Common Merganser | Black Swift | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Neotropic Cormorant | Reddish Egret | Western Wood-Pewee | Indigo Bunting
Lek Leaders Celebrate 30 Years Guiding Birders to Owens Valley
When you sign up for a birding excursion with Mary and Nick Freeman, you may find yourself learning a lot more than you expected. In addition to bird identification by color, features, calls, and habitat, you may learn about flora and fauna, geology, biology, and even archeology. That’s because the folks who tend to go on their trips are amazingly diverse in their backgrounds and happy to share their knowledge. On a recent four-day Owens Valley sage-grouse trip led by the Freemans, the dozen attendees included two biologists, a geologist, an archeologist, and birders and photographers of all levels, including one world birder whose life list encompasses more than 7,700 birds!
The Great Lek Trek: Viewing the Bi-State Greater Sage-Grouse
It’s been a long, bone-jarring drive down a dark and dusty rutted road. But finally, our caravan of eight vehicles pulls to a stop and 14 birders tumble out of their cars. Tucked into down jackets, gloves, face masks, and boots, we’re hoping to keep the bitter cold at bay. But as we gather our gear and strike out on our path, the 22-degree chill seeps insidiously through the stitching of even the best-made gloves and parkas. Before long, my fingers tingle from grasping the aluminum legs of the tripod and camera slung over my shoulder. But we are moving towards our target and my excitement exceeds my discomfort.
INTERPRETING NATURE—Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program Research Projects, 2021-2022 school year
On May 29th, 2022 the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program wrapped up its 14th school year. The program was a balancing act of online and in-person activities at Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Despite the pandemic, Greenhouse students proved themselves to be both committed and adaptable. We fortunate to be able to collaborate with Cal Poly Pomona’s Questad Lab and Jen Toy of the USC Landscape Architecture program this year. The annual Cactus Commencement Ceremony - the culminating event where students present their work to an audience – was reinstated as an in-person event this year. Students led friends, family, alumni, and program collaborators through a series of environmental education stations that showcased the knowledge and skills that students had gained over the year.
Rare Bird Alert - July 22, 2022
Rare Bird Alert - July 15, 2022
Rare Bird Alert - July 8, 2022
Western Tanager, Vol. 88 No. 6, Jul–Aug 2022
The July–August 2022 issue of the Western Tanager is online. Inside this issue are our regular columns, Interpreting Nature, Conservation Conversation and Outdoor Education. This summer, we present an article, “The Great Lek Trek”, about 30th Anniversary LAAS field trip to the Owens Valley for grouse viewing, written by Robbie Lisa Freeman. Enjoy the writings submitted by the winners of the “2022 Green Feather” awards, Jennifer Wu and Jonathan Kim, and articles “From Our Readers”, Judith Deutsch and Sharon Udkoff.
Rare Bird Alert - July 1, 2022
CONSERVATION CONVERSATION — Darkness as Refuge
The challenges faced by the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) are many as it winters and breeds along the coast of southern California. Beach grooming by heavy equipment perpetually remove valuable habitat and flatten out once-undulating dunes. Beachgoers and their pets use the land where they once nested. Predators come from all directions, from raptors to roaming cats.