ADDITIONAL BIRD SIGHTINGS IN NORTHERN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Earlier this year, I posted a blog on aquatic birds sighted north of Los Angeles (Castaic Lake and Santa Clarita areas, which are only six miles apart from one another]. Since then, some new sightings and images concerning both aquatic and a few non-aquatic birds in both areas have become available to me, mostly via my well-informed source, who lives in the Castaic area.

      AQUATIC BIRDS (CASTAIC LAKE AREA)

CANADA GOOSE

Branta canadensis

Most of the Canadian Geese that were present in this area in January, 2025, have now migrated away [this is definitely true for the Snow Geese and most of the coots]. However, a few Canadian Geese remain, and now include some immature Canadian Geese. An image of one family that remained in the Castaic Lake area is shown below. I have also spotted some other immature Canadian Geese in the Santa Clarita area, a few miles south of Castaic Lake. 

       Young Canadian Geese and their "mom" at Castaic Lake.

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WESTERN GREB (The Swan-Necked Grebe) Aechmophorus occidentalis

About 3 pounds in size.

This aquatic bird has a distinctive curved neck, with crisp black and white colorations sharply defined. They rarely walk (= an awkward gait) on land, but they can gracefully “run” on water. They have lobed toes to propel them underwater (note: ducks have webbed feet). Their eyes are red. These birds are almost always in the water, where dive (for long periods of time) for prey or rest on the surface. They build floating nests (Wikipedia, 2025). 

                                  Western Greb at Castaic Lake.

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COMMON MERGANSER

Mergus merganser

About 3 pounds in size.

This aquatic bird is duck-like that lives in rivers and lakes. The male has black head, red bill, and mostly white body (possibly with some grayish patches); the female has red head, red bill, white chin, and white to gray body (Wikipedia, 2025). Its common name is “sea duck.”

 Western Grebs at Castaic Lake.

NON-AQUATIC BIRDS (CASTAIC LAKE AREA) 

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

Agelaius phoenixes

8.5 inches length

This species lives all over the USA except near the Canadian border. 

The red epaulets are displayed in courtship from Fall until nesting begins.These birds live in large flocks. They spend the nights in communal roosts and fly out together in search of food. Their main habitats are marshes and pastures. They also frequent parks in rural areas. The male is black with yellow-edged epaulets, which may be hidden when the bird is perched. The female is streaked brown with a faint red tinge on the shoulders and a pink throat. The epaulets of the California form lack the yellow edges. These birds are among the first to fly north. They will attack hawks and crows. The nesting season of these birds is March through July. (Audubon bird book, 1999, p. 130). I recently spotted two of these birds in a front yard in Santa Clarita, California), six miles from Castaic Lake.

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                                 male                          female

BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK

Pheuciticus melanocephalus

7-8.5 inches long

Their nest is a loose and flimsy structure of plant rootlets and twigs built in thick foliage (including trees or shrubs that are 4 to 25 feet above the ground. This bird eats seeds and insects. (Audubon bird book, 1999, p. 119 (in part); and Reader's Digest "North American Wildlife" (p.149). 

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WESTERN TANAGER

Piranga ludoviciana

7 inches long

Orange head, yellow chest, black back and wings. Male has brighter colors than female. Male’s head is red during the breeding season but disappears in the fall. Eats insects, berries, and other fruit. Its nest consists of twigs, roots, and moss. Lives in western USA and south-west Canada. Can live at elevations up to 10,000 feet.

(Audubon bird book, 1999, p. 117).

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COOPERS HAWK

Astur cooperii

Medium-sized hawk.

This hawk has a black cap, dark gray upper wings with scattered black spot, and white legs with back spots. Upper surface of wings brown; the underneath surface grayish white with black streaks and spots. This hawk is native to North America and found from southern Canada to Mexico (Wikipedia, 2025). They nest in tall trees with extensive canopy cover.

A medium-sized hawk (they weigh about a pound and the male is smaller than the female). This hawk is known for its stealthy hunting and preference for small to medium-sized bird prey. Crows do not like them! These hawks are often seen in suburban areas and around bird feeders. They can also feed on snakes, squirrels, and even chickens. These hawks have a varied collection of bird calls that is one of the largest for any raptor (Wikipedia, 2025).

NON-AQUATIC BIRDS (Santa Clarita)

MOURNING DOVE

Zenaida mercury

12 inches long.

This is the smallest in size of the three dove species that live in the Los Angeles, California area. This species is primarily a seed eater and not an insect eater. It especially likes sunflower seeds.  is a migratory game bird. As I researched it, I was astonished to learn that this peaceful animal (which is a symbol of peace, love, and hope) is the most frequently hunted game bird in North America. 

It has a small head and a slender tail. It flies “bullet fast” and usually can live 2 to 4 years although some in captivity can live up to 30 years. It is most active in the early morning and late afternoon. They are related to pigeons, which are a type of dove. Unlike pigeons, mourning doves are illegal to own.

Front and back views of same specimen (about 8 inches in length) of mourning dove in my garden in Santa Clarita, northern Los Angeles County, Southern California.

REFERENCES

Audubon backyard birdwatcher, birdfeeders and bird gardens. 1999. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA, 381 pp. 

Horsfall, R. B. and C. E. 1928. Birds of the Pacific Coast. Nature Magazine, Washington. Archive.org  [the text is about 700 pp. long and has detailed sketches [some in color] of nearly every known bird species from this region]. This relatively unknown reference is easily available (you can view it for free at archive.org). For a small donation (the amount is up to you), this book can be downloaded. R.B. Horsfall was a renowned American wildlife illustrator of wildlife and also some fossils (see one my forthcoming post about earliest rhinos of California). 

Reader's Digest North American Wildlife 1982. Pleasantville, New York, 1982, 559 pp. of text.

Wikipedia. 2025.

YIKES, LIZARDS IN MY YARD!

In recent months, I have published numerous blog posts concerning a diverse assortment of animals and plants that either live in, or visit, my yard. This current blog post focuses on a lizard species that I see more and more, as the weather warms up. It is the “Common side-blotched lizard,” a lizard found throughout southern California (including the deserts). The breeding season of this lizard is from April to June. They are fast-moving reptiles, unless they are sunning themselves on flat  surfaces. These animals are usually about 5 to 7 inches long, and they can vary in their markings and coloration (e.g., from being spotted, striped, blotched, or solid brown to gray brown). To add to the difficulty in trying to identify them, there are also male and female morphological variants (morphs).

Their classification is the following (from Wikipedia).
 

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Reptilia

Order Squamata

Suborder Iguania

Family Phrynosomatidae

Genus Uta

Species stansburiana {there can be several variants)

Figure 1: Lizard (about 7 inches long) "catching some rays." 

Figure 2. Another lizard (about 5 inches in length); this one shows a white band at the bottom of its body (the band is helpful in identifying the species).

For more details, in addition to Wikipedia, see the following URL, see:

https://www.californiaherps.com/identification/lizards/common/lizards.html 

 VINTAGE ELECTRIC POLE HEMIGRAY INSULATORS

These thick-glass insulators were used for telegraph and telephone utility lines in the United States from 1815 until the 1960’s, and their “heyday”use was from 1875 to 1930. The ones shown below were used in Southern California.

Based on the embossed information on the two insulators shown below, they were manufactured by the Hemigray Company, which started making insulators as early as the 1840s. The heyday of production was 1875 to 1930, but they eventually stopped making them in the 1960s. These insulators also have embossed numbers on them. The first number is a mold number, and the second number indicates the year they were manufactured. One of the insulators was made in 1940 and the other in 1942.

These insulators can be collector’s item (see the Internet), and the faintly colored ones (like the ones shown here) “go for”about $10 or so. The more vividly colored (e.g., aqua, green, purple) the insulators are, the more they are worth. The ones shown here are nearly colorless, and they are not worth that much; nevertheless, they are indicative of the past, and that is always interesting

Figure 1. 1940 insulator. Insulator is 4 inches tall, 3.75 inches diameter.

Figure 2. 1942 insulator with copper wire holder. Insular is the same size as the one illustrated above. 

KOI FISH

The name “koi” is an informal name for colored variants of domesticated carp fish kept for ornamental purposes. Typically these fish, which are cold-water, are kept in outdoor “koi ponds,” if it does not get too cold for them. These fish belong to genus Cyprinus, which is in the family Cyprinidae. Historically, koi were produced by artificial selection, primarily from black carp, which inhabit lakes, ponds, and rivers in Japan. Carps are very hardy fish and commonly used as a symbol of luck.

Carp fish comprise a large group of cold-water-fish species originally native to central Europe and Asia. There are about 100 varieties today. 

They are bottom feeders and can live for 100 to 200 years [note: fish scales are used to determine the age]. Their fossil record is Miocene to Recent (Wikipedia).

Two of examples of the numerous color variants of koi fish in a water-lily tank at a commercial nursery in northern Los Angeles County, southern Califoria. The orange/black/white individual is about 6 inches long.

More examples of color variants of koi fish (and also some water lilies) in the same small tank mentioned above.