[EBB Sightings] Tri Colored Blackbird at LLNL

Today, while walking at lunch along Arroyo Las Positas
where it passes through Lawrence Livermore Lab, I
spotted one male TRI-COLOR BLACKBIRD.

Since the Audubon Society is surveying Tri-Color BBs
this weekend, I doubled back and counted all the birds
I saw along 1/2 mile of trail during 30 min.  This
trail, inside the north boundary of LLNL, is the
border between a large grassland area and the arroyo,
which was marshy, reedy and shaded by pines. My survey
was 'old school' - i.e. naked eye - as binculars are
not allowed on site.  Unfortunately, I did not see
another male Tri-Color.  I saw many female BBs that I
assume were Red-Wings as they were paired with male
Red-Wings.

TRI-COLOR BLACKBIRD (1)
RED-WING BLACKBIRD (38) - 19 pairs displaying and
nesting
HOUSE FINCH (9)
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (2)
RED-TAIL HAWK (1)
AM. CROW (4)
COM. RAVEN (2)
BLACK PHOEBE (1)
BUSHTIT (3)
WEST. SCRUB JAY (2)
MO. DOVE (8)
EUR. STARLING (4)
CEDAR WAXWING (18)
AM. ROBIN (1)


Also of note, 3 pair of WHITE-TAILED KITES have built
nests with the LLNL site.  The news article, posted
internally, is pasted below:

-Bill Clark
Livermore, CA



=====================================

Protected white-tailed kites build three nests at main
site 

By Gordon Yano
Newsline staff writer

White-tailed kites (Elanus leucurus), a protected
raptor species, have built nests at three locations at
the Laboratory. The nests are in trees near the laser
corporation yard along the northern boundary of the
site, the Arroyo Las Positas near Bldg. 696 and the
storage yard near Trailer 6199C.

Anyone planning programmatic activity within 250
meters of the nests should contact Laura Burkholder or
Lisa Paterson of the Laboratory?s Environmental
Protection Department to ensure that activities do not
cause failure of the nests. 

?Over the years we have been very successful in
working with people and projects to protect the birds,
with little or no impact to operations,? said
Burkholder, who, like Paterson, is a wildlife
biologist.

White-tailed kites were expected to become extinct in
California in the early 1930s, but state and federal
protective measures helped the birds make a
significant comeback. White-tailed kites ? which
measure 14 to 17 inches and can have wingspans of more
than three feet ? can be found in agricultural areas,
grasslands and other open land or sparsely wooded
areas in the western United States and parts of
Central and South America. Today, the birds are common
throughout most of California. However, there is
conservation concern for the species because of
possible declines in some areas since the 1980s.

?Employees lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this
exciting bird might see it rapidly flapping its wings
while hovering in place above the ground, looking for
prey. That?s a characteristic hunting style,?
Burkholder said .
 
White-tailed kites prefer to hunt for small mammals
such as mice and voles, soaring or hovering above open
areas and then swooping down onto their prey. The word
kite comes from an old English word meaning to shoot
or go swiftly. The child?s flying toy made of wood and
paper was named for these birds.

The Lab?s main site provides attractive nesting and
foraging opportunities for the white-tailed kite. The
birds have been documented foraging and nesting at the
Lab?s main site since 1994. They have historically
nested in tall trees along the north and east buffer
zones and in some interior trees, foraging within the
buffer zones and in nearby fields.

White-tailed kites generally breed between February
and April, with young birds fledging ? becoming
capable of flight ? from June to July. The typical
clutch size (number of eggs in a nest) is four eggs.
Some kite pairs may nest a second time
(double-clutch); the nesting season then may extend
into August.

The white-tailed kite is a fully protected species in
the state of California and federally protected by the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that protects
native species. Protecting nesting kites ? such as
those at the Lab ? contributes to the birds?
successful breeding and to their conservation. Lab
wildlife biologists will monitor the nests on site to
determine timing of fledging and nesting success.


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ