A Field Sparrow was found by Eric and Ann Brooks @ Kenneth Hahn State Park in Los Angeles. I raced over there this morning to photograph this eastern vagrant.
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Always a treat to find a Townsend’s Warbler in our yard. Found this guy in our Italian Stone Pine in the front yard.
Townsend’s Warbler
I was treated to a display of 15-20 Bottlenose Dolphins that were feeding very close to the shore off Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey this past weekend. I don’t often see Dolphins that close to shore and certainly not that many at one time. At times they were huddled up in groups of 5 just waiting for a nice set and riding it toward the shore!
According to an article published by Maddalena Bearzi and Charles A. Saylan of the Ocean Conservation Soceity, 81.4% of Dolphin sightings during their study of Santa Monica Bay were within 0.5km of the shoreline.
Cetacean occurrence, distribution and behavior were investigated in Santa Monica Bay and nearby areas, California (1997–2007). A total of 425 boat-based surveys documented three species inhabiting the study area year-round – the common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, the long-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus capensis, and the short-beaked common dolphin, D. delphis, and ten species occurring occasionally. Coastal bottlenose dolphins were mostly found traveling, diving and feeding in waters within 0.5km of shore in 81.4% of the sightings (n = 221), but were also observed occasionally in offshore waters. All other species were seen > 0.5 km of shore, often feeding near escarpments and submarine canyons. Endangered species, such as blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), were also recorded in the study area. This paper provides new information as well as an update on data of the composition for the local cetacean community, and offers information that should be considered in the decision-making process associated with the newly established MPAs, and their use. The presence of a diverse cetacean fauna moving in and out the boundaries of these MPAs, also suggests the need for long-term and regular cetacean monitoring in the area.
I’ve tried for several years now to photograph Le Conte’s Thrashers in the Mojave Desert. I had been in contact with Terri Middlemiss for the past three years trying to arrange a time to visit her property and photograph the Thrashers. But I kept missing the late winter window before they went out of sight nest building and raising their first brood of young. I decided that I would do it this year for sure and e-mailed Terri in January. To my dismay, she told me that she no longer had any Thrashers on her property. A Cooper’s Hawk picked off most of their brood last year and the parents decided to pack their bags and move somewhere else. She did offer me some hope since her neighbor, Louise of Knecht Ranch, had multiple pairs of Le Conte’s Thrashers on her property. So we setup a date and time to visit this past weekend.
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by the song of a male Le Conte’s Thrasher singing in the distance. You can hear the song here. Louise lured them into her yard by throwing meal worms onto the ground. It was tricky photographing them since they’re quite adept to scurrying around on the ground, rarely taking flight. I managed to get a few shots though. Not my best photos but Louise invited me back in June when they will be multiple broods of young also running around and learning to hunt on their own.
Le Conte’s Thrasher
While waiting patiently to photograph the Thrashers, several Loggerhead Shrikes took the opportunity to feast on the meal worms that were wriggling around in the soil.
Loggerhead Shrike
And what’s a visit to Kern County without stopping at the Kern County Audubon Preserve. There wasn’t much in the way of birds since it was pretty windy last weekend. There was a group of Mule Deer that were feeding in the late afternoon light.
Mule Deer
And a little treat from Butterbredt Springs:
Great Horned Owl
Thanks again to Louise and Knecht Ranch! She has a collection of videos that she wanted me to share as well. She is working on uploading video footage she took of Le Conte’s Thrashers warning each other of a nearby Gopher Snake.
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I headed over to Malibu Lagoon State Beach after Todd McGrath reported a 1st cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull on Sunday. I never found the bird, nor did Todd and others that looked on Monday, but I did get some nice crackers of Mew, Glaucous-winged, Bonaparte’s Gull and other goodies.
There were well over 300 gulls on the beach, the most numerous being California and Western, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged, Bonaparte’s, Mew, Thayer’s in order of magnitude. I counted 25 Snowy Plovers along the Lagoon and many of the other usual suspects.
Snowy Plover
Mew Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Western Gull exhibiting very “yellow” legs
American Crow
Snowy Egret
Glaucous-winged Gull (left), Western Gull (right)