Rain-a-fallin’ at Malibu Lagoon, November 27, 2016

A panoramic panoply of pelicans (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

Despite the predicted sixteen percent probability of rain in Malibu, several showers insisted on falling. Raincoats or umbrellas were definitely needed. Scopes and binoculars got wet and I kept expecting my tiny paper checklist to dissolve from the damp. Despite this, We few! We hardy few! We band of birders! had a good morning of birding. More winter migrants have arrived (see list below) and, for excitement, we had an especially tricky time with two particular birds.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow with pink bill and black-and-white crown. Juveniles have brown two-toned caps. (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

First up was a scaup-type duck, one of the Aythya diving ducks. It had the annoying behavior of spending about two seconds on the surface for every twenty-to-thirty seconds of diving, so just when you re-found it, it dove again. After one or two dozen observations, each lasting a second or less, we generally agreed on a sopping wet Ring-necked Duck.

Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

In Joyce’s photos it looks like it might be a male in eclipse plumage, but some on-line research indicates that little molting takes place between wing-molts of August and mid-winter molts. I considered the possibility of Redhead, partially due to this bird’s lack of a bump at the back of the crown, white streak behind the eye or white edging to the bill, but the curved demarcation between back and flanks and the large white bill-ring brought me back to Ring-necked.

Ring-necked Duck (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

Much of the beach had disappeared from the recent storm and was about 25 yards wide at its narrowest. Water level in the lagoon was very high, with probably less than six inches of sand elevation left before it breaks through the berm and empties into the ocean. Between showers a few mullet jumped, but it was nothing like last month’s popcorn-like display.

Cormorants: Brandt’s (L) & Double-crested (R). Note gular pouch color difference, beige in the Brandt’s and yellow-orange in the Double-crested.
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

Brown Pelican with leg bands. Blue band appears to read “N25” (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

The gull flock – over 90% California Gull – was ever-shifting between lagoon waters and the sandy beach. I counted 1,300 gulls but there could easily have been 1,000 more, as large flocks continually lifted off the sand and water and flew away before we drew close enough to count them.

Great Egret at full stretch, 39″ bill-tip to toe-tip
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

East of the ever-changing gull flock was a small group of terns – all Royal Tern except for two smaller birds, one a Forster’s and the other…well, that was a problem. From a distance, with the birds pointing absolutely directly at us, and no view of their backs or sides or even the bill other than the tip, the two small birds looked very similar. Eventually the “other” bent his head down and we could see that the feathers fringing the crown were the same dark black from eye to eye around the nape. I thought there might be a carpel bar on the wing – or was that just a shadow caused by feather overlapping?

Elegant Tern through the telescope (Chris Tosdevin and his tiny phone 11-27-16)

We finally got past the gulls and studied the bird from the side and back, at which point it became obviously an Elegant with a very pale bill, no carpel bar, and a lot of white on its crown. Elegants become scarce to absent in SoCal winters – only 0.17% of all 10,000 Elegant Tern sightings at the lagoon have been in November. April, in contrast, has 66% of sightings.

Sanderlings (L) and Snowy Plovers (R) get along well, frequently sharing roosting sites (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

We don’t get many Tree Swallows at the lagoon: 279 total birds on 24 visits over 35 years, with two prior November visits by single birds, so when a dozen of them cruised back and forth over the lagoon, we were surprised. It’s very difficult to photograph any small bird in flight; Joyce’s photo, capturing the blue-green glossy back, is quite remarkable.

Tree Swallow with back showing green gloss and dark around the eye
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

 We searched through the horde of Gulls for anything unusual, and found at least one Herring Gull with an extremely bright light eye. [Eye color is an important field mark in gulls who are annoyingly similar despite their numerous plumage changes.] There may have been a few other Herrings, but we kept losing them in the ever-shifting crowd.

Red-tailed Hawk, juvenile ssp calurus
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

A few of us continued on to Adamson House where we saw a few more passerines here and there, plus about a hundred coots and ducks hiding in the little inlet by the boathouse, sheltering from the blustery wind. The Red-tailed Hawk we’d earlier seen on the wall, atop the cypress and above the lagoon seemed to have captured a male Great-tailed Grackle and was flying around with it clutched in its talons. We then realized it was a large piece of black plastic stuck to one of his feet. Lu Plauzoles thought it might be “sticky plastic,” something people put out to trap unsuspecting mice. Whatever it was, he (the hawk) couldn’t get it off his feet, despite his frequent landing and brushing against limbs, fence lines and brush. If any of our readers lay out such devices, you might reconsider, seeing how much trouble it can cause to raptors who are quite willing to catch and eat your pesky mice for you, a service they will provide free-of-charge to our members and loyal readers.

Winter visitor Say’s Phoebe: bird on a rainbird in the rain (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

Female Bushtit has a yellow eye
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

Birds new for the season were: Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Brandt’s Cormorant, Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-billed Gull, Tree Swallow, Marsh Wren, Western Bluebird, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird.

House Finch male
(J. Waterman 11-27-16)

As always, many thanks to our photographers: Chris Tosdevin and Joyce Waterman.

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Madrona Marsh, 10 Dec. 8:30am; Butterbredt Spring Christmas Count 17 Dec 8:30am; Malibu Lagoon 8:30 & 10am, 25 Dec.

Our next program: Can you be both a Bird Photographer and a Birder? with Randy Ehler, Tuesday, 6 Dec, 7:30 pm; Chris Reed Park, 1133 7th St., NE corner of 7th and Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica.

Ruddy Turnstones in winter, probing the wrack (J. Waterman 11-27-16)

NOTE: Our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk meets at the shaded viewpoint just south of the parking area. Watch for Willie the Weasel. He’ll be watching for you and your big floppy feet.

NOTE: Our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk meets at the shaded viewpoint just south of the parking area. Watch for Willie the Weasel. He’ll be watching for you and your big floppy feet.

Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon
Prior checklists:
2016:   Jan-June                          2015:   Jan-May,    July-Dec
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, despite numerous complaints, 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]