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Program and Cancellation Announcements
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Next ZOOM meeting is Nov. 10, 7:30 PM: Seaweed Faceoff! Devil Weed Vs Giant Kelp, with Lauren Smith. Please sign up when you get the announcement.
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UPDATE: September 19, 2020
We have a Zoom program for November 10 (second Tuesday!) and plan to fill out the program calendar through May 2021. Except for Nov. 10, all meetings are planned for the first Tuesday of these months: October, December, February – May. We have not yet planned any public field trips.
In order to help keep people safer longer from Corona virus COVID-19 (also known as SARS-CoV-2 or novel coronavirus), SMBAS has officially canceled all field trips and in-person programs. We will continue to re-evaluate the situation. When there is no longer a risk for people gathering together, we will resume our field trips and meetings.
[Chuck Almdale]
Voices: Magnificent Frigatebird | Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Macaulay Library archivist Martha Fischer takes us to Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park where she experienced the bizarre mating displays of Magnificent Frigatebirds.
Learn more about the Magnificent Frigatebird on All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/magnificent_frigatebird/id
Audio recordings and photographs by Gerrit Vyn. To explore more audio recordings visit the Macaulay Library: http://macaulaylibrary.org/index.do
A film from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 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. The Lab is a member-supported organization; they welcome your membership and support. [Chuck Almdale]
Black-throated Sparrow juvenile at Malibu Lagoon
Black-throated Sparrows almost never appear at Malibu Lagoon.
Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile (Chris Tosdevin 9-13-20)
They’re a desert, chaparral, or rocky slopes bird. Malibu Lagoon may often be deserted, but it’s not a desert.
Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile (Chris Tosdevin 9-13-20)
In their adult plumage, they look elegant with a large black bib extending half-way down the breast, black cheeks and even bolder white supercilium and submoustachial stripes. This young bird looks a bit disheveled. We’ve seen them in many places: Antelope Valley, Carrizo Plains, Joshua Tree upper desert area and other dry locals.
Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile (Chris Tosdevin 9-13-20)
They are extremely well-adapted to dry deserts as they are one of the few birds that don’t have to drink water. They get all they need from their diet of seeds, flowers, and invertebrates, as well as from what is called “water of metabolism” (formed in the body from the oxidation of the hydrogen in foods, especially fats). They can live in dry areas far from water, an ecological niche too difficult for most other birds and mammals except the Kangaroo Rat.
Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile (Chris Tosdevin 9-13-20)
Their breeding range includes east central Washington, Oregon east of the Cascades, all of Nevada, most of Utah, the northern half of Arizona, a thin strip in northern Utah, and southeastern California east of the Sierra, plus a tiny isolated area which is probably the Carrizo Plains. They spend the winter in southeastern California, across southern Arizona and New Mexico, southwestern Texas, and most of Baja California and mainland Mexico.
Chris and Ruth’s bird was undoubtedly on his or her way south. SMBAS’ only other recorded Lagoon sighting was on July 19, 1987, probably a single bird (presence recorded but number not counted).
Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile (Chris Tosdevin 9-13-20)
Amphispiza bilineata (Greek amphi “on both sides” + spiza “finch”, Latin bilineata “two-striped”) is a small sparrow, 5 1/2″ long, same as the Chipping Sparrow. They’re not particularly skulky or secretive in their usual habitat, but I think you have to be both skilled and lucky to spot one in the brush around the lagoon where it’s almost totally unexpected.
Just as I was writing this, a report (from Joseph Brooks) came in that two other Black-throated Sparrows were spotted at Solstice Canyon yesterday (9-13-20), a few miles west of the lagoon. For those familiar with Solstice, they were in the vegetated creek bed near the parking lot. Can three birds constitute a fall-out?
Many thanks to Chris Tosdevin for the photos.
[Chuck Almdale]
joseph brooks
sunday 2 solstice creek parking ara
You Wish You Had Mites Like This Hissing Cockroach | Deep Look Video
Not all roaches are filthy. The Madagascar hissing cockroach actually makes a pretty sweet pet, thanks to the hungry mites that serve as its cleaning crew.
As the weather starts to warm and cold days give way to balmier, sunny days, one rite of spring returns every year, just like spring flowers: cockroaches.
Most people run to buy a can of bug spray or to call the exterminator when they see the scurrying little insects in their kitchens or outside their homes.
But not all roaches are pests. Some are pets – like the Madagascar hissing cockroach. They can be bought at pet stores or online for $5 or less. They don’t bite and don’t carry diseases.
They are also much larger than the run-of-the-mill roach, with adults averaging about 3 inches long. They live up to five years. They are slow-moving and mellow – kind of like an old tabby cat. But with antennae. And an appetite for fresh vegetables.
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]
Webinars from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT)
We just watched a live webinar from VENT which was very good. It was Raptor Identification 101 with Erik Bruhnke, one of their tour leaders, and it appeared on Sept. 3, 2020 at 11 AM PDT. It covered all the U.S. common raptors and some of the more range-restricted ones. I assume they will make it permanently available on their website as a recording, as they already have two previously shown webinars available.
Cape aMAYzing: The magic of spring & fall birding at Cape May: with Louise Zemaitis & Michael O’Brien
Appreciating Birds & Nature More: with Victor Emanuel
Webinars are about one hour long.
Here’s their Webinar page.
Right after you sign up, they send you a confirmation email.
Log onto your first webinar a few minutes early as it includes downloading a program that lets you view the webinar. We have very slow internet and this took us a few minutes and we missed some of the webinar.
They have another one coming up which should be equally as interesting.
East and West in a New Germany: Birds and Art in Berlin and Brandenburg
By: Rick Wright
Register: Here
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: 11:00 am PDT/12:00 pm MDT/1:00 pm CDT/2:00 pm EDT
[Chuck Almdale]
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 