Birds of the Season — August 2021

By Jon Fisher

While heat baked the Los Angeles County deserts, summer on the coastal slope was more mild than intense. Fire season- at least in Los Angeles County- has been subdued this summer. Experience tells us that neither of those conditions are likely to persist, but good fortune may smile upon us.

Most of the western United States continues to endure severe or extreme drought and ever-lengthening and increasingly destructive fire seasons. While birds are very adaptable, their ability has its limits. Drought and fire is certainly affecting not only local resident and summering birds, but the migrants that pass through our area and those that spend the winter.

The effects of last summer’s Bobcat Fire linger, with a number of favored birding spots still closed to public access. A year later, a drive through the fire area is still unsettling. Large areas of habitat have been lost to both the Station Fire of 2009 and the 2020 Bobcat Fire, and to a number of smaller blazes. The result is that much of the San Gabriel Mountains have been transformed into new habitats and a new landscape.

Following the very early Wilson’s Phalaropes, various southbound shorebirds began moving through in July. Numbers increased noticeably through August. A very few fall migrant passerines also appeared in July, but it was August before these became obvious.

While its lower portions are renowned for great shorebirding, there are patches all along the Los Angeles River corridor that offer good birding year-round. From Glendale to Long Beach, the river hosts waterfowl, shorebirds, quite a variety of songbirds and many others. The river’s flow is sustained through summer and fall by the effluent from several water treatment plants. It’s ironic that this now channelized river maintains its vibrancy because of the release of imported water initially procured only for human consumption.

Small numbers of summering Common Mergansers were present along the upper San Gabriel River and elsewhere, with up to twenty-one recorded at Castaic Lagoon on July 16. Though breeding is likely, no confirmation was obtained as in past years.

Up to three Inca Doves continued at Lake Los Angeles in the east Antelope Valley through July 11, where a tiny population persists. At least eight White-winged Doves were detected over the period.

A few Black Swifts continued in the vicinity of Claremont Wilderness Park, with two reported there through August 9. Three more were recorded at Table Mountain in the east San Gabriel Mountains on July 11 (Tom Miko). This species is quite fond of nesting behind waterfalls and Sturtevant Falls above Arcadia used to the go to spot to see them. The last record from that locale was in 2009. It appears likely that they are breeding elsewhere in the San Gabriels at still undetected locations.

An American Oystercatcher at Golden Shore Marine Reserve in Long Beach on July 5 was the only one reported (Becky Turley).

An excellent find was a Red-necked Stint, only the third for Los Angeles County and the first since 2013, at Malibu Lagoon from August 22–26 (Chris Lord, et al). The first county record was a bird at Piute Ponds in July of 1983.

The first Semipalmated Sandpipers of the fall were represented by two along the Lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach on August 13 (Richard Barth, Jeff Boyd) and another at the same location from August 22–23 (Jon Fisher).

Unusual gulls included a Black-legged Kittiwake at Malibu Lagoon on June 26 (Ira Blitz) and a Sabine’s Gull at the Piute Ponds from August 17–19 (Chris Dean). Summering Glaucous-winged Gulls included one in Maywood from June 20–24 (Richard Barth), with two in that area on the latter date (Brad Rumble).

A Black Tern, more expected as a migrant in the interior, was at Malibu Lagoon on August 23 (Dick Norton).

In May, the abandonment of the large tern colony at Bolsa Chica Lagoon in Orange County- precipitated by multiple disturbances including the illegal flying of a drone onto the island- was an apparent disaster for this year’s breeding success. However, many of the Elegant Terns that were displaced successfully nested again on two barges in Long Beach Harbor. Efforts by volunteers rescuing chicks that fell off the barges further increased the success of this newly established colony.

A rare Red-footed Booby was off Pt. Fermin on June 22 (Jess Morton, Evi Meyer). There are now only about a half dozen records for the county, though nearby Orange and San Diego Counties have recorded considerably more.

Neotropic Cormorants continued at a handful of locations and were also found in new areas. About twenty were recorded during the period, with the caveat that some may be the same birds moving around the county. What is inarguable is that this species in rapidly increasing in the county.

Reddish Egrets made typically brief stops at Malibu Lagoon on July 2 (Mickey & Jan Long) and again on August 15 (Roger Swanson) and two were there on August 21 (Jonathan Nakai). Another was at Alamitos Bay on August 22 (Keith Quinlivan).

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were represented by at least sixteen in the county from late June through August. In addition, breeding was confirmed at Alamitos Bay (Robb Hamilton).

An early Northern Harrier was at Founders Park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on August 15 (Wendell Covalt).

Early fall migrant Eastern Kingbirds were at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City on July 9 (Johnny Ivanov) and at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB from July 25–26 (Femi Faminu).

Plumbeous Vireos were confirmed breeding along Vincent Gulch Trail in the east San Gabriel Mountains on June 19 (Naresh Stayan). There are a few summer records of this species in this general area, including at Big Rock Creek.

Away from known breeding areas were three Purple Martins along Blue Ridge Road in the east San Gabriel Mountains on August 13 (Corey Husic). These were likely post-breeding dispersing birds. Historically this species bred at several locations in the San Gabriels.

A modest but noticeable dispersion of White-breasted Nuthatches away from expected areas was noted as early as the end of June, but this event appeared to sputter by mid-July, with no additional reports.

A first of fall Cedar Waxwing was at Stephen Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles on August 22 (Kimball Garrett). This species is one of the last to depart in spring and first to arrive in fall.

Unusual was an out of season Hermit Thrush at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont on July 31 (Ethan Flanagan). Though small numbers breed in the San Gabriel Mountains, a lowland record of an apparently healthy bird on this date is remarkable.

The long-suffering and irrepressibly singing Brewer’s Sparrow continued along Blue Ridge Road in the east San Gabriel Mountains through June 24. As might have been predicted, this bird never found a mate. Still, an “A” for effort.

Notable was a White-crowned Sparrow at Sunset Peak Saddle near Mt. Baldy Village on June 20 (Paul Clarke, Catherine McFadden). This species is not known to summer in the San Gabriels and has largely departed the county by early May except for the occasional straggler.

An early lowland Wilson’s Warbler was at Eaton Canyon in Pasadena on July 22 (Mark & Janet Scheel).

About eight Summer Tanagers recorded over the period was a typical number.

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was in Lake Hughes on August 10 (Will B.). An Indigo Bunting was along the San Gabriel River in South El Monte from July 30-August 21 (Darren Dowell). Also present here from July 31–August 12 was a Lazuli x Indigo Bunting (Mark & Janet Scheel).

As we head into September, fall migration will be a more relaxed affair. Vagrants often linger for days and the mad rush of spring- driven by the instinctive drive to reproduce- is lacking. In addition, the birding opportunities are somewhat more diverse. Birders will be on the watch for the potential of irruptive species such as Red-breasted Nuthatches and Varied Thrushes.

Some Mexican species, such as Tropical Kingbirds, undertake a reverse migration to the north and west. While spring holds little chance for Old World species, Asian and Siberian vagrants are in the offing in fall.

Add to all this the usual waterfowl, shorebirds and passerines passing through the area, and you have a rich mix full of possibilities. Fall migration is the time when truly mind-bending records can occur, such as the Eurasian Wryneck found on San Clemente Island in late September of 2017. We shall see what transpires in the coming months.