Subject: RE-Re: SCJU and ANHU
Date: Feb 14 09:38:04 1995
From: Jerry Tangren - Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net




>Dennis asked about Slate-colored Junco distribution east and west of the
>Mountains. I have not reviewed all the records for Juncos yet so I can't
>say what their status is one way or another with any confidence. However,

>my general impression is that there is little very "east-west" difference
in
>the number of birds *reported*. I think that Slate-colored Juncos are not

>reported as often as they are seen. It is also my impression that the
>ratio for these birds is about 1/300

>Russell

I find the Slate-colored Junco numbers puzzling because somehow I would
expect to find significant (I use the word loosely) numbers in eastern
Washington, but they aren't here. At least not in the numbers that I
experienced in the Sacramento area of California or even the northeastern
corner of California. From memories of the Honey Lake CBC in the
Susanville
area of California, it seemed that almost every flock had one to a few
SCJU's.
(Gene, could that have been true or has 20 years dulled my memory that
much?)

However, there may be a reason for that. During my biriding years in
California, the SCJU was considered a separate species and one I didn't
want to miss on Christmas Bird Counts or other listing exercises. Now that
it's not, I don't diligently look the junco flocks over. When I find one
now,
I'll give it a second look, but move on without really registering it.

But if I can trust myself, there may not be as many SCJU in Washington
as there are farther south. And they definitely are no more common in
eastern Washington than they are on the westside.

Jerry Tangren
Systems and Programming Professional
Washington State University
Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center
1100 N. Western Ave.
Wenatchee WA 98801

E-mail: Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net
Phone: 509-663-8181 ext 231