12/27/05
That's a wrap on 2005 folks. The last bird walk of the year
was the 50th one conducted in 2005. We missed week 24 and week 27
for those keeping track. It was also the 814th walk in the
series, if that matters to you.
It was a cool crisp day, about 63 F and partly cloudy.
We had a nice turnout of birds. We saw 19 species,
which is about typical for the last week
of the year. Last year we also had 19. The record
for week 52 is 23 in 1997. See the birds_epoch plot at
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
We saw lots of Cedar Waxwings for a change. Also, we
found a Say's Phoebe up close and personal and a Black-throated
Gray Warbler. So, it was a good birding day.
The stats:
The date: 12/27/05
The week number: 52
The walk number: 814
The weather: 63 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Carolyn Ash, Kent Potter
The birds (19):
Rock Dove
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Say's Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Warbler, sp.
Black Phoebe
Band-tailed Pigeon
American Goldfinch
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Raven
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/27/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
12/20/05
Pretty nice day for near the end of the year, about 72F
and partly cloudy.
We had a middle of the road day, birdwise. We still can't muster
up a Mockingbird or a Scrub Jay. But we did see
a Hermit Thrush and a Townsend's Warbler, so I'm not
going to complain. We recorded 15 species, a bit below
average for week 51. The record high was 25 in 2002 and the
record low was 11 in 1995. See the birds_epoch plot at
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
The stats:
The date: 12/20/05
The week number: 51
The walk number: 813
The weather: 72 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Carolyn Ash, Kent Potter
The birds (15):
Rock Dove
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Townsend's Warbler
American Goldfinch
Band-tailed Pigeon
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/20/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
12/13/05
A beautiful Southern California day, 62 F and sunny.
Sounds nice, doesn't it?
We had a pretty good turnout of birds, except for Scrub Jay
and Mockingbird, which have been challenges of late.
We got 16 species, which is about average for week 50.
See the birds_epoch plot at
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
We have been staring up the sapsucker tree in Tournament
Park for lo these many weeks without results and someone
asked what time of the year would we expect to see one.
So I checked the records and from 1986 through 2004,
we saw various versions of the sapsucker (Red-breasted, Red-naped,
and hybrid) on 16 occasions. The observations
were all between Oct 22 and Mar 26. So, there is about
a 5-month window that opened up a couple of months ago,
with Jan, Feb, and Mar being the most likely months.
The breakdown of the 16 sightings by month is:
Oct: 2
Nov: 1
Dec: 1
Jan: 3
Feb: 5
Mar: 4
(none in the other 6 months of the year)
So, we are smack dab in the middle of sapsucker season, folks;
we'll have to strain our eyes a little harder in the upcoming walks.
Of course, since we've had only 16 sightings in 19 years, the odds
are only fair that we might see one this year. At least we know where to look.
The stats:
The date: 12/13/05
The week number: 50
The walk number: 812
The weather: 62 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Kent Potter, Brendan Crill
The birds (16):
Rock Dove
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Townsend's Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Black Phoebe
Cooper's Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bushtit
Gull, sp.
Band-tailed Pigeon
Starling
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/14/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
12/6/05
A beautiful Southern California day, 68 F when we started,
a little warmer through the hour.
The numbers are low, but the weather made up for it.
We really missed the experienced hands---we saw a plain
little bird about which I have no clue. The Black-throated
Grey Warbler required a web look-up for
"confirmation." Naturally, it had no black throat :-)
The stats:
The date: 12/6/05
The week number: 49
The walk number: 811
The weather: 68 F, sunny
The walkers: Kent Potter, Glenn Hamell
The birds (12):
Rock Dove
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker (just barely)
Robin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Bushtit
Red-tailed Hawk
Respectfully and sheepishly submitted,
Kent Potter
12/6/05
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
Editor's Note: While 12 is low for week 49 of a year,
it's not a record low. That distinction belongs to 2000,
when only 10 species were sighted during week 49.
See the birds_epoch plot at
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
-- Alan