BIRDERS FLOCK FOR ANNUAL COUNTING : SPECIES SPOTTED, TALLIED IN VALLEY.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer There was not a single partridge, turtle dove The Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons. It is a migratory species with a western Palearctic range, including Turkey and north Africa, though it is rare in northern Scandinavia and Russia; or French hen. But binocular-toting bird lovers spotted plenty of Canada geese, mourning doves and European starlings during the annual Christmas season tally of feathered friends by the 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. chapter of the Audubon Society on Saturday. A sunny and windless day, following last week's rainstorm, provided perfect conditions for bird watching Bird Watching is a British magazine for birders. The current editor is Kevin Wilmot. External Links
``As soon as the first bit of sunshine comes out, they're out feeding,'' Langton said. The count was among about 1,700 that the Audubon Society conducts across the country in late December each year. The efforts supply critical information on bird populations and habitats to conservationists and government ecologists. The Audubon Society's Conejo Valley chapter held its survey Sunday, drawing more than 30 birders who spied everything from scrub jays and California quails to grosbeaks and a white-tailed kite, a relative of the hawk. In the San Fernando Valley, scores of bird watchers fanned out from Woodland Hills, Encino, Chatsworth and other locations, scouring scouring characterized by scour. scouring disease a colloquial name for secondary nutritional copper deficiency. the skies and trees with binoculars for up to eight hours. Langton said 150 species were spotted in the San Fernando Valley, about the same as in the past four to five years. But the number of Canada geese spotted - 260 - was down significantly from previous years, when they averaged 400 to 500, Langton said. Langton said he had no explanation for the decrease. The day included a couple of special treats for bird lovers - the red-breasted nuthatch nuthatch (nŭt`hăch), common name applied to a number of Old and New World species of small birds of the genus Sitta, related to the titmouse and the creeper. and Eurasian wigeon wigeon or widgeon Any of four species of dabbling ducks, popular game and food birds. The male European wigeon (Anas penelope) has a reddish head, cream forehead, and gray back. The male American wigeon, or baldpate (A. , he said. The nuthatch walks upside down on branches. Eurasian wigeons are ducks with rust-colored heads, wine-colored breasts and yellow markings along their bills. Saturday's sunny and windless weather meant more birds were out and about, including smaller birds that tend to stay put when the wind blows. Blue skies drew out more than the birds. ``We had people from all over the place,'' Langton said. ``Some are longtime birders, some are beginners or some are just having an excuse to get outdoors and see what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. .'' Langton, a science teacher at Sutter Middle School in Canoga Park, counted birds around Chatsworth Reservoir, where 71 species were spotted. Langton said it may be a week before San Fernando Valley counts are tallied. Results are forwarded to the Audubon Society's national headquarters in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion