Inside This Issue
A Splendidly Spooky Avian Encounter by Robbie Lisa Freeman
Birds Of The Season—October 2023 by Jon Fisher
Long-tailed Duck | Inca Dove | Black Swift | American Oystercatcher | Red Knot | South Polar Skua | Common Murre | Yellow-footed Gull | Red-throated Loon | Western Cattle Egret | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay | Brown Thrasher | American Dipper | Northern Waterthrush | Blackburnian Warbler | Palm Warbler | Rose-breasted Grosbeak | Painted Bunting
Long-tailed Duck | Common Goldeneye | Red-necked Grebe | Black Swift | Western Cattle Egret | Franklin’s Gull | Yellow-footed Gull | Pacific Loon | SWALLOW-TAILED KITE | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Swainson’s Thrush | Brown Thrasher | Cassin’s Sparrow |Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler
Long-tailed Duck | Red-necked Grebe | White-winged Dove | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Brown Booby | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Brown-crested Flycatcher | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Purple Martin | Brown Thrasher | White Wagtail | Clay-colored Sparrow | Orchard Oriole | American Redstart | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Black-and-white Warbler | Rose-breasted Grosbeak
White-winged Dove | Red-necked Grebe | Franklin’s Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Western Cattle Egret | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Brown Thrasher | White Wagtail | Clay-colored Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Black-and-white Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Hepatic Tanager
White-winged Dove | Sabine’s Gull | Western Cattle Egret | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | American Dipper | Brown Thrasher | White Wagtail | Lark Bunting | Clay-colored Sparrow | FIELD SPARROW | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Hepatic Tanager
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?
Crested Caracara Soars into the Spotlight, Setting New State Record at Ballona Wetlands
By Robbie Lisa Freeman
By Jon Fisher
When you sign up for a birding excursion with Mary and Nick Freeman, you may find yourself learning a lot more than you expected. In addition to bird identification by color, features, calls, and habitat, you may learn about flora and fauna, geology, biology, and even archeology. That’s because the folks who tend to go on their trips are amazingly diverse in their backgrounds and happy to share their knowledge. On a recent four-day Owens Valley sage-grouse trip led by the Freemans, the dozen attendees included two biologists, a geologist, an archeologist, and birders and photographers of all levels, including one world birder whose life list encompasses more than 7,700 birds!
It’s been a long, bone-jarring drive down a dark and dusty rutted road. But finally, our caravan of eight vehicles pulls to a stop and 14 birders tumble out of their cars. Tucked into down jackets, gloves, face masks, and boots, we’re hoping to keep the bitter cold at bay. But as we gather our gear and strike out on our path, the 22-degree chill seeps insidiously through the stitching of even the best-made gloves and parkas. Before long, my fingers tingle from grasping the aluminum legs of the tripod and camera slung over my shoulder. But we are moving towards our target and my excitement exceeds my discomfort.
T he U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and dozens of minor islands – serve as a fuel and rest stop for hundreds of thousands of birds traveling north and south over the Caribbean Sea during spring and winter migration. In all, more than 140 species of birds have been recorded in the coastal wetlands, mangrove forests and salt ponds, dry and moist forests, and along the rocky cliffs and coves, making the USVI worthy of a birding adventure. I headed there recently to learn about the challenges facing birds on these remote islands and to discover exciting new birds for my life list.
Sign up to join our mailing list to receive our newsletter and updates on upcoming events.