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No salesman will call, at least not from us. Maybe from someone else.
[By Chuck Almdale]
The water level in the lagoon was ‘middlin’—below the tidal clock sidewalk, but most of the channels remained wet. The tide dropped rapidly from 5.0 ft. @ 0615 to -0.81 ft @ 1339; a drop of almost 6 ft in 7 hours. Rocks were exposed offshore, and mud appeared in the lagoon.
Pale tiles along left side are water level markers.
This was our first ‘open-to-the-public’ bird walk since Feb. 2020. I approached it with trepidation: there would be more than twice the usual number of people, half of them unknown personally to me, how would they behave, would there be fistfights about masking vs unmasking, would my voice carry through my mask, would my voice hold out (I am more easily winded these days), would I still be able to do my census, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
It went pretty well, I think.
I did not require than anyone other than myself wear a mask (as LA County is continually claiming to soon drop the requirement for people indoors) and to my enormous surprise, everyone was masked. At least, as long as they were with the main group.
As usual, people wandered off by themselves—sometimes to return, sometimes not—at which point they usually (I think) drop their masks. I tend to go more slowly than some to point out things to new people and answer questions.
Typical view of a not-uncommon bird at the lagoon
Answer at end of blog
When people bird by themselves, I think they may learn fewer new details, but they learn them more thoroughly because they figure them out for themselves.
About half the group was new (in varying degrees) to birding or at least new to the lagoon. Some of them had watched the Zoom presentation I did for the UCLA Retirees Association earlier in the week and it piqued their interest.
The Elegants are beginning to develop a rosy tint on their breasts.
So, all that aside, it was a very nice day for birding. Because it was overcast the temperature began mild and remained mild. May the weather gods grant us overcast and foggy weather until next December!
We had three events which bordered on being new and unusual.
Firstly, the Song Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows were singing like crazy. What a racket! All along the pathways we were surrounded by songsters. You would have thought it was springtime. It gave us a great opportunity to hear these two quite different songs and compare them, over and over and over. I think a few people learned to tell the difference. White-crowned Sparrow: a nasally slightly whiney song with a narrower range of frequency than the Song Sparrow, thus sounding a bit more ‘tinny.’ Song Sparrow: richer song, wider frequencies, three parts – slow, fast & short, slow. The three parts can vary widely in content; the last time I read about the Song Sparrow, a few years back, the count was up to 95 different song varieties across their continent-wide range.
Secondly were the eight Glaucous-winged Gulls. [‘Glaucous’ means waxy.] We regularly get this species in small numbers in the winter & spring months, and our previous high counts were twelve birds on 2-22-09 and eleven birds the following month on 3-22-09. I would not be shocked to learn that those were the same individuals in both months.
Compare pale mantle & primaries to Western Gull below
Secondary feathers are very worn
Following that, we had two counts of eight birds, one count of seven, six counts of six, and seven counts of 5 birds, including Jan & Feb of 2022. With 131 census days on which at least one Glaucous-winged Gull was sighted, that leaves 113 sightings of 1 to 4 birds. The resulting average is 2.6 birds/sighting. That’s a good definition for “regular in small numbers.” December through May are the best months for seeing them at the lagoon. We’ve never seen one in September and only one in August.
I suspect (but don’t know for sure) that Glaucous-winged and Western Gulls are each other’s closest relative, for three reasons: they hybridize, they look a great deal alike (Western is much darker on mantle and primaries) and their breeding ranges overlap only slightly, around Seattle and Vancouver. From that location the Western breeds southward to mid-Baja California, while Glaucous-winged breeds northward to Nome and the tip of the Aleutian Islands. It’s interesting to note that the northern subspecies of the Western Gull Larus occidentalis occidentalis, has a lighter mantle (back) than the southern subspecies L. o. wymani.
The third unusual event concerned the other member of the above discussion, the Western Gull. Tidepools formed due to the negative low tide (-0.81 ft), and we came upon a nicely-plumaged adult Western Gull, standing on a small rock next to a tidepool and screaming for all (s)he was worth. It took a while, but we finally figured out what it was all about. See pictures below.
I’d never seen an octopus in the Malibu tidepools before. I have empathy for these interesting creatures who can figure how to pull a cork out of a bottle and reach inside to latch onto a fish. I’d once had a minor tug-of-war with one while scuba-diving at White’s Cove on the Palos Verdes peninsula, and got to watch it go through instantaneous and stunning skin pattern & color changes. In the Alaskan ‘banana belt’ a restaurant-owner with an aquarium told us of the octopuses that would escape. They’d lift up the glass aquarium cover, climb out and down the side to the floor, out the door and across the sand and rock beach to the water about 100 yards away. Holding its breath (gills?) all the way, of course. After several such escapes, the owners gave up trying to keep them.
We managed to find some Snowy Plovers. Counts ranged from seven to ten. I always count at least 5 times. Sometimes 15 times, if they’re at distance or up and running around. Other people are counting as well. Even when the birds are resting they are very difficult to see, as they sit quite low in their little scoops in the sand and can hide behind inch-high bumps. In this case, Chris Tosdevin had a count of ten, so I’m using that.
Malibu Lagoon on eBird: 4/04/22 – 5713 lists, 312 species
Birds new for the season: Elegant Tern, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Wrentit.
Many thanks to photographers: Lillian Johnson, Ray Juncosa & Chris Tosdevin.
Upcoming SMBAS scheduled field trips: The 24 April lagoon trip may—or may not—be open to the public, depending on pandemic, of course. You can email your reservation to me beginning 10 April. Limit 30 people by reservation only, vaccine card required (QR code NOT sufficient), bring your own equipment. Two leaders. No 10am Children & Parents walk. Watch the blog for announcements AND for cancellation by 22 April if warranted. Same deal for 22 May lagoon trip.
The next SMBAS program: Laysan Albatrosses & Lead, with Dr. Myra Finkelstein of UC Santa Cruz. Zoom Evening Meeting, Tuesday, 4 May 2022, 7:30 p.m.
The SMBAS 10 a.m. Parent’s & Kids Birdwalk remains canceled until further notice due to the near-impossibility of maintained proper masked social distancing with parents and small children.
The males have been displaying for several months.
Links: Unusual birds at Malibu Lagoon
9/23/02 Aerial photo of Malibu Lagoon
More recent aerial photo
Prior checklists:
2021: Jan-July, 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 Lillian Johnson, Chris Lord, Chris Tosdevin and others for their contributions to this month’s checklist.
The list below now includes a column on the left side with numbers 1-9, keyed to the nine categories of birds at the bottom. The species are re-sequenced to agree to the California Bird Records Committee Official California Checklist, updated 15 Jan 2022. I generally do this at the start of each year.
[Chuck Almdale]
The mystery bird is a Wrentit. We’ve had them 13 out of the past 36 months.
This “voice of the chaparral” is far more often seen than heard.
| Malibu Census 2021-22 | 10/24 | 11/28 | 12/26 | 1/23 | 2/27 | 3/27 | |
| Temperature | 54-63 | 57-70 | 54-62 | 61-73 | 61-70 | 57-65 | |
| Tide Lo/Hi Height | H+5.23 | L+2.35 | L+2.58 | L+2.04 | H+5.76 | H+5.00 | |
| Tide Time | 1105 | 1104 | 0900 | 0645 | 0621 | 0615 | |
| 1 | Canada Goose | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1 | Egyptian Goose | 1 | |||||
| 1 | Cinnamon Teal | 2 | |||||
| 1 | Northern Shoveler | 2 | |||||
| 1 | Gadwall | 4 | 2 | 20 | 29 | 8 | 47 |
| 1 | American Wigeon | 4 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 6 | |
| 1 | Mallard | 3 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 12 | 30 |
| 1 | Northern Pintail | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1 | Green-winged Teal | 5 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 15 |
| 1 | Surf Scoter | 10 | 15 | ||||
| 1 | Bufflehead | 1 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1 | Hooded Merganser | 13 | |||||
| 1 | Red-breasted Merganser | 17 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 5 | |
| 1 | Ruddy Duck | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2 | Pied-billed Grebe | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Horned Grebe | 1 | |||||
| 2 | Eared Grebe | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Western Grebe | 12 | 30 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 7 | Feral Pigeon | 6 | 52 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 8 |
| 7 | Band-tailed Pigeon | 3 | |||||
| 7 | Eurasian Collared-Dove | 1 | |||||
| 7 | Mourning Dove | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 8 | Anna’s Hummingbird | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| 8 | Allen’s Hummingbird | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | American Coot | 240 | 245 | 360 | 49 | 73 | 65 |
| 5 | Black-bellied Plover | 87 | 166 | 104 | 58 | 25 | 28 |
| 5 | Killdeer | 23 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 4 |
| 5 | Semipalmated Plover | 2 | |||||
| 5 | Snowy Plover | 34 | 40 | 34 | 15 | 10 | |
| 5 | Whimbrel | 4 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Marbled Godwit | 34 | 9 | 71 | 32 | 1 | |
| 5 | Ruddy Turnstone | 6 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 5 | Sanderling | 104 | 22 | 22 | 1 | 45 | |
| 5 | Dunlin | 2 | |||||
| 5 | Least Sandpiper | 9 | 3 | 35 | 12 | 20 | 10 |
| 5 | Western Sandpiper | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 35 | |
| 5 | Willet | 25 | 34 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 6 |
| 6 | Bonaparte’s Gull | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 6 | Heermann’s Gull | 2 | 53 | 26 | 45 | 1 | 8 |
| 6 | Ring-billed Gull | 2 | 28 | 170 | 40 | 175 | 16 |
| 6 | Western Gull | 63 | 92 | 85 | 95 | 88 | 95 |
| 6 | California Gull | 9 | 515 | 370 | 925 | 510 | 185 |
| 6 | Herring Gull | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 6 | Glaucous-winged Gull | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 | |
| 6 | Caspian Tern | 1 | 8 | ||||
| 6 | Royal Tern | 2 | 5 | 2 | 35 | ||
| 6 | Elegant Tern | 6 | |||||
| 2 | Red-throated Loon | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2 | Pacific Loon | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2 | Common Loon | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | Black-vented Shearwater | 1000 | |||||
| 2 | Brandt’s Cormorant | 2 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | Pelagic Cormorant | 1 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Double-crested Cormorant | 67 | 52 | 39 | 45 | 51 | 33 |
| 2 | Brown Pelican | 21 | 99 | 44 | 110 | 15 | 23 |
| 3 | Great Blue Heron | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Great Egret | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Snowy Egret | 11 | 4 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Green Heron | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | Black-crowned Night-Heron | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 4 | Turkey Vulture | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 4 | Osprey | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Red-tailed Hawk | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 8 | Belted Kingfisher | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Downy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Nuttall’s Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 8 | Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | |||||
| 4 | Merlin | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Black Phoebe | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Say’s Phoebe | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | California Scrub-Jay | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 9 | American Crow | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 6 |
| 9 | Common Raven | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Oak Titmouse | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Tree Swallow | 2 | |||||
| 9 | No. Rough-winged Swallow | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Barn Swallow | 2 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | Bushtit | 48 | 12 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 9 | Wrentit | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 9 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 9 | House Wren | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Marsh Wren | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Bewick’s Wren | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | Northern Mockingbird | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 9 | European Starling | 31 | 9 | 15 | 30 | 3 | |
| 9 | Hermit Thrush | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | House Finch | 4 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 15 |
| 9 | Lesser Goldfinch | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 9 | Dark-eyed Junco | 2 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 9 | White-crowned Sparrow | 5 | 15 | 17 | 35 | 25 | 20 |
| 9 | Savannah Sparrow | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Song Sparrow | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 9 | California Towhee | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Western Meadowlark | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Red-winged Blackbird | 2 | |||||
| 9 | Great-tailed Grackle | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | Orange-crowned Warbler | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 9 | Common Yellowthroat | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Yellow-rumped Warbler | 6 | 19 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
| Totals by Type | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 23 | 49 | 113 | 88 | 52 | 127 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 349 | 414 | 452 | 1259 | 164 | 146 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 18 | 8 | 38 | 18 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 332 | 307 | 299 | 135 | 97 | 146 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 79 | 689 | 655 | 1118 | 783 | 363 |
| 7 | Doves | 11 | 53 | 4 | 21 | 17 | 10 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| 9 | Passerines | 56 | 163 | 107 | 117 | 118 | 81 |
| Totals Birds | 871 | 1689 | 1682 | 2767 | 1247 | 894 | |
| Total Species | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | |
| 1 | Waterfowl | 6 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 2 | Water Birds – Other | 8 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 7 |
| 3 | Herons, Egrets & Ibis | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Quail & Raptors | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 5 | Shorebirds | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| 6 | Gulls & Terns | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 | Doves | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 8 | Other Non-Passerines | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Passerines | 19 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 |
| Totals Species – 102 | 58 | 57 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 59 |
Birds of Malibu Lagoon | Zoom Program
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
I recently gave a Zoom presentation on the Malibu Lagoon, featuring the wonderful photography of Jim Kenney, to the UCLA Retirees Association. This program was considerably scaled-down from a presentation I gave in 2015 to the SMBAS chapter. This version focused on the shorebirds and gulls, with a nod to a few common bird families at the lagoon, some data and lagoon history. The last 20 minutes is questions and answers. The UCLA people were kind enough to send me a link so now it’s preserved for posterity.
Birds of Malibu Lagoon
UCLARA | Chuck Almdale | Time 1:06
From their YouTube site:
Malibu Lagoon has long been a favorite spot for local birders. Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society has hosted a monthly field trip there for over 30 years, but many may have forgotten – or never knew – its history over the past few decades. In this introduction to the lagoon, we’ll see many of its denizens as photographed by SMBAS photographers, discuss a little bit of lagoon history, the Snowy Plover colony, and why keeping records of your “local birding patch” is a useful and fun form of citizen science.
Speaker: Chuck Almdale (misclistsKITTY@verizon.net) [take out the KITTY], a retired accountant in the film industry began watching birds 45 years ago and began censusing Malibu Lagoon birds in 1979. Since joining Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society in 1989, he has served it in various capacities including President, Vice-president, Program chair and for about 20 years, Field Trip chairman. He has led their birdwalk at Malibu Lagoon for the past 20 years. He has also edited their blog and written most of their postings since its 2009 inception. When not at the lagoon, he birds around the county, state, country and the world, and has seen slightly over half of the species of birds in the world. He finds that the vocation of accountancy is adequate preparation for the avocation of censusing birds.
Macaulay Library’s Best Bird Photos of 2022
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird, Thailand by Natthaphat Chotjuckdikul
Over fifty contributors & many categories: birds of many colors, birdscapes, in flight, rare moments, on the water, bird-a-tude, pair bonds, next generations.
From Macaulay Library’s description:
The Macaulay Library, originally the Library of Natural Sounds, began collecting and preserving animal sounds in 1929. By 2015 the library expanded to include photos of birds. Thanks to more than 100,000 eBirders and photographers, today’s Macaulay Library is filled with absolutely stunning shots of birds, some of which are on display in this article.
Science News for Students | Science News Magazine
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
And students are age 6 to 60, right? Right!
Science News is a great magazine to which I’ve subscribed for about 30 years. They cover all topics in science from astrophysics to zoology. They describe Science News for Students as:
An award-winning, free online magazine that reports daily on research and new developments across scientific disciplines for inquiring minds of every age — from middle school on up.
I wish this had been available when I was young.
On-line, where space is not at a premium, they add:
Science News for Students (formerly Science News for Kids) publishes award-winning journalism on research across the breadth of science, health and technology fields. It aims to bring these new developments to a younger audience. Published daily, Science News for Students posts both shorter news stories and longer features, all written with a vocabulary and sentence structure aimed at readers 9 to 14 years old. The breadth of technical subjects and tone attracts many advanced readers as well. Our stories highlight ongoing research in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology. (Science News for Students does not publish original scientific results.) Stories are reported by experienced science journalists, many with PhDs in the fields on which they write.
Here’s a few examples.
A new way to make plastics could keep them from littering the seas
For inspiration on how to make plastics break down, designers turned to RNA molecules.
Most ocean plastics, like those shown above, would take centuries to fully degrade. That’s one reason plastics now make up 80 percent of ocean trash. But a new type of polylactide, or PLA — a popular plastic made out of corn and potato starch — may change that. Like most plastics, its building blocks are linked into a chain. Scientists in the Netherlands have just tweaked some of those links to make them water-soluble and therefore easier to break down in water. Weakening 3 percent of the links caused PLA to break down after about two years in seawater. With 15 percent weakened, that breakdown dropped to just two weeks.
Let’s learn about snot
Snot and other kinds of mucus play a crucial role in keeping us healthy
Snot gets a bad rap. It’s sticky and gross. And when you’re sick, it can stuff up your nose. But snot is actually your friend. It’s an important part of the immune system that keeps you healthy.
When you inhale, the snot in your nose traps dust, pollen and germs in the air that could irritate or infect your lungs. Tiny, hairlike structures called cilia move that mucus toward the front of the nose or the back of the throat. The mucus can then be blown into a tissue. Or, it can be swallowed and broken down by stomach acid. Swallowing snot might sound disgusting. But your nose and sinuses produce about a liter (a quarter of a gallon) of snot each day. Most of that slime slides down your throat without you even noticing.
What the mummy’s curse reveals about your brain
Here’s why it’s easy to confuse random coincidence with meaningful patterns
Two men peered through a small hole in the wall of a tomb. It was the final resting place of an ancient Egyptian king. “Can you see anything?” asked one. “Yes, wonderful things,” answered the other. Statues and golden treasure glinted in the dim light.
The two men were Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. For six years, Carter had been searching for a lost tomb. Carnarvon paid for the expeditions. Finally, in November 1922, the men and their workers had found what they sought. The treasure-filled room was one of four associated with the tomb of Tutankhamen. This pharaoh, or king of ancient Egypt, had died in the 1320s BC. He was just 18 or 19 years old.
The discovery captivated the world. But Lord Carnarvon did not get to enjoy it for long. He died unexpectedly the next April at the age of 56. This was six weeks after opening and entering the actual burial chamber of the tomb.
Go and explore.
May learning never cease.
Swainson’s Hawk Survey in Los Angeles County
[Posted by Chuck Almdale]
The following message is from Lance Benner lbenner@charter.net, birder and near-earth astroid-finder extraordinaire. The group Los Angeles Birders wants help spotting Swainson’s Hawks who fly over L.A. County in their northward migration from the grasslands of Argentina.
Swainson’s Light Morph adult – eBird, Steven Mlodinow, 31 May 2017, Colorado
Hi Everyone,
Los Angeles Birders are organizing a survey this spring to monitor the movement of Swainson’s Hawks through Los Angeles County. Following up on the email posted a few days earlier, we want to provide more information and to request your help.
Based on results from previous years, there appear to be two peaks in Swainson’s hawk numbers locally with large flocks totaling 50+ birds moving through between about March 11-20 and a smaller, but still substantial, peak roughly two to three weeks later. The date of the first peak fluctuates by +- a few days. The full migration extends from roughly mid February through early May.
Several reports with kettles of 10+ birds have already appeared in eBird and on the L.A. County listserve within the last few days.
There’s a lot we don’t know about Swainson’s Hawk movement through the county in the spring, so Los Angeles Birders are organizing efforts to track them more thoroughly and systematically in 2022. In previous years most of the Swainson’s hawks seen in LA County have been along the foothills between Claremont on the east and Big Tujunga Wash on the west, but where the birds go beyond Tujunga isn’t well known. There has also been significant movement through Griffith Park and the eastern San Fernando Valley and occasionally along the north slope of the San Gabriel mountains.
Swainson’s Dark Morph adult – eBird, Brian Sullivan, 25 Apr 2009, Fresno
The table below lists all Los Angeles County eBird reports of at least 50 Swainson’s Hawks from 2017-2021:
No. Date Time Location
80 15-Mar-17 18:00 East of Lancaster (G-8 at 100th E). desert
100 24-Feb-18 17:14 Pitzer College, Claremont. coastal slope
100 3-Mar-18 7:40 Peck Rd. Water Conservation Park. coastal slope
250 11-Mar-18 9:14 Hahamongna. coastal slope. mostly cloudy, rain previous night
200 11-Mar-18 16:00 Los Feliz/Atwater Village. coastal slope
145 11-Mar-18 16:00 Scholl Canyon, Glendale. coastal slope, partly cloudy
75 11-Mar-18 17:00 Myrtle/Greystone, Monrovia. coastal slope
100 27-Mar-18 9:00 Chilao, San Gabriel Mtns. mountains
55 23-Mar-19 7:00 Hansen Dam. coastal slope overcast
70 23-Mar-19 9:12 Altadena. coastal slope, had roosted nearby
120 8-Apr-19 9:05 Piute Ponds. desert, sunny, calm
200 15-Mar-20 6:36 Hahamongna. coastal slope,partly clear (cloudy, rainy previous days)
516 15-Mar-20 10:00 Vina Vieja Park, Pasadena. coastal slope, cloudy
75 17-Mar-20 10:42 Highland Place, Monrovia, coastal slope
80 5-Mar-21 8:45 Horsethief Canyon Park, San Dimas. coastal slope
400 13-Mar-21 9:40 Hahamongna, coastal slope
400 13-Mar-21 9:30 East Alta Loma Dr., Altadena, coastal slope, sunny, calm
100 13-Mar-21 12:12 Bygrove St., Covina. coastal slope
125 14-Mar-21 7:47 Bernard Field Station, Claremont. coastal slope, mostly cloudy
150 15-Mar-21 12:30 East Loma Alta Dr., Altadena. coastal slope, overcast, light rain
150 15-Mar-21 15:05 Horsethief Canyon Park, San Dimas. coastal slope, cloudy, drizzle
375 15-Mar-21 17:10 Altadena. coastal slope
75 15-Mar-21 17:56 Bowring Dr., Altadena. coastal slope
70 20-Mar-21 13:01 Claremont Wilderness Park. coastal slope
141 20-Mar-21 13:45 Juniper Hills. desert foothills, 10% cloud cover
Migrant flocks through the desert (Antelope Valley, and north of us from eastern Kern and the Owens Valley) tend to be later in the season (mainly late March through April) than flocks on the coastal slope (which can begin in mid-February and peak by early April). Of course we emphasize that more data are desirable.
Large flocks of Swainson’s Hawks in LA County have been reported throughout the day but not usually before about 9 am.
To understand movement of Swainson’s Hawks through this area, we request that everyone please report them to eBird and, if you see flocks of more than several birds, please post them to the L.A. County listserve promptly.
Swainson’s hawks appear to fly ~100-200 km per day (~60-120 miles), so it could take a couple of days for them to get from staging areas near Borrego Springs to, say, Pasadena. Large numbers lifting off from Borrego Springs might provide an early alert for big flights farther west-northwest on the next day or two.
In more detail, we ask your help with monitoring the hawks as follows:
1. Conduct systematic surveys on specific dates from sites that have a good chance for seeing the hawks. For these surveys, we ask observers to watch for at least one hour between 9 am and sunset.
Target dates:
March 12 Saturday
March 13 Sunday
March 17 Thursday
March 18 Friday
March 19 Saturday
March 20 Sunday
We chose March 17 and 18, even though they’re weekdays, because experienced observers will be watching from Bear divide on those mornings.
2. Please report *all* Swainson’s hawks seen as part of other, regular birding in your eBird lists.
3. If you see a flock of several dozen or more birds, PLEASE post the sighting to the L.A. County listserve as soon as possible so we can try to marshal observers to track its movement.
We are hopeful that migration monitoring at Bear Divide (which officially starts on March 17) and Gorman (see the recent listserve post by Richard Crossley) will help us understand movement through those areas.
Negative reports with zero hawks will help us understand their movements and are also welcome.
Where should one look? Previous experience suggests that the hawks preferentially move along the foothills on the coastal slope, but there are signs of substantial movement along the north slope as well (Juniper Hills, along Pine Canyon Road west of Lake Hughes, near Quail Lake, and Gorman).
Here’s a list of sites where significant numbers have been reported in LA County previously or where we think chances are good for seeing the birds, listed in order of southeast to northwest:
Wheeler Park, Claremont
California Botanic Garden, Claremont
Blaisdell Ranch Preserve, north Claremont
Claremont Wilderness Park
Horsethief Canyon Park, San Dimas
South Hills Park, Glendora (along the ridge)
Bonelli Park
Santa Fe Dam
Encanto Park
Grand Avenue Park, Monrovia (Zone-tailed hawk area)
Peck Road Water Conservation Area
Los Angeles County Arboretum
Bailey Canyon Park, Sierra Madre
Eaton Canyon, including the road up to Henninger Flat
Vina Vieja Park, Pasadena
Cobb Estate, Altadena
Loma Alta Park, Altadena
Chaney Trail Road/Sunset Ridge/Millard Canyon
Hahamongna Watershed Park
Griffith Park
Verdugo Mountains and adjacent parks on the north and south sides
Hansen Dam
Big Tujunga Wash
Veteran’s Park, Sylmar
Bear Divide
Placerita Canyon State Park
Castaic Lagoon
Pyramid Lake
Pine Canyon Road west of Lake Hughes
Quail Lake
Gorman area where the rough-legged hawk turned up in 2021
The above list of sites is by no means complete and it wouldn’t be surprising if large flocks turn up in other areas near the foothills. In general, though, there aren’t any records of large flocks moving along the coast.
Thus far in 2022, reports of 10 or more birds have occurred on the following dates:
# Date Location & observers
12 March 3 north Monrovia. Ron Cyger
30 March 4 Gorman. Richard Crossley et al.
11 March 5 Bonelli Park. Keith Condon
28 March 5 Pacific Crest Trail, Three Points. Alan Brelsford
11 March 5 Pacific Crest Trail, Three Points. Alan Brelsford
There have been recent reports of modest numbers (< 10) in Borrego Springs, a traditional staging area in previous years, and numerous reports of more than 10 birds/flock in the Imperial Valley in fields near Calipatria. So far in 2022, it appears that Swainson’s hawks are staging more near Calipatria than at Borrego Springs. There was also an intriguing report of about 50 birds settling to roost in Morongo on March 4, which raises the obvious question of where they went on March 5 (north slope..?).
Please report sightings to eBird, and in your comments, please note the weather conditions. Anecdotally, there are indications that the hawks are easier to see on days with low overcasts, which appear to keep the birds closer to the ground where they are more visible.
Kimball points out that it’s also important to track migration by turkey vultures, which have already started to move through in relatively large flocks, with kettles exceeding 20 birds seen going west along the foothills as recently as March 6. Please report those in eBird and (especially large groups) on the listserve.
Thank you,
Lance Benner
Altadena, CA
Community Science Chair,
Los Angeles Birders
lbenner@charter.net
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