White-winged Dove | Red-necked Grebe | Pacific Golden-Plover | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Pacific Wren | WINTER WREN | Clay-colored Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | American Redstart | Cape May Warbler | Northern Parula | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager
Rare Bird Alert - December 29, 2023
Red-necked Grebe | Laughing Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Red-throated Loon | Cattle Egret | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | CRESTED CARACARA | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Bell’s Vireo | Pacific Wren | Clay-colored Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Baltimore Oriole | Black-and-white Warbler | Tennessee Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager
Birds of the Season- December 2023
Mild temperatures and limited precipitation were features of fall this year, and so were many rare birds. Though the traditional vagrant season for passerines ends with October, that doesn’t mean the end of good birds. Increasingly, neotropical migrants are found well into November and later. Neither were these limited to songbirds; as always, the variety was ample. Additionally, Christmas Birds Counts, run from December 14-January 5, have already turned up more notable birds.
Rare Bird Alert - December 22, 2023
Pacific Golden-Plover | Laughing Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Red-throated Loon | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Ash-throated Flycatcher | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Eastern Phoebe | Yellow-green Vireo | Pacific Wren | Brown Thrasher | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | “Large-billed” Savannah Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Orchard Oriole | Hooded Oriole | Rusty Blackbird | Tennessee Warbler | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager
2024 Call For Applications, Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award
Los Angeles Audubon Society presents an annual research grant, the Ralph W. Schreiber Ornithology Research Award, to support research relevant to the biology of birds.
One or more awards will be given out in 2024, with the maximum of $2,000 per award. The application deadline for the 2024 Research Award is April 30, 2024, and it is anticipated that grants will be awarded in June 2024.
Rare Bird Alert - December 15, 2023
Pacific Golden-Plover | Little Gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Swainson’s Hawk | Zone-tailed Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Cassin’s Vireo | Clay-colored Sparrow | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Hooded Oriole | Rusty Blackbird | Black-and-white Warbler | American Redstart | Chestnut-sided Warbler | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Painted Redstart | Summer Tanager
Rare Bird Alert - December 8, 2023
Pacific Golden-Plover | Red Knot | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Flesh-footed Shearwater | Brown Booby | Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Zone-tailed Hawk | Short-eared Owl | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Tropical Kingbird | THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD | Dusky Flycatcher | Western Flycatcher | Cassin’s Vireo | Pacific Wren | Grasshopper Sparrow | Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Junco | Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Junco | White-throated Sparrow | Swamp Sparrow | Green-tailed Towhee | Rusty Blackbird | Black-and-white Warbler | Nashville Warbler | American Redstart | Palm Warbler | Pine Warbler | Painted Redstart | Hepatic Tanager | Summer Tanager
Rare Bird Alert - December 1, 2023
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.