Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeaks begin to arrive in the eastern part of Alameda county during the month of April.

Patterson Pass has been a very reliable place to view them.

Blue Grosbeak

Ohlone member, Judy Steenhoven, works in the Environmental
Protection Department at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory (LLNL) helping to manage environmental restoration
activities in Livermore and at Site 300 located to the east, directly
south of Patterson Pass. A spring/summer Blue Grosbeak population
is located in this area of rolling hills and rural agriculture. I
had a chance to ask Judy a few questions about bird management
for a government facility.

RC: Judy, does the LLNL have a formal bird surveying
program?
JS: LLNL has wildlife biologists on staff who initiated a
Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship
(MAPS) station in 2002. There are over 500 stations
located around the US and Canada. The Site 300 station
is the only MAPS station in a 40-mile radius. During the
first four years of the station operation about 600
total birds were banded representing over 40 species. We
have consistently had higher numbers of Bewick's
Wrens, House Finches and California Towhees than any
other species. For instance in 2005, out of 185 birds
captured, 57 were Bewick's Wrens.
RC: Have you netted and banded Blue Grosbeaks?
JS: Yes, but not many. Our Blue Grosbeak high count was 8
birds in 2002 and the low was 2 in 2004
RC: Is there a partner organization managing MAPS?
JS: The manager of our wildlife biologist staff at LLNL is
currently the holder of the permit to operate the station.
The station is operated following the protocols put out
by the Institute for Bird Populations. The link to their
web site is http://www.birdpop.org/maps.htm. Collected
data is submitted to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.
Blue Grosbeaks begin to arrive in the eastern part of Alameda
county during the month of April. Patterson Pass has been a very
reliable place to view them. Almost like clockwork, the males are
the first to arrive, on or very close to April 16. They pick a
territory deep in the riparian habitat and wait to entice the
females. Birders should listen for their click chip note, before
they begin to search for the bird. They are easiest to find sitting
out on a Cottonwood or tall Willow. If you’re lucky, you may see
one on a fence wire. —Richard Cimino