Date: 7/14/25 9:49 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Northern Pygmy Owls in eBird
Hi Everyone, There have been numerous reports of northern pygmy owls submitted to eBird from the San Gabriel Mountains recently. Many of these are supported by documentation and are correct, but some do not have sufficient (or any) documentation and probably won't be accepted. Pygmy owls in Los Angeles County are treated as "rare" in eBird due to confusion beween their toots with similar sounds made by several other species: Merriam's chipmunk, lodgepole chipmunk, various squirrels, northern saw-whet owl, mountain quail, and Townsend's solitaire. There have been many instances where observers reported the owls based on sounds alone without realizing that there are several possible and common sources of confusion. In some cases observers have uploaded recordings into eBird that turned out to be squirrels and chipmunks. Consequently, if you think you've found a northern pygmy owl in southern California, PLEASE document it! If you think you hear one, try to obtain recordings--your cell phone is probably sufficiently sensitive to do this, and in most cases, fancy equipment isn't necessary. If you see a bird, please photograph it and/or provide a detailed written description of what the bird looks like. To address this issue, a few years back I gave a presentation for Los Angeles Birders on confusing owl sounds in southern California. The talk includes examples of sounds made by pygmy owls and the other species mentioned above, shows sonograms, and discusses techniques to distinguish them. The talk was recorded and is available online at: https://www.labirders.org/webinars/confusing_bird_sounds.html Briefly, the west coast northern pygmy owl male toots are typically at a frequency (or pitch) of about 1100 Hz, occur at intervals of roughly 2 seconds, and last 2-3x longer than chipmunk calls, which are also usually at a higher pitch. There are variations, of course, such as female pygmy owl toots at about 1300-1500 Hz (although uncommon), rapid toots, and so on. Pygmy owl toots are usually at a distinctly slower cadence than those made by northern saw-whet owls, which are often (but not always) at a slightly higher pitch. The Merlin recording app can correctly identify northern pygmy owls...but it isn't always right! It regularly gets confused by squirrels and chipmunks, and last I checked, it doesn't do very well with mountain quail. Thus, if Merlin indicates that you recorded a pygmy owl, that is NOT sufficient documentation to establish the identity of the bird. Using the Merlin app on a phone will also show a real-time sonogram, which is really helpful, but unfortunately the sensitivity of Merlin is not as good as other apps. I recommend using Song Meter Touch (which also shows sonograms) or Voice Record Pro; both are more sensitive than Merlin and are free. Regards, Lance Lance BennerPasadenaOn behalf of Los Angeles Birders _._,_._,_
