Date: 5/11/26 9:19 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [LACoBirds] ABC Wrap-up: 255 Species
Hi Everyone,
This is the final summary for America's Birdiest County in Los Angeles on April 24-26, 2026.
The total this year was 255 species.
There weren't any additional species added (or subtracted) after the last update.
How does our total compare with results from previous years?
Here are America's Birdiest County totals for Los Angeles County since 2003:
Year Total
2026 255 Apr 24-26
2025 267 Apr 25-27
2024 276 Apr 26-28
2023 268 Apr 28-30
2022 265 Apr 22-24
2021 277 Apr 23-25
2020 No count due to covid 19
2019 257 Apr 26-28
2018 263 Apr 27-29
2017 264 Apr 28-30
2016 270 Apr 29-May 1
2015 275 Apr 25-27
2014 272 Apr 25-27
2013 265 Apr 26-28
2012 262 Apr 29-30
2011 277 Apr 22-24
2010 271 Apr 23-25
2009 264 Apr 24-26
2008 255 Apr 25-27
2007 271 Apr 26-28
2006 263 Apr 28-30 Format changed from one day to three days; more organization
2005 246
2004 239
2003 239
Average from 2003-present: 263.5 +- 11.0
Our total this year was about eight species above our long-term average, so clearly the total can't be above average every year. It turns out that there were about 20 species that we missed by less than one week either before or after the count.
Finding this many species takes a lot of effort, and we got that many because a lot of dedicated and knowledgeable people went into the field and covered the most important locations for birds across the county. This resulted in excellent coverage at the Piute Ponds, Apollo Park, the San Gabriel Mountains (despite the closures), Bonelli Park, Quail Lake, Malibu Lagoon, parks in and near Long Beach, Bear Divide, and the Ballona/Playa de Rey area.
Nevertheless, we struggled to find some rarities and seasonal birds that had apparently left within a few days of the count, or were somehow missed,
We also struggled with a late winter storm that caused difficult conditons in the mountains. Despite this, we actually had decent coverage with multiple teams of observers in the mountains, but struck out with high-elevation species we often find such as Williamson's Sapsucker, Clark's Nutcracker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Golden Eagle. We had observers in suitable locations for most of these except for the sapsucker, which is usually at elevations above 8000 feet in late April. None of the observers went that high due to the weather and road and trail closures.
It's much easier to exceed 260 species than it was only several years ago because numerous introduced species have been added to the state list in recent years: Nanday parakeet, yellow-chevroned parakeet, Lilac-crowned parrot, mitred parakeet, red-masked parakeet, red-whiskered bulbul, and scaly-breasted munia. Our total this year would have been less than 250 if we didn't count these species.
Previous America's Birdiest County winners:
...discontinued after 2011...
2011 277 Los Angeles
2010 271 Los Angeles
2009 264 Los Angeles
2008 255 Los Angeles
2007 271 Los Angeles
2006 263 Los Angeles
2005 250 Monterey and San Diego (tie)
2004 266 San Diego
2003 248 Monterey
America's Birdiest County was a one-day event during its first three years. Starting in 2006, the format changed to three days. 2006 is also the first year that we really got organized in Los Angeles County and that accounts for the distinct uptick in the number of species relative to the first three years.
We added one new species this year:
American Golden-Plover
How does one new species compare with results from previous years?
Here are the number of new species that we've added since 2010:
2026 1
2025 1
2024 6
2023 4 (two were introduced)
2022 3 (two were introduced)
2021 5 (two were introduced)
2020 No count due to covid 19
2019 3
2018 0 Only year we didn't add any species
2017 1
2016 5
2015 4
2014 5
2013 3
2012 5
2011 7
2010 5
Our recent history of adding a few species annually indicates that there are still new species to find in future years. Given the near misses we have every year, it may be several years before we run out of new ones, even without introduced species newly accepted by the California Bird Records Committee.
For example, on several occasions in the last decade we have just missed broad-winged hawk. Cocos Booby (formerly known as Brown Booby) seems inevitable. We keep missing Sage Thrasher by less than two weeks.
Here are the species we FOUND this year:
* Snow Goose
* Ross's Goose
* Brant
* Cackling Goose
* Canada Goose
* Wood Duck
* Blue-winged Teal
* Cinnamon Teal
* Northern Shoveler
* Gadwall
* American Wigeon
* Mallard
* Northern Pintail
* Green-winged Teal
* Canvasback
* Redhead
* Ring-necked Duck
* Lesser Scaup
* Surf Scoter
* White-winged Scoter
* Bufflehead
* Common Goldeneye
* Common Merganser
* Red-breasted Merganser
* Ruddy Duck
* Mountain Quail
* California Quail
* Pied-billed Grebe
* Eared Grebe
* Western Grebe
* Clark's Grebe
* Rock Pigeon
* Band-tailed Pigeon
* Eurasian Collared-Dove
* Spotted Dove
* White-winged Dove
* Mourning Dove
* Greater Roadrunner
* Lesser Nighthawk
* Common Poorwill
* Vaux's Swift
* White-throated Swift
* Black-chinned Hummingbird
* Anna's Hummingbird
* Costa's Hummingbird
* Rufous Hummingbird
* Allen's Hummingbird
* Calliope Hummingbird
* Virginia Rail
* Sora
* Common Gallinule
* American Coot
* Black-necked Stilt
* American Avocet
* Black Oystercatcher
* Black-bellied Plover
* American Golden-Plover
* Snowy Plover
* Semipalmated Plover
* Killdeer
* Hudsonian Whimbrel
* Long-billed Curlew
* Ruddy Turnstone
* Black Turnstone
* Sanderling
* Dunlin
* Least Sandpiper
* Western Sandpiper
* Long-billed Dowitcher
* Red-necked Phalarope
* Spotted Sandpiper
* Solitary Sandpiper
* Wandering Tattler
* Greater Yellowlegs
* Willet
* Lesser Yellowlegs
* Parasitic Jaeger
* Common Murre
* Bonaparte's Gull
* Franklin's Gull
* Heermann's Gull
* Ring-billed Gull
* Western Gull
* California Gull
* American Herring Gull
* Least Tern
* Caspian Tern
* Forster's Tern
* Royal Tern
* Elegant Tern
* Black Skimmer
* Red-throated Loon
* Pacific Loon
* Common Loon
* Brandt's Cormorant
* Pelagic Cormorant
* Neotropic Cormorant
* Double-crested Cormorant
* Brown Pelican
* Least Bittern
* Great Blue Heron
* Great Egret
* Snowy Egret
* Western Cattle Egret
* Green Heron
* Black-crowned Night-Heron
* Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
* White-faced Ibis
* Turkey Vulture
* Osprey
* White-tailed Kite
* Northern Harrier
* Sharp-shinned Hawk
* Cooper's Hawk
* Bald Eagle
* Red-shouldered Hawk
* Swainson's Hawk
* Zone-tailed Hawk
* Red-tailed Hawk
* American Barn Owl
* Flammulated Owl
* Western Screech-Owl
* Great Horned Owl
* Northern Pygmy-Owl
* Northern Saw-whet Owl
* Belted Kingfisher
* Red-breasted Sapsucker
* Lewis's Woodpecker
* Acorn Woodpecker
* Downy Woodpecker
* Nuttall's Woodpecker
* Ladder-backed Woodpecker
* Hairy Woodpecker
* White-headed Woodpecker
* Northern Flicker
* American Kestrel
* Merlin
* Peregrine Falcon
* Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
* Red-Crowned Amazon
* Lilac-Crowned Parrot
* Nanday Parakeet
* Mitred Parakeet
* Red-masked Parakeet
* Olive-sided Flycatcher
* Western Wood-Pewee
* Hammond's Flycatcher
* Gray Flycatcher
* Dusky Flycatcher
* Western Flycatcher
* Black Phoebe
* Say's Phoebe
* Vermilion Flycatcher
* Ash-throated Flycatcher
* Tropical Kingbird
* Cassin's Kingbird
* Western Kingbird
* Bell's Vireo
* Hutton's Vireo
* Cassin's Vireo
* Western Warbling Vireo
* Loggerhead Shrike
* Steller's Jay
* California Scrub-Jay
* American Crow
* Common Raven
* Mountain Chickadee
* Oak Titmouse
* Verdin
* Horned Lark
* Northern Rough-winged Swallow
* Purple Martin
* Tree Swallow
* Violet-green Swallow
* Bank Swallow
* Barn Swallow
* Cliff Swallow
* Red-Whiskered Bulbul
* Bushtit
* Wrentit
* Ruby-crowned Kinglet
* Red-breasted Nuthatch
* White-breasted Nuthatch
* Pygmy Nuthatch
* Brown Creeper
* Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
* California Gnatcatcher
* Rock Wren
* Canyon Wren
* Northern House Wren
* Marsh Wren
* Bewick's Wren
* Cactus Wren
* American Dipper
* European Starling
* California Thrasher
* Northern Mockingbird
* Western Bluebird
* Townsend's Solitaire
* Swainson's Thrush
* Hermit Thrush
* American Robin
* Cedar Waxwing
* Phainopepla
* House Sparrow
* Scaly-breasted Munia
* American Pipit
* House Finch
* Purple Finch
* Cassin's Finch
* Lesser Goldfinch
* Lawrence's Goldfinch
* American Goldfinch
* Chipping Sparrow
* Black-chinned Sparrow
* Black-throated Sparrow
* Lark Sparrow
* Fox Sparrow
* Dark-eyed Junco
* White-crowned Sparrow
* Golden-crowned Sparrow
* Bell's Sparrow
* Savannah Sparrow
* Song Sparrow
* Lincoln's Sparrow
* California Towhee
* Rufous-crowned Sparrow
* Green-tailed Towhee
* Spotted Towhee
* Yellow-breasted Chat
* Yellow-headed Blackbird
* Western Meadowlark
* Hooded Oriole
* Bullock's Oriole
* Scott's Oriole
* Red-winged Blackbird
* Tricolored Blackbird
* Brown-headed Cowbird
* Brewer's Blackbird
* Great-tailed Grackle
* Orange-crowned Warbler
* Nashville Warbler
* MacGillivray's Warbler
* Common Yellowthroat
* Northern Yellow Warbler
* Yellow-rumped Warbler
* Black-throated Gray Warbler
* Townsend's Warbler
* Hermit Warbler
* Wilson's Warbler
* Western Tanager
* Black-headed Grosbeak
* Blue Grosbeak
* Lazuli Bunting
Here are the species found in previous years that we MISSED in 2026:
# Greater White-fronted Goose
# Tundra Bean-Goose
# Greater Scaup
# Black Scoter
# Long-tailed Duck
# Hooded Merganser
# Gambel's Quail
# Chukar
# Horned Grebe
# Inca Dove
# Common Ground-Dove
# Black Swift NEW in 2024. Needs outstanding documentation
# Ridgway's Rail
# Sandhill Crane
# Pacific Golden-Plover
# Marbled Godwit
# Red Knot
# Surfbird
# Ruff
# Stilt Sandpiper
# Baird's Sandpiper
# Pectoral Sandpiper
# Semipalmated Sandpiper
# Short-billed Dowitcher
# Wilson's Snipe
# Wilson's Phalarope
# Red Phalarope
# Pomarine Jaeger
# Scripps's Murrelet
# Cassin's Auklet
# Pigeon Guillemot NEW in 2025
# Rhinoceros Auklet
# Sabine's Gull
# Laughing Gull
# Short-billed Gull
# Yellow-footed Gull
# Lesser Black-backed Gull
# Iceland Gull (Thayer's Gull)
# Glaucous-winged Gull
# Glaucous Gull
# Black Tern
# Common Tern
# Yellow-billed Loon
# Black-footed Albatross
# Leach's Storm-Petrel
# Black Storm-Petrel
# Northern Fulmar
# Pink-footed Shearwater
# Sooty Shearwater
# Black-vented Shearwater
# Red-footed Booby
# American White Pelican
# American Bittern
# California Condor
# Golden Eagle
# Ferruginous Hawk
# Burrowing Owl
# Spotted Owl
# Long-eared Owl
# Williamson's Sapsucker
# Red-naped Sapsucker
# Crested Caracara
# Prairie Falcon
# Least Flycatcher
# Dusky-capped Flycatcher
# Thick-billed Kingbird
# Plumbeous Vireo
# Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
# Clark's Nutcracker
# Golden-crowned Kinglet
# LeConte's Thrasher
# Mountain Bluebird
# Varied Thrush
# Red-throated Pipit
# Evening Grosbeak
# Red Crossbill
# Pine Siskin
# Grasshopper Sparrow
# Clay-colored Sparrow
# Field Sparrow
# Brewer's Sparrow
# Harris's Sparrow
# White-throated Sparrow
# Vesper Sparrow
# Swamp Sparrow
# Orchard Oriole
# Baltimore Oriole
# Northern Waterthrush
# Black-and-white Warbler
# Tennessee Warbler
# Hooded Warbler
# American Redstart
# Northern Parula
# Blackburnian Warbler
# Chestnut-sided Warbler
# Palm Warbler
# Red-faced Warbler
# Painted Redstart
# Summer Tanager
# Indigo Bunting
# Painted Bunting
The table below lists every species we've recorded during the ABC weekend since 2004 and the number of years in which we've found each one. "11" indicates that we found a species in a given year and "00" indicates that we didn't.
The alignment of the columns works best if you use the Courier font in your email.
Of the species we've found to date, we have found the same ~200 every year, accounting for about 3/4 of our annual average.
Species Found Only Once:
We have found 34 species only once indicating that just under 10% are "one-hit wonders." Examples from previous years include Ridgeway's rail, yellow-billed loon, field sparrow, ruff, red throated pipit, evening grosbeak, and red-faced warbler.
There are also numerous species that we find about 1/2 of the time, probably a consequence of the fact that we schedule the event in late April when wintering birds are leaving and when many spring migrants are just arriving.
Even though some species are reported nearly every year, there are a number that we struggle to find, and it's often through the dedicated efforts of a few people that we find them. Typical examples include Prairie falcon, Golden-crowned kinglet, LeConte's thrasher, Clark's nutcracker, Williamson's sapsucker, and flammulated owl. Of these, this year the only one we got was flammulated owl. There were people in suitable habitat for most of them, though.
Best finds in 2026: (Found less than 10 times previously, and not introduced).
06 Canvasback
04 White-winged Scoter
05 Common Goldeneye
04 White-winged Dove
01 American Golden-Plover NEW!
08 Common Murre
02 Zone-tailed Hawk
09 Tropical Kingbird
Once again, the number in the first two columns gives the number of years when we have found this species since 2004 (including this year).
What were our worst misses?
Here's a list of species we missed that were found at least 12 times previously:
20 Greater White-fronted Goose
17 Gambel's Quail
15 Chukar
15 Inca Dove
15 Common Ground-Dove
21 Marbled Godwit
21 Surfbird
16 Short-billed Dowitcher
15 Wilson's Snipe
21 Glaucous-winged Gull
14 Pink-footed Shearwater
19 Sooty Shearwater
20 American White Pelican
19 Golden Eagle
14 Burrowing Owl
16 Williamson's Sapsucker
19 Prairie Falcon
12 Plumbeous Vireo
17 Clark's Nutcracker
14 LeConte's Thrasher
15 Red Crossbill
17 Pine Siskin
16 White-throated Sparrow
Our worst misses were Marbled Godwit, Surfbird, and Glaucous-winged Gull: we had always found them previously. American White Pelican was another surprising miss. It's also surprising that we missed Golden Eagle: One was reported one day before the count and there were many teams in suitable habitat all weekend.
Here's a list of species reported within +/- one week of the count that we missed:
21 Marbled Godwit Never missed it before
21 Surfbird Never missed it before
16 Wilson's Phalarope
21 Glaucous-winged Gull Never missed it before
11 Horned Grebe
20 American White Pelican
03 California Condor
19 Golden Eagle
19 Prairie Falcon
12 Plumbeous Vireo
17 Clark's Nutcracker
17 Pine Siskin
17 Brewer's Sparrow
16 White-throated Sparrow
06 Black-and-white Warbler
12 Palm Warbler
01 Hooded Warbler
04 Northern Parula
08 Summer Tanager
02 Indigo Bunting
The number on the left gives the number of previous years when we've found each species.
Exotics Found in the order they were reported:
Egyptian Goose
Greylag Goose
Swan Gooose
Mute Swan
Muscovy Duck
Indian Peafowl
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Yellow-headed Amazon
Pin-tailed Whydah
Following our longstanding protocol, we don't count birds seen from boats. There were quite a few seen from repositioning cruises and from the Catalina ferries but I didn't keep track of them.
Given the number of new species that we find each year, which species might be next?
We've missed broad-winged hawk by less than one week on multiple occasions, so we should find it eventually. Cocos Boobies are increasing in abundance and are sometimes reported fairly often, so we should sweep one up. I'm surprised that we haven't found reddish egret yet. Despite these predictions, the rarities we find suggests something not mentioned above is likely to turn up. That happened again this year!
It seems inevitable that more exotics will be added to the state list by the California Bird Records Committee and thus become countable. Species that might be added in the not-too-distant future include Egyptian goose, Swinhoe's White-eye, and perhaps Pin-tailed Whydah.
How many more species could we find during this count?
We've already found 277 species twice, and 276 and 275 species once, so 280 species is probably within reach if we have really good luck. 285 species might be attainable...particularly if the CBRC continues to add introduced species to the state list. Finding more than that is probably very unlikely even if we dramatically increase our organization and level of effort because we're already up against the limit of the number of birds regularly in the area at this time of year.
The significance of "America's Birdiest County" has grown considerably since we started in 2003. It's become much more than a friendly competition with other counties and has turned into a educational event that continues to improve our body of knowledge of the status and distribution of birds in our area. Knowledge of where birds are has grown to the point that we usually find most species that are very local.
We've been obtaining a detailed sample for >20 years at a time of year when few other surveys occur. Now, however, the Bear Divide Migration Count, which has become a regular event, is providing another means for assessing species in this area in a systematic way.
Most of our participants use eBird to archive their observations and many people are uploading photos and audio recordings, which makes the reports considerably more valuable. Every year during ABC weekend there's a significant increase in the number of records entered into eBird. We scour eBird for reports that weren't submitted to us or posted on listserves. This year I found most of the species by checking eBird, although any reports sent directly to me are also greatly appreciated!
One major difference this year is the California Bird Atlas. I strongly suspect that our total was down because many observers were concentrating more on contributing to the atlas than scouring the nooks and crannies of the county for species for ABC weekend. Frankly, the atlas is more important, so this is fine. The two events have obvious synergy.
Thank you again to everyone who contributed to America's Birdiest County this year!
