Early June saw spring migration winding down as well as a handful of late spring vagrants. Right on their heels were the first southbound shorebirds. As we moved into July shorebird numbers increased rapidly.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Page 1–2 Hawk On The Block
Page 3 Nature Nexus & Volunteers
Page 4 Conservation Conversation
Pages 5–6 Birds of the Season
Page 7–8 Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
Pages 9 Upcoming Bird Walks
White-winged Dove | Red Knot | Semipalmated Sandpiper | Sabine’s Gull | Magnificent Frigatebird | Neotropic Cormorant | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | Eastern Kingbird | Yellow-green Vireo | Purple Martin | “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrow | Northern Waterthrush | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | American Redstart | Summer Tanager
Open Wetlands at Ballona Salt Marsh — Bird Walk (1st Saturday)
Open Wetlands at Ballona Salt Marsh — Bird Walk (2nd Sunday)
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area — Bird Walk (3rd Saturday)
South Los Angeles Wetlands Park — Bilingual Bird Walk (Sat. Oct 15)
Will Rogers State Historic Park — Beginner's Bird Walk (Experienced birders welcome too!) (Oct. 16)
The migration each year of nearly 5 billion birds from breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Central and South America and the Caribbean (the “Neotropics”) is both one of the wonders of nature and what marks the season for birders. Some of those birds even stay and overwinter here in Los Angeles and other southern reaches of North America. A Western Tanager stopped under our oak tree as this column was going to press but it will be another month before the Yellow-rumped Warblers arrive for the winter.
In some respects, July represents the summer doldrums for birds and birding. Breeding activity is largely over and fall migration has yet to get into full swing. But nothing is static in the bird world. Shorebird migration was already well underway, and the first southbound passerines were not far behind. Though much of what migration has served up thus far has been standard fare, a handful of vagrants have already been recorded.
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