Whittier Audubon Field Trips

Date

Description

Trip Leader

SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP TO LOS ANGELES RIVER, ETC.
Our September field trip will be a repeat of last year’s successful venture to the Los Angeles River in Long Beach. If you went with us last year you will recall that we spotted an Upland Sandpiper, a first Los Angeles County record! No guarantees of a repeat performance, but the river is often good for migrating shorebirds of all types. Given enough time and interest we will tack on an afternoon trip to Playa del Rey to look for rocky shorebirds.
Meet at the Whittier Community Center, corner of Mar Vista and Washington, at 7:30 AM on Saturday, September 20. Bring water, a lunch, binoculars, and a hat. Note that this is a bit later than our usual start time for field trips, but shorebirds tend to be active through the day and there’s no pressing reason to be there at the crack of dawn.
Linda Oberholtzer will lead; let me know if you plan to come

Linda Oberholtzer

OCTOBER FIELD TRIP TO NEWPORT BACK BAY AND SANTA ANA RIVER
Our October field trip will be to the Newport Back Bay with a possible side trip “extension” to the lower Santa Ana River. The back bay is home to many birds, including the endangered “Light-footed” Clapper Rail
(Rallus longirostris levipes). We’ll be on the lookout for waders, ducks, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and anything else that feels like showing up. If folks are so inclined and if there are reports of rarities we will follow up with a trip over to the lower Santa Ana river. The area along Fairview and Talbert parks often attracts interesting birds, so we will see what is there.
Meet at the Whittier Community Center, corner of Mar Vista and Washington, at 7:00 AM on Saturday, October 18th. Bring water, a lunch, binoculars, and a hat. Scopes are welcome. We will do a combination of walking and driving around the back bay, and will likely walk along the river should we go there. The walking should be primarily paved and level.

If there are any questions, please contact Jeff Allison at Jeff.Allison@amate.us.

Jeff Allison

Our November field trip will be to San Elijo Lagoon. Located in northern
San Diego County, San Elijo Lagoon is an ecological reserve that is
managed by the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy. This is an excellent area
to see ducks, wading birds, sparrows, and raptors. The field trip will
be led by Al Moreno and Linda LeRoy.
Meet at the Whittier Community Center, corner of Mar Vista and
Washington, at 7:00 AM on Saturday, November 22nd. Bring water, a lunch,
binoculars, and a hat (note that there are restaurants near by as well
if you don’t want to brown bag it). Scopes are welcome, but we’ll
probably do a fair bit of walking. The walking is easy ,but there are a
few hills. Dress in layers as it may be cool in the morning but can warm
up if it is a sunny day.
 

Al Moreno

Please join former Whittier Daily News editor, Bill Bell, on the annual "Bill Bell Bird Walk" on Saturday December 6th 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.

We are going to the Salton Sea!.  This is a great wintering spot for just about every bird there is.  Between flooded fields, a huge, foul-smelling body of water, acres of disgusting mud, all surrounded by a desert hell-hole, anyone can see that it is a great place for birds. We will meet, and leave promptly from, the Townhouse Inn & Suites 135 Main Street, Brawley , CA 92227 (formerly known as the Brawley Motel) at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, January 17.  We will caravan through a bunch of places, stopping for lunch when the time is right.  We will definitely have our traditional wine and cheese party, so bring something for that.  We will try for a spot where we can watch the Sandhill Cranes come in to roost.  Sunday, we will leave at the same time and bird our way in the general direction of home.

This area in winter is great for raptors, shore birds and all kinds of migrants.  It is just south enough that all kinds of rarities show up.  Because the ecology is so varied, we can expect to see a lot of species.  Some of the roads will be unpaved, but should be fine for passenger cars with average clearance. It is probably best to leave the Ferrari at home.

Bring your bird watching stuff, including scopes, and  two days of lunches as well as stuff for the wine and cheese party.  There are many places to stay in Brawley.  Some of use are staying at the Townhouse Inn & Suites (formerly known as the Brawley Motel).   Their  website is www.brawleymotel.com. Their address is 135 Main Street, Brawley, CA 92227.  Their phone number is (760) 344-5120 .  I am holding a couple of reservations in my name.  If you can not get a room, contact me.  I might be able to free up one of the rooms that I am holding.      

Plans for a weekender like this often change at last minute, so it is important that you let me know if you are attending.  It is best to email me by clicking on my name either below or to the right.  Telephone messages are best left at my office at 562-945-2838..

This will be a great weekend.

Jay Oberholtzer leads.

Jay Oberholtzer

FEBRUARY 22 IS THE DATE OF OUR FIELD TRIP to the Antelope Valley. NOTE: NEW DATE!
BY LARRY SCHMAHL
Due to a previous engagement of mine on the 21st of February, I must regrettably change the date of the annual Antelope Valley Field Trip to the following day on February 22nd. We will meet at the Community Center parking lot at 6:30 AM and carpool to Lancaster. Our first stop will be the Carl's Junior at the Ave. K off ramp from the 14 Freeway. If you wish, you may meet us there at 8:00 AM.  This will be a coffee and rest room stop.
The areas we bird should offer Mountain Plover, Mountain Bluebird, Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Great Horned Owl, five species of Sparrow and, if we are lucky, Snow Goose, Long-billed Curlew, Roadrunner
and perhaps an early Sage Thrasher. The Internet has been rather quiet this year on reports of bird sightings from the Antelope Valley, but hopefully our tried and true areas will not let us down. Bring a lunch and be prepared for cold and windy weather. However, it may warm up nicely in the afternoon. Call Larry Schmahl at 562-714-1843 (cell) or 562-695-0152 (home) if you plan to attend.
The Whittier Community Center is at the southeast corner of Washington Ave. (not be confused with Washington Blvd.) and Mar Vista Ave.
Larry Schmahl
562-714-1843
 

Larry Schmahl

Al Moreno

Al Moreno

Our May field trip will take place on May 23rd 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

Linda Oberholtzer