9/28/09

We had a great walk! The weather was cool and so were the birds. We "caught" a Downy Woodpecker, a Say's Phoebe, and a Plumbeous Vireo. A plum of a walk, indeed!

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

The stats:
The date: 9/28/09
The week number: 39
The walk number: 1007
The weather: 78 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Beth Moore, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Darren Dowell

The birds (22):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Crow
Red-masked Parakeet
Lesser Goldfinch
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Plumbeous Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Swift, sp.
Starling
Raven
Cedar Waxwing
House Wren
Bushtit

-- Beth

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
10/2/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

9/21/09

We added a new bird to the Caltech list -- a Rock Wren. This bird was on a fence bordering the maintenance yard. We all got a very good look and saw the frequent bobbing this bird does. So, after not adding a new bird to the list in 2008, we've added two new ones in the last month, the Lark Sparrow and now the Rock Wren. We suspect this development is due to the recent fires affecting their normal habitat.

We also got 21 species, which is not a record high for the week but did result in a very good walk score of 1.45247.

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

We also had a new walker. Jason Schwer, who works in Church Lab with Viveca, joined us, becoming the 112th individual to walk the Caltech birdwalks and bringing the cumulative person-walks since birdwalk inception in 1986 to 3396. Welcome Jason and thanks for bringing us good luck with the Rock Wren.

Also of note, we heard the first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season. This is the earliest week of the Fall that we have recorded a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Previously, the earliest was week 39, which is next week. By week 41, we should see them ~100% of the time until ~week 16 of next year. We also saw the first Cedar Waxwings of the Fall. So, I think Fall is officially here.

And finally, another record was set. This was the first Caltech birdwalk in which three species of wren were recorded. In addition to the Rock Wren, we also got the House and Bewick's. It was wrenderful walk!

The stats:
The date: 9/21/09
The week number: 38
The walk number: 1006
The weather: 80 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Barbara Ellis, Kent Potter, Viveca Sapin-Areeda,
Jason Schwer, Darren Dowell, Ashish Mahabal, Beth Moore

The birds (21):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Crow
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Cedar Waxwing
Rock Wren
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Bewick's Wren
Lesser Goldfinch
Black Phoebe
Vaux Swift
Red-masked Parakeet
Bushtit
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Yellow-rumped Warbler
House Wren

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
9/23/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

9/14/09

OK, no record this week but we did get a good score for a walk, a 1.5. We saw 20 species.

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

The weather could not have been more pleasant. It was 69 F when we started and 71 F when we finished. We saw all of the regulars for a change. There were two frustrations. We saw and heard a wren but couldn't be sure if it was a Bewick's or a House, so I had to put it down as Wren, sp. We also saw a very yellow warber, but it could have been a Wilson's or a Yellow. We didn't get a good look when it was sitting still. The best view we had was when it flew right over us, but then we couldn't study the field marks. So, it goes down as Warbler, sp. I hate it when that happens!

No Lark Sparrow this week so I guess they've moved on.

The stats:
The date: 9/14/09
The week number: 37
The walk number: 1005
The weather: 70 F, partly cloudy
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Jim Carlblom, Kemt Potter, Viveca Sapin-Areeda, Beth Moore

The birds (20):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mockingbird
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Hummingbird, Selasphorus
Red-masked Parakeet
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Black Phoebe
Band-tailed Pigeon
Wren, sp.
White-throated Swift
Warbler, sp.
Lesser Goldfinch
Bushtit

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
9/15/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu

9/8/09

We set a record high for a week 36. We saw 18 species, one more than the previous high.

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

It might have been a bit of a fluke. If you look at the species vs time plot, as I'm sure you do each week, you will notice that the high for week 35 is 21 and the high for week 37 is 24, whereas the high for week 36 was only 17 (now 18). So, week 36 was ready for a record high. It did help that Beth and Viveca were on top of their birdwatching games. Beth saw a bunch of birds on her walk to the starting spot and Viveca just kept calling out birds left and right.

We did have a couple of outstanding highlights. First of all, the Lark Sparrows were still on the South athletic field. I guess the Caltech field looks better to them than wherever they've been, which may have been in the area of the wild fires. Second, we saw a small flock of Vaux's Swifts on Wilson just after departing Lark Sparrow territory. We got two kinds of parakeets, two kinds of woodpeckers, and two kinds of hummingbirds. We snagged a Red-whiskered Bulbul to boot.

We could have used House Sparrow and Mockingbird. Those used to be no brainers, pretty much guaranteed. But you should take a look at the probability of observation by year plot. Several of our "regulars" have been on the decline for several years, including Rock Pigeon, Scrub Jay, Mockingbird, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and Anna's Hummingbird. The House Finch, a regular, has been increasing steadily, as have the Black Phoebe and Bushtit, neither of which is on the regulars list. But they are more regular than some of the regulars.

It may be time for a new listing sheet and a new set of regulars. I could make a customized listing sheet for each week based on the estimated probability of observation for 2008 plot (look in the probability plots section of the website.) The problem I see there is that each week the order of the birds on the checklist would change. But it still might be fun. I could list the numerical probability alongside each bird and we could see how we were doing as we walked. Sounds intriguing, does it not? But will I do it? That is the question.

The stats:
The date: 9/8/09
The week number: 36
The walk number: 1004
The weather: 79 F, sunny
The walkers: Alan Cummings, Beth Moore, Viveca Sapin-Areeda

The birds (18):

Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Mourning Dove
House Finch
Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Crow
Bushtit
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Red-masked Parakeet
Black Phoebe
Lesser Goldfinch
Lark Sparrow
Bewick's Wren
Downy Woodpecker
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Vaux's Swift
Hummingbird, Selasphorus

Respectfully submitted,
Alan Cummings
9/9/09
http://birdwalks.caltech.edu