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No salesman will call, at least not from us. Maybe from someone else.
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Here’s another petition concerning name-changing in reference to birds. The last one we mentioned was in October 2022 about the National Audubon Society dropping “Audubon” from their name. They decided against it.
This one is about the American Ornithological Society (AOS) wanting to axe all the eponymous names (names of human beings) from the English names (not the Scientific names) of all birds in the Western Hemisphere, totaling about 240 species. Among the first to go will be Clark’s Nutcracker and Lewis’ Woodpecker (of Lewis & Clark Expedition fame). Lucy’s Warbler, Anna’s Hummingbird, Townsend’s Warbler…all of that, gone, gone, gone. I don’t know about Baltimore Oriole (the city was named for Lord Baltimore). I’ll leave it at that for now, but if you’re interested I wrote a little bit about it in a blog about Malibu Lagoon in November 2023 (go here and scroll down to “A brief aside on bird names“).
The petition text is below, it’s self-explanatory, a bit over 3900 people have signed it so far, and if you feel like signing it, go to:
Petition to AOS Leadership on the Recent Decision to Change all Eponymous Bird Names || Change.org
There are links to comments from a dozen prominent petition signers. All are well worth reading.
To: Colleen Handel and AOS Leadership:
In response to a petition from Bird Names for Birds (BN4B) signed by approximately 2,500 people, AOS leadership announced the major decision to change all eponymous names in “an effort to address past wrongs and engage far more people in the enjoyment, protection, and study of birds.”
We the undersigned strongly support diversity and inclusion in the birding community but disagree with this decision for the following reasons:
The destabilization of 150 English bird names is unprecedented. We believe that such a momentous decision that affects the English names used by many thousands of people requires listening to a diversity of voices rather than a few. One of the guiding principles of the AOS is to maintain a list that “fosters stability for the sake of effective communication,” yet it has never polled membership or the public regarding a decision that will impact the entire world-wide birding community. This one-sided decision is discriminatory against those that would rather see no change or are willing to compromise. Furthermore, no other ornithological or birding organizations were consulted. The International Ornithological Union, which monitors taxonomic changes and maintains a global list of standard bird names, have already indicated they will not follow suit and remove all eponyms.
The attempt by AOS leadership to appear more diverse and inclusive has created an unprecedented and unnecessary division within the birding community unseen in our lifetimes. This decree has brought culture wars to ornithology and birding.
We challenge the AOS to produce evidence that bird names are having a negative impact on the stated goals of the organization or birding in general. There is much to remedy in a science that has historically been dominated by white males, but changing bird names, many of which were described and named in a different era, and trying to hide ornithological history will not remedy this history. In all reality this decision will have little to no impact in removing obstacles to minorities in ornithology and birding.
Rather than a total purge of eponyms, we suggest that the previous case-by-case method be resumed to remove offensive names rather than dishonoring the many people who founded ornithology in the Americas, many of whom are inadvertently disgraced by guilt by association.
This methodology was also endorsed by the entire North American Checklist Committee (NACC) and all but one member of the South American Checklist Committee (SACC) although the committees recommendations were ignored by the AOS.
We predict that assessing reaction from a broader portion of the user base will favor this approach.
Differing opinions on this matter deserve to have a voice.
Gulled* again at Malibu Lagoon, 24 Dec. 2023
[Chuck Almdale]
As we noted a few days earlier, there was a Lesser Black-backed Gull (a European-West Asian species) reported from Malibu Lagoon on Dec. 17 & 20, and of course we hoped it will still be there. I arrived about quarter-to-eight planning to do a preliminary search, but the lagoon was incredibly full of water from the +6.53 ft. high tide about six minutes earlier, so of course all the birds except for ducks and coots were gathered on what little beach remained, all the way across the lagoon and directly towards the sun. We’d have to wait until we got to the beach to search for it, but with such a high tide it would be several hours before there was a beach. Meanwhile the lagoon past the PCH bridge had a passel of Bufflehead and Ruddy Ducks and the lagoon was full (well…not really full) of coots and various ducks, including Northern Shovelers. Back at the gathering place, I briefed the birders on the LBB Gull, showed them the picture in the NGS field guide and put them on alert. As the tide dropped we slowly made our way to the beach.
The egrets were forced to stay in what shallows there were. Some were near the winter tidal clock sidewalk.
One Snowy Egret on his way to the water…
Stepping over that stick…
A little lift from his right hind toe on the stick…
Finally in the water. Bring on the fish.
Of all the birds in the trees and brush – 3 woodpeckers (3 species) and 119 passerines (17 species) – the only one photographed was probably the plainest Yellow-rumped Warbler in existence. The two Wrentits posing on a chainlink fence got away before the cameras arrived.
By the time we reached the lagoon entrance, the water level had dropped considerably.
We began searching through the gulls. As usual this time of year most of them were California Gull, but there were typical numbers of Western, Ring-billed and Heermann’s. Sometimes it’s hard to tell these birds apart even though they differ significantly in size. Ring-billed (17 ½”) often look the same size as California (21″), which in turn often looks the same size as Western (25″), but Ring-billed always look smaller than Western. Go Figure. in the photo below, a Ring-billed is between a couple of California and a Western.
After a couple of false alerts, after which we decided we were doing something wrong, three birders – Chris, Femi and Marie – independently spotted the bird about the same time, among the other species at the other side of one of the lagoon’s sand islands revealed by the dropping tide.
It then wandered off into the water, farther away.
The slenderness of the bill shows up well in the photo below.
I found it a difficult bird – first to locate, then to differentiate. A number of other 1st-winter gulls also had “smudginess” around the eye. The bill was all black and more slender with less of a gonydeal bump on the lower mandible. The upper neck and nape were a bit brighter. The wing primaries were all black. It also seemed to have a bolder black-&-white pattern on the undertail coverts, almost a herringbone. The black bills of all the other 1st-winter birds were thicker with a more pronounced gonydeal bump and varying amounts of pinkishness around the base of the bill.
Heermann’s Gulls were present as well.
We even had three Bonaparte’s Gulls (yes, named after a naturalist nephew of that Bonaparte who had moved to Philadelphia after his uncle’s disastrous defeat at Waterloo). It’s hard to believe but this gull used to appear in the hundreds at the lagoon. My record high was over 40 years ago, about 1600 birds on 3 Mar. 1980. Next highest was 1095 on 12 Dec. 1982. Between 1 Dec. 1979 and 8 Jan. 1983 I had 12 counts in the hundreds. But since 27 Aug. 2000, out of 265 census visits, they have been present only 68 times, totaling a mere 198 birds, averaging 3 birds per appearance. In only four of those 68 appearances did they number into double digits; The highest count was 26 birds on 27 May 2007.
According to Birds of the World the world population of Bonaparte’s Gull is not globally threatened. Estimated world population 85,000–175,000 pairs, but that may be conservative. No declines noticed in Florida, New Jersey, Niagara (winter), northern California, Alaska, Quebec or Ontario. So the drop in the wintering and migrant population at Malibu Lagoon may not be representative of anywhere else, not even SoCal. Maybe it’s the smell of sun tan lotion in the water and air that drove them away.
Brown Pelicans, some of whom nest on Anacapa Island not far away, have made a marvelous recovery since DDT was banned. They are at the lagoon 100% of the time.
By now the egrets had moved all around the lagoon.
We hadn’t seen the Osprey all morning, but on the way back found him on his phone pole at the corner of Malibu Colony, looking very quizzical. But if you’re not a fish, a crow or another Osprey, he’s really not all that interested in you.
Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 12-29-23: 7333 lists, 320 species
Most recent species added: Red-breasted Nuthatch (31 October 2023, Kyle Te Poel).
Birds new for the season: Canada Goose, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Black Oystercatcher, Bonaparte’s Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, California Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco.
Many, many thanks to photographers Femi Faminu, Ray Juncosa
Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips; no reservations or covid card necessary unless specifically mentioned:
- Antelope Valley Raptor Search, Sat. Jan 13, meet at 7:00 am. Reservations. May be canceled.
- Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Jan 28, 8:30 (adults) & 10 am (parents & kids)
- Madrona Marsh Sat Feb 10, 8 am.
- 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: “Aeroacoustics Lab at UCR” with Dr. Chris J. Clark, Evening Meeting, Tuesday, Feb 6, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk restarted April 23. Reservations for groups (scouts, etc.) necessary; not necessary for families.
Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon
More recent aerial photo
Prior checklists:
2023: 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, Ray Juncosa, Chris Lord, Marie Nosurname and others for their contributions to this month’s checklist.
The species lists below is irregularly re-sequenced to agree with the California Bird Records Committee Official California Checklist. If part of the chart’s right side is hidden, there’s a slider button inconveniently located at the bottom 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 2023 | 7/23 | 8/27 | 9/24 | 10/22 | 11/26 | 12/24 | |
| Temperature | 66-70 | 69-73 | 56-74 | 62-70 | 62-68 | 53-64 | |
| Tide Lo/Hi Height | L+0.81 | H+3.68 | H+3.77 | L+3.34 | H+6.53 | H+6.20 | |
| Tide Time | 0730 | 0832 | 0739 | 1029 | 0740 | 0644 | |
| 1 | Canada Goose | 4 | 21 | ||||
| 1 | Cinnamon Teal | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 1 | Northern Shoveler | 1 | 13 | ||||
| 1 | Gadwall | 90 | 45 | 40 | 23 | 30 | 27 |
| 1 | American Wigeon | 5 | 14 | ||||
| 1 | Mallard | 77 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 8 | |
| 1 | Green-winged Teal | 1 | 31 | 8 | |||
| 1 | Lesser Scaup | 1 | |||||
| 1 | Surf Scoter | 15 | 8 | 3 | |||
| 1 | Bufflehead | 5 | 18 | ||||
| 1 | Red-breasted Merganser | 20 | 5 | ||||
| 1 | Ruddy Duck | 12 | 22 | 37 | |||
| 2 | Pied-billed Grebe | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2 | Horned Grebe | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Eared Grebe | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Western Grebe | 28 | 13 | 18 | |||
| 7 | Feral Pigeon | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 7 | Mourning Dove | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Anna’s Hummingbird | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 8 | Allen’s Hummingbird | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2 | Sora | 1 | |||||
| 2 | American Coot | 6 | 49 | 157 | 230 | 280 | |
| 5 | Black Oystercatcher | 1 | |||||
| 5 | Black-bellied Plover | 6 | 39 | 82 | 79 | 7 | 52 |
| 5 | Killdeer | 8 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | Semipalmated Plover | 1 | 7 | 3 | |||
| 5 | Snowy Plover | 7 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 1 | |
| 5 | Whimbrel | 32 | 38 | 32 | 23 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Long-billed Curlew | 4 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | Marbled Godwit | 1 | 48 | 45 | 5 | 11 | |
| 5 | Short-billed Dowitcher | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 5 | Wilson’s Phalarope | 1 | |||||
| 5 | Red-necked Phalarope | 2 | |||||
| 5 | Spotted Sandpiper | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | Willet | 5 | 9 | 29 | 56 | 12 | 22 |
| 5 | Ruddy Turnstone | 2 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 10 | |
| 5 | Sanderling | 2 | 32 | 27 | 69 | 10 | |
| 5 | Least Sandpiper | 4 | 8 | 18 | 6 | 35 | 28 |
| 5 | Western Sandpiper | 6 | 3 | 15 | |||
| 6 | Bonaparte’s Gull | 3 | |||||
| 6 | Heermann’s Gull | 89 | 90 | 51 | 55 | 71 | 22 |
| 6 | Ring-billed Gull | 1 | 4 | 42 | 34 | ||
| 6 | Western Gull | 150 | 85 | 65 | 45 | 68 | 64 |
| 6 | Herring Gull | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 7 | Lesser Black-backed Gull | 1 | |||||
| 6 | California Gull | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 220 | 425 |
| 6 | Glaucous-winged Gull | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Caspian Tern | 1 | |||||
| 6 | Forster’s Tern | 1 | |||||
| 6 | Elegant Tern | 2 | 40 | 24 | 2 | 1 | |
| 6 | Royal Tern | 10 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 7 | |
| 2 | Pacific Loon | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Common Loon | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Black-vented Shearwater | 20 | 28 | ||||
| 2 | Brandt’s Cormorant | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Pelagic Cormorant | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 2 | Double-crested Cormorant | 42 | 23 | 30 | 48 | 37 | 47 |
| 2 | Brown Pelican | 174 | 56 | 27 | 12 | 26 | 72 |
| 3 | Black-crowned Night-Heron | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Snowy Egret | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 18 |
| 3 | Green Heron | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Great Egret | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 3 | Great Blue Heron | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Turkey Vulture | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 4 | Osprey | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 4 | Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 8 | Belted Kingfisher | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Downy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Nuttall’s Woodpecker | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 8 | Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Northern Flicker | 1 | |||||
| 4 | American Kestrel | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Peregrine Falcon | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Nanday Parakeet | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Black Phoebe | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Say’s Phoebe | 1 | |||||
| 9 | California Scrub-Jay | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 9 | American Crow | 20 | 9 | 6 | 44 | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | Common Raven | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Oak Titmouse | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 9 | No. Rough-winged Swallow | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Barn Swallow | 12 | 35 | 4 | |||
| 9 | Bushtit | 22 | 8 | 22 | 50 | ||
| 9 | Wrentit | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| 9 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 2 | |||||
| 9 | House Wren | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 9 | Marsh Wren | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Bewick’s Wren | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | European Starling | 15 | 12 | 22 | 28 | ||
| 9 | Northern Mockingbird | 1 | |||||
| 9 | House Finch | 15 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 9 | Lesser Goldfinch | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Dark-eyed Junco | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | White-crowned Sparrow | 10 | 20 | 27 | |||
| 9 | Savannah Sparrow | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Song Sparrow | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 9 | California Towhee | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| 9 | Hooded Oriole | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Red-winged Blackbird | 6 | 7 | 15 | 16 | ||
| 9 | Brown-headed Cowbird | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Great-tailed Grackle | 1 | 1 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Orange-crowned Warbler | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | Common Yellowthroat | 2 | 4 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 9 | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Yellow-rumped Warbler (Aud) | 5 | 12 | 6 | |||
| 9 | Townsend’s Warbler | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Wilson’s Warbler | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Western Tanager | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Black-headed Grosbeak | 1 | |||||
| 0 | Totals by Type | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 171 | 65 | 53 | 51 | 134 | 155 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 216 | 87 | 129 | 280 | 314 | 426 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 13 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 28 | 23 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 70 | 145 | 299 | 265 | 139 | 162 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 244 | 230 | 152 | 118 | 416 | 562 |
| 7 | Doves | 2 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 5 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Passerines | 96 | 59 | 82 | 154 | 146 | 119 |
| Totals Birds | 818 | 617 | 747 | 897 | 1187 | 1464 | |
| Total Species | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 11 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 9 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | Doves | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | Passerines | 14 | 9 | 23 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| Totals Species – 112 | 41 | 46 | 67 | 58 | 60 | 68 |
*Gulled pun intended
Photoshopped Photo in the CBC Report
We had a comment from Tom Hinnebusch about the use of Photoshop and its potential effect on bird identification. The CBC report had a photo of the Chestnut-collared Longspur that had some vegetation removed to make it a more pleasing photo (one hopes). The current version of Photoshop has what they call “regenerative fill” (RF) and this is the issue. RF will erase what you tell it and then use artificial intelligence (AI) to replace the empty spots. The trick is that the replacement bits are generated out of thin air, using a library of similar photos in its memory. It also looks at the original photo to help it match up – perhaps the feathers next to the blank area will guide it. But, the important thing is the replacement bits are fakes, unreal, arbitrary. For purposes of bird i.d. one must be careful – if we get a question from The Committee the original must be used without alteration.
AI can do a really good job. Done carefully it might be impossible to tell there has been any alteration. Sharpening, denoising and other traditional editing is fine and need not be mentioned, but if a photo has been altered by replacing or removing original elements, that should be made clear. For anyone who is interested, here are the “before and after” photos. I think the field marks are OK in both, although the beginning of the black plumage on the chest in the altered photo seems to have been enlarged. I missed that.
A Most Unusual Christmas Count: Butterbredt 2023
To the details in a moment. First a big Thank You to the participants: Reed Tollefson and Steve Hylton from Audubon’s Kern River Preserve; Sasha Robinson and Annie Meyer from the Southern Sierra Research Station; Connie Day, Chris Lord and Alice Bragg from SMBAS. Thanks to them we saw 56 species – an average year is 42 species and the all time high is 62. We added 4 birds completely new to the list So, it was a great day.
For those who are unfamiliar with this count, the circle is about 30 miles north of Mojave. The habitat ranges from sandy scrub to grasslands to Joshua Tree ‘forests’ to mixed montane woodlands to several freshwater springs. In former days there was a lot of cattle ranching but nowadays not so much. Our chapter started this count in 1977 (it’s a long story). The temperature began at 38 degrees at 8:00 and got to 61 (!) by noon. It was sunny and there was virtually no wind. Usually the better the weather the fewer the birds – don’t know why. But today was different. There is one tree on the plain at the SE corner of the count circle and we found two Anna’s Hummingbirds feeding from the tiny flowers on the tree. Flowers? December? Was this a sign?
Maybe. As we worked west we got the first new species for the list – two Western Kingbirds. Excellent. But as we came to the open ground where we typically find the most raptors, we saw only a single Red-tailed Hawk. At the end of the day our raptor list was pretty small. Also, our group saw only one bunny. After all the rain last winter we expected to see more vegetarians in the field.
On the plus side there were four species seen by various groups where we saw as many on this day as had been seen in the entire 48 years of the count. Up in the Piute Mtns. I spotted a Lewis’ Woodpecker far far away. Victory! This is an unusual bird everywhere. But after an hour we had totaled 14 birds, doubling the total over that 48 years. Amazing.
A small digression. Lewis’ Woodpecker is named after Meriwether Lewis (Lewis and Clark). The Park Service cabin in the Meriwether Lewis State Park (Tennessee) has a little notebook display with a picture.
![0529-5_thumb[1]](https://smbasblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/0529-5_thumb1.jpg "0529-5_thumb[1]")
I pointed out to the staff person that this was an Acorn Woodpecker. She promised to look into it. This was in 2013 – anyone going that way who can check?
![ian routley_thumb[1]](https://smbasblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ian-routley_thumb1.jpg "ian routley_thumb[1]")
Lewis’ Woodpecker (cr. Ian Routley, 8/9/2012, British Columbia)
Sasha and Annie found two of the four new birds. They found Green-tailed Towhees, one at Butterbredt and one at Tunnel Springs. Annie got photos!
![gtto-2_thumb[3]](https://smbasblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/gtto-2_thumb3.jpg "gtto-2_thumb[3]")
But the blockbuster bird of the day was a Chestnut-collared Longspur. I emailed them saying that the Great Sceptic in charge of the California counts would ask questions about this very rare sighting. But, Sasha and Annie have actually done field work on this bird in Montana, Texas and Mexico. They saw field marks when the bird flew. And, Annie got a photo.
![cclo-Edit-Edit-Edit-Edit_thumb[1]](https://smbasblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cclo-edit-edit-edit-edit_thumb1.jpg "cclo-Edit-Edit-Edit-Edit_thumb[1]")
Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus). Vegetation Photoshopped out to see the bird better.
Summer plumage is spectacular. Winter plumage is, well, whatever. I am certain that if I had seen this bird I would have put it in the Sparrow species category. But they heard the call and saw the triangular black tail pattern when it flew.
Further highlights:
- 60 Yellow-rumped Warblers. The previous 47 years totaled 75 birds.
- 845 White-crowned Sparrows. Always common, but this is the third highest total ever.
- 1 Orange-crowned Warbler. Common winter bird in your garden, but the first ever on this count.
- 1 European Starling. One? Whoever saw just one starling?
So that was the 2023 count. Join us next year and find your own unique first-time species?
| Green-winged Teal [American] | 3 | |
| Duck sp. | 1 | |
| California Quail | 83 | |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 1 | |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 2 | |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | |
| Great Horned Owl | 2 | |
| Anna’s Hummingbird | 2 | |
| hummingbird sp. | 1 | |
| Acorn Woodpecker | 4 | |
| Red-breasted Sapsucker | 1 | |
| Lewis’s Woodpecker | 14 | |
| Ladder-backed Woodpecker | 8 | |
| Nuttall’s Woodpecker | 2 | |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 3 | |
| Northern Flicker | 1 | |
| Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker | 6 | |
| Black Phoebe | 3 | |
| Say’s Phoebe | 1 | |
| Western Kingbird | 2 | new |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 5 | |
| California Scrub Jay | 24 | |
| Common Raven | 26 | |
| Oak Titmouse | 2 | |
| Bushtit | 8 | |
| Rock Wren | 7 | |
| House Wren | 5 | |
| Marsh Wren | 1 | |
| Bewick’s Wren | 13 | |
| Cactus Wren | 1 | |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 1 | |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 15 | |
| Western Bluebird | 16 | |
| Mountain Bluebird | 8 | |
| Hermit Thrush | 1 | |
| California Thrasher | 1 | |
| Northern Mockingbird | 2 | |
| European Starling | 1 | |
| American Pipit | 44 | |
| Phainopepla | 4 | |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | 1 | new |
| Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) Warbler | 60 | |
| Chipping Sparrow | 3 | |
| Brewer’s Sparrow | 5 | |
| Black-throated Sparrow | 2 | |
| Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco | 87 | |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 845 | |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow | 16 | |
| Bell’s Sparrow (belli) | 28 | |
| Savannah Sparrow | 5 | |
| Song Sparrow | 3 | |
| Lincoln’s Sparrow | 7 | |
| California Towhee | 5 | |
| Green-tailed Towhee | 2 | new |
| Spotted Towhee | 8 | |
| sparrow sp. | 49 | |
| Chestnut-collared Longspur | 1 | new |
| Western Meadowlark | 5 | |
| House Finch | 18 | |
| Lesser Goldfinch | 1 | |
| Birds Seen | 1478 | |
| Net Species Seen | 56 |
Lesser Black-backed Gull at Malibu Lagoon
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Link to eBird page: https://ebird.org/species/lbbgul
We don’t get a lot of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in SoCal let alone at Malibu Lagoon. It’s been there at least Dec. 17-20, 2023 and might stick around longer. It’s primarily a European & West Asian bird, so it appears more often on the U.S. east coast than the west coast. 21″ long, 1st-cycle bird (first winter).
There’s also a Laughing Gull at Cabrillo Beach.
I got the following from eBird.
Photos:
William Tyler 12/20/23
https://ebird.org/checklist/S156770710
Typical first cycle. Contrasting white head. All dark bill (parallel-sided). Long wings. (Kind help from Andy Birch).
Naresh Satyan 12/17/23 Total of 8 photos on link below
https://ebird.org/checklist/S156568717?_gl=1*bj3cph*_ga*MTYwNzM3MDkwLjE3MDMxOTM3MTE.*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTcwMzE5MzcxMS4xLjAuMTcwMzE5MzcxMS42MC4wLjA.
First cycle. Fairly typical bird with white head with smudging around the eye, replaced scapulars dark gray with darker centers, juvenile coverts and tertials dark chocolate brown with thin white edges, elongated primaries dark black, upper and undertail coverts white based with thin brown markings, dark tail, narrow parallel-sided all-dark bill.
Link to eBird page: https://ebird.org/species/lbbgul
Slender, long-winged gull [21″], same size as California Gull, slightly smaller than Herring or Western Gulls [25″]. Adults show dark gray back and yellow legs; in winter note fairly heavy streaking on head and neck. Takes four or five years to reach adult plumage; immatures can be difficult to distinguish from other gulls, especially Herring. On first- or second-year birds, look for contrastingly whitish head with dark smudge around the eye, long wings, dark bill, whitish rump and tail base, and evenly dark wings in flight. Can be found around any body of water but prefers beaches and flats. Often with flocks of other large gulls. Common in Eurasia, wintering to Africa and Southeast Asia. Population in North America has increased dramatically in the last couple decades; now regular (even fairly common!) on the Atlantic coast, rarer inland and farther west.
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