12/28/09

Last walk of 2009... was a good one! Yes, we snagged a walk score of 1.88648, good enough to put 2009 in first place with an average walk score for the year of 0.77725. 2002 is now in second place at 0.75127.

We observed 27 species, just one shy of the record for a week 52.

See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

Interesting birds on the walk were the Black-throated Gray Warbler, Hermit Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow, and Red-whiskered Bulbul.

Thanks to all who participated this year; we now have a big challenge for next year. The bar has been set pretty high. Happy New Year to all.

The date: 12/28/09
The week number: 52
The walk number: 1020
The weather: 61 F, cloudy

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Darren Dowell, Nathan Dalleska, Reilly Dalleska, Beth Moore, George Rossman

The birds (27):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black Phoebe
Lesser Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Hermit Thrush
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Goldfinch
Cedar Waxwing
Robin
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Wren, sp.
Raven
Bushtit
Band-tailed Pigeon

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/30/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

12/21/09

We had a really great walk. First of all we had two new walkers, George Rossman and John Beckett, both of the Geology and Planetary Science Division. They are walkers 114 and 115 in the history of the Caltech birdwalks. We now stand at 3481 cumulative person-walks. That's about 5221 person-miles walked on the walks. Welcome George and John.

They participated in a great walk, unusual for the sheer number of birds seen. Lots of individuals and lots of species too. We saw 27 species, 2 ABOVE THE PREVIOUS RECORD for a week 51. (On the walk, I had said the record was 28 for week 51 but on further review I see that I was looking at week 52, not 51.)

So, another record-setting walk. Our walk score was 2.05726. 2009 has now roared into first place, percentage points ahead of 2002, as the best scoring year ever. We need a walk score of 0.68933 next week to maintain the lead. That works out to 22 species needed (average for week 52 = 18.75 and sigma of the distribution is 3.71483). So, it's still a challenge, because recently in week 48 we only saw 18 species. But, I'd say we have a good chance of doing it. The walk is next Monday (Caltech holiday) at 12 noon.

Most unusual sighting was a Lincoln's Sparrow. We also saw a Northern Flicker. And we had an outstanding look at a Cooper's Hawk sitting on a ledge not too hight above our heads. As I said, a really great walk.

See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

The date: 12/21/09
The week number: 51
The walk number: 1019
The weather: 64 F, cloudy

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Mark Scheel, Ashish Mahabal, Simon Radford, Beth Moore, Darren Dowell, George Rossman, John Beckett, Nathan Dalleska, Viveca Sapin-Areeda

The birds (27):

Rock Pigeon
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
Lesser Goldfinch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Goldfinch
Bushtit
Lincoln's Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Hermit Thrush
Northern Flicker
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Band-tailed Pigeon
Robin
Wren, sp.
Cooper's Hawk
Starling

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/21/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

12/14/09

Week 50. If only, if only...

When our merry band of birders parted company near Dabney, we were three species short of 30! We were missing only two of our regulars, the Acorn Woodpecker and the Mourning Dove. I was confident that I would be able to grab an Acorn Woodpecker on the first half of the block on San Pasqual on my way home and sure enough, there he was! And I also came across a Hermit Thrush and a small flock of Mourning Doves but alas and alack, they were on the second block on San Pasqual East of campus and thus ineligible for inclusion in this report. Had they been only a block closer to campus, we'd have had 30...Instead, we've got 28. Sigh.

Alan will want to know how we came so close to 30 species. Thanks to Mark, we snagged some Ring-billed Gulls soaring very high above near the Maintenance Yard. I think those may be new to the Caltech walks. We got both kinds of Wrens, Corvids, and Phoebes and even a Starling! I bet Alan is sorry he missed this walk!

See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

The date: 12/14/09
The week number: 50
The walk number: 1018
The weather: 62 F, cumulus cloudy

The walkers: Barbara Ellis, Mark Scheel, Darren Dowell, Ashish Mahabal, Simon Radford, Kent Potter, Beth Moore, Viveca Sapin-Areeda
The birds (28):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Black Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Say's Phoebe
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Raven
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
House Wren
Bewick's Wren
Starling
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Cedar Waxwing
Bushtit
Turkey Vulture
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Ring-billed Gull

-- Beth

Editor's note: This was a sensational walk, breaking the old record for a week 50 by 6 species! It was only 3 short of the all-time high of 31 for a walk. The walk score of 2.82776 was the 2nd highest this year. We need to average a 1.61 score for the next two weeks to pass 2002 and become the best walk year ever. May the birds be with us!

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/18/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

12/8/09

Breaking a record is one thing, but when you exceed the record by 4 species, you have shattered the record. And that's what we did on this walk. We observed 25 species, four above the previous record for a week 49.

See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

So, we are in good shape to beat out 2002 for 2nd all time Caltech birdwalking year. We need to average a walk score of greater than -0.26366 to accomplish that goal. To catch 2002 for number one we'd have to average 2.14013 per walk. Today's score was 2.39887, so it's not impossible.

It was a beautiful day for a walk. The rain stopped the previous night and it was cold, 52 F. Well, that's what we call cold in Pasadena. The birds were out and about, except for Rock Pigeon and Mockingbird. Good finds were a Say's Phoebe, a Western Meadowlark, a Black-throated Gray Warbler, California Towhee, and Dark-eyed Junco.

The date: 12/8/09
The week number: 49
The walk number: 1017
The weather: 52 F, sunny

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Mark Scheel, Matt Bradford, Kent Potter, Beth Moore, Viveca Sapin-Areeda

The birds (25):

Scrub Jay
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Black Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Say's Phoebe
Western Meadowlark
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Raven
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
California Towhee
Bewick's Wren
Dark-eyed Junco
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Cedar Waxwing
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
12/9/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu