‘Twas brillig, yet freesbish: Malibu Lagoon, 25 December, 2016

Brown Pelican, one adult sporting Christmas colors (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Even on Christmas, birders are willing to leave their indoor conifers and drifting piles of presents to brave the cold and barren beach. I’d wondered if I’d be the only one, but more than a dozen appeared. We almost had the park to ourselves: a few beachwalkers occasionally passed by, and a line of surfers board-sat at the surf line like black walruses, staring out to sea. The temperature never rose above 54° F. (12.2°C); this may not seem cold to our distant readers, but this is Malibu!, if not the beating heart of La La Land, then at least the spleen, and we possess thin blood and lack subcutaneous fat. I’ve seen people here wearing fur boots in 75° F weather. No complaints from me, though. I knew it would be brisk when passing meadows of Malibu Creek State Park, glistening white with hoarfrost. And the sun shone, and no wind.

Mallards at sunset (David Hershkowitz 12-9-16)

More ducks have arrived; nine species in total, including a few Green-winged Teal, many more Ruddy Duck, and five – count them! – five Hooded Merganser, all female. We don’t often get Hooded Merganser at the lagoon (less than 2% of birdwalks), as they seem to prefer the fresh water of inland ponds and reservoirs to the brackish water of the lagoon. However, perhaps the lagoon is far less saline than ordinarily as we’d had a lot of rain this month, the most we’ve had in the past six Decembers. We and our plants, gasping for water, are grateful for that.

Savannah Sparrow on wet sandy mud (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Many birds stop at the lagoon and are reported on our local bird-alert chatline, but don’t stay long enough for us to see them on our monthly walk. A Redhead (duck) was one such bird. Almost at the lagoon – found in a soggy field by the Malibu library – was a Ross’s Goose. I saw several egrets in the even soggier field slightly farther west. This field was very good for snipe when our winters were regularly wet. The 2012-13 lagoon reconfiguration eliminated most of the damp vegetation which snipe desire and now the only place I expect to see them (but haven’t yet) is in the low area near the Adamson House boathouse.

A decidedly unhairy Sea Hare, with a penny for size (Grace Murayama 12-25-16)

As usual, five hundred to a thousand gulls flew off inland before I could count them, heading for the nearest landfill. Dump Gulls: a species with a continually expanding range.

The Snowy In Winter (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Most of the Western Grebes were out on the sea, sleeping in rafts beyond the surf line. Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants were fly-byes, hurtling low over the waves. Hiding among wrack piles at the high-tide line were our Snowy Plovers, thirty-two birds, including banded birds AA:BL (chick banded 2016 at Ft. Ord), RR:BB (chick banded 2016 at Oceano Dunes) and our faithful friend GA:OY (chick banded 2014 at Oceano Dunes, see below), who has now been recorded at Malibu sixteen times. GA:OY nested at Bolsa Chica in 2015 and 2016 and fledged 9 chicks. All these banded birds are pictured in our slideshow. The only Snowy Plover sighted more frequently in Los Angeles County is PA:VO who, between Oct’99 and Jan’06, was recorded at Zuma Beach forty-two times.

Snowy Plover GA:OY, now 2 1/2 years old (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Our blog page on banded Snowy Plovers sighted in Los Angeles has grown considerably over the past month. The slideshow now contains twenty-two different banded birds, and I’ve entered every banded bird sighting I could scrounge up out of my old records. I’m now trying to get additional information from other sources. Please look at it if you’re interested in these little, greatly threatened birds.

The flitty, nervous Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Passerines were reduced in both diversity and numbers, perhaps due to the cold and rainy weather we’ve been having. But photographer Ray Juncosa managed to get a couple of wintering birds, a Savannah Sparrow gleaning on the ground, and a difficult-to-capture Ruby-crowned Kinglet, flitting through the leaves. I’m not much of a photographer myself, and I’m amazed at the ability of others to get good shots of tiny fast-moving birds.

Seven female Hooded Mergansers (Grace Murayama 12-25-16)

Grace and Larry came by the lagoon later in the day, and the five Hooded Mergansers had increased to seven.

All the Elegant Terns have fled to Mexico for the winter, leaving only Royal Terns. A flock of forth-five rested on the rocks exposed by the lowering tide. Like the surfers, they too simply sat and stared out to sea.

California (née Western) Scrub-Jay
(Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

The rain-choked creek broke through the beach a month ago. While the lagoon waters are very low, the outflow channel is too wide and deep to easily ford. I found myself lost long in conversation on topics ranging from bird behavior to Nigerian surname customs (with Fami) to the difficulties of learning to play piano at an advanced age, so I never made it to Adamson House to search for additional passerines.

Birds new for the season were: Green-winged Teal, Pacific Loon, Osprey, Least Sandpiper, Cassin’s Kingbird, Savannah Sparrow.

Many thanks to our photographers: Ray Juncosa and Grace Murayama.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Ray Juncosa 12/25/16)

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Antelope Valley Raptor Search, 14 Jan. 7am; Malibu Lagoon 8:30 & 10am, 22 Jan.; Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, 11 Feb., 8am.

Our next program: Wildflowers of the Backbone Trail with Jim Kenney, Tuesday, 7 Feb., 7:30 pm; Chris Reed Park, 1133 7th St., NE corner of 7th and Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica.

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]

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