[Text by Chuck Almdale; photos by Lillian Johnson, Ray Juncosa, Ted S. & Chris Tosdevin. Trip list at the end.]

We had almost 2200 birds in 66 species, with four species accounting for 70% of the total, and I’m certain this is an undercount. The numerous culprits were American Coots (560), Sanderlings (200 but always in motion), California Gulls (525) and Brown Pelicans (260). Farther down you’ll get a chance to count some birds yourself. It’s almost like being there! Weather was great: cool, but feeling warmer than the 54-59° we recorded (a thermal t-shirt helps).

I think WordPress has again changed their blogsite appearance. I never know from month to month what these postings will look like or how the emails will appear, and I accept little credit or blame for what you get. It is what it is.

Wintering Buffleheads finally showed up – nine of them including this lovely iridescent male.

The usual Double-crested Cormorants occupied the usual snags. Was this a staring contest below?

Edges of the channels seemed rather lush as the photo below demonstrates. That’s the back of Malibu Colony in the distance, stuffed to the brim with movie stars and moguls all no doubt sound asleep. The white railing of the tidal clock sidewalk emerges from the depths.

You’ll be glad to know the photographer escaped with his face intact after taking the shot below.

That’s a pretty fierce 5 inch, 1/3 ounce, 6-7.5 inch wingspan bird. It’s risky taking these big game photos, but someone has to do it.

I maintain that the male Gadwall, when well-seen, close up and in good light, is among the most beautiful and elegant of ducks.

Below is the north channel as seen from “1st viewpoint” near the PCH bridge, with one of the brushy sand islands on the left. This is where we spotted the next bird.

Below, among the spikey bushes and red-tipped pickleweed we found a Sora. These 8.75″ birds used to breed at the lagoon in small numbers, as did Virginia Rail, but since the extensive reedbeds were removed, they show up only during migration.

As alluded to earlier, the lagoon has a “winter ramp – tidal clock” sidewalk (read about it) which occasionally is inundated, at which time we can read the lagoon height. Here we approach the ramp which looks much like a sidewalk that someone installed too low.

Above the pathway to the beach, the Osprey perched, waiting.

It looks huge here but it’s only 22-25″ from bill to tail-tip.

Down at the edge of the sea were Sanderlings. They are the little “peeps” that run up and down the sandy slope with the sloshing waves, and for many beach-goers are the archetypal sandpiper.

Nearby were the much larger Marbled Godwits with the upcurved bill.

And among the washed-up seaweed we found a Whimbrel. Another fifty Whimbrel rested among the gulls along the edge of the lagoon.

Below is a closer view of the “bird hide.” I am convinced this was built because of a miscommunication of mine. When asked about the desirability of a bird hide at the lagoon, I immediately thought of those wooden shacks dotting every marsh across England, dark on the inside with windows one carefully raises to closely view unsuspecting birds, the paragon of bird hides of the world, and replied, “Sure. Build it with a concrete floor so it doesn’t shake and bounce when we walk.” [This drives photographers crazy.] The structure below, to my great surprise, was the result.

Among the many pelicans we found this bird busily fishing. Look closely to find the fish.

The Franklin fire burned through Malibu a week after these photos were taken, including some of the hills in the distance. Check here to see the fire map.

A week after this trip, chapter member and frequent Malibu Lagoon birder Femi Faminu discovered a Nelson’s Sparrow (formerly Sharp-tailed Sparrow, then Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow) at the lagoon. There will be a separate posting on this. If we’re lucky this bird will stay at the lagoon for a while.

Quiz Time!

All these photos were taken 11-24-24 at the lagoon and many of the birds are in plumage transition.

Quiz Answers & credits
#1. Black-bellied Plover; stubby dark bill, black axillaries. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#2. Black Oystercatcher eats very few oysters. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#3. Common Yellowthroat female has sharp gray-brown outline around yellow throat. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#4. Whimbrel; striped head, downcurved bill. (Ray Juncosa 11-24-24)
#5. Sanderling flock portion; I counted 148 (probably +-10). (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#6. Red-breasted Merganser; wings are supposedly different, but I can’t tell from this photo. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#7. Sora likes reed beds. Look for their chunky shape and short thick bill. (Ted S. 11/24/24)
#8. Ruddy Turnstone (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#9. Belted Kingfisher female has barely visible cinnamon flanks. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#10. Gadwall female often has yellow/orange “lips” & mostly-dark upper bill. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#11. Two Ring-necked Ducks with peaked heads, white streak behind white eyering & white “ring” around the bill, plus a coot. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#12. Pied-billed Grebes aren’t particularly closely related to ducks. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)
#13. Snoozing Ruddy Ducks are known as “Stifftails” by hunters. (Chris Tosdevin 11/24/24)

Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 11-25-24: 8219 lists, 2640 eBirders, 319 species.
Most recent species added: Cassin’s Vireo, 9/23/24 by Colin Drummond.
I checked the eBird “total Malibu Lagoon birds” for the past year as it mysteriously hops around, even while the “most recent new species” rarely changes: Oct’23 – 319 species, Dec’23-320, Jan-May’24-319, May-Aug’24-320, Sep’24-318, Oct’24-319; bird counts apparently arriving from bizarroland.

Birds new for the season: Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Sora, Black Oystercatcher, Marbled Godwit, Herring Gull, Hermit Thrush, Spotted Towhee.  “New for the season” means it has been three or more months since last recorded on our trips.

Many, many thanks to photographers: Ray Juncosa, Lillian Johnson, Ted S. & Chris Tosdevin.

Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips; no reservations or Covid card necessary unless specifically mentioned:

• Newport Back Bay  Sun. Dec 15, 8:00 am Chuck Almdale 
• Butterbredt Christmas Count  Sat. Dec 21, 8:30 am? Chuck Bragg Reservation
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Dec 22, 8:30 (adults) & 10 am (parents & kids)
• 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: TBA, Evening Meeting, Tuesday, February 4, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk is again running. Reservations not necessary for families, but for groups (scouts, etc.), call Jean (213-522-0062).

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

Prior checklists:
2023: Jan-June, July-Dec 2024: 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 Marie Barnidge-McIntyre, Lillian Johnson, Chris & Ruth Tosdevin and others for their contributions to this month’s checklist.

The species lists below is intermittently re-sequenced to agree with the California Bird Records Committee Official California Checklist. If part of the right side of the chart below is hidden, there’s a slider button inconveniently located at the bottom end of the list. The numbers 1-9 left of the species names are keyed to the nine categories of birds at the bottom.
[Chuck Almdale]

	Malibu Census 2024	6/23	7/28	8/25	9/22	10/27	11/24
	Temperature	62-72	63-72	64-78	67-75	64-68	54-59
	Tide Lo/Hi Height	L-1.17	L+1.81	L+2.00	L+2.09	H+4.75	L+2.06
	Tide Time	0537	0916	0735	0611	0742	1139
1	Canada Goose	9	4
1	Gadwall	35	27	12	30	38	26
1	American Wigeon				1	13	12
1	Mallard	15	6	2	8	28	10
1	Green-winged Teal					4	1
1	Ring-necked Duck				4		3
1	Bufflehead						9
1	Hooded Merganser					1
1	Red-breasted Merganser						10
1	Ruddy Duck					28	22
2	Pied-billed Grebe	1	1	1	5	10	8
2	Eared Grebe					4	1
2	Western Grebe	1				28
7	Feral Pigeon	3	6	9	1	4	4
7	Mourning Dove	5	2	3	1	1
8	Anna’s Hummingbird	1		2		2	1
8	Allen’s Hummingbird	1	2	3	4	2	1
2	Sora						2
2	American Coot			2	72	340	560
5	Black-necked Stilt	2
5	Black Oystercatcher						2
5	Black-bellied Plover	1	51	70	67	136	75
5	Killdeer	3	12	4	12	20	1
5	Semipalmated Plover			13	3
5	Snowy Plover		6	22	42	18	34
5	Whimbrel		52	2	2	7	15
5	Long-billed Curlew		1	1
5	Marbled Godwit						12
5	Wilson’s Phalarope	1
5	Spotted Sandpiper		2		1
5	Willet	2	9	5	5	3	51
5	Greater Yellowlegs			1	1
5	Ruddy Turnstone			1	3	4	6
5	Sanderling			2	1	5	200
5	Least Sandpiper			23	3	4	8
5	Western Sandpiper		6	13	2
6	Heermann’s Gull	65	42	5	24	79	29
6	Ring-billed Gull			2	2	12	15
6	Western Gull	160	220	113	55	27	65
6	Herring Gull						1
6	California Gull	3	10	23	75	440	525
6	Glaucous-winged Gull		1	1
6	Caspian Tern		14	4	1
6	Forster’s Tern	1		2
6	Elegant Tern	25	240	10
6	Royal Tern			5	5	6
2	Common Loon					2
2	Brandt’s Cormorant					2	5
2	Pelagic Cormorant	4		1		2	2
2	Double-crested Cormorant	24	28	37	54	51	44
2	Brown Pelican	125	163	27	24	30	260
3	Black-crowned Night-Heron	2	1	1	1	1	1
3	Snowy Egret	7	4	3	4	10	5
3	Green Heron	1	1	1	2	1	1
3	Great Egret	9	3	3	2	3	3
3	Great Blue Heron	3	3	4	2	5	4
3	White-faced Ibis				3
4	Turkey Vulture		4	1	7		1
4	Osprey					1	1
4	Red-shouldered Hawk				1
4	Red-tailed Hawk				2	1
8	Belted Kingfisher			1	1	1	1
8	Nuttall’s Woodpecker				1
8	Hairy Woodpecker			1
4	American Kestrel					1
8	Nanday Parakeet				25
9	Black Phoebe	3	6	3	2	4	6
9	Say’s Phoebe				1	1	1
9	Ash-throated  Flycatcher			1
9	Cassin’s Kingbird			1		1
9	Western Kingbird			8
9	Loggerhead Shrike					1
9	California Scrub-Jay				2
9	American Crow	6	4	4	8	6	22
9	Common Raven					4	1
9	Oak Titmouse			1
9	Tree Swallow	3			1		12
9	No. Rough-winged Swallow	5		2
9	Barn Swallow	20	20	20	1
9	Cliff Swallow	6		4
9	Bushtit	9	19	5	20	30	12
9	Wrentit	1			4	1
9	Ruby-crowned Kinglet				1	1	3
9	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher			1	4		1
9	House Wren			2	3	6	1
9	Marsh Wren				2	1
9	Bewick’s Wren				2	2	2
9	European Starling			1	10	12
9	Northern Mockingbird			1		1	1
9	Western Bluebird					5
9	Hermit Thrush						1
9	Scaly-breasted Munia	1
9	House Finch	11	12	5	4	8	4
9	Lesser Goldfinch	2			3		6
9	Lark Sparrow				1
9	Dark-eyed Junco			1	2	1	2
9	White-crowned Sparrow					16	15
9	Savannah Sparrow				1
9	Song Sparrow	5	4	10	10	5	8
9	California Towhee	4	1	1		3	2
9	Spotted Towhee	1					1
9	Western Meadowlark				15
9	Hooded Oriole	1	1	1
9	Red-winged Blackbird	11			11		1
9	Brown-headed Cowbird			18
9	Great-tailed Grackle	3	3		1	4	15
9	Orange-crowned Warbler			1	2	1	2
9	Common Yellowthroat			1	5	7	8
9	Yellow Warbler				1
9	Yellow-rumped Warbler (Aud)					15	15
9	Townsend’s Warbler				2
	Totals by Type	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
1	Waterfowl	59	37	14	43	112	93
2	Water Birds – Other	155	192	68	155	469	882
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	22	12	12	14	20	14
4	Quail & Raptors	0	4	1	10	3	2
5	Shorebirds	9	139	157	142	197	404
6	Gulls & Terns	254	527	165	162	564	635
7	Doves	8	8	12	2	5	4
8	Other Non-Passerines	2	2	7	31	5	3
9	Passerines	92	70	92	119	136	142
	Totals Birds	601	991	528	678	1511	2179
	Total Species	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov
1	Waterfowl	3	3	2	4	6	8
2	Water Birds – Other	5	3	5	4	9	8
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	5	5	5	6	5	5
4	Quail & Raptors	0	1	1	3	3	2
5	Shorebirds	5	8	12	12	8	10
6	Gulls & Terns	5	6	9	6	5	5
7	Doves	2	2	2	2	2	1
8	Other Non-Passerines	2	1	4	4	3	3
9	Passerines	17	9	22	27	24	24
	Totals Species – 111	44	38	62	68	65	66