[Text by Chuck Almdale; photos by Lillian Johnson, Ray Juncosa & Chris Tosdevin]

Some of the best photos are in the quiz at the end.

The clouds remained most of the morning, keeping it cool. While the inland valleys were in the high 90’s°F, Malibu Lagoon ranged from 61° to 68°. Pacific Coast Hwy. was jammed with parked cars, a sure sign that surf was up.

Immediately in front of our meeting place – the “pavilion” for lack of a better term – is a persistent snag. The cormorants like to perch on it and frequently battle for space, although this pair look quite happy. It gives us something to look at as we gather.

Great Blue Herons are easily seen, very photogenic and frequently immobile.

One American Wigeon last month, thirteen this month; from September to April there are usually a few every month. The most we ever had were 54 birds in December 1979. This male seems to be engrossed in eating green goo, unless that’s some sort of eel he’s reeling in.

Red-breasted Merganser, seen 163 times at the lagoon since 1979 and quite reliable November to March is the merganser most commonly seen at the lagoon, while the so-called Common Merganser is by far the least common, sighted only six times over the same period. Go figure. The beautiful Hooded Merganser falls in-between, with twenty total sightings. Even when they are present they can be easily overlooked as they prefer the deeper pool of water just inland of the PCH bridge and we don’t always check that area. The Common and Hooded Mergansers also prefer fresh water (at least in SoCal) over brackish or salt, whereas the Red-breasted Mergansers frequently fish the surf zone and dive under the oncoming waves, just as surfers do.

The birding excitement of the day was provided by a Loggerhead Shrike. Only a month ago Armando Martinez gave me a Loggerhead Shrike photo he’d recently taken at the lagoon [he never did give me the date!] and I was quite excited to see it as this species has become so uncommon everywhere. Their decline in California, estimated at 72% since 1967, is due to several factors: habitat loss, pesticides, larger predators and climate change. SMBAS used to see upwards of a dozen on our winter trips to the Carrizo Plain.

Their presence has always been skimpy at the lagoon. Since 1979 we’ve had fifteen individual birds in twelve sightings: a singleton in June and the rest spread over August through December. We had two birds on three days: 28 November 1993, 26 December 1993 and 28 August 1994. I would not be shocked to learn that the two birds in Nov’93 & Dec’93 were the same individuals, but of course we’ll never know. They look similar to the far-more-common Northern Mockingbird, but I suspect that only a complete newbie to birding would confuse the two, as I did when I was a newbie. The most recent prior sighting was 9 September 2020. It was very nice to see today’s bird; it stayed a long time perched in the bush tops on one of the sand islands, and everyone got all the views they wanted, including telescope views.

Our other notable returnee was the Osprey, possibly back for the winter, as they have wintered here for eight out of the past ten winters. Another newbie mistake is taking this fisherbird extraordinaire for a Bald Eagle. Well…they both have white heads and catch fish, but there the resemblance ends. The one below is growing a primary feather.

Total count for the day was 1,511 birds in 65 species. For comparison, the average for 28 October trips is 934 birds in 57 species. So if anyone wonders if birds are declining over the decades at the lagoon, based (invalidly, by the way, but people do this all the time) on this single day in October data point, we’d have to say no.

Quiz Time!

These photos are all taken this October at the lagoon and many of the birds are in plumage transition.

Quiz Answers & credits
#1. Pied-billed Grebe in winter, no pied ring on bill. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#2. Eared Grebe, barely visible white chin & orange eye, probably 1st fall plumage; easy to confuse with Horned Grebe. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#3. Black-bellied Plover in basic (non-breeding) plumage, black bellies appear in spring. (Ray Juncosa 10-27-24)
#4. Black-bellied Plovers show black axillaries (wing-pit feathers) in flight; golden plovers do not. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#5. Ruddy Turnstone, the only turnstone species in Europe, usually called The Turnstone. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#6. Nearly all Heermann’s Gulls nest on 150-acre Isla Rasa in the Sea of Cortez, many travel north after breeding, some as far as Seattle. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#7. Royal Tern, frequently confused with Elegant Tern. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#8. All are Double-crested Cormorants. The smaller but similar Neotropic Cormorant has a bolder white edge, permanent in adults, but doesn’t have yellow-orange flesh above the dark lores. (Ray Juncosa 10-27-24)
#9. Snowy Egrets have dark legs with yellow feet and 8 toes although juveniles can have a yellow or greenish-yellow stripe up the back of the legs. Great Egret has black legs and feet plus a big yellow bill. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#10. Green Heron is olive-green only on the back and/or crown, visible only in good light. (Ray Juncosa 10-27-24)
#11. Osprey can carry up to 90% of its own weight; this fish looks much smaller than that. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#12. American Kestrel male has a blue-gray and brown back, female is all brown. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)
#13. Song Sparrow has thick dark breast streaks that usually form a central “spot,” have rounded tail tips, like to live near water and both sexes frequently sing. (Chris Tosdevin 10-27-24)

Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 10-31-24: 8108 lists, 2610 eBirders, 319 species.
Most recent species added: Cassin’s Vireo, 9/23/24 by Colin Drummond.
I checked the eBird “total Malibu Lagoon birds” for the past year as it mysteriously hops around, even while the “most recent new species” rarely changes: Oct’23 – 319 species, Dec’23-320, Jan-May’24-319, May-Aug’24-320, Sep’24-318, Oct’24-319; bird counts from bizarroland.

Birds new for the season: Green-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Common Loon, Brandt’s Cormorant, Osprey, American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler.  “New for the season” means it has been three or more months since last recorded on our trips.

Many, many thanks to photographers: Ray Juncosa, Lillian Johnson, Chris Tosdevin.

Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips; no reservations or Covid card necessary unless specifically mentioned:

• Franklin Canyon, Weds. Nov 13, 8:30 am. Our first mid-week walk, enter at park’s south end.
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Nov 24, 8:30 (adults) & 10 am (parents & kids)
• Newport Back Bay  Sun. Dec 15, 8:00 am Chuck Almdale Reservation
• Butterbredt Christmas Count  8:30 am Chuck Bragg Reservation
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Dec 22, 8:30 (adults) & 10 am (parents & kids)
• These and any other trips we announce for the foreseeable future will depend upon expected status of the Covid/flu/etc. pandemic at trip time. Any trip announced may be canceled shortly before trip date if it seems necessary. By now any other comments should be superfluous.
• Link to Programs & Field Trip schedule.

The next SMBAS Zoom program: UCLA Professor Myra Finkelstein, Exposure and effects of plastic pollution in avian species, Evening Meeting, Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk is again running. Reservations not necessary for families, but for groups (scouts, etc.), call Jean (213-522-0062).

Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon
More recent aerial photo

Prior checklists:
2023: Jan-June, July-Dec 2024: Jan-June
2021: Jan-July,  July-Dec 2022: Jan-June, July-Dec
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, remain available—despite numerous complaints—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.

Many thanks to Femi Faminu, Lillian Johnson, Ruth & Chris Tosdevin & others for their contributions to this month’s checklist.

The species lists below is intermittently re-sequenced to agree with the California Bird Records Committee Official California Checklist. If part of the right side of the chart below is hidden, there’s a slider button inconveniently located at the bottom end of the list. The numbers 1-9 left of the species names are keyed to the nine categories of birds at the bottom.
[Chuck Almdale]

	Malibu Census 2024	5/26	6/23	7/28	8/25	9/22	10/27
	Temperature	57-64	62-72	63-72	64-78	67-75	61-68
	Tide Lo/Hi Height	L-0.77	L-1.17	L+1.81	L+2.00	L+2.09	H+4.75
	Tide Time	0635	0537	0916	0735	0611	0742
1	Brant (Black)	2
1	Canada Goose	8	9	4
1	Northern Shoveler	2
1	Gadwall	22	35	27	12	30	38
1	American Wigeon					1	13
1	Mallard	14	15	6	2	8	28
1	Green-winged Teal						4
1	Ring-necked Duck					4
1	Hooded Merganser						1
1	Red-breasted Merganser	2
1	Ruddy Duck						28
2	Pied-billed Grebe	1	1	1	1	5	10
2	Eared Grebe						4
2	Western Grebe	9	1				28
7	Feral Pigeon	5	3	6	9	1	4
7	Mourning Dove	2	5	2	3	1	1
8	Anna’s Hummingbird	2	1		2		2
8	Allen’s Hummingbird	5	1	2	3	4	2
2	American Coot	1			2	72	340
5	Black-necked Stilt		2
5	Black-bellied Plover		1	51	70	67	136
5	Killdeer	4	3	12	4	12	20
5	Semipalmated Plover				13	3
5	Snowy Plover			6	22	42	18
5	Whimbrel	2		52	2	2	7
5	Long-billed Curlew			1	1
5	Wilson’s Phalarope		1
5	Spotted Sandpiper			2		1
5	Willet		2	9	5	5	3
5	Greater Yellowlegs				1	1
5	Ruddy Turnstone				1	3	4
5	Sanderling				2	1	5
5	Least Sandpiper				23	3	4
5	Western Sandpiper			6	13	2
6	Bonaparte’s Gull	10
6	Heermann’s Gull	6	65	42	5	24	79
6	Ring-billed Gull	3			2	2	12
6	Western Gull	45	160	220	113	55	27
6	California Gull	38	3	10	23	75	440
6	Glaucous-winged Gull			1	1
6	Caspian Tern	8		14	4	1
6	Forster’s Tern		1		2
6	Elegant Tern	190	25	240	10
6	Royal Tern	2			5	5	6
2	Common Loon	1					2
2	Brandt’s Cormorant	35					2
2	Pelagic Cormorant	1	4		1		2
2	Double-crested Cormorant	120	24	28	37	54	51
2	Brown Pelican	348	125	163	27	24	30
3	Black-crowned Night-Heron	1	2	1	1	1	1
3	Snowy Egret	2	7	4	3	4	10
3	Green Heron		1	1	1	2	1
3	Great Egret	4	9	3	3	2	3
3	Great Blue Heron		3	3	4	2	5
3	White-faced Ibis					3
4	Turkey Vulture	1		4	1	7
4	Osprey						1
4	Red-shouldered Hawk					1
4	Red-tailed Hawk					2	1
8	Belted Kingfisher				1	1	1
8	Nuttall’s Woodpecker	1				1
8	Hairy Woodpecker				1
4	American Kestrel						1
8	Nanday Parakeet					25
9	Black Phoebe	7	3	6	3	2	4
9	Say’s Phoebe					1	1
9	Ash-throated  Flycatcher				1
9	Cassin’s Kingbird				1		1
9	Western Kingbird				8
9	Warbling Vireo	1
9	Loggerhead Shrike						1
9	California Scrub-Jay					2
9	American Crow	4	6	4	4	8	6
9	Common Raven	3					4
9	Oak Titmouse				1
9	Tree Swallow		3			1
9	Violet-green Swallow	8
9	No. Rough-winged Swallow	2	5		2
9	Barn Swallow	20	20	20	20	1
9	Cliff Swallow	30	6		4
9	Bushtit	5	9	19	5	20	30
9	Wrentit	2	1			4	1
9	Ruby-crowned Kinglet					1	1
9	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher				1	4
9	House Wren	1			2	3	6
9	Marsh Wren					2	1
9	Bewick’s Wren					2	2
9	European Starling				1	10	12
9	Northern Mockingbird				1		1
9	Western Bluebird						5
9	Scaly-breasted Munia		1
9	House Finch	15	11	12	5	4	8
9	Lesser Goldfinch	5	2			3
9	Lark Sparrow					1
9	Dark-eyed Junco	2			1	2	1
9	White-crowned Sparrow						16
9	Savannah Sparrow					1
9	Song Sparrow	5	5	4	10	10	5
9	California Towhee	4	4	1	1		3
9	Spotted Towhee		1
9	Western Meadowlark					15
9	Hooded Oriole		1	1	1
9	Red-winged Blackbird		11			11
9	Brown-headed Cowbird				18
9	Great-tailed Grackle	2	3	3		1	4
9	Orange-crowned Warbler	1			1	2	1
9	Common Yellowthroat	1			1	5	7
9	Yellow Warbler					1
9	Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s)						15
9	Townsend’s Warbler					2
	Totals by Type	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
1	Waterfowl	50	59	37	14	43	112
2	Water Birds – Other	516	155	192	68	155	469
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	7	22	12	12	14	20
4	Quail & Raptors	1	0	4	1	10	3
5	Shorebirds	6	9	139	157	142	197
6	Gulls & Terns	302	254	527	165	162	564
7	Doves	7	8	8	12	2	5
8	Other Non-Passerines	8	2	2	7	31	5
9	Passerines	118	92	70	92	119	136
	Totals Birds	1015	601	991	528	678	1511
	Total Species	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
1	Waterfowl	6	3	3	2	4	6
2	Water Birds – Other	8	5	3	5	4	9
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	3	5	5	5	6	5
4	Quail & Raptors	1	0	1	1	3	3
5	Shorebirds	2	5	8	12	12	8
6	Gulls & Terns	8	5	6	9	6	5
7	Doves	2	2	2	2	2	2
8	Other Non-Passerines	3	2	1	4	4	3
9	Passerines	19	17	9	22	27	24
	Totals Species – 110	52	44	38	62	68	65