Magpies: the Black-billed is found in eastern Oregon across the Great Basin
all the way east to the Great Plains. In California this species is found
in Shasta Valley and east of the Sierra. The Yellow-billed is one only two
endemic species in U.S. Both are Corvids in California. Yes, West Nile
did great damage to the Yellow-billed population...this virus is hard on
Corvids and owls, especially. Good places to look for YBM in Nor Cal
include several spots along I-5: Anderson River Park south of
Redding...west of freeway around Orland...further south they can be found
on campus and in downtown Davis. They especially like small farms and
ranches where dogs are fed outside...they know their kibble. They like low
elevation scrub, cattle water tanks, irrigation ponds, farm yards--like the
Tricolored Blackbird they once followed the elk herds. They are not often
found right along the coast though there is evidence that they breed in
warmer parts of San Francisco and Daly City. Early accounts of birds in
San Francisco and coastal Monterey do NOT mention magpies. Further south
(San Diego, Ventura) they may show up right along the coast.
On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 12:35 AM, Steve Berliner <forcreeks@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Re. Shawneen’s inquiry about these Magpies, I can report anecdotally, that
on a late June, 2016 drive in CA between Pinnacles Nat’l Park and Coalinga
on Hwy. 25 and 198, many of them landed on the road ahead of us along this
ranch-rangeland habitat.
Steve Berliner
