The male American Avocet's bill is longer and straighter than the female's (L.Johnson 1/11)

Yikes! 75° at the lagoon in January? Ridiculous. Equally absurd is the evil rumor going around that we might not get any more rain this season. After what was probably the wettest December on record we’ll have the driest January through March ever? They (the ever-mysterious them) must be messing around with our weather again. Moving on…bird species at the lagoon were below the January normal; numbers were up, mostly due to the large flocks of gulls. Unfortunately, most of them flew away – the result of rambunctious toddlers and oblivious strollers – before I could get a good count, so Ring-bills, Western and California Gulls totals are an educated guess.

We actually have two bird walks on our Malibu Lagoon field trips. Chuck leads the early one for (mostly) adults, leaving the 10 AM walk to those who are better with children. Here is a report from one such person on what it was like.

A warm day for Cub Scouts and family (L.Johnson 1/11)

This month we hosted a Cub Scout Troop from Grant Elementary in Santa Monica. Between the boys, their parents and their siblings, we had around 30 people….no one is sure how many; too busy to count. The boys liked the “big” birds: herons, egrets, pelicans, but more than the birds, they liked being out on the beach.  Although we list this as a “children’s” walk, it is also for the parents. It’s a chance to get out, enjoy the birds and not have to worry about the kids distracting other birdwatchers. So if you have kids and would like to spend time outdoors some Sunday morning, come join us.

Male Gadwall cruising (L.Johnson 1/11)

Check out our other blog created especially for Unusual Birds at Malibu Lagoon, the permanent location for pictures of our uncommon birds. For prior period bird lists, follow these links to July-Dec ’10, Jan-June ’10, Jul-Dec ‘09, and Jan-June ‘09.  For an aerial photo of the lagoon, go here. [Chuck Almdale & Lillian Johnson]