By Jon Fisher
Western Tanager, Vol. 86 No. 2, Nov.-Dec. 2019
There’s no doubt that fall migration is a great time for birders. “Southbound migration” might be a better term, given that the passage takes place from June through November. Even that isn’t exact, as not all migrants are headed south. Tropical Kingbirds are an obvious example of a species whose movements are to the north and west.
Predictably, a number of good rarities were discovered in the county. Among them were a couple of high end vagrants. Unfortunately, due to circumstances- either a lack of public access or a brief stay or both- neither was seen by more than a couple of observers.
Though these birds can and do turn up anywhere, the concentrating effects of the coastline were evident. Coastal and near coastal parks and green patches are often productive for both regular migrants and vagrants, and that was true this fall. Madrona Marsh, DeForest Park, Banning Park and Harbor Regional Park all had their share of good birds.
Four Common Mergansers were on the San Gabriel River’s West Fork on September 11 and up to a half dozen were in the main San Gabriel Canyon through September 25, near where they have been confirmed breeding recently (Ryan Winkleman). Two early Hooded Mergansers were along the LA River in Glendale on August 23 (Andrew Birch).
White-winged Doves included a continuing bird at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh through August 29- September 23, and others at Sand Dune Park in Manhattan Beach on September 6 (Chris Dean), on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on September 13 (Mike Miller), at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on September 23 (Adam Johnson) and in Redondo Beach from October 23–27 (Lynne Sands).
A Lesser Nighthawk at Lake Palmdale on October 10 was a late date.
An American Oystercatcher continued at Royal Palms Beach near San Pedro through September 4. Other reports- possibly involving the same birds- were on the Palos Verdes Peninsula near Ocean Trails Reserve on September 8 (Mike Miller) and at King Harbor on September 27 (David Moody), at Dockweiler SB on October 3 (Dean Schaff). Two were at the Ballona Creek mouth on October 16 (Naresh Satyan).
Quite rare was an American Golden-Plover at the Piute Ponds on October 12 (Mark & Janet Scheel). More expected, and lingering far longer, was a Pacific Golden-Plover along lower Ballona Creek from August 30-October 16 (Randy Ehler).
Red Knots, generally rather scarce in the county, included two along the lower LA River in Long Beach from September 4–9 (Becky Turley, Kim Moore, Richard Barth), another along lower Ballona Creek on September 11 (Kevin Lapp) and two there from September 11–14 (Sara Boscoe).
Two Semipalmated Sandpipers along the lower LA River in Long Beach on August 25 were the last of the seven recorded since July (Jon Fisher, Sarah Ngo, Mark Scheel).
Sabine’s Gulls were at Lake Palmdale from September 26–October 3 (Cal Yorke) and at the Sepulveda Basin from October 3-11(Noelle Jorge). Very rare was a Little Gull at Lake Palmdale on October 10 (Cal Yorke). This species, the world’s smallest gull, was the first in the county since 2007. Also of interest was a Franklin’s Gull at Castaic Lake on October 16 (Cal Yorke).
Common Terns, generally scarce migrants in fall, included single birds at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on August 24 (Mark Scheel) and at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach on September 14 (Robb Hamilton) and two at Apollo Park in Lancaster from September 20-23. One was also at Malibu Lagoon from September 26-29 (Jeff Tell). Much less expected were Arctic Terns at Malibu Lagoon on September 17 (Tom Miko, Sam Cooper) and at Cabrillo Beach on October 22 (Bobby Trusela).
Two Neotropic Cormorants continued below Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace through September 21. Despite the recent uptick in records, no others were reported during the period.
A Brown Booby just east of San Clemente Island on September 22 was the only one found in the county during the period (Justyn Stahl), although thirty to fifty were repeatedly noted on nearby Santa Barbara Island through the period.
An American Bittern at the Dominguez Gap Wetlands in Long Beach on September 10 was presumably the same bird observed there last July (Jeff Boyd). Also notable were a Reddish Egret at Malibu Lagoon on October 4 (Dan Cooper) and a rare Tricolored Heron seen briefly at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach on October 6 (Robb Hamilton, Nancy Salem).
Four Cattle Egrets were in the east Antelope Valley — two at the Piute Ponds and two more southeast of there — on September 18 (Jon Feenstra) and four were at Piute on September 24. A Little Blue Heron was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from August 20–September 24 (Adam Johnson, Chris Dean).
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons included several continuing in the Ballona area — most often at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh — through October 20. Up to three more were at Sims Bio Pond in Long Beach through October 7 and one was at Cabrillo Beach on October 6 (Bernardo Alps).
A Broad-winged Hawk at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on October 17 (John Sterling) was the only report of this rare fall migrant during the period. Zone-tailed Hawks were near the Chatsworth Reservoir on September 5 (Dina Gathe) and at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on September 20 (Karen Suarez). An early Ferruginous Hawk was in the east Antelope Valley on September 22 (Kimball Garrett).
Remarkably early was a Merlin along the LA River in Glendale on August 27 (Andrew Birch).
Tropical Kingbirds were at Entradero Park in Torrance from October 4–21 (Tracy Drake) and at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City from October 7–21 (Joyce Brady). Less expected was an Eastern Kingbird on San Clemente Island on September 6 (Vincent Weber).
Bank Swallows are scarce on the coastal slope in migration, thus one on the LA River in Long Beach on September 14 was of interest (Jeff Boyd, Richard Barth). Likewise was a Purple Martin in the same area on September 17 (Jeff Boyd, Richard Barth).
Red-breasted Nuthatches were present in above average numbers. This coincides with an irruptive year elsewhere in the state.
A Townsend’s Solitaire, quite rare on the coastal slope, was at Hopkins Wilderness Park on October 1. Rather late was a Swainson’s Thrush at Sand Dune Park in Manhattan Beach on October 6 (Dessi Sieburth).
An excellent find was a White Wagtail on San Clemente Island from October 15–17 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers, Steven Munoz). This was quite possibly the same bird observed on Santa Barbara Island two days prior. This was the first county record since the Cabrillo Beach bird in December of 2012.
Both a Lapland Longspur and a Chestnut-sided Longspur were at the Toyon Landfill in Griffith Park on October 13 (Andrew Birch) and two Lapland Longspurs, a Chestnut-collared Longspur and a McCown’s Longspur were in the east Antelope Valley at 50th Street East and Avenue M from October 20–21 (Mark & Janet Scheel, Naresh Satyan). At least one Lapland was still present through October 23. All three species are rare in the county, although a thorough survey of suitable habitat in the Antelope Valley and elsewhere would almost certainly turn up additional birds.
Nine Green-tailed Towhees were found on the coastal slope and offshore islands from September 15–October 18 and seven Clay-colored Sparrows were discovered between September 19 and October 4. A Grasshopper Sparrow was at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia on October 2 (Chris Dean, Joyce Brady).
Generally scarce away from the deserts in fall, eleven Black-throated Sparrows were found on the coastal slope and on San Clemente Island. Less often encountered was a Lark Bunting at Griffith Park’s Toyon Landfill on October 5 (Andrew Birch).
A White-throated Sparrow in Pasadena from October 19–20 was the only one reported thus far (Jane Bork), while a rather early White-crowned Sparrow was at the Piute Ponds on September 8.
Bobolinks were reported on San Clemente Island on September 28 (Jimmy McMorran, Justyn Stahl), on October 1 (Nicole Desnoyers, Justyn Stahl) and at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from October 24–27 (Adam Johnson, David Moody, Mark Rubke).
Northern Waterthrushes were in the Sepulveda Basin from September 5–6 (Chris Dean), at the Exposition Park Rose Garden from September 24-25 (Kimball Garrett), on San Clemente Island on September 30 (Justyn Stahl, Jimmy McMorran) and on Santa Catalina Island on October 19 (Adrian Hinkle, Dessi Sieburth).
Seven Black-and-white Warblers were detected between September 19 and October 18, all on the coastal slope.
A half dozen Virginia’s Warblers were found in the county between September 10 and 28 and Lucy’s Warblers were at Creek Park in La Mirada on September 25 (Jonathan Rowley), on Santa Catalina Island on October 18 (Adrian Hinkle) and on San Clemente Island on October 19 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
Tennessee Warblers were at Creek Park in La Mirada from September 25-28 (Chris Dean, Joyce Brady), at Banning Park in Wilmington on September 26 (Chris Dean) and at the Exposition Park Rose Garden from October 4-8 (Kimball Garrett).
American Redstarts were at Rosedale Angeles Cemetery near downtown LA on September 13 (Brad Rumble), at Lake Palmdale on September 26 (Cal Yorke) and at DeForest Park in Long Beach from September 27-28 (Jeff Boyd, Richard Barth, Kim Moore) with three present there on September 28.
Chestnut-sided Warblers were at Banning Park in Wilmington on September 28 (Dessi Sieburth), at the South Coast Botanic Gardens in Rolling Hills Estates on September 28 (Randy Harwood), at the Piute Ponds from September 30–October 1 (John Birsner) and at the at the Exposition Park Rose Garden in Los Angeles from October 1–6 (Kimball Garrett).
A Magnolia Warbler was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from August 28-30 (Manuel Duran) and eight Blackpoll Warblers were found between September 12 and 29. Seen by many was a Prairie Warbler at Madrona Marsh in Torrance from September 27–October 3.
A nice find on San Clemente Island was a Canada Warbler discovered on September 27 (Justyn Stahl).
Summer Tanagers were on San Clemente Island on September 24 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers), at Switzer’s Picnic area on September 28 (Walter Heymann), at Hopkins Wilderness Park on October 3 and at La Mirada Community Park on October 14 (Jonathan Rowley).
Very rare in the county was a Scarlet Tanager at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City from October 16–22 (Chris Dean). Interestingly, this is the third record of this species at this locale in the past seven years. Another was at Madrona Marsh in Torrance on October 24 (Adam Johnson, David Moody, Mark Rubke).
Wrapping up reports was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Pearblossom Park in Pearblossom on October 5 (Kimball Garrett).
Now that passerine migration is essentially over, late and lingering birds still remain to be found in the coming months. Given the mild climate, LA County’s coastal slope offers excellent winter birding for Neotropic migrants that have decided not to head farther south.
The varied and interesting Antelope Valley will offer the usual winter specialties and possibly a surprise or two. From Quail Lake at the west end to the various agricultural fields at the east, there is much territory to be explored here.
The San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera, one of the county’s best spots for waterfowl and for rare gulls over the last few winters, can be excellent depending on often wildly varying water levels.
Despite the fact that well known spots are regularly covered, there are plenty of places throughout the county that are under-birded.
Christmas Bird Counts will be underway in mere weeks. If you haven’t ever participated, it’s an enjoyable way to contribute to the avian record. Most counts welcome additional participants and more counters make for more successful and thorough CBCs.