Malibu Lagoon Trip Report: 26 April, 2015

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Even at the meeting spot the air was filled with the screeching of terns. Flights of Brown Pelicans constantly cruised by, and clouds of terns regularly lifted from the distant beach, only to alight again upon the sand. This promised to be an unusual day.

Finally! An Osprey on the osprey pole (R.Ehlers 4/26/15)

Passerines (songbirds) were few on the ground. Early-arriving photographer Randy Ehlers (thanks for all the great pictures, Randy!) spotted 40 Cedar Waxwings, who were living up to their ‘betcha-can’t-see-just-one’ reputation. No warblers, few sparrows and little of anything else beyond the usual Black Phoebe, Mockingbird, California Towhee and House Finch. Various Swallows have arrived, but not in large numbers.

From the lookout point near the PCH bridge, the terns – save a few Caspian and Forster’s – turned out to all be Elegant. And they looked very elegant as long-time member Abigail King liked to say, with bright white bodies, long forked tails, black crests and legs, and colorful bills ranging from pale yellow through orange to medium red. People often ask if the bill color of Elegant Terns is useful for identification. The short answer is: when comparing the Elegant bill to the Royal bill, look at shape, ignore color.

Elegant Tern (R.Ehlers 4/26/15)

At any rate, there were a boodle – maybe two boodles – of Elegant Terns; I counted 3100. This took a while. They were busy with mating, chasing, flying, feeding and always, always screeching. Some had breasts faintly pink from their oil glands. We did find a few more Caspian and Forster’s among them, and some Royal Terns far out on the exposed shore rocks. And it was a great chance to see the varieties of Elegant bill color.

Spotted Sandpiper with his spotty breast (R.Ehlers 4/26/15)

Back home, I checked for previous highs counts for Elegant Tern and Brown Pelican.
Brown Pelican: 1490 (4/26/15), 740 (4/24/11), 630 (5/27/07), 407 (7/24/11), 400 (3/26/06)
Elegant Tern: 3100 (4/26/15), 700 (4/26/09), 600 (7/28/13), 300 (7/25/04), 250 (4/27/03)
Definitely a phenomena of migration.

I asked Kimball Garrett, ‘skin man’ at the Natural History of L.A. County Ornithology Dept., if anything weird was happening with the terns and pelicans. He relates: the Brown Pelican 2014 nesting season in the Sea of Cortez failed almost completely; no info yet on 2015.  Warm SoCal coastal water this year may reduce Channel Island nesting. Our Malibu flock may be a  mix of failed breeders from Mexico and our Channel Islands. Elegant Tern nesting on Isla Raza in the Sea of Cortez apparently failed completely this year; as in recent past years, the southern California colonies seem to shift around as predators cause abandonment.

Snowy Plovers have been mysteriously absent since January. Populations at other L.A. County winter roosting sites, including nearby Zuma Beach have also been affected, says Stacey Vigallon, L.A. County Snowy Plover maven. She didn’t know why, either.

Birds new for the season were: Brant, Eared Grebe, Semipalmated Plover, Dunlin, Least & Western Sandpipers, Caspian & Forster’s Terns, Belted Kingfisher, Cliff Swallow, Cedar Waxwing. We didn’t get over to Adamson House as the lagoon outlet cut through the beach and by the time I finished counting all those pelicans, gulls and terns, I too was finished.

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Morongo Valley & Black Rock Cyn, 2-3 May, 8am; Malibu Lagoon, 24 May, 8:30 & 10am; Mt. Piños Birds & Butterflies, TBA (probably 13-14 June, 8am.)

Our next program: Tuesday, 5 May, 7:30 pm. Icelandic Birding, presented by Joyce & Doug Waterman. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE NOW MEET AT DOUGLAS PARK, 2439 WILSHIRE BLVD.

Song Sparrow visits from the Maliby Colony (R.Ehlers 4/26/15)

NOTE: Our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk meets at the shaded viewing area. Watch for Willie the Weasel.
Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon
Prior checklists:
2014:   Jan-July,    July-Dec     2013:   Jan-June,   July-Dec
2012:   Jan-June,   July-Dec    2011:   Jan-June,   July-Dec
2010:  Jan-June,   July-Dec     2009:  Jan-June,   July-Dec

The 10-year comparison summaries created during the project period remain available on our Lagoon Project Bird Census Page. Very briefly summarized, the results unexpectedly indicate that avian species diversification and numbers improved slightly during the period Jun’12-June’14.   [Chuck Almdale]

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