by Jon Fisher
Summer on the deserts is always hot, but on the coastal slope the summer of 2024 was relatively mild. At least that was the case until early September when the first real heat wave of the season arrived. Up to that point, the county had been left largely unscathed by wildfires, but things were about to change dramatically.
The innocuously named Bridge Fire started on September 8 northeast of Glendora. Within days it had scorched over 50,000 acres of habitat in the San Gabriel Mountains, burning quickly north toward Wrightwood. More favorable weather and intensive firefighting efforts got this blaze under control, but not before extensive damage had been done.
Sadly, the area affected by the fire included a significant portion of the spectacular high country of the eastern San Gabriels, including such great birding spots as Blue Ridge Road, Grassy Hollow and portions of Mt. Baden-Powell. As with so many other places in the San Gabriels damaged by fire since 2009, this habitat won’t recover for decades.
Looking for a silver lining? Admittedly there’s not much of one, but this event may cause birders to venture to less well-covered spots in the mountains. This will fill in some of our missing knowledge of bird distribution. Once roads reopen, eBird lists for the burned areas will help document the succession of species as the area recovers. In addition, some pockets and patches of habitat within the burn area will undoubtedly have survived.
With the bad news out of the way, in the birding world there was plenty to be happy about. Not unexpectedly, the impressive number and variety of vagrants ranged from the rare but expected to the downright remarkable.
A handful of earlier than usual regular fall passerine migrants turned up in August and September. Shorebird numbers increased along the Los Angeles River, at Malibu Lagoon, at the Ballona Wetlands and elsewhere. Yet shorebirds were conspicuously absent from the normally productive Piute Ponds. Water levels there were well above normal for this time of year and some ponds were completely dry, thus shorebird habitat was virtually absent.
A possibly summering Hooded Merganser was at the Dominguez Gap Wetlands in Long Beach on September 8 (Chezy Yusuf).
White-winged Doves were at Golden Shore Marine Reserve in Long Beach on September 1 (Omar Alui), along lower Ballona Creek on September 4 (Naresh Satyan) and at the Ballona Salt Pan in Playa del Rey on September 7 (Timothy Aarons).
A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was at Switzer’s Picnic Area on August 31 (Jonah Alderson).
Up to five Black Swifts continued above Claremont through August 9, while rare fall Calliope Hummingbirds were at St. Andrew’s Abbey near Valyermo on September 9 (Kimball Garrett) and in Glendora on September 14 (Ed Stonick).
An American Oystercatcher was on San Clemente Island on September 18 (Ben Stalheim, Kandace Glanville) and a returning Pacific Golden-Plover was along lower Ballona Creek from August 4-September 21 (Van Pierszalowski, Layton Pace).
Up to four Stilt Sandpipers were along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach from September 1-14 (Jeff Boyd).
A Red Knot at the Ballona Wetlands area on July 24 (Larry Schmahl) increased to three at one point, with the last present through September 10. Another was along the Los Angeles River at Willow Street in Long Beach on August 7 (Chris Dean).
A half dozen rare but regular Semipalmated Sandpipers were recorded on the coastal slope this year.
A Sabine’s Gull was along the Los Angeles River in Maywood from September 7-10 (Mark Wilson), a Franklin’s Gull was at Zuma Creek mouth on September 13 (Chris Tosdevin) and Lesser Black-backed Gull continued along the Los Angeles River in Commerce through August 14.
Common Terns included one at Dockweiler State Beach in El Segundo on August 1 (Naresh Satyan, Mark Wilson), up to two at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB from August 23-September 1 (Femi Faminu) and two more at Pt. Vicente on September 4 (Ezekiel Dobson).
Manx Shearwaters were in the San Pedro Channel on July 27 (Van Pierszalowski) and off the Palos Verdes Peninsula on August 25 (many observers).
A Little Blue Heron moved between the Jack Dunster Marine Reserve and Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach from August 17-September 21 (Merryl Edelstein, Robb Hamilton). Also of note was a Reddish Egret observed flying past Pt. Vicente on September 4 (Ezekiel Dobson).
Western Cattle Egrets were along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach on July 30 (Richard Barth) and at the Ballona Wetlands from August 1-September 6 (Naresh Satyan).
An early Northern Harrier was in the Ballona Wetlands area on August 13 (Walter Lamb), while Broad-winged Hawks were on San Clemente Island from August 14-September 19 (Ben Stalheim) and at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 21 (Keith Condon).
The Yellow-headed Caracara in Lomita- and sometimes in San Pedro- was last reported on August 24. It eventually roamed too close to LAX, where it was presumed to pose a threat to aircraft. Subsequently, it was captured by the Dept. of Agriculture on August 26 and taken to the Los Angeles Zoo.
An Eastern Kingbird was in Beverly Glen on September 10 (Harvey Villarica) and a summering or early fall Hammond’s Flycatcher was at Big Rock Creek on the north slope of the San Gabriel Mountains on July 28 (Kimball Garrett).
A Red-eyed Vireo was in San Francisquito Canyon near Santa Clarita on July 31 (Brennan Mulrooney).
At least ten Purple Martins were recorded over the period.
A fantastic find was an Eastern Yellow Wagtail near the Ballona Freshwater Marsh in Playa del Rey on August 21 (Jonathan Coffin). It remained there until August 23. This establishes only the third record for the county and the first since 2007.
More expected but still quite rare, the “Black-backed” White Wagtail along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach continued through September 21.
A Grasshopper Sparrow was in the Sepulveda Basin along Woodley Creek from September 15-17 (Jon Fisher) and a Black-throated Sparrow was at Walgrove Elementary School in Los Angeles on July 26 (Adam Long). A Lark Bunting was along the lower Los Angeles River on September 10 (Jeff Boyd).
Early White-crowned Sparrows were at the Piute Ponds on August 23 (Justin Kekauoha) and at the South Coast Botanic Gardens on August 27 (Patty Drew). A “Dark-lored” White-crowned Sparrow, presumably oriantha which breeds in the interior west, was at Colorado Lagoon on September 8 (Robert Hamilton).
A few “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrows move north from Mexico in late summer and fall and turn up along the southern California coast and at the Salton Sea, thus one at Cabrillo Beach from September 1-2 fits the expected pattern (Hui W.).
Green-tailed Towhees were at Leo Carillo State Park on September 13 (Dawn Garcia) and at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on September 14
Bobolinks included birds at the Piute Ponds on September 16 (Kimball Garrett), along the Los Angeles River in Glendale from September 18-19 (Andrew Birch), at Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace on September 21 (Brad Rumble) and two along the San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera on September 22 (Jon Fisher).
An Orchard Oriole was at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach on September 5 (Robert Hamilton) and a Baltimore Oriole was at the Earvin Magic Johnson Recreation Area in Willowbrook on September 9 (Richard Barth).
When birders think of fall migration, warblers inevitably come to mind. Indeed we had a nice variety, from the low-end to the very rare. In the latter category was a Worm-eating Warbler at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on September 19 (Mark Rubke). This establishes the first record in ten years for Los Angeles County and only the thirteenth overall.
A Northern Waterthrush was in the Lower Arroyo Seco in Pasadena on September 6 (Jack Wickel) and Black-and-white Warblers were on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on September 8 (Sofie Shen) and at Lacy park in San Marino on September 18.
A Protonotary Warbler was at a residence in Long Beach from September 14-15 (Tracy Drake). Tennessee Warblers were at Creek Park in La Mirada on September 13 (Jonathan Rowley), at the Village Green Condominiums in Los Angeles on September 21 (Kevin Lapp) and at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood on September 21 (Omar Alui).
A Lucy’s Warbler was at Quail Lake near Gorman on July 28 (Naresh Satyan) and Virginia’s Warblers were at Bonelli Regional Park on August 26 (Keith Condon) and in Signal Hill on September 2 (Christine Jacobs, Becky Turley, Kim Moore).
American Redstarts were as Los Liones Canyon Park in Pacific Palisades on September 6 (Susan Schalbe) and in Santa Monica on September 14 (Patti Koger). A Northern Parula was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 2 (Keith Condon).
In the extreme rarity category, the Tropical Parula near Switzer’s Picnic Area in the San Gabriel Mountains continued through September 17.
Blackburnian Warblers were at Switzer’s on September 3 (Ezekiel Dobson) and at Topanga State Park on September 21 (Femi Faminu) and a Palm Warbler was in Signal Hill on September 21 (Becky Turley, Merryl Edelstein).
Wrapping up the warblers was another good one; a Canada Warbler found at St. Andrew’s Abbey near Valyermo on September 20 (Kimball Garrett).
Summer Tanagers were in the Lower Arroyo Seco in Pasadena from August 3-20 (Jack Wickel), at the Kenneth Hahn SRA in Baldwin Hills on September 14 (Bhaskar Krishnamachari), at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on September 15 (Dan Meyer) and at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica on September 15 (Kathleen Waldron).
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was in La Crescenta on September 21 (Leslie Sobol). Indigo Buntings included two in the lower Arroyo Seco in Pasadena (Naomi Mansfield, Omar Alui) from September 14-16, two more along the San Gabriel River in South El Monte no September 14 (Darren Dowell) and one in Pico Rivera on September 22 (Jon Fisher).
Painted Buntings were at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on August 16 (Andy H.) and along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach on September 8 (Jeff Boyd).
For avid birders, there was little to complain about. Plenty of good birds were there to be found or chased, depending upon one’s preference.
As we move toward winter, small numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows will increase to veritable hordes, while on a smaller scale other wintering species will do the same. Irruptive species should also be watched for.
If the past is any guide- and it is- fall vagrants will continue to be found well into November and wintering rarities will turn up in the months following. Just because migration per se is over, that doesn’t mean and end to good birds. No season in southern California is dull for birders.