Date: 3/10/25 12:11 am From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [inlandcountybirds] Swainson's Hawk and Turkey Vulture Migration
Hi Everyone, Here's an update on the Swainson's hawk and turkey vulture migration across the greater Los Angeles Area. There have been a modest number of reports of five or more Swainson's hawks reported across Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino Counties so far in recent days. Here's the most recent list, which I compiled earlier today (Sunday, March 9):
N Date Location Observer
170 Mar 5 Bonelli Park Keith Condon
80 Mar 5 Bonelli Park, 2nd group Keith Condon
20+ Mar 6 0755 Hahamongna Park Jeffrey and Mary Fenwick
12 Mar 6 0935 Hahamongna Park Jeffrey and Mary Fenwick
55 Mar 6 1227 East Upland. Two groups Mike Brossart & Kitty Blassey
5 Mar 6 1500 70th W/Ave L8, Antelope Valley Kathy Duret
75 Mar 8 1603 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Dani and Douglas Lippoldt
5 Mar 9 0903 Senwood Way, Fallbrook Kenneth Weaver (San Diego County, coastal slope)
There have been numerous other Swainson's hawk reports from LA, San Bernardino, western Riverside, Orange, and coastal San Diego Counties, all with less than 5 individuals.
Counts at Borrego Springs in eastern San Diego County have picked up with multiple reports of dozens of birds (or more). Tonight about 125 hawks were reported in that area, so they might move west over western Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles County on Monday.
There have also been many recent reports in the Imperial Valley south of the Salton Sea, some with dozens of birds.
Significantly larger numbers of turkey vultures have been on the move in recent weeks. Yesterday I pored over eBird records for Los Angeles County and tabulated every list since February 1 that reported at least 20 vultures. Here's what I found:
N Date Location Observer
25 Feb 4 Piute Ponds Kimball Garrett
50 Feb 6 Pomona Colleg Mark Price
70 Feb 6 Butte Valley FlowerSanctuary William Watson
42 Feb 6 Santa Fe Dam Mickey and Jan Long
40 Feb 8 PCT near Tehachapi Alan Brelsford
48 Feb 8 250th E/Adobe Mountain Kimball Garrett
43 Feb 8 Quail Lake Pasadena Audubon Trip (multiple groups of birds)
24 Feb 11 Claremont Village Michael San Miguel
32 Feb 14 Juniper Hills Kimball Garrett
34 Feb 16 Near PCT/Mojave Alan Brelsford
25 Feb 16 Creston Dr, Hollywood Helen Butts
22 Feb 17 Big Dalton Canyon Patrick Gavit
58 Feb 18 Piute Ponds Kimball Garrett
49 Feb 19 Sandberg Brad Rumble
40 Feb 23 90th E/Ave F8 Lance Benner
27 Feb 23 250th E/Adobe Mountain Chezy Yusuf
25 Feb 23 Butte Valley FlowerSanctuary William Watson
36 Feb 23 Malibu Creek State Park Matthew Webb
52 Feb 23 Hansen Dam Nathan Barkley
27 Feb 24 Descanso Gardens Jeffrey and Mary Fenwick
30 Feb 26 101 near Sepulveda Basin Anonymous
27 Feb 26 Hansen Dam Nathan Barkley
22 Feb 27 Hahamongna Park Jeffrey and Mary Fenwick
70 Mar 1 Butte Valley FlowerSanctuary William Watson
35 Mar 1 Lake Piru Carter Strope
23 Mar 2 Walker Ranch, Placerita Cyn Mark and Janet Scheel
20 Mar 2 Hansen Dam Nathan Barkley
23 Mar 2 Hansen Dam Brad Rumble
25 Mar 3 Crystalaire Ruth Gravance
33 Mar 3 Pinyon Road, Llano Anonymous
40 Mar 3 Two Strike Park, LaCresenta George Faeustle
30 Mar 5 Bonelli Park Keith Condon
41 Mar 6 Hahamongna Park Jeffrey and Mary Fenwick
Kimball Garrett mentioned that one of the vultures he saw in Juniper Hills had a red or orange patagial tag, so please be on the alert for those, and if you see some, try to read code on the tag and report it in your eBird lists (and on the listserves).
Finally, large flocks of other large birds are also migrating inland. For example, on Saturday, Naresh Satyan and I saw a flock of about 150 California gulls thousands of feet over La Canada-Flintridge and moving toward Mt. Lukens. The birds were strung out in a broad crescent and were visually striking against a deep blue sky.
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