Date: 4/6/26 5:16 pm From: Carter Gasiorowski via groups.io <carter.gasiorowski...> Subject: [southbaybirds] Vasona Last Weekend
Today, my dad and I arrived at Vasona Lake County Park around 6:35 am to see what was around. As soon as we got out of the car, we were greeted by a chorus of singing AMERICAN ROBINS, HOUSE FINCHES, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. Heading down Pepper Tree Lane into the park, several ACORN WOODPECKERS were hawking insects overhead while WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BROWN CREEPERS sang from hidden tree trunks. Heading along the creek, I caught a glimpse of a large bird flying behind the trees. I initially thought it was a Canada Goose, but as it came into the open, the bird's wing beats were far too purposeful for a goose. I snapped my binoculars to eye level, and was delighted to see it was an adult BALD EAGLE! The adult's head appeared to glow orange against the sunrise as it powerfully rose through the air, eventually perching atop the tallest tree on the west side of the lake. Now that I was looking in that direction, I noticed another, immature Bald Eagle perched nearby. Amazingly, both eagles remained in the exact same location for the next three hours of our visit.
A few minutes later we ran into Chris Henry and his dad Brian, who we birded with for the remainder of our visit. Yellow-rumped Warblers filled every tree we passed; I estimate we saw at least 65 during our visit, many of which were singing. Chris and I homed in on the 'Weent!" calls of a HOODED ORIOLE above, which flew off with a fiery flash of orange.
Behind the ranger residence, I noticed a cloud ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS feeding around a small flowering eucalyptus, which I decided to look through since Chris and I had just been talking about the Black-chinned Hummingbird he had found nearby last year. After giving it a good look, I started to walk away, then stopped suddenly as the metallic "zzzeeeeeeew!" of a Selasphorus hummingbird's wings zipped over my head. I ran back to the white-flowered eucalyptus, and was ecstatic to see a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD! The male Rufous declared a one-man war on the local Anna's Hummingbirds, chasing away three of them at once before hovering in place just long enough for Chris to get a look and for me to grab a photo. I am so excited to have seen this absolute gem of a bird, as I haven't had one in a few years since I've been busy with school. It was also Vasona bird #140 for me!
Continuing along the creek, Chris found a singing TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, our first warbler other than YRWA for the day. We checked the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker spot, but found its wells unattended and dripping with uneaten sap. The sapsucker must have begun its spring migration, hopefully finding its way back to its normal range.
Near the railroad tracks, there was a flock of HOUSE FINCHES foraging in the grass. As I looked elsewhere, Chris took a closer look, and called out "Lark Sparrow!" I looked over and with some difficulty spotted the Lark Sparrow in the shadow of the railroad- a good bird for Vasona and not an easy species to find as a migrant!
Heading along the east side of the creek, Chris picked out an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER in the canopy and managed to get a SORA to enthusiastically respond to playback. The east side of the lake had many birds engaged in breeding activity, such as a Hooded Oriole carrying a strand of fan palm for its nest, a pair of SONG SPARROWS feeding two young, and a pair of DARK-EYED JUNCOS carrying fat caterpillars to an unseen nest. A male GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE sang from the island where a female had been present earlier; maybe they will breed and continue this species' recent range expansion. Breeding records such as these provide important scientific data about our local birds, so I highly encourage all birders to join the California Bird Atlas Project- which is conveniently tied into eBird! Link here: https://www.californiabirdatlas.org/
It was a great day of birding with good people, and I broke my personal single-checklist record for Vasona with 64 species!
Do not disclose information that identifies the location of nesting birds of any species, to minimize stress on the nesting birds and the risk of vandalism or abuse.
