Trip report for Bird L.A. Day Malibu Creek State Park
Saturday, May 07, 2016
Number of participants: 63 + 2 leaders
Start time 4:50pm
Finish time 7:30pm
Distance covered: 1.95 mile
Weather: cloudy and 71deg at start, partly cloudy and 67deg at finish.
Rain or shine, our Wild Wings group was ready for a Bird L.A. Day adventure and we weren't disappointed. Mother Nature treated us to a glorious dry afternoon of Spring birding! Maybe because of the rain earlier in the day, afternoon bird activity seemed higher than normal. The boys were out singing in force and we got both Lazuli Bunting and Blue Grosbeak within the first 10 minutes. And although never seen well, Yellow Warblers were heard throughout the entire walk. Our study subject for the day was an unassuming tyrant flycatcher. Bad lighting and the fact that it kept its back to us made it quite difficult to identify. The bird finally gave us a front view and we saw it had a vested appearance - a great clue. It then turned its back to us once more, briefly showing two diagnostic white patches. Bingo - Olive-sided Flycatcher! As evening approached, we were treated to a spattering of Cliff Swallows, Violet-green Swallows and large flocks of both Northern Rough-wing Swallows and White-throated Swifts.
After Malibu Creek, 44 of us continued on to the Adobe Cantina where we all enjoyed excellent company, good food, cold drinks and great service. We can't wait until Bird L.A. Day 2017!!
Birds - 48 species
Drawings (from top) Spotted Towhee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Great Egret and Song Sparrow. Done entirely from memory at the Adobe Cantina.
Courtesy of Jacob age 8.
Mallard
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk -
heard only
Red-tailed Hawk
Band-tailed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Nanday Parakeet
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wrentit
- heard only
Western Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Mammals:
Mule Deer
California Ground Squirrel
Eastern Fox Squirrel
4337 Woodman Ave. Sherman Oaks CA 91423 818-995-0022
