Subject: GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS-- LATE MIGRANTS OR BREEDERS?
Date: Jun 6 09:55:02 2001
From: WAYNE WEBER - contopus at home.com


OBOLinks and Tweeters,

With regard to Sean Burgett's reports of late GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS
in northwestern Oregon, it may be of interest that there are two
well-documented breeding records of the species near sea level in
southwestern British Columbia. One of these occurred in North
Vancouver and the other in Saanich, near Victoria. These breeding
records were described in a note by Wayne Campbell in the "Canadian
Field-Naturalist" (Vol. 89, pages 175-176, 1975) and are briefly
referred to in Volume 4 of "The Birds of British Columbia" (2001).

The breeding record in Coos County in 1982 mentioned by Alan Contreras
and referred to in his "Birds of Coos County, Oregon" (1998) appears
to be poorly documented. However, together with the two sea-level
breeding records in southwestern B.C., it indicates a potential for
breeding well south of the main breeding range. Observations of
Golden-crowns in early June like Sean's should definitely be followed
up if possible.

Incidentally, to my knowledge, Golden-crowned Sparrow has never been
proven to breed in Washington. Two pairs were reported on territory
near Harts Pass in the North Cascades in July 1956, and one pair in
the high Olympics in late June 1992 (Smith, Mattocks, & Cassidy,
"Breeding Birds of Washington State", 1997). However, in neither case
were a nest, eggs, or young found. The southernmost mountain locality
where Golden-crowns are definitely known to breed is Garibaldi
Provincial Park, north of Vancouver, B.C.

Coming up with a well-documented breeding record for Golden-crowned
Sparrow will be a worthwhile challenge for birders in Oregon and
Washington over the next few years.

Wayne C. Weber
114-525 Dalgleish Drive
Kamloops, BC V2C 6E4
contopus at home.com