occur-rence as PulJ.man is more than 700 miles from San J08e and about 200 miles eastof the migration route of the species.

I would like to thank Dr. L. R. Mewaldt under whose permit the project wasexecuted. I a180 thank Mr. Donald Mclean for the use of his property for thebanding station, for spending a considerable amount of time tending th, traps,and for giving many Buggestions on the project.

The present experiment was designed to further test the homing abilityof White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows. The banding station wasestablished at the residence of Mr. Donald Mclean at 2455 Cottle Avenue in SanJose, California. The area is good habitat for crowned sparrows as there aremany trees and shrubs in the yards in the neighborhood. The traps were baitedwith whole gyp corn and chick scratch and could be left open when trapping wasnot in progress. Trapping started on October 10, 1961 and continued untilMarch 9, 1962. Two hundred fifty-two White-crowned Sparrows and 66 Golden-crowned SpBrrows were banded. Seventeen White-crowned apd 1 Golden-crownedSparrow which had been banded in previous year8 returned. No banding had beendone at this location during the 1960-61 season. Birds were released at distancesof 9.6 to 164 miles from the banding station (Figure 1 and Table 1). Some of therelease points are within the basin of the San Francisco Bay area and presentvery few topographical obstacle., while others lie across mountain ranges fromthe banding station. In general only birds that had been retrapped at leastonce were transported, as it was felt that these birdSirwould not be trap-shy.Birds were transported by automobile in a small canary cage covered with a darkheavy cloth. Almost all releases were made at night. Birds returned fromall of the release points except three. Only one bird was taken to two of theserelease p.oints and two to the third. The most significant return was made from164 miles by a first-year bird of the race pugetensis in only 7t days • Thisbird had to cross the interior coast ranges to make its return. Of 65 White-crowned Sparrows transported 24 returned. Of 16 Golden-crowned Sparrowstransported only 1 returned.

Some of the uncontrolled variables which make the formation of conclusionsin this study risky are the weather at the time and place of therrelease, theavailability of food at the release point, the length of time the birds wereheld before release, the time of day or night the releases were made, and thegeneral condition of the birds. It is hoped that some of the birds which didnot return this year will return during the coming winter.

The following tentative conclusions seem to be supported by this stuqy.White-crowned Sparrows are better homers than Golden-crowned Sparrows. AdultWhite-crowned Sparrows are better homers than first-year birds.

Zonotri chia leucQJ2P~s _Z. 1. pugetensis onlyZ. 1. gambelii onlyAdultsFirst Year Birds

Zonotrichia atricapilla

r-..CV1

'-"r-.. ..'0 oM'-" S. ..:t

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l\)'0 fIJ

• 00\ ~..cl QC) QjQ toQjp:j Q

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.5/68/47 29 56/1

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l\) ..:t Qj Ul '0fIJ 0 l\) p.. 0 fIJ . ,..;

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~0 0 to to p:t po."

15/5~/2 1/0 4h gh 1:)'2 1/0 3/J,. 111 8'1 65/2~4 3 1 1 1/0 4/3 4 1 3 1 2 II 111 5 1 33/16

11 2 2 1 5 ~ 2 1 1/0 1 0 3 0 32 8elJ 5 2 1 1/0 1 ~ eJ'5 1/0 2 11/1 '5,0 36/177 0__..ill r-----L3Lg~34-2:5/2 1/0 3,1 ?,Of721 201015/0 2 0 16 0

Table 1•• -Summaryof releases and returns. Numbersin parentheses refer torelease points in Figure 1. In the body of the table numbers of birdsreleased are beforetl1e slash and numbers which returned are behind theslash.. -" . . .. ....

Allen, W~ter I.Bailey, Mrs. Harold H.Blei tz, Ponald L.Hinchman, Richard MO'Michener, Mrs. JosephineNice, Mrs. Margaret MorsePeyton, Leonard JO'Robbins, Chandler S.Slnith, Miss Emily D.Sum:mer,EO'L.

Acheson, Donald E.Adamson,Betty L.Adamson,narrY C.Anderson, Anders H.ADaka,WilliamAustin, ~s.. Harold CO'

ROSTER2!. WBBAMEMBERS

LIFE MEMBERS----

Route 22047 Castilian Dr.Boston Road418 N. HudsonAve.5725 Harper Ave.P.O. Box 5501409 Brooklyn Bridge Rd.19651 Glen Una Dr.

Goshen, VirginiaHollywood28, Calif II

Groton, Mass.Pasadepa 4, Calif"Chicago 37, IllinoisCollege, AlaskaLaurel, MarylandSaratoga, Calif •.

Rt. 10, Box278995 Carol Lane995 Carol Lane3221 E. Kleindal Rd.Spirit Lakell16 MandanaBlvd.

Olympia, WashingtonLafayette, Calif.Lafayette, Calif.Tucson, ArizonaS.askatchewan, CanadaOakland 10, Calif.

Austing, RonBaily, BernardBaker, Mrs. CoraBalch, T ..E.Baldwin, Prof'. Paul H ..Baltzar, Mrs. Joel E. C.Arizona Game & Fish

CommissionBanks, Richard C..Bartel, Karl E.Bawdon, Eugene D.Baylor, Leslie M.Bechtel, William A.Beebe, H. E•.Benjamin, Gilbert G., Jr.Bergstrom, Dr. E. AlexanderBerrey, Cecil R.Biale, ArthurBirchett, Mrs. Jos. T.BoardmB.n, WIn.. C.•Bowen, Miss Lydia S.Bowma.n, Dr .•Robert I.Boynton, Mrs. Gladys S.Boynton, Francis H.Bradley, Mrs. Dorothy M.Brechbill, Raymond A.Brooks, Earl M.

Calder, J. A.Carnes, Mrs. Herbert E.

Carter, Dr. FrancesCarver-' Mrs. Noma JeanChanning, Clyde H.Channing, Edward C., D.D.S.Childs, Henry E., Jr •.Cogswell, , Howard L.

Collister, Mrs. Carl N.Coppersmi th, MikeCraighead, John J.

R.R. 1 Strimple Rd.146 E..6th Ave.5111 42nd st.

,P.O•.Box 95Colorado State Univ ••Dept. of'Zoology15057 Starbuck st.Room 105, State Bldg.

,Natural History MuseumP •.O. Box 13902528 W. Collins st.298 S. FairwayDept. of'LanguagesSo•.Dakota School of'Mines509 Rocky Mt. Dr.1847 N. Wilcox Ave.11554 McLennan Ave.37 Old Brook RoadGarden Creek Rd.P.O. Box 1058202 E. 7th St.Star Rt. B. Box 3522841 Earlham St.1069 Sterling Ave.163 W. State St.163 W. State st.1848 Mathers Ave.P.O. Box 6McNary Natfl Wildlif'e

Refuge6851 Orangethorpe Ave.31 Dogwood Lane

226 A liD" st.Granit Sta. BOX 22Box 6661101 Sierra Dr.15053 Neartree Rd.Dept. of'Biological

SciencesDept,.of'Zoology706 Hover RoadCamp Alpine SchoolMontana Coop. Research

unit3279 Rubio Canyon Rd.

Harrison, OhioEscondido, Calif'.Sacramento 20, Calif'.Glenn, Calif'.Fort Collins, ColoradoWhittier, Calif'.

San Diego 12, Calif'.Blue Island, Ill .•Pullman, WashingtonRapid City, So. DakotaStead A.F.B •.NevadaHollywood 28, Calii.Granada Hills, calif'.West Hartford, 17,

Conn.Casper, WyomingEureka, NevadaTempe, ArizonaSpenard, AlaskaPasadena 4, Calif.Berkeley 8, Calif'.Pasadena 2, calif.Pasadena 2, Calif'.W. Vancouver B.C.CanadaAlamo, NevadaP.O. Box 19Burbank, WashingtonBuena Park, Calif'.Tenafly, New Jersey

(May-Nov.•15)11801 Sundown Dr.Scottsdale Arizona(Nov. 15-April 15)

Davis, Calif'.Bakersf'ield, Calif'.Clear Lake, Wash.Turlock, Calif'.La Mirada, Calif'.Mills CollegeOakland 13, Calif'•.San Diego State ColI.San Diego 15, Calif'.Longmont, ColoradoBlue Jay, Calif'.Montana State Univ.Missoula, MontanaAltadena, Calif'.

Crenshaw, Dr. FredCrouch, James E.Crowley, Lawrence D.Curtis; Mrs. Vee K.Cutler, Betsey D.Dater; Mrs. Eleanor E.Davis, Dr. JohnDeFoe, Donald H .•Desfayes, MichelDeWolfe, Mrs. R. H.Dickerson, Mrs. Stanley S.Diem, Kenneth L.Dixon, Ralph E.DUbois, H~ M.Duffield, Mrs~ John W.Eddy, GarrettEdwards, Mrs. Harlan H.Elmore, Mrs. Marjorie M.Ennis, Dr.J. Harold'Erickl!ton,Dr. Mary M.Evans, Mrs. RichardEvenden, Dr. Fred G.Felt, Arthur C.Feltes; ,Charles H.Ferris, Reed W.Flavin,' John W. Jr.Fordham, Stephen C. Jr.Gallup, Fred N., Sr.Gammell, M. D. Robert T.Gates, JamesGenelly, Richard E.Gillespie, Mrs. John A.Gould, Patrick J.Gra,y, MrS. Alice G.Grinnell, Mrs. JosephGui~d, Capt. Eugene R.Haas,'Mrso FlorenceHaigh, HowardHamilton, William J., IIIHanson, Wayne C.Harrington, Robert F.Hatton, Louise M.Hawes, William D.Henderson, Mrs. RayN.Henningsen, Mrs. Lillian K.Herman, Dr. Carlton MartinHighley, Elmer E.Hill, Dr. Harold M.

515 N.W .•Cornell Rd.San Diego State College756 19thZ4l2 Cohasse4 Rd.2128 Great Highws,yP.O. Box 242Hastings Natural History

Res.Pinnacles Nat' l''Monument5332 Hollywood ,BlVd.Apt. 38 La Goleta Rd.222 DeVoe Ave.Dept. of ZoologyUniv. of Wyoming128 11th St.Rte. 1, Box 3701472 Eskridge WaY4515 j:luf.fnerSt.900 UniVersity St.285 E. LSt.323 lOth Ave., So.3505 Foothill Rd.Klamath Trout Hatchery1717 Professional Dr.617 N.Newlin Ave.437 Myrtle Ave.941 S. 13th St. ,East6868 Sabado Tarde Rd.Delmar Game Farml42 W. 6th Ave.

421 North EuclidHumbold,t State Col:lege313 Sharp Ave.Dept. of ZoologyUniv. of Arizona6645 Heartwood Dr.3016 Benvenue Ave.Box 548Box 621705 Main St.Museum of Vert. Zoology

L.S.B.401 Adams St.P.O. Box 532200 Calera Canyon Rd.P.O. Box 3786000 Sacramento Blvd.Box 554Patuxent Research Refuge1050 Roosevelt St.219 Cajon St.

Portland, Oregon4943 College>Ave.San Diego 15, Calif.Boulder ColoradoChico, Calif.San Francisco 16, Cal.Ramsey, New JerseyJamesburg RouteCarmel V a,lley; Calif.Paicines, Calif.Hollywood 27, Calif.Gol-eta, Calif.Spotswood, New, JerseyLaramie, WyomingDel Mar, Calif.Clackamas, OregonOlympia; WashingtonSeattle, 99, Wash.Seattle, WashingtonBenicia, Calif.Mt. Vernon, IowaSanta Barbara, Calif.

,Klamath Agency, OregonSacramento 25, Calif.Whittier, Calif.Modesto, Calif.Salt Lake City, UtahGoleta, Calif,••Delmar, N. YEscondido, Calif.Kenmare, No. DakotaTucson, Arizon,aArcata, Calif.Glenolden, Penna.Tucson, ArizonaOakland 11.,Calif.Berkeley 5, Calif.Glenwood Springs, Colo.Soquel, Calif.Burbank, Calif.61 La CampanaOrinda, Calif.Rickland, WashingtonKaslo, B.C., CanadaSalinas, Calif.Willow Creek, Calif.Sacramento 24, Calif.Diablo, Calif.Laurel, MarylandMonterey, Calif.Redlands, Calif.

:Holyoke, JohrtR.Hoschover, Mrs. Catherine J.Hough, Mrs. John N.Houston, Dr. StuartHuey, Wm. S.Hughes, Wm. M.Hunt~Mrs. Dorothy B.BUIld, Dr.:'J>aulD. Jr.Johnson, Kay F.Johnston, Richard F.Justice, FrankKaminsky, Mrs • FritzKebbe,'Chester E.Kelley, Neil T.Kelly, Mrs. Junea W.Killpack, Merlin L.Kimmich, Mrs. ReneeKinsey, Eric C.Kirsher, William K.Kittredge, JosephKlimes, Ro.bertlLKline, Mrs. Lucile H.Klingenberg, Gerald F.Knight, Chas. H.Knorr, Mrs. BettyKullrich, Mrs. WalterKridler, EugeneKuyara; Gary C.Lakata, George D.Larson, Mr. G. J.Laskey, Mrs. F. C.Lasky, Wm. R.Los Angeles State'College Library

Linsdale, Dr. Jean M.1ueshen, Mrs. J.Mack, William ~.Mackay, Mrs. J. R.Mans, Miss Marie L.McCarty, John D.McIntyre, Mrs. Grace

<McClure, Dr. H. Elliott

Mus. Vertebrate ZoologyUniversity of CaliforniaWillow Brook Wildlife

Haven3805 Hunts' Pt. Rd.1902 E. 27th1515 Mariposa2401 Hanover Ave.Saskatoon,Box 42018755 S.W. Marine Dr.4111 Trout Gulch Rd.2654 Mountaingate WayN. 2805 Maple Rd.Mus. of Natural HistoryUniversity of Kansas1917 S. Quitman1213 Robertson Way5414 N.E. Emerson St.3681 Forest Hill Dr.1311 Grand St.1726 E. 24th St.20 Tenmore Rd.17 Southwood Ave.340 Elm St.2663 Tallan Rd.14690 Otsego St.Rte. 1, Box 4112901 Boron Ave.20700 Gladstone Rd.58 Steamboat Landing Rd.Rte. 3, Box 440-BMalheur Nat'l Wildlife

Refuge1611 N. 7th Ave. E.4750 Pleasant Pl.512 Balra Dr.1521 Graybar Lane3300 Brookside Dr.5175 State College Dr.657 Kirkwood Ave.

Berkeley 4, Calif.25101 Park Blvd.Glen Ellyn, IllinoisBellevue, WashingtonAnchorage, AlaskaBoulder, ColoradoSaskatchewan,CanadaSanta Fe, New MexicoVancouver 14,B.C.CanadaAptos)-~:Calif•Oakland 11, Calif.Spokane 6, Wash.Lawrenc,e, KansasDenyer,19, Colo.Sacramento 18, Calif.Portland 18, OregonBirmingham, MichiganAlameda, Calif.Ogden, UtahHaverford, Pa.Ross, Calif.Menlo P~rk, Calif.Santa Barbara, Calif.Sherman Oaks, Calif ~Blaine, WashsngtonBoron, Star Rte., Calif.Cleveland 22, OhioCheesequake, So. A~b9Y,

New JerseyShelton, WashingtonBox 113Burns, OregonDuluth 5, MinnesotaSanta Maria, Ca~if.E1 Cerrito, Calif.Nashville 12, Tenn.Malibu, Calif.Los Angeles 32, Calif.Salinas, Calif.Wisner, NebraskaSanta Rosa, Calif.Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaBerkeley 5, Calif.Lafayette, Calif.Tucson, Arizona

1140 Riebli Rd.1325 Snowdon St.2723-B Stuart St.1005 Second St.Rte. 9, Box 809-GU.S. Army Medical

Research UnitInst. for Medical Research Kuala Lumpur, Malaya3459 McTavish St. Montreal 2, Quebec,

Canada '

Merkel, Dalton E.Merkel, Mrs. D. E.Merilees, WID. J.Merrick, George G.Mewaldt, Dr. L. RichardMiller, Hettie M.Miller, Dr. LoysMitchell, RogerMoos, LouisMorton, Martin L.Mowbray, M. VincentMuir, AllisterMUlligan, Fr. James A.Neff, Johnson A.Nichols, Dr. Walter F.Oakland Park Dept.c/o Paul F. CoYel,

Park NaturalistOdlum, Gordon C.

1836 W. 62nd Ave.4502 Bisbee St •.4150 Golf Dr.R.R. 1 Clearwater Stn.821 Cherry Lane302 IlolaneP.O. BoX 134252CNorth FairwayRte • .3, Box 250A4386 Ledger Ave.P.O. Box 623965 S. Bannock65 No. Madison Ave.

634 141;.h St.Race Rocks Light

O'Connor, O.F.M. Rev •.Patric~ San Luis Rey CollegeO'Keefe, Mrs. T. M.Oldaker, Mr •.R. F. 465 E. Hastings St •.Ornithology, Cornell

CollegeParsons, Dr. Robert P.Payne, Donald E.Peterson, Liven A.Peterson, Harold G.Pickett, Edwin R.Pinkas, LeoPyle, Robert L., Dr.Parratt, Lloyd P.Randall, Robert N.Recher, Harry F.Dept. Bio. ScLReinelt, Mrs. FrankReuther, Ronald T.~einhardt, Robt. D.Dept~ General ScienceRioh, C. SelwynRichardson, CarlRiohardson, FrankUniv. of WashingtonRobertson, John McB.Robertso~, Mrs. John McB.Rogers, ThomasRomig, Mrs. Agnes B.Ross, Rofo Roland C.Ryder, Ronald A.Sarles, John G.

Rte. 3, Box 471Rte. 4, Box 159A5101 Beacon Hill Rd.3548 65th Ave.6901 S. Land Park Dr.3127 Volk Ave.3012 44th St. N.W.500 West 14th St.

.928 16th St.Stanford Univ344 Arroyo Seco13980 DalebrookOreg.onState Univ.114 Champion Place647 Crowson Rd.Dept. of Zoology623 Sunset Dr.623 Sunset Dr.E. 10820 Maxwell351 Alma.Real Dr.388 Dearborn St.748 Eastdale Dr.Suite 2()4;,1855Balsam Sf;.

Borrego Springs, Calif.Borrego Springs, Calif.Vancouver 14,B.C.CanadaKlamath Falls, OregonSan Jose 27, Ca.lif.Wells Gray Park,

B. C. CanadaDavis, Calif.DanVille, Calif.Billings, MontanaPullman, WashingtonGaithersburg, Md.Burnaby 2,

B. C.,CanadaSt. Marys College, Cal.Englewood, ColoradoPasadena, 1, Calif.

Oakland 12, Calif.R.R. 1, Victoria, B.C.,

CanadaSan Luis Ray, Calif.Towner, Colorado.Vancouver 4, B.C.

CanadaMt. Vernon, IowaCarmel, Calif.Eugene, OregonGlen Lake, Minn.Oakland 5, Calif.Sacramento 22, Calif.Long Beach 8, Calif.Washington 16, D. C.Upland, Calif. .Bismarck, N. Dako:taStanford, Calif.Santa Cruz, Calif.Cleveland 30, OhioCorvallis, OregonAlhambra, Calit.Ashland, OregonSeattle 5, Wash.Paradise, Calif.Paradise, Calif.Spokane 62, Wash •.Pacific Palisades, Cal.Pasadena 6, Calif.Ft. Collins, ColoradoVancouver, B.C. Canada

Schultz, Mrs. RobertSchumacher, Mrs. H. L.Seamans, James O.Serial Division LibrarySheppard, Mr. JaySheppard, Mrs. M.Sladen, Wm. J. L., M.D.Dept. of PathobiologySmall, ArnoldSmedley, ConstanceSmith, David C.:Bmith, Mrs. otis H.Smith, Otis H.Smith, Harry- R.Stabler, Dr. Robert M.Stallcup, Leland L.Stallcup, ,Richard W.Stephun, Mr. R~ymond

;$iockton, Mrs. FrancesW.Stoddard, Herbert L., Sr.Stokely, John M.Stone, Charlesstoner, Emerson A.Storm, RobertM.Strauch, Jr., Joseph G.Strickling, Mr. & Mrs. Jerry,Sturges, 'Franklin 'W.SUllivan, Mrs. Ber.aneSWinehart, D. B.,'"Swanson, Carl V~Thompson, Charles G.Thomssen, Mrs. Richard M.Thorne, Oakle1gh', IIThorne Ecological Res.

Station, Inc.Travis, James R.Trobaugh, Mr. &Mrs. GeneTrousdale, Mrs. H. K.Twining, Wilbur E.VanDeusen, Hobart MerritVesey, Mrs. George W.Washburn, Mrs. Viola E.Webb, William G.Weeks, Carnes, M.D.West, Mrs. Ethel BellWerner, David B.

Peninsula SchoolWeston, Dr. Henry G., Jr.

Dept. of BiologyWilliams, Laidlaw O.Williams, Roger W.

22809 W. 53rd Ave.7027 Sycamore Ave.Alcott Roao.Univ. of Br. Columbia

The Johns Hopkins Univ.615 North Wolfe St.3028 Cavendish Dr.Route 21304 Pitman Ave.207 Alexander Ave.207 Alexander Ave.1549 Es clona Dr.·Colorado College6227 Buenaventura Ave.6227 Buenaventura Ave.Star Rte. A. Box 4015Granite Sta.Nightingale RanchRte. 3 13945 Marinita Ave.89 Valley ,St.285 East L St..3800,Neer Ave.1933 E. Grant St.5ll8W. Bellfort Blvd.1556 Winds orRte. 3, Box 2805512 Valhalla Dr.2101 Casc~de Pl.587 Arlington Ave.168 Loma Vista Dr.

1229 University Ave.42.58 Fairway16603 Pomona Dr..5932 LaSalle Ave~13 Stonwood Parkway16.54 Greenwood Dr.1013 Walnut Ave •.5146 Oakwood Ave.Box 143 Patagonia Rd.11234 San Lucas

San Jose State Co.llegeRte. 1, Box 12810.51 Overlook Rd.

Mountlake Terr., Wash.Seattle, Wash.Concord, Ml:\ss.Vancouver 8, B.C.

CanadaCincinnati 1.5, OhioGlen Ellen, Calif.Baltimore .5,

Maryland .Los Angeles 64, Calif.Colbert, WashsngtonPalo Alto, Calif.Larkspur, Calif.Larkspur, Calif.Santa Cruz, Calif.Colorado Springs, Colo.Oakland 5, Calif.Oakland.5, Calif.Spenard, AlaskaBakersfield, Calif.Thomasville, GeorgiaSan Rafael, Calif.Ft. Collins, ColoradoBenicia, Calif.Corvallis, Or-egonCorvallis, OregonHouston 3.5,TexasAshland, OregonBoulder._ColoradoCarmichael, Calif.Tacoma 66, WashingtonBerkeley 7, Calif.Sonoma, Calif.

Boulder, ColoradoLos Alamos, N. MexicoDetroit 40, MichiganOakland 11, Calif.Pinecrest, Calif.Montclair, New JerseySouth Bend, 14, IndianaSanta Oruz, Calif.La Canada, Calif.Nogales, ArizonaLoma Linda, Calif.Menlo Park, Calif.San Jose 14, Calif.Carmel, Calif.Berkeley 8, Calif.

Wilson, Howard E., M.D.Winkler; Dr. Howard A., M~D.Winter, Frank C.Wood, Prof • MerrillDept. of Zoology andEnt0ino~ogy

Wood, Dr. Sherwin F.Wood, Roger W.

'.Woody, Jack B.Woon,'Ernest B.Yocom, Chas. F.Zajanc, Mr. AdeUniv. of 'Calif.Field AdministrationZWickel, Fred C.

14045 N.E.6th St.678 Humboldt St.9~ N. Re~qrd Dr.

Bellevue, Washington,Denver, ColoradoBeverly Hills, C~lif.

P~nnsy+~ani~StateUniversity101.5 N. Alexandria Ave.1827 N. For<1P,O. Box UBi56I.ongridge R.1666 Charles Aye.

I

University Park,Penna.Los Angeles 29, Calif.MCMinnville, OregonWells, NevadaOrinda, Calif.Arcata, Calif.

Davis, Calif.Vancouver 13, B.C.Canada

SHOREBm.DBANDING AT CARMEL,CALIFORNIA

By Rich~rd Stallcup

On theeYening of September 9, ,196~, ,r set up a 42 I black mist net in themouth of the CaI'Inel River near Carmel, Monterey County, California. I started.setting up about 6 o'clock with alInCllstlOOpercent sun on the net. Beforethenet was fully stretched, four mo~~birds 'W~re caught. I banded. about 25 shore-birds tb.ere before dark when all the b1r~. l~ft the area to roost on the oceanbeach.

Just before dawn on September lOth, I started catching birds again and by7t30 a.m. had banded 41 more birds for a total of 66 birds in about 2,hours and10 minutes.

The situation was excellent for netting. During most of the fa~l, theCarmel River is down to a small stream. I let the net across thewat .•r, with abackgrOUtid of ~ed vegetation and dark water, alllIlIhorebirds usually fly overwater whenev.•r p08sible. The birds fly ,up and. d.ownthe stream naturally whilefeeding and are' eas~ly "driven" if loafing because there is nowhere ,else forthem to go,

The best of the catch were three Baird Sandpipers which are quite uncommonon the coast, They are beautiful bird.s in the hand.

On September 22, another attempt was made early in the morning, butthere were only a few birds in the area and I only caught 10.

By October 7th the river was full of water and there ,was little possi-bility of catching any birds.

Four qrant land birds, were caught and I found that the net would holda Black-crowned night ,heron which I alao banded for a total of 83 birds in about3i hours. '

Previous attempts at shorebird banding have been virtually unsuccessfulby me because of lack of background, except at Moss Landing, also in MontereyCounty where Guy McCaskie, John Ralph and I have averaged 8 birds per net permorning between about half an hour before dawn and half an hour a·fter dawn.

B. C. N. HeronGreater YellowlegsBaird SandpiperKilldeerSemipal. PloverWestern SandpiperLeast Sandpiper

1132

112239-r9

1 Barn Swallow1 R. W. Swallow1 W. C. Sparrow1 Lincoln Sparrow

Ii

WESTERN BIRD BANDER340 ELM STREET

MENLO PARK, CALI FORNIA