STERNTANAGER

LOS Angeles Audubon Society Volume 52 Number 1 September 1985

BirdingEcuadorBy Henry E. Childs

Ecuador has been, for me, one ofthose exotic countries with fabu-lous birds, scenery and people

which it was highly unlikely that I wouldever visit. Well, with retirement, a little extramoney, a program of getting into shape and aVictor Emanal Nature Tours (VENT) bro-chure at hand, the impossible happened andI was off to Ecuador. Circumstances pre-vented the original leader from participatingand the substitute was Robert Ridgely,author of "Birds of Panama" and an authorityon birds of South America! How lucky canyou get?

My former students and good friends,Marci Clements and Corinne Bandell, joinedme on the trip and represented Pomona Val-ley Audubon with distinction. We arrived inQuito, elevation 9400 ft., a few days early forthe trip as we expected to have problemsadjusting to the altitude. Little did we realizethe effort it would take to get from the taxi tothe reception desk at the Hotel Colon! A daylater we could ascend at least three stepswithout pause!

Quito is a beautiful, clean and scenic city,with volcanos in view in all directions. At theHotel Colon we had no problems as we tookreasonable precautions with food and drankbottled Guitig Mineral Water. No, we didn'thave to use iodine anywhere on the trip asVENT saw to it that plenty of Guitig andPilsener were available.

On the first morning of the tour we droveeast on Papallacta Rd. in a comfortable 21passenger bus ending up at the pass at13,000 ft. The scenery was splendid and thebirds incredible! Ridgely's fantastic eyesspotted a Giant Hummingbird along theroad just out of town and that was the begin-ning of a long list of mind-blowing species.To list a few! Andean Condors (5), Caruncu-lated Caracara, Green-tailed Trainbearer,Sparkling Violetear (both hummers),Andean Tit- and Azara's Spinetail, Red-crested Cotinga, Tufted Tit-tyrant, Brown-bellied Swallow, Great Thrush, Spectacled

Hoatzin

Redstart, Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager,Dusky-bellied Bush-tanager, Plumbeous andAsh-breasted Sierra Finches. And that wasonly the first day!

Next day we flew to the "oriente", to theRio Napo, a major tributary of the Amazonwhere we stayed on the famous Flotel justbelow a point where 40 Sand-colored Night-jars were roosting on a pipeline crossing theriver. In the morning we birded the riverislands where some rare endemics werefound. Some of the birds seen here were:Oriole Blackbird, White-bellied, Russet-backed and Dusky-backed Spinetails, Olive-spotted Hummingbird (possibly a first forEcuador!) River Tyrannulet, Lesser Hornero,and Orange-headed Tanager.

We were surprised and pleased at the rela-tive lack of insects, the ease of adjustments tothe lower elevation after several days in theclouds and our ability to operate in con-stantly wet clothes, wet from either the rainor from the sweat of the high humidity. Wewere taking the necessary precaution formalaria. Again we did not need to iodize thewater as we drank only bottled goods!

Enroute to Limoncocha by motor-drivendugout, along the river a few goodies werespotted such as Drab Water Tyrant, Castel-nau's Antshrike, King and Greater Yellow-headed Vultures, Hook-billed Kite and BlackHawk-Eagle, Crane Hawk, and a PigmyMarmoset!

After a cold one at Limoncocha we went

September '85

Andean Gull

out on the lake where, spectacles of all spec-tacles, Hoatzins abound! Red-capped Cardi-nals vied with Lesser Kiskadees for attention.Azure Gallinule, Capped and Cocoi Herons,Pigmy and Ringed Kingfishers, and theTroupial kept our eyes down while Blue-rumped Parrolet, Red-bellied, Chestnut-bellied and Blue and Yellow Macaws,Cuvier's Toucan and the AmazoneanUmbrellabird kept them up! That night Fer-ruginous Pigmy Owl, Tropical Screech Owland Common Potoos entertained those thatdidn't fall asleep 5 seconds after hitting thesack!

The rainforest at Lake Taracoa aboundedwith antbirds of many kinds and tanagersdefying description. The list is long. I men-tion only the Golden-tufted Toucanet andthe Ivory-billed Aracari. A close view of aRufescent Tiger Heron pretending wecouldn't see him while he regurgitated madeour day!

Back at Quito we spent the next severaldays on the Nono-Mini road where our listbecame enormous. The Crested Eagle was

Flotelle

considered to be our rarest bird, Bob Ridgelyhaving only seen two in 20 years of SouthAmerica birding and there it was in theQuestar! A dozen species of tanagers, 2foliage-gleaners, half a dozen hummers,many tyrant flycatchers, antbirds and spine-tails, Tourquoise Jay, Crimson-mantledWoodpecker (which I considered the mostbeautiful bird seen on the trip, but otherssaid that the Toucan Barbet which lookedlike it was painted in Taiwan on black velvetwas better) and so many others that it wasmind-boggling.

We began our trip down the west side ofthe Andes by first traveling south to the vol-cano Cotopaxi. Here in a well-cared fornational park we birded up the slope to13,000 ft. At this elevation where the wet"paramo" occured east of Quito, a muchdrier habitat was found, neither of them sim-ilar to the arctic-alpine of North America andthey, of course, provided spectacularly dif-ferent birds. At a lake located at over 11,000ft. a sole Andean Gull observed along withthe Slaty-backed Coot, Yellow-billed Pintail,Spectacled Teal, Plain-capped, White-browed and Spot-billed Ground Tyrants,Streaked-backed Canestra, Paramo Pipit, andthe Andean Hillstar, a practically grounddwelling and beautiful hummer. The Band-tailed Sierra Finch, one of several SierraFinches seen on the trip, occured along theroad at lower elevations, i.e. 9500ft!

Dropping down to the Hotel Tinalandianear Santo Domingo at 5000 ft. a whole newavifauna from that to the east of the Andeswas present. This charming spot is highlyrecommended for delightful birding andreal Ecuadorean home-like atmosphere. Onthe grounds were Golden-olive Wood-pecker, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Sooty-crowned and Golden-faced Tyrannulets,Crimson Finch, Masked Water Tyrant, Pale-

Black-throated Mango

mandibled Aracari, Olivaceous Piculet,Guira Tanager, Red-headed Barbet, BarredPuffbird, and Pale-crested Pigmy Tyrant.

Next day, up the road, we saw TorrentDuck, Fasciated Tiger Heron, Black Phoebe,Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Double-toothedKite, and Red-billed Parrot. Additional viewsof the Golden-headed Quetzal seen pre-viously made this a special day.

At the Rio Palenque Scientific Centerenroute to Guayaquil, an island of undis-turbed vegetation in a sea of cultivated land,a host of new species were seen. We weremuch lower in elevation and so the heat andhumidity increased as did the variety of spe-cies. A sampling of the birds seen wouldwhet the appretite of the most jaded birder:Buckley's Ground Dove, White-necked Puff-bird, Red-masked Parakeet, Buff-rumpedWarbler, Yellow-breasted Antwren, Scarlet-browed Tanager, Blue-headed Parrot, Blue-black Grosbeak, Slate-throated Gnatcatcher,Rufous-rumped Foliage Gleaner, and PiedPuffbird.

,11 .1 ,i!ii in iiru.iiiHisiiini :.>:'. iiiiii,i.jiiit:iiiiii!!ii:!!M

IIIl?Hliiitllti liiliUIIIIiU

September '85

During the six hour drive to Guayaquilfrom Tinalandia, roadside birding was pro-ductive. Old friends like Grey, Harris andSavannah Hawks sat on the poles while Peru-vian Meadowlark, Orange-crowned Eupho-nia, and House Sparrows were along thefences. At stops, the Scarlet-backed Wood-pecker, Greenish Eleania, Ecuadorian Bare-eyed Thrush were found.

After checking in a the Hotel Oro Verdeand having a quick and late lunch, we wereoff to the Chongon Hills just out of townwhere we birded until dark and also the nextmorning. Here again in a new habitat wefound a whole new group of spectacular lif-ers: One-colored Becard, Little Woodstarand Amazilia Hummers, Saffron Siskin, Fas-ciated Wren, Croaking Ground Dove, Snowy-throated Kingbird, Grey-cheeked Parakeet,Red-lored Parrot, White-edged Oriole,White-tailed Jay, Laughing Falcon, and Col-lared Ant Shrike.

One of the most memorial incidents dem-onstrating the ability of Bob Ridgelyoccurred that last morning. We had stoppedthe bus to look at a Parrot-billed Seedeater atsome distance. After about 10 minutes takenfor all to see this bird, Bob said "Now let'ssee the Elegant Crescentchest which is in

this isolated group of shrubs right here closeto the bus." I have always been reasonablyproud of my ears. He had heard the bird, Ihadn't, and I was standing next to him!Finally, after much concentration, I heard itand then it popped out, a magnificent littlebird, rare and shy! It's that kind of ability andexpertise that one expects when taking aVENT but this topped anything I'd expe-rienced before.

Most of us had cameras and expected toget plenty of pictures. In this we were disap-pointed. Conditions for taking pictures werepoor. First of all, the number of peopledidn't allow time for getting close to a partic-ular bird; second, the darkness of most of thehabitats didn't help and lastly, the birdsdidn't cooperate. And there were too manybirds to be seen! I got what I could!

The trip total was over 550 species, minewas 501 with 351 lifers. You can't see themall! The trip wonderful... and exhausting.And the next time I've got $3500 ($700 air-fare and $2600 land cost plus $200 inciden-tals) I'm ready to "suffer" again. VENT maybe a little more expensive but their leadersand planning make the difference worthevery penny. They threw away the moldwhen they made Bob Ridgely!

Research AwardsThe Los Angeles Audubon Society will be

giving annual Research Awards beginning inFebruary 1986. Award recipients will belimited to students, amateurs and others withlimited or no access to major granting agen-cies. The Awards shall be given for researchrelevant to the biology of birds. Applicantsmust reside in southern California (from SanLuis Obispo, Kern and San Bernardino Coun-ties south) or be currently enrolled in a south-ern California academic institution; there isno geographical restriction on the researcharea. One or more awards will be given. Thetotal amount to be awarded will be approxi-mately $2,000.

The application deadline for the 1986Research Award is 30 November 1985.

For applications, write

Sharon Milder, EducationCommittee Chairman, LAAS.Los Angeles Audubon Research Awards134 Greenfield AvenueLos Angeles, California 90049

Fine Feathersby Dorothy Dimsdale

For years birding clothes consistedfor me of any oldish shirt and wornjeans, however after checking the

closet where I keep my birding clothes reali-sation came that I had become the victim ofthe sporting goods mail brochures.

It all started when a birding friend boughta pair of boot laces from LL Bean. Not onlydid she get the boot laces, she also got theircatalogue — and passed it on to me.

First I purchased a 'chamois' cloth shirt,mainly because I was curious as to what'chamois' cloth was. Soon I was into tropicalgear. I had rejected an idea which appearedin the London 'Times' stating: 'To put paid tomosquitos, sprinkle your bed with gratedmyrrh.' As I just couldn't see my husbandgoing for that, I purchased instead a mos-quito 'headnet' for about four dollars. Itreally seemed like a good investment, butthat was before I'd seen it. So far I haven'tworn it — except for laughs. Undeterred Iadded to my defenses by becoming theproud owner of a 'Shoo Bug' jacket, com-plete with two bottles of insect spray and thisdoes work very well if you can stand thestrong smell of the spray. Also, given achance, it will melt your binoculars so youmust hold them well away from the sprayedjacket.

Every birder knows that a solid pair ofboots or shoes is a must. Sketches of both my

feet repose in all the best catalogue mailrooms. Bulky packages of boots are mailedto and from for me to try, but invariably myfeet become numb fifteen minutes after I'velaced myself in, so its either shoes for me orthose boots I commandered from by hus-band. They are too large as well as havingstrange pointed toes, but my progressthrough impenetrable thickets is like that ofFred Astaire (Ginger Rogers?) so fleet of footam I when wearing these seven league clod-hoppers.

Hats seem to be an area where birdersshow a little individuality. One can oftenrecognize a birder from a great distance justby knowing what kind of hat to look for. Ihave one gortex hat which is too hot insummer and too heavy in winter, mainlybecause I have a zillion bird pins stuck in it

from my adventures to such places as Placer-ita Canyon and Audubon House. I have somefeathers from a Montezuma Quail, founddead on a road in Texas. Should I risk puttingthem on the hat with the pins with thechance that they will get lost? Life is full ofdecisions. In the meantime those so-calledwashable cotton hats go through my laundryby the dozen. They always shrink and if onlyI could find an army of pin-headed peopleI'd feel less guilty about the number I buy.There's little choice in the catalogues, mostof the hats give one the appearance of anescaped gillie from the Scottish salmon riv-ers. But as with the boots, I guess I mustpersevere.

There is a glorious selection of thermalunderwear, but modesty prevents me fromgoing into any detail regarding the volumi-nous bloomers and woolly undershirts Imay, or may not have purchased.

Fortunately it seems to make no differ-ence to the birds whether you wear goldlame' or a night shirt. All the catalogue shop-ping in the world will not guarantee onebird.

Bill Oddie, an English T.V. personality aswell as a birder of note, simply makes surethat he's never without his 'bins' or 'nockies'as he calls his binoculars, and really whatelse does one need?

Looking at my packed closet sanity hasfinally prevailed and I shall order no more —for a while anyway. After all, I have the mostimportant items — a pair of eyes and a goodpair of 'nockies'.

September '85

Lanfair Valley Tripby Brian W. Keelan

TA, }

\he LAAS field trip to the LanfairValley and vicinity was held on

^ _ Memorial Day weekend, 25-27 May85, with 13 people participating. The pur-pose of this excursion was to observe fareastern Mojave Desert fauna and understandits dependence on the plant structure andcompositin of the various habitats visited.Scientific names are given for plants menti-oned below, as vernacular nomenclature isoften ambiguous.

The trip began Saturday in the southernLanfair Valley at Goffs (2700'). As weascended to the Vontrigger Hills (3700') inthe central Lanfair Valley, the sparse cresotescrub became densely vegetated with a var-iety of interesting desert plants. The Von-trigger Hills yielded a dozen species ofshrubs and nine species of cacti, includingfruiting Desert Fishhook Cactus Mammila-ria tetrancistra, Devil Cholla Opuntia Stan-leyi, and Pencil Cholla O. acanthocarpaprovided excellent perches and nesting sitesfor a number of desert birds: Bendire'sThrasher (which probably reaches its high-est breeding densities in this type of habi-tat), Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Verdin, CactusWren, Ashthroated Flycatcher, Phainopepla.As the day warmed up, several beautiful spe-cies of desert butterflies appeared: Rudkin'sSwallowtail, Nicippe Sulphur, Cloudless Sul-phur, and Queen. Herps also became moreactive, and, among others, Desert Tortoise,Desert Spiny Lizard, and Zebra-tailed Lizardwere observed. Mammals included DesertWoodrat (or packrat) and their cholla joint-decorated nests.

Old Man Cactus

Buckhorn Cholla

We then ascended into the remore NewYork Mts., passing through lush Joshua Treewoodland, containing the striking bluishSpanish Dagger Yucca baccata. Breedingbirds encountered in this are inlcuded"Gilded" Flicker, Scott's Oriole, Cassin'sKingbird, and Ladder-backed Woodpecker.At Carruther's Canyon (5700'), a grove ofCanyon Live Oak Quercus chrysolepis andScrub Oak Q. turbinella contained half adozen new shrubs and many blooming wild-flowers. Oaks are rare in the Mojave Desert,occuring only in the New York, Providence,and Granite Mts. The spectacular decompos-

ing granitic formations, cloaked with pinyonPinus monophylla / edulis and juniper juni-perus osteosperma, harbored Rock Squirrelsand Panamint Chipmunks, both of ratherrestricted distribution in the state. The ScrubJays here belong to the nevadae subspeciesand appear much deeper blue on the upper-parts, and much sootier on the underparts,than the coatal slope birds, and lack theblack breast bank. Black-chinned Sparrowssang in the brushier areas, where the unus-ual Pincushion Cactus Coryphantha viviperawas found in full bloom.

The last stop of the day was Live OakCanyon, on the east side of the New YorkMts. This abandoned mining area is ecologi-cally similar to Carruther's Canyon, and canonly be reached by four-wheel drive or hik-ing. One of a pair of highly territorial GrayVireos was located after some effort, and wasviewed by most of the group from a 30' highdilapidated trestle connecting the mine shaftto the ore chute. Earlier in the week 1observed this pair scold a bobcat and attack aScrub Jay. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers amusedeveryone with their antics, and one of therarty venturing into the mine shaft was nearlydecapitated by a Canyon Wren nesting there.A variety of minerals were evident in theareas where ore had been dumped: blue andgreen copper minerals (chrysacolla, malach-ite), pyrite (fool's gold), purple fluorite.anddendritic (plantlike) growths of manganeseminerals. On the way out, we examined thesaddest-looking specimens of Pancake Cactus Opuntia chlorotica I have ever seen;these apparently belong to the variety fred-heathii. Lesser Nighthawks and Poorwillswere encountered on the drive back toNeedles.

September '85

On Sunday, the group was ferried into Ft.Piute (2700') by the four-wheelers, though Ireturned with only three. This is perhaps themost remote and beautiful desert oasis in thestate. For a mile and a half water flows on thesurface, fed by Piute Spring, and dense wil-low Salix gooddingii stands occur withsedges, desert willows Chilopsis linearis, anda few cottonwoods Popidus fremontii. Herethe group was treated to excellent views ofBrowncrested Flycatchers, Crissal Thrashers,Bell's Vireo, Hooded Oriole, Summer Tan-ager, and Black-chinned Hummingbird.Red-spotted Toads in all stages of growthwere abundant in the riparian habitat.

Clark Mt. has the largest of three whiteAbies concolor stands in the CaliforniaMojave Desert, consequently a number ofunusual species can be found there. On thesouth slope we briefly encountered one ortwo Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, which nestin the fir grove near the summit and oftenforage lower on the slopes. Rock Squirrelsperched high up on rock pinnacles baskedin the late afternoon sun. Black-throatedGray Warblers were singing despite the latehour. The elegant Agave utahensis wasfound in fine stands in several places. Itappears that the one-needled Pinus mono-phylla and the two-needled P. edulis, rare inthe state, may hybridize here and in the NewYork Mts., and it was remarked that the taxa-nomic status of these two forms is certainly amatter of opinyon.

Monday morning we birded at Vidal Washon the Colorado River, where we located the

Lanfair Valley — Joshua Tree and Mojave Yucca

very rare Cardinal (heard at close range butnot seen), Brown-crested Flycatcher, Lucy'sWarbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Gros-beak, Crissal Thrasher, Abert's Towhee,Common Ground-Dove, and other District Rspecialties.

In total, approximately 75 species of birds,6 butterflies, 7 herps, 7 mammals, and 65plants were noted on the trip, including 16 of30 cacti in southern California. The groupended this trip with the rather warped

impression that the far eastern MojaveDesert is a land of fir slopes, oak canyons,lush streams, and densely vegetated valleys...and I ended up with a rather warped impres-sion of some of the group... peanut butterjelly beans?

From TheEditor

by Fred Heath

Well I've managed to launch the firstissue of Volume 52 of the Tanagerwith a jam packed twelve pages. My

pleas for more material is being quite nicelyfilled with lots of short articles. The longerlead articles, however are far and fewbetween. Henry Childs, who has providedmany articles for the Tanager, has saved theday for this issue with an article on birdingFxuador. With all due respect to Mr. Childs,I'm going to bite the hand that feeds me: Thiskind of an article is the least appealing of all tome. It almost reads like a checklist of the birdsof Ecuador. All strange sounding combina-tions of birds and other animals like ant-tanagers, tit-spinetails, gnatwrens and

tody-tyrants. I just had to check some of thesenames out in Jim Clements' Birds of theWorld: A Check List. My personal favorite wasthe Croaking Ground Dove. You'd be croak-ing too, if you were ground. I was left towonder if Mourning Doves appeared afterthese doves croaked.

I would very much like to know how youthe reader views this kind of article. If enoughpeople let me know they like it, then I willsearch out this kind of article for future Tan-agers. I'm here to please.

You'll note I've managed to corral a few ofmy old favorites Dorothy Dimsdale and RonaParrot (known to be a close relative, if not thesame species as Kimball Parrot) to write a fewlines for the Tanager. Between the RonaParrot piece and "Murder Most Fowl" I'llprobably get a ton of letters from the GreatRescue Organization and Society for Starlings(G.R.O.S.S.)

I was luck)7 enough to be on the LosAngeles Audubon field trip led and describedin this issue by Brian Keelan. I don'tremember when I've had so much fun whilegetting an extensive education on the floraand fauna of the Mojave Desert. I can't under-stand why he thought our eating peanut but-ter jelly beans was strange, we neededsomething to get the taste of the spinach jellybeans out of our mouths.

For those of you that occasionally read theTanager you may remember the article byHarold Swanton in the April issue entitled"Birding for Bucks comes of Age". We had alittle fun and made like it came from the frontpage of a future Wall Street Journal. Wellimagine my surprise when by boss droppedhis May 16 copy of the Journal on my deskwith the following headline on the first pagecircled: "Birds in the Bush, Or in the Marshes,Are Worth Plenty". The article went on todescribe how birding teams in New Jerseycompete for money prizes for seeing the mostbirds in a 24 hour period. I had to doublecheck to make sure Harold Swanton wasn'tthe author.

Your editor and the Tanager have finallymade the big time: A portion of my first edi-torial in the March '85 issue was reprinted inthe July 15 edition of The New Yorker maga-zine. I don't think that even Sandy Wohlge-muth has been printed in The New Yorker.Unfortunately the piece used was my lengthyand convoluted explaination as to how thevolume and numbering system had gottenscrewed-up. They added insult to injury bycalling the piece "Clear Days at the AudubonSociety."

Remember send articles, notes, poison penletters, drawings, photo, etc to me: FredHeath P.O. Box 5036, Chatsworth, CA 91311

September '85

Fred HeathEditor, The Western TanagerLos Angeles Audubon Society

Dear Editor:As you are aware, our English language isreplete with colorful terms of pluralityfor numerous kinds of birds, as in yourbasic ''gaggle of geese' ' , ''exaltation oflarks '' , ' 'murder of crows ' ' , and so on.Being rather less than proficient at theart of birdwatching, however, I find thatwe are sadly lacking in a more usefulset of terms indicating the LACK of aparticular species . To rectify, in part,this unfortunate situation, I offer the

following:Alackle of gracklesA null of gullsA naught of knotsA regret of egretsA nadir of KilldeerA nary of canariesA fail of quailA thin of railsA refrain of cranes

A sheer waste of shearwatersA forget-it of frigatesAn abyss of ibisA gone of swans (or guans)A fizzle of pheasantsA moot of cootsA 3 ilt of stiltsA pshaw of macawsA bummer of hummersThe pits of titsA blooper of bluebirdsAn ideal of starlings

Thank you,

VRona Parrot

MurderMost Fowl

by Judith Singer

From my second story office windowI peer through binoculars at thegrevillea tree across the yard,

spying on the stealthy killer and his femaleaccomplice. He hones his sharp, pointedlethal weapon on a tree branch, leaving nodoubt as to his intention. Among the clustersof golden blossoms his own colored plum-age glows; the natty stripes on his cheeks,very much a dandy, his dusty blue and roseplumage, his speckled breast.

"Do it," I urge, murmuring aloud.Overhear, in the crawl space between ceil-

ing and roof, the potential victims persist intheir aggravating behavior, as if unaware ofany peril. Their insouciance encourages me.Squatters, tenants who refuse to be dis-lodged, a clan of Starlings has expropriatedspace. Their persistent bird song, an unmelo-dious clamour, interrupts my working con-centration. It is a choral concatenation, like adozen rusty, unoiled hinges continuallysqueaking and yapping. Nursery and toilet,the clan proliferates, breeding bumptious,raucous fledglings, scuffling, occasionallystomping across the ceiling overhead sound-ing as if they're shod in size ten steel toedRed Wing lumberjack boots. Their whitedroppings mar the staircase and wall, cer-tainly a stain on the neighborhood.

Despite being a member in good standingof the Audubon Society, a long time birdlover and supporter, I confess to an unre-deeming negativism about Starlings. Theyprobably have a place in the ecologicalchain. I however think of them as a weaklink, except as they provide food for moreappealing or more obviously useful crea-tures. I would even allow for them if theywould keep down their numbers! But theyhave no sense of proportion. If they werediscreet I could bear with them as a tolerablepresence. But if they were discreet, theywould not be Starlings!

The killer bides his time, honing andpreening till, in a blur he makes his move,covering the two hundred feet in seconds.The rusty hinges groan louder. Now it hasbeen brought home to them; and my heartrejoices in proportion to their cries. Trium-phant, the Kestrel flies back to his mate withthe day's provendor, a fledgling in his curvedbeak, one Starling less.

A rain of feathers floats past my windowgently. The rusty hinge chorale dies down,till next mealtime, now that the Kestrel hasdiscovered this fruitful cache.

Lady Macbeth of Brentwood, I rejoice. Bonappetit, Kestrel; would you like some ket-chup with your Starling?

September '85

Resource Listing of Birdwalksin the Greater Los Angeles Area

The first column on this page lists morningbirdwalks held on a regular basis (at 8 a.m.unless otherwise noted). You may wish tocheck the sponsoring organization to confirm

First Saturday of the MonthBolsa Chica (9 a.m. Oct. through Mar.)

Amigos de Bolsa ChicaFranklin Canyon

William O. DouglasOutdoor Classroom

First SundayTopanga Canyon State Park ($)

Santa Monica Mountain Task ForceSepulveda Basin

San Fernando ValleyAudubon Society

South Coast Botanic Gardens ($)Polos Verdes PeninsulaAudubon Society

' LA. State & County Arboretum ($)LA. Arboretum, Arcadia

Second SaturdayBallona Wetlands (Aug. thru Apr.)

Los Angeles Audubon SocietyNewport Backbay

Friends of Newport(9 a.m. Oct. thru Mar. ex. 11/16)

Second SundayDescanso Botanical Gardens ($)

San Fernando ValleyAudubon Society

Third SaturdayWhittier Narrows (or 3rd Sun, varies)

Los Angeles Audubon SocietyEaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon Nature Center

Third Sunday• Malibu Creek State Park ($)

Santa Monica Mountains Task Force

Third WednesdayS o u t h C o a s t B o t a n i c G a r d e n s ($)

Palos Verdes PeninsulaAudubon Society

Fourth SundayDescanso Botanic Gardens ($)

San Fernando ValleyAudubon Society

* Held year around.$ Admission or Parking Fee of l l 0 0 ^ 0 0

Compiled by W. Conway 7/85See also companion Pelagic Resource Listing,Western Tanager June 1985

date, time and meeting location. Addressesand Phone Numbers for these groups arelisted in the 2nd column. Please rememberthat most walks are led by volunteers and

Audubon Societies of Southern California

Coachella Valley

Conejo Valley

El Dorado

conflicts do arise. Permission for the listingwas obtained.

Fresno County

Kern County

Los Angeles

Morro Coast

National-So. Calif. Office

Orange Co. (Sea and Sage)

Palos Verdes Peninsula

Pasadena

Pomona Valley

San Bernardino

San Diego

San Fernando Valley

Santa Barbara

Santa Monica Bay

South Coast

209-435-4891

213-876-0202

805-528-"1182 544-1777

805-658-6064

714-825-4825

818-981-1227

805-964-1468

P.O. Box 367, Rancho Mirage 92270

P.O. Box P82, Thousand Oaks 91359

c o F.I Dorado Nature Center

7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach 90815

P.O. Box 9324, Fresno 93791

P.O. Box 3581, Bakersfield 93385

737^ Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90046

2291-A Portola Rd., Ventura 93003

P.O. Box 1779 Santa Ana 92702

P.O. Box 2582, Palos Verdes Peninsula 90274

c o Eaton Canyon Nature Center1750 North Altadena Dr., Pasadena 91754

c o Pomona College Ave. at 6th,Claremont, 91711

P.O. Box 254, Lakeview 92353

4536 Park Blvd., San Diego 92116

P.O. Box 2504 Van Nuys, 91404

300 North Los Cameros Rd., Goleta 93117

P.O. Box 5326, Santa Monica 90405

c o Art Palmer, 233 Calle Marina,San Clemente 92672

P.O. Box 588, Porterville 93257Tulare County

Related Organizations that sponser birdwalks on either a regular or sporadic basis.

Amigos de Bolsa Chica

Cabrillo National Monument

Eaton Canyon Nature Center

El Dorado Nature Center

Friends of BallonaFriends of Newport

L.A. State & Co. Arboretum

Louis Rubidoux Nature Center

San Diego Field Ornithologists

Santa Monica MountainsNational Recreation Area

Santa Monica MountainsceTask Fo

"' The Nature Conservancy -So. Calif. Office.

Western Foundation of

Vertebrate Zoology

Wm. O. DouglasOutdoor Classroom

714-897-7003

^14-293-5450

818-^94-1816

213-425-8569

213-821-^695'14-646-8009 ^86-8878

818-446-8251

• "'14-683-4880

213-47-'-2153 taped info818-888- 3""0

P.O. Box 1563, Huntington Beach 9264"1

Pt. Lomo, San Diego

P50 North Altadena Dr., Altadena 91001

^550 East Spring St., Long Beach 90815

P.O. Box 5159, Playa del Rev 90293P.O. Box 2001, Newport Beach 92663

301 No. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia 91006

53^0 Riverview Dr., Riverside 92509

c o Eva Aiken, 3669 Lloyd Terrace,San Diego 92117

(Request Quarterly Activity Schedule)22900 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills 91364

711'A Stepney, Inglewood 90302

805-962-9171 213 Steams Wharf, Santa Barbara 93101

213-208-8003 1100 Glendon Avenue, Suite 1400,Los Angeles 90024

213-208-8003 1100 Glendon Avenue, Suite 1400,Los Angeles 90024

2 13-858-3834 1936 Lake Dr., Beverlv Hills 90210

There are undoubtedly many other birdwalks and organizations in our area that are unknown tome. Your help in updating this information would be greatly appreciated. Please send any changesor additions to IAAS Audubon House, Attn: W. Conway.

** Has a particularly wide variety of outings.

September '85

ConservationConversation

T una Canyon. Half a mile north ofTopanga Canyon, it rises gentlyfrom the Pacific Coast Highway

and curls up through the Santa MonicaMountains. For the first mile the road followsa year-round stream, a rare gift in arid south-ern California. On a clear April day the new-green leaves of sycamores and cottonwoodsare a delicious sight, as clean and refreshingas a gin and tonic. Uncommon white aldersgrow vigorously along the stream bed, givingthe canyon a special character. It is a narrowcanyon with steep sides covered withblooming chamise this spring day. Yellow-orange monkey flowers appear in denseclusters, and here and there one sees vene-gasias with bright yellow sunflowershapedheads set off by green-green triangularleaves. With luck, a Canyon Wren may beseen perched on an outcropping, pouringforth his liquid descending song. Wrentitsare a dime a dozen here and can be easilyenticed into view with a pishing or a "tsk-tsk-tsk" sound. Goldfinches nest in the willows.A Western Flycatcher once nested in a cave-like hollow in the sandstone a few feet abovethe creek. A Great Horned Owl sometimesglares down from a yucca stalk. On a goodday during migration the trees and shrubscan be alive with flashing colors. One fall, arare Painted Redstart was discoveredupstream, and the next day a crowd ofbirders appeared — long before breakfast—clogging the roadway with cars. Horse-tail,

the rough-stemmed "scouring rush" of pio-neer days, grows in the creek bed. Looking atthis ancient plant at arm's length you arereminded of museum dioramas of the dino-saur age.

About a mile above Pacific Coast Highwaythe road makes a hairpin turn up and awayfrom the stream, but one can follow thewater beyond the road where the canyon

by Sandy Wohlgemuth

narrows. Climbing over boulders, with awary eye cocked for poison oak, you findyourself surrounded by mountain greenery,trickling water and the sounds of silence.With a smidgeon of imagination the canyonbecomes a miniature Yosemite, a taste ofwilderness a few miles from high rises andshopping malls. Alas, the bucolic illusioncan be sustained only if the enchantedobserver doesn't look too closely. The creek-bed of Tuna Canyon is littered with refuse ofmonumental proportions. Fast-food detri-tus, bits of furniture, rusted remains oforphaned automobiles are sprinkled thelength of that first mile. It is as if a loadedtrash truck sprang a leak as it chugged up thehill and all its contents rolled into the creek.By far the most common artifacts here arebottles and cans.

In a perfect world there would be no litterproblem. We would all be civilized ladiesand gentlemen who would set our trash outfor the weekly pick-up, carry litter-bags inthe car and, when we hiked or picnicked, wewould "Pack it in, Pack it out." In the realworld there are no infallible solutions to theproblem of slobbery. But there is one thathelps: a Bottle Bill. Does this sound as ifwe've been here before? We have. In 1982,Proposition 11, the initiative that would havelevied a 5-cent deposit on all beverage con-tainers, was defeated at the polls. A $5.8 mil-lion deceptive media campaign by thegrocery, container and beverage industriesdid it in. A few months before the elections,opinion surveys showed that 67% of thevoters were in favor of the proposition. Inprevious years, bottle bills in the state legis-lature died in committee. That dismal prece--dent was broken in May of this year by theAssembly Natural Resources Committeewhich approved AB 2020 by a 7-4 vote.

(Since we do not know when the bill willreach the Assembly floor, it may already havebeen passed or defeated by the time thiscolumn is read. There will have to be a sim-ilar Senate bill, of course. If the measures arestill alive, may we suggest that letters to yourstate representatives might be • helpful indetermining the outcome.)

Here are a few items of interest:• Nine states already have bottle bills —

and they work. A survey of the law in NewYork State by the Nelson Rockefeller Insti-tute of Government said, "there is over-whelming support for the bottle law acrossall constituencies." Container litter wasreduced by 70 percent. Landfill space was

saved by 5 to 8 percent. In the industrythere was a net increase in 3900 jobs. Bev-erage prices did not go up.The California Medical Association sup-ports the bill as a public health measure. In1976, 250,000 Californianswere injured bybroken bottles and twisted cans; 102,000required hospitalization.Figures from the beverage industry itselfshow this astonishing box score of recy-cling rates:

Glass Plastic

Bottle Bill Sates 90% 80%

California 7%

• The California bill (AB 2020) requiresthat most bottles be refillable and thatdeposits will apply to wine and liquorbottles. Plastic beverage containers areincluded. Deposits on all containers willbe Scents. Unfortunately, aluminum cansare exempted.

Apparently that was the price of approvalexacted by some committee members. Well,half a loaf is better than none. At least theinducement of 25 or 30 cents a pound foraluminum can recycling has cleaned up a lotof that particular litter.

The bottle bill will not remove the moldydavenport or the rusty fenders from TunaCanyon. But it may stimulate a greater publicconsciousness of the litter phenomenon.Who knows, even some of the troglodytesmight pause a moment before they push thenext washing machine into the creek.

Spring. No matter how many yearshave rolled around since birdersdiscovered birds, the excitement

and anticipation of spring never lose theirflavor. "The migrants are coming, themigrants are coming!" Seems to lie justbeneath the surface of our everyday thoughts.The fresh new plumages dance before ourmind's eye: the bright yellows, the startlingpatterns of black and white, the olive backs,the wingbars, the eye-rings. We welcome thechange from the drab brown of most of ourchaparral birds.

September '85

Spring has come and gone this year butthe migration left something to be desired.Though a few lucky birders were in the fieldwhen the trees were jumping with warblersand vireos, for the most part it was a disap-pointing time. A common complaint was,"Where are the birds?" This cry was notlimited to southern California. Birders in theEast and the Midwest were equally unhappywith the number and variety of migrants. Allprecincts have not yet reported at this writ-ing, but it doesn't seem to have been a verygood year. Why? No one really knows. Thereare always population fluctuations in natureand this may simply be a low point on thegraph. However, more than ever before weare h i r i n g about tropical forests. As most ofus know, many nesting North American birdsspend the winter in Mexico, Central andSouth America.

Tropical forests make up only 696 of theland surface of the world but contain over50% of the world's total species. They are areservoir of plants and animals that provideus with medicines, food, and germplasmstocks to improve our crops. The accelerated

destruction of rainforests for agriculture —and particulary for grazing land for cheapbeef — has had a serious effect on this com-plex ecosystem. Is time running out? Is thebirders' innocent complaint the symptom ofa profound disease: the loss of habitat in thetropics that eventually might spell extinctionfor hundreds of living things? To quote theCalifornia Academy of Sciences, "The cur-rent situation is nothing short of a majorcrisis... By conserving tropical rainforests wewill preserve resources of global interest thatwill enrich our lives and enhance our under-standing of life on earth." (The Academy issponsoring a San Francisco symposium inSeptember on "Diversity and Conservationof Tropical Rainforests.")

The Nature Conservancy and the WorldWildlife Fund-U.S. have long been con-cerned with the fate of these enormouslyrich areas of the world. The MacArthur Foun-dation has offered a challenge grant of onemillion dollars toward the purchase of LaZona Protectora in Costa Rica. Conservationorganizations must equal the grant by theendofthisyearorthe foundation m oney wi 11be lost. The "Protected Zone" is a strip ofuntrammeled rainforest running from LaSelva Research Station at 140 feet altitude tothe Braulio Carrillo National Park at 9500feet. Researchers on a ten-day expeditionthere recently observed 175 species of but-terflies and discovered 28 species of plantsnew to science. They estimated that the zoneharbors up to 80% of Costa Rica's 848 speciesof birds. There are 19,000 acres of privately-owned land that must be purchased, but theCosta Rica National Park Service does nothave the monev.

At its June meeting the board of directorsof Los Angeles Audubon contributed $2000to the Nature Conservancy for La Zona Pro-tectora. At a previous meeting $1000 wasdonated to WWF-U.S. and earmarked fortropical rainforests. We're trying to put ourmoney where our mouth is. As Kimball Gar-rett (author and philosopher) once said,"There is life after warblers." The questionis, would there be an acceptable life withoutwarblers?

Individual contributions for LaZonaProtectora may be made to: World Wildlife Fund-U.S. at 1601 Connecticut AveNW, Washington, DC 20009, or TheNature Conservancy at 1800 North KentSt., Arlington, Virginia 22209

California WildernessConference

On the weekend of October 25-27 therewill be a conference on California wild landsand scenic rivers at the Visalia ConventionCenter. The conference will have speakerssuch as Senator Allan Cranston and othersfrom various conservation organizations aswell as workshops on specific problems.Cost is $15.Contact:

Bob Barnes, P.O. Box 269Porterville, CA 93258 (209)-784-4477for further details.

The Los Angeles AudubonSociety Bookstore is pleased toannounce that it has for sale acomplete 26 volume set of LifeHistories of North AmericanBirds by Arthur Cleveland Bent.These fine references have longbeen out of print.

This set is specially priced at$350°° complete, plus sales tax,shipping and handling charges.

MonarchWatch

It's time again to be on the look out for thebeginnings of winter clusters of Monarchbutterflies (see the Jan.-Feb. 85 Tanager fordetails). Report such sightings to ChrisNagano, The Monarch Project, Santa BarbaraMuseum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta delSol Road, Santa Barbara, California 93105.Telephone (805) 682-4711.

10 September '85

Birds Of The Seasonby Hal Baxter

andKimball Garrett

I t is hardly surprising that the record-setting heat of early summer servedto curtail birding efforts in southern

California, although a good number of ourlocal birders demonstrated their hardinessby making the trek to the even hotter envir-ons of southeastern Arizona to look for animpressive array of unusual species there.And while we don't mean to suggest thatsummer birding in southern California wasby any means dull, we will break with tradi-tion and start out this column "farther afield"in Arizona.

The male Flame-colored Tanager men-tioned in the last issue was widely seenthrough June and July in the south fork ofCave Creek Canyon. He and his Western Tan-ager mate were working on raising theirsecond brood by mid-July. While Flame-colored and Western Tanagers are perhapsnot each others closest relatives within thegenus Piranga, such mixed pairing is notsurprising when one species (in this case theFlame-colored) is at, or beyond, its rangelimits. It should be noted that the call notesof the two species are essentially identical.An adult Northern Jacana (a species withmore pronunciations of its name thanrecords for the United States) was found at apond at Kino Springs, near Nogales, Arizona,on 7 June (Richard Hellman); this bird, a firstfor Arizona, was subsequently refound atnearby Guevavi Ranch and was seen bynumerous observers at least through mid-July. Jacanas are abundant in Sinaloa, Mex-ico, but habitat in Sonora is poor for thespecies and its occurrence in southern Ariz-ona was somewhat unexpected. A femaleGreen Kingfisher was observed at theGuevavi Ranch in mid-July; and individual ofthis species has been present in that, area formany months. As always, hummingbirdswere abundant in southeast Arizona's moun-tains, with a greater than average number ofWhite-eared Hummers reported and awidely seen Plain-capped Starthroat inParadise (Chiricahua Mountains).

The California bird which merited themost attention in June was the adultSwallow-tailed Gull which was discoveredby Alan Baldridge on the shore of MontereyBay at the Hopkins Marine Station on 6 June.This striking nocturnal gull, a near-endemicof the Galapagos Islands, was seen for a four-day period either at Hopkins or to the northat Moss Landing. As the species has onlyonce been recorded as far north as Panama,several birders have implicated the far-ranging effects of the major 1982-1983 El

Nino/Southern Oscillation in the long dis-tance wandering of this individual. But whileGalapagos nesting populations were sever-ely affected by El Nino, there is no evidencefor any long range dispersal caused by thatevent in this species (and, in fact, surpris-ingly little evidence for any seabird species).It would seem more likely that the bird'sappearance in Monterey was somehowhuman-aided, an unpopular viewpoint tothose who are lucky enough to see this unus-ual gull.

Magnificent Frigatebirds were observedin small numbers at the Salton Sea, asexpected. Locally, one was at the ManhattanBeach Pier on 7-8 July (Jim Hecht), and it oranother immature was flying past nearbyKing Harbor on 10 July (Art Baker). Inland,Mickey Long saw an immature frigate overLake Castaic on 18 July. An adult Little BlueHeron was at the south end of the Salton Seaon 26 June (Grant Meyer), with a secondadult at Sandyland Slough, Carpenteria, inJuly. Four or five Wood Storks were at thesouth end of the Salton Sea on 18 June(Gayle Benton), and numbers built up afterthat date. Two adult Black-bellied Whist-ling-Ducks found at the south end of theSalton Sea at the end of May (Richard Webs-ter) were refound by wildlife refuge person-nel and by Guy McCaskie, 15-21 June. Afemale Oldsqaw was at the mouth of theBallona Creek channel in Playa del Rey on 5June (Hank Brodkin).

The early nature of the southbound migra-tion of Wilson's Phalaropes was demon-strated by the presence of over 200 birds,most in full alternate plumage, at the southend of the Salton Sea on 18 June (Hal Baxteret at). Single Semipalmated Sandpiperswere at the north and south ends of theSalton Sea on 1 June (Guy McCaskie); theseof course, were northbound migrants. Onceagain a Sandwich Tern showed up in thetern colony at the south end of San Diego(after 14 June), but it was not widely seenbecause of the sensitive, off-limits locality.An Elegant Tern at the north end of theSalton Sea on 1 June (Guy McCaskie) repres-ented the first certain record of this coastalspecies for the Salton Sea, though a reportfrom the same time last year at the samelocality was likely correct. A Xantus' Mur-relet was swimming just off the Playa delRey jetties on 19-20 July (Eileen Weiss).

Once again both Flammulated Owlsand Northern Saw-whet Owls nested inthe Buckhorn Campground area of the SanGabriel Mountains. Birders should continu-

ally remind themselves of their potential dis-turbance to nesting owls and use cautionwhen seeking such birds. Efforts to locateyoung Saw-whets along the Valyermo to BigPines Highway, where several adults werefound in February and March, were unsuc-cessful. Once again a Whip-poor-will wascalling vigorously in the vicinity of Arch pic-nic area near Table Mountain in June (BrianKeelan et at). Another Whip-poor-will washeard near Camp Angelus in the San Bernar-dino Mtns. on 29 June (Richard Webster). ALesser Nighthawk was foraging for mothsin the Dodger Stadium parking lot after theDodgers beat the Pirates (9-1) on 24 July(Kimball Garrett and Jon Dunn); anotherLesser Nighthawk was over Monte Nido inMalibu Canyon on the Fourth of Jujp (Kim-ball Garrett). Sturdevant Falls in Big SantaAnita Canyon remains one of the best localspots to observe Black Swifts; Gayle Ben-ton had at least two there on the evening of23 June. The count of Chimney Swifts overExposition Park peaked at 16 birds on 9 July;quite unusual was a single Vaux's Swiftassociating with the Chimney Swifts for sev-eral days after 26 June (affording excellentcomparisons of size, shape, plumage andcalls; Kimball Garrett). A single Chaeturaswift over Anaheim Stadium on 13 July (DonSterba) was likely a Chimney Swift.

A male Broad-tailed Hummingbirdover upper Arrastre Creek in the San Bernar-dino Mountains (Richard Webster, 29 June)was one of the few records for that range. AnEastern Kingbird at 7500' in Mineral KingValley (Larry Norris, 8 July) established thefirst Tulare County record of that species.The Gray Vireos at Bob's Gap, nearValyermo, were found as late as 3 July (DickErickson), and the species was also foundjust to the east along Largo Vista Road (BrianKeelan and John Parmeter, 8June). Unusual

11 September '85

was a Steller"s Jay wandering through JohnSchmitt's neighborhood in Norwalk on 4June. John also had a second year maleAmerican Redstart in his yard on 8 July.Late spring vagrant warblers included a sing-ing male Northern Parula at the junctionof Big Rock and Pallett Creeks, Valyermo(Jonathan Alderfer, 15 June), and a singingmale Black-and-White Warbler in Charm-lee Park, west of Malibu, on 23 June (KimballGarrett). Rarer was a singing male HoodedWarbler at Crystal Cove State Park, near Lag-una Beach (Sylvia Ranney, 12 June). A Wil-son's Warbler at Tapia Park on 21 Julysuggested the possibility of nesting at thatSanta Monica Mountains locality (KimballGarrett). A Painted Redstart was in the SanBernardino Mountains along the Wild HorseTrail, off Hwy. 38, on 23 June (PriscillaBrodkin).

A female Summer Tanager along ColdCreek in the Santa Monica Mountains (Kim-ball Garrett, Rick Ford and Sarah George, 21July) was a vagrant, though this species isnesting this year as far west as Castaic Junc-tion on the Santa Clara River (KevinSpencer). Male Rose-breasted Grosbeakswere noted at Crystal Cove State Park (DougWillick, 13 June) and on the south fork of theKern River (L.A.A.S., 29 June). Male IndigoBuntings were in Ice House Canyon off theMt. Baldy Road (Rick Clements, 29 June),along Hwy. 38 just west of Forest Falls inter-section (Rick Clements, 30 June), and in thePrado Basin (Dick Erickson, 2July). Atanewlocality was a Great-tailed Grackle atWhittier Narrows on 30 June (Ralph Shank-land). A female Bronzed Cowbird was in a

Niland yard on 1 June (Brian Daniels), with amale seen there on a later date.'The latestlowland report of a Red Crossbill was ofone at the Virginia Country Club in LongBeach on 14 June (Henry Spreadbury).

To the north, the sighting by marine birdresearchers of a Townsend's Shearwater,Solander's Petrels and Murphy's Petrelsoff the coast (details presumably forthcom-ing) prompted the scheduling of a pleagictrip out of Bodega Bay on 23 July. The tripwas highlighted by six Cook's Petrels;other species included Black-footed Alba-tross, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel andHorned and Tufted Puffins; the sought-after petrels and shearwater were not seen. Asecond trip a week later was described byparticipants as, at best, "dull".

We hardly need to remind you that Sep-tember is a month when nearly every kind ofbird is on the move through southern Cali-fornia. The first half of the month will bedominated by shorebird-watching, but land-bird strays will be possible almost anytime.Large numbers of western passerines will beundertaking their southward migrationsthrough the higher elevations earlier in themonth, while coastal plains and promonto-ries will be the focus of vagrant hunting laterin the month.

Send any interesting bird observations to:Hal Baxter

1821 Highland Oaks DriveArcadia, CA 91006

Phone # (818) 355-6300

OWLS OF NORTH AMERICA

A seminar by Jon Winter sponso-red by Los Angeles Audubon Societyon Saturday Oct. 26, 1985. Thisseminar ivill cover several areas ofowl biology with a main emphasison vocal identification and how tofind these nocturnal creatures.Recent advances in owl behaviorresearch will be covered as well astheir unnatural history (theirplacein folklore and mythology).

The seminar will last about 5V2hours from approximately 9:30 to4:00 with an hour lunch break. Costis $20 per person. Send check withself-addressed stamped envelope forconfirmation and further informa-tion to LA Aububon. Attendancewill be limited, so don't wait toolong to make your reservation!

Renew YourMembership ThroughLAAS

When you receive your annual renewalnotice from National Audubon, we stronglyurge that you complete the form and send italong with your dues check to AudubonHouse rather than directly to NationalAudubon. National has been having difficul-ties with the data processing firm handlingmembership. This has led to may errors inchapter records across the country, includ-ing ours. It has also resulted in some of ourmembers missing issues of the WESTERNTANAGER. By sending your renewal directlyto us, many of the problems should beavoided.

PELAGIC TRIPSSATURDAY, OCTOBER 5: Tropicbird and Storm-Petrel Trip, out to sea towards Santa BarbaraIsland. Depart 6:00 a.m., return 6 p.m. Leaders:Herb Clarke, Larry Norris. Price: $24 perperson.

See Reservation Policy on Calendar Page

EDITOR Fred Heath

DESIGN etc. graphics inc.

PRINTER Artisan Press

CONSERVATION EDITOR Sandy Wohlgemuth

ORNITHOLOGY CONSULTANT Kimball Garrett

Published ten times a year by the Los AngelesAudubon Society, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., Los

Angeles, CA 90046.

PRESIDENT Ellsworth Kendig

1st VICE PRESIDENT Carol Friedman

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Marge Wohlgemuth

Audubon membership (local and national) is$30 per year (individual), $38 (family), $18(student), $21 (senior citizen) or $23 (seniorcitizen family) including AUDUBON Magazineand THE WESTERN TANAGER. To join, makechecks payable to the National Audubon Society,and send them to Audubon House at the aboveaddress. Members wishing to receive the TAN-AGER by first class mail must send checks for $5to Los Angeles Audubon Society.

Subscription to THR WESTERN TANAGERseparately are $8 per year (Bulk Rate) or $13(First Class, mailed in an envelope). To sub-scribe, make checks payable to Los AngelesAudubon Society.

©LA Audubon 1985

Los Angeles Audubon Headquarters, library,Bookstore and Nature Museum are locatedat Audubon House, Plummer Park, 7377Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046.Telephone: (213) 876-0202. Hours: 10-3,Tuesday through Saturday.

^•CALENDARCALL THE TAPE!

Before setting out for any field trip, call theAudubon Bird Tape, (213) 874-1318 for specialinstructions or last minute changes that may haveoccured by the Thursday before the trip.

FIELD TRIPS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 — Join Bob Shan-man for a morning walk at the unique BallonaWetlands. This is peak season for viewing migrat-ing shorebirds. Also see waterbirds and residents.Take Marina Fwy. 90 west to Culver Blvd., turn left toPacific Ave., then right to footbridge at end. Meet at8 a.m. $3 parking. (More info: 213-545-2867 after 6p.m.)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 — Join a Docent ofthe Santa Monica Mountains National Recrea-tional Area for a 2-3 hour bird walk in search of fallmigrants. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the kiosk of MallbuLagoon State Beach.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 — Join a volunteernaturalist for the Santa Monica MountainsNational Recreational Area for a 2-3 hour birdwalk to look for migrant and resident landbirds atthe Paramount Ranch. Meet at 4:30 p .m. Takethe Ventura Fwy. to Kanan Rd. exit and go south Vtmile to make a left turn on Cornell Rd. Continue 2V4miles. Entrance on right side of road.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 - David White willlead his monthly trip at the Whittier NarrowsRegional Park, in search of a good variety ofresidents in addition to returning waterbirds andpossible migrants. Meet at 8 a.m. at the NatureCenter, 1000 Durfee Ave., So. El Monte, off Fwy 60between Santa Anita and Peck Dr. exits, west of Fwy.605.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 — Meet SandyWohlgemuth at the Tapia parking lot at 8 a.m. fora half day of varied birding (migrants, residents andshorebirds) at Tapia Park then Malibu Lagoon.Tapia is located on Las Virgines/Malibu Cyn. Rd.about halfway between Fwy. 101 and Pacific CoastHighway.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 — Take advantageof a unique opportunity of free bird sketchinginstruction with Jonathan Alderfer (213 8286568). Alderfer is the talented artist and illustrator ofthe forthcoming Dunn and Garrett Field Identifica-tion Manual. Bring pencils, erasers, and sketchbookor drawing pad along with your regular birdingequipment (a scope if available). This outing is

designed for birders with no previous drawingexperience. Emphasis will be on basic drawingskills and the recording of field marks throughdrawings. Come participate in an educational andentertaining experience. Meet at 8 a.m. at the kioskat Malibu Lagoon.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7 — Join Ed Navojoskyfor his popular annual jaunt (14th) from MalibuLagoon to McGarth State Beach. A large varietyof species are usually seen as a diversity of habitatsare birded. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the parking areabehind the market, across the street from theMalibu Lagoon entrance. Bring a picnic lunch forstop at Big Sycamore.

FORTHCOMING TRIPS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 — Ballona — BobShanman

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 - Chatsworth Park South —Alan Keller

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 — Whittier Narrows— David White

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 - Huntington BeachCentral Park — Brian Daniels

RESERVATION TRIPS:(Limited Participation)

WEEKEND, NOVEMBER 2 & 3 — Spend a specialMorro Bay weekend with LA. Co. Museum Orni-thologist and LA.A.S. Guru Klmball Garrett. Viewshorebirds and waterfowl, look for Peregrines, latefall and winter vagrants, then some owl ing Saturdaynight. There will be a drive up the coast, beyondCambria, to look at coniferous forest and rockyshore species. Depending on timing, there maybesome birding stops in the San Luis Obispo areaenroute home. 125 person.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 — Birds of Prey willbe highlighted in this unique opportunity to visitand become familiar with the Harper Dry Lakearea, its varied habitats, and marvelous birding pos-sibilities. We are pleased that Gene Cardiff hasagreed to be our leader. Mr. Cardiff is an Ornitholo-gist and Curator of Birds at the San BernardinoCounty Museum, teaches bird identification classes,and among other responsibilities is the cohesiveforce of the San Bernardino Audubon Society.$12.50 person.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 — Spend a delightfulday with author and professional bird tour leaderJon Dunn in the Santa Barbara area. Expect tosee a good variety of shorebirds, waterbirds andwintering vagrants, f 12.50 person donation to newLAAS Research Award Fund.

RESERVATION POLICY AND PROCEDURE:

Reservations will be accepted ONLY if ALL the fol-lowing information is supplied: (1) Trip desired:(2) Names of people in your party; (3) Phonenumbers-(a) usual and (b) evening before event, incase of emergency cancellation; (4) Separate check(no cash please) to LAAS for exact amount for eachtrip; (5) Self-addressed stamped envelope for con-firmation and associated trip information. Send to:Reservations Chairman Ruth Lohr, LAAS, 7377 SantaMonica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046.

If there is insufficient response, the trip will becancelled two weeks prior to the scheduled date (4weeks for pelagics) and you will be so notified andyour fee returned. Your cancellation during thattime will bring a refund only if there is a paidreplacement.

If you desire to carpool to an event, Ms. Lohr orArt Levine (usually in office on Tuesday) can pro-vide information for you to make contact and possi-ble arrangements.

PELAGIC TRIPSSee Page 11

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Aiapos uoqnpnv sapSuv scq

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 — Seminar OWLS OFNORTH AMERICA by Jon Winter. See page 11 fordetails.

EVENING MEETINGSMeet at 8:00 P.M. in Plummer Park

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 - Dr. Herby Will-iams retired UC Long Beach professor of historyand geography, a long time photographer and worldtraveler will present Wild Japan.

OCTOBER 8 — Terry Stephenson the residentornithologist of the Lake Baringo Lodge in Kenyawill give a slide illustrated talk entitled: Bird Sur-vey in Kenya.

CARPOOLING: As conservationists, let'stry to reduce gas consumption and air pol-lution whenever possible. In sharing costs,remember that a typical car journey costs20<t a mile.