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Rumor has it that the lagoon breach was – unlike previous breaches for at least 15 years – authorized and done by one of the numerous gov’t agencies – State Parks, perhaps. A large sand berm was created in front of Adamson House,

presumably to protect it from winter storm surges, and the breach was placed as far to the west of it as possible. This makes the beach walk a bit short for birders.  The outlet was already swinging to the east, moved (I think) by the prevailing easterly current. No doubt the entire breach will steadily move eastward. Lu Plauzoles checked Adamson House and counted Snowy Plovers on the east beach.

Most of the gulls were again offshore. All the terns and even Heermann’s Gulls were absent, and but a single Brown Pelican showed his face. The cool weather made for a very pleasant and congenial walk. The Peregrine Falcon – absent in November – was back, as were the Sanderlings, with a nice flock of them busily charging back and forth at water’s edge as waves rose and fell. Even the Townsend’s Warbler, not a bird one expects at the lagoon, appeared for the third month in a row.

Birds new for the season were: Northern Pintail; Red-throated, Pacific & Common Loons; Western Sandpiper; Savannah Sparrow.

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Antelope Valley Raptor Search, 11 Jan, 8am; Malibu Lagoon, 26 Dec, 8:30 & 10am; San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge (Riverside County), 15 Feb, 8:30am.
Our next program:  Tuesday, 4 Feb., 7:30 pm. Urban Bobcats III, presented by Laurel Serieys.

NOTE: 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk meets at the metal canopy.

Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon from 9/23/02.
Prior checklists: July-Dec’11, Jan-June’11, July-Dec ’10, Jan-June ’10, Jul-Dec ‘09, and Jan-June ‘09.

Here are some pictures taken in November while I was gallivanting around Oregon. Click on any picture to make it larger & create a mini slide show.

Comments on Bird Lists Below
Total Birds:   December total birds of 1412 is 49% below the 6-year Dec. average, due primarily to the absence of gulls and terns which – like last month – were offshore by the thousands but too distant to determine species.

Summary of total birds from the 6-year average so far:  Jun’12 +36%, Jul’12 -9%, Aug’12 -9%, Sep’12 +12%, Oct’12 +3%, Nov’12 -5%, Dec’12 +30%, Jan’13 -20%, Feb’13 -29%, Mar’13 -30%, Apr’13 -34%, May’13 -37%, Jun’13 -24%, Jul’13 +83%, Aug’13 +37%, Sep’13 +23%, Oct’13 +41%, Nov’13 -58%, Dec’13 -49%.
Species Diversity:  December 2013 with 61 species was slightly below (-6%) the 6-year average of 65.2.
Summary of species diversity from the 6-year average so far:  Jun’12 -10%, Jul’12 +10%, Aug’12. -6%, Sep’12 -20%, Oct’12 +5%, Nov’12 +2%, Dec’12 -4%, Jan’13 +2%, Feb’13 -8%, Mar’13 +9%, Apr’13 -2%, May’13 +3%, Jun’13 +13%, Jul’13 0%, Aug’13 +11%, Sep’13 -14%, Oct’13 +19%, Nov’13 -3%, Dec’13 -6%.
10-year comparison summaries are available on our Lagoon Project Bird Census Page.    [Chuck Almdale]

Malibu Census	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
December 2008 – 13	12/28	12/27	12/26	12/25	12/23	12/22
Temperature	46-62	50-60	50-62	50-66	50-60	47-64
Tide Lo/Hi Height	H+6.0	L+0.2	L+2.13	H+6.80	H+5.40	H+4.49	Ave.
Tide Time	0850	1241	0649	0850	0544	1113	Birds
Brant					1		0.2
Gadwall	18	23	16	35	12	22	21.0
American Wigeon	6	26	8	4		35	13.2
Mallard	8	16	29	8	22	28	18.5
Cinnamon Teal			1				0.2
Northern Shoveler	32	15	18	30	14	36	24.2
Northern Pintail		1		7		4	2.0
Green-winged Teal	8	8	17	40	9	32	19.0
Lesser Scaup				1			0.2
Surf Scoter	16	50	10		5		13.5
Long-tailed Duck		1					0.2
Bufflehead		25	6	12	6	5	9.0
Red-brstd Merganser	6	3	3	4	4	5	4.2
Ruddy Duck	23	25	51	40	47	27	35.5
Red-throated Loon		3		1	3	1	1.3
Pacific Loon		5	5		3	1	2.3
Common Loon		2	1	1		1	0.8
Pied-billed Grebe	3	5	4	3	4	6	4.2
Horned Grebe	2				1	2	0.8
Eared Grebe	2	1	2	3	4	11	3.8
Western Grebe	2	4	35	25	35	12	18.8
Blk-vented Shearwater				200	200		66.7
Brandt’s Cormorant	12			6	30	1	8.2
Dble-crstd Cormorant	33	35	47	62	42	28	41.2
Pelagic Cormorant	2	3	1	1	3		1.7
Brown Pelican	67	56	13	12	35	1	30.7
Great Blue Heron	5	4	1	2	2	6	3.3
Great Egret	1		3		2	2	1.3
Snowy Egret	8	20	16	22	18	14	16.3
Cattle Egret				1			0.2
Blk-crwnd N-Heron	2		6	5			2.2
Turkey Vulture					2		0.3
Osprey			2	1			0.5
Cooper’s Hawk				1			0.2
Red-shouldered Hawk	1	1	1				0.5
Red-tailed Hawk	1		2		1	1	0.8
Peregrine Falcon			1			1	0.3
Virginia Rail			1	2			0.5
Sora		2	3	2			1.2
American Coot	210	403	237	280	210	270	268.3
Blk-bellied Plover	45	45	44	140	35	79	64.7
Snowy Plover	60	59	46	58	45	39	51.2
Killdeer	3	4	3	1	2	6	3.2
Black Oystercatcher		4			1		0.8
American Avocet			5	1			1.0
Spotted Sandpiper	1	2	3	2	1		1.5
Willet	27	12	8	1	6	9	10.5
Whimbrel	1	4	2	3	4	6	3.3
Marbled Godwit	8	14	43	1	18	19	17.2
Ruddy Turnstone	11	18	11	2	6	7	9.2
Sanderling	180	115	150	110	40	160	125.8
Western Sandpiper						2	0.3
Least Sandpiper	3	35		12		1	8.5
Wilson’s Snipe		1					0.2
Boneparte’s Gull			1				0.2
Heermann’s Gull	15	24	11	13	9		12.0
Mew Gull				1			0.2
Ring-billed Gull	45	360	130	175	150	30	148.3
Western Gull	82	68	110	90	300	60	118.3
California Gull	140	1060	3850	1200	2150	240	1440.0
Herring Gull	4		1		2		1.2
Glaucous-wingd Gull	3	1	4		1		1.5
Caspian Tern		1					0.2
Forster’s Tern	1	1		3	5		1.7
Royal Tern	1						0.2
Black Skimmer			6				1.0
Rock Pigeon	8	4	13	4	12		6.8
Mourning Dove	2	2	1	2	2	3	2.0
Anna’s Hummingbird	2	3	3	1		3	2.0
Allen’s Hummingbird	4	2	2	2	3	2	2.5
Belted Kingfisher	1	1		1	1		0.7
Black Phoebe	10	5	5	3	12	4	6.5
Say’s Phoebe	2	2	1	2	1	2	1.7
Western Scrub-Jay			1				0.2
American Crow	6	2	18	4	6	4	6.7
Bushtit	5			30		52	14.5
Bewick’s Wren			3	2		2	1.2
House Wren	1		2			2	0.8
Marsh Wren		2		1			0.5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1			1	1	2	0.8
Wrentit					1		0.2
Northern Mockingbird	2	1		1		2	1.0
European Starling	6	10	15	5	18	40	15.7
Ornge-crwnd Warbler	1			1	1		0.5
Yellow-rumpd Warbler	40	12	12	8	16	32	20.0
Townsend’s Warbler						1	0.2
Common Yellowthroat	6	5	4	4	2	3	4.0
Spotted Towhee	1	1	1			1	0.7
California Towhee	2		4		2	1	1.5
Savannah Sparrow		3		1		2	1.0
Song Sparrow	5	4	4	4	8	10	5.8
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1						0.2
White-crwnd Sparrow		1	9	15	4	15	7.3
Red-winged Blackbird	10		2	15			4.5
Western Meadowlark				2			0.3
Brewer’s Blackbird	6						1.0
Great-tailed Grackle			1	2	9	3	2.5
House Finch	6	6	2	5	2	6	4.5
Lesser Goldfinch	2	7		5	10	10	5.7
American Goldfinch			2		3		0.8
Totals by Type	12/28	12/27	12/26	12/25	12/23	12/23	Ave.
Waterfowl	117	193	159	181	120	194	161
Water Birds-Other	333	519	349	598	570	334	451
Herons, Egrets	16	24	26	30	22	22	23
Raptors	2	1	6	2	3	2	3
Shorebirds	339	313	315	331	158	328	297
Gulls & Terns	291	1515	4113	1482	2617	330	1725
Doves	10	6	14	6	14	3	9
Other Non-Pass.	7	6	5	4	4	5	5
Passerines	113	61	86	111	96	194	110
Totals Birds	1228	2638	5073	2745	3604	1412	2783
Total Species	12/28	12/27	12/26	12/25	12/23	12/23	Ave.
Waterfowl	8	11	10	10	9	9	9.5
Water Birds-Other	9	11	11	13	12	11	11.2
Herons, Egrets	4	2	4	4	3	3	3.3
Raptors	2	1	4	2	2	2	2.2
Shorebirds	10	12	10	11	10	10	10.5
Gulls & Terns	8	7	8	6	7	3	6.5
Doves	2	2	2	2	2	1	1.8
Other Non-Pass.	3	3	2	3	2	2	2.5
Passerines	19	14	17	20	16	20	17.7
Totals Species – 100	65	63	68	71	63	61	65.2

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The Lagoon that is our monthly bird walk site seems to have fully recovered its attractiveness to various coastal bird species after a year’s restoration. Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Great Blue Herons were lined up on a bank, waiting for some of the ample supply of small fish to swim by. The numbers of birds were heartening also, with all areas of the lagoon well-populated and a gull flock that must have numbered over 2,000 a few hundred meters off Surfrider Beach’s first point. (This is not included in our count since we were unable to ascertain species.)

We were also treated to a few unusual visitors: a Cackling Goose which fit to a T the Sibley Guide drawing of the Aleutian form Cackling Goose; a group of 1 male and 3 female or juvenile Redhead; a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher; plus a Townsend’s Warbler for the second month in a row. As we finished our count we were able to share our good results with visiting Supervisor Craig Sap of the Angeles District of State Parks, who was probably admiring his organization’s handiwork.  [Lucien Plauzoles]

The Redhead is not a common duck in the lagoon, as in SoCal they generally prefer fresh water. We’ve recorded their presence only 10 times since 1979, for a total of 25 birds, with 6 birds on 2/14/82 as the record.

Birds new for the season were: Cackling Goose, Redhead, Bufflehead, Horned Grebe, Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk, Boneparte’s Gull, and Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.

Our next three scheduled field trips:  Butterbredt Spring Christmas Count 14 Dec 8:30am; Malibu Lagoon, 22 Dec, 8:30 & 10am; Carrizo Plain, 28 Dec, 6:45am.
Our next program:  Tuesday, 4 Feb., 7:30 pm. Urban Bobcats III, presented by Laurel Serieys.

NOTE: Our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk meets at the shaded viewing area.

Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon from 9/23/02.
Prior checklists: July-Dec’11, Jan-June’11, July-Dec ’10, Jan-June ’10, Jul-Dec ‘09, and Jan-June ‘09.

Comments on Bird Lists Below
Total Birds:   November total birds of 514 is 58% below the 6-year Nov. average, due primarily to the absence of gulls and terns which were offshore by the thousands but too distant to determine species. Sandpipers were also several hundred birds below average.
Summary of total birds from the 6-year average so far:  Jun’12 +36%, Jul’12 -9%, Aug’12 -9%, Sep’12 +12%, Oct’12 +3%, Nov’12 -5%, Dec’12 +30%, Jan’13 -20%, Feb’13 -29%, Mar’13 -30%, Apr’13 -34%, May’13 -37%, Jun’13 -24%, Jul’13 +83%, Aug’13 +37%, Sep’13 +23%, Oct’13 +41%, Nov’13 -58%.
Species Diversity:  November 2013 with 58 species was slightly below (-3%) the 6-year average of 60.
Summary of species diversity from the 6-year average so far:  Jun’12 -10%, Jul’12 +10%, Aug’12. -6%, Sep’12 -20%, Oct’12 +5%, Nov’12 +2%, Dec’12 -4%, Jan’13 +2%, Feb’13 -8%, Mar’13 +9%, Apr’13 -2%, May’13 +3%, Jun’13 +13%, Jul’13 0%, Aug’13 +11%, Sep’13 -14%, Oct’13 +19%, Nov’13 -3%.
10-year comparison summaries are available on our Lagoon Project Bird Census Page.   [Chuck Almdale]

Malibu Census	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
November 2008-13	11/23	11/22	11/28	11/27	11/25	11/24
Temperature	50-61	60-72	55-65	68-72	60-62	62-70
Tide Lo/Hi Height	H+5.8	H+4.6	L+2.59	H+6.63	H+5.83	L+3.14	Ave.
Tide Time	0608	1137	0842	0945	0647	0741	Birds
Snow Goose					1		0.2
Brant					1		0.2
Cackling Goose						1	0.2
Canada Goose				9			1.5
Gadwall	35	7	6	4	12	19	13.8
American Wigeon	15	6	14	15	9	4	10.5
Mallard	22	15	18	30	18	12	19.2
Northern Shoveler	12	5	10	10	18	8	10.5
Green-winged Teal		6	7	4	3		3.3
Redhead						4	0.7
Lesser Scaup	8		1				1.5
Surf Scoter	24		15				6.5
Bufflehead	8	5	6	8	3	3	5.5
Red-brstd Merganser	2	1	5	9	7	11	5.8
Ruddy Duck	25	20	26	3	48	20	23.7
Red-throated Loon					7		1.2
Pacific Loon	1		1		10		2.0
Common Loon	1	1	1				0.5
Pied-billed Grebe	6	5	2	1	4	1	3.2
Horned Grebe			1			1	0.3
Red-necked Grebe	1						0.2
Eared Grebe			6	6	4	3	3.2
Western Grebe	20	15	16	6	27	2	14.3
Brandt’s Cormorant	10	2		2	6		3.3
Dble-crstd Cormorant	25	29	37	31	24	18	27.3
Pelagic Cormorant	1	1	1		1	1	0.8
Brown Pelican	18	12	40	8	32	20	21.7
Great Blue Heron	6	3	7	2	2	2	3.7
Great Egret	1	1	4	3	1	8	3.0
Snowy Egret	4	8	31	30	10	20	17.2
Cattle Egret				1			0.2
Green Heron			1				0.2
Blk-crwnd N-Heron	5	1	8		1	2	2.8
Osprey			1			1	0.3
Cooper’s Hawk	1				1	1	0.5
Red-tailed Hawk		2	1			2	0.8
American Kestrel			1	1			0.3
Merlin		1					0.2
Virginia Rail		1	1	1			0.5
Sora	2	6	7	3			3.0
American Coot	85	295	206	57	194	80	152.8
Blk-bellied Plover	24	89	110	263	217	44	124.5
Snowy Plover	54	48	58	52	61	33	51.0
Killdeer	4	3	5	5	11	3	5.2
Spotted Sandpiper	1	2	2	2	2	2	1.8
Willet	12	18	2	4	34	20	15.0
Whimbrel	3	5	2		1	12	3.8
Marbled Godwit	8	14			31	4	9.5
Ruddy Turnstone	32	13	13	1	5	2	11.0
Black Turnstone	8		1				1.5
Sanderling	58	155	290	308	11		137.0
Least Sandpiper	1		7	15	21	4	8.0
Boneparte’s Gull	2		5		1	3	1.8
Heermann’s Gull	35	13	37		21	2	18.0
Mew Gull			1				0.2
Ring-billed Gull	18	50	800	60	25	20	162.2
Western Gull	68	67	130	50	55		61.7
California Gull	63	58	500	30	215	2	144.7
Herring Gull	1	1					0.3
Glaucous-wingd Gull			1	1	1		0.5
Forster’s Tern	2		5	2	14	1	4.0
Royal Tern	2		2		3		1.2
Elegant Tern		1				1	0.3
Rock Pigeon	5	6	6		38		9.2
Mourning Dove	6	3	2				1.8
Anna’s Hummingbird		4	3	2	1		1.7
Allen’s Hummingbird	1	2	1		3	1	1.3
Belted Kingfisher	2	1	1	1	1	1	1.2
Black Phoebe	6	6	6	5	5	4	5.3
Say’s Phoebe	1	1	1		2	1	1.0
Western Scrub-Jay					1		0.2
American Crow	6	6	3	4	5	2	4.3
Common Raven			1				0.2
Tree Swallow	1				1		0.3
Bushtit	22	40		30	30		20.3
Bewick’s Wren		1		1		1	0.5
House Wren	1		2				0.5
Marsh Wren	1	1	1				0.5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher						1	0.2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet					1	1	0.3
Northern Mockingbird	1	1	1	1	2	3	1.5
European Starling	5	6		40		7	9.7
Ornge-crwnd Warbler					3		0.5
Yellow-rumpd Warbler	12	6	8	2	12	60	16.7
Townsend’s Warbler						1	0.2
Common Yellowthroat	4	5	5	4	3	2	3.8
California Towhee		2				2	0.7
Song Sparrow	2	4	2	3	4		2.5
White-crwnd Sparrow		4		8		15	4.5
Western Meadowlark						3	0.5
Great-tailed Grackle		3	1	4	7	4	3.2
House Finch	5	6	4	30	5	2	8.7
Lesser Goldfinch			2	2	3	6	2.2
Totals by Type	11/23	11/22	11/28	11/27	11/25	11/25	Ave.
Waterfowl	151	65	108	92	120	82	103
Water Birds-Other	170	367	319	115	309	126	234
Herons, Egrets	16	13	51	36	14	32	27
Raptors	1	3	3	1	1	4	2
Shorebirds	205	347	490	650	394	124	368
Gulls & Terns	191	190	1481	143	335	29	395
Doves	11	9	8	0	38	0	11
Other Non-Pass.	3	7	5	3	5	2	4
Passerines	67	92	37	134	84	115	88
Totals Birds	815	1093	2502	1174	1300	514	1233
	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Total Species	11/23	11/22	11/28	11/27	11/25	11/25	Ave.
Waterfowl	9	8	10	9	10	9	9.2
Water Birds-Other	11	10	12	9	10	8	10.0
Herons, Egrets	4	4	5	4	4	4	4.2
Raptors	1	2	3	1	1	3	1.8
Shorebirds	11	9	10	8	10	9	9.5
Gulls & Terns	8	6	9	5	8	6	7.0
Doves	2	2	2	0	1	0	1.2
Other Non-Pass.	2	3	3	2	3	2	2.5
Passerines	13	15	13	13	15	17	14.3
Totals Species – 93	61	59	67	51	62	58	59.7