Start at 6:44am, closing at 12:44 pm
Total 12 nets up
Total 63 birds, 17 species
- 1 Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
- 1 Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
- 15 House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus)
- 8 Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria)
- 1 Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii)
- 1 Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri)
- 12 Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia)
- 8 Lincoln’s Sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii)
- 4 Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus)
- 2 California Towhees (Melozone crissalis)
- 1 Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus )
- 1 Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
- 1 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)
- 2 California Thrashers (Toxostoma redivivum)
- 2 Bewick’s Wrens (Thryomanes bewickii)
- 2 Wrentits (Chamaea fasciata)
- 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
“I wonder if the White-crowns are back yet.” “They showed up exactly at this time last year!” “I wanna see and band them so badly!” The White-crowned Sparrow had become the most talked about bird in my house as the second September banding cycle approached. While the the bulk of the species spends majority of the year in the continental United States, I still miss the sparrows whenever they leave to breed up north. Arriving in large numbers in the fall months, they are some of the first signs that fall migration is beginning. Surely, White-crowned Sparrows and other fall migrants would be arriving at Zuma, especially within the upcoming weeks.
As I set up net 26, I started noticing birds watching me as I worked. I saw a California Towhee singing not far away. Then, I spotted my first of fall Lincoln’s Sparrow, a fall migrant, who was touring their new home for the next few months. As I pulled the ropes tying down the pole for the net, I spotted a White-crowned Sparrow attempting to hide in some shrubbery. “THEY’RE BACK!!!!!” I shouted as I opened the mist net up for business. The bold Lincoln’s Sparrow jumped right in.
Lincoln’s Sparrows are small, lightly colored sparrows that tend to favor boreal forests for their breeding grounds in the spring and summer. In the fall however, they will migrate south as far as Mexico and portions of Central America (namely Guatemala). The species arrived at Zuma Canyon at the same time they did last year and will likely leave around May. While they were present in the canyon last year, they weren’t really around in good numbers. Few were banded (only three for all of 2021). This cycle however, we have already topped that number with eight birds this fall season! How exciting!!
As the temperature warmed up, more and more birds were frequenting the water feature near Net 26. Net 26 is fun as everyone is able to see it from the banding station. This means we get to watch birds fly in and get caught, which is super exciting to see in action. Someone will then rush over and get the bird before they can get too tangled. Established around this time last year, 26 was originally placed facing the banding station with no large bodies of vegetation for birds to fly into. This changed a few months ago when we decided to rotate the net 90 degrees so that it now had a large sycamore tree as its backdrop. We have since seen good results, especially in recent cycles as the habitat at Zuma dries up and water becomes more scarce. Among the birds frequenting the net included the usual California Towhees, but the net got a good number of Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches too, as well as a Black-headed Grosbeak and an Acorn Woodpecker. More surprising however was a bird that is not at all common to this area.
A red figure flew into the net and was soon rendered unable to escape. One of the newer bird banders quickly rushed over. “Summer Tanager!” she shouted so loudly we could hear her from the banding station. Everyone cheered! This species, while known to frequent Los Angeles County, particularly in recent years, was a first for its species to be caught at Zuma! Literally shaking with excitement, the bander placed the bird in a bag and brought them over to the banding station.
Completely unused to such a rare bird, the banders working with the tanager quickly took to confirming the identification of the species. “Looks like a Summer Tanager, but the beak seems kind of dark.” noted one bander. “Hepatic Tanager maybe?” said another. Now, we don’t just causally keep the Tabular Pyle (essentially our “banding cheat sheet”) for a rare bird like this tanager in our binders. We had to use “The Book”, by which I mean Peter Pyle’s Identification Guide to North American Birds. This large encyclopedia contains the vast majority of information bird banders need to identify, age, and sex bird species. Some even call it the “Bible of bird banding.”
While I was occupied with processing the large number of birds that were coming in, I assume that the first thing that was done to determine the tanager’s species was to measure the length of the bill from nares (nostrils) to tip. For the anticipated subspecies of the Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra cooperi), this measurement would equal 13.2 to 16.8 mm. For a Hepatic Tanager, 11.4 to 13.3 mm would be the value. I’m not sure what the team measured, but that, in combination with other features, was enough to confidently ID the bird as a Summer Tanager. The bird was banded and determined to be an After Hatch Year (AHY) male based on plumage and probably skull pneumatization too.
I had been waiting for White-crowned Sparrows to get caught in the mist nets all day. Luckily, the wait was now over. My dad extracted the bird from the net and put them in a bird bag. Excitedly, he told me he got a White-crown. I quickly finished up the bird I was processing, gave the master bander the data, and grabbed the bag with the highly anticipated avian.
When I started birding three years ago, the White-crowns were one of the main species I observed. You could imagine how disappointed I was when I learned they wouldn’t be staying the whole year. Whenever I see them in the fall, usually late September, I am reminded of when I first started birding. When I banded at Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve this past spring, White-crowns were the main bird I was processing. What’s not to like about them? The adults wear a bold black and white hat while the immatures boast a brown and tan one. Both have short orange bills that are simply stunning, finished off with a tip that gradually fades to a low opacity black.
Taking one quick glance at the bird I had, I immediately recognized the individual as an After Hatch Year (AHY) bird based on the crown color. I then moved onto other measurements, like fat and muscle. The values for both matched what was to be expected for a bird that recently migrated. The bird had a good amount of fat, indicating they were able to get ample nutrition before and during their migration, with plenty to spare when they arrived at their wintering grounds at Zuma. This bird was in good health and I look forward to seeing the health conditions of the other White-crowns that will follow!
