Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 15, 2024

Inca Dove | White-winged Dove | American Golden-Plover | Pacific Golden-Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Pacific Loon | Zone-tailed Hawk | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Eastern Phoebe | Grasshopper Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Bay-breasted Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 8, 2024

Tundra Swan | Mountain Plover | American Golden-Plover | Pacific Golden-Plover | Sandhill Crane | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | “Prairie” Merlin | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Eastern Phoebe | Gray Catbird | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Green-tailed Towhee | Bobolink | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Blue Grosbeak | Lazuli Bunting

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 3, 2024

Common Ground Dove | Lesser Nighthawk | Pacific Golden-Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | “Black” Merlin | Tropical Kingbird | Eastern Phoebe | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Bay-breasted Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Scarlet Tanager

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - October 26, 2024

Common Ground Dove | White-winged Dove | Mountain Plover | Pacific Golden-Plover | Red Phalarope | Lesser Black-backed Gull | American Bittern | Little Blue Heron | Broad-winged Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Tropical Kingbird | Pacific Wren | Red-throated Pipit | Lapland Longspur | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Grasshopper Sparrow | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Blackburnian Warbler | Magnolia Warbler | Palm Warbler | Summer Tanager | Painted Bunting

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - October 19, 2024

Lesser Nighthawk | Pacific Golden-Plover | Sabine’s Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Little Blue Heron | Western Cattle Egret | Broad-winged Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Tropical Kingbird | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Grasshopper Sparrow | Lark Bunting | Clay-colored Sparrow | Orchard Oriole | Rose-breasted Grosbeak | Painted Bunting | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | American Redstart | Cape May Warbler | Magnolia Warbler | Blackburnian Warbler | Blackpoll Warbler | Palm Warbler | Summer Tanager

Western Tanager

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Birds of the Season—July 2024

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Birds of the Season—July 2024

Spring migration largely ended in early June, but quite a few good birds continued to be found well after that.  As always, observers scoured various parts of the county looking for the unexpected, and their efforts were certainly rewarded. 

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Western Tanager, Nov-Dec 2023, Vol. 90 No. 2

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Western Tanager, Nov-Dec 2023, Vol. 90 No. 2

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

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Observing the Coastal California Gnatcatcher

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Observing the Coastal California Gnatcatcher

Spotting a coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) takes patience. They can be shy and elusive, never sitting still. They might appear in front of you when you’re least expecting it, only to dart away before you get a good look. And it’s necessary to get a good look because they can be easily confused with the more commonly seen Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that it became its own species separate from the blue-gray. Though elusive, the birds’ call can more easily be heard- a squealing “meeew” that sounds like a squeaking dog toy pleading for help.

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A Splendidly Spooky Avian Encounter

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A Splendidly Spooky Avian Encounter

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?

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Western Tanager, Jul–Aug 2023, Vol. 89 No. 6

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Crested Caracara, photo courtesy of Randy Freeman.

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Crested Caracara Soars Into the Spotlight, Setting New State Record at Ballona Wetlands

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Crested Caracara Soars Into the Spotlight, Setting New State Record at Ballona Wetlands

For Van Pierszalowski, Sunday June 4, 2023 was just another day doing what he loves to do: chasing down rare birds across Southern California. He wasn’t expecting to become a part of California birding lore.

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Birds of the Season — June 2023

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After peaking in late April, spring migration continued for the next two months at a reduced pace. This period managed to produce a satisfying number of vagrants which were found on offshore islands, the coastal slope and on the desert and were recorded into the third week of June.

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