"Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo. I do believe it. I do believe it's true." I went birding with a group at the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. We had a special tour before the zoo opened. It is a very nice place to look for native birds in the gardens. We also got there just in time to see baby Mountain Goats that had just been born, and a baby Meerkat. I'm not fond of animals in cages, but must admit, this was special.

I'm a little bit exhausted. Spring migration is underway, and it is hard not to go out every day. Additionally, at the end of the month I once again participated in the City Nature Challenge by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and California Academy of Sciences. Over 150 cities from around the world compete to see which city can find the most nature. I am far from the biggest contributor, but I do my part. Had it not been for the challenge, I would not have stopped at a park I often go to. I was a little tired but made the extra push to take a few more photos for the challenge. I found a bird that is not generally found in California. I think there have been few records. The bird is a Red-faced Warbler. I knew it was rare, and made it known to the birding community. Within hours, and for the next two days, birders from all over the state came to the park looking for the bird. I was very touched when one woman in the park thanked me for letting people know, pulled out an enameled pin of the very bird, and wanted me to have it. Someone had given it to her the first time she had seen it in the mountains of Southeast Arizona, and now she wanted me to have it. I do love the community of people you meet when exploring nature.

White-crowned Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers are leaving our area, but many other birds are coming in or passing through. I enjoy watching behavior and saw lots of predator/prey, courtship, mating, nesting, and territoriality in all types of animals. One cool observation was a pair of male western fence lizards battling for territory. They were amazingly blue.

I posted the photos on iNaturalist and sent them to herpetologist Greg Pauly at the LA museum of natural history. He responded, "The colors on these two males are SPECTACULAR. I have no doubt that the colors are all the more intense because of the display, meaning that the lizards are slightly changing colors in response to immediate behavioral cues. This is something that has not been well studied in Sceloporus, (.... ) I don't see how else you can explain their colors without more rapid short-term color change on top of the already dramatic seasonal change in color." I only wished they had stood still for better photos.

After all the rain, the trails were finally dry and I went on my first butterfly survey of the year! It was good to see my friends again --  the other naturalists and the butterflies. We had a nice variety of butterflies. While there is generally a size variation, we noticed that many of the butterflies seemed smaller than usual. Highlights for me were the beautiful views and many blooms.

The following week I was out to the same location for black-lighting. It was still cool, but we had more moths than the prior month, and again good company.

My monthly bird survey at Los Cerritos wetlands had a White-tailed Kite hovering, sparrows enjoying the mustard, and Lazuli Buntings. They seem to be everywhere this year. 

One trip to the Santa Ana mountains for my butterfly count was not enough. A friend and I went further into the mountains in Silverado Canyon. The butterflies, wildflowers, and scenery were wonderful. While it was hard to see all the birds because of all the foliage, it was an awesome opportunity to bird by sound. I think I learned a few more bird songs. I also saw a new (to me) species of rattlesnake. It's always interesting to see them -- at a distance. It was in the middle of the trail but soon scooted off uneventfully.

The following weekend we again went to the mountains, but this time the San Gabriel Mountains at the West Fork of the San Gabriel River. It is at a little higher elevation. Birds, butterflies, and trees and flowers in this mountain riparian habitat were just starting to pop. In a few more weeks it will be even more spectacular, and I recommend a visit. I had a nice moment with the usually elusive canyon wren, and found a few grasshoppers new to me.

Sorry/not sorry for the longer than usual post. It is all just too beautiful to miss.

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Watch the slideshows or click on the links to look through at your own pace.

Enjoy the show! I always appreciate corrections to ID's.

Local stuff:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/new_apr_2019 
 

Butterfly Survey:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_apr_2019

Black-lighting:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/irc_apr_night_2019
 

Los Cerritos Wetlands:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/hellman_apr-2019
 

Silverado Canyon:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/silverado_apr_2019

West Fork of San Gabriel River:    https://kimssight.zenfolio.com/west_fork_apr-2019