September and October of 2021 were indeed impressive for vagrants, but good birds continued to turn up through December, though admittedly at a less impressive pace. Los Angeles County’s numerous active and diligent birders are a productive bunch.
As an extreme drought continues, natural habitats are looking beyond parched. Most of the western U.S. is suffering the same fate and concerns are many. There is a bit of good news— as of this writing it looks like December will end up delivering us a fair amount of rain. We can hope that trend continues.
One upside of human development are the numerous lush parks, yards, streams and rivers that benefit from our use of imported- and sometimes naturally occurring- water. These pockets and patches of habitat make life easier for many birds during these lean times and tend to attract vagrants as well. As one might expect, this is also where most birders tend to look for them.
Aside from Lewis’s Woodpeckers, which have been present in above average numbers this fall, there hasn’t been much evidence of any irruptive movements. White-breasted Nuthatches though have occurred more widely than usual away from breeding areas. All of these have been from the Pacific population, with no reports of birds from the interior race.
The area impacted by the 2020 Bobcat Fire is still closed to public access until at least April of 2022. If all goes as planned, these areas- though drastically altered- will again be open to birders.
A returning wintering “Eurasian” Green-winged Teal was along the San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera from November 22–December 12 (Luke Tiller).
Inland Surf Scoters were at Castaic Lagoon on November 2 (Hans Spiecker) and at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on November 9 (Chris Dean, Ted Keyel). Up to three White-winged Scoters were off Dockweiler State Beach in El Segundo from November 1–December 8 and two Black Scoters were there from November 15–26 (Richard Barth).
A Long-tailed Duck was also in the vicinity of Dockweiler State Beach in El Segundo from November 1–December 8 with two present on the later date (Richard Barth)
A White-winged Dove was at Alta Vicente Reserve on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on October 29 (Jonathan Nakai) and three were at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on October 31 (Kaimipono Wenger).
Late was a Lesser Nighthawk at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on October 29 (Ted Keyel).
Vaux’s Swifts were present in generally small numbers during the period with a high count of fifty at Silver Lake Reservoir on November 26 (Andrew Birch).
A Sandhill Crane was seen flying over San Dimas on November 16 (Keith Condon) and five were near the Piute Ponds the same day (Ted Keyel).
The returning wintering Pacific Golden-Plover along lower Ballona Creek was reported through December 16. Up to twenty-five Mountain Plovers were in the Antelope Valley at the often reliable A&G Sod Farm from November 7–December 18 (Naresh Satyan).
A Ruff continued along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach through October 29 and up to two Stilt Sandpipers remained at the Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB through November 6.
Late or lingering Solitary Sandpipers were on the Los Angeles River in the Sepulveda Basin from November 14–December 12 and at Hansen Dam from November 27–December 12 (Jon Fisher). Also of note was a Red Phalarope at Piute on October 29 (Ted Keyel).
Two Scripps’s Murrelets and a Laysan Albatross were spotted about ten miles off the Palos Verdes Peninsula on December 7 (Jon Feenstra).
The only gull of note was a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas from November 22–December 16 (Keith Condon).
Inland Pacific Loons were at Quail Lake near Gorman on October 31 (David Bell) and at Lake Palmdale on November 7 (Naresh Satyan, Ted Keyel).
A Red-footed Booby was at San Clemente Island on November 1 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
Neotropic Cormorants included continuing birds along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach through October 26 and at Westlake Lake in Westlake Village on November 22 (Carol Johnson).
A Little Blue Heron continued along the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach through November 10 and a Cattle Egret was in the same area from October 31–November 12 (Jeff Boyd). Up to three Yellow-crowned Night-Herons continued in the Ballona Wetlands area through December 7.
The occurrence of a small but above average number of Harris’s Hawks in southern California — including one at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains from November 18–19 (Carl Jackson) — makes it unlikely that all were the result of escaped or lost falconer’s birds. Also in its favor, the Paramount Ranch bird showed no signs of having been in captivity. Several other individuals reported in the county during the period may have been naturally occurring, but their provenance remains suspect; this species is quite popular with falconers.
Several Zone-tailed Hawks continued, with birds in Monrovia in the vicinity of Grand Ave. Park through December 18, one Altadena through October 26 and another in Glendora through December 18. A Rough-legged Hawk was at the Piute Ponds from November 20–December 15 (Mark Wilson).
Short-eared Owls were at Piute Ponds on November 5 (Ted Keyel) with possibly the same bird there on November 19, in Griffith Park at the Toyon Landfill on November 25 (Andrew Birch), at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh from November 27–December 11 (Derek Hameister) and at El Dorado Park in Long Beach on November 29 (Nancy Salem).
A Williamson’s Sapsucker was at Grand Ave. Park in Monrovia from November 14–15 (Candice Byers) and a Hairy Woodpecker was away from usually areas of occurrence at Malibu Lagoon on November 28 (Femi Faminu).
An apparently returning “Black” Merlin of the subspecies suckleyi was at the Bette Davis Picnic Area in Glendale on November 24 (Andrew Birch).
Late and potentially wintering Ash-throated Flycatchers were at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates on November 2 (Will Sweet), at the Sepulveda Basin from November 3–7 (Nurit Katz) and at Willow Springs Park in Long Beach from November 22–27 (Brad Dawson).
Tropical Kingbirds were definitely not in short supply, with sixteen present during the period and multiple birds at some near coastal locations. A few late Western Kingbirds were also recorded well into November.
A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was observed along the Los Angeles River in Long Beach from October 24–29 (Johnny Ivanov) and another was at the Piute Ponds on November 12 (Amy Worrell, Jane Stavert).
Quite late was a Willow Flycatcher in Zuma Canyon on November 6 (Sage Bylin, Amy Worrell, Aaron Gomperts). A late and likely continuing Hammond’s Flycatcher was at Monte Cristo Campground in the San Gabriel Mountains on November 17 (Jeffrey Fenwick). Other Hammond’s were at Valley Park in Burbank from November 21- (Andrew Birch), at the Bette Davis Picnic Area in Glendale on November 23 (Greg Slak), at Mountain View Cemetery in Pasadena on December 5 (Darren Dowell) and at Alondra Park Reservoir on December 12 (Naresh Satyan).
Dusky Flycatchers were at Zuma Canyon on December 4 (Amy Worell, Sage Bylin) and at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia from December 4–12 (Darren Dowell). Pacific-slope Flycatchers were at Wardlow Park in Long Beach from November 28–December 3 (Christine Jacobs) and at El Dorado Park in Long Beach on December 8 (Kim Moore).
The Eastern Phoebe that spent the last two winters along the Los Angeles River in Glendale had returned as of November 3 (Jon Fisher). It was reported through December 15. Another was at Echo Park in Los Angeles from November 17–19 (Candice Byers).
Cassin’s Vireos were at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia on November 18 (Steven Kurniawidjaja) and at the San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera on December 12 (Sarah Ngo).
A flock of twelve Swinhoe’s White-eyes on San Clemente Island on November 15 was a first island record for this rapidly increasing non-native (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers). This non-native is already well-established throughout much of Orange County and has made inroads into southern Los Angeles County, with records as far north and west as Point Dume. Clearly it is to be watched for throughout the remainder of the coastal slope.
The japonicus or Siberian subspecies American Pipit returned to the Ferraro Soccer Fields in Glendale for a second winter as of November 5 and reported there through December 13 (Andrew Birch).
A Grasshopper Sparrow continued at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach through October 26 and at least eight Clay-colored Sparrows were encountered over the period.
Six Dark-eyed “Gray-headed” Juncos were found during the period, while Dark-eyed “Pink-sided” Juncos were at Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas from November 1-december 9 (Keith Condon), at Grassy Hollow Picnic Area in the east San Gabriel Mountains on November 7 (Mark & Janet Scheel) and on Santa Catalina Island on November 20 (Will Black).
Quite rare in the county was a Harris’s Sparrow was at the Piute Ponds from November 18-22 (Chris Dean). About a dozen White-throated Sparrows were recorded as well.
A Swamp Sparrow continued in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys through November 4. Others were at Malibu Lagoon on October 29 (Graham Montgomery), at the Earvin Magic Johnson Recreation Area in Willowbrook on November 3 (Chris Dean), at the Piute Ponds from November 19-20 (Ted Keyel) and at the San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera on November 26 (Larry Schmahl).
Green-tailed Towhees were at the West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail in Lakewood through December 8, at Pelona Vista Park in Palmdale on October 31 (Vern Benhart) and in Signal Hill on December 2 (Kim Moore).
An Orchard Oriole was at Satellite Park in Cerritos on November 9 (Thomas Lopez, Charles Lopez). A late and likely wintering Scott’s Oriole was at Crystalaire in Llano from November 23-27 (Ruth Gravance).
An Ovenbird was on San Clemente Island from November 1-4 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers). Nine Black-and-white Warblers were recorded. A rare Prothonotary Warbler was at Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale on October 30, but reportedly was present at least a day earlier (Will Sweet, Ynez Dias, Alex Bartolo)
A Lucy’s Warbler was at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Pasadena on October 24 (Judy Hwa) and a well above average twelve Nashville Warblers turned up between November 24 and December 8.
American Redstarts were along the Los Angeles River in Glendale from October 28-December 15 (Dan Cooper), on Santa Catalina Island on October 30 (Van Pierszalowski) and in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys from November 28-December 15 (Jon Fisher), with two individuals confirmed there on the latter date.
A Bay-breasted Warbler was at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City from November 5-8 (Chris Hinkle) and a Blackburnian Warbler was at Legg Lake in South El Monte from October 30-31 (Larry Schmahl). A Chestnut-sided Warbler was at Wardlow Park in Long Beach from November 26-December 7 (Eddie Monson), while a half dozen Palm Warblers were found during the period.
Four Pine Warblers turned up in rapid succession. After one on October 17 on Santa Catalina Island, birds were found at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in the Sepulveda Basin on October 30 (Jon Fisher), at Legg Lake in South El Monte also on October 30 and on San Clemente Island— for their first record and only the second for the Channel Islands— on November 3 (Justyn Stahl, Nicole Desnoyers).
A continuing Magnolia Warbler was at the Bette Davis Picnic Area in Glendale through October 27 and the returning wintering Painted Redstart at Inglewood Park Cemetery continued through December 15.
Six Summer Tanagers were present during the period.
Black-headed Grosbeaks were at The William Clark Library in Los Angeles from November 29– (Rebecca Marschall) and in Pasadena from December 8–10 (Frank & Susan Gilliland).
An Indigo Bunting continued at Woodley Creek in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys through October 23 and one was on Santa Catalina Island on October 30 (Van Pierszalowski). A Painted Bunting remained along Woodley Creek in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys through November 4 and one was at a residence in Manhattan Beach from November 5–7 (Kelly Fogarty).
As we head into winter, Christmas Bird Counts are well underway if not already completed. These should turn up additional birds of interest. While a number of counts were suspended for the 2020–2021 event due to the Covid pandemic, most are being conducted in the 2021–2022 period as conditions seem to change more than they outright improve.
If you’re already missing migration, January and February will bring the earliest of northbound spring migrants. Turkey Vultures and Selasphorus hummingbirds will be heading north and some waterfowl will begin their trek to higher latitudes.
But in the meantime, local parks and patches of green on the coastal slope are undoubtedly harboring as yet undetected wintering oddities. There are many opportunities for finding new birds, chasing continuing vagrants and just enjoying our winter birds.
As always, the Antelope Valley offers interesting birding with its winter specialties and the potential for something unusual. Even the chilly higher San Gabriels have the potential for good birds. Last winter’s flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and previous records of Grace’s Warblers are evidence of that.