Caltech Birding

11/28/06
(This is an amended report. Kent saw a Selasphorus-style Hummingbird on his way back to his office.)

It was a beautiful day for a bird walk. It was 61F and two of us walked in short sleeve shirts. A little nippy in the shade but just right in the Sun. And the birds liked the weather too. We saw 21 species, which is the 2nd highest total for a week 48 (out of 16 samples). So we did well. The record low for a week 48 is 12 set in 1998 and the record high is 22 set in 1999 and duplicated in 2002. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

For the first time in a long time we saw all the "regulars". We were a bit lucky in some respects. We saw only one Scrub Jay, one Mourning Dove, one Black Phoebe, one Acorn Woodpecker, one Cooper's Hawk, and one Starling. But one is all it takes!

The stats:
The date: 11/28/06
The week number: 48
The walk number: 860
The weather: 61 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Kent Potter, Brendan Crill

The birds (21):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
Red-tailed Hawk
American Goldfinch
Band-tailed Pigeon
Robin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bushtit
Cooper's Hawk
Starling
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
11/29/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

11/21/06
Well we took a thumpin' today. We only saw 11 species, which tied the record low for week 47 set in 1995 and 2000. The record high for week 47 is 21, set in 1990 and 1999. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

But the weather was nice and we aren't stuck on 16 species anymore. What was weird is that I went 6 miles to my home at 1:30 pm to water the newly planted grass seeds and in and around my backyard bird bath I saw 7 species in 2 minutes: Lesser Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Cedar Waxwing, Western Bluebird, Anna's Hummingbird, House Finch, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. We only saw 2 of these 7 at Caltech today. Those birds need to head a little to the south and west.

The stats:
The date: 11/21/06
The week number: 47
The walk number: 859
The weather: 73 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Jim Carlblom, Simon Radford

The birds (11):

Rock Dove
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Band-tailed Pigeon
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Phoebe

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
11/21/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

11/14/06
We seem to be stuck on 16. We observed 16 species for the 4th week in a row. But not the same 16 species by any means. Sixteen is not a bad number for this time of year. The record for week 46 is 22 set way back in 1989. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

The most interesting sighting was a Sharp-shinned Hawk clutching a small bird or mouse. It flew low right over us in the maintenance yard. I didn't see the prey twitch; otherwise I'd have tried to identify it in case it was a bird not on our list for the day. We also saw a Cooper's Hawk and a Black-throated Gray Warbler, both a bit unusual. Surprisingly, we missed Scrub Jay, Mockingbird, and Mourning Dove.

The stats:
The date: 11/14/06
The week number: 46
The walk number: 858
The weather: 65 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Brendan Crill

The birds (16):

Rock Dove
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bushtit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Sharp-shinned Hawk
House Wren
Lesser Goldfinch
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black Phoebe
Cedar Waxwing
Cooper's Hawk

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
11/14/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

11/7/06
Election day 2006 was crystal clear and surprisingly hot for early November. Only the brave among birds were out where we could see them. All the regulars were brave, save the Scrub Jay. A fair-sized flight of Waxwings seemed to enjoy the clear air more than they feared the heat.

The stats:
The date: 11/7/06
The week number: 45
The walk number: 857
The weather: 93 F, sunny
The walkers: Barbara Ellis, Glenn Hamell, Kent Potter

The birds (16):

Rock Pigeon
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Phoebe
Bushtit
Rufus Hummingbird
Band-tailed Pigeon
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Respectfully submitted,
Kent Potter
11/7/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

11/2/06
We walked on Thursday this week because of some people scheduling issues. It was a beautiful Fall day, about 72 F and partly cloudy. We were joined by Barbara Ellis, who had been away to Canada for two months. She brought the person who replaced her in her position at Caltech, Elisabeth Nadin. Elisabeth became the 82nd individual to walk the walk. Welcome to the group, Elisabeth. Barbara will continue at Caltech, moving to Caltech News from Engineering and Science.

We saw 19 species, well below the record of 23 for week 44 set in 2003. But it was a lot better than week 44 of last year when we saw only 11 species, which by the way tied for the record low for a week 44. See the birds_epoch plot at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm.

There were some sharp eyes out there today. We saw a Cedar Waxwing at a very great distance, thanks to Kent. Elisabeth found a Townsend's Warbler and Glenn spotted some Band-tailed Pigeons at the end. In each of these cases, I think we would have missed the bird, if not for their individual sightings.

Next week it's back to Tuesday for the walk.

The stats:
The date: 11/2/06
The week number: 44
The walk number: 856
The weather: 72 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Kent Potter, Barbara Ellis, Elisabeth Nadin, Glenn Hamell

The birds (19):

Rock Dove
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
Cedar Waxwing
Red-tailed Hawk
Bushtit
Townsend's Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Goldfinch
Band-tailed Pigeon
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
11/2/06
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu