Caltech Birding

10/30/07
Twelve again. I am surprised. We were supposed to be at 18 or 19, but just like last week we barely escaped tying the record low for the week. We were one above the record low of 11 for a week 44. See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

The most interesting bird we spotted was a Scrub Jay. Yes, we finally saw a couple of those. And coming in a close second was a Mockingbird. Yes, we are stooping pretty low when a Scrub Jay and a Mockingbird are the highlights. Next week has to be better. Surely to goodness and mercy.

The stats:
The date: 10/30/07
The week number: 44
The walk number: 907
The weather: 69F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Simon Radford, Kent Potter, Ann Patterson

The birds (12):

Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black Phoebe
Band-tailed Pigeon
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Lesser Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Starling

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/30/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/25/07
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Correction to report based on this email from Jon Feenstra:

Hi Alan,

Sounds like a Plumbeous Vireo. They are an uncommon but regular fall migrant and rare winter visitor in the LA Basin. Definitely a possibility - I've seen two this fall in LA.

-- Jon

And after studying the pictures in the field guides once again, I'm sure it was a Plumbeous Vireo and am recording it as such -- new to the Caltech list!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess we can blame it on the wild fires. It was a little smoky walking around today and maybe that bothered the birds. We didn't see many. We observed 12 species, one above the record low for a week 43. The record high for week 43 is 23, so we were way towards the bottom this week. The prediction was for 15-16. See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

The most interesting bird we spotted was one we were reluctant to put down as a new species for the walks because the maps suggest we shouldn't see one here. It was a Plumbeous Vireo. We put it down as a Vireo, sp. It really looked like a Plumbeous to us. Other than that, a lot of no-shows. No Scrub Jay, no Mockingbird, no Mourning Dove, no Acorn Woodpecker, and no Crow for pity sakes. Geez Louise! We did see a nice big flock of Cedar Waxwings.

According to my charts, the expected number next week is 18 or 19. So maybe we'll have a big day next Tuesday.

The stats:
The date: 10/25/07
The week number: 43
The walk number: 906
The weather: 88F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Fiona Tindall, Beth Moore, Ann Patterson, Kent Potter

The birds (12):

Rock Dove
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-tailed Hawk
Vireo, sp. -> changed to Plumbeous Vireo (see note above)
Black Phoebe
Bushtit
Lesser Goldfinch
Cedar Waxwing

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/25/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/16/07
Before I start with this week's report, please note that Beth reported one more for last week -- the Black-throated Gray Warbler. This has been duly noted and last week's report has been amended on the web.

This week, not so good. We saw 13 species. The expected for week 42 is about 15-17, so we were below normal but above the record low for a week 42 of 9. The record high is 19. See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

We did see a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which was only 50% probable. The kinglets trail the yellow-rumps in getting here in the Fall by a few weeks. They should be at their full strength, ~95% probable, by week 44. Otherwise, what was notable were the missing in action: Scrub Jay, Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrow, and Mourning Dove. Each of these had a probability of >60% to be seen this week and we saw none. The Mockingbird had an estimated probability of 90%. It's a sad birding day when the "highlights" are negative "sightings".

The stats:
The date: 10/16/07
The week number: 42
The walk number: 905
The weather: 66F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Simon Radford, Beth Moore, Kent Potter

The birds (13):

Rock Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Swallow, sp.
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Band-tailed Pigeon
Lesser Goldfinch

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/16/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/9/07
10/9/07 - reported by Beth Moore

Hi, Alan -

We had a pretty good walk today considering we were mostly newcomers to the Caltech birdwalks. You'll not be surprised to learn that the Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to campus. We spotted our first one in Tournament Park. We also saw an Orange-crowned Warbler there. Our highlight was a Say's Phoebe, spotted from the IPAC grove in the field atop a soccer goal-post. You'll recall that we saw one in the same field, viewed from the other side, a bit later in the season last year. Finally, another Warbling Vireo or two were flitting around the Sycamores by Avery. (Note added by Beth on 10/16: As a result of our lingering in admiration of the Say's Phoebe, I neglected to note down a black-throated gray warbler that flitted through a nearby bush in the IPAC grove.)

Our walk ended with Viveca bravely returning a wayward bullfrog to the lily pond by Baxter; he'd nearly gotten run over by a bicycle on the path.

The stats:
The date: 10/9/07
The week number: 41
The walk number: 904
The weather: 78F, sunny
The walkers: Glenn Hamell, Viveca Sapin, Ann Patterson, Beth Moore

The birds (16):

Rock Dove
House Sparrow
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Black Phoebe
Raven
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Say's Phoebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Band-tailed Pigeon
Warbling Vireo
Bushtit
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Added by AC:

Good job team! I was on travel and had to miss the walk. Right on cue, the yellow-rumps came back. They're more reliable than the swallows of San Juan Capistrano.

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

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/11/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/2/07
I am surprised. We did not see a Yellow-rumped Warbler, despite the estimated probability of 65% and despite the fact that I saw a few in my back yard in Sierra Madre over the weekend. I'm sure they will be here next week.

We did see a respectable number of birds. We observed 20 species, above average for a week 40 but below the record 25 for the week. See the plots at http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/species_time.html and http://birdwalks.caltech.edu/bird_data/two_plots.htm

Among the unusuals were Swainson's Thrush, Warbling Vireo, and Turkey Vulture. We only had two warblers this week but one was a Townsend's, always a nice find.

The stats:
The date: 10/2/07
The week number: 40
The walk number: 903
The weather: 82F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Glenn Hamell, Fiona Tindall, Viveca Sapin, Beth Moore, Kent Potter, Ann Patterson, Carolyn Ash

The birds (20):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Turkey Vulture
Red-masked Parakeet
Bushtit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Townsend's Warbler
Black Phoebe
Swainson's Thrush
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Warbling Vireo
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/3/07
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu