3/28/07
I should have added another note to last week's
walk report. That walk was a week 12 walk. Not only did
they see a new species for the Caltech list, Swainson's Hawk, they
also shattered the record for number of species for a week 12
by 4 birds. They observed 27 and the previous week 12 record high was 23.
See the two plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
Wow, what a walk -- and I missed it.
There was little chance to break a record this week. We saw 16
species and the record for week 13 is the all-time record of
31 seen last year. But we had an enjoyable walk. There were no
real rarities although we were pleased to see Lesser Goldfinches
hanging around. The only regular we missed was a Mourning Dove.
The stats:
The date: 3/28/07
The week number: 13
The walk number: 876
The weather: 68F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Jim Carlblom, Beth Moore
The birds (16):
Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Bushtit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Starling
Lesser Goldfinch
Raven
Black Phoebe
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
3/29/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
3/20/07
This report was filed by Beth Moore. I was on travel. I will
add that the Swainson's Hawks they observed were a first
for the Caltech birdwalk list! So congratulations
to the walkers. -- Alan
Happy Birthday, Alan!
Flocks, Flocks, and More Flocks!
At a misty 58 degrees, today's walk got off to a very busy start with
a frenzy of flocks - cedar waxwings and swallows - near Keith
Spalding. A Raven, a Red-Tailed Hawk, and a Cooper's Hawk were also
spotted during the first couple of minutes as we stood on our corner
of California admiring all the activity. But that wasn't the end of
our flocks. Swainson's Hawks, which are known to be travelling
through these parts, made their way toward us from the east near the
entrance to Tournament Park. We're guessing there were close to 50
of them. Our small band of birders saw all of the regulars and many
other species as well; 27 in all!
Our regulars
Rock Dove
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Others
Red-Tailed Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Cedar Waxwings
Raven
Swallow, sp.
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Lesser Goldfinch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Swainson's Hawk
Band-tailed Pigeon
Bushtit
Dark-eyed Junco
Black Phoebe
Starling
Wren, sp.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Walkers:
Glenn Hamell
Simon Radford
Brendan Crill
Beth Moore
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
3/28/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
3/13/07
This report was filed by Beth Moore. I came up ill just before
the walk but have now fully recovered. Thank you, Beth.-- Alan
Alan -
We somehow managed to make our way along without you; but you were missed.
It was a pleasant 73*, according to CNN, with a breeze out of the
East at 5 m.p.h.
Walkers were:
Julie Desmond*- California Science Center {Guest}
Carolyn Ash
Kent Potter
Chris Martin
Barbara Ellis
Beth Moore
Kent was also feeling under the weather but managed to stay with us
for most of the walk, dropping out at Avery House.
In case you're feeling well enough to get a report out, here's what
we saw {17 species total}:
Of our regulars:
Rock Dove
Scrub Jays a plenty
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpeckers a plenty - in fact, nearly every palm on our path
boasted its own!
Crow
Others:
Hawk, sp
Raven
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bush tit
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned sparrow - spotted by our guest*
American Robin - also spotted by our guest*
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Black Phoebe
--Again, no Mourning Dove; no Band-Tailed Pigeon.
Key and checklists are in an envelope in your mailbox.
Best,
Beth
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
3/15/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu
3/6/07
It was an interesting walk. We had a good turnout of birders,
eight in total. It was down right hot out there, 85 F. The birds
cooperated very well on the first half of the walk, but
then the heat must have gotten to them, because they pretty
much disappeared. We had 18 coming out of Tournament Park
and finished with only 20. The record for a week 10 is 24 set last year.
See the two plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.
We had a couple of interesting "pairs." We saw both the Black Phoebe
and the Say's Phoebe, hanging out in the same general area near
the North athletic field. And then in Tournament Park we saw a
Bewick's Wren and a House Wren squabbling. We saw a Black-chinned
and a Selasphorus Hummingbird but failed to record an Anna's.
So, it was an unusual and interesting day.
The stats:
The date: 3/6/07
The week number: 10
The walk number: 873
The weather: 85F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Brendan Crill, Beth Moore, Simon Radford, Matt Bradford, Carolyn Ash, Ashish Mahabal
The birds (20):
Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Crow
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Raven
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bushtit
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Starling
Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
3/7/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu