BIRD'S-EYE VIEW WITH THE EYES OF HAWKS, LOCAL BIRDERS TAKE WING.Byline: BILL BECHER Admit it, when someone says bird watching, you think tweedy Englishmen with binoculars. But in California, bird watchers outnumber hunters and fishermen combined, according to a survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ``Birding is treasure hunting treasure hunting Medical malpractice A popular term for a search for the 'needle in a haystack' by a plaintiff's pathologist-expert in a lawsuit for a 'missed'–ie, false negative pap smear that subsequently proved to have cancer , and everyone enjoys a treasure hunt,'' said Dee Lyon, programs chair for the Conejo Valley Audubon Society. I didn't realize bird watching is also aerobic, as I hurried to keep up with Lyons as we recently hiked the Los Padres - Los Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
Presidents Day weekend also was the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a joint project of the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology ornithology Branch of zoology dealing with the study of birds. Early writings on birds were largely anecdotal (including folklore) or practical (e.g., treatises on falconry and game-bird management). to tally birds by species across the country. As we walked, Lyon gave me a quick education in bird watching technique, etiquette and some tips on getting started in this popular outdoor activity. Lyon, an energetic retired Thousand Oaks attorney, also is Ventura County's top woman bird watcher. She holds the record for the most different species of birds seen in a year at 318. Today we saw or heard 21 species on our walk, typical for a two-hour jaunt in the chaparral, according to Lyon. Our list included American crow, red shouldered hawk, red tail hawk, turkey vulture, California thrasher, California towhee, spotted towhee, oak titmouse titmouse, common name for members of the Paridae, a family of passerine birds, which includes the tits, titmice, and chickadees. They are small, active birds with short, pointed bills and strong legs. , wrentit wrentit: see babbler. , bushtit, scrub jay, white crown sparrow, gold crown sparrow, lesser goldfinch goldfinch: see finch. goldfinch Any of several species (genus Carduelis, family Carduelidae) of songbirds that have a short, notched tail and much yellow in the plumage. , house finch, rock dove, mourning dove, California quail, yellow-rump warbler warbler, name applied in the New World to members of the wood warbler family (Parulidae) and in the Old World to a large family (Sylviidae) of small, drab, active songsters, including the hedge sparrow, the kinglet, and the tailorbird of SE Asia, , ruby crown kinglet kinglet, common name for members of a subfamily of five species of Old and New World warblers, similar to the thrushes and the Old World flycatchers. Kinglets are small birds (4 in./10 cm) with soft, fluffy, olive or grayish green plumage and bright crown patches. and Anna's hummingbird. The first birds we saw were a pair of crows ``mobbing'' a red shouldered hawk sitting in a tree. Lyon said birds circle and attack other birds, called mobbing, to teach their young who the enemy is, to warn other birds and to drive the intruding bird from their territory. We hear a lot of birds before we see them. ``The wrentit is the sound of chaparral,'' Lyon said. ``It makes a trill trill, in music, ornament consisting of the more or less rapid alternation of two adjacent notes. Indicated by any of several conventional symbols, it varies in speed and duration and in the manner of its beginning and ending according to context. like a bouncing ping-pong ball,'' she said. Lyon tells me to look for ``field marks,'' the details that help bird watchers identify birds. Field marks include the bird's size, wing bars, kind of beak, crest, colors and tail shape. Some guidebooks have arrows pointing to distinguishing field marks in their illustrations. She demonstrates ``pishing,'' making a sound like a wren to get a bird to sit up and be more visible without alarming it. Many people combine bird watching with other activities, such as golfing or hiking. Lyon said to start by getting a field guide to birds. She said Roger Tory Peterson's ``Western Birds'' is an economical and convenient first bird book. Wear clothing appropriate to your outing and bring a pair of binoculars in addition to your field guide. You can do it on your own or go on organized bird watching walks. Newcomers are welcome at Conejo and San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Audubon Society events. Check their Web pages for news about upcoming dates. Learn bird watching etiquette before you go. This means wearing muted clothing, avoiding white and red, which are ``alarm'' colors for birds. Stay behind the leader so everyone gets a chance to see the bird without disturbing it. Be quiet so you can hear birds' songs and calls. Avoid sudden movement, which will spook birds. Leave the family dog at home. Children are encouraged as long as they understand the rules. Some serious bird watchers prefer to be called ``birders.'' Hard-core birders keep competitive bird lists and will travel thousands of miles to see new birds. Companies offer birding-specific trips to exotic locations such as the Galapagos Islands or Bhutan near Nepal in the Himalayas. Extreme birders go to places such as Attu, one of the Aleutian Islands 1,500 miles west of Anchorage. Here you ride mountain bikes every day, through the sleet sleet, precipitation of small, partially melted grains of ice. As raindrops fall from clouds, they pass through layers of air at different temperatures. If they pass through a layer with a temperature below the freezing point, they turn into sleet. , mud and snow to see Russian and Japanese birds that have flown too far east. They count as North American birds <onlyinclude> This list of North American birds is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species known from the North American continent north of Mexico. </onlyinclude> for those who keep lists, but barely. It's also one of World War II's forgotten battlefields where more than 2,500 Japanese and Americans soldiers died. But you don't have to have sleet blowing up your nose to bird watch. You can see lots of birds in Southern California, which is on many birds' migratory path as well as home to hundreds of species. Lyon said the major problem facing birds here is habitat destruction. The birds' territory is shrinking as land is developed and native plant life is replaced by imports, which might not provide shelter or food for birds. Domestic cats take hundreds of thousands of birds every year. Tall buildings and wires kill migrating birds at night or during heavy fog. Non-native birds such as starlings, pigeons and English sparrows are very aggressive and may take nesting sites away from domestic birds. Migrating birds come through Southern California in April and May, as do summer resident birds looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. nesting territory. These birds tend to be more colorful than winter or year-round birds, Lyon said. Summer birds include lazuli bunting, blue grosbeak, Bullock's oriole oriole, common name applied to various perching birds of the Old (family Oriolidae) and New (family Icteridae) Worlds. The European orioles are allied to the crows, while the American orioles, of the hangnest group, belong to the blackbird and meadowlark family. and hooded orioles that like to nest in palm trees. This year was the fifth Great Backyard Bird Count and bird watchers logged onto the birdsource.org Web site and submitted their bird checklists for their zip code. More than 33,000 checklists reporting sightings of more than 500 species and 3.6 million individual birds from across the continent were logged this year. The reports provide scientists a snapshot of North American bird populations to help answer questions such as: How will this winter's snow and cold temperatures influence bird populations? Will late-winter movements of many songbird songbird Any oscine passerine (suborder Passere), all of which have a complex vocal organ, the syrinx. Some species (e.g., thrushes) produce melodious songs; others (e.g., crows) have a harsh voice; and some do little or no singing. See also birdsong. and waterfowl waterfowl, common term for members of the order Anseriformes, wild, aquatic, typically freshwater birds including ducks, geese, and screamers. In Great Britain the term is also used to designate species kept for ornamental purposes on private lakes or ponds, while in species be as far north as they were last year? Information about next year's count will be on the birdsource.org Web site for those who want to help science as well as learn more about our feathered friends. MORE INFORMATION CLUBS --San Fernando Audubon Society, www.socalaudubon.org/sfvas. Includes membership information, where to bird in and near the San Fernando Valley, online store for birding books, optics, clothes, and other nature related items, monthly newsletter, meeting and field-trip schedule. --Conejo Valley Audubon Society, www.Conejovalleyaudubon.org. Has activities, scheduled events, bird reports, photo album, birding links, places for birding in Ventura County and membership information. --Audubon in Southern California, www.socalaudubon.org has information about other clubs, preserves, rare bird alerts, classes, guidebooks, links and checklists. WHERE TO SEE BIRDS --San Fernando Valley: O'Melveny Park, Van Norman Reservoir, Chatsworth Reservoir, Veteran's Park, Hansen Dam, Descanso Gardens, Bette Davis Picnic Area, Franklin Canyon Reservoir. Detailed descriptions and directions are at the San Fernando Audubon Society Web site. --Ventura County: A brochure listing birding sites in Ventura County prepared by the Audubon Society. The ``Central Coast Birding Trail - Ventura County'' brochure is available from the Thousand Oaks Chamber of Commerce, 625 Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, (805) 499-1993. Suggested sites include the Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
McGrath State Beach is one of the best bird-watching areas in California, with the lush riverbanks of the Santa Clara River and sand dunes along the shore. , Lake Casitas, Sycamore Canyon and Point Mugu State Park Point Mugu State Park is a large park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. It is in the Western Santa Monica Mountains. The park can be accessed from the north in the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center and from the south , Santa Paula Canyon and Steckel Park, Ormond and Hueneme Beaches, Camarillo Grove County Park. Details at the Conejo Valley Audubon Society Web site. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Dee Lyon of Thousand Oaks spots birds at the Los Robles Open Space. Lyon chairs the Conejo Valley Audubon Society and is Ventura County's top female bird watcher, holding the record for most birds seen in one year at 318. (2 -- color) California thrashers are related to mockingbirds and are sometimes called "mimic thrushes.'' They eat insects and fruit. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News Box: MORE INFORMATION (see text) |
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