BFG to Rio Grande Valley 
by Mark Lockwood, 
Wiliiam McKinney, 
James Paton, and 
Barry Zimmer 
Revised 2008 
Ust Rice: 
$25.95 
ABirder’s Guide 
to the Rio Grande 
Valley is 
designed to help 
you locate not 
only the specialty birds of the Rio 
Grande Valley — those not occurring 
elsewhere in North America — but also 
to find the more common birds of the 
region. In addition to descriptions of 
over 230 birding sites, the authors — all 
of them long-time Texas birders — have 
completely updated the Annotated 
Checklist, covering more than 500 
species. 
A Birder’S 
Guide to 
Southern 
California 
by Brad Schram 
revised 2007 
440 pages; paper{lay-flat) 
List Price; 
$28.95 
A Birder'S 
Guide to 
Southeiitern 
Arliona 
by Richard Cachor Taylor, 
revised 2005; 
384 pages; paper (iay-flat) 
List Price: 
$24.95 
Call to Grder 
Cr 800/722-2460 
American Birding* 
ahasales-com 
ALASKA 
Brown-headed Cowbirds are annual in very 
small numbers, primarily after mid-May in 
Southeast. This year’s spread included one 
offshore at Saltry Cove on Prince of Wales I. 1 
May OL) and singles elsewhere at Ketchikan 
(ME) and at Gustavus (LR), both 19 May. 
Only 2 Bramblings on Attu, 17 & 22 May, 
made a poor showing there (DWS, JW), 
while 4 on St. Paul 25-29 May (St. Paul Tour) 
was about average for the Pribilofs in spring. 
Single male Purple Finches visited Ketchikan 
feeders 22 Mar-10 Apr QFK) and 7 Apr 
(CAP), following an excellent fall and winter 
showing for that locality, where the species is 
a very rare fall migrant and winter visitor and 
casual in spring. The Seward area’s long-stay- 
ing female or imm. male Cassin’s Finch from 
winter was joined amazingly at the same 
feeder by a bright ad. male 31 Mar, pho- 
tographed 8 Apr (ph. CG). Both remained 
sporadic at the feeder through approximately 
15 Apr. Red Crossbills were typically spo- 
radic, in variable numbers, and most abun- 
dant in Southeast, where they visited 
Ketchikan feeders in Apr and May for only 
the 2nd time since 1990. Reds were described 
as common about the Kodiak area, where 
young of the year were first detected 16 Apr 
(SB) and were visiting feeders thereafter. It 
was clearly a Common Redpoll invasion year 
in Southeast, where numbers quickly acceler- 
ated in the 2nd week of Mar, with some birds 
remaining into the 3rd week of Apr. Flocks of 
50+ were reported from Wrangell (BHD) and 
Ketchikan in this period, including 100 at 
one feeder in Ketchikan 31 Mar (ED). These 
were the highest redpoll numbers that Heinl 
and Piston have experienced in Ketchikan 
since 1990 and the strongest redpoll showing 
in Southeast since the 1980 irruption (Amer- 
ican Birds 39: 92). Decent numbers also ven- 
tured offshore to Sitka from early Apr 
through 25 Apr, with a maximum count of 50 
(GS, MLW. MET). At least one Hoary Redpoll 
was documented in the throngs of redpolls in 
the Juneau area 12-13 Apr (ph. PMS). 
Hoaries are casual in Southeast, and nearly all 
the documented records come from Juneau 
during larger Common Redpoll incursions. 
Still casual in the Region, mainly in South- 
east, a female Evening Grosbeak visited a Pe- 
tersburg feeder 22-24 May (ph. BH). This 
spring’s Hawfinch reports were curious, with 
none noted from the usual Aleutian and 
Bering Sea outposts. Instead, singles ap- 
peared at Nikolski Village on Umnak I. in the 
e. Aleutians 22-23 May (SEH, Jide DDG) and 
well n. on the Mainland at Wooly Lagoon n. 
of Nome 4-5 Jun (Wilderness Birding, ph. 
AL, LD). Hawfinches are casual in the cen. 
Aleutians but previously unrecorded e. of 
there, and we have but two prior Mainland 
records, one in Jun from n. of Kotzbue and a 
winter bird in Dillingham. A female and 2 
male House Sparrows that had wintered in 
Ketchikan remained into the spring and nest- 
ed in the eaves of a building on the water- 
front (SCH, ph. AWP). The nest was first lo- 
cated 6 May, when the female was seen taking 
grasses to the site. Two males were singing in 
the area and remained throughout the nest- 
ing sequence, while the female removed a fe- 
cal sac, and the pair was carrying food to the 
nest 1 Jun. Further brood rearing and feeding 
was observed at this site through 16 Jun, but 
no young were detected after the 15th. This 
constitutes Alaska’s first House Sparrow nest. 
See Heini and Piston, Birds of the Ketchikan 
area. Southeast Alaska (2009. Western Birds 
40: 54-144) for details of House Sparrow re- 
ports here. 
Contributors and observers: N. Ahgupuk, B. 
Alger, J. B. Allen, R. H. Armstrong, G. Baluss, 
R. B. Benter, S. Berns, J. Brady-Power, G. V. 
Byrd, M. Cady, C. Caldwell, E. Clark, J, 
Coghill, C. Corin, J. Dearborn, D. E Delap, B. 
H. Demerjian, L. Devaney, N. DeWitt (Interior 
Subregional Compiler), J. DeWitt, B. Dittrick, 
E S. Doherty, N. K. Drumheller, S. DuBois, J. 
Eakes, L. Edfelt, E Eldridge, M. Enright, T. Es- 
kelin, T. Evans, D. Fox, E & C. Fritz, C. A. 
Fultz, S. Garbowski, D. D. Gibson, R. E. Gill, 
M. Goff, S. Golodoff, R. J. Gordon, T. L. 
Goucher, C. Griswold, S. E. Hansen, M. K. 
Hart, C. Harwood, N. Haydukovich, S. C. 
Heinl (Southeast Co-Compiler), High Lone- 
some Tours (P. Davis et al), P. & T. Hunt, B. 
Hunter, J. Huntington, D. Hurley, J. Johnson, P. 
Keller, W. Keys, M. Kissling, J. E Koerner, G. 
Koonooka, K. Kuletz, A. Lang, J. Leighton, J. 
D. Levison, S. Lorenz, R. A. Macintosh, D. 
MacKay D. MacPhail, C. McIntyre, N. Mollett, 
B. Newman, L. J. Oakley, B. Paige, B. Pawuk, B. 
A. Peluso, G. Pendleton, A. W. Piston (South- 
east Co-Compiler), D. & S. Porter, P. Pourchot, 
D. Prentki, J. Puschock, K. M. Ripley, P. A. 
Rose, C. L. Ross, D. Rudis, K. Russell, J. Sauer, 
L. Scharf, R. L. Scher, S. Schuette, M. W. 
Schwan, S. Senner, D. Shaw, G. Smith, D. W. 
Sonneborn, K. Stenek, St. Paul Tour (S. 
Schuette, Stephan Lorenz, Sean Hegarty), S. 
Studebaker, P. Suchanek, A. Swingley M. E. Te- 
din, T. Tobish, W. Tweit, S. Urvina, T. Van Pelt, 
G. Van Vliet, P Vanseiow, V Vosburg, M. L. 
Ward, K. L. Wendt, Wilderness Birding Adven- 
tures (B. Dittrick, A. Lang, J. Huntington et 
al), R. Winckler, Wings, Inc.(J. L. Dunn et al), 
J. Withrow, K. Zervos, S. Zimmerman. 
Thede Tobish, 2510 Foraker Drive 
Anchorage, Alaska 99517, (tgtljo@gci.net) 
488 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
