Whittier Audubon Field Trips

Date

Description

Trip Leader

SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP TO BARSTOW/DAGGETT
This will be some desert birding at the tail end of Summer with Fall migration well underway.  This should give us a good chance at migrant flycatchers, vireo and warblers as well as a wide variety of resident species. Depart at 6:00 a.m. from the Whittier Community Center (Mar Vista and Washington)
Larry Schmahl will lead; let me know if you plan to come

Larry Schmahl

Linda Oberholtzer

Our November field trip will be to Marina del Rey, led by our president Roy van de Hoek. Roy will show around the shoreline at Playa del Rey where we'll look for rocky shorebirds like Surfbirds, Oystercatchers and Wandering Tattlers.  We'll also check out Ballona Freshwater Marsh, a bit of habitat that supports many birds  in the middle of a densely populated urban area.

We will likely meet at 7:00 AM at the Whittier Community Center, corner of Mar Vista and Washington, to carpool. But check with Roy for a positive plan. Or come to the November meeting on the 19th.

Roy van de Hoek leads.

Roy van de Hoek

Please join former Whittier Daily News editor, Bill Bell, on the annual "Bill Bell Bird Walk" on Saturday December 12th at 8 a.m. at the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, 1000 N. Durfee Ave., South El Monte, CA. (626) 575-5523. Meet in the parking lot.

Roy van de Hoek 

Visit the beautiful Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County.  Now in its winter mood, with bird life having migrated from Arctic Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the western states mountain ranges and prairies, in this special landscape with a special geography of hope.

 We will see the special migrants such as the Sandhill Crane in farm fields and near Soda Lake, Mountain Plover on the bare ground areas, and Mountain Bluebird hovering for insects.  We will see several flocks of Long-billed Curlew feeding on grasshoppers and beetles in the soil with their long beak, but also resting in the vast prairies and alkaline wetlands known as Soda Lake.

 In addition, we will see an abundance of diurnal raptors such as the arctic migrants, particularly the Rough-legged Hawk, but also many Ferruginous Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and Bald Eagle (maybe).  We will also see the year-round diurnal raptors found at Carrizo.  They include the Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier (marsh hawk), and White-tailed Kite.  And of course, we will see many Red-tailed Hawk and Kestrel as well.  We will likely not see the Red-shouldered Hawk or Cooper's Hawk as this is not wooded country habitat those two hawks prefer, but instead we will see the raptors of the wide-open spaces of a prairie, with a large lake in center of the plain.

 At dusk, and perhaps at some of the isolated trees during the day, we will find some nocturnal owls sleeping, such as the Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Great-horned Owl, and I hope to show you some close-up looks at a diurnal owl, namely the Burrowing Owl.

 We will see plenty of our smaller birds as well, particularly hundred of Horned Lark, Western Meadowlark, Lark Sparrow, perhaps a Lark Bunting, and others such as the Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and lots of Loggerhead Shrike.

 We will take time to study and learn about the famous San Andreas Fault, most beautifully displayed at Carrizo, and the magical Native American "rock art" of multiple colors at Painted Rock.  We will visit the interpretative nature center briefly as well, where we can see a California Condor, wings spread out, on display.

 There is almost 100% certainty that we will see the fastest mammal of North America, the American Pronghorn Antelope.  And sometimes, we find a Badger and often we see a herd of Tule Elk, and if we are lucky, we will hear the large male elk can be heard bugling.  You will also learn about the Giant Kangaroo Rat and endangered Kit Fox, found only in the greater Carrizo region of southern California.

 The Carrizo Plain is approximately a 3 hour drive north from Whittier, California.  You will take Interstate 5 north over the Grapevine (Canon de Uvas) and Fort Tejon (Badger), to Highway 166 offramp toward Maricopa.  We will meet on Saturday morning at 8am in Maricopa on Highway 166, at the parking lot of the Motel 8.  You can make reservations to stay there on Friday night and Saturday night, so that you do not have leave from Whittier at 5am on Saturday morning, which is another option.  The phone number for Motel 8 is (661) 769-829.  The website is www.motel8maricopa.com.  The email address is motel8@bak.rr.com. We will have dinner on Saturday night in Maricopa or nearby Taft.

 Pack a lunch for Saturday afternoon, bring warm clothes, including a wool cap and gloves, good walking shoes that are waterproof, however most birding will be from near a car.  Fill your gas tank in Maricopa before 8am.  And get ready to know the Carrizo Plain, its bird life and habitat, but also more about your president, a biologist and geographer, who has led trips to the Carrizo Plain for 20 years (beginning in 1989).

  If you have questions, please contact Roy van de Hoek at (310) 877-2435, or by email at robertvandehoek@yahoo.com

Roy van de Hoek leads.

Roy van de Hoek

(Note: We are trying again for Carrizo Plain.  We got rained out in January, so we are going to take another run at it in February)

Visit the beautiful Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County.  Now in its winter mood, with bird life having migrated from Arctic Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and the western states mountain ranges and prairies, in this special landscape with a special geography of hope.

 We will see the special migrants such as the Sandhill Crane in farm fields and near Soda Lake, Mountain Plover on the bare ground areas, and Mountain Bluebird hovering for insects.  We will see several flocks of Long-billed Curlew feeding on grasshoppers and beetles in the soil with their long beak, but also resting in the vast prairies and alkaline wetlands known as Soda Lake.

 In addition, we will see an abundance of diurnal raptors such as the arctic migrants, particularly the Rough-legged Hawk, but also many Ferruginous Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and Bald Eagle (maybe).  We will also see the year-round diurnal raptors found at Carrizo.  They include the Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier (marsh hawk), and White-tailed Kite.  And of course, we will see many Red-tailed Hawk and Kestrel as well.  We will likely not see the Red-shouldered Hawk or Cooper's Hawk as this is not wooded country habitat those two hawks prefer, but instead we will see the raptors of the wide-open spaces of a prairie, with a large lake in center of the plain.

 At dusk, and perhaps at some of the isolated trees during the day, we will find some nocturnal owls sleeping, such as the Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Great-horned Owl, and I hope to show you some close-up looks at a diurnal owl, namely the Burrowing Owl.

 We will see plenty of our smaller birds as well, particularly hundred of Horned Lark, Western Meadowlark, Lark Sparrow, perhaps a Lark Bunting, and others such as the Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and lots of Loggerhead Shrike.

 We will take time to study and learn about the famous San Andreas Fault, most beautifully displayed at Carrizo, and the magical Native American "rock art" of multiple colors at Painted Rock.  We will visit the interpretative nature center briefly as well, where we can see a California Condor, wings spread out, on display.

 There is almost 100% certainty that we will see the fastest mammal of North America, the American Pronghorn Antelope.  And sometimes, we find a Badger and often we see a herd of Tule Elk, and if we are lucky, we will hear the large male elk can be heard bugling.  You will also learn about the Giant Kangaroo Rat and endangered Kit Fox, found only in the greater Carrizo region of southern California.

 The Carrizo Plain is approximately a 3 hour drive north from Whittier, California.  You will take Interstate 5 north over the Grapevine (Canon de Uvas) and Fort Tejon (Badger), to Highway 166 offramp toward Maricopa.  We will meet on Saturday morning at 8am in Maricopa on Highway 166, at the parking lot of the Motel 8.  You can make reservations to stay there on Friday night and Saturday night, so that you do not have leave from Whittier at 5am on Saturday morning, which is another option.  The phone number for Motel 8 is (661) 769-829.  The website is www.motel8maricopa.com.  The email address is motel8@bak.rr.com. We will have dinner on Saturday night in Maricopa or nearby Taft.

 Pack a lunch for Saturday afternoon, bring warm clothes, including a wool cap and gloves, good walking shoes that are waterproof, however most birding will be from near a car.  Fill your gas tank in Maricopa before 8am.  And get ready to know the Carrizo Plain, its bird life and habitat, but also more about your president, a biologist and geographer, who has led trips to the Carrizo Plain for 20 years (beginning in 1989).

  If you have questions, please contact Roy van de Hoek at (310) 877-2435, or by email at robertvandehoek@yahoo.com

Roy van de Hoek leads.

Roy van de Hoek

Jeff Allison

This will be a really special weekend trip to San Diego led by Jay Oberholtzer.  Watch for details and make your plans.
 

Jay Oberhnoltzer

Our May field trip will take place on May 22d and will be to Galileo Park near California City. This is an area well to the north of Lancaster, so it’s a fairly long drive. In order to be there at a reasonable time to see some birds, we will leave the Whittier Community Center at 6:30 AM. Due to the distance, this will be a full day; we will not be back before 3:00 PM. Bring water, sunscreen, a hat, and your binoculars. If you’re planning on driving, have a full tank of gas. We’ll carpool as best we can from the community center. You may want to bring a lunch or we may be able to eat at the restaurant on site. I’ll try to have information on the restaurant at the meeting on the preceding Thursday.

The area is known as a migrant trap and for bringing in some true rarities, so there’s no telling what we might see on this trip.  You may recall that we went out here two years ago and had, among other things, an Ovenbird. I also recall lots of Swainson’s Thrushes and a number of Scott’s Orioles, plus various other migrant warblers. No guarantees, of course, but the place can be pretty birdy in the right circumstances.

Jeff Allison will lead. Drop me an email (Jeff.Allison@amate.us) if you’re planning on going.
 

Jeff Allison

Larry Schmahl