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Malibu Lagoon Trip Report & July-Dec Bird Census: 25 December, 2011
SMBAS Links: Website Blog Facebook
Birders gather on 1st footbridge (C. Almdale 12/25/11)
Many years ago on Christmas Day I woke up with a start, realizing that no one had volunteered to lead that day’s lagoon field trip. So off I went to make sure the trip took place.
Meanwhile, Maja Block awoke, thinking the same thing. She jumped in her car, binos in hand, and we discovered each other at the lagoon. No one else came! So we led each other around the lagoon. It was very cold and clear: ice rimmed the edges of the lagoon, believe it or not. The beach was empty, very peaceful, and loads of birds made the best of the lack of humans.
Today couldn’t have been more different. About 20 people showed up, much to my surprise. Temperatures rose to about 66°, and we had to remove clothing layers. Surfers surfed; walkers walked and resters zoned out on the beach. High tide waves were washing over a stretch of beach into the lagoon. The only similarity was bunches of birds.
Loads of ducks: 10 species in all.
Osprey (C.Bragg)
Only 12 Brown Pelicans, but far out on the sea were hundreds of Black-vented Shearwaters cruising along to the west on stiff wings. One Cattle Egret poked through the pickleweed with a couple of Snowy Egrets – this species usually follow grazing animals (hence the name) around, eating insects stirred by the animals’ hooves, and they’re appear at the lagoon about 1 out of 8 visits, mostly in Nov-Dec. Black-bellied Plovers remain relatively abundant, and the Osprey continues the every-other-month appearance schedule he’s maintained since June.
Species and numbers are probably under-counted, as many birds stayed to the inland side of the sandy island, visible only from inland. At that distance it’s difficult to identify and count them and they can and do move around by the time we get to the beach. So I just don’t count them when I can’t see them.
New arrivals were: 9 Northern Pintail, 1 Lesser Scaup, 1 Red-throated Loon, 200 (at least) Black-vented Shearwaters far out at sea, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 American Avocet, 1 Mew Gull, 1 Marsh Wren, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and 2 Western Meadowlarks.
Northern Pintail Female (C.Almdale)
Pintails don’t show up a lot at the lagoon: only 19 visits out of 180 trips for which we have counts, including 9 visits since December 1998. Western Meadowlarks are even less common: of their 18 visits, 13 have occurred since August 2000. These birds have been hanging out on the beach – not exactly a meadow! – for a couple of weeks not. Apparently they find the wrack left at the high tide line productive for invertebrates.
Mew Gulls don’t show up often. For some reason, they really enjoy sewage plants, and in winter there is nearly always a flock of them out in front of the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in El Segundo. The single bird found lurking among the Ring-billed Gulls was a welcome surprise.
Back in the 1970’s when I first began birding at the lagoon, I could find Marsh Wrens only upstream of the bridge where there was a large bed of reeds. The torrents from a big El Nino winter in the 80’s (I think) washed all those reeds out to sea, but they’ve gradually reappeared, primarily in the 1st channel and near Adamson House. All of the wren’s 34 lagoon appearances for which we have counts have been after August 1993.
This blog gives us width sufficient only for 6 months of data, but if you check the prior lagoon June & December reports, we now have 3 years of lagoon data on our blogsite.
Our next three field trips: Antelope Valley Raptors – 14 January, 8am; Malibu Lagoon – 22 January, 8:30am; Salton Sea – 11/12 February, 9am
Our next program: Tuesday, 7 February, 7:30 pm – Owls of Southern California, presented by Lance Benner.
The usual reminders will be emailed from the blog.
As a reminder to those coming to our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk, it meets at the beach trail footbridge closest to the parking lot.
Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon from 9/23/02.
Prior checklists: Jan-June’11, July-Dec ’10, Jan-June ’10, Jul-Dec ‘09, and Jan-June ‘09.
[Chuck Almdale].
| Malibu Census 2011 |
24-Jul |
28-Aug |
25-Sep |
23-Oct |
27-Nov |
25-Dec |
| Temperature |
65-72 |
72 – 81 |
61-69 |
59-64 |
70 |
50-66 |
| Tide Height |
+2.61 |
+5.03 |
+5.33 |
+5.40 |
+6.63 |
+6.80 |
| Low/High &Time |
L:0947 |
H:0942 |
H:0830 |
H:0178 |
H:0945 |
H:0850 |
| Canada Goose |
9 |
|||||
| Gadwall |
10 |
6 |
4 |
35 |
||
| Eurasian Wigeon |
1 |
|||||
| American Wigeon |
3 |
15 |
4 |
|||
| Mallard |
54 |
60 |
48 |
25 |
30 |
8 |
| Blue-winged Teal |
2 |
|||||
| Northern Shoveler |
10 |
12 |
10 |
30 |
||
| Northern Pintail |
7 |
|||||
| Green-winged Teal |
2 |
4 |
40 |
|||
| Lesser Scaup |
1 |
|||||
| Bufflehead |
8 |
12 |
||||
| Red-brstd Merganser |
9 |
4 |
||||
| Ruddy Duck |
2 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
40 |
|
| Red-throated Loon |
1 |
|||||
| Pacific Loon |
1 |
|||||
| Common Loon |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Pied-billed Grebe |
4 |
15 |
13 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
| Eared Grebe |
5 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
||
| Western Grebe |
10 |
6 |
25 |
|||
| Blk-vented Shearwater |
200 |
|||||
| Brandt’s Cormorant |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
|
| Dble-crstd Cormorant |
31 |
48 |
47 |
32 |
31 |
62 |
| Pelagic Cormorant |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
| Brown Pelican |
407 |
77 |
60 |
12 |
8 |
12 |
| Great Blue Heron |
6 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Great Egret |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
| Snowy Egret |
11 |
15 |
23 |
26 |
30 |
22 |
| Cattle Egret |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Green Heron |
1 |
|||||
| Blk-crwnd N-Heron |
11 |
4 |
12 |
5 |
||
| Osprey |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Cooper’s Hawk |
1 |
|||||
| Red-tailed Hawk |
2 |
2 |
||||
| American Kestrel |
1 |
|||||
| Merlin |
1 |
|||||
| Peregrine Falcon |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Virginia Rail |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
||
| Sora |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
||
| American Coot |
20 |
75 |
410 |
370 |
57 |
280 |
| Blk-bellied Plover |
4 |
46 |
40 |
700 |
263 |
140 |
| Snowy Plover |
13 |
36 |
62 |
5 |
52 |
58 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
2 |
4 |
||||
| Killdeer |
2 |
8 |
6 |
15 |
5 |
1 |
| Black Oystercatcher |
2 |
|||||
| Black-necked Stilt |
1 |
|||||
| American Avocet |
1 |
|||||
| Spotted Sandpiper |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
| Wandering Tattler |
1 |
|||||
| Willet |
4 |
7 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
|
| Whimbrel |
41 |
26 |
28 |
3 |
||
| Marbled Godwit |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|||
| Ruddy Turnstone |
7 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
1 |
2 |
| Black Turnstone |
1 |
3 |
||||
| Sanderling |
15 |
3 |
308 |
110 |
||
| Western Sandpiper |
2 |
11 |
1 |
|||
| Least Sandpiper |
1 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
15 |
12 |
| Dunlin |
2 |
|||||
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
2 |
2 |
||||
| Red-necked Phalarope |
7 |
|||||
| Heermann’s Gull |
41 |
24 |
15 |
14 |
13 |
|
| Mew Gull |
1 |
|||||
| Ring-billed Gull |
1 |
7 |
18 |
60 |
175 |
|
| Western Gull |
107 |
146 |
66 |
80 |
50 |
90 |
| California Gull |
8 |
16 |
120 |
30 |
1200 |
|
| Herring Gull |
1 |
|||||
| Glaucous-wingd Gull |
1 |
|||||
| Least Tern |
13 |
|||||
| Caspian Tern |
3 |
12 |
||||
| Common Tern |
1 |
|||||
| Forster’s Tern |
3 |
2 |
3 |
|||
| Royal Tern |
18 |
15 |
1 |
|||
| Elegant Tern |
8 |
36 |
4 |
|||
| Black Skimmer |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Rock Pigeon |
6 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
|
| Mourning Dove |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
| Vaux’s Swift |
100 |
|||||
| Anna’s Hummingbird |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| Allen’s Hummingbird |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||
| Belted Kingfisher |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker |
1 |
|||||
| Western Wood-Pewee |
1 |
|||||
| Black Phoebe |
8 |
10 |
6 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
| Say’s Phoebe |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|||
| Cassin’s Kingbird |
1 |
|||||
| Western Kingbird |
1 |
4 |
||||
| Western Scrub-Jay |
2 |
|||||
| American Crow |
4 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| Rough-wingd Swallow |
20 |
22 |
1 |
|||
| Barn Swallow |
18 |
45 |
30 |
|||
| Cliff Swallow |
25 |
2 |
||||
| Oak Titmouse |
2 |
|||||
| Bushtit |
8 |
6 |
6 |
20 |
30 |
30 |
| Bewick’s Wren |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| House Wren |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Marsh Wren |
1 |
|||||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
1 |
|||||
| Wrentit |
1 |
|||||
| Northern Mockingbird |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| European Starling |
38 |
20 |
23 |
60 |
40 |
5 |
| Ornge-crwnd Warbler |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Yellow-rumpd Warbler |
8 |
2 |
8 |
|||
| Common Yellowthroat |
1 |
8 |
5 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
1 |
2 |
||||
| California Towhee |
3 |
1 |
||||
| Savannah Sparrow |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Song Sparrow |
1 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
| White-crwnd Sparrow |
18 |
8 |
15 |
|||
| Bobolink |
1 |
|||||
| Red-winged Blackbird |
17 |
32 |
18 |
15 |
||
| Western Meadowlark |
2 |
|||||
| Brewer’s Blackbird |
2 |
|||||
| Great-tailed Grackle |
3 |
5 |
12 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
| Brwn-headed Cowbird |
6 |
|||||
| Hooded Oriole |
6 |
|||||
| House Finch |
4 |
8 |
12 |
5 |
30 |
5 |
| Lesser Goldfinch |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
|
| Totals by Type |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Waterfowl |
56 |
65 |
79 |
48 |
92 |
181 |
| Water Birds-Other |
463 |
221 |
542 |
440 |
115 |
598 |
| Herons, Egrets |
32 |
24 |
40 |
31 |
36 |
30 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
| Shorebirds |
32 |
187 |
161 |
797 |
650 |
331 |
| Gulls & Terns |
175 |
248 |
124 |
233 |
143 |
1482 |
| Doves |
9 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
6 |
7 |
106 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
| Passerines |
167 |
181 |
133 |
157 |
134 |
111 |
| Totals Birds |
940 |
943 |
1193 |
1723 |
1174 |
2745 |
| Total Species |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Waterfowl |
2 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
| Water Birds-Other |
5 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
9 |
13 |
| Herons, Egrets |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
| Shorebirds |
8 |
14 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
11 |
| Gulls & Terns |
8 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
| Doves |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
| Passerines |
19 |
18 |
23 |
17 |
13 |
20 |
| Totals Species – 116 |
50 |
59 |
68 |
65 |
51 |
71 |
Carrizo Plains Field Trip Report: 12 December, 2011
Luck was ours, as the cold and windy weather of the week before had disappeared, providing us with an absolutely beautiful day: clear, windless, with temperatures beginning in the 40’s and ending in the high 60’s. As always, the plains were very quiet and peaceful. Wow!
Soda Lake was dry, at it has been for many years. The staff at the nearby Carrizo Plains Education Center told me that even when water is present, there isn’t much for the Sandhill Cranes to eat as there are no longer crops being grown in the nearby fields. When the crops were harvested, the process left lots of grain on the ground. Food for cranes! Alas, no more. You’ll have to go over the hill to the San Joachin Valley, or down to the Imperial Valley to find cranes these days.
We had a very nice variety of raptors, especially falcons. Eagles were notably missing (although we know they’re there). As always, there were plenty of ground birds: American Pipit, Horned Lark, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Meadowlark, House Finch, and a variety of sparrows, particularly White-crowned Sparrow. Mountain Bluebirds were present, but not abundant. We never saw any large flocks of them as we often do; instead, they were scattered around in small groups of 1-6 birds.
The Burrowing Owl was at the south end of Soda Lake Rd., standing in his hole among the Ground Squirrels. We hadn’t seen any there in 4-5 years, so it was nice to see one out-and-about. Loggerhead Shrikes– a species increasingly difficult to find anywhere – were common, as is usual in the Carrizo in Winter.
We had a long lunch break at the abandoned farmstead, located a couple of miles north of Soda Lake Rd. down a two-track side road. What with doodling and diddling around, it was almost sunset by the time we got to the San Andreas earthquake fault zone, which always amazes those who think they are standing on solid ground in California. [Chuck Almdale]
| Carrizo Plains 12/10/11 |
Count |
| Northern Harrier |
1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk |
20 |
| Ferruginous Hawk |
2 |
| American Kestrel |
9 |
| Merlin |
1 |
| Prairie Falcon |
2 |
| Killdeer |
1 |
| Mountain Plover |
2 |
| Mourning Dove |
6 |
| Great Horned Owl |
1 |
| Burrowing Owl |
1 |
| Say’s Phoebe |
3 |
| Loggerhead Shrike |
12 |
| Common Raven |
40 |
| Horned Lark |
200 |
| Mountain Bluebird |
30 |
| Northern Mockingbird |
1 |
| Le Conte’s Thrasher |
1 |
| European Starling |
33 |
| American Pipit |
1 |
| Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler |
100 |
| Brewer’s Sparrow |
15 |
| Lark Sparrow |
25 |
| Sage Sparrow |
25 |
| Savannah Sparrow |
55 |
| White-crowned Sparrow |
100 |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow |
2 |
| Western Meadowlark |
27 |
| House Finch |
500 |
| Total Species |
29 |
Malibu Lagoon Trip Report: 27 November, 2011
SMBAS Links: Website Blog Facebook
Your usual reporter wasn’t present, so this month’s data is supplied by Lucien Plauzoles. Temperatures were warm, about 70°, and there was a 10-15 mph breeze. Human turnout was good with 25 persons. The avian species count of 51 was a bit low for November, as the average is closer to 62. Nothing particularly unusual showed up, but the 9 Canada Geese were nice to see. The Black-bellied Plover count of 263 was down from last month’s estimate of 700, but that was an estimate of flocks continually coming and going.
The new arrivals were: 9 Canada Geese, 8 Bufflehead, 9 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Cattle Egret, 1 American Kestrel, and 1 Glaucous-winged Gull.
Two female Buffleheads cruising down the creek (J. Kenney 11/12/11)
Incidentally, on 6 Dec., 9:15am, Chuck & Ellen counted 67 Snowy Plovers gathered around the western life guard station, which appears to be an all-time high. This included two returning banded birds – GG:AR; NO:WW. GG:AR is a young bird, banded last summer at its nest site at Oceano Dunes (near Pismo Beach), and first showing up at Malibu in September. NO:WW, on the other hand, is an old-timer, first appearing at Malibu in October 2009, after being hatched at Vandenburg Air Force Base that summer. He (or she) apparently likes Malibu, as it was there in Nov. 09 – Feb. 10, Dec. 10 – Feb. 11, and now Nov. 11.
I presume that everyone had a wonderful time as I have heard no complaints. [Let’s keep it that way.]
Long term lagoon resident, Snowy Plover NO:WW, catches a few rays (C.Almdale)
Our next three field trips: Malibu Lagoon – 25 December (yes!, Christmas Day); Antelope Valley Raptors – 14 January; Malibu Lagoon – 22 January
Our next program: Tuesday, 7 February, 7:30 pm – Owls of Southern California, presented by Lance Benner.
The usual reminders will be emailed from the blog.
As a reminder to those coming to our 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk, it meets at the beach trail footbridge closest to the parking lot.
Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon from 9/23/02.
Prior checklists: Jan-June’11, July-Dec ’10, Jan-June ’10, Jul-Dec ‘09, and Jan-June ‘09.
[Chuck Almdale]
| Malibu Census 2011 |
24-Jul |
28-Aug |
25-Sep |
23-Oct |
27-Nov |
| Temperature |
65-72 |
72 – 81 |
61-69 |
59-64 |
70 |
| Tide Height |
+2.61 |
+5.03 |
+5.33 |
+5.40 |
+6.63 |
| Low/High &Time |
L:0947 |
H:0942 |
H:0830 |
H:0178 |
H:0945 |
| Canada Goose |
9 |
||||
| Gadwall |
10 |
6 |
4 |
||
| Eurasian Wigeon |
1 |
||||
| American Wigeon |
3 |
15 |
|||
| Mallard |
54 |
60 |
48 |
25 |
30 |
| Blue-winged Teal |
2 |
||||
| Northern Shoveler |
10 |
12 |
10 |
||
| Green-winged Teal |
2 |
4 |
|||
| Bufflehead |
8 |
||||
| Red-brstd Merganser |
9 |
||||
| Ruddy Duck |
2 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
|
| Pacific Loon |
1 |
||||
| Common Loon |
1 |
||||
| Pied-billed Grebe |
4 |
15 |
13 |
4 |
1 |
| Eared Grebe |
5 |
3 |
6 |
||
| Western Grebe |
10 |
6 |
|||
| Brandt’s Cormorant |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
| Dble-crstd Cormorant |
31 |
48 |
47 |
32 |
31 |
| Pelagic Cormorant |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
| Brown Pelican |
407 |
77 |
60 |
12 |
8 |
| Great Blue Heron |
6 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| Great Egret |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
| Snowy Egret |
11 |
15 |
23 |
26 |
30 |
| Cattle Egret |
1 |
||||
| Green Heron |
1 |
||||
| Blk-crwnd N-Heron |
11 |
4 |
12 |
||
| Osprey |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Red-tailed Hawk |
2 |
2 |
|||
| American Kestrel |
1 |
||||
| Merlin |
1 |
||||
| Peregrine Falcon |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Virginia Rail |
1 |
2 |
1 |
||
| Sora |
3 |
1 |
3 |
||
| American Coot |
20 |
75 |
410 |
370 |
57 |
| Blk-bellied Plover |
4 |
46 |
40 |
700 |
263 |
| Snowy Plover |
13 |
36 |
62 |
5 |
52 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
2 |
4 |
|||
| Killdeer |
2 |
8 |
6 |
15 |
5 |
| Black Oystercatcher |
2 |
||||
| Black-necked Stilt |
1 |
||||
| Spotted Sandpiper |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
| Wandering Tattler |
1 |
||||
| Willet |
4 |
7 |
10 |
4 |
|
| Whimbrel |
41 |
26 |
28 |
||
| Marbled Godwit |
2 |
2 |
|||
| Ruddy Turnstone |
7 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
1 |
| Black Turnstone |
1 |
3 |
|||
| Sanderling |
15 |
3 |
308 |
||
| Western Sandpiper |
2 |
11 |
1 |
||
| Least Sandpiper |
1 |
6 |
3 |
16 |
15 |
| Dunlin |
2 |
||||
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
2 |
2 |
|||
| Red-necked Phalarope |
7 |
||||
| Heermann’s Gull |
41 |
24 |
15 |
14 |
|
| Ring-billed Gull |
1 |
7 |
18 |
60 |
|
| Western Gull |
107 |
146 |
66 |
80 |
50 |
| California Gull |
8 |
16 |
120 |
30 |
|
| Herring Gull |
1 |
||||
| Glaucous-wingd Gull |
1 |
||||
| Least Tern |
13 |
||||
| Caspian Tern |
3 |
12 |
|||
| Common Tern |
1 |
||||
| Forster’s Tern |
3 |
2 |
|||
| Royal Tern |
18 |
15 |
1 |
||
| Elegant Tern |
8 |
36 |
4 |
||
| Black Skimmer |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Rock Pigeon |
6 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
|
| Mourning Dove |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
| Vaux’s Swift |
100 |
||||
| Anna’s Hummingbird |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Allen’s Hummingbird |
3 |
2 |
2 |
||
| Belted Kingfisher |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker |
1 |
||||
| Western Wood-Pewee |
1 |
||||
| Black Phoebe |
8 |
10 |
6 |
10 |
5 |
| Say’s Phoebe |
1 |
2 |
|||
| Cassin’s Kingbird |
1 |
||||
| Western Kingbird |
1 |
4 |
|||
| Western Scrub-Jay |
2 |
||||
| American Crow |
4 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
| Rough-wingd Swallow |
20 |
22 |
1 |
||
| Barn Swallow |
18 |
45 |
30 |
||
| Cliff Swallow |
25 |
2 |
|||
| Oak Titmouse |
2 |
||||
| Bushtit |
8 |
6 |
6 |
20 |
30 |
| Bewick’s Wren |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| House Wren |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Wrentit |
1 |
||||
| Northern Mockingbird |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| European Starling |
38 |
20 |
23 |
60 |
40 |
| Ornge-crwnd Warbler |
1 |
||||
| Yellow-rumpd Warbler |
8 |
2 |
|||
| Common Yellowthroat |
1 |
8 |
5 |
9 |
4 |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
1 |
2 |
|||
| California Towhee |
3 |
1 |
|||
| Savannah Sparrow |
1 |
||||
| Song Sparrow |
1 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
| White-crwnd Sparrow |
18 |
8 |
|||
| Bobolink |
1 |
||||
| Red-winged Blackbird |
17 |
32 |
18 |
||
| Brewer’s Blackbird |
2 |
||||
| Great-tailed Grackle |
3 |
5 |
12 |
8 |
4 |
| Brwn-headed Cowbird |
6 |
||||
| Hooded Oriole |
6 |
||||
| House Finch |
4 |
8 |
12 |
5 |
30 |
| Lesser Goldfinch |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
| Totals by Type |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
| Waterfowl |
56 |
65 |
79 |
48 |
92 |
| Water Birds-Other |
463 |
221 |
542 |
440 |
115 |
| Herons, Egrets |
32 |
24 |
40 |
31 |
36 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
| Shorebirds |
32 |
187 |
161 |
797 |
650 |
| Gulls & Terns |
175 |
248 |
124 |
233 |
143 |
| Doves |
9 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
6 |
7 |
106 |
6 |
3 |
| Passerines |
167 |
181 |
133 |
157 |
134 |
| Totals Birds |
940 |
943 |
1193 |
1723 |
1174 |
| Total Species |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
| Waterfowl |
2 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
| Water Birds-Other |
5 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
9 |
| Herons, Egrets |
4 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
| Shorebirds |
8 |
14 |
12 |
13 |
8 |
| Gulls & Terns |
8 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
| Doves |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| Passerines |
19 |
18 |
23 |
17 |
13 |
| Totals Species – 106 |
50 |
59 |
68 |
65 |
51 |
Field Trip Report: Malibu Creek State Park; 12 Nov., 2011
SMBAS Links: Website Blog Facebook
Although rain had been predicted, it was cloudy on Saturday morning and we met in the park as planned. We began by birding some of the shrubbery around the edge of the lower parking lot. Although there did not appear to be many birds in the area we spotted some Purple Finches, which are always a treat to see. We left the parking lot, crossed Las Virgenes Creek and followed the Crags Road trail in the direction of the Visitors’ Center.
There were a few periods of light drizzle as we walk toward the Visitors’ Center and we took advantage of the cover provided by some of the large oaks along the trail. Despite the drizzle, we were able to see White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos in the Coyotebush and other shrubs near the trail. We saw a flock of Western Bluebirds, an American Robin and a large number of House Finches in the trees on the top of the ridgeline. Although better weather would have meant better light for viewing and photography, the cool, damp weather apparently discouraged hikers and cyclists so the park was very quiet. Because it was quiet, we were able to hear the soft “pew” notes of the Western Bluebirds when they flew over and we heard many Yellow-rumped Warblers calling around us. We found (and heard) many of the species typical of this habitat, including Acorn Woodpecker, Band-tailed Pigeon, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Bewick’s Wren. There were a few species including Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Mallard and Bufflehead on Malibu Creek.
Two female Bufflehead cruising down the creek (J. Kenney 11/12/11)
Immature Cooper's Hawk spreads his tail (J. Kenney 11/12/11)
Weather conditions were not ideal for soaring raptors but a perched raptor proved interesting. Its posture and small size puzzled us at first so we spent some time discussing the equally-wide light and dark bands on the tail, which are typical of Accipiters. Since we wanted to see its wing-length, we walked a bit farther along the trail to a spot from which we could see that it, indeed, had the short wings of an accipiter. We did not see it fly since, as raptors often do, it disappeared while we were not looking at it.
In the Chinese Elms near the Visitors’ Center, we found a couple of active Nuttall’s Woodpeckers and two Red-breasted Sapsuckers, one of which was perched in the open so we were able to see it very well.
Red-Breasted Sapsucker in his usual spot near the Visitor Center (J. Kenney 11/12/11)
From there we went back to the parking lot and walked around the lower edge of the campground. Among the birds we saw were one Allen’s and one Anna’s Hummingbird that were foraging in the oaks near the amphitheatre. By then it was time for lunch so we decided to try the picnic area near the park entrance. That proved to be a good choice because there were a lot of birds in the area. While we ate, we saw 2 Loggerhead Shrikes, several American Kestrels, some Western Bluebirds, Dark-eyed Juncos, and White-tailed Kite that perched nearby and provided an auspicious end the day. [Cindy S.]
| Malibu Creek State Park | Trip List | 11/12/11 |
| Codes: F – Female, M – Male, | H – Heard, I – Immature, | [I] – Introduced |
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos |
20 |
| Bufflehead | Bucephala albeola |
F 2 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Podilymbus podiceps |
1 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Phalocrocorax auritus |
1 |
| Great Blue Heron | Ardea herodias |
1 |
| White-tailed Kite | Elanus leucurus |
2 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Accipiter cooperii |
I 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Buteo lineatus |
3 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Buteo jamaicensis |
4 |
| American Kestrel | Falco sparverius |
M 4 |
| American Coot | Fulica americana |
20 |
| Band-tailed Pigeon | Columba fasciata |
80 |
| Mourning Dove | Zenaida macroura |
2 |
| Black-hooded Parakeet [I] | Nandayus nenday |
H |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | Calypte anna |
M 1 |
| Allen’s Hummingbird | Selasphorus sasin |
F 1 |
| Acorn Woodpecker | Melanerpes formicivorus |
8 |
| Red-breasted Sapsucker | Sphyrapicus varius |
2 |
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker | Picoides nuttallii |
MF + 2 H |
| Downy Woodpecker | Picoides pubescens |
1 |
| Northern Flicker | Colaptes auratus |
(4 H) 5 |
| Black Phoebe | Sayornis nigricans |
6 |
| Say’s Phoebe | Sayornis saya |
3 |
| Loggerhead Shrike | Lanius ludovicianus |
2 |
| Western Scrub-Jay | Aphelocoma californica |
2 |
| American Crow | Corvus brachyrhynchos |
30 |
| Common Raven | Corvus corax |
8 |
| Oak Titmouse | Baeolophus inornatus |
(most H) 20 |
| Bushtit | Psaltriparus minimus |
15 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | Sitta carolinensis |
6 |
| Bewick’s Wren | Thryomanes bewickii |
2 |
| House Wren | Troglodytes aedon |
1 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | Regulus calendula |
4 |
| Western Bluebird | Sialia mexicana |
20 |
| American Robin | Turdus migratorius |
1 |
| Wrentit | Chamaea fasciata |
H 3 |
| Phainopepla | Phainopepla nitens |
(1 M+1 H) 2 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | Dendroica coronata |
(most H) 40 |
| Common Yellowthroat | Geothlypis trichas |
H 2 |
| Spotted Towhee | Pipilo maculatus |
8 |
| California Towhee | Pipilo crissalis |
12 |
| Lark Sparrow | Chondestes grammacus |
20 |
| Song Sparrow | Melospiza melodia |
(most H) 4 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | Zonotrichia leucophrys |
40 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Junco hyemalis |
30 |
| Purple Finch | Carpodacus purpureus |
(F/imm) 6 |
| House Finch | Carpodacus mexicanus |
30 |
| total = 46 species |
“The Big Year” movie
I’m sure that by now everyone has heard of this movie, starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.
I was a bit reluctant to see it as I had heard it isn’t really a ‘birding movie’ – whatever that is – but is a relationship movie, which all-too-often means “chick flick,” with lots of soap suds and soggy handkerchiefs.
Lillian and I – with non-birding friend in tow – saw this move a couple of days ago and we all liked it. Yes, human relationships are important to the movie, but it definitely is also a ‘birding movie.’ I detected a number of sight and verbal gags that I think only a birder would get.
I’ve always wondered what Attu looked like, and I assuming that the scenes set there were actually filmed there. But maybe not. It looked spectacular and very much like the descriptions I’ve read about it. Back in my early years of birding I though about going there and picking up some of those great Asian birds blown in on the winds. Once I read about the Quonset hut housing and birding conditions, I decided I’d rather see the birds in Asia, where they belong, and never made it to Attu. [JoAnne, commenting later on our Facebook page, advises that ‘Attu’ was really Yukon Territory, as filming in Attu was far too expensive. Ah well. Still beautiful.]
There were lots of other great shots and scenery, places I’ve been and places I’ve heard about. The Brownsville Dump. Pelagic birding and grinding up ‘chum’ with “Annie Auklet” (aka Debra Shearwater). The pursuit of the Himilayan Snowcock in the Ruby Mtns. of Nevada was very reminiscent of our trip there just last year, except that our feet always stayed on the ground.
As someone said on BIRDCHAT, “It’s probably not the best film you will see this year, but it definitely is the best birding film you will ever see.” It’s funny, it’s bittersweet. There were ‘birding moments’ when I thought, “Oh yeah, right! I’ll just bet!” (Such as that particular woodpecker who will remain unnamed.) There were ‘relationship moments’ when I cringed and thought, “NO! Don’t do that! Big mistake!” (When it comes to movies, I’ve never been accused of the inability to ‘suspend disbelief.”)
Sad to say, there were only 10 of us in the theater on a Saturday afternoon. I hope these comments whetted your appetite for the movie. I recommend this film to all birders, novice or experienced, as well as to those who know and love birders but can’t figure out the obsession. I suggest that you see it soon, before it disappears from the theaters. [Chuck Almdale]
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