By Jon Fisher
Published by Los Angeles Audubon Society in the Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 3, Jan-Feb 2020
Who claims we don’t have seasons in southern California? Though admittedly they are not as pronounced as they are elsewhere in the country, they are nonetheless distinct and the changes in avifauna that accompany them are significant. Aside from normal seasonal transformations, climate change is affecting and altering habitats and ecosystems.
The average mean temperature in Los Angeles has risen about three degrees since the 1950s. This seems like a paltry amount, yet it’s more than enough to impact birds. While observer bias and levels of coverage must be taken into account, the temperature increase surely accounts for at least some of the many neotropic migrants that winter on the coastal slope. It also may be one reason for the increasing success of so many non-native species; various parrots and parakeets, bishops, whydahs and munias.
The period from late October through December is not as dynamic as late summer and early fall, yet it still offers plenty of activity. For all intents and purposes passerine migration was over by the end of October, though to be sure the usual few odds and ends continued to turn up; either late migrants or birds that will end up spending the winter locally. As earlier in the fall, there was minimal evidence of irruptive species, although above average numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches were present.
A number of local Christmas Bird Counts have already been completed and all will have concluded by January 5. Thus far these have turned up fewer new rare birds than is typical. One of the things birding teaches us, is that while some things are pretty predictable, others are not. Each year is different.
Here’s a look at what was around over the last two months…
A Tundra Swan was at Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB from December 7-14 with second one joining it as of December 12 (Mickey Dyke, Sonia Conlin, Joseph Dunn).
A few White-winged Scoters and Black Scoters were off Dockweiler State Beach in El Segundo and nearby Playa del Rey Beach from October 30-December 17 (Richard Barth).
Also at Piute Ponds was a Long-tailed Duck on November 12 (Mickey Dyke, Becky Kitto).
A Red-necked Grebe at Cabrillo Beach from November 18-December 11 (Elsa Toskey, Alejandro Santillana) was the only one reported.
Rare but regular visitors, White-winged Doves were in Redondo Beach from October 23-December 21 (Lynne Sands), continuing at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh through November 3, at Sunnyside Cemetery in Long Beach from December 5-14 (Tom Miko) and at Culver City Park on December 20 (Walter Lamb).
Twenty-two Vaux’s Swifts were over Silver Lake on December 1 (Andrew Birch). This species was once more regular in winter more regular on the coastal slope.
Quite rare in the county were four Sandhill Cranes at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on November 8 (Jack Wickel) and two just southeast of there on November 16.
Single American Oystercatchers continued to be reported at Royal Palms Beach near San Pedro through December 1 and at the Ballona Creek mouth off and on through December 12.
A long-staying Pacific Golden-Plover- first reported on August 30- remained along lower Ballona Creek in Playa del Rey through December 8. A single Mountain Plover was in the east Antelope Valley at 110th Street East and Ave. I from November 16-17 (Judy Matsuoka, Jim Moore). This species has declined significantly as a wintering bird in the county due to the decreased availability of water and resulting decline of agricultural activity in the valley. Add to that the eighty percent decline in their population overall and it should be no surprise that numbers are down.
A Laughing Gull was at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro on November 9 (David Ellsworth) and a Heermann’s Gull- quite rare inland- was on the LA Aqueduct at 82nd Street East on November 27 (Kimball Garrett). Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro hosted an Arctic Tern from October 21-25 (Bobby Trusela). This species is rare in the county anywhere away from offshore waters.
Inland Pacific Loons were at Quail Lake near Gorman on October 27-November 18 (Brad Rumble) and at Lake Palmdale on November 7 (Kimball Garrett).
A Neotropic Cormorant continued at Lake Lindero in Westlake Village through December 15.
Very rare was a Nazca Booby off Cabrillo Beach from November 17-19 (Naresh Satyan). Though the populations of all booby species are declining, dispersions due to food shortages and changing ocean conditions may continue to generate increasing records in California waters.
An American Bittern at the Dominguez Gap Wetlands in Long Beach on December 1 was probably the same bird reported there last summer (Jeff Boyd).
Quite scarce in the county these days, Cattle Egrets were at Malibu Lagoon on October 30 (Phred Benham) and at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on November 9 (John Ivanov).
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons continued at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh through November 22, with up to three being reported there on October 29.
A late Swainson’s Hawk was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on November 24 (Mickey Long) and a rare Broad-winged Hawk was at the South Coast Botanic Gardens on November 29 (Mike Miller).
Late or wintering Ash-throated Flycatchers were at Madrona March in Torrance on from November 4-December 5 (Lisa & Scott Sutton), in Glendale on November 23 (John O’Donnell) and at Esperanza Middle School in Los Angeles on December 6 (Brad Rumble). Much less expected was an apparent Brown-crested Flycatcher found at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Rolling Hills Estates on December 13 (Rafa Ramirez).
A Tropical Kingbird was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on October 25 (Melissa Loebl, David Moody) while others continued at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City through November 30 and at Entradero Park in Torrance through December 12. Late was a Western Kingbird at Madrona Marsh from November 3-23 (Linda LeRoy).
Returning for another winter to Rustic Canyon in Pacific Palisades was a Greater Pewee first found on October 25 (Chris Dean). It was seen or at least heard there through October 27, but there were no subsequent reports.
Late was a Hammond’s Flycatcher at Domenic Massari Park in Palmdale on November 11 (Kimball Garrett), and very late or wintering birds were at Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach from December 9-16 and at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach on December 15 (Merryl Edelstein). Four Gray Flycatchers during the period was about typical, this being our most common wintering Empidonax, though still rare at that time.
Pacific-slope Flycatchers were at San Fernando Recreation Park in San Fernando on December 10 (Heather Medvitz) at Hansen Dam on the San Fernando CBC on December 14 (Brian Bielfelt) and along the LA River in Atwater Village from November 5-December 21 (Andrew Birch).
Eastern Phoebes were at the Bette Davis Picnic Area in Glendale from November 23- December 20), at Apollo Park near Lancaster from November 29-December 17 (Becky Kitto, Mario Cordoba, Mickey Dyke) and in Sycamore Canyon in Whittier on December 14 (Larry Schmahl).
Cassin’s Vireos are regular migrants, but rarer in winter than the closely related Plumbeous Vireo, with five being recorded after October. By contrast, over two dozen Plumbeous turned up over the same time frame.
For the second year in a row on the Santa Clarita CBC, a Verdin was along the Santa Clara River on December 21 (Becky Kitto). There have been a few other records of this desert species in that general area recently; presumably the river channel provides a convenient pathway for individuals that are prone to wandering. One wonders what a thorough survey of the entire watercourse might produce.
Pacific Wrens were at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on December 5 (William Test) and in Santa Anita Canyon above Arcadia from December 6-14 (Javier Vazquez).
Red-throated Pipits were along the LA River in Long Beach on October 22 (Bobby Trusela), on San Clemente Island from October 28-31 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers), and at Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles from November 3-5 (Kimball Garrett).
An Evening Grosbeak heard flying over Occidental College in Eagle Rock on November 29 (Ryan Terrill, Jessica Oswald). How many others might have passed through and escaped detection?
Lapland Longspurs were on San Clemente Island on October 31 (Justyn Stahl) and again from November 16-18 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers) and in the east Antelope Valley on November 9 (Kimball Garrett). A McCown’s Longspur was on San Clemente Island on November 17 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
Green-tailed Towhees are common summer residents in the higher San Gabriel Mountains and expected as migrants on the deserts, but they are rare and reportable on the coastal slope in fall and winter. One was at Deane Dana Friendship Park in San Pedro on December 16 (John Tomlinson).
A Clay-colored Sparrow continued at Exposition Park in Los Angeles through November 1 and others were at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from November 3-10 (Bruce Aird) and at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from December 14-17 (Dinuk Magammana) and in Long Beach on November 30 (Robert Hamilton).
A Grasshopper Sparrow continued at the DeForest Wetlands in Long Beach through October 31 and one was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from October 31-November 3 (Mark Rubke).
Five White-throated Sparrows was a rather low number for this species, while rare was a Harris’s Sparrow on the Palos Verdes Peninsula from November 5-December 17 (Jim Aichele, Cathy Nichols). It was presumably this same bird overserved at the same spot in 2016.
A Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco had returned for another winter to Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena, being reported there from November 17-December 21 (Dessi Sieburth). Others were at Jackie Robinson Park near Palmdale on November 17 (Kimball Garrett) and at St Andrew’s Priory near Valyermo on November 16 (Frank Gilliland, Chris Dean).
A Bobolink was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from October 24-November 10 (Adam Johnson, David Moody, Mark Rubke). Remarkably this was the only one recorded on the mainland this fall, although two were found on San Clemente Island. Good years can easily produce double-digit counts of this species on the coastal slope. Not helping the situation is the fact that, as with so many bird species, numbers are declining.
A Hooded Oriole was at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino on December 20 where they are scarce but regular in winter (Kellen Apuna).
Rusty Blackbirds- at one time removed from the CBRC review list but now returned to it because of a decline in numbers, and thus records- were at Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley on November 21 (Mike Stensvold) and on San Clemente Island on November 26 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
Eight Black-and-white Warblers were present during the period, with two of these being continuing birds. Late and potentially wintering Nashville Warblers were at Peck Road Park in Arcadia on November 24 (Dessi Sieburth) and at Willow Springs Park in Long Beach on December 1 (Ryan Terrill).
Quite rare at this time of year was a MacGillivray’s Warbler in Alhambra on November 9 (Tom Cassoro). There are but four post-October county records of this species in the last decade. American Redstarts were at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on November 8 (Kimball Garrett) and behind the Starbucks in Calabasas on December 15 (Mary & Nick Freeman). One can never drop their guard when looking for good birds.
Palm Warblers were at the DeForest Wetlands in Long Beach on October 27 (Mark & Janet Scheel) and along the LA River in the Sepulveda Basin from November 16-December 1 (Daniel Tinoco, Mike Stensvold). This is a rather low number for this relatively common eastern vagrant. A Painted Redstart was at Inglewood Park Cemetery from October 26-December 16 (Kevin Lapp).
On the rare end of the spectrum in the county were Scarlet Tanagers at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on October 24 (Adam Johnson, David Moody, Mark Rubke), in North Hollywood on October 22 and on San Clemente Island on November 18 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
Much more expected were Summer Tanagers at Wardlow Park from November 11-December 20 (Jeff Moore), at Heartwell Park in Long Beach on November 12 (Kim Moore) and at Live Oak Cemetery in Monrovia on November 17 (Luke Tiller) and in Rustic Canyon from December 6-December 20 (Kathleen Waldron).
The rarest of our tanagers, a Hepatic Tanager, was at Willow Springs Park in Long Beach from November 30-December 2 (Brad Dawson).
Wrapping things up was a late Black-headed Grosbeak in Beverly Hills on November 10 (Scott Logan) and a rare Painted Bunting at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from November 5-14 (Javier Vazquez).
As good as birding can be in LA County in any month of the year, for most birders it’s migration that holds the most appeal. Good news then; though it seems winter has just begun, the first northbound birds will be making their way through the region in January.
While we enjoy the spectacle of steadily increasing migrants, winter birds will continue in varying numbers into May. A few wintering and wandering rarities remain to be found and early breeding species will be working to produce another crop of offspring as early as January. It may be true that you can’t have it all, but spring manages to come pretty close.