Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - December 24, 2025

Surf Scoter | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Mountain Plover | Solitary Sandpiper | Lesser Black-backed Gull | “Prairie” Merlin | Prairie Falcon | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | Gray Catbird | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Ovenbird | Northern Waterthrush | Black-and-white Warbler | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Nashville Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - December 16, 2025

Surf Scoter | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Mountain Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Zone-tailed Hawk | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Ash-throated Flycatcher | GREATER PEWEE | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | Gray Catbird | Lapland Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Nashville Warbler | American Redstart | Northern Parula | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rare Bird Alert
Jon Fisher
Rare Bird Alert - December 5, 2025

Eurasian Wigeon | Surf Scoter | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | American Bittern | Western Cattle-Egret | Manx Shearwater | Swainson’s Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Williamson’s Sapsucker | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | Lapland Longspur | Thick-billed Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Yellow-headed Blackbird | Hooded Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | MacGillivray’s Warbler | American Redstart | Cape May Warbler | Northern Parula | Blackburnian Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Black-throated Green Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Scarlet Tanager | Black-headed Grosbeak | Indigo Bunting 

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
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Western Tanager, Vol. 85 No. 2, Nov-Dec 2018

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Japanese Sparrow Hawk | Photo by Chukiat Nualsri

Japanese Sparrow Hawk | Photo by Chukiat Nualsri

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Western Tanager, Vol. 85 No. 2, November-December 2018

•Hawk Mountain of Thailand, By Linda Oberholtzer | Photos by: Chukiat Nualsri

•The Rufa Red Knot: A Long Distant Migrant Depends on the Delaware Bay, By Dessi Sieburth

•INTERPRETING NATURE: Connecting Science and the Spirit of Nature, By Arely Mendia Perez, Restoration & Education Staff Member; Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

•BIRDS OF THE SEASON—October 2018, By Jon Fisher

•2018 End-of-Year Appeal, By Carol Babeli, Los Angeles Audubon’s Development Director

•Audubon California Assembly–Nov. 2-4, 2018

Download PDF
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Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 6, Jul-Aug 2018

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COVER_Vol. 84 No. 6 Jul-Aug 2018.jpg

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 6, Jul-Aug 2018

• Book Review: The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Santa Barbara County, California | Kimball L. Garrett

•Green Feather Award Winner 2018: “Let Her Play” | Aisling Murray

• INTERPRETING NATURE: Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program Research | Stacey Vigallon

• YOUNG BIRDERS: A New Discovery - Our Rufous Hummingbirds Molt in the Mexican Monsoonal Region | Dessi Sieburth

• Birds of the Season: June 2018 | Jon Fisher

PDF, Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 6, Jul-Aug 2018
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Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 5, May-Jun 2018

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 5, May-June 2018

  • Snowy Plover Conservation Program Faces An Uncertain Future

  • YOUNG BIRDERS: A Striking African Bird in Los Angeles County: The Pin‐tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura), By Dessi Sieburth

  • INTERPRETING NATURE: Using science fiction to envision the future, By Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

  • Birds of The Season—April 2018, By Jon Fisher

  • INTERVIEW: Allow Me the Honor To Introduce To You: Irwin Woldman, By Louis Tucker

  • Least Tern Monitoring At Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, By Carolyn Vance, USFWS Volunteer, Seal Beach NWR

PDF, Vol. 84 No. 5, May-June 2018
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Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 4, Mar-Apr 2018

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Owens Valley, April 2017 | Photo by Mary Freeman

Owens Valley, April 2017 | Photo by Mary Freeman

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 4, March-April 2018

  • The California Condor, By Dessi Sieburth

  • Birding in Belize: A Guide Shares His Top Five Sites, By Lisa Freeman

  • Birds of the Season—February 2018, By Jon Fisher

  • Beautiful Ballona: What’s The Latest?, By Cindy Hardin

  • In Memory of Howard King, By Nick Freeman

PDF, Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 4, March-April 2018
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Western Tanager, Vol. 84 No. 2, Nov-Dec 2017

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE, November-December 2017 Western Tanager

  • What’s to Become of the Ballona Wetlands? By David DeLange, PhD, Vice President – Los Angeles Audubon

  • YOUNG BIRDERS: The Western Bluebird Conservation Project, By Dessi Sieburth

  • Ballona Chronicles: A Bicycle Built for Three, By Bev-Sue Powers, www.ballonaphotography.com

  • Baldwin Hills program gives young people hands-on training in science and restoration. By Natasha Khann

  • INTERPRETING NATURE: 2016–2017 Greenhouse Intern Project Abstracts, By Stacey Vigallon, Director of Intrpretation, and the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Interns

  • CONSERVATION GRANT: "Ballona to the Beach", By Carol Babeli, Director of Communications and Development

  • Birds of the Season—October 2017, by Jon Fisher

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