The date: 1/2/2026
The week number: 1

The walk number: 1852
The weather: 61 F; light rain

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi, Chip O’Connor, Calvin Kan,

Kevin Kan, Wan-Ying Kan, Ellen Yu, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Eric Warren

The birds (25)

No. First Name Last Name Prob

5	Western	Bluebird	0.50
12		Bushtit	0.50
30	American	Crow	1
27	Mourning	Dove	0.88
3	House	Finch	1
1	American	Goldfinch	0.25
35	Lesser	Goldfinch	1
2	Species	Gull	0.38
2	Red-tailed	Hawk	0.62
1	Anna’s	Hummingbird	1
1	Selasphorus	Hummingbird	0.50
1	Dark-eyed	Junco	1
2	Ruby-crowned	Kinglet	1
1	Northern	Mockingbird	0.25
2	Black	Phoebe	1
1	Common	Raven	1
30	White-throated	Swift	0
1	Oak	Titmouse	0.12
1	California	Towhee	0.62
2	Orange-crowned	Warbler	0.50
3	Yellow-rumped	Warbler	1
8	Cedar	Waxwing	0.62
8	Acorn	Woodpecker	1
1	Nuttall’s	Woodpecker	0.25
1	Bewick’s	Wren	0.25

Walk lasted between 12:00 and 14:00

I’m pretty sure this was the wettest Caltech bird walk in history. I normally would have cancelled but the forecast calls for rain for the next four days in a row, so we were in danger of not getting a walk done for the first week of the year. It was difficult, but we got it done. And there were plenty of birds. We had 3 species with flocks of 30+. We observed 25 species, 2 short of the record for the week and 2.8 more than the prediction. My list didn’t get too wet; I was aided by Eric who held his umbrella out for me to write in the observations on the wetter moments. So, now that it’s over and I and my gear are drying out, the walk doesn’t seem so bad. The numbers were good and 9 walkers turned out, which was great under the conditions. Next walk is on Wednesday 1/7/2026, which is the next dry day in the forecast.

Alan,

1/2/2026