Autumn Creeps in at Malibu Lagoon, 24 September, 2017

Whimbrels, back from the Arctic (R. Juncosa 9-24-17)

There seemed to be a lot of birders today, perhaps the after-effects of last month’s article in the Santa Monica Daily Press. Bird species numbers, however, were a bit lower than usual. The only ducks were the locally breeding Mallards! I suppose nice weather up north is making the wildfowl reluctant to leave.

Least Terns – after occupying the beach all summer – have fled to southern climes. Snowy Plovers, which bred on Surfrider Beach for the first time since the beach became known as Surfrider Beach, continue to grow in numbers as the wintering migrants continue to arrive.

Brown Pelicans – fish-catching training camp (G. Murayama 9-24-17)

Snowy Plover NR:GY, born & banded this summer at Vandenberg AFB
(L. Loeher 9-24-17)

When counting Snowy Plovers, you can’t do it just once and walk away. We probably did several dozen counts. First it was four birds, then five, then six, seven, nine, thirteen, fourteen, eighteen, and finally thirty-four, including two banded birds. New birds were arriving, for sure, but the first fourteen were there all the time – they’re just so darned cryptic and small that if they aren’t moving, they’re nearly impossible to see. The Malibu Beach mother-of-the-year, Snowy Plover RR:BB, has returned to spend the winter, as she did last year. Also present was NR:GY, a new bird banded this summer at Vandenberg AFB, located up the coast past Santa Barbara.

Snowy Plover RR:BB, mom to this summer’s beach chick (L. Loeher 9-24-17)

A Clay-colored Sparrow had been sighted at the lagoon earlier this week, so when we spotted a drab brown sparrow who was not one of the Usual Suspects (Song, White-crowned, Chipping, Savannah or Lincoln’s), and it looked a lot like the eastern vagrant Clay-colored Sparrow, we got a bit excited. It kept flitting rapidly from bush to bush, allowing us partial looks at a tail, the belly, the breast and the crown as it moved all the way from the picnic area to the east end of the Malibu Colony

Brewer’s Sparrow
(J. Waterman 9-24-17)

houses, with us trailing along. We finally decided it was a Brewer’s Sparrow, which nests in mountains and high deserts to the north, but which I’d never previously recorded at the lagoon.

Local bird expert and Keeper-Of-The-Skins at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History commented:

Brewer’s are pretty widespread in September, showing up in many coastal localities (though very sparsely, of course).

Brewer’s Sparrow (R. Juncosa 9-24-17)

The coots have definitely returned for the winter (62 birds), and the 89 Black-bellied Plovers was a good population, although nowhere near their all-time high of 700 (estimated) on 10/23/11. Vaux’s Swifts kept flying by in small groups of 4-10 birds. I counted 40 birds, but there could easily have been five times that passing by.

Yellow Warbler, heading south (J. Waterman 9-24-17)

Five species of warbler was a nice variety, including fall migrants Townsend’s, Yellow and Wilson’s Warbler, in addition to the more frequent Orange-crowned Warbler and the resident breeding Common Yellowthroat.

Orange-crowned Warbler – don’t try to find the orange crown (J. Waterman 9-24-17)

Every month I hand out lagoon bird checklists for the lagoon, small but densely packed with information. I finally ran through the several hundred we’d printed about 10 years ago, and it was time to update the taxonomic sequence and print some new ones. Taxonomic sequence changes were numerous and massive. If you compare this month’s list sequence to that of July 2017 (August’s report is missing, but the counts are included in this month’s report), you will see the changes listed below. The sequence – now and previously – follows that of the California Bird Records Committee, which follows the A.O.U. Check-list of North American birds, including all supplements. This check-list is the American Orhithological Society’s (AOS) accepted sequence. The American Ornithological Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society merged in October 2016, becoming the AOS.

• Loons, cormorants, pelicans, herons, vultures and hawks moved to later in the list and are now located between terns and kingfishers, rather than following the ducks.
• Doves, swifts and hummingbirds moved forward, now located between grebes and coots, rather than between terns and kingfishers.
• Sandpipers were significantly shuffled within their family.
• Falcons and parakeets are now located between woodpeckers and flycatchers.
• Finches moved from the very end of the list to just after the pipits, with sparrows immediately following them.
• Blackbirds still follow the sparrows, but the wood-warblers are now at the end of the list, following the blackbirds.

Say’s Phoebe (J. Waterman 9-24-17)

The proper model for the avian sequence (or any group of organisms) is really a three-dimensional tree, not the flat list which we are forced to use on paper. Just because woodpeckers are next to falcons in the list doesn’t mean that they are closely related. just a a photograph of a mountain and the sun means that they were in physical proximity. It’s the angle from which you look.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron – big spots and no black crown
(J. Waterman 9-24-17)

Birds new for the season were: Vaux’s Swift; American Avocet; Sanderling; Baird’s, Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpipers; Ring-billed Gull; Green Heron; Belted Kingfisher; Bushtit; Marsh & Bewick’s Wrens; Lesser Goldfinch; California Towhee; Brewer’s Sparrow; Dark-eyed Junco; Nashville, Yellow & Wilson’s Warblers.

Many thanks to our photographers: Ray Juncosa, Larry Loeler, Grace Murayama and Joyce Waterman.

Local artists help out
(G. Murayama 9-24-17)

Our next three scheduled field trips: Huntington Beach Central Park, 8am, 14 October; Malibu Lagoon 8:30 & 10am, 22 October; Newport Back Bay 8:30am, 4 November.

Our next program: Miracle of the Serengeti, 7 November, 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:
2017: Jan-June
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.

The trail is getting bushy (G. Murayama 9-24-17)

Many thanks to Lillian Johnson, Larry Loeher, Grace Murayama, Lu Plauzoles, Joyce Waterman and others for their contributions to the checklist below.
[Chuck Almdale]

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