Loons and Gulls: Malibu Lagoon, 26 February, 2017

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A very plumy Great Egret (J. Waterman 2-26-17)

The big treat of the day were the two Adult Glaucous-winged Gulls at the end of the beach. But we’ll get to that later.

Giant Coreopsis in full bloom (C. Bragg 2-26-17)

The rain which was supposed to be over by 9 AM, hung on a bit longer, yet didn’t really present a problem, and I never raised my jacket hood over my head. The wind began blowing, yet the clouds remained. The day started cool and remained cool. Very pleasant, actually; a welcome respite from the blistering heat to which we have not yet acclimated but to which I fear we must. A female Belted Kingfisher called as she flew over our group in the middle of announcements.

Fish hunters: Osprey (G. Murayama)
& Belted Kingfisher female (R. Ehler) 2-26-17

The tide hit its high of +5.6 feet at 0845, and wavelets washed into the lagoon through the 100-yard breach in the beach. Such gaps always appear during winter rain events. This one kept us from walking on to Adamson House to add a few more birds to the list. By the time we reached the beach, the tide had dropped and wet sand glistened. Unfortunately, most of the enormous gull flock had lifted off. Altogether I counted almost 1,500 gulls, with an additional 2,000-4,000 circling high overhead.

Pacific Loons: In salt grass (R. Ehler) & badly oiled (C. Bragg) 2-26-17

A loon hid among the shore shrubs near the lagoon edge. It was folded up and was either exhausted or ill, so we did not approach. Loons, like grebes, rarely come to land unless they’ve a problem; their legs are set so far back on their body that they cannot walk and move more by a series of forward flops. I decided it was probably a Pacific Loon simply because there was another of that species swimming in the lagoon, and no other loons around. The swimming bird was quite oiled; perhaps that was the grounded bird’s problem as well.

Whimbrel checking the seaweed wrack (C. Bragg 2-26-17)

The Snowy Plovers were well hidden in the large quantity of driftwood at the high-tide wrack line, but Chris Lord managed to find eight birds, none banded.

Two Snowy Plovers hide in human footprints (G. Murayama 2-26-17)

Driftwood, in fact, was so abundant along the edges of the channels and lagoon that several birders thought someone ought to come and carry it away. It seemed likely to me that while rains continue, Malibu Creek would continue carrying down wood, but while the lagoon is open, the tide will rise and fall and carry some of the wood out to sea. We’ll see. In my experience, driftwood, once you dry it out, burns in your fireplace in a cheery colorful way. But that was in Oregon, when shore-found wood was my primary source of heat.

Glaucous-winged Gull #1; look closely to see the red orbital ring of flesh around the eye; note this photo angle make the back and wings look darker than in next three photos, the often-noted “artifact of lighting.” (J. Waterman 2-26-17)

We found the first Glaucous-winged Gull (GWGU) among the 300-500 gulls – who they kept arriving and leaving – remaining on the sand spit’s eastern end. Irwin Woldman, who always heads directly to the beach, had alerted us to its presence. It’s an understatement to say that we don’t get many GWGU at Malibu Lagoon; of almost 99,000 gulls seen over the years I’ve been counting, 283 were GWGU (0.28%). But of 1149 sightings of a gull species, 107 were GWGU (9.31%).

GWGU #1 right foreground, 1″ larger than Western Gull on left; Western’s wings are darker gray-black than is the back. (R. Ehler 2-26-17)

So it’s not unusual to see them; it’s just that there are never many of them, as they average 2.6 birds per visit. They can be hard to pick out when you’re looking at a flock of 2,000 gulls. Their numbers have hit double-digits twice, with a high count of 12 on 2/22/09. And they are nearly always first-winter birds (i.e. 6-9 months old). In fact, my records mention only one prior non-first-winter bird. So now it’s three.

GWGU #1 alert (C. Bragg 2-26-17)

Outstanding characteristics of this bird were the large size (1” larger than Western); gray back paler than a California Gull; same shade of gray on the primaries between the large white primary tips, clean white head, large yellow bill with a single red spot on lower bill, bubble-gum colored legs, and (for a GWGU) an uncommonly pale eye. Reportedly only 1% of adult birds have a pale eye.

GWGU #1 flying away; note white trailing edge is wider on secondaries than on primaries (C. Bragg 2-26-17)

We’d been watching it for a long time, when we notice elsewhere among the gulls another adult GWGU. This one seemed slightly behind the first bird in developing its adult basic (breeding) plumage. The gray in the primaries might have been ever-so-slightly darker than the gray on the back, or it might have been an artifact of the light. The eye seemed darker, but we were not able to see it as well as the eye on the first bird. There was a faint darkness on the forehead. A tiny area of black was on the bill next to the red spot, so small that some birders swore it wasn’t there until they got a better view through the scope. Other than that, they appeared the same. It’s possible that this second bird is a Glaucous-winged x Western Gull hybrid. If so, I’d guess it’s about 15/16ths or 31/32nds GWGU.

GWGU #2 left, 5″ longer than California Gull on right. California Gull wings are darker than the back. (J. Waterman 2-26-17)

So!  Two-thirds of our lifetime Malibu sightings of Adult Glaucous-winged Gulls just occurred. GWGU breeds from SW Washington up to western Alaska, and they (according to range maps) winter as far south as the tip of Baja California. But the farther you are from their breeding range, the fewer you see. They also hybridize with Western Gulls, and perhaps 10-20% of the one we see at Malibu are actually hybrids. You can pick them out from the non-hybrids by their darker primaries.

Ducks: 1st winter male Bufflehead and female Ruddy (J. Waterman 2-26-17)

Birding: It’s a dirty grueling thankless task in freezing and broiling conditions, but someone has to do it.

Male Green-winged Teal (J. Waterman 2-26-17)

 Birds new for the season were: Northern Shoveler, Surf Scoter, Turkey Vulture, Bonaparte’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Rough-winged Swallow, Hermit Thrush.

White-crowned Sparrow: Adult (G. Murayama) & immature (J. Waterman) 2-26-17

Many thanks to our photographers: Chuck Bragg, Randy Ehlers, Grace Murayama, Joyce Waterman

Yellow-rumped Warbler working his way into breeding (alternate) plumage (R. Ehler 2-26-17)

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Santa Monica Mtns. with Lu Plauzoles, 11 Mar. Time TBD; Malibu Lagoon 8:30 & 10am, 26 Mar.; Rancho Sierra Vista, 8 Mar., 8am.

Our next program: Wolves with Frank Capolupo, Tuesday, 7 Mar., 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.

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

Surf log (C. Bragg 2-26-17)

Many thanks to those who contributed to the checklist below, especially Randy Ehlers and Chris Lord.

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