Chris & Ruth at Malibu Lagoon, 22 January 2021

[Posted by Chuck Almdale]

Sanderlings in formation – is revolution in the air? (Chris Tosdevin 2/24/21)

Chris and Ruth Tosdevin have been frequent visitors to Malibu Lagoon for many years, both on their own and on our regular SMBAS birdwalks. This is in addition to their leading (with Ken Wheeland) the birdwalk at Trippet Ranch in Topanga Canyon. Chris (alias “Chris the Brit”) shares a characteristic with nearly every British birder I’ve ever met, anywhere in the world, namely, they’re darned good birders.

Canada Goose in mid-honk (Grace Murayama 1/13/21)

It’s almost annoying. I wonder if it’s something about their school system? They notice things that most of the rest of us miss. Chris and Ruth have been on my last two impromptu “socially distanced birdwalks” at the lagoon, so when I landed in the hospital with a “busted gut” (not the official diagnosis), we asked them to take the monthly census. Birding with them is always a learning experience for me.

Pintail males (Chris Tosdevin 1/22/21)

In addition to that – of course – Chris is a very good bird photographer, and he has been kind enough to share many photos with us for many months now. Grace Murayama who, along with Larry Loeher, her co-maven of All Things Western Snowy Ploverish, also sends in many excellent shots, some of which follow.

Green-winged Teal male (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

A pod, a pouch, a scoop and a squadron of Brown Pelicans under the P.C.H. bridge.
When pelicans fish together, as do White Pelicans, they’re a fleet. (C. Tosdevin 1/24/21)

Every so often, Nuttall’s Woodpeckers come down out of the riparian areas upstream
and poke around the trees and large brush down at the lagoon. (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

Glaucous-winged Gulls are regular winter visitors to the lagoon.
Most of them are first-winter birds as is this one, but occasional a 2nd-cycle
or even an adult bird shows up. We also get small numbers of Western-Glaucous-winged
hybrids with varying amounts of black in the wing-tips. (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

This Turkey Vulture seems to have glommed onto
a really really dead-looking fish (G. Murayama 1/22/21)

Red-breasted Merganser females and young males look identical (to me) at this time of year.
In another month or two the males start to develop their alternate plumage.
(C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

This Great Egret is exceptionally plumy for mid-winter. (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

Say’s Phoebe resting on his lookout rock (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

Western Snowy Plover g:y/g contemplate the wrack. (G. Murayama 1/22/21)

Marbled Godwit, at 18″ one of our largest sandpipers (C. Tosdevin 1/22/21)

The gulls and terns were apparently off feeding somewhere else, and instead of thousands they totaled only 119 birds.

Birds new for the season: Canada Goose, Nuttall’s Woodpecker.

Many thanks to photographers: Grace Murayama and Chris Tosdevin

The next three SMBAS scheduled field trips: Who knows? Not I.
The next SMBAS program: March 2, Changes in Bird Status in California’s Central Valley, with John Sterling, on ZOOM, 7:30 PM.
The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk is canceled until further notice due to the near-impossibility of maintained proper masked social distancing with parents and small children.

Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon

Prior checklists:
2019: Jan-June, July-Dec  2020: Jan-July, July-Dec   
2018: Jan-June, July-Dec  2017: Jan-June, July-Dec
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 Lagoon Reconfiguration 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 restoration period June’12-June’14.
[Chuck Almdale]

Malibu Census 2020-21	8/26	9/24	10/21	11/23	12/22	1/22
Temperature	70-77	66-77	64-68	52-64	57-64	60-61
Tide Lo/Hi Height	L+2.52	L+3.05	L+2.70	L+2.17	L+2.15	L+0.86
Tide Time	0958	1004	0634	1135	1052	1223
Snow Goose					2
(Black) Brant				1
Canada Goose						8
Gadwall	5	2	2	28	6	8
American Wigeon			3	30	26	8
Mallard	16	14			14	8
Northern Pintail		2			1	2
Green-winged Teal	1			12	8	6
Surf Scoter			3		13
Bufflehead				10	5	6
Red-breasted Merganser				9	12	1
Ruddy Duck			9	35	19	6
Pied-billed Grebe	3	2	2	3	3	2
Eared Grebe			1	1	5
Western Grebe				6	2
Rock Pigeon	4	6	10	9	14	3
Mourning Dove	5	4	2	9	2
Vaux’s Swift		8
Anna’s Hummingbird			1		2
Allen’s Hummingbird		1	1	2	2
Sora					1
American Coot		48	118	287	445	110
Black Oystercatcher					4	2
Black-bellied Plover	66	102	91	30	10	25
Snowy Plover	26	27	42	28	22	21
Semipalmated Plover	4	8			4	1
Killdeer	7	12	1	8	14	20
Whimbrel	14	1	3	5	8	8
Marbled Godwit		3	5	4	8	10
Ruddy Turnstone	2	1	6	2	6	1
Sanderling		39	75	78	25	8
Least Sandpiper	21	12		4	13	6
Western Sandpiper	8	1
Short-billed Dowitcher	2
Spotted Sandpiper		2	1	2	2
Willet	47	40	5	14	10	12
Greater Yellowlegs					1
Heermann’s Gull	10	14		85	43	16
Mew Gull				2
Ring-billed Gull				10	65	15
Western Gull	98	90	21	53	34	30
California Gull	17	12	1	535	485	50
Herring Gull				1	1
Glaucous-winged Gull				1	3	3
Least Tern	2
Caspian Tern	1
Forster’s Tern	4			1
Royal Tern	11	12			3	5
Elegant Tern	221	1
Red-throated Loon			1
Pacific Loon				1	1
Brandt’s Cormorant				1
Double-crested Cormorant	18	43	16	108	28	85
Pelagic Cormorant	1	1	3	4	1
Brown Pelican	8	5	5	206	32	162
Great Blue Heron	4	3	3	3	3	1
Great Egret	4	20	1		1	2
Snowy Egret	4	2	5	4	23	10
Black-crowned Night-Heron	2
Turkey Vulture				2	2	1
Osprey	1		1	1	1	1
Cooper’s Hawk				1		1
Red-tailed Hawk				1
Belted Kingfisher	1	2		1	1	1
Nuttall’s Woodpecker						1
Downy Woodpecker					1
Black Phoebe	5	4	5	4	6	1
Say’s Phoebe		1	2	2	5	1
Vermilion Flycatcher			1
Loggerhead Shrike		1
California Scrub-Jay	1	2
American Crow	3	3	4	11	14	6
Tree Swallow				3
Rough-winged Swallow	1
Barn Swallow	20
Bushtit	50	16	75		30	30
House Wren	1		2	1
Marsh Wren		5		3
Bewick’s Wren				2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher		5	2	2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet				2
Wrentit		1
Western Bluebird	4
Northern Mockingbird	1		2		1
European Starling	27	2	5	85	30	10
House Finch	4	8	4	4	6	4
Lesser Goldfinch		2	2	2	5	6
Lawrence’s Goldfinch		15
California Towhee		1	1	1
Song Sparrow	4	3	7	12	3	3
White-crowned Sparrow			4	12		4
Dark-eyed Junco					1
Western Meadowlark	25
Great-tailed Grackle	2		2	8	3
Orange-crowned Warbler		4	2		1
Common Yellowthroat	4	4	5	8	5	1
Yellow Warbler		2
Yellow-rumped(Aud) Warbler			10	8	16	6
Totals by Type	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan
Waterfowl	22	18	17	125	106	53
Water Birds – Other	30	99	146	617	518	359
Herons, Egrets & Ibis	14	25	9	7	27	13
Quail & Raptors	1	0	1	5	3	3
Shorebirds	197	248	229	175	127	114
Gulls & Terns	364	129	22	688	634	119
Doves	9	10	12	18	16	3
Other Non-Passerines	1	11	2	3	6	2
Passerines	152	79	135	170	126	72
Totals Birds	790	619	573	1808	1563	738
Total Species	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan
Waterfowl	3	3	4	7	10	9
Water Birds – Other	4	5	7	9	9	4
Herons, Egrets & Ibis	4	3	3	2	3	3
Quail & Raptors	1	0	1	4	2	3
Shorebirds	10	12	9	10	13	11
Gulls & Terns	8	5	2	8	7	6
Doves	2	2	2	2	2	1
Other Non-Passerines	1	3	2	2	4	2
Passerines	15	18	18	18	14	11
Totals Species – 98	48	51	48	62	64	50