Date: 9/18/26 1:55 pm From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Bobolink at Quail Lake
Hi all,
I just flushed a Bobolink from the flooded reeds on the south shore of Quail Lake, roughly here: 34.77,-118.75. This bird is probably not chasable with the lake conditions as they are now. Through a series of questionable decisions, I found myself there in shin-to-knee deep water (I also flushed swimming mallards shortly afterwards). Only posting here because I don't think there is is a report of a Bobolink on eBird within about 20 miles of this spot. I expect there will be more chaseable birds elsewhere.
Date: 9/17/26 8:11 am From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: Re: [LACoBirds] Storm-petrels south of Catalina island
Hi all,
An update to this post --
I did say that some numbers of storm-petrels may change, but didn't expect
them to change in this direction:
- Looking at plumage details in photos of the Wilson's Storm-Petrels
(mostly molt progression), we're up to at least 4 birds now. Three at the
277 Bank, and one at the Thirty Mile Bank.
- Incredibly, Mark Scheel has great photos of a *second *Wedge-rumped
Storm-Petrel from the trip, from the big flock on the dead animal at the
277 Bank. Unfortunately, it appears the rest of us on the boat were looking
in other directions at the time with thousands of storm-petrels around us.
Thankfully we found another bird later in the day, so Mark is off the hook.
4 Wilson's and 2 Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels in one day has to be some sort
of record. There is a Pasadena Audubon trip going out to nearby waters this
weekend - good luck if you're on that boat! I don't know if there is room
on any other boats - most appear to be sold out.
Regards,
Naresh
--
Naresh Satyan
Pasadena, CA
On Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 10:00 PM Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A quick report from a fantastic small-boat pelagic trip today aboard the
> zodiac Skimmer out of Newport Beach with Captain Delaney T and 5 birders on
> board. With stronger winds predicted outside San Clemente island, we chose
> to instead go to the south end of Catalina island, then head south from
> there to the 43 Bank (/Forty mile bank) and back via the Thirty mile bank.
>
> The highlight of the trip was a huge number and diversity of
> storm-petrels. There was what appeared to be a dead large mammal on the
> ocean floor at the 277 Bank (southeast of Catalina Island) which hosted
> several thousand storm-petrels, and we also found another aggregation of
> several hundred birds close to the top of the Thirty mile bank (on the west
> side of the ridge).
>
> - Black Storm-Petrels: estimated between 3000 and 4000 birds for the
> day, everywhere along the route but mostly in these huge flocks
> - Least Storm-Petrels: 500-600 birds, mostly mixed in with the large
> Black Storm-Petrel rafts, but also singles all along the route including
> several in fairly nearshore Orange County waters
> - WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS: At least three different individuals (two
> birds over the 277 bank and one near the 30 mile bank), all associating
> with the large Black and Least Storm-Petrel rafts
> - WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL: A stunning bird at the 30 mile bank, also
> with the Black and Least Storm-Petrel flock.
> - Townsend's Storm-Petrels: ~10 birds identified as this species,
> among many Leach's/Townsend's type birds; all white-rumped; singles and not
> associating with the large rafts; mostly between Catalina island and Lasuen
> sea mount, and dropping off in numbers further south
> - Leach's Storm-Petrels: ~20 birds, almost all dark-rumped; singles
> and not associating with the large rafts.
>
> We had fantastic views of most of these species, and also got to record
> vocalizations of Black Storm-Petrels squabbling over food, which I don't
> remember hearing at sea before.
>
> Otherwise, we had 5 Cocos Boobies, a few Common Terns, a pair of Craveri's
> Murrelets, a fly-by Guadalupe Murrelet (above eye level!), a Fulmar, a few
> phalaropes of both types, and not too many shearwaters or jaegers.
>
> It may take some while to get eBird checklists done, but there should be
> photos eventually, and the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel claim will need to be
> reviewed by the CBRC. Storm-petrels are not easy, and some corrections to
> these numbers are possible (even expected).
>
> Regards,
> Naresh (w/ Chris Dean, Mark Scheel, Mark Wilson, Ashley Hopkins)
>
> --
> Naresh Satyan
> Pasadena, CA
>
>
>
Date: 9/16/26 5:06 pm From: <tgmiko...> via groups.io <tgmiko...> Subject: Re: [LACoBirds] High Volume of Migrants on a Low Volume Predicted Day
I have no experience with Birdcast but I had multiple Warbling Vireos and W
Wood Pewees at every park I visited yesterday afternoon along the coast,
while Claremont (50 miles from the ocean) continues to have little to no
migrants. I didn’t even take binoculars with me when I walked Duke early
this morning.
Thomas Geza Miko
Claremont CA 91711
909.241.3300
On Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM dotandruss via groups.io <dotandruss=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> Hello Birders,
>
> If you are only interested in rare birds, you can stop now. If you care
> about migration and BirdCast, please continue. I've been using BirdCast
> since it came out, and I know that it is not designed to forecast daytime
> counts. But I would expect some correlation, and I have found none! I
> birded Saturday at Loyola Marymount University after a predicted High
> Volume night, and found one migrant. I birded there today after a
> predicted Low Volume night, and saw so many migrants that eBird flagged
> high counts on two of them. 8 Wilson's Warblers is unusual for LMU in the
> Fall, and 8 Warbling Vireos is unbelievable. I sometimes see large numbers
> of migrants here in the Spring, but rarely in the Fall. Many warbler-sized
> birds were left uncounted due to dim light, tall trees and neck issues. My
> counts are almost surely undercounts.
>
> Do other birders have similar experiences with BirdCast? Do you ever
> count birds flying past the moon at night? Do you find correlation there?
> Do you find more daytime correlation in other places in Southern
> California? Do you find it in other parts of the country?
>
> Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
>
> Russell Stone
> Westchester
>
>
>
Date: 9/16/26 2:02 pm From: dotandruss via groups.io <dotandruss...> Subject: [LACoBirds] High Volume of Migrants on a Low Volume Predicted Day
Hello Birders,
If you are only interested in rare birds, you can stop now. If you care about migration and BirdCast, please continue. I've been using BirdCast since it came out, and I know that it is not designed to forecast daytime counts. But I would expect some correlation, and I have found none! I birded Saturday at Loyola Marymount University after a predicted High Volume night, and found one migrant. I birded there today after a predicted Low Volume night, and saw so many migrants that eBird flagged high counts on two of them. 8 Wilson's Warblers is unusual for LMU in the Fall, and 8 Warbling Vireos is unbelievable. I sometimes see large numbers of migrants here in the Spring, but rarely in the Fall. Many warbler-sized birds were left uncounted due to dim light, tall trees and neck issues. My counts are almost surely undercounts.
Do other birders have similar experiences with BirdCast? Do you ever count birds flying past the moon at night? Do you find correlation there? Do you find more daytime correlation in other places in Southern California? Do you find it in other parts of the country?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Date: 9/15/26 10:34 am From: Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818...> Subject: [LACoBirds] More Pinyon Jays -- Juniper Hills
Birders,
The September 2026 Pinyon Jay madness continues. At 1010-1015 hr this morning a flock of six Pinyon Jays was around planted pines in the vicinity of 122nd Street East and Ave X-8 (one block south of Ft. Tejon Rd.), calling frequently. I then watched the flock fly WNW at about 1015 hr, roughly following Ft. Tejon Rd. toward the west. A lone bird remained, perched obligingly atop a utility pole, then flew south low over our yard. Although the birds have moved on, I would recommend driving slowly, stopping at intervals, and listening for the jays anywhere in the juniper habitat in the Juniper Hills, Littlerock, and Valyermo areas -- and especially where there are (ornamental) cone-bearing pine trees. Most Pinyon Jay flocks in our local mountains and foothills have been around Jeffrey and Ponderosa pines as well as various planted pines (such as the abundant Eldarica pines in the Juniper Hills area). They don't seem to feed around junipers or pinyon pines (though a trip up Ball lFlat Rd. near Jackson Lake would be worth it if the pinyon pines there have mature cones).
Date: 9/15/26 6:22 am From: Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Some Piute Ponds notes (no rarities)
Birders,
As Piute Ponds permit holders know, the brief closure (due to work on a gas line) has ended and the ponds are open to birders (with permits) once again. Hunting season will begin around the weekend of 17-18 October so the ponds will be closed to birders and other recreationalists on hunting days (usually Wednesdays, Sundays, and holidays, but details will be forthcoming from the EAFB Environmental office).
Landbirding is excellent right now along the Ave C riparian row from west of Parking 1 to the east side of Big Piute. Some birds of note on my visit on Monday (14 September) included the continuing Nuttall's Woodpecker, (possibly continuing) Mountain Chickadee, first-of-fall (for me) Northern Flicker, (Slate-colored) Fox Sparrow, and (gambelii) White-crowned Sparrow, and about 70 warblers of five species (dominated by about 30 Orange-crowneds).
Shorebirds were scarce, with the best habitat on Thoreau Pond and a few shorebirds on Ducks Unlimited; Duckbill is still completely dry, Duck numbers are increasing (e.g., a flock of 50 Green-winged Teal), but the massive numbers of Northern Shovelers seem to spend much of their time over at the Lancaster Water Treatment Plant. A flyover Swainson's Hawk and a White-tailed Kite on a snag near Little Piute were bonuses.
Date: 9/14/26 12:07 pm From: Hugo Wang via groups.io <luster.wang...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Any update on the Red-footed Booby found in Malibu yesterday?
Hi all,
I’m wondering if anyone has an update on the Red-footed Booby that was seen
in Malibu early yesterday.
We first found the bird yesterday morning during a regular LA Birders –
Students field trip on the beach in Malibu. At the time, we could tell that
something seemed wrong, but we didn’t realize until later, after reviewing
our photos, that there was a loop-shaped metal fishhook clearly stuck in
its throat. That may explain why it came ashore — perhaps it was looking
for help.
Unfortunately, the bird flew off before it could be captured and taken to a
wildlife rescue center. We heard that it was seen at a few other locations
later in the day, but we haven’t been able to find out what happened after
that.
Does anyone know the latest update? Has the bird been rescued or received
any help?
Date: 9/14/26 12:07 pm From: Hugo Wang via groups.io <luster.wang...> Subject: Re: [LACoBirds] Pinyon Jays - Chilao Visitor Center
Thanks to Tim's update.
Sunday morning from roughly 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, we spent quite a bit of
time walking around the Chilao Visitor Center and Picnic Area. We listened
carefully and looked around, but we didn't find them. During that time,
we ran into four or five other birders, some of whom had arrived much
earlier. We also spoke with the staff at the visitor center. She mentioned
that no one had seen the Pinyon Jays this morning, but someone had reported
it on Saturday, which sounds like what you were referring to.
These Pinyon Jays were probably flying around in flocks, looking for a
reliable food source. They likely circled the Chilao Visitor Center area,
didn't find anything suitable to eat, and flew off somewhere else. So ...
Hugo
La Canada, CA
On Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 11:11 AM musicsoop via groups.io <musicsoop=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Saturday morning a flock flew into the tops of some of the trees in the
> parking lot for the visitor center. If I hadn't noticed that they sounded
> particularly raspy for Scrub Jays I wouldn't have even looked. They were in
> and out and nothing really suggested that they'd be hanging around at that
> spot, but they're up in the mountains somewhere.
>
> Tim Aarons
> Glendale, CA
>
>
>
Date: 9/14/26 11:46 am From: Chris Spurgeon via groups.io <chris...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Help out with the fall Turkey Vulture migration count in Kern County
Posting this in the hope that some LA county folks will be interested in driving one county north to help out. Feel free to share and repost
--------
*Volunteer for the 2026 Kern River Valley Turkey Vulture Count!*
Southern Sierra Research Station is excited to announce plans to resume the annual Kern River Valley fall Turkey Vulture count!
Originally conducted from 1994–2005, this count documented one of the largest Turkey Vulture migration phenomena in the United States, with nearly 30,000 individuals passing through the Kern River Valley each fall.
We are seeking volunteer counters from September 19 through October 10, 2026, during the peak of vulture migration through the Kern River valley. Volunteers will help count migrating raptors alongside SSRS staff for approximately 5–6 hours per day.
Volunteers should plan to be available for at least two days of counting during the count period. This will allow enough time for training and for volunteers to become familiar with the movement of birds through the Kern River valley.
Interested in joining the count? Please go to the SSRS website and fill in the contact form and enter your details.
● Contact form: https://southernsierraresearch.org/contact/ ● Indicate that you are interested in Volunteer activities
● Then you will see an option to indicate Vulture count.
● Please put some dates you may be available in the comments.
● If you have already done this, no need to do it again. You will get an email soon.
Come be part of the return of this long-running migration count and help us document one of
the KRV's most spectacular seasonal wildlife movements!
Date: 9/14/26 11:11 am From: musicsoop via groups.io <musicsoop...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Pinyon Jays - Chilao Visitor Center
Saturday morning a flock flew into the tops of some of the trees in the parking lot for the visitor center. If I hadn't noticed that they sounded particularly raspy for Scrub Jays I wouldn't have even looked. They were in and out and nothing really suggested that they'd be hanging around at that spot, but they're up in the mountains somewhere.
Date: 9/14/26 10:23 am From: Jonathan Feenstra via groups.io <feenstra...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Zone-tailed Hawk, Arcadia, 9/14/26
A Zone-tailed Hawk is (was 10:00-10:19) flying around over Arcadia. This is roughly at Santa Anita Ave and Orange Grove, circling high and east-southeast maybe over Whispering Pines Drive. I first saw it low and it may have come out of the row of tall pines (night roost?) that run SW from near the corner of Virginia and Highland Oaks. Perhaps it's our returning bird.
Jon Feenstra
Pasadena
Date: 9/14/26 9:45 am From: <tgmiko...> via groups.io <tgmiko...> Subject: Re: [LACoBirds] Red-footed Booby and the apparent demise of the LACoBirds listserve
Hi Kimball,
1. Several independent parties visited Chaleo this morning and wandered
around for hours without having any Pinyon Jays. There was no cell phone
reception anywhere up there, which was a big pain in terms of not being
able to let people know that there were no jays up here. We also checked
several other areas up there.
2. if you think the Los Angeles email situation as a problem, consider
this: The abandonment of the Arizona list serve is much worse and yet they
have problems with the technical details of the Discord group. I have
repeatedly been sent links that were supposedly active and valid to join
Arizona’s discord group and they don’t work so despite my willingness to
chase Gen Z across the Internet to keep up on Arizona info it’s not
happening. And in all fairness there are people like Andy Birch who do
cross post rare birds here to this email list.
3. A friend who is an excellent, experienced birder described a small
off-white raptor to me that he first blew off as an extremely pale Sharp
shinned Hawk, but now suspects may have been your Pearl Kite in the eastern
San Gabriel Mountains at a lower elevation. I don’t know why he didn’t
report this observation. He did say that he thought that it was potentially
the wrong habitat for the bird so that made him think that he was wrong.
4. Speaking of Pearl Kites, I actually spent some time driving in
circles—or I guess, more accurately—rectangles around that entire area
where you saw it and I stared at a lot of pale birds on wires throughout
that part of the Antelope Valley a week or two after you saw the bird. I
didn’t say anything to anybody at the time because I guessed that others
also did the same thing on the way to and from the Piute Ponds.
Tom
Thomas Geza Miko
Claremont CA 91711
909.241.3300
On Sun, Sep 13, 2026 at 1:58 PM Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Birders,
>
> I realize that posting rarities to this listserv is viewed as something as
> archaic as using smoke signals or a telegraph to some, but many people
> still use it and I don't know why we can't follow the lead of counties like
> San Diego where there are daily reports of unusual birds and other
> interesting sightings on their listserv. Yes, rabid listers and most
> younger birders prefer other channels of communication, which is fine, but
> can somebody using those channels also take a second to post information on
> the LACoBirds listserv as well?
>
> Sure, eBird alerts or WhatsApp/Discord/etc. channels probably alerted most
> birders to the presence of a Red-footed Booby found early in this morning
> at Malibu Lagoon and present later in the morning a ways east along PCH
> (near the mouth of Tuna Canyon), but in the interest of wider communication
> and discussion it would have been nice to have the sighting posted here.
>
> The developing fall irruptions of species like Pinyon Jays, Clark's
> Nutcrackers, and Red-breasted Nuthatches have been noted on some southern
> California listservs in recent days (thanks Lance for posting your Pinyon
> Jay near Buckhorn). Tracking those sorts of events would be an ideal use of
> this listserv in addition to getting the word out about rarities.
>
> Kimball Garrett
> Juniper Hills
>
> .
>
>
>
Date: 9/14/26 8:36 am From: Dessi Sieburth via groups.io <Dessisieburth...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Pinyon Jay, Table Mountain
One Pinyon Jay was foraging in pines at the Table Mountain Parking lot, at (34.3848379, -117.6873989). Calling loudly and even coming to the ground at times. A couple nutcrackers in the vicinity as well.
Date: 9/13/26 3:10 pm From: James Pike via groups.io <jimpike444...> Subject: Re: [LACoBirds] Red-footed Booby and the apparent demise of the LACoBirds listserve
On behalf of Jim, an eBird eschewer, I approve of your post, Kimball; it brought a rare smile to my face!
Date: 9/13/26 2:30 pm From: Larry Schmahl via groups.io <larschmahl...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Solitary Sandpipers and Western Cattle Egret San Gab Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds
Hello birders,
This morning, 13 September, there was a Western Cattle Egret in the San Gabriel River between Whittier Blvd and Dunlop Crossing. The riverbed is best viewed from the settling basins on the west side. The west side is higher so the view is better. In the very small basin adjacent to Washington Blvd on the extreme south end, there were three Solitary Sandpipers. The large south basin is still full and some water is spilling into this very small basin and creating some shorebird habitat. Lots of migrants in the area between Whittier and Washington Blvds. The riverbed, just upstream of Washington must have a lot of fish. It's a good place to watch Osprey diving for fish, including carp, tilapia and catfish.
There is an island in the south basin that is dominated by a Mulberry Tree that hosts numerous Neotropic Cormorants and at least three Neotropic Cormorant nests. Many fishing Neotropic Cormorants in the adjacent riverbed.
Happy birding.
Larry SchmahlWhittier
Date: 9/13/26 1:58 pm From: Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Red-footed Booby and the apparent demise of the LACoBirds listserve
Birders,
I realize that posting rarities to this listserv is viewed as something as archaic as using smoke signals or a telegraph to some, but many people still use it and I don't know why we can't follow the lead of counties like San Diego where there are daily reports of unusual birds and other interesting sightings on their listserv. Yes, rabid listers and most younger birders prefer other channels of communication, which is fine, but can somebody using those channels also take a second to post information on the LACoBirds listserv as well?
Sure, eBird alerts or WhatsApp/Discord/etc. channels probably alerted most birders to the presence of a Red-footed Booby found early in this morning at Malibu Lagoon and present later in the morning a ways east along PCH (near the mouth of Tuna Canyon), but in the interest of wider communication and discussion it would have been nice to have the sighting posted here.
The developing fall irruptions of species like Pinyon Jays, Clark's Nutcrackers, and Red-breasted Nuthatches have been noted on some southern California listservs in recent days (thanks Lance for posting your Pinyon Jay near Buckhorn). Tracking those sorts of events would be an ideal use of this listserv in addition to getting the word out about rarities.
Date: 9/12/26 10:00 pm From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Storm-petrels south of Catalina island
Hi all,
A quick report from a fantastic small-boat pelagic trip today aboard the zodiac Skimmer out of Newport Beach with Captain Delaney T and 5 birders on board. With stronger winds predicted outside San Clemente island, we chose to instead go to the south end of Catalina island, then head south from there to the 43 Bank (/Forty mile bank) and back via the Thirty mile bank.
The highlight of the trip was a huge number and diversity of storm-petrels. There was what appeared to be a dead large mammal on the ocean floor at the 277 Bank (southeast of Catalina Island) which hosted several thousand storm-petrels, and we also found another aggregation of several hundred birds close to the top of the Thirty mile bank (on the west side of the ridge).
- Black Storm-Petrels: estimated between 3000 and 4000 birds for the day, everywhere along the route but mostly in these huge flocks - Least Storm-Petrels: 500-600 birds, mostly mixed in with the large Black Storm-Petrel rafts, but also singles all along the route including several in fairly nearshore Orange County waters - WILSON'S STORM-PETRELS: At least three different individuals (two birds over the 277 bank and one near the 30 mile bank), all associating with the large Black and Least Storm-Petrel rafts - WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL: A stunning bird at the 30 mile bank, also with the Black and Least Storm-Petrel flock. - Townsend's Storm-Petrels: ~10 birds identified as this species, among many Leach's/Townsend's type birds; all white-rumped; singles and not associating with the large rafts; mostly between Catalina island and Lasuen sea mount, and dropping off in numbers further south - Leach's Storm-Petrels: ~20 birds, almost all dark-rumped; singles and not associating with the large rafts.
We had fantastic views of most of these species, and also got to record vocalizations of Black Storm-Petrels squabbling over food, which I don't remember hearing at sea before.
Otherwise, we had 5 Cocos Boobies, a few Common Terns, a pair of Craveri's Murrelets, a fly-by Guadalupe Murrelet (above eye level!), a Fulmar, a few phalaropes of both types, and not too many shearwaters or jaegers.
It may take some while to get eBird checklists done, but there should be photos eventually, and the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel claim will need to be reviewed by the CBRC. Storm-petrels are not easy, and some corrections to these numbers are possible (even expected).
Regards, Naresh (w/ Chris Dean, Mark Scheel, Mark Wilson, Ashley Hopkins)
This is the Los Angeles RBA for September 12, 2026.
A HOODED MERGANSER continued at La Mirada Community Park in La Mirada through September 7.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVES were at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on September 5 and at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood on September 7.
A COMMON TERN was at the Hermosa Beach Pier on September 5 and two were at the Ballona Creek mouth in Playa del Rey on September 6.
A NAZCA BOOBY was offshore south of San Pedro from September 6-11.
Another NAZCA BOOBY and a RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD were just south of San Clemente Island on September 9.
At least one COCOS BOOBY was in the same general area through September 8.
A BROWN PELICAN continued at Lake Hollywood through September 9.
A FERRUGINOUS HAWK was at the California Botanic Garden (formerly Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden) in Claremont on September 10.
PURPLE MARTINS were in Silver Lake on September 5 and at Hansen Dam on September 6.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continued at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood through September 11.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was at Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB (letter of permission required for access) from September 7-9.
A VIRGINIAS WARBLER was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 5 on the north side near Picnic 2.
An AMERICAN REDSTART was at Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena on September 6 by the athletic field parking lot on the west side of the basin.
SUMMER TANAGERS were in Rolling Hills Estates from September 5-6, in Griffith Park (Mineral Wells Trail) on September 7 and continuing at Descanso Gardens through September 11 by the Rose Garden.
A ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was in Signal Hill along the Signal Hill Trails on September 11.
-end transcript
Jon L Fisher
Glendale, CA
<JonF60...>
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
For all events, field trips and announcements, please see our website at http://www.laaudubon.org
Date: 9/7/26 7:39 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Bird Atlas Results for Los Angeles County: Sep. 7 update
Hi Everyone,
Here's another California Bird Atlas update for Los Angeles County.
As of September 7:
Total blocks: 434
Blocks with data: 385 (89%)
Blocks with no data: 49
Atlasers: 929
eBird checklists: 18816
LA County atlasers who have contributed 40+ checklists: 93
Atlas hours: ~15160
Species Coded: 269 (coded = possible + probable + confirmed)
Species Confirmed 180
To date, we have coded at least 50 species in 79 blocks, and of those, at least 50% of the coded species have been confirmed for 32 blocks.
Here are all the blocks where at least 50 species have been coded. They're ranked in decreasing order of the number of species coded, following the protocol used in the first LA County atlas in the 1990s.
Conf Coded %Conf #estimated block_name
76 109 0.70 62 C San Dimas NE
54 95 0.57 60 C Burbank SE
65 94 0.69 68 C Pasadena CE
35 92 0.38 77 San Fernando SE
47 89 0.53 60 C Van Nuys CW
40 87 0.46 42 Long Beach CW
41 85 0.48 67 Los Angeles NW
58 83 0.70 76 C El Monte SE
53 82 0.65 64 C Hollywood NE
42 81 0.52 64 C Valyermo NW
45 80 0.56 52 C Venice NE
27 79 0.30 98 Mount Wilson CE
32 78 0.41 60 Malibu Beach NW
50 78 0.64 60 C Pasadena SE
56 76 0.74 70 C Newhall CW
44 75 0.59 64 C Baldwin Park NW
39 75 0.52 51 C Mount Wilson SW
54 75 0.72 40 C Whittier SE
32 74. 0.43 64 Chilao Flat CE
37 74 0.50 66 C Glendora SE
07 74 0.095 76 Lake Hughes CW
45 74 0.61 64 C Mount Wilson SE
54 74 0.73 64 C San Dimas CE
41 72 0.57 54 C Ontario NW
39 71 0.55 67 C Pasadena CW
30 70 0.43 50 Long Beach NW
29 69 0.42 72 Glendora SW
27 68 0.40 72 Mount Wilson CW
46 67 0.69 57 C Los Alamitos CW
22 66 0.33 67 Chilao Flat SW
27 66 0.41 84 Mescal Creek SW
29 66 0.44 48 Rosamond Lake CW
23 64 0.36 65 Mount Wilson NE
19 64 0.30 65 San Dimas CW
21 64 0.33 39 Venice NW
25 63 0.40 50 Burbank SW
32 62 0.52 71 C Azusa SE. Could code more
33 62 0.53 57 C San Dimas NW
23 62 0.37 70 Valyermo CW
19 62 0.31 67 Waterman Mountain NW
22 61 0.36 68 Pasadena NE
37 61 0.61 56 C Torrance SE
35 60 0.58 55 C El Monte NE
17 60 0.28 79 Mint Canyon SW
20 60 0.33 63 Mount San Antonio NW
34 60 0.57 53 C Whittier NW
21 59 0.36 71 Azusa NE
32 58 0.55 53 C Beverly Hills NE
20 58 0.34 55 Hollywood NW
15 57 0.26 71 Mount Baldy NW. Previous atlas lumped NW and NE
18 57 0.32 77 Point Dume NE
15 56 0.27 73 Agua Dulce CE
31 56 0.55 50 C Hollywood SW
32 56 0.57 35 C Long Beach CE
28 56 0.50 51 C Los Angeles CW
17 55. 0.31. 77 Azusa CW
13 55 0.24 61 Chilao Flat SE
32 55 0.58 25 C Long Beach SE
21 55 0.38 72 Mount Baldy SW
29 54. 0.54 27 C Los Alamitos NW
15 54 0.28 71 Pasadena NW
13 54 0.24 84 Valyermo SE
24 53 0.45 40 El Monte NW
25 53 0.47 61 La Habra NW
21 53 0.40 23 Redondo Beach NE
21 53 0.40 65 Torrance CW
21 52 0.40 54 El Monte SW
15 52 0.29 63 Malibu Beach NE
18 52 0.35 63 Mint Canyon CE
18 52 0.35 62 Point Dume NW
24 52 0.46 52 Rosamond Lake SW
12 52 0.23 73 San Fernando NE
12 51 0.24 61 Condor Peak SE
24 51 0.47 81 Malibu Beach SE. Previous atlas lumped it with CE
26 51 0.52 54 C Pasadena SW. 53 species coded last time.
09 51 0.18 74 Sunland SW
11 51 0.22 66 Whitaker Peak NE
16 50 0.32 67 Mount Wilson NW
12 50 0.24 54 Palmdale SE
N = 79 blocks with at least 50 species coded.
(The columns above were aligned when I wrote the email, but no guarantees they'll appear aligned in your email!)
In the table above, the left column gives the number of species for which breeding has been confirmed, the 2nd column gives the number coded, the third column gives the percentage of species where breeding has been confirmed, the fourth column gives the number of species expected (from the atlas in the 1990s), and then on the far right is the name of the block. If an upper case "C" appears then the block would be considered complete by criteria adopted for the first LA County atlas.
For many blocks above, we have already coded more species than were estimated to be present during the atlas in the 1990s. For other blocks, though, there are still a lot more species we could find that haven't been reported yet.
Completeness criteria adopted, from the first atlas in the 1990s:
At least 90% of expected species coded, at least 50% of them confirmed, and the total number coded is at least as many as estimated for the first atlas.
If we consider only blocks with 50+ species coded, then 32 (7.3%) of the blocks are complete.
But if we include blocks with at least 40 species coded (not shown above to save space), then the number of complete blocks increases to 34, so at least 34/434 = 7.8% of blocks in the county are complete.
That's pretty good for the first year of an atlas, given that most of us hadn't particpated in a bird atlas previously, and that we've been learning how to do this as we go.
Given that many of us are now experienced and that we've made good progress in many blocks, it's likely that the number of complete blocks will jump significantly next year.
What are the protocols for completing a block in the CURRENT atlas?
That will be announced by early next year, but it's likely to involve the number of species coded for each block and the percentage relative to the number of species expected. We're monitoring those statistics using the Blockboard progress tracker tool, which is available online at:
"Blockboard" uses estimates of the number of species that could be present in each block based on previous eBird reports; this distribution model is provided by eBird central.
As a result, it's really important that you include breeding codes in your checklists whenever possible because they are crucial for monitoring our progress. I mention this because A LOT of species reported in eBird in the atlas portal in Los Angeles County DO NOT have breeding codes: many observers simply didn't report them, particularly for lower levels of breeding evidence such as "H-in suitable habitat" and "S-singing bird", and as a result, the numbers in the eBird portal and in the Blockboard tool underestimate the actual numbers of species in most of the blocks. In blocks where 40+ species have been reported, the underestimate is often at the 10-20% level; in blocks with only a little coverage, often only 1/2 to 1/4 of the species have received breeding codes. PLEASE USE BREEDING CODES!
What about blocks in LA County with zero coverage?
Blocks with zero data are concentrated in the Antelope Valley, remote regions of the San Gabriel Mountains, remote regions of the mountains north of Santa Clarita, and on Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands.
The blocks in the Antelope Valley and along the north slope of the mountains are accessible by car but there are at least 10 blocks in the mountains that are accessible only on trails or on dirt roads that are either behind locked gates or too rough for even 4WD vehicles.
To view our coverage with individual blocks you can check the Blockboard tool above or go to a somewhat different (and less complicated) map on the eBird website:
and then zoom in on Los Angeles County. The default setting for this map shows "Diurnal effort hours," but you can toggle it to other settings, such as "Coded species" or "Confirmed species" that are arguably more useful.
Meanwhile, observers are still confirming breeding for species across Los Angeles County even though we're into early September, so please continue to use the atlas eBird portal and report all levels of breeding evidence in your eBird lists.
Also, several of you are working behind the scenes to arrange access to areas that are normally off-limits to the public. Thank you very much for your help with this! If you're one of those people but you haven't reached out to us yet to let us know, please send an email so we can keep track and avoid duplicating effort. We really appreciate your help!
Once again, if you haven't already contributed to the atlas, please join us! Even checklists in your yard and neighborhood are useful (often they're VERY useful).
and then click on the rectangle stating "Join Project" on the lower left. When you enter birds in eBird, be sure to drop down the menu for breeding codes and select the ones that are appropriate for behavior you observe.
From a smartphone using the eBird mobile app, select "Choose Projects" on the home screen and then select the California Bird Atlas. If you don't see "Choose Projects" then you may need to update to the latest version of the app.
Thank you again for your all your help with the atlas!
Date: 9/6/26 7:59 am From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Nazca Booby off LA harbor
Hi all,
There is a near-adult Nazca Booby on the #2 buoy just off Angels Gate. No
need to argue about species ID. Our captain tells us it has been hanging
out on this buoy for 2 weeks now, so it seems to be consistent.
Coords: 33°40'26.8"N 118°13'40.9"W
You can charter a boat to go out and see it. One option is
socalwhalewatching.com -- easily within range of a 2 hour charter, and they
know where the bird is. You can also take your chances on a big whale
watching boat, but they seem less and less keen on stopping for birds these
days (this is the same buoy that hosted a couple of boobies many years ago
that Harbor Breeze regularly stopped at by birder request -- I don't think
they do that any more).
Naresh (with a few people on this boat that Andy B put together)
Date: 9/5/26 10:21 pm From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Birds at the San Gabriel spreading grounds
Hi all,
This afternoon (9/5), I stopped by the San Gabriel spreading basins hoping to look at some gulls, but the birding overall was very good and I thought it was worth posting a report to the listserv.
Understanding the status of water and vegetation levels at the spreading basins and the adjacent San Gabriel river is beyond my capabilities. Conditions change from day to day depending on weather and the whims of LA Public Works. But it is now excellent.
The large spreading basin south of Mines is full, and water is just beginning to flow from this basin to the southernmost basin. - This basin had 1000 Western Gulls today, including at least 200 juveniles. It is a great place to study juvenile Western Gulls. I looked fairly carefully through the flock and the only other gulls I found were 9 California Gulls. Interestingly, 7 of the 9 birds were juveniles that all looked different from each other (including one bird that Merlin was adamant was a Western Gull when I was uploading photos to eBird). - The other highlight in this basin is a lone (mulberry?) tree that now hosts a large nesting colony of Neotropic Cormorants. The birds were displaying, aggressively chasing each other, courting and copulating with grunting vocalizations, building nests, and at least two nests seemed to have birds in incubating postures. I counted 38 Neotropic Cormorants in the tree (+ another 10 cormorants that were likely Neotropics but I couldn't see well), and 12 birds elsewhere in the basin and the adjacent river. I'm reporting the total as 44 birds, though I think the actual number of Neotropic Cormorants in the area exceeded 50-60 birds. This is an incredible increase in numbers of this species in LA county. Perhaps people can get a more accurate count over the next few days.
The basin immediately north of Mines was dry, but there was a tiny puddle at the north end of this basin that hosted 3 Killdeer, 1 Western Sandpiper, 4 Least Sandpipers and 2 Solitary Sandpipers.
The river looks excellent, with miles of weedy habitat that should have seedeaters (but impossible to see), shallow water, mudflats, and shallow shrinking pools that concentrate fish and attract fish-eating birds. These included about 100 each of Snowy and Great Egrets in the river and 3 Ospreys hunting while calling. The most interesting shorebird on the river was a juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher.
If you made it this far and are interested in birding along a stretch of the San Gabriel river on Sunday Sep 27 as part of a survey of birds on the river this fall, please email me off-list :). The birding away from the spreading basins is usually not as glamorous, but always interesting.
Dave Moody loose in Redondo Beach with a view of the ocean and he had a
booby that he saw with his bare eyes yes, he is that good but he didn’t
describe plum or color pattern, yet. He is working his way to the harbor in
Redondo Beach to look for the Nazca Booby, although that could be the one
that he saw following the fishing boat. These are fishing boats full of
fisherman who pay to ride for a few hours, not commercial large fishing
boats.
On Fri, Sep 4, 2026 at 3:55 PM Zach Fisher <zfisher...> wrote:
> please let me know if you see it i live just a few miles away. also if
> you know how I can get added to that whatsapp i'd appreciate it
> Zac
> 424-634-0081
>
> On Fri, Sep 4, 2026 at 3:41 PM <tgmiko...> via groups.io <tgmiko=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>> Reported on the Los Angeles WhatsApp group earlier today and I only just
>> noticed in the past hour so I’m heading there now. Hopefully others will
>> find it while I’m driving there in the three day holiday weekend traffic. I
>> don’t have a lot of details.
>>
>> Thomas Geza Miko
>> Claremont CA 91711
>> 909.241.3300 <(909)%20241-3300>
>>
>>
>>
This is the Los Angeles RBA for September 5, 2026.
A HOODED MERGANSER continued at La Mirada Community Park in La Mirada through September 1.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE was at the Toyon Landfill in Griffith Park (restricted access) on August 30.
Other WHITE-WINGED DOVES were in San Dimas on August 28 and Highland Park this past week.
A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER continued along lower Ballona Creek between Centinela and Inglewood through September 3.
A RED PHALAROPE and a PURPLE MARTIN were at Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB (letter of permission required for access) on September 3.
A COMMON TERN was at the Ballona Creek mouth in Playa del Rey on August 29.
A NAZCA BOOBY was by the Hermosa Beach Pier on September 4.
A COCOS BOOBY was offshore south of San Pedro on August 31.
A BROWN PELICAN continued at Lake Hollywood through September 1.
A PURPLE MARTIN was at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on August 29, perhaps a lingering bird from the six found there last week.
A GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and a LUCYS WARBLER (the latter north of the Los Coyotes entrance) were at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood on September 4.
A BOBOLINK was along the San Gabriel River in South El Monte on September 4 in the weedy area just above the Whittier Narrows Dam.
A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was at the Little Rock Creek riparian near Palmdale on August 30 above the check dam (off Mt. Emma Road, best reached on foot). Google Maps 34.5120, -118.0182
A LUCYS WARBLER was at La Mirada Creek Park on September 4 in the area south of Imperial Highway.
A SUMMER TANAGER continued at Descanso Gardens through August 23, last seen by the Fibonacci spiral.
-end transcript
Jon L Fisher
Glendale, CA
<JonF60...>
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
For all events, field trips and announcements, please see our website at http://www.laaudubon.org
Reported on the Los Angeles WhatsApp group earlier today and I only just
noticed in the past hour so I’m heading there now. Hopefully others will
find it while I’m driving there in the three day holiday weekend traffic. I
don’t have a lot of details.
This is NOT the upper stretch of Little Rock Creek near the Little Rock Reservoir Dam (where many of you saw the Brown-crested Flycatchers a few weeks ago). Rather, it is downstream (north) of Mt. Emma Rd. Unless you have a monster truck and enjoy destroying streambottom habitat you will need to park a short ways below Mt. Emma Rd, and walk down the dry cobble streambed until you reach the obvious riparian forest. Take the dirt road on the east side of the creek bottom about 250 yards and park. [Be VERY careful when turning into and out of this dirt road from/to Mt. Emma Rd. as the latter is a favorite of crazy redneck speedsters.] After parking it is another 0.3 mi. to reach the main riparian zone.
The waterthrush was about halfway down the riparian zone where there is a concrete check dam -- it was along the creek in the first 50 feet or so above the dam. Coordinates for this spot are: 34 30' 43.42" N -118 01' 05.52"W Not too many other migrants there this morning, but it's always an interesting spot.
Date: 8/29/26 10:44 pm From: Naresh Satyan via groups.io <naresh.satyan...> Subject: [LACoBirds] 2026 LA River Fall shorebird survey: Day 2 results
Hi all,
Today was the second of three surveys of shorebirds in the Los Angeles river planned for this fall. The goal of the surveys is to get a fairly thorough picture of shorebirds using the various stretches of the river, and how their distribution is changing over time. We've been doing three surveys per year each fall since 2023.
We had mostly the same team as previous surveys: Jeff Boyd (Golden Shore to Willow), Jon Fisher and Sarah Ngo (Willow to Wardlow), Lance Benner (Wardlow to Rosecrans, by bike), Mark and Janet Scheel (Southern to Atlantic), Andy Birch (110/5 intersection to Burbank confluence), Naresh Satyan (Burbank, Sepulveda basin). We covered all stretches of the river that have shorebirds (and in my case, also checked stretches that did not have any shorebirds).
It was a warm/hot day along the river, with temperatures starting around 73 F and warming to about 90 F inland. We had clear skies and practically no wind all morning. The tide was rising +0.1 to +4.9 ft at the river mouth in Long Beach. Water levels in the river were fairly high throughout the survey area, with strong flow in the central channel, and limited shorebird habitat in the upstream areas.
Shorebird numbers and diversity were pretty good on the southern/downstream part of the river in Long Beach. We tallied more species and higher numbers than all our previous surveys on this date. On the other hand, it was fairly quiet on the upper reaches, particularly in the Vernon-South Gate stretch where we "missed" several hundred Least Sandpipers compared to previous years.
- Western Sandpipers are now present in pretty decent numbers in Long Beach. Our total for today was 1812 birds. In 2023, '24 and '25, we had 400, 193 and 132 birds respectively. This was a welcome change! - We are in about the peak window for juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers, and the 59 birds counted today was more than double the previous high count in the past 4 years. (There are juvenile Short-billed Dowitchers everywhere now -- I also had good numbers along Ballona creek later today). - 74 Semipalmated Plovers was also a high count, including 45 birds at Willow St. - Our tally of 1091 Least Sandpipers was a little less than the recent average. - Less common birds included a Semipalmated Sandpiper, a Solitary Sandpiper and a couple of Baird's Sandpipers -- all at Willow St.
A HOODED MERGANSER continued at La Mirada Community Park in La Mirada through August 24.
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE was along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach through August 23. This bird was on the east side north of the pipe bridge above Willow Street.
A GREATER ROADRUNNER continued on the east side of the Los Angeles River above Willow Street through August 24.
A RED KNOT was at the Ballona Salt Pan in Playa del Rey on August 25.
A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER continued along the lower Los Angeles River above Willow Street in Long Beach through August 29.
Another SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was along lower Ballona Creek between Centinela and Inglewood on August 28.
Six PURPLE MARTINS were at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on August 26.
Early fall migrants included a SWAINSONS THRUSH and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET in Rancho Palos Verdes on August 25.
Another early SWAINSONS THRUSH was at Piute Ponds on August 27.
SUMMER TANAGERS included birds continuing at Monrovia Canyon Park above Monrovia through August 28 and at Descanso Gardens through August 23.
-end transcript
Jon L Fisher
Glendale, CA
<JonF60...>
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
For all events, field trips and announcements, please see our website at http://www.laaudubon.org
A WHITE-WINGED DOVE and a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH were at Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on August 20, with the latter also seen on August 21. A letter of permission is required for access.
Another WHITE-WINGED DOVE was along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach on August 22. This bird was on the east side north of the north pipe bridge.
A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was along the lower Los Angeles River above Willow Street in Long Beach through August 22. It was last seen above the north pipe bridge.
Two BLACK TERNS were at the Ballona Salt Pan in Playa del Rey on August 21.
A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was at Hansen Dam on August 16.
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was at Hahamongna Watershed Park in Pasadena on August 15.
A HOODED WARBLER was near the north end of the Deforest Wetlands (just south of DeForest Park proper) in Long Beach on August 22.
SUMMER TANAGERS were at Descanso Gardens on August 18 and in Rolling Hills Estates on August 22.
A PAINTED BUNTING was at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on August 18 north of the Ranger Station.
-end transcript
Jon L Fisher
Glendale, CA
<JonF60...>
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
For all events, field trips and announcements, please see our website at http://www.laaudubon.org
