10/26/09

Another week, another walk, and another record -- NOT. We only got 17 species, well below the record of 23 for a week 43.

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

But we did see some outstanding birds. On the North athletic field we got into some larks -- the Western Meadowlark and the Lark Sparrow were working the field together. We also saw a Say's Phoebe on the same field. Way to go North field!

The topper was the Red-shouldered Hawk, a delight for us but positively terrifying for our other bird friends. Dark-eyed Juncos and Turkey Vultures added to the list of unusuals. So, another outstanding walk!

The date: 10/26/09
The week number: 43
The walk number: 1011
The weather: 86 F, partly cloudy

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Barbara Ellis, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Beth Moore, Simon Radford, Darren Dowell, Kent Potter

The birds (17):

Rock Pigeon
Northern Mockingbird
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Turkey Vulture
Black Phoebe
Western Meadowlark
Lark Sparrow
Red-shouldered Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Say's Phoebe
Bushtit
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/27/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/19/09

Another outstanding walk! We have now put together seven walks in a row with walk scores above 1.4. That is outstanding. And we set the record high for a week 42. We observed 21 species, two above the previous record. That is outstanding. If we keep this up, we could make this the second best year on record. That would be outstanding. Our score for the year is 0.60136. I don't think we have a chance at 2002 (0.78502) but we've got 2007 (0.64467) in our sights.

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

From looking at the scores vs year plot (third plot under the link "species vs time plot" on the website, it looks like we've had a 9/11 effect. For the 15 years from 1987 though 2001, the average walk score was -0.22886, whereas for the 8 years from 2002 to present the average score is 0.322475. Odd. In any case, the answer to the question "Is the birding better or worse now than in the past?" is that it's better.

Our most outstanding bird executed a long flight directly over our heads from near one horizon to the other. It was a Northern Flicker. We also had several pairings, two phoebe species, two hummingbird species, and two hawk species. And we saw the beautiful Townsend's Warbler to boot. With all the abundance of birds, we didn't get a House Sparrow. (Nor did we last week.) Nonetheless, a great walk.

The date: 10/19/09
The week number: 42
The walk number: 1010
The weather: 69 F, partly cloudy

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Kent Potter, Darren Dowell, Nathan Dalleska

The birds (21):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Raven
Black Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Flicker
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Say's Phoebe
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Lesser Goldfinch
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Townsend's Warbler
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/20/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/12/09

Well the forecast was for cloudy and cool with an excellent chance of birds. And they were right on all counts. We observed 20 species, one short (again) of setting a record.

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

We had some quality birds. We finally got a visual on a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and we must have seen a hundred Band-tailed Pigeons. There was a tie for bird of the day: Western Meadowlarks were on the north athletic field and a pair of Warbling Vireos were near the Recycling Center. Other birds of note were a Say's Phoebe and a Black-throated Gray Warbler. It was a great walk. Fall is defintely upon us.

The date: 10/12/09
The week number: 41
The walk number: 1009
The weather: 60 F, overcast

The walkers: Alan Cummings, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Simon Radford, Darren Dowell, Kent Potter

The birds (20):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Raven
Black Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Lesser Goldfinch
Say's Phoebe
Western Meadowlark
Band-tailed Pigeon
Warbling Vireo
Hawk, sp.
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Bushtit
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/13/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

10/5/09

Fall is here! We had a "girls only" walk and what a nice walk it was! [Sorry, guys] To begin, Alan's Lark Sparrows have returned. This week they were in the field behind Cahill instead of back by the track. A Hermit Thrush was spotted behaving like a thrush under a bush in Tournament Park. Leaving Tournament Park we spotted not one but two Warblers, a Townsend's and an Orange-crowned. Both very pretty indeed. The Yellow-rumped Warblers continue to evade visual detection though we certainly heard them. I'll let Alan decide if he's going to count them this trip. Finally, we "caught" all of our regulars; when was the last time that happened?

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: 10/05/09
The week number: 40
The walk number: 1008
The weather: 65 F, partly cloudy

The walkers: Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Barbara Ellis, Beth Moore

The birds (24):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Northern Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Yellow-rumped Warbler [auditory]
Turkey Vulture
Hermit Thrush
Lark Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Band-tailed Pigeon
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
House Wren
Bushtit

-- Beth

Editor's note: Wow! Just one short of the all-time record for a week 40.
Great walk.

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/7/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu