Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 22, 2025

Pacific Golden-Plover | Red Phalarope | Lesser Black-backed Gull | American Bittern | Western Cattle-Egret | White-headed Woodpecker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Western Warbling-Vireo | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Nashville Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Blackburnian Warbler | Palm Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Scarlet Tanager

BIRDS OF THE SEASON
Susan Castor
Birds of the Season — November 2025

Following a comparatively mild summer on the coastal slope, mid-October brought some unusually early substantial rainfall to the county. November added significantly to that total. That’s a definite plus for bird habitats and should also greatly reduce the potential for wildfires.

Los Angeles County’s active birders found a remarkable number and diversity of vagrants this fall. The deserts, mountains, coastal slope and offshore waters and islands were all productive for notable birds. In large part, increased coverage is responsible for an increase in the rare birds detected, especially since the populations of many of these birds are in decline.

Inaccessible to the public, San Clemente Island has long been the envy of southern California birders due its impressive annual list of fall vagrants, including some mega-rarities. But increasing coverage of nearby Santa Catalina Island in fall has proved very worthwhile. By contrast, this island has easy public access and hosted a long list of rare birds this October and November.

Many parks and natural areas on the coastal slope held interesting passerines. The Piute Ponds, though coverage suffered due to closure during the government shutdown, still managed a number of good birds.

Birds of the Season — November 2025
Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 15, 2025

Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Red Phalarope | Leach’s Storm-Petrel | Western Cattle-Egret | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Pacific Wren | Red-throated Pipit | Lapland Longspur | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | American Redstart | Palm Warbler | Grace’s Warbler | Back-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - November 7, 2025

Surf Scoter | Pacific Golden-Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Eastern Phoebe | Lapland Longspur | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Tennessee Warbler | American Redstart | Cape May Warbler | Palm Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Painted Bunting

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - October 31, 2025

Lesser Nighthawk | Williamson’s Sapsucker | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Western Cattle Egret | Broad-winged Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Sage Thrasher | Lapland Longspur | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | American Redstart | Cape May Warbler | Blackburnian Warbler | Palm Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Summer Tanager | Indigo Bunting

Western Tanager

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INTERPRETING NATURE—2020 Nature For All Leadership Academy

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Los Angeles Audubon is proud to announce that staff members Emily Cobar and Edgar Pedroza have been selected as part of Nature For All’s Cohort 17 Leadership Academy! Following, Edgar and Emily talk about their initial experience and what they hope to accomplish during their time in the leadership academy.

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Silver Lake Reservoir Development and Potential Waterfowl Habitat Loss

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Birders have recognized the value of Silver Lake Reservoir for over a century, with the reservoir playing a role in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, dating as far back as 1916 and even rarities such as Tundra Swan being recorded there in 1919.

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Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 4, Mar–Apr 2020

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Birds of the Season – December 2019

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Who claims we don’t have seasons in southern California?  Though admittedly they are not as pronounced as they are elsewhere in the country, they are nonetheless distinct and the changes in avifauna that accompany them are significant.  Aside from normal seasonal transformations, climate change is affecting and altering habitats and ecosystems.

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Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 3, Jan-Feb 2020

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Birds of the Season — August 2019

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Though late June and early July tend to be a slower time of year compared to the major rush of spring migration and the great variety that autumn provides, there were nonetheless a number of notable birds recorded in the county.  As July progressed into August, plenty of southbound shorebirds and a handful of passerines were already passing through.

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Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 1, Sep–Oct 2019

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Perhentian Islands, Malaysia | Photo by Cindy Hardin

Perhentian Islands, Malaysia | Photo by Cindy Hardin

Download PDF, Vol. 86 No. 1 , Western Tanager
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INTERPRETING NATURE: Community Birding in the Heart of Los Angeles

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INTERPRETING NATURE: Community Birding in the Heart of Los Angeles

Last year, junior staff of Los Angeles Audubon Society applied and received a scientific/research and community based grant by the Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Grant Program. Thanks to their generous funding, LA Audubon was able to produce 100 calendars filled with photographs and artwork made by the community including the schools’ principal, students, and their parents/guardians. In this project; staff, Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program students and ee360 Fellowship interns led the Esperanza Elementary community in bilingual nature walks that bridged research, community engagement and art with non-scientists and non-researchers- a concept of community science.

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Why We Pull Weeds

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Why We Pull Weeds

BY ELEANOR OSGOOD & ALAN STARBUCK

We both volunteer to weed in our public lands as part of a habitat restoration team which is coordinated by Eleanor. But we come to this unusual habit, obsession almost, with different impetuses: for Eleanor, bird watching; for Alan, hiking. We’d like to share with you our answers to the often-asked questions “You pull weeds? Really? Why?” in the hope that it will inspire you to join us, whatever your impetus may be. Here are our stories:

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