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Zoom Recording: Birds of Cuba, with Alvaro Jaramillo
The recording of this program from 3 Oct 2023 is now available on-line
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It starts at 14 seconds in.
Birds of Cuba, with Alvaro Jaramillo.
Cuban Tody, endemic to Cuba, one of five species in a family endemic to the Caribbean. (A. Jaramillo)
Cuba is one of the closest neighbors to the United States, but due to politics it might as well be on the other side of the world. Few Americans have traveled there, and birders have been restricted to a few legal survey trips a year, or going there illegally through Canada in order to enjoy its birds. But things have opened up and we expect that more and more US-based birders will be able to enjoy the amazing diversity and incredible level of endemism (species found nowhere else on earth). Cuba is a fantastic birding destination. It is safe, birdy, has much protected habitat and forest cover, and there is still a lot to learn there. In fact it may be the place where the Ivory-billed Woodpecker actually still lives! Alvaro has been lucky to have birded in Cuba on many occasions over the years. He is excited to be able to show you some of the gorgeous bird life, teach a bit about the interesting biology of Cuban wildlife, and give you a sense for the culture, and its people. Cuba remains a charming, friendly and very jovial place even though the people there have had to endure so much!
Of the 4 species of Spindalis, all endemic to the Caribbean, the Western Spindalis is the most widespread. (A. Jaramillo)
Alvaro Jaramillo, owner of international birding tour company Alvaro’s Adventures, was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto, where he lived as a youth. He was trained in ecology and evolution with a particular interest in bird behavior. Research forays and backpacking trips introduced Alvaro to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is the author of the Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile’s birds. For some time, Alvaro wrote the Identify Yourself column in Bird Watcher’s Digest. He is author of a major New World sparrow chapter for the Handbook of Birds of the World (now Birds of the World), and the new ABA Field Guide to Birds of California. He was granted the Eisenmann Medal by the Linnaean Society of New York, which is awarded occasionally for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur. He organizes and leads international birding tours, as well as a full schedule of pelagic trips in central California. Alvaro lives with his family in Half Moon Bay, California.
Alvaro Jaramillo’s email: alvaro@alvarosadventures.com
Alvaro Jaramillo’s website: www.alvarosadventures.com
Cuba is the Happy Hunting Ground where U.S. cars — if they’ve been good — go to live forever. (A. Jaramillo)
Your Favorite Ozzie Bird | Vote Early, Vote Often
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Update Tues. 3 Oct. The list is now down to 15 birds, with Tawny Frogmouth, Swift Parrot and Peregrine Falcon, in that order, leading the pack. Hey! C’mon now. Peregrine Falcon? Great bird, fastest stooper in the world, but they’re on every continent except Antarctica. Pick something endemic to Australia!
Australian Bird of the Year – Vote Now, vote often
Well…of course it helps if you know something about the birdlife of Australia. If you do, this contest, run by The Guardian, is for you! Every day they knock off 5 birds — they started with 50 and are now down to 30, so do the math. However, we’re now in round 5 which runs Friday to Monday, so I guess some days are 3 days long, which sounds about right. My favorite — Pied Butcherbird — which is not a great looker but has probably the most hauntingly beautiful song I’ve ever heard anywhere and is forever riveted into my memory, is still on the list. Feel free to vote for them if you like.
Below: Pied Butcherbird. No pressure, mate. She’ll be right.
Link to one singing Another one
Malibu Lagoon turning to autumn, 24 Sep. 2023
[By Chuck Almdale]
Mirroring Malibu Lagoon (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)
The day started off nice and cool at 58°F. Three hours later it was 74° with very little wind as you can see by the mirrorlike lagoon above. So what season is it?
Snowy Egret with a gigantic insect, perhaps a holdout from the carboniferous era. Photographer Chris thinks it is [was] a Common Green Darner, Anax junius, 3″ long. (Chris Tostdevin 9/24/23)
As you can see below, we had a good mixture of shorebirds and gulls on the east side of the lagoon near Adamson House. We’ll go through some of them farther down.
Mixed shorebirds and gulls. (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)
Seven Marbled Godwits, three Willets, but who’s counting?
(Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)
Which Whimbrel is real, which is illusion? (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)
This was one of those days of the lunar month when the tide doesn’t fluctuate much; from the high at 7:39 am to the low at 11:53 am it only dropped .74 feet, or 9 inches. The tidepool rocks, never entirely covered, became slightly more exposed and those shorebirds inclined to do so, explored the shore.
Two Ruddy Turnstones (aka “The Turnstone” in Europe), molting into drabber basic plumage. (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)
Two Whimbrels poking about (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)
This Black Oystercatcher seems to have exceptionally fat toes.
(Grace Murayama 9/20/23)
Oystercatchers are definitely easier to find at Malibu when the tidal rocks are exposed, although occasionally we’ll see them on the large outer offshore rocks.
…and a Black-bellied Plover about as far into basic (non-breeding) plumage as they can get, wandering away from the crowd (Grace Murayama 9/20/23)
East end of the south channel with it’s snag and the Osprey pole sans Osprey in the middle distance (Ray Juncosa 9/24/230
Back on the sand, a small cluster of the ~50 Heermann’s Gulls present (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
Black-bellied Plovers, flying and not (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
Elsewhere around the lagoon and its edges, there were butterflies.
Butterfly (Ray Juncosa 9/24/23)
[Addendum]: I originally identified the above butterfly as Monarch (Daneus plexippus), although I was only 98% certain and Lillian much less so, as she suspected it was a Queen (Daneus gilippus). I soon received separate comments with varying levels of certainty from two readers, Jeri Edwards in San Luis Obispo and Ruth Dewar, with the same opinion, that it was actually a Queen, the closely-related and ridiculously-similar congener. [Jeri, by the way, ran the outhouse roof vent owl poo-poo project a few years back which SMBAS supported.] I examined the photos again and decided Jeri and Ruth were probably right, although I’d still like to hear an expert chime in with exactly why it’s a Queen. Anyway….grumble, grumble….Jeri kindly sent Ray’s three photos to iNaturalist. They officially identified it in their iNaturalistically way as a Queen Butterfly Danaus gilippus (Cramer, 1776), and it’s now got it’s own iNaturalist page, preserved until the End of Days. Like the Monarch, they also lay their eggs on milkweed, and now I’m wondering if all the Monarchs I’ve seen in SoCal are actually Queens. Here’s a map from it’s page:
I also sent the photo to NABA (North American Butterfly Association) of Orange County (L.A. County doesn’t have a chapter I could find), and Lee Shoemaker wrote back: “This is a female Queen. They are not common near the coast and are most common in California in our deserts. Great find.“
…and at least three Green Herons scattered in various locations. They don’t often gather in groups. Wondering where the green is?
Green Heron (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
I finally laid eyes on a Nuttall’s Woodpecker at the lagoon, although Femi Faminu seems to either see or hear them almost every trip. This one was, to my great surprise, in a palm tree in the back of the colony, not in a hardwood sycamore or oak as I (perhaps I’m the only one who thinks this) would expect. It was just below the base of the fronds, poking – and I suppose pecking – around the large bulge encircling the top of the trunk where the older fronds have been trimmed away. Alas, no photos – it was very dark under those fronds.
A Pied-billed Grebe, just after surfacing. Based on the bill and throat colors, I’d say this is a juvenile bird, born this year.
Pied-billed Grebe (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
We should call these confusing fall Red-winged Blackbirds. I think they get mistaken for Rusty Blackbirds every now and then.
Red-winged Blackbirds: left female sometimes thought to be a sparrow, right male sometimes mistaken for Rusty Blackbird. (Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
Birds new for the Season: Green-winged Teal, Sora, Forster’s Tern, Black-vented Shearwater, Pelagic Cormorant, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Oak Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, House Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Savannah Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak.
Osprey, probably back for the winter
(Left: Grace Murayama 9/20/23, Right: Chris Tosdevin 9/24/23)
Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 9-29-23: 7141 lists, 319 species
Most recent species added: Lilac-crowned Parrot (13 May 2023, Nick Diaco).
Many, many thanks to photographers: Ray Juncosa, Larry Loeher, Grace Murayama, Chris Tosdevin
Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips:
- Huntington Beach Central Park, Sat. Oct 14, 8am. Already announced.
- Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Oct 22, 8:30 am. No reservations or Covid card required.
- Ballona Freshwater Marsh Sat. Nov 11 8.00 am.
- Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Nov. 26, 8:30 am. No reservations or Covid card required.
- 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: ““Gray Vireos in Baja” with Dr. Phil Unitt, Tuesday, 7 Nov. 2023, 7:30 p.m. A recording of our 3 Oct. program, “Birds of Cuba” with Alvaro Jaramillo, is now on the blog.
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 Ray Juncosa, Chris Lord, Chris Tosdevin, Ruth Tosdevin 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 at the bottom of the list.
[Chuck Almdale]
| Malibu Census 2023 | 4/23 | 5/28 | 6/25 | 7/23 | 8/27 | 9/24 | |
| Temperature | 57-66 | 61-62 | 59-71 | 66-70 | 69-73 | 56-74 | |
| Tide Lo/Hi Height | L-.041 | L+0.81 | L+0.89 | L+0.81 | H+3.68 | H+3.77 | |
| Tide Time | 0637 | 1131 | 0919 | 0730 | 0832 | 0739 | |
| 1 | Canada Goose | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1 | Gadwall | 24 | 17 | 45 | 90 | 45 | 40 |
| 1 | Mallard | 15 | 12 | 33 | 77 | 20 | 12 |
| 1 | Green-winged Teal | 1 | |||||
| 1 | Surf Scoter | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 2 | Pied-billed Grebe | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Western Grebe | 6 | |||||
| 7 | Feral Pigeon | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 7 | Eurasian Collared-Dove | 2 | |||||
| 7 | Mourning Dove | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | Anna’s Hummingbird | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 8 | Allen’s Hummingbird | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2 | Sora | 1 | |||||
| 2 | American Coot | 6 | 5 | 6 | 49 | ||
| 5 | Black-bellied Plover | 6 | 39 | 82 | |||
| 5 | Killdeer | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| 5 | Semipalmated Plover | 14 | 1 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Snowy Plover | 1 | 7 | 13 | 22 | ||
| 5 | Whimbrel | 16 | 11 | 32 | 38 | 32 | |
| 5 | Long-billed Curlew | 4 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | Marbled Godwit | 1 | 48 | ||||
| 5 | Ruddy Turnstone | 2 | 4 | ||||
| 5 | Sanderling | 2 | 32 | ||||
| 5 | Dunlin | 2 | |||||
| 5 | Least Sandpiper | 19 | 4 | 8 | 18 | ||
| 5 | Western Sandpiper | 30 | 6 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 5 | Short-billed Dowitcher | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 5 | Spotted Sandpiper | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | Willet | 2 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 29 | |
| 5 | Wilson’s Phalarope | 1 | |||||
| 5 | Red-necked Phalarope | 2 | |||||
| 6 | Bonaparte’s Gull | 3 | |||||
| 6 | Heermann’s Gull | 80 | 152 | 94 | 89 | 90 | 51 |
| 6 | Ring-billed Gull | 120 | 12 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Western Gull | 50 | 72 | 105 | 150 | 85 | 65 |
| 6 | California Gull | 60 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 6 | Herring Gull | 1 | |||||
| 6 | Caspian Tern | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 6 | Forster’s Tern | 1 | |||||
| 6 | Royal Tern | 3 | 20 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 6 | Elegant Tern | 630 | 305 | 150 | 2 | 40 | 24 |
| 6 | Black Skimmer | 2 | |||||
| 2 | Pacific Loon | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Common Loon | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Black-vented Shearwater | 20 | |||||
| 2 | Brandt’s Cormorant | 12 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 2 | Pelagic Cormorant | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Double-crested Cormorant | 53 | 74 | 75 | 42 | 23 | 30 |
| 2 | Brown Pelican | 655 | 168 | 162 | 174 | 56 | 27 |
| 3 | Great Blue Heron | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | |
| 3 | Great Egret | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Snowy Egret | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| 3 | Green Heron | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 3 | Black-crowned Night-Heron | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Turkey Vulture | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 4 | Osprey | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Belted Kingfisher | 2 | |||||
| 8 | Nuttall’s Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 4 | American Kestrel | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Peregrine Falcon | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Pacific-slope Flycatcher | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Black Phoebe | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | California Scrub-Jay | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 9 | American Crow | 4 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 9 | 6 |
| 9 | Common Raven | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 9 | Oak Titmouse | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 9 | Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 6 | 5 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 9 | Barn Swallow | 15 | 30 | 35 | 12 | 35 | 4 |
| 9 | Cliff Swallow | 25 | 4 | 30 | |||
| 9 | Bushtit | 2 | 8 | 4 | 22 | 8 | |
| 9 | Wrentit | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 9 | House Wren | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | Bewick’s Wren | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Northern Mockingbird | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | European Starling | 2 | 3 | 6 | 15 | ||
| 9 | House Finch | 7 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | Lesser Goldfinch | 2 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Dark-eyed Junco | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Savannah Sparrow | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Song Sparrow | 7 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 9 | California Towhee | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 9 | Hooded Oriole | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 9 | Red-winged Blackbird | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 9 | Brown-headed Cowbird | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Great-tailed Grackle | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | Orange-crowned Warbler | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Common Yellowthroat | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Wilson’s Warbler | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Western Tanager | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Black-headed Grosbeak | 1 | |||||
| Totals by Type | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 46 | 36 | 82 | 171 | 65 | 53 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 739 | 253 | 245 | 216 | 87 | 129 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 2 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 13 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 88 | 4 | 26 | 70 | 145 | 299 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 940 | 549 | 376 | 244 | 230 | 152 |
| 7 | Doves | 3 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | Passerines | 89 | 106 | 129 | 96 | 59 | 82 |
| Totals Birds | 1915 | 968 | 878 | 818 | 617 | 747 | |
| Total Species | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 8 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 14 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Doves | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Passerines | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 23 |
| Totals Species – 94 | 56 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 46 | 67 |
They’re here! — Cornwall Wildlife Trust 2023 photo finalists
[Posted by Chuck Almdale, submitted by Adrian Douglas]
Six divisions, five photos per division.
The vole’s last look.
Kestrel in stoop mode, Keneggy Cove by Andy Maher
The Cornwall Wildlife Trust 2023 Wildlife Photography Competition Finalists
“…a pretty nurse is selling poppies for the train…” – P. McCartney
Common poppies, Pentire by William Hall
Brits build the best bird-blinds in the world.
First time in a hide, Hayle by Paul Hopwood
On mis-aging and mis-sexing birds in eBird (and elsewhere)
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Paul Lehman, a bird maven for more decades than I can count, recently posted this comment on the Los Angeles bird chat. It pertains initially to late summer/fall season eBird reporting errors from overconfident birders, but I think it has importance to the wider birding audience.
Fall has arrived and so have a few perennial errors in eBird submissions with the mis-aging and mis-sexing of a number of species. Well, actually this is a definite year-round problem continent-wide, but the examples below are mostly unique to fall and winter. Lately, the appearance of multiple Painted Redstarts has brought also a fair number of submissions stating that a particular individual is a “male,” or an “adult,” or an “adult male.” Essentially all Painted Redstarts look the same after they molt out of juvenal plumage on the breeding grounds. They can’t be easily aged and sexed (if not singing). And there is also now the yearly over-reporting of “female” Black-and-white Warblers because the birds have white throats. But most males lose their black throats in fall and winter, and sexing this species at this time of year should be done on the basis of the auricular/cheek color and secondarily on the flank color and boldness of the side and undertail-covert streaking. Soon, there will probably be reports of “adult male” Black-throated Blue Warblers and Hooded Warblers, despite the fact that young males are essentially identical to adults.
A large percent of eBird reviewers simply do not check age and sex designations, if made, due to lack of time. Or even if they see such an error, they sometimes do not wish to spend the time contacting the observer to get them to change it. Thus many, many incorrect designations fall through the cracks. As a result, I would wager that the overall eBird database has only limited value in this regard, given the large number of incorrectly aged and sexed birds it contains. It is fine NOT to make such designations unless one is truly certain, or perhaps only after consulting the literature and on-line sources to double-check before submitting.
–Paul Lehman, San Diego
24 Sep 2023
SANTA MONICA BAY AUDUBON SOCIETY BLOG 