The is note is occasioned by the recent sightings of two icterids – Orchard Oriole and Great-tailed Grackle – that are rare in Santa Cruz County –. Although both have a similar number of county records, their histories are very different.

Orchard Oriole

Eleven accepted county records (Table 1). The first, at Soquel on March 20, 1956, was among the earliest records for the state. One seen in the same area by the same observer two years later on March 26-28, 1958, was perhaps the same bird. However, lacking any strong evidence of that, I have accepted it here as a different record. No others were seen until 1977, and then very rarely afterward. An average of 0.4 per year were found during the recent 10-year period of 1990-1999.

Seven (64%) have been fall migrants, found from Sept. 5 to early November. There is one winter record (January 3) and three records from early spring (March 26 – April 7). These latter records may pertain to over-wintering birds rather than spring migrants, as wintering birds elsewhere in California have lingered beyond these dates and true spring vagrants have been quite rare. Orchard Orioles have been found in winter relatively more frequently in Monterey County than in Santa Cruz County (D. Roberson, 1985, Monterey Birds). Some unidentified female or immature orioles found in the county during the winter (and some of those occasionally identified as Hooded Oriole) may have been Orchard Orioles.

All records have been within a few miles of the coast. Most have been associated with riparian woodland or exotic flowering plants. One was found dead in a chain link fence in Capitola on Oct. 23, 1979. Of the 10 records with information about sex and age, six have been females or immature males and three have been adult males. Only adult males have been identified so far in winter or early spring.

Table 1. Records of Orchard Oriole in Santa Cruz County
 

Date	Location	Sex/Age	Observer
Mar. 30, 1956	Soquel	ad. male	R. Richardson
Mar. 26-28, 1958	Soquel	ad. male	R. Richardson
Sept. 5, 1977	Neary Lagoon	female/imm. male	S. Getty, D. Starks
Oct. 23, 1979	Capitola	female/imm. male	E. Caylor et al.
Early Nov., 1982	Santa Cruz	female/imm. male	S. Gerow
Oct. 27-29, 1987	Pajaro River	female/imm. male	R. Erickson et al.
Sept. 26, 1994	Rancho Del Oso	??	J. Sterling
Jan. 3, 1995	Sunset State Beach	ad. male	D. Suddjian
Sept. 18-19, 1996	Pajaro River	female/imm.	D. Suddjian
Sept. 15, 1997	Meder Canyon	female/imm.	J. Davis
Apr. 7-9, 2000	Natural Bridges State Beach	ad. male	A. Kopitov et al.

 

Great-tailed Grackle

Twelve accepted county records (Table 2). Great-tailed Grackle has shown a dramatic recent range expansion into California (A. Small, 1994, California Birds, Their Status and Distribution, Ibis Publishing Co.). The first state record was from Imperial County in 1964, with nesting confirmed there in 1969. Grackles subsequently colonized many localities in Southern California, with the first coastal nesting at San Diego County in 1988. Vagrants have occurred in Northern California with increasing frequency since 1992. Most have been found there during the spring and early summer, and nesting has been recorded at a handful of places in the last few years. In this phase of the species’ range expansion, each spring season brings grackles to new localities.

The first Great-tailed Grackle for Santa Cruz County was also the most widely seen to date, a singing male photographed and tape-recorded in Live Oak on April 8-14, 1994. None were seen in 1995, but it has been found each year from 1996 to 2000 (Table 2). The 5-year average for 1995-1999 was 2.0 per year. All records have been from March 31 to July 6. Most (75%) have been found in April and May. Most have been seen on only one day, but a few records involved birds lingering for at least 2-35 days.

All records have been from near the coast or further inland in the Pajaro Valley. Great-tailed Grackles have been found in suburban and urban areas, city parks, agricultural lands and riparian woodland. Nesting has recently occurred in adjacent San Benito (1998; Field Notes 52:501) and Monterey (1999; North American Birds 53:327) counties. It should be looked for to occur in Santa Cruz County, perhaps before too long. Males and females have been recorded together on three occasions.

Table 2. Records of Great-tailed Grackle in Santa Cruz County
 

Date	Location	Number	Sex	Observer
Apr. 8-14, 1994	Live Oak	1	male	B. Hopkins et al.
Apr. 4 - May 8, 1996	San Lorenzo Park	2	male & female	J. Figurski
Apr. 27, 1996	Thompson Road	2	male & female	D. Suddjian
May 3, 1996	Santa Cruz	1	male	J. Davis
May 4, 1996	Watsonville	2	females	D. Suddjian
Mar. 31, 1997	Pajaro River	1	male	D. Suddjian
May 27, 1998	Harkins Slough	1	male	D. Suddjian
Jun. 16-17, 1998	Pinto Lake	2	male & female	W. Macon, D. Suddjian
May 31 - Jun. 1, 1999	Capitola	1	male	M. Tindle et al.
Jun. 9, 1999	Antonelli Pond	1	male	S. Gerow
Jul. 6, 1999	Neary Lagoon	1	male	B. Hill
Apr. 8, 2000	Soquel	1	male	D. Suddjian