7/28/09

Pretty nice walk. We saw 15 species, four above the median and four below the all time high for a week 30. So we were in positive walk-scoring territory again.

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

Last week I said I thought the walk, weak as it was, could have been worse. This time, I think we could have done better. We had multiple sightings of many of the species and yet we missed seeing a Black Phoebe, which are typically all over campus, and we didn't get a Rock Pigeon. We may have seen a big flock of those, but the one that peeled off and flew over our heads was a Band-tailed Pigeon. Anyway, the walk was a lot birdier than the one last week.

Next week is walk number 999 and then, of course, that will be followed by walk number 1000 on or about August 10. I've walked 899 walks to date, so that means I've walked more than 1000 miles on these birdwalks! That's a sobering thought.

Next week we go back to Monday walks to try to snag a regular walker who has a semi-permanent conflict on Tuesdays.

The stats:
The date: 7/28/09
The week number: 30
The walk number: 998
The weather: 83 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Beth Moore, Kent Potter

The birds (15):

Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Lesser Goldfinch
Bushtit
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-masked Parakeet
House Wren
Raven
Band-tailed Pigeon

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
7/28/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

7/21/09

The winning streak is over. We had run up 12 straight positive-scoring walks in a row, but that's over now. We got 9 species, two below the median of 11 and just one above the all-time low for a week 29.

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

It was one of those walks where you got the feeling it could have been worse. If we hadn't scared up a California Towhee and some Red-masked Parakeets we'd be moaning about setting an all-time low. The biggest surprise to me was the lack of a crow. Unreal.

The highlight had to be the return of some walkers we hadn't seen in a while. Barbara Ellis and Matt Bradford recorded their first walks of 2009. And Matt brought along his parents, Ann and Charles Bradford, who were out visiting from Colorado. They are walkers number 111 and 112 on the Caltech birdwalks and brought the cumulative person-walks to 3354. It was great having them along and hope they come back to visit us again.

The stats: The date: 7/21/09
The week number: 29
The walk number: 997
The weather: 91 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Jim Carlblom, Barbara Ellis, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Matt Bradford, Ann Bradford, Charles Bradford

The birds (9):

Rock Pigeon
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Acorn Woodpecker
California Towhee
Red-masked Parakeet
Bushtit
Hummingbird, sp.

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
7/23/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

7/13/09

It was hot out there today (90 F) and we felt like we were struggling in more ways than one. We wondered from time to time if we might be setting a record low. But in the end we didn't do too badly. We got 13 species, one above the median for a week 28 and only two below the record high. So, another positive-scoring walk, the 12th in a row.

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

The highlight was not passing out or expiring from the heat. We almost saw all of the regulars, missing only the Rock Pigeon. We also missed a Black Phoebe for the first time in a long time. With those two, or maybe a hawk instead of the Rock Pigeon, we would have tied the all time high for a week 28. So, overall, a very good walk for the heat of the summer.

The stats:
The date: 7/13/09
The week number: 28
The walk number: 996
The weather: 90 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Darren Dowell

The birds (13):

Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Spotted Towhee
Lesser Goldfinch
Bushtit
Raven
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
7/13/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

7/6/09

Ok, back to setting records! We had 18 species, most ever for a week 27, by one species. This year is shaping up to be exceptional. If the year finished right now, this would be the 3rd best year on record, behind 2002 (best) and 2007 (2nd place).

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

The highlight by far was the Red-naped Sapsucker. It was in the tree it's supposed to be in when it's here -- the one with all the holes in it in Tournament Park. We also saw the two house wrens going in and out of the nest hole in the tree in Tournament Park.

Just a spectacular walk.

The stats:
The date: 7/6/09
The week number: 27
The walk number: 995
The weather: 81 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Beth Moore, Viveca Sapin-Areeda

The birds (18):

Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Bushtit
Lesser Goldfinch
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Red-masked Parakeet
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Raven
House Wren
Red-naped Sapsucker
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Black Phoebe

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
7/6/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu