Birds of the Season—May 2024
Taxonomy of the Birds
Bird Walks and Field Trips
Though we enjoyed two drought-busting winters in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the current rainy season has been anything but. In December and January, most of Los Angeles County was suffering from record dry conditions and extreme drought. Vegetation, having increased significantly over two wet years, had not received any measurable rain for over eight months.
Sandhill Crane | Pacific Golden-Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Vega Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Pacific Loon | Swainson’s Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Ash-throated Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Least Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Bell’s Vireo | Lapland Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Green-tailed Towhee | Tennessee Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Pine Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart
Common Ground Dove | Sandhill Crane | Pacific Golden-Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Vega Gull | Least Bittern | Swainson’s Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Bell’s Vireo | SIBERIAN PIPIT | Lapland Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Sagebrush Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Virgina’s Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Pine Warbler | Painted Redstart | Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Sandhill Crane | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Vega Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Pacific Loon | Flesh-footed Shearwater | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Bell’s Vireo | Verdin | Lapland Longspur | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Grasshopper Sparrow | Clay-colored Sparrow | Black-chinned Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Baltimore Oriole | Lucy’s Warbler | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Indigo Bunting
Tundra Swan | Red-necked Grebe | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Swainson’s Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Lapland Longspur | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Sagebrush Sparrow | Nelson’s Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Orchard Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Observing the Coastal California Gnatcatcher, by Daniel Horowitz
LAAS Expresses Concerns with Ballona Wetlands Project – With Letter to the Wildlife Conservation Board, by Margot Griswold
The 124th Christmas Bird Count
Arctic-Breeding Greater Yellowlegs Tracked to Los Angeles River, by Rozy Bathrick
Birds of the Season - December 2023, by Jon Fisher
2024 Call For Applications, Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award
A Splendidly Spooky Avian Encounter by Robbie Lisa Freeman
Birds Of The Season—October 2023 by Jon Fisher
Recently, at my home in Mar Vista, I began noticing some unusual sounds. As dusk fell and darkness drew its blanket across the sky, I’d hear intermittent hissing, cries, and croaking sounds. At times, the eerie sounds would increase with such intensity that I’d walk outside to listen. It seemed to be coming from the unlit alley behind our house. Was it some kind of Cicada? A rare type of tree frog? Frightful spirits rising up from the dead for Halloween? One night around 11 PM, I heard a bloodcurdling shriek and felt a chill go down my spine! What was going on in Mar Vista?
Following a relatively cool early July, summer finally arrived. Temperatures increased and some weak systems brought a modicum of subtropical moisture. Thankfully there were no significant wildfires locally thus far.
But the stunner from a weather and birding perspective was a very strong tropical storm- the remnants of hurricane Hilary— that hit the county on August 20. This event dumped five inches of rain or more in many locations and was accompanied by high winds in many places. The added precipitation from Hilary makes severe fires even less likely, but not out of the question.
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