Following are the field trip listings by Field Trip Chairperson, Nick Freeman.
Weekly Bird Walk, Each Thursday, Stoneview Nature Center
California State Parks Foundation Grant
Earth Day 2019
A Rainy Year Serves to Remind Us
The significant amount of rain received in Southern California during this past winter was much in the news, and celebrated or bemoaned, depending on your point of view. The paucity of precipitation over the last several years left many Angelenos with distant memory of what a real rainstorm feels like, me included. Images of rain swollen rivers, landslides, road closures and flooded streets were dramatic reminders of the type of winter that had not been experienced for quite some time. In the aftermath, the much heralded “Super Bloom” of wildflowers brought people to the outdoors in droves.
Growth and Reflection in Joshua Tree National Park
On December 31, 2018 to January 4, 2019 eight Los Angeles Audubon staff and program alumni received the opportunity to participate in a backpacking trip with Outward Bound California in the Joshua Tree National Park backcountry. Both Outward Bound California and Los Angeles Audubon worked together to grant scholarships to all participants. Some of the scholarship recipients were part of the Baldwin Hills Parklands Conservation Certificate Program and others were alumni of the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program. Five of the participants that were part of the Baldwin Hills Parklands Certificate Program were Jamie, Racine, Alex, Felistus, Edgar, and Maya. The remaining two, Ingrid and Behtsabe, were Greenhouse Program Alumna. Almost all of us were new to backpacking. Edgar Pedroza and Ingrid Carrillo are currently Los Angeles Audubon staff members and they are also the writers of this reflection. They share their story in the style of a journal where they express their experience through both perspectives.
Birds of the Season — April 2019
March and April in southern California encompass a great deal of change in the avian world. Passerine migration transforms from a trickle to a flood, wintering birds are leaving on their various schedules and breeding activity is pervasive.
From the first early arriving passerines to the waves of birds encountered in April and May, spring migration is a remarkable event to witness. While the quality and quantity of birds can vary from day to day—often due to factors we’ve yet to understand—this is a fantastic time to take to the field.
Shorebirds can briefly be seen in their breeding colors. Loons and scoters are streaming northward along the coast. The weather is generally pleasant and the landscape is lush. It could well be argued that this time of year offers more for birders than any other.
As usual, given the diversity of habitats in Los Angeles County, the variety of birds present in March and April was substantial. Wintering vagrants gradually began to disappear as spring progressed, and there were a few new discoveries to keep things interesting. Typically for this time of year, reports of new vagrants were comparatively scarce.
Western Tanager, Vol. 85 No. 5, May-June 2019
Inside this Issue
•A Rainy Year Serves to Remind Us
•Interpreting Nature: Growth and Reflection in Joshua Tree National Park
•Birds of the Season — April 2019
•NEW—Weekly (Thursday) Bird Walk at Stoneview Nature Center
SCHEDULES
Monthly Programs–To Be Announced