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No salesman will call, at least not from us. Maybe from someone else.
[Posted by Chuck Almdale.]
A Monarch Butterfly fluttered through the yard a few days ago; our native milkweed plant now has eleven small leaves. Monarch Season will soon be upon us.
That’s not a given, though. Far from it. The number of West Coast wintering Monarchs dropped 97.5% from 1997 to 2019, then dropped another 93.6% in 2020. Only 1,914 Monarchs were present on last year’s Thanksgiving Count, down from 1.2 million in 1997. That’s for the entire West Coast, not just Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times had another full-page article on the Monarchs in their 3 April 2021 Saturday section, again written by Jeanette Marantos, who did a bang-up job on her 27 Feb. article, You can Guide Monarchs Back to their Throne. The new article (linked below), equally as informative and useful, recapitulates some information but most of it is new. A few highlights are below, but I recommend you read — perhaps print out and keep — Marantos’ article.
Monarch Butterflies fans are clamoring for native milkweed.
Here are eight places to buy it.
Los Angeles Times | Jeanette Marantos | 3 April 2021
- Native milkweeds — especially narrow-leaf milkweed — are just now emerging from dormancy. You can’t hurry this. It’s a summer bloomer and goes dormant in midwinter. Plants big enough to sell are not available at most nurseries until mid-April.
- Increased demand this year means the April crop is “reserved out;” it could be May or June before you find any. You may want to make an advance order yourself.
- Two bills were introduced in Congress in mid-March to help fund monarch habitat restoration and preservation.
- Pink is Good, Orange is Bad. Native milkweeds have pink, white and cream-colored flowers. Buy those. Tropical milkweed has showier, orange flowers. Don’t buy them.
- Live on the coast? Don’t plant any milkweed. It’s just too warm year-round by the ocean, and all milkweeds will stay green and not go Winter-dormant. What to do? Plant California native plants that bloom during winter (Nov-Apr). They will provide nectar for the adult butterflies. It’s only the Monarch caterpillars that eat milkweed. What blooms in winter? Ask your favorite purveyor of native California plants.
Addendum: Alert Reader Judy Villablanca, member of the Malibu Monarch Project and who lives near “the coast” comments that her native Narrow-leaved Milkweed does die back in the winter, and is beginning to re-sprout right now (April 5). So….if you live along the coast and have native milkweed, keep an eye on it. If it doesn’t die back (i.e. lose all its leaves) cut it back, down to the ground. That’s what we did (San Fernando Valley), then thought it was gone forever, but danged if it didn’t start re-sprouting about 2 weeks ago.
Addendum #2: Judy recommends as blooming food plants California buckwheat, white sage, salvia, California asters. Another great website for plant information is California Native Plant Society’s website (https://calscape.org). - Buy Organic only. Pesticide residue on or in the plant will kill your butterflies.
- Aphids on your milkweed? Ignore them. You may not like their looks, but (growers say) they’re harmless to both milkweed and caterpillars. Native California plant growers should (you might want to ask them) know how to control aphids without pesticides — systemic or otherwise — that make the plant toxic to caterpillars.
- It’s caterpillar food, not human decoration. Don’t sweat it if the caterpillars and aphids eat all the milkweed leaves right down to the stems. That’s what is supposed to happen.
- Want additional Information? Contact the Xerces Society They also want photos.
Some Southern California Native Plant Nurseries
- Artemisia Nursery – 5068 Valley Blvd. in El Sereno. artemisianursery.com
- California Botanic Garden Grow Native Nursery – 1500 N. College Ave. in Claremont. calbg.org
- Hahamongna Native Plant Nursery – 4550 Oak Grove Drive in Pasadena. arroyoseco.org/nursery
- Moosa Creek Nursery – Valley Center, near San Diego; wholesale grower not open to the public but does take special orders online delivered to a partner retailer. moosacreeknursery.com
- Roger’s Gardens – 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar. rogersgardens.com
- The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Nursery – 1212 Mission Canyon Road in Santa Barbara, sbbg.org
- Theodore Payne Foundation Nursery – 10459 Tuxford St. in Sun Valley. theodorepayne.org
- Tree of Life Nursery – 33201 Ortega Highway in San Juan Capistrano. californianativeplants.com
- Matilija Nursery – 8225 Waters Road in Moorpark. MatilijaNursery.com
The showy Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) may be killing the adult Monarchs. Most SoCal nurseries have only tropical milkweeds, which bear feathery purplish-green leaves and deep orange flowers.
Tropical Milkweed does not die all the way back during winter in SoCal, as does native milkweed. That permits protozoa parasites (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha) to multiply on the plants and continue on the plant through the winter. When the caterpillars hatch, they eat the protozoa along with the leaves. Scientists believe that when a caterpillar eats too many such protozoa, it sickens and weakens the adult monarchs, interfering with their migration patterns, mating success, flight ability and lifespan. Milkweed blooming during winter may also disrupt their migration patterns.
What Actually Makes Water Roll Off a Duck’s Back?
Ducks and geese spend a lot of time preening their all-weather feathers. This obsessive grooming – and a little styling wax from a hidden spot on their back side – maintains the microscopic feather structure that keeps them warm and dry in frigid waters.
This is another installment of the PBS Deep Look series. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
A Springtime Exaltation of Nouns of the Venery
[Submitted by Ellen Vahan, posted by Chuck Almdale]
The 12 Days of Spring
We missed the annual recitation of the 12 Days of Christmas and the costs thereof, thanks to Covid-19; we could not have Lords a Leaping or Pipers Piping or any get together. We have made a wish list of what we would like to celebrate Spring and the hopes of the end of the pandemic. Our source — A Compendium of Collective Nouns by Mark Faulkner, et al.
On the first day a Charm of Goldfinches,
On the second day a Wake of Bustards,
On the third day an Opera of Canaries,
On the fourth day a fourth a Clattering of Choughs,
On the fifth, a Ballet of Swans;
On the sixth a Prettying of Doves,
on the seventh a Jubilee of Eagles.
On the eighth a Flamboyance of Flamingos,
on the ninth a Bazaar of Guillemots,
On the tenth a Hover of Kestrels,
On the eleventh a bellowing of Bullfinches,
And on the twelfth day of Spring, a Mutation of Thrushes.
Oh, and please drop by some birdseed.
The Mutation of Thrushes is from The Book of Saint Albans:
It is a recognized fact amongst naturalists that Thrushes acquire new legs, and cast the old ones when about ten years old.
This common fact remains news to many in the scientific community.
Happy Spring and new beginnings!
Photo Credits
- Lawrence’s Goldfinch — Doug Waterman; California; 11 June 2017
- Kori Bustard — Winfried Bruenken; Etosha, Namabia; 20 Sep 2004; Wikipedia
- Atlantic Canary — Juan Emilio; Parque Rural del Nublo, Gran Canaria, Spain; male; 2 Feb 2012; Wikipedia
- Red-billed Chough — Dibyendu Ash; Sikkim, India; 13 May 2014
- Tundra Swan — Mike at RoadsEndNaturalist.com
- Blue-headed Quail-Dove — Arturo Kirkconnell; Cuba
- Golden Eagle grabbing a drone — Mont-de-Marsan French Air Force base, Southwestern France.
- Greater Flamingo — Sorin Furcoi,Al Jazeera; Qatar
- Pigeon Guillemot — Grace Murayama; 14 June 2016
- American Kestrel — Ted Schroeder, LeGrande, OR, March 2013
- Eurasian Bullfinch — Francis Franklin; Lancashire, UK; Male; 4 Jan 2015; Wikipedia
- Hermit Thrush — Randy Ehler; California; 25 Oct 2015
Birds can Dance! | Video
[Posted by Chuck Almdale. Thanks to Hollywood Dave.]
Birds can dance. Yes they Can Can.
A wonderful video. Music by Strauss. Turn up the volume.
1st Sunday of Spring, Malibu Lagoon, 21 March 2021
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Double-crested Cormorant (Ray Juncosa 3-21-21)
After doing our non-official, nearly-impromptu lagoon census-walk on weekdays for the past ten months, primarily to avoid maskless crowds, I decided to try one on the weekend. People in Los Angeles are seeing a (perhaps illusory) light at the end of the Covid tunnel, vaccines are being injected, the maskless are again on the loose, and the weekday morning roads and highways are refilling with drivers. So Sunday morning it was to be.
Mudflat, rocks with cormorants, lagoon, Surfrider Beach, Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica in the distance (Lillian Johnson 3-21-21)
Good weather, a lowering tide, acceptably cool and not as breezy as predicted all made for a good day. Some who worked or are otherwise occupied during the week were able to come, and we had thirteen birders, all masked and ready to go. That’s the most we’ve had since February 2020, and it’s about the limit of social-distancing birders the narrower paths can handle. In my opinion.
Reed beds were flattened from the rain and hail earlier in the month, leaving nowhere for Soras and Virginia Rails to hide, if there were any, which there aren’t. An Osprey – absent last month – alit upon a pipe protruding from the north channel mud. It soon began chirp-calling in its odd, un-raptorlike manner, and within a few minutes another Osprey approached from the south and dropped out of the sky. After circling the calling bird it headed off towards the shopping center to the north. Territorial display? Courting? Saying hi? Kemosabe?
Osprey calling; none of the photos of this bird showed any more of a right leg than this (R. Juncosa 3-21-21)
The two Western Bluebirds flitted about in the trees over the port-a-potties, which seems to be their favorite spot. We’ve seen them there in the past, scarfing Sugarbush berries. It’s leafy and they can perch high to spot snacks (aka insects) flying by. Perhaps they drop down to the grassy private golf course a few feet away, invisible to us on the other side of a high brick wall.
Western Bluebird male (Femi Faminu 3-21-21)
Nine species of ducks and geese rested on the exposed mud or dabbled in the water. Last month’s Pintails, Buffleheads and Ruddy Ducks were absent, but Northern Shovelers were there. Relatively abundant were the 25 Green-winged Teal, most of them lying on the muddy shore of a sand island. Pied-billed Grebes dove in the deeper water by the PCH bridge, accompanied by many coots and several Red-breasted Mergansers.
Northern Shovelers have a very large bill for a duck (C. Tosdevin 3-21-21)
The mockingbirds were back in place – after their two-month absence (perhaps they went to Cancun?) – near the telephone at the colony west end corner. Although neither sang from the top of their rightful pole, there was plenty of chasing around and singing from the lower bushes and small trees.
Allen’s Hummingbird male 3-21-21 Left: R. Juncosa — Right: C. Tosdevin
The oft-referred-to “outer rocks” are at upper left, perhaps 100 meters offshore (L. Johnson 3-21-21)
While checking the higher offshore rocks in front of Malibu Colony’s west end, we found a large number of shorebirds among the low exposed rocks (we were well on our way towards 11:53am low tide of +0.74 ft.). They turned out to be mostly Sanderlings, 160 of them, with some larger Whimbrels, Willets and Marbled Godwits mixed in.
Thirty-three or so of the Sanderlings (C. Tosdevin 3-21-21)
A single Brown Pelican sat on the outer rocks, alone, probably because the waves were still making the seaward side of the rocks unusable. But a closer look revealed a Black Oystercatcher standing atop one rock. Searching more carefully, we found three more Black Oystercatchers, blending in very well with the dark wet rocks. Photographs were taken, of course. One obliging bird saw us staring at him and flew to a nearby rock to give us a better look, or maybe take a better look at us, or perhaps something else entirely.
Black Oystercatcher glides in (C. Tosdevin 3-21-21)
Black Oystercatcher (C. Tosdevin 3-21-21)
As we walked eastward towards the other exposed rocky reefs, two of the oystercatchers flew by and dropped into those dark damp rocks near the gulls and terns, and began exploring the newly-exposed crevices and gravel.
Beach wrack, exposed rocks and Santa Monica in far distance (L. Johnson 3-21-21)
Jean and Liz had already explored the beach and informed us they didn’t see any Snowy Plovers. So we needed to do a close investigation of all the little pockmark holes across the now-broad beach, widened by the lowering tide and the near-empty lagoon. To our surprise we found them fairly close to the beachblanketed sunbathers perched on the beach berm, widely scattered, in small groups of two to eight birds, totaling 23 birds, including winter resident gg:yg.
Western Snowy Plovers gets quite colorful in the spring (Grace Murayama 3-20-21)
The ~250 gulls included six species: 130 California, 65 Westerns, 42 Heermann’s, a dozen Ring-bills and one each of Herring and Glaucous-winged. The 28 terns were 4 Caspian and 24 Royal. Elegant Terns and the other smaller terns will probably show up next month. Ruddy Turnstones and Black-bellied Plovers roamed and rested on the rocks among the gulls.
Marbled Godwit, almost fully extended (R. Juncosa 3-21-21)
I forded the outlet stream – about 6 inches deep and warmer than last month’s ice water – and went on to Adamson House. Crossing over Surfrider beach, swarming with surfers and surfer-watchers, I noticed two Eared Grebes diving under Malibu Pier, darkening into breeding plumage.
A small example of Giant Coriopsis, coming into bloom, endemic to local shoreline and nearby channel islands (G. Murayama 3-20-21)
Local birder Tom Miko, one who certainly gets around the L.A. area a lot, had reported a weird woodpecker there the day before, seemingly a blend of Nuttall’s and Downy, but with a black face. I searched the grounds high and low, but found little other than a large flock of European Starlings. There weren’t even any hummingbirds in the flowering hedges! However, I was quite pleased to see that the boathouse rooftop viewing platform has been completely repaired, finally! (it’s been years), and open for use. Unfortunately, lagoon water level was so low that the pool below the boathouse was bone dry, with not a bird to see. C’est La Vie.
Birds new for the season: Northern Shoveler, Herring Gull, Caspian Tern, Common Raven, Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Western Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird.
Many thanks to photographers: Femi Faminu, Lillian Johnson, Ray Juncosa, Grace Murayama and Chris Tosdevin
The next three SMBAS scheduled field trips: Who knows? Not I.
The next SMBAS program: April 6, The Secret Lives of Gulls (and what their poo may reveal), with Kristen Covino, on ZOOM, 7:45 PM. NOTE NEW TIME (this meeting only).
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:
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, 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 | 10/21 | 11/23 | 12/22 | 1/22 | 2/22 | 3/22 |
| Temperature | 64-68 | 52-64 | 57-64 | 60-61 | 65-74 | 60-61 |
| Tide Lo/Hi Height | L+2.70 | L+2.17 | L+2.15 | L+0.86 | L-0.13 | L+0.86 |
| Tide Time | 0634 | 1135 | 1052 | 1223 | 1314 | 1223 |
| Snow Goose | 2 | |||||
| (Black) Brant | 1 | |||||
| Canada Goose | 8 | 8 | 6 | |||
| Cinnamon Teal | 4 | 7 | ||||
| Northern Shoveler | 8 | |||||
| Gadwall | 2 | 28 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
| American Wigeon | 3 | 30 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Mallard | 14 | 8 | 10 | 16 | ||
| Northern Pintail | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Green-winged Teal | 12 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 25 | |
| Surf Scoter | 3 | 13 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Bufflehead | 10 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| Red-breasted Merganser | 9 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 12 | |
| Ruddy Duck | 9 | 35 | 19 | 6 | 25 | |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Eared Grebe | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |
| Western Grebe | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | ||
| Rock Pigeon | 10 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Mourning Dove | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Allen’s Hummingbird | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Sora | 1 | |||||
| American Coot | 118 | 287 | 445 | 110 | 210 | 235 |
| Black Oystercatcher | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Black-bellied Plover | 91 | 30 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 31 |
| Snowy Plover | 42 | 28 | 22 | 21 | 27 | 23 |
| Semipalmated Plover | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Killdeer | 1 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 7 |
| Whimbrel | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 6 |
| Marbled Godwit | 5 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Ruddy Turnstone | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | |
| Sanderling | 75 | 78 | 25 | 8 | 50 | 160 |
| Least Sandpiper | 4 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 8 | |
| Western Sandpiper | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Spotted Sandpiper | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Willet | 5 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 6 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 1 | |||||
| Heermann’s Gull | 85 | 43 | 16 | 2 | 42 | |
| Mew Gull | 2 | |||||
| Ring-billed Gull | 10 | 65 | 15 | 38 | 12 | |
| Western Gull | 21 | 53 | 34 | 30 | 80 | 65 |
| California Gull | 1 | 535 | 485 | 50 | 235 | 130 |
| Herring Gull | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Glaucous-winged Gull | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Caspian Tern | 4 | |||||
| Forster’s Tern | 1 | |||||
| Royal Tern | 3 | 5 | 6 | 24 | ||
| Red-throated Loon | 1 | |||||
| Pacific Loon | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Brandt’s Cormorant | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Double-crested Cormorant | 16 | 108 | 28 | 85 | 52 | 25 |
| Pelagic Cormorant | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Brown Pelican | 5 | 206 | 32 | 162 | 12 | 27 |
| Great Blue Heron | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Great Egret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Snowy Egret | 5 | 4 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 3 |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | 1 | |||||
| Turkey Vulture | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Osprey | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | |||||
| Belted Kingfisher | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| Black Phoebe | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Say’s Phoebe | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Vermilion Flycatcher | 1 | |||||
| California Scrub-Jay | 1 | 2 | ||||
| American Crow | 4 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| Common Raven | 1 | |||||
| Tree Swallow | 3 | |||||
| Rough-winged Swallow | 6 | |||||
| Barn Swallow | 10 | |||||
| Bushtit | 75 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 20 | |
| House Wren | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Marsh Wren | 3 | |||||
| Bewick’s Wren | 2 | |||||
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 | |||||
| Western Bluebird | 2 | |||||
| Northern Mockingbird | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||
| European Starling | 5 | 85 | 30 | 10 | 75 | |
| House Finch | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| Lesser Goldfinch | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| California Towhee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Song Sparrow | 7 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 4 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 1 | |||||
| Red-winged Blackbird | 2 | |||||
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 2 | |||||
| Great-tailed Grackle | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Common Yellowthroat | 5 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Yellow-rumped(Aud) Warbler | 10 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 15 |
| Totals by Type | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| Waterfowl | 17 | 125 | 106 | 53 | 115 | 100 |
| Water Birds – Other | 146 | 617 | 518 | 359 | 292 | 306 |
| Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 9 | 7 | 27 | 13 | 15 | 5 |
| Quail & Raptors | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Shorebirds | 229 | 175 | 127 | 114 | 141 | 264 |
| Gulls & Terns | 22 | 688 | 634 | 119 | 362 | 279 |
| Doves | 12 | 18 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| Other Non-Passerines | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Passerines | 135 | 170 | 126 | 72 | 46 | 198 |
| Totals Birds | 573 | 1808 | 1563 | 738 | 980 | 1172 |
| Total Species | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| Waterfowl | 4 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 |
| Water Birds – Other | 7 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
| Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Quail & Raptors | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Shorebirds | 9 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Gulls & Terns | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Doves | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Other Non-Passerines | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Passerines | 18 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 20 |
| Totals Species – 94 | 48 | 62 | 64 | 50 | 56 | 62 |
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