8/29/06

We did it. We smashed another record this week. We saw 7 species, 2 less than the previous week 35 record LOW of 9 set in 1994 and reached again in 1998. The record high for a week 35 is 21 set in 2002. We were a long way from that mark. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

OK, so I'm looking for a positive spin here. It was bleak out there. Not only did we struggle to get 7 species, we didn't see very many birds in total. Hopefully, it will be better next week.

The stats:
The date: 8/29/06
The week number: 35
The walk number: 848
The weather: 88 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Carolyn Ash, Simon Radford

The birds (7):

Rock Dove
Scrub Jay
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Band-tailed Pigeon
Black Phoebe
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
8/30/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

8/22/06

Not too bad today. We got 11 species, which is not a record in either direction for week 34. The record high is 16 set in 2004. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

I looked back at that walk in 2004 and see that we saw two warblers and a Western Wood-Pewee. So this is the time of year we should start seeing some interesting birds.

The stats:
The date: 8/22/06
The week number: 34
The walk number: 847 The weather: 92 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Carolyn Ash, Simon Radford

The birds (11):

Rock Dove
Mockingbird
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Band-tailed Pigeon
Black Phoebe
Bushtit
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
8/22/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

8/17/06

Not too good today. In fact we set the record for futility for week 33 of a year. We saw 9 species. The previous low was 10. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

About the only highlight were a bunch of Allen's or Rufous Hummingbirds on the silk floss trees near Chandler. We aren't sure which they were so we are recording "Hummingbird, Selasphorus." By the way, the Great Blue Heron spotted last week was the fourth sighting of a Great Blue Heron in the history of the walks (856 walks over 20 years). So, it wasn't a new species for the list but it's very unusual to see one.

The stats:
The date: 8/17/06
The week number: 33
The walk number: 846
The weather: 82 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Simon Radford, Kent Potter

The birds (9):

Scrub Jay
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Bushtit
Black Phoebe
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
8/17/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

8/8/06

Well I missed this walk, so my commentary will be brief. The walkers did have an outstanding find: a Great Blue Heron. How about that! And they got two kinds of parakeets. Neither of which we've been seeing lately.

They recorded 11 species, which is actually not bad, considering that the last two years we only got 9 and 8, respectively, on week 32. 14 is the all-time record for week 32, observed three years in a row from 1989 to 1991. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm. So, good job!

The stats:
The date: 8/8/06
The week number: 32
The walk number: 845
The weather: 88 F, sunny
The walkers: Glenn Hamell, Barbara Ellis, Kent Potter

The birds (11):

Rock Pigeon
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Great Blue Heron
Red-masked Parakeet
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
8/11/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

8/1/06

It was a pleasant walk with the temperature at 79 F and partly cloudy. We recorded 10 species on this the 31st week of the year. The record low for the week was set last year with 8 and the record high is 17 set way back in 1988. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

The stats:
The date: 8/1/06
The week number: 31
The walk number: 844
The weather: 79 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Brendan Crill, Kent Potter

The birds (10):

Rock Pigeon
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Black Phoebe
Band-tailed Pigeon

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
8/2/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu