By Jon Fisher
Without a doubt, August and September were busy months for birds and birders in Los Angeles County. Shorebird numbers continued to increase, with Piute Ponds and the lower Los Angeles River being among the best places to observe them. Numbers of southbound passerines were not far behind. While these can be found anywhere, the deserts, near coastal areas and islands- both San Clemente and Santa Catalina- are frequently the most productive.
Early September saw a few vagrants arrive along with our regular migrants, in addition to a variety of other notable sightings. But by mid-September vagrant numbers had exploded- relatively speaking- with numerous good birds being recorded. Increased coverage of Santa Catalina Island continues to prove its value as a vagrant trap.
On the coastal slope and in the mountains, there were periods of intense heat along with some fairly tolerable days. The deserts were hot, as expected, with most days pushing or exceeding 100 degrees. Many birds migrate at night to avoid these extremes. When they stop to rest and refuel, many utilize the San Gabriel Mountains where resources are often more plentiful and temperatures lower. This can be a great place to watch fall passerine migration.
A significant movement of corvids took place in mid-September, with Pinyon Jays and Clark’s Nutcrackers turning up at unexpected locations in the mountains, on the coastal slope and even islands well offshore. Evening Grosbeaks staged a similar but lesser invasion. An above average number of Red-breasted Nuthatches were also recorded.
A failure of seed crops is typically the cause of such movements in these species. While these birds heavily utilize insects and arthropods as food sources in spring and summer when raising their young, they switch to a largely seed-based diet in fall and winter.
Climate change continues to drive the range expansion of Neotropic Cormorants and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. Boobies are also being encountered more frequently as ocean waters continue to warm.
With a very significant El Niño pattern in the works, we can expect above to well above average precipitation this winter. This is generally great for improving habitat, but it also means an abundance of potential fuel for wildfires in subsequent years.
Waterfowl of interest included a Redhead at Malibu Lagoon on August 10 (Ruth & Chris Tosdevin), a Bufflehead at AES Redondo Wetland through August 21, and a summering Hooded Merganser at La Mirada Community Regional Park in La Mirada from August 5-September 16 (Steve Stone).
A half dozen White-winged Doves were reported during the period, while up to four Black Swifts continued above Claremont through August 8.
A wayward yet persistent Greater Roadrunner continued along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach through August 24, well away from any expected areas of occurrence.
Very rare in the county was a Ridgway’s Rail at Ballona Lagoon in Marina del Rey from September 19-25 (Henry Witsken).
A Red Knot, quite scarce in the county, was at the Ballona Salt Pan in Playa del Rey on August 25 (Kevin Lapp) and a half dozen Semipalmated Sandpipers were recorded in in August and September. An early Wilson’s Snipe was at Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on August 5 (Chris Dean). Rare inland was a Red Phalarope at Piute Ponds on September 3 (Dessi Sieburth).
Two Black Terns were at the Ballona Salt Pan in Playa del Rey on August 21 (Kevin Lapp) and a half dozen Common Terns were reported, with just one of those being inland at Piute Ponds on September 17 (Chris Dean).
A Sabine’s Gull was at the Lancaster Water Treatment Plant in the Antelope Valley on September 14 (Jodhan Fine) and a very rare Little Gull was at Piute Ponds on September 18 (Femi Faminu). Unseasonal and well inland was a Glaucous-winged Gull on the San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera on August 8 (Larry Schmahl).
Notable were three Wilson’s Storm-Petrels near Santa Catalina Island on September 12 along with a Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel (Mark Scheel, Ashley Hopkins, Naresh Satyan, Chris Dean, Mark Wilson) on a boat trip that featured thousands of storm-petrels.
A Red-billed Tropicbird was near San Clemente Island on September 9 (Jimmy McMorran).
Cocos Boobies were south of San Pedro on August 2 (Michael Auda, Naresh Satyan) and August 31 (Chef Ito, Jodan Fine) and near Santa Catalina Island from September 6-8.
Nazca Boobies were offshore south of San Pedro from September 6-8 and south of San Clemente Island on September 10 (Jimmy McMorran). In addition, up to five Masked/Nazca Boobies were recorded from August 10-September 19.
Red-footed Boobies were at Malibu lagoon on September 13 (Frank & Susan Gilliland) and briefly along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach on September 19 (Jon Fisher).
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Neotropic Cormorant numbers have exploded locally in the past decade. While they are largely restricted to the coastal slope, there have been a number of records on the deserts, most recently from Quail Lake on August 30 (Brad Rumble). Nearly four dozen were at the San Gabriel River Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera from September 5-27 where numbers have been present for months and breeding has been confirmed well into September.
A lingering inland Brown Pelican was at Lake Hollywood through September 9.
A wayward Least Bittern was on Santa Catalina Island on September 19 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle) and a Reddish Egret was along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach from September 19-20 (Lance Benner). A Western Cattle-Egret was in Pico Rivera from September 13-27 (Larry Schmahl).
An early Northern Harrier was at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on August 1 (many observers), while Swainson’s Hawks were at Claremont Wilderness Park on August 4 (Duncan Bishop) and in Monrovia on August 5 (Karen Suarez).
A Zone-tailed Hawk was at Sycamore Canyon in Whittier on September 12 (Larry Schmahl). Quite unusual was a Ferruginous Hawk at the California Botanic Garden in Claremont on September 10 (Scott Marnoy).
A Williamson’s Sapsucker was at Veteran’s Park in Sylmar on September 24 (Michael Abrams, John Oliver). This has been a great location to find unusual sapsuckers over the years.
Up to six Brown-crested Flycatchers- including locally fledged juveniles- continued along Little Rock Creek near Palmdale through August 14.
Tropical Kingbirds were at Golden Shore in Long Beach from September 20-22 (Vincent Baker) and at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on September 20 (Manuel Duran).
A Least Flycatcher was in the Avalon area on Santa Catalina Island on September 18 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle).
Pinyon Jays staged an invasion in mid-September, with over sixty birds recorded. Most were on the deserts or in the mountains, but a few were found on the coastal slope. One was on San Clemente Island on September 23 (Jimmy Mc-Morran) and another was on Santa Catalina Island on September 25 (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito).
Clark’s Nutcrackers staged a similar dispersal, with birds as far from normal areas as San Clemente Island- for the first island record- on September 23 (Nicole Desnoyers). Three were also recorded on Santa Catalina Island in late September.
A Bell’s Vireo was in the Avalon area on Santa Catalina Island from September 22-26, for just the second island record (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito).
A remarkable three Yellow-green Vireos were found on Santa Catalina Island between September 18 and 22 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle, Jodan Fine, Chef Ito). Another was at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester from September 25-26 (Kevin Lapp).
Nineteen Purple Martins were recorded, with six of those at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on August 26 and four there on September 24 (Keith Condon).
An early Ruby-crowned Kinglet was in Rancho Palos Verdes on August 25 (Tori Fay).
Early fall Swainson’s Thrushes were in Rancho Palos Verdes on August 25 (Tori Fay) and at Piute Ponds on August 27 (Dessi Sieburth, Chris Dean).
Close to a dozen Evening Grosbeaks were recorded over the period in the San Gabriel Mountains.
West of the deserts, Black-throated Sparrows were along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach on September 18 (Jeff Boyd) and on Santa Catalina Island on September 22 (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito).
Eight Clay-colored Sparrows were found during the period and a Bell’s Sparrow, rather rare on the coastal slope, was along the San Gabriel River in South El Monte on July 22 was of note (Darren Dowell).
Either very early or summering locally was a White-crowned Sparrow at Hansen Dam on August 16 (Brad Rumble).A Green-tailed Towhee, a returning wintering bird, was back at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood from September 4-25 (Becky Turley). Others were on Santa Catalina Island on September 22 (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito) and in Woodland Hills from September 24-25 (Keri Dearborn).
Bobolinks included one along the San Gabriel River in South El Monte on September 4 (Darren Dowell), one a Quail Lake on September 18 (Naresh Satyan), and two along the San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera on September 26 (Jon Fisher).
An Orchard Oriole was on Santa Catalina Island on September 25 (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito).
An Ovenbird was on Santa Catalina Island on September 18 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle).
Northern Waterthrushes were at Piute Ponds from August 20-21 (Dessi Sieburth), in the Little Rock Creek riparian patch near Palmdale on August 30 (Kimball Garrett), at Cal Poly Pomona on September 16 (Clayton Rucker) and at Zuma Creek mouth on September 19 (Caleb Peterson).
Black-and-white Warblers were in Torrance on September 21 (Jeremy Louis), at Ladera Park from September 23-25 (Preston Hinds) and at South Gate Park on September 25 (Jonathan Feenstra).
A rare Prothonotary Warbler was at Pt. Dume in Malibu on September 23 (Dessi Sieburth)
About a dozen Tennessee Warblers were found over the period, with no fewer than five on Santa Catalina Island on September 18 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle).
Lucy’s Warblers were along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach on August 1 (Jeff Boyd), at the West San Gabirel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood from September 4-23 (Joyce Brady) and in Palos Verdes Estates from September 20-21 (James Wagner). A Virginia’s Warbler was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 4 (Keith Condon).
A Hooded Warbler was at DeForest Park in Long Beach on August 22 (Kim Moore, Merryl Edelstien, Christine Jacobs). Ten American Redstarts were detected over the period and a less expected Cape May Warbler was at Sequoia Park in Monterey Park from September 17-19 (Jodhan Fine).
Northern Parulas included a bird at Woodgrove Park in West Covina on July 24 (Chef Ito), another continuing at the Village Green in Los Angeles through July 26, and one at Pt. Dume in Malibu on September 23 (Dessi Sieburth).
A Blackburnian Warbler was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 25 (Keith Condon), while
Chestnut-sided Warblers were at Ladera Park in Los Angeles on September 21 (Kevin Lapp) and at Pt. Dume in Malibu on September 23 (Dessi Sieburth).
Blackpoll Warblers were at Veteran’s Park in Sylmar on September 21 (Caleb Peterson) and at the Los Angeles National Cemetery from September 21-24 (Preston Hinds).
Up to four Summer Tanagers continued along Little Rock Creek near Palmdale through August 14 where breeding has been confirmed. A dozen others were recorded elsewhere in the county over the period.
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were in Signal Hill on September 11 (Loren Wright), at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood from September 13-14 (Tiffany Huang, Matt Stuart), and on Santa Catalina Island on September 19 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle) and from September 22-26 (Jodhan Fine, Chef Ito).
An Indigo Bunting was at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale on September 18 (Darren Dowell) and Painted Buntings were at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood on September 19 (Anthony Chang, Carl Matthies, Jodhan Fine) and at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas from September 20-22.
A Dickcissel was on Santa Catalina Island on September 18 (Dessi Sieburth, Adrian Hinkle.
While a good portion of fall migration is behind us, there are still plenty of birds moving through the area. No doubt vagrants will be turning up through October and beyond. In late fall and early winter, the numerous city and county parks on the coastal slope have the potential to attract good birds.
Though there are certain times of year that are busier than others, there really are no dull months on the southern California bird calendar. As we head into winter, waterfowl numbers will grow. Deep water inland reservoirs may also hold a surprise or two with the potential for diving ducks and loons. The Antelope Valley will offer its specialties- Ferruginous Hawks, Mountain Bluebirds and perhaps a few Mountain Plovers.
Often, visiting a location where nothing unusual is expected can produce a great find. While popular birding locales are by far the most visited, getting off the beaten path has its own rewards.