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!
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
Surf Scoter | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Solitary Sandpiper | Laughing Gull | Vega Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Pacific Loon | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Western Kingbird | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Gray Catbird | Grasshopper Sparrow | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Sagebrush Sparrow | “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Ovenbird | Northern Waterthrush | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Nashville Warbler | MacGillivray’s Warbler | American Redstart | 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 | Black-headed Grosbeak
“Eurasian” Green-winged Teal | Surf Scoter | Barrow’s Goldeneye | Vega Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Prairie Falcon | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | GREATER PEWEE | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Verdin | Gray Catbird | Grasshopper Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Ovenbird | Palm Warbler | Grace’s Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak
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
As spring rushed toward summer, birders made the most of their time finding migrants both regular and rare. By early June the show was all but over, with only a few stragglers still passing through. Following a dismal vagrant season last spring, there were hopes for a more exciting 2022. Indeed, this year saw marked improvement with a rather satisfying- if not overwhelming- number of good birds found in the county.
Black Swift | Chimney Swift | Craveri’s Murrelet | Horned Puffin | Tufted Puffin | Slaty-backed Gull | Glaucous-winged Gull | Manx Shearwater | Neotropic Cormorant | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Eastern Kingbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Hooded Warbler | Yellow-throated Warbler | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Photo: Lewis's Woodpecker (melanerpes lewis), © Ian Routley, Courtesy of Macaulay Library
Birders are used to many types of change. Migration, increasing and decreasing bird populations, loss and gain of habitat, and varying access to favored birding locations are all familiar ones. Climate change adds an element that is transforming the distribution and habitats of birds, with the effects becoming more apparent every year.
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