[By Chuck Almdale]

The only Northern Shoveler in the lagoon, a female, looks a little grumpy (Chris Tosdevin 10/24/23)

West end of north channel, picnic corner and Malibu Colony in the background (Ray Juncosa 10/22/23)

There was a bit of excitement at the cypress trees behind Malibu Colony. A crow took exception to a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a limb.

The American Crow comes for the Red-tailed Hawk (Chris Tosdevin 10/24/23)

The Red-tailed Hawk flies off, the crow making sure he keeps moving (Ray Juncosa 10/24/23)

We had a good array of shorebirds from the smallest to nearly the largest. These are all in the order Charadriiformes, and except for two they are all in the family Scolopacidae. Figure out which two. All sizes are per National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

Least Sandpiper in his winter drabs, the smallest “peep” in the world at 6″. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Western Snowy Plover, this one a juvenile, resting in his sand-pocket; 6.25″. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Sanderlings in their winter white & blacks; 8″ long. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Ruddy Turnstone winter plumage can be quite “messy”; 9.25″. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Black-bellied Plover, chunky with a short bill, lose their black bellies in the winter, for which reason the Europeans call them Gray Plover; 11.5″. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

The gray Willet (L) and the mottled-brown Whimbrel (R), nearly the same size, both still sandpipers; 15″ and 17.5″, respectively. (Ray Juncosa 10/22/23)

Marbled Godwit, warm brown plumage and a two-toned upturned bill, 18″ long and every inch a sandpiper. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

The next two birds are also in the order Charadriiformes, but are in the family Laridae (aka Larids).

Heermann’s Gulls, a 4-year gull, nest on Isla Rasa in the Sea of Cortez. Named for Adolphus Heermann (1818-1865) collector and surgeon-naturalist for the Pacific Railroad surveys in 1853-1854 and coiner of the term “oology.” 19″ long. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

This Royal Tern still retains a bit of it’s crown and the dark eye can stand out a bit more. This bill is on the reddish end of orange, but color can be dull yellow as well; 20″ long. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

High water in the south channel, looking north-northwest towards the pass. (Ray Juncosa 10/22/23)

This Pied-billed Grebe looks positively thrilled to be here. They look tiny in the water, but at 13.5″ long they are larger than most sandpipers. Their feet are well to their rear which helps them swim and dive but makes walking on land very difficult, so they build floating nests of reeds. If you see a grebe on land, it’s probably sick or wounded. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23

Belted Kingfisher, female (cinnamon on the breast), one of the few species where the female is more colorful than the male. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Great Egret snags a fish (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Red-winged Blackbirds juvenile male with rusty feather edges. (Chris Tosdevin 10/22/23)

Birds new for the Season: Northern Shoveler, Surf Scoter, Ruddy Duck, Western Grebe, Ring-billed Gull, Common Loon, Turkey Vulture, Northern Flicker, Nanday Parakeet, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler.

Double-crested Cormorants, now without their crests, juvenile and adult. Orange flesh above the eye rules out Neotropic Cormorant which are becoming more common in SoCal. (Ray Juncosa 10/22/23)

Malibu Lagoon on eBird as of 10-25-23: 7174 lists, 319 species
Most recent species added: Lilac-crowned Parrot (13 May 2023, Nick Diaco).

Many, many thanks to photographers: Ray Juncosa, Chris Tosdevin

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

• Ballona Fresh Water Marsh, Sat. Nov. 11, 8am. Please reserve with leader when announced.
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Nov 26, 8:30 & 10 am.
• Newport Back Bay Sat. Dec 09 8.00 am. Please reserve with leader when announced.
• Malibu Lagoon, Sun. Dec 24, 8:30 & 10 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: ““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 Chris Tosdevin (list compiler), Femi Faminu, Ray Juncosa, Chris Lord, 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 inconveniently located at the bottom of the list.
[Chuck Almdale]

	Malibu Census 2023	5/28	6/25	7/23	8/27	9/24	10/22
	Temperature	61-62	59-71	66-70	69-73	56-74	62-70
	Tide Lo/Hi Height	L+0.81	L+0.89	L+0.81	H+3.68	H+3.77	L+3.34
	Tide Time	1131	0919	0730	0832	0739	1029
1	Canada Goose	5	4	4
1	Northern Shoveler						1
1	Gadwall	17	45	90	45	40	23
1	Mallard	12	33	77	20	12
1	Green-winged Teal					1
1	Surf Scoter	2					15
1	Ruddy Duck						12
2	Pied-billed Grebe				2	1	4
2	Western Grebe						28
7	Feral Pigeon	8			3	4	3
7	Eurasian Collared-Dove	2
7	Mourning Dove	2	2	2	2	5	1
8	Anna’s Hummingbird		1	1		2	2
8	Allen’s Hummingbird	1	2	4		1	4
2	Sora					1
2	American Coot		5		6	49	157
5	Black-bellied Plover			6	39	82	79
5	Killdeer	4	8	8	13	6	1
5	Semipalmated Plover			1	7	3
5	Snowy Plover			7	13	22	18
5	Whimbrel		11	32	38	32	23
5	Long-billed Curlew				4	3
5	Marbled Godwit				1	48	45
5	Ruddy Turnstone				2	4	10
5	Sanderling				2	32	27
5	Least Sandpiper			4	8	18	6
5	Western Sandpiper			6	3	15
5	Short-billed Dowitcher				1	2
5	Spotted Sandpiper				3	3
5	Willet		7	5	9	29	56
5	Wilson’s Phalarope			1
5	Red-necked Phalarope				2
6	Bonaparte’s Gull	3
6	Heermann’s Gull	152	94	89	90	51	55
6	Ring-billed Gull	12	5	1			4
6	Western Gull	72	105	150	85	65	45
6	California Gull			2	3	7	7
6	Herring Gull				1
6	Caspian Tern	2			1
6	Forster’s Tern					1
6	Royal Tern	3	20		10	4	5
6	Elegant Tern	305	150	2	40	24	2
6	Black Skimmer		2
2	Common Loon						1
2	Black-vented Shearwater					20	28
2	Brandt’s Cormorant	8	2
2	Pelagic Cormorant	3	1			1	2
2	Double-crested Cormorant	74	75	42	23	30	48
2	Brown Pelican	168	162	174	56	27	12
3	Great Blue Heron	1	4	4	5	3	2
3	Great Egret	2	2	3	5		6
3	Snowy Egret	3	4	4	8	5	2
3	Green Heron				1	3	1
3	Black-crowned Night-Heron		2	2	5	2
4	Turkey Vulture		2				1
4	Osprey	1			1	1	1
4	Cooper’s Hawk		1	1
4	Red-shouldered Hawk					1
4	Red-tailed Hawk				1	1	2
8	Belted Kingfisher					2	1
8	Nuttall’s Woodpecker					1
8	Northern Flicker						1
4	American Kestrel					1
8	Nanday Parakeet						2
9	Black Phoebe	6	4	6	2	4	4
9	California Scrub-Jay		2	1		2
9	American Crow	3	9	20	9	6	44
9	Common Raven	2		2	1	2
9	Oak Titmouse		1			3	1
9	No. Rough-winged Swallow	5	15			2
9	Barn Swallow	30	35	12	35	4
9	Cliff Swallow	4	30
9	Bushtit	8	4	22		8	22
9	Wrentit	1			1	4	1
9	House Wren					2	2
9	Bewick’s Wren		1			1
9	Northern Mockingbird			1
9	European Starling	3	6			15	12
9	House Finch	13	8	15	5	6	5
9	Lesser Goldfinch	5	1
9	Dark-eyed Junco	1		1
9	White-crowned Sparrow						10
9	Savannah Sparrow					1
9	Song Sparrow	10	5	5	4	5	5
9	California Towhee	3	1	3		3	1
9	Hooded Oriole	1	3	1
9	Red-winged Blackbird	4	3	6		7	15
9	Brown-headed Cowbird	3		1
9	Great-tailed Grackle	2	1		1	1	20
9	Orange-crowned Warbler	1				1	2
9	Common Yellowthroat					2	4
9	Yellow Warbler				1
9	Yellow-rumped Warbler (Aud)						5
9	Townsend’s Warbler						1
9	Wilson’s Warbler	1				1
9	Western Tanager					1
9	Black-headed Grosbeak					1
	Totals by Type	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
1	Waterfowl	36	82	171	65	53	51
2	Water Birds – Other	253	245	216	87	129	280
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	6	12	13	24	13	11
4	Quail & Raptors	1	3	1	2	4	4
5	Shorebirds	4	26	70	145	299	265
6	Gulls & Terns	549	376	244	230	152	118
7	Doves	12	2	2	5	9	4
8	Other Non-Passerines	1	3	5	0	6	10
9	Passerines	106	129	96	59	82	154
	Totals Birds	968	878	818	617	747	897
	Total Species	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
1	Waterfowl	4	3	3	2	3	4
2	Water Birds – Other	4	5	2	4	7	8
3	Herons, Egrets & Ibis	3	4	4	5	4	4
4	Quail & Raptors	1	2	1	2	4	3
5	Shorebirds	1	3	9	15	14	9
6	Gulls & Terns	7	6	5	7	6	6
7	Doves	3	1	1	2	2	2
8	Other Non-Passerines	1	2	2	0	4	5
9	Passerines	20	17	14	9	23	17
	Totals Species – 97	44	43	41	46	67	58