avesjohn
Well-known member
Saturday May 9th was eBird's Global Big Day, and I wanted to get of the house that day and not simply add birds in and around my yard. Alas, I am without a driver's license, and after contacting several birder friends who were my usual rides on daily outings, nothing came to fruition, so I was on my own. On a whim the night before, I decided I'd go on a "big day" by myself, despite my limited options, making sure to visit at least four spots in addition to my house for a total of 5 eBird checklists (the minimum amount to be eligible for eBird's monthly contest). With that in mind, I planned a route that I'd basically explore from early morning to dusk (hence "mini" big day). In the morning, I visited 3 local parks in the La Crescenta-Montrose/Glendale areas north of L.A, then I took a break at home for a few hours in the afternoon, making sure to watch birds there as well, before birding the chaparral-covered hills at the end of Whiting Woods Rd. a short distance from my home from late evening into dusk. The entire time I used only walking and/or bus transit to get between places. A short summary of my day follows.
From 7:30-10:00 AM, I birded Crescenta Valley Park, a decent-sized park abutting the Verdugo Mountains to the south only a few blocks from my house. Of the 52 species I saw that day, 40 of them (77%) were seen here. Among the highlights at CV Park (not seen or heard later on) were Black-chinned Hummingbird, Red-crowned Parrot, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Hutton's Vireo (multiple birds feeding young), many House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, and a prominently singing male Black-headed Grosbeak.
After a brief stop at home to pick up a lunch, I caught the bus soon afterward and headed for Verdugo Park, on the east side of the mountains close to downtown Glendale, adjacent to the local community college that I attended from 2007-2009. From 10:30 AM-12:00 PM at Verdugo Park, I added Turkey Vulture (my only raptor for the day that wasn't a Red-tailed Hawk), Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Common Raven, Bewick's Wren, California Thrasher, and Wilson's Warbler.
I caught the bus back up to Montrose Park, midway between my house and Verdugo Park, and birded there for an hour from 12:30-1:30 PM. Although I saw a female Mule Deer walking down the hill, I only added two more birds to my total: a male Brown-headed Cowbird calling from atop a tree, and a Rock Pigeon that landed on a wire while I waited at the bus stop to be picked up and go home.
I relaxed at home for a few hours, but when I birded the front and back yards for an hour at the end of that time (5:30-6:30 PM), I added nothing to the day's list. Fortunately, my last stop would make up for that: I added 4 last birds to the day's list at Whiting Woods Rd. (6:30-8:30 PM), at the base of the Verdugo Mountains midway between my house and CV Park. I went to Whiting Woods last because I'd reliably found several nocturnal bird species there, notably my lifer Common Poorwill two years ago. Sure enough, I picked up both Great Horned Owl and Common Poorwill there shortly after dusk, but not Western Screech-Owl, another hoped for species. In addition to the nocturnal birds, I also saw a group of Phainopepla and several Rufous-crowned Sparrows (an adult attending two juveniles). The Poorwill was the only new bird for my year list seen that day (#230 for 2015).
Here's my full list of 52 species seen on 5/9/2015 (in taxonomic order). Nothing rare or unexpected for the area is on the list, but it was more about experimenting than finding rarities. Also not included in this total are two other taxa I couldn't identify to species, namely several Selasphorus hummingbirds (Rufous or Allen's, likely the latter but impossible to be sure), and what looked like a Tyrannus kingbird (Western or Cassin's) at Montrose Park that flew over my head but that I couldn't refind to get a positive ID. So:
1. Turkey Vulture
2. Red-tailed Hawk
3. Rock Pigeon
4. Band-tailed Pigeon
5. Mourning Dove
6. Great Horned Owl
7. Common Poorwill
8. White-throated Swift
9. Black-chinned Hummingbird
10. Anna's Hummingbird
11. Acorn Woodpecker
12. Nuttall's Woodpecker
13. Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
14. Red-crowned Parrot
15. Western Wood-Pewee
16. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
17. Black Phoebe
18. Ash-throated Flycatcher
19. Hutton's Vireo
20. Warbling Vireo
21. Western Scrub-Jay
22. American Crow
23. Common Raven
24. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
25. Oak Titmouse
26. Bushtit
27. House Wren
28. Bewick's Wren
29. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
30. Wrentit
31. Western Bluebird
32. American Robin
33. California Thrasher
34. Northern Mockingbird
35. European Starling
36. Cedar Waxwing
37. Phainopepla
38. Yellow Warbler
39. Townsend's Warbler
40. Hermit Warbler
41. Wilson's Warbler
42. Spotted Towhee
43. Rufous-crowned Sparrow
44. California Towhee
45. Dark-eyed Junco
46. Western Tanager
47. Black-headed Grosbeak
48. Brown-headed Cowbird
49. Hooded Oriole
50. House Finch
51. Lesser Goldfinch
52. House Sparrow
From 7:30-10:00 AM, I birded Crescenta Valley Park, a decent-sized park abutting the Verdugo Mountains to the south only a few blocks from my house. Of the 52 species I saw that day, 40 of them (77%) were seen here. Among the highlights at CV Park (not seen or heard later on) were Black-chinned Hummingbird, Red-crowned Parrot, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Hutton's Vireo (multiple birds feeding young), many House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit and Townsend's Warblers, and a prominently singing male Black-headed Grosbeak.
After a brief stop at home to pick up a lunch, I caught the bus soon afterward and headed for Verdugo Park, on the east side of the mountains close to downtown Glendale, adjacent to the local community college that I attended from 2007-2009. From 10:30 AM-12:00 PM at Verdugo Park, I added Turkey Vulture (my only raptor for the day that wasn't a Red-tailed Hawk), Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, Common Raven, Bewick's Wren, California Thrasher, and Wilson's Warbler.
I caught the bus back up to Montrose Park, midway between my house and Verdugo Park, and birded there for an hour from 12:30-1:30 PM. Although I saw a female Mule Deer walking down the hill, I only added two more birds to my total: a male Brown-headed Cowbird calling from atop a tree, and a Rock Pigeon that landed on a wire while I waited at the bus stop to be picked up and go home.
I relaxed at home for a few hours, but when I birded the front and back yards for an hour at the end of that time (5:30-6:30 PM), I added nothing to the day's list. Fortunately, my last stop would make up for that: I added 4 last birds to the day's list at Whiting Woods Rd. (6:30-8:30 PM), at the base of the Verdugo Mountains midway between my house and CV Park. I went to Whiting Woods last because I'd reliably found several nocturnal bird species there, notably my lifer Common Poorwill two years ago. Sure enough, I picked up both Great Horned Owl and Common Poorwill there shortly after dusk, but not Western Screech-Owl, another hoped for species. In addition to the nocturnal birds, I also saw a group of Phainopepla and several Rufous-crowned Sparrows (an adult attending two juveniles). The Poorwill was the only new bird for my year list seen that day (#230 for 2015).
Here's my full list of 52 species seen on 5/9/2015 (in taxonomic order). Nothing rare or unexpected for the area is on the list, but it was more about experimenting than finding rarities. Also not included in this total are two other taxa I couldn't identify to species, namely several Selasphorus hummingbirds (Rufous or Allen's, likely the latter but impossible to be sure), and what looked like a Tyrannus kingbird (Western or Cassin's) at Montrose Park that flew over my head but that I couldn't refind to get a positive ID. So:
1. Turkey Vulture
2. Red-tailed Hawk
3. Rock Pigeon
4. Band-tailed Pigeon
5. Mourning Dove
6. Great Horned Owl
7. Common Poorwill
8. White-throated Swift
9. Black-chinned Hummingbird
10. Anna's Hummingbird
11. Acorn Woodpecker
12. Nuttall's Woodpecker
13. Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
14. Red-crowned Parrot
15. Western Wood-Pewee
16. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
17. Black Phoebe
18. Ash-throated Flycatcher
19. Hutton's Vireo
20. Warbling Vireo
21. Western Scrub-Jay
22. American Crow
23. Common Raven
24. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
25. Oak Titmouse
26. Bushtit
27. House Wren
28. Bewick's Wren
29. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
30. Wrentit
31. Western Bluebird
32. American Robin
33. California Thrasher
34. Northern Mockingbird
35. European Starling
36. Cedar Waxwing
37. Phainopepla
38. Yellow Warbler
39. Townsend's Warbler
40. Hermit Warbler
41. Wilson's Warbler
42. Spotted Towhee
43. Rufous-crowned Sparrow
44. California Towhee
45. Dark-eyed Junco
46. Western Tanager
47. Black-headed Grosbeak
48. Brown-headed Cowbird
49. Hooded Oriole
50. House Finch
51. Lesser Goldfinch
52. House Sparrow
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