Every summer I see a family of Sage Sparrows nesting in my yard, which seems a bit odd to me. Usually I see Sage Sparrows in large numbers out in the desert, like at Red Rock Canyon. So why are they here in Bear Valley Springs at 5300 feet?

And it seems their numbers have been gradually increasing over the years. Rather than just one adult and one juvenile, now I'm seeing 5 or 6 at a time. They really love the water dishes I have out for all the birds. In fact the Sage Sparrows seems to spend more time drinking and bathing than even the California Towhee (who are always the first to bath after I clean and refill the water dishes). Every time I look out my kitchen window, there are 4 or 5 Sage Sparrows drinking and bathing. Funny for a desert bird to be so attached to water.

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While golfing in BVS this afternoon, 200+ pelicans passed over about 2:30.  Migration has begun!

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The 2010 bluebird nesting season is well underway. First egg was recorded at Brite Lake on April 19th.  The club monitors  were at Indian Hill Campground on Friday May 21st and recorded 62 eggs as well as 5 nests with an adult remaining on the nest (therefore, we expect more eggs). Brite Lake has 43 eggs in 12 nest boxes! Antelope run has 3 eggs, and Meadow Brook has 5 eggs. Unfortunately, Tehachapi's changing weather from warm to cold is a major factor in egg and chick mortality. This weekend's cold front produced snow at 4,000 feet.  I'm hoping the temperature change was not too severe for the birds to handle.

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Christine and I just returned from 4 days in Yosemite. Pileated Woodpecker was one of our target birds for the trip. Hiking back from Mirror Lake we heard a call that sounded similar to a Flicker, and another hiker claimed it was a Pileated. We searched the area and found nothing, and it never called again.

Later as we arrived back in the campground, Christine spotted a Pileated on the ground pecking at the rotting wood of an old tree stump. Then it flew to a nearby RV, perched on the door and stared at his reflection in the window and mirror, hopping back and forth and calling. Was it "Hey, you! Get outta my territory"?

Later I saw the same bird on a car near our campsite doing the same thing. Then it drummed on the window, loud enough I thought it might break the window!

It's just another example of hunting all over for a species, only to find it easily right in the campground!

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Christine and I participated in this weekend's count for America's Birdiest Inland County competition, which Kern County has won many, many times. We covered the Tehachapi area, searching for a few target species not already located by others on Friday. We were able to add species common to our area, although I'm sure that by the end of the weekend we won't be the only ones to find them: Steller's Jay and Pygmy Nuthatch.

We also added Lewis's Woodpecker to the count, locating at least 6 at Brite Lake at the west end of the dam. We've seen several others in the campground there before, and they have been reported along our bluebird trail at Indian Hill Campground. 

Another target species for Tehachapi is Purple Martin. Christine and I searched Starland Drive in BVS where we've seen them last year, but nothing there. Marilyn McCune reported seeing and hearing them near her home this morning, so that's good enough for the count.

With a strong wind, Brite Lake in the mid-afternoon was pretty empty. But a couple that were there were pretty great: Clark's Grebe and Common Loon in breeding plumage!

Lake Jean surprised us with an Osprey flying over, looking vainly for lunch. Most likely migrating through and long gone by now. Also at Lake Jean was a small group of Tricolored Blackbirds.

Mountain Quail were calling everywhere on Bear Mountain in BVS, but of course we didn't see even one. The morning started out with lots of birds calling and few seen, including a distant Red-breasted Nuthatch. Band-tailed Pigeons have been hard for us to find over the past few months, but today they seems to be everywhere in the high country.

We found 5 Spotted Sandpipers at 3 locations - 4 Island Lake in BVS, Lake Jean, and Brite Lake.

There's on more day left to add to the count for ABIC competition, so tomorrow we're out again looking for Golden Eagle, Lark Sparrow, and Purple Finch. We should be able to find these and surprised we didn't see them today!

Richard

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