Beginning with the 116th Christmas Bird Count, Southern and Northern California are now treated as two separate regions. The state has been divided following the map used by North American Birds. Southern California begins at the northern county lines of San Luis Obispo and Kern Counties and includes all of Inyo County. Fifty-four Christmas Counts, 17 of which include coastal access, were completed in Southern California during the 116th count season. The vast majority of counts experienced dry conditions on their count day. Just six counts reported light rain and three counts reported heavy afternoon rain. The remaining counts were true to the persisting drought. The lowest temperature recorded on any count was 11F at Bishop and the highest temperature was 70F recorded at both Redlands (Mill Creek) and Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad. A summary of Southern California follows.
Eleven counts recorded Greater White-fronted and Cackling geese and 17 counts noted Snow Geese. Eight counts recorded Ross’s Geese and Brant were on 12 coastal counts as well as inland at Salton Sea (south).
Single Tundra Swans were found at Anza-Borrego, Lancaster, Mojave River Valley, Salton Sea (south), and San Jacinto Lake and 13 counts recorded Eurasian Wigeon. Both a Eurasian Green-winged Teal, found during the count week period, and a Tufted Duck, photographed on count day, were at Santa Barbara. Greater Scaup were found away from the coast on both Salton Sea (south) and (north) counts. White-winged Scoters were found at Orange County (coastal), Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura and Black Scoters were recorded at San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Thousand Oaks. A Long-tailed Duck was photographed in Los Angeles and the only Barrow’s Goldeneye was a female recorded on the Bakersfield count.
Red-throated Loons were found on all but one of the count circles with coastal access plus an inland bird photographed at Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley. Santa Clarita recorded an inland Pacific Loon and inland Common Loons were reported from Diamond Valley, San Jacinto Lake, Santa Ana River Valley, and Santa Clarita. Two Red-necked Grebes were documented – one at Thousand Oaks and the other at Santa Clarita.
Northern Fulmars were reported from Oceanside-Vista, Orange County (coastal), Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. A scattering of shearwaters found in Southern California included a Pink-footed from Thousand Oaks, a photographed Sooty in San Diego, and a well-documented Short-tailed Shearwater on the Palos Verdes Peninsula count. Many counts reported Brown Booby including Malibu, Oceanside-Vista, Orange County (coastal), Palos Verdes Peninsula, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, Santa Cruz Island, and Thousand Oaks.
Single Neotropic Cormorants were reported from each of the Salton Sea counts; this species was new to the Salton Sea (north) count. The only Little Blue Herons were those that are reliably found on the San Diego count. Twelve Reddish Egrets were found, six on the Orange County (coastal) count and two each at Long Beach, San Diego, and Thousand Oaks. Six Yellow-crowned Night-Herons continued in the same location as past years on the San Diego count; numbers of this species have greatly increased on the Thousand Oaks circle with 26 being reported this year. The Palos Verdes Peninsula count also reported one of this species during the count week.
Five Zone-tailed Hawks were counted on three counts: Escondido (3), Orange County (northeastern), and Rancho Santa Fe. Ventura also recorded a single Zone-tailed during the count week period. There were no Rough-legged Hawks documented on any Southern California count this year. Two Sandhill Cranes photographed on the Salton Sea (north) count were the only ones reported.
A well-described American Oystercatcher was found on the Santa Cruz Island count. Pacific Golden-Plovers were found in Long Beach (2) and, during count week, at Rancho Santa Fe. A Mountain Plover photographed at China Lake was a surprise. Mountain Plover were also found at the more expected locales of Carrizo Plain (47) and Salton Sea (south) (2). Red Knots were counted at Morro Bay (2), Orange County (coastal) (28), San Diego (54), and Thousand Oaks (5). Two counts, Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad and Rancho Santa Fe, reported Red Phalarope.
Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Island, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura combined to count seven Pomarine Jaegers. Ten Parasitic Jaegers were shared between La Purisima, Malibu, Palos Verdes Peninsula, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Thousand Oaks. Cassin’s Auklets were counted on six counts: Malibu, Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Rancho Santa Fe, San Juan Capistrano, and Santa Barbara. Eleven Rhinoceros Auklets in total were tallied at Palos Verdes Peninsula (1), San Juan Capistrano (4), Santa Barbara (3), and Ventura (3).
Black-legged Kittiwakes were found at Malibu, Orange County (coastal), Palos Verdes Peninsula, and San Diego (2). An adult Laughing Gull was present for San Diego counters and a Franklin’s Gull was found on the San Jacinto Lake count. Mew Gulls were noted in small numbers for many counts along the coast but inland birds at Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley and a first-winter bird photographed on the Kern River Valley count were surprises. An inland Western Gull was photographed at Salton Sea (south) and four Yellow-footed Gulls were reported from both of the Salton Sea counts. Lesser Black-backed Gulls were photographed at Salton Sea (south) and San Jacinto Lake and a single Glaucous Gull, photographed on the Rancho Santa Fe count, was the only one found on count day. A Common Tern was unexpected at Santa Barbara during the count week period and a well-described Elegant Tern at Morro Bay was only the third time this species has been recorded on this count.
The only Spotted Dove was a single bird reported during the count week period at Claremont but Inca Doves were counted on the expected three counts: Anza-Borrego (2), Salton Sea (north) (6), and Salton Sea (south) (43). The Anza-Borrego count tallied just over 1000 White-winged Doves, the first time that milestone number has been reached. Less expected locations for this species were China Lake and Thousand Oaks.
Sixteen Vaux’s Swifts, one captured digitally, were found at two different locations in Bakersfield; one was also found in San Diego. An adult male Costa’s Hummingbird in Carpinteria and one that had been present for some time in Santa Barbara were the only ones found in unexpected locations.
A Lewis’s Woodpecker at China Lake was just the second time for that species on this count. A lone Gila Woodpecker was again counted at Salton Sea (south) and a female-plumaged Williamson’s Sapsucker was photographed on the Los Angeles count. Well-documented Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers included two photographed at Bishop, an immature bird at Cachuma, an adult male photographed at Escondido, and an immature bird at Santa Barbara. “Yellow-shafted” Northern Flickers were well-described on the Los Angeles and Bakersfield counts.
A Least Flycatcher was photographed at San Jacinto Lake and Hammond’s Flycatchers were recorded in Long Beach, Pasadena, and San Diego. Gray Flycatchers were counted at Escondido, Morongo Valley, Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley, and San Diego. Pacific-slope Flycatchers were found on count day at Orange County (coastal), Pasadena San Gabriel Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, and San Diego. Count week reports came from Claremont and San Juan Capistrano as well. Six Eastern Phoebes, five of them photographed, were found on six counts including Bakersfield, Cachuma, Lancaster, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Salton Sea (south), and San Jacinto Lake; an additional bird was at Thousand Oaks during the count week period. Vermilion Flycatchers were found at the more northerly locales of Cachuma, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Thousand Oaks. Ash-throated Flycatchers were photographed at Palos Verdes Peninsula and Salton Sea (south). Tropical Kingbirds were documented at San Diego (3), Santa Barbara, and Thousand Oaks. A Thick-billed Kingbird was photographed at San Diego and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were photographed on both the Los Angeles and Rancho Santa Fe counts.
A Bell’s Vireo was photographed during the count week period in the Orange County (coastal) circle and seven Plumbeous Vireos were counted on six counts: Claremont, Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego (2), and Santa Ana River Valley. A Cassin’s Vireo on the Palos Verdes Peninsula count, a Blue-headed Vireo (currently under review) on the San Diego count, a Warbling Vireo on the Santa Barbara count, and a Philadelphia Vireo on the Salton Sea (south) count were all photographed.
Red-breasted Nuthatches were found in the more unlikely locales of Anza Borrego, Escondido, Long Beach, Morongo Valley, and Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad. Likewise Brown Creeper turned up in less expected circles at San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. Golden-crowned Kinglets were found in Bishop, Claremont, Oceanside-Vista, Pasadena, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Thousand Oaks where they are infrequently encountered. Thirty-nine Varied Thrushes were found on 12 counts, nearly a third of those at Santa Barbara. Three Sage Thrashers were found on as many counts, Cachuma, Tejon Ranch, and Ventura. Not a single longspur was found on any Southern California count this year.
Northern Waterthrushes were found on three counts: Orange County (coastal), San Diego, and Thousand Oaks; a count week bird was also found at Ventura. Fourteen Black-and-white Warblers were noted in 11 count circles. A well-described Tennessee Warbler was at Rancho Santa Fe and eight Nashville Warblers were found on five counts. American Redstarts were noted on both Salton Sea counts as well as Orange County (coastal) and San Diego counts. A Northern Parula, on the Pasadena-San Gabriel count, and a Magnolia Warbler, on the Oceanside-Vista count, were both photographed. A Yellow Warbler on the Morro Bay count was only the fourth time this species has been recorded on this count. Six Palm Warblers were recorded on five counts: Santa Barbara (2), Oceanside-Vista, Orange County (northeastern), Palos Verdes Peninsula, and San Diego. A returning Grace’s Warbler reported on the Santa Barbara count is a review species and has been accepted by the California Birds Record Committee. San Diego recorded two Hermit Warblers and two Black-throated Green Warblers. Fourteen counts tallied 39 Wilson’s Warblers. Two Painted Redstarts on the Orange County (northeastern) count were both well-documented and photographed.
Grasshopper Sparrow was recorded on six counts: Cachuma, Los Angeles, Morro Bay, Orange County (northeastern), San Diego (count week), and Thousand Oaks. The Nelson’s Sparrow in San Diego wouldn’t show on count day but was found during the count week period. A Clay-colored Sparrow was photographed on the Palos Verdes Peninsula count; two others were claimed but no details were included to substantiate those reports. A Field Sparrow photographed in Ventura has been accepted by the California Rare Birds Committee and Thousand Oaks counters photographed a Black-throated Sparrow, which was a species new to their count. “Pink-sided” Dark-eyed Juncos are too often reported without substantiating details but two counts this year shared supporting detail worthy of mention, Bishop and Escondido. The only Harris’s Sparrow recorded was a count week bird in Morro Bay. Thirty-three White-throated Sparrows were recorded on 14 counts and eight counts recorded 11 Swamp Sparrows.
The long returning Hepatic Tanager in San Diego evaded counters on count day but showed itself during the count week period. Eighteen Summer Tanagers were recorded on 11 counts with San Diego pulling in five of those. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed in San Diego and a count week bird was found in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara also had a count week Black-headed Grosbeak and another was photographed in Ventura. A young male Lazuli Bunting photographed on the Palos Verdes peninsula count was an unexpected addition.
An adult male Yellow-headed Blackbird was new to the Bishop count. San Diego and Salton Sea (north) also recorded singles of this species. A Bronzed Cowbird was a stakeout bird that didn’t disappoint and was a new species for the Salton Sea (north) count. Seven counts reported ten Orchard Orioles: Los Angeles, Morro Bay, Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad, Orange County (coastal), Rancho Santa Fe (3), San Diego (2), and Santa Barbara. Hooded Orioles were found at Morro Bay, Oceanside-Vista-Carlsbad (2), Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley, San Diego (2), and Ventura and Scott’s Orioles were recorded at Anza-Borrego (2) and Morongo Valley (6); Santa Barbara had a count week bird as well. And lastly, three Lawrence’s Goldfinches were a new species for the Carrizo Plain count.
Appreciation goes to the compilers who take the time to compile, to arrange in taxonomic order, and to organize the story of their count day into a cohesive picture. You help make the editor’s job much more manageable. Disorganized heaps of email and e-Bird reports strung together in no particular order and similar species in multiple locations in the pile makes organizing 54 Christmas Counts almost impossible and extremely time-consuming. There is a helpful resource available to those who are new to compiling that can be found on the APP.org website by searching ‘compiler resources’. There are also experienced compilers and editors who are willing to guide and answer your questions, if asked. If you find yourself unsure of the expectations for this task feel free to ask.