The Season 



m 



the Chipping Sparrow in Berkeley on 

 April 30, but all three of these may very 

 likely have arrived earlier, as they are 

 rare enough to easily escape notice. 



The transients were augmented this year 

 by the presence of Western Evening Gros- 

 beaks, which were seen on April 28 and 

 May 5. On the former date a flock of fif- 

 teen or twenty were feeding in the live oaks 

 in a Berkeley canon, and, on the latter, 

 one or two were still present in the same 

 tree, at which time there was also a Long- 

 tailed Chat, a bird common enough on the 

 other side of the hills, but seldom recorded 

 in Berkeley. Rufous Hummingbirds were 

 p^resent in numbers for ten days in the 

 middle of the month, the largest aggrega- 

 tion being seen on April 16. Western 

 Tanagers were seen on April 28. 



April 27 was spent among the migrant 

 shorebirds at Bay Farm Island, when three 

 kinds of Sandpipers (Least, Western, and 

 Red-backed) were seen; also four Plovers 

 (Killdeer, Snowy, Semi-palmated, and 

 Black-bellied). In addition to these, there 

 were Sanderling, Hudsonian Curlew, Mar- 

 bled Godwits, Western Willets, and Long- 

 billed Dowitchers. On April 20 several 

 nests of the Coot were found in Golden 

 Gate Park, and one family with three 

 babies, still in autumn leaf plumage, were 

 happily feeding on North Lake. On Stow 

 Lake, a Common Loon gave a fine exhi- 

 bition of fancy diving. 



Since the middle of May, observations 

 have been confined to the Redwood region 

 on the western slope of the Santa Cruz 

 Mountains. The spring had been colder 

 than usual, according to report, but in 

 spite of that, many of the characteristic 

 birds of the region had families of young 

 already on the wing. Point Pinos Juncos, 

 Santa Cruz Chickadees, and Tawny 

 Creepers, all with plumage modified to 

 match the bark of redwood and madrona, 

 were among these early nesters. The usual 

 birds ascribed to the region have been 

 located and many of them have been 

 found abundant. One would suppose that 

 a region of such luxuriant growth would 

 provide abundantly for its bird population. 

 Let us hope also that the presence of 



abundant bird-life will make possible a con- 

 tinuance of luxuriant forestation. — Amelia 

 S. Allen, Berkeley, Calif. 



San Diego Region. — April and May 

 find the bird observer's interest at the 

 highest pitch in southern California, as 

 elsewhere. Some winter visitants seemed 

 loath to leave, the Varied Thrush being 

 recorded as late as April 5, while the Blue- 

 fronted Jay, noted on May 19, has possibly 

 become a, resident of the low foothills. 



A trip into a part of the San Fernando 

 valley where natural desert conditions still 

 prevail resulted in finding the new nests of 

 six pairs of Cactus Wren on April 5. Sev- 

 eral pairs of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers 

 were also found in the midst of the dense 

 junipers. Rufous (Allen) Hummingbirds 

 were numerous, and the Gambel and 

 Golden-crowned Sparrows very abundant 

 and in full song. The first absence of Gam- 

 bel Sparrow was noted April 19, when their 

 songs were missed from the morning 

 chorus. On the 20th others arrived, pre- 

 sumably from farther south, dropping into 

 gardens where water and food were pro- 

 vided, to remain a few days only. This 

 continued through the remainder of the 

 month, and a few stragglers came along 

 well into May. Golden-crowns came in in 

 the same manner, after the main body of 

 birds had gone, wearing very handsome 

 plumage and singing with an intensity of 

 piercing sweetness and plaintiveness. 



Among the Warblers, the Townsend, 

 which wintered here in small numbers, was 

 absent from most of the spring lists — a 

 single bird appearing upon a few of the 

 later dates. The Calaveras and the Hermit 

 were apparently more than usually numer- 

 ous. The Long-tailed Chat was observed 

 in a number of unusual locations, spending 

 a few days in the gardens of three differ- 

 ent Audubon members where food and 

 water are always accessible and shrubbery 

 abundant. Western Tanagers, first noted 

 April 19, were fairly common through the 

 first week of May. Lazuli Buntings, first 

 reported April 14, are abundant and 

 apparently nesting along willow-bordered 

 streams and in the mountains. 



