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.

Though each season in southern California has its attractions, fall migration in southern California ranks at the top for birders.  Expected migrants, numerous vagrants from virtually anywhere and a wide variety of winter arrivals are all represented.  This October and November did not disappoint, with plenty of surprises great and small.

A small army of dedicated observers scoured the county, relaying their notable finds to others, largely via phone apps.  While it’s lamentable that the long-standing LA County Birds listserv receives less and less traffic, technology marches on and this change is seemingly unavoidable.  For the pursuers of rare birds, there is the advantage of finding out about sightings in near real time.

In November observers were checking locales where vagrants had previously wintered to see if they had returned, often successfully.

There has been little indication of irruptive species this fall, with Lewis’s Woodpeckers scarce, Red-breasted Nuthatches detected only in small numbers and Varied Thrushes absent in the county.

As is typical at this time of year, weather alternated from quite warm to rather cool, with periods of cloudy, calm and windy thrown in.

Extremely rare on the coastal slope was an Inca Dove along the Los Angeles River in Elysian Valley from November 14-19 (Naomi Mansfield).  The only other coastal slope record is that of a small population- now defunct- of up to seven individuals near downtown Los Angeles from 2014-2018.  Elsewhere, a few persist in the Lake Los Angeles area in the east Antelope Valley.

Common Ground Doves were at the San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera on October 25 (Jon Fisher) and at the Piute Ponds from October 25-28 (Chris Tosdevin).

White-winged Doves were in Llano on October 6, at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on October 24 (Don Sterba), at Malibu Lagoon on November 10 (Braxton Landsman) and at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on November 15 (Keith Condon).

Three lingering Lesser Nighthawks were reported at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale through October 29. 

Always a nice find, a Sandhill Crane was at the Piute Ponds from November 5-8 (Grigory Heaton).

Quite rare in the county were American Golden-Plovers along the Los Angeles River in Maywood on September 28 (Mark Wilson) and at Malibu Lagoon from November 2-17 (Will Black).

The returning Pacific Golden-Plover at the Ballona Creek mouth was reported through November 18.  Others were offshore west of Palos Verdes Peninsula on September 29 (m. obs.) and at Malibu Lagoon on October 12 (Joshua Mitchell).

A Mountain Plover in the east Antelope Valley on October 20 was the only one reported (Mark & Janet Scheel).  This species is increasingly difficult to find in the county, with population declines the likely culprit.

Following the occurrence of a few birds in September, a Red Knot was at the Ballona Salt Pan on October 5 (Mark & Janet Scheel).  This species is surprisingly scarce in the county.

A Sabine’s Gull was at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on September 27 (William Tyrer) with two were there on October 16 (Samuel Bressler).  Two were at Lake Palmdale on October 1 (Callyn Yorke) with one there on October 5 and 24, and one was along the Los Angeles River in Vernon on October 10 (Naresh Satyan, Mark Wilson).  Franklin’s Gulls were at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on October 1 (Keith Condon) and at the Piute Ponds on October 2 (Chris Dean).

Now regular in the county, up to three Lesser Black-backed Gulls were along the Los Angeles River in Maywood from October 2-November 18 (Mark Wilson, et al).  Others were at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia on October 17 and again on November 14 (Grigory Heaton, Caleb Peterson), at the San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds from October 25-November 15 (Mark Scheel, Chris Dean).

A Vega Gull, still considered by some to be a subspecies of Herring Gull, was along the Los Angeles River in Maywood from November 17-19 (Mark Wilson), establishing just the second county record.  The first was at the same location in early 2022.

Rare inland was a Pacific Loon at Quail Lake on November 11 (Samuel Bressler); another was at Lake Palmdale on November 21 (Callyn Yorke)

A Wedge-tailed Shearwater in the Catalina Channel on October 27 (Naresh Satyan) established the first county record of this tropical tubenose.  Only seventeen have ever been recorded in California, with most- including the present bird- light-morph individuals.  More expected but still rare was a Manx Shearwater off Topanga Beach on October 1 (Jon Feenstra).

A Cocos Booby- formerly considered a subspecies of Brown Booby- was found southwest of Santa Catalina Island on October 25 (Bill Shelmerdine) and three were just east of the island the same day (Gary Steinberg, Noah Khanti Stenberg).

A Neotropic Cormorant continuing at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on September 8–30 (Janet & Mark Scheel) was away from expected areas.

An American Bittern was at the Piute Ponds on October 20 (Mark & Janet Scheel), with two there on November 8 (Chris Dean) and one continuing through November 16. 

A Little Blue Heron continued at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach through October 20.  A Tricolored Heron was at El Dorado Park in Long Beach on November 20.  Nearly all records in California have been coastal, thus this slightly inland record is all the more noteworthy. 

Western Cattle Egrets were along the Los Angeles River in Vernon from October 10-November 17 (Naresh Satyan, Mark Wilson), at the Piute Ponds on October 18 (Femi Faminu).

A Broad-winged Hawk continued on San Clemente Island through September 26.  Others were in Elysian Park on October 11 (Andy Birch), at UCLA in Westwood on October 18 (Sierra Glassman), in Torrance on October 20 (James Wagner, Riley Daniels) and in Harbor City on October 20 (Johnny Ivanov).

A few late Swainson’s Hawks were recorded in November and Zone-tailed Hawks were at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach on October 1 (Robert Hamilton), in Azusa on October 20 (Jake Xia) and in Monrovia from November 1-11 (Karen Suarez, Ron Cyger).

An adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was at Veteran’s Park in Sylmar on October 16 and a juvenile was there on October 30 (Nathan Barkley).

A “Black” Merlin, the least common of the three subspecies, was at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach on November 1 (Robert Hamilton).

A Dusky-capped Flycatcher was back for another winter at Vincent Lugo Park in San Gabriel and seen from November 6-November 17 (Caleb Peterson).  Very rare was a Great Crested Flycatcher at the Piute Ponds on October 2 (Chris Dean), establishing just the eighth county record.

About a half dozen Tropical Kingbirds were recorded over the period, while a Thick-billed Kingbird was back in Griffith Park for another winter from November 7-19 (Joshua Mitchell).  An Eastern Kingbird was in the San Rafael Hills above Eagle Rock on September 25 (Dan Pierce) and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was in Lancaster on October 2 (Peter Gaede).

A Least Flycatcher was on Santa Catalina Island on September 22 (Mark & Janet Scheel, Chris Dean, Naresh Satyan) and a returning Eastern Phoebe was back at Lake Lindero in Agoura Hills from November 1-16 (Cameron Tescher).

Very rarely detected in migration was a Gray Vireo on San Clemente Island on September 24 (Ben Stalheim).

Horned Larks were present in well above average numbers on the coastal slope and included up to one hundred recorded in Malibu.

An American Dipper in recently reopened Big Santa Anita Canyon on October 4 was a good sign for this species that has been declining in the county (Darren Dowell).

A Pacific Wren in Little Santa Anita Canyon on October 25 (Jack Wickel) was the only one reported to date.

Very rare as a fall migrant was a Red-throated Pipit along the Los Angeles River in Maywood on October 23 (Naresh Satyan, Mark Wilson).

A Lapland Longspur was in the east Antelope Valley on October 20 (Mark & Janet Scheel) and a Chestnut-collared Longspur was in Griffith Park from October 19-20 (Mark Wilson).

Grasshopper Sparrows, rare as fall migrants, were at the Toyon Landfill in Griffith Park on October 1 (Greg Slak), at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale on October 9 (Darren Dowell), in the Verdugo Hills on October 23 (Jodhan Fine) and at the Ballona Creek mouth from November 10-16.

Lark Buntings were on San Clemente Island from September 22-24 (Ben Stalheim, Kandace Glanville), at the Piute Ponds on October 12 (Jim Moore, Judy Matsuoka) and at Santa Fe Dam from October 13-14 (Jon Feenstra).

Nine Clay-colored Sparrows were present over the period and Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Juncos were in Griffith Park on October 19 (Andy Birch) and at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas from October 21-November 19 (Keith Condon).

Eight White-throated Sparrows were detected so far this fall as were a half dozen Green-tailed Towhees were found over the period.

Rarely detected in the county, but likely more common than records would indicate, a Sagebrush Sparrow was at the Piute Ponds on November 19 (William Tyrer).  The fact that this species was only recently split means birders may not be as focused on its potential occurrence.  Records can be expected to increase in the coming years.

Bobolinks included two at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale from September 26-29 (Naresh Satyan), one in Malibu on October 2 (Robert Thoren), one at Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace on October 5 (Jon Fisher)

Orchard Orioles were in Avalon in Santa Catalina Island on October 6 (Jodhan Fine) and in Redondo Beach on October 6.  A Baltimore Oriole was at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach from September 26-29 (Robert Hamilton, Layton Pace), in Elysian Park on October 11 (Andy Birch).

An Ovenbird was on San Clemente Island on September 22 (Ben Stalheim, Kandace Glanville).

About ten Black-and-white Warblers were found during the period and five Tennessee Warblers were recorded

Lucy’s Warblers were in Griffith Park from October 15-16 (Mark Wilson), at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia from October 22-24 (Caleb Peterson) and on Santa Catalina Island on October 25 (Mary Trombley, Scott Jennex).

Seven American Redstarts were detected and a returning Cape May Warbler was back again at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester as of October 19 (Kevin Lapp).  It was reported there through October 27.

A Northern Parula was in Atwater Village on September 27 (Andy Birch), while the continuing Tropical Parula at Switzer’s Picnic Area in the San Gabriel Mountains was reported through September 26.

Magnolia Warblers were at the Piute Ponds on October 12 (Sona Conlin) and at Mills Memorial Park in Carson from October 23-26 (Chef Ito).  Bay-breasted Warblers were at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood on October 29 (Joyce Brady) and at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia on November 12 (Caleb Peterson).

A Blackburnian Warbler was on San Clemente Island on October 21 (Ben Stalheim) and a Blackpoll Warbler was in Silver Lake from October 15-18 (Otto Mayer).  In addition, five Palm Warblers were reported.

Painted Redstarts were in West Los Angeles from October 3-November 11 (Mark Harris) and at San Dimas Canyon Park from November 2-19.

Eight Summer Tanagers were found over the period.  Far less expected was a Scarlet Tanager at Little Lake Park in Santa Fe Springs on November 1 (Jonathan Rowley).

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island on September 27 (Cadeo Scott Shipper, Mallika Scott) and on October 12 (Chris Dean).  Late Blue Grosbeaks were in Pico Rivera from November 11-15 (Casey Hunter) and along the Los Angeles River in Elysian Valley on November 19 (Sylvia Afable).

Indigo Buntings were in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island from September 27-28 (Cadeo Scott Shipper, Mallika Scott), along the Los Angeles River in Elysian Valley from November 17-18 (Chris Dean, Curtis Marantz) and at Athens Park in Willowbrook on November 18 (Richard Barth).

Up to two Painted Buntings were along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach from October 3-8 (Merryl Edelstein, Becky Turley, Mark & Janet Scheel) and others were on Santa Catalina Island on October 12 (Andy Birch) and again on October 25 (Gary & Noah Khanti Steinberg).

Wrapping things up was a Dickcissel on San Clemente Island on September 22 (Ben Stalheim)More than a few of the foregoing records illustrate the effect of the discovery of a rare bird drawing numerous birders who in turn find more rare birds at the same location.  One can wonder what would be discovered if the entire county were subject to the same level of scrutiny.As we move into December, things will calm down for a couple of months before the earliest of spring migrants arriveThis will be a good time to check gull flocks for something unusual.  The Antelope Valley might produce a longspur or two in addition to the usual specialties which include Mountain Plovers, Ferruginous Hawks, Prairie Falcons and Mountain Bluebirds. 

The California Aqueduct is under-birded and there are many places in the Antelope Valley where access is possible.  These are some of the best places to watch for Long-tailed Ducks and Barrow’s Goldeneyes. 

Birding from coastal promontories- while sometimes dull- can also produce the unexpected.  In addition, there are many city and county parks that can host wintering neotropical migrants.  The more one explores possible birding locations, the more seem to be uncovered.

Christmas Bird Counts will begin on December 14 and run through January 5, with each count conducted on a single day during that time frame.  Many counts welcome additional participants and are great way to contribute to citizen science and educate a new group of birders about the enjoyment of participating in CBCs, as well as their value.  Most CBCs have contributed at least decades of data for their respective count circles, adding to our understanding of changes in avifauna.