Birdcam, Sept.

For September, we changed the location of Birdcam to a re-purposed bathtub filled with water and cattails. Wanted to shake things up a bit, and see if any species were visiting this thing, which is located down a steep hill and out of sight of the house. Lighting was pretty poor (maybe it got splashed?), but a male California Quail stopped by on the 13th (below), and on the afternoon of the 30th, Wile E. Coyote did the same.





Otherwise, the usual visitors were represented (Band-tailed pigeon, Hooded Oriole, etc.), along with a California ground-squirrel.

We now have two birdcams going, one at the "tub", and the other back at the cube-fountain, so we'll be able to gauge the difference in visitorship.

Birdcam, late June

June is one of the dullest birding months over most of the L.A. area, as residents and summer visitors finish up nesting, and shorebirds and most waterfowl are elsewhere, mostly far to the north. An unmistakable American Robin livened things up on the 16th, the first photo of this species for the birdcam. Robins nest locally in town, usually around well-watered lawns like at public parks and golf courses, and pick the shadiest spots for their nests. Twenty years ago, a nesting robin away from the mountains was something of a rarity, but they've really increased throughout southern California (as a breeder) since then. This one probably bred somewhere in the neighborhood, and stopped by for a drink.

Phainopepla (below) also nests in small numbers in the area, especially in sites with large oaks and sycamores, and generally away from urban areas. This series shows a female, with the last image showing her distinctive red eye.








The most surprising find thus far was this streaky juvenile Dark-eyed Junco, a briefly -held plumage rarely seen far from the breeding grounds. For this reason, and given the time of year (juncos migrate late in the fall), it was almost certainly hatched locally. This species, like the robin, has increased greatly in the Santa Monica Mountains, probably responding to all the planted pine trees (formerly restricted to mountains and remote oak woodland in the higher Santa Monicas). Interestingly, it nests near sea level elsewhere in southern California, including La Jolla in San Diego Co.

Birdcam, early June

This period saw more of the same array species, including lots of young birds, often accompanied by one or more parents.

A sharp female Bullock's Oriole dropped by on the 4th of June, showing the ash-gray back and bright wingbars which help distinguish it from the (locally) more common Hooded Oriole.















A Western Scrub-Jay (below), not new to the birdcam but relatively infrequent, was a daily visitor during this period.




The biggest surprise, however, was a stunning male Purple Finch, pretty rare in mid-summer in Los Angeles, though a scarce breeder in the Santa Monica Mountains (including at nearby Franklin Canyon). It might have been taking a break from duties there, or perhaps it was a dispersing male that failed to attract a mate, possible given the small size of the local population.

It's told from the much more abundant House Finch by the wine-colored pinkish-red crown, and the suffusion of the same wine-red color throughout its upperparts. This individual shows a good amount of brownish streaking along the flanks, as well as a large bill, which are typical for the local California race of the species.

Birdcam, pt. II

We had the birdcam back up and running from 5/2 - 5/9 (all day each day). As before, huge numbers of Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches - owing to the thistle and seed feeders nearby. Around 1,500 shots were of these species. The next most frequently-photographed bird was Mourning Dove (170 shots), Band-tailed Pigeon and Hooded Oriole (145 each) and Spotted Towhee (136).
A gorgeous male Black-headed Grosbeak was a nice surprise, visiting twice on 5/3.













Two days later, a second grosbeak came in, this one without the solid black head (shown with a House Finch).








Keeping with the orange theme, a nice female Bullock's Oriole dropped in briefly on 5/8 (below), which was actually a migrant - only the Hooded seems to nest in the area, though Bullock's are common nesters in nearby Franklin Canyon.



















We're noticing lots of young birds at the bath (juvenile Song Sparrow, right), including several instances of adults feeding and interacting with young at the bath.


A Spotted Towhee was nice surprise (below), though not exactly rare in the area - check out the red eye.



A female Western Tanager (below) might have been passed off as a female oriole, but this shot shows the fat bill and eyering, as well as the broad wingbars.













Warblers are always a treat, and this male Yellow Warbler on the 8th spent some time getting wet (below).

New toy: Birdcam

Back in March, one of my clients in the hills above Franklin Canyon (Beverly Hills) asked me to set her up with a "Birdcam", a small, motion-detecting camera designed for photographing birds at feeders.

I ordered it from Wingscapes, along with a few accessories (Wingscape memory card and reader, batteries), the whole package coming in at around $300.

After a few calls to customer service (an extremely helpful and friendly PERSON!), we were ready to go. The camera was installed about a foot away from a fountain in the backyard in early April, and ran for the next two weeks (4-19 Apr.). The camera works by snapping a (digital) photo when it senses heat and movement (hence, the moving water of the fountain doesn't register). You can set the interval between shots, and I set hers to take a photograph every 5 seconds. So, if a bird is on the fountain for 20 seconds, you'll get 4 photos of the bird. The camera automatically shuts down at night, and doesn't have a flash.

In all, over 2,000 images were captured. Around half were of one species, the Lesser Goldfinch (above), probably because of the dozens of Lesser Goldfinches attracted to the seed feeders at this particular yard.

The next more common capture, somewhat surprisingly since they're not that numerous, was the Hooded Oriole (below), which was photographed in around 12% of all images.



Nearly 200 shots were of Band-tailed Pigeons, often with multiple birds crowding into the fountain for a bath and drink.



Other common species (100+ images) included Allen's Hummingbird, Mourning Dove and House Finch. Below shows a sequence of an Allen's Hummingbird bathing, followed by a shot of its incredible gleaming-red gorget.






Of course, there were several surprises. A few species were only seen for a few seconds during the multi-week run, including this gorgeous Lazuli Bunting:



And this male Black-throated Gray Warbler: