Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 6, Jul–Aug 2017

ON THE COVER

‘I’iwi | Hakalau Forest Wildlife Refuge, Photo by Jack Jeffrey

Found nowhere else in the world, the spectacular scarlet‐feathered I’iwi (Drepanis coccinea) is the last of the sickle‐billed Hawaiian honeycreepers. Before the appearance of humans in Hawaii, more than fifty different honeycreeper species were known to have existed. Today, only 18 species remain, most of these are endangered or threatened. I’iwi feathers were once collected by early Hawaiian bird catchers or “kia manu”, and used for the feathered cloaks of Hawaiian Royalty. I’iwi are still fairly abundant in the remaining high elevation native koa‐ohia forests of Hawaii Island and Maui, but rare on the other major islands. The long down‐curved bill of the I’iwi is a perfect match for the shape of tubular flowers of many native plants, making I’iwi important pollinators of these and other native plants. To see an I’iwi, or to hear its loud “rusty hinge” call is an extraordinary experience and one that can only be had in a Hawaiian rainforest.

In this issue

• YOUNG BIRDERS: Birds of the Hakalau Forest on the Big Island of Hawai’i, By Dessi Sieburth

• INTERPRETING NATURE: Does nature have a place in the English Language Arts classroom?, By Robert Jeffers, L.A. Audubon Treasurer | Instructional Coach

• Princeton Phainopepla Project, Please send your sightings to Dr. Daniel Baldassarre, Princeton University

• Birds of the Season—June 2017, By Jon Fisher

• OPINION: Every Creature on Earth is Under Threat, By Louis Tucker, LAAS Member and Field Trip Leader

• A Tribute to Judy Raskin, By Brad Rumble, LAAS Director at Large

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 5, May–June 2017

On The Cover: Brown-eyed Primrose | Photo by Read Howarth

About the Photographer: Read Howarth is a disability insurance broker who lives in Los Angeles County. He moved here in 2009 from New Jersey. His then moderate lifelong interest in birding was given a jolt with his observation of a Surf Scoter in Marina Del Rey, while sailing. His first Audubon Field Trip was three years ago, on a Kurt Leuschner led trip to Anza-Borrego. It was to become the first of many Audubon walks and field trips since. Birding, sailing and volunteering as a Docent in Topanga State Park keep him out in nature and provide springboards for more educational opportunities in the natural sciences.

In this issue

• L.A. Audubon's Anza-Borrego Field Trip March 2017, By Read Howarth, LAAS Member and Field Trip Participant, Photos by Read Howarth

• Birds and Other Wildlife seen on Anza-Borrego Field TripBy Kurt Leuschner, LAAS Member and Field Trip Leader | KLeuschner@collegeofthedesert.edu

• SCHREIBER GRANT UPDATE: The role of behavior in isolation: novelty and courtship across a hummingbird hybrid zone | By Brian Myers, Grant Recipient 2015

• INTERPRETING NATURE: From L.A. to Joshua Tree: Opportunities and Experiences in Nature, By Robert Jeffers, L.A. Audubon Board Member and Joshua Tree Adventure Chaperone, Spring Break 2017

• We Wish You a Merry Christmas: An Adventure, By Louis Tucker, Los Angeles Audubon Society Member and Field Trip Leader

• YOUNG BIRDERS: The Red-crowned Parrot, By Dessi Sieburth

• Birds of the Season — April 2017, By Jon Fisher

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 4, Mar-Apr 2017

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia by Mary Freeman, January 8, 2017. Taken with Canon D40 with a Canon 400mm telephoto lens.

In this issue

• ON THE COVER —Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Photo by Mary Freeman

• Birds of the Season – Feb. 2017, by Jon Fisher

• A Wet, Wet, Wetland, By Cindy Hardin, Director of Outdoor Education & Volunteer Coordinator

• Los Angeles County’s Breeding Bird Atlas Now Available

• INTERPRETING NATURE: Being a Biologist for a Day is a Great Excuse to Get Out to the Beach!, Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education |Photos by Stacey Vigallon

• Hang in There, I’ll Get To It In A Bit, Louis Tucker, L.A. Audubon Field Trip Leader

• YOUNG BIRDERS: Birds are Citizens of the World: Protecting our Migrating Birds, By Dessi Sieburth

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 3, Jan–Feb 2017

Burrowing Owl at Esperanza Elementary | Photo by Brad Rumble

This image was taken on December 9, 2016 when the bird was perched in a jacaranda tree adjacent to the student lunch pavilion. I took the shot with a Canon EOS Rebel t2i camera using a 55mm‐250mm lens.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

My interest in native birds developed during my first decade working at a school near downtown Los Angeles. It was the absence of biodiversity due to poor urban planning which really got me interested in the subject. I started photographing birds to memorialize what I was seeing out in the field. As an elementary school principal, I see how students are fascinated with the local natural history. Given the opportunity, they truly become stewards of their campus and neighborhood. —Brad Rumble

Inside this issue

• A New Schoolyard Habitat at Esperanza Elementary School, By Margot Griswold, President Los Angeles Audubon

• YOUNG BIRDERS: Lost Migrants in Los Angeles County—Highlights of My 2016 Birding Year, By Dessi Sieburth

• Birds of the Season—December 2016

• Los Angeles Audubon’s Ballona Wetlands

• Emily Reed, LAAS Docent, Receives Disney Conservation Hero Award 2016

• Hummingbird Rescue: A True Story, By Cindy Hardin, Director of Outdoor Education & Volunteer Coordinator

• Ninety years of change in the bird community of the UCLA campus, by Richard W. Hedley, Samuel A. Bressler, Sidhaant Shah, Jeffrey G‐H. Lee, Ryan J. Harrigan

• INTERPRETING NATURE: The Green Gift Workshop — creativity, discovery, and duct tape, By Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 2, Nov-Dec 2016

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Photo by Dessi Sieburth

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 2, November December 2016

ON THE COVER

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Photo by Dessi Sieburth

•YOUNG BIRDERS: Helping Birds Through Photography, By Dessi Sieburth

•CONSERVATION CONVERSATION: Western Snowy Plovers Past and Future in Coastal Los Angeles, By Travis Longcore

•Ballona Docents Head South, Cindy Hardin, Director of Outdoor Education & Volunteer Coordinator

•State of California, Audubon California and Restoring the Salton Sea

•Birds of the Season–October 2016

•Always Excited About Your Firsts: The Chase, By Louis Tucker, Field Trip Leader

•INTERPRETING NATURE: Celebrating Shorebirds, Joyce Realgeno, Education and Restoration Staff, and Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

Western Tanager, Vol. 83 No. 1, Sep-Oct 2016

Inside this issue

•Tales of a Budding Naturalist—A Photo Essay: It All Started with the "Pinkies", By Jamie Lowry

•CONSERVATION CONVERSATION: Caring For Nature in An Age of Utility, By Travis Longcore

•Summer Camp 2016 at Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area, Cindy Hardin, Director of Outdoor Education, Photos by Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

•Birds of the Season–August 2016, By Jon Fisher

•Breeding Bird Atlas Goes to Print, by Larry Allen

•INTERPRETING NATURE: Sun Prints, Smart Phones and Technologies New and Old: Alternative Avenues to Appreciating Nature Now, By Robert Jeffers, LAUSD Educator and Los Angeles Audubon Board Member, and Stacey Vigallon, Director of Environmental Education

•YOUNG BIRDERS: The Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor), By Dessi Sieburth