Migrants still arriving – Malibu Lagoon, 26 November, 2017

Brown Pelican adult (R. Juncosa 11-26-17)

Approximately thirty-five birders showed up, maybe a few more. I’ve never gotten in the habit of counting birders, just the birds, but while at the lookout point near the PCH bridge I suddenly noticed there seemed to be an unusually large of people. Too bad more birds weren’t present. Ducks seemed unusually under-represented. We had Gadwall, Mallard, American Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser and Ruddy Duck with a grand total of fourteen ducks. A typical November would also include: Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter and Bufflehead, with another 3-5 species possible, and about eighty total ducks. One hopes they’re still somewhere up north, enjoying a warm fall.

Grebes_ Western and Clark’s (R. Juncosa 11-26-17)

The above grebes are typical for this time of year. The Western on left will probably look like this until next spring, with dark plumage surrounding it’s red eye. The area around the eye may become a lighter gray as a few more feathers fall out, but it never becomes white. The Clark’s on right shows no black below the eye except for a thin line leading from eye to bill, with white above and below it. It may (or may not) lose some more black feathers around the eye, making the eye stand out even more.

Green Heron takes a break (R. Juncosa 11-26-17)

We debated a bit about two cormorants standing on the offshore rocks. Both were wet, which can obscure plumage colors. They weren’t Double-crested Cormorants who are happy in the lagoon. Lighting was difficult on this gray and foggy morning, and we strained to see if either bird had the beige chin of a Brandt’s Cormorant. One seemed smaller or slimmer than the other, then again, as it shifted position, it seemed exactly the same. The other seemed to have a tiny patch of beige on the chin, then again, with a minor shift in position. this would vanish. Ray Juncosa snapped a fuzzy photo of the seemingly smaller one as it flew towards the rock. I finally concluded both were Brandt’s with optical illusions obfuscating observation. This species and the Pelagic Cormorant are fairly common on these rocks and swimming nearshore, but they rarely rest within the lagoon.

Adult White-crowned Sparrow, common SoCal wintering bird (R. Juncosa 11-26-17)

Marbled Godwit, head immersed
(L. Loeher, Zuma Beach 11-24-17)

The larger sandpipers – Whimbrel, Willet and Marbled Godwit were as numerous as last month. Most were resting but some were busy foraging. Larry Loeher’s photo from Zuma shows just how involved this can be.

Five Cattle Egrets showed up, resting on the lagoon-edge sand near the cormorants and Brown Pelicans. Unlike other egrets and herons, this species favors open fields over marshes, lagoons and ponds. According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this African species first appeared in 1870 in Suriname on the north coast of South America, then spread throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, and finally into North America. They evolved in Africa, making a living by following the herds of antelope and other grazers, eating insects kicked up by their hooves. In the New World, cattle served the same purpose as far as the egrets were concerned. To a Cattle Egret, lots of cattle equals lots of food. You can see them by the tens of thousands in the Imperial Valley, poking around in the grassy fields, but as Los Angeles County has few cattle munching away, Cattle Egrets can be hard to find. Horses may substitute at times as insect-rousers, but aren’t as reliable. Out of 252 lagoon trips, we’ve seen them 26 times (10%), with a total of 64 birds. As one might expect, when they finished resting and began foraging for food, they headed for the brushy-grassy area, not the mud flats.

Male Great-tailed Grackle (R. Juncosa 11-26-17)

The local Great-tailed Grackles was evident – twelve birds in all. Most likely they breed over in Legacy Park near the shopping center, where (when it’s wet) there are lots of reeds. Several people wondered what the brown birds were. These brown females are 3″ smaller than the 18″ glossy black males, and they can fool you into thinking they’re a different species. Some birders are surprised to see these grackles wandering around on the beach, but they forage on the sand and lagoon-edge quite often, or at least they are much easier to see when they’re on the barren sand than when buried in the brushes or singing in the trees. In case you’re wondering, all grackles are in the Family Icteriidae, better known for its jet-black blackbirds, yellow meadowlarks and orange-and-black orioles.

Great-tailed Grackle female with a rusty breast (G. Murayama 11-24-17)

Thirty-one Snowy Plovers were moderately busy. No banded birds were seen. High tide, their favorite time to forage for invertebrates in the wrack, had been at 9:46 am. A few were active. Most were resting in their tiny dimples in the sand, but every now and then they’d get up and run off to another dimple, for reasons known only to themselves.

Speaking of Royals (British) here’s a nice photo from Grace Murayama of a very royal-looking Royal (Tern), royally robed for winter.

Royal Tern, royally aloof (G. Murayama, Zuma Beach 11-24-17)

Birds new for the season were: Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Cattle Egret, House Wren, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

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

Our next four scheduled field trips: Ballona Creek & Freshwater Marsh, 8 am, 9 December; Butterbredt Christmas Count, 8:30 am, 16 December; Malibu Lagoon 8:30 & 10 am, 24 December; Santa Monica portion of Los Angeles Christmas Count, 6:45 am, 2 January.

Our next program: The Western Snowy Plover: Natural History and Recovery, with Lu Plauzoles – Evening Meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.,  Joslyn Park, 633 Kensington Road – Five blocks south of Pico Blvd., two blocks west of Lincoln Blvd. –  in Santa Monica. This location is for December only.

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.

Many thanks to Lillian Johnson, Chris Lord and others for their contributions to the checklist below.  [Chuck Almdale]

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