Volume 75, Number 1 September/October 2008
WESTERN
TANAGER
a publication of Los Angeles Audubon
From Where I came, and Where We Are Going
D
uring junior high school,
my favorite radio
announcer, Dave Hull, the
Hullabalooer laughed over the name of
the “Swallow-tailed Kite”. I sent him
a drawing of one on a piece of scrap
paper and told him it was a real bird!
He kindly sent me a reply and was
impressed with the interest I showed
in birds at that young age. I also
remember another favorite radio
announcer, Charlie Tuna, who would
call the Los Angeles Audubon bird
tape report just for kicks, and
broadcast Jean Brandt’s voice over the
radio waves announcing birds seen in
the Los Angeles area!
Back in 1974, at Abraham Lincoln
high school in Lincoln Heights, Los
Angeles, my high school teacher and I
shared a common interest - he was a
bird watcher! He gave me a
membership form for Los Angeles
Audubon, which was my key to
organized birding, and a new way of
life the past 30+ years. I was
nicknamed “Bird Lady”, a name that
has stuck through a number of high
school reunions!
In 1977, I volunteered at Plummer
Park for Los Angeles Audubon where
I met some of the chapter’s most
prominent birders. I recall an evening
my father and I were invited by Arnold
Small to a gathering at his home. In
retrospect, I suspect that even back
then young members must have been a
scarce commodity. I have also been
leading field trips since the late ‘70s,
including the Owens Valley Grouse
Weekend, and the more recent
Southern Sierras Owling Weekend
(see highlights in this issue)! Since my
initial involvement, I have been the
social chair and recording secretary for
the chapter. I have recently completed
my fourth year as Programs Chair, and
now my first year as President of the
chapter. I guess you could say I have
grown up with the chapter.
www.laaudubon.org
During my first year as President,
I have been lucky to work with great
volunteers that share similar visions
for the chapter: recreation,
conservation, education, and
restoration. I can’t tell you how much
the staff at Audubon House has made
the year a success. Martha Balkan
and Susan Castor with their
knowledge of bird books and optics
are always there to lend advice about
the Nature Store and Member
Services. Susan Castor has helped
with the bi-monthly layout of the
Western Tanager newsletter as well.
For those who have donated their
invaluable time as volunteers,
experience and knowledge towards
Los Angeles Audubon, whether it be
the board, the nature store, field trip
leading, or working on our numerous
conservation projects – I would like to
extend a heartfelt thank you from
myself, the birding community, and
the greater community that we strive
to serve.
We have just completed our board
retreat with many goals for the
coming year. Each board member
was asked to submit a list of goals for
the year. Many areas discussed were
common goals of many board
members, in areas of membership,
education, outreach, conservation,
website and fundraising.
 Linda Oberholtzer is working on
membership along with our staff
member, Susan Castor. They are
happy to report that we continue to
show an increase in new chapter-only
memberships. I am very delighted to
hear this, and welcome all members –
new and old - to take full advantage of
more of our chapter’s activities.
We have updated and improved
the layout and security of the Los
Our outreach continues strong
with the second of four Audubon Film WESTERN TANAGER
Fridays, recently pulling in more than Published by
Los Angeles Audubon Society,
100 interested children and parents a chapter of
from the neighborhood surrounding National Audubon Society.
Debs Park, to see the bilingual nature EDITOR: Vacant
movie, “Ocean’s Oasis”. Audubon LAYOUT: Susan Castor
CONSERVATION: Garry George
California and Pasadena Audubon are FIELD TRIPS: Nick Freeman
co-sponsors of this program. PELAGIC TRIPS: Phil Sayre
PROGRAMS: Mary Freeman
Moviegoers were also treated to a ORNITHOLOGY CONSULTANT:
short entitled “Sharing the Beach with Kimball Garrett
Western Snowy Plovers”, prepared by PRINTING: G2 Graphics Services, Inc.

Angeles Audubon website. The web
publishing software & hosting
technology we were using had
become outdated and was leaving
the site vulnerable to hackers.
Stacey Vigallon has been principal
proposal writer for our current
conservation projects at the Venice
Beach Least Tern colony, and the
Snowy Plover surveys. With her
excellent submissions, she has
garnered funding for these important
Los Angeles Audubon conservation
efforts, as well as for the Baldwin
the Dorsey High School Eco-Warriors Opinions expressed in articles or letters
and Dorsey Film Program, a short that herein do not necessarily express the
position of this publication or of
has made the rounds on YouTube. Los Angeles Audubon Society.
The Eco-Warriors, from the south side
PRESIDENT:
of Los Angeles, represent the other Mary Freeman
arm of our outreach program. Stacey 1st VICE PRESIDENT:
David De Lange
and her husband, Robert Jeffers, have 2nd VICE PRESIDENT:
banded this high school Paul Fox
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY:
environmental club together, and Linda Oberholtzer
exposed them to the intertwined RECORDING SECRETARY:
natural world that surrounds them by Eleanor Osgood
TREASURER:
working with the Least Tern Nesting Lisa Fimiani
Project. It is hoped that a small group EXECUTIVE PAST PRESIDENT:
Dexter Kelly
of student interns will be given a more EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
significant and intensive role in the Mary Loquvam

Hills Overlook project —the first
California State Parks partnership with
any Audubon chapter. We will be
initiating a naturalist docent program
at Baldwin Hills shortly, so if you
have even just a few hours a week to
spare, contact Eleanor Osgood the
Volunteer Coordinator, and find out
how you can make a difference!
Another recent conservation
project that Los Angeles Audubon has
spearheaded in cooperation with a
number of regional biologists, is the
Los Angeles County Birds of Special
Concern. This project will prioritize
local species of concern, and will spell
out where future conservation efforts
will do the most good. This will
hopefully guide bird conservation in
the region for some time to come!
project this coming year with a
scholarship program.
2010 marks our 100th
anniversary! This promises to be a
grand celebration! Plans are starting
now for the gala event. We should all
be good stewards of the land by
advocating for the conservation and
restoration of wildlife habitat
whenever possible, which is not an
easy task. In this age of constant
development in and around our wild
lands, the survival of healthy wild
habitat and the animals it supports
becomes a much bigger battle. Think
globally and act locally with all the
passion you can muster. With its
tradition of bird watching and
commitment to preserving habitat, I
invite you to join Los Angeles
Audubon’s vision for the future.
Membership in Los Angeles Audubon is $25
Individual, $35 Couple, $50 Family, $100
Donor or $250 Donor per year. Members
receive the Western Tanager newsletter and
other benefits. Donations and memberships
can be made online at www.laaudubon.org
Make check payable to Los Angeles Audubon.
Los Angeles Audubon Headquarters, Library
and Nature Store are open to the public
Monday – Thursday
9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Plummer Park
7377 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046-6694
(323) 876-0202 – office
(323) 876-7609 – fax
(323) 874-1318 – bird tape
WesternTanager@LAAudubon.org – e-mail
LAAS@LAAudubon.org – e-mail
www.LAAudubon.org – website
Printed on Recycled Paper

—by Mary Freeman

E2 Western Tanager
 Audubon Film Fridays
L
os Angeles Audubon
partnered with Pasadena
Audubon for our second year
of Audubon Film Fridays at the Audubon
Center at Debs Park.
Summer solstice on June 20 was our
first night of the nature films outdoors
under the stars on a big, wide screen with
fantastic sound. We screened “Artic
Tale” in Spanish with English subtitles, a
documentary on a family of endangered
polar bears trying to survive with the
onset of global warming. On July 11, we
had a big turnout for two films: first, the
three minute film made by students at
Dorsey High School titled “Snowy
Plovers on Los Angeles County
Beaches” which is now airing on the Los
Angeles Audubon channel on YouTube.
(www.youtube.com/losangelesaudubon)
Three of the students attended the
screening with Los Angeles Audubon’s
Director of Interpretation Stacey
Vigallon and her husband Robert Jeffers,
who leads the film program at Dorsey.
Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass
sent certificates of recognition for the
students to acknowledge their
contribution to the environment. Next
was “Ocean’s Oasis”, a film shot in
IMAX cameras for the Museum of
Natural History in San Diego under the
Sea of Cortez and on the Baja Peninsula.
Tons of nesting terns, gray whales,
pocket mouse, and manta rays
entertained the kids at Audubon Film
Fridays, while the Mexican researchers
told their stories in Spanish.
Prior to the film screenings, Los
Angeles Audubon’s Board members
Eleanor Osgood and Dexter Kelly led
bird walks for kids and adults with
Audubon California’s Gabriela
Castañeda. The June 20 bird walk was
accompanied by a reporter from KPCC-
FM which aired a report on July 11 to
400,000 Los Angeles area listeners just
before the event that featured Eleanor
and Audubon Film Fridays.
A transcript can be read and the
program can be heard at
www.scpr.org/news/stories/2008/07/11/
08_spanish_birds_070508.html.
After the bird walk, Trader Joe’s
donated refreshments and snacks for the
film fans, while Pasadena Audubon’s
Will and Lois Fulmer, and Laura Garrett
handed out information on their chapter
programs, and Eleanor Osgood and
Dexter did the same for Los Angeles
Audubon.
Two more screenings, “Wild in
America” (Friday, August 8) and “Whale
Rider” (Friday, August 22), will round
out the series in August.
What a great way to reach out and
connect new conservationists to nature!
Thanks to all who helped and
participated.
—by Garry George

“(l.to r.) Ranger Al Davis, L. A. Audubon Dir. of Interpretation Stacey

Vigallon, Dorsey High film teacher Robert Jeffers, Dorsey filmmakers
Christopher Simmons, Abelino Romo and Alma Alegria, L. A. Audubon
Board members Eleanor Osgood, Lisa Fimiani, Dexter Kelly and Mary
Freeman at Audubon Film Fridays.”
Audubon Film Fridays inspires a new conservationist.

September/October 2008 E3
Herb Clarke 1927-2008, A Personal Remembrance
H
erb Clarke’s life-long
interest in and love of
birds began as a Boy
Scout while earning his Bird Study
merit badge on his way to becoming
an Eagle Scout. He met the other love
of his life, Olga, while stationed in
Louisiana with the Air Force. The way
I understand it, their honeymoon was
mostly a birding trip along the Texas
coast. This was Olga’s first exposure
to birding, but she quickly became
hooked and has shared Herb’s passion
for birding and nature ever since. Herb
and Olga traveled all over the world
together, including a recent 50th
wedding anniversary trip a few years
ago to Papua New Guinea. They lived
in Glendale since 1958 when he was
discharged from the Air Force.
Herb was a long time active Los
Angeles Audubon Society member
and served as its President from 1969-
1972. He was probably best known for
his wonderful bird and nature
photography and gave many slide-
illustrated talks to Audubon and other
conservation groups. He also led many
field trips for the Society.
I first met Herb and Olga not long
after I moved to California some 35
years ago while birding Sycamore
Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.
I continued to run into both of them
searching for various rare birds all over
California….a cold winter sunrise near
Chico to find a Bewick’s Swan (which
was later lumped with Whistling Swan
as the Tundra Swan), a boiling morning
at the Salton Sea to find a White Ibis or a
Thanksgiving weekend in Death Valley
chasing whatever turned up. He was
always there with his camera, ready to
document some rarity or get a better
photo of some bird he had photographed
ten times before. I also attended many
presentations he gave, marveling at his
magnificent bird pictures from California
and all over the world.
Herb Clarke, doing what he loved best: Getting that photo.
In this case, a Bitterroot flower in the White Mountains of California.
Photo by Fred Heath
I got to know him better as I
became more involved in the Los
Angeles Audubon Society. Olga, who
managed the bookstore for many
years, attended most board meetings
and Herb was always along to support
her as well as provide his input from
his many years of experience.
Although I got to know Herb fairly
well over the years, I can’t say we
were really close. Eleven years ago
that started to change when Herb
asked if he and Olga could come along
on the Mount Baden-Powell Butterfly
Count and try his hand at
photographing butterflies. Herb’s
focus had always been birds. However
in California, except for an occasional
accidental, it was almost impossible
for him to find a bird for which he
didn’t already have a superb picture,
and thus he was looking for a new
challenge. Butterfly photography
would be a completely new experience
with different lenses and techniques
required and better still, each butterfly
would be a new life species for Herb!
Although the day was a success with
Herb getting some great photos, what
followed next was to be a life-
changing experience for both of us,
bringing us together as friends and
getting Herb’s creative juices flowing.
To understand what happened, we
have to take a step backward in time.
Herb had co-authored a book with
Arnold Small in 1976, Birds of the
West, with their bird photography.
Herb’s photographs appeared in many
other books and magazines over the
years, but he was looking to
showcase his southern California bird
pictures when he found a book
published by Mountain Press,
Roadside Plants of Southern
California. He contacted Mountain
Press and suggested a similar book on
the birds of southern California. The
publishers thought it was an excellent
idea and his book, An Introduction to
Southern California Birds, was
published in 1989. This book, which
appealed to beginners and experts
alike for its wonderful photos, was a
great success and has been reprinted
nine times to date. It was followed in
1995 by An Introduction to Northern
California Birds, also published by
Mountain Press.
E4 Western Tanager
 After a year of butterfly
photography, Herb was getting his
techniques down pat and taking some
phenomenal pictures, when he came
to me with the idea of doing a
butterfly book of southern California
butterflies similar to the one he had
done for birds with his photography
and my text. Because of his
credibility with Mountain Press, they
were more than happy to green light
the project. And then, what started
out as a casual endeavor of going
here and there with Herb
photographing whatever butterflies
we found became a mission to find
and photograph all of the common
and some not so common, but unique
butterflies of southern California.
Herb Clarke, Photo by Larry Sansone
This started in earnest in mid-2000.

Early on, Herb had a setback
which I assumed would cancel or at
least delay the book. We had both
gone in for a colonoscopy during the
same week in the summer of 2000. A
few days later, I called Herb to plan
our next field trip. I politely asked
how his procedure had gone and he
said, “Not too well” and proceeded to
tell me they had found colon cancer
and removed a third of his colon. I was
saying something like, “How awful”
when Herb cut me off and said, “But
we are still going ahead with the
book.” The book was the furthest thing
from my mind at that point. Herb had
a lot of chemotherapy over the next
several months, which was not kind to
his body. He would tire easily and we
were making frequent pit stops, but he
insisted on pushing ahead that summer
and early fall. I was feeling very guilty
and expressed my concern to Olga
during a pit stop on a particularly bad
day for Herb. She told me then that the
anticipation of finding and
photographing the target butterflies
was keeping Herb going, giving him
the will to get out of bed no matter
how he felt.
September/October 2008 E5
Herb’s passion to capture a bird or
butterfly on film is what I will
remember most about him. Whenever
we went on a trip, he always wanted to
have at least one target butterfly
species. Just heading to a destination
and wandering around to see what we
could find was termed “spinning
wheels” by Herb. This single-
mindedness could be a downer for
Herb when the target butterflies
weren’t located. Like a little kid, he
would pout and before long, especially
on days when the weather was not
cooperating or it was obvious that the
butterflies weren’t flying, he would
say, “You got to know when to hold
them and when to fold them” followed
by, “We should be heading back to the
barn”. However, more often than not,
we would find the target butterfly and
after getting some knockout photos, a
loud, excited “Yip! yip!” would
emanate from Herb’s direction. We
would usually celebrate with an ice
cream on the way home. Desserts were
right up there with Olga and nature
photography as the loves of his life.
Even in the last couple months of
his life, when he was not able to walk
without assistance, we mounted an
expedition to San Luis Obispo County
to photograph a butterfly that had
eluded him up until then. There,
sprawled across a back country road
with a pillow propping his head, he
photographed several puddling
Margined Whites. In his last days, we
commemorated this and many other
successful outings with mint chocolate
chip ice cream.
Herb passed away this past April
5th after a hard fought battle with
colon cancer. Those of you who were
fortunate enough to know Herb Clarke
personally can certainly recall his
enthusiasm and zest for life. Whenever
he was asked how he was doing, he
usually replied, “Outstanding!!” Herb
will live on in the memory of all who
knew him as well as those that only
know him through his magnificent
photographs, for which we can all say,
“Outstanding!!”
—by Fred Heath
 my patc h — T h e UC L A C a m p u s

T
here are many places that
folks claim as a ‘patch’: a
backyard, a park, a lake, a
vacant lot, a state park. But it is a rare
thing when you can mix business with
pleasure, which I can, for my patch is
where I work: the campus of UCLA.

I have been watching birds since I

was a toddler; my parents were
outdoorsy types and they always did
things like day trips to parks and
camping trips in the summer. Birds
were always around somewhere and I
developed a casual acquaintance with
them as I grew up. I got my first bird
guide—a Peterson’s—when I was 12
and it helped me learn more about the
birds I was seeing.

As an adult I spent as much time

as I could outdoors hiking, camping,
and fishing. But bird watching was
always an adjunct to the other
activities. I saw a fair amount of birds
during my outdoor forays and kept a
life list, but it remained a casual affair.
All that changed in December of
2006, when I was lucky enough to
land employment at UCLA. I’d always
loved the campus, especially because
of its grounds. There are many trees,
as well as large lawn areas and
abundant shrubbery. Many of the trees
are exotics, such as several species of
Australian gum tree (eucalyptus),
several species of fig, Aleppo Pine,
Canary Island Pine, Lemon Bottle
Brush, and Coral trees. There are also
abundant specimens of California
Sycamore and oak.
Unbeknownst to me, however,
was UCLA’s equally abundant bird
life. The first hint that such things
UCLA Eucalyptus Grove, Photo by Linda Navroth
were afoot was when I spotted a Red-
shouldered Hawk taking off after a
flock of pigeons, picking one out,
wearing it down, then plucking it right
out of the air. And I watched this little
drama unfold while eating lunch on
the patio outside my building!
In my first few weeks of
employment, I slowly became aware
that there were even more birds
around me, ones that I never knew I
could see in the city, such as wrens
and chickadees. It was a revelation
when I began to identify what I was
seeing: Bewick’s Wren, Dark-eyed
Junco, Spotted Towhee, and Mountain
Chickadee. It was all so amazing to
me and I started keeping a journal in a
small notebook.
Over the past year and a half I
have spent a lot of time before work
and during lunch hours exploring the
upper (north) campus where I work,
deliberately looking for birds. They
showed themselves quite readily, too,
and my notebook steadily grew full of
sightings: Cliff Swallow, Western
Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Common
Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s
Hawk, Yellow-chevroned Parakeet,
American Robin, Nuttall’s
Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Oak
Titmouse—I could hardly believe it

E6 Western Tanager
 my patc h — T h e UC L A C a m p u s
most of the time! Many of the birds
were life birds, too.
But my special favorite is the
Bewick’s Wren. Something about this
saucy little sprite just captivates me
and makes me smile every time I see
one. I started keeping a separate
journal just for sightings of Bewick’s,
in which I have recorded many
interesting things. I’ve seen one dust
bathing, defend territory, singing the
loveliest songs, and collecting nest
materials. One of the most amusing
observations was strictly auditory: one
was working its way through some
shrubs (I could see the foliage moving
as it went) and it was making a very
soft singing and chittering noise as it
went, almost as if it was humming to
itself. Another time I was fortunate to
see an adult and fledge. The adult was
up in a low branch, the fledge on the
ground. When the adult saw me, it
gave the raspy warning call and the
Bewick’s Wren, Photo by Larry Sansone
September/October 2008 E7
fledge stopped, hunkered down into
the duff and stayed still. The adult then
flew down to it and escorted it quickly
into the shrubs.
A relatively new area I’ve begun
birding at least once a week, is down
below the Anderson School of
Business at Stone Canyon Creek. This
is the last remnant of the perennial
stream that flowed along a north-
south route at the bottom of the
campus. Its terminus is now a big
drainage grate. The small section that
is accessible here is currently being
restored by Heal the Bay; the ‘Stream
Team” has been removing the non-
native plants and trees and planting
willows and other vegetation more
suitable for the habitat.
Over the past couple of months of
visiting the creek I have seen Bushtit,
American Robin, Oak Titmouse,
Spotted Towhee, Black Phoebe, and
Yellow Chevroned Parakeet, Photo by Larry Sansone
Bewick’s Wren, and a mom Mallard
with young.. The Black Phoebe’s have
a nest up under the drain culvert and
have raised one batch of young this
season. I’ve also located two Bushtit
nests in the nearby oaks.
Because I love this place so much,
I always arrive in the morning at least
45 minutes before 8, so I can walk to
various areas of campus to see what
birds are around. It’s fairly quiet at
that time and I often have some of my
best sightings. Many people dread
going to work, but not me because,
well, my workplace is my patch!
—by Linda Navroth
—Linda Navaroth is a new
member of Los Angeles Audubon and
is on our Conservation Committee.
Los Angeles Audubon and Money
M
y friend, Mary
Freeman, called me
recently and the talk
turned to opinions on and
experience with fees associated
with field trips, volunteerism, and
fund raising for Audubon Chapters
and the frustration created by same.
For volunteers like Mary, or Dexter
before her, or the legions of
generous-of-spirit Los Angeles
Audubon past presidents and
volunteers, the Chapter is all-
important. They have accepted the
responsibility of not only guiding
the Chapter but keeping it viable,
active and in the black. Volunteers
and funds are just two of the “Top
Ten List of Challenges” that faces
every Audubon president and
board. Also included in that top ten,
possibly top twenty, list, in no
particular order, are:
● Free activities for members
● Free services for members
● Community wide outreach
● Active conservation projects
● Adult and youth education
● Monitoring bird species of
special concern
● Maintaining a membership base
● Hands-on Inventory and
expertise from the staff and
volunteers of the Nature Store
As we talked, I thought it
might make a difference if I
talked to each of you about the
programs offered by Los Angeles
Audubon and examine why some
of them carry fees so each of us
can give some thought to the
whole picture. After all, as an Los
Angeles Audubon member you
are part of something that has
been developed for you, and you
should use it and be proud of it.
What’s free with your
membership?
THE LOS ANGELES AUDUBON
WEBSITE
www.laaudubon.org
Maintained on a daily basis,
this site is incredible and an
incredible tool. On it you will find
the Rare Bird Alert (operated by a
volunteer); all Chapter activities,
including programs plus field trips,
travel, and workshops. There is a
calendar, links to other sites, and
present and past newsletters plus an
expanding archive. You can tap
into the site from your home
computer. If you don’t have a
computer but would like to use the
website, go to your local library
and ask them to help you set up a
free email account that will allow
you to use their computer. It may
open up a new world for you!
LOCAL BIRD WALKS
These walks are a part of every
Audubon Chapter, and Los
Angeles Audubon offers frequent
free local bird walks organized and
led by experienced birders who
volunteer their time to take
beginning and seasoned birders to
our local birding locations. These
walks are fun, and open up Los
Angeles in a way many of us have
never seen before.
RESEARCH LIBRARY
Los Angeles Audubon
maintains for its members a
wonderful library where you can
research birds for your next trip,
check out a field guide, or learn
about the region or the country to
which you are planning to travel.
LECTURE SERIES AND MONTHLY
MEETINGS.
Los Angeles Audubon offers
one of the best natural history
lecture series in the region. The
meeting begins at 7:30 PM on the
second Wednesday of the month,
with the lecture following society
news and business, and
refreshments and an opportunity to
meet the speaker after the lecture.
Meetings/Lectures are at the
conveniently located West
Hollywood Community Center on
Santa Monica Blvd. between
Fairfax and La Brea. Send Mary an
email if you want to try her driving
shortcut that always gets her there
on time and in less than 30 minutes!
E8 Western Tanager
Los Angeles Audubon and Money
AUDUBON FILM FRIDAYS
Los Angeles Audubon Society’s
joint project with Pasadena
Audubon and Audubon California
is a free bilingual summer film
series (with popcorn) at the
Audubon Center at Debs Park. If
you have not volunteered to help
with this or have not been to the
Center, this is a wonderful
opportunity to see a unique Los
Angeles architectural treasure, take
a nature walk, watch a good nature
movie and eat free popcorn - all in
one evening.
VOLUNTEER TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
Los Angeles Audubon offers
opportunities for each of you to
volunteer and be part of something
bigger. Coordinated by a volunteer,
Eleanor Osgood, we offer
opportunities to volunteer to do
something interesting for as little as
one hour one day a year. We have
an interesting job for everyone
regardless of physical limitations or
the time constraints of a busy life.
Make a difference. Volunteer.
Fee Associated Activities for
members:
PELAGIC FIELD TRIPS
Los Angeles Audubon plans the
September/October 2008 E9
best pelagic trips with the West’s best
leaders. There is no profit margin
associated with these trips but a
volunteer plans them anyway
because birders want this
opportunity. The leaders volunteer
their time for these sought after trips.
Any one of you can avail yourself of
this service and have the opportunity
to go out with the best pelagic bird
leaders along the California coast.
There is no getting around the costs
of boat rental and diesel fuel, but you
definitely get a bang for your buck
with Los Angeles Audubon pelagics!
REGIONAL FIELD TRIPS
Try and go on a trip like this
with a for-profit field trip
organization and see what you pay.
Our Field Trips chairs, the
Freemans, plan and lead a series of
amazing field trips throughout
southern California. These trips
normally include birding, owling,
herps, flora, fauna, and
photographic opportunities. They
are absolutely amazing and akin to
going to (adult) camp for a day or a
weekend. The trips take incredible
planning and a huge time
commitment to lead, all of which is
volunteered. Modest costs per
person are collected for these
amazing trips to defray some of the
expenses of the volunteers who
generously donate their time to
lead them. The Chapter also
underwrites insurance for all Los
Angeles Audubon activities, or
they would not be possible.
Compare the $35.00 we charge for
some trips to the $300.00 charged
by others for same.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
Our international travel
opportunities are structured to raise
unrestricted funds for the Chapter’s
operation. Every trip you take with
Los Angeles Audubon includes a
donation to the Chapter. Olga
Clarke, generously volunteers her
time and energy so that the Chapter
can benefit. In exchange, our
members can avail themselves of
the best and safest travel to bird
watch and see some of the most
exotic and exciting locations in the
world.
We are a growing, dynamic
Chapter and we really seek to
maintain a balance. If you have
ideas or suggestions that will
improve our endeavors, just let us
know by sending an email through
the website or writing a letter.
—by Catherine Waters
—A life-long Audubon member
and Audubon volunteer, Catherine
Waters is also the incoming
president of Western Field
Ornithologists. She and her
husband Robert, both avid birders,
live in Downey.
Her contact is:
cpannellwaters@yahoo.com.
I n t e r p r e t i ng n at u r e
L
os Angeles Audubon is
hard at work to prepare
programs and publications
that interpret the natural history of the
Baldwin Hills. We’re currently
collaborating with California State
Parks to create a docent program at
the new Baldwin Hills Overlook
Park. In addition, we’re developing
an education program to be centered
at the native plant and wildlife garden
at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation
Area. Interpreting nature is
inextricably linked to interpreting
culture - past and present. This is
particularly true for highly urbanized
areas, like Los Angeles. As birders
and nature-lovers, we’re quite content
to get lost in the forest (well, in the
case of the Baldwin Hills, that would
be coastal sage scrub). It’s very easy
for us to envision a human-free
expanse of wilderness, focusing our
attention on the plant and wildlife
"Rosemary Virula (right) works with restoration ecologist Melissa Riedel-Lehrke to plant native
species at the Kenneth Hahn Native Plant and Wildlife Garden."
communities that interest us. Many of
us are able to take the time to leave
the city, venturing off the grid to
explore rural and wilderness areas,
and these experiences heavily inform
our concept of nature. This can be a
sharp contrast to the experience on
many inner-city residents, young
people in particular. Many have never
been camping, have never visited a
riverbed that wasn’t paved, and have
never seen the night sky without the
orange glow of streetlights. This issue
and the next issue of the Interpreting
Nature column will explore the
cultural experience of the Baldwin
Hills area.
Los Angeles Audubon’s
Interpretation Intern, Rosemary
Virula, grew up in the Baldwin Hills.
She attended the area’s public schools
and played in local parks. What
follows is a personal perspective on
her neighborhood (the positives and
negatives), as well as her hopes for
the future. We hope it helps you to
understand the inner-city experience
and that it inspires you to get
involved in our programs in the
Baldwin Hills…
—Stacey Vigallon,
Director of Interpretation
The Baldwin Hills area has been
my home for 13 years of my 18-year
life. I have grown to love its urban
culture, and vociferous tendencies,
and my life long memories will be
enveloped within this neighborhood.
However, the backdrop of my
experience within the Baldwin Hills
area has been one of gang violence.
Had I not been passionately involved
in school, and had I not had a constant
connection with the natural world, I
would have strayed into either
affiliating myself with a violent
crowd, or become
apathetic and television
obsessed.
Now that I’m poised to
leave my old neighborhood
for a university education, I
understand the importance of
environmental awareness
activities in order to ensure
the empathy and participation
of people, especially young
people, in rescuing a
diminishing natural world.
My concept of the
natural world came from
two sources: the Jim
Gilliam Recreation
Center, and the Kenneth
Hahn State Recreation
Area. Jim Gilliam was
E10 Western Tanager
I n t e r p r e t i ng n at u r e
only a couple steps away from my
home, and provided most of the
natural world I grew up in. I learned
to ride my bike, balance on roller
skates and throw a softball at Jim
Gilliam. Kenneth Hahn was the park
where most of our family get-
togethers would take place. It was
the “special occasion” go-to, and it
was also where I learned to hop
stones in a running stream, and catch
tiny fish with my bare hands. As
accessible as these urban oases are,
the people in my neighborhood are
extremely unaware and apathetic
about the natural world that gives
substance to their everyday lives.
However, with programs such as
Susan Miller Dorsey High
School’s Global Warriors (a
student eco-club established in
2007), awareness and compassion
towards the environment around
the Baldwin Hills area is
increasing as a new generation of
young people spring to action.
My turning point in my
involvement with environmental
action ensued when I became a
Dorsey Global Warrior in the spring
of 2007. Since then, I have
completed two years of work
towards making Dorsey High a
“greener” place. The Global
Warriors work to promote healthy
environmental habits that range
from throwing trash in the can to
using re-usable bags when shopping.
Our proudest moment was the work
we did at the Least Tern colony at
Venice beach, helping to restore
habitat by removing invasive plant
species. Our work even attracted the
Los Angeles Times, leading to a half
page article in the paper. Apart from
September/October 2008 E11
assisting in Cornell University’s
Great Backyard Bird Count in
Spring 2008, and creating Dorsey’s
first ever native plant garden, the
Global Warriors succeeded in a way
that surpasses many other
endeavors: having a large population
of Dorsey students and teachers
walk away from the trash can and
towards the recycling bin by
establishing a campus recycling
program. To have educated and
persuaded even one person to
change their habits and expand their
knowledge about the environment is
our greatest accomplishment so far.
My formal interest in the
natural world came about my junior
year of high school. In retrospect, I
fervently wish that I had been
encouraged to take an interest in the
environment, both inside and
outside the classroom, at a much
younger age. My elementary and
middle school years were full of
captivating topics such as plant and
animal anatomy, however, there
were hardly any opportunities for
me to sustain that interest and
motivation outside the classroom.
Games of tag always took
precedence over wildlife watching.
I often feel that if I had immersed
myself in the natural world from
early on, I would have a much better
understanding of my home, our
world. I believe that it is of utmost
importance to make involvement in
environmental education a priority
for small children.
Although I left my old
neighborhood to pursue a my Baldwin Hills neighborhood.”
university education, the Baldwin
Hills will always be home. If I were
to look ten years into the future of
my neighborhood, I would hope to
find a community of peace and
empathy, happiness and
compassion, social wellness and
environmental action. Recycling
bins would be accessible, the Jim
Gilliam Recreation Center would
be a safe haven for everybody, and
friendly diversity would reign.
Instilling a sense of empathy might
be the most important factor in
relieving my neighborhood, and
others, from the perpetual apathy
towards our natural world. Let me
cite a prime example. I currently
work part-time at a movie theater
where we are screening Wall-E, the
new animated film from Disney
and Pixar. This film provides social
commentary and dire warnings
about the sensitivity of our Earth.
Its most potent example is the trash
that fills the cities in the movie’s
futuristic vision of the Earth. The
film’s message is crystal clear, and
yet when I walk in to the screening
room at the film’s end, I can’t help
but to shake my head in dismay and
incredulity at the trash people leave
behind on the floor and in the
theater seats. That these were the
same people that were diligently
watching the movie and cheering
for the movie’s main character not
two moments previously astonishes
me. This highlights the extreme
importance for environmental
education opportunities to be as
easily accessible as the TV remote
control, to people of all ages, but
especially children. I hope that those
opportunities can soon be a reality in
—Rosemary Virula,
Interpretation Intern
 birds of the season
W
e spend so much
time watching birds,
it’s easy to take for
granted the fact that they can
fly—we don’t think twice about it.
But for birds the advantages of
flight are phenomenal. It
obviously allows birds to travel
hundreds or even thousands of
miles to exploit the seasons and
available resources, cross natural
barriers, avoid events such as
fires, and flood and drought, and
escape many potential predators.
Flight also provides them the
ability to live in plain sight and
even thrive in close proximity to
humans in ways most other
animals can’t. That’s clearly a
good thing for birders in
overpopulated Los Angeles
County where even small patches
of remaining habitat on the coastal
slope offer good birding
opportunities.
As some proof of that, with all
the numbers finally in, this patch
of land we inhabit was once again
‘America’s Birdiest County’ in
2008. Birders found 256 species
over the three day competition in
late April, edging out San Diego
County by eight species and
Nueces County in Texas by a mere
three. Even with its wide range of
habitats, it’s indeed remarkable
that Los Angeles County is able to
support such an array of birdlife
despite rampant urbanization.
May saw migration that
continued to be sluggish when
compared to our better years, and
only a few vagrants had turned up
by the end of May. Once the last
northbound migrants had passed
through and before the significant
southbound push of fall birds,
most of June and early July was
slow as is to be expected… in fact
they were abnormally slow.
Reports from the mountains, while
they seemed improved over last
year, were not terribly
encouraging in spite of a much
wetter winter. We’re still very dry
and predictions are that our future
will bring more of the same.
Of course, there were still a
few birds around…
We’re used to individual Ross’s Geese
taking up long-term residence at any
decent sized body of water, but a
Snow Goose that lingered at Apollo
Park in Lancaster through June 4 was
unusual and late (Steve Glover).
Always rare in the county was an
immature Little Blue Heron that was
found at the Ballona Freshwater
Marsh on May 17 (Kevin Larson).
This bird continued to be seen at a
number of locations in the Ballona
area well into July as it gradually
transitioned from white into slate blue
adult plumage.
Aside from the expected Sooty, Pink-
footed and Black-vented Shearwaters,
the lone report of a tubenose was a
Buller’s Shearwater, both early and
unusually close to shore, off Point
Dume on June 14 (Kimball Garrett).
The only shorebird of note was a good
one—a very unusual American
Golden-Plover was found at Cabrillo
Beach on May 14 (David Ellsworth).
A concentration of twenty-seven
Franklin’s Gulls at Piute Ponds on
May 14 gives some indication of how
many of these birds pass through our
deserts each spring (Mike San
Miguel), while an immature Black-
legged Kittiwake at Malibu Lagoon
on May 17 (Dan Cooper) was the only
other gull of note.
Quite rare inland was a Least Tern at
Piute Ponds on Edwards AFB on May
20 (Mike San Miguel). One was also
reported there a week earlier (Susan
Steele). More expected were Black
Terns still moving through the deserts
on June 4 with one at Piute Ponds and
three at the Lancaster Sewer Ponds
(Steve Glover).
Alcids seen off Point Dume included
a Common Murre on June 14
(Kimball Garrett) and two Pigeon
Guillemots: an adult on July 6
E12 Western Tanager
(Kimball Garrett) and a juvenile on
July 9 (Mike San Miguel).
A Spotted Owl first found at Placerita
Canyon on April 20 (Ann & Eric
Brooks) soon turned into a pair with a
juvenile. The family of owls was seen
by a number of appreciative observers
through the middle of June. While
widespread in the San Gabriels, these
owls are relatively scarce and it
requires effort or luck to find them.
Turning to passerines, one of the nicer
finds of the spring was a Yellow-
throated Vireo at Zuma Creek on
May 24 (Kimball Garrett).
Mountain Chickadees typically
disperse from their montane breeding
areas quite early, but two reports were
a reminder that nesting should also be
watched for in the lowlands.
Chickadees feeding young were
discovered at Alhambra Golf Course
on May 9 (Dick Purvis) and at Debs
Park in Montecito Heights on May 31
(Richard Barth).
Another breeding record away from
regular areas of occurrence was a
White-breasted Nuthatch at Griffith
Park on June 17 (Richard Barth). This
species is remarkably scarce as a breeder
away from the foothills and mountains.
A single Purple Martin was seen over
Zuma Lagoon on May 25 (Andy Birch).
Vagrant warblers could be counted on
one hand. A Northern Parula was at
the Village Green Condominiums in
Los Angeles on June 14, while a very
rare Prothonotary Warbler was at
the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on June
6 (both Don Sterba). Elsewhere, a
Black-and-white Warbler was at
Ladera Park in Baldwin Hills on May
24 (Richard Barth).
September/October 2008 E13
After a number of unrewarded
attempts to refind and study it, a bird
that was either a Northern or
Louisiana Waterthrush in the
Walker Ranch area of Placerita
Canyon on May 16 &17 had to be left
unidentified to species (Neil Losin,
Alex Kirschel).
Two male Summer Tanagers along
Soledad Canyon Road on May 11
may well be breeding locally
(Kimball Garrett). Another was in an
odd place— the Piute Ponds near
Lancaster— on May 20 (Mike San
Miguel). Also unusual was a pair of
Summer Tanagers at the Rancho
Santa Ana Botanic Garden in
Claremont from May 25-July 8,
indicating possible breeding there
(Will & Lois Fulmer).
Red Crossbills left over from last
winter continued at Apollo Park in
Lancaster through June 4 with twenty
still present at that date (Steve Glover)
and at least one nesting attempt
confirmed earlier this spring.
July, August and September
will bring with them the certainty
of long hot days, but in spite of the
weather, August and September are
always great months for birding in
southern California.
In addition to steadily
increasing numbers of our
common shorebirds, there’s always
the possibility of a few rare ones.
By August, early waterfowl will
begin to show up— Northern
Pintail, Northern Shoveler and
Green-winged Teal among them.
Southbound passerines will also be
on the move in August, with their
passage initially most obvious
through the mountains. As we
head into September, passerine
migration will be widespread and
those icons of a southern
California winter— Yellow-
rumped Warblers and
White-crowned Sparrows— will
appear.
While spring produces its share
of rarities, fall tips the scales in its
own favor by generally offering a
wider variety of vagrants and some
simply amazing records.
Consider last fall’s list which
included the county’s first Arctic
Warbler in Long Beach and an
Eastern Yellow Wagtail at Malibu
Lagoon. Other rarities included
two Cook’s Petrel’s in Los Angeles
County waters and Buff-breasted
Sandpipers at the Ballona Creek
mouth and Piute Ponds. The
previous fall produced the
county’s first ever Upland
Sandpiper and Ruddy Ground-
Dove as well as Masked and
Red-footed Boobies along the
coast. With birds like these,
there’s little need to hype the
potential for vagrants.
With the sting of gas prices
pushing five bucks a gallon, many
of us may be adjusting our birding
habits. A 100 mile birding trip is
starting to feel like a luxury. The
Brits, however, are paying nearly
twice what we are, so I tell myself
I shouldn’t whine too much.
Fuel prices aside, the pastime
of looking for birds will present a
wide range of options in the next
few months— wherever you go, be
it your backyard, a local patch or
some far flung vagrant trap, here’s
to good birding and great vagrants
this fall.
—by Jon Fisher
 C O N S E R VAT I O N C O N V E R S AT I O N
N
ow that my duties as
Executive Director have
been handed over to my
capable successor Mary Loquvam, I
am once again a Los Angeles Audubon
volunteer. Because Mary Freeman has
appointed me Conservation Chair for
2008-2009, I can continue building up
one of the four legs of our mission that
can have a lot of impact on our birds
and habitat. Since Sandy Wohlgemuth
passed the baton to me in 2003, I have
taken the job very seriously, and
hopefully, have extended Los Angeles
Audubon’s reach into Los Angeles
County and a little beyond as he would
have liked.
As Conservation Chair, I am
building the Conservation Committee
in a three part process:
1. INVITE LOS ANGELES AUDUBON
MEMBERS TO JOIN THE
CONSERVATION COMMITTEE.
I have been lucky to find
energetic conservationists from all
parts of the County eager to work on
issues and actions in their local areas
and beyond. Some of them have
called Los Angeles Audubon asking
us to take action and I’ve
empowered them to take the action
on behalf of Los Angeles Audubon!
This is a great form of recruitment.
I am inviting interested members
of Los Angeles Audubon to join the
current committee of David
DeLange of Marina del Rey, Linda
Navroth of Westwood, Eleanor
Osgood of Culver City, Judy Raskin
of Echo Park, Tom Williams of El
Sereno, Lisa Fimiani of Culver City,
and myself. All of these members
have made an enormous contribution
to protecting birds and other wildlife
throughout the Los Angeles Area by
taking on difficult urban
conservation issues such as tree
trimming, feral cats, development of
natural areas; the persecution and
protection of birds through
identifying sensitive species, and
monitoring and protecting the
endangered and threatened birds in
Los Angeles County.
2. HOLD REGULAR COMMITTEE
MEETINGS
IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS.
Starting in September we will
meet on the second Monday
(September 8, 2008 will be the first) of
every month. The first meeting will be
at Audubon House in Plummer Park,
and on the agenda will be locations for
future meetings, which could include
Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Park,
Kenneth Hahn Community Center,
Echo Park, Audubon Center at Debs
Park, and other locations to ease the
driving for the Committee members.
3. COMMUNICATE
REGULARLY AND OFTEN.
I have started a conservation
conversation blog at
laaudubonconservation.blogspot.com
where I will post the latest news,
public meetings, and other fast
breaking news on conservation actions
and issues. You can subscribe to the
blog and be notified by rss feed when
there is a new post. Los Angeles
Audubon is coming into the 21st
century! If you can’t remember the
web address, just go to the upgraded
Los Angeles Audubon website and
link to the blog in that way.
Please join our committee!
Let’s come back from our
vacations with renewed vigor and
dedication to our mission to enjoy and
protect birds and their habitat through
recreation, education, conservation
and restoration.
—by Garry George
E14 Western Tanager
 Los Angeles Audubon
appoints new
Executive Director

The Board voted on July 12 to

hire Mary Loquvam as part time
Executive Director effective August
1, 2008. Mary comes to Los Angeles
Audubon after her roles as ED of
South Coast Wildlands, Outreach
Director of Southern California
Wetlands Recovery Project and
consultant to City of Los Angeles
Department of Airports (LAX),
Bureau of Sanitation, and Harbor
Department on solid waste
management and sustainable design
issues. Here is Mary’s bio in her
own words...

Mary moved to Los Angeles twenty

years ago, following her husband,
who is an actor, to the area. A former
unabashed Northern California
chauvinist, Mary found Los Angeles
living up to her negative
expectations and decided if she was
going to make Los Angeles home,
she was going to have to do
something about the environment!
That decision led to an exciting
career path and many startling
discoveries —not the least of which
is the discovery of the magnificent
natural resources and
biodiversity of the South Coast
Ecoregion. Mary is now hooked on
the south coast and hasn’t regretted a
moment of her twenty years
working on environmental issues.
Mary’s career started in the then
nascent field of municipal solid
waste management. Mary worked
with government agencies, major
corporations, colleges, and
community groups on a myriad of
waste diversion and sustainability
projects. Her growing interest in
sustainability, and particularly
Mary Loquvam & her Husband Bob. Machu Picchu, Peru
water issues, led her to the
Southern California Wetlands
Recovery Project. There she
worked on watershed and coastal
resource protection issues, on a
regional basis. Next followed a
stint with the South Coast
Wildlands, a science-based land
conservation organization that has
identified and seeks to protect the
fifteen wildland linkages critical to
rich
protecting the biodiversity of the
South Coast Ecoregion.
Mary has been a long time
supporter and volunteer of the
Audubon on the local, state and
national levels and is delighted to
be joining Los Angeles Audubon as
its new Executive Director.
Please welcome Mary to our
organization. She can be reached at
maryloquvam@laaudubon.org
Save trees and donate to
Los Angeles Audubon with
41pounds.org
Los Angeles Audubon has
partnered with 41pounds.org to save
the environment 41 pounds at a time.
For every household that signs up,
41pounds.org will contact 20-35
direct mail companies to remove that
household from marketing (junk mail)
databases. The service will eliminate
between 80% - 95% of a household’s
junk mail and specified catalogs and
lasts for 5 years. The cost to each
participant is $41. That’s just 2 cents a
day, or $8.20 a year. For each
household that signs up and
designates Los Angeles Audubon as a
beneficiary, 41pounds.org will donate
$15 to us.
So sign up now at
www.41pounds.org before the
onslaught of Christmas catalogues,
save more trees for our birds, and
generate a donation to Los Angeles
Audubon at the same time.

September/October 2008 E15

 The Quaking Aspen Owl Prowl, July 3-6, 2008
I
was very lucky this year to
have five days off from work!
The first thing I did when I
saw this period of time in our calendar
was to suggest to Nick we offer
another owling trip to the southern
Sierra. For the second time in four
summers, we organized a camping trip
to Quaking Aspen Campground. This
beautiful Sierran forest is located
about 40 miles west of Porterville and
just nine miles past Camp Nelson.
The first year we led this very
successful and fun trip in 2003, we
stayed in rental cabins.
Each time we have organized this
field trip, Margo Degrosse, a long-
time friend who has participated on
many L. A. Audubon trips, helped
with the logistics. She and her sister
Melissa have a long history in Camp
Nelson, and her knowledge of the
trails and roads in and around this
area has been indispensable. So with
that help, we set out to search for the
owls residing in this part of the
Sierra Nevada.
Having a special place in our
hearts, owls were of course the target
of this field trip. Nick and I have been
surveying owls in the San Gabriel
Mountains since 2000. We have
learned a great deal about the
personalities of the Northern Saw-
whet, Flammulated, Spotted, Northern
Pygmy and Western Screech Owls.
We’ve led trips to southeast Arizona
where we have also been very
successful searching for owls, both
large and small. So we decided to take
our love and knowledge of owls with
us to search the Giant Sequoia forest
of my much-loved Sierra Nevada with
a group of adventuresome participants.
Flammulated Owl, Photo by Larry Sansone
The day before we departed on
this July’s trip, I came down with a
bone-chilling 102 fever! Luckily, I
received medication to combat
whatever bug hit my system. As I lay
in bed, I worried that I wasn’t going to
be able to lead this trip. But no matter
what, I was going! I mean, I couldn’t
let Nick have all the fun! Even if it
meant snoozing in the tent all day and
owling by night, you betcha, I was
going anyway! Came the morning we
had to leave, my fever was gone! I
was about 95% my ol’ self. So, after a
bit of running around for groceries for
the potluck and weenie roast nights,
we departed Glendale Thursday
morning. We made a stop at the
ranger station where we met up with a
ranger who has helped us in the past
on the whereabouts of some of the
owls they keep tabs on. She said a
pair of Northern Spotted Owls had
actually raised young just recently, and
felt we had the best chance
encountering this pair.
We met up with our participants
at the campsite. By this time, my
energy was ready for some owling! As
we started to unload our camping
stuff, a long-tailed weasel scampered
along the road across from us – what a
sight! After some light campground
birding and dinner, we were ready to
charge out for our first encounter with
Flammulated Owl. We worked our
first spot for a bit, and just a little after
dark, lo and behold, we found our first
Flammulated! “Boop” was its call. As
is typical for this cryptic-colored small
owl, it perched next to the trunk. We
had a great time following it as it flew
from tree to tree in the quiet of the
night. Then we found another Flam
across from our campground. What
great views of this little forest gnome!
The next morning, one of our
participants heard a conversation from
our neighbors in the next campsite
over. They wondered why after an
afternoon fire, we headed out after
eating; only to return at midnight –
“stargazers” they thought. They were
E16 Western Tanager
 The Quaking Aspen Owl Prowl, July 3-6, 2008
Giant Sequoia, Photo by Mary Freeman
a group of mountain bikers. We had a
chat with them over our nocturnal
foray. After that, word got around the
campground that we were “owlers”.
People would come by asking if we
saw any owls the night before.
During the day, we were all quite
content watching Green-tailed
Towhee, Dusky Flycatcher,
MacGillivray’s and Wilson’s warblers
darting around our tents as they fed.
The sound of Cassin’s Finch,
Mountain Chickadee and Western
Tanagers filled the mountain air. And
the weasel – or his family - made a
number of appearances!
The second night we drove up to
Sequoia Crest. Here amongst a
beautiful Giant Sequoia grove, we
located a family of Northern Saw-whet
Owl fledglings. A soft, cricket-like
“sst” was heard. When I first detected
their faint calls, I jumped up so, so
excited. Once again, another find of a
September/October 2008 E17
family of saw-whets for this trip. It the owls we had found. And to think
was our third find since we first led just three days ago, I was aching with
this trip. The first time in 2003, we a 102 fever! I think the lovely forest
came across a group of six and mountains rejuvenated me.
rambunctious fledglings flying over
our heads in the trees! This year, as The next morning, back to reality,
much as we searched the tangles on we packed up our tents and said our
the slope, the little fledglings chose to goodbyes and traded off contacts to
not show their faces, but everyone was keep in touch. We had a great group,
very excited having heard their calls. great scenery, great birds and most of
all, wonderful owls both large and
On our last night, we had our last small.
dinner together as a group. We all had
a nice time chatting over dinner. Then Before hopping on the road back
the final call came up by the leaders, home and to keep up our tradition with
“LET”S GO”! Off we went to Black this trip, Nick and I stopped by a side
Mountain. It was a beautiful drive up road in the flatlands below Springville
through the cedars, firs and sequoias. to pick fresh wild blackberries. The
We found the spot where the ranger owls may be but fond memories, but
gave advice to find the evening’s there are still two pies in the ‘fridge!
targeted Spotted Owl. As we geared
up for owling, many woodland birds
were delivering their last song of the —by Mary Freeman
day: robins, tanagers, pewees,
woodpeckers, chickadees, finches.
Finally, the last notes of the robin went
silent. The sky was dark but the Milky
Way spread across the night sky. We
listened for the Spotted Owl, nothing.
We drove down the road to the next
spot. We listened again, we heard the
Spotted Owl – “WHO COOKS for
YOU” as its call sounded through the
Sierran night. To hear this loud, gruff
sound out of a bird is unreal! We
found it perched on top of a tall cedar
snag. We saw it in our bright
flashlight for a minute or so, and then
it took flight. A couple of minutes
later, we heard it giving a loud, eerie
“KOW, KOW, KOW”. Just as we
were ready to depart, it returned to a
nearby tree. This time it gave hoots
along with screams and other eerie
sounds. This time, we didn’t use any
flashlights to view the owl. We just
listened. We were all satisfied and Group at Giant Sequoia,
both Nick and I were delighted with Photo by Mary Freeman

thank You!
The mission of Los Angeles Audubon is to promote the enjoyment and protection of birds and other wildlife
through recreation, education, conservation and restoration.”
Gina Albi
Katheryn & David Barton
John Bassett
Donna Bray
Allan R. Compton & Miriam
Tasini
Carola Edwards
Lisa Fimiani
Nancy Freeman
Maria B. Gawronski
Joanne P. Glazer
Allen and Carol Goldstein
Ethan Greenspan
Julie Hanson
Hanna R. Hayman
Jim Jennings
Where Does Your money Go?
H
ave you ever wondered
where your donations to
Los Angeles Audubon
go? As treasurer of the chapter, I
have the responsibility to assist staff
in making decisions on the quarterly
management of cash flow. I also
work with board members and
committee chairs on setting long
term goals and yearly budgets. Los
Angeles Audubon is a very busy
chapter, with a one-of-a-kind
bookstore to run, continuous
education, conservation and outreach
programs —all of which require
intensive staff, board and volunteer
participation. As one of the most
active chapters statewide, setting
policies and representing Audubon
interests, we make our voice heard at
public hearings, meetings with
political leaders, government
officials and companies that impact
birds and wildlife.
The Membership Department wishes to thank all of our members and donors,
both new and renewed! Your memberships help us to fulfill our mission...
Frank Lavac
Maggie Lewis
Dennis D. Lewis
Susan Mogilka
Andrew Nielsen
Leo Ohtsuki
Robin Prather
Vivian & Alfredo Ramirez
Sue Sandiforth
Bruce Spring
Richard Sutton
Donna Timlin
Robert Roy Van de Hoek
Vic Warren & Laurel Scott
Catherine Waters
A lot of our funding comes in as
“restricted” which means we are
obligated to spend it only on
specifically designated programs by
the donor. Unrestricted money that
comes in from individual and
corporate donations is just as
important and necessary. Unrestricted
funding for the day-to-day operations
of the bookstore and administrative
responsibilities of the society, which
includes administering incoming and
outgoing grants such as our outgoing
Schreiber Grants, is vital to keeping
the doors open and the restricted funds
doing their job.
Most of our assets go into
conservation programs for birds and
wildlife, and to education and
recreational programs to engage the
public. A lot of time and effort goes
into scheduling speakers for our
membership meetings, and into
finding interesting and informative
articles to include in our newsletter.
Western Foundation of
Vertebrate Zoology
Barbara Willahan
David Youel
We thank the following people that
made heartfelt donations in honor
of loved ones:
In Memory of Herb Clarke,
Sea & Sage Audubon
Clair & Susan DeBeauvoir
Barbara Eliades
We have a very lean part-time staff
and are continuously looking for
increased volunteer involvement and
participation to keep our
administrative costs down. So, when
you are out on one of our free bird
walks or field trips, just know that
your generous donations may go to
specific programs or to the
maintenance and administrative
requirements of those programs.
Either way, your money is well spent!
Recently, we decided to increase
suggested donations for fee based field
trips to specifically benefit our Ralph
M. Schreiber Research Grant fund for
needy students and non-professionals
doing avian research. Thanks to your
donations on these field trips, our
Field Trip Income has increased by
82% from last fiscal year. Thank you,
members!
—by Lisa Fimiani, Treasurer
E18 Western Tanager
 B i r d
Bird Walks are geared for the beginner/intermediate looking for an introduction to local birds or
a less strenuous excursion. Appropriate for young bird watchers age 8 years and older.
Binoculars are provided on some walks as noted below.
First Sunday of every month
Sunday, September 7
Sunday, October 5
Sunday, November 2
Topanga State Park Birdwalk
Leaders: Ken Wheeland and
Chris Tosdevin
Ken and Chris will lead participant
through this beautiful and diverse coastal
mountain area. An ideal trip for a
beginning birder or someone new in the
area. From Ventura Blvd, take Topanga
Canyon Blvd 7 miles S. Turn E uphill on
Entrada Rd. Follow the signs and turn
left into Trippet Ranch parking lot. From
Pacific Coast Hwy, take Topanga Canyon
Blvd, 5 miles to Entrada Rd. Parking fee.
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Contacts: Ken:310-455-1401,
ksafarri@aol.com
Chris: 310-455-1270
Third Saturday of the month
Saturday, September 20
Leader: Eleanor Osgood
Saturday, October 18
Leader: Eric and Ann Brooks
Saturday, November 15
Leader: TBA
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
This trip covers landscaped parkland and
natural coastal scrub habitats and is paced
for beginning birders and members of the
Baldwin Hills community. Expected
birds are hawks and falcons, resident
sparrows, herons, summering orioles and
migrating warblers and flycatchers. The
park entrance is off of La Cienega Blvd.
between Rodeo Rd. and Stocker St. After
passing the entrance kiosk ($4.00 parking
fee) turn left (leading to the “Olympic
Forest”) and park in the first available
spaces. Binoculars provided.
Time: 8:00 a.m.
September/October 2008 E19
W a l k s
Third Sunday of the month,
August through May
Sunday September 21
Sunday October 19
Sunday November 16
Ballona Wetlands Bird Walk
Join us for a walk through one of the
remaining saltwater marshes of Los
Angeles, and the adjacent rocky jetty.
Migrating shorebirds and terns should
be coming through plus the resident
Black Oystercatchers frequent the
rocky shores of La Ballona Creek.
Meet at the Del Rey Lagoon parking
lot. Take the Marina Fwy (90) to
Culver Blvd and turn left for a mile,
turn right on Pacific Ave. The lot is on
the right. Lot or street parking is
usually not a problem. Three hour
walk. ‘scopes helpful. Time: 8:00
Contact: Bob 310-326-2473;
wildbirdbob@cs.com
Sunday, September 14
Upper Franklin Canyon
(Sooky Goldberg Nature Center),
Beverly Hills
Join us as we walk around this local
urban oak woodland nature preserve
with pond, lake and creek. We are
guaranteed to see the resident Wood
Ducks and chaparral bird species such
as California Quail, Spotted and
California Towhee, California
Thrasher, Also expect to see some
migrating songbirds and flycatchers
.This canyon is a hidden treasure
where the surrounding urban
residences of Sherman Oaks and
Beverly Hills disappear from view.
Meet in the parking lot of the Sooky
Goldberg Nature Center and bird for a
few hours in the cool of native trees
and the ponds. Time: 8:30 a.m.
Directions: From the101 Freeway, take
Coldwater Canyon Blvd. south to the
intersection of Coldwater Canyon and
Mulholland Drive. Make a 90 degree
right turn onto Franklin Canyon Drive.
There is no street sign; the turn at
“Franklin Canyon Road reads “Road
Closed 800 Feet” and “Sunset to
Sunrise”; this is the park entrance. Do
not make a U-turn for this will bring
you into Mulholland Drive instead of
Franklin Canyon. Stay on paved
surface to reach the Sooky Goldberg
Nature Center. From Sunset: take
Coldwater Canyon to Mulholland Dr.
Turn right on Mulholland. Make right
turn onto Franklin Canyon Dr. (refer to
directions from 101 Freeway).
Binoculars provided.
Saturday, October 4
Earvin “Magic” Johnson
Recreation Area
Leader: Larry Allen
Join Larry for a walk around this
large, inner city “oasis”. A large lake
attracts ducks, herons and shorebirds.
The grassy, open areas with scattered
mature trees attract flycatchers and
warblers. We might even get to see
the Peregrine Falcon that preys on the
local Rock Pigeons. Directions: Meet
at the Earvin "Magic" Johnson
Recreation Area, 120th St. parking lot.
From either direction of the 105
Freeway, exit on Central Ave. Proceed
south on Central to 120th St (first
signal), then right (west) on 120th St.
to Avalon, turn right and right again
into the parking lot on left. Binoculars
provided. 9:00 a.m
 f i e l d
Field Trips & Pelagic Trips,
Reservation Policy and Procedure
for limited participation/fee events.
Reservations will be accepted only if all the
following information is supplied:
1) Separate checks payable to “LAAS”
for exact amount for each trip. (no cash
please, Credit Cards not accepted at this
time.)
2) SASE (Self-addressed stamped
envelope), for booking confirmation
and associated trip flyer.
3) Date & Name of Field Trip or
Pelagic Trip desired.
4) Name of each person in your party.
5) Phone numbers:
(a) usual and
(b) evening before event, (in case
of cancellation)
(c) email addresses (if used).
Our Mailing Address:
Los Angeles Audubon - Reservations
P.O. Box 931057
Los Angeles, CA 90093-1057
If there is insufficient response, the trip
will be cancelled two Wednesdays prior
to the scheduled date (four weeks for
pelagics). You will be so notified and
your fee returned. Your cancellation
after that time will bring a refund only
if there is a paid replacement. Our
office staff is available Monday
through Thursday for most reservation
services.
(323) 876-0202.
REFUND POLICY FOR
PELAGIC TRIPS
If a participant cancels 31 days or more
prior to departure, a $4 service charge will
be deducted from the refund. There is no
participant refund if requested fewer than
30 days before departure, unless there is a
paid replacement available. Call LAAS
for a possible replacement. Please do not
offer the trip to a friend as it would be
unfair to those on the waiting list.
All pelagic trips
must be filled 35 days prior to sailing.
Please reserve early.
NOTE: Destinations may be changed in
order to maximize bird sightings, or
minimize rough seas. In order to meet
unexpected increases in fuel costs, there can
be a $5 to $10 energy surcharge per person.
t r i p s
BIRD WALKS are geared for the beginner / intermediate looking for an
introduction or less strenuous excursion. FIELD TRIPS often require more time
or effort, and delve more deeply into identification, natural histories and
interactions observed in the field. All are welcome on either type of trip. Reserve
per directions in the gray box on this page.
No pets or small children, please.
FIELD TRIP FEES benefit the Los Angeles Audubon's Ralph M. Schreiber
Research Grant fund. Grants for avian research projects are given to students and
non-professionals having limited access to research funding. Envelopes for
voluntary donations to the fund will be distributed on some non-fee trips.
$ Fee Event,  SASE
$ Sunday, August 31
Sunday, August 24 Huntington Central Park and Bolsa
Sweltering Salton Sea Field Trip Chica Wetlands Field Trip
Leaders: Nick & Mary Freeman Leader: Irwin Woldman
Anticipate 95-115°F, rotting stench and Start at the park, then on to the wetlands.
dust-a-plenty. Don't show up without lots of Huntington Central Park is excellent for
water (1 gallon each per day), good health, migrating songbirds. The Bolsa Chica
and a reliable car with AC. This is the Ecological Reserve wetlands were recently
gauntlet of SoCal car birding. So why opened to increased tidal flow, dredged in
come? We should see Yellow-footed and the back channel for more wetland habitat,
Laughing gulls, Wood Stork, Black Tern, and the walkways were elevated for
Lesser Nighthawk, Abert's Towhee, Gila improved wildlife viewing. Flocks of
Woodpecker, and possible Least Bittern, shorebirds should be heading south, with
Fulvous Whistling-Duck and Stilt leftover terns, early gulls, herons, and
Sandpiper. Perhaps most exciting is the slim resident Belding’s Savannah Sparrow.
but real possibility of real rarities such as Bring a lunch for a full day of birds. Meet at
Brown and Blue-footed boobies, 7:30 AM in the park parking lot on the
Frigatebird and even stranger stuff that has south side of Slater Ave. just east of Golden
popped up in August. Limit 8 paid cars with West St. in Huntington Beach. No sign up.
two or more each. Find a friend, as singles
are discouraged, and will be wait-listed until $
they can carpool. Send $30 per person with September 13 & 14 Weekend
one SASE per vehicle to our P.O. Box to Galileo Hills and Beyond Field Trip
reserve and for the information mailer. Too Leaders: Nick & Mary Freeman
hot to camp. Meet near Brawley at Cattle Galileo is arguably the best fall migrant trap
Call Park at 5:30AM, and bird until about 2 in the state. Western warblers and
PM. Scopes and FRS radios helpful. flycatchers should headline. Reptiles may
Suggested lodging at Calipatria Inn be encountered! For those who stick around
“Birder’s Discount”, or Brawley Inn, in for Sunday, we may return to Galileo Hill,
those towns. visit Piute Ponds, or venture farther afield,
as dictated by our rambling hearts and bird
reports. Take Hwy 14 about 4 miles past
Mojave, then turn right on California City
E20 Western Tanager
 f i e l d
Blvd. Drive through town about a mile past
the shops, turn left past the golf course on
Randsburg-Mojave Rd., and veer right on
20 Mule Team Rd. Turn left on Rutgers Rd.
at the Silver Saddle sign before the hill, take
your first paved right, your first right again,
into the Silver Saddle Country Club,
followed by two paved lefts into the lot.
Park by the first pond. About 2 hrs driving
time from Los Angeles. Send $25 fee and
SASE to our P.O. Box. 12 max. Bring
lunches, sun block. Reserve rooms for both
nights in Mojave. Meet at 7:00 AM
Saturday, finish up perhaps 3-4ish Sunday.
$
Saturday, September 20
Piute Ponds
Leader: Todd Battey
A good mix of shorebirds, waterfowl and
songbirds, with a chance at LeConte’s
Thrasher, and Baird’s and Pectoral
sandpipers at this limited access military
facility. Possible extension to Apollo Park,
sewage ponds or elsewhere afterwards.
Carpool at Golden Valley Road Park &
Ride on Fwy 14, meeting at Avenue S Park
& Ride in Palmdale at 7:45AM. Bring
lunch, water and sunblock for a full day of
birding. Typically hot weather, and often
afternoon wind. To reserve, send SASE by
September 15 with name, phone number,
check for $15, and e-mail address
(optional), to our P.O. Box.
Limited sign-up of 15, so you are not
registered without confirmation. No drop-
ins. High clearance vehicles, scopes and
FRS radios a plus. No cameras on base!
$ helpful. Bird 'till we drop.
Saturday, September 27
San Diego Area Field Trip
Leaders: Nick & Mary Freeman
A good portion of the morning will
certainly be spent at Pt. Loma. Some odd
birds have been known to pop up here
during late migration. Other possible areas
September/October 2008 E21
t r i p s
include the Tijuana River marsh and nearby
farm fields. Take the 5 Fwy S about three
miles past Route 52 to the Clairemont Drive
offramp and head W into the small lot
adjacent to the Mission Bay Information
Center. Meet E of the kiosk at 8:00 AM.
Bring a lunch. Send $25 fee to our P.O.
Box.
Saturday, October 4
Malibu to McGrath Field Trip
Leader: Dexter Kelly
Late passerines and shorebirds should be
moving through coastal migration spots,
mixed with early wintering birds. Possibly
100 species. Take PCH N over the bridge in
Malibu, and turn right on Cross Creek Road
for street parking (and Starbucks). Cross
PCH, and meet in the lagoon parking lot at
7:30 AM for a full day of birding (bring
lunch). There may be one or two access fees
at McGrath, elsewhere. Fee for those
parking at the lagoon. No sign-up for the
trip. Nominal donation suggested.
Saturday, November 1
Oxnard Plain
Leader: Larry Allen
Meet at the Hueneme sod fields at 8:00 AM
to look over the American Pipits for the
Red-throated variety, as well as longspurs.
Golden-Plovers are also possible. There
may be eastern vagrants to chase. Mugu
estuary, Sycamore Canyon, and local
tamarisk stands are also possibilities. From
the 101 N, drive S on Las Posas Rd., then
turn Rt. onto Hueneme Rd. Meet on the N
side of Hueneme Rd. about 1 mile W of
PCH, and just before Casper Rd. Scopes
Sunday, November 23
Lake Perris Area
Leader: Howard King
The Little Gulls, Ruddy Ground Dove, and
Least and Vermilion flycatchers of past
years may not be back, but surely
something will take their places! Take the
10 or 60 Fwy E to the 215 Fwy S, exit E
onto Ramona Expressway, continue E just
past Perrris Blvd., and meet at the Farmer
Boys Restaurant on the S side of the road.
Leave from here at 8:00 AM. Bring lunch,
warm clothing and footwear for possible
mud. Possible entrance fee.
Saturday, December 13
Newport Back Bay
Leader: Mary Freeman
Meet on the boardwalk along the NW bay
at the “Sharp-tailed Sparrow Spot”
accessible from the end of University Drive
(small street) at 8:00 AM for the 7.1’ high
tide, and a full day of birding in the area.
High tide at the mouth is 8:37, but may not
peak in the back bay until after 9:00 AM.
Three rails, Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow
and Short-eared Owl (both rare) will be
target birds. Eurasian Wigeon, Blue-winged
Teal, California Gnatcatcher, and Bittern
expected. Take the 405 Fwy S to the 73 Toll
Road (free this far) to the Campus Dr. exit,
which becomes Bristol St. Turn right on
Irvine Ave., drive 1.4 miles, then turn left on
a small street called University Drive. Park
at the end, walk down the hill, over the
bridge, and to the end of the boardwalk.
Bring lunch. ‘Scopes helpful.
Sunday, December 14
Malibu Christmas Bird Count
Contact compiler Larry Allen at:
(626) 288-2701 or
larryallen@earlymusicla.org to participate.
Saturday, December 20
Lancaster Christmas Bird Count
Contact compiler Nick Freeman at:
(818) 247-6172 or mnfreeman@earthlink.net
to be placed on a team or be given an area.
Sunday, January 4, 2009 –
Los Angeles Basin Christmas Bird Count.
Contact compilers
Eleanor Osgood (310) 839-5420,
Barbara Courtois (310) 379-4669,
Cindy Harding, (310) 301-0050 or email to
lacbc@laaudubon.org to be placed on a
team or be given an area.
 Last Two Pelagic Trips 2008
Save $5.00 with an early sign-up
60 days prior
to the trip departure.
Saturday, September 6
A deep water trip to Cherry, Tanner
and Cortez Banks.
This trip departs from the Santa
Barbara Harbor at 7:00 a.m. on the
fast catamaran Condor Express and
returns approximately at 8:00 p.m. We
are far offshore in 3 counties Santa
Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles.
Birds expected: Northern Fulmar; One
Cook’s Petrel was seen in 2005; Ashy
and Leach’s storm-petrels; South Polar
Skua; Parasitic, Pomarine and Long-
tailed jaegers; Sabine’s Gull; Arctic
Tern. Red-billed Tropicbirds are
usually seen on this trip. Rarities seen:
Black-footed Albatross; Buller’s
Shearwater; Least Storm-Petrel and
Craveri’s Murrelet. Blue, Fin and
Minke whales as well as several
species of dolphins can be seen.
Leaders: Todd McGrath, Jon
Feenstra, Dave Compton, and
David Pereksta. $198. The trip will
be cancelled if there is insufficient
response 35 days prior to departure.
There is a complete galley that serves
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Reservation Policy and Procedure
for limited participation/fee events.
Saturday, October 18
Northern Channel Islands
Monument Trip
This 9 hour trip, 8am-5pm, departs
from the Island Packer’s dock in the
Ventura Harbor at 8:00 a.m. on the
fast catamaran Islander. After
dropping off campers on Santa Cruz
Island, we will have the boat to
ourselves and cruise around Santa
Cruz Island to the Santa Cruz Passage
by Santa Rosa Island, and along the
Los Angeles Audubon - Reservations
Santa Rosa Flats to the deeper water
near San Nicholas Island. Then, we
will return by Arch Rock at Anacapa
Island. Birds seen on prior trips:
Northern Fulmar; Pink-footed Sooty
and Black-vented Shearwaters; Black
Storm-Petrel; comorants (3); Pomarine
and Parasitic Jaegers; Sabine’s Gull;
rocky shorebirds ( up to 5); Common
Murre; Craveri’s and Xantus’s
Murrelets; Cassin’s Auklet. Rarities:
Buller’s and Flesh-footed Shearwaters;
South Polar Skua; Long-tailed Jaeger.
Blue, Finback and Humpback whales
have been seen on this trip. In 2002, a
Streaked Shearwater, and in 2003 a
Brown Booby and 2 Manx
Shearwaters were seen.
Leaders: Todd McGrath, Jon
Feenstra, David Pereksta.
$130 – There is a snack-type galley
with beverages.
E22
Field Trips & Pelagic Trips,
Reservations will be accepted only if all the
following information is supplied:
1) Separate checks payable to “LAAS”
for exact amount for each trip. (no cash
please, Credit Cards not accepted at this
time.)
2) SASE (Self-addressed stamped
envelope), for booking confirmation
and associated trip flyer.
3) Date & Name of Field Trip or
Pelagic Trip desired.
4) Name of each person in your party.
5) Phone numbers:
(a) usual and
(b) evening before event, (in case
of cancellation)
(c) email addresses (if used).
Our Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 931057
Los Angeles, CA 90093-1057
If there is insufficient response, the trip
will be cancelled two Wednesdays prior
to the scheduled date (four weeks for
pelagics). You will be so notified and
your fee returned. Your cancellation
after that time will bring a refund only if
there is a paid replacement. Our office
staff is available Monday through
Thursday for most reservation services.
(323) 876-0202.
REFUND POLICY FOR
PELAGIC TRIPS
If a participant cancels 31 days or more
prior to departure, a $4 service charge will
be deducted from the refund. There is no
participant refund if requested fewer than
30 days before departure, unless there is a
paid replacement available. Call LAAS
for a possible replacement. Please do not
offer the trip to a friend as it would be
unfair to those on the waiting list.
All pelagic trips
must be filled 35 days prior to sailing.
Please reserve early.
NOTE: Destinations may be changed in
order to maximize bird sightings, or
minimize rough seas. In order to meet
unexpected increases in fuel costs, there can
be a $5 to $10 energy surcharge per person.
Western Tanager
 The Best of Costa Rica
March 6-18, 2009

For information and itinerary, contact:

Olga Clarke, Los Angeles Audubon, Travel Director

2027 El Arbolita Dr., Glendale, CA 91208-1805

Ph/Fax: 818-249-9511 oclarketravel@earthlink.net

Red-capped Manakin, Photo by Herb Clarke

If you have been considering visiting and birding in

Costa Rica, wait no longer! We have an itinerary that offers
six of the major locations that are distinctive, each offering a
marvelous profusion of tropical birds. Costa Rica has a well
deserved reputation as a tiny country sincerely interested in
conserving its natural resources, and one that is invariably
on all birder's wish lists. Tropical forests harbor howler
monkeys, Resplendent Quetzals, poison-dart frogs, giant
morpho butterflies, over 830 species of birds, and the beauty
of thousands of plant species.

Habitats encountered will range from semiarid ranch

land, to misty cloud forest, the transition zone between the
dry and moist forests of the Pacific lowlands, the treeless
paramo, and what may well be the highlight of our trip, a
visit to La Selva, a lowland rainforest where nearly 400
birds have been recorded. As part of our small group, enjoy
some of the best tropical birding in Costa Rica, where you
will be accompanied by outstanding leaders throughout.
Space is limited.
Crowned Woodnymph, Photo by Herb Clarke

September/October 2008 E23

 mONTHLY pROGRAMS
Meet at 7:30 PM in the Community Building in Plummer Park
7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Dr. Jordan Karubian presents:
Ground-cuckoos, Umbrellabirds and other rain forest delights: highlights from
five years of research and conservation work in the Ecuadorian Choco.
Dr. Karubian spent four years living and working in the Choco rain forests of
northwest Ecuador from 2001 - 2005. Choco rain forests house a stunning diversity of
flora and fauna and are a world- wide conservation priority. For example, the Choco
has the highest number of endemic species of bird (62) of any habitat type in the
western hemisphere. Many of these species are spectacular, very poorly known, and
at risk of extinction due to habitat loss. Dr. Karubian devoted his time in Ecuador to
the research and conservation of several of these species, including the Long-wattled
Umbrellabird, the Banded Ground-cuckoo, Macaws, and the Brown Wood-rail. He
also started a training, education, and sustainable development program that has made
significant advances for the conservation of these species and the habitat they depend
Banded Ground-Cuckoo, Photo byJordan Karubian.
on. Now an Associate Researcher at UCLA, Dr. Karubian will summarize his research
and conservation work on these and other species, with lots of pretty pictures and
video to boot!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Rufous-winged Fulvetta, Photo by Tom Stephenson
Tom Stephenson, straight from Brooklyn, New York returns to present:
Bhutan: Birding the last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom
Nestled in the Eastern Himalayas, and virtually untouched by the technologies and
industries that have shaped the rest of the world, Bhutan remains a unique and pristine
refuge for birds and birders. No where else in the world can you drive for days and days
through uninterrupted primary forests which protect some of the world’s most beautiful
bird species. This is a country where the first roads were built in the 1960s, TV still is
not a common fixture, and the King’s focus is on Gross National Happiness!
Come see Ibisbill, Rufous-necked Hornbill, the brilliant Fire-tailed Myzornis, Golden
Babbler, and the spectacular Satyr Tragopan along with Green-tailed Sunbirds and
Pygmy Wren Babblers. And we won’t leave out stunning shots of prayer wheels,
temples, Dzongs, the rare Golden Langur; and, of course, the Himalayas.

Los Angeles Audubon Society

P.O. Box 931057 DATED MATERIAL
L os Ange l e s Audubon
Los Angeles, CA 90093-1057 Please Expedite
wi l l be c l ose d on L abor D a y
M onday, Se pt. 1, 2008

www.laaudubon.org