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
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Attack of the Azolla!
Birds of the Season-March 2024
Bird Walks & Field Trips
Broad-billed Hummingbird | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Purple Martin | Brown Thrasher | American Dipper | White-Wagtail | Lark Bunting | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager
Azolla covers habitable locations within the nature preserve at Madrona Marsh as an invasive species. A thin layer of Azolla, a free-floating freshwater fern, covers the marsh with alternating hues that range from fluorescent green to dark burgundy. Ferns are some of the first plants to originate before gymnosperms and angiosperms evolved.
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.
Giant Sequoia, Photo by Mary Freeman
• Owls of the Southern Sierra's, By Mary Freeman
• PRESS RELEASE: Southeast Arizona Birding Festival Showcases the Region's Natural Wonders
White-winged Dove | Whimbrel | Common Loon | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Plumbeous Vireo | Purple Martin | Red Crossbill | White-crowned Sparrow | Ovenbird | Black-and-white Warbler | American Redstart | CAPE MAY WARBLER | Magnolia Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | GRACE’S WARBLER | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak | Indigo Bunting
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