Susan Castor

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Western Tanager, Jul–Aug 2023, Vol. 89 No. 6

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Crested Caracara, photo courtesy of Randy Freeman.

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Crested Caracara Soars Into the Spotlight, Setting New State Record at Ballona Wetlands

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Crested Caracara Soars Into the Spotlight, Setting New State Record at Ballona Wetlands

For Van Pierszalowski, Sunday June 4, 2023 was just another day doing what he loves to do: chasing down rare birds across Southern California. He wasn’t expecting to become a part of California birding lore.

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Birds of the Season — June 2023

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After peaking in late April, spring migration continued for the next two months at a reduced pace. This period managed to produce a satisfying number of vagrants which were found on offshore islands, the coastal slope and on the desert and were recorded into the third week of June.

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Birds of the Season – April 2023

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Birds of the Season – April 2023

The remarkable wet winter of 2022-2023 continued, surpassing most annual precipitation records. The abundance of rain lifted ninety percent of California out of a persistent two-decade long drought. This year resident and migrant birds enjoyed a lush and bountiful landscape. As a bonus, forecasts predict El Niño conditions for the coming year, which suggests above average rainfall for a second consecutive winter.

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An Urban Forest for the Birds

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An Urban Forest for the Birds

A fact that has stuck with me from the research for the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas in the 1990s is that there was not a single neighborhood in the county that did not have at least ten breeding bird species. Residents can enjoy birds wherever they live. But beyond that minimum, the number of birds that are found in developed neighborhoods across the region depends on the number of trees, their size, species, and diversity, and associated landscaping.

Wed., March 8, 2023 — Monthly Program Presentation

Wed., March 8, 2023 — Monthly Program Presentation

Shorebirds are the champions of migration: their flights span hemispheres and defy our preconceived notions about what is possible. The shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway exhibit the most extreme of these migrations, but also a wide variety of other migratory strategies. This talk will highlight how shorebirds of the Pacific Flyway are altering their migrations and responding to global change, as well as what we can do to help them along the way.

Dr. Nathan Senner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Following his undergraduate studies at Carleton College, he was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to follow Hudsonian Godwits on their epic migrations. He then received his PhD from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University. Now, his research group continues to follow godwits, but has also branched out to study long-distance migratory shorebirds wherever they occur.

The meeting will be presented online at: https://bluejeans.com/702950886/5412

Cover art: Julian Garcia-Walther

https://www.laaudubon.org/calendar/2023/senner

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