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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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.

Winging it: Discovering the Caribbean Birding Trail

Winging it: Discovering the Caribbean Birding Trail

When my intended trip to Thailand fell through, I found myself scrambling for a new destination to go binging on exotic birds. Scouring the internet, I stumbled upon BirdsCaribbean.org, the largest organization dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and their habitat in the Caribbean. Turns out, BirdsCaribbean.org had established something called the Caribbean Birding Trail which, according to Executive Director Lisa Sorenson, was designed to educate birders about the more than 700 species of birds in the Caribbean, including 171 endemic species found nowhere else in the world! I was smitten. This was starting to sound like the trip of a lifetime, with lots of lifer birds to be seen. Even more exciting, I would be travelling in December, when more than 150 migrating birds wing their way to the region.

Rare Bird Alert - March 6, 2020

American Oystercatcher | Pacific Golden-Plover | Brown Booby | American Bittern | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Brown-crested Flycatcher | GREATER PEWEE | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | BLUE-HEADED VIREO | Gray Catbird | Evening Grosbeak | Harris’s Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Northern Waterthrush | Black-and-white Warbler | American Redstart | Summer Tanager | Black-headed Grosbeak

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

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Rare Bird Alert - February 28, 2020

White-winged Dove | American Oystercatcher | MASKED BOOBY | American Bittern | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | “Black” Merlin | Ash-throated Flycatcher | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Tropical Kingbird | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Pacific-slope Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Pacific Wren | Gray Catbird | Evening Grosbeak | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Black-and-white Warbler | Palm Warbler | Summer Tanager

Rare Bird Alert - February 21, 2020

Red-necked Grebe | American Oystercatcher | MASKED BOOBY | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Pacific-slope Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Pacific Wren | Gray Catbird | Evening Grosbeak | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Harris’s Sparrow | “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Northern Waterthrush | Black-and-white Warbler | American Restart | Palm Warbler | Summer Tanager

Rare Bird Alert - February 7, 2020

White-winged Scoter | Black Scoter | Spotted Dove | American Oystercatcher | Lesser Black-backed Gull | American Bittern | California Condor | Ash-throated Flycatcher | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | Evening Grosbeak | Clay-colored Sparrow | White-throated Sparrow | Black-and-white Warbler | American Redstart | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Black-headed Grosbeak

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