Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - February 6, 2026

Eurasian Wigeon | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Lesser Black-backed Gull | California Condor | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Williamson’s Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Bell’s Vireo | Cassin’s Vireo | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Orchard Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Grace’s Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - January 29, 2026

Eurasian Wigeon | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Common Murre | Laughing Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Williamson’s Sapsucker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Bell’s Vireo | Brown Creeper | Pacific Wren | Gray Catbird | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Baltimore Oriole | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Nashville Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager

Christmas Bird Count
Travis Longcore
Los Angeles Christmas Bird Count Summary

The Los Angeles Christmas Bird Count was held on Jan. 2, 2026, the original date (Jan. 4) having been moved due to the predicted all-day rain. Most of our regular counters were able to switch to the new date; interestingly, only a few new participants made it out on the 2nd (but a big thanks to those who did!).

Los Angeles Christmas Bird Count Summary
Christmas Bird Count
Susan Castor
2025 Lancaster CBC Breakdown

First, a special note about L.A. County: As counties go, Los Angeles is quite remarkable. Yes, there are a huge number of CBC’s in LA county (12!); but also, in all of the United States, San Diego County is the only other that can lay claim to pelagic birds, montane birds, and desert birds, all residing comfortably in their own ecosystems. Yes, seeing a Verdin, a LeConte’s Thrasher, and a Mountain Bluebird on one LA County CBC; then turning around the next day and seeing a Parasitic Jeager, a Black Oystercatcher, and a Lewis’ Woodpecker on another LA County CBC, is entirely possible - although not easy!

2025 Lancaster CBC Breakdown
Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - January 22, 2026

Barrow’s Goldeneye | Greater Roadrunner | Mountain Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Ancient Murrelet | Black-legged Kittiwake | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Zone-tailed Hawk | Williamson’s Sapsucker | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Gray Catbird | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Orchard Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Scott’s Oriole | “Bicolored” Red-winged Blackbird | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Northern Parula | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Grace’s Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Western Tanager

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An Urban Forest for the Birds

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An Urban Forest for the Birds

A fact that has stuck with me from the research for the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas in the 1990s is that there was not a single neighborhood in the county that did not have at least ten breeding bird species. Residents can enjoy birds wherever they live. But beyond that minimum, the number of birds that are found in developed neighborhoods across the region depends on the number of trees, their size, species, and diversity, and associated landscaping.

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Western Tanager, January–February 2023, Vol. 89 No. 3

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Western Tanager, January–February 2023, Vol. 89 No. 3

Inside This Issue

  • Pelagic Birding: A Birder’s Box of Chocolates, by Robbie Lisa Freeman

  • Ten Tips To Prepare for Your First Pelagic, by Robbie Lisa Freeman

  • Snowy Owl in San Pedro, by Andy Dowdell

  • Conservation Conversation, by Travis Longcore (Wildness in Our City, Farewell, P-22, Seeing the Wild at Silver Lake Reservoir, Wild Under Threat at Ballona)

  • Birds of the Season — December 2022

  • Christmas Count, by Linda Sheehan

  • January 11th Online Presentation — Scaring Birds for Science, with Mario Díaz presenting

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Western Tanager—Nov-Dec 2022

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This is the November–December 2022, Western Tanager, Vol. 89 No. 2.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Lead Article: Native-plant landscaping in residential yards provides habitat and refuge for birds in Southern California

CONSERVATION CONVERSATION, Goose in the Lights

Christmas Bird Count 2022

Birds of the Season–October 2022

Monthly Program Presentations

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Birds of the Season – October 2022

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Birds of the Season – October 2022

September and October are a time of almost endless potential and anticipation in the birder’s world in southern California, with a wide variety of migrants passing through. But it is also a time of uncertainly; each year is different and we never know exactly what to expect. What numbers of vagrants will turn up? What species will be above or below average? Will any ultra-rare Asian strays be found? To avoid any unnecessary suspense, I will state that the fall of 2022 did not disappoint.

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Native-plant landscaping in residential yards provides habitat and refuge for birds in Southern California

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Native-plant landscaping in residential yards provides habitat and refuge for birds in Southern California

As an ecologist, the mega sprawl of cities such as Los Angeles has always made me wonder what happened to wildlife native to the land before development. In the 20th and 21st centuries, humans in Southern California have converted vast natural ecosystems into buildings, houses, roads, agriculture, and other infrastructure and land uses. How did these drastic changes to the environment affect wildlife? How can we mitigate the negative effects of urbanization on wildlife?

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CONSERVATION CONVERSATION—Legislative Priorities to Protect Birds During Migration

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CONSERVATION CONVERSATION—Legislative Priorities to Protect Birds During Migration

The migration each year of nearly 5 billion birds from breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Central and South America and the Caribbean (the “Neotropics”) is both one of the wonders of nature and what marks the season for birders. Some of those birds even stay and overwinter here in Los Angeles and other southern reaches of North America. A Western Tanager stopped under our oak tree as this column was going to press but it will be another month before the Yellow-rumped Warblers arrive for the winter.

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