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Malibu Lagoon Trip Report: 25 September, 2011
SMBAS Links: Website Blog Facebook
Please make sure to go to the blogsite to see the full slideshow of new photos.
Even though today was abnormally cool, it’s unlikely that climate change has been called off: 61°F at 8:30 a.m. and 69°F at noon; cloudy with hints of rain or precipitating fog. The waves were crowded: plenty of surfers on a descending tide, plus a big class of paddleboarders (or whatever people who stand on a surfboard and move themselves along with a long-stemmed oar call themselves).
Some new faces: a woman from Brazil and her friends from Colombia. They were introduced as such by one of our members so I [naturally] assumed they were fresh off the plane and hungry to see local birds. It turned out they’ve lived here almost 20 years, working in the film industry. We hope they’ll join us again.
Ducks, grebes and shorebirds are returning, as are the rails; at least 3 Sora plus one very dark juvenile Virginia Rail, oddly located on the grassy channel edge about 20 ft. NW of the 2nd footbridge. American Coot numbers exploded, and a overflight of about 100 Vaux’s Swifts surprised early birders. Snowy Egrets were relatively abundant, while the Snowy Plover population nearly doubled from August, with 62 birds on the beach. They were very busy dodging the numerous humans, especially one jogger who – lost in his own world, apparently – continually ran back and forth through the middle of the flock. We found a new banded bird – GG:AR. [Left leg: green over green – right leg: aqua over red.] This bird was one of three fledglings banded with this combination this summer at Oceano Dunes, just south of the cities of Pismo Beach & Oceano on the central California coast.
Snowy Plover in his habitat, cute as a button (C. Bragg 9/25/11)
Among returning passerines (songbirds) were Say’s Phoebe and Cassin’s Kingbird, who usually stay the winter, and several warblers passing through, including Orange-crowned and Wilson’s Warblers. Common Yellowthroats, denizens of the reeds and nearby brush, will be with us all winter.
A pale fall male Common Yellowthroat in the reeds(C. Bragg 9/25/11)
Early Fall is a good time for unusual birds at the lagoon, and on Friday 9/23 a Northern Wheatear was reported. (Wheatear translates roughly as “white rump.”) This species has what is probably the longest migration route of any land bird in the world: from their wintering grounds in Southern Africa they migrate NW through England & Iceland to Greenland and NE Canada, as well as NE to Siberia, Alaska and NW Canada, possibly meeting somewhere in central northern Canada. The bird at the lagoon (for which I’m trying to get permission to reproduce) is far, far off it’s usual route. It could not be refound on Saturday, but searchers did see a 2nd year hybrid Black-crowned X Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, probably the juvenile seen last year, now one year older. Unfortunately, we did not see this bird, although some struggled to turn a juvenile Black-crowned into a hybrid.
Supposedly a twilight-hunter, Black-crowned Night-Heron is out and about (C. Bragg 9/25/11)
What we DID find was pretty good. A fall plumage Bobolink – a species which usually stays east of the Rockies on it’s southward migration – showed itself for about 30-45 seconds before flying off towards the east end of the Colony, never to be seen again. It was a life bird for some, and a state or county bird for others, and was the 1st sighting for this species at the lagoon. Flycatching from the brush on the lagoon west edge was a migrating Western Wood Pewee, our 6th sighting in 30 years. On the sand island in the lagoon was a Black-necked Stilt – not a rarity except at the lagoon, and our 8th lagoon sighting of this species.
Our next three field trips: Bolsa Chica Preserve – 8 October; Malibu Lagoon – 23 October, Butterbredt Spring Campout – 29/30 October.
Our next program: Tuesday, 4 October – Birds of California, Part III with Guy Commeau.
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 |
| Temperature |
65 – 72 |
72 – 81 |
61 – 69 |
| Tide Height |
+2.61 |
+5.03 |
+5.33 |
| Low/High &Time |
L:0947 |
H:0942 |
H:0830 |
| Gadwall |
10 |
||
| American Wigeon |
3 |
||
| Mallard |
54 |
60 |
48 |
| Northern Shoveler |
10 |
||
| Ruddy Duck |
2 |
5 |
8 |
| Pied-billed Grebe |
4 |
15 |
13 |
| Eared Grebe |
5 |
||
| Brandt’s Cormorant |
3 |
1 |
|
| Dble-crstd Cormorant |
31 |
48 |
47 |
| Pelagic Cormorant |
1 |
3 |
2 |
| Brown Pelican |
407 |
77 |
60 |
| Great Blue Heron |
6 |
3 |
2 |
| Great Egret |
4 |
2 |
2 |
| Snowy Egret |
11 |
15 |
23 |
| Green Heron |
1 |
||
| Blk-crwnd N-Heron |
11 |
4 |
12 |
| Osprey |
1 |
||
| Red-tailed Hawk |
2 |
||
| Peregrine Falcon |
1 |
||
| Virginia Rail |
1 |
||
| Sora |
3 |
||
| American Coot |
20 |
75 |
410 |
| Blk-bellied Plover |
4 |
46 |
40 |
| Snowy Plover |
13 |
36 |
62 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
2 |
4 |
|
| Killdeer |
2 |
8 |
6 |
| Black-necked Stilt |
1 |
||
| Spotted Sandpiper |
2 |
2 |
|
| Wandering Tattler |
1 |
||
| Willet |
4 |
7 |
|
| Whimbrel |
41 |
26 |
|
| Marbled Godwit |
2 |
2 |
|
| Ruddy Turnstone |
7 |
4 |
7 |
| Black Turnstone |
1 |
||
| Sanderling |
15 |
3 |
|
| Western Sandpiper |
2 |
11 |
|
| Least Sandpiper |
1 |
6 |
3 |
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
2 |
||
| Red-necked Phalarope |
7 |
||
| Heermann’s Gull |
41 |
24 |
15 |
| Ring-billed Gull |
1 |
7 |
|
| Western Gull |
107 |
146 |
66 |
| California Gull |
8 |
16 |
|
| Herring Gull |
1 |
||
| Least Tern |
13 |
||
| Caspian Tern |
3 |
12 |
|
| Common Tern |
1 |
||
| Forster’s Tern |
3 |
||
| Royal Tern |
18 |
15 |
|
| Elegant Tern |
8 |
36 |
4 |
| Black Skimmer |
1 |
1 |
|
| Rock Pigeon |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| Mourning Dove |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Vaux’s Swift |
100 |
||
| Anna’s Hummingbird |
3 |
4 |
3 |
| Allen’s Hummingbird |
3 |
2 |
|
| Belted Kingfisher |
2 |
1 |
|
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker |
1 |
||
| Western Wood-Pewee |
1 |
||
| Black Phoebe |
8 |
10 |
6 |
| Say’s Phoebe |
1 |
||
| Cassin’s Kingbird |
1 |
||
| Western Kingbird |
1 |
4 |
|
| American Crow |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| Rough-wingd Swallow |
20 |
22 |
1 |
| Barn Swallow |
18 |
45 |
30 |
| Cliff Swallow |
25 |
2 |
|
| Oak Titmouse |
2 |
||
| Bushtit |
8 |
6 |
6 |
| Bewick’s Wren |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| House Wren |
1 |
||
| Wrentit |
1 |
||
| Northern Mockingbird |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| European Starling |
38 |
20 |
23 |
| Orange-crwnd Warbler |
1 |
||
| Common Yellowthroat |
1 |
8 |
5 |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
1 |
2 |
|
| California Towhee |
3 |
1 |
|
| Savannah Sparrow |
1 |
||
| Song Sparrow |
1 |
5 |
3 |
| Bobolink |
1 |
||
| Red-winged Blackbird |
17 |
32 |
18 |
| Great-tailed Grackle |
3 |
5 |
12 |
| Brwn-headed Cowbird |
6 |
||
| Hooded Oriole |
6 |
||
| House Finch |
4 |
8 |
12 |
| Lesser Goldfinch |
4 |
2 |
|
| Totals by Type |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
| Waterfowl |
56 |
65 |
79 |
| Water Birds-Other |
463 |
221 |
542 |
| Herons, Egrets |
32 |
24 |
40 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
3 |
1 |
| Shorebirds |
32 |
187 |
161 |
| Gulls & Terns |
175 |
248 |
124 |
| Doves |
9 |
7 |
7 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
6 |
7 |
106 |
| Passerines |
167 |
181 |
133 |
| Totals Birds |
940 |
943 |
1193 |
| Total Species |
July |
Aug |
Sep |
| Waterfowl |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| Water Birds-Other |
5 |
6 |
9 |
| Herons, Egrets |
4 |
4 |
5 |
| Quail & Raptors |
0 |
2 |
1 |
| Shorebirds |
8 |
14 |
12 |
| Gulls & Terns |
8 |
8 |
7 |
| Doves |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Other Non-Pass. |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Passerines |
19 |
18 |
23 |
| Totals Species – 87 |
50 |
59 |
68 |
Snowy Plover picture voted BEST on Supervisor Yaroslavsky’s web page
It may be that we’ve “packed the ballot box” on Super Zev’s webpage, but I suppose that’s legitimate. If you haven’t admired this picture yet…well, what are you waiting for? Go see it and vote it the BEST. And – as with all elections in our democratic system – vote early, vote often. You know…like on “America’s Got Talent.”
http://zev.mycapture.com/mycapture/photos/Album.aspx?EventID=1132036&CategoryID=45413
The picture is of famous Malibu Lagoon resident Snowy Plover NO:WW. [The code refers to the leg band colors: left leg – light brown over orange; right leg – white over white.] I sent it to County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s website about a month ago. They published it a week later and – only 18 days after many of you saw it and left comments – they notified me today that comments had actually been left. Instantaneous it is not.
Take a look, make it bigger by clicking the picture or the little stickpin to the right of the picture, and then click “BEST” in the box supplied.
Leave a comment if you like.
You never know what might increase awareness of our favorite Threatened Species.
[Chuck Almdale]
Coastal Cleanup at Malibu Lagoon Report: Sat. 17 Sep, 2011
-
- The SMBAS group and their sign of the times (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Ellen’s famous T-shirt (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Ellen, Jean & Liz brace themselves for the onslaught (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- John, Gloria & Mary deal with the documentation (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- John & Cris ready to take on the trash (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Chuck A poles channel #2 (C Bragg 9/17/11)
-
- Lillian cleans up on channel #2 (C Bragg 9/17/11)
-
- Check closely the begging “bird” on the T-shirt (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Liz and her can-grabber (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Check that guy’s knees – those pants were new at 9am! (G Bando 9/17/11)
-
- Taking a noontime break (C Bragg 2/17/11)
-
- Hey! Look guys! You can see the bottom! (J Kenney)
SMBAS Links: Website Blog Facebook
Click on the pictures above to make them larger. September 17th was the 27th International Coastal Cleanup….. as my t-shirt said “Mi costa es su costa” and so it is.Santa Monica Bay Audubon Board and members were out in force as the organizers of the Malibu Lagoon cleanup site – for the nthyear – enthusiastically giving back to the environment. It may have been an overcast day, but there were many smiles and for a change, no sunburns. SMBAS was cheered by the 419 total volunteers – our biggest turn out yet – who gave up some of their Saturday to pick up 290 pounds of trash and to make a difference.
Per preliminary reports, the almost 11,000 volunteers in Los Angeles County picked up 22 tons of debris. This is even more impressive when one realizes that much of the debris is tiny, tiny stuff – cigarette butts, Styrofoam bits, plastic and paper wrapper parts; heavy things – wood, metal, ceramics, etc. – are the exception. One of our members recorded picking up over 1100 items in 3 hours, about 30 of which were identifiable – the rest were little pieces of who-knows-what.
So what was there ? One person found a bag of rotting oranges and two plates and another an electric mixer ( sorry, no beaters) – could someone be whipping up a cake at Malibu? A dead television, an ex-cell phone, a switchblade knife, tennis balls, a lacrosse ball (where did that come from?), single flip flops and a humongous amount of…well, trash… were bagged, weighed and removed. The encouraging part of the day is the learning possibility; do not let things end up in the ocean. We can protect birds, other wildlife, and our environment one little bit at a time.
NOTE: Our board decided to not make public photos of people, especially kids, who didn’t officially OK our posting their pictures. That’s why there’s no pictures of the other 400 people who showed up to work. [Ellen Vahan]
L.A. River Field Trip Report: 10 Sep., 2011
All invited.
Free Car Wash! (to every carpool driver)
A solid mile of drenching rain greeted us on the I-405 early Saturday morning as we headed for the LA River by the Willow St. bridge.
Half of the group, trying to stay out of the bicyclists’ way. Richard Barth in the blue jacket. (C. Almdale 9-10-11)
That certainly did not deter the 23 participants nor the thousands of birds we saw in five hours at four locations in the last few miles (see map link below) of our region’s largest waterway. We started downstream within viewing distance of the giant harbor derricks in an area where vegetation is allowed to grow in the river channel. We ended north of DeForest Park where only a few islands of green are on the concrete surface.
Wilson’s Phalaropes – pale & slim with a needle-like bill (J. Waterman 9-10-11)
Clouds of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds rose from the shrubs; the deeper pools hosted Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Mallard and thousands of Black-necked Stilt. As we worked our way north we saw large flocks of Western Sandpipers; among them lurked some Least Sandpipers and even fewer of the rarer species of the family.
White-faced Ibis feeding (C. Almdale 9-10-11)
At our first location the exceptional birds were Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes, a Pectoral Sandpiper, one White-faced Ibis, and dozens of American Avocets. Only three heron species: Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret and one adult Black-capped Night-Heron. The Gulls were mostly Western with an occasional California. A small number of Killdeer and their cousins the Semipalmated Plover were scattered about, busily foraging. The best views of the whole day featured four Pectoral Sandpipers and three Solitary Sandpipers, all juveniles, and several very bright Orange Bishop males in breeding plumage. The rarity of the day was a single, 1st Summer (i.e. born summer 2010) Common Tern, slightly oiled, with a huge black carpel bar. We also saw three Greater Yellowlegs. At DeForest Park, trees sheltered a number of warbler species as well as several Black Phoebes.
Common Tern landing – note oiled plumage on side (J. Waterman 9-10-11)
The most colorful bird of the day, well out-of-place among all the cryptic-colored shorebirds, was a day-glo yellow-green Budgerigar, escaped no doubt from some local bird-fancier. All parrots are very social birds: this unfortunate Budgie was trying to hang out with a Western Sandpiper flock. Wherever they flew or landed, so would the Budgie, who would perch and watch while the peeps poked the wet mud for food. This is not how Budgies normally feed and I wonder how long he’ll last in this habitat.
Common Tern with large black carpal bar & black (not gray) on nape (J. Waterman 9-10-11)
Surprisingly enough, although nature unleashed its wrath early in the day, we enjoyed a rainless cloud cover that kept the temperatures in the upper sixties throughout the very pleasant morning.
Very special thanks to Richard Barth who frequently birds this area. His knowledge and enthusiastic explanations of difficult plumage are invaluable, especially during migration season!
Link to 2010 LA River Trip Report
Link to Map of Trip
[Lucien Plauzoles]
Yellow-headed Blackbirds – young males (J. Waterman 9-10-11)
| Los Angeles River Trip |
|
| 10 Sept., 2011 |
Number |
| Canada Goose |
25 |
| Mallard |
100 |
| Blue-winged Teal |
3 |
| Cinnamon Teal |
20 |
| Northern Shoveler |
10 |
| Double-crested Cormorant |
10 |
| Great Blue Heron |
4 |
| Snowy Egret |
2 |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron |
1 |
| White-faced Ibis |
1 |
| Cooper’s Hawk |
1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk |
2 |
| American Kestrel |
2 |
| Peregrine Falcon |
1 |
| American Coot |
10 |
| Semipalmated Plover |
30 |
| Killdeer |
20 |
| Black-necked Stilt |
1000’s |
| American Avocet |
100’s |
| Spotted Sandpiper |
2 |
| Solitary Sandpiper – juv |
3 |
| Greater Yellowlegs |
3 |
| Western Sandpiper |
1000’s |
| Least Sandpiper |
50 |
| Pectoral Sandpiper – juv |
4 |
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
100’s |
| Wilson’s Phalarope |
6 |
| Red-necked Phalarope |
10 |
| Ring-billed Gull |
20 |
| Western Gull |
100’s |
| California Gull |
50 |
| Caspian Tern |
8 |
| Common Tern – 1st summer |
1 |
| Rock Pigeon |
40 |
| Anna’s Hummingbird |
6 |
| Downy Woodpecker |
1 |
| Black Phoebe |
20 |
| American Crow |
20 |
| Barn Swallow |
100 |
| Northern Mockingbird |
2 |
| Orange-crowned Warbler |
1 |
| Yellow Warbler |
2 |
| Black-throated Gray Warbler |
1 |
| Wilson’s Warbler |
4 |
| California Towhee |
2 |
| Savannah Sparrow |
1 |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
100’s |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird |
5 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird |
100’s |
| House Finch |
30 |
| Lesser Goldfinch |
1 |
| House Sparrow |
30 |
| Budgerigar |
1 |
| Orange Bishop |
20 |
| Total Species |
54 |
Barbara Courtois Memorial Page
Barbara Courtois 1935 - 2011
I had the privilege to know Barbara since the mid 1990s through her work/volunteerism with the Ballona Audubon Education Program. In addition to the education program, Barbara was involved with Snowy Plover and Least Tern censusing along our local coast. She also spent several years doing California Gnatcatcher Surveys around Southern California. Barbara was ever the educator and will be missed by the docents at Ballona, who turned to her to answer all questions bird related.
We pass allong this message from Patrick Tyrrell at Friends of Ballona on to all who knew Barbara Courtois.[Lillian Johnson}
Lisa Fimiani wrote a lovely article in honor of Barbara Courtois.
Link: http://www.ballonafriends.org/blog/2011/09/ballona-audubon-icon-passes/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friends-of-ballona-wetlands/sets/72157627453170827/with/6106144591/
If you have a story or memory you’d like to share, please leave a comment on the page. Stories, quotes, fun facts, etc. about this wonderful person – whatever comes to mind when you think about Barbara. We thought it would be great to collect all of our memories of her in once place. If it’s easier, you can send your remembrances to me and I’ll be happy to add them to the page.
Best,
Patrick
—-
Patrick Tyrrell
Friends of Ballona Wetlands
http://www.ballonafriends.org
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 