Free email delivery
Please sign up for email delivery in the subscription area to the right.
No salesman will call, at least not from us. Maybe from someone else.
Malibu Creek State Park
1925 Las Virgenes Rd, Calabasas
Saturday, 13 June 2026 at 8am
This is always a lovely walk past grassy fields and groves of Live Oak. We should see resident species such as Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Acorn Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse and Western Bluebird. Many may be nesting.
We’ll look for raptors, hummers and swifts, flycatchers, swallows, wrens, warblers and late migrants. Lazuli Bunting and Phainopepla are possible. Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks and American Kestrel are all nesting raptors. Parakeets too, plus swifts overhead. Are the White-tailed Kites still there? Come and find out. Deer, Coyote and Bobcat and Ground Squirrels are resident though seeing a Bobcat is a rare treat.
Link to prior trip reports: May 2024, Nov 2012, Nov 2011, Nov. 2010
Family guide: 2-3 miles walking on some pavement but mostly crushed gravel and dirt trails. Morning temperatures start cool.
[Directions] From the Ventura Fwy (101): exit at Las Virgenes Rd. Go south on Las Virgenes Rd. for about 3 miles. Continue past the traffic light at the intersection with Mulholland Hwy. The Park entrance is on the right just south of the traffic light.
Coast Route: From PCH, take Malibu Canyon Road inland. The main entrance of the park is on the left about 1.5 miles past the traffic light at Piuma Rd. (Do not turn at the entrance to Tapia Park which is just after Piuma Rd.)
If you don’t have a CA State Park pass, the day-use fee is $12 per vehicle, $11 for seniors, or $3/hour. Go straight after you pass the kiosk. We’ll meet in the second (lower) parking lot. Look for the sign that says “Main Trailhead Parking”. Look for us near the building (restrooms). Either way, allow 45 minutes travel time from Santa Monica.
Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Main Trailhead parking lot near the bathrooms. Watch for roadside birds on your way into the park.
For additional information, e-mail Jean; reservations not needed: <jeangarrett2001 [AT] aol.com>
[Posted by Chuck Almdale, submitted by Lillian Johnson]
This answers your questions about:
Just what did dinosaurs eat 95 million years ago?, and
Why is that bird hanging around while we’re talking?
Click the link below for the 17 1/2 – minute podcast.
Malibu Creek State Park
1925 Las Virgenes Rd, Calabasas
Saturday, 13 June 2026 at 8am
This is always a lovely walk past grassy fields and groves of Live Oak. We should see resident species such as Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Acorn Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse and Western Bluebird. Many may be nesting.
We’ll look for raptors, hummers and swifts, flycatchers, swallows, wrens, warblers and late migrants. Lazuli Bunting and Phainopepla are possible. Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks and American Kestrel are all nesting raptors. Parakeets too, plus swifts overhead. Are the White-tailed Kites still there? Come and find out. Deer, Coyote and Bobcat and Ground Squirrels are resident though seeing a Bobcat is a rare treat.
Link to prior trip reports: May 2024, Nov 2012, Nov 2011, Nov. 2010
Family guide: 2-3 miles walking on some pavement but mostly crushed gravel and dirt trails. Morning temperatures start cool.
[Directions] From the Ventura Fwy (101): exit at Las Virgenes Rd. Go south on Las Virgenes Rd. for about 3 miles. Continue past the traffic light at the intersection with Mulholland Hwy. The Park entrance is on the right just south of the traffic light.
Coast Route: From PCH, take Malibu Canyon Road inland. The main entrance of the park is on the left about 1.5 miles past the traffic light at Piuma Rd. (Do not turn at the entrance to Tapia Park which is just after Piuma Rd.)
If you don’t have a CA State Park pass, the day-use fee is $12 per vehicle, $11 for seniors, or $3/hour. Go straight after you pass the kiosk. We’ll meet in the second (lower) parking lot. Look for the sign that says “Main Trailhead Parking”. Look for us near the building (restrooms). Either way, allow 45 minutes travel time from Santa Monica.
Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Main Trailhead parking lot near the bathrooms. Watch for roadside birds on your way into the park.
For additional information, e-mail Jean; reservations not needed: <jeangarrett2001 [AT] aol.com>
[Posted by Chuck Almdale, suggested by several people]
Read more about it on the link below
California Bird Atlas calls for public help to map breeding birds
Source: UCLA Newsroom | by Holly Ober | 29 May, 2026
Media Contact: Holly Ober, 310-956-6465, hober@stratcomm.ucla.edu
Key takeaways
- A new project called the California Bird Atlas will document the breeding distribution and timing of every bird species in a defined region, providing a time-bound snapshot of where and how birds use the landscape.
- Bird atlases inform policy decisions around land protection, habitat management and climate resilience. Forty-four states have already completed a breeding bird atlas, but only 15 of California’s 58 counties have done so, capturing just 17% of the state’s land area.
- The California Bird Atlas is a collaborative, multi-year statewide project to document breeding birds, with an inaugural Big Weekend for data collection running June 4-7.
Lagoon Restoration Slideshow | 2012-2013
[By Chuck Almdale]
On May 14, 2026, a celebration of the Malibu Lagoon 2012-2013 Restoration was held at the lagoon. About 80 local politicians, agency employees, educators and other interested people were invited. Snacks, drinks and coffee was served, followed by burritos at lunch, and about a dozen speakers gave us their thoughts. I found it all very interesting and rewarding, and I wish more members of SMBAS were able to attend. After I ate my lunchtime burrito I led a bird walk and pointed out a few birds for about 90 minutes, ably assisted by SMBAS president Jean Garrett and Community Relations specialist Lu Plauzoles.
The whole event was filmed, including most of the exciting birdwalk. I hope to get a link to this film, probably late this summer.
All of this reminded me that during the June 2012 – May 2013 I had created several pages and a slideshow on the blog dealing entirely with the restoration, which I call reconfiguration. If you weren’t around during this sometimes acrimonious period, or even if you were and wish to reignite your fond memories of this period and event, here is where you can find the information.
Slide Show – Covers the period from just before reconstruction began to the lagoon opening ceremony just after it was finished, with a few later photos added. Scroll down to “Reconfiguration Slideshow.”
Project Overview – Maps, aerial photos, other photos, the slide show, some films that may have vanished.
Bird Census Data – Summary and month-by-month 10-year comparisons: birds, blow-by-blow.
Winter Ramp-Summer Clock – The story of the unusual and sometimes sunken sidewalk with the inlaid tile tidal clock.
Films & Documents – Vegetation, permits, YouTubes, interviews, water quality tests.
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 