[By Chuck Almdale]

Mirroring Malibu Lagoon (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)

The day started off nice and cool at 58°F. Three hours later it was 74° with very little wind as you can see by the mirrorlike lagoon above. So what season is it?

Snowy Egret with a gigantic insect, perhaps a holdout from the carboniferous era. Photographer Chris thinks it is [was] a Common Green Darner, Anax junius, 3″ long. (Chris Tostdevin 9/24/23)

As you can see below, we had a good mixture of shorebirds and gulls on the east side of the lagoon near Adamson House. We’ll go through some of them farther down.

Mixed shorebirds and gulls. (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)

Seven Marbled Godwits, three Willets, but who’s counting?
(Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)

Which Whimbrel is real, which is illusion? (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)

This was one of those days of the lunar month when the tide doesn’t fluctuate much; from the high at 7:39 am to the low at 11:53 am it only dropped .74 feet, or 9 inches. The tidepool rocks, never entirely covered, became slightly more exposed and those shorebirds inclined to do so, explored the shore.

Two Ruddy Turnstones (aka “The Turnstone” in Europe), molting into drabber basic plumage. (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)

Two Whimbrels poking about (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)

This Black Oystercatcher seems to have exceptionally fat toes.
(Grace Murayama 9/20/23)

Oystercatchers are definitely easier to find at Malibu when the tidal rocks are exposed, although occasionally we’ll see them on the large outer offshore rocks.

…and a Black-bellied Plover about as far into basic (non-breeding) plumage as they can get, wandering away from the crowd (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)

East end of the south channel with it’s snag and the Osprey pole sans Osprey in the middle distance (Ray Juncosa 9/24/230

Back on the sand, a small cluster of the ~50 Heermann’s Gulls present (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

Black-bellied Plovers, flying and not (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

Elsewhere around the lagoon and its edges, there were butterflies.

Butterfly (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)

[Addendum]: I originally identified the above butterfly as Monarch (Daneus plexippus), although I was only 98% certain and Lillian much less so, as she suspected it was a Queen (Daneus gilippus). I soon received separate comments with varying levels of certainty from two readers, Jeri Edwards in San Luis Obispo and Ruth Dewar, with the same opinion, that it was actually a Queen, the closely-related and ridiculously-similar congener. [Jeri, by the way, ran the outhouse roof vent owl poo-poo project a few years back which SMBAS supported.] I examined the photos again and decided Jeri and Ruth were probably right, although I’d still like to hear an expert chime in with exactly why it’s a Queen. Anyway….grumble, grumble….Jeri kindly sent Ray’s three photos to iNaturalist. They officially identified it in their iNaturalistically way as a Queen Butterfly Danaus gilippus (Cramer, 1776), and it’s now got it’s own iNaturalist page, preserved until the End of Days. Like the Monarch, they also lay their eggs on milkweed, and now I’m wondering if all the Monarchs I’ve seen in SoCal are actually Queens. Here’s a map from it’s page:

I also sent the photo to NABA (North American Butterfly Association) of Orange County (L.A. County doesn’t have a chapter I could find), and Lee Shoemaker wrote back: “This is a female Queen. They are not common near the coast and are most common in California in our deserts. Great find.“

…and at least three Green Herons scattered in various locations. They don’t often gather in groups. Wondering where the green is?

Green Heron (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

I finally laid eyes on a Nuttall’s Woodpecker at the lagoon, although Femi Faminu seems to either see or hear them almost every trip. This one was, to my great surprise, in a palm tree in the back of the colony, not in a hardwood sycamore or oak as I (perhaps I’m the only one who thinks this) would expect. It was just below the base of the fronds, poking – and I suppose pecking – around the large bulge encircling the top of the trunk where the older fronds have been trimmed away. Alas, no photos – it was very dark under those fronds.

A Pied-billed Grebe, just after surfacing. Based on the bill and throat colors, I’d say this is a juvenile bird, born this year.

Pied-billed Grebe (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

We should call these confusing fall Red-winged Blackbirds. I think they get mistaken for Rusty Blackbirds every now and then.

Red-winged Blackbirds: left female sometimes thought to be a sparrow, right male sometimes mistaken for Rusty Blackbird. (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

Birds new for the Season: Green-winged Teal, Sora, Forster’s Tern, Black-vented Shearwater, Pelagic Cormorant, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Oak Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Bewick’s Wren,  Savannah Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak.

Osprey, probably back for the winter
(Left: Grace Murayama 9/20/23, Right: Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)

Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 9-29-23: 7141 lists, 319 species
Most recent species added: Lilac-crowned Parrot (13 May 2023, Nick Diaco).

Many, many thanks to photographers: Ray Juncosa, Larry Loeher, Grace Murayama, Chris Tosdevin

Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips:

• Huntington Beach Central Park, Sat. Oct 14, 8am. Already announced.
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Oct 22, 8:30 am. No reservations or Covid card required.
• Ballona Freshwater Marsh Sat. Nov 11 8.00 am.
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Nov. 26, 8:30 am. No reservations or Covid card required.
• These and any other trips we announce for the foreseeable future will depend upon expected status of the Covid/flu/etc. pandemic at trip time. Any trip announced may be canceled shortly before trip date if it seems necessary. By now any other comments should be superfluous.
• Link to Programs & Field Trip schedule.

The next SMBAS Zoom program: ““Gray Vireos in Baja” with Dr. Phil Unitt, Tuesday, 7 Nov. 2023, 7:30 p.m. A recording of our 3 Oct. program, “Birds of Cuba” with Alvaro Jaramillo, is now on the blog.

The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk restarted April 23. Reservations for groups (scouts, etc.) necessary; not necessary for families.

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

Prior checklists:
2023: Jan-June
2021: Jan-July,  July-Dec 2022: Jan-June, July-Dec
2020: Jan-July, July-Dec  2019: Jan-June, 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, remain available—despite numerous complaints—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.

Many thanks to Ray Juncosa, Chris Lord, Chris Tosdevin, Ruth Tosdevin and others for their contributions to this month’s checklist.

The species lists below is irregularly re-sequenced to agree with the California Bird Records Committee Official California Checklist. If part of the chart’s right side is hidden, there’s a slider button at the bottom of the list.
[Chuck Almdale]

	Malibu Census 2023	4/23	5/28	6/25	7/23	8/27	9/24
	Temperature	57-66	61-62	59-71	66-70	69-73	56-74
	Tide Lo/Hi Height	L-.041	L+0.81	L+0.89	L+0.81	H+3.68	H+3.77
	Tide Time	0637	1131	0919	0730	0832	0739
1	Canada Goose	4	5	4	4
1	Gadwall	24	17	45	90	45	40
1	Mallard	15	12	33	77	20	12
1	Green-winged Teal						1
1	Surf Scoter	3	2
2	Pied-billed Grebe	2				2	1
2	Western Grebe	6
7	Feral Pigeon	1	8			3	4
7	Eurasian Collared-Dove		2
7	Mourning Dove	2	2	2	2	2	5
8	Anna’s Hummingbird	1		1	1		2
8	Allen’s Hummingbird	2	1	2	4		1
2	Sora						1
2	American Coot	6		5		6	49
5	Black-bellied Plover				6	39	82
5	Killdeer	4	4	8	8	13	6
5	Semipalmated Plover	14			1	7	3
5	Snowy Plover	1			7	13	22
5	Whimbrel	16		11	32	38	32
5	Long-billed Curlew					4	3
5	Marbled Godwit					1	48
5	Ruddy Turnstone					2	4
5	Sanderling					2	32
5	Dunlin	2
5	Least Sandpiper	19			4	8	18
5	Western Sandpiper	30			6	3	15
5	Short-billed Dowitcher					1	2
5	Spotted Sandpiper					3	3
5	Willet	2		7	5	9	29
5	Wilson’s Phalarope				1
5	Red-necked Phalarope					2
6	Bonaparte’s Gull		3
6	Heermann’s Gull	80	152	94	89	90	51
6	Ring-billed Gull	120	12	5	1
6	Western Gull	50	72	105	150	85	65
6	California Gull	60			2	3	7
6	Herring Gull					1
6	Caspian Tern		2			1
6	Forster’s Tern						1
6	Royal Tern		3	20		10	4
6	Elegant Tern	630	305	150	2	40	24
6	Black Skimmer			2
2	Pacific Loon	1
2	Common Loon	1
2	Black-vented Shearwater						20
2	Brandt’s Cormorant	12	8	2
2	Pelagic Cormorant	3	3	1			1
2	Double-crested Cormorant	53	74	75	42	23	30
2	Brown Pelican	655	168	162	174	56	27
3	Great Blue Heron		1	4	4	5	3
3	Great Egret	1	2	2	3	5
3	Snowy Egret	1	3	4	4	8	5
3	Green Heron					1	3
3	Black-crowned Night-Heron			2	2	5	2
4	Turkey Vulture	1		2
4	Osprey	1	1			1	1
4	Cooper’s Hawk			1	1
4	Red-shouldered Hawk						1
4	Red-tailed Hawk	2				1	1
8	Belted Kingfisher						2
8	Nuttall’s Woodpecker						1
4	American Kestrel						1
4	Peregrine Falcon	1
9	Pacific-slope Flycatcher	1
9	Black Phoebe	1	6	4	6	2	4
9	California Scrub-Jay			2	1		2
9	American Crow	4	3	9	20	9	6
9	Common Raven		2		2	1	2
9	Oak Titmouse			1			3
9	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	6	5	15			2
9	Barn Swallow	15	30	35	12	35	4
9	Cliff Swallow	25	4	30
9	Bushtit	2	8	4	22		8
9	Wrentit	1	1			1	4
9	House Wren	2					2
9	Bewick’s Wren			1			1
9	Northern Mockingbird	1			1
9	European Starling	2	3	6			15
9	House Finch	7	13	8	15	5	6
9	Lesser Goldfinch	2	5	1
9	Dark-eyed Junco		1		1
9	Savannah Sparrow						1
9	Song Sparrow	7	10	5	5	4	5
9	California Towhee	5	3	1	3		3
9	Hooded Oriole	1	1	3	1
9	Red-winged Blackbird		4	3	6		7
9	Brown-headed Cowbird	1	3		1
9	Great-tailed Grackle	4	2	1		1	1
9	Orange-crowned Warbler	1	1				1
9	Common Yellowthroat	1					2
9	Yellow Warbler					1
9	Wilson’s Warbler		1				1
9	Western Tanager						1
9	Black-headed Grosbeak						1
	Totals by Type	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep
1	Waterfowl	46	36	82	171	65	53
2	Water Birds – Other	739	253	245	216	87	129
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	2	6	12	13	24	13
4	Quail & Raptors	5	1	3	1	2	4
5	Shorebirds	88	4	26	70	145	299
6	Gulls & Terns	940	549	376	244	230	152
7	Doves	3	12	2	2	5	9
8	Other Non-Passerines	3	1	3	5	0	6
9	Passerines	89	106	129	96	59	82
	Totals Birds	1915	968	878	818	617	747
	Total Species	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep
1	Waterfowl	4	4	3	3	2	3
2	Water Birds – Other	9	4	5	2	4	7
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	2	3	4	4	5	4
4	Quail & Raptors	4	1	2	1	2	4
5	Shorebirds	8	1	3	9	15	14
6	Gulls & Terns	5	7	6	5	7	6
7	Doves	2	3	1	1	2	2
8	Other Non-Passerines	2	1	2	2	0	4
9	Passerines	20	20	17	14	9	23
	Totals Species – 94	56	44	43	41	46	67