Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Western Cattle Egret | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | “Prairie” Merlin | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Dusky Flycatcher | Yellow-green Vireo | Pacific Wren | Brown Thrasher | WHITE WAGTAIL | “Red” Fox Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager
Western Tanager, Nov-Dec 2023, Vol. 90 No. 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Observing the Coastal California Gnatcatcher, by Daniel Horowitz
LAAS Expresses Concerns with Ballona Wetlands Project – With Letter to the Wildlife Conservation Board, by Margot Griswold
The 124th Christmas Bird Count
Arctic-Breeding Greater Yellowlegs Tracked to Los Angeles River, by Rozy Bathrick
Birds of the Season - December 2023, by Jon Fisher
2024 Call For Applications, Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award
Observing the Coastal California Gnatcatcher
Spotting a coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) takes patience. They can be shy and elusive, never sitting still. They might appear in front of you when you’re least expecting it, only to dart away before you get a good look. And it’s necessary to get a good look because they can be easily confused with the more commonly seen Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that it became its own species separate from the blue-gray. Though elusive, the birds’ call can more easily be heard- a squealing “meeew” that sounds like a squeaking dog toy pleading for help.
Rare Bird Alert - November 24, 2023
TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE | Pacific Golden-Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Western Cattle Egret | Swainson’s Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Ash-throated Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Cassin’s Vireo | Yellow-Green Vireo | Pacific Wren | Brown Thrasher | “Red” Fox Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Bay-breasted Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager
124th Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Rare Bird Alert - November 17, 2023
TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Pacific Loon | Western Cattle Egret | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Swainson’s Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Pacific Wren | Western Wood-Pewee | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Brown Thrasher | Varied Thrush | Lapland Longspur | Evening Grosbeak | Grasshopper Sparrow | Lark Bunting | Swamp Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Baltimore Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Lucy’s Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rare Bird Alert - November 10, 2023
TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE | Surf Scoter | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | Tropical Kingbird | Lark Bunting | Clay-colored Sparrow | American Tree Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Orchard Oriole | Tennessee Warbler | Palm Warbler | Grace’s Warbler | Summer Tanager | Black-headed Grosbeak
Western Tanager, September-October 2023, Vol. 90 No.1
Photo by Robbie Lisa Freeman
Inside This Issue
A Splendidly Spooky Avian Encounter by Robbie Lisa Freeman
Birds Of The Season—October 2023 by Jon Fisher
LAAS Expresses Concerns with Ballona Wetlands Project
Los Angeles Audubon Society has submitted a pair of letters regarding the proposed construction project for the Ballona Wetlands. A judge ruled that the original Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s project was deficient and ordered that the project could not proceed until a new, legally sufficient EIR was prepared. LAAS concurred that the original EIR was flawed and disagrees fundamentally with the project desired by CDFW.
CDFW recently issued a request for comments on their preparation of a new EIR with a 30-day comment period. LAAS is respectfully requesting that this comment period be extended to 75 days in the interest of public participation and transparency. You can read the letter here.
The planning for the Ballona Wetlands project has been funded by the Wildlife Conservation Board and CDFW is going back to the WCB for even more funds to redesign the project to account for accurate estimates of future possible flooding in Ballona Creek. CDFW used a lower estimate of flooding in the original EIR, even though they knew that higher flows were possible. The Wildlife Conservation Board may schedule consideration of the additional funding as soon as November 15. LAAS opposes this timing, and is requesting that instead the funding decision be schedule only after the scoping period for the EIR so that all parties know and understand the scope of the revisions that might be necessary.
LAAS opposes further funding of a planning process that has been flawed in many ways and has led to a proposed project that is inconsistent with current understanding of the ecology of the area, does not account for current estimates of sea level rise, and does not address the adverse impacts to groundwater and groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
You can read our letter to the Wildlife Conservation Board here. And you can express your concerns to the WCB by calling them at (916) 445-8448 and requesting that they not fund further Ballona Wetlands planning until there is a commitment from CDFW to reopen the project design and to incorporate the changed environmental conditions and legal requirements since the current design was selected in 2008. A lot has changed since then and Ballona deserves a restoration plan that reflects current scientific understanding and has the full support of the environmental community.
Rare Bird Alert - November 3, 2023
TUNDRA BEAN-GOOSE | White-winged Dove | Pacific Golden-Plover | Mountain Plover | Cattle Egret | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | Northern “Yellow-shafted” Flicker | “Prairie” Merlin | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Dusky Flycatcher | Evening Grosbeak | Chestnut-collared Longspur | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Black-and-white Warbler | Cape May Warbler | Palm Warbler | Summer Tanager | Rose-breasted Grosbeak