BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA 
Two nests of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (one shown here] were found on a dredge spoil island created for nesting terns and skimmers in the harbor at La Paz, Baja California Sur 19 June 
2009 — an unusual site for a whistling-duck nest. Photographs by Edgar Amador. 
Jun-2 Jul (RAE, ph. EDZH) were unseason- 
able. An imm. Yellow-billed Loon on the Gulf 
of California at Bahia de los Angeles 4-10 Aug 
(ph. GMy) was a great surprise. Three previ- 
ous Regional records were from the extreme 
nw. (Nov 1968, Jan 1997) and the n. gulf Oun 
1973). The first observed Pied-billed Grebe 
brood of the year was at Estero San Jose 1 1 
Jan; three broods of small chicks were still 
there 12 Aug (all SGM). Unseasonable was an 
Eared Grebe at the Arroyo del Rosario estuary 
30 Jun (GR-C). A Clarks Grebe nest at the 
Cerro Prieto geothermal ponds 29 May (ph. 
ESM) was the first found since nesting was 
confirmed there 2003-2006. 
The only Cooks Petrels reported were 3 
about 147 km offshore and about 314 km s. of 
San Diego 19 Jun (AT). Townsends Shearwa- 
ters were seen off Cabo San Lucas 18 Jul (2; 
KAR, DJP) and at Punta Arena 6 Aug (SGM). 
One farther n. (“about 100 miles offshore and 
100 miles s. of Cedros”) 18 Jul was presum- 
ably associated with the same conditions that 
brought 100 Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels to 
waters w. of Baja California Sur that day (KAR, 
DJP). Other storm-petrels can be more diffi- 
658 
cult to identify, and recent studies (e.g., Robb 
and Mullarney et al. 2008, Petrels Night and 
Day) suggest that cryptic species remain un- 
recognized. Baja California is fertile ground 
for study, with six extant and one extinct nest- 
ing taxa described (including three subspecies 
of Leach’s), but population estimates vary 
widely, and the prospect of extralimital visi- 
tors on nesting islands is high. All of this is to 
set the stage for another report of Ashy Storm- 
Petrels off Punta Eugenia in Jul. Although 
specimens have reportedly been taken s. to the 
vicinity of Is. San Benito, we believe a speci- 
men or convincing photograph should be ob- 
tained to establish the species’ occurrence off 
Baja California Sur. Near the mouth of the 
Gulf of California, dark-rumped Leach’s 
Storm-Petrels were reported from Punta Arena 
for the first time, with 4 on 6 
Aug and 8 on 11 Aug (tSGM). 
Boobies at Cabo San Lucas 
18 Jul included 2 Masked, 2 
Blue-footed, and 30 Brown 
(KAR, DJP). In the far nw, up 
to 26 Brown Boobies at Is. 
Coronado included at least 
three pairs that produced 
nestlings 28 Jan-16 Jun 
(WTH, DWP et al.). A Mag- 
nificent Frigatebird about 64 
km w.-sw. of Ensenada 12 Aug 
(FLH) was rare so far n. on the 
Pacific coast. On the far s. gulf 
coast, an ad. male Great 
Frigatebird at Punta Arena 1 1 
Aug (ph., tSGM) established the Region’s 2nd 
record. Herons n. of their usual Pacific haunts 
included a Reddish Egret at La Salina 23 Jun 
(RAE) and a subad. Yellow-crowned Night- 
Heron at Lagunita El Cipres 14 May-24 Jun 
(ph. EDZH, RAE). In n. Baja California, rein- 
troduced California Condors again nested in 
the Sierra San Pedro Martir (fate unknown; 
fide HdlC), and Red-shouldered Hawks 
fledged 2 young at a traditional site in Tecate 
(ph. JS). Two very unusual raptor observa- 
tions were made at the Guerrero Negro salt- 
works: an imm. Golden Eagle was seen 21 Jun 
(VA, RCL), and an ad. Prairie Falcon 25 May 
was accompanied by 4 juvs. (VA, MD, DJ). 
There are few records of the eagle s.of n. Baja 
California, and the falcon has been confirmed 
nesting only once before in Baja California 
Sur. A Red Knot at Estero Punta Panda 24 Jun 
(RAE) and a Western Sandpiper at Lagunita 
El Cipres 5 Jun (EDZH) were unseasonable. 
No jaegers were reported, but South Polar 
Skuas were seen from a cruise ship in the Pa- | 
cific: one off Baja California 17 Jul and 3 off j 
Baja California Sur 19 Jul (KAR, DJP). | 
DOVES THROUGH BLACKBIRDS 
Eurasian Collared-Doves reached one of the 
“continent’s” most remote locations this sea- 
son, as evidenced by 18 birds at two locations 
on 1. Guadalupe in the 2nd week of Jun 
(ELP). Downy Woodpeckers were recorded at 
their traditional Tecate site throughout the || 
period, with a pair confirmed present 11 Jul 
(ph. JS); nesting is still unconfirmed for Mex- 
ico. Two Ash-throated Flycatchers were still 
attending a nest at Miraflores 11 Aug (SGM), i 
and up to 4 Tropical Kingbirds at Lagunas de 1| 
Chametla in Aug included a juv. 7 Aug (ph. | 
SGM, DGE), establishing nesting there for at |i 
least the 3rd consecutive year. An addition to 
Joe Sweeny’s growing list of birds recorded at 
Rancho la Puerta, w. of Tecate, was the offi- 
cially endangered Least Bell’s Vireo (V b. pusil- 
lus): one or 2 were singing there 11 Jul but 
not heard before or after. Purple Martins are 
widely, but locally, distributed in the Region, 
and the subspecific identity of Baja California 
birds is disputed in the literature. Five birds at 
Mision San Fernando 29 Jun (GR-C) were in 
cen. Baja California, where the Vizcaino 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
This immature Yellow-billed Loon at Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California, was 
present 4-10 (here 4) August 2009. Oddly, two of the four Mexican records now 
come from the Gulf of California in summer. Photograph by Greg Myer. 
