Date: 6/6/26 3:53 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Los Angeles County Bird Atlas Results: June 5, 2026
Hi Everyone,
Here's another update on progress with the California Bird Atlas in Los Angeles County.
These are results as of 2026 June 5
LA County eBird Atlasers: 722
eBird Checklists: 12,800
Atlas effort: 10350 hours
Atlas blocks with some data: 369 (85% of the total)
Atlas blocks with zero data: 65
Species with a breeding code: 251
Species with breeding confirmed: 156
Species that have been confirmed breeding in at least 10 blocks:
45 35 Canada Goose
12 11 Egyptian Goose
61 46 Mallard
23 California Quail
15 12 Rock Pigeon
16 13 Eurasian Collared Dove
36 28 Mourning Dove
10 Black-chinned Hummingbird
56 45 Anna's Hummingbird
55 49 Allen's Hummingbird
19 American Coot
13 Black-necked Stilt
24 14 Killdeer
13 Pied-billed Grebe
12 Black-crowned Night Heron
17 15 Great Blue Heron
27 18 Cooper's Hawk
26 18 Red-shouldered Hawk
57 47 Red-tailed Hawk
35 28 Great Horned Owl
30 13 Acorn Woodpecker
12 Downy Woodpecker
43 28 Nuttall's Woodpecker
12 Western Flycatcher
86 64 Black Phoebe
27 17 Say's Phoebe
16 12 Vermilion Flycatcher
36 23 Cassin's Kingbird
13 12 Hutton's Vireo
44 30 California Scrub-Jay
58 50 American Crow
136 111 Common Raven
57 34 Oak Titmouse
11 Tree Swallow
29 13 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
30 14 Barn Swallow
40 29 Cliff Swallow
95 89 Bushtit
23 19 Wrentit
14 Swinhoe's White-eye
27 15 White-breasted Nuthatch
17 12 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
56 42 Northern House Wren
46 38 Bewick's Wren
10 Cactus Wren
83 65 European Starling
13 California Thrasher
61 39 Northern Mockingbird
70 43 Western Bluebird
21 13 American Robin
14 Phainopepla
20 17 Scaly-Breasted Munia
70 61 House Sparrow
129 104 House Finch
64 43 Lesser Goldfinch
12 10 Lawrence's Goldfinch
10 Lark Sparrow
73 48 Dark-eyed Junco
13 Bell's Sparrow
64 53 Song Sparrow
99 69 California Towhee
20 Rufous-crowned Sparrow
32 22 Spotted Towhee
52 28 Hooded Oriole
12 Bullock's Oriole
16 13 Red-winged Blackbird
20 11 Brewer's Blackbird
17 10 Great-tailed Grackle
39 27 Orange-crowned Warbler
21 13 Common Yellowthroat
19 Northern Yellow Warbler
10 Black-headed Grosbeak
N = 72
Four weeks ago the number was 54 so this has increased by a factor of 1.3.
The number on the far left gives the number of blocks where breeding for each species has been confirmed. The number to the right of it, if present, indicates the number of blocks where breeding for this species was confirmed four weeks ago. If those columns are blank, then the number of blocks was less than 10.
Here are the species confirmed in at least 50 blocks in ranked order:
136 Common Raven
129 House Finch
99 California Towhee
95 Bushtit
86 Black Phoebe
83 European Starling
73 Dark-eyed Junco
70 Western Bluebird
70 House Sparrow
64 Lesser Goldfinch
64 Song Sparrow
61 Mallard
61 Northern Mockingbird
58 American Crow
57 Oak Titmouse
57 Red-tailed Hawk
56 Anna's Hummingbird
56 Northern House Wren
55 Allen's Hummingbird
52 Hooded Oriole
In previous emails I tabulated all the blocks where at least 10 species have been confirmed breeding. As of June 6, 10+ species have been confirmed in 105 blocks (!).
Rather than showing all of them, this time I'm going to highlight blocks where at least 30 species have been confirmed:
Blocks wwhere 30+ species have been confirmed breeding:
30 Baldwin Park NW
42 Burbank SE
31 El Monte SE
52 Hollywood NE
31 Long Beach CE
30 Long Beach SE
38 Los Alamitos CW
32 Los Angeles NW
38 Mount Wilson SE
34 Mount Wilson SW
38 Newhall CW
33 Ontario NW
49 Pasadena CE
35 Pasadena CW
42 San Dimas CE
69 San Dimas NE
30 San Fernando SE
43 Van Nuys CW
43 Venice NE
49 Whittier SE
San Dimas NE has the most with 69 (this includes Bonelli Regional Park)
If we rank them then we get:
69 San Dimas NE
52 Hollywood NE
49 Pasadena CE
49 Whittier SE
43 Van Nuys CW
43 Venice NE
42 Burbank SE
42 San Dimas CE
38 Los Alamitos CW
38 Mount Wilson SE
38 Newhall CW
35 Pasadena CW
34 Mount Wilson SW
33 Ontario NW
32 Los Angeles NW
31 El Monte SE
31 Long Beach CE
30 Baldwin Park NW
30 Long Beach SE
30 San Fernando SE
What about blocks where species have been coded?
Recall that coded = possible + probable + confirmed.
Blocks with at least 50 species with breeding codes:
59 Azusa CE
69 65 Baldwin Park NW
90 85 Burbank SE
61 51 Burbank SW
67 55 Chilao Flat CE
59 50 Chilao Flat SW
53 El Monte NE
70 66 El Monte SE
68 59 Glendora SE
58 Glendora SW
82 75 Hollywood NE
55 Hollywood NW
55 51 Hollywood SW
53 La Habra NW
69 65 Lake Hughes CW
56 50 Long Beach CE
64 63 Long Beach CW
59 54 Long Beach NW
64 57 Los Alamitos CW
51 Los Angeles CW
77 68 Los Angeles NW
69 66 Malibu Beach NW
59 Mescal Creek SW
58 Mint Canyon SW
50 Mount Baldy SW
72 72 Mount Wilson CE
66 61 Mount Wilson CW
61 52 Mount Wilson NE
60 56 Mount Wilson SE
72 67 Mount Wilson SW
60 52 Newhall CW
68 64 Ontario NW
86 83 Pasadena CE
64 62 Pasadena CW
59 54 Pasadena NE
52 Pasadena NW
75 73 Pasadena SE
51 Rosamond Lake CW
58 52 San Dimas CE
102 82 San Dimas NE
52 San Dimas NW
51 San Fernando NE
89 89 San Fernando SE
51 Torrance CW
53 Torrance SE
60 55 Valyermo CW
71 68 Valyermo NW
81 75 Van Nuys CW
77 69 Venice NE
51 50 Whitaker Peak NE
72 66 Whittier SE
The number on the left gives the number of species with a breeding code. The number next to it, if present, gives the number of species documented four weeks ago. If blank, then there were < 50 species previously.
There are now 51 blocks in which at least 50 species have been coded.
With the previous LA County Atlas in the 1990s, the organizers estimated a target number of species that should be present in each block, and of those, observers tried to find and assign a breeding code at least 90%. Of the species coded, observers tried to confirm at least 50%.
During the previous atlas, 50+ species were coded in 188 atlas blocks. So, after just over five months, we've already coded 50+ species in 51 blocks, which is 27% of the total from the 1990s. In this sense, we're well ahead of where things were with things were with the previous atlas in Los Angeles County ~30 years ago.
An important strategy for successful atlasing is to visit the same areas repeatedly. Your own neighbhorhood is a good place to start but so are local parks and trails that you visit frequently. The area where you work can also be productive.
Once you get a species to the "probable" leve, go back and try to move it to "confirmed." The more you do this the better you'll get at confirming breeding.
This can happen anywhere: for example, on Friday I confirmed house sparrows at a bank in a block where they hadn't even been reported yet. I just happened to notice them before getting into my car.
Brief Recap of Important Things from Previous Emails
Atlas Effort:
To see how much effort has been contributed, such as number of hours, number of species coded, confirmed, complete checklists, etc. go to:
Then enter "Los Angeles" into the "Explore Atlas Regions" field. This shows the broad summary I provided above plus detailed results for each species and each atlas block.
Joining the Atlas:
If you haven't contributed to the bird atlas yet, joining is easy. On a computer, go to https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home, scroll down a bit, and look for the green button marked "Join Project" on the left. Click on it and then you can contribute!
On a phone, start the eBird app, go to the settings, select the "Portal," and then select the California Bird Atlas.
We still have a long way to go, so if you haven't signed up yet, please join us!
