To bird is to listen. And once you know the vocalizations of the local birds, an unusual bird stands out. That’s how Erica Rutherford and I discovered a summer tanager last fall in the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. Within minutes of stepping out of our car on the October 30, we heard “pit-ti-tuck,” a vocalization reminiscent of an expected (albeit out-of-season) species, the western tanager . . . but not quite. So, when we heard “pit-ti-tuck” again, we ran.

Especially with spring birding trips, our walk was as much about listening as seeing. We identified 29 species (see list below), many by sound alone. Resident singers, American Robins were among the first species we heard. Newly-arrived Swainson’s Thrushes announced their presence with single chips–they’ll be producing their spiraling ethereal song in another week or so.  Then the “what peevesyou?” call of a distant Olive-sided Flycatcher let us know it too had completed its northward migration.

Last month's bird walk, led by Dave Quady and me, was a quiet affair—only fourteen species were observed over six hours of birding (minus 90 minutes for breakfast). That's an all time low for our winter bird walks, likely due to lack of rain (only one significant rainfall since spring) and strong dry winds the preceding week. Nevertheless our group of birders—four for the early morning owl walk and six for the after breakfast bird walk—enjoyed each others' company while we waited . . .

For the last two years rainy weather forced us to cancel the Conservancy’s winter bird walk. More of the same seemed likely this year when we had plenty of rain during the preceding week. But the forecast for Sunday looked promising

Once again, December's birdwalk led by Dave Quady produced a nice selection of expected species. Five of us gathered at 4:30am to listen for owls. We were joined by four others for daylight birding.

We began at 5 a.m. at the foot of Gelston Street with the temperature hovering in the mid-40s and the marine layer's ceiling only a few hundred feet overhead.  No great horned owls were audible, so American robins were first to break the silence.

In an amazing vocal performance, three species of owls were heard in Claremont Canyon before dawn on Saturday, December 11.  Led by Dave Quady, an owl expert and aficionado, a dozen participants in a Conservancy birding field trip heard the following:

A year or two ago I was greatly influenced by a couple of books (“Bowling Alone” and “Better Together”) by a Harvard scholar named Robert D. Putnam. He makes the case that decreasing involvement in community life is bad for individuals and ultimately bad for the world—a gross oversimplification on my part. But, as one who tends to sit at the computer by myself rather than do anything in the community, I knew Putnam’s message was aimed at people like me