December means Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) with Audubon. Each year, across the country, people are counting birds on a designated day and area. It all contributes to one of the longest running Citizen Science projects. This year I participated with two different chapters on two different weekends. It seemed like there were fewer birds than last year, but still nice birds, good weather, and friendly company. A Swamp Sparrow has a poor name, but is a sweet colorful (for a sparrow) bird. I was very lucky to spot it. They are primarily an East Coast bird, but during migration from their summer in Canada, some show up on the West Coast. Additionally, they are often quite secretive. I had a fair amount of luck in my own yard. A Golden-crowned Sparrow was travelling with a flock of the ubiquitous House Sparrows. I was sipping coffee on my couch when my cats alerted me to a Cassin's Vireo in the tree just outside my front window. I ran and got my camera in time to catch one shot. At the nature center one day, a swarm of termites attracted the attention of several Yellow-rumped Warblers. It was quite a feeding frenzy. I sat and watched them for quite a while, listening to the clicks of their beaks snapping up the less fortunate termites.

We got rained out of my butterfly survey. This means more greenery to look forward to next month. My monthly wetlands survey had lots of White-crowned Sparrows, but was otherwise uneventful.

I went on an overnight trip to Antelope Valley, Lancaster, and the north side of the San Gabriel mountains looking for and finding LeConte's Thrashers, Ferruginous Hawks, other Raptors, and Sapsuckers and Woodpeckers. Lancaster is on the edge of the Mojave Desert with Joshua trees, sage brush, and farmed green fields. This trip was over the Winter Solstice. There was an incredible moonrise on the 21st. The moon was almost full and came up just before sunset. The next morning we went out just before sunrise. The colors at sunrise were magnificent. Watching for less than an hour, the colors changed every few minutes from dark blue to gold to pink to blue. Photos do not do it justice. With the sunrise after the Solstice, it really felt like this was the the true start of the new year. For the rest of the day, we visited St. Andrew's Abbey and then Sycamore Flats Campground at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Here there were Cottonwood Trees and Pine Trees. One can cover quite a few habitats in a short time in Southern California.

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Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_dec_2018 
 

Los Cerritos Wetlands bird survey:  https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/hellman_dec_2018

Lancaster, Antelope Valley:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/lancaster_dec_2018

Back of the San Gabriel Mountains:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/st_andrews_dec_2018